“Eh···? Training?”
“Why? You don't want to?”
“N-No! Not at all!”
Paul hurriedly shook his head.
It had already been a month since he became Roan's Squire. Yet until now, Paul had not received any training from Roan. He simply had too much work to do for there to be time for training.
As a Squire, he was basically responsible for maintaining Roan's equipment, preparing his meals, doing the laundry, and even taking care of Roan's horse.
Of course, compared to other Squires, Paul's workload was relatively light. Most Squires had to work late into the night every day.
Even so, Paul had always wanted to receive training, even if it meant becoming a little more tired. That desire had only grown stronger after witnessing Roan's abilities firsthand recently.
The moment Paul saw Roan's strength, he thought that he wanted to become a knight as powerful as Sir Roan one day. If he wanted to achieve that dream, he needed to begin knight training as soon as possible. That was why Roan's offer to train him delighted him so much.
“Sir Roan! I definitely want to train!”
Paul spoke quickly, afraid Roan might change his mind. Roan gave a faint chuckle and replied,
“That's a good attitude. Then follow me. Let's go to the training ground behind the annex.”
“Yes, Sir Roan!”
Paul answered happily.
But it did not take long for his attitude to change.
About thirty minutes after the training began, Paul finally could not take it anymore and asked while drenched in sweat,
“S-Sir Roan···! D-Do I really have to do this?”
“Of course. The lower body is a knight's lifeline. You need to strengthen yours first.”
Roan was making Paul do an exercise called squats. This was not simple torment, but an actual part of knight training.
“B-But Sir Roan, you have never done this kind of training.”
“My lower body is already strong.”
To begin with, Roan even possessed the skill [Half-Ogre Strength]. It would probably be difficult to find a knight with a stronger lower body than his.
“E-Even so, Sir Roan···!”
“Hmm. Since you still have enough energy to talk, I suppose you can keep going. One hundred more squats.”
“Sir Roan!”
Paul finally began to tear up. He might have been a Squire, but he was still a minor. This was the first time he had ever done such grueling exercise, and he felt as though he might collapse at any moment.
“Do not stop. Keep going.”
But Roan remained stern. With his arms crossed, he continued watching Paul.
In truth, the reason Roan wanted to train Paul was for Paul's own safety.
A knight could not go to war while his Squire did nothing. Once the war began, Paul would have to remain at Roan's side. But if he entered the battlefield without any training, he would die in no time. Roan absolutely did not want Paul to die.
‘Tsk. If I had known this would happen, I should have started training him much earlier.’
Of course, he had not really had the time to train Paul until now. Even so, he could not help regretting it. Now that things had come to this, Roan could only think of rapidly improving Paul's abilities through Spartan-style training.
“S-Sir Roan! I really am at my limit now!”
“Paul, I'm doing all of this for your sake. Hold on just a little longer.”
“Huff··· Huff··· But···”
Paul wanted nothing more than to collapse onto the ground right then and there. But Roan's gaze kept bothering him.
Roan was looking at him with extremely stern eyes.
But Paul knew.
Behind Roan's stern gaze was a warmer heart than anyone else's.
‘S-Sir Roan accepted someone with no talent like me as his Squire, and he's the only one who treats me like a human being! I absolutely can't disappoint him!’
Paul felt as though he might faint at any moment, but he stubbornly forced himself onward.
How much time passed like that?
‘···I-I did it!’
At last, Paul managed to complete every task Roan had given him.
The moment Paul finished his final squat, he collapsed flat onto the ground.
THUD!
“Haaah···! Haaah···!”
“Good work, Paul.”
When Roan looked at him with approval, Paul felt an inexplicable sense of exhilaration and pride. More than anything, he was relieved that he had not disappointed Roan, whom he admired.
“Now, let us start running.”
“···What?”
But a moment later, when Roan once again gave him a new task with that stern gaze, Paul's heart sank.
He began to sincerely regret ever starting training under Roan.
