Chapter 35
The interior of the lord's castle was quiet.
Though signs of life could be sensed throughout the castle, the only people in sight were me and two young maids.
The sound of training from outside reached me faintly through the gaps in the silence.
"Here we are."
The place where the maid stopped was not the reception room where I had met Lizette last time.
The sounds of training grew louder, eventually leading me to the training ground in the rear courtyard.
"You're here."
Barie was overseeing the apprentice knights' training.
Though she was dressed in light armor despite it being peacetime, she gave me a friendly look.
"Everyone, attention."
At Barie's command, the apprentice knights who had been swinging wooden swords stopped in unison. The gazes of the sweaty men and women turned toward me.
"This is Eck. He is one of only three A-rank adventurers in Reator."
Barie approached my side and lightly placed a hand on my shoulder.
"And not long ago, when the Red Moon rose, he saved my life in the forest. He is the real deal who proved his skill by defeating me after I was possessed by a vicious monster that steals human bodies."
The apprentice knights' eyes widened in unison.
Barie had been saved from death. Those who sought to walk the path of knighthood could not possibly fail to understand the weight of those words.
More than anything, it was unusual for a knight to admit being indebted to an adventurer.
Barie's tone was matter-of-fact.
She did not hide the fact that she had been defeated. This woman did not shy away from defeat, despite surely having a knight's pride.
"I will make this man your guest instructor. You must have come under my tutelage because you believed you could not grow by clinging only to what you have learned so far, correct?"
Barie was a young knight.
She had become a knight at a young age through her outstanding talent, then been selected as the knight of the lord's daughter—a genius.
But her youth served as a reason for those around her to look down on her.
"If we trained under a knight who knew nothing about the ways of the world, perhaps we could still have some secret techniques passed down to us."
The apprentice knights had gathered here with that clumsy idea in mind.
"I also saw and learned the same things you did. That means I cannot teach you anything beyond what you have already learned."
Barie placed a hand on my waist and pushed me forward.
"That is why I invited Eck as a special instructor. Watch him carefully and learn."
The apprentice knights' reactions were divided.
Some nodded along without question at Barie's words, while others pouted and looked me up and down.
A commoner.
An adventurer.
Those two words were emblazoned in their eyes.
The hilt of a wooden sword was passed to me.
I took the wooden sword Barie handed me.
"Eck, spar with me."
"...I would be honored to learn from you."
Barie nodded and gestured toward the center of the training ground.
The apprentice knights withdrew from the center and formed a circle around it, creating a ring around the arena.
"Don't think this will be like last time."
"Then I suppose I should give it my best."
I stood facing Barie.
I adjusted my grip on the sword and steadied my nerves.
"Then let's begin."
***
A moment of silence passed.
Barie moved first.
She took a short first step, then closed the distance in an instant from the second.
Fast.
She raised her wooden sword and brought it down in a straightforward strike.
I knocked aside the flank of her slash, which came with a gust of wind, and deflected it away.
Barie's wooden sword grazed past my shoulder and cleaved through empty air.
'Heavy.'
Her body was slender, as if she had only just graduated high school, but her strength was that of a gorilla. If she added mana, she would rival even the monstrous strength of the ogre that had swept through the forest.
Knights were strong.
A knight's overwhelming physicality existed to face enormous monsters.
With the purpose of protecting their territory, they honed broad, heavy techniques for cutting down and blocking gigantic monsters.
That made her attacks easy to see.
Easy enough that any veteran adventurer could spot the openings.
Adventurers also primarily hunted monsters, but they had to deal with humans who might betray them at any moment, so they trained in fighting people as well.
They had etched into their bones how to kill people and survive against them.
That difference was plainly visible in the spar.
Barie could not keep up with the nuances of reading my breathing and striking my openings at all.
This was a difference in application. Just as guns and cannons had different uses despite being equally valuable, it was impossible to conclude that one was stronger than the other.
But if I had to choose the stronger side, it would be the knight.
A knight's minimum rank was A-rank.
That was where the difference in physical caliber showed.
Barie's wooden sword seemed to fly at me with enough force to pulverize my body, then she abruptly changed its direction as casually as a child swinging a branch for fun.
She reduced its power while increasing her control.
Even so, it was an effective blow against me.
There was that much of a difference in physical caliber between a knight and an adventurer.
The wooden sword that swept past my chest fell straight down like a guillotine.
'If I take it head-on, I'll be finished.'
I twisted my body instead of blocking. I turned on my heel and stepped to the side. Then I drove into her guard and slipped behind her.
As I did, the tip of my wooden sword brushed past the hem of Barie's clothes.
The corner of Barie's mouth lifted ever so slightly.
"Not bad."
My eyes followed the tips of Barie's feet.
The next movement would come from footwork.
Since the feet support every motion, watching them meant watching the starting point from which the next motion could be predicted.
Power filled the tip of Barie's wooden sword, and just before that, her toes came down hard on the training ground.
Monstrous strength burst from her superhuman body reinforced by mana.
A thrust.
I guided the tip of the wooden sword, which flew along the trajectory I had anticipated, past me between my arm and torso.
We exchanged blows.
I dodged Barie's one-sided attacks, and when I could not, I received them and redirected them.
I moved as little as possible, narrowly evading Barie's attacks by the width of a sheet of paper.
The more blows we exchanged, the more clearly I began to see Barie's habits.
