24 – The Muscle Aches are Too Much

“You’ve worked hard, Your Highness.”

“Hoo, you’ve worked hard too, Oscar.”

Oscar Leonhardt, commander of the Steel Lion Knights, was returning from the training grounds with the First Prince, Trowil.

Known for his good nature and reputation, and holding the position of commander of the kingdom’s finest knights, he was the perfect mentor for Trowil.

The King himself had ordered Oscar to instruct Trowil, so Oscar conducted private lessons with the prince once a week, and today was that day.

“Are you not heading straight to the academy?”

“The food at the academy is awful today, so I thought I’d eat in the capital.”

Trowil stuck out his tongue with a look of revulsion.

Oscar shook his head.

“A warrior should not be so picky…”

“Oscar, you throw away your salad every time it’s served. I heard it all from Craig. Anyway, that’s why I’m spending time at the Knights.”

“…….”

Oscar resolved to give Craig a hard knuckle to the head later.

In any case, they returned to the Knights’ headquarters.

“Commander, you’ve returned.”

“And the Prince with you. Surely not skipping out on your studies?”

“Quiet, what were you all doing?”

The knights were gathered around a table.

Upon the table sat a Memory Orb, a costly artifact capable of recording events in reality and projecting them as holograms when needed.

A masterpiece from the Black Tower.

“Have a look at this recording.”

“Warrant Officer Edward gave it to us. It’s truly something else.”

What kind of video could warrant such a fuss?

Oscar and Trowel exchanged puzzled glances.

Seeing is believing.

The knights replayed the recording.

It depicted two figures sparring, and a familiar face emerged.

“Esther Tristee?”

“Lady Esther!?”

The youngest recipient of the Royal Order, having recovered the Necronomicon and resolved the Millennium Problem.

‘Why is the rising star of the magical world engaging in such an…unseemly spar?’

Oscar and Trowel settled into their seats.

The recording was shocking.

Esther was practically toying with Kenneth, unilaterally dominating the sparring match.

As someone who had personally faced Kenneth’s blade, Oscar couldn’t help but be even more astonished.

Kenneth was a warrior honed to a knightly edge.

With such swordsmanship, his unarmed combat skills must also be considerable.

Even without the use of Aura, how could he be so utterly overwhelmed?

“That’s not the Royal unarmed combat I know. Oscar, what style *is* that?”

Trowel’s eyes gleamed.

Unlike the other royals, Trowel held a deep love for war and battle.

His ambition was to die honorably on the battlefield, fighting against the Demonkin – a fiercely combative and competitive soul.

Trowel began to develop a keen interest in the unarmed combat displayed by Esther.

“I don’t know either. All I can surmise is that it’s not a commonly known style…”

Oscar stroked his chin.

In Justina, there was only one style of unarmed combat: the Royal Style.

The Royal Style was a practical martial art, personally devised by the great First King to give humans an edge, even unarmed, in battles against the powerful Demonkin and demi-humans.

It began with basic stances such as the Sanjeon Ready, Kima Ready, and Jeonkul Ready, and consisted of a total of twenty-two movements, from Form 1 to Form 22.

The martial art Esther displayed was different in stance, footwork, every movement.

It felt as though it possessed the ultimate efficiency in subduing opponents who possessed human, or human-like, physical structures.

Not only in the kingdom, but even in the empire, no one had ever seen a martial art like the one Esther used.

“If even Oscar doesn’t recognize it, where on earth did Esther Tristi learn such a martial art….”

“Perhaps she didn’t learn it at all.”

If Esther had learned this martial art, then Kenneth Tristi would know it too, that would be normal.

Even if, by some extraordinary circumstance, he hadn’t learned the martial art, he should at least have some understanding of Esther’s techniques.

“-Honor and money aren’t particularly important values to me.”

“-There are other values I hold dear.”

Oscar knew that Esther was no ordinary person.

He had no interest in money or honor.

He felt like someone looking towards a distant realm that others couldn’t see.

Of all the geniuses he had met so far, she was the most enigmatic.

“Oscar, are you saying Esther Tristi created this martial art?”

The knight nodded to the prince’s question.

He was now certain that Esther Tristi was the creator of this martial art.

“Hmm….”

All those present in this room were warriors.

Therefore, they were inevitably captivated by the figure of Esther in the video.

Her movements were so concise and clean that, to these warriors, Esther’s martial art appeared more beautiful than a dancer’s performance.

“Those three unknown low kicks paralyzed Lord Kenneth’s legs. Is that not astonishing?”

“What on earth is the name of that technique?”

Oscar folded his arms and offered an answer to the question.

“It feels similar to a ‘Phoenix Fall’ (鳳凰墜落)….”

“Since it’s a leg technique, it’s probably between the 10th and 15th form.”

“I think it’s called ‘Falling Star’ (星落下). Isn’t it a technique that literally makes a freely moving opponent fall?”

