Sir Hero, It’s Time to Train!

Caedwin did not care at all about Aira’s intense stare fixed upon him.

‘This time, for sure…’

In truth, the person Caedwin truly wanted to face off against was not Aira.

‘If his narroweduna starts crying and clinging again, Christian will come running.’

His target from the very start had always been one person: Christian Worden.

In fact, it’s misleading to say Aira clung to him.

Christian only stepped up because he felt the name of Worden had been sullied when Aira suffered unilaterally at Caedwin’s hands.

Yet, Caedwin was unaware of such private details.

‘This time, for sure…’

After that incident, he devoted himself to the sword for two years, feeling like he was shaving down bones.

He had been soundly defeated in a fair duel against Christian, who was five years younger than him, without even getting a proper swipe in.

The humiliation of challenging someone younger and suffering a devastating defeat wounded his pride deeply.

Yet, rather than despair over his frustration, Caedwin did not.

‘Yes, I admit it. I was lacking.’

Thus, he trained even harder. He accompanied his father on multiple monster hunts.

This blend of training and real combat helped Caedwin regain his confidence and displayed remarkable improvements in skill.

His mana capacity was not just sufficient but overflowing, and he even received compliments, predicting he’d soon awaken Wave.

Caedwin thought so too, believing he could become a genius knight who, like the Worden family’s head, awakened Wave at a young age.

Thus, even now, as he faced Aira in the training grounds, his gaze towards her was not friendly.

‘You awakened Wave? Don’t make me laugh. I don’t believe such foolish rumors!’

It was inevitable. Just a few months earlier, Aira couldn’t even create a mana reservoir.

Unlike the incredibly talented genius Christian, Aira lacked talent, which was a fact he was keenly aware of.

Moreover, the mana he sensed from Aira was too insignificant. And yet, they talked about the Wave?

‘Ridiculous. Is this all the Worden name amounts to?’

Not only Aira but Christian as well.

Both siblings seemed to have an almost negligible amount of mana. The formidable wall he felt when they were younger was no longer there.

All the rigorous training and risking his life in monster hunts led to this…?

In the end, the downfall of relying solely on one’s talent and becoming complacent. It was something that made Caedwin feel indignant and unfair.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and pick up your sword.”

Confidently, Caedwin picked up a wooden sword from the stand prepared at one side of the training ground and shouted.

On the opposite side, Aira, who hesitated at Caedwin’s words, reluctantly picked one up as well.

“Hmph! Are you getting scared now?”

Even with Caedwin’s ridicule, Aira inspected the grain of the wooden sword she held, as if finding something strange, then looked at Caedwin.

“You want us to spar with this toy?”

… Toy?

Even though it was a wooden sword, it was made from the hard wood from the Rangar region, meticulously crafted with care.

Its hardness was well-known and, while it had no edge, its weight and durability were on par with real swords.

“It feels like it might break after only a few hits…”

Aira sighed softly.

“Hey! There’s only wooden swords here? Should we just spar with real swords then?”

“Hah, do you really think I’ll back down if you intimidate me like that? Or perhaps you’re planning to use hurting me as an excuse to pressure our family?”

“Ah, right. There was that kind of problem, huh. Yeah, getting seriously injured or crippled would be a problem indeed.”

“Enough nonsense, shall we start now?”

Caedwin dismissed it as cheap provocation and focused. As a knight, he intended to discipline the arrogant and conceited Aira with his own sword and skill.

“At least you won’t die from this.”

Even Aira seemed to abandon any intent of friendly banter. She threw her outer garments carelessly on the ground and approached Caedwin.

Despite winter looming, the western continent where the Rondel Kingdom was located was warm and dry enough that it wasn’t very cold.

But then again…

‘What kind of body…’

At the sight of Aira in a shirt with exposed arms, Caedwin couldn’t help but be startled. Her well-cut arm muscles and numerous scars made her appear like a seasoned veteran mercenary.

“You said let’s start? What are you doing?”

“…”

Regaining his composure from her words, Caedwin gripped his wooden sword firmly with both hands and lowered his stance.

The Sword of Humbleton — it was like a scorching flame and could crush monsters in a single strike.

Even with a wooden sword, Caedwin’s mana capacity was enough to take down monsters of considerable size in one blow.

‘Even if the Wave is a lie, she probably succeeded in body activation by now. Yes, she should be able to handle this level of attack.’

