……”Ucha!”
Right after Kael went out to the training ground.
Elia, who had been lying on the sofa while hugging a teddy bear, carefully stood up.
When asked why, it was because she wanted to watch Kael train.
Getting up from the sofa, Elia walked toward the window, laid the teddy bear on the chair by the window, then knelt and sat on it.
Then, through a tiny gap, she saw the perfect view of the training ground.
And in the large training ground, she saw Kael drawing his wooden sword and beginning his training, which made Elia let out a small exclamation.
“Wow…”
Excluding the forgotten memories of her baby years, the first time Elia saw Kael training was when she was about 3 years old.
And since then, Elia had always felt the same way whenever she watched Kael train.
“It’s beautiful…”
She was talking about the beauty of the sword Kael wielded.
With the wooden stick in his hand, dozens, hundreds, thousands of different paths spread and disappeared in the air.
Though they weren’t shining, warm, or sparkling, Elia couldn’t help but think they were beautiful.
A soldier with more talent than an average citizen.
A knight with talent that could not be compared to those soldiers.
And a rare few who were stronger than even those knights.
Kael was the one who created and taught such rare and powerful warriors, and he himself had a talent that surpassed theirs.
The swordsmanship honed and sharpened in the battlefield, where life and death were at stake, was right there.
So, even though Elia didn’t know the first thing about swordsmanship, she could still catch a glimpse of the time and effort behind it.
How could she not think it was beautiful after seeing that?
For that reason, Elia once asked Kael if she could learn swordsmanship.
Of course, the result was naturally rejected.
Kael told her she was too young to learn swordsmanship and that he would teach her when she was older.
Even though Elia, for the first time in her life, threw a tantrum, the answer remained the same.
Even now, at five years old, if she asked again, the result would probably be the same.
But this time, Elia had a plan.
If she couldn’t throw a tantrum alone, wouldn’t it work if someone else threw a tantrum with her?
Knock, knock
While Kael was completely immersed in training, a knock echoed from the cabin door.
[Kael, are you there?]
After the knock, a gentle female voice was heard.
As soon as she heard that voice, Elia got off the teddy bear and ran towards the door.
“Mom!”
Click- -!
Once a month. That’s all she could see of her mom.
As she opened the door, she saw a woman with light purple hair and orange eyes shining.
Then, the woman, Ruina, pulled Elia into her arms, lifting her up while showing a surprised expression.
“Elia? Where is Kael?”
“Dad is at the training ground!”
“Ah, he’s training. I thought I heard something from behind.”
Once in Ruina’s arms, Elia’s view immediately rose, and Ruina’s face came right up to hers.
Then, Elia smiled faintly as she enjoyed the refreshing natural scent coming from Ruina’s body, wrapping her arms around her neck.
“Hehe… I like mom’s smell.”
“Hehe, that tickles. You’re too much, Elia.”
As Elia acted like this, Ruina gently patted her back and corrected her hold on Elia.
And how much time passed since then?
Elia lifted her head from Ruina’s hair and shouted at the woman who was looking down at her.
“Mom! I want to learn swordsmanship!”
“Huh, swordsmanship?”
If she couldn’t do it alone, surely it would work if an adult joined her in her tantrum.
The only person who could possibly fulfill this idea was her own mother, Ruina.
If she asked Ruina to help her ask for swordsmanship training, even Kael wouldn’t be able to refuse.
This was Elia’s perfect plan, carefully devised over the course of three days!
Therefore, Elia smiled victoriously, convinced her plan would work.
“No.”
The victorious smile that had filled Elia’s face faded in less than 10 seconds.
Ruina put Elia down and firmly responded.
“Why, why?! I want to learn swordsmanship!”
“No. If you learn swordsmanship now, your body will get ruined. It’s better to wait until you’re older.”
Elia hastily asked again, not expecting Ruina to refuse so firmly, but the answer she received was no different from Kael’s.
She said it would be better to wait until Elia was older, or she would get hurt.
But to Elia, who was only five years old, the idea of getting hurt didn’t make much sense.
She only heard the fact that she couldn’t learn swordsmanship.
So, feeling that all her options had been exhausted, Elia sank down to the floor in frustration.
“Sigh…”
And though she hadn’t intended to cry, tears started to form in her big eyes.
It was the first time in her life she felt complete despair, and before she knew it, her blank expression cracked, and the tears began to flow.
“Sigh…!”
Since she hadn’t planned on crying, she tried to stop herself, but the more she tried, the more the tears poured out.
And more than Elia, who was crying on the cabin floor, it was Ruina who was more surprised.
“Uh, uh-oh?”
She never imagined that the fact Elia couldn’t learn swordsmanship would make her cry.
More importantly, since she had never seen Elia cry in the five years she’d been coming and going from the cabin, Ruina was even more taken aback.
Who would have guessed that Elia, who rarely even smiled and was extremely reserved in her emotions, would cry so pitifully?
Did she really want to learn swordsmanship that badly?
For a moment, that thought crossed her mind, but what mattered now wasn’t that question.