* * *
In the end, Paul trained for another two hours before passing out on the spot.
Roan carried Paul to the bedroom, then returned to the training ground alone.
‘Now it's my turn.’
Even though he had acquired [Half-Ogre Strength], the fundamentals were still important. That would be especially true in war.
WHOOSH!
So he began swinging his sword diligently. If he wanted to survive the war and render great service, he could not afford to neglect his training from this point onward.
‘Hmm··· As expected, my talent for swordsmanship is terrible.’
But the more he swung his sword, the more Roan realized that he possessed no particular talent for it.
A hollow laugh suddenly escaped him.
‘Ha! I really would've been in trouble without [Half-Ogre Strength]. But this strength alone isn't enough··· I need to become stronger.’
For that reason, Roan desperately hoped that his theory that ‘killing a Named Enemy causes a Skillbook to drop’ would prove correct. If his guess was right, his life would take a completely different path from the one it had followed until now.
And in a very good direction.
‘Solsgard is a wealthy territory, so there should be at least one Named Enemy there. Phew, please let me get a Skillbook···’
Roan continued hoping for that as he swung his sword.
The reason he had originally set his sights on becoming a Landed Knight was because he had believed that was the limit of his potential. But if he had the ability to go further, he did not want to be satisfied with merely becoming a Landed Knight.
“Excuse me.”
It was then.
A strange voice suddenly reached his ears.
Roan lowered his sword and asked,
“Who is there?”
“It is Adeline. I apologize for coming so late, Sir Roan.”
“Sir Adeline?”
Adeline was known as Dragonbane's only knight.
Roan turned happily toward the direction of the voice. He had been wanting to meet Adeline at least once anyway···!
‘Huh? A woman?’
But what was this?
Adeline was a woman.
Of course, she wore her hair short. But that alone could not completely conceal her feminine features. Adeline had the smaller build characteristic of a woman, and above all, the curves of her chest were clearly visible.
‘How interesting. I never expected Sir Adeline to be a female knight···! Well, I suppose the name did sound somewhat feminine.’
Roan looked at Adeline with curiosity. But soon, he shrugged as though it did not particularly matter.
What did it matter whether a knight was a woman or a man?
Thanks to having the memories of a modern person, Roan's way of thinking was very flexible.
As far as he was concerned, gender did not matter in the slightest as long as a person was capable.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Adeline. I am honored to make your acquaintance.”
Roan greeted her in a courteous tone.
He would soon have to fight on the same side as Adeline. For Roan, maintaining a good relationship with her would be beneficial in many ways.
“···!”
For some reason, however, despite Roan's courteous greeting, Adeline gave no reply.
She looked strangely startled.
“Sir Adeline?”
“Ah···! My apologies, Sir Roan. I was simply surprised because this was so unexpected.”
“Hmm? What do you mean by unexpected?”
“Sir Roan··· does the fact that I am a woman not make you uncomfortable?”
Adeline asked cautiously.
Only thirty minutes earlier, she had heard a surprising piece of news from her lord, Baron Valdemar.
The knight named Roan had yielded command of the troops to her.
‘There must be some kind of mistake.’
Knights were fiercely proud.
In other words, there was not a single knight who wanted to take orders from another knight.
‘Of course, perhaps it is not a mistake. He may simply be an unusually peculiar man···! But even if it was not a mistake, he must have made that decision without knowing that I am a woman.’
That was why she had come to find Roan.
She wanted to confirm the truth directly with him.
“No. Why would that make me uncomfortable?”
But Roan's reaction was unexpected.
Adeline looked at him once again with astonished eyes before becoming convinced.
The knight named Roan was an exceptionally open-minded man.
“···Sir Roan, you truly are a man without prejudice. I am impressed. However, I do not wish to take command authority in this manner. Instead, how about we compete for command? I may be a woman, but I am confident in my swordsmanship.”
Adeline suddenly made the proposal with a determined expression.
Roan, on the other hand, looked utterly dumbfounded.