Chapter 97: Chapter 97

Upon hearing the news of Darkal’s visit, Shan asked Cheryn for her understanding and immediately went out to greet his guest.

An old knight who had become his master when he first arrived in Pendia.

During training, he had sometimes thought he wanted to kill him, but from him, he had learned how to become a knight rather than a beast good at fighting.

Was the last time they were in contact around when he won the jousting tournament?

Even then, instead of visiting in person, he had merely sent a single letter to offer his congratulations.

Ever since that brief period of instruction, Darkal had thoroughly refrained from contacting Shan.

That was why Shan always scanned the family crests engraved on the shields and armor of knights whenever he fought enemies.

Wondering if the crest of House Cordo, to which Darkal belonged, might be among them.

“Master?”

Sitting and waiting in the reception room, Darkal gave an impression of being even more gaunt than before.

His head, which used to be bald only on the crown, was now completely devoid of a single strand of hair, and his body had grown slender as if he had lost muscle mass.

Upon seeing Shan, the old man opened his eyes blearily, stood up from his chair, and strode toward him.

And then he thrust out his smooth, bare bald head.

“Ah.”

At this, Shan involuntarily reached out his hand and caught Darkal’s head, stopping it.

As a result, it ended up looking as though he were stroking the slick bald head.

“Not only has your body grown, but your insolence has grown even worse than before! Now, instead of avoiding your master’s headbutt, you dare to block it with your hand?!”

“I did it without thinking. No, more importantly, why are you doing this again this time?”

“I thought your belly might have turned fat with oil after climbing to a high position, so I wanted to see how sharp you were! Fortunately, it seems you still have enough wits to avoid it!”

Despite meeting for the first time in several years, the old man’s shouting remained unchanged, causing Shan to burst into a chuckle despite himself.

As always, Darkal acted as if he knew nothing of the fact that Shan was a knight who had accomplished all sorts of legendary feats and was the successor to Count of Shedil.

It was truly the very image of the master he had expected.

“Could you bring us a cup of tea each?”

“Yes, Young Master.”

The maid, who had been startled by the guest’s booming voice and rude demeanor, immediately left the room upon Shan’s command.

Seeing this, Darkal snorted and spoke.

“Well now, you’ve turned into quite the high-and-mighty master, haven’t you!”

“What have you been up to all this time?”

“Until recently, I was over in Libert! I was busy teaching a child who is a distant relative.”

“Oh.”

According to his story, after watching the jousting tournament, Darkal seemed to have left Pendia and stayed in the southern part of Libert the whole time.

Then, just recently, he had taken a ship into southern Pendia and come straight here.

Hearing that he had stayed in southern Libert, Shan pondered for a moment before voicing the thought that came to mind.

“By any chance, did you ever see an acrobatic troupe composed of Altoans over there?”

Wasn’t southern Libert the exact place where the Altoan acrobatic troupe he had crossed paths with in the past had headed?

He asked, wondering if Darkal might have met them, but unfortunately, Darkal shook his head.

“I don’t recall seeing them. Why, is there someone you know?”

“Yes. Well, Libert is a vast place, after all.”

Even so, he wished he could have at least known whether they were alive.

While Shan expressed his regret, Darkal was holding his palms close to the stove placed in one corner of the reception room.

“This is truly remarkable! To think it’s so warm without a single piece of firewood added… one truly has to live long to see such sights!”

“It’s warm, but if you get too close, you’ll get burned, so be careful.”

“Who are you taking for a child!”

Even while shouting like that, the amazed look on his face was as innocent as a child’s.

To have such an attitude without a single prejudice against magic devices despite being an Old Faith believer.

Then again, it was precisely because he was such a person that he had associated with mages and taught Shan, an Altoan.

Darkal, who had even pulled down the lamp magic device hanging from the ceiling to look it over, turned to Shan and spoke.

“By the way, where did that fellow Roden go? I heard he was staying here with you.”

“Because of work, he probably won’t be back until evening.”

“I thought I’d see his face for once, but that rascal ought to be right in his place when his master comes to visit!”

He flared up angrily, but it was closer to a sign of feeling hurt than being truly enraged.

Watching him, Shan smiled and said.

“It’s good to see you after such a long time, Master.”

“Is that so? I’m not so pleased! Just what on earth have you been doing to get yourselves excommunicated…?”

Darkal, muttering with a dissatisfied expression, soon shook his head.

“Well, whatever! Truth be told, I couldn’t care less about religious disputes. First, strip off your clothes!”

