Chapter 77
“…….”
At Lani’s words, Yan could not bring himself to answer. Because as soon as he spoke, scenarios began to play out in his mind.
No matter how much I thought I had to kill that girl, I had never once imagined killing a daughter in front of her father. Isn’t something like that horrific imagination impossible for a human? It was enough to make him feel nauseous.
“What. Why aren’t you laughing?”
However, the being in front of him was not human.
Merely a dragon that was cruel and merciless enough to seem like the incarnation of evil.
Instead of answering, Yan meekly clasped his two hands together. At that, Lani’s lips twisted even more widely.
“Ah, well. It wasn’t a joke, so you shouldn’t laugh. Right?”
“……Yes.”
“I really really really hate those humans. So I want to make them face the worst possible death. Yeah, I have the qualification for that.”
Lani giggled while crunching and eating bright red pomegranate seeds.
“It would be better to kill the hero in front of his daughter. Seeing her father die like her mother, she would probably go insane.”
Red juice flowed out like blood. But Lani did not wipe that blood away.
***
The next day.
Even before the sun rose, the children gathered at the training ground. No, to be precise, it would be more accurate to say they were dragged there. Because the flying clocks that had been blaring wake-up alarms nonstop from 5:50 had woken them all up.
“Yawn.”
“Ugh…… Sleepy. And cold.”
It was 6 o’clock, but the sun had not risen yet. Dawn was visible far away, but its momentum was not yet strong enough, so darkness still held the upper hand. Perhaps because of that, most of the children were not fully awake.
“Good morning, gentlemen.”
The one who appeared before such children was Kenrick in a neat state. Kenrick glared at the children with his uncovered right eye gleaming.
“Do you know what is the most important thing for an outstanding swordsman? I will give 1 point to the trainee who guesses correctly.”
But since they were not yet fully awake, the children could not easily open their mouths. Kenrick smirked as if he had expected that.
“For reference, the basic score assigned to you all starting yesterday is 5 points. If it falls to 0 or below…… you will get to experience what happens. It will be very enjoyable.”
“……!”
At that, the children’s eyes instantly widened.
“I don’t want to experience it! Answer! Famous sword!”
“Family?”
“It’s the secret swordsmanship!”
“All wrong. Trainee Rachel, who answered family, 1 point deduction.”
Heeng. Rachel pouted her lips. He even caught the brief mutter.
Kenrick clasped his hands behind his back and weaved between the children as he spoke again.
“The most important thing is stamina. Only with stamina that can draw out even the strength you had while nursing can you take one more step and swing the sword. Therefore, every morning is physical training time.”
He stopped walking abruptly and pointed to the back mountain with his sheath. It looked low at first glance, but the mountain appeared quite rugged.
“Do you see the large tree at the very top?”
“Yes!”
“I left a bell under the tree. Bring it back.”
“……Did I hear wrong?”
“The top 10 go straight to breakfast, the rest run again. Until the last one remains.”
Kenrick smirked and lifted one foot before slamming it down with a thud.
“Start.”
“…….”
“……Huh?”
“Aaah! Daphne! If you’re going to run, run with me!”
Naturally, the one who dashed out first was Daphne.
***
“Huff, heuk, it was a tougher mountain than I thought, huff…….”
Daphne, almost at the finish line, was panting heavily as she barely managed to step forward with legs that hardly moved, exerting all her strength.
Daphne knew her physical limits better than anyone. If she didn’t make the top 10 here and had to climb to the top again, she would definitely faint midway. If not the first time, she would surely collapse. Thinking that, Daphne ran desperately.
Teppy was right in front of her. He was also running unsteadily. For some reason, Daphne had an intuition that she had to overtake that guy. So Daphne slid her body toward the finish line.
“Uh, ah……!”
Swoosh!
Her body scraped directly against the dirt floor, but Daphne did not care. She shouted toward Kenrick, who was whistling while looking at her.
“Did I make it into the top 10… did I?!”
“Speaking informally to the instructor is a deduction, trainee Daphne. 1 point deduction.”
“No, it’s because I’m not used to it… that’s why!”
“1 point deduction.”
“…….”
Just don’t speak. The secret to avoiding deductions is to keep your mouth shut. Daphne felt a bit wronged.
Kenrick looked down at such Daphne and smirked.
He had never imagined even in his dreams that he would be looking at Daphne like this just a few months ago. He had thought of her as a bad little kid who tormented his friend, but now she even looked a bit pitiful. Her pale, bloodless face was enough to evoke sympathy.
“Trainee Daphne. You are 10th. Congratulations.”
At those words, Daphne could not bring herself to answer and just shook her fist. Realizing that she kept her mouth shut because speaking again would get her deducted, Kenrick laughed again.
“Go to the cafeteria.”
“Thank you!”
“…….”
Should this get a deduction or not. While Kenrick was briefly pondering, a loud shout came from right behind.
“Ack! Wait! Just a moment!”
It was Teppy, who had barely lost to Daphne.
“I, I arrived first, didn’t I? My hand reached the finish line first?”
Teppy shouted as if wronged, but instead of mediating, Kenrick stepped back one pace. It seemed to mean for Daphne and him to talk it out themselves.
“Hey! Didn’t you cheat by throwing your body? This time I won!”
“What are you blabbering about. My body entered first!”
“Wow, look at you insisting. I was in front?!”
“Whether you were in front or not, I entered first. If you’re upset, why didn’t you slide too?”
“You……! Are you really going to do this?!”
“The loser has a lot to say. Go back. Go run again.”
Teppy could feel the back of his neck stiffening. No, how can a 5-year-old brat talk so well?! His anger was boiling inside.
If he backed down here, he would have to climb the mountain again, and having skipped dinner last night and not slept properly, he would definitely fail next time. He absolutely could not back down!
“Are you really picking a fight with me? Here, status or whatever doesn’t matter, want to go one round with me?”
“You…….”
Daphne’s brow narrowed.
“Boldly challenging a duel to a kid seven years younger. I fully understand your shamelessness and petty mind.”
“Wh-what? Wow, you’re really something. What kind of thing is this?!”
“But separately from that, I accept the duel with you. Guys like you only come to your senses after getting beaten black and blue on a rainy day.”
“You damn brat……!”
In the end, the moment Teppy’s tightly clenched fist was about to cut through the air, unable to contain his anger.
“Stop.”
Kenrick, who had somehow stepped between Daphne and Teppy, raised one eyebrow.
“Who said you could fistfight in front of this instructor?”
Teppy slowly unclenched his tightly gripped fist and bowed his head.
“I’m sorry.”
“Trainee Teppy, 1 point deduction.”
“……Yes.”
Instinctively knowing that resisting here would only get more deductions, Teppy behaved meekly. Daphne snickered looking at such Teppy.
“Hmph, so you should have stayed quiet. Well done…….”
“Trainee Daphne also 1 point deduction.”
“Why me?!”
“Hoo. One more point deduction. With this, trainee Daphne has 0 points.”
“…….”
Daphne, who had been counting by folding her fingers one by one, soon let out an ah……. sound and firmly shut her mouth. Kenrick clicked his tongue and placed his hand on the top of Daphne’s head.
“Now. It’s enjoyable punishment time.”
And then, Daphne’s vision flipped upside down.
-If it falls to 0 or below…… you will get to experience what happens. It will be very enjoyable.
As he said, a truly enjoyable sight welcomed Daphne.
☆▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎☆
