Episode 9. The Duke’s Trial (1)
[Hey, master.]
Kayram sitting in a seductive pose on a hard rock.
She yawned repeatedly and looked at me and asked.
[Why did you come looking for me?]
“To write.”
I answered dryly.
[I thought the legendary magic sword was as common as a kitchen knife on a cutting board? Are you clearly neglecting relics?]
“I told you. It will be difficult to even talk about you for a while. As I said, I can’t show off a precious relic like you to others, right?”
I can see Yulken in the distance watching me 24 hours a day.
Of course, I am the only one who can see Kayram’s soul, but I must refrain from making hasty actions as much as possible.
[Haven’t you ever heard that a man’s weapon wears out if he doesn’t use it? Yes, I guess it’s the same there too?]
“You say really nice things in front of your child.”
[Now come on, I’m telling you, anyway, look at this dried skin! I, too, want to wake up for the first time in a while and taste blood as soon as possible! When are you going to take me out!]
She fussed like a child screaming for snacks.
“As long as you go to the front, I’ll write about it ad nauseam. So just wait until then, Kayram.”
[If that’s the case, you should come visit me right before you leave! Ugh! When I woke up after hundreds of years, I met a strange owner… … ! Anyway, if I don’t have anything to write about, I go back to sleep. Don’t wake me up!]
Kayram turned into fog and disappeared in an instant with the dagger in his arms.
Even if you look at it like that, half of the day is spent sleeping.
Well, it’s only natural that continuing to materialize without meaning will only drain your strength.
I’m sorry I couldn’t do it, but there’s nothing I can do for the time being.
At least there won’t be any need to use her until we enter Lemea Valley.
I resumed practicing my sword skills again.
The month I promised my father was already three days away.
All I’ve done so far is regular strength training and show-off swordsmanship.
In a situation where I didn’t know what the ordeal would give me, all I could do was this light training.
Honestly, putting aside the trials, I need to sharpen my sense of practical combat in order to hunt demonic beasts on the front lines… … ,
I tried to use at least Kranz, but for some reason I can’t find it these days.
I heard he recovered quickly from his injuries, but he seems to be avoiding me quite a bit.
I heard you can’t even use dog poop for medicine, so maybe you should have used it in moderation?
As I repeat boring training, I end up lamenting for no reason.
Wanting to take a break for a moment, he put down his sword and stretched out on the floor.
Considering that this was my last sparring with Elise, I guess my body has become numb, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to spar with an immature person.
I thought carefully about whether I might find someone worth using.
hmm?
Come to think of it, we’re really close right now, right?
“Hey, Yulken! “Is it there?”
I tilted my head back and looked across the forest.
Three seconds later, Yulken appeared from among the bushes and hurriedly approached me.
“W-what’s going on, master?”
He seemed surprised to see exactly where he was.
“Yeah, it’s nothing special, but can you do me a favor?”
“Please speak.”
“Let’s spar with me!”
“yes?”
Cold sweat ran down Yulken’s face.
It’s not like Hongdukkae in the middle of the night, and it sounds a bit like a fat guy.
But I meant it with all my heart.
“now… … “Did you say you were going to spar with me?”
“huh! It’s already three days until the day I made a promise to my father, but I don’t think I can just swing my sword in the air. “I want to gain some practical experience, so won’t you help me?”
“If you need someone to spar with, aren’t there other knights besides me? “My job is to guard you, Master, not to train you.”
“That’s why I’m asking you a favor. This is my request, separate from my father’s orders. I’m not asking you to really spar. All I have to do is attack and Yulken block. “It won’t be difficult, right?”
Don’t even counterattack, just block.
One might say that these unequal conditions were some kind of sparring, but Yulken was actually agreeing.
Even more so, if you just ask them to stop the attack of this young Confucius, what problem will arise?
“If that’s true, I understand. Instead, I will deal with you with a scabbard, not a sword. “You can attack as you wish, but I promise to focus only on defense.”
Yulken bowed his head politely and pulled out a sword from his waist.
His sword was the finest longsword used by the Knights of Light, and its scabbard boasted strength comparable to that of most famous swords.
“thank you. And I have one more thing to say… … .”
“Please speak.”
“Please do not report to your father what is happening from this moment on.”
“yes?”
Yulken’s face changed very subtly.
The mission he received from the Duke is to protect me and watch my every move.
His father must also be very curious about what kind of training his bold child, who dared to declare that he wants to go to the front, is doing.
He had no reason not to report today’s sparring to the duke.
“Sparring with me is not something to be ashamed of. I’m sure the duke would view it very favorably, wouldn’t you? There’s no need to do that… … .”
“This is not a request, but an order. As the son of the Bert family, I command you not to reveal to anyone what is happening from now on. got it?”
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Cold sweat flowed down Yulken’s cheeks once again.
Do you think that I, who am not even a duke, have the authority to give him orders? In both his past and present lives, he is the most upright knight I have ever seen.
He was so loyal that he was considered the duke’s right-hand man, and he was determined enough to go into the pit of shit for his sake.
If I had proceeded with the sparring without saying anything, he would have most likely reported the process and results of the sparring to the duke.
So this order was given.
Yulken’s original mission is to protect the duke, and I am a kind of delegate to whom the duke himself has issued a protection order.
