In any case, Sion had never learned how to use a sword before! That was enough.
“Father.”
And now, Laila stood in the office of the Marquis of Hildegarde.
“I have a request.”
With her head slightly bowed, Laila squeezed out the calmest voice she could muster.
“Please allow Sion to learn the sword.”
Sion’s owner was Laila.
However, she knew very well how superficial that fact was.
It was highly unusual for a slave to be taught swordsmanship.
In reality, without the permission of the true owner of Sion, the villain, they couldn’t proceed as they pleased.
‘Come to think of it, how did such a trend spread six years later?’
The trend of carrying swordsmen slaves instead of guards.
Was it just because it was peculiar? Did it briefly attract attention because it was something no one else did?
Laila pondered deeply. It felt like there was something she was missing.
What could it be?
But before Laila could find the answer, the Marquis of Hildegarde’s response came first.
“Do as you wish.”
“……!”
Laila raised her head in surprise as she received permission far more easily than she had anticipated.
“R, really?”
“Why, you don’t want to?”
“No, no. Okay, I’ll do it.”
“Very well.”
“…….”
“When you’re done, leave.”
“…Yes, Father. Thank you.”
Laila bowed deeply out of habit and then left the office.
Her heart was racing.
‘What was that?’
She had been prepared to cling until she got the answer she wanted.
She had entered the office with determination to somehow obtain permission…
Was it because she obtained what she wanted too easily? Rather than being happy, she felt dumbfounded.
Laila slapped both of her cheeks lightly.
Where there’s something easy, there’s something difficult.
If obtaining permission was this easy…then the next step was likely to be incredibly difficult.
‘Well, I didn’t expect this step to be easy from the beginning.’
Laila clenched her fist firmly, and her eyes lit up.
‘I want Sion to learn how to use a sword.’
So what is the next thing she must seek after the villain’s permission?
‘Right, a mentor!’
Learning swordsmanship on one’s own was ridiculous. Well, someone might pull it off, but that wasn’t the picture Laila wanted.
Laila wanted to provide Sion with a credible swordsmanship mentor.
She stayed up all night drafting a list of potential mentors. There were two conditions: they must have exceptional skill, and preferably, they should be young.
The latter condition was caused by the fact that somehow it seemed easier to persuade someone from that demographic.
‘There would be a difference in stamina, too…’
After completing his regular training, he would have to devote the remaining time to teaching Sion. It would be problematic if the person was exhausted from training due to age.
‘Ha, alright.’
After double-checking the list, Laila approached the first candidate out of thirty.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
“Alright.”
“I thought you’d say that, but on second thought… what?”
“Yes?”
Laila blinked, her gaze met by a young knight with a composed face.
He was young, perhaps too young, but his skill was exceptional. He was ranked as at least a mid-level within the Order of Knights.
So, she had appointed him as the first candidate for Sion’s swordsmanship teacher and had come to meet him right away…
But his response just now seemed off. Laila asked, just to be sure.
“What did you say?”
“I said ‘alright.'”
“……What did I say before that?”
“You asked me to teach Sion swordsmanship, not just once, but continuously.”
“Do you know who Sion is?”
“Isn’t he the slave you have, the one who can’t speak…….”
Confirmation is complete. Laila’s expression has subtly changed.
“……How much do you need?”
“Pardon?”
“Of course I’m willing to pay you to teach Sion, but I can’t do it today, and if you can wait a few days, I’ll be able to…”
Laila wondered how long it would take to get rid of all the junk in her bedroom, but the other person answered.
“I don’t need money.”
“What?”
“You don’t have to pay me anything; I’ll just teach him.”
“Why?”
It was difficult to hide her surprise at this point.
Laila scrutinized the knight’s face, then asked bluntly:
“Why are you so willingly offering to teach Sion swordsmanship without asking for any compensation? You must know that Sion isn’t exactly treated well…What’s your reason?”
“If I had to give a reason… it’s because I’m curious about your slave. That’s the reason.”
“You’re curious? About Sion?”
“Yes. When you and your slave went out together before, I was assigned as your escort, remember? At that time, when I saw your slave, I just had a feeling that he wasn’t ordinary.”
Laila was stunned.
Sion wasn’t ordinary?
‘How did he know?’
Well, Sion was definitely not ordinary. How could an ordinary person come back from the dead, seal an evil god, and save the world?
But no one had recognized that until now…
“Genius recognizes genius, it seems.”
“What?”
“I mean you. Weren’t you called a genius prodigy when you first joined?”
“That’s…….”
Laila hadn’t known originally, but she found out during her investigation after selecting Sion’s swordsmanship mentor candidate this time.
“Indeed, a genius is different.”
“Why would you suddenly say that…….”
“In any case, thank you for accepting the offer.”
Laila reached out her hand toward the knight.
“I’m counting on you, Sir Taylor.”
Taylor, once known as the genius prodigy among the knights, quietly observed Laila’s extended hand before taking it and lightly kissing the back of her hand.
“I appreciate your trust.”
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Laila discussed the benefits of Sion learning the sword once again.
First, she would be able to cope with nightmares disguised as bad dreams.
Secondly, Sion would become stronger by learning the sword, improving his ability to handle crises.
In other words, the likelihood of being safe drastically increased if another Thomis appeared and caused trouble!
Thirdly, he may experience an improvement in his complicated grief symptoms. Indeed, this is a common expectation associated with the process of learning something new.
Ultimately, the only benefit Sion would gain from learning the sword was the second one, but Laila was content.
From the moment the idea of the sword came to mind, nothing else mattered.
Sitting on the bench, Laila quietly observed Sion receiving sword instruction from Taylor.
Sion’s swordsmanship lessons began exactly a month after Laila had completed all her preparations.
That was the day Sion’s right wrist was fully healed.
As soon as the bandage was removed, Sion grasped the sword. Initially, Laila had some concerns and even considered delaying the lessons further. However, Sion assured her that he was fine.
Taylor also promised to teach Sion without straining his wrist. Laila trusted the gifted teacher and his extraordinary disciple.
And so the swordsmanship lessons, held late every evening on one side of the training grounds, have been going on for a month now.
Today marked the fifteenth lesson. Laila watched without interruption, her chin resting on her hand.
‘He must be doing well, right? Although I can’t really tell…’
Laila was completely ignorant about swords. She realized this during Sion’s first lesson.
Out of curiosity, she stood alongside Sion and attended the lesson, only to earn Taylor’s serious expression and unbearable muscle pain. After that day, she stopped attending sword lessons altogether.
Laila watched Sion effortlessly swing the heavy sword as if it were a hollow bamboo stick, then glanced at her own arm for a moment.
‘…We look similar on the surface.’
Later on, there would be significant differences, but for now, they were similar in height and build. So why was there already such a noticeable difference in strength?
It felt unfair. Laila squeezed her soft arm a bit harder, determined to toughen up, even though she knew it wouldn’t make much difference.
“Miss.”
At that moment, Taylor’s voice interrupted her thoughts. Laila looked up at the knight in armor, who had approached without her noticing.
I guess since he was able to kill her without knowing the sword, it wouldn’t matter if he does…