Ch.5454. Father Lied to Me

“What’s that?”

In response to the abrupt question, Rex answered with an awkward expression.

“It’s a lunch box.”

Inside the Knights’ Hall, Rex and Berger were seated at a table on the first floor, prepared for meals.

The sparring match with Brandon had given Rex much to contemplate. Not wanting to lose the lingering impressions, he immediately reviewed the flow of their match through light practice.

After recalling the points he needed to improve while using the Heavenly River Technique, about two hours had passed. Though the sparring was over, training had to continue. And to train effectively, one needed a full stomach.

When he had arrived at the training grounds today, it was just past noon, making it quite late for lunch.

Honestly, Rex thought skipping a meal wouldn’t matter, but Berger protested vehemently, so he obediently entered the Knights’ Hall.

[Do you know how old I am? Sixty-three. Are you trying to abuse an old man? If not, just quietly eat. I absolutely cannot go hungry.]

Berger was far too robust to be called an old man, and in reality, he was a much higher-ranked Awakener than Rex. For such a man to make a fuss about skipping one meal seemed like an unnecessary commotion, but Rex wasn’t foolish enough to voice that thought.

“A lunch box?”

Berger looked with puzzled eyes at the basket placed on the table. It was covered with a white cloth, so its contents weren’t visible.

Rex was equally unaware of what was inside. When Cloe handed him the basket, she had told him to check it just before eating. He couldn’t refuse when she held his hand tightly and made her request.

The promise she had whispered with a blushing face still vividly came to mind. The only clue about the lunch box was that it smelled sweet.

‘Did she add honey?’

Just then, a maid brought out food. The Knights’ Hall was a place equipped with everything needed to nurture knights and their attendants. As long as it wasn’t the early hours of dawn, meals were naturally available anytime.

“Please call if you need anything, Sir Knight.”

“Hmm. Thank you.”

Berger had chosen a well-cooked steak and white bread. With wine to accompany it, it became a feast superior to the cuisine of any decent inn.

Having never imagined the food would be of such high quality, Rex surveyed the plate with wide eyes.

“Are you sure they don’t charge for this?”

“Don’t get your hopes up. This is a knight’s privilege. For those of ambiguous status like you, who aren’t quite attendants… they’d naturally serve cheaper food. Tough meat instead of tender, barley bread instead of white, and no alcohol.”

To Rex’s ears, that still sounded like they were giving away plenty. Back home, he’d consider himself lucky to eat a piece of meat once a week! Here, they provided that sizeable steak for free.

Since there were lodgings on the second floor of the Knights’ Hall, couldn’t one theoretically just settle down here and enjoy all these benefits without any expenses?

It was truly a devilish thought. Even he shuddered at having conceived it.

“—Couldn’t I do something like that?”

Feeling it would be too opportunistic to say it directly, he conveyed a slightly modified version.

Berger responded with an incredulous look.

“Stop talking nonsense and let’s eat.”

“Yes, sir.”

Rex scratched his cheek awkwardly at the dismissive tone. He hadn’t meant it seriously either. Berger pointed at the basket with his finger.

“Go ahead and open yours now. I’m curious what’s inside.”

Now that Berger’s food had arrived, there was no need to hesitate. Rex nodded and gently lifted the white cloth. Proving his curiosity wasn’t just empty talk, Berger leaned forward and looked down.

“Is she your lover?”

Berger blurted out as soon as the lunch box’s contents were revealed. Rex chuckled awkwardly and shook his head.

“No, she’s not.”

“If she’s not your lover, who would put so much effort into making food for you?”

Berger’s question was justified. Inside the basket were pancakes, bread filled with cheese, and elongated sausages. Except for the sausages, the other two items were quite troublesome to prepare.

Pancakes required properly mixing grain flour and honey into dough, and the bread needed careful attention to prevent the cheese from hardening. As for sausages, they were simply expensive to begin with. In short, none of these were things one would gift to someone they didn’t care for.

He had expected the lunch box to be just a simple snack to tide him over. Dried fruits like those he received from Elin, plain bread, or nuts—things easily obtainable.

Compared to what he had thought, the food before his eyes was extravagant. It was too much to receive just for spending some time together. Rex looked at the basket with a bewildered expression, then raised his head when he felt a gaze from across the table.

“What is it?”

Berger was staring at him with mischievous eyes. Feeling somehow guilty, Rex snapped back in a deliberately gruff tone. The corner of Berger’s mouth curled up.

“She is your lover.”

“…No, she’s not. She’s a friend.”

“Hehe. I see.”

Berger seemed to have no intention of listening to Rex’s explanation, at least that’s how Rex felt. The sly smile was quite annoying, but he couldn’t bring himself to point it out.

“What’s her name?”

Rex barely swallowed a sigh that was about to escape and replied.

“Cloe. You’ve seen her before, Master. Red hair, carrying a dagger and short sword in the dungeon.”

Berger stroked his chin and then exclaimed.

“Ah! That girl. I remember her because of her exceptional beauty. She must have captivated many young men; even the attendants couldn’t take their eyes off her. You managed to win her over? Rex, you’ve got skills. Perhaps your true talent isn’t as an Awakener but as a ladies’ man.”

“I told you, it’s not like that… Geez…”

This time he couldn’t hold back. He sighed deeply, causing Berger to snicker in amusement. Having seen an unexpected side of Rex, who was usually indifferent to everything, he couldn’t help but be entertained.

Whether Rex understood that circumstance was another matter. He wasn’t a child; how long was Berger going to tease him?

“Let’s just eat. The food’s getting cold.”

“Indeed.”

Berger obediently began cutting his steak. Just as Rex was inwardly relieved to be finally free from the tiresome teasing, Berger’s mouth inevitably opened again.

