Chapter 39
Joshua returned to the tower late that day.
The knight who was standing the night watch showed a flustered look in his eyes.
“Don't tell me you are just returning now?”
“Yep.”
“Oho~”
The knight was curious about what the boy had done during the day he was missing.
It would be a pleasant diversion during the boring watch hours.
Just as he was about to open his mouth while repeating that to himself.
The boy’s face, which had been hidden by the darkness, was revealed as it caught the moonlight.
His cheeks had become noticeably haggard.
He looked like someone who had had their energy drained by someone else.
“Was it tough?”
“Yes, a little.”
“What on earth were you doing alone to be so exhausted?”
“Things happened.”
The knight scratched his head.
It felt like he should not hold the boy back.
“I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“A certain lady told me to tell you that if I saw you, she would be waiting in front of the stairs.”
Joshua nodded his head.
After that, he headed straight for the place the knight had mentioned.
On the stairs covered with a blue carpet, a contrasting color caught his eye.
Red hair.
He thought it was a beautiful color.
“Ah!”
Tania Rainwood frowned as she spotted Joshua.
She stood up and closed the distance in a single breath.
The girl was overcome with emotion.
Even after spending the entire day, she could not find the man in front of her.
It was not that she had a plan to meet him.
She felt strange for having started looking for him blindly without even making an appointment.
She was angry at that fact.
And now, she felt glad to see him.
“Are you sick somewhere?”
Tania looked at Joshua’s face.
At that moment, the complaints she had prepared in her head completely vanished.
“I suppose I could say I am sick… Anyway, it is certain that my body is not in good condition.”
Joshua gave a vague excuse.
He could not bring himself to say that he had an upset stomach from eating raw wildflowers.
“I am sorry. I want to let you go, but there is something I must tell you.”
“What is it?”
“There will be a summit between the surviving groups soon, and it seems the Captain wants to accompany me and you. I agreed, but I have not heard your opinion yet.”
Joshua raised the corner of his mouth slightly.
Rodwell’s intention in sending her was obvious.
As if he were not the type to be unable to extort something just because of this.
“I will attend the summit. You can tell Rodwell that.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Are you not granting permission too easily?”
“There will be time to talk on the way. Though Rodwell probably wants to avoid me.”
Just before Joshua, who had finished his business, returned to his room.
[Clever] reminded him of what happened last night.
“Thanks for the blanket.”
“Pardon?”
“I know you covered me with it when I was in the hall last night. Thanks to you, I was able to sleep comfortably.”
“Then is your physical condition not due to catching a cold?”
“It is not a cold. If I had to specify, it would be abdominal pain, stomach cramps. Something like that.”
“I see.”
Tania smiled brightly with her hands behind her back.
He thought the pure smile of someone her age was very cute.
“Did something good happen?”
“It just happened a moment ago.”
Joshua looked around.
There was no one else but her and himself in front of the stairs where the night had deepened.
“Is it because of me?”
“That’s right.”
“I don't think I said anything particularly funny.”
“Hehe, I am not going to tell you.”
She was happy to have been thanked.
Just like Talleon or Gavinu.
Because the expression that she resembled those two was somewhat hard to bear.
Tania suppressed her inner feelings as much as possible.
“If your business is over, go back to your room. It is dangerous to be in the hall in the middle of the night.”
“I will do that.”
Joshua passed her and set foot on the stairs first.
Tania looked at his back.
Something was strange.
It did not feel like the back of a man weakened by illness.
In the span of a single night.
The quality of the mana surrounding his entire body had changed.
* * *
The next day.
Joshua sought out Rodwell but was given the cold shoulder.
It seemed he had no intention of meeting him until they went to the summit venue.
Instead, Tania became busy.
“I heard the summit starts in three weeks, and it takes three days to arrive. Until then, we are told we can spend our time freely.”
Tania recited the contents she had noted down in her notebook.
It was information he already knew.
As long as [Clever] existed, there was no way he would forget the flow of the game.
Seeking Rodwell was for a different reason.
“You heard correctly, right?”
“Yes.”
“Great.”
Tania, having finished her mission, clenched her fist while savoring a sense of duty.
“What is your schedule for today?”
“I plan to spend time with Talleon and Gavinu.”
“...I see.”
She did not say anything, but Tania had a look of disappointment in her eyes.
A face like a child who truly hoped to play with him as well.
“Don't worry. Next week is your turn, Tania.”
