Radiant Dragon’s Otherworldly Reincarnation

Chapter 40. I Guess I Should Start Training in Earnest (1)

The byproducts of the monsters hunted and caught by the Orcs were bought by the Red Merchant Guild, which came directly to the Schneider fiefdom.

And every time the Red Merchant Guild came to the fiefdom, they came with food and various daily necessities needed by the fiefdom.

“Here you go, we've brought fabrics, shoes, and also farm tools. The butler has checked the goods, and now we ask for your receipt.”

“……”

“Young Master. You need to sign.”

“Hey.”

“Yes, my cute Young Master. What is it?”

“Do you want to die?”

“Oh my, that's too much. Such verbal abuse to a delicate woman?”

“This won't do. Let's just die.”

As Patrick was about to draw his sword, Red, who was disguised as a beautiful female merchant, hurriedly said.

“Ah, come on…. It's a disguise, isn't it? A disguise.”

“Why a female disguise?”

“Fufufu. Who would ever imagine that the master of the Thieves' Guild, who holds sway over the back alleys of the eastern region of the Kingdom of Atronia, would dress as a woman?”

“That is….”

“Besides, I have good looks, so if I dress as a woman like this, I can use my beauty to be active in various fields of espionage and information gathering. So how could I not use this advantage?”

It makes sense.

It does make sense, but….

“Ah, my eye makeup is smudged.”

Watching him take out a small mirror from his hand and fix his makeup, why was it that he was losing all affection?

“Alright. Do your job properly. Got it?”

“Of course. The Young Master and we are now in the same boat. We will also dispose of the Ogre hides you've supplied this time for sure.”

“You know you have to dispose of them secretly, right?”

“Of course. If we release that much quantity at once, it will cause chaos in the market.”

Ogre hide is a valuable item.

If you make armor with it, it's ten times more expensive than full plate armor, and just covering a small round shield with it makes it an outrageously expensive item.

If they were to release such an item in large quantities, it would not only cause problems in the market but also make merchants trace the origin of the goods.

‘It is not yet time for the Schneider fiefdom to attract outside attention.’

Patrick knew this well.

Didn't they say in Jianghu that those who obtain treasures beyond their means have their lives shortened?

That's why he only handed over half of the Ogre hides to Red, and he didn't even show him the King Ogre's hide at all.

“I look forward to your continued cooperation, Young Master.”

Watching Red give an elegant curtsy while slightly lifting her skirt, Patrick wanted to hit him, but he endured with a sour expression.

* * *

After the meeting with Red passed, Patrick let out a sigh.

In any case, the foundation was now laid.

By relocating the Orcs and having them clear the surroundings, the safety of the fiefdom was now guaranteed.

The fiefdom's finances would also greatly improve due to the steady trade with the Red Merchant Guild.

‘Ten years since being reborn…. I don't know if it was long or short, but I've finally sorted things out around here.’

In any case, the miscellaneous problems were now finished.

That means….

“I guess I should start training in earnest.”

Patrick immediately gathered all the soldiers of the fiefdom.

***

The training ground of the Schneider fiefdom.

The soldiers gathered there were perfectly aligned in sharp formation at Patrick's call.

“You have arrived, Young Master.”

“You have arrived!”

“You have arrived!”

When Patrick appeared, all the soldiers greeted him in unison, following Sanson.

Their attitude was not merely a formal act towards a superior.

It was imbued with a sense of awe that is revealed when one looks at an object of longing and respect.

‘To think he caught a King Ogre?’

‘He showed a 7-star Aura Blade.’

‘7-star at just ten years old? With the Young Master, even the legendary 10-star realm might not be impossible.’

‘To think such a person is teaching us.’

The soldiers who had seen what Patrick did against the King Ogre this time had returned and told the other soldiers about it.

The skeptical soldiers had no choice but to believe those words in the process of moving the King Ogre's corpse to the warehouse under Patrick's command.

How could they not believe it after seeing the corpse of the King Ogre, which exuded an enormous sense of pressure even in its quartered state?

