Chapter 29
‘If my skills are lacking, I can just ask Grandpa to teach me.’
Grandpa didn’t seem like the type who would just draw his sword at the drop of a hat.
No matter how lacking the knights’ skills were, if Grandpa stepped in, things would somehow work out.
With that thought, Asil tapped Dylan’s arm lightly.
“Piyap-pi!” (Asil will go call Grandpa!)
Then, she scurried off to Elcai’s room and opened the door without knocking.
“Piya!” (Grandpa!)
Bang!
Because she failed to control her strength, the door broke.
Elcai, who had been seriously pondering over various things spread out on the bed, made a startled face.
“You rascal, where did you sell the knocking to do this!”
He hurriedly covered the items with a blanket.
It was a fairly quick movement, but Asil ended up seeing the shiny chess pieces and a few oddly shaped pebbles.
‘Grandpa plays with the same things as Asil.’
She should ask to borrow them later.
Feeling an inner closeness from Elcai playing with toys, Asil tried to jump up onto the bed.
However, before that, Elcai lifted Asil up high.
“You can’t step here.”
“Piya-pi piya.” (You have to follow Asil.)
“Where to now.”
“Pi-ya.” (You’ll know if you follow.)
While pointing the direction with her front paw, every time the paw shook, the diamond ring shook along, dazzling the eyes.
Asil, dangling in the air, swung her legs.
“Piya! Piya!” (Quickly! Quickly!)
“I get it, I get it.”
Shaking his head, Elvai slowly moved his steps.
With most of the poison out of his body, he no longer needed the cane.
Having arrived at the training grounds like that, Elcai made an incredulous expression at Asil’s words that she wanted him to teach the knights.
“Isn’t Edenber paying salaries for that?”
He had never heard or seen of a family head paying salaries and personally teaching swordsmanship to knights.
“Fine, good. Show me your skills once. With the finances in poor shape, this is a good chance to cut out the unnecessary ones.”
While sitting on the bench, Dylan, who had unnecessarily complained to Asil and scratched where it didn’t itch, cried inwardly.
But now that it had come to this, he couldn’t back out, so he clenched his eyes shut and proceeded with sparring against his comrades.
A short while after that, everyone’s sparring ended.
Elcai, who had been frowning throughout the entire sparring, gave a brief evaluation.
“Not bad, but why the lack of confidence.”
“That’s….”
“Since the Starafit ducal family has been going to battles with their divine beast all along, we thought their skills might be better than ours….”
“On the contrary, it’s the opposite. Aren’t they fighting relying on their divine beast? I haven’t seen it myself, but it should be similar to you all.”
So, it was fine to have confidence in their skills, and El ai, very rarely, praised them.
However, the knights’ expressions didn’t brighten easily.
Wondering what on earth was wrong with them, Elcai, looking at them curiously, pointed at Dylan and asked a question.
“By any chance, is what you’re doing now related to ‘that incident’ that the Starafit duchess mentioned?”
Dylan couldn’t answer easily.
He was a knight who had entered Munlepe after that incident.
But he knew the circumstances through the rumors circulating.
‘Is it okay to talk about this? It’s something that would tarnish the duke’s reputation….’
After agonizing, at Elcai’s urging, he told the truth.
Elcai’s expression hardened coldly after hearing the whole story.
“I’ll go kill the Starafit duke.”
“E-Elcai-nim! You can’t!”
“The duke wouldn’t want that!”
At the momentum that seemed like he would really go to the Starafit ducal family if left alone, the terrified knights surrounded him.
“You have to speak up to know, you rascal.”
With a heartbroken expression, El ai struck his chest.
How could they not have said something sooner when such a thing had happened?
Just when would this foolish personality of bearing it all alone change?
“So that’s what you were worried about. Even if you just match them, it gives validity to Starafit’s claim that subjugating magical beasts is impossible without a divine beast.”
“Yes. Since it’s a matter tied to the family’s honor….”
“Does sitting idle like this make skills appear out of nowhere?”