He placed his hand on her head, gave it a stroke, and went down to the third floor.
He headed straight for the boys' room.
They were in the middle of debating what to eat for lunch between ham and cheese.
“Ah, Sir Joshua! Welcome.”
Talleon welcomed him with a bright voice.
“You’ve come at just the right time. I was thinking with Gavinu about what to eat for lunch. Which one do you recommend, Sir Joshua?”
Joshua approached them and sat down.
A modern person worries about what to eat when the time comes.
There were even people who believed that was the happiness of life.
But it was not like that here.
“Choose the one that spoils quickly, the one that is difficult to manage.”
He picked up the ham and cheese.
The ham was still fine.
On the other hand, blue mold could be seen growing on the bottom of the cheese.
“In this case, it is the cheese.”
Talleon and Gavinu swallowed their dry saliva at the same time.
They felt a chill down their spines at Joshua’s few words.
“Even after this meal is over, the task is to think about how to store the ham. For example, there is smoking or drying. Here is the dilemma again. Which one is possible and convenient with the current ingredients.”
Joshua spoke to the two as if warning them.
Only a month ago, we lived in the darkness.
Unable to have even a proper meal.
Together with crazed monsters that enjoyed human flesh.
Even if they had escaped that situation, they must not lose the tension of that time.
“On the first floor, there are plenty of people who have been starving for days. You must have seen them too. Don't have such happy worries in this place where those people stay together.”
“I-I am sorry.”
“Always fear death.”
“Does someone like you also fear death?”
“Of course.”
The two did not know.
How many times he had failed in this world.
In how many various ways he had been killed.
“I am sorry. I did not come with the intention of preaching.”
Gavinu shook his head vigorously.
“No. Thank you for enlightening us.”
Talleon put the ham into his backpack without a word and chewed on the cheese.
“In a while, it seems Tania and I will be going somewhere else.”
“I heard from Tania. That a meeting where each group gathers will be held.”
Gavinu had a bitter expression, seemingly resentful that he could not follow along.
Talleon was the same.
There was no way to take them.
They had to remain here.
However, he would not leave them to spend their time idly until then.
“There is a place to go. Follow me.”
Taking the two, he headed above the 10th floor where the knighthood resided.
The knight guarding the place moved out of the passage as if he already knew.
“...Wow.”
Talleon let out an exclamation of admiration.
The upper floors of Line Tower had a great symbolic meaning in that only the leadership could enter and exit.
Joshua naturally frequented such a place.
It meant that his trust had been deeply built within this tower.
The boy leaned against the stair railing.
The height was different from what he saw on the third floor.
He felt a pressure so great that his legs trembled just by looking down.
“There is no time to play around.”
Gavinu, who was walking ahead, said as if pestering.
Talleon narrowed the distance that had widened because he had stopped his feet.
The place they arrived at was a room on the 13th floor.
Line Tower is a library.
Unless it was a room used as lodging, bookshelves were visible everywhere and the smell of paper was thick.
This place was different.
All the cumbersome parts were removed, leaving only the integrity of a room.
“Hello.”
Lucille Rainwood was standing in the middle of the room.
Until then, the boys did not know the future that was about to befall them.
Joshua approached her.
“I ask this of you.”
“Don't worry. Don't tell me you're afraid I'll eat them alive.”
Lucille waved her hand with a sinister smile.
Joshua spared his words.
If it were this person, she was someone who would relieve stress under the pretext of teaching.
She would likely leave them half-dead.
It might be just right for the two who had become loose.
“What about the tuition fee?”
Joshua placed two eggs in her outstretched hand.
They were warm eggs laid this morning.
“You really had them?”
Joshua nodded his head.
Considering his relationship with her, he thought she would do it for free.
But he judged that she would work more seriously if he gave a reward.
“I was going to do it even if you didn't give me anything.”
“I felt sorry to ask for a favor for nothing.”
“Then I will accept without hesitation.”
Joshua made a subtle expression.
Coldly speaking, two eggs for knighthood tuition was a bargain.
In the past, it would have been an unthinkable amount.
“You guys, come over here.”
The boys who had been standing at a distance approached.
“This is the teacher who will guide you for a month starting today, Lucille Rainwood. I ask you to take care of them.”
“Are you saying Lady Lucille will look after us?”
“Yes.”
A smile of joy bloomed on the boys' faces.
Teaching from a knight they respected.
It was a stroke of luck for the two apprentice knights who were bored from not being able to take classes.
