Practical Training (2)
Chapter 86
The sun had set, and Ray had turned 14 years old.
However, winter was not yet over, and the weather remained rather chilly.
Fortunately for the manor’s residents, the region provided an ample supply of firewood, which was a relief.
Ray continued to receive news from Count Philip regarding matters related to the Crown Prince.
He learned that the first Crown Prince had been removed from his position as heir, and the second prince was gaining power.
Many factions were worried that a storm of bloodshed might soon arise due to the second prince’s cold and cruel nature.
‘Well, Aunt says everything will be fine…’
The Alstein family reportedly enjoyed a satisfying victory in their recent dispute with the royal family over the last attack.
Even if the second prince becomes the Crown Prince, the royal family’s mistake remains unchanged.
As long as the Alsteins don’t lose their advantage, they will have leverage to extract more concessions from the royal family.
Meanwhile, Saria’s reputation soared to new heights.
Rumors spread that she had defeated two Royal Guards simultaneously, and many believed it to be true.
‘Even if exaggerated, a rising reputation is never bad…’
Still, she should be careful about her conduct.
Recalling the last time he saw Saria, Ray picked up his spoon and fork.
It was late morning. Steam rose from the meal Bella had prepared.
“I’ll eat well.”
With his usual greeting, Ray speared some egg with his fork.
Bella, sitting across from him, glanced at Ray and spoke softly.
“Mom plans to retire in about two months.”
“Hmm?”
While Ray inwardly rejoiced, he kept his emotions hidden.
“What will you do after retiring?”
“I’m not sure.”
Bella sighed.
With the money she had saved, living expenses wouldn’t be an issue.
Ray also didn’t require much spending.
But merely growing old at home and waiting for death wasn’t something anyone would consider truly happy.
Bella had looked into various hobbies but hadn’t found anything particularly appealing.
“I’d like to raise a child…”
“Aren’t you raising me right now?”
Ray pointed to himself, looking puzzled.
Bella burst out laughing.
“Raising a son isn’t nearly as fun.”
Left alone, Ray could manage quite well on his own, so there wasn’t much satisfaction for a parent in nurturing or teaching him.
Hiding his complicated feelings, Ray smiled back at her.
Knowing what Bella’s original aspirations had been, Ray couldn’t shake off a sense of guilt.
Unaware of Ray’s inner thoughts, Bella gazed fondly at her son.
Just as they were discussing volunteer work at the orphanage, a knock sounded.
Knock! Knock!
Ray stood up first and opened the locked door.
Sir Jenkins stood there with a stern expression.
“Master, what brings you here?”
Upon hearing Ray’s words, Bella hurried over and knelt respectfully.
“Good day, Sir Jenkins.”
“Good day.”
Jenkins formally greeted Bella in return, mindful of her status as Ray’s adoptive mother despite the significant social gap between them.
After offering her respects, Bella discreetly stepped aside.
Ray shrugged toward Jenkins.
“So, what brings you here?”
“Johanna…”
“Did she get into trouble?”
“She has successfully manifested Sword Aura for the first time.”
“…?”
Ray froze mid-laugh, his face stiffening.
*
The manor was bustling since morning.
During Jenkins’ lesson, Johanna had managed to manifest Sword Aura, and Jenkins promptly brought her to the manor.
Knights who were free gathered at the manor upon hearing the news.
The count took Johanna to the courtyard where knights and Alesya watched as she demonstrated her Sword Aura.
After concentrating, Johanna successfully manifested the Sword Aura again.
Everyone was amazed.
Smiling broadly under everyone’s attention, Johanna noticed Ray and Jenkins approaching from afar.
“Let me try one more time…”
Closing her eyes, Johanna began focusing.
Compressed mana flowed through her sword, glowing brighter and brighter.
Eventually, the flow of mana transformed into a flash, generating a powerful aura.
Though not perfect, it was undoubtedly a genuine Sword Aura.
Taking a deep breath, Johanna swung her sword horizontally.
BOOM!!
The emitted Sword Aura struck a wooden target located about 10 meters away.
Although the Sword Aura was still clumsy and failed to completely destroy the target, considering Johanna was only fourteen, it was an incredible achievement.
Jenkins turned to Ray, unable to hide his confusion.
“Why do these kids keep turning out so strong? What are you feeding them?”
“That’s what I’d like to know…”
Ray started feeling confused himself.
Could the ability granted by the transcendent being have been something other than increasing the probability of rare orphan abilities?
At this point, even absurd theories began to seem plausible.
Jenkins grumbled.
“The girl hasn’t even started sword training that early, has she?”
True to Jenkins’ words, the knights had only supported Johanna’s talent for about five years at most.
Reaching Expert level at 14 was already impressive; systematic training from a younger age might have made her reach it even earlier.
“If she had great luck, she might have reached Expert level at Harshia’s age.”
Of course, this wasn’t implying Johanna had talent comparable to Harshia’s.
Harshia achieved Expert status under far worse conditions than Johanna.
Despite enjoying luxuries unimaginable to Johanna in terms of food and shelter as the emperor’s descendant, Harshia was a bastard child.
Under constant scrutiny, he struggled to even hold a sword without the emperor’s permission.
Yet, he attained Expert status at the youngest age ever recorded.
“Well, regardless…”
There was no doubt Johanna possessed extraordinary talent.
Even amidst all the praise, Johanna kept glancing at Ray.
She seemed reluctant to approach first, waiting for Ray to come closer and congratulate her.
Just as Ray moved to do so,
Alesya grabbed him.
