Chapter 88. I Wish They Would All Go Away (3)

A few days later.

The Knight Faculty's training ground.

The empty training ground after everyone had finished training and left.

But two people remained until the end, sweating.

No, strictly speaking, only one of them was sweating.

“The tip of your sword is wavering.”

“Got it.”

“Let's focus.”

“Heup!”

At Patrick's critique, Matthew swung his sword with what could literally be described as all-out concentration.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

It was just a simple downward strike, but the sound was considerably better than before.

‘He’s improved a lot.’

When Patrick first saw him, Matthew's sword was as floppy as a jellyfish swimming in the sea.

He thought it was a talent in itself how the path of the sword could waver so variously with a single downward strike.

But now, the sound of the wind from his swinging sword was quite fierce.

The phrase ‘great strides in progress’ was probably meant for times like this.

‘Well, I still have to be careful. From here on, a serious period of stagnation will come.’

It's similar to studying.

It's relatively easy to raise a student who gets 10s and 20s to 50 points.

You just have to beat them up.

But raising a 50-point student to 70 points is much harder.

And a 70-point student becoming an 80-point student is even more difficult.

Training is something where the difficulty increases and the periods of stagnation lengthen the higher you go.

If you spend that period incorrectly, you can end up sitting down in despair, negligence, or the satisfaction that this is good enough.

‘The great Radiant Dragon Great Master Jin Cheon is teaching you, so you can’t be satisfied with being just a mediocre 3-star knight. I’ll drop you to at least 5-star.’

He said drop, not raise.

Matthew had no choice in the matter.

“Kekeke. I think I’m a really good teacher.”

As he said that, Patrick grabbed his water bottle and chugged from it.

Naturally, what was in this guy's water bottle was alcohol.

It was a trick he had prepared to make up for his previous mistake.

While one was sweating and the other was consuming alcohol, the sweating one spoke.

“She’s not coming today?”

“What is?”

“The Princess, I mean.”

At Matthew’s words, Patrick let out a chuckle.

He seemed a bit more distracted than usual, so it must have been because he was bothered by Princess Isabella’s absence.

“Do you like the Senior?”

“No. How could I, in my position…”

“What’s wrong with your position?”

“That is…”

Seeing Matthew hesitate and exude ‘I am timid’ with his whole body, Patrick chuckled.

Come to think of it, this kid was an oddball too.

Why was the only son of the Elbador Merchant Guild, which was said to have more money than the Atronia royal family, so lacking in confidence?

When he looked at the merchants who ran the great merchant guilds of Jianghu, they naturally exuded confidence even if they couldn’t execute a single martial arts move.

They knew well the power of money.

Compared to them, Matthew was definitely a strange one.

To put it nicely, he was humble; to put it badly, he was timid.

“It’s not that I like the Princess. Really, it’s not. It’s just that I kept seeing her and then she’s not here, so…”

“Alright, alright. Just swing your sword.”

“It’s true, though…”

Matthew grumbled as he swung his sword, and Patrick said to him.

“I dealt with her once as she wished, so she won’t come anymore. No, at least for a while, she won’t. If she has a conscience.”

The moment Patrick said that, Matthew spoke.

“She’s coming over there.”

“What?”

Patrick looked at where Matthew's gaze was directed with a dumbfounded expression.

There, he could clearly see Isabella walking towards him.

He rubbed his eyes, but it was not a hallucination, but a real person.

He was dumbfounded.

“…She has no conscience.”

As Princess Isabella approached the grim-faced Patrick, she said.

“I have a favor to ask.”

“No.”

“…I haven’t said it yet.”

“Aren’t you going to ask for another duel?”

“No.”

“Huh? Really?”

“I’m done with duels. For now…”

‘For now,’ it is. Patrick decided to hear her out for the time being.

And Isabella looked at Patrick and said.

“How strong are you?”

“Probably…. the strongest on the continent?”

