Chapter 185: Mentor (2)
FwyMiruam was a princess of the royal family.fUh6Rx
D3zJShe tended to actively participate in risky activities for the last 10 years but was still one of the only two princesses of the Kingdom.CxVjyP
pi7hEveryone in the Kingdom would vouch for how valuable and priceless she was to the country.kpPn8
PG6When hunting outside, she would be surrounded by layers of knights and mages, and maids would cast a large umbrella on top of her on sunny days to keep her away from the intense sunlight.Y1s
0T4A drink was always ready when she felt thirsty, and a table full of food was offered whenever she started to feel hungry.fDEx9
hXdBThat had been the norm for her life.aXPnk4
nje17bP“Haak… Haak…!”5IFPPF4
4abUlmNHer breath fell short as sweat flowed down her cheeks. The walking stick stepping across the ground became a pillar that supported not only her leg but her entire body.fRy
x7NtPSa“Krrrrh…!”vD9
qrO1AThe growling of a hunter going after its prey reverberated through the dark forest.1ZlJ
Cn1sN“Korin Lork…!”Wnqc
DNOOsu1Miruam was being chased by a large dog.RmtURO9
CTt……nt2
0gdT…TOq8
EbGC“We are going to train in the mountains today to simulate a real-life situation.”CBK
dvuFtnOn the second week during the mentoring session, Miruam couldn’t help but frown in response to Korin’s words.PeL9
7sIViS“…Why?”APA3
ILQShe asked but was met with a response that made this sound like the most natural thing in the world.6M4x4
NlHxlvJ“Practice makes perfect.”XLHu
a9Ag3OThere were a lot of things she wanted to say. The reason she had asked him to be her mentor wasn’t to learn anything from him – it was an expression that she wanted to sponsor the promising knight, Korin Lork, and draw him into her faction.W8aV2Bw
EToQtHe isn’t stupid enough to not know, right?dvlmT
4FnEUQcInstead of revealing her real thoughts, she replied using a different set of logic.zNkoM6
FZdIfPR“I’ve had enough real-life practices already.”RD5W
vnB“Of course. Considering how many hunts you’ve been out on.”ljrSz
TeoB“…”z5EZ
YTR54She had to contemplate what he meant by that.Dyt4v
HpoHunting.LOZVHbm
74PPIt was a widely known hobby of hers, but only a few of her subordinates knew what they actually hunted.Aup
xPCr“Looking after villages is the duty of the royal family, after all. I have hunted more than enough demonic beasts.”bjcUsK
o8rvf5“Were they really demonic beasts?”H4G
rfnZ“…”TNLRaoq
wAZTgHer face crumpled into a venomous frown. She was irritated not because the truth had been revealed, but because of his sarcastic attitude.yLHb
ibG“Well, let’s do something more valuable than a hunt like that.”N7Ap
3uDHZu“No. There’s no need for me to receive this kind of…”RwufHy
2wuK“Do you want me to stop mentoring you then?”t2RW
RjJ3fm5“…”TrVRoq
okApMIt was a provocative statement and one that made her severely displeased.z1HxLA
p7MCPsHe was practically asking her, ‘Didn’t you want to get closer to me? Don’t you want to forge a connection? Are you going to give up?’…YPBPQYA
RcE6VUs“You are a lot more annoying than I initially thought, Sir Korin.”zST
8z4akh“There is a story about a King who visited a magnificent strategist three times to earn their favor. Maybe you should follow their example and model that kind of behavior, Your Highness.”ofAy4A
SXjkH“Will you join hands with me after three mentoring sessions?”E2FbbJ
SDbBRX“That depends.”z4H
78apW“Tell me what it depends on then.”DP8p
t3LSeQuKorin shrugged his shoulders in response to her straightforward question.3Li
yHV“Let’s make sure to follow the session properly before anything.”eREKP
awUThat marked the beginning of a real-life practice in the mountains.sDz3
rMUz6w“Why… am I doing this…”KDW
qU7cNcOHer legs were heavy. The dress that she put on to decorate herself was nothing but a nuisance when hiking through the harsh mountain slopes.5cG
Fn0Ir“Tell me if you need help. I can carry you up there.”yU0y
08E“No thanks.”Fqpto
dPbEDVDespite the disability of one of her legs, Miruam gritted her teeth and continued climbing the mountain.oyOC
XvWE7UHe didn’t mention helping out again. She liked it better that way. Her disability had brought the pity of many others and there were even some people who tried to help her without her consent.bNb3v
