I Never thought simulating life could screw me up this badly!!

"So, as I was saying, from one month from now, Mr. Wang Fei will be living with us as a guest of the Nearl family and will also become Maria's combat training instructor."

At the dinner table, where the Nearl family was gathered together (with the exception of Margaret), each person wore a stunned expression upon hearing Kirill's explanation. Of course, Mlynar was the first to object.

"What is this nonsense, old man! Are you planning to let some stranger we know nothing about stay in our home?!"

Hearing this, Kirill turned to scold Mlynar directly.

"Watch your words. This Mr. Wang Fei is a former secret official from Yan, who held the position of the Left Hand of Lord Xie Zuo'er of Yanmeng Prefecture."

Mlynar's eyebrow twitched. It was clear he didn't believe a word his father said, as he had never heard of any ridiculous prefecture with that name before.

"And... what is this 'former Left Hand' doing here in Kazimierz?" Mlynar asked through gritted teeth, annoyed.

"That's because... Mr. Wang Fei wishes to learn about the culture and history of Kazimierz. As for his accommodation, because Mr. Wang Fei is not yet familiar with this area, I offered for him to stay at our home for now. Besides, our manor has plenty of spare rooms, doesn't it? Helping those in need is the duty of knights like us," Kirill answered his son's question with a normal expression. He was completely unaware that his answer was lifted almost entirely from a classic spy movie he had once seen.

'Very believable, Grandpa,' Wang Fei couldn't help but complain about his grandfather in his head. Though it was partly his fault for finding those kinds of movies for him to watch. But if he didn't say something now, his cover would surely be blown.

"It is as Lord Kirill says. But... I have one more reason for coming to Kazimierz directly. That is to search for the knight, Lady Margaret."

"Eh..."

The voice that came from Wang Fei's mouth made Maria so shocked she forgot what he had just said. His voice now was nothing like the one she had heard before. It felt unusually cold and emotionless. She preferred the old voice she had heard.

"Y-you've met Margaret before?" Yolanta, hearing her daughter's name, showed a visible sign of shock. Schnitz looked no different, but he chose to hide his reaction and calmly looked towards his father.

"Wait a minute... didn't you say you couldn't speak?" Mlynar narrowed his eyes, looking at him suspiciously. He remembered Yolanta telling him earlier that the other man had a problem with his vocal cords and had to use a device to simulate his voice.

"Firstly, Lady Yolanta is correct. Lady Knight Margaret and I have met before. She saved my (finger) once. As for your question, Mr. Mlynar, yes... I do have a problem with my voice. But with Lord Kirill's help (training in using Unicus power), I am now able to speak again." Wang Fei didn't want to lie to his family, so he intended to use the most ambiguous phrasing possible to make himself feel better.

His grandfather, who had already discussed this with him, nodded and added.

"Consider it advance payment for being Maria's training instructor."

"Eh... our family's power can do that much?" Maria looked very surprised upon hearing this. Although she was quite proficient in using Originium Arts, she never knew it could be used to heal others to that extent. Otherwise, she would have tried using it on Mr. Wang Fei long ago.

"The Originium Arts of the Nearl family have always been for protecting others from the start. It's not strange that our ancestors were famous for protection rather than combat. Even so... there are still some fools who aren't proficient in these arts but instead focus solely on combat," Kirill gently stroked Maria's head, not forgetting to take a jab at someone nearby.

"..."

"..."

'Grandpa... are you trying to kill two birds with one stone?' Wang Fei's eyebrow twitched. So did Mlynar's. The reason was that they were both the fools his grandfather was talking about. Mlynar wasn't very interested in the healing arts, focusing instead on combat efficiency. Ray, being a direct disciple of Mlynar, naturally adopted that mindset as well. That was why the two of them were the only ones in the group who weren't particularly skilled in using healing-type sacred powers.

Mlynar, looking displeased, cleared his throat softly.

"A-hem. It's true that the concept of protecting others is common sense for knights, but without strength, how can they protect anyone?" Mlynar said. It was rare for him to argue with his father about traditions like this. It showed that Mlynar's mental state was much better than Wang Fei had initially guessed.

But suddenly, Mlynar's eyes snapped towards him.

"...And speaking of strength, I cannot accept letting someone weaker than myself teach others on this subject." Mlynar met Wang Fei's eyes, making no attempt to hide his intentions.

Hearing this, Wang Fei and Kirill secretly smiled as if they had been waiting for those words.

'Uncle, oh Uncle... it seems that after Father Schnitz came back, you've lost most of your composure.'

"In that case, Mlynar, would you like to test him yourself?" Kirill said, as if he already knew what his son would say next.

"Of course," Mlynar stood up immediately.

"And what about you, Mr. Wang Fei?" Kirill turned to ask him as a formality, but his eyes clearly said, "Please beat up this good-for-nothing son of mine."