In other words, I also have authority equivalent to that of a duke.
If others heard it, they would laugh and say it was nonsense, but at least not to the driver in front of me.
He is a truly upright knight.
“I understand, master. “On the honor of being a guardian knight, I swear that I will not reveal anything about this sparring.”
Yulken placed one hand on his heart and pledged his oath as a knight.
Since I had made an oath and if I broke it, I would have to pay for it with death, so I was convinced that I would never say anything.
“Thank you, Yulken. “Then shall we start now?”
At the same time as he raised his sword, Yulken also raised his sword sheath and took a defensive stance.
I’ve made a clear promise, so we can have a little fun, right?
To be honest, I’ve been very itchy these past few days.
The Kranz guy wasn’t worth talking about, and I kept squirming without even realizing it during my sparring with Elise.
The moment I made my decision, I immediately jumped out of my seat and rushed over.
-visor!
As soon as the first blow was struck, the body was freely twisted to achieve the desired sword strike.
Yulken accepted my sword without a single hesitation.
The exhilarating pleasure that rises along with the thrilling harmony of sword and sword clashing.
The prosecutor’s desire, which had been dormant for a while, was awakening again.
Unlike the corners of my mouth that were rising as time went by, Yulken’s face was darkening.
It is said to be no problem for defense, but you would never think of it as a sword for a ten-year-old.
Maybe it took about 10 minutes?
I felt a refreshing sensation as if I had completed the prescribed amount of exercise.
I finished the sword with a downward slash aimed at the head.
“Good job, Yulken! “Thank you for your help!”
“Well, thank you for your hard work. young master… … .”
Yulken bowed his head awkwardly at my bright smile.
Still, he was looking at his sword sheath.
The scabbard of the famous sword, which surpassed most robbers, was quite damaged.
“It looks like you damaged it unintentionally? Shall I reimburse you?”
“Oh, no, master! “I can restore it, so you don’t have to worry about it!”
There may be one or two things he is curious about, but he will never ask them.
Much less would I reveal it to anyone.
He must be a truly loyal knight.
“What do you think, Yulken?”
“What do you mean?”
“The ordeal my father is preparing for. “Does Yulken know anything?”
“Unfortunately, I too have been by your side recently, so I don’t know anything about that.”
Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you… … .
“What have you prepared? Have you prepared to spar with several high-ranking knights like Yulken? Or would you like your father to deal with it directly?”
As the day of the pledge got closer, my curiosity inevitably grew.
What are the qualifications that the duke spoke of, and what did he prepare for them?
Along with curiosity, a strange sense of anticipation was also building up.
“… … “That won’t be the case.”
Yulken, who had been listening quietly, unexpectedly opened his mouth.
“It’s just my guess, but I don’t think the Duke will prepare at least for sparring with people. “The duke is a person who sees things much more broadly than we think, so I think he would have prepared an ordeal that was appropriate for him.”
Are you sure you think differently?
Since he helped me much more than I did as a child, he probably knows my father better.
“But if you are a master… … .”
“… … ?”
“I think you will be able to get through any ordeal without any problems… … .”
He, who had never relaxed his stern expression, spoke with a small smile for the first time.
To receive recognition from a high-ranking knight.
This is so much joy that I feel like dancing.
It was a strange feeling, but not a bad feeling.
* * *
Time passed quickly and the promised day dawned.
Knights from the front were waiting in the yard from the very early morning to take me away.
I didn’t have anything to prepare, so I followed them out as soon as I had breakfast.
There are hundreds of eyes watching me leave through the windows of the mansion.
No one was allowed to accompany me, and I was the only one protected by dozens of knights.
Did it take about 30 minutes to ride in a prepared carriage?
We arrived at a quiet wilderness area with no residential areas in sight.
The moment I got off the carriage, I came face to face with the Duke who was waiting there.
“Xian, the youngest child of the Bert family, meets your father.”
“Welcome, Sian. “Are you ready?”
I first asked if they were ready to complete the ordeal right away without any hassle.
“of course. “I am ready to do it right now.”
“I will ask you one last time. If you give up thinking about it now, I will let you go without saying anything. Are you really serious about going to the front?”
“From the moment I first said it, there was no reversal of what I said. “My heart is still focused on the front line.”
After the last chance was passed, the Duke quickly nodded.
I recognized that my heart could not be broken.
“Everything comes with responsibility, and you must be qualified to take on that responsibility. “As a child of the Bert family, if you want to follow the family’s ideology, you must have the qualifications to do so, and from now on, I will check how firm your resolve is.”
After finishing what he had to say, the Duke finally gave orders to his knights.
“Free him.”
The knights who received orders soon brought something huge with them.
It looked like a large prison to imprison someone.
After a while, the huge sack covering it was removed, and the truth of the ordeal that the duke had prepared was finally revealed.
“Krrrrr… … .”
Inside the prison, red eyes full of madness are glaring at me.
No, you can’t say it’s a beast.
That’s probably not a living thing that inhabits this land.
I never thought you would have prepared for this ordeal.
I was trying hard to control my facial expressions, but I couldn’t stop my lips from moving.
Demon beast hellhound.
The cruel predator of the demon world was voraciously wetting its tongue as if it would devour me at any moment.
(Continued in the next part)
