Chapter 373

Following Nigel’s advice, we assigned a knight from the Marquis’s household to teach Minea. She beamed with joy, her face lighting up.

“My teaching methods are too advanced for her to keep up with, huh?”

Indeed, the knight Nigel brought was a better teacher than me.

After a light sparring session to gauge Minea’s skills, the knight immediately drew up a month-long training plan.

In the mornings, she would learn the basic movements of imperial swordsmanship, correcting the bad habits she had picked up during her adventurer life. In the afternoons, she would undergo rigorous physical training to build the stamina and strength befitting a knight. Hearing this, Minea’s face turned pale.

And so, Minea spent over twelve hours a day swinging her sword.

“Good. Grow strong so you don’t die on us.”

—

In the afternoon, I headed back to the training grounds.

Nigel and Ja-han were planning to spar, so I thought I’d watch.

I told them to get along, but I guess they decided to fight instead.

Maybe watching my sparring with the three-month-olds got their warrior blood boiling?

“If it’s for training, wouldn’t it be better for you two to team up against me?”

I casually asked Ja-han as he lightly swung his Crescent Moon Blade to warm up.

Rather than two evenly matched fighters squabbling, sparring against a stronger opponent—namely, me—would be more beneficial.

Ja-han stopped his blade and quietly spoke.

“…Training is a secondary goal. The purpose of this spar is to determine who is Princess Ha-shal-leur’s right-hand man.”

Somehow, while discussing me, they ended up arguing over who deserved to be my closest aide… and it escalated to a duel.

An unexpected answer.

“My right-hand man? You’re fighting over something like that?”

Technically, neither of you are.

If I had to choose, it would be Leonor.

Nigel is more of a knight of Landerburg than mine, and Ja-han’s loyalty lies with Hersela.

“Well, I won’t stop you. Fight hard, but don’t do anything stupid like getting seriously injured.”

[Like you used to?]

Hersela quipped lightly.

True, I did end up in critical condition after sparring here once…

‘…But that was Nigel’s misunderstanding, not my fault.’

Back then, she genuinely believed that Ka`har sparring was a life-or-death matter.

“Then… shall we begin?”

Nigel and Ja-han, having finished their preparations, stepped into the center of the training grounds and pointed their weapons at each other.

“The Tenth Sword of Landerburg, Nigel.”

Nigel introduced himself, covering half his face with his blade as he always did.

He did the same when he fought me. Brings back memories.

“I am the first retainer of my liege, Princess Ai-shan Gi-or Ha-shal-leur, and the foremost warrior of the Thousand Swords. Ja-han. I will show you the pride of the East.”

Ja-han, not to be outdone, announced himself with a solemn yet combative demeanor.

The foremost warrior of the Thousand Swords, the Epée de Ciel…

Well, he wasn’t wrong.

He was the only warrior among them, after all.

Damien and Milia are knights, not warriors. So, he is the foremost warrior.

“Here I come!”

“Bring it on!”

With their introductions complete, the two clashed.

The Crescent Moon Blade and spear crossed, releasing a metallic screech.

—

The spar dragged on as their skills were evenly matched.

Nigel had the edge in experience, but Ja-han’s towering, muscular frame and formidable physical prowess bridged the gap.

“This is tougher than I thought…!”

Nigel, who had perfectly blocked the Crescent Moon Blade, was forced back a few steps due to the difference in size, furrowing his brow.

“Not bad! Try this!”

Ja-han also had the upper hand in combat experience.

He accurately distinguished between attacks to block and those to evade, countering at the perfect moment.

He seemed quite accustomed to fighting opponents who wielded aura.

[Yes, that’s it! That’s how it’s done! All that training paid off!]

So, she’s the reason.

She said he was like a brother, but it seems she used him as a punching bag instead.

Using a friend as a sandbag… truly a barbaric woman.

—

“Haah… Haah… I’ve won. Do you agree?”

After a nearly even battle lasting dozens of minutes, Nigel emerged victorious.

She pointed her longsword at Ja-han’s neck, breathing heavily.

“…Fine. I concede.”