“Pardon?”

While wondering for a brief moment what sudden absurd request this was, Shan realized why his master was doing so and spoke to the maid standing nearby.

“Could you step outside for a moment?”

“Pardon? Ah, yes!”

The maid, who had been standing politely, looked back and forth between him and Sir Darkal with a startled expression before leaving the reception room.

“I hope strange rumors don’t end up spreading for no reason.”

“You’ve certainly become quite human compared to before!”

“What?”

“In the past, when I told you to strip, didn’t you strip completely stark naked without a shred of shame and let your junk dangle around! You didn’t care whether others were watching or not! Whether that fellow Roden raised you well or whether it’s because you’ve met many people, for better or worse, you’ve become human!”

“No, even back then, I didn’t take off my underwear…”

Of course, at that time, if he had been told to strip because it was necessary, he would have done so without much resistance.

That was how lacking Shan had been in many aspects as a human being back then.

Truth be told, if asked whether he had become completely fine even now, he wasn’t quite sure yet.

A moment later, Shan stood in the middle of the reception room clad only in a pair of underwear, just as he had done in the past.

Examining his body, Darkal hummed and nodded.

“As your body grew, your muscular balance was broken!”

“Is that so?”

“Look here, your thigh muscles have grown thinner in proportion compared to before! If that happens, the force pushing your body forward will naturally decrease! Didn’t you feel it?”

“A little bit. I just thought it was because my body had grown heavier.”

He had not been lazy in building and maintaining muscle through the training methods he had learned previously.

At Shan’s answer, Sir Darkal shouted.

“When your body grows larger, everything from your center of gravity changes! Naturally, the training methods must change to match it!”

This was a domain completely separate from perfectly controlling one’s own body.

After all, someone who swings a sword well does not necessarily excel at forging a sword.

So when teaching Vico and Tavera, he had merely conducted the training he himself had undergone in a slightly easier manner… at first, he had tried to do it identically, but Roden stopped him, saying they would die.

In contrast, like the master of nurturing he was, having raised many disciples over several decades, Darkal instantly drew up a perfect plan of what parts of Shan’s body were lacking and how he should train to supplement them.

Not only that, but there were also several changes in terms of methodology, ranging from reducing shoulder exercises to focusing muscle training more on dynamic movements rather than static ones.

It seemed he had gained several more insights while teaching someone else until recently.

As Shan brought parchment and wrote it down because the content was quite extensive, Darkal chuckled and spoke.

“Even so, it seems you didn’t slack off! Though the direction was different, you were steadily honing yourself. I thought that since you were going to become a count, you had completely put down the sword and were playing around ordering people about!”

“I couldn’t do that. Did you come here to check this, by any chance?”

“That was part of it, but shouldn’t I at least show my face for the obituary of a former disciple?!”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, Sir Gowell, who had died during the ogre subjugation a few years ago, was also one of Darkal’s disciples.

Rather, his meeting with Shan had been pushed slightly down in priority; it seemed he had already visited Sir Gowell’s grave to pay his respects and even spoken with the count.

“His talent was mediocre, but he was a hardworking fellow! Since he died doing his duty, there’s nothing to feel pity for, but it was insolent of him to depart before his master!”

On Darkal’s face as he let out a sigh, loneliness showed through instead of the fierce intensity from a moment ago.

Watching him quietly, Shan spoke somewhat cautiously as a thought crossed his mind.

“Ah, come to think of it, Master. I also had a fight with another one of your disciples before…”

“Are you talking about Kamad?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t pay it any mind! Didn’t he start a fight first and get killed? If he treats his master’s words like dog shit, he deserves to die!”

Unexpectedly, far from grieving over the mutual slaughter between his disciples, Darkal grumbled that he hadn’t liked how Kamad acted arrogantly in the first place, behaving as if he were somebody special just because he was a count’s son.

Rather than merely acting gruff, he truly gave off an aura of being completely unfazed.

It seemed Kamad had incurred Darkal’s dislike to quite a severe degree.

Although it had been a brief encounter, considering Kamad’s arrogant attitude, Shan thought it was understandable.

Smiling with a much relieved heart, Shan brought up the concern he had kept inside.

“Honestly, I was worried that you might participate in the war under Conrad’s command, Master. After all, the Old Faith forces in Pendia are over on that side right now, and your family is in the west as well.”

“Even without you saying so, my nephew was grumbling in a letter! He said that because I taught you, Prince Conrad hasn’t been giving them important roles and has just kept them sidelined. Arrogant brat… if his own skills were good enough, would things have turned out like that over such a minor thing?!”

