Sir Hero, It’s Time to Train!

“Hmm. So, it’s here?”

A petite woman stood at the front gate, frowning as she gazed at the lavishly adorned lodging.

“Hmph, what should I really do?”

Nemea, who went by the alias “Lena”, hesitated at the lavish entrance of the lodging, caught between entering and staying put.

Should she go in or shouldn’t she? And if she did go in, what would she discuss with the boy who knew her identity?

On one hand, fear gripped her. Someone knowing her identity likely meant they were sent by someone to find her. Yet, running away in this manner proved equally problematic.

‘How exactly did Worden County find out?’

The issue was that the one who threatened her was from none other than Worden County, which included one of their heirs.

If she ran away, the Worden and Miles would surely send people after her and eventually find her.

In fact, even if the Worden might not bother, those from Miles would capture her no matter if she fled to the continent’s opposite end. Nemea knew this too well.

That’s why she kept pondering, unable to leave or enter, pacing in front of the lodging.

‘I don’t know. For now, I’ll just confront it!’

After a moment of indecision, Nemea seemed to firm her resolve, eyes glinting as she briskly walked through the entrance.

As she made her way assertively to the reception area, no one attempted to stop her.

“Are the guests from Worden County staying here?”

“Uh, well…”

The receptionist carefully examined Nemea’s attire. The crest proving her association with the Miles Viscounty’s knight order was emblazoned on her left chest.

Nemea sighed at the receptionist, who was trying to weigh the importance of Count Worden versus the Miles Viscounty in her mind.

“I’ve made a prior appointment. You can verify with Christian Worden, the young master.”

Her calm and natural demeanor betrayed no falsehood. Reluctantly, the receptionist nodded and asked again.

“And to whom should I relay that you are?”

“Lena Isban.”

“Please wait a moment.”

The receptionist informed the manager first and then called another employee. They asked this employee to confirm whether the name Lena Isban had scheduled an appointment beforehand.

It was a rather troublesome process, but considering the place catered to nobility, it was unavoidable. Aware of this, Nemea waited quietly without complaint.

Soon, the employee who had gone to confirm with Christian approached the receptionist and spoke.

“Mr. Christian has agreed to meet and has asked us to bring you.”

“Please show me the way.”

Nemea bowed slightly and followed the employee leading the way. However, she soon realized something strange.

“Huh? Why are we going outside?”

“Young master Christian has requested that Miss Lena be brought to the back garden.”

‘Why would he want to meet in the back garden?’

Unable to fathom any reason for being summoned to a backyard where laundry might be hung, Nemea’s expression gradually stiffened.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, her ears pricked up at the distant hubbub she heard.

‘That voice surely belongs to young master Christian, but… are the others his companions?’

Two men and two women were there, but only a young girl crouched slightly aside, while the others were sweating profusely and rolling around fervently. They were quite literally rolling on the ground.

“Ah, seriously! I thought today was a day off! We’re supposed to rest today! At least let us rest for today!”

“You took a rest, didn’t you? You rested and came back, right? So, this is training!”

“No way, you bastard! Don’t kick me! Don’t kick!”

Witnessing the sight of Christian kicking one of the young men who was rolling about, Nemea broke into a cold sweat.

No matter how she looked at it, Christian was younger than him, yet he handled him just like a tyrant senior in the knight order tormenting his juniors.

“Hey? Elder brother Liber, your shoulder is drooping? Do you not want to lift it again?”

“I-I’ll fix it!”

“Aira! Didn’t I warn you?! To thoroughly review things afterward! But you don’t even remember what happened during the spar?!”

“How can anyone remember that?!”

“Do it! Even if it kills you, do it! Can’t do it?! Then you die!”

“This is tyranny!”

Without hesitation, Christian swung a sword at Aira’s temples. Both the guiding employee and Nemea froze in pale terror at the sight.

‘Fast?!’

