Patrick looked at the soldier with an expression as if he were facing his mortal enemy.
“Learn the sword? Who? You? Why? What have you done to deserve it?”
“No, we have also completed the basic tasks the young master taught us and learned Aura Blessing, so we thought it might be alright to learn the sword now...”
"Hahaha... hahaha. Is that so? So that's what you thought? Is that it? Is it."
A pleased smile appeared on Patrick's lips. If it were the disciples of the Twin Dragon Sect of old, they would have scattered in all directions and fled the moment they saw that smile. Usually, when that demon laughed like that...
“Yes. So our nameless Soldier A wanted to learn the sword.”
“My name is Oliver.”
“Yes, yes. Yes. Soldier Oliver. You want to learn the sword? Then you shall learn. Hmm. I'll teach you right now.”
And Patrick went to one side of the training grounds, grabbed three wooden swords, took two for himself, and tossed the other to Oliver. Oliver caught the wooden sword in a daze.
And then...
“Sword training, begin!”
"What?"
Thwack!
The moment the word 'gin!' left his lips, Oliver felt a shock as if his eyeballs were about to pop out and collapsed to the ground. Patrick's wooden sword had struck him precisely on the crown of his head. Looking down at the fallen Oliver, Patrick spoke...
“Well done.
A fool who can't even react to an obvious attack wants what? To learn the swooord?"
Ugh... ugh...
Patrick's scolding poured down like a storm on Oliver, who was groaning in pain.
“A fool who hasn't even mastered the 'ba' in 'basics' already wants to learn the sword? Huh? I make you do a horse stance with a single pebble on your head and your legs still tremble like a newborn fawn, yet you want the sword? The swooord?”
To any observer, it was a scene that made learning swordsmanship look like an act of high treason against the nation. The other soldiers watched the scene, clicked their tongues inwardly, and looked at the victim, Oliver, with pity.
‘Tsk, tsk, tsk, why did he have to provoke that demon...’
‘Farewell, Oliver. Were you a good man?’
‘Yes, now I don't have to pay back the money I borrowed from him.’
It seemed he wasn't a very popular person usually. The surrounding soldiers shook their heads as they watched the raging Patrick and the fallen Oliver. But they didn't know yet.
When that demon gets into such a state, you can't just stand by and watch it like a fire across the river. You have to run, first and foremost. You should never have the complacent thought that, just because you are within the demon's range of awareness, you'll be safe as long as you don't step forward.
They did not yet know that fact. Not until Patrick's eyes glinted as he turned his gaze upon them. “It seems to me..."
Patrick continued, approaching the other soldiers with a murderous smile.
“That there are quite a few others who harbor complaints similar to this Soldier A?”
“Not me.”
“Young master. I have never had such a thought, not even for a moment.”
“I like the basics, young master.”
The soldiers hastily denied it, but it was no use. After all, isn't the highlight of army life the screw-up of an idiot and the collective punishment that follows?
"Hehehe. Now, it's practical sword training. If you can land even a single blow on me, you pass. Otherwise, you fail."
“Y... Young master?"
"Then, be..."
‘No. No.’ ‘Don't do it, please.’
‘Damn it...’
Despite the soldiers' desperate pleas, the cursed words left Patrick's lips.
"...gin!"
“Run!"
“Uwaaaaaah!”
“Someone save me!”
Only then did the soldiers realize their situation and scatter in all directions, but it was too late. Patrick, holding a wooden sword in each hand, began to chase after them.
“Die! All of you bastards!”
From that day on, group sparring was added to the training regimen.
Basic training in the morning. Followed by practical sparring to finish. Then, carrying out duties as fief soldiers, such as patrolling and maintaining public order.
In the evening, before eating, more basic training. And to finish it off, an inspection to see if they were properly performing Aura Blessing... Patrick trained the soldiers meticulously and thoroughly.
“To think that patrol time is the most relaxing part of the day.”
“Knight or whatever, aren't we all going to die at this rate?”
“I'm not kidding, if our bodies are this tired, how are we supposed to fight if monsters attack?”
The soldiers grew anxious at the mention of monsters. In this Schneider Fief, crimes between residents didn't occur as often as one might think. This was because most of the fief's residents were poor farmers, so there was little room for crime to occur.
The reason such a fief forcibly maintained two hundred soldiers was because of monsters. The Schneider Fief was a remote territory on the frontiers of the Atronia Kingdom, and the forest right next to it was an undeveloped wilderness.
A military force was absolutely necessary to counter the swarms of monsters that periodically poured out from there, which was why they had to always maintain two hundred elite troops. But now, those two hundred elite troops were all dying from the harsh training. In this situation, could they really respond if monsters attacked?
‘This might be a more serious problem than I thought...’
‘Shouldn't we reduce the training.’
‘There's no point in telling the young master, is there some way to tell the lord?’
While the soldiers were having such thoughts, one of the fief's residents came running, out of breath.
"Soldiers, it's an emergency. An emergency.” In that moment, the soldiers instinctively realized something serious had happened. “What is it?” “Trolls have invaded Gelly Village next door. Three of them, at that."
“Damn it."
Trolls, a large-type monster, are creatures known to be a match for a knight, one on one. Normally, common soldiers would turn pale and run at the mere mention of trolls, but these were the soldiers of the Schneider Fief. “Contact all troops immediately and gather at Gelly Village.
It's trolls.
Make sure to bring long spears, crossbows, and iron nets!"
"Yes, sir!"
Although the fief had no proper knights, they were veterans when it came to dealing with monsters. They would keep the trolls at bay with long spears, then restrict their movements with iron nets and shower them with crossbow bolts, turning them into porcupines. It was hard to kill them that way, but it was possible to drive them off.
