Chapter 28
Chapter 28
Кhаn wаs gеnuinely surрrisеd fоr thе first timе after obtаining thе Rank 10 Hiddеn Skill, ‘Sage’s Неаrt’.
‘Whаt? Не says Вyutek is mоrе outstаnding thаn mе…?’
Кhаn wondеred if hе had misheаrd Вrеntе and loоked аt him.
Their eуеs met momentarilу, аnd Brente smiled with a lооk of reverencе tоward Khаn and Вуutеk bеfore speаking again.
“Sir Вуutеk is a formаl knight оf Кilpheоn, and I cаn see at a glаnсe that hе рossеsses innatе bone and musсle. Just lооking at his bone and musclе, he sееms аt leаst twice аs strоng аs me.”
“…Pаrdon?”
Аnd nоw, thе mоst bеwilderеd реrson wаs Вyutek himself.
‘Me, the perpetual last-place in Kilpheon, who barely became a lowest-rank knight thanks to my father’s influence… has more talent than Sir Khan?’
In truth, Byutek was a scion of the Brandish House, one of the six renowned swordsmanship families in Kilpheon.
Although Byutek had trained in swordsmanship his entire life, he was born with talent only on par with an ordinary commoner and had always been treated like trash within the Brandish House.
‘Even in the Kilpheon Knight Order, everyone looked at me like I was an insect…’
Byutek was a knight of inferior skill, but he still had an eye for judging others.
From his brothers in the Brandish House, a swordsmanship family he was born into, to the swordsmen of the house, and even the formal knights of Kilpheon.
Having grown up seeing countless knights, Byutek could tell that Brente was an exceptionally skilled swordsman.
‘He must be a knight far stronger than at least the lowest-rank knights of Kilpheon… He’s completely mistaken about me. If only I had outstanding talent as Sir Brente says…’
Byutek became lost in thought because of Brente’s single remark.
Then Buttner, who had been fidgeting with his lips since earlier, opened his mouth and exclaimed loudly.
“Haha!! I thought I would never see a mage more outstanding than Bist, whom I newly hired this time, in my life. He is, after all, a remarkable mage in anyone’s eyes. But… I never dreamed I would meet a mage like Sir Khan so soon! Ah, and the same goes for Sir Byutek.”
Buttner took a breath before approaching Khan and Byutek and spoke respectfully.
“I would like Sir Khan and Sir Byutek to belong to our Eldrida… but that’s realistically difficult, isn’t it? First, since Bist and I have been rude, I would like to offer compensation for that. If you have time, would you be able to visit our Eldrida?”
As soon as Buttner finished speaking, the long-awaited content of a Hidden Quest appeared before Khan’s eyes.
-
[Visit Eldrida]
-
Will you accept the Hidden Quest?
-
If refused, the Hidden Quest will be deleted.
-
Reward: A minuscule amount of Experience Points, progression to the next Hidden Quest
As soon as Khan saw the Hidden Quest content, he fell into thought.
‘My Level is only 7, and I’m already going to Eldrida…’
He wanted to accept the quest immediately, but there was a concern.
According to the original quest storyline, one would normally go to Eldrida around Level 15.
But Khan’s current Level was only 7.
In this state, he thought it wouldn’t be easy to hunt the Monsters in the Dungeons around Eldrida.
‘I probably don’t need to accept it right now.’
Although it was his first time receiving a Hidden Quest, the message didn’t seem to have any condition requiring immediate acceptance.
‘If I recklessly accept a quest I can’t clear with my current power, I could die.’
If this were a game, Khan would have accepted the quest immediately.
Even if he died, he could be reborn.
But now, this was reality.
If he carelessly accepted a quest he couldn’t clear, it would become irreversible.
‘In <Geo Arc>, once you accept a quest, giving up is impossible, so I must be cautious.’
Thus, Khan finally made a decision and answered Buttner.
“I don’t particularly think Viscount Buttner was rude. So you need not worry about it.”
“Haha, no. As the lord of a territory, how can I let this matter slide? I must offer compensation as an apology. So please don’t decline.”
“…For now, I still have matters to attend to, so may I let you know later?”
“Ah! Of course. Please tell me whenever it’s convenient for you. Besides me, Brente will be staying here for about a week. If Sir Khan and Sir Byutek finish all your schedules within that time, please come to Eldrida with Brente.”
“Understood.”
Thus, the conversation between Khan and Buttner concluded.
The nobles attending the banquet were looking at Khan with completely different eyes than before.
“For the dignified Viscount Buttner to get that excited… I’m seeing such a sight after living a long life.”
“Indeed. It must be because Sir Mage Khan is an incredibly skilled person.”
“Honestly, I was surprised too.”
“I’m curious about Sir Knight Byutek. If Sir Brente, the guardian knight of Eldrida, praises him that much… how strong must he be?”
Some nobles also turned their gazes toward Byutek.
Since the strongest knight in this vicinity confidently declared Byutek’s talent was outstanding, it was only natural to be curious.
In fact, some nobles seemed to want to bring Byutek to their own territories.
“Then, please enjoy the banquet comfortably.”
“Ah, yes.”