“Eh, Elia? Mom is sorry! So, please calm down and let’s talk slowly…”
“Sob!”
Ruina hurriedly tried to stop Elia’s tears, but Elia’s crying showed no sign of stopping, only becoming more intense.
Ruina wondered if she should lie and say she would teach her swordsmanship, but soon she shook her head inwardly.
“If she learns swordsmanship at this age, her body will surely be ruined…”
Elia was only five years old.
A five-year-old whose baby teeth hadn’t even fallen out yet and whose bones were still fragile.
If she tried to learn Kael’s swordsmanship at this age, not only would it damage her muscles, but it could also harm her underdeveloped bones.
That’s why it was impossible to lie about teaching her swordsmanship when she couldn’t really learn it at this age.
Even if it stopped her tears for now, it would only lead to bigger tears later.
‘What on earth should I do…?’
And so, Ruina’s mind began to spin, thinking about what she could possibly do in this situation.
Her mind was working harder than it did even when fighting a powerful enemy, desperately trying to find a solution.
And finally, the words that came out of Ruina’s mouth were the result of her best compromise and her last resort.
“Then… shall we try learning the basics of swordsmanship, Elia?”
“…Really?”
Basic swordsmanship in name — but in reality, it was just physical training.
That was the best compromise Ruina could offer to stop Elia’s tears.
After the training session, Ruina stood anxiously in front of the training ground for some reason.
When asked what was wrong, she summarized the situation that had just occurred.
“…That’s how it happened, Kael.”
“Hah… This is quite a headache.”
For years, Elia had been begging to learn swordsmanship from Kael. Now it seemed she had turned to Ruina for help.
But, of course, Ruina had refused her request — and since Elia had never expected to be rejected, she burst into tears.
Panicked, Ruina had promised to teach her the basics of swordsmanship.
And as a result, Elia was now seen jumping around happily inside the house through the window.
“S-Sorry, Kael…”
“No, well… It’s nothing to apologize for. I would’ve panicked too if Elia had started crying.”
It was rare to see Elia cry. In fact, Kael had never seen her cry so hard.
If Elia had started crying like that in front of him, he probably would have reacted the same way — trying to say anything to make her stop.
So Kael shook his head at Ruina’s apology and let out a small sigh.
“But… basic training, huh…”
“Physical training at Elia’s age shouldn’t be a problem, right? We can use a lightweight wooden sword for practice.”
“Yeah, that should be fine.”
Ruina may have been flustered, but she wasn’t careless when it came to the content of the basic swordsmanship training.
The training Ruina promised was purely physical conditioning.
But since Elia would likely throw a fit if swords were left out, the plan was to make a lightweight model sword and incorporate it into the training.
“Hmm, not a bad idea…”
Starting physical training now wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Until now, Kael hadn’t even considered putting Elia through such tough training because he didn’t want to push her too hard at a young age.
But if her passion for swordsmanship was that strong, it wouldn’t hurt to teach her the basics of sword stances and start building her physical strength.
However, there was one major problem with that plan.
“…I don’t know how to teach physical training.”
The issue was that Kael himself didn’t know how to conduct physical training.
If someone asked why — it was because Kael had been strong ever since he crossed over to this continent.
Even though he had learned to control his strength now, he hadn’t built his strength from scratch.
That’s why when training his disciples, Kael didn’t focus on physical conditioning — he simply taught them his sword techniques efficiently.
Those who couldn’t handle the training naturally fell away, and only those who were already physically prepared were able to keep up with his swordsmanship.
That was the case for all of his disciples.
So Kael didn’t have the professional knowledge to guide Elia through physical training.
And he couldn’t afford to give Elia half-baked training based on vague knowledge.
If she was going to learn, it had to be done properly. That’s why Kael scratched his head in frustration.
“Ruina, you’re not in a position to handle her training, are you?”
“I can’t come here often… It would be too difficult.”
Ruina held a high-ranking position in the elven village, and even after the war, she had been tied up with various important matters.
Even now, she could barely visit once a month. Asking her to handle Elia’s training would be unreasonable.
So who should be entrusted with Elia’s physical training, which was already promised?
A moment of contemplation.
And then, one person came to Kael’s mind.
“…Well, they did say to call if I ever needed help. It should be fine, right?”
“Huh? Who are you talking about?”
Ruina tilted her head at Kael’s murmuring.
Instead of answering, Kael pulled out a communication orb attached to his waist.
It was a communication orb — a revolutionary invention developed at the Mage Tower a decade ago, now widely used across the continent.
Kael infused the orb with mana, and his energy spread through the transparent orb like ink in water.
All he had to do now was say the name of the person he wanted to contact, and the registered orb on the other end would receive the call.
Kael softly spoke a name he hadn’t said in a long time.
“Zenre Hyde.”
The knight commander of the capital of countless cities, the Kingdom of Shardena.
A legendary warrior who made a name for herself on the frontlines of countless battles.
A genius who became the youngest sword master in history, possessing unmatched martial prowess and stunning beauty — an object of admiration for many.
And lastly — Kael’s third disciple.
Kael softly spoke her name.
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