The night was still young and the air was crisp, so under the expert guidance of Kael— SLASH!
I continued with my training, moving through the motions over and over again.
’I honestly thought having these people around would be nothing but trouble, but this is turning out to be such an unexpected gain for me.’
I thought to myself as I felt my form improving.
Kael was much better than me in terms of raw swordsmanship, and it seems like in exchange for suddenly barging into my camp with his group; he was more than willingly giving me specific advice on how to get stronger.
Just hearing a few choice words from him made me improve significantly in a very short amount of time.
I have never had anyone actually teach me real swordsmanship before, so this is the very first time someone has been guiding me properly.
The entire process that probably would have taken me many days of solo training to accomplish— I managed to surpass it in just a few hours with Kael’s help.
"Wow, you really are talented... You are learning everything way faster than I expected."
Kael said those words as he stood nearby, watching my every move.
"It’s only because you are actually quite good at teaching."
I rebutted his compliment, giving him a small smile.
"Hah! If that were actually true, then all of the guys under me would have been promoted to paladins already."
Then he responded with that, laughing lightly at his own joke.
"Anyway, aren’t you getting tired yet? You have been swinging that sword non-stop for hours now."
He followed up, looking at me closely while trying to find any visible sign of exhaustion on my face.
"Hmm, I guess I am starting to feel a bit tired... I think I will rest up for a little bit."
I answered him with that, playing along.
The truth was that I had consumed a lot of blood before they even arrived, so it would normally take me days or even more than a week of swinging my sword for me to actually get exhausted; and that is without eating anything at all because of my [Hunger Suppression] skill.
Anyway... I walked back over to my campfire and sat down on the ground. I checked on how Bong was doing, and it seems like he is sleeping just fine over by the trees.
After that, I discreetly looked around the camp, observing what everyone else was up to. I used [Echolocation] and [Thermal Sense] together to get a clear picture of my surroundings.
Their seven horses are all resting up quietly now.
The four other knights are currently standing guard, watching for any monster attack that might occur in the dark.
The coachman that was driving the carriage seemed to be already sleeping soundly, as I can see his heat signature through the fabric of his tent.
Meanwhile, Elianna is still inside the golden carriage, and she hasn’t stepped out of there once since they finished setting up their camp. I can’t look at her from the outside using [Thermal Sense] either because this time, she was wearing armor that successfully masks her body temperature.
’Is that carriage her private space? I guess staying in an expensive carriage is way more comfortable than sleeping in a shabby tent on the ground.’
I thought to myself.
"Huh?"
’By the way, where exactly is Kael?’
I asked myself, suddenly confused because I realized I couldn’t sense his position at all.
"Looking for me?"
Then out of a sudden, I heard a familiar voice coming from my left side. I quickly turned my head, and there; I saw Kael, sitting down and looking at me with smiling eyes.
"You are quite busy observing everyone, huh."
He said that casually. I was really surprised by how he snuck up on me, but I made sure not to show any of that on my face.
"Well, I was just a bit curious about your group... Also, in case something were to happen, I can respond more properly because I already know where everyone is and what they are doing."
So, speaking calmly, I explained my reasoning to Kael.
"That is true, and I am sure anyone would be curious about our group especially after knowing our affiliation, plus the fact that the saintess is travelling with us."
He said, casually brushing a bit of dust off his shoulders.
"Anyway, do you want one?"
And then right after that, he went ahead and handed me a piece of roasted [Ironhide Boar] meat with a very carefree expression on his face.
"..."
I just stared at him for a second, then opening my mouth—
"Uhh, that meat actually came from me... I have more of it than you guys do."
I stated that fact to him.
"Ah, you’re right..."
He said as he looked down at the roasted meat in his hand, and after a short while— NOM.
He just started eating it himself.
’He is definitely a weirdo too.’
I thought, watching him chew.
*****
Kael didn’t leave my side after that.
And as we sat there together by the fire, he started a small conversation with me. I didn’t try to avoid it because I felt like I owed him for helping me train my sword skills, after all.
I also thought that this would be a very good opportunity to get some useful information from him.
Apparently, Kael is only 25 years old, and he has already graduated from being a templar and became a full paladin at that young age; he is even a squad captain now. This just shows that he is incredibly talented, maybe even gifted.
He comes from a Count’s family, which means he is a high-ranking noble.
After telling me all that, he went on and asked me about myself as well. And so— I told him the exact same fake story I had told everyone else before.
I told him about me being the illegitimate son of a noble and a maid, and that I had worked very hard to become a knight captain. But unfortunately— our territory had fallen while I was out dealing with some local bandits, and everyone back home had died.
I told him that it was all because of a war with a neighboring lord, and I also mentioned that we were only a baron-rank noble family.
Barons are just local nobles, so once they fall, history tends to forget them very fast. There are a lot of Barons in the world as well, so even if I just made up a random name; Kael wouldn’t suspect a thing even if he hadn’t heard of them before.
And just like that, I finished telling him my tragic life story...
"I am really sorry to hear about your difficult past."
He said that with an apologetic tone.
"Don’t mind it, I have already gotten over most of it by now."
I said, casually waving my hand to dismiss his concern. It took a little while, but Kael eventually stopped worrying about my story. Then right after that—
"But I really cannot believe that you are already 28 years old, which is three years older than me... you look way younger and handsome. It’s so unfair."
He mumbled that, looking at me up and down.
"Haha, thanks for the compliment."
I didn’t really know what to say back to that, so I just said that with an awkward smile.
"By the way, where exactly are you headed?"
Just then, Kael asked me that.
"Ohh, I am headed toward the city of Zore."
I answered him, not thinking much about it.
"Huh?"
Kael looked completely surprised at my answer, then his eyes suddenly shone with excitement. He didn’t say anything for a bit, but after a while—
"We are headed exactly there too!"
He excitedly exclaimed that.
"This might actually be fate, so do you want to travel along with us?"
Then he immediately followed up without missing a single beat!
"What...?"
Hearing his sudden offer caught me completely off-guard. I couldn’t answer him right away as my head was still trying to process his words.
The gears in my head are turning right now to figure out what I should do in this situation.