Not a barbarian warrior.

The secret sword technique Clea pulled out at the end of the duel was called the Indomitable Strike.

It was a high-level technique that achieved unity of offense and defense by accurately grasping the opponent’s sword and striking its weakness when one had lost the initiative.

It’s very difficult to succeed, but once it lands properly, there’s virtually no way to break it.

The reason Clea and the trainees were astonished was because of Eugene’s overwhelming strength that crushed such a technique.

“He’s not even a knight…”

“Is that even possible?”

The way of winning by breaking through the superiority of technique was a scene typically seen in fights between knights using Aura.

The trainees, who had been silent for a while with their mouths open, soon became busy talking incessantly.

Bernard, who had announced the end of the duel and declared Eugene’s victory, silently looked at his niece, Clea.

At that moment, she recalled the conversation she had with her uncle earlier.

Oh, by the way, didn’t you say you beat Eugene in the previous duel?

…It was the eleventh duel, but I’m confident I could win even if we fought at full strength.

It’s good to be confident, but train hard. You might be overtaken soon.

Clea’s eyes shook for a moment. She had never expected to be defeated like this when she gave it her all, and found it difficult to accept this situation.

Seeing her like that, Bernard awakened her.

“Clea. The duel is over. Show your courtesy.”

“Ah…”

Finally coming to her senses, Clea put away her sword and approached Eugene.

“…De… Defeat…”

She felt her heart pounding. She barely parted her lips, but the words wouldn’t come out of her throat.

She knew well that there was nothing more unsightly than refusing to accept the result of a match that had already been decided.

She tightly closed her eyes and finally uttered the rest of the words quietly.

“I acknowledge…”

It was so quiet that even the sound of an ant crawling would have been louder.

Eugene understood what she said by reading her lips and spoke to her.

“It was a good match.”

Despite winning the duel, Eugene had a dumbfounded expression.

‘After learning for just over a month…’

It was because he belatedly realized through the duel how much his swordsmanship had improved.

‘Of course, there was no technique or anything in the last exchange…’

Although he had won by crudely overpowering with strength, he thought it was all thanks to Sir Bernard’s teachings that he could come this far.

When Eugene held out his hand for a handshake, Clea complied obediently, unlike before.

However, she had her cheeks puffed out and her lips pursed.

As the duel ended, Bernard approached Eugene and said:

“How is it? Do you now realize how your sword has changed?”

Eugene smiled brightly and thanked Sir Bernard.

“I definitely realize it now. Thank you for your precious teachings.”

“I haven’t given you any teachings yet. I’ve only removed the excessive parts of what you had and fixed your posture a little.”

“If that’s not teaching, then what is?”

At Eugene’s question, Bernard gave a slight smile and got to the point.

“What you’ve learned is just the basics of basics. What you’ll learn from now on will include techniques like what Clea showed at the end just now.”

At his words, not only Clea standing beside him but also the surrounding trainees couldn’t hide their surprise.

It wasn’t for nothing that the word ‘secret’ was attached to the technique.

The guild’s secret techniques were never taught to outsiders.

Teaching it meant officially accepting Eugene as a member of the guild.

Bernard continued speaking, looking into Eugene’s eyes with a serious face.

“But before that, I have one thing to ask you.”

“…What is it?”

“With what mindset do you want to learn the sword? What is the honor contained in your sword?”

Eugene instinctively realized.

That the answer to this question would determine how much more he could learn here from now on.

Feeling the gazes around him focusing on him, Eugene took a short breath.

Should he speak honestly, or should he say what would meet Sir Bernard’s expectations of pursuing chivalry?

Lying was also an option. But…

‘The reason he’s asking me specifically is probably because he trusts me.’

Sir Bernard had given Eugene honest teachings so far and accepted him as he was.

Eugene’s conscience wouldn’t allow him to lie in front of such a person.

‘It’s okay even if I can’t learn the sword like this anymore… I’ve already received enough teachings.’

Eugene opened his mouth as if he had made up his mind.

“…There is no honor in my sword.”

At his statement, everyone present showed different reactions.

“As expected, what honor would a barbarian have.”

“Stupid guy, kicking away such a good opportunity himself?”

“…He’s honest at least.”

Amidst the murmuring crowd, Eugene calmly spoke only the facts.

“I don’t have any grand purpose. To me, the sword is just a means.”

Bernard quietly chewed on his words and asked again.

“…A means, you say. Then, what do you aim to achieve through that means?”

Eugene recalled the moment he first picked up a sword in this land.

He was despised and called a ‘barbarian’ here. There weren’t many options.

To avoid starving to death, he picked up a sword.

He risked his life every day, hunting monsters that harmed people.

He calmly revealed his past.

