NOVEL NEXT Chapter 28
### Chapter 28
One day, while the entire 72nd floor was focused on Seere’s education, Nahun took Seere to the training hall. Normally, Nahun taught classes in the front or back garden, but today, the training hall was needed.
Seere wasn’t just holding her teddy bear. She also gripped the magic sword, Blood Flow, that Nahun had gifted her. Nahun set Seere down on the floor of the training hall.
Holding her teddy bear and sword, Seere looked up with bright, expectant eyes at Nahun, filled with curiosity about what he was going to do.
Nahun smiled paternalistically and informed Seere of the day’s lesson.
“Today’s lesson is swordsmanship.”
“Swordsmanship class!”
“But first, there’s something we must do.”
“Okay?”
Tilting her head in confusion, Nahun spoke gently to Seere.
“You need to hold the sword with both hands, Seere.”
“Huh?”
“So, you need to put down your teddy bear to attend the class.”
Seere’s father, Seir von Debata, had given her the teddy bear as his last birthday gift before his passing. While it might seem trivial for someone else to put down a teddy bear, it was not so for Seere.
“U…”
Seere appeared reluctant to let go of her teddy bear. With a bit of strength, she hugged the toy tighter and glanced at Nahun. However, Nahun didn’t express any anger or annoyance even when she seemed frustrated.
Still smiling, he reached out to gently pat Seere’s head. She looked at him for a moment, then at her teddy bear.
Nahun’s sudden arrival had once felt strange to Seere, but he had now become a teacher she could rely on and trust more than anyone else. Even without her teddy bear, Nahun would be a strong pillar by her side; Seere now knew that.
Lowering her head slightly, Seere moved her eyes to look at Nahun.
“…Is it okay to stand apart for a moment?”
Nahun was quite surprised by Seere’s words. To be honest, he hadn’t expected her to be ready to start the lesson today. He had thought of gradually persuading her…
‘Has she started to trust me this much?’
This was excellent news for Nahun. It would make future classes and trainings much easier. He nodded vigorously.
“Yes, as long as you stand apart during class, it’s fine.”
“Okay!”
“Should we leave your teddy bear over there?”
Seere scurried over and sat her teddy bear on a chair prepared for resting. Then, she returned to Nahun, holding only Blood Flow.
Feeling a bit awkward having set her teddy bear aside, Seere pouted and wore a peculiar expression. To prevent her from changing her mind, Nahun promptly began the lesson.
“Alright, Seere. First, I’ll teach you how to hold the sword.”
“Okay!”
Nahun picked up a practice sword. He brought the grip part close to Seere so she could see and learn by observing.
“You need to apply enough grip strength, but don’t hold it too tightly. If you do, the sword will be hindered by your strength, slowing down your swings.”
“Okay!”
“I’ll show you the difference.”
Nahun gripped the sword with both hands. At first, he held it comfortably as he had explained, raising it high above his head.
Whoosh!!!
He swung the sword lightly, and a gust of wind surged. Seere had to squint her eyes and blink.
“Did you see that? Remember that speed.”
“Uh….”
She hadn’t seen anything due to the wind. Though flustered, Seere nodded to acknowledge she understood. This time, Nahun gripped the sword tightly.
Snap.
“…Huh?”
“Eh?”
The sword hit the ground with a thud after the grip broke without him even swinging it. Seere’s eyes widened in shock, and Nahun was equally taken aback.
Seere pointed at the broken sword and shouted.
“It, it broke!!!”
“Umm, so…”
Nahun was momentarily at a loss for words, which was unlike him. After a brief pause, he randomly babbled.
“Applying too much strength can lead to this. Seere, being the Demon King, such things might happen when you get stronger in the future.”
“Ah!”
Seere nodded as if she understood. Nahun thought to himself how fortunate it was that Seere was still so innocent.
“Anyway, today we’ll practice holding the sword properly and swinging it. So, you need to learn the stance too, right?”
“Okay!”
Nahun cleared away the broken sword and brought a new practice sword to demonstrate the stance. He wasn’t originally interested in swordsmanship, but he was teaching based on the memories that flowed into him after reincarnation.
‘If I were a great demon, I should be able to handle a sword well.’
Though it may seem like a vague thought, recalling himself wielding a sword in past memories, it was clear he had some experience. He decided he could teach Seere the basics.
“This is the basic stance.”
Holding the sword with both hands and spreading his legs shoulder-width apart while looking straight ahead, Nahun showed her the standard posture.
