Chapter 60

Chapter 60 – My Children (3)

“Uh......?”

I flinched and stiffened at the sudden sight. It seemed I had caught a glimpse of Marquis Foltaine entering the exam hall. His goal was obvious.

‘With that old man’s personality, he won’t let that slide just because it’s his child......’

After all, Marquis Foltaine’s child was also participating in this knight exam. Haiman de Foltaine, was it? That kid had been utterly defeated by Jan.

“Hmm.”

Though I felt uneasy, my child came first. Just then, Kirian stepped onto the training ground.

“You can do it, Kiriaaaaan!”

“Don’t embarrass yourself.”

Encouraged by Harun and Jan, Kirian looked solemnly at his opponent.

‘Don’t get nervous, kid. Just do what you’ve been doing.’

To be honest, Kirian was lacking in many ways compared to Jan. It wasn’t so much a matter of talent as it was that he was still wearing clothes that didn’t quite fit him.

But, it didn’t matter.

‘This isn’t a test where you have to beat your opponent to pass.’

Of course, I couldn’t help but feel tense myself.

‘Damn it. It’s not even my exam, but my heart is pounding.’

My palms started to sweat. Not all your fingers are the same length. The truth is, I was a little more concerned about Kirian than the other kids.

‘Just don’t lose your nerve.’

His opponent was nearly 2 meters tall at that age. He was built like a bear.

‘This isn’t good. For small fry, the difference in size is absolute......’

Just as anxiety began to creep up again—

“Begin!” a voice shouted.

“Hup!”

With a loud shout, Kirian swung his sword. It was the most basic of basics taught in the Arsene family. A diagonal slash, using the whole body starting from the ankle, through the waist, shoulders, and finally the wrist. The family’s swordsmanship fully utilized their innate strength. However,

Thwack!

“That tickles.”

“......!”

Astonishingly, it was the sound of the wooden sword striking human flesh. Not a ‘thud’, but a ‘thwack!’ The bear-like opponent simply took Kirian’s strike to his shoulder.

‘Is that......?’

Even I was so surprised that my eyes widened. No matter how lacking Kirian’s strength might be, this was beyond reason. He didn’t even bat an eye.

“What are you doing!? If this were a real battle, you would have just given your shoulder to the enemy!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. The attack was just so boring.”

Was he trying to put on some sort of performance? Despite the examiner’s scolding, the guy just lazily nodded his head.

But why? His movements seemed so familiar to me.

Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!

The sound of wooden swords clashing echoed repeatedly. Every so often, there was a dull thud. Of course, it was the sound made when Kirian allowed an attack.

‘That guy...... There’s no doubt. He can envelop his body with mana.’

My face stiffened.

It’s much harder to envelop the body with mana than to do the same with a sword. To put it in a way that’s easy to understand, let’s compare it to ‘fire’.

Iron, the material of the sword, can withstand the heat of the fire to some extent.

But human flesh would quickly burn, blister, and turn to ashes. Their thresholds are different.

The same goes for mana. It’s incredibly difficult to contain that immense natural mana in a weak human body.

Maybe a Master, sometimes called a transcendental, could do it.

‘More importantly, using mana like that is too inefficient.’

In my past life, there were only a few people who could do that while maximizing efficiency, even at a low level.

‘But wasn’t the use of mana prohibited in this exam?’

My face crinkled like a piece of paper. Thinking about it, it was clearly a violation. However, even the examiners wouldn’t be familiar with such a subtle use of mana.

Judging by their reactions, it didn’t seem like the bear-like kid had bribed them. They probably didn’t even recognize what was happening.

‘......That Bobson Treman, I heard he was from a mediocre family......’

I was just beginning to wonder, ‘Should I intervene?’

A flash of realization struck Kirian’s mind.

“You’re lacking experience, experience! Your friends have been training for years, beating up kids! You’ve barely had a month of sparring with your siblings! Did you really think you’d transform in such a short time!?”

“......!”

Yes. He was right. It had only been a little over a month. The idea that he could catch up to his peers in such a short time was pure arrogance.

“And if you keep lowering your head like that, I swear I’ll tie your neck to a splint!”

Harun and Jan quickly intervened to calm the honored guest down. People around them were already staring at this bizarre spectacle.

“Master! Calm down! Please, calm down! Here, breathe with me. In, out, in, out.”

“Stop it. No, I didn’t mean to stop breathing. Keep breathing. Hey! And don’t glare like that!”

The signal to end the exam had long since sounded. Realizing this belatedly, Kirian bowed his head.

“......Thank you.”

“Hmph.”

Bobson Treman, who had been watching with a smirk, left the training ground. As if he couldn’t be bothered with such a pathetic sight anymore.

Kirian, gathering up the broken pieces of his wooden sword, soon left the training ground as well.

“......I’m sorry, honored guest.”

And immediately bowed his head. The once fiery-tempered honored guest suddenly stopped his tirade.

“Listen.”

“......Yes.”

“You were up against a strong opponent. Why are you acting so defeated?”

“I’m sorry......”

“Losing is losing. Is your life over?”

“.......”

Kirian couldn’t find the words to reply. He had shown such a pitiful display.

“If you’re lucky and things go well, that’s great. If not, then you train hard and take the test again. This isn’t a battlefield.”

“Yes......”

“Don’t let a sense of defeat take over and waste precious years of your life. Or I’ll knock some sense into you myself.”

“......Honored guest......”

“Remember this. These years will never return. Don’t tarnish these memories, or you’ll carry that regret for the rest of your life.”

Kirian bit his lip hard without realizing it. He was right.

Wasn’t this the very reason Kirian had sought him out, to avoid becoming an adult who would later regret not having tried hard enough?

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you never lose to anyone again. A year? Even half a year will be enough.”

“......!”

Kirian had been silently steeling himself. Suddenly, a new emotion flooded his mind along with those words.

That emotion was none other than ‘fear.’ He trembled all over.

“Now, you realize that the swordsmanship of the Arsene family doesn’t suit you, right? Actually, you probably felt that way for a while now.”

Kirian had, of course, used his family’s swordsmanship for the exam.

Although he had recently been introduced to a technique that felt better through the honored guest, he couldn’t abandon the style he had practiced his whole life in the face of such an important test.

“Kirian, from now on, I’ll train you even more thoroughly, as if you were receiving personal tutoring.”

“......!”

Kirian’s face turned pale. Memories of recent days flooded his mind. Days where he couldn’t endure the grueling training, vomiting until he had nothing left in his stomach.

“Urp......”

“......Fuck.”

“Thank you, Father. For teaching me swordsmanship that fits me.”

Kirian, Harun, and Jan all responded in turn.

“Phew.”

Ancelot sighed after saying everything he needed to.

“There’s so much to do. Ugh, but how am I supposed to deal with those imperial bastards? It’s not like I can just march into the palace and demand to see them......”

Ancelot grumbled to himself. The ones who had come to the Kingdom of Hart. They were undoubtedly connected to this miserable situation. Those damned officials who had spread his subordinates’ swordsmanship far and wide.

“The Empire......?”

“Oh, just talking to myself.”

Despite his words, Ancelot’s worries only deepened.

***