The Academy’s Savage Swordsman

2. fiance

From the day after I collapsed while swinging my sword, I devoted myself to training every day. Sir Leon looked at me with strangely intense eyes, not admiring me.

‘Is that bastard gay?’

By the time that thought crossed my mind, Sir Leon called me over and said he would show me something interesting.

When the suspicion about catching people was about to turn into something real——what he showed me was something other than a sleeping dragon hiding in his pants.

“There are four forces in the world. Do you know?”

“What, gravity?”

“gravity… ? No, it is Aura and Force, magic and divine power.”

Very familiar words flowed from Sir Leon’s lips. Aura and Force, magic and divine power. Four abilities that players can choose from in the game.

The power to cut rocks with a sword and make people fly through the sky.

“Brother Kyle is the eldest son of a knight family. You will learn Aurors.”

“Can’t you learn anything else?”

“Well, you can learn magic, but… You’re going to have a hard time. It’s because they have a lot of necessary talents unlike Aurors.”

To become a mage, it is said that not only the talent for magical powers, but also the intelligence to understand magic formulas, and the persistence to study for 10 or 20 hours while sitting.

So, unless I was born as a mutant genius, I didn’t even dream of magic.

“Then what else? Force or divine power?”

“The Force is an innate superpower. It is the kind of power that cannot be learned or taught by anyone. Divine power… … Do you want to become a priest?”

“No, it’s not like that.”

“Then, in the end, all that remains is to come.”

At Sir Leon’s words, I expressed my regret. When I look at movie or cartoon characters, they say that they have hidden bloodlines and use all their strength alone – I didn’t seem to have anything like that.

Did he read my mind by looking at my expression? Sir Leon said with a chuckle.

“The environment and talent to learn Auras are amazing. It does not lag behind magic power, force, or divine power.”

“No, I don’t particularly hate it.”

“You will change your mind once you see it. I will show you.”

Saying so, Sir Leon pulled out his wooden sword. Holding the sword, he closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and began to spit something out.

“Articles dealing with Aurors are divided into three stages.”

Something that was gurgling around his body was absorbed into his body with breathing. Sir Leon swung a wooden sword in that state.

Incredibly fast speed. A swing that is as fast as it is physically possible passes in front of me.

“First, the stage of an aura user who can strengthen the body through aura.”

“Oh, by any chance the next one is Expert, and the last one is Master?”

“… … Who did you hear from?”

“No, it’s too obvious.”

I remembered the settings I saw in the game. The setting, which seemed to have been copied from a mass market, was maintained in reality as well.

‘No matter how much it is, the name is f*cking insincere.’

It was just a naming that changed the novice expert master to English, so it was laughable. I stopped blowing my nose and looked at Sir Leon.

Lord Leon realized I knew about the Aurors, but he didn’t stop teaching me nonetheless.

“As you know, when I can put an aura on something that is not my body, I become an expert.”

Pooh-! Swinging the wooden sword and smashing the log, Sir Leon led the wooden sword.

“And if you can bring the aura out of your body, you are a master.”

“Can’t you show me what you take out?”

“Ha ha ha, you say something interesting. young master.”

Sir Leon scratched his cheek as if he was embarrassed and looked away.

“I’m sorry, but I haven’t reached Master yet. It’s not that easy.”

“Isn’t the master like that?”

“Among the knights, of course, even the Count has not reached the level of a master.”

“Eh, Dad too?”

“Yes. It is not easy for anyone to reach the level of Master. If the young master rises to the level of a master, he will be given the title of swordsman and at the same time—”

At the same time—— Sir Leon looked up at the sky and opened his mouth, as if he was thinking of an ideal existence he only envisioned in his dreams.

“You’ll be able to achieve whatever you want, Bocchan.”

“Can you be a king or an emperor?”

“Umm- the emperor is a little… … It might be possible for the king of a small country.”

“What, you can’t do anything.”

Hearing my grunt, Sir Leon just let out a laugh and looked at me. I jumped from the log I was sitting on and said.

“Whatever… … You have to work really hard to do that, right?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Then—let’s go to training right now.”

I left Sir Leon behind and started running in the lead. Training was nothing new.

Effort is like that. A series of painful days.

Even though success was not guaranteed at the end——he pushed himself forward into suffering.

* * *

It’s already been three months since I was forced to train by Sir Leon. In the meantime, Yeongji started to become strangely busy.

Feeling puzzled, I asked the tutor who was educating me, and he looked down at me in amazement and answered.

“Isn’t the head of the family coming back from an expedition soon? Could it be that you didn’t know?”

