In addition to that, Bianca and I accumulated so many memories over the course of a year that counting them became impossible, so I’ll stop here.
Now, let me tell you about Iris el Devhart, a woman who played the role of a knight in the “Winter Expedition.”
As one of the Empire’s ten most powerful individuals and a woman who had reached the level of ‘Master,’ a feat challenging even for lifelong swordsmen, Iris also served as the head of the current Imperial Knights and held the title of a princess.
Princess—a word that literally denotes the daughter of the emperor.
Yes, Iris occupied a noble position that I, now deprived of the dukedom, wouldn’t dare to glance at. But, what motivated a princess to participate in such an expedition?
So, one day, I posed this question to her.
“No matter how skilled you are, why do you bother yourself with such a dangerous task?”
In response, she fixed her stern gaze upon me and replied.
“Aren’t you also a noble? What do you think the duties of a nobleman are?”
“…our duty? That’s right, governing our subjects properly…”
“Wrong.”
She shook her head at my answer.
“The nobles’ duty is not to rule over their subjects but to lead them from the front. Everything we enjoy comes from the subjects of the Empire. The nobler the blood, the more one should not be afraid of shedding blood for the sake of the subjects and should not avoid facing death at the forefront. Those are the first words that apply to me, who inherited the blood of the imperial family.”
“…..”
“That’s why I’m so proud to be here right now, that I can give back what I have received from the subjects of the empire, even in this form.”
As she spoke as if admonishing herself, the princess exuded a stern air, making her appear proud. In an instant, I found her unexpectedly beautiful without realizing it.
“…hmm? What is that gaze? Did you fall for me?”
With a light smile, the princess teased me.
“I’m sorry, but I like strong men. Sir Cain is too weak for my consideration.”
“…..”
Never! Even I had some self knowledge, and I wasn’t stupid enough to pursue the princess in a romantic way.
“Hmm. Now that I see it, it seems that Sir Cain didn’t train properly at all. Your lower body is also weak, and the arms seem to have only flesh, let alone muscle. Wasn’t the Estel duchy a family that produced great warriors for generations?”
“It’s because I’m not particularly interested in martial arts.”
“Even if it has been so in the past, I don’t think it will be like that in the future. You don’t know how long the expedition will last, so shouldn’t you have the skills to protect yourself?”
Upon hearing this, I nodded in agreement. Indeed, the journey was perilous, with the constant threat of monsters appearing unexpectedly. Trusting only others and remaining silent seemed impossible, especially when my life was at risk. The thought of barely surviving with Bianca’s help made me nauseous. To avoid such a situation, I realized I needed to dedicate myself to swordsmanship training from the next morning.
It was then that the princess, staring at me, had eyes sparkling with determination and purpose.
“Sir Cain, do you have any plans to learn swordsmanship from me?”
“…yes?”
“What? There’s no need to decline. You’re an important person in charge of guiding this expedition. As you get stronger, the power of the expedition also increases, so I think there is nothing to lose.”
Her words made sense. When else would I have the opportunity to be taught by someone of her caliber? Particularly, learning from a master held a value that others couldn’t easily obtain even with wealth and pleas.
“I will. Thank you so much for teaching me.”
“There is no need for that. Aren’t we members of the expedition and colleagues? It’s nothing.”
That’s how I unwittingly opened the second hell gate.
***
“…Sir Cain, Sir Cain. Wake up.”
“…uh, uh…”
I woke up to the sound of someone rousing me. Opening my eyes and looking outside the tent, I saw that the world was still shrouded in thick darkness.
Who would force me to wake up at this ungodly hour?
Even the prickly Bianca refrained from disturbing my sleep.
“Sir Cain!”
I involuntarily opened my eyes wider at the sound of a thunderous call. In front of me, fully armed, stood the princess with her arms crossed.
“…hmmm, Princess…?”
“Hmm. It looks like you just woke up. Did you sleep well?”
“…why did you wake me up at dawn like this? Did the Witchbeasts launch a surprise attack…?”
“What are you talking about? Didn’t you agree to start training with me today?”
“…yes?”
At that moment, my face contorted slightly. I was still fatigued, and the idea of training from dawn was unappealing.
“I’m sorry, but we’re not free enough to set aside time for training. We are on an expedition, not on a leisure trip. To avoid causing harm to others, I thought it best to allocate part of my sleeping time for training.”
“Well, I guess so.”
The princess’s words were, among all the theories, the only ones I couldn’t argue against. Since I had agreed to be trained by her, I couldn’t complain now.
With a sigh, I left the tent, armed in my own way, and the sight of stars still twinkling in the night sky greeted me. I had no idea what time it was. Frankly, after the training, all I wanted to do was crawl back into the tent and go back to sleep.
As I stood in front of the princess with bleary eyes, she looked at me and clicked her tongue.