“You will suffer to death. To the point where you will think it is better to fight monsters.”
“I will work hard.”
“We look forward to your guidance.”
“Hehe, I like your spirit. Then first...”
Lucille picked up two wooden practice swords from a rack on one side.
She threw one into the air on the spot.
The one who caught the sword was Joshua.
“What is the meaning of this?”
“Since there is plenty of time left until the summit anyway.”
“Is it not too unfair to challenge a mage with a sword?”
“Hehe, are you not confident?”
Joshua fell into thought.
Among the achievements, there was definitely one while playing as a mage.
If one endured for 2 minutes against a knight, there was an achievement that increased abilities.
If it was Lucille, the condition was met.
[Cool] said there was no need to accept while worrying about injury.
[Clever] said it might be okay.
And [Patience] was in a state of considerable excitement.
“As a trial, about 2 minutes seems fine.”
“That doesn’t sound bad.”
He didn't know what was sufficient, but he and she took their stances.
Lucille’s eyes widened.
“You, where did you learn that stance?”
“I am just roughly following along.”
“Imitating to that extent?”
Lucille showed a suspicious gaze.
Because it was so sophisticated for just imitating.
She felt it was troublesome from the perspective of an opponent.
It is a staged performance.
Since he was a fellow who hid his true feelings well originally.
She moved forward quickly with a spring in her step to tear off the mask.
The first strike swung aiming for the thigh.
The wooden sword struck from a diagonal line and made a dull sound as it collided with the opponent's.
“Hmm.”
Joshua’s body swayed significantly.
He was not a knight.
Even if he read the trajectory, he would easily collapse if the muscle strength to support it was weak.
However, the fact that he blocked the strike.
The thought that he showed embarrassment in front of the children who would be his disciples from now on.
It ignited Lucille’s fighting spirit.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
A three-hit combo.
Surprisingly, Joshua blocked them all.
But the aftermath of the impact remained in his body, and his accuracy gradually dropped.
On the fourth upward strike, his side was completely exposed.
Lucille struck that spot without mercy.
The boy’s body rolled once over the wooden floor and then stood up again.
It was a breakfall.
Both the timing and the steps were perfect.
He took it well, but inwardly she was a little worried.
Too much power had gone into it than she had thought.
An ordinary person would have rolled their body around on the spot.
Yet the boy only frowned slightly.
‘Seriously, this guy.’
If he had asked her to go easy on him, she would have intended to do so.
Yet the boy did not.
That point was so hateful that it was like pouring oil on a burning fire.
Thwack! Thwack!
A thrust followed by a spinning cut using the right leg as an axis.
Joshua avoided it by bending his waist backward.
He avoided it well.
But his next movement was sluggish.
So endurance is your weakness.
Thinking so, she kicked his leg.
This time for sure, she swung the wooden sword toward the boy who had collapsed on the floor.
“Agh!”
Lucille wore a flustered expression.
She did not imagine a picture of herself being hit in this fight.
She was negligent in defense.
Having a grudge against the boy must also be a cause.
Thus, she could not help but be flustered when she was kicked in the stomach.
“Phew.”
Joshua stood up again.
The head of the wooden sword that had been raised upward pointed downward.
Knowing what that meant, Lucille remained silent.
“It is over.”
[Survive a sparring match with a knight]
[All abilities except mana increase by 5.]
[Acquire 5 coins.]
[Held Coins: 5]
Joshua wore a satisfied smile.
He took a hit to the side.
But it was nothing compared to the abilities and coins obtained through the achievement.
More concerning than that was.
“You, from whom did you learn the sword!”
Lucille got angry.
She stared intently while growling like a beast.
“It is self-taught.”
“That is impossible. That was clearly a movement composed through training.”
“Don't ask too much. And if it were a real sword, I would have died when I was hit in the side.”
“So you're going to just gloss it over like that?”
“No matter what Lady Lucille says, I will not engage any further than this.”
Joshua knitted his brows.
The single hit to the side he took from her.
It was so painful that he would have fainted if not for [Patience].
Any more than this was simply impossible.
“I will be leaving now.”
“Hey!”
Joshua left the room.
Her anger was transferred to the remaining boys.
“Talleon, Gavinu! Pick up your swords.”
“Pardon? But we haven't even warmed up yet.”
“And I have an injury on my shoulder from going to the Laboratory.”
“I’ll adjust it accordingly, so just pick up your swords first!”
“Eeeek.”