The soldiers of the Schneider Fief were elite troops who had experienced this several times in actual battle. Of course, in the process, soldiers with long spears could die, or the iron nets could be torn, leading to soldiers being killed by the rampaging trolls, but...
“Hurry! We must protect the fief's people!”
"Yes, sir!"
Not a single one of them ran away. They were all aware that it was their duty to risk their lives to protect the fief. The communication network was quickly activated, and forty soldiers from the nearby area were dispatched to the scene.
When they arrived at Gelly Village with the equipment they had hastily gathered on the way, they gritted their teeth.
“Damn it."
“Are we a step too late?”
Before their eyes, they could see the village's broken wooden fence. A destroyed fence meant the trolls had already entered the village.
"Damn it all."
“Rotten bastards...”
“Everyone, run!”
They had hoped the young men of the village would somehow manage to hold off the trolls using the fence before they arrived, but it seemed they had failed. If the fence had already fallen and the trolls were inside the village, there would surely be a significant number of casualties.
“We charge in and fight immediately.”
“Everyone, stay sharp!”
"Yes, sir!"
Two squad leaders among the soldiers urged their subordinates on and ran swiftly into the village. And they shouted in loud voices.
“You filthy monster bastards! Get away from our fief's people right n... Huh?”
But then, the soldiers' steps came to a halt all at once. They had no choice but to stop. Because the scene before their eyes was completely different from what they had imagined.
A pile of troll corpses, their bodies sliced into dozens of pieces. In front of it, a ten-year-old demon with a bored expression. And in front of that demon...
"Your hips are dropping, aren't they? Huh?"
“S... sorry.”
“You can't even handle three trolls by yourself, and you call yourself a knight? You had the gall to strut around calling yourself a knight? Huh?”
“Ugh... Normally, you need to be a three-star knight to fight trolls?”
“What? Huh? What did you say?”
“... Nothing.”
“You should be ashamed of yourself. A ten-year-old kid can slice up these monsters, but a bastard who's a former knight can't handle them? Hmph, I oughta just...?”
Brian, who was in a headstand with his hands clasped behind his back, sweating profusely, flinched. The words themselves were true, but...
‘Are you an ordinary ten-year-old kid? You? You're a monster more monstrous than these monsters!’
The fact that he couldn't bring himself to say it out loud and argue was a source of eternal regret. Unlike Brian, who couldn't say a word despite having a mouth, Patrick was saying everything he wanted to.
"If your character is trash, at least your skills should be decent. But this bastard... Huh? What are you all doing? Why are you here?” Patrick, who had been scolding Brian, noticed the soldiers who had entered the village and spoke to them. At that, the soldiers spoke with hesitant expressions. “Young master. Did you do this?"
“What? Ah... this?"
Patrick said, casually kicking the lumps of troll corpses scattered at his feet.
“I guess so. These bastards fearlessly entered our fief and tried to eat people, didn't they?”
“S... so?"
“What do you mean, 'so'? Then they deserve to die. Don't they?”
Ah, that's right.
It's true.
They certainly deserve to die. Even the soldiers thought they were truly righteous words. But the reason they hadn't done so until now wasn't because they didn't want to, but because they couldn't. ‘Oh my goodness...’
‘He was a real monster.’
It was a troll, no less. Among large-type monsters, it's classified as one of the weaker ones, but it's still a man-eating monster infamous for its formidable strength and ferocious nature. With the strength to rip a live cow apart and a terrifying regenerative ability that could reattach severed limbs.
Honestly, to face a troll one-on-one, a two-star knight would have to fight for their life. To win safely, you would need at least a three-star knight.
That's why, until now, whenever trolls appeared, the soldiers of the Schneider Fief, fighting under Brian's command, had always focused on repelling them; they had never thought of slicing them to pieces like this.
“Good heavens...." "I knew he was strong, but....”
“You are amazing, young master. To catch a troll at the mere age of ten.”
“Young master, you are truly a genius of the sword.”
The soldiers were genuinely impressed. And they praised Patrick with sincerity. Usually they cursed him, calling him a demon, a monster, one of the demon race, a monster worse than monsters, but in this moment, they were sincere.
To such blatant and obvious praise, Patrick... “Huhuhu, yes, I suppose I am something of a genius." was extremely pleased. What can you do?
The dignity of a master? The bearing of a hero? This man never had such things to begin with.
And seeing Patrick's pleased reaction, the soldiers doubled down on their flattery. “The young master is a future seven-star knight."
“Ahaha.”
“You will bring great prosperity to the Schneider family.”
“Ehehehehe.”
“You will surely make a name for yourself in the continent's history as a great swordsman.”
"Muhahahaha. I am quite amazing."
The soldiers praised Patrick again and again, like trainers who had discovered how to tame a ferocious beast. In truth, though it was flattery, every word was correct. What else would you call a monster who could slice three trolls to pieces at the age of ten, if not a genius of the sword?
So, it was true. It was true, but...
‘Let me get up first.’
Tears streamed down Brian's face out of sorrow as he remained in his headstand. He was a two-star knight, and yet he was treated like this.... It was then that a soldier's words became the source of trouble.
"You're truly amazing. If I could also catch trolls single-handedly like the young master, I could earn a lot of money."
“Kehehe... Huh? What?"
The expression of Patrick, who had been grinning from ear to ear in delight, changed completely. And as Patrick's expression changed, the soldiers' expressions stiffened as well.
“What did you just say? Money?”
“Yes. Because trolls are expensive monsters.”
“They're worth money? These things?”
“Yes.
Didn't you know that their blood is used as an ingredient for potions and their hide is highly valued for armor?" “How would I know that? I'm only ten years old!"
Ah, that's right. You are ten, aren't you?
I forgot.