Ja-han, though reluctant, admitted defeat without protest.

His Crescent Moon Blade was broken, and a longsword was at his throat.

In a real fight, the best he could have hoped for was a mutual kill.

“Well fought. The bold martial arts of Ka`har’s Paladin were impressive.”

Nigel, having sheathed her sword, bowed slightly in acknowledgment.

Her spear was also shattered and lying on the ground.

Nigel’s strategy against the larger Ja-han was to target his weapon rather than him.

Ja-han likely realized this too, as he swung his Crescent Moon Blade as if to break Nigel’s spear first.

In the end, both weapons were destroyed almost simultaneously.

“The Tenth Sword of Landerburg, was it? Truly stronger than I expected. I didn’t think you’d draw your sword at the very last moment…”

The one thing Ja-han overlooked was that Nigel had a longsword hanging at her waist.

Having only seen her wield a spear, he hadn’t paid attention to the sword, and that was his fatal mistake.

As the spear broke, Nigel drew her dagger and longsword in a flash, exploiting the opening Ja-han had given her.

Even with his superior physical abilities, he couldn’t defeat a sword with bare hands.

“Thank you. With this, it’s confirmed that I, Nigel, am Princess Ha-shal-leur’s right-hand man. Since it was a fair duel, I trust there will be no objections.”

Ja-han remained silent, having no rebuttal.

[To let your guard down at the last moment…! As a warrior of Ka`har, such disgrace…! Becoming a Paladin must have made you complacent. This won’t do. I’ll have to retrain you from the beginning…!]

Listening to Hersela’s muttering, Ja-han’s future became clear.

Is this what it feels like to see the future? For some reason, Ja-han’s face overlapped with Damien’s.

Just as I have Damien as my sandbag, Hersela has Ja-han.

“Did you see, Princess Ha-shal-leur! I won! From now on, please call me your right-hand man, Nigel!”

Nigel approached me with a bright smile.

“Hmm… Nigel, it’s good to see you so happy after winning, but… if I had to choose a right-hand man, it would probably be Leonor. You’re technically a knight of Landerburg, not mine.”

I felt bad for dousing her enthusiasm, but I couldn’t ignore the truth.

You always run off to the Margrave whenever Ludwig calls, leaving me behind.

A right-hand man who splits off on his own… doesn’t that sound a bit odd to you?

“Eh…? Oh, right…! Now that I think about it, there’s Sir Leonor…!”

Nigel looked a bit deflated.

—

‘Still, it’s a bit surprising. I thought Ja-han would win.’

I knew he had just become a Paladin, but I expected him to be stronger.

The Paladin Ja-han I saw in the game was a hero-level warrior who wrote heroic tales while bearing the title of Paladin.

‘Paladin? Not a big deal,’ I thought, underestimating him and getting wrecked by master-level characters. I know better now.

[Our strength lies in mounted combat. On the ground, there’s little difference between us and the Empire’s masters.]

Hersela defended Ja-han in a reluctant tone.

Does that mean he could have won if they were both on horseback?

Upon closer questioning, it seemed Ja-han also knew the mounted combat techniques Hersela had devised, though he hadn’t reached Havar’s level yet.

…I can’t do that.

‘Can’t you teach me? It seems really useful on the battlefield.’

[Don’t even dream of it. This art requires such deep mutual trust that horse and rider share the same heart. How could someone who treats horses worse than dogs ever learn it?]

Hersela flatly refused.

Worse than dogs? That’s a bit harsh. It’s not that bad.

—

After Nigel and Ja-han’s spar, I went to check on Minea.

She was lying on the ground, half-dead, having apparently finished her physical training.

She planned to return to her lodging once she regained some strength.

I suggested she stay at the Marquis’s estate since it would be inconvenient to go back and forth, but she waved it off, saying it was too much of a burden.

“I’m so tired I could die…”

She sighed, looking haggard, but I didn’t have much to say.

“That’s how it is. Becoming a knight isn’t easy, you know?”

You chose to train in swordsmanship.

So, you’ll just have to tough it out, right?

Minea hung her head.