Chapter 145

Aint reached enlightenment and broke through the wall.

The heart of the Saintbird and the root of Itarium were completely absorbed, and both externally and internally he took another step in his growth.

It was something naturally perceived, even if he didn’t boast about it.

“This jousting tournament is going to be interesting.”

Fernan was pleased with Aint’s progress, but he couldn’t help imagining the battle between him and Luina.

If Aint had grown thanks to this experience, Luina too had obtained her own enlightenment after witnessing in Bercheff the fight between the two Royal Knights and the demon.

She didn’t possess the heart of the Saintbird, but she had consumed mandrakes and roots of Itarium.

And thanks to that understanding, she too had managed to assimilate everything completely.

‘Who will win, I wonder?’

In reality, the result didn’t matter much.

Whether Luina or Aint won, both were on his side.

Out of affection, he didn’t want to see Luina defeated, but he also wouldn’t mind if Aint triumphed and found the legacy of the first emperor.

“The problem is that it’s hard to bet accurately…”

Recalling the nightmare of the last jousting tournament, Fernan realized he had to be more careful with his bets this time.

“At least in the magic competition, there shouldn’t be any surprises…”

Most likely, the winner of the magic competition would be someone similar to last year’s.

— Kyu?

“What is the jousting tournament? It’s when knights fight on horseback, and then continue on foot. The magic competition, on the other hand, is a duel between mages.”

— Kyu!

“You want to participate too? Don’t be ridiculous.”

Fernan’s sharp reply made Wooden stomp the ground forcefully.

— Kyuuuu!

“You’re not a knight, you’re a golem. And before that, you’re a spirit. I think you should start by clarifying your identity.”

— Kyu! Kyu!

Even so, Wooden didn’t back down easily.

In the end, if ordered, he would yield, but it was the first time he showed such an intense reaction, and Fernan couldn’t shut him down right away.

‘Right… I’ve been leaving him wanting too many times lately.’

How many times had he promised to let him fight in his real body and then left him waiting in vain?

There were even times when he only let him clash a couple of times in human size and nothing more.

For Fernan, it was best if Wooden didn’t intervene at all, but for Wooden, it wasn’t the same.

He had gotten a new body, and like a child with a new toy, he wanted to try it again and again.

“Fine. You won’t be able to participate in the jousting tournament, but I’ll let you face a real opponent.”

— Kyu?

***

“…So that’s why you came looking for me?”

“That’s right.”

Fernan handed her a small box.

“What’s this?”

“A bribe to ask you the favor.”

“But I never said I’d accept.”

“If necessary, I’ll give you more.”

Luina opened the box.

Inside were kraken ink chocolates, already quite familiar thanks to Fernan, but all the more delicious for that reason.

“Alright. But not because of the chocolates. Truth is, I also wanted to face Wooden at least once.”

And she meant it. Luina still hadn’t forgotten the moment Wooden sliced through Andromalius’s serpent.

That chilling strike couldn’t be achieved just by size.

Wooden was strong. Maybe lacking in technique, but overwhelming in everything else.

Because Fernan had forged him that way.

“Perfect. When the duel ends, I’ll give you another box.”

“I told you it’s not about the chocolates.”

“But they’re tasty.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“So, you won’t accept them?”

“…Refusing a gift would be rude.”

Luina pocketed the box of chocolates.

The two entered the basement of the Golden Turtle Company.

“In the basement, I prepared a training field for my magic study and practice. It’s quite spacious and designed to withstand even large explosions without collapsing.”

It was the perfect place to train with Wooden without fear of being discovered.

“This is it.”

About 50 meters underground, the training room turned out to be immense.

“Wow, pretty deep.”

“No matter how resistant it is, there can always be accidents. At this depth, even if it collapses, it won’t affect the surface.”

And since Fernan was an earth mage, escaping wouldn’t be a problem either.

Since he had obtained the prophecy book, he had barely used the place, so some dust had accumulated.

“Wooden.”

— Kyu!

Wooden shot out from the pendant.

Upon touching the ground, he grew to about two meters tall and drew the sword from his back.

“Piiiii!”

Silver, who had hidden in Fernan’s arms to follow him, cheered him on with a chirp.

“He has… two pairs of wings? Fernan, don’t tell me that bird is…”

“That’s right, a Saintbird.”

“…Good heavens. Where did you get something like that?”

“It’s a long story.”

“Well, I want to hear it, even if it’s long.”

“If you defeat Wooden, I’ll tell you.”

“You promised.”

Luina stepped to the center of the room and drew her sword.

“Come at me, Wooden.”

— Kyu!

The knight and the golem charged at each other.

***

“Five matches, five defeats.”

“Don’t tell me it was Senior Luina who lost?”

“If that were the case, I’d have said five victories, not five defeats.”

Aint glanced around the underground training field, now turned into a true mess, and looked impressed.

“I can more or less imagine what kind of fight it was.”

It must have been intense and fierce.

“Luina said Wooden surpassed her in strength and speed. But she also said that was all.”

“I get the feeling.”

Wooden was a golem into which Fernan had poured all his effort.

Unless it was a Royal Knight, it was hard to match him physically.

— Surpasses in strength and speed? He’s the perfect opponent, Aint. Just recently you were fighting dozens of times against an opponent of that type.

At Gardner’s words, Aint nodded.

Truthfully, he had accepted Fernan’s proposal half out of curiosity, half out of competitive spirit.

