Chapter 98: Have You Learned a Thing or Two?
“Come on in! Hahaha.” Duke Thermion was very hospitable to us.
“Father!” Leila exclaimed.
“My daughter! You seem to have grown so much. Did you do well on your test?”
“Of course. You’ll be surprised when you see my report card later.”
“I look forward to it. Haha.”
Of course, the one he welcomed most was his daughter, Leila.
“Dane. We meet again,” Duke Thermion addressed me.
“Your Grace. How have you been?” I asked.
“Oh, right. Ohoho! It seems like your physique has gotten better. I heard you’ve been receiving separate training from Professor Kelthas?” It seemed like he had better hearing than Sir Asmar. “I’ve been meeting a lot of people lately. I also know that you surprised Professor Dinavo of the Magic Department and passed the special admission exam.”
Did he plant a spy in the academy?
“Oh, and you formed a club. I heard that you took the lead, Dane?”
“Oh, yes. That’s right.”
“The name is a bit strange… I think it was called ‘Magic Summoning Exploration Spearmanship Swordsmanship Club’?”
Oh.
He was the first person besides me to mention the club by name.
“Father, we’ll change that name soon.”
“Right? Even I thought it was a little strange.”
“…”
What was wrong with that name? It was so intuitive and good.
By the way, since there was no mention of the prince, it seemed like he didn’t know much about it. Officially, it was probably just that we ‘met’ the prince.
I wondered what the prince was doing now. Was he practicing swordsmanship with his now healthy hands?
Well, I’d find out when we met again.
“Oh, this must be the Ernest you mentioned in your letter, Leila,” Duke Thermion said as he looked at Ernest.
“N-nice to meet you, Your Grace! My name is Ernest Dylan, the eldest son of the Dylan Barony, a renowned explorer in the West!” Ernest stammered.
Oh right, we were in front of the duke. I saw him so often that I sometimes forgot. Ernest looked just as nervous as when he first met Prince Edward.
Duke Thermion laughed and said, “Don’t be so nervous. Today, I am here as Leila’s father. Yes, Ernest Dylan. Our family has several old relics that House Dylan acquired through exploration. Leila, you have a friend from a great family.”
“Of course. Whose friend do you think he is?” Leila retorted.
Duke Thermion gave another laugh and said, “You’ve become more and more naughty. Come on, let’s all go in. I prepared a small banquet for you all this evening after I heard you were coming.”
Were there any tarts? I often dreamed about the strawberry tart I ate while staying here.
“There are strawberry tarts, too. I told the staff to prepare them in advance.”
I gulped at Leila’s whisper.
‘Leila, you really are the best friend a boy could have.’
“Ah, Dane. I heard from Sir Asmar. The knights are training today, so I thought it would be nice to have a short and pleasant spar before dinner.”
I said gratefully, “Thank you, Your Grace.”
It was a series of good news. It looked like I could relax properly today.
“You’re welcome. I didn’t do much. Considering the friendship I share with Arken, this is nothing. Do you know? When Arken and I first met, we were exactly your age. People think we developed our friendship on the battlefield, but we first met at the princess’s debutante ball. Oh, and your mother Lily was there, too…”
By the way, was this old man always this talkative?
* * *
I ended up staying in the same room I stayed in when I first came to this mansion. Even though I had only stayed there for a few days, it was quite familiar.
Ernest was in the room right next to me.
“Dane, are you going to spar with the Thermion Knights later?” he asked.
“Probably?” I replied.
“Awesome! I’ll be cheering you on from the side!”
“Don’t just cheer, watch carefully. You’re supposed to learn how to wield a weapon later, right?”
“That’s true, but… Honestly, when I see you or Leila’s swordsmanship, I don’t even have the guts to try to imitate it.” Ernest shook his head.
Of course, unless you had some special talent, it might be a bit difficult to learn a time-consuming martial art like swordsmanship at the age of fourteen.
“There’ll be a weapon that’s right for you,” I said.
“Right? I’d like to learn how to use the bow that you showed me last time,” Ernest admitted.
“Archery is good.”
