Episode 14
* * *
The Duke of Saxony’s office.
On that day, when Charlotte Orchardt officially became a maid of honor to the Duke of Saxony, the Duke of Saxony wondered how the reckless girl had come to have such upright determination.
“What happened between you and that child that day?”
“Charlotte Orhart, daughter of the divine sword.”
Dale nods and continues.
“I thought the same thing my father thought.”
“Hoo.”
The Duke of Saxony smiled with pleasure at those words.
No matter how good a person the Duke of Saxony is, he is also the greatest nobleman in the empire. That position is definitely not one that can be maintained through virtue alone.
The Duke of Saxony is not a soft man, to the point where he would make a decision based on a loyal subject’s unavoidable request or the difficult circumstances of the Orchard family.
“You speak as if you know what I’m thinking.”
“I made a promise with Miss Charlotte.”
“promise?”
“It is a promise that we will protect her in the name of the Duke of Saxony.”
“Is it only because you sympathize with that child that you mention the name of the Duke of Saxony?”
The Duke of Saxony asked sharply.
“It’s not sympathy.”
Dale shakes his head.
“She is the only daughter who carries the blood of the one called the Divine Sword.”
Dale answered.
“Even if Miss Charlotte hates that fact terribly, her ‘usefulness’ is indescribable.”
The blood of the divine sword. And the value that can be possessed because of a woman’s body. Thinking of the hideous and infinite desire of the holy swordsman, the black gong frowned.
“Therefore, our Duke will protect Miss Charlotte from such malice.”
But it is never a favor without a price.
“So what is it that we want to achieve?”
“It is a divine sword.”
When the Holy Sword Master desired the ‘Child of the Divine Sword’ through Charlotte, what Dale wished for was much simpler.
Because the being closest to the divine sword was in front of Dale.
The young daughter of the Shingeom who asks for a helping hand.
“To be swung for our future dukedom.”
Hearing that, the Duke of Saxony let out a soft laugh.
* * *
There are several honors one can enjoy as a knight.
One, to shake off the anonymity of one’s own sword.
Second, serve a lord to whom you can truly be loyal.
Third, to teach good disciples who will carry on one’s legacy and pass on the sword.
In that respect, Sir Helmut Blackbear is truly a blessed knight.
A knight with the nicknames of the Continent’s Seven Swords and the Mad Sword. A knight who swore lifelong loyalty to the Duke of Saxony.
Finally──.
Kaang!
The prodigy of the duke’s family, Dale of Saxony, spins the stiletto in his hand and catches it in reverse. The strike that was about to strike him as soon as he caught it was deflected by Charlotte Orchardt’s rapier.
As if to dodge, the stiletto’s blade coiled like a snake again.
But as if she couldn’t tolerate any more, Charlotte’s rapier persistently blocks the sword’s path.
Since it was a fight between two children, the knights who emphasized strength were absent. Nevertheless, it felt like a fight between two high-level assassins with skill and speed.
It is fast and each and every blade is sharpened with a murderous intent.
‘Is this really a showdown between nine-year-olds?’
The knights of the House of Saxony were also speechless as they watched the scene.
The feelings towards Dale’s talent are already familiar. But that little girl.
‘She is indeed the daughter of the new sword.’
Sir Helmut Blackbear held his breath as he recalled the sword of his old mentor, Lord Badel, who was called the Divine Sword.
‘I guess blood is thicker than water.’
Charlotte Orchardt.
A style of swordsmanship that he mastered on his own, holding only a rapier, without ever having formally studied swordsmanship.
After several clashes of swords, the match was decided by Dale’s stiletto overpowering Charlotte’s rapier.
“That was wonderful, Miss Charlotte.”
Sir Helmut smiled with satisfaction at the sight.
“Enough with the empty compliments, Sir Helmut.”
But Charlotte, unable to hide her bitterness at defeat, asked back cheekily.
“What are my shortcomings?”
Charlotte’s talent is outstanding. However, it is nothing compared to Dale’s level. No, Dale’s talent is not something that can be called ‘talent’ in the first place.
Still, Sir Helmut could see how quickly Charlotte, who would walk only the path of kendo, would grow, unlike Dale, who would walk the path of magic.
It wouldn’t take long for the outcome of a fight between two people with pure swords to be reversed.
“Miss Charlotte, do you know where the heart of the rapier is?”
“It’s a stab,” Charlotte answered.
“That’s wrong.”
Sir Helmut shook his head.
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“The most important thing in handling a rapier is your two legs.”
Two legs. The core of the rapier is the step, or in other words, the technique.
“However, Prince Dale avoided Miss Charlotte’s thrusts and closed the distance without missing a beat.”
Charlotte’s expression as she listens to Sir Helmut’s teachings is very serious and cool.
She has already reached this level without even receiving proper swordsmanship training. That is why I think of her swordsmanship that will blossom brilliantly the moment she begins to learn properly under a skilled swordsman.
Charlotte, a girl with talent for the divine sword, was given the job of making her talent blossom.
