After the battle with the Transcendental Tribe.
The Malidan Wall, which was revealed to be a massive hive, was bustling every day.
It wasn’t just about standing guard on the wall; every day, a special unit was dispatched for reconnaissance.
Everyone prayed for the safety of the unit as they left to check on the dangers outside.
An unintended disaster.
“Sigh.”
“I want to go back.”
The nobles who had come here with peace of mind, hearing that the demon horde was nothing to worry about, now wore dark expressions.
A disaster from history, arriving after 23 years.
They were terrified to find themselves in the middle of it.
And last night, the time they were utterly defeated by the Transcendental Tribe without even being able to resist was etched in their minds like trauma.
[Don’t tell them about it.]
Isaac had told Uldiran and Silbern as much as he knew about the Transcendental Tribe.
But Uldiran chose not to announce it publicly.
It was still unclear whether the massive hive was related to the Transcendental Tribe, and with everyone feeling powerless, revealing this would only cause more chaos.
They had already contacted the royal family about the Blackhand family.
Their betrayal was probably being investigated step by step by the royal family.
“Phew!”
Amidst all this busyness.
Isaac was the only one who found each day satisfying and fulfilling.
Recognized for his achievements, Isaac was excused from wall duty.
In these special circumstances, where every extra person was needed, the fact that Isaac could practice swordsmanship alone was largely due to Silbern’s strong influence.
“He’s at it again.”
After lunch, Silbern watched Isaac from a distance.
Isaac was sparring with Jonathan.
For days, they had been repeating sparring and training.
But there was something unusual.
“Sir Isaac wins.”
Anna, who had finished eating with Silbern, handed her ginger tea and spoke.
“Gulp.”
As Anna said, Isaac’s sword easily defeated Jonathan.
Jonathan, with a sullen face, got up, saying he would challenge again.
He was a man with incredible stamina.
Anyway.
Even if he was the lowest-ranking, defeating a knight of Helmunth was impressive.
But the two women wore complicated expressions.
“There’s a record of sparring among the dispatched personnel. Sir Isaac has 41 matches, 2 wins, and 39 losses.”
“……”
“By the way, Jonathan has 23 matches, 17 wins, and 6 losses.”
Isaac and Jonathan’s sparring was unofficial, so it wasn’t recorded.
But except for the early matches, Isaac mostly dominated Jonathan.
“Of course, Sir Isaac has been sparring with more skilled nobles……”
Some of them had even lost to Jonathan.
Something’s off with these records.
Silbern wanted to voice her thoughts but held back.
“Let me say it for you, miss.”
Anna scratched her cheek awkwardly and replied.
“Sir Isaac seems… like someone specialized in dealing with Helmunth.”
“……”
“He easily handles nobles who use greatswords, but when it comes to Helmunth, he moves several steps ahead.”
“……”
“And that’s why Sir Isaac can still defeat Jonathan despite his lack of training.”
“Sigh.”
“Anyone else, fine, but for the son-in-law of Helmunth to do this…”
It’s as if.
He’s been building up knowledge just to take down Helmunth.
“Enough, stop worrying. He’ll figure it out himself.”
The son-in-law of Helmunth becoming a hunter specialized in taking down Helmunth.
It was unsettling, but that’s Isaac’s life.
“Gah!”
Just then, Isaac knocked Jonathan down again.
“……You should stop now.”
Isaac, now familiar with Jonathan, clicked his tongue, judging there was nothing more to learn from him.
Seeing this, Silbern approached Isaac.
“I’m heading out.”
“Again? You’ve been sticking around too much lately!”
“We’re friends. And what, am I just playing around? I’m helping Isaac with his manual. Getting some advice too.”
Watching Silbern leave, Anna sighed in worry.
‘Is that the face of someone just going to see a friend?’
She was already smiling brightly enough to melt the cold wind.
Wasn’t she just waiting for the right moment to go to him?
‘Miss, please.’
He’s a married man!
Anna wanted to shout.
“Isaac, I’m here.”
Silbern greeted Isaac, who was wiping his sweat with a towel.
“Silbern, thanks for coming again today.”
Seeing Isaac welcome her warmly, Silbern responded with a sly smile.
“Sigh, I’m really busy. You know I’m only here because you asked, right?”
“Yeah, I know. You say that every day.”
“Be more grateful. Who else here can help you like I do?”
Silbern, who was helping Isaac with his swordsmanship research and sparring.
The book he was writing, “Isaac’s Sword,” was deeply connected to Silbern as well.
“Got it. Remember what we did yesterday? Help me with the stance.”
“You’re still on that?”
Now familiar, the two swung their swords and spears at each other.
A few minutes later.
Isaac crouched down, pen in hand, continuing his writing.
‘He’s amazing.’
While Silbern was continuing Caldias’ Spear Technique.
Isaac was advancing his swordsmanship from the very beginning, making Silbern feel a bit of a wall.
Is this what they call a difference in talent?
“How about Blackhand?”
Isaac asked, still holding his pen.
Blackhand was the noble family that aided the Transcendental Tribe.
