Chapter 55

Chapter 55 - House of Knights (1)

A few days later, Valda, who was looking at the sky, approached Eugene's side.

"It would be good to stay in that village visible over there today."

"Is it not too early?"

It is merely late afternoon, so it is a waste to stop the march.

"Tonight is the day a lunar eclipse occurs, which happens twice a year. It is a time when the power of magic becomes very unstable. It is good for people like us to refrain from going out and recuperate."

"I see."

Even putting Eugene himself aside, he followed the advice for the sake of Valda, a magician.

Because the village was large in scale and a place many travelers stopped by, there was a large inn.

"It's a group of guests! Make room!"

The owner, who had been smoking tobacco in front of the inn, got excited and shouted inside. Perhaps it was a family-run place, the answer of a woman presumed to be his wife could be heard.

"Welcome. Welcome to the Knight's Shelter."

"The inn's name is wonderful."

"Hehe. Because the people coming and going to the Boundary Knight's House frequently drop by."

The owner pointed to a wooden castle not far from the village. Probably because it was a symbiotic relationship, he was as proud as if it were his own house.

"It is a knight training center boasting a 200-year history. Children of prestigious families also visit often."

Defeat in politics within the family, disillusionment with battlefields, injuries and age, deaths of children.

Knights turn their backs on the world and retire for various reasons. In Roman, there is a culture where such people create a House of Knights to receive and teach disciples.

To inherit unachieved dreams or prevent the severance of techniques honed throughout their lives. At that level, it belongs to a fairly large scale.

"Everyone will lodge, and meals will be autonomous, so take orders separately."

"Understood."

The inn owner smiled broadly watching the mercenaries troop in. Because even if they stay for just a few days, it's equivalent to a week's worth of business.

"Sir Knight. It seems we really must find a separate place for the Magician and the Squire to stay."

The mercenary captain, who quickly checked the second floor, said.

"What's the matter?"

"They say the three private rooms are already fully booked."

The lodgings on the second floor of the inn are in the form of a large hall. In a space laid out like a sauna, travelers lie down here and there.

"To serve the two of them in such a place is a bit..."

He also knows that Eugene is a commander who lodges and eats with them to check the troops' condition.

However, the noble Valda, and Homi, who is lovable like a daughter transcending status. He wanted to provide a comfortable sleeping place for those two.

At that time, men wearing light armor and armed with swords approached.

"Excuse us. We came down from the Boundary Knight's House."

The person at the front introduced himself as a senior knight.

"I am Eugene of the House of Meyer."

"Eugene! By any chance, are you the undefeated knight of Bonyard, Sir?"

"That is correct."

"It is an honor to meet you."

A House of Knights is sensitive to information.

While searching for their sponsors' situations and decent external requests, they also had to distance themselves from nobles trying to pull their martial prowess into the political arena.

Leaving that aside, as it is a place where knight trainees gather, rumors about a famous rookie knight are bound to circulate.

"We saw many mercenaries entering the village. We came down worried that they might cause trouble by any chance."

"It is a wonderful chivalric spirit."

"The gods also return it with a precious meeting. We wish to invite you to our residence, Sir."

The mercenary captain made a face saying this was great. Because the House of Knights would be a much better place to stay than the inn. And it would be troublesome to refuse such an honorable treatment.

While accepting the invitation, Eugene requested of the mercenary captain.

"Absolutely do not let the subordinates eat perpetual stew. You know, right?"

"Of course."

Perpetual stew is a cauldron dish that exists in just about every village inn. It is a hodgepodge porridge completed by visitors haphazardly throwing in their respective ingredients.

Fish heads, chicken bones, cabbage pieces, potatoes, wild greens, freshwater clams, wheat flour, and even unidentifiable fat. It boasted a hellish visual where all sorts of things floated around.

However, it is cheap, and the broth taste brewed from all sorts of bones was surprisingly decent. Thanks to that, it is highly popular among penniless mercenaries and travelers.

"Boiling it thoroughly doesn't make it all safe. Because the poison that causes food poisoning still remains."

Although it is nonsensical food to Eugene, who desires a modern feeding system. Even if bacteria die from heat, one ends up eating the toxins emitted by the bacteria.

"Since everyone's palate has gone up anyway, they won't even look at it."

"There is this advantage to feeding them well normally."

"The bastards getting stomachaches or vomiting disappeared while working under you, Sir Knight."

The subordinates following Eugene's detailed control well is not just because of respect. Because they felt their health distinctly improving under his command.

