Episode 2.
Count Caldert thought of his best friend at the academy. Certainly, if Suhar learns from his close friend, Suhar’s skills will improve on a different level.
“Okay, Captain Ort. Do as you say. but!”
“but?”
“If you say no to Suhar, I will not send him to the academy.”
At Count Caldert’s words, Captain Ort nodded as well.
“Then, Captain Ort, call Suhar right away.”
“You mean right now?”
“Isn’t there a saying to take out the horns of a cow too? The sooner it is, the better it will be for Suhar.”
At Count Caldert’s words, Ort left the office and went to pick up Suhar. Count Caldert, who was left alone in his office, had a subtle smile on his lips.
At my father’s call, I went to see him.
“Father, I heard that Captain Ort is looking for me.”
My father was standing in the corner of his office with his hands behind his back.
“I heard from Captain Ort that your swordsmanship is pretty good.”
Was Captain Ort’s flustered appearance surprised by my swordsmanship? But it was strange.
“It must be Captain Ort’s misunderstanding. All I did was basic movements, and as you know, I have no talent for a sword.”
Prior to the return, I had never been told that I had a talent for a sword. At my words, my father shook his head.
“Suhar, what do you think is the most important thing about a sword?”
“hmm… .”
I had never thought about the sword. I just had to wield it until my thoughts were organized.
“It is the basic movement.”
“Basic movements?”
“Basic movement is the basic posture of all swordsmanship. Any great swordsmanship was born from basic movements.”
Unknowingly, I nodded my head. Everything my father said was true.
“But I don’t think I am good at basic swordsmanship.”
“Commander Ort said. Even basic movements are more perfect than myself.”
If it was Captain Ort, he was definitely a person who wouldn’t talk empty words. It was the first time in my life that I was praised for my sword by a person at the level of Captain Ort. For some reason, I began to feel uneasy.
“Did Captain Ort really say that?”
“Yes. As you know, Captain Ort is not the kind of person who spits out pleasant sounds.”
I suddenly had a thought. There was no way my father had called me just to praise me like this.
“So it is.”
I assumed that the words that would follow were the reason my father had called me. And that guess was correct.
“Are you thinking of going to the academy?”
“Academy?”
I couldn’t attend the academy due to the successor competition. I’ve always wanted to visit. But it was a place where only those with potential could go.
I wondered if it was right for me to go.
“Could you please give me some time to think about it?”
“Does not matter. Tell me your decision anytime.”
I bowed my head to my father. And as soon as I opened the door to the office and walked out, a thought came to my mind.
‘Come to think of it for a second, the academy was in the kingdom’s capital, right?’
While attending the academy, I was able to get out of my father’s eyes and avoid overprotectiveness, and there was a way to get the money I needed for my independence near the capital.
I turned around and told my father.
“I will go to the academy.”
***
My father said he would apply for admission to the academy right away, but I stopped him. There was still work to be done.
“I can’t go yet.”
It wouldn’t be too late to take care of those things and start.
Arriving in the room, I immediately picked up a pen and wrote a letter to the person competing for succession.
***
Milia Caldert, the fourth and second daughter of the Caldert family, found a letter that had arrived in her room. As always, I thought it was a love letter from another aristocratic son through an attendant, and opened it right away.
Millia’s expression as she read the letter changed to astonishment.
“ostrich!”
Milia called her exclusive lady-in-waiting. At Milia’s cry, a maid came running to her.
“Lea, who the hell put this letter in my room?”
Leia trembled slightly at Millia’s angry look and replied.
“I-I don’t know either, lady.”
“what? My exclusive lady-in-waiting didn’t even know who sent the letter to my room!”
Milia raised her hand towards Leah. Leah shrugged and said.
“Hey, sorry.”
Milia lowered the hand she was about to swing at Leah. After taking a deep breath, Milia ordered Leah to celebrate.
Milia, who was left alone in the room, was troubled with a serious expression on her face.
“Who the hell was it that he noticed my plans?”
***
I was about to laugh when I thought of Milia who found the letter I had written. Milia-sama was just a bit picky.
“I wasn’t crazy to begin with.”
Milia killed her brother during the race for succession. To be precise, he concocted a ruse to trap the brothers, and in that trap, Dave’s brother died.
“I told you I didn’t mean to kill you.”
Sister Millia, who killed her eldest son, Dave, went mad. At the hands of Sister Millia, who went mad, the eldest sister, Serea, also died, and the third brother, Alt, also died.
My father, who noticed this, executed Milia’s sister. He was a father who could not tolerate murder between blood and kin even in the race for succession.
“It reminds me of Milia-sama’s last days.”
On the day of Sister Millia’s execution, Sister Millia was crying. I asked Sister Millia.
“Is your sister regretting it?”
In response to my question, Sister Milia told me all the facts.
“That it wasn’t on purpose and that it couldn’t be stopped in the middle.”