The person in front of them now was not just some run-of-the-mill genius.

They were living in the same era as a person who might be talked about as a legend in the future.

There was no one here who did not feel admiration for him.

Just then, Patrick spoke to the soldiers.

“From now on, for three years, you are all relieved of all duties as soldiers.”

At those words, the soldiers stirred greatly.

And Patrick's words continued.

“I told you I would make you into knights. But there were things I had to resolve in the meantime, so I could not concentrate on your training. First, I apologize for that.”

As Patrick spoke, he bowed his head to the soldiers in apology.

At that, it was the soldiers who were flustered instead.

To think that this great man, though still a boy, would bow his head to them, who were nothing but mere soldiers?

The soldiers, who felt a deep emotion at the sincerity contained within, trembled on the spot.

In fact, what did Patrick have to apologize for?

He trained the soldiers, patrolled the area around the fiefdom in his spare time to clear out monsters, went all the way to the Fiefdom of Count Parmas to earn a huge amount of money, and even secured regular trade with a merchant guild.

Any one of these would have been a fine achievement, but Patrick had accomplished them all.

So how could being neglectful of the soldiers' training be something to be blamed for?

“Young Master, please raise your head.”

“It is because we are lacking. It is not the Young Master's fault.”

“That's right, Young Master. Please raise your head. We cannot bear it.”

At the soldiers' words, Patrick also slowly raised his head.

And he spoke to the soldiers with a calm expression.

“Now that the Orcs have started patrolling the area around the fiefdom, we will no longer be plagued by monsters. Therefore, you can enter into intensive training. And I, too, will concentrate on you for a while.”

The soldiers were greatly moved to hear that Patrick would concentrate on them.

A swordsman who had reached the 7-star realm would be guiding them?

It was an opportunity that would be hard to get even if they were given gold.

‘I will trust and follow that person for my entire life.’

‘From now on, if anyone speaks ill of the Young Master, I'll beat them up.’

‘No, I have to kill them.’

Patrick said to the emotional soldiers.

“You all probably hated me a lot until now.”

At Patrick's words, the soldiers couldn't bring themselves to deny it.

Weren't they the soldiers who had called Patrick a devil, a monster, and so on?

But that was in the past.

Now they knew the Young Master's true heart.

From now on….

“From now on, you'll want to kill me.”

“……”

“……”

“……”

At Patrick's following words, the training ground froze over.

And on Patrick's face, the familiar expression of a devil began to appear.

“Seriously, up until now, I've been taking it easy. Since I couldn't oversee your training one by one, I made it as safe and comfortable as possible. Honestly, it pricked my conscience to even call that training, right?”

‘That hell was?’

‘Is it possible to torment us even more than that?’

‘Wait, what's going on with this situation. This is like….’

Patrick raised the corners of his mouth to the side in a grin and said.

“From now on, I will pay as much attention to you all as I can. Therefore….”

“……”

“……”

“Welcome to hell. Either get strong! Or die! It's one of the two, so be prepared. You bastards!”

“W-wait a minute, Young Master.”

“This isn't right. This isn't right.”

“I'm quitting being a sold— Uwaaaaak!”

“We'll start with a sparring match right away!”

And Patrick, without further ado, drew his twin swords and rushed at the soldiers.

Patrick Schneider, age 10.

It was the image of a man who would later remain as a legend on the continent.

* * *

Five years later.

“Here I come!”

“Bring it on!”

With spirited shouts, two soldiers clashed against each other.

The moment the two, both holding longswords in each hand, fiercely clashed….

Kwang!

Kwaang!

Kwang-kwang-kwang!

A fierce clash unfolded as aura exploded and roars echoed.

The two men's swords swam brilliantly through the air, and their feet moved nimbly without a moment's rest.

This was the clash of two soldiers.

Not knights, but soldiers.

And what's more….

“Go, Karon.”

“Dorian, it'll be embarrassing if you lose this time.”

The other soldiers who were watching this scene were watching it nonchalantly as if it were nothing to be surprised about.