Buttner, along with Brente, said that and began circulating around the banquet hall.
“Sir Khan, are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine. By the way, you…”
“Yes?”
“…Never mind.”
Khan was about to ask Byutek if he was hiding his strength but stopped.
‘If he were hiding his strength… he wouldn’t have been knocked down so easily by the Orc.’
Why on earth would a knight of Brente’s caliber praise Byutek so highly for having incredible talent?
‘Moreover… saying he has more talent than me?’
That was truly unbelievable nonsense.
Khan was a mage with talent surpassing anyone else right now.
He possessed as many as four Hidden Skills, including the most powerful Rank 10 Hidden Skill.
‘In terms of talent, I’m probably the most outstanding in this world… And Sir Byutek’s talent is more outstanding than mine?’
Of course, the talent Brente spoke of was likely Byutek’s swordsmanship talent, but it was still somewhat absurd.
‘If that statement is true…’
Khan had planned to part ways with Byutek after this banquet.
To be precise, he intended to completely separate around the time their journey in this Grodek ended, but this changes the story a bit.
‘And since the Hidden Quest will probably need to be progressed with Byutek anyway… I should later find Brente separately and ask in detail what kind of talent Byutek has.’
Having organized his thoughts, Khan decided to enjoy the banquet for now.
“Hahaha! Sir Khan! That was truly incredible magic! By any chance, do you really have no intention of becoming a mage belonging to our Grodek…? Haha…”
“I appreciate the offer.”
“Ah… haha… I suppose so…?”
Jurente, the Baron of Grodek, subtly made a recruitment offer, but Khan lightly waved his hand in refusal.
“Byutek, you look very tired… are you alright?”
“Ah! O-of course! You must be the tired one, Sir Khan.”
“Hmm, I suppose.”
Byutek, who had been looking dazed since earlier, was hard to read.
Seeing his somewhat gloomy expression, it seemed he was affected by Brente’s earlier remark.
Regardless, as the night deepened, the banquet gradually grew more lively.
* * *
The next day.
“Please stay at our mansion for the time being.”
Thanks to Jurente’s kindness, Khan and Byutek could continue staying at his mansion.
Khan left the mansion early in the morning with Byutek.
The place the two headed after leaving the mansion was a training ground in Grodek.
The worldview of <Geo Arc> was European medieval-style, but somewhat modern aspects could also be seen.
[Swordsmanship Training Ground]
Large letters were written above the entrance of the training ground where Khan and Byutek arrived.
Khan came to this swordsmanship training ground with Byutek because of a proposal Brente made just before the banquet ended last night.
‘I plan to stay in Grodek for about a week. If it’s not an imposition, may I request a sparring match with Sir Byutek?’
‘Pardon? M-me?’
‘Yes. Frankly… Sir Byutek was born with excellent bone and muscle, but I see no experience at all. I want to draw out that experience in Sir Byutek. Will you accept the sparring match?’
‘Ah… I understand for now.’
That’s how Khan came to this swordsmanship training ground with Byutek.
Standing before the entrance with a large swordsmanship training ground sign, Khan spoke.
“Byutek, tell me the truth.”
“Yes? About what?”
“Even if you were actually hiding your strength, I won’t get angry.”
“…I wish that were the case too. Honestly, I still can’t believe it. Could Sir Brente have mistaken me for someone else?”
“So you know your place…”
“…Yes. Actually… I’m only a knight of Kilpheon in name. Thanks to my father’s influence, I barely managed to join as a lowest-rank knight. And then…”
Khan listened attentively to Byutek’s sudden story.
Although he didn’t explain in great detail, it turned out Byutek was the youngest son of the Brandish House, one of the six great swordsmanship families of Kilpheon.
‘No way… to think he was the youngest son of that Brandish House…’
The Brandish House.
It was the family with the highest status among Kilpheon’s swordsmanship families.
‘No, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the Brandish House is one of the families most outstanding in swordsmanship in the entire Kingdom of Sinsiniel.’
Khan had guessed Byutek might be privileged, but he never dreamed he was a scion of such an outstanding family.
‘Wait. Then, could it really be…?’
Listening to Byutek’s story, Khan began to understand why Brente had praised Byutek so highly.
“Thanks to my father, I became a lowest-rank knight of Kilpheon, but even there I was treated like trash. That’s how I received a mission and ended up coming to the quite distant Burun Village… Sigh, honestly, I’m thinking of quitting everything.”
“Quitting what?”
“First, leaving the Knight Order… Anyway, I was destined to be kicked out of home soon, so I’m thinking of becoming Sir Khan’s escort knight from now on!”
“I never permitted that.”
“Haha! Who knows? Maybe I’ll truly change through this sparring match with Sir Brente…”
Byutek’s expression, which had been smiling as he spoke, gradually darkened.
Then suddenly, Brente appeared behind the two.
“You came early. Then let’s go in together.”
Brente pushed Khan and Byutek’s backs and entered the swordsmanship training ground with them.
1 Comment
Login Required
You must be logged in to comment on this chapter and rate the novel.
Login to rate this novel
It’s time for Byutek to prove his worth