“Is that so?”

Come to think of it, when he encountered Conrad’s faction in Hasra last time, he had indeed never seen any knight from House Cordo, the same family as Darkal.

Who would have thought that was the reason?

Darkal, who had been criticizing his nephew for a long while, spoke as if lamenting.

“At any rate, whether it’s Pendia or Libert, there’s never a quiet day! It’s good for swordsmen to rise in the world, but it’s not a world where people can live comfortably. I wish someone, anyone, would hurry up and put an end to this!”

“Is the situation in Libert bad as well? I heard it had calmed down somewhat after Duke of Morayen was driven out.”

“Count Balik and the capital nobles have already been clashing for quite a while. On top of that, not long ago, those horse bandits from Horais launched a massive invasion from the west. It’s a complete mess! Though the southern side where I stayed was a bit better.”

Hearing fresh news directly from someone who had been in Libert until just recently was quite interesting.

How long did they spend sharing updates like that?

Darkal let out a groan and stood up from his seat.

“It’s about time I leave. I shall take my leave now. No need to see me off!”

“What? You’re not going to stay here?”

“I should return to my hometown after a long time and see my family’s faces! Send my regards to that fellow Roden instead!”

“Ah…”

What could he possibly say when he said he was going to see his family?

Shan did not hide his expression of regret at the sight of Darkal preparing to depart.

Inwardly, he had wished Darkal would stay here continuously.

For as could be seen this time alone, he was a talent unmatched by anyone when it came to nurturing knights.

No, in truth, such things did not matter.

He did not want that old master of his to undergo a harsh journey traversing the land of Pendia alone, nor did he want him to be caught up in the war and get injured or killed.

Even if not here, it would be wonderful if he stayed in the safe land of Palles to spend his old age.

But Shan did not bring up such words.

Because if he brought up such things to that stubborn old man, he would surely get angry, asking if Shan was looking down on him just because he was old.

Just then, before leaving, Darkal tossed a booklet toward Shan with a thud.

Bound together with sturdy thread and covered in a large leather cover, it was thick enough to easily feel like it exceeded one to two hundred pages.

“What is this?”

“It’s a rough compilation of what I’ve felt while going through all kinds of experiences over the years! For your own body, doing as I told you earlier will suffice, so use this as a reference when teaching others!”

Skimming roughly through the contents, Shan realized what this item truly was.

This was the essence of knowledge that Darkal had acquired over decades as a knight and an educator.

How much to increase the load during training, how much rest to give based on what signs, and what kind of food was good to eat.

Starting from methods suitable for the awakening and training of Fighting Spirit, several secret hypotheses related to it were also recorded.

Of course, not all knowledge could be compiled into a book, so having this would not automatically make one a great educator like Darkal, but it would at least serve as a guidebook toward becoming one.

“Master…”

“On my way here, I saw how the people of this land live. Their faces were bright for people who have been excommunicated! Religion exists so that people can live better lives, so if that’s the case, then you people must be in the right.”

Only upon hearing those words could Shan vaguely sense that Darkal had not visited for trivial reasons as he had claimed.

Darkal had probably wanted to know whether his former disciple, who was making a name for himself under the command of the excommunicated princess, had corrupted himself, and whether he was using his teachings properly.

And because he personally came to meet and converse with the people and felt that it was indeed so, he had directly guided the direction of Shan’s training and handed him this booklet.

Right then, Darkal hesitated uncharacteristically before speaking.

“I’m just saying this, but if by any chance you encounter my nephew on the battlefield, please spare his life. Haven’t I done at least that much for you?”

Unlike his confident demanding tone, perhaps feeling embarrassed about having spoken such words, Darkal said that and dashed straight out.

When Shan followed behind to see him off, the old knight shouted loudly.

“Ah, I told you not to follow me out!”

His wrinkled face was flushed red with embarrassment.

*

“Seriously, that old man is… really too much.”

After Darkal departed, Roden, who returned around evening, showed a disappointed expression at the fact that his master had left without even seeing his face.

Finding the sight of his pouting lips amusing, Shan chuckled despite himself.

Starting the next day, Shan set aside separate time to reshape his body according to his master’s new teachings.

Since the new training methods engaged his muscles in ways he rarely used, it provided fresh stimulation.

“Now, you two follow this as well.”

“Understood!”

Shan also presented the training methods from Darkal’s booklet to Vico and Tavera.

Even if it wasn’t perfectly tailored to them directly, it would still be helpful.

