Staying at the Wesley mansion didn't an doing nothing all day. Sure, lounging around browsing the internet was fine for rest, but I couldn't spend 20 out of 24 hours just surfing the web.
So after leaving Katie to deal with her daughter-obsessed father and their family drama, I headed to the mansion's training grounds to practice with a sword. Given the Duke's size, there was no way those tiny teacups of alcohol would get him drunk. As soon as Katie finished her bath, I'd dumped the daughter-obsessed father on her and quickly escaped outside.
Better to empty my mind with physical training than deal with a daughter-obsessed man drinking vodka from teacups. That's why I ran.
"Is this right? These fragnts only give partial knowledge."
Instead of my trusty warhamr of 11 years, I now held one of the practice swords used by the mansion's guard knights. When word spread that the hero was practicing swordsmanship, curious onlookers from knights to maids gathered to watch. Unfortunately for them, there were no flashy techniques to see.
The swordsmanship fragnts had sohow lted into my consciousness, making rember forgotten mories. I just stubbornly practiced basic moves as the fragnts directed. Properly gripping the sword, feeling its balance, then endless horizontal and vertical slashes.
It was an odd situation - working up a sweat right after bathing - but I needed to learn these skills.
"Hmm, is the hero also accomplished in swordsmanship?"
"He keeps cutting the sa trajectory without the slightest deviation. Like a Magic Tower golem with zero errors."
Swinging my arms left to right, right to left. After repeating the sa motions until I worked up a sweat on my freshly washed body, the wooden practice dummies kept shattering under my inhuman strength. Even with a blunted practice sword, no wooden dummy could withstand a natural 6★ hamring away for an hour with a chunk of tal.
As I mindlessly swung the sword, I ca to a realization.
'Eleven years of habits are scary.'
The swordsmanship 'fragnts' couldn't completely override deeply ingrained behaviors.
Horizontal slashes were fine, but vertical downward cuts were the problem. You know how even cheap martial arts novels always ntion that horizontal cuts, vertical cuts, and thrusts are the foundation of basic sword techniques?
Horizontal slashes felt natural from practicing with the holy sword, and I rarely used thrusts with my warhamr so those ca easily too.
The problem was vertical slashes. When I tried to swing the two-handed sword downward forcefully, sothing in my mind would tingle uncomfortably, screaming that this was wrong. No surprise, since I kept unconsciously swinging it like I was smashing an orc's head with my hamr.
Since it was an edgeless practice sword - basically just a tal bar - I kept unconsciously hamring the wooden dummies into the training ground.
"My, embedding wooden posts into the ground with a practice sword? Remarkable power even without using mana."
"So this is why he was desperately practicing basic techniques... such a body built through endless effort..."
Their comnts drew back the attention of knights who'd been about to leave out of boredom. While knights could probably break wooden posts given enough ti, it took a special kind of crazy to hamr them into the ground with a practice sword. ṛ𝒶Νо𝔟Ęș
Of course, I wasn't trying to show off my muscles - these were just 11 years of ingrained habits. Their muttered praise just made embarrassed.
Forget effort - I'd simply maintained my ga character's body this whole ti. Living the adventurer's life of irregular sleep and als during quests, then gorging on greasy food and alcohol afterward, yet never showing any health issues. That was the blessing of having the ultimate body.
With those thoughts and a good sweat worked up, I put down the sword planning to rinse off and head to bed. That's when soone approached .
"That was beautiful swordwork, Sir Roland."
"Ah... thank you."
It was Katie's sister, Ann Wesley.
The unexpected praise made briefly wonder if it was so noble's backhanded complint, but she seed to be genuinely praising my unwavering repeated movents and the trained body supporting them.
Her title was 'Ice Rose' and she was coincidentally known as the Rose of the North in noble circles. With her ducal bloodline, she certainly had that ★-buffed beautiful face.
While Katie was a cheerful beauty whose silver hair couldn't dim her boyish smile, her sister's cold features evoked rose thorns. Though their faces were similar as sisters, Katie's energetic personality made Ann seem even more stern in contrast.
