Sir Hero, It’s Time to Train!

Christian had been informed by his father that there would be companions on his journey.

He wanted to refuse, but he knew well what his parents were worried about, so he couldn’t oppose it.

Besides, the person selected by his parents was someone he was curious about—a talent from the family supporting the Rangar region.

“But it’s Liber Cotra.”

And when he finally met one of them, Liber Cotra, he felt a strange sensation he couldn’t quite place.

“I thought he’d look less impressive.”

The traitor of the Rangar region, whom his master had personally torn apart—or rather, punished.

Liber Cotra.

He was an intellectual and gentle young man, and even his actions exuded the dignity of a noble. At least, that was the atmosphere he presented outwardly.

“It’s a pleasure to formally meet you. I am Liber of the Cotra Viscounty.”

The meeting in the drawing room was brief. Liber Cotra was the first to greet Christian and Aira with a bow, introducing himself.

Even though the siblings were children of a prominent family, Liber Cotra was already the legitimate heir of the Cotra Viscounty.

Furthermore, he was older than the siblings and had no real need to bow so excessively.

“Caedwin.”

“Tsk.”

Liber gave a low warning to Caedwin, who stood idly by, glaring disapprovingly at Christian and Aira. Caedwin, overtly displaying his displeasure, begrudgingly nodded and spoke again.

“Caedwin Humbleton.”

“Caedwin….”

“What?!”

With a huff, Caedwin turned his head as if unable to yield any further. At this rude behavior, Liber sighed with a troubled look.

“I apologize. He acts like this, but doesn’t really have ill intentions, please understand.”

“It’s okay. I’m used to it.”

“You’re used to it?”

Christian glanced at Aira sitting beside him, leaving Liber to ponder over potential political language.

Aira expressed her dissatisfaction with Caedwin through her entire demeanor, a displeasure that even bordered on hostility, which seemed dangerous.

However, Liber couldn’t muster the words to interject.

“Elder brother Liber, you’ll get used to it soon.”

“Heh, heh. But calling me elder brother? Please, speak more casually.”

“As I mentioned earlier, speak comfortably. It’s more convenient for us too.”

“But….”

“It’s okay. Even the fathers discourage such stiff hierarchies, don’t they?”

In the Rangar region, as Christian mentioned, distinctions based on hierarchy were less prevalent.

For the sake of survival, there was a solid command structure, and rules naturally had to be strict as they were directly related to survival.

Therefore, when meeting privately, the people treated each other affectionately. It was the relationship among families that lived together in the Rangar region.

Knowing why such customs formed, Liber merely smiled.

“Then let’s do that.”

“Yes. It’s easier for us that way too.”

After all, they were the ones who would travel together to the capital. There was no need to leave any discomfort unresolved.

However…

“Comfort? Not at all….”

“Comfort, what a joke….”

Caedwin and Aira muttered simultaneously, their eyes shooting daggers at each other.

“Aira, did he ever hit you in the past?”

“I didn’t get hit, did I?!”

Christian whispered in Aira’s ear, but she shouted instead. At Aira’s outburst, Caedwin, evidently upset, snapped up with a flushed face.

“If anyone got hit, it was me! And it wasn’t ‘he,’ it was you! You, Christian!”

“Me?”

“What’s with that clueless look! Or do you not even remember me!”

Christian just sat there with a puzzled expression as Caedwin’s face turned beet red.

“If you asked for it, you got it. Why would you show off in a spar, know your place!”

Aira smirked at Caedwin, who was bristling.

“Uh?!”

Realizing what was happening, Christian cautiously tried to understand Caedwin’s point of view.

“… How badly did I beat him?”

“You thrashed him. When you had just succeeded in body activation, he foolishly showed off, saying it was fake, and you completely destroyed his limbs.”

“Did I really do that?”

This brat, was this truly the master’s blood?

Considering how Aira behaved and from Neria’s reaction, Christian had a vague idea, but he couldn’t believe he’d beaten someone much weaker than himself…

“It wasn’t like that! And you! Aira, you did the same! You lost in a spar and ran to your brother to get him to beat me up!”

“When did I do that?! You lying brute, do you want to die?! Come here, let me tear off that lying mouth!”

Caedwin shouted, and Aira was so startled that she nearly shouted back. When Aira turned her head, Christian was watching her wordlessly.

“It’s not true!”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Don’t speak with your eyes! Just say it directly!”

“Well, aren’t you proud of me for stepping up for elder sister’s vengeance?”

“Oh, you’re really annoying!”

Christian was relieved that the previous owner of his body seemed to have gotten along well with Aira.

Additionally, he felt relieved that Caedwin’s apparent dislike for him and Aira was just a trivial incident.

Watching Aira and Caedwin growl at each other, Liber sighed and shook his head.

Meanwhile, Christian sat beside Liber, looking at the girl unable to do anything nearby, before smiling and speaking.