Yet, despite his fierce determination, Caedwin moderated the force behind his sword.

It was both a display of confidence that he could adequately discipline someone like Aira with only half of his usual force and a precaution to ensure his family wouldn’t suffer consequences from this incident.

Therefore…

“Reduced…”

Boom—!

Aira’s step resounded heavily as she moved. Simultaneously, she vanished from his sight.

The rapidity of the situation made Caedwin unable to process the visual information correctly.

“Dragging it out so long, aren’t you?”

Suddenly, a dark shadow hovered over his head, accompanied by a chilling voice.

Reacting instinctively, Caedwin turned his head. He locked eyes with Aira’s red eyes glinting ominously.

“I’ll pay you back thirty times over.”

Caedwin couldn’t respond. It was as if something unknown had bound him tightly, leaving him unable to move.

His retina vividly reflected his childhood self holding a sword for the first time.

‘Huh? No way?!’

He recalled his father’s first praise, the strictness of his master, and the warmth of his mother. The thrill of his first monster hunt, and the anticipation he felt before entering the academy.

Memories of bygone days flashed by.

‘Huh? This isn’t right…’

Despite realizing something big was about to happen, his mind raced uncontrollably through past memories towards their conclusion.

And as they ended…

Wham—!

Aira’s wooden sword descended with enough force to crush his head.

Such was the force of the strike that her sword snapped in half, the pieces scattering, bouncing several times across the training ground floor.

“Phew, that’s a relief.”

And suddenly, there was Liber, staring blankly at Aira. Sonya clutched his sleeve tightly, trembling and in a quivering voice asked,

“Is he… dead?”

“It seems… he’s still alive.”

Behind the shocked duo, Christian approached Aira with light steps. As Aira noticed Christian, she casually tossed the broken wooden sword aside and waved with a bright smile.

“You’re here?”

“You finished quickly? I didn’t get to see.”

“Was there really anything worth watching?”

Watching them exchange words so nonchalantly despite the possibly near-death or severely injurious situation for another person, Liber broke out into a cold sweat.

Yet, there was nothing Liber could do. All he could do was look alternately between the foam-mouthed and sprawled Caedwin on the ground and Aira, who wore an innocent smile.

‘Wait, what kind of body…’

Returning to reality, Liber finally noticed Aira’s trained physique.

Seeing the structured muscles under the wide outfit that made her appear slight, he swallowed hard.

Additionally, while the well-concealed mana initially seemed almost imperceptible, a closer examination revealed it was overwhelmingly potent.

Everything initially seemed small. However, it wasn’t that it was small; it was simply compressed to the extreme.

‘What are these siblings thinking…’

It wasn’t just Aira – Christian was the same, and Liber couldn’t help but be purely astonished.

Thus, he didn’t understand.

‘Why focus on physical training? If they honed their mana further, they’d be even stronger than they are now.’

Among the soldiers and knights in the Rangar region, none placed particular emphasis on physical training.

For them, constantly battling monsters, mana was a more efficient weapon than physical strength. Moreover, through real combat, their bodies naturally became refined.

However, this was merely a byproduct of vast experience and numerous battles.

And typically, a well-trained body was only seen among ordinary soldiers who couldn’t wield mana or seasoned veteran knights.

Yet, the Worden siblings, said to have awakened the Wave at a young age, focus on training their bodies over enhancing their mana?

Liber closely observed Aira’s body.

His characteristic keen eye caught traces on Aira’s body that indicated intentional self-torture for physical training.

“Orabeoni, what are you looking at now?”

Seemingly oblivious to Sonya’s glaring eyes from beside him, Liber observed and observed like a scholar who had discovered a profound subject.

‘Even the fingertips have significant calluses. How long must one wield a sword for calluses to form there?’

The growth of calluses, healing of scars, the bursting and healing of blisters, the marks left by such relentless effort were visible on Aira’s hands.

The extent of this effort seemed unimaginable.

‘Not resting on innate talent but pushing to the brink with effort…’

Liber’s gaze towards Caedwin naturally carried a hint of pity.

‘Caedwin, maybe getting a blow today is a blessing in disguise for you. Those monstrous siblings will undoubtedly grow even more as they travel all the way to the capital.’

Hoping fervently that his younger comrade would survive without any aftereffects, Liber began to retrace his interactions with the siblings to ensure he hadn’t wronged them in any way.