Chapter 26: The Upper and Lower Waters.
The path leading into the inner castle. The dwarf Basim shakes his stocky body and lets out laughter.
"Just accept it. The young man loves you!"
Secrets are worse than nothing to Gregor. Thanks to this, they ca across the rumor that Calix had liked Zahira before even a night had passed.
"If you're going to keep acting up, should we have a round here? I'm already pretty irritated from having to clean up after tearing down that wall."
"That won't do. If you were soone who wanted to embrace , maybe, but you're not my type. I like your wicked personality, but your body is too lanky."
"......You son of a-"
Zahira's patience reaches its limit there, and the dwarf Basim flees, jingling the repair tools at his waist to avoid the spear she swung. If it had been outside the castle, she wouldn't have let it slide.
Haah-
She notices the soldiers' sharp gazes and gives up on chasing after him. The place they had set foot in was the inner castle, where real nobles lived.
"My goodness, how magnificent. Do veteran rcenaries co to places like this often?"
Just then, Volga draws attention by showing off his wide-eyed expression.
"Not often, but occasionally. Sotis noble children or knights seek us out as sparring partners. When they need opponents, they can fight with peace of mind, and when there's trust that we'll keep secrets, they call for us. They don't have many diverse opponents to practice with either."
"Ah, so are we going to spar now?"
"That's right."
"But what does... 'sparring' an?"
"......You really need to study more. Your language skills are trendous."
You should be able to understand just by grasping the context of the surrounding sentences. Since his understanding is lacking despite his large fra, he receives criticism all at once. Volga doesn't lack grounds for rebuttal either.
"No, you said we'd be leaving soon. I thought I might go see the Marquis or sothing."
"That's not wrong. Even if you receive generous compensation, you usually don't spar right before leaving. It would be troubleso if you got injured, right?"
"But?"
"Gregor asked
to. He said to give the newcor so experience."
"Ahh, I've unknowingly received expectations. I have been improving lately, though. Carry fruit, carry fish, repair the castle walls, help the master with his work in the evening...... Look. My muscles are rock-solid-"
"Not you, him. You're not a newcor, you're just a greenhorn."
"......Calix again?"
Fools have their own entertainnt value in being teased. At this, Volga touches the new weapon he received as a gift from his master with a sullen expression. A thick iron club. The handle was finished with leather for easy gripping with both hands, and it boasted a shape that grew thicker toward the end. It was specialized for bludgeoning rather than cutting.
"Well, it'll be helpful for you too. The knights will be stamping their feet, wanting to spar with you."
"Really? I thought so too, right?"
Indeed. There was nothing quite like it for making the knights uncomfortable. If his master, the dwarf Basim, hadn't been nearby, the entertainnt of teasing would have been doubled.
"Hey, you stupid fool. I told you that blunt weapons are excellent at delivering impact even inside armor!"
"......Yes. So?"
"So what?! What kind of idiotic fool have I been watching! Who wears the thickest armor on the battlefield?"
"Knights."
"Then would those knights marvel, saying, oh that's really a blunt weapon? They'll co rushing, thinking, I'll deal with that bastard myself!"
"......!"
No, just watching his expression seed pretty entertaining. That was the case until they arrived at the commission location. The first one designated as the knights' opponent was none other than Volga. And he was holding only a small dagger in his right hand.
"......That idiot threw his weapon on the ground and left."
"......"
"Oh, my fate."
***
Marchioness Cara Hoover watches Volga's awkward behavior and smiles gently. If she had been a central noble, she would have scolded Volga for his behavior, but the west was different.
"It's a face I haven't seen before; he must be very nervous."
"I apologize, my lady. That fellow hasn't been in the rcenary company for long...... He seems quite nervous seeing the knights."
"Raise your head. This is enjoyable in its own way. No one is angry."
Even as the dwarf Basim bows his head in apology, she uses the word 'no one' to preserve the knights' honor.
She provided a reason for them not to be angry. Indeed, she was a strong woman born and raised in the western desert region.
She was skilled in hunting and horseback riding, and knew how to display decisiveness whenever she faced a crisis.