The moment the mercenary captain, who sent off the departing Eugene, was about to enter the smelly inn.

Dash.

Homi came running in a great hurry.

"Did I ostensibly forget something?"

Homi handed over a medicine pouch from her bosom. It's a medicine that wards off insects including bedbugs.

At her back figure chasing after Eugene after waving her hand, the mercenary captain also held a warm smile.

* * *

"Hah-ah!"

As they entered the wooden castle, trainees were dueling with wooden swords in the training ground.

Clip! Clop! Clip! Clop!

A trainee on horseback ran a course and thrust his spear into a scarecrow's chest.

Smack!

"Ouch!"

In front of a trainee who collapsed after getting hit by a non-lethal bolt during melee training, an instructor shouted.

"You bastard! Didn't I tell you to always pay attention to your surroundings? There is nothing scarier on the battlefield than a blind arrow. A bastard who fights trusting only hot blood and valor gets a dog's death getting hit by a bolt shot by a miscellaneous soldier."

Thud! Crash!

In a place laid with sand, hand-to-hand combat training took place. The muscular instructor tripped a trainee, throwing him down, and twisted his arm. He shoved a wooden dagger into the exposed armpit.

"Oww-ow! A bit gently please!"

"See that? You dig it like this. Even a bastard dressed heavily rolling in fat is helpless about his armpits. There's no human who gets a hole here and doesn't die. Throw away the thought that you must absolutely settle matches with a sword. There are plenty of bastards who wear better gear and use swords better than you bastards."

There was also a place where an old man in clerk's attire taught first aid.

"When your intestines have spilled out, you shouldn't move hastily. You shouldn't just put them in, you must warm them with lukewarm water and push them in slowly."

The appearance of explaining how to cope when the abdomen is slashed using straw rope. At this, several boys made frightened faces.

"It also seems okay to seek a knight in this place."

Valda looked around with an admiring expression.

This isn't a place that simply trains orthodox swordsmanship. They were comprehensively teaching how to survive and the tricks to kill stronger enemies.

"Their swordsmanship also looks good, but they educate them so practically that they could be deployed into combat immediately."

"Since they are young knights just entering the world, your purse will also be peaceful."

"Actually, that was the part I liked the most."

While the two whispered, they arrived in front of a large building. Unlike other places, it is a place built luxuriously with stone materials.

"Master is inside there. Today there's a graduation exam."

The senior knight pointed to the building.

"If they graduate, do they receive knighthood?"

"That is correct. As a knight nurturer, Master possesses the authority to knight without restrictions."

"It's an amazing honor."

"It's thanks to the senior knights establishing great merits in suppressing a large-scale rebellion in the old days. It is a privilege bestowed by the Roman royal family."

It means he possesses lord-level authority in a place with just over 100 people including trainees, instructors, and servants. Of course, the knighting process will be that severe, but.

Upon entering the building, dozens of men were surrounding a large duel arena.

Clang!

Inside, two trainees were clashing holding training swords, but the difference in skill seemed large.

Smack!

"Ack!"

The left trainee, who got hit properly, dropped his sword and collapsed. There were two more men stretched out nearby, perhaps having lost in the same manner.

"He passed. Winning consecutively against 3 trainees picked by the instructors is the final exam."

The senior knight said.

The victor on the right took off his helmet. He's a handsome man with short-cropped hair, but he gave off a somewhat Mamba-like impression. He respectfully knelt before his master.

"Hind. Why didn't you go a little easy with your hands? It's something sufficiently possible with your skills."

"It's the final rite of passage of the Boundary Knight. Neither the challenger nor the gatekeeper should face it without the resolve to wager their lives. Otherwise, both the ordeals and those who pass them will become weak."

The young man named Hind had an attitude that he could not yield his convictions, separate from his respect for his master.

"That person is the head of the Boundary Knights and everyone's master. He is Lord Largo."

When the senior knight introduced him to Eugene, Largo also recognized Eugene's appearance.

The sharpness to immediately detect small changes among many people. Even if his body was senile, his soul was still like a sharpened blade.

"I am Largo, who teaches them. I welcome the visit of a precious guest."

"Eugene Meyer. Thanks to you, I observed an honorable exam. Gratitude to the gods."

Surprise and whispering spread among the men who were spectating.

"I know it is rude upon first meeting, but there is one favor I would like to ask you, Sir."

"Please speak comfortably."

Largo pointed to the young man who had just passed the exam.