“Hmm, my knight.”
Recently successful in weight management, Alesya appeared confident, though her voice carried a hint of dejection.
“I shall overlook up to three concubines…”
Ray chuckled.
Alesya frowned and muttered.
“They’re all too good for someone of such humble origins.”
Luna had contracted a mansion-sized spirit and carried it around, Johanna had reached Expert status at fourteen, and Karen, despite wearing shabby clothes, radiated stunning beauty.
This was troubling for Alesya.
“My knight.”
Alesya tapped Ray’s slightly taller head compared to a few months ago.
“I am generous, so you may buy expensive jewelry for your concubines with the money I give you.”
Trying hard to suppress laughter, Ray responded.
“Why not extend the limit to six?”
“Six concubines?! Are you serious?!”
“It’s always been my dream to be greeted by a different woman every day.”
“My knight is a pervert!”
Yet, even on the verge of death, Alesya couldn’t stop calling him “my knight.”
Ray snickered and waved his hand.
“Just kidding, Miss. Anyway, be friendly with the children. You might need their help someday.”
“Encouraging relationships with concubines, my knight is cruel…”
“Let’s stop talking about concubines.”
Before Johanna got upset, Ray quickly approached her and gently patted her head.
Though she ticked in protest about not touching her body, she didn’t push Ray’s hand away.
The next day, Johanna became Didier’s squire.
Having reached Expert status, it was necessary to clearly define her affiliation.
Seeing Johanna, Didier couldn’t hide his pride.
Jenkins sighed deeply with a wry face.
“That girl’s destined to have excellent squires.”
Where else could one find a squire as talented, cute, and diligent as Johanna?
Jenkins glanced at his own squire standing beside him.
‘She’s hopeless.’
Self-loathing overwhelmed him as he realized how inadequate his current squire was.
On the other side, Ray watched as Didier playfully slapped Johanna’s cheek, shaking his head disapprovingly.
Why not end the contract warmly when they’d be seeing each other often?
But Didier, his master, showed both cruelty and silliness by roughly handling gloves and straight pins.
‘Too narrow-minded.’
Jenkins and Ray exchanged glares silently.
Not long after Johanna became a squire, news came that Luna had reached Circle 2.
It wasn’t as if Luna had ascended to Circle 2 at an astonishing speed.
Among the geniuses hailed as future Great Mages, some had reached Circle 2 within two months of starting their circle training.
However, Luna’s circle was not ordinary.
Only Luna and Ropheiren knew this clearly.
Of course, Ray and the knights of the baron’s house knew that Luna could use much stronger magic than her circle number suggested.
As a reward for diligently conducting magic lessons, Ray shared one of Resina Record’s backdoor coordinates with Ropheiren.
Overjoyed, Ropheiren repeatedly bowed, pressing his forehead to the ground multiple times toward Ray.
While Ropheiren applied for a week-long vacation to explore the Resina Record and secluded himself in a small room,
Ray caressed Luna’s head while lost in thought.
‘I’d like to see Luna properly using magic…’
Even during her days as a novice at Circle 1, Luna had incinerated a large area of the forest with the ‘Ignite’ spell.
Now, he wanted to check how much her firepower had increased and whether she had mastered adequate combat techniques for human battles.
“Luna.”
“…?”
“Would you attack me once, pretending I’m your enemy?”
Luna immediately shook her head.
“I can’t do that.”
Caught off guard by her firm refusal, Ray pointed at Jenkins nearby.
“Can you attack Sir Jenkins then?”
“I can do that.”
“Then would you unleash your strongest magic against Sir Jenkins?”
Startled by this conversation, Jenkins interjected.
“What nonsense is this?”
“C’mon… Luna needs to develop practical combat skills, right? Can’t you be her sparring partner?”
“I refuse. Find someone else.”
“Master, are you scared?”
Jenkins clenched his teeth, grabbing his neck.
“Is she an ordinary Circle 2 mage? If I go easy on her, I’ll lose my head.”
Perhaps striking her down instantly might work, but Jenkins lacked confidence in matching her firepower while maneuvering.
Ray grinned and waved his hand dismissively.
“C’mon, Master. Don’t worry, you won’t die.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“Sure thing.”
“Are you certain?”
“Should I swear on my honor?”
“What a lunatic.”
In the end, Jenkins couldn’t guarantee his own safety.
Enraged, Jenkins drew his sword and swung it at Ray.
After a five-minute duel, Ray calmly subdued Jenkins and asked.
“How about we proceed deeper into the mountains for winter training this year?”
“Deeper?”
“We could plan for about ten days.”
Next to Phillips County lies the Sigini Mountain Range.
Regardless of the season, it’s an ideal place for training.
Of course, the deeper one ventures, the more dangerous it becomes. Therefore, knights usually conducted joint training with the orphans near the mountain’s outskirts.
“But now the kids are older, right? Wouldn’t it be okay to go deeper?”
“You’re not wrong, but it’s still very dangerous.”
Besides monsters, there was also the slight possibility of encountering rangers from the Rubia Kingdom beyond the Sigini Mountains.
Although there was no reason to be hostile towards Rubia’s rangers, one might accidentally fall into traps set for monsters and get injured.
Checking Luna, who was a few meters away, Ray whispered into Jenkins’ ear.
“I’ll follow secretly behind the kids.”
“Ugh.”
Nevertheless, Ray was a reliable force.
Moreover, some risk was necessary to improve the children’s skills.
Jenkins nodded tentatively.
“Let’s discuss it with the other knights.”
