CH 26

Chapter 26: Training with the Black Dragon Knights

We had that incident about Ferris, but other than Jend, our party still enjoyed touring the Capital.

We went to a famous restaurant to have lunch, visited the Capital Museum, an art museum, and enjoyed snacks at Teo’s recommended dessert shop.

After we thoroughly enjoyed our sweets, we went to a “Wish Fountain,” that asked us to throw in money to make a wish. Only Cyril tried it out.

And to wrap it all up, we went to a portion of the Castle that was open to the public since it was nearby the Black Dragon Knight’s barracks.

It was a very thorough and nice day of sight-seeing. The only issue was that I was the only guy there, so I did feel a little left out the entire time…

Ugh, Jend. I wish you would just pull it together. It’s lonely being the only guy.

Cyril: “Hi~, we’re back~”

Cyril opens the front door to the Black Dragon Knight’s barracks.

Ezeal: “Oh! Welcome back!”

Cyril: “Huh? Ack! Ahhhh!!”

And let out a scream after seeing Sir Ezeal with just a towel wrapped around his waist.

I calmly cover Teo and Lana’s eyes.

Teo: “What is it, Mr. Henry?”

Lana: “Mr. Henry, you don’t have to worry about me. I work in the Inn’s dining hall, and..,there’s some drunk customers who start undressing.”

Teo had no problems with the scene, and Lana was slightly embarrassed but was not shocked.

Cyril was the only one who was bright red, panicking, and crying out a wave of objections.

Cyril: “Wh-wh-wh-wh-what are you thinking being undressed like that outside your room?!”

Ezeal: “Oh? ….ohhhhh...pardon my manners, little miss! I completely forgot that we had some ladies present!”

Sir Ezeal was telling Cyril how he just got done training and washed off the sweat. He didn’t look sorry at all.

Well, to be fair, in a group of knights, it is a co-ed environment, and they all dress and undress around each other. And of course, if you do something perverted in that situation, you could get expelled from the knights.

Ezeal: “Oh, Henry. Your friend, Jend, was it? He came back earlier, but hasn’t left his room today. Did something happen?”

Henry: “Oh, yeah. Umm…”

It’s a private matter, so I shouldn’t be talking about this to just anyone.

But it does involve the Knight groups, and Sir Ezeal may know something helpful.

Ezeal: “?? What is it, Henry? You’re just staring at me and haven’t said a word.”

………..Sir Ezeal’s.....wisdom?

Wait, wait, wait… let’s not be so rude. Even if Sir Ezeal is like...this...EVEN SO! He is the leader of one of the biggest country’s Knights. He doesn’t just laugh really loud while destroying demonic creatures on a regular basis, but he has also fought through the politics of the Capital...hopefully fought with his wits and not his sword...but I would believe it if he brute forced his way through all his problems. He has that kind of aura.

Well, regardless, let’s just have a quick chat. He’s not the kind to frivolously spread rumors.

Henry: “Well, actually, there is something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Ezeal: “Ah! A worrisome problem, I see! I may not be able to help you, but you’ll have my full attention!!”

For just listening, he’s really energetic!

Ezeal: “Then let’s head to my room. Hm? Oh, Lady Cyril. I appreciate your admiring gaze at my muscles of steel, but I do have a beloved wife, so if you will please, I would appreciate not sending such passionate gazes my way.”

Cyril: “Who…?! Wh-What are you talking about?!”

I guess Cyril is still young girl going through her teenage years. But to be fair, even men would admire how built Sir Ezeal is.

Cyril continues to scream protests our way, but Sir Ezeal and I head into his study.

This is the room for the commander of the knights. It is the farthest room inside the barracks, and also the biggest room as well.

As we enter, there is a very calming atmosphere to the place. I thought it would be full of weapons and training equipment, but the walls are lined with bookshelves and are filled with books.

Just perusing through the titles, I saw Strategy books, Tactics books, law books, philosophies, finance, and war histories, etc. etc.

He puts on a robe and sits down in his seat. He definitely emits an aura of importance as he does so.