NJg8She wasn’t fond of being on the receiving end of pitying gazes and preferred this kind of normal treatment.K24
twcq4JKorin was often slightly annoying, but for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to hate him for it.lojNXB
VfGDIn any case, Miruam wasn’t a normal civilian either – she was a Grade 1 mage and knew of several spells that could support her across the mountain.6PbA
P5o82P“Shh.”q3VLA
qss7TzThat was when Korin called her to stop.d79R
hXaU“Can you feel that?” He asked.Rj8jSLe
N5L“…Not really.”ajW
xYIasRShe gave an honest reply. They were about halfway up the western mountain, and she couldn’t feel anything different.thQN
y3Wt“Try smelling the air. See what kind of smell this is.”3rf70
bLKx“…How would I know that?”ETI
oiQ3GXIt did smell slightly funny. The air felt very fresh, but there was a hint of something that stimulated her nose.i6E7mb
D2EZG“From now on you should.”KjLI
SdEKorin took a few steps forward before rustling through the bush.hEd5U
DVSUWZ“Demonic beasts live in a way that is actually pretty similar to that of normal animals. You know, like the dog family, the pig family, and the cat family of animals.ctuY05m
Z1IIp“Feline demonic beasts are quite clean so they’re hard to track down. They hide their feces and regularly groom their own fur so they don’t smell.JRC
UFIw“Pigs have a unique scent to them but these guys actually hide from people quite well. They can even smell the steel in a knight’s equipment and tell whether they would be a threat to them or not.1abvBy
Qk9cWA“Due to that, they tend to think of mages as easy prey, because they carry around staves that smell like wood.”XbuNy
JcjMWf3After at last finding something from the bush, he gestured to Miruam with his hand. She walked towards him and found a large pile of brown that was giving off a strong odor.czt
OJCKpY5“Did you… have to show me this?”pD4
i0Aj“You’re raising snakes so why are you taken back by poo?”CMiq
fQa6qvz“They’re very different in size.”hOJHPb8
aojymn“Anyway, do you know whose poo this is?”dht
Yg8l“…A dog.”235q
kxvMiruam had a long history of hunting. She didn’t personally track animals down due to her status as a royal princess but was experienced enough to tell apart the feces of dogs and pigs.UmE6jNB
JwsXa“Correct. This is one of the habitats of hounds, you see.”CJZ
44efiHounds were demonic beasts that Miruam was very familiar with – they were a low-grade beast who could only reach Grade 4 at best. However, they had the habit of obeying an alpha entity in the group, and she therefore came across several werewolves, whom she hunted frequently, using them like pets.MsVKz
BFAsW“Let’s go up a little bit more. We will be at their habitat very soon, and we’ll be able to see roughly how many there are from their footsteps.”Kc5
qOaSBKWhy were they heading to their habitat in the first place though? Miruam had that question in mind but didn’t linger on that topic because it was hard to imagine them being a threat.395
ZeIKKorin Lork was essentially a semi-Unique Grade knight, and he might truly be acknowledged as a Unique Grade if the power of the Sun was also taken into account.QZHjCg
zHMSWith someone like that next to her; Miruam didn’t feel threatened in the slightest.PF4iASZ
YQZUClimbing up the mountain, they came across more footsteps and traces of canine beasts.SV12ebq
OvwV1cg“Fuu~. Now, let me give you another tip as your mentor.”Qcy
ko04PU“That’s very sudden.”6NKdaH1
m2GsBXj“Not really. This is all part of the mentoring process.”pMT
e4UMKMiruam wasn’t sure how this so-called mentoring could be beneficial to her. What would hiking and researching the habitat of Grade 4 demonic beasts going to do for her?uzzZ
gGfF“So… What is that tip?”okMwa
sC4sSnU“Question: How do beasts of the dog family hunt their prey?”deX47D
PiOGIt was a rather horrifying question to suddenly ask in the middle of a demonic beast habitat.cMmA
qC7zqmThat was when Korin kicked off the ground and landed on one of the branches of the tree next to them.Qk3Fjv
DKs“What are you… doing?”8iK3Gk
