Chapter 185: Mentor (2)

Chapter 185: Mentor (2)

Translator: RainTL

Mentor (2)

Miruam was a princess of the royal family.

She tended to actively participate in risky activities for the last 10 years but was still one of the only two princesses of the Kingdom.

Everyone in the Kingdom would vouch for how valuable and priceless she was to the country.

When hunting outside, she would be surrounded by layers of knights and mages, and maids would cast a large umbrella on top of her on sunny days to keep her away from the intense sunlight.

A drink was always ready when she felt thirsty, and a table full of food was offered whenever she started to feel hungry.

That had been the norm for her life.

Haak Haak!

Her breath fell short as sweat flowed down her cheeks. The walking stick stepping across the ground became a pillar that supported not only her leg but her entire body.

Krrrrh!

The growling of a hunter going after its prey reverberated through the dark forest.

Korin Lork!

Miruam was being chased by a large dog.

We are going to train in the mountains today to simulate a real-life situation.

On the second week during the mentoring session, Miruam couldnt help but frown in response to Korins words.

Why?

She asked but was met with a response that made this sound like the most natural thing in the world.

Practice makes perfect.NewW novels updates at novelhall.com

There were a lot of things she wanted to say. The reason she had asked him to be her mentor wasnt to learn anything from him it was an expression that she wanted to sponsor the promising knight, Korin Lork, and draw him into her faction.

He isnt stupid enough to not know, right?

Instead of revealing her real thoughts, she replied using a different set of logic.

Ive had enough real-life practices already.

Of course. Considering how many hunts youve been out on.

She had to contemplate what he meant by that.

Hunting.

It was a widely known hobby of hers, but only a few of her subordinates knew what they actually hunted.

Looking after villages is the duty of the royal family, after all. I have hunted more than enough demonic beasts.

Were they really demonic beasts?

Her face crumpled into a venomous frown. She was irritated not because the truth had been revealed, but because of his sarcastic attitude.

Well, lets do something more valuable than a hunt like that.

No. Theres no need for me to receive this kind of

Do you want me to stop mentoring you then?

It was a provocative statement and one that made her severely displeased.

He was practically asking her, Didnt you want to get closer to me? Dont you want to forge a connection? Are you going to give up?

You are a lot more annoying than I initially thought, Sir Korin.

There is a story about a King who visited a magnificent strategist three times to earn their favor. Maybe you should follow their example and model that kind of behavior, Your Highness.

Will you join hands with me after three mentoring sessions?

That depends.

Tell me what it depends on then.

Korin shrugged his shoulders in response to her straightforward question.

Lets make sure to follow the session properly before anything.

That marked the beginning of a real-life practice in the mountains.

Why am I doing this

Her legs were heavy. The dress that she put on to decorate herself was nothing but a nuisance when hiking through the harsh mountain slopes.

Tell me if you need help. I can carry you up there.

No thanks.

Despite the disability of one of her legs, Miruam gritted her teeth and continued climbing the mountain.

He didnt mention helping out again. She liked it better that way. Her disability had brought the pity of many others and there were even some people who tried to help her without her consent.

She wasnt fond of being on the receiving end of pitying gazes and preferred this kind of normal treatment.

Korin was often slightly annoying, but for some reason, she couldnt bring herself to hate him for it.

In any case, Miruam wasnt a normal civilian either she was a Grade 1 mage and knew of several spells that could support her across the mountain.

Shh.

That was when Korin called her to stop.

Can you feel that? He asked.

Not really.

She gave an honest reply. They were about halfway up the western mountain, and she couldnt feel anything different.

Try smelling the air. See what kind of smell this is.

How would I know that?

It did smell slightly funny. The air felt very fresh, but there was a hint of something that stimulated her nose.

From now on you should.

Korin took a few steps forward before rustling through the bush.

Demonic beasts live in a way that is actually pretty similar to that of normal animals. You know, like the dog family, the pig family, and the cat family of animals.

Feline demonic beasts are quite clean so theyre hard to track down. They hide their feces and regularly groom their own fur so they dont smell.

Pigs have a unique scent to them but these guys actually hide from people quite well. They can even smell the steel in a knights equipment and tell whether they would be a threat to them or not.

Due to that, they tend to think of mages as easy prey, because they carry around staves that smell like wood.

After at last finding something from the bush, he gestured to Miruam with his hand. She walked towards him and found a large pile of brown that was giving off a strong odor.

Did you have to show me this?

Youre raising snakes so why are you taken back by poo?

Theyre very different in size.

Anyway, do you know whose poo this is?

This is it for the day.