“uh… … I’m hearing it for the first time.”

“—I told you before class started a month ago. It seems that you didn’t listen to the class properly?”

“oh.”

In the end, it was discovered that I had been bruised at that time, and I even took a paper test to review past lessons.

Realizing that I hardly remembered anything from the paper test, the tutor began to vomit and insist on having me study again.

After skillfully escaping from his wrath, I headed for the training ground.

“Leon… … kyung?”

Unfortunately, there was no one at the training ground. Well, he said the Count would be back soon. It was strange that the knights, who were the Count’s vassals, did not go to meet the Count.

As I stared at the desolate training ground, I started running through the parade ground wearing the wooden sword Sir Leon had made for me.

How would you feel if you were alone, how would you like them? After all, life is about living alone.

“Gazuaaa!”

I ran through the parade ground alone, and returned to the mansion after I finished swinging my wooden sword.

The Count, who returned before I knew it, greeted me.

* * *

“Are you here? Count.”

“Well.”

Head of the Meyer family. Karl Mayer received a report from Leon, his vassal and knight, about what had happened in the estate while he was away.

The territory was peaceful, and there was no damage from monsters or bandits.

In a way, it was natural. In the first place, even if he wasn’t there, Youngji set up a system so that it would run well on its own.

“What’s special about it?”

“Your master has started learning the sword.”

“Kyle?”

But nothing ever goes the way you think it will. The count began to laugh when he heard that his son had started learning the sword.

Is it that blood can’t be deceived? I thought he would want to play for at least a few more years.

“Are there any qualities?”

“… … It’s amazing.”

“Oh, you say that?”

Saying that, Carl looked at Leon. Leon nodded his head as if he were serious. Leon was the most outstanding knight trusted by the count. It wasn’t that I left the manor to him for nothing.

To the extent that words like that come out of the mouth of an article that is surprising. I couldn’t even guess what level it was.

“What did you teach?”

“I only taught basic slashing, swinging, and stabbing.”

“Did you not complain?”

“I told you the Count would teach you.”

“Still, he deserves to whine about teaching me another skill.”

The Count said he would see it for himself and headed to the training ground with Leon. To be precise, to the hallway overlooking the training ground at a glance.

Because of the count’s welcome ceremony after returning from an expedition, only one person, Kyle, was wielding a sword in the empty training ground.

As a son, he didn’t come to greet his father’s return, and he might not like the fact that he was swinging a sword, but the count rather liked the way he looked.

“… … Sir Leon. How many months have you been teaching?”

“It’s been three months now.”

It’s three months… … Recalling the time when he learned the sword, the Count let out a sigh as he watched Kyle swing the sword.

Reached that level in just three months? It was unbelievably perfect even if he had been learning the sword for three years instead of three months.

While the Count was exclaiming admiration inwardly, Leon, who was watching him, delivered even more shocking news.

“He’s been like that ever since I first taught him how to use a sword.”

“… … what?”

Looking at Leon in disbelief, he lightly nodded his head as if he wasn’t joking.

Realizing his son’s qualities, the Count abandoned the idea of teaching himself only after a few years.

If it was talent like that, a second master could have appeared after the first head of household. The swordsman who makes the family great… … .

“I want to see your face.”

“I will call you.”

“—Do not interrupt the training, and bring it to me when it is over.”

The Count left those words and headed to the restaurant. There was a heap of work to do… How can you be hungry without having a party on a day like today?

* * *

When I was swinging my sword at the training ground, I felt someone staring at me. The owner of the gaze was Sir Leon, and he headed to take me with him as soon as my training was over.

I couldn’t even wash my sweat and was dragged to the room where I was able to face the Count waiting for me there. Realizing that I hadn’t even greeted the householder who had returned from the expedition belatedly, I hurriedly posted a greeting.

“Kyle, how are you?”

“Yes, Dad.”

Returning from the expedition, the count looked quite tired, but the smile never left his face.

The Count, who tousled my hair like a man, mentioned training from tomorrow, as if he had seen me wielding a sword earlier.

“From now on, learn the sword from me.”

“uh… Yes, I understand.”

“Yes, are you not sick anywhere?”

“do not have.”

The count and I had a conversation of a common rich man who was not aristocratic. In the middle of the conversation, the count let out a sound like he had come to his mind belatedly, and exploded the bomb at the same time.

“Come to think of it, my fiancé is coming tomorrow.”

“… … Yes?”

I tilted my head as if I had misunderstood the Count’s words. However, the count only smiled and did not correct his words.

I stared blankly at him and let out a blank laugh.

Count, no, father. Engagement at this age… … ?