“……”

“What? Why? What?”

Patrick didn’t bat an eye at Isabella’s expression, which screamed, ‘What is this shameless bastard?’

Isabella shook her head slightly and, as if to say, ‘He was always this kind of person,’ she spoke to Patrick.

“Please. Teach me the sword.”

“I’m a junior, you know?”

“But you’re stronger than me.”

“The professors are also stronger than you, Senior.”

“But you are…”

Isabella stopped herself from speaking.

Her gut feeling was that Patrick’s skill might be even greater than the professors’.

He didn’t just beat her, who was at the end of the 3-star level; he toyed with her as if guiding her on the palm of his hand and won.

Among the professors, besides the Indomitable Knight Justin Leyte, it would be difficult for anyone to beat her like that.

So, it seemed likely that Patrick was stronger than the professors.

Her feeling was definitely so. But…

‘Common sense…’

That’s right. According to the common sense she knew, the fact that a first-year Academy student was stronger than a professor was something that went far beyond common sense.

That’s why she couldn’t easily say it out loud.

In fact, regardless of its truthfulness, the statement itself was highly problematic.

“Anyway, I want to learn from you.”

“I don’t want to teach you, Senior.”

At Patrick’s words, Isabella looked at Matthew, who was diligently swinging his sword beside them.

Matthew, in the meantime, was swinging his sword diligently as if to appeal, ‘I am an ordinary person who has nothing to do with this chaos.’

But did you know this?

The world often doesn't go as planned.

“You’re teaching him, aren’t you?”

“Him is…”

Patrick paused for a moment, choosing his words. If he were to speak his true mind…

[His father is rich. It would be good to have the cooperation of the Elbador Merchant Guild for a new business I’m pursuing, so I’m doing this to get their help.]

…would be his honest intention.

But still, if he just said his true intentions out loud like that, what kind of person would he be?

Patrick was a noble too; he had his dignity, didn’t he?

So, he had to choose his words carefully here.

After finishing his thoughts, Patrick opened his mouth.

“His father is rich. It would be good to have the cooperation of the Elbador Merchant Guild for a new business I’m pursuing, so I’m doing this to get their help.”

You bastard…

At Patrick’s words, which revealed his blatant and greedy heart, Isabella’s jaw dropped.

And she looked at Matthew, who was sighing beside her, and said.

“Are you okay with this?”

“Princess.”

“Why?”

“What’s the problem?”

“That’s…”

Princess Isabella was at a loss for words.

When she tried to point out what the problem was, she couldn’t find the right words.

In fact, from Matthew’s perspective, Patrick’s true intentions were nothing new.

Hadn’t he promised to go out and meet his father as soon as this exam was over, due to Patrick’s blatant pestering to meet him?

So what? Did she expect him to be hurt by this?

It was true that Matthew had a timid personality, but he was not an idiot.

Regardless of a person’s intentions, if the actions they perform are sincere, that relationship has sufficient value.

A relationship between a man and a woman that started from a misunderstanding could turn into a passionate love, and a general who surrendered to save his life could later fight bravely and achieve great merit.

That was the world as Matthew had learned it from his father.

Although he himself wanted to be a knight, he had seen and learned certain things since birth; where would that mindset go?

His sense of distinguishing what was right and wrong was a typical business mindset.

‘Patrick wants to see my father, and I am diligently learning the sword from Patrick. We are both faithfully carrying out our promises, so what’s the problem here?’

Purity of motive?

To a merchant, such a thing is not that important.

What’s important is the sincerity shown in the process and the results produced by it.

To the faltering Isabella, Matthew said.

“If you want help from Patrick, you should help him too, Princess.”

“Then I can learn the sword?”

“That would depend on what you can give.”

And Matthew swung his sword again.

In fact, the advice he just gave was out of consideration for Isabella’s enthusiasm.

But this was as far as he would go.

From now on, she had to do it herself.