Fortunately, Aira dodged Christian’s sword attack-nimbly and swung her own sword to counterattack, astonishing Nemea immensely.

While still holding the push-up position, Aira managed to roll sideways, avoiding Christian’s sword, draw her weapon, and rise to retaliate at the same moment.

Her reaction speed was truly remarkable.

“Always counterattack mindfully! Target the weak spots with determination for a one-hit kill!”

Ka-aaaang—!

Christian lightly deflected Aira’s sword and then kicked her away with a “pop”.

“Kaugh?!”

“Urk?! Why are you kicking here!”

It was apparent that Christian deliberately kicked Aira towards Caedwin, who had been stealthily retreating. Observing this, Nemea found herself at a loss for words.

‘What is…’

It was a disturbingly bizarre display, a handsome young man ferociously wielding a sword and foaming at the mouth.

‘What am I witnessing…’

Though Aira and Caedwin had gotten tangled and kicked each other, Aira promptly climbed over Caedwin and charged at Christian again, brandishing her sword.

‘Are they truly fighting?’

The fierce aura emanating from the sword was more than capable of slicing someone up instantly.

Moreover, the wave imbued within the sword seemed far more fearsome than what one would see in training.

More than anything, the movement itself was so fast it was difficult for Nemea to follow with her eyes despite her efforts.

“You always act so rashly! How can you be so straightforward every time?!”

“No matter what I try, it doesn’t work on you!”

“Keep trying until it does!”

The dizzying speed of the sword’s movements made it unbearably difficult for Nemea’s eyes to keep up.

Yet, Christian’s critique calling it straightforward was beyond comprehension.

‘To react and deflect all those attacks, isn’t he redirecting them?’

Even stopping each thrust is difficult. Blocking what’s necessary, evading when needed—that’s basic.

But Christian merely redirected Aira’s lightning-fast strikes with light, deft repositioning of his sword.

As a result, Aira’s sequences were disrupted, causing her to falter and expose every possible gap. Christian identified each one by tapping it gently with his unoccupied hand.

“Ack?! Ah, ouch! Ow! Side! I told you not to do that! It messes with my mana pattern, making me nauseous!”

“Since your head doesn’t work, your body has to remember.”

“You…!”

The jabbing actions transcended simple finger poking, as Christian infused his fingertips with wave energy, making each jab extraordinarily painful.

Moreover, the areas he targeted were all pathways where mana flowed from the reservoir, so being jabbed with wave energy there led to internal mana disruption and chaos.

Nonetheless, Aira didn’t seem keen on enduring any more; she attempted to counter Christian’s poking by wrapping herself with a wave application device—a Barrier—that wasn’t yet fully formable.

While Christian smiled at Aira’s actions, he soon noticed someone approaching and turned his head.

“Oh, right. I was told a guest was coming. I’ll go meet them, so review properly until I return.”

“Kyah?!”

“Ugh?!”

Nemea, who had been casting wary glances at Christian, was finally noticed by him.

Realizing that his invited guest had arrived, Christian acted as if it were bothersome to deal with.

He nonchalantly kicked Aira, sending her flying toward Caedwin, who had opted to retreat some more, and then turned away without looking back to walk toward Nemea.

“You’ve arrived earlier than I expected. I thought perhaps tomorrow at the earliest.”

“Uh, well, I, um…”

“Oh, don’t mind it. I was in the middle of training. If you had informed me beforehand, we could have chatted leisurely over tea.”

Christian descended from the training ground and approached Nemea, who began to retreat slowly from him.

The employee who had been guiding her had vanished, leaving Nemea entirely alone with no one to aid or support her.

While Nemea’s sweaty demeanor appeared slightly strange, Christian paid it no mind, flashing a bright smile as he warmly greeted her.

“So, I imagine we have a lot of mutual questions, don’t we? Let’s take our time and have a conversation, miss Nemea Robran.”

“Y-Yes…”