Even among the dispatched nobles, there was someone from Blackhand.
“No unusual movements. The one here is still young, maybe he didn’t know about the Transcendental Tribe?”
“……”
Isaac continued writing without another word.
He had also sparred with the dispatched noble from the Blackhand family a few times but found nothing unusual.
Silbern’s mouth twitched as she stared blankly at Isaac.
She had something she wanted to ask, but hesitated, knowing it was a sensitive topic.
“About Rianna—.”
A remark closer to instinct than thought slipped out of Silbern’s mouth.
“Huh?”
She hurriedly tried to cover her mouth with her hand, but Isaac, who had already heard, turned his head to look at her.
It was too late.
After a moment of hesitation, Silbern awkwardly smiled and asked.
“Is Rianna exceptionally skilled?”
Thinking it was a trivial question, Isaac nodded and returned to his writing.
“Yeah, she’s the strongest in Helmunth, excluding the family head.”
Among the siblings, her skills were unparalleled.
“I even beat the eldest son easily, but I lost to Rianna. Of course! I was exhausted at the time!”
Isaac chuckled as Silbern hastily added.
‘Judging objectively.’
Silbern was no match for Rianna at this point.
She was still in a state where she hadn’t fully bloomed yet.
‘But she’s trying.’
After hearing Isaac’s words last time, Silbern had been striving to find her own Caldias.
“Rianna is, um… a great swordsman.”
Isaac, not particularly wanting to talk about her, tried to gloss over it.
But the oblivious Silbern kept blabbering about her rival.
“Actually, there are rumors that Rianna’s skills are somewhat exaggerated. She’s called the Blood Rose, but compared to the eldest son, Loengreen, she hasn’t shown much.”
“……”
“But I know from firsthand experience. There’s an immeasurable gap between Rianna and Loengreen.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
Isaac paused for a moment, staring blankly at the ground.
“You know what?”
Recalling the past, Isaac muttered with a bitter smile.
“Rianna can split a river.”
“…Huh?”
Silbern looked at him, puzzled by the sudden statement. Isaac smirked, amused by her expression.
But Silbern still didn’t understand.
“What, is that a metaphor? Are you describing her swordsmanship poetically?”
“Haha, think of it that way if you want.”
He couldn’t help but laugh at the absurd memory.
Silbern, realizing Isaac wasn’t joking, tilted her head and asked.
“Why would she split a river?”
It was just an innocent question.
If she wanted to train, she could just do it. There was no need to split a river.
At the core of the question.
Isaac, not giving much weight to the long-past memory, answered nonchalantly.
“It was a proposal.”
“What? What do you mean?”
Silbern kept asking, but Isaac brushed it off, saying it wasn’t important.
“Anyway, do you have time? Can you help me a bit more?”
Isaac closed the book and asked.
“Ah, again?”
Actually, she had plenty of time.
“Ugh, hold on. I’ll go ask Anna.”
“Thanks.”
“It’s going to be tough. I’m busy, you know.”
Silbern deliberately turned away and headed toward Anna, who was waiting in the distance.
“Hehe.”
Silbern felt good that Isaac needed her and was holding her back like that.
* * *
The next day, at the same time.
Silbern had lunch as usual and went to find Isaac.
‘Where’s Anna?’
Strangely, Anna was nowhere to be seen, so it took a while to find her, but she finally went to Isaac.
“Silbern, you’re here?”
“Ah, Miss.”
Isaac was smiling brighter than yesterday, and Anna was awkwardly holding a spear in front of him.
“What’s… going on?”
Silbern asked with a blank expression, and Isaac gave a thumbs-up.
“You said you were really busy. So I asked Anna for help today.”
“……”
“So you don’t need to spend time helping today. I felt bad for taking up so much of your time lately.”
“Ah, okay.”
Silbern stood there dumbfounded, nodding.
She looked at Anna with an unusually expressionless face.
But Anna stood firm, not backing down.
‘It’s for the young lady!’
Anna’s special measure, knowing Silbern was growing fond of Isaac.
A married man.
Moreover, the husband of Helmunth’s eldest daughter, Isaac, and Silbern falling in love?
‘The worst possible future!’
It wasn’t just a matter of heartache; Silbern would be the subject of gossip in social circles.
“Ah, I see. Um… you don’t need me today.”
Silbern nodded with a voice as dry and cold as the northern chill, then turned away.
“Yeah, that’s good.”
“I was actually busy. I was pushing myself a bit.”
“I had to do this and that.”
“Ah, I was busy, but it’s good now.”
“Haha, that’s a relief. It was really annoying.”
“Yeah, yeah, Isaac. I’ll go now.”
“Ah, that’s good, really good.”
Watching Silbern’s retreating figure, Anna felt her heart breaking but held it in.
“Anna, shall we start?”
“Yes, understood.”
Holding the weapon and stance Isaac wanted, Anna acted as his sparring partner.
As Isaac tried to understand and realize something through this.
“……”
Feeling a prickling sensation on his back, he glanced behind him.
At the end of the training ground.
Hidden behind a tree, Silbern was glaring at them intently.