“Want to try?”
“Okay!”
Seere raised Blood Flow with both hands. Even though the sword looked large and heavy for a child, she managed to hold it easily. She was truly the Demon King.
Following Nahun’s example, Seere fixed her gaze straight ahead and asked.
“Is this okay, teacher?”
“Seere, have you ever learned swordsmanship before?”
“I’m learning from you for the first time.”
Despite that, her posture was quite good. Normally, there would be small flaws when someone tried it for the first time, but other than how adorable she looked holding the sword, there were no awkward parts.
Nahun smiled satisfactorily as he continued the lesson with Seere.
“Alright then, how about we practice swinging? This is all we’ll do today.”
“Why?”
“Being able to swing the sword properly is foundational to all forms of swordsmanship. You need to get this right to learn various sword techniques.”
Nodding her head, Seere seemed to understand what Nahun was saying. Nahun demonstrated first as a sample, swinging the sword.
Whoosh!!
Another gust of wind made Seere squint her eyes again. Unaware of this, Nahun asked her, “Did you see it? Want me to show you again?”
“…”
Shaking her head.
Knowing it wouldn’t matter since she couldn’t see anyway, Nahun thought how quick this child was to understand as he smiled.
“Then, give it a try. I’ll watch from the side.”
“Okay…”
Though she couldn’t see what Nahun had done, Seere decided to give it a try, pulling from the memories she had of having seen it a few times.
Though she hadn’t formally been trained, she had often watched her father, Seir, practice with his sword, which he considered his pride.
She recalled the first of Seir von Debata’s four great swords, Altair, his most prominent sword.
Seere slightly closed her eyes, then opened them as she raised Blood Flow.
“Seere?”
And she swung it.
Boom!!!
“…Huh?”
Nahun stared in disbelief at the training ground. The floor had cracked. It was the result of Seere’s swing. Nahun blinked in shock before turning to Seere.
“Whoa…”
Seere looked even more flustered than him. She had a look of disbelief on her face, unable to understand the situation.
“Uwaaah!!”
“!?”
Seere dropped her sword and rushed to cling to Nahun, bursting into tears. Frightened by what she had done, she instinctively sought comfort from him.
“It’s okay, it’s nothing to worry about.”
“The floor broke…!”
“It’s alright, it’s alright, no one is going to scold you.”
As Nahun comforted Seere, he couldn’t take his eyes off the cracked training hall floor. He began to analyze the situation.
‘Is it the power of the magic sword?’
There was no way Seere could possess this kind of strength, and she hadn’t unconsciously used her magic power. That meant it was likely the sword’s performance. In the original game, it had been a sword that greatly enhanced growth efficiency…
‘Since there is no growth efficiency here, has it manifested in this way?’
Looking at Seere, who had just barely stopped crying, Nahun said.
“Let’s use a practice sword instead of that one. That sword might be too much for you right now.”
“I don’t want to! The sword is scary!!”
Seeing Seere burying her head in his chest, Nahun sighed inwardly.
‘Today’s class is a wash.’
—
Swordsmanship training ended like that, and Nahun took Seere to his office, where he was handling work. While working, he taught Seere various things, training her to manage administrative tasks in the future.
During this, Seere, who had been sitting on his knee, slowly looked up at Nahun. He met her gaze, questioning her with his eyes.
“Teacher.”
“Yeah?”
“It seems some strange people have entered the Demon King Castle.”
“Ah…”
He guessed she was talking about Dein and Eri. Nahun nodded.
“You saw them?”
“There was one man… and a woman too.”
“They are my students.”
“Really?”
Seere’s eyes went wide. Nahun was briefly puzzled by her reaction but soon realized why she was acting that way and made a slight clarification.
“I don’t mean as in teaching. I’m giving them time to study so they can work as my hands and feet later.”
“Are you teaching them?”
“No, they’ll study on their own.”
After hearing this, Seere’s expression relaxed. As she noticed the change in her, Nahun spoke reassuringly.
“I only teach you, Seere. I have no plans to teach anyone else.”
“But you’re teaching Miss Citri too.”
“That’s because Citri will be an ally moving forward. Maintaining a good relationship with her will greatly benefit you in the future.”
After listening to Nahun’s explanation, Seere nodded slightly. Then, she pouted and cautiously asked him.
“You will always be my teacher, right?”
“Of course.”
Hearing her confirmed answer, Seere’s unease seemed to vanish as she smiled brightly.
“Hehe~♪”