Putting aside the Sword Saint leading the team, every other person in the group could more or less be called someone Noah had already defeated.
You really weren’t worried they’d gang up on your disciple, old man?
But after thinking about it, Noah realized that wasn’t quite right either.
His relationship with Nina had improved considerably lately, and the two of them trained together almost every day.
Jino was even less threatening.
He was practically Nina’s little shadow.
Whatever Nina said, Jino did.
And Silas?
Noah had beaten him fair and square.
Everyone acknowledged that, including Silas himself, who had calmly accepted the result after their duel.
Noah considered the composition of the team more carefully.
Including himself, only he, Nina, and Jino had been born in the Holy Land of Swords and had never gone out adventuring in the wider world.
In other words, the three kids were probably the ones being sent out to broaden their horizons and receive their first baptism of blood.
Silas, on the other hand, had once been a wandering swordsman.
He knew the outside world well and had plenty of travel experience.
That was probably why Gal had included him.
And, without being too humble about it, once Silas was added, nearly every young swordsman with the greatest future potential in the Holy Land was gathered in one team.
Which meant this was also an excellent opportunity for Noah to deepen his bonds with a bunch of little geniuses and raise their affection!
(Clair and Alvi, fellow victims of Noah’s sword: ‘What about us?! What about us?!’ ‘Sorry. Your talent isn’t high enough to receive an offer from the Genius Squad.’)
Bandits had to be exterminated whenever they appeared.
There could be no compromise on this matter!
Think about it.
You’re carrying gold and valuables toward the Holy Land of Swords, eating provisions and humming songs, when suddenly—bam!—bandits rob you on the road.
Who could tolerate that?!
A world without bandits was a good world.
Bandit suppression was the righteous duty of heroes like them!
Once Noah had successfully talked himself into it, he even began looking forward to the trip.
His anticipation over potentially sharing new talents diluted much of his earlier unease, and the gloom on his face faded.
Gal ignored the shifting expressions on Noah’s face.
“That’s enough for today. Go prepare. Get yourself into proper condition. Meet in the Space of the Present tomorrow morning, then you’ll depart.”
Released early, Noah said goodbye to Gal and returned straight to his residence.
…
Early the next morning, Noah packed his equipment and travel supplies, dressed in light clothing, strapped on one of his real swords, and headed for the Space of the Present.
The sword had been commissioned by his father, Marcus, to celebrate Noah’s birth.
It was essentially his birth gift.
At two feet and one inch long, it suited Noah’s current height perfectly—easy to grip and easy to swing.
Even once he grew taller and the proportions no longer suited him, the weapon could simply be demoted to a backup or off-hand sword.
Because it was a real blade, though, Noah had barely had any chances to use it.
This time, drawing it and letting it taste blood was all but inevitable.
He pushed open the door and found several people already waiting inside.
Nina stood near a window with her curved sword across her back.
The knuckle guard around the hilt gleamed faintly, clearly maintained with great care.
When she saw Noah enter, Nina gave him a small nod in greeting.
Jino stood not far from her, but somehow managed to look as though he were hiding in a corner.
Compared with usual, his expression was noticeably unnatural.
A few older Sword Saint disciples stood farther away.
That was perfectly normal.
The age gap between disciples could span entire generations, so separate social circles were inevitable.
Noah swept his gaze across the room and walked toward Nina.
“Yo, Nina. Jino too. Looks like we’ll be fighting side by side this time. Let’s watch each other’s backs.”
Noah greeted them.
Chatting with his future teammates while they waited wasn’t a bad way to pass the time.
Yesterday, he’d gone home immediately after morning training.
Nina hadn’t shown up for their usual afternoon sparring session, so Noah had simply spent the time practicing empty Tsubame Gaeshi swings and continuing his march toward the one-million-swing requirement.
He’d guessed Nina had already received notice of the mission and was preparing to leave.
Judging by the details he saw now, that guess had probably been right.
“Mm-hm. This is my first time leaving too…”
Jino responded on his own.
Excitement mixed with a trace of anxiety on his face.
He had spent his whole life here practicing swordsmanship.
This was his first long journey, and unlike Noah, he didn’t occasionally read books to learn about the outside world.
In other words, he was a textbook Holy Land illiterate.
Nina was exactly the same.
“Noah. Father gave both you and me the same assignment this time. Jino isn’t required to do it.”
By assignment, Nina meant killing someone.
Her expression was tightly controlled, but the tension still leaked through her voice.
“Yeah. But as swordsmen, sooner or later we’ll have to cross that line…”
Noah noticed how nervous the two of them were and could only try to ease the pressure through casual conversation.
Before long, Silas arrived at the Space of the Present and came over to greet them.
“My apologies. I’m not late, am I? I took a little longer than expected preparing.”
With that, every member of the Holy Land’s temporary genius squad had arrived.
Soon, the central seat received its owner.
A familiar figure sat down, and one lazy yawn was enough to identify him immediately.
Gal slowly swept his gaze over everyone below and spoke in an almost careless tone.
“You’ve already been informed about the merchants attacked by bandits,” he said.
“We’ll treat this as practical combat training.”
“Swinging a wooden sword well in practice isn’t worth as much as actually cutting down an enemy.”
“A swordsman’s blade has to see blood sooner or later.”
The disciples listened solemnly.
Only three people present held swords that had never killed anyone.
The older disciples quickly understood the real situation.
Normally, ugly jobs like exterminating a bandit group were left to registered adventurers through the Adventurers’ Guild.
Otherwise, the Holy Land could send any random group of adult disciples and wipe the bandits out without trouble.
Bringing along several disciples who hadn’t even reached Sword Saint meant one thing:
The older swordsmen were being sent as babysitters.
The Sword Saints exchanged glances immediately.
‘You go?’
‘Your swordsmanship is excellent.
You go.’
‘Aren’t you always complaining you lack real combat experience?
You go.’
‘Didn’t you say you had a new technique you wanted to test?
You go.’
What kind of joke was this?
Babysitting couldn’t possibly be more fun than practicing swordsmanship.
“Koloki. You’ll lead this group.”
Daily administration in the Holy Land was light, but it wasn’t nonexistent.
The Sword Saints gathered here were all strong enough and currently had no specific duties assigned, which was why Gal had called them over.
“Ante. You’ll go too. Serve as Koloki’s second.”
After thinking for a moment, Gal added another Sword Saint to the team.
He didn’t think much of the bandits, but several of the Holy Land’s most promising young seeds were going on this mission.
One extra layer of insurance wouldn’t hurt.
“Unless it’s necessary, the two of you don’t need to act.”
Gal added that final instruction, completing the arrangements.
The two Sword Saints who had been singled out could only step forward and accept the order.
“Then get moving.”
Their first stop would be the Adventurers’ Guild.