Chapter 26: The Start of Training

Clank-clank—

The sound of iron armor and greaves clashing as they walked made it sound rather brave and determined.

The chest armor, made slightly broader to fit her chest size, was beautifully gilded to resemble sharp canine teeth, giving it a majestic and romantic look.

This was the very image of a knight, striding with dignity—Penril.

However, despite her stern and serious expression, her tail was wagging vigorously, almost as if it would take off at any moment.

“A knight, am I really a knight…!”

Penril, once an orphan abandoned by her parents, had naturally drifted into a life of crime.

Yet, she had always dreamed of this moment in her heart—a life where she would be bold, brave, and charge across the battlefield as a knight.

As a child, she had dreamed of knights marching through the dark alleys, and while she had led the Red Fang organization, she had hidden that dream deep inside and carried on with her life.

But after everything that happened, she had officially become a knight.

Outwardly, she had tried to convince the Red Fang members to leave the underworld and join the light, feeling nervous but eager at the same time.

Now, for the first time since being knighted, her lord, Freya, had called her.

“Now that we have funds, she said we’ll clean up the back alleys… I’ve spent quite some time in the alleys, so this might be a good opportunity to prove myself.”

Penril had predicted that her lord’s call was for her to join the upcoming operation in the alleys.

“Alright, the plan is already set. All that’s left is to go and make my mark!”

“If I succeed in this operation, I’ll solidify my place and my standing with my lord will rise even further.”

After her encounter with Freya, Penril felt less frustration and more admiration.

Freya’s strategies weren’t just about intimidating others with her noble status; she was someone who saw the bigger picture and had an incredible sense of leadership.

Freya had been kind to her, a beastwoman who had faced discrimination in human society, and Penril was deeply moved by her proposal.

“Phew… My lord, Penril has arrived as summoned.”

With that, Penril, still deep in thought, arrived in front of the office and, taking a deep breath, knocked on the door with formal words she had learned from childhood stories of knights.

Ah, come in!

“Then, I’ll be entering.”

She opened the heavy door and entered, her footsteps steady as she approached her lord.

“On the command of my lord, I have arrived.”

However, upon raising her head to address her lord, Penril froze for a moment, stunned by the sight before her.

The office, previously sparse during her last visit, was now piled high with an overwhelming mountain of paperwork.

“Ah, you’ve come!”

“My, my lord… What is all this…?”

“Hehe, I’m not used to being called ‘my lord,’ but I quite like it. It does make one feel like they’ve captured a man’s heart.”

“…Eh?”

While Penril stood stunned by the towering piles of paperwork, Freya, who had been hidden behind them, appeared and smiled gently.

“Oh, oh! A new recruit?”

“Yes, Common. This is Sir Penril, who will be helping us for a while.”

“Ah… Ah, yes! Sir Penril! It’s a pleasure! My name is Common.”

“Eh? Eh? Oh… pleasure…”

As Penril processed this, another figure, similarly buried in paperwork, stumbled over to her and shook her hand.

This man, with dark circles under his eyes and hollowed cheeks, looked like he might collapse any moment.

Yet, as he grabbed Penril’s hand, he began to tear up as though a savior had appeared.

“Now, first, please take care of this.”

“Eh… My lord? What is this?”

“These are administrative tasks that couldn’t be addressed due to lack of funds. Now that we have the money, we can handle them.”

“Is… Is all of this for me?”

“Well, of course not all of it. There are more papers coming, so please work quickly.”

“Wait, so the reason I was called wasn’t to discuss the operation in the alleys…?”

“Yes. I’m counting on you.”

“Ah, Sir Penril. Your seat is here.”

“Ah… Yes.”

“First, we need to prepare the estimates for repairs and the various tasks that must be handled within this quarter, based on the available funds. You’ll find the reference materials in this stack of papers—”

Thud. Thud.

Penril, still disoriented by the unexpected situation, was guided to her seat, where, like the others, piles of documents began to accumulate.

“I’ll be grateful if you can work quickly. Now that you’re here, I think I might finally get three hours of sleep today! That’s such a relief. Well then.”

Scratch. Scratch.

Scratch. Scratch.

Clank. Clank.

Clank. Clank—

“Sir Penril? I’m sorry, but could you remove your armor?”

“Oh, yes.”

Scratch. Scratch.

“This isn’t what I imagined. The knight I dreamed of is not like this…”

And so, having quickly taken her seat, Penril, who had polished her chest armor and gauntlets all night in an attempt to look impressive, now found herself taking off her armor, grabbing a pen instead of a sword, and filling out paperwork.

While others might not understand, for her, the pen was just as important as a sword.

“Was that sound real… Damn.”

As she recalled her knightly investiture from a few days ago, which had been done rather hastily, a single tear slipped from Penril’s eye.

And so, in the office of the Evergarden estate, all that could be heard that day was the sound of a pen scratching paper.

“…Tch, that cheeky brat will suffer for this.”

“Huh? What did you just say?”

“Nothing. I was just wondering if the beast is well tamed…”

At that moment, Gordon, who had been muttering to himself in the empty training field, cleared his throat and faltered.

“By the way… You said you wanted to learn the sword. I didn’t expect you to come, young lady.”

“Why do I have to do this? I was just trying to get some sleep…”

“Hey! You’ve been lounging around in your room all the time! Aren’t you bored of that?”