As if this scene of mere soldiers of a baronial family clashing with aura-clad swords was nothing special to them.

Before long, the fierce clash came to an end.

“Haaaaap!”

“Ugh….”

Unable to withstand the powerful strike, the soldier named Karon fell backward.

And Dorian brought his sword to the neck of the fallen Karon and said.

“There, it's decided.”

“Damn it….”

“Fufufu. Any challengers? This was too easy….”

The surrounding soldiers said to Dorian, who was fully basking in the glory of victory.

“Look at him getting all cocky.”

“Should we beat him down?”

“I'll do it. Move aside.”

“No. I want to kill him.”

“It's me. I'll do it.”

Watching the soldiers bickering over who would fight, Dorian held his head high and said.

“Anyone can come. You're all about the same anyway.”

“Hoooh. Then shall we have a go?”

“Sure. Let's have a match…. Huh? Captain?”

When Dorian turned around, Sanson was there.

Like the other soldiers, Sanson also had two longswords on each of his hips.

It was proof that he had trained in dual swordsmanship for the past five years.

But even if they spent the same amount of time, the results are not the same; that is the creature called human.

“It seems you've improved a lot. Shall we have a go?”

“No. Captain, when did you get here? Weren't you looking for the lord?”

“Let's draw our swords first.”

“…Damn it.”

The soldier grumbled as if he were being forced to eat mustard with tears in his eyes, but he still drew his two swords without backing down and took a stance.

“Be careful. I am not the Dorian of the past.”

“I know.”

Sanson uncrossed his arms, held a sword in each hand, and let them hang naturally.

And with a posture overflowing with leisure, he extended one hand forward and beckoned with his fingers.

And what he said, slightly awkwardly, was….

“Come at me.”

“……”

A moment of silence flowed.

“Wow…. Did you see that?”

“It looks like he's a bit embarrassed after saying it himself.”

“It was actually a bit awkward.”

“Tsk tsk, the Young Master should have seen that.”

“I'll tell him later.”

The muttering soldiers whistled and looked at the distant mountains, feigning ignorance, when Sanson glared at them.

“You rotten things….”

The moment Sanson uttered a word….

“An opening!”

Dorian, aiming for that gap, rushed at Sanson.

A very fast and deadly attack was unleashed on an opponent whose attention was diverted.

The swords in his two hands split into four or five, aiming at Sanson from all directions.

But….

“Too messy.”

Sanson's two swords moved at a much faster speed, erasing all the sword images Dorian had created.

Kaaang!

The moment the swords clashed, Dorian couldn't withstand the impact and was slightly pushed back.

“Kugh….”

And he tried to retreat further to create some distance, but….

“Too slow.”

Sanson, who had closed the distance in an instant, placed his two swords in an X-shape at Dorian's neck.

At the cool, sharp sensation, Dorian's entire body froze, and he raised both hands and said.

“I surrender.”

It was a complete suppression.

Sanson smiled, aimed his sword, and advised Dorian.

“Don't just retreat backward when you're in a pinch. The Young Master has said over a hundred times that a predictable movement is dangerous.”

“Yes.…Understood.”

It was just a single clash, but Sanson had easily suppressed Dorian.

This was the skill the soldiers of the Schneider fiefdom had obtained in exchange for witnessing hell for the past five years.

All the soldiers had reached the 3-star realm, and the guard captain Sanson had surpassed 4-star and was recently aiming for 5-star.

Sanson continued to conduct training spars with the other soldiers, leading their training proactively.

And there was one person watching that scene from the roof of a distant mansion.

“Kughh. They're all grown up. All grown up.”

The young man who was admiring the scene with an air of leisure, a bottle of alcohol by his side.

In fact, he was a 15-year-old boy who had not yet had his coming-of-age ceremony, but this boy, who had grown so robustly that he could be mistaken for a full-grown adult, was none other than Patrick Schneider.

Patrick, who was tilting a bottle of alcohol while watching the soldiers spar, shed tears of emotion and said.

“Seeing those guys act like proper humans brings tears to my eyes.”