cWcAYnD“Hounds are low-grade demonic beasts at Grade 4 at best, but it’s a different story when they have someone to lead them. DOGGO~!”GyqI4
fn3oaAs soon as he yelled out loud, a howl echoed back from amidst the mountain.nthSZB
x28“Knight Korin… What are you trying to do?”aSr1
rq8“One real-life experience is always better than listening to a lecture one hundred times. Try your best to survive.”G1KN2E8
njGUnfortunately, she could not last more than 3 hours.8Oi
FTdS0***N1n8E
UUKK1“Thanks for the hard work.”3R263
CTY“…”Qebs4
UrhVLMkMiruam, having been suddenly forced to run away through the mountain, glared daggers at Korin who was looking at her with an annoying pair of eyes. Behind him was Doggo, who had been chasing after her like she was a prey.ywBPBqm
xMxlB9That was Vampire Marie Dunareff’s familiar.td2owh
sXkFrom what Miruam heard beforehand, Marie appeared to only suck Korin’s blood which meant that Blood Hound was like the combined monster of Korin and Marie’s blood. The two of them seemed to be treating that dog like it was their son, but it was a laughable concept to the princess, who was also a summoner herself.1Xew
YOCU“Let’s climb down the mountain first before we have another chat. You lasted much longer than I expected so the sun’s already starting to set, so I think we should go down a bit quicker.”1VcPpoD
H5UipHe didn’t bother explaining how. Sending a gaze to Doggo, he signaled it to carry Miruam.g4zI
l0uGiLT“No thanks. I don’t like the smell of dogs.”BoY0dG
MGOgV“Grrrhh…!”21F
59FDoggo immediately rebelled in anger but Miruam wasn’t trying to be mean either. She simply hated and detested dogs.gcaR3bY
ra4UFx4That was when she came up with an idea. Floating a sensuous smile on her face, she grabbed onto Korin’s arm.o6ot
nXU“You do it, Sir Korin. You forced a princess to come all the way here and put me through so much trouble, so you can do that much, can you not?”rEZ2
ggz4LuLHow would he react? She wondered. Would he refuse her like he did with her seductions, or unwillingly accept her request as a chivalrous knight?0KuJg9J
5VmgHe responded, however, in a different manner.PnuV
gb4oF“Aht?”ty8rf
VWb2Without even the slightest bit of hesitation, he put her in a princess carry. With a leisurely look on his face, he looked down at the real princess, who was mumbling blankly like a goldfish.ZikZco
mkMJ695“Hold on tight.”QyrfGf
vxWz“Uht?!”lvJ
ZubzZKPKorin then sprinted down the steep slopes of the mountain with his superhuman legs and vision and even though it was her own request, she couldn’t help but gasp at the unexpected speed of his dash.gP9
OmmLGbIt was so fast that Miruam unconsciously clenched onto his shoulders.cYF
2jKFlr“Sir Korin—!”8IkO
zTEj0She lifted her face to ask him to slow down a little but… the moment she saw his face, she couldn’t utter another word.KEUSn
CMaoThere was a mysteriously blissful smile on his lips – the likes of which she saw for the first time on the face of this crafty knight, and it was therefore difficult for her to grasp the meaning behind it.OzZ
L5NS‘What a strange man.’aNyZ
oClxdNow that she thought about it, it was her first time having someone treat her like this.sVEW6
Q4cqbBrazenly telling a princess his desired rewards, he forced her to hike across a rugged mountain and even made a massive Blood Hound go after her for a test.7hqK
xZ2Oq1WKnowing fully well that she wouldn’t criminate him for an attempted assassination of a royal princess, he dauntlessly carried out such rather insolent actions but…WZ1
SyZh『A smile would be more than enough.』9Is1
lQfWhy… did he make such a weird request?E0j
O5kJbCDThe princess of the Kingdom was telling him to request anything of her, and yet all he asked for was a smile. Besides, she knew all too well how boring her smile must have appeared, but he called it ‘beautiful’.AaN
9kFu‘What is he scheming?’lh0Q
sBlShe belonged in a world full of crafty and cunning people – a world where reading the hidden intentions of others, be it personal benefit, ideals, or authority, had a direct correlation to her likelihood of survival.eCytP9
L6f3hCompared to the people of that world, Korin Lork was like a little puppy. Regardless of his personal strength, he was an inexperienced student of the Academy.VbZbc3
