Chapter 68
"I think I understand it pretty well. Thank you. I’ll try it out in practice from here on."
"Sure. I’m glad I could help."
Unlike Rana, Shiera listened so earnestly that teaching her was rewarding.
Thanks to that, we’d apparently been talking for quite a while.
Before I knew it, Estelle had finished the Slime-Potion Marathon, and Rana had taken her place, grumbling, "Huh? It’s my turn already?! I’m still reading!"
Rana hadn’t finished reading the memo because she’d kept derailing the conversation. In other words, I figured she had only herself to blame.
While Shiera studied the memo in one hand, Estelle came over and bowed politely.
"Zephyrus-dono, I’ve safely reached LV6. Thank you very much."
"Don’t mention it. If we spent ages on combat training now, it’d dampen everyone’s enthusiasm. Besides, I want us all to get into a Dungeon soon, too. I’ll give you my full support."
"That’s very reassuring. I’m looking forward to going into a Dungeon with you, Zephyrus-dono!"
Estelle spoke rather formally, but someone from a knightly family whose livelihood was guarding people would naturally be trained to speak that way. She’d told me yesterday that, before she knew it, this had become the more natural way for her to talk.
Well, there was no need to force her to change, so we left it at that.
Hanna looked a little conflicted, though. All I could tell her was to get used to it.
"Now then, you’ve saved up 11 SP (Skill Points), right? I’d like to teach you my personal theory on the strongest way to train the 【Princess Knight】 from here on."
"Yes! I couldn’t ask for anything more. Please teach me."
Still, I thought she could stand to be a little less formal.
But this did have a fun, master-and-disciple sort of feel to it.
"Have you read the memo I gave you yesterday about the 【Princess Knight】?"
"Yes, I have. To be honest, I was surprised to see that there were so many possible paths to take."
I nodded deeply at Estelle’s thoughtful comment.
Knights had a remarkably broad range of training paths to begin with, and there were many knight-type Jobs, too.
And the 【Princess Knight】 belonged to both the 【Knight】 and 【Night】 lines. She could be trained in either direction.
She could even learn a little of every Skill, covering a wide range so she could handle any situation.
That was why the 【Princess Knight】 had countless possible end goals. Estelle must have been taken aback by just how much potential the 【Princess Knight】 had. After all, she had more than twice as many Skills as the 【Hero】.
"The first choice is crucial. Do you have a preference for which path to take?"
Once you started training a Job, there was no going back. If you were going to commit to a path, you had to decide on it from the start.
I was also implicitly telling her that I had plans for every possible end goal.
But Estelle slowly shook her head.
"...I know it’s presumptuous of me, but, like Rana-sama and Shiera-sama, I’d like you to show me the way."
"Were there too many options to choose from?"
"Yes. I’m truly sorry. I’m afraid I lack the ability to understand what would suit me."
Estelle lowered her eyes as if ashamed of her own shortcomings.
It would be easy to laugh and tell her not to take it so seriously, but that wouldn’t be right in real life.
Well, even in the game, you could only recruit up to five characters in the Knight category, so they were a rare Job. I remember how I didn’t know what to do at first, so I trained one however I liked—and ended up with such a mess that I couldn’t even laugh about it.
Estelle had probably seen people like that before, too. That was why she couldn’t make her choice lightly.
In that case, should I recommend the path I thought was the strongest?
"I’m afraid I don’t know what would suit you, Estelle. All I can do is tell you which end goal I recommend. Your aptitude doesn’t factor into it."
"...That end goal is the pinnacle, then?"
"At least, I think so. I should warn you, it’s not at all knightly. If you admire what it means to be a knight, you’d be better off not taking this path. But I can guarantee you’ll become the strongest attacker."
"A guarantee from you, Zephyrus-dono? That sounds impressive."
Estelle covered her mouth and giggled.
Then she slowly closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her eyes were filled with resolve.
"Zephyrus-dono, would you please teach me how to reach that strongest pinnacle? I, Estelle, humbly ask you."
"You’ve decided already? You still have some time to think it over."
"No, I’m quite sure. I was originally going to become a 【Royal Knight】. Not only did you show me the path to obtaining the 【Princess Knight】, you’ve now shown me the way to its very pinnacle. It would be a disgrace to my family if I didn’t accept your offer here and now."
"You don’t have to take it quite that seriously..."
I was a little troubled.
But I knew this was a major turning point in her life, so I couldn’t just talk her out of it.
Well, all right.
Estelle was ready to go for it, after all. There was no need to dampen her enthusiasm.
I’d get right to teaching her, then.
I took out a memo, jotted down just the key points, and handed it to Estelle.
"This is the general idea for now. I’ll give you a proper document with a detailed explanation later, so keep at it and don’t get discouraged."
"Thank you. I will never forget this kindness for as long as I live."
Estelle bowed deeply, then accepted the memo as reverently as if it had been bestowed on her by a king.
Well, I kind of felt like a king. It was pretty nice.
"You don’t have to go that far. But do feel indebted to me for the next three years, okay?"
The guild would last three years, after all.
After that, I taught Estelle my own theory on the strongest way to train the 【Princess Knight】.