Lloyd approached the knights and spoke.
"Anyone will do. Would one of you spar with me?"
The knights looked at one another, then let out incredulous snickers.
"Were you serious just now? No, before that, have you ever even held a sword?"
"Shouldn't you be holding a wooden sword instead of a steel sword first?"
"What if you get hurt? You have no mana, so you will recover more slowly than others."
In a way, the knights' reactions were only natural.
The Lloyd they knew was so weak that he would lose consciousness during sparring matches.
'This body certainly does seem weak, but......'
It was not a problem.
He had abilities and abundant experience that others did not possess.
They would more than make up for his lack of strength and stamina.
When Lloyd raised his sword and took a stance, a young knight with many freckles stepped forward, shrugging as though he had no choice.
"I'll be your opponent. I'll gladly let you take the first move."
"I won't refuse."
As soon as he spoke, Lloyd kicked off the ground and closed the distance to the knight in an instant.
'Fast!'
The knight was flustered by the unexpected speed.
There was no longer any trace of ease on his face.
While the knight was taken aback, Lloyd followed his usual habit and aimed first for the head, the vital point of all living creatures.
"Gasp!"
Startled by Lloyd's unexpected movement, the knight hastily blocked with his sword.
CLANG—.
The sharp sound of metal striking metal rang through the training ground.
The knight, who had barely blocked Lloyd's strike, could not hide his astonishment.
As far as he knew, Lloyd had never learned swordsmanship even once.
Yet those movements!
However, that was not the only reason he was so surprised.
'He aimed for my vital point from the start. Does that mean he intended to kill me......?'
Beads of sweat ran down the knight's forehead.
That was not the only thing that surprised him.
'Wasn't Young Master Lloyd supposed to have a weak body?'
In truth, Lloyd had used Telekinesis to increase his speed, but the knight had no way of knowing that and changed his assessment.
'Unlike what I heard, he is a formidable opponent. I cannot let my guard down any longer.'
The knight cast aside his disdain for Lloyd and drew up his mana.
Sensing the unusual energy coming from him, Lloyd quickly opened the distance between them.
'Does he intend to use mana?'
If so, now was the time to use the skill.
Lloyd immediately activated it.
'Mad Dragon's Intimidation!'
The instant Lloyd activated the skill, a powerful aura flowed from his body.
An aura strong enough to make his skin prickle and his breath catch.
It was unmistakably the aura of Mad Dragon Icarus, the boss of an S-Rank Dungeon.
The Mad Dragon's aura began pressing down on the knight sparring with Lloyd.
"Urgh!"
The war was over, and this was a peaceful age.
There was no way a young knight who had faced nothing more than Slimes, Goblins, and Orcs could endure it.
"Pant."
His hands and feet trembled, and his teeth clattered.
He could not even breathe properly, as though he were underwater.
'W-What is this? My body...... won't move?'
The young knight tried to move his arms and legs in a panic, but he could not move at all, as though his entire body had been tightly bound.
[Mad Dragon's Intimidation] was an area-of-effect skill that paralyzed enemies for a short time.
The knights watching the sparring match could not escape the skill's range either.
"W-What was that just now?"
"My body won't move?!"
While the knights were panicking, Lloyd moved.
He swiftly struck the knight's arm with his sword, making the knight drop the sword he was holding.
Only then was the paralysis lifted, and the knight hurried to pick up his sword, but it was already too late.
Lloyd's sword was already pointed at his throat.
"It looks like the match is over."
Lloyd's victory was clear to anyone who saw it.
The knight felt that it was somewhat unfair, but he decided to acknowledge his defeat for now.
"......I've lost."
However, he had no intention of ending things here.
He had lost because his body had suddenly stopped moving. How could that not feel unfair?
"I lost this sparring match, but please spar with me one more time!"
Unlike before, the young knight asked very politely, but Lloyd refused.
There was no reason to spar again.
He had confirmed everything he had wanted to confirm.
For that reason, he sheathed his sword and was just about to turn away.
"Please grant me another sparring match. In return, if I lose again, I will swear an Oath of Loyalty to you, Young Master Lloyd."
At those words, the knights who had been watching began to murmur.
An Oath of Loyalty was an oath a knight could make only once in a lifetime, to someone they sincerely wished to devote their loyalty to.
To wager such an important oath on nothing more than a sparring match......
"Isn't this too hasty?"
"Think carefully, Martin! Do not regret it later."
The other knights tried to dissuade Martin, but he did not give up on the rematch.
He was that confident.
Lloyd stopped as he was about to leave and fell into thought for a moment.
'Hmm, certainly, it would not be bad to show some of my ability here.'
Having made his decision, Lloyd silently drew his sword.
He could not live forever while being mocked and ridiculed.
Since he had decided to show that he had changed, it would not be bad to show it now.
When Lloyd accepted the rematch, even the knights who had tried to dissuade Martin stepped back and began watching with interested expressions.
"This time, I will attack first."
"As you wish."
Before beginning the sparring match, Martin moved his body this way and that one last time to check his condition.
He was still somewhat fatigued from finishing his grueling training, but not enough for it to interfere with the sparring match.