Ezeal: “Hmph, this room is still so damned uncomfortable! I get goosebumps when I’m surrounded by books!”

…...that’s right. This isn’t the his regular room. His room is somewhere in the barracks on the front lines.

Henry: “Then what are all these books here?”

Ezeal: “They are a collection handed down from previous commanders. There are some important documents within this stack, so I can’t just get rid of them. Do you want it?”

Henry: “You can’t just hand this stuff over to me!!”

And besides, I’m not as bad as Sir Ezeal, but I’m not that great with books either. I couldn’t even read that poetry anthology.

Ezeal: “Well, that’s enough of that. What is it that you wanted to speak to me about?”

Henry: “Well….”

Part of me feels that I would regret confiding with him.

But I can’t reconsider now. Doing so will only put me in a situation of extreme uncomfortableness and pressure from the torrent of questions at full Sir Ezeal volume that will come my way. I give up and tell him the story.

Ezeal: “Hmm…”

I tell him about Ferris and her Father.

Ezeal: “Mmhmm….hm?”

And about her present predicaments.

And I haven’t known her for long, but my general impression of her character and personality. What her neighbors said about her.

And finally that Jend is head over heels for her.

I finish my explanation, and wrap it up with, “So that’s the situation.”

Ezeal: “Hmmm… I see.”

Sir Ezeal nods as he hears my entire explanation.

Ezeal: “That young man does not have to lament like that. She’s not injured or sick. Even for the debts, it’s not as though she herself is being crushed by it. In fact, it’s the complete opposite! She’s striving bravely to pay it off! Could he not say, ‘Now that’s the woman I fell in love with!’ and encourage her in kind?”

Henry: “Well, now that you put it that way…”

If the person going through the hardship is not feeling sad, it is odd for a bystander to feel sadder than her.

Ezeal: “But I understand your situation now. I will reach out to the commander of the White Dragon Knights, and hear her side if the story.”

Henry: “Are you sure? This is just a private and personal matter… Would the other Knight organization feel annoyed if we brought this up?”

Ezeal: “Do not fret. Beatriz is not that narrow-minded.”

Commander Beatriz, huh.

I saw her twice from afar when the White Dragon Knights came to help us on the frontlines.

From a glance, she’s a frightening commander...but I guess Sir Ezeal is older and has been a commander longer, so it should be okay.

Henry: “In that case, could we ask for your help?”

Ezeal: “Nothing may get done, but you can leave it to me!”

Sir Ezeal bangs his chest and nods his head.

<<<<>>>>

It was the next day after my talk with Sir Ezeal.

Henry: “It’s been a while since we last had a match, Owen.”

Owen: “I’ll sweep the match today. I’ve been training and fighting since the day you left till now.”

I face off with one of the younger Black Dragon Knights who is also a spear user.

There were also other people dueling and training on the training grounds.

Today, we decided to join in on the Black Dragon Knight’s daily training.

This morning, Sir Ezeal barged through the door asking, “Why don’t you and your comrades come train with us? No, you need to come train with us right now!” And came to convince(?) us without giving us a choice, so we’re here now.

And while I do appreciate my trainings with Jend, I needed something different to fine tune my skills. Hence, why I’m training with Owen,

Cyril: *gasp…. *gasp…. He...nry….how…*gasp.. many… more la~~~ps…?”

Henry: “Keep going Cyril~. Just 10 more laps, and I’ll buy you dessert.”

Cyril: “D-don’t underestimate my power when sweets are on the...line…”

And right now, Cyril is currently running a marathon. If she were to do physical training with the Black Dragon Knights, she would severely injure herself.

I told her 10 more laps, but to train her mental stamina, I plan on telling her “great job, just 5 more laps” with a smile. I can’t wait.

Owen: “I’ve been thinking, but your party members are those cute girls? Yeah, you’re eating dirt today.”

Henry: “Yeah, I guess they’re cute but… whoops.”

Without waiting for a signal to begin, Owen struck, but I dodge quickly.