Since I saw an archery range the last time I came here, it might be a good idea to ask Sir Asmar or Leila to help Ernest with the bow again. Since he’d gained a lot of strength, he might be able to nock a bow now.
Anyway, after a short break, the attendant came and said, “Master Dane, please change into these clothes and let me know when you’re done. I will escort you to the first training ground.”
At those words, I took Karnas out of my arms and reassured him, then asked, “Can you be alone?”
“Kikreuk!”
The little one nodded matter-of-factly. I already needed to train him to get used to being by himself, so this was a good opportunity. Karnas adapted quickly wherever he went, so he was already looking for a place to lie down.
“Kikreuk!”
As if he liked it here, he curled up in the middle of the bed and yawned.
“I guess he’ll be alright.”
I changed into the comfortable clothes the servant brought me and followed him out with Ernest.
“The duchy’s knights… I’m so nervous,” Ernest exclaimed.
The servant responded by quickly bragging about the knighthood, stating, “The Thermion Knights are the best knights in the Empire aside from the Imperial Knights. Even now, countless candidates are applying to be the duchy’s knights.”
He seemed to be very proud, and the knights truly were worthy of such pride. They were said to be the best, other than the Imperial Knights—but in reality, they were considered to be on par with or even on a higher level than the Second Imperial Knights.
“Of course, only a very small number of people can join the knights, and even if they are skilled, they must be verified before they can join,” the attendant continued.
“Verified?”
“Yes. They must challenge one of the Knights.”
It was quite a cruel method, but on the other hand, it could be said that it was the reason why the Thermion Knights could maintain their high level. It gave the challenged existing knights a sense of tension at the suggestion that they could be kicked out at any time, and it clearly presented a goal for the candidates.
“I know that the Sogres Knights are renowned for their greatness as well,” the attendant suddenly said, mentioning my family’s knights.
The corners of my mouth curled up. My family did not become known for mastery of the spear simply because of my father. It was no exaggeration to say that our Spear Knights were unique in the Empire.
My father began teaching spearmanship to the knights who followed him to the battlefield. Before long, their power grew and an order of spear knights was formed.
I heard that we originally had a knight order that mainly used swordsmanship, but it was said that during my father’s generation, it changed into a knight order that mainly used spears. I used to spar with other knights besides my father when I was young, but I didn’t do it often because it wasn’t fun when they kept losing on purpose.
“We’ll soon reach the training ground.”
We arrived at the training ground with high expectations.
The first training ground.
There, the Thermion Knights were already in full swing.
“Wow…” Ernest let out a sigh.
It was a wonderful sight even to me.
About fifty knights lined up in perfect formation, practicing perfectly identical movements. Each individual was at least quad-class. The level of candidates who stayed in separate residences in the duke’s mansion and waited for their chance was also the same.
“You’re here!” Leila happened to greet us. Leila pointed to the knight training with a proud and happy expression on her face. “Is this your first time seeing our family’s knights?”
“Yes,” I said.
“They’re great, Leila!” Ernest exclaimed.
They were definitely amazing. When I focused for a moment, I felt a powerful, intense, and orderly flow of mana. It couldn’t be a coincidence that my heart started to pound a little bit now.
“Are you ready to spar?”
At that moment, Duke Thermion also arrived. He was a man with a greater ability than Sir Asmar, who led this order, and one of the strongest men in the Empire. Even though he was wearing comfortable clothes, I felt intimidated when he arrived at the training ground.
“Your Grace, thank you for giving me this great opportunity,” I said.
“Hmm. A great opportunity, huh? Maybe that’s what we should be saying.” Duke Thermion smiled and raised his hand.
Then Sir Asmar immediately shouted, “Everyone, stop training and gather around!”
As soon as the words were out, the fifty knights moved in unison and formed a circle around the center of the training grounds. I assumed that meant we would fight there. If it were a normal knight, just standing there would put them under a lot of pressure.
“Let’s start lightly, Dane.” Duke Thermion then sent a second signal.
Sir Asmar shouted again, “Candidates! Gather around!”
Then, dozens of candidates ran up from the bottom of the training ground hill and formed a new circle inside the circle the Knights had just formed.
There were always those looking for a chance to join the Thermion Knights. I heard that there were people who had spent over ten years as candidates.