"This is my disciple Hind. He is the pre-knight who passed all courses for the second time this year."

'It's almost winter, and there's only 2 people.'

Eugene realized the training course here was much stricter than expected.

"Everyone here is talking about you, Sir. A trial by combat, monsters, field battles, even siege warfare. If they can see the sword that compressively experienced a knight's life, it will be a great motivation for everyone. Could you please spar with Hind?"

It's troublesome to refuse even for Largo's face. It's not a difficult task, and these things will all become connections.

"I understand. I shall accept the honorable bout."

Eugene took off his armor with Homi's help and entered the duel arena. He received a training sword and protective gear from a trainee and equipped them.

"It is an honor to cross swords with you, Sir."

Hind prepared without panic even at his master's sudden instruction. Rather, he was burning with knight-like fighting spirit.

"Because as fellow knights, we cannot avoid a bout that comes seeking us."

"Please speak casually. I am not a knight yet. I am merely a trainee who hasn't even received knighthood."

Hind's tone was polite, separate from his rough hands, and he looked at his position cool-headedly. He has high pride in the organization and excellent skills too.

This type is tricky even for the teaching side. Because even if a problem occurs, he confronts it with logically coherent convictions, making it awkward to press him.

"As a junior, I shall go first."

'A junior.'

It hadn't been half a year since Eugene became a knight, and by appearance, Hind looks a few years older in age. However, in the world of knights, achieved accomplishments were rank itself.

Eugene counterattacked towards the sword storming at him. Very, very, very much controlling his strength.

* * *

After a certain amount of time passed. Hind was stretched out spread-eagle with bruises in several places on his face and his whole body covered in sweat.

His sword being parried by cunning techniques, Eugene's sword stopping in front of vital points several times.

A Clang! sound ringing out in front of overwhelming strength, his sword being blown away several times.

Being knocked down, slammed, or bounced off several times by a feast of hand-to-hand combat he was seeing for the first time in his life.

He was smashed in both aspects of strength and technique.

"Just what on earth is that hand-to-hand combat?"

"It's a technique I'm seeing for the first time. To counter-utilize rushing force so easily."

"To parry a sword..."

Voices of admiration or pondering could be heard from all directions. Because Eugene's strength was strength, but there were many combat techniques they were seeing for the first time.

"I have lost."

Hind said with a refreshed face.

The reason he didn't even have a single broken bone anywhere was because Eugene controlled his strength with his best effort.

'He's the person I covet the most here. I want to take him somehow.'

Even athletes are cheap in annual salary when recruited during their unknown days before their price goes up. He had continuously been contemplating recruiting a knight, and the best item on the market appeared.

Largo said to Hind, who was struggling to get up.

"The knighting ceremony will be done tomorrow. Step back and rest now."

"Yes, Master."

"Dismissed!"

When Largo clapped his hands twice, everyone stepped back and returned to their respective tasks.

"Inviting you and arbitrarily pulling you into a fight. Once again, I offer my apologies and gratitude."

"It was a good experience for me as well."

"Hind will have also realized that the world is wide and there are many strong people."

"Well. Having crossed swords with him, he doesn't look like the type of knight to become conceited at all."

Largo held a faint smile. Even the solemn him is a master. Because a great knight praised his beloved disciple, he could not help but be happy.

* * *

As winter approached, the days grew shorter. Even though it is evening, the moon in the dark sky is being eaten by a shadow and disappearing. The lunar eclipse has arrived right before their noses.

Is it because Eugene is also an existence close to a magician? Even the sounds of grass and trees shaking in the wind seem different from usual.

[Come to me quickly. Warm the throne with your body temperature.]

"What?!"

At the whisper that seeped into his ears in an instant, Eugene hastily scanned his surroundings.

However, all that entered his eyes were the servants enthusiastically preparing meals, and Homi looking at him with widely opened eyes.

"Did you not hear some sound just now?"

Prick up.

Shake shake.

Sense of touch, hearing, smell, and other beastly senses. It was Homi who is transcendent in all aspects.

'Was it a delusion?'

Even after picking his ears, all that could be heard was the sound of the wind and the sound of Homi polishing Eugene's shoes.

She put her clenched fist inside the shoe, brushed it off with a brush, and polished it with chemicals. That sight reminded Eugene of his days as a soldier.

"It's a gathering among knights, so there's no need to pay that much attention to my appearance."

However, Homi had a firm face. When Eugene went to such occasions, she always paid attention and tidied him up.