Chapter 25: The Knight Obtained an Assistant (1)

Crack-! Crack-!

Normally, when climbing a cliff, the common sense was to find a grip on the cliff and use either one’s hands or feet to grab it. Relying on the cliff’s crevices alone was too much for a normal human to do. That was why, this was more like the only obvious thing that anyone would do rather than being common sense.

However, it wasn’t the case with this certain man. He was climbing a cliff in a way that was different—no, it would be right to say that his way was just straight up inhuman.

Boom-!

“Huff! Huff!”

Because unlike what others would do, this man was creating his own grips with his own hands and feet. He straight up kicked the cliff with his bare feet to make a foothold or dug through it with his bare hands to make grips. Of course the cliff itself was an actual, real cliff, not one made off a sand dune.

He climbed that cliff without wearing any equipment whatsoever and just stubbornly dragged his body higher and higher. If anyone were to see him though, they’d associate his action with ‘stupidity’ more than ‘stubbornness’ because that was exactly how he looked.

“Haa…! Haaah!”

When he reached the top, he stretched out on his back while panting heavily. His entire body was drenched in sweat and ridden by countless scratches, the latter being the evidence of just how many times he had slipped while climbing the cliff. It also served as evidence of how dangerous this way of cliff climbing was.

However, even after seeing that, people probably wouldn’t know.

That the man had climbed the cliff more than five times. He even fell off it once.

It was actually a miracle that he was still alive. Or rather, it was because of his miraculous resilience that he was still breathing right now. The same resilience that he gained after working hard to become stronger without resting even for a single day.

The man, Lee Han, having exhausted all his stamina, had no desire to move at all. He once again realized that cliff climbing was a more arduous training than he had expected.

Every time he climbed higher, all his muscles would stretch out rigorously while both his physical and mental strength would be consumed by a lot. Since a single moment of carelessness could lead to great disaster, it wouldn’t be surprising if he got hurt midway. And yet he still thought that he wouldn’t need any equipment for this.

One could say that this was foolish bravery.

Anyone would be justified to call him a crazy lunatic who was trying to off himself.

However, Lee Han still did it anyway. Why? Because he believed that when he surpassed his limit, his body would grow a bit more. Well, it hadn’t shown much effect so far, but he believed that as long as he kept on repeating this exercise, the results would show itself one day.

After all, that was putting in the effort meant.

“…Let’s move on.”

Though he wanted to take a rest so badly, he decided to continue instead of taking a short nap.

Before that, he took a light nutritious meal first, though.

Thud-! Thud-!

After that was done, he started practicing his ‘skills’. They were a simple set of skills that he had learned from watching the other punks in the Knight’s Order. Mostly techniques that focused on joint-locking, which resembled submission wrestling. Those techniques weren’t ones that he usually practiced much, but he decided to do it for today.

The props he used for this was a human-shaped doll that was filled with sand. Obviously, the best way to practice this kind of technique was to use it on people, but since there wasn’t anyone around, he had to make do with this.

And so, he practiced various joint-locking and tackle techniques in that way before moving on to use ropes that were tied to old trees—just like what he used to do back when he still practiced Judo in his non-commissioned officer days in his previous life. Though he hadn’t felt the need to use these techniques yet, he thought that it might come in handy later if he were to practice them properly.

Not only that, he also practiced his sword and spear techniques, his axe swinging and his dagger-axe handling. Unlike the other knights, he couldn’t freely utilize more than ten weapons, but he still tried his best to practice everything that he could.

Seriously, though… 24-hours a day isn’t enough…

While grumbling that there just wasn’t enough time in one day, Lee Han still silently did what he could.

It wasn’t a great awakening or something like that, but the events from last night had lit a fire in his heart.

At the same time, a poisonous spirit was born in his heart. Because now, there were other people he wanted to beat other than that old man, Baltar.

Rumble-!

As his practice went on, the determination in his body grew more and more firm.

But, because of this, he didn’t realize that he was about to turn in to work late…

Even though it was his first class of the term…

“Did you hear? That guy was late on the first day and was called by the dean again.”

“Considering what he did back in the entrance ceremony, that guy is special in a lot of ways.”

“He looked pretty skilled, though.”

“Even so, his behavior is nasty. It doesn’t seem like he has learned any etiquette at all. He isn’t a knight, just a brute, a merc.”

“…That’s probably why he got demoted. He got on the nerves of the higher-ups…”

“Makes sense.”

The Academy was large, but at the same time, it was small. As the cadets were still active, in a lot of ways, they often formed groups and hung out together. Because of this, rumors would spread easily and no secrets could remain covered.

What happened in the morning would spread to every corner of the Academy within ten minutes.

“…It should be fine if we were to learn from that instructor, right…?”

“Who knows…”

The first year cadets of the Swordsmanship Department let out a sigh, an obvious worry hung on their faces. They were anxious about the instructor who’d teach them from this year onward and this sentiment was spread across all eighty cadets that had gathered in the training hall.

There were also second years and third years cadets inside the training hall, but most of them weren’t here to attend the class. Because starting from their second years, those cadets usually would try to do personal training with their families instead of attending the Swordsmanship Department’s classes. They would only attend one if there was a competition scheduled.