Trowel, who had been quietly watching the video, suddenly jumped up from his seat.

“I can’t take it anymore.”

The knights looked at the prince.

It was the kind of look that said, *What kind of trouble is he going to cause now?*

“I absolutely *must* master that martial art. No matter how I think about it, it can’t even compare to the kingdom’s style!! If I learn that, perhaps I could even defeat Father!!”

“W-王子!?” (*Wa, Ouji-sama!* – “Wa, Prince!?”)

“To hell with the Justina Kingdom Academy!! To me, mastering this technique is more important than any studies!!”

At this rate, they’d be receiving collective punishment for filling the Prince’s head with strange notions *again*.

The Steel Lion Knights started to tremble.

Oscar shot up from his seat.

*It’s the Captain, as expected!!*

The knights held a flicker of hope, thinking, *As expected, it’s our Captain who’ll save us,* but…

“Your Highness. Let us go together. It seems that is more important to me than what I was supposed to be doing.”

What returned was the Captain’s own declaration of deviation.

“…….”

“What are you doing!! Stop them this instant, you brats!!”

Trying to calm the two who were now raising a ruckus about going to Tristy’s mansion *right now*.

The knights had no choice but to suffer.

*

“Are you alright?”

I asked Dalpi, who had a bandage on her cheek.

Dalpi sighed.

“I’m in the mood. Do it inside.”

“What in the world are you talking about….”

“Weren’t you asking if it was a safe day?”

“What crazy talk is *that* now….”

“If not, you’ve asked if my face is okay already 17 times today, counting today.”

But still.

Dalpi-chan went through something so terrible yesterday, there’s no way I can’t be worried.

“I’m truly grateful that you saved me from danger and that you’re worried, but I’m fine. Daijoubu…? As Young Master often says… Anyway, that’s how it is.”

“Wakatta….” (“Understood…”)

“I’m more worried about Young Master’s condition. Please stop worrying about me and worry about yourself first.”

For reference, I was lying in bed.

Horrendous muscle aches had paralyzed my entire body.

I unleashed a flurry of stances and movements upon Kenneth, the kind you’d see modern MMA fighters pull off, and me, untrained as I was.

Truth be told, even sparring with Ian, my condition felt off; and then I went straight into a match with Kenneth, so perhaps it was inevitable.

It’s been a full day since Kenneth’s… corrective education concluded.

I asked Dalpi why he had been slapped by Kenneth.

The whole story unfolded like this:

Kenneth was acting strangely, with a disturbing glint in his eye.

Worried, I’d gone into the hall and, just as I suspected, Mei was nearly assaulted by Kenneth.

Dalpi told him to stop, but got the backlash instead.

“Here, have some.”

“Alright then.”

I popped a cracker into my mouth.

There were various snacks in the room, all made by Mei and her mother.

A gift, one might say, for saving her. It tasted surprisingly good.

“And Kenneth?”

“He’s recuperating in his room, they say.”

According to Mei, he hadn’t taken a single step outside since it happened.

Yesterday, my eyes were completely clouded with rage, and I had even considered seeing things through to the very end with Kenneth.

But I’ve calmed down a lot now.

I roughed him up that badly, so if he’s a man, he would have understood.

No one from the family was making a fuss either.

Some people who seemed like guests of Zephyr kept glancing my way, but I wasn’t exactly in a talkative mood yesterday.

“Right, well.”

Anyway, that’s that, and this is this.

I still had the Successor Examination to face.

I should get it over with quickly and leave this mansion as soon as possible.

I opened my mouth to speak.

Dalpi began writing a letter.

『The Blue Magic Tower is the organization investigating the Curse of the Insane!!』

We have obtained crucial information from Daebo Village this time.

Nob AI said the predicted time when the Curse of the Insane will reach its peak has been shortened, limited to the eastern part of the kingdom.

Moreover, this time, the Insane’s curse was warned to be even more potent, flooding the land with countless monsters.

By something akin to magic.

I wrote this all down in a letter.

Including, of course, a meticulous explanation of the reasoning and theories behind it.

After also enclosing the Recall Matter—the one Nob AI had insisted I keep close—I handed it to Dalpi.

“Get this delivered to the Blue Magic Tower.”

“Understood. Seeing as it’s important, I’ll deliver it myself.”

“A word of caution: absolutely do not mention that I wrote this, understand?”

“Confirmed.”

I was done with becoming famous.

That’s why I deliberately didn’t sign the letter.

I made Dalpi swear not to reveal my identity under any circumstances.

“By the way, will you be alright on your own?”

“Yes. Once I’m feeling a bit better, I plan to head to Tristy Academy.”

“To see the Red Magic Tower Master?”

I nodded.

“I need an investor.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“It’s… something. I’m going alone, so you don’t need to follow. Just take care of the letter first.”

“Confirmed.”

I waved to Dalpi as he left the manor.

Alright, then after a good rest.

Once my body feels somewhat better, I should make my own move.