“Um! I… I haven’t been out of my room for long! Can’t I just rest?!”

“Besides, suddenly talking about a sword? You only came because you were bored and wanted to play, right? I’ve never heard you mention a sword before!”

The day after Dariann had mentioned wanting to learn sword techniques from Gordon, they met at the scheduled time in the training yard, only to find that Rosaria, who had never been mentioned, had also shown up.

Though she had been unsure about what to do that day, feeling bored, it was true that Dariann had told her there was something fun to do.

But she hadn’t agreed to be dragged into the training yard and changed clothes without warning.

“Hey, you might change your mind after seeing it. Gordon? That thing. Show it to me again.”

“Yes, understood.”

Whoosh—

“…Oh…! Wait, that… Sword Aura? Is that the same one you showed me back then?!”

But just as she was showing a face like a soldier who had been dragged out for a weekend sunning, looking indifferent, Rosaria’s eyes suddenly lit up as she saw the blue aura emanating from Gordon’s hands.

“Wow… this is insane.”

“How is it? Pretty cool, right? Want to try learning it?”

“Yes, yes, yes… I definitely want to learn it!”

Rosaria, who wasn’t particularly interested in comics or animations, felt her instincts as a woman flare up after witnessing Gordon releasing his energy right in front of her.

“…Then, is it okay to start?”

“Let’s start right away!”

And so, Gordon’s Sword Aura lesson began, receiving enthusiastic support from both parties.

“Ugh… pant… pant…!”

The sweat dripping from her forehead followed the sharp line of her jaw, eventually falling onto the barren training ground, making a tiny dot.

“No… this is crazy…! Hah! Hah…!”

She had thought she would learn Sword Aura, but suddenly, at Gordon’s command, Rosaria started running laps around the training ground.

With each step, her legs wobbled as if they might give way any moment.

“Thirteen more laps, miss.”

“I’m going to die!!!”

Whether Gordon knew or not how miserable Rosaria felt, he calmly announced the remaining laps, which only made her want to shout.

“No… Hah…! Why is it only me…?! Hah! Run… haah…!”

“Well, don’t I have to run?”

“I don’t need to run.”

“My lady’s body is already well-trained, so there’s no need for you to do it now. You’ve already been doing physical training in the morning.”

“However, my lady, compared to drawing out your aura, you lack the physical stamina to wield a sword, so for the time being, you need to focus on building your stamina.”

“Hey! Did you hear that?! I have to run laps for now.”

“I’m not doing it! I’m crazy… ugh…! Aaah!!!”

Unlike Dariann, who had always loved exercise and trained her body daily even after transforming into a man, Rosaria, born into a noble family, had never really done any physical training.

Her body was weak from lack of exercise.

“So, what should I do?”

“Hmm… In your case, you’ve never learned swordsmanship, right? Even back when you were a young lord, you avoided swords… So, when you suddenly wanted to learn swordsmanship, I was a bit surprised.”

“Ah, hahaha…? Is that so? Well, it’s just that sitting around is boring, and Freya is handling the administrative work, so I got a little bored.”

“Even so, Sir Gordon! The head of the Evergarden family, who has always been renowned for swordsmanship, has now personally asked to learn swordsmanship. I will do my best to guide you, despite my lack of skill!”

“…Uh, right. So, how does this relate to what we’ll be doing?”

“Please come this way.”

After finishing his sudden speech, Gordon led Dariann to a corner of the training area where various training equipment was placed.

“Pick whichever you’re comfortable with.”

“Hmm? Anything here? Don’t I need to use a sword?”

Dariann looked at the weapons laid out—swords, spears, bows, axes, and hammers—and asked again.

“Though the sword is the most versatile weapon, it is customary for most to start with it. But generally, weapons are tools, and it’s best to choose one that suits your body type.”

“Ah… I see.”

Dariann nodded in interest as he listened to Gordon’s explanation, then started scanning the other weapons on display.

“Then, I’ll go with this.”

What he chose was an axe.

A single-edged axe that looked like it would be used for chopping wood.

“This one fits my hand perfectly.”

Dariann, who had once used a fireman’s axe to break open locked doors, picked it without hesitation.

“An axe… You’ve chosen a rather lethal weapon.”

“Well, since I’m kind of simple-minded, I like this kind of thing. Is it bad? Should I choose something else?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“So, what do I do with this now?”

“Do you know what’s the most efficient way to check your opponent’s skill?”

“…Hmm.”

As Dariann gripped the axe and looked at Gordon, Gordon revealed the hand that had been hidden behind his back.

“The best way is to face off directly.”

“Just like that? With bare hands?”

“Though my joints have been aching recently, I am still able to fight without issue.”

“Still, it’s an unfair advantage! It’s cheating.”

“Even if you wield a mithril greatsword, you’ll be fine. So don’t worry.”

“…Oh, is that so?”

Dariann, looking slightly flustered by Gordon’s suggestion to fight bare-handed, hesitated but then smiled mischievously.

“Well, that’s true. I find it’s easier just to clash rather than making things complicated.”

Whoosh—

Dariann swung the axe lightly through the air, cutting the empty space, and then grinned.

“Be careful. You still need to think about when to retire.”

“I think I’m far from needing to pass on my position.”

“Then, I’m coming!”

“Hah… Hah… My heart feels like it’s going to burst…!”

And so, while some were gasping for breath while running laps around the training ground, in a corner, an unannounced sparring match began.