Arriving at the Academy, I escorted her back to the dormitory. Well, even though I called an escort, we were both living in the Special Dormitory together anyway, but that was my intention, to say the least.

Enjoy your weekend.

Yeah.

She was about to turn around so I called her to a stop.

I believe I havent received my reward yet.

Uhk!

Miruam frowned with a questioning look in her eyes, but a frown of that level was nothing in comparison to all the vicious expressions she could make.

Do I really need to?

Of course. Every week, at the end of the mentoring session

You want me to smile, right? I know that already.

To this date, I wasnt sure why Miruam was so obsessed with me in both the last and the current iteration. However, all that mattered was that I could still remember the words she spoke to me on her deathbed.

I love you. Sorry for saying that so late. I love you. I really love you, Korin.

I remembered the girl who turned cold along with that bitter smile on her face, so

Try smiling. Im telling you youd be pretty.

But youve never even seen me smile.

Im certain it would be the prettiest smile in the world.

I simply wanted that heart-rending smile to turn into one of pure joy.

Haa Alright. If you really want to see my smile.

She soon twisted the corners of her lips to give an awkward smile that looked more like a sneer than a smile.

Hope its a little bit better next time.

How rude, replied Miruam with a faint pout.

After that, she moved on to the same topic as always.

So, any thoughts of becoming my consort? If you accept my offer, I can give you everything I have.

I am afraid of the things that I would be forced to do once I accept that offer.

It was only for a short period of time but I enjoyed my short marriage life with the princess until it all crumbled to pieces due to everything that happened afterward.

You were my destiny. Now its already too late though

I could have made you happier I could have helped you smile and yet

Be patient and wait. One day, both you and I will be in front of a crossroad.

It would be impossible to persuade her.

She would never stop and would never give up. In the end, she would achieve her long-cherished desire.

So now wasnt the time just yet.

I had to force the choice onto her after overpowering her; trampling and oppressing everything she had.

Only after I destroyed everything she had up her sleeve would we be able to talk on equal grounds. In order to do that

Lets go in. Its getting cold.

I am going to crush you, Miru.

***

I walked into the dormitory with Miru. It was going to be weekends so I had to train hard or complete some missions.

Plus, I had to teach Ren and Ron over the weekends so it was going to be a busy one. And although Ron looked like a fourteen-year-old teenager, Ren was still growing very slowly which was a little bit of concern.

I had to thank Marie for letting me borrow Doggo for the day, practice entering the Domain with Alicia and train bare-handed martial arts with Hua Ran.

Usually, I spent most of my time training with Master, but the only problem this week was that she wouldnt be here until Sunday.

It was going to be a very hefty weekend. Normally, Park Sihu was the one planning and taking care of other external matters, while I focused my time on training.

It is a little bit daunting that I have to worry about the big picture every time.

These days, I was starting to understand the amount of weight that Park Sihu had been carrying in the last iteration.

However, that still didnt justify his actions. Recently, the anger I had against him was starting to fade along with my memories about him but I still couldnt accept his way of doing things.

Korin youre back. And Your Highness Elizabeth.

Please dont be so formal, Senior Dunareff.

Marie took what I was carrying and carried it herself like it was the most natural thing in the world.

I felt a bit sorry but thankful at the same time.

Oh, right! Korin. The Princess came back!

Princess?

I was wondering which princess she was talking about and saw the Saintess walking down the stairs from the second floor with her usual pink hair fluttering behind her.

Korin~! Korin-dongsaeng! Oh my. You came with my dearest sister Miru.

I told you not to shorten my name

Glossing over Miruams complaint, Estelle hopped her way towards me, which gathered everyones eyes on us.

Korin-dongsaeng!

Umm y, yes? Saintess?

Ehem! Like I said, call me Noona.

Whats wrong, Noona?

It was obvious that she would be pestering me until she got what she desired so I immediately called her the way she wanted me to but for some reason, the surroundings suddenly started to go cold.

Lets go on a date tomorrow!

Pardon?

This feels like deja vu But like, why are all the ladies around me so proactive with their sudden attacks?

Ive been thinking about you every day, and thats why I came back as quickly as I could! You can spare some time for me, right?

I certainly can but

Then meet me at the plaza with the clock tower tomorrow at noon!

She immediately returned to the stairs after finishing her sentence. Suddenly, she went, Ah! as if she remembered what she forgot to do, and came back to give a sudden kiss on my cheek.

I will be going to sleep early today to prepare for tomorrow~! A beautiful lady must sleep early and wake up early, you see.

I am beautiful, right?

Estelle added along with a wink.

Is she intentionally trying to put me in a rough spot?

It was hard to bear the gazes of the ones around me. Miruams eyes were especially colder and were as frosty as a blizzard.