He had heard Luina had fought Wooden first, and was curious to see firsthand the strength of someone who had sliced off Andromalius’s arm with a single strike.

And it seemed he had made a good decision.

“Then I’ll come back with six victories out of six matches.”

— Kyuuu!

“Wooden says not a chance.”

— Kyu! Kyu!

“He claims the word ‘defeat’ no longer exists for him. That after losing to Luina, he has been reborn.”

“Piiiiii!”

“And Silver is cheering him on.”

“Even without a translation, I could tell by the sound.”

But Aint had also promised himself never to accept defeat again.

“Come, Wooden.”

— Kyuuuu!

Wooden roared.

***

— Kyuu…

Wooden curled up and rested his head against the wall.

As a worthy descendant of the first emperor, Aint had kept his word.

That meant Wooden’s record now was eleven matches, eleven defeats.

“Have you had enough of fighting now, Wooden?”

Fernan patted him on the shoulder.

— Kyu…!

“You say it makes no sense to have lost, even after eating the Itarium root and getting stronger? How funny. No matter how much you don’t accept it, what can you do?”

Fernan’s words seemed to hit hard, and Wooden bumped into the wall again, scolding himself.

“You won’t break the wall or your head that way. Stop wasting time.”

— Kyu!

“Even so, you did well. You held your ground.”

Wooden had lost eleven times, but not all had been overwhelming defeats.

Just that was enough to satisfy Fernan.

“In the end, your essence is that of a giant golem. If you returned to your original size, do you think Aint or Luina could beat you?”

Of course not.

Wooden’s body was too resistant for their auras to destroy, and the destructive power from his colossal size was not something they could easily block.

“Also, even though your body hardened thanks to the Itarium, this time it was a pure swordsmanship duel, and you had no chance to take advantage of that. So let it go…”

— Kyu! Kyuu!

“You mean if you don’t win under equal conditions, it’s meaningless?”

Fernan let out a sarcastic laugh. What the hell was a being that had no physical equality with humans talking about?

And why should a golem and a knight have to fight on equal terms anyway?

“I already fulfilled your request. Don’t keep being stubborn.”

— Kyu… Kyu.

“You want to attend all the knight faculty classes?”

Fernan was about to get angry, but stopped.

Actually, it was a good sign.

If Wooden learned swordsmanship and became stronger, ultimately that meant Fernan would be safer.

There was no reason to oppose making the cards against the demons stronger.

The problem was that, to attend classes, Wooden always had to be accompanied by Fernan.

“That can’t happen. But I’ll find someone else to teach you swordsmanship.”

— Kyu?

“I’ll decide that.”

Each person had their own physique, character, and temperament. And, naturally, a sword style suited to each.

Wooden was no exception.

The easiest option was to have him train with Hyde, but Hyde’s sword style was more stealthy and fast than destructive.

It was a style closer to that of an assassin than a knight, so it didn’t suit Wooden.

‘Altrierc would be best.’

A sword style that made use of physical strength and innate aura, based on power and destruction.

‘Even if he just learns the basics taught to common knights, it’ll be much better.’

After all, most of Altrierc’s techniques descended from secret arts, just like in Bercheff.

They were lower in level than the secret arts, but the overall structure was nearly the same.

It would be most appropriate to teach that to Wooden.

And there just happened to be a professor at the academy who taught classes based on Altrierc swordsmanship.

“I’ll have to go see the professor.”

Now all that was left was to decide what to offer in return.

***

The knight faculty professor, Emond Altrierc, had a bewildered expression.

“…That you’re asking for private lessons, I can understand.”

“Yes.”

Fernan’s request wasn’t so surprising in itself.

In life, there’s always give and take.

And Emond had received much from Fernan, so he figured the time would come to return the favor.

But he never expected it to be this.

— Kyuu!

“…You want me to teach a golem?”

He would never have imagined that the pendant Fernan wore around his neck, waving at him, was actually the student in question.

“Yes, brother.”

Fernan nodded.

“I’m asking you this favor because I know I can trust you.”

Emond covered his face with his hands.

“Even though I don’t know much about golems, at least I know that if one that talks and moves on its own is discovered, the whole world would flip upside down.”

“There’s no need to go that far. If this just reached Professor Harcon’s ears, chaos would already break out.”

“That’s true… that golem-maniac dwarf…”

Emond thought of that eccentric dwarf.

“I built him with all my effort, so his physical ability is overwhelming, but he lacks swordsmanship skills.”

“Yeah, that’s obvious.”

“That’s why he needs to learn swordsmanship, and I think Altrierc’s style suits him best.”

Considering the golem’s physical capabilities, it was the right decision.

“This can’t leave this room, right?”

“If it were known I’m walking around with a golem, everyone would assume he’s under your name, brother.”

Half-joking, half-serious.

Though Fernan knew he wouldn’t betray him. He had known the Altriercs since childhood, and he knew Emond was loyal and discreet.

After thinking for a moment, Emond had no choice but to nod. In the end, he didn’t really have a way to refuse.

“Alright. I’ll take care of it. Three times a week, two hours each time.”

“Thank you very much.”

“But in return, take care of Alcmion.”

“Alcmion? What could you ask me about him?”

“You already know how much trouble he is.”

Just thinking about his younger brother made Emond sigh.

“The personality of that wild Altrierc boar isn’t going to change. Cover for him well. If I do it, they’ll say I’m playing favorites, and I’ll get all the looks.”

“Of course, brother. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Thus, the deal was sealed.