I can’t let my guard down. Owen uses small shifts with his holds and wrist to thrust his spear in odd, unexpected ways. Even though we’ve fought many times, I still can’t get used to his style.

He aims for my chest, legs, face, and shoulders. I strike at him to prevent other strikes from coming in.

I managed to avoid direct hits, but I’ve been on the defense this entire time…

But…!!

Henry: “Hmph!!”

Owen: “Ergh!!”

I strike with brute force at Owen’s spear. He’s got skill and technique, but his power and speed is on the lower end of the Knights.

I break his balance, and strike deep at him.

I thought I would get him at this timing but I strike something else hard.

GAKIN! (*sfx metal striking metal)

And my spear comes back with a sensation saying it was an incomplete attack. He blocked with his armor before I could get enough momentum on my thrust.

Owen: “You’re too naive!!”

Henry: “Look who’s talking!!”

Don’t think you can just block my strikes with crazy moves like that. You hurt your shoulder from that last strike.

With that injury, Owen lost some of his refined, graceful movements, and I secured a win at the end.

The match was only for a few minutes, but it was helpful and stimulating for both spear users.

Owen: “Ugh, now I’m back to a 1 out of 5 win rate.”

Henry: “Let me tell you, Jend over there can win 1 out of 3 when it’s just weapons only.”

Owen: “Huh...nice. Good for him. It’s no wonder the commander set his sights on him.”

Jend’s mood hasn’t improved this morning, but now Sir Ezeal is training him, and there’s no time to mope around.

After getting beat within seconds, Jend did not attempt a second match but had Sir Ezeal check his sword swinging form.

With every swing, a shout of instructions comes sharply from Sir Ezeal, and Jend continues his wings while gritting his teeth.

Sir Ezeal has studied the Single Blade of a Fire God style, and his instructions are spot on.

Owen: “You’re right. Kid’s got a good swing.”

Henry: “Yeah, if we include the use of magecraft or other skills, I’ll still beat him 99% of the time.”

Owen: “Don’t be so childish. It doesn’t look like that kid can use magecraft.”

Henry: “He wants to learn eventually.”

Practice matches with just physical strengthening magic is good to refine your moves and skills, but in a real fight, there are more things to have to keep in mind. If I were to pull more tricks up my sleeve, I wouldn’t lose to Jend just yet.

But looking at Jend with Sir Ezeal’s training, he might improve significantly with leaps and bounds after today. As far as large broadsword users go, Sir Ezeal is not only one the top in the country, but he’s at the pinnacle of all civilizations combined. You can tell by the quality of his subordinates skills that he’s also a skilled instructor.

I’m sure al martial artists would grind their teeth in envy at Jend’s fortune.

Henry: “Oh, hey, Owen. You took a good beating on that shoulder. Go have a Healer take a look at it.”

Owen: “Oh, that’s right, that’s right. You wait there, I’ll beat you next time.”

The difficulty of learning a magecraft that heals wounds is extremely high. Very few have been able to obtain mastery enough for difficult surgeries, and even users who can use my [HEAL] Teol which can only heal light wounds are very few.

So a magecraft user specializing in [HEAL] magic has a special title known as a Healer.

And these Healers can make lots of money almost anywhere they go. There are not that many who become knights or adventurers.

….but when it comes to the top Knight organizations of a country, they can afford having a Healer in the training vicinity. Yes, they try to make the training and combat as close to real combat as possible and as a result, the trainees get injured, but it’s definitely a huge luxury to have.

And after waiting a bit, Owen returned from the Healer’s post near the training grounds, and we fought a few more matches.

Ezeal: “Alright! On to the next!”

With Sir Ezeals’s shout, the practice matches are finished.

Ezeal: “Next, we will do actual combat 1 on 1! Unlike your practice match, you may use all skills and tactics available to you! Like always, be weary and careful as you give your best!”

Before, I was trying not to use my magecraft spells, but the restrictions have been lifted. Owen is also an excellent magecrafter, so he’ll give me a hard time. Unless my opponent changes that is.

Ezeal: “Henry! You’re with me! Let’s see what you’re still made of!”

………...seriously?