Chapter 238: The Knight Hated Dysfuctional Family (1)

Whoosh-!

A cool and pleasant wind blew past the forest.

Even though it was a bit cold because it was quite a chilly season, the wind didn’t feel bad at all. Probably because it rained in the early morning, but it also smelled like rain, which the man liked.

“Hmm?”

At that moment, a sweet scent which was mixed in the wind brushed past his nose. It was a sweet yet gentle scent. It felt different from the scent of sugar, so he slowly moved his feet toward the place where the scent was coming from.

Step-!

Step_!

He ran freely through the forest full of natural traps such as steep slopes, rocks, vines, and mud puddles, like a four-legged beast.

If someone looked at his muscular body, they might think she was slow. But in reality, he moved faster and lighter than an animal.

When he arrived at the place where the sweet scent originated from,

Buzz-!

Buzz-!

He saw bees flying around.

It might be surprising for some people to find bees still flying around in this weather, but it was a common occurrence in Pendragon.

Perhaps because of the influence of [Mystics], the south was teeming with mysterious creatures such as spirits, spirit insects, and spirit trees.

Those bees who were working hard even in the fall were probably some kind of spirit insect.

Buzz-!

Since spirit insects had some intelligence in them, the bees were marching in a disciplined manner which was not typical to normal bees. However, when the man appeared, they started to move haphazardly.

Now I feel sorry…

Normally, it would be normal for them to not encounter people in such a deep and dangerous forest, so how could the bees predict that a human would come here for a ‘light walk’?

The bees that were caught in their habitat would probably move to another habitat as soon as they got over their own crisis. However, even if the autumn was long, it wouldn’t be wise for the bees to move at this point.

Thinking so, the man opened his mouth.

“Moving wouldn’t be a good idea.”

Buzz!?

He tried to talk with the bees.

“I don’t know if you’ll understand me or not, but I’m just going to advise you to stay here. You might not believe me, but I don’t want anything from you. I also don’t want your honey. I am not someone who is loose-mouthed.”

Buzz…

“You’re free to believe it or not… Wait, what am I even doing…”

Even if it was Spirit Insects, others would think he was crazy if they saw him trying to talk to a bee.

“…Goodbye.”

He immediately changed direction at that moment, still feeling guilty.

But then…

Buzz-!

“Huh?”

Buuzzzzzzzz!

“Are you giving that to me?”

Buzz.

“Now that I lived my life twice, I even received bribes from bees?”

The man, or rather, Lee Han, scratched his cheek and laughed in wryly as he received a portion of the honeycomb the bees had given him.

He was always proud to say that he’d experienced all sorts of unique things in his life, but it seemed like he’s wrong.

“It’s honeydew, huh?”

It’s one of the most famous honeys along with the Wild Honey. Furthermore, this honeydew was none other than the honeydew of [Spirit Bee]. Normal honeydew was already expensive, so the value of Spirit Bee’s honeydew was simply incalculable.

However,

“…Take it back. It feels like I’m extorting you.”

Buzzz?

“I’m not saying I don’t like it, I’m saying it’s fine.”

Buzz…

“No, don’t be disappointed… What the hell am I doing with bees?”

Why was he having a conversation with bees in a place like this?

In a dizzying situation that he couldn’t understand at all, Lee Han ended up having to receive the honeydew.

And,

“As a thank you, I’ll bring you a gift when I come here next time.”

Buzz?

“At least I can give you some potion. Or, do you want me to teach you Martial Power?”

Buzz?

“Well, I’ll eat the honeydew well.”

Just like that, Lee Han hurried down the mountain. In the meantime, the bees stared at Lee Han for a long time as he went down.

Buzz-!

Gulp-!

“What the? Why is it so delicious…?”

Lee Han had eaten honeydew a few times before, but the honeydew he just ate had a different kind of taste. The scent of flowers which spread throughout his mouth was one thing, but the sudden surge of vitality he felt in his body seemed to have the same properties as a potion.

As expected of Spirit Insect! They were not just producing normal honey!

While Lee han was eating the honey and was unable to hide his admiration for its taste and efficacy,

Rustle-!

“Are you happy eating something delicious alone?”

A white-haired woman who had approached him without him knowing suddenly scolded him.

“Why are you here, Ma’am?”

“That’s my word. Why are you coming out of there?”

“Because it’s a shortcut?”

“…You’re quite crazy. Do you know how many monsters and poisons there are in that forest?”

“If a monster appears, I can just fight it. And about poison, I am immune to poison thanks to the fairy.”

“Immune?”

“Forget it, just eat the honey.”

“What I want to say is… Oh! What is this!?”

Sword Duchess Felicia, the woman who had been invited to the royal palace as well as the mansion of various nobles and had tasted countless delicacies, clapped her hands like a seal as she tasted the honeydew.

However, Lee Han just shrugged and told her not to ask about the source of the honeydew. After all, he had a duty to protect the bees from this monster. If he’s not careful, she might end up destroying the ecosystem while looking for the honeydew.

Felicia who was surprised by the taste of the honeydew soon came to her senses and coughed. It was as if she just realized that she had shown something unsightly.

“Ahem. W-why did you come through that forest path? You could have just come by the road.”