At Elcai’s sharp remark, everyone shut their mouths.
Tsk tsk, clicking his tongue, Elcai cut them off ruthlessly.
“It’s already too late. Not much time left until the friendly match.”
The knights, whose hopes were dashed, bowed their heads.
Still, since it was Elcai, once touted as the empire’s strongest swordsman, they had hoped he might have some way.
As the atmosphere sank heavily, Elcai opened his mouth.
“Do you know the fastest way to improve skills?”
“Consistent training…?”
“It’s battles where you stake your life. It’s when you’re teetering between life and death that the latent potential deep inside explodes out.”
“Then, right now, we could go subjugate magical beasts….”
“Do we need to hunt magical beasts?”
Elcai looked down at Asil, who was standing there blankly.
“With this guy here.”
“…Pi?”
“If you fight one-on-one with the divine beast, wouldn’t it become a battle where life and death hang in the balance?”
“Ooh, indeed!”
“That would definitely be a great help!”
“It’s an honor to stand on the same battlefield like this!”
The knights cheered.
On the other hand, Asil, shocked by the sudden situation, gaped her mouth open.
What? Now they’re telling Asil to fight the knight humans?!
However, the moment he met Elcai’s eyes, he quickly shut his mouth and confidently puffed out his chest.
“Pi, piyap-pi piya. Pi-ya.” (Ah, Asil is a ferocious dragon. If you fight Asil, you might get hurt.)
“Training is supposed to involve getting hurt anyway.”
“It must be because our skills are lacking. Please, lady Asil.”
“Pi….”
“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”
At Elcai’s words, Asil, who was about to reply ‘Then I don’t want to,’ hesitated.
Wait a minute, if he sent the knight humans to the friendly match like this and they lost…?
‘Asil’s honor would drop!’
Then, Asil would obviously become a weak dragon beast and get gobbled up by humans.
That, she absolutely had to prevent. Asil is a ferocious dragon. The boss of Munlepe!
“Pi-ya pi. Pi-ya!” (No. Asil will fight the knight humans!)
Asil shouted energetically and puffed out her chest so much her body curved.
In that state, going to the center of the sparring ground, he trembled his legs and yelled as if psyching herself up.
“Piyaaaa!” (Come to meeee!)
* * *
That afternoon.
Platforms were placed here and there in the training grounds.
It was something the knights had placed around to make it easier for the small Asil to attack.
With preparations for sparring with the divine beast complete, Dylan, who had been put in charge of temporarily leading the knights who came to the capital, opened his mouth.
“Who’s going first?”
“Wasn’t it you?”
“…I’d rather not.”
Even because of his lizard phobia, he wanted to put off getting close as much as possible. Dylan subtly avoided his fellow knight’s gaze.
Then, another knight raised his hand.
“I’ll go first.”
It was a knight named Adelton.
Unlike the other knights who melted at the sight of Asil, he was the one drawing the firmest line.
Just moments ago, he had clearly witnessed Asil’s trembling legs.
While his comrades thought it was the trembling of a beast excited right before a hunt, Adelton thought differently.
‘Looks scared.’
He had participated in the civil war, but he hadn’t seen Asil’s exploits directly.
Because Viante’s holy beasts hadn’t reached where he was.
So, he didn’t believe the talk that Asil had taken down the holy beasts in one blow.
He saw it as nonsense, mere bluffing to elevate the status of a rootless divine beast.
‘Overly exaggerated for just a small lizard.’
Even though he belonged to the Munlepe ducal family, he hated lies.
The reason he hadn’t gone to another family despite his excellent skills was also because he thought the Munlepe ducal family was more upright and incorruptible than other ducal houses.
That’s why he was greatly disappointed by the rumors circulating about Asil.
“Under no circumstances interfere.”
Right before stepping out for the sparring, Adelton spat out words thick with warning to his fellow knights.
Absolutely don’t step in even if that lizard is in danger. I will do my utmost to the end. That was the meaning he intended.
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By Anna 💓