VnYDespite that, she just couldn’t see through his true intentions. She had no idea what he was scheming… nor what he wanted to achieve through her.9j5JZUd
jw8qYy“By the way, another piece of advice is that dogs heavily rely on their sense of smell to track down their prey. As long as you can do something about that, it shouldn’t be that difficult to escape from them.”0EY3
V3eQ5“Why would I… need this information?”WUzSZ4
bGyjNP“Just don’t think to yourself that you will always be the hunter.”JNb
ZQPqVyF“…”Si0
n9raXLuShe just couldn’t tell what he was planning.Js01Y
qkN‘What a… weird man.’yXmvxzG
VZMyPoRHowever, her memories of that day were deeply engraved into her brain.7a8jtbe
ImAz3One real-life experience was sometimes all it took to change a lot of things.H3DNc
eesE20***bG7
RIUThe reason I took her out for this practice was quite simple. In the upcoming ‘hunt’, her position as the hunter would be fully reversed, and that would mark the start of the arc against Mound.KejHRP
ukZXv1Stopping the hunt wouldn’t mean anything so I couldn’t rely on that either. Whether she was attacked first or not, the arc would definitely begin, and Miruam would make that happen even if she had to forge a fake event in the process.7NX
GofR『Tell me what it depends on then.』tgZ
9U20There was only one condition that had to be fulfilled for me to join her faction, but it was one that she would never let go of.Rs1fGr
vwDiYcZ『…How much about it do you know?』3zZf
AyiFI know everything.iwUI8
WzL1I know just how strong your convictions are.qSxlK
OzvxNTVBecause it was to the point that she would discard me and our child for it – to the point that she would turn into an enemy and cross the line I could not forgive.8qquK
S4B7WpM“This is it for the day.”9F5A4J
IzMTo6hArriving at the Academy, I escorted her back to the dormitory. Well, even though I called an ‘escort’, we were both living in the Special Dormitory together anyway, but that was my intention, to say the least.f9wc
Z5Q8hq“Enjoy your weekend.”34ZY0g
C1pR7“…Yeah.”KT6j
Ix7osShe was about to turn around so I called her to a stop.8Qrr
Kgx“I believe I haven’t received my reward yet.”FyBDkLr
Vmufo“Uhk…!”9mmF
N4FedckMiruam frowned with a questioning look in her eyes, but a frown of that level was nothing in comparison to all the vicious expressions she could make.0xz
6VBZo1o“Do I… really need to?”rm9vRG
ioRUb“Of course. Every week, at the end of the mentoring session—”Ozd5vB
g6JEh“You want me to smile, right? I know that already.”0axXc
DLOTo this date, I wasn’t sure why Miruam was so obsessed with me in both the last and the current iteration. However, all that mattered was that I could still remember the words she spoke to me on her deathbed.iUqFvj
iwh2『…I love you. Sorry for… saying that so late. I love you. I really love you, Korin.』IrB
Jv8I remembered the girl who turned cold along with that bitter smile on her face, so…1Y8s
c6DIAc“Try smiling. I’m telling you you’d be pretty.”POWh
BJhi“But… you’ve never even seen me smile.”KAGk
tOHnzF“I’m certain it would be the prettiest smile in the world.”RKh
C5KcrutI simply wanted that heart-rending smile to turn into one of pure joy.AEB
az9G“Haa… Alright. If you really want to see my smile.”Pqa
jwFRSeFShe soon twisted the corners of her lips to give an awkward smile that looked more like a sneer than a smile.1NzEK6
xT6e1P“Hope it’s a little bit better next time.”U6b5
MZn“…How rude,” replied Miruam with a faint pout.fDx
Rztv3After that, she moved on to the same topic as always.HqUBQ
U1e“So, any thoughts of becoming my consort? If you accept my offer, I can give you everything I have.”hl9m
R0c“I am afraid of the things that I would be forced to do once I accept that offer.”ZPi
8bDz3m“…”hEdX
lQqUqIt was only for a short period of time but I enjoyed my short marriage life with the princess until it all crumbled to pieces due to everything that happened afterward.Q5VQ
F3JDd『You were my destiny. Now it’s already too late though…』J8Il
QJYygI could have made you happier… I could have helped you smile and yet…Az77
X5X“Be patient and wait. One day, both you and I will be in front of a crossroad.”l0xqEvR