“And you are…?”

“So-Sonya Derin. Nice to meet you.”

“Oh, from Viscount Derin’s family…”

Having finished her greeting, Sonya glanced at Christian and Aira, before timidly clinging to Liber.

‘Both have mana reservoirs. Their prayers of mana aren’t bad either.’

Liber stored his mana internally, while Caedwin displayed his mana outwardly. But this didn’t mean Liber was superior or Caedwin was lacking.

The nature of mana varied depending on the wave technique or the method of its accumulation. If the Worden’ mana was the wind, Cotra’s was a tranquil lake, and Humbleton’s was a raging flame.

In Christian’s eyes, both were fairly well-trained.

“I was curious about who would be coming with us to the royal capital, and it turned out well.”

Aira grinned menacingly at Caedwin as she smiled broadly.

“Come on, get over here! I’ll utterly crush you this time!”

“I heard the rumors. But I always thought about it. I understand if it’s your brother, but I remember you weren’t that outstanding.”

Caedwin couldn’t remain idle and stood up. The two immediately stormed out of the drawing room.

Instead of stopping them, Christian leisurely stayed, snacking on cookies. Finding this strange, Liber carefully asked.

“You sure it’s okay?”

“It’s alright. Kids grow up fighting. And revenge should be done by oneself, right?”

“Revenge….”

“Oh, is ‘revenge’ too strong a word?”

“No, not necessarily. It doesn’t have to be for grand reasons. If this helps ease any lingering bad feelings, it’s good.”

Liber nodded in agreement with Christian’s sentiment.

It was better to resolve minor conflicts early than let them fester and potentially cause major issues later.

“If elder brother Liber has anything bottled up inside, don’t hesitate to air it out. Sometimes, it’s more comfortable that way.”

“I’ll try if the chance arises.”

With nothing more to say, chrisitian gathered a handful of cookies and rose from his seat. He stood still by the door of the drawing room, then turned his head slowly.

“… Is there a training ground nearby?”

“They probably went to the large open-air training grounds outside. From the intensity, it seems they want to compete fairly in a public place.”

“Hmm, if not, they might have already drawn blades several times.”

Recognizing how the two would act, he guessed their movements. Christian found Liber’s ability to accurately assess people’s essence impressive.

Knowing how to guide people was a quality necessary for a leader. However, when someone with such quality was subordinate, that ability was called something else.

Contrariness.

Following Liber, who led the way, Christian’s eyes grew icy.

*

Leaving the drawing room, Christian, who was following Liber through the mansion of the Derin family, suddenly vocalized a thought.

“It’s splendid, but quieter than I imagined.”

The mansion was well-kept and stylish, but there was a noticeable lack of presence from staff or knights responsible for security.

It was the opposite of the Worden’ mansion, which was always bustling with people.

“Oh, father and mother are always busy….”

Sonya misinterpreted Christian’s remark as a criticism and timidly gauged his reaction. Liber, instead, addressed Christian’s curiosity on Sonya’s behalf.

“Viscount Derin and his wife are the type who need to see and touch everything themselves to be satisfied. They spend most of their time outside the mansion, so there aren’t many people inside.”

“They seem quite active.”

“Yes, and they are admirable people.”

The fact that the family head personally inspected the fields and worked alongside the people was commendable.

Thanks to their passion, the crops from the Derin Viscounty not only sustain the Rangar region but are also of high enough quality for export.

“They’ll be back by evening for sure. They actually waited all day yesterday for you to arrive.”

“Hmm, I must apologize as soon as we meet.”

“Haha, I’d appreciate that.”

Christian’s willingness to directly apologize was something new to Liber.

Considering Christian’s age, he was at an age where he’d typically be quite arrogant.

He had the background and skills to support him. Sonya, listening to Christian’s words, found her perception of him slightly changing as well.

Under such lightened circumstances, guided by Liber and Sonya, they finally arrived at the external training grounds.

Thwack—!

“Huh? What’s that noise?”

The sharp and somewhat menacing sound made Liber flinch and quickly move forward. Left alone, Sonya glanced at Christian and Liber, bowed slightly, and hurried to the training ground.

Despite the hurry around him, Christian remained calm. He could clearly imagine what was happening inside.

“Sigh….”

And indeed, the scene in the training grounds was just as Christian had anticipated.

Aira was taking deep breaths, mustering her mana. Her eyes gleamed with a fierce red light, and her toned biceps stood out noticeably.

“Finally feel refreshed.”

With a bright smile, she casually tossed aside a broken wooden sword on the ground. At her feet lay Caedwin, foaming at the mouth and unconscious.

Aira, seeming wholly indifferent to Caedwin, approached the entrance where Christian was standing with a light stride.

As Liber and Sonya watched Aira in bewilderment, Christian chuckled and addressed them.

“I hope neither of you has done anything to upset Aira?”