"Was there sothing you needed?"
"I wanted to discuss my sister."
True to her reputation as the North's beautiful lady knight, she had an imposing height. Like her father, she stood close to 180cm, and her sharp gaze naturally put n on edge as she spoke commandingly.
Not that I felt intimidated - the onlooking knights and maids might be nervous, but after everything I'd been through, a pretty face couldn't shake .
When their young lady openly stated she wanted to speak with the holy sword's owner, the spectators quickly vanished. Ann Wesley's ice-blue eyes blazed as she approached after checking our surroundings.
※
Her blue eyes burned with such intense determination that 'demonic fla' seed the perfect description. Ann Wesley brought her face close to mine with an intensity that made her natural 3★ rank hard to believe.
"I apologize for the sudden question, but at this pace, you could defeat the Demon Lord within 10 years, correct?"
"Well... naturally."
I'd thought she might be sister-obsessed like her father was daughter-obsessed - but then I rembered Ann and Katie Wesley had competed over who would beco the next Grand Duke.
So instead of warning not to mistreat her sister or demanding I make her happy, she said sothing completely unexpected.
"Then I - and House Wesley - will support you all. Though you've received aid from the temple and royal family before, you've never actively requested it, correct?"
"Yes, that's true... Are you doing this to protect your sister?"
"More precisely, I'm doing it for myself."
Ann Wesley gave a cold smile fitting her sharp features and laid out her plan without hesitation.
Katie Wesley was still a fresh-faced woman in her early twenties. In modern 21st century terms, she'd just be suffering through college assignnts. Even in 10 years she'd only be in her thirties... plenty young enough to inherit the Grand Duke position!
Ann Wesley had only handled a few thieves and monsters with knights.
Katie Wesley would have slain a Heavenly King and the Demon Lord as the hero party's guard.
Wouldn't Katie Wesley clearly make the better next Grand Duke? Katie could return ho triumphant after beheading the Demon Lord and beco Grand Duke, while her sister Ann who'd been caring for the ducal house would gracefully yield the position to her talented sister and help strengthen the family--
That was Ann Wesley's grand vision.
'Co to think of it, Katie ran away when Ann tried to force her to train as the Grand Duke's successor.'
The succession fight between the North's fiery noble ladies was still ongoing.
"It's nothing shaful before the Goddess. I simply want my sister to return safely and claim her rightful reward for dedicating herself to faith and justice."
"I see."
If I hadn't glimpsed Katie's circumstances through Han Se-ah's stream or had that private chat with Arthur Wesley, I might have been moved by her apparent sisterly devotion.
"So don't hesitate to call on House Wesley, Sir Roland. With a father worried for his daughter and a sister wanting to support her, there's no need to hold back."
Ann Wesley seed to think our party's refusal of royal and temple support despite charging ahead recklessly was due to political considerations.
Fair enough - Princess Bradamante, the kingdom's most popular youngest princess, had promised unlimited support. Yet the hero party had only accepted a mansion and so equipnt. Without knowledge of players, streaming, and speedrunning, our extre frugality must seem bizarre.
It was like a businessman refusing governnt subsidies and tax breaks to spend his own money. By normal common sense, our behavior made no sense.
"So please, I implore you. For my sister's sake, don't hesitate to use House Wesley's na when you need anything."
Acting as if truly worried about her sister, Ann Wesley pressed sothing into my hand. Examining it, I found a hexagonal badge about the size of an adventurer's tag, with a crouching wolf embossed on it. The crouching wolf was House Wesley's crest - perhaps showing this wasn't just empty words of support.
After giving the badge, Ann Wesley gave a quick bow and disappeared.
As I headed to my room planning to rinse off my cooling sweat, I found Irene waiting for in the hallway.
"What's wrong?"
"Um, Roland. This..."
She shyly held out a hexagonal badge with an engraved crouching wolf.
...Don't tell she hadn't just given one to , but had distributed family badges to our whole party like party favors. No wonder Han Se-ah's cara had slipped away and hadn't returned.
Enjoy the chappy!
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