Ch.288Epilogue (1)

Pierre, who had been diligently serving as my apprentice, had long ago established the foundation to achieve the broader framework of intermediate rank.

He had been receiving education in the basics of halberd martial arts, which he had decided to make his main weapon, with Corin as his teacher. Additionally, due to my personal ambition, he was also taught “Camille-style weapon techniques,” a fighting style I had created.

His talent was exceptional enough that I took him in as an apprentice as soon as I recognized his determined mindset, and he never became complacent with his abilities, training diligently every day.

Thus, the soil for his talent to fully bloom was already prepared. Ultimately, the decisive catalyst that established the foundation for his awakening was none other than an “incident” that occurred in the nearby unexplored territory.

At that time, Pierre had ventured to the edge of the unexplored territory to hunt monsters for training and “additional income.” During this excursion, he quite unexpectedly encountered a formidable opponent.

A species that normally inhabits cold lands like snowy mountains, but whose range of activity had expanded with the arrival of winter and cold waves—a Yeti.

This beast monster, a subspecies of “Frost Giant” covered in white fur that emitted cold energy throughout its body, had migrated south in search of food and eventually encountered Pierre, who had gone out to earn pocket money.

The fortunate thing was that this Yeti was not fully mature, though it had reached the intermediate rank, albeit at the lowest level.

But… intermediate is still intermediate.

Against a monster whose fur was difficult to penetrate without using Aura, Pierre, according to his own account, fought a bloody battle while being pushed to the brink of death.

Indeed, when he was brought back to the village, his entire body had been invaded by magical cold. If he hadn’t administered emergency treatment with potions, he would have lost his life with almost 100% certainty.

And at the end of that bloody battle, when certain hormones in his brain and spiritual stimulation aligned perfectly, he entered the realm of Aura. Thus, now on his fifth day of achieving intermediate rank, he stands before me.

Having completely graduated from his position as an apprentice and fulfilled all conditions, he is here to be reborn as a proper “knight,” the first to be appointed by me.

In truth, since Pierre awakened his Aura and advanced to intermediate rank, he would be free to go his own way after receiving knighthood from me.

Since I didn’t set any specific conditions when accepting him as an apprentice, I have no way to bind him. If he wishes for independence, I would ultimately have to set him free.

However… Pierre’s reaction exceeded my expectations; he didn’t want to leave to pursue his own dreams.

“What? Independence, my lord? …Can I not continue to serve Lord Alzar as before?”

“…That’s not possible. You’re a knight now.”

To a ‘rational (or so they think)’ modern person, the choice to leave the side of the future Grand King might seem strange, but humans who have reached the position of “intermediate” naturally think differently from ordinary people.

Rather than seeking safety and tranquility, knights enjoy bold challenges and thrills, while burning with competitive spirit—they are “challengers.”

In essence, they pursue the life of a lord rather than that of a salaried worker, but are often forced into obligatory lives due to various practical circumstances.

Therefore, I thought it wouldn’t be strange if he, free from any obligation or responsibility, chose to leave. Yet he expressed his desire to continue serving me as before.

From my perspective, having realized through intuition that these words went beyond simple flattery and were genuinely sincere, it was hard to view such a loyal and steadfast subordinate in a negative light.

Anyway, after he decided to obey me again and become my faithful vassal and knight, pledging his loyalty to me.

I prepared things that, while modest, would be meaningful enough for him, my “first” knight in the true sense.

Most notably, I asked Magni to craft a custom full plate armor and an adamantium-iron alloy halberd, and commissioned Lord Malakai Falten to create a set of equipment enchanted with “metal reinforcement” and “regeneration” magic.

Additionally, I specially procured and bestowed upon him a warhorse of quite good lineage, and with my father’s permission, gifted him a small manor complete with a mansion and servants.

For someone who could have left me but chose to pledge his loyalty without self-interest, I repaid his loyalty with the maximum goodwill I could show.

Loyalty without compensation should not exist, and even if the one offering loyalty does not seek reward, the one receiving it must provide appropriate compensation.

After delivering maximum support according to my principles, I now intended to proceed with the knighthood ceremony.

…As depicted in various medieval media, the traditional knighting ceremony involves striking the candidate hard enough to cause a nosebleed. Although this practice has been somewhat moderated over time, such ceremonies still remain.

And in our territory, we traditionally conduct the knighthood ceremony in the following manner…

“Come, Pierre.”

“—Yes!”

Toward the man called Pierre who came running with a powerful shout, I smiled and began the ceremony—a mock duel.

In this battle where both sides wielded practice weapons instead of real ones, Pierre naturally took the initiative, swinging his halberd.

The martial arts Pierre had learned were mainly two types: “Kingdom Standard Weapon Techniques” and “Camille-style Weapon Techniques.”

The Kingdom Standard is a type of general weapon technique specialized in delivering decisive blows to penetrate heavy armor, while “Camille-style Weapon Techniques” is a counter-type martial art that I created and Pierre and Corin developed.

To put it in terms modern people would understand, it’s designed around movements like those of playable characters in Soulslike games, based on evasion and counters… a martial art that depends more strongly than anything else on individual sense.

As a result, like other martial arts, there are no flashy forms or set patterns; if anything, it’s closer to a combat method than a martial art.

The structure is extremely simple: dodge attacks too strong to withstand, block or deflect lighter attacks, and strike at openings.

Honestly, it’s remarkable that anyone can learn and use this as a martial art. Pierre was showing that he could hold his own quite well against me, an overwhelming opponent.

Even though I was fighting him with just an Aura-wrapped branch against his full armor and real weapon, the gap between upper and intermediate ranks made this level of difference practically nothing.

Strike, dodge, block, counter. This martial art, whose power and effectiveness vary dramatically depending on the user’s sense, was definitely different in direction from what ordinary knights wielded.

Thoroughly designed from the perspective of the weaker party receiving attacks from the stronger, it would be disdained by those full of pride, but Pierre not only wielded it without hesitation but even managed to launch counterattacks.

As the atmosphere grew increasingly peculiar, I decided it was time to end the combat (ceremony) with a well-timed strike…

“Congratulations, Sir Pierre.”

“…You flatter me.”

“No, not at all. And from now on, you shall be ‘Pierre de Winder.’ Though it’s a baronet title, a peerage is still a peerage.”

Thus, formally receiving the surname ‘Winder’ and becoming known as ‘Pierre de Winder,’ he seemed dazed by the fact that he had become a nobleman.

Of course, despite this reaction, since he was in a position to serve as my close aide anyway, I was about to tell him to shake off this dazedness when…

“So, is there anything you’d like to do right away?”

After I posed that question based on a sudden curiosity, he gave an answer completely different from what I had expected.

“Ah, yes. First, I’m thinking of visiting my hometown.”

“…Hometown?”

Having clearly heard him express not particularly fond feelings about his hometown several times before, I unconsciously questioned this unexpected answer.

And his response was even more surprising.

“Actually, I have a childhood friend there… If she’s still unmarried, I’d like to propose to her.”

‘…A childhood friend and a proposal?!’

Completely shocked by words I never expected to hear from him, I quietly murmured as a thought suddenly occurred to me.

“Marriage, marriage…”

At the same time, I made a certain resolution in my heart.

※ ※ ※

Ah, this is really just a side note, but Pierre eventually returned from his hometown with his childhood friend and they got married.

They say they had secretly harbored feelings for each other since childhood, so isn’t that a lovely story?