Born into one of the top three families in the west, she was essentially a female warrior who ford a strategic partnership with her husband, Marquis Hoover. For Cara Hoover, showing magnanimity toward subordinates' mistakes was also a virtue of governance.
"By the way, is Gregor healthy? It's not easy to see his face."
"His body is healthy, but he couldn't co directly. There's a strict order from the captain not to let him into the inner castle under any circumstances......"
"That's unfortunate. Is it perhaps because of that incident? I never particularly felt it was rude."
Soon, a troubled look flickers across Zahira's face. The Hoover Marquis family was a noble family with a high reputation for their un-aristocratic fairness and benevolence. However, the verbal mistake that the old rcenary made back then was difficult to even package appropriately.
'My lady, you are more beautiful than a flower blooming in the desert!'
'Oh my, I have a husband.'
'Ah, of course! Please forgive my rudeness! Being born rely as a honeybee, I unknowingly found myself hovering around!'
Gregor, Gregor, Gregor. Who could have predicted that the old man who lost his mory would flirt with the Marchioness? If they hadn't been facing war at the ti, if they hadn't been on the sa side, if Marquis Hoover hadn't laughed it off heartily, three lives wouldn't have been enough.
Anyway, once Volga picked up his main weapon, the sparring resud, and the promised fight ended not too long after. From Calix's perspective, Volga's neural accelerator was gray. In contrast, his opponent boasted a vivid green despite being only an apprentice knight.
Whiiiiing!
The hard labor had built up his muscles, and the iron club created a fearso sound as it cut through the air...... But if it doesn't connect, you can't win either.
Swooosh!
"Keuup!"
"That's enough!"
"......I, I lost."
As the sword stopped right in front of his nape, Volga blushed and admitted defeat, while the apprentice knight stepped back to create distance and raised his sword centered on his torso. It was a silent salute.
"Uh...... Th, thank you for your hard work."
As the 20 silver commission ended in an instant, Calix's turn ca next. His sparring opponent also wasn't a full knight. One among those who had finished their long squire life and were waiting for the day to receive knighthood.
Naturally, the knights didn't show much interest. Unless it was soone of Zahira and Basim's level, inexperienced rcenaries were rely appetizers. In addition to this, there was also the fact that Marquis Hoover's family's daughter had arrived at the scene.
"Mother, which number is this?"
"One has just finished."
"Who?"
"That one there, stepping back."
Saba Hoover was a woman who had turned twenty-four this year. Like a noble family's woman, she had married early, but beca widowed due to the great turmoil in the western desert six years ago, and was currently staying at the marquis family, preparing for a new marriage.
"How was it? Was the skill worthy of the Hares' reputation?"
"Saba, you must maintain your dignity. A bride preparing for marriage shouldn't act like that."
"I left my dignity in the desert. Besides, it seems like war will break out soon, is dignity really that important?"
"Originally, the virtues of nobility are......"
The Marchioness's nagging continues at this, but the woman's gaze remains glued to the two n as if nailed there. One was Calix, the other was the apprentice knight Emil.
"Their builds are similar. Both are slender. Emil is...... Supposed to receive his title next month, right? I can still vividly rember him following Sir Panik around, but now he's almost a knight."
"Hrmm...... The habit of letting unpleasant words go in one ear and out the other remains the sa. Truly worriso."
However, a mont later, the Marchioness also swallows her words while watching the sparring scene. What appeared to be a fight between a greenhorn rcenary and an apprentice knight was unexpectedly dragging on.
Kaang! Deureureuuk!
"Neither is backing down. Are they of similar skill?"
"......One side has gained the advantage, my lady."
"Emil?"
The Marchioness's murmur is corrected by the knight captain standing beside her. He shook his head while watching the sight of both swords entangled. Emil had lost.
***
Even while their swords were locked together, Calix didn't forget the reason 'why he had co to spar against knights'.
[Maintaining Reality Acceleration 2.0x]
[Target's neural accelerator identification complete]
[Poor quality individual confird]
[Identified as 'Kasiya Wanderer', a degraded version of the Kalahim Desert exclusive device 'Kasiya Nomad']
[Output specifications estimated between 1.7 and 2.2]
[Combat enhancent on standby, awaiting user request]
No combat enhancent. Refining swordsmanship takes priority over the neural accelerator's output.