The more I repeated attacking and withdrawing while maintaining my distance, the less meaningful a threat Barie's wooden sword became to me.
Barie had exhausted every movement in her repertoire and was repeating the same variations.
She was straightforward and stubborn.
I widened the distance between us.
"Sir Barie."
"What is it?"
"If I win, there is a favor I would like to ask. Will you grant it?"
"Even though you're so out of breath, you've still got plenty of spirit."
I was winded, but there was no problem with continuing the spar.
"All right. Do you have something to show me?"
"This bout will be the last."
I adjusted my grip on the wooden sword.
Just as the silence began to settle.
I moved first.
Barie took her stance, and I saw the movements that would follow it.
A line appeared before my eyes, showing how I could drive the wooden sword in to cut her.
The wooden sword traced a graceful arc toward the underside of Barie's chin.
Barie tried to ward me off, but I lowered my stance, chased her all the way beneath the chin, and thrust the wooden sword toward her neck.
Just as it was about to touch her neck.
Barie's wooden sword slipped into its path.
Snap!
With a clack, the wooden sword broke, and the snapped blade fell to the ground.
I rose while holding the broken wooden sword.
"I lost."
"I lost."
Our voices overlapped.
"If this had been a real fight, your sword would not have broken. It would have pierced my neck. I do not want to claim a victory decided by the difference in the quality of our weapons."
"If it had been an ordinary sword, it would have been knocked aside without breaking."
"Hmm... Then let us call it a draw."
Barie wore an uncertain expression, as if she had sensed something strange at the last moment.
'Even if I beat you now, there would be nothing to gain.'
Relieved that she had not noticed, I caught my breath and composed myself.
Barie turned toward the apprentice knights.
"You saw that, didn't you? Eck is strong. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he is nearly my equal. There are people outside who cultivate a different kind of strength from ours, so be willing to observe and learn from them."
Barie added one more thing.
"He is someone the lord personally entrusted with a commission. Any disrespectful behavior toward him would be an insult to the lord's name. If that happens, I will punish you myself."
The apprentice knights' shoulders flinched at Barie's warning. The contemptuous gazes they had directed at me moments ago had vanished without a trace.
In their place were curiosity and suspicion.
"That's all for today. Dismissed."
"""Good work!"""
The apprentice knights saw Barie off.
Barie jerked her chin at me.
"Eck, follow me to the reception room."
"Yes."
I followed Barie.
***
Barie dropped onto the soft sofa as if throwing herself onto it.
The waiting maids brought in warm black tea and set it on the table, filling the reception room with a fragrant scent.
I did not pick up my teacup; I spoke immediately.
"I would like you to arrange a meeting with Lady Lizette."
Barie's teacup stopped at her lips.
"My desire to be friendly with you is not solely because of our deal. I genuinely like you and wanted to keep you close."
Barie's eyes narrowed.
"However, if our relationship was merely a means of using Lady Lizette, I will have no choice but to reconsider."
Barie set down her teacup, and it clinked as the porcelain struck the table.
Her gaze gleamed sharply, as if it could pierce right through me.
"I want sponsorship."
Barie's eyebrow twitched.
"Sponsorship?"
"I am planning to form a party. I need a sponsor to back it."
"Why?"
Her eyes were full of surprise.
I spoke bluntly.
A lie told to a noble that would eventually be exposed would only leave trouble in its wake.
"A dungeon is going to appear."
Barie's eyes twisted fiercely.
Her gaze fixed on me with the unspoken question, 'What nonsense are you talking about?'
"That is excessive even for a joke. Eck, the appearance of a dungeon is a matter of grave importance that could determine the survival of the territory. You intend to spout such absurdity to the young lady? On what grounds do you say that?"
"I cannot tell you."
I cut her off with an honest answer.
Lying to a noble is easy enough, but when that lie is exposed, the price is beyond what a commoner could bear.
When something cannot be said, admitting that it cannot be said carries less risk.
"If I told you, you would trust me even less."
"Then you want me to believe this baseless nonsense and tell the young lady?"
"I have no grounds, but..."
I took out the parchments I had prepared.
"If I am wrong, I will stake my head. That is how certain I am—and this is the proof."
A receipt for an order placed with the smithy.
An order for a large quantity of potions from an alchemist.
A pledge promising cooperation in exchange for paying for the sealing of a magic sword and serving as a test subject.
The sums were enough to make even a noble's eyes widen, backing up my sincerity.
If the dungeon did not appear, I would go bankrupt and become a slave.
"Are you serious?"
"Could a mere commoner show any more sincerity than this?"
I continued solemnly.
"I am not asking for money. When the dungeon appears, I want the young lady to back the party from behind the scenes."
"You are worried that something like the adamantium ore incident might happen. If I had not put my family's name on the line, even I could not have stopped it."
"I was deeply grateful then."
Barie put a hand to her head with a troubled expression, then finished her tea.
Barie rose from her seat and spoke.
"All right. I will speak to the young lady. Her schedule happens to be open right now. Excuse me for a moment."
"Thank you."
She moved to leave the reception room.
"Oh, right. I nearly forgot."
Barie pointed at me with her index finger.
"Wash up before I bring the young lady here. I know you spent the night with a pink-haired woman, but shouldn't you wash before you go out? Maid, help him wash."
"Understood."
After she pointed it out, I turned around and saw a long pink hair stuck to my clothes.
It seemed to have gotten stuck there on Fila's bed while I was speaking with her.