Ch.41Chapter 41. Knight of the Iron Wall (1)

“The Sinclair residence.”

I came to the Sinclair house at Elaine’s invitation.

I had some expectations since they were one of the six great families of the Empire, but…

‘It’s more ordinary than I thought?’

The Sinclair house, one of the most prestigious families in the Crescen Empire, was more ordinary than I had anticipated.

The mansion was large but not impressively so, and the interior and facilities were just within the expected range.

Exaggerating a bit, it was only slightly better than the vacation home I had built somewhere in the western part of the continent.

“This is the first time I’ve invited someone to my home.”

Elaine mumbled while avoiding eye contact, seemingly embarrassed.

“I wish Cynthia could have joined us too…”

Earlier, Cynthia had disappeared somewhere with a serious expression, saying she couldn’t join us for dinner.

I thought about following her but somehow felt I understood why she was acting that way.

Though we haven’t known each other for very long, I clearly understood Cynthia’s personality.

Cynthia hated being indebted to others.

Of course, nobody likes owing debts to others, but Cynthia was more extreme about it.

In this competition, she hadn’t really had a chance to shine, so she probably wasn’t feeling comfortable.

During the first and second tests, that was one thing, but in the dungeon, she couldn’t do anything when faced with the undead.

In a way, Elaine had a similar personality, but at least she had charged fearlessly at the ghouls.

“So what’s on the menu tonight?”

“Um… I did tell them to prepare something better than what I usually eat, but I’m not exactly sure…”

“I-I like anything!”

As Elaine hesitated and trailed off, Emily jumped in as if trying to comfort her.

The biggest change after the competition ended was that I’d grown much closer to Emily.

Before, even while preparing for the competition together, there had been a certain distance between us.

When I was talking with Elaine and Cynthia, Emily rarely joined in and almost never initiated conversation.

But now she often speaks up first without being prompted, and naturally joins our conversations like she just did.

I’m not sure why, but it feels somewhat satisfying.

It’s like watching someone as severely introverted as myself gradually grow.

“I’m craving beef. Hmm. I suppose the Sinclairs would have that prepared?”

“I-I’ll tell the kitchen right away! I’ll make sure beef is definitely served…! If I tell Maria, probably…”

I couldn’t help but smile seeing Elaine flustered and panicking.

Teasing Elaine is always fun.

‘Still, something feels off.’

I hadn’t planned on thinking about this while visiting Elaine’s house, but it’s been on my mind lately.

Quite some time has passed since the competition ended.

Of course, it’s only been a few days, but for me, even that was a long time.

Long enough to complete an investigation into the undead that appeared inside the Academy.

‘Why is everything so quiet?’

After I finished showing off our little green friend to Addy, we had a rather serious conversation.

The appearance of undead, which hadn’t been seen on the continent for decades.

Well, that could happen, but the problem was that they appeared specifically inside the Academy.

This was completely different from news about undead appearing in the monster-infested northern part of the continent or at some frontline.

Undead appearing in the Crescen Empire’s own Academy, of all places.

According to Addy, it was an incident that could turn the whole world upside down.

But reality wasn’t that chaotic.

I understand the Academy trying to keep it quiet.

If this news spread outside, it would cause all sorts of commotion.

But I didn’t expect things to be this quiet even within the Academy.

‘Was Addy exaggerating…? But undead are definitely a major issue…’

I don’t know how far the investigation has progressed, but it’s strange that there’s been no word yet.

Or maybe they’re just not sharing information with students.

“Ah, whatever.”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

“Nothing. Just talking to myself. So it’s just the three of us for dinner tonight?”

“Yes. It would be nice to introduce you to my father, but he said he wouldn’t be home today.”

“What about your brother? Professor Kassis.”

“Um… my older brother usually doesn’t have dinner at home.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

It was a bit disappointing not to meet other Sinclair family members after coming to their house, but what could I do?

Though it might be rude to Elaine, just being able to enter this house once was a huge gain for me.

If I remember everything well, I could come and go to the Sinclair family whenever I wanted in the future.

As I followed Elaine to the dining room, I memorized various parts of the Sinclair house.

It might be useful someday.

“We’re here, this is the dining room… oh.”

“Hm?”

“What is it?”

Elaine stopped mid-way through opening the door, and Emily and I naturally stopped as well.

Then an unexpected voice came from beyond the door.

“So you’ve arrived.”

“F-Father?”

‘Oh?’

The owner of the deep, thick voice that Elaine called father.

