Chapter 127 - A Brother’s Dignity
At the back of the mansion, there was an open area like a small square.
There was no grass, and the ground was fairly hard.
It wasn’t designated for any specific purpose but was used when many carriages needed to be parked at the mansion, for horse training, or for personal training.
In the center stood Volf and Jonas, facing each other.
Guido sat on a simple chair some distance away. Behind him stood a mage in black robes.
“Let’s begin.”
After a brief bow, Jonas raised his practice sword and stepped forward.
His movements lacked any sense of tension, and Volf, still gauging the situation, raised his sword as well.
But the moment their swords clashed, Jonas’s right hand slid diagonally downward, and his blade coiled around Volf’s like a snake.
Volf tried to flick it away, but the heavy entanglement wouldn’t budge.
As he instinctively pulled his hand back from the creeping dull silver, his sword was effortlessly disarmed and fell to the ground.
“Since it’s a practice sword, it doesn’t flex well. With a real sword, I could twist it a bit more and disarm you at the wrist.”
Jonas spoke matter-of-factly, picked up the fallen practice sword, and handed it back to Volf, hilt first.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
“Volfred-sama, are you not really into this?”
“No, I’m just inexperienced.”
Volf answered honestly, but Jonas looked thoroughly unimpressed.
“Volf, no need to hold back. Jonas is tough.”
“Guido-sama, could you spare some concern for me?”
“I dislike waste.”
Volf’s brother sat with his legs crossed, showing no sign of concern for either of them.
He lounged comfortably, wearing the expression of someone enjoying an amusing spectacle.
“May I aim for your chest?”
“Go ahead.”
Responding to Volf’s words, the two began their exchange again.
Jonas didn’t try to disarm Volf this time but instead shifted his attacks between the head, shoulders, chest, arms, and legs.
Volf managed to parry all of them without issue and countered in kind.
In terms of a practice duel, they were evenly matched—assuming Volf didn’t use the sköll bracelet.
As the weight of the practice sword’s strikes grew heavier, Volf activated the sköll bracelet.
He would use it in real combat as well. If possible, he wanted to learn from someone who could fight him even with it activated.
Volf’s movements became broader and faster.
Jonas responded calmly, parrying each strike, but his footing began to shift backward little by little.
“Jonas, do you want me to worry about you?”
Guido’s whisper-like voice reached both of their ears simultaneously.
“My apologies, Guido-sama.”
The man, whose expression hadn’t changed at all, seemed to laugh with his entire body.
Jonas, who had seemed bored until now, finally looked at Volf.
Suddenly, Volf’s forehead tingled sharply, and he instinctively took half a step back. A dull silver blade passed just in front of his eyes.
“If someone targets you with killing intent, either counter it or respond with intimidation. Otherwise, feint and counterattack.”
“Understood!”
Volf could manage intimidation, but he couldn’t quite muster killing intent toward the man in front of him.
Was it because he was human, or because he was his brother’s attendant?
As Volf’s dulled blade was knocked aside with unexpected force, Jonas’s left fist came into view.
For a moment, a surge of mana (TL/N: I’ve been using terms like magic, magical power, and magical energy for a while, but to stay consistent, I’ll use mana from now on.) flowed from his left hand.
Whether it was out of reflex or fear, the sköll bracelet helped him barely dodge.
He thought he caught the strong scent of blood from the fist that grazed his nose.
“Ah, so you can do it when you try.”
Jonas licked his lips with his red tongue.
The lips curled into a wide, almost torn grin—undeniably human.
But to Volf, it looked like a giant lizard was smiling at him.
The man swayed slightly, then lunged at Volf.
Volf tried to counter but was suddenly sent flying. As he chased after Jonas, his arm was kicked hard. It was a miracle he didn’t drop his practice sword.
When Volf lunged back with his sword, Jonas easily dodged with a feint.
After that, the fight became a blur.
Volf couldn’t tell whether Jonas would strike with his sword, fist, or foot. There were no tells in his movements.
Volf fought back with his sword and kicks, but he spent most of the time dodging.
He was completely overwhelmed by Jonas’s attacks, sent flying, rolling on the ground, and losing stamina.
He lost all sense of time.
Suddenly, Jonas kicked sand at Volf with his toes. Volf instinctively closed his eyes and was struck on the side of the knee with the flat of Jonas’s sword.
As Volf crumpled, Jonas caught him effortlessly.
“Are you hurt, Volfred-sama?”
“I yield... Thank you for the lesson, ‘Master Jonas.’ Please, just call me Volf.”
Volf, catching his breath, knelt on one knee and bowed his head.
The formal gesture of a knight asking for instruction made Jonas look deeply uncomfortable.
“Guido-sama...”
“That’s how it is, ‘Master Jonas.’ I’m counting on you with Volf.”
“...Understood.”
Though his expression barely changed, it was clear Jonas found this a huge hassle. Volf felt a bit guilty for making such a troublesome request.
But Volf didn’t know anyone else as strong or as versatile in combat as Jonas. If he could learn from him, he wanted to.
“...Master Jonas, you’re strong.”
Volf’s heartfelt praise made the rust-haired man widen his eyes.
“Me? There’s someone much stronger right over there.”
“Huh?”
“Over there.”
Jonas gestured with his eyes toward Guido, who sat with his arms crossed.