What he felt renewed regret over while looking through the booklet was precisely the method of determining the total amount of Fighting Spirit.

The theory stated that once the soul began to be forged into the shape of Fighting Spirit through extreme training, completing it as quickly as possible would yield a even grander Fighting Spirit.

That was likely the reason why Roden, who had once halted his training right before attaining Fighting Spirit halfway, and the two squires, who attained Fighting Spirit after years of training as squires, possessed weaker Fighting Spirit compared to Shan.

This was probably also why Darkal had pushed Shan to a degree bordering on abuse in the past.

‘Should I have trained Vico and Tavera harder…?’

Only briefly entertaining such a thought, Shan soon shook his head.

It was possible only because he possessed recovery abilities exceptionally superior to others; had he put the two boys through such training, they would have regressed or their bodies would have broken down.

Above all, they might not have been able to endure it mentally either.

It would be great if there were a way to overcome this, but unfortunately, Darkal did not seem to know up to that part either.

In truth, normally the total amount of Fighting Spirit wouldn’t be all that important, but now the story was slightly different.

Because in the upcoming holy war between the Old Faith and the New Faith, miracles would be mobilized.

A knight blessed with increased vitality could continuously recover stamina and unleash Fighting Spirit over and over again.

Should that happen, situations would arise where spiritual power was exhausted and Fighting Spirit could no longer be used even though physical strength remained.

At that time, the side with stronger Fighting Spirit would hold the upper hand.

Fortunately, reshaping his body anew did not cause the administration of Shedil City to become chaotic or neglected.

Not only had it begun to be systematized to some extent, but in the end, it was mostly carried out by receiving advice from Cheryn.

Above all, he had always set aside time to keep his body from growing rusty anyway, so he had merely extended that slightly.

As several weeks passed, Shan came to feel anew that his master’s teachings were correct.

His body, which he had felt reached its limit, improved a bit further as he altered his training methods.

Would it be more accurate to express it as having been optimized?

He felt his body become slightly stronger, faster, and less easily fatigued in the process of his muscles expanding and contracting.

On top of this, with the assistance of magic devices including armor, that small gap would grow enormously.

Around the time Shan was fully enjoying the pleasure of growing as a knight for the first time in a while, news arrived from Cheryn.

It was news that the Ajun Kingdom had finally crossed Castle Solod and entered Pendia.

“What about their numbers?”

[It’s not certain, but it seems to be around five thousand to seven thousand people.]

“That’s enormous…”

Even combining all the soldiers from all the territories currently controlled by Cheryn, including Palles and Shedil, it did not amount to that many.

Of course, if they conscripted, they could easily mobilize over ten thousand people in an instant, but since that was an act that would blow away the fief’s growth engine, it was strictly a last resort.

Of course, thanks to the mass-produced magic devices steadily manufactured in the meantime, they would be far better off in terms of equipment.

Especially since Ajun was a country that tabooed magic to the extreme, using not even Altoan artifacts other than holy relics.

After receiving the communication, Shan sought out Count of Shedil.

Perhaps because he had spent the entire winter in front of a warm stove, the old bear seemed rather slightly more energetic than before.

“A full army mobilization?”

“Yes. I received communication that Ajun’s forces have entered Pendia.”

“I see.”

The count did not press Shan on how he knew something that even he did not know yet.

For not only had the core of the fief’s administration already passed to him, but he also implicitly guessed that Shan had a method of closely communicating with Cheryn.

Though, of course, he did not know the exact method.

With the count’s cooperation, Shan issued a muster order for the entire eastern region as well as the Shedil area as his proxy.

“Conrad comes to trample us with the barbarians of Ajun at his back; gather, free people of the east!”

Archbishop Vent of the Eastern Holy See lent his weight to this upon receiving the message.

He defined this conflict not as a simple war, but as a holy war against the crushing of faith led by the Western Holy See.

Before long, the priests gathered under the lead of the Holy See asked with anxious expressions.

“We heard that miracles will be used in this war…”

“If they do not use them, we will not use them either. But if they use them, we must use them as well.”

Magic had developed remarkably over the past several centuries, but in a few fields, it had not yet surpassed miracles.

In things like healing, support, and purification.

If only the Old Faith knights ran amok while receiving all kinds of blessings, the New Faith knights would be helplessly trampled.

Hearing Shan’s words, the priests swallowed hard.

Thinking that the religious war in which the New Faith and Old Faith fiercely slaughtered each other five hundred years ago had finally returned.