Chapter 112
“So you are telling to stay here and watch over your people's training?”
Rodwell spoke with a voice full of dissatisfaction.
“The one who followed because he wanted to admire my comrades' skills was you, Rodwell. It’s just a suggestion to look them over since you’re already here.”
Rodwell wiped his face with his hand.
He had thought it was suspicious from the mont he was invited to the island so readily.
There was no way this young brat would show off what was his without any gain.
“Is Sir Rodwell going to look at my sword?”
Leo spoke up.
Before long, the apprentice knights who followed the boy were also together by his side.
A sense of deep respect was felt in the gaze they directed toward him.
“As a person who beca a knight, it is a good opportunity to give teachings to a junior.”
Joshua, standing nearby, continued to chatter on.
Rodwell snorted.
There were many things he had to do in cooperation with the boy in the future.
Looking over the swords of apprentice knights was not even a difficult task.
“Phew, fine. Let’s see your skills first. If you catch my eye, I will teach you and your subordinates while you are on the island.”
“I-I understand!”
Leo stood in front of a dummy with a trembling voice.
A few days had passed since he received the instruction from Joshua to train his sword.
Three thousand thrusts. Three thousand slashes.
Once the daily routine was over, he devoted himself to completing it every single day.
Even though the amount was simply increased, the training was not easy.
On the first day, it ended past midnight, and only when the next day arrived.
“Leonard.”
Joshua called out.
“Did you do what I told you properly?”
“Yes.”
Leo held out his hand as if to prove it.
Calluses had ford where the skin had split and new skin had grown.
“You worked hard.”
“Because you ordered it.”
“Yes, I knew you would do it that way.”
Joshua chuckled.
Just the fact that he recognized it made Leo feel at ease sohow.
“You didn't use aura, did you?”
“I couldn't even if I wanted to. If I used aura, I would have collapsed before swinging a hundred tis.”
“Then is this the first ti you are using aura since the training?”
“I suppose so.”
“Then swing it with all your might.”
Leo tilted his head.
“By any chance, did you co to encourage ?”
“No. I just asked to check.”
“How dull.”
“For your information, don't use your secret technique. If you try to show off technique, Rodwell will be disappointed instead.”
“……Understood.”
After finishing his aningful words, Joshua returned to his spot.
Leo stood in front of the dummy.
He took out his sword while pondering what Joshua's intention was.
He steadied his breathing and squeezed out his aura.
He felt his body beco lighter than before while maintaining the aura.
Whoosh!
The sword traced a trajectory and struck down at the dummy.
Where the blade passed, it left a large wound on the shoulder of the dummy.
“……Huh?”
Leo was astonished.
The scratch was deeper than when he first struck the dummy with aura.
“The sprout is large.”
Rodwell's face stiffened.
He could catch a glimpse of the boy's talent even in the simple motion of slashing.
It was as if the sword were dancing.
However, it was not Leo's talent that surprised him.
“It’s your doing, Joshua.”
“Huh?”
“You sharpened the dull blade of the sword. Where do you intend to use that?”
“I saw the Sunlight Knights at the castle.”
“Carius?”
“Yes.”
Rodwell spoke with a face full of worry.
“I think it is still an unbearable trial for that child.”
“If it were a sword that would break against the likes of re Carius, I wouldn't have kept him under .”
“W-What?”
“It ans that much is a matter of course if one wants to survive in the future.”
“If you take the castle, will it not be enough to just be faithful to managent?”
Joshua glared at him with sharp eyes.
“Faithful to managent? You cannot survive with such half-hearted thoughts.”
“I-Is that so?”
“Do you not think of the possibility of a stronger group targeting the castle, or zombies destroying the castle?”
Rodwell broke into a cold sweat.
Joshua was guarding against the people around him becoming lax.
“Don't lose your sense of urgency. The bastards aiming for our necks are spread out everywhere.”
“……Understood.”
Rodwell breathed a sigh of relief.
He had been rebuked by a student who was much younger than himself.
Strangely, it did not feel bad.
“Perhaps this can be an opportunity for Rodwell as well.”
“An opportunity?”
“Think about it. If you, a General (Grade 4), face Carius, a Templar (Grade 5), how will the world see it? An impression that the strong bullied the weak will be created. This would be an act of saring your chivalry.”
“Hmm~ it could be seen that way.”
“But if you teach Leo, and Leo defeats Carius.”
“If he defeats him?”
“You, the teacher, will be much more revered.”
“Oho.”
A smile spread across his lips just by imagining his words.
Rodwell shook his head violently.
He was afraid that if he kept listening, he might even give up his soul.
“Then I will leave Leo and the two apprentice knights to you. The plan is in fifteen days.”
“Wait a minute! You want to leave the hideout empty until then? I think my subordinates will be anxious.”
“Since there is a rowboat, cross over secretly at dawn. And you can just co to the island from ti to ti.”
“……Seriously.”
In the end, he had no choice but to move according to Joshua's will this ti as well.
* * *
Tania t the morning earlier than usual.
The sound of shouting was heard from the training ground built in front of the hideout.
When she looked out the window, the knights were swinging their swords.
“Who is that?”
A strange man was beside them.
He looked at the knights' movents and corrected each and every posture.
“It doesn't seem like an enemy.”
At first, her heart pounded.
She had heard that rowboats appeared in the waters in front of the island recently.
She thought one of them had recognized this place and raided it.
But if it were an enemy, it was strange for the knights to be training with him.
“I think I've seen him sowhere before.”
She got up from bed, dressed herself, and ca outside.
The two older mages were gathered in the hall.
And between them, a familiar person was visible.
She ran down the stairs.
Joshua had returned.
“Ah, you're here.”
She panted for breath.
Would the feeling of being glad to see him be conveyed with just this?
She looked at his expression.
It was a calm and stiff impression, no different from usual.
Then again, he was not the type of person to show interest in this sort of thing.
“I have been to the castle.”
“Who is the person outside?”
Adela asked.
“It is Sir Rodwell. He should be an acquaintance to the two of you as well. You t him at the conference hall, didn't you?”
“The Captain of the Starlight Knights?”
“Yes.”
“How did you bring him here?”
“I didn't do anything in particular. I just made him want to co.”
The female students narrowed their brows.
What kind of student could make a person who was a Knight Captain co and go at will?
However, if it was Joshua, it was strangely convincing.
“What did he co for?”
“I asked him to look over Leo and the others.”
“You an he’s going to teach them the sword?”
“Yes.”
Joshua approached the female students slightly and examined their bodies here and there.
Adela, unable to bear the embarrassnt, spoke up.
“Ugh, what are you curious about?”
“Adela is 35 points. Serena is 30 points. Tania will be about 45 points.”
An evaluation was given.
The girls, not knowing what that evaluation was about, had bewildered faces.
“It is an evaluation given in comparison to the realm you should have reached by this ti.”
Joshua had a dissatisfied face.
He knew that they were squeezing in ti to practice in secret.
It was after he looked over their mana stone training in Vilne.
However, he judged that it alone was not enough.
“From today, you are training with .”
None of the female students voiced a complaint.
They thought it was rather a joyful thing if he beca their teacher.
“There is an unused room on the top floor. Let’s go there.”
The students went up the stairs.
Joshua tapped the shoulder of Tania, who was following at the very end.
“Lady Lucille told to give you her regards.”
“It seems she arrived at the castle safely. I'm glad.”
“And she told to give you this.”
Joshua handed the grimoire he received from Lucille to the girl.
“Is this a training type grimoire?”
“Yes, it’s a vicious bastard that eats away at mana every ti you read the letters. However, if you can make it yours, you will be able to beco stronger than you are now.”
“Am I training with this?”
Tania spoke with a sulky voice.
It was not that she disliked her sister's gift.
However, she hated that she couldn't learn under Joshua just because she had a book.
