Ch.4646. Teachings and Promises (1)

What is a male knight in this world?

I’ve heard that in fantasy novels here, there’s always at least one male knight who appears as the protagonist’s best friend, companion, or even husband—making them extremely popular among women.

This was the sincere statement from a merchant who once tried to sell my body’s previous owner as a male knight after he awakened to mana, so it’s probably trustworthy.

After reading that memory, I couldn’t understand why male knights were so popular.

‘What’s so great about them?’

Is it just because they’re strong, unlike the typical weak and introverted men?

No. If it were just about physical strength, the slave named Lint in the next cell should have been sold long ago. That guy had quite a decent appearance even from my perspective as a man, and unlike the prudish men of this world, he was more like a man from Earth.

But considering that Lint wasn’t popular at all and couldn’t get sold, it seemed that strength alone wasn’t enough to make a man popular.

What exactly made women in this world so enamored with “male knights”?

After deep contemplation, I came to this conclusion:

‘A distorted obsession with strong men…’

I recalled the words of the merchant who once owned me.

‘A proper male knight must be outwardly beautiful and elegant, pleasing to all who look upon him.’

‘Inwardly, he must be so loyal to a single master that he embodies all the virtues of a wise father and good husband.’

‘But most importantly!’

‘He must possess enough martial prowess to draw his sword for his lord and boldly cut down even the strongest woman!’

…What remarkable conviction.

From her fanatical words, I became certain.

The love for male knights was a distorted obsession with strong men.

‘Well, even on Earth, there were guys who particularly liked female knights…’

Thinking they weren’t much different, I forgot about male knights after being sold to the Sianella family.

Now, receiving these distorted gazes again—the same ones I got from the slave merchant—all sorts of thoughts came to mind.

I wish they’d stop paying attention to me. It’s impossible not to notice when they’re whispering while looking at me.

‘At least I have Sione.’

Fortunately, Sione was intimidating those people with hostile glares. When she swept her surroundings with that signature irritated look, the piercing gazes disappeared just like before.

Once the attention had mostly dissipated, Sione finally relaxed her expression.

I asked her:

“Sianella’s male knight… The rumors certainly draw a lot of attention.”

“A man who defeated an Arachne. It’s good gossip for those who spend their days swinging swords.”

“That’s true, but…”

Well, with these looks, and having my arm bitten while catching an Arachne to protect Sione.

I suppose I perfectly fit the criteria for what women here call a male knight.

When I think about it, it’s not strange that I got such a nickname.

It’s just that the sudden rush of attention was a bit overwhelming.

In the midst of this, I asked Sione one thing:

“Do you also like men like male knights, Lady Sione?”

“Uh, huh? Why are you suddenly asking that…?”

“Most women seem to like male knights, so I was wondering about your preference.”

“Well… male knights…”

Sione hesitated without giving a proper answer.

It seems she also harbors some fantasy about male knights.

Seeing her reaction was quite amusing.

“…I do admire them somewhat.”

“I see.”

It must be a bit embarrassing for her to say this in front of me, who’s been nicknamed a male knight.

Thinking I should tease her a bit more, I maintained the most nonchalant expression possible.

“Then what about me?”

“W-what do you mean?”

“You called me Sianella’s male knight, didn’t you?”

“That…”

Gulp.

Sione swallowed dryly.

Seeing her face turn bright red like it might burst, I finally burst into laughter.

“I was just joking.”

“…!”

Looking like she had many things she wanted to say, Sione fidgeted with her mouth before finally sighing at my laughter.

“…Let’s stop this and go practice archery.”

“As you wish.”

I followed Sione, who seemed deflated, into the shooting range.

Rumors about me had apparently spread among the archers there too, as all eyes immediately turned to me.

But Sione’s cold reaction quickly resolved the situation.

After finding her position, Sione slowly began shooting arrows.

Unlike when she first learned archery, her posture was remarkably stable.

She easily embedded her arrows in the center of the target.

“You seem proficient at stationary shooting. Let’s practice shooting while moving.”

“Moving?”

“If a monster jumps out beside you, you can’t just stand frozen and shoot arrows. It would be good to get used to shooting while moving your body.”

“Hmm. Let’s try that.”

Sione tried shooting while walking sideways as I suggested.

Phwing!

The arrow hit the edge of the target.

Her expression turned cold when the shot didn’t go where she intended.

“A momentary mistake.”

She drew the bowstring again.

The result wasn’t much different.

It was closer to the center than before, but still closer to the outer edge.

“…One more time.”

“Just one more.”

“…One final attempt.”

Sione wore a sullen expression when the arrows wouldn’t fly as she wanted.

It seemed like she just needed to get the feel for it once, but she couldn’t quite grasp it.

Thinking it was time to help her, I approached from behind.

Sione trembled at my sudden approach, close enough to hear her breathing.

“…Ray?”

“Take your stance. I’ll help you this time.”

I positioned my face right behind Sione’s shoulder.

It was to better gauge the target she was aiming at, but Sione seemed flustered by the suddenly reduced distance, stiffening up and only moving her eyes to look at me.

“Draw the bowstring.”

“…Isn’t this too close, even for you?”

“Didn’t I guide you like this often before?”

“Even so, with a man this close and everyone watching… it doesn’t seem appropriate.”

“It’s merely for instruction. Don’t worry.”

When I spoke plainly, Sione finally drew the bowstring.

I placed my right hand over hers, which was holding the arrow and string.

“It’s just your male knight teaching you archery, isn’t it?”

“Ugh…!”

When I placed my hand over hers, Sione let out a startled sound.

I was used to such reactions by now and responded casually.

“Release the arrow when I remove my hand.”

“…Understood.”

I walked with Sione.

Slowly walking sideways, guiding her to adjust the direction and height of the arrow.

And when I thought it would definitely fly to the center:

I released her hand.

“Shoot.”

With my word, the arrow immediately flew and struck the target.

As the arrow hit the center, her previously scattered focus fixed on the middle of the target.

“…I’ll try once more on my own.”

“I’ll watch from behind.”

Sione shot again as if entranced.

It seemed she had successfully gotten the feel for it in just one attempt, as her arrow landed even closer to the center than before.

With a few more days of practice, she should be able to adapt to shooting while moving at that pace.

What remarkable talent.

It’s exciting to see her rapidly improve with each instruction.

That’s why I thought:

‘Perhaps it’s time to teach her how to imbue arrows with mana.’

What if I start training her to infuse mana into arrows instead of swords?

For small arrowheads to penetrate monsters’ thick carapaces and hides, mana power is essential.

To reach a certain level of proficiency, this process is mandatory.

Like a knight’s sword aura, the technique for reinforcing weak arrows is similar.

Since Sione has already reached the level of a sword user, she probably knows how to infuse her weapon with mana, even if weakly.

And her talent for archery has been accelerated through quests.

I decided to teach her now that I had the opportunity.

After finishing my deliberation, I looked at my master.

Sione was checking her arrows that had landed near the center.

She was smiling brightly while looking at her bow and hands.

Since this involved mana, and there were many eyes and ears here, I needed to be careful.

I approached Sione and whispered:

“Could we come to the shooting range alone tomorrow at dawn?”

“Like before?”

“Yes, exactly like then.”

I nodded at Sione’s question.

“I have something to teach you privately.”

“…Just the two of us?”

“Yes.”

Since Sione was quite immersed in archery, I thought she would respond well.

She tilted her head, expressing curiosity about what I would teach her, but I just smiled, wanting to see her reaction when she finally learned what it was.

“You can look forward to it.”

And after that, Sione kept looking at me with expectant eyes whenever she had the chance.