“Tsk, you must be a really weak man. Your eyes are blurry because I only slept a few hours less. If you belonged to the Knights, they would have given you mental training.”
“…..”
“Well, there is nothing I can do. This is not an institution. Then, let’s start training. We’ll begin with a simple skill test.”
Saying that, the princess tapped the sword at her waist.
“Draw your sword and attack me. I need to assess your skill. By the way, I will face you with my bare hands.”
“Are you sure? This is a real sword, but…”
I expressed my concern, but the princess laughed at my words.
“Cease your worries. Did you think you could even touch the tip of my hair with your skills?”
The princess’s dismissive words made me feel uneasy without realizing it. Even though she might be disregarding me because of my current state, I was still the heir to the Duke of Estel, known on the continent as a family of skilled warriors. Despite my recent detachment from swordplay, my childhood education included training in swordsmanship.
“I won’t show mercy just because you’re a princess. My sword doesn’t have eyes.”
“Ohhh, now you’re showing me worthy eyes. Nice. Why don’t you just get started?”
As soon as the princess finished speaking, I unsheathed the sword from my waist. I needed to make it clear to her, a woman who knew nothing about the world. I would show her how terrifying a man could be!
“Haa!”
And precisely one minute later, I found myself awkwardly rolling on the grass.
“Cugh! Gaah! Haah…”
As I struggled to recover from the blow to my stomach, the princess looked at me with genuinely pitiful eyes.
“…well. You’re much weaker than you think. A much lower level than the youngest member of the Imperial Knights. I knew it would be bad, but I never imagined it would be on this level.”
“…..”
Damn, isn’t that obvious? Even geniuses who have wielded swords since childhood find it challenging to join the Imperial Knights. Comparing me, who ended up here after rolling a pen in an office, with such seasoned warriors seemed a bit much.
“I will have to revise my plans. Originally, I was going to focus on swordsmanship training, but at this rate, even after 10 years, you won’t be able to compete. I think we need to employ a slightly drastic method.”
“…a drastic method?”
Why did the resonance of that word feel so ominous to me?
“What is it?”
The princess pondered for a moment on how to explain before answering my question.
“Practice.”
***
Two days later, as the expedition headed north, preparations for the camp were underway as night fell once again.
Of course, camping preparations were entirely my responsibility.
All four members of the expedition were too valuable to engage in such tasks, and their bodies had not even been touched by dust. If I didn’t take care of these trivial matters, who would?
Although I had prepared for camping several times during the expedition, my hands slowed down today, perhaps due to exhaustion.
“I’m really tired, I’m going crazy.”
Two days ago, the schedule had expanded to waking up at dawn for basic physical training and swordsmanship instruction from the princess.
Normally, during the day, I would be worn out from carrying their luggage on my back through the streets, but now, unable to sleep properly at night, I felt like I wasn’t living even though I was alive.
Thus, half-insane, I went about making a bonfire and setting up a tent.
“Gaah, this is so heavy.”
Thud!
Just as I grumbled about camping preparations, the princess, who had disappeared somewhere, returned suddenly and placed something in front of me.
“Aagh! You made me like this! I will not forgive you, human!”
Upon closer inspection, it was an orc—a remarkably sturdy orc with two scars across the corners of its eyes.
Curious as to why it hadn’t rebelled against its captors, I noticed that both its legs and right arm were bent in unnatural ways.
Indeed, even if it wanted to rebel, it must have been impossible at this point.
I felt a pang of sympathy for the orc and directed a question to the princess.
“Why did you bring this guy here? Why didn’t you kill it right on the spot?”
“Well. It’s necessary. I used my strength for all of you.”
“For me?”
What kind of nonsense was this? Had she captured an orc for my sake? Was this orc a benevolent creature preparing to help with camping or cook for me, like a fairy in a fairy tale?
“Aagh! I will kill you. They will rip your body alive and quench my throat with that fresh blood! I will especially tear you to pieces and kill you for humiliating me like this!”
“…..”
I couldn’t believe these were the words and actions of a good orc willing to clean and cook for me.
When I looked at the princess with an inquisitive gaze, she nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders.
“Didn’t I tell you? I think you need a real fight.”
“…pardon?”
In an instant, the blood drained from my face as I comprehended what the princess was hinting at.
Unknowingly, I scanned the orc’s body. Despite its repulsive facial features, its physique resembled that of a first-class warrior. There was no need to mention the defined abs on its lower belly, and its biceps boasted a size that seemed to exceed twice the size of my thighs.
No way. Could it be? Was this a joke? I wanted to believe it was a joke.
No way! If the princess were sane, she wouldn’t suggest something like that—
“Are you, by any chance joking?”
“Why would I do that? You sound terrified. This is the best training method I have ever devised.”
Saying that, the princess unsheathed the sword from her waist and handed it to me.
“As your teacher, I will give you an order. Fight that orc and win with all your skills.”
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