It was Lois Sinclair, the current head of the Sinclair family.

“Father, why are you here… Didn’t you say you wouldn’t be coming home today?”

“I canceled my plans. When guests come to the family, I should welcome them.”

“Ah.”

‘Just like him.’

Just from his voice, I could imagine what expression Lois Sinclair was making.

The head of the Sinclair family, known as the strongest knight family.

Elaine and Emily probably couldn’t imagine it, but I had a history with Lois Sinclair.

‘Though he probably doesn’t know I’m the head of the Black Shadow Corps.’

“Um… these are my classmates. This is Ryu, and this is Emily Franz.”

“Come in and sit down first.”

Lois Sinclair, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, looked exactly as I remembered him.

The solid impression that emanated from his appearance.

His hairstyle hadn’t changed at all.

Short military-style hair and a large, solid-looking body.

The only difference from the Lois I remembered was that he was wearing casual clothes instead of knight’s attire.

As a result, his muscular body was even more pronounced, giving him an overwhelming presence.

‘This guy has the same vibe even at home.’

“Hello, I’m Ryu.”

“Ah, hello! I’m Emily Franz!”

“Nice to meet you all. Please, sit comfortably.”

Lois naturally received our greetings and guided us to our seats.

The light and pleasant atmosphere from earlier had completely changed with Lois’s appearance.

It was an unexpected situation not only for Emily and me but also for Elaine, who had invited us.

I glanced at Elaine and saw she was so flustered she didn’t know what to do.

It seemed this guy had come here on his own without telling Elaine.

‘But there’s no way he would cancel his schedule just because guests came.’

The Lois Sinclair I knew was someone who strictly adhered to principles.

For such a person to cancel his previously scheduled plans, there must have been a significant reason.

“So you’re Ryu, the top-scoring freshman I’ve heard about.”

“…That’s right.”

As expected, Lois didn’t recognize me at all.

Well, when we met while I was the head of the Black Shadow Corps, I always wore a mask and spoke with a modified voice.

“I heard you performed remarkably in the recent competition.”

“Well… everyone did well. Especially Emily here—if she hadn’t solved the written test problems, we wouldn’t have even made it to the dungeon.”

“Oh?”

Despite my obvious praise for Emily, Lois’s gaze didn’t even turn toward her.

As soon as we sat down, Lois Sinclair looked only at me, not sparing a glance for anyone else.

That’s when I vaguely sensed what this man’s purpose was.

He was interested in me, which is why he canceled his schedule and came here.

“So, where did you learn swordsmanship?”

“Um… here and there.”

“Here and there, you say.”

Lois stroked his chin, seemingly dissatisfied with my answer.

Saying I learned from here and there wasn’t a lie at all—it was the truth.

I hadn’t learned swordsmanship from just one person.

In fact, I learned directly from practical experience, so even Lois in front of me could technically be considered someone who taught me about swords.

‘If I count formal training, it would be about three people.’

There were a total of three people who had taught me swordsmanship for any significant length of time.

“So with swordsmanship learned from ‘here and there,’ you outperformed our Sinclair swordsmanship.”

“Come on, I didn’t win just with swordsmanship. I’m a mage, you know.”

“…Oh?”

Lois slightly frowned one eyebrow and his eyes gleamed at my answer.

It was probably not a response he liked.

He was the type of person with deeply ingrained notions that a mage is a mage, and a knight is a knight.

‘That’s why he recklessly challenged me to a duel before.’

“I’d like to see just how good this mage’s swordsmanship is.”

“…”

I almost burst out laughing at the development that matched our previous encounter word for word, but I managed to hold it in.

Back then, it wouldn’t have mattered if I laughed, but now it could make the atmosphere awkward.

After all, I was here as Elaine’s friend.

“F-Father! Suddenly saying such things…!”

“Sure! It’s an honor just to be able to face off against Lois Sinclair, the Iron Wall Knight.”

“Huh…”

Elaine was trying to stop her father’s words in panic, but when I agreed, she looked at me in disbelief.

I think this is the first time I’ve seen such clear emotion on Elaine’s face.

Even when facing ghouls in the dungeon, she looked more composed than now.

“Ryu, sir?”

“Hahaha! Very bold, indeed bold!”

Lois laughed heartily while still not taking his eyes off me.

I likewise didn’t take my eyes off Lois.

‘This is a chance to test the magic I’ve learned recently.’

Additionally, I was curious to see how well I could handle the Sinclair sword compared to before.