“Don't worry. I plan to have you pick out and master the magic you need imdiately from inside the book.”
“Are you going to look over , Senior?”
“Yes.”
“Yay!”
“It won't be sothing to be that happy about.”
Joshua warned.
The training they would do from now on was different from the training using mana stones.
“At that ti, I left it to you all, but this ti I plan to do it while watching over you.”
A chilling feeling brushed through Tania's mind.
There was no way his education would be simple.
They arrived at the room and went inside.
A clean place without a single desk or chair ca into view.
“As you all know, we are going to take over the castle.”
Joshua approached the center of the room.
“You all have a role as well. An important role.”
“What is it?”
Adela asked.
“You all will face the knights of the castle.”
“How many are there?”
“Think of it as 20 to as many as 30 people.”
Adela's eyes grew as wide as lanterns.
“Isn't that too many no matter how you look at it?”
“Yes, it’s many.”
“……Do you think we can do it?”
“If it were impossible, I wouldn't have made you do it. But it is also true that it is dangerous. The possibility will change depending on how well you follow along.”
Adela swallowed hard.
Sohow her heart pounded.
It was a humiliation for a student to receive teaching from another student.
But what if that opponent was a monster who could face a mutant alone?
She had no complaints at all.
“First is Serena.”
Serena tightly gripped the notebook that was as good as her mouth with a tense expression.
“Detection magic is useful. However, it’s troubleso to persist in only that forever.”
Serena nodded.
It was a worry she had thought about before.
When Joshua pointed it out, she felt like her weak point had been struck.
“There are many useful spells in the earth attribute. You will focus on studying the spell [Swamp] during these fifteen days.”
[There’s a problem here.]
“Speak.”
[Even if I want to master that spell, I don't know a single magic formula.]
“Don't worry about that. Because I will write it for you.”
[You’ll write it?]
“The theory, I an.”
[You’re saying you’ll teach the theory of the earth attribute?]
The [Swamp] spell is a Vetus (Grade 6) spell if classified by rank.
However, as with all studies, the foundation was important to reach a high level.
To master one [Swamp], research into the [Earth] attribute in the lower grades was also necessary.
Therefore, most mages did not pay attention to things that were not their own attribute.
The origin of dividing magic towers by attribute was also this.
However, Joshua did that easily.
“Start from here.”
He took out a notebook from his backpack, wrote down a magic formula, and handed it over.
Serena was tongue-tied after seeing it.
The theory linked with [Swamp] was all contained on a single page.
And it was extrely easy to understand.
[Why didn't you write and submit research papers sooner?]
Joshua let out a sigh.
If this were a normal academy ga, he would have built a castle with research papers.
But the goal of this ga is survival.
Grades at school didn't matter a damn bit for survival.
“Put it into your head within three days, and from the fourth day, practice it in real application.”
[That fast?]
“I’ve set this quite generously.”
Serena slowly stepped back while holding the paper.
“Tania, you research the magic from page 50 to page 68 of the grimoire you received this ti. It’s the magic written as [Explosion].”
“……Ah, okay.”
Tania examined the book she was holding.
The book had a small clasp attached, and there were no traces of it being touched by human hands at all.
It was new.
But Joshua pointed out and told her exactly which magic she had to learn without even looking at it.
When she checked the inside, she could confirm what he said.
“You’re the sa as Serena. Theory for three days, and from the next day, you’ll have to focus on manifesting the magic.”
Tania swallowed hard.
Joshua had a look in his eyes that told her to be prepared if she didn't pull it off as scheduled.
“Lastly, Adela.”
“Yes!”
Adela pulled her hands together in anticipation.
“You will do basic practice.”
“W-Why is it only doing basic practice?”
“What is your complaint?”
“Everyone else is mastering new magic, but I feel like I’m walking in place alone.”
“In short, you’re saying you’re conscious of the others, right?”
Adela flustered like a person whose true feelings were struck.
“If that’s the case, rest easy. Because you won't be any easier than the other two.”
Joshua slightly raised the corners of his mouth.
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