"I have no problem with that either. But before that... please enjoy the food on this table before it gets cold. Otherwise, I'm sure Lady Yolanta would be very disappointed."

When everyone heard that, they finally took notice.

"Ah... we almost forgot about this. My apologies, Yolanta," Kirill turned to apologize to his daughter-in-law when he realized he had gotten too carried away.

"It's alright, Father. By the way... won't you join us, Mr. Wang Fei?" Yolanta gave the young man a gentler smile, seeing that he had brought everyone's attention back to the food she had prepared.

"Well, since it's an invitation from a beautiful lady like yourself, Lady Yolanta, I can't possibly refuse," Wang Fei said with a smile, before walking over to sit next to his grandfather, with Maria sitting nearby.

"..." Father Schnitz, sitting at the head of the table, was glaring this way as if he were his mortal enemy.

'Calm down, Dad. I was just complimenting Mom...'

Yolanta, being complimented, said nothing, merely smiling back formally, as she knew he was just being polite. But suddenly, Maria dropped a bomb in the middle of the dinner table.

"Ahh~ There goes Mr. Wang Fei again. I told you, my sister doesn't like flirts. If you fail to win her over, don't say I didn't warn you."

"Pfft!!/Pfft!!" The first two to react were Father Schnitz and Uncle Mlynar, who choked on the water they were drinking.

Screech! Wang Fei, who was sitting down on his chair, felt his feet go numb and almost lost his balance and fell over.

This was followed by Mother Yolanta, who covered her mouth and let out a soft, excited gasp. "Oh my~"

'Maria! Are you holding some kind of grudge against me!!' Wang Fei shot a glare at his sister. The young girl seemed to have just realized what she had blurted out. She let out a soft "Oops," quickly covered her mouth, and pretended to continue eating nonchalantly.

"Oh... so Mr. Wang Fei has a crush on Margaret."

Unlike everyone else, Kirill seemed only slightly surprised before his expression changed to a delighted smile.

"Well, that's great! I've been worried lately about whether that girl would ever find a boyfriend. If it's you—"

"FATHER!!!/OLD MAN!!!" Schnitz and Mlynar shouted in unison.

It took a while for things to clear up, leaving the dinner table in chaos for some time.

.....

Half an hour later, everyone in the Nearl family gathered in the garden behind the manor to watch the practice fight between Mlynar and Wang Fei.

"Are you sure you want to use real swords?" Mlynar murmured softly, looking at the sword in his hand before glancing at his opponent, who was also inspecting his own two blades.

'He uses two swords, a style common among the new generation of knights,' Mlynar analyzed secretly, observing the man's grip and movements.

Just by looking, Mlynar knew that his opponent was not a novice in combat, but he wasn't an expert in dual-wielding to the point of needing to be cautious.

Even so, the aura the other man had released when he punched him still left Mlynar unable to shake the strange feeling. At that moment, it was as if he were facing a master no less skilled than his own father, but in the blink of an eye, that atmosphere had vanished.

'I'm quite sure that wasn't just my imagination... but it's possible he's on the same level as the old man, or even higher.' Mlynar thought that perhaps the other man was an old acquaintance of his father, judging by their vague words and overly familiar demeanor.

Although, looking at his appearance, he had almost nothing in common with an old comrade of the old man. But with the diverse races on Terra, there were still many races with longer lifespans than meets the eye. For example, the Sarkaz and the Aegir.

'But he can't be a Sarkaz. I know their aura well...'

Tolands, his old comrade, was a Sarkaz. Even though he was an outcast who had unintentionally fled Kazdel, he had long since abandoned the ways of the Sarkaz (his horns), but the Sarkaz aura was not something that could be easily hidden, no matter how much time passed. At least, that's what Tolands had once told him.

'Then could it be... a Behemoth?'

Behemoths were beings beyond common sense that most people called gods. They were ancient beings said to have lived since the beginning of the ancient civilization era. Some said they had the ability to shapeshift into other forms at will, with one of their favorite forms being human, though they were sometimes found as strange-looking animals.

In the past, Mlynar had heard his father mention a Behemoth living in Kazimierz, and it was very possible that the Behemoth his father spoke of was this man.

'But whatever he is, I must clearly identify his objective. Even if he is an old friend of the old man... I cannot let my guard down. The case of Margaret alone was a sufficient lesson.'

Mlynar raised his sword, looking straight at the figure opposite him who seemed to have finished preparing.

'That footwork... is that the Jin style of combat?'

That combat style was a popular one from Yan. It was said to have been invented a hundred years ago by a general who was a genius in fighting with various weapons, earning him the title of Grandmaster of Weaponry. Even today, that fighting style remained popular among the warriors of Yan. Even some knights from Kazimierz had trained to learn it.