'Scar of the Wind isn't completed through the neural accelerator's performance. Proper stance cos first. So I need to realize what I'm lacking through actual combat. That's probably why Gregor sent
here.'
Calix's talent was leading him down a fast path, but effort was needed to widen the road's stride and solidify the ground. In Gregor's terms, it would be sothing like, 'Since you refused to push forward honestly and cunningly jumped up, now it's ti to dig back down'. So today he ca to experience 'people who push forward honestly'.
Chaeng, pa-ang! Jureureuuk!
And through just a couple of exchanges, he realizes his problem.
'Our builds are similar, and there's no big difference in the recoil transmitted through our weapons. But I'm being pushed back. Why am I being pushed back?'
'It's a stance problem. The distribution of force is inefficient.'
'Then what should I do? Should I change my movents? Or should I copy my opponent's movents?'
[Reality acceleration active, 2.2x]
[2.4x]
...
...
[3.1x]
...
...
[3.5x]
[Warning: Maintaining excessive output for extended periods may cause fatal damage to the body]
[Please be cautious]
After stretching ti infinitely and pondering for so ti. Calix realizes he doesn't need to think so complexly and returns to reality. Being pushed back in strength doesn't an defeat.
'I'll decide the outco first, then think about it.'
Kaang! Deureureuuk!
Soon, the swords clash again, and another power struggle unfolds, when suddenly he releases the strength in his left hand to pull his opponent's blade toward his own body. At the sa ti, as he thrust out his left shoulder, the enemy's blade collided with his shoulder blade, sending sparks flying.
Tuk-pagang!
"Ah......!"
Additionally, at the mont of collision, he briefly bounced his left shoulder, causing his opponent's blade to slide toward the outside of his body. It was a technique he learned from his opponent during the sparring process.
'If I had blatantly put my shoulder forward, I would have been seriously injured. But in a state where swords are crossed, it's a useful technique. As the speed dies down, so does the strength. Even if I got injured, it would have been limited to cutting my forearm at most. For , it's definitely advantageous.'
anwhile, the blade Calix held was still aid at the apprentice knight's throat. However, since his opponent was wearing heavy armor, trying to stab halfheartedly would instead result in a loss. At this, he pushes the blade connected to the area right above the sword's handle into the apprentice knight's armpit area.
Tak.
Just barely touching depth.
Swik-
Along with this, he slips his right foot behind his opponent's body to shift his center of gravity, then lowers his stance and prepares to 'cut through'. Now, if he just applies force smoothly, a picture like Chapter 8, Wasteland Saw, would be completed. At least the stance was the sa, so Calix's intuition also fiercely conveyed confidence in success. It felt like he could sohow shoot out wind.
"Stop! That's enough!"
"......"
Then, the knight captain's shout disrupts the dreamlike mont. A small regret lingers in Calix's heart. Though it shouldn't be, what if he had cut through as planned? Starting from the area above the handle and reaching to the very tip, using almost the entire length of the blade to swing, it felt like he could have cut through even the knight's armor.
At least halfway through. Strangely, he had that conviction. And the knight captain was well aware of this fact, too. Full-body armor covers even the armpit area with a steel plate, but it certainly would have been cut. Sotis you could tell just by looking at the stance.
"......Zahira, this is quite different from what I was told in advance."
"Yes. That's why I added it at the end. He lacks experience, not ability."
"Hmm. In any case, he's a Hare, you say...... He appears to be only in his early to mid-twenties at most, yet with that level of talent. Interesting. Very intriguing."
"......Sir Estante."
"Ah, don't worry. With the comradeship I have with Rois, how could I take him away on my own? But...... I say! What's your na? How should I address you?"
While the dwarf Basim and Zahira send suspicious glances, the person in question stops organizing his thoughts and speaks.
"It's Calix."
"Calix, Calix indeed. We should have another round, shouldn't we? Would that be possible?"
"Yes."
A proposal he couldn't refuse. However, there was one thing different from before: he no longer needed to face an apprentice knight. The one who responded to the knight captain's nod was a full knight, scattering a light blue color behind his neck. A proper opportunity to learn had co.
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