Dale and Charlotte.
It would be an honor that would be hard for a common knight to imagine to have one of these children as his disciple.
However, Sir Helmut is the swordsmanship teacher of these two children.
A loyalist to the Duke of Saxony, Sir Helmuth Blackbear, the Lightsword. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he was the most blessed knight on the continent.
* * *
Malbork, the capital of the old Teutonic Knights.
And now, in recognition of his war exploits, his castle has been granted to the commander of the Imperial Army’s 1st Army Corps, the Grand Count of Brandenburg.
“It is about the young lady of the Orchard family taking refuge in the Saxon family.”
Upon hearing the messenger’s report, the Holy Swordsman Count Brandenburg threw down the glass he was holding.
“That damn bitch can hit a player… …!”
Clang!
After spitting out a curse, he turns his head away. Next to him, as usual, is the Holy Sword Durandal, emitting a pure white light.
An unbearably delighted smile spread across the count’s face.
‘Ah, my lovely Durendal.’
The very same sword that stabbed the warrior’s back.
‘Ah, my incomparably lovely fiancé.’
The count blushed shyly as he gazed at the Holy Sword’s strange appearance with rapture.
‘Please wait a little longer, my love.’
Just like a girl in love, the count blushes and turns his head again.
“As soon as you get out of here, find the Sheep Guild.”
In a voice filled with distorted obsession.
“I will pay you even a thousand gold pieces. Don’t worry about the amount, gather up a group of capable men and send them to the Duchy of Saxony.”
* * *
Become aware of the flow of mana that rotates around your heart, and wait calmly until the flow forms a certain circular route.
It strongly imprints the shape of the engraved mana ring.
This is the process of building the 2nd circle.
It was so easy.
“Okay.”
“… … !”
When Dale calmly responds to the existence of the new circle, Sepia perks up her ears in surprise.
However, adding one circle to the heart, even a lower circle, takes approximately several years.
The point at which young magicians, who are said to be ‘talented’, enter the Magic Tower’s affiliated academy…
In other words, the age at which the first mana circle was carved was around ten years old.
From then on, it would take another ten years or so to reach the three circles required to graduate from the academy. That means twenty at the earliest.
That’s why graduating from the academy in your late teens would not be an exaggeration to call yourself a ‘gifted’.
──However, it only took Dale, who started learning magic at the age of 8, only one year to become a 2nd circle magician.
The realm of true genius, which even gifted or talented people cannot dare to approach.
Dale reached out. The two mana rings surrounding his heart began to spin rapidly.
The normal rotation speed of a wizard’s circle is 300 rpm (the number of revolutions per minute of the rotating body).
This means that you can generate horsepower by spinning it 300 times per minute, and only when you reach this number are you eligible to expand to the ‘next circle’.
However, in Dale’s case, the rotation speed of the first circle that was first awakened at this point is 2,000 rpm.
The rotation speed of the newly created second circle above it is 400 rpm.
As soon as you expand a new circle, you will meet the stats required to aim for the ‘next level’.
“Then, just to try it out… … .”
The magical power generated from the two circles flows out through the fingertips.
Without pronouncing it, he unconsciously projects a new formula onto ‘Ice Bullet’ while recalling his own image.
Strengthen the molecular bonds of the ice that will become the bullet to increase its weight and durability, and draw an invisible large-caliber gun barrel to strengthen the rotational force, kinetic energy, and velocity of the bullet.
Armor Piercing Bullet.
‘Unless you add fire magic, it’s impossible to use high-explosive incendiary grenades.’
Taang!
The ice bullet that was released as a test split the air. It was an enhanced version that projected a new formula, and it was also a non-explosive one.
‘what?’
After firing the Ice Bullet, Dale himself couldn’t help but feel confused.
‘Was it this easy to project the mechanism of an armor-piercing bullet?’
It’s so easy, it’s not even comparable to when I first used Ice Bullet.
Just by adding one circle, it feels like the task of projecting the ‘image you want’ into reality has become several times easier.
──When a magician projects his or her own image into this world, it is like drawing a picture. The subject of the picture must be clear, and the artist’s drawing skills are also important.
Among them, the ‘circle’ serves as an art tool necessary for drawing pictures.
A filter and medium for superimposing one’s own imaginary world onto this world.
No matter how good your drawing skills are, you can’t paint with watercolors without paints or brushes.
That is why the number of circles is the measure of the wizard’s power.
In other words, Dale’s achievement, given the breadth of tools available, is that of multiplying squares at a speed that is like multiplying squares.
Just as a perfect painter adds each color he can handle.
“You learn quickly.”
Sepia smiled quietly at the sight.
It wasn’t that Dale’s talent had no fear, but more than that, Sepia had decided to trust Dale.
──The story of bravery shown in front of a group of orcs, and the new daughter of the Orhart family who entered the dukedom.
At least this kid is trying to use the power he has in the right way.
That was the determination of Sepia, the elf wizard who watched Dale more closely than anyone else.