gFi5kIt would be impossible to persuade her.b6w
fvTCgvMShe would never stop and would never give up. In the end, she would achieve her long-cherished desire.jdQq
6v4pLISo… now wasn’t the time just yet.7UvzZ
VHuy9I had to force the choice onto her after overpowering her; trampling and oppressing everything she had.vMomKu
ugbyyOnly after I destroyed everything she had up her sleeve would we be able to talk on equal grounds. In order to do that—7V7xjLx
RrV2WEr“Let’s go in. It’s getting cold.”TqIqPqj
fZgHvQs—I am going to crush you, Miru.MJlk
ts7W0M***LLw
fGhf9LbI walked into the dormitory with Miru. It was going to be weekends so I had to train hard or complete some missions.XBmwCgs
GFIsKPlus, I had to teach Ren and Ron over the weekends so it was going to be a busy one. And although Ron looked like a fourteen-year-old teenager, Ren was still growing very slowly which was a little bit of concern.pdlPKd
zeTgDrI had to thank Marie for letting me borrow Doggo for the day, practice entering the Domain with Alicia… and train bare-handed martial arts with Hua Ran.3EAGGIa
EF7BaPUsually, I spent most of my time training with Master, but the only problem this week was that she wouldn’t be here until Sunday.FgigEZ
XgFaPanIt was going to be a very hefty weekend. Normally, Park Sihu was the one planning and taking care of other external matters, while I focused my time on training.eklp39i
ehucD‘It is a little bit daunting that I have to worry about the big picture every time.’gy24AGg
wq95xoThese days, I was starting to understand the amount of weight that Park Sihu had been carrying in the last iteration.mvi
pg63However, that still didn’t justify his actions. Recently, the anger I had against him was starting to fade along with my memories about him but… I still couldn’t accept his way of doing things.Tru
zA3aclG“Korin… you’re back. And Your Highness Elizabeth.”2Hbf
qvhIHy“Please don’t be so formal, Senior Dunareff.”45bsdFS
hVAMarie took what I was carrying and carried it herself like it was the most natural thing in the world.VmgjmM
Duhx6hOI felt a bit sorry but thankful at the same time.6hnuUM
4ws“Oh, right! Korin. The Princess came back!”mSQtw2
BBGVAO“Princess?”XymF
YVUeUNzI was wondering which princess she was talking about and saw the Saintess walking down the stairs from the second floor with her usual pink hair fluttering behind her.kIG9i
BOvjKDC“Korin~! Korin-dongsaeng! Oh my. You came with my dearest sister Miru.”6CaS6
OX5OdQ“I told you not to shorten my name…”cRhv
xZZAM4qGlossing over Miruam’s complaint, Estelle hopped her way towards me, which gathered everyone’s eyes on us.Ogx
uQA“Korin-dongsaeng!”CTr5nA
z4Ak3“Umm y, yes? Saintess?”gUyW
MlkrWeG“Ehem! Like I said, call me Noona.”RLj
XsteCv5“…What’s wrong, Noona?”VT0V
xlh1It was obvious that she would be pestering me until she got what she desired so I immediately called her the way she wanted me to but… for some reason, the surroundings suddenly started to go cold.0wEXi
ZOSUQWr“Let’s go on a date tomorrow!”9o6ax
4fzK“…Pardon?”xUSBtkB
v1Fu60DThis feels like deja vu… But like, why are all the ladies around me so proactive with their sudden attacks?FAR1E3
Qn5“I’ve been thinking about you every day, and that’s why I came back as quickly as I could! You can spare some time for me, right?”7PPS
CtP2Tf“I certainly can but…”JFX
GXfz“Then meet me at the plaza with the clock tower tomorrow at noon!”h432
7ufV90She immediately returned to the stairs after finishing her sentence. Suddenly, she went, ‘Ah!’ as if she remembered what she forgot to do, and came back to give a sudden kiss on my cheek.ekqBcs
vvk“I will be going to sleep early today to prepare for tomorrow~! A beautiful lady must sleep early and wake up early, you see.”UVY
3vrVCwEI am beautiful, right?Kz2u
4Qa9VaEstelle added along with a wink.aMw3M
z4JZiZIs she… intentionally trying to put me in a rough spot?NTS
mxcAw“…”BH34W
Evu4HIC“…”bsK
AnNMCM“…”2UvMP
pEJ6P7DIt was hard to bear the gazes of the ones around me. Miruam’s eyes were especially colder and were as frosty as a blizzard.4xRRMe0
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