Isabella looked at Patrick and said.

“I’ll pay tuition.”

“How much?”

“10 gold.”

“No thanks.”

It was a considerable sum, but considering all the various troublesome things that would arise from teaching a princess of a nation, it was too cheap.

At that, Isabella made a troubled expression.

As if the amount she had just named was the highest she could offer.

‘She doesn’t know how to haggle. No, more than that…’

“Senior, you’re a princess. But the limit of the money you can pay is 10 gold?”

“Yes.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes.”

Watching Isabella answer calmly, Patrick was puzzled.

‘Strange. Is this normal? I’ve never seen a princess before, but still, this is too…’

Depending on the situation, 10 gold could be a large sum. But considering it as the maximum amount a princess of a nation could use, it was honestly too small.

At that moment, Isabella said to Patrick.

“I can’t give you more money. It’s all the money I have.”

“If you give all your money to me, what will you do, Senior?”

“……”

Seeing the expression of ‘Come to think of it’ on her face, Patrick was dumbfounded.

“What a sheltered princess who doesn’t know the value of money.”

“That’s harsh.”

“What’s harsh about it? It’s the absolute truth.”

“……”

Seeing her cheeks puff up, she seemed quite sulky. But she also had her circumstances.

Even though she was a princess, she was not born of the queen.

Let alone the queen, she wasn't even from a concubine.

Born from the body of a handmaiden who served the king, she was a princess, but one far from power or wealth.

She didn't have a strong maternal family, nor did the king cherish her.

Basically, the king was indifferent to her.

Although he was her father, the last time she saw the king was on her coming-of-age birthday.

A princess with no money, no power, and only a noble status.

That was Isabella.

After pondering for a moment, Isabella said to Patrick.

“If you teach me the sword, I’ll do anything in return.”

“Pfft!”

“Cough.”

Patrick, who was drinking the alcohol in his water bottle, spat it out.

Matthew, who had been diligently swinging his sword again, also choked and almost dropped his sword.

And Patrick said to Isabella with a shocked expression.

“Senior, a royal… no, forget royalty, anyone shouldn’t say such things carelessly, don’t you know?”

“I know.”

“What do you mean, you know?”

“……”

“What if I? Huh? To put it bluntly, huh? What if I were to say I’d do something rough? Huh?”

“Rough things?”

After thinking for a moment, Princess Isabella’s mouth opened.

“Thr…”

“Uwaaaaaaaah!”

“I didn’t hear it. I didn’t hear anything.”

The two young men, who were on the verge of being implicated in the crime of insulting royalty, were horrified and covered Isabella’s mouth.

“Are you kidding me? Do you not know what kind of trouble will arise if you say that, Senior?”

“But other than this…”

“Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. Let’s only think happy thoughts. Happy thoughts.”

Matthew was crouched down, clutching his head, and fighting hard against something.

And Patrick let out a sigh and said.

He knew that the mental world of this woman, whether she was a princess or a senior, was a bit strange.

Basically, chasing a junior around like a leech and begging for a duel was not a normal thing to do. But…

“What is the reason you’re trying to learn the sword to that extent? You’re a princess, Senior.”

“……”

“It’s a bit much for me to say this, but it’s not like swordsmanship is part of bridal lessons, so what’s a princess going to do by being good with a sword? It doesn’t seem like a very useful skill for your life, Senior.”

Patrick’s words were harsh, but they were also clearly true.

A princess being good with a sword doesn’t become a plus factor.

In fact, it could even work as a minus for being used as material for a political marriage.

If the prospective husband had a patriarchal personality, he would be wary of a strong-willed woman.

But in Isabella’s case, there was a problem.

“I have to become strong. Otherwise…”

“Otherwise?”

“……”

A serious dilemma was revealed on Isabella’s face.

Seeing her expression, which seemed to have difficulty speaking, it certainly seemed like there were some circumstances.