It was an anecdote that showed what happens when humans are driven to the edge of a cliff. It was clear that Milia had already gone mad when Dave died.
But this time it will be different.
“With that level of warning, I wouldn’t set up a trap. Traditionally, the race for successor must be fair.”
Caldert’s work inside was over. This time it was necessary to save a future henchman.
“hmm… As per my memory… .”
He said that the village of his servants belonged to the domain of the Caldert family. However, since it was a small village, I heard that it was attacked by a group of goblins and ruined.
It was said that the time of the attack by the goblin group was when the henchman was 14 years old. And that henchman was a year younger than me.
“what?”
The current me was fifteen. It was an event that was going to happen this year.
“What if I’ve already been attacked?”
I focused my thoughts on old memories. And an important clue I heard then came to mind.
“Ah, the festival in the Caldert Territory!”
The henchman said that he survived thanks to going to the annual festival in the Caldert Territory. There is still one month left until the festival.
“It takes a week to ride a horse to the village.”
I need to convince my father for the rest of the time.
but… .
“If I told you that the village was going to be attacked by a group of goblins, you wouldn’t believe it.”
my head hurts. In this case, it is best to wield a sword. I grabbed my sword and headed for the gymnasium.
It wasn’t until a week before the festival that I got my father’s permission to go to town. Only on the condition that you bring one escort.
On the road like that, a heavily armed knight sat next to me. It was a knight named Dale.
“Sir Dale.”
“Did you call, Master Suhar?”
“I’m curious about Sir Dale’s status.”
Asking about the state of others is an act of disrespect. but what about I am the son of the count, and Dale is a knight belonging to the count.
Dale pondered for a moment before answering.
“Sword expert intermediate level.”
It was higher than I thought. Thanks to that, I didn’t have to worry about the goblins. If you were an intermediate sword expert, it was clear that no matter how many goblins there were, you would be cut down with a single sword.
When you need a break, you can join me too.
Dale, who was riding alongside me, spoke to me.
“By the way, Master Suhar, there is something I want to ask you.”
“Which one?”
“When did you learn to speak?”
I was speechless.
Of course I know how to ride a horse. However, it was confirmed as the successor and learned. The Caldert family teaches horseback riding at the age of sixteen. I was now fifteen.
“In fact, I went to the stable every night and secretly practiced.”
It was a strange excuse even when I thought about it. Dale nodded his head in agreement, even though he had a puzzled look on his face.
“By the way, why are you going to Cheki Village?”
“I told my father about that, didn’t you hear?”
“All I heard was escorting the young master to Cheki Village.”
I wanted to tell Dale that I was on my way to save Cheki Village from the goblins, but I held back. I decided to tell Dale exactly what I told my father.
“There is a large lake near the town of Cheki, and they say the scenery there is good, so I’m going to take a look before leaving Caldert Street.”
“yes?”
There shouldn’t be anything strange about what I said, but Dale’s reaction was strange.
“Are you leaving the Countess?”
Oh right. Come to think of it, only my father and director Ort knew that I was going to the academy.
“Oh, actually I… .”
After all this happened, I told Dale that I was going to the academy. Then Dale was delighted with it as if it were his own work.
“Then, can you learn from Master Swordsman too?”
“Sword Saint… ?”
“Are you sure you don’t know the swordsman?”
He was a familiar figure. However, it was the first time I had heard that there was a sword star in the academy. The swordsman was leading the knights in the kingdom.
‘Did he quit the academy when the war started?’
After all, participating in the war would have been more meaningful to the swordsman than staying at the academy as the war broke out.
“Oh, I know. I just didn’t know there was a swordsman at the academy.”
“hahahaha, it’s because the young master has no interest in the outside world.”
Dale and I talked and headed to Cheki Village.
***
The journey with Dale went fast. Dale and I got to know each other a lot during this time. Dale was five years older than me, but he used honorifics at me all the time. Even with that, I could guess that Dale’s personality was great.
“It seems that the real Bocchan is deep inside.”
“hahahaha, so does Dale.”
Dale begged me to let him go, and his persistence made me talk to him.
“Boss, it looks like we will arrive soon.”
I looked straight ahead at Dale’s words. I could see smoke rising in the distance. It’s a Cheki village.
“Even a week passes quickly when I spend it with Dale.”
“hahahaha, me too.”
When I arrived at Cheki Village, the chief of Cheki Village welcomed me first.
“hello. My name is Chaka, the chief of Cheki Village.”
“Nice to meet you, Chief Chaka.”
Hans led us to the inn. Because it was a small town, the inn was small and shabby.
Chief Chaka bowed his head and apologized to me.
“I’m sorry for letting the Calderte family’s youngster live in such a shabby place.”
“no. Just being able to avoid obesity is a great accommodation for us. Dale, isn’t it?”
“You’re right, Bocchan.”
Dale and I chose rooms next to each other and went in. I hung around the window seat to keep an eye on the goblin invasion at any time.