In other words, all eighty cadets were first years. Among them, there were some who had already learned Combat Techniques, but there were also some who were embarrassed to even call themselves a swordsman.

The latter was especially true for those who came from humble origins, those who had only learned the basics at their Local Swordsmanship Academy. Actually, they couldn’t even brag that they had learned the basics from those academies.

Ironically enough though, most of the nobles who attended this class just wanted to befriend the people who might become future knights. They didn’t even know a single thing about swordsmanship or chivalry.

“I don’t even know if that person would even come to the class or not.”

“Right? It would be better for us to just do our personal training instead.”

Nevertheless, this new intake of students was quite a bountiful harvest. Unlike most cases where there were only a handful of bright prospects no matter how many people they ended up admitting, this year, there were some big names who got in.

First of all, there was a unique presence among this year’s freshmen.

The archduke’s son, Roen.

He was one of the strongest candidates to inherit the archduke seat. It was said that he wouldn’t lose even if he were to fight a full-fledged knight.

But, he wasn’t the only one.

There was also the disciple of the head of the Mercenary Union a.k.a the Mercenary King, and the eldest son of the Offen Family, a family who was renowned for their swordsmanship.

Not only that, there was also a descendant of the mysterious race which resided in the deserts, grasslands, and jungles, the barbarian warriors, who were also called the savage warriors.

And last but not least, someone who was blessed enough to tread inside the world of magic and utilize its power.

A mage.

“…So, what is she doing here, again?”

“I heard that most of the classes in the Magic Department are just self-training, so maybe she came here to earn some extra credits. That, or she’s here to make connections, just like everyone else.”

“You think so?”

“A strange thing for a mage to do, huh?”

“Right?”

While whispering as such, people looked at Irene Windler—the genius mage whose beauty matched that of a fairy’s—with a strange gaze. Which wasn’t a strange reaction, since it was indeed rare for a mage to attend a swordsmanship class.

“…Ugh.”

Meanwhile, Irene Windler was fidgeting in place because she felt awkward from all the attention.

Not only that, she also felt like she didn’t belong here.

…Is it okay for me to be here even…?

Because she didn’t even know if it was right for her to join this class or not.

However, it wasn’t like there was anything she could do about it.

After all, she was the one who made a mistake during the course registration period, not the ghost in her head.

I didn’t know there would only be this few classes left…!

[Arin, you idiot! That’s why I told you to take care of these things quickly!]

Shut up! You know that I didn’t even have enough time to buy a house!

[It’s because your vision is too narrow, Arin! You idiot!]

Hey, do you think you’re allowed to just say whatever you want, huh?!

Even though this resulted in her fighting the ghost that usually fought several times a day, she was secretly glad by this development. Because she personally knew the instructor of this class.

N-Now that I think about it… This way, he might pay even more attention to me!

Because the instructor was her neighbor and they even ate together once.

With that in her mind, she held high hopes that things would go well for her.

At that moment…

“Is everyone here?”

The instructor finally appeared at the training ground. When she heard his voice, Irene felt a sense of relief washing over as someone she knew was finally—

“…Huh?”

—there. But, the rest of the cadets—including Irene, actually—blinked in confusion when they saw what happened next.

Because…

“Chair.”

“Yes!”

“Tone down your voice, it’s too loud.”

“I-I understand.”

“Stop stuttering. If someone sees it, they’d think I’m about to eat you.”

“…Yes.”

“That’s better. Huh!? Why is the chair so low?!”

“Hieekk! I-I’m sorry!”

“Do you think you can keep your peaceful academy life as long as you apologize over every mistake you made, huh?!”

“….”

“Kidding.”

“…”

…When did the count’s son change his job into a servant…?

Damien Paulet.

The young master who started the incident at the entrance ceremony was tending the instructor.

On top of that, he had a puffy face, like a burst ravioli, looking very ugly.

Because of that, the cadets could only blink while they looked at him.

**** * ****

Earlier today. Lee Han was on his way to the class after getting scolded by the dean again. It was because he was late for the morning meeting, so it wasn’t surprising that he got scolded.

…How many times did it make it now?

Back in his previous life, the dean’s office was the one room he had never visited, but in this life, he strangely had been going in and out of that place often.

Well, it wasn’t really a problem because he brought this to himself, but he couldn’t deny that he felt guilty about this since this made him look like an insincere person. He also felt sorry for the dean every time he saw his face.

Well, that was one thing, but this one…

“Hello, Sir…”

“….”

He didn’t feel sorry about this one at all.

This blown-up dumpling, no, the ravioli guy who was pretending to be close to him, already soured his mood even though it was still early in the morning.

This brat actually dares to show his mug in front of me—!

“Do you want to get slapped by my glove again?”

Lee Han squinted his eyes before stroking his gloveless hands, wondering if he should throw a copper coin at the guy’s face this time.

But…

Thud-!

“P-Please, make me your servant! I-I wish to be your squire!”

“…What did you say?”

The guy suddenly got down on his knees and started saying some nonsense like asking to be accepted as a squire.

A squire is just…a sugarcoated title, though…

…Is he trying to say that he wants to become my slave? Is that what this is all about?

Step-!

Lee Han slowly stepped back, trying to get away from the guy.

While throwing a look of aversion towards the beggar-like guy who had a taste for something like that.