'My arms and legs are moving properly...... Good. This time, I will definitely win!'
Martin adjusted his grip on his sword and took a stance.
Then the two swords collided, and the sparring match began again.
***
CLANG, CLANG—.
Only the sound of swords striking against swords rang through the training ground.
The knights who had initially chatted with faces full of ridicule were holding their breath as they watched the sparring match.
They were not the only ones.
Before they knew it, other knights had arrived to watch the sparring match as well.
There was not a trace of ridicule on their faces. Only shock and bewilderment remained.
However, the one who was most bewildered at that moment was none other than Martin.
'A-Am I having a nightmare right now?'
His opponent was a child without mana who had never even held a sword before.
Yet all of his attacks were being blocked.
It was impossible.
'Tch, then......'
No matter how incompetent an illegitimate child was, a noble was still a noble.
For that reason, Martin had restrained his mana until now so that Lloyd would not be seriously hurt, but he no longer had the luxury of doing so.
He did not want to lose to the same opponent again.
Martin drew up more mana.
He intended to break the sword Lloyd held in a single blow.
"Haah!"
With a resounding battle cry, his sword was covered in a deep blue light.
A distinct Aura.
That meant he was a Sword Expert.
Martin brought down his Aura-infused sword upon Lloyd's.
'If it only strikes that sword, I win!'
As he inwardly predicted his victory, a sense of discomfort traveled from the tip of his sword.
'Again?'
It had been like this from the start of the sparring match.
Whenever he swung his sword at Lloyd, the tip of his sword felt heavy.
'Could it be...... Young Master Lloyd?'
Martin narrowed his eyes and examined Lloyd's expression.
However, it was difficult to learn anything from his impassive face.
'......No. What could a young master without mana possibly do?'
Martin thought it was because fatigue had accumulated in his body after finishing his training, then swung his sword. But that very thought was his mistake.
There was no way a body with such little stamina that it became tired after only a bit of running, and that was so thin, could block a knight's sword.
Especially not a sword enhanced with mana.
Once again, Lloyd used Telekinesis to touch the tip of Martin's sword and slightly slow its speed.
A sword that slowed for an instant.
In that interval, Lloyd turned his body to the side and dodged the sword.
No one here found anything strange about it.
They were only astonished by Lloyd's movements.
'Shall I end this now?'
The instant he dodged Martin's sword, Lloyd lowered his body and swiftly slipped inside Martin's guard.
At the same time he swung his sword, he sent Telekinesis at Martin's armor.
CRUNCH.
With the sound of armor crumpling, a powerful impact struck Martin.
"Ugh!"
As though he had been struck by a massive hammer, Martin let out a short groan and fell backward.
Without missing the opening, Lloyd pointed his sword at Martin's throat.
"It looks like I won this match too."
"Urgh......"
As long as the sword was pointed at his throat, nothing he did would be of any use.
In the end, Martin had no choice but to surrender.
"......I-I've lost."
The moment Martin readily acknowledged his defeat, someone began clapping.
Then, as though it were contagious, applause spread.
CLAP, CLAP, CLAP.
"It was an excellent sparring match."
"I've changed my opinion of you, Young Master Lloyd."
The knights who had watched the sparring match had no choice but to acknowledge Lloyd.
Lloyd's swordsmanship, tempered in actual combat, was by no means at a level that could be ignored.
"It cannot be helped."
Even if it had been a wager, a promise was a promise.
Could someone who did not keep a promise still be called a knight?
'Besides, with skills like these, becoming Young Master Lloyd's knight would not be so bad.'
Martin rose and approached Lloyd.
Then, he knelt on one knee and was about to swear an oath of loyalty.
"I do not need your oath."
Lloyd said that and turned away.
He did not need loyalty that did not come from the heart.
Forcing someone to be loyal was no different from suppressing their freedom.
Lloyd did not want to forcefully oppress another person's freedom.
'I do not really need it, either.'
Meanwhile, Martin, whose oath had been refused, froze in the position of kneeling on one knee.
"Y-You mean you do not need my oath?"
Perhaps it was for the best.
He no longer needed to swear an oath of loyalty against his will.
But......
'I cannot accept this!'
Before everyone, his noble oath as a knight had been refused. It was as though his pride had been trampled.
Looking at Lloyd's retreating back, Martin made a vow.
He would surely restore his pride, which had fallen to the ground, by swearing an oath to Lloyd.
***
Fifteen days had already passed since Lloyd had opened his eyes in this world.
A time that was short if one called it short, and long if one called it long.
During that time, Lloyd had focused on building his stamina and gaining various knowledge about this world through books.
As a result, muscles began to form on his skinny body, and his stamina had increased considerably as well.
Not only that, since the sparring match, the knights' ridicule had disappeared. Everything was going smoothly.
With one exception.
Today as well, Lloyd was running around the training ground from early morning as usual.
After about ten laps, he heard someone calling to him.
"Young Master Lloyd!"
The owner of the familiar voice was none other than Martin.
At Martin's appearance, a crease formed between the brows of Lloyd, who rarely showed any change in expression.
That was right.
Martin, who came looking for him every day, was Lloyd's only headache.