‘So what? Who in this world doesn’t have circumstances?’

Everyone has their circumstances.

Even the children who steal bread on the street have the circumstance of ‘because I’m hungry.’

In fact, such circumstances would be much more desperate.

But if he helped everyone just because they had circumstances, would that be Patrick? The one who does such things is…

[You rascal. What makes humans different from beasts is that they have compassion!]

‘That’s why you were called a pushover, Master.’

It was a scolding he had heard countless times in his past life.

The Master who was anxious to help any pitiful person he saw, and the grand disciple who tried to stop his Master’s meddling.

There was hardly a day in the Twin Dragon Sect when an argument between these two didn’t unfold.

And what his Master always emphasized to Patrick was that damn compassion.

On top of that, there was another similar person.

[Hohoho. The newly arrived fiefdom residents don’t have jobs yet, do they? What can I do when the children are crying of hunger?]

‘Father. Father. This hopeless Father.’

No matter what, how could you just release the reserve grain to the refugees?

When he thought about the hell he went through to hastily replenish that…

‘Anyway, I’m different from those two pushovers.’

“If you don’t give a proper reason and just beg… oh. Wait a minute, are you crying, Senior?”

“…Heuk…”

Tears that she seemed to be trying hard to hold back, but eventually seeped out.

Patrick was greatly flustered by that.

A woman’s tears were a powerful weapon, whether in Jianghu or on the Continent of Pangemonia.

It was even more so if she was royalty.

“Don’t cry. Stop!”

“…Uuk…. uk…”

“No, I said don’t cry! You’re making me look like the bad guy.”

“I think that’s right, though.”

“You be quiet!”

Patrick shouted at Matthew, who had muttered quietly, to shut up.

At that, Matthew grumbled something.

“It’s not like I said anything wrong, he’s so sensitive…”

That guy, I thought he was starting to get some grit recently, but it seems his defiance is growing along with that grit.

Someday, it would be a true act of friendship to teach him a lesson and shrink his swollen liver.

‘But for now, first…’

“Heeuk…”

“Ah, don’t cry, Senior. Here, peek-a-boo!”

“I’m not a child…”

“If you’re not a child, then I said don’t cry!”

There’s something truly strange.

When tears come out of unfairness and anger, what accelerates those tears even more is the phrase ‘don’t cry.’

The moment they hear those words, the crying person realizes that the fact they are crying has been discovered, and at the same time, a booster is applied to their sorrow, and the volume of their tear glands greatly increases.

Well, to put it simply…

“Heuk…. keueuk. heuk heuk…”

It meant she started bawling.

Patrick was greatly flustered.

He had been through all sorts of strange things in his past life, but he had never made a princess cry in front of him before.

If others saw her crying her eyes out in front of him, constantly wiping away her tears with her hands…

‘Treason? Insulting the royal family?’

This was a problem. This was a serious problem.

He knew that most of the world’s problems could be solved by beating them up, but a crying woman was a case that fell out of that ‘most.’

In the end, Patrick made a decision before this troublesome situation could be noticed by others.

“Alright. Alright. I’ll teach you the sword.”

“Heeuk…. really?”

“Yes. I’ll teach you. So stop crying. If you cry, I won’t teach you.”

“…The payment?”

“That, I will most certainly receive as a post-payment!”

Unpaid labor could not exist in Patrick’s life.

Isabella thought for a moment and then said.

“…Thr…”

“No, not that!”

What kind of princess was this?

Although this was the first time Patrick had ever encountered a princess in his life, he had a conviction that this was definitely not a normal princess.

And so, the number of people Patrick had to teach increased by one.

And she was a princess.

It was an unscheduled event, so a small sigh escaped him, but he decided to think positively.

‘Tsk, she’s a princess, after all. If I pick her up, I might be able to use her for something useful someday.’

Patrick, who was just thinking simply, didn't know.

What kind of situation this would later bring about.

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