“Don’t turn to me. I’m not good with swords.”
“You don’t need a sword. As a mage, why not spar with your brother for experience?”
“I’m not really in the mood...”
“Brother, if you could, I’d appreciate it.”
Guido reluctantly stood and walked over to where Jonas was.
Jonas, in turn, moved away toward the chair.
“Volf, come at me.”
“Brother, are you sure you don’t need a weapon?”
“I have a defensive bracelet, so it’s fine. A few hits won’t hurt me. But, well... keep it to the strength of a practice swing, and I’ll feel safer.”
“Then, if you’ll excuse me.”
Half-doubting, Volf ran toward Guido at a slightly slower pace.
Guido was a high-level mage and the company commander of the royal castle’s Mage Division.
When Volf was a child, Guido had once summoned enough water to overflow the garden pond.
Volf expected to be blasted away by a torrent of water if he got too close. With that in mind, he raised his practice sword. The moment he did, his vision turned completely white.
“...!”
A sharp impact—Volf’s sword and arm collided with considerable force, and he stopped in his tracks.
Only then did he realize there was a white wall in front of him.
“Are you alright, Volf?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“It’s an ice shield, one of Vanessa-sama’s specialties. Ah, I didn’t need to go this far. Cleaning up will be a hassle.”
The ice that had rolled out was about four meters tall, equally wide, and quite thick.
It was less of a shield and more of a wall.
Guido, who had summoned it, hadn’t broken a sweat.
“Brother, that’s amazing...!”
“Thank you, Volf.”
Volf couldn’t help but exclaim like a child.
Guido, receiving the praise, looked genuinely pleased.
“It’ll melt if left alone. Ah, Volf-sama, if Guido-sama were to fight seriously, you’d be facing ice spears three times this size. You wouldn’t even be able to dodge.”
“That’s... truly impressive, Brother.”
Volf placed his palm on the ice’s surface, feeling the cold turn into pain.
He had been feeling a bit proud of how much stronger he had become.
But recently, there was Marcella. Then Jonas. And now, Guido.
He could hold his own against Marcella, a commoner, with bare hands. But he was no match for Jonas, who was supposedly just an attendant. And against Guido, he didn’t even stand a chance.
There was some frustration, but at this point, it was clear.
He was simply still weak.
He would train harder, learn from Jonas, and absorb everything he could from the unit.
At the very least, he wanted to become strong enough to protect those he cared about.
Volf realized he was smiling.
・・・・・・・
In the carriage on the way back to the main residence, Guido leaned back deeply into his seat.
Jonas, with a deep frown, stared at him.
“Guido, want a mana potion?”
“I’m fine. I still have some energy left.”
Before leaving, Volf had unusually decided to stay the night at the mansion, much to the delight of the attendants and maids.
Covered in mud and utterly exhausted, Volf likely didn’t mind bathing and sleeping in the mansion for the first time in a while.
Guido, however, had to return to the main residence that night to handle remaining duties. Before leaving, he had given the maids a note with the breakfast menu Volf had loved as a child.
Crispy bacon, creamy scrambled eggs, pancakes with maple syrup—it was a shame he wouldn’t be there to see Volf enjoy such a breakfast.
“You used a lot of mana during the afternoon drills too. Are you sure you’re not overdoing it?”
“Yeah. Raising my mana by four levels paid off. I managed to maintain some dignity as an older brother.”
“Don’t push it past that. Absolutely not.”
“I know. I won’t go up to five.”
Guido yawned as he answered his worrywart friend, then stretched.
He had been up all night handling duties, and the afternoon Mage Division drills had left him exhausted.
“Jonas, what do you think of Volf?”
“He relies too much on strength and body enhancement. Maybe because he’s only fought monsters, his movements lack creativity. He’s weak to feints and isn’t used to dirty human tactics.”
“I’ll pay you extra. Teach him seriously. I want him to survive, whether it’s against monsters or people.”
“You’ve gotten awfully overprotective all of a sudden…”
“It’s also true that if something happens to me, the Scalfarotto family will need him. My daughter is still young. Elude has no intention of returning home, and I can’t trust the relatives. Even if Volf doesn’t want to take over, it’s not impossible.”
“You should either have an heir soon or take a second wife.”
“I don’t want to end up like Father.”
Guido’s voice turned icy.
Jonas didn’t press further and leaned back in his seat.
For a while, only the rhythmic sound of the carriage wheels filled the air.
“...I’ll teach Volf-sama, but I have two conditions.”
“Anything within my power.”
“Same as today. Have a mage who can use healing magic on standby. Even practice swords can cause injuries. And you need to be present. If I lose control, freeze me to stop me.”
“If you’re that worried, does that mean Volf has the potential to become quite strong?”
Guido sounded as delighted as if it were about himself. Jonas gave him a look of exasperation.
“I don’t know. While fighting me earlier, his eye color never changed.”
“Do knights’ eyes change color when they fight?”
“Mages too, right? When fighters get serious, it happens. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen your eyes change color...”
Jonas tilted his gaze as if searching his memory but found nothing.
“You’re just too good at guarding. Well, if the opportunity arises, I’ll show you.”
“Personally, I’d prefer if you never had to.”
The blue-eyed man didn’t answer, simply smiling.
Comments
Post a Comment