“Though I’m spoken for now, in my youth, I was as popular as you.”

“Master.”

“Listen well. This is advice that will surely benefit you. Ahem, to capture a woman’s heart, what you need to do is—”

It seemed Berger’s playfulness would take quite some time to subside.

Though he and Cloe weren’t like that, Rex made a mental note of Berger’s advice anyway.

***

After practicing swordsmanship under Berger’s guidance, Rex left the Knights’ Hall. It was clearly evening, with the sun setting beyond the red sky.

Normally, he would have returned to the inn, but today he had one more appointment.

The Magic Tower.

In Lindvale, there stands a white tower. It’s the tower of magicians, visible from anywhere when looking up at the sky.

Thanks to this, finding the way wasn’t difficult. He just had to walk in the direction it was visible.

As he got closer to the Magic Tower, the surrounding scenery gradually changed. Streets where waste was carelessly spilled became clean, and the appearance of various buildings became more classical.

He recalled the old legends his father occasionally told him as a child. A knight who beheaded a dragon with a single sword, a magician who made stars fall with a mere gesture… stories of superhumans that were hard to believe.

Back then, he thought magicians were fictional beings. That belief was shattered after meeting Elin, and since arriving in Lindvale, he realized magicians were more common than he thought.

The fact that they formed an organization called the Magic Tower meant they had sufficient numbers. Of course, overall, magicians were indeed rare human resources. However, they didn’t match the mysterious image Rex had secretly hoped for.

How should he describe it? Rex pondered.

“What do you want?”

Yes. Magicians were excessively “human.”

This wasn’t a thought he had after seeing Elin.

If anything, Elin was on the mysterious side. Her robe that concealed her appearance, her behavior whose motives were impossible to understand, her consistently indifferent attitude… Yet, when she let her guard down, she would suddenly show pure goodwill, making her a girl he wanted to know better.

“Kid, this isn’t a place for the likes of you. If you’re here to beg, go elsewhere. Shall I tell you where beggars gather?”

Ordinary magicians weren’t like that.

‘Father lied to me.’

They were supposed to be sages who explored the principles of the world and pursued wisdom, but how was this person a sage? Rex stared at the other with cold eyes.

Judging by his attire, he looked exactly like the magician of imagination. He wore a robe and held a thick book in his hand. The thin wand hanging at his waist was similar to Elin’s branch.

‘Can he even breathe?’

Everything else about his appearance was dreadful. The flesh tightly clinging to his thin robe. His bloated form looked like it might burst through the fabric at any moment. While others were typically skinny from lack of food, how much had this man eaten to become so inflated?

“Can’t you hear me? I said get lost. If you keep loitering in front of the gate, you’ll regret it.”

As Cloe had mentioned, they were indeed excessively arrogant and narrow-minded. Considering their status alone, they were ranked above knights, so their inflated self-esteem was understandable.

Even so, saying “get lost” to someone’s face was too harsh. It would be offensive enough in a situation where misunderstanding was possible, but this wasn’t even such a case.

Rex is carrying a zweihander. Unlike a falchion or short sword that mercenaries commonly acquire, a zweihander is a very expensive greatsword.

Moreover, Rex’s zweihander is a masterpiece, praised even by the craftsman at the armory he visited earlier. Though the blade is sheathed, the crossguard and handle visible outside are adorned with decorations so refined that even a layman would admire them at a glance.

Even if he hadn’t noticed the greatsword, the surcoat Rex is wearing belongs to Berger. He had given it to Rex, saying a disciple should wear fine clothes to uphold his master’s dignity, and naturally, it bore the symbol of the Lindenbach baronial family.

It’s an emblem no one living in Lindvale could fail to recognize.

In short, that arrogant pig is needlessly rebuking Rex. “Begging” and “beggar” were clearly words meant to belittle him.

He didn’t know why. He was insulted before he could even explain his business.

Nevertheless, the reason Rex suppressed his irritation was that he was concerned about causing trouble for Elin.

“I have an appointment.”

“An appointment? Are you here on an errand?”

The man asked, picking his ear. His voice was full of sarcasm, but Rex silently shook his head.

“Then what is it?”

“I’m supposed to meet with Lady Elin.”

“Haha! Kid, I don’t know where you heard that name, but it’s not one that someone like you can casually mention.”

Rex felt like he was going to go crazy with frustration. It felt like talking to a wall.

“I am Lady Elin’s friend—”

“Enough! I listened to you out of pity for a young lad, but your lies are endless.”

The man’s face contorted as he picked up his wand and pointed it at Rex as if he was about to cast a spell.

“What are you doing?”

His emotions instantly cooled. As he stared with cold eyes, the man snorted and retorted.

“Do you think I haven’t seen people like you lurking around the Magic Tower before? There have been countless individuals who fabricate plausible excuses to try and peek inside. If you ignore my warning to leave one more time, I’ll show you what real magic is.”

Rex silently glared at the man. As his patience reached its limit, a storm brewed in his heart. He had come only to see Elin. There was no reason for him to be treated so unfairly.

‘If it weren’t for Elin, I would have turned this place upside down.’

But that remained just a thought. While Rex was indeed growing relatively quickly, his position wasn’t strong enough to confront a magician.

‘Would Master defend me?’

Just then, the man suddenly looked behind Rex with a surprised expression.

“What are you doing?”

A familiar voice was heard.

“I’m doing my duty, sir! You see, this riffraff is claiming to be Lady Elin’s friend…”

“Don’t call Rex riffraff.”

“…Pardon?”

However, the feeling conveyed was quite different from what he usually knew. How could such a chilling coldness be embedded in mere voice? It was truly fierce for the voice of that innocent girl.

Rex turned around.

“Put away the wand.”

Though there wasn’t a hint of wind, Elin’s robe fluttered violently.