Jin was a fighting style that emphasized agility and maximized the power of every part of the body. Being cornered by its beast-like attacks was as terrifying as facing dozens of Sarkaz. From the past to the present, Mlynar had never faced a true master of that art, only one who came close, who was able to corner him with similar physical skills.

'Blacknight. She was the only former knight whose combat skills most closely resembled that style. If she hadn't been taken away by that woman, I would have invited her to join the knightly orders.'

Mlynar found himself reminiscing, but when he remembered the face of that woman from his memory, he couldn't help but sigh.

'All life must wither and fade, not even sparing the most skilled of heroes.'

The Supreme Commander of Victoria, the Silver Princess of Kjerag, or even... the Knight-Primarch of Kazimierz, his own nephew. They all met ends that were hard to accept.

But even so... they all ended their lives with their own great will, and that was the important thing Mlynar learned from them. That even in the final moments of their lives, they still showed the potential to bloom until the very last second.

'Now I'm starting to understand... why that old man always likes to grumble about wanting to die on the battlefield rather than in bed from old age.'

'Because after seeing friends and people I respect pass away one by one, I've learned that dying knowing your life still means something to someone might be better than dying alone, amidst the desolation of a small, quiet room.'

'Ray... if it were you, would you think this foolish uncle of yours deserved such an end?'

While Mlynar was lost in his thoughts, Wang Fei, having just finished preparing his equipment, looked at the two swords in his hands.

'If my sister saw me in this state, she'd surely scold me until my ears went numb...'

His movements, which resembled the old man's (Wei), and his weapon grip, taught to him by Leader Nine, were nothing like what his sister had ever taught him. But that was understandable. For the past several years, he had been cared for by those two, so he had picked up this fighting style. Although there was a period when he tried to train in his sister's style, he found that it didn't suit his body at all. Even though his body was in good condition now, it wasn't easy to go back to using an unfamiliar technique to fight Uncle Mlynar, who was a master of swordsmanship.

The title (Mlynar) "Tenebrous Knight" was not just a playful nickname, but a direct address from knights who had seen him fight on the battlefield and take the heads of enemy leaders time and time again.

Besides, what he should be doing now was not winning head-on like his sister, but seizing every advantage he had, just as that old man (Wei) had said.

Though it was a little annoying to have to follow the advice of that silver-tongued old man (Wei)... he couldn't deny that it was because of those teachings that he had survived the special forces to this day.

'But in the end, I still messed up and got a bullet through my skull. It's so embarrassing to think about...'

Although part of it was because he usually had Hoshiguma by his side, which made him let his guard down, it wasn't right to blame others for it. In the end, it was his own carelessness.

Before long, his grandfather's figure walked in to stand between them, before speaking loudly to explain the rules.

"This is just a general practice fight. Both of you can use any equipment or attacks, but no Originium Arts are allowed. So, don't go overboard to the point of injury. Although I am allowing the use of real weapons, if there is any bloodshed, I will be the one to teach you both a lesson... do you understand what I'm saying?"

It seemed his grandfather was emphasizing this particularly to Wang Fei, which made Uncle Mlynar look slightly displeased, as if the old man was implying that he would surely be defeated. Wang Fei understood that it was just his grandfather's way of provoking Mlynar.

'Grandpa is really devious,' Wang Fei smiled secretly, before shouting in acknowledgment.

"Understood!"

Mlynar also gave a short nod.

"In that case... begin!" Kirill wasted no time in announcing the start of the fight.

Fwip!! Mlynar was the first to charge. The sword in his hand moved like an afterimage and appeared in front of Wang Fei in a fraction of a second, leaving the young man no choice but to retreat to evade its range. But at that moment, his opponent had no intention of letting him go easily, lunging in close and thrusting his sword. Wang Fei, who had been waiting for that moment, intended to raise both his swords to block. But as soon as he thought of doing so, Uncle Mlynar's thrusting sword was suddenly dropped to the ground, and a bare fist shot out to replace the blade, slamming into his swords with a loud clang, like a sledgehammer hitting a steel plate.

BOOM!!! Wang Fei's feet slid back several meters on the grass. The two swords he used to block the attack trembled violently, with a faint sound of cracking metal.

'Ah... that made my arms tremble. Are you trying to end it from the start, Uncle Mlynar?'

'Just as expected of someone who likes to play chess by trading rooks (a battle of wills).'

"Heh," Mlynar snorted softly before calmly walking over to pick up the sword that had fallen to the ground.

"Where's that bravado from before?" he asked emotionlessly during the pause.

"Hu..." Hearing that, Wang Fei almost laughed out loud. He never thought his uncle could be this much of a toxic chatter.

"Easy there, big brother. I'm not even warmed up yet."

Mlynar's eyebrow twitched when he heard that, before he lifted his chin and revealed a cold smile.

"Good... because I haven't even started my engine yet."

'He's even using teen slang. Our uncle has really grown up.'

Wang Fei was so moved he almost shed a tear.

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