Was that why?
Compared to the leisurely knights, the faces of the candidates were full of venom.
“I’ll be sparring with the candidates,” I stated.
“Yes. You may spar as much as you want until the evening banquet.”
What were Duke Thermion’s intentions? Even though I was the son of an old friend and a guest visiting the Duke’s family… the scale of this spar was pretty large.
“You can challenge someone, or you can take on the challenge yourself.”
I nodded.
This method was good. What I needed now was to relive the fighting instinct that had begun to awaken again after the battle with Saint Aimar.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to me and I asked, “What happens if I beat one of the existing members?”
“What?”
“Does that mean I will become a member of the Thermion Knights?”
Duke Thermion burst into loud laughter. Then he smiled with satisfaction.
“I didn’t expect you would say something like that,” he stated.
“Was I too rude?” I asked.
“How could that be?” Duke Thermion continued speaking in a more serious tone this time. “The rules of our order are simple. If anyone is singled out and defeated, the positions are reversed. That’s all. If you single out one of the members and win… I get to accept a genius.”
I looked at the duke and smiled at those words.
“I will think about joining.”
“Hahaha… I never thought there’d be someone who would ‘think’ about joining our Knights.” He looked like he really liked the idea. “Are you planning to use a sword?”
I shook my head and said, “I will use the spear today.”
“What a pity. I wanted to see your swordsmanship.”
I thought about it a bit, but in this kind of official setting, I felt the need to honor my father as the youngest son of Count Sogres.
“Alright then, let’s get started.”
“Yes. We’ll be in your care.”
The duke’s tone of voice made it seem as if he was asking me to teach them. I nodded in response.
Duke Thermion added, “Wait a minute. Now that we’re on the subject… I don’t think you’d want to join the Knights Templar, given your personality.”
He really knew me well.
“How about this? I give you a reward that is equivalent to that.”
“This is not a spar for the sake of reward.”
“We have our reputation to think of. How could I bring my friend’s son over to train and not even offer anything?”
I answered with a faint smile, “Then I will gratefully accept your reward.”
“Good. I’ll think about it.”
Thus, I entered the circle and made eye contact with Leila for a moment. Leila was looking at me with a strange expression on her face. I didn’t know about anything else, but one thing was certain.
Her sharp eyes were full of determination to see everything.
Good.
“Young Master.”
I accepted the practice spear that the attendant handed me and finally entered the circle. It was the appropriate length and weight.
“Listen up, everyone. Today, the youngest son of Count Sogres, who has a close relationship with our Duke Thermion, Lord Dane Sogres, has personally requested a duel with you.” It was Sir Asmar. “Today, the Duke has promised a great reward to the candidate who wins the duel. Those candidates who wish to request a duel should come forward now and formally issue a challenge.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a man stepped forward and said, “I, Boyan Delkimar, the 40th candidate of the Thermion Knights, would like to request a duel with Master Dane Sogres.”
The 40th candidate, huh?
I nodded and said, “Boyan Delkimar. I accept your challenge.”
The cadet named Boyan drew his practice sword, and I too took up my stance, swinging my spear in the air once and aiming at him.
Whoosh!
With only the sound of the wind blowing, the inside of the circle was filled with a heavy tension.
“The rules are simple. If you fall over, kneel on one knee, drop your weapon, or declare surrender, you lose. You are free to use mana, but for safety reasons, coating your weapon with mana is prohibited. That’s all.”
Those were the basic sparring rules.
“I will try to learn a thing or two from you, Young Master.”
A polite sentence and a childish, gentle smile.
It was a provocation.
And一
Crack!
Candidate Boyan moved first and ran towards me. It was a quick rush. His sword was aimed at me.
‘Excellent.’
However…
Thunk!
I could see it all.
I instantly struck the sword with my spear, then immediately changed direction and thrust my spear forward.
Dilated pupils.
An expression of disbelief.
The tip of my spear stopped just short of Boyan’s neck as he stared in shock.
Silence permeated the training ground.
It was quiet.
It was quite simply my victory.
Boyan’s trembling passed through my spear’s blade and through its shaft.
I asked him, “So, have you learned something?”