“If I come through the road, it will be a waste of time. It’s better to go through the forest because it saves me three hours.”

“Crazy guy…”

Felicia had often said such things to Lee Han over the past ten days.

However, in Lee Han’s perspective, he was just going about his daily life, so why did he have to hear such an evaluation?

“You could have just stayed in our territory. I don’t understand why you keep going back and forth to the capital.”

“I’m not unemployed. I’m a full-time worker. I have even received offers to be a professor these days.”

“…Ha.”

“I just came because I have a tutoring session after work. I don’t have time to fully focus on this.”

“…”

Felicia was speechless at his words which defined her teaching as mere ‘tutoring’.

Although she wasn’t the type to enjoy the adoration of others, she was still always looked upon with admiration and respect, so Lee Han’s attitude of not holding back anything was rather strange in her eyes.

“…If the knights of the kingdom heard that, they would have beaten you up.”

“Really? I think it will be the other way around.”

“Wicked guy. You want to win with words against an old woman that much?”

The Sword Duchess who appeared like a teenager continued to grumble.

Even so…

“Still, since you did what we promised, I have to acknowledge that you are sincere.”

Felicia nodded, saying that even if nothing else about him was not good, at least his honesty was worth acknowledging.

“But you know? You’ve gotten a little slimmer.”

“…Dammit.”

“Watch your words.”

Lee Han frowned after he swore. The fact that he had gotten slimmer wasn’t a compliment at all to him.

Why?

“But I think I have lost about 2kg of muscle.”

It wasn’t fat that was lost, it was muscle…

Lee Han was depressed.

“You are exaggerating. It’s only about 20g.”

“To me, 20g is still saddening.”

“You are overreacting.”

“…You don’t know how I feel.”

“Is it that sad?”

“…”

Lee Han looked at Felicia, who asked him a question; something which was unusual for her, with a puzzled look.

But then he sighed.

This Yokai really…

In Lee Han’s eyes, Sword Duchess Felicia was…

She doesn’t know how humans feel.

To be exact, she didn’t know the mind of a gym rat, but to Lee Han, it was the same.

-Don’t do any training that puts a strain on your body for the time being.

Lee Han was given an exercise ban by Felicia.

Telling him not to put a strain on his body was actually…

-Are you telling me not to do strength training?

-That’s right?

-But my muscles will fall of If I miss even one day of training?

-Hmm? Is there a problem with that?

-…I can’t communicate with you at all!

To him, it was like a bolt from the blue.

If he didn’t exercise at all, he might feel different about it. But he was someone who once invested 18 hours out of 24 hours into exercising. In other words, telling him to skip exercise was the same as telling him not to eat, and of course he should have objected, but,

-Try training with your mind, not your body. That will help you.

-What gnoll-like words are you spouting…

“Watch your mouth! I only want to hear pretty words!

-What puppy-like words…

-Isn’t that cute word rather than pretty?

-I’m going crazy…

Felicia was spouting off some pseudo-science-like words, and Lee Han’s blood pressure rose because of it. If the other person hadn’t been a legendary swordsman called ‘The Sword Duchess’, Lee Han could see himself strangling her.

-What’s the point of mind training at this point…

Lee Han also knew that imagination training, or image training, was effective in its own way.

However, if someone asked him if it’s better than actually moving their body…

Lee Han thought that training by moving their body was more helpful.

More than anything, the strength training regime that he always did for three years had become a part of his life, so it was hard to accept that he was now being told not to move his body but to do some imagination training.

-You’re being too talkative. This is also a training method to train willpower. So just trust me.

-…Please explain it to me theoretically.

-…

-Hey.

-Ahem, I-I’m having some memory problems while rejuvenating myself. I know the theory well… But it’s hard to explain in detail…

-…

-A-anyway, just trust me. If it doesn’t work, I swear on my name, I’ll compensate you as much as I can.

-…Just know that my resentment accumulates for every 0.1g of muscle I lose.

-…

Lee Han eventually decided to follow her words.

The reason he had a little to no argument?

-She’s the Sword Duchess, so she will not scam me, right?

-I can hear everything, you punk!

-That’s why I’m saying it out loud.

-You are asking for a beating, huh?

-I am always ready to fight you.

However, what came to him as soon as the spar started was not nine flying branches but nine flying wooden swords.

-Dammit! She’s so strong.

The loser had no right to say anything. So, Lee Han decided with tears in his eyes to follow Felicia’s words.

He really stopped himself from training. He stopped using all kinds of exercise equipment, including heavy squats and bench presses, and the only things he did were walking around the neighborhood or sparring with the cadets.

But even so,

-I told you to skip training and play as much as you want! Yet you are still doing all that!

After Felicia knew what he did, she banned him from even sparring with the cadets. Because of that, he had to send the kids to the damaged Temple facilities here and there as public support, or rather training.

And now, 9 days after that…

“What is this? How is this possible?”

Even though he had 20g of his muscles…

“Why did my bones become stronger?”

He felt bewildered by the fact that his ‘skeleton’ had become stronger.

bang-!

“…Now I don’t even need a hammer to drive nails.”

He could did it with his bare fist now.