“…So to me, the sword is simply a means of livelihood. It’s just a tool to accept requests to eliminate monsters that harm people, protect my life and property, and protect the companions I’ll have in the future…”

“Is that all?”

“Yes. That’s all.”

After finishing speaking, Eugene waited for Bernard’s reaction.

Silence fell for a moment.

Then Bernard smiled and nodded.

“You said you have no honor yourself, but I think differently.”

“…?”

Eugene’s sword was sufficiently honorable in Bernard’s opinion.

“How is it not honorable to protect oneself, protect one’s companions, and further protect the weak who suffer from monsters or beasts?”

Bernard spoke in a quiet but firm voice.

“A sword is originally a weapon for killing people. But even with the power to take life, you’re using it to protect.”

He added, looking around at the guild members:

“That’s enough. Your sword is already honorable.”

At that moment, the murmuring guild members fell silent.

Some had expressions of incomprehension, but others looked deep in thought.

Eugene was flustered by the atmosphere flowing in an unexpected direction.

Then, Bernard shouted loudly:

“Eugene, with a body unaware of honor, sought to be more honorable than anyone. I wish to accept him as a brother of our guild. Is there anyone who disagrees?”

The guild members looked at each other and were silent for a moment.

There could have been someone who opposed.

However, no one raised an objection to Sir Bernard’s words.

Everyone bowed their heads and accepted the decision.

Even Clea, who had been pouting, remained quiet.

Once the guild members’ agreement was confirmed like that, Bernard approached Eugene and embraced him tightly.

“Welcome, brother, as an official member of the Brotherhood of the Sword.”

“…!”

Eugene’s eyes widened.

He had never belonged anywhere before.

At this moment, he felt for the first time the sense of becoming a member of a group.

It was unbelievable.

However, there were clearly those who reached out warm hands to him.

Eugene was walking home earlier than usual with a dumbfounded expression.

‘I still can’t believe it… Why…?’

Eugene kept walking, ruminating on the moment Bernard had embraced him.

As Eugene arrived at his destination without realizing it, someone called out to him.

“Eu-Eugene…!”

The voice calling his name from above was clearly Lorena’s.

When Eugene looked up, she was clinging to the sloped roof like a cicada, sweating profusely.

“Lorena…? What are you doing up there?”

“He-Help me…!”

Eugene hurriedly climbed up the ladder leaning against the roof, carried her on his back, and came down.

As soon as they touched the ground, she collapsed on the floor. Her legs were trembling, apparently quite scared.

“Why on earth did you go up on the roof?”

“Be-Because of this…”

She showed him the contents of a small sack while speaking.

It was full of goblin genitals that had been thoroughly dried in the sun and flattened.

“Ah…!”

Those were the spoils Eugene had collected when he went to gather mandrakes before.

“I completely forgot… You went up there for this?”

She nodded and answered.

“To, to sell the house, I’ll have to get rid of almost everything I own… So I was organizing things, and this caught my eye…”

“You worked hard. You could have asked me to do it.”

“No, no… I won’t be doing any magic research for a while now… I’m, I’m free…”

Eugene tapped the well-dried genitals and said:

“This seems to be of quite good quality. I wonder how much it would sell for…?”

“Are, are you going to sell it as is…?”

“Of course?”

“Ah…! Do-Don’t do that, can you leave it to me…? It would be such a waste to sell it like this…”

“What are you planning to do with it?”

“I’ll, I’ll tell you later… Hehe…”

Lorena said it was a secret and hurriedly went inside the house with the sack containing the genitals.

When Eugene went inside, a pile of miscellaneous items of unknown use was stacked in one side of the corridor.

“Are these all things to be thrown away?”

After looking at them for a while, Eugene went into his room and took a short rest.

Meanwhile, Lorena moved busily.

She ground the genitals into powder in a small mortar, then put them in a pot with various reagents and herbs and boiled them.

Eugene, who came out of the room for a moment, saw smoke coming from the kitchen and rushed there.

Lorena was slowly stirring the contents of the pot with a wooden spatula to prevent the bottom from burning, while humming a song.

“Hmm hmm-”

“…Lorena?”

When her name was called, Lorena shook her head while still humming. It meant not to disturb her.

Eugene wanted to say she looked like an evil witch from a fairy tale, but he held back.

As Eugene watched anxiously, her singing finally stopped.

“It’s, it’s done…! Now I just need to put it in a container…”

As the ominous-looking purple liquid was poured into a flask, Eugene asked:

“What… What kind of potion is this?”

Lorena answered with a somewhat gloomy smile:

“It’s, it’s an aphrodisiac… Hehehe… It, it turned out really well…”

“…”

Eugene quietly took one step back.