Chapter 24: Chapter 23: A Reason to be Strong

After 5 days of hunting in their chosen sector, the young Lord Charles’ party packed up their things and returned to town. 

They had hunted down 18 Timber Wood Geckos before Mehal put his foot down, saying that they could do irreversible damage to the territory. 

Even so, 18 of those monsters had been enough to grow all of the kids up to level 43, the level difference between Scarlet and the others being erased, with her only being a half a level above them as the EXP requirement grew. Meanwhile, Maria had managed to grow to level 50, and had received her 5th Talent Point.

Now, they were returning to town to drop off their spoils and get a resupply on what they needed, before they would head out to greener pastures, two weeks ahead of schedule. 

...With Scarlet around, the children might end up doubling their level within a single Winter season. Charles’ father will be overjoyed. 

Over the past few days, Mehal had learned a lot about Scarlet and Maria.

First, both ladies were outwardly cheerful, but deeply emotionally scarred and dependent on one another for comfort. While Maria had stated that Scarlet did not like to be touched, she hadn’t been so open about her own aversion to physical contact. Likely, Jonathan Wright had done something to the both of them, something that they wouldn’t speak of.

Second, Scarlet did not sleep. She had not slept for so much as a single minute since they had left town. This had made Mehal worry that the incident on the first day had affected her more than he thought, but it seems that this was just her norm. She just didn’t sleep, and trained her skills throughout the entire night.

And finally, all of their equipment was made out of cloth. Everything from their armor to their weapons to the mounts for their magic stone necklaces was made from magically enhanced cloth, either Tales Spinning Spider’s Silk or the elusive ‘Carbon Fiber’ that the alchemists had been working to recreate. All of it had been made by the pair, and while not as good as top quality metals when it came to durability, its qualifications as being a form of thread made it well suited for their needs. And even if it was just thread, magic equipment was magic equipment.

Finding out that Scarlet had the [Enchanting] skill at a high level at the party had been surprising, but there were over 20,000 Enchanters of varying types and levels of skill in the Dukedom of Dalhurst alone. They weren’t exactly rare, even if most can’t make anything more complex than an everburning candle or water proof clothes.

People with [Magic Stone Fabrication], who can make genuine magic items, were rarer, with only 1 in every 100 or so Enchanters reaching that level of ability.

[Magic Equipment Crafting]? There were only 12 people known to have that skill at any usable level in the entire kingdom, and they were the kind of old masters who had spent decades refining their art. And since they had enough job security to be able to mouth off to the King and get away with it, they tended not to be the easiest people to get along with.

The only one that the Dukedom had access to was one of the Duke’s drinking buddies. But the man was rarely sober long enough to create a high quality magic weapon, and giving him the materials to try was gambling with your money.

For a 5 year old girl to have already started to enter that realm… She was a literal one-in-a-million. He had no idea how the girl had managed it. He wondered if Master Typhus knew or not.

“I’ll check in at the desk and inform them that we are going to be changing hunting grounds. You kids can grab a table and order lunch.” Mehal told the group. “Remember, don’t make any trouble.”

(Yes. Let us eat.) Leon said happily, but was stopped with Mehal’s hand grabbing his ear, causing the lion to let out a moan of pain.

“You will be coming with me. You can’t be trusted not to make a scene.” Mehal said, dragging the lion away. 

(Charles! Help me!) Leon cried through their link, but Charles could only give Leon an apologetic look.

(I guess this is punishment for entering the hall without us last time. Please put up with it.) Charles said back.

(No way...) Leon whined, with none of the dignity or pride one would expect from a lion.

“There is a large table over there. Let’s take that one.” Andy said, spying a table in the corner with more than enough seats to it even for a party of their size.

“Does the Hunting Association serve good food?” Scarlet asked curiously.

“Lots of rare stuff is dropped off here fresh by other hunters, so they get a pick of the ingredients. It is a bit expensive, but if you have the money, you can’t find any better.” Caesia said as she grabbed the menu.

“Well, money isn’t really a problem for us. So I’ll be sure to eat my fill.” Scarlet said happily.

“...They don’t have unlimited ingredients, you know.” Caesia said flatly.

“Rude…” Scarlet pouted as she looked over the menus and then glanced around the room to see what the serving sizes were like.

It looked like 5 plates would do the trick… While they seemed to have good meat, their bread and other baked goods didn’t seem special. Perhaps she could stop by that sweet shop down the road. The smell coming from it had been mouthwatering.

Thank the Mother that she could manipulate her body with [Body Enhancement Magic]! She never had to skip out on sweets!

But as she decided on just how much food to get, someone approached their group. 

“Do my eyes deserve me? Could this be the young Lord Dalhurst?” A boy who appeared to be about nine years old said in a grandiose manner as he approached their table, a friendly smile on his face.

“I am, and you are the young Lord Paunor, if I am not mistaken.” Charles said, appearing friendly as well, but it was a different type of friendly than how he usually acted. There was a slight wrongness to it that confused Scarlet and tipped her off that something was wrong, even before the older boy opened his mouth again.

“I am surprised to see you still in the city. I would think with your unfortunate situation, you’d not want to waste a moment of the Winter Season. Or are you too weak to hunt properly?” The boy said, his friendly expression so smug, as if demanding to be punched.

His slicked back hair for some reason made the words ‘Draco Malfoy’ pop up in Scarlet’s mind, even though his hair was brown.

Raphaela and her otter Bond both visibly bristled in anger, but Charles didn’t react in the slightest. “We ran into some complications at our chosen site and have returned in order to change locations.” Charles said, as if nothing was wrong.

“Tsk, tsk, if you keep having setbacks like this, then there is no way that you will be able to dig your way out of the hole your family made for themselves. ...Or perhaps you ran away at first sight of the monsters. That must have been it. You must be a coward, just like your father.” The young Lord said, leaning into Charles’ face.

“...I really must be.” Charles agreed.

His retainers were absolutely livid, clenching their fists as their young master calmly accepted these insults. Meanwhile Scarlet and Maria were confused as could be.

“What is going on?” Scarlet said out loud without thinking. 

This drew the young man’s attention. “And who might you be?” He asked, rather rudely. 

Perhaps seeing that he couldn’t get a reaction by going after Charles directly, he planned on going after the people around him.

His grin widened as he saw Charles stiffen and his jaw clench for the first time, before he did his duties. “This is one of my companions, Scarlet Tailor.” Charles said, attempting to loosen his jaw and talk normally, even though he was starting to lose his cool.

Paunor’s face started to light up, hearing the commoner family name, prepared to dive in, when Scarlet added something herself. “I’m the tentative apprentice of Archbishop Joshua.”

It was true, she had sort-of-kind-of accepted the apprenticeship from Joshua, on the condition that she wouldn’t be made to live at the Cathedral, or even visit it very regularly. 

It really just meant that she would go there to assist in any grand rituals, and that she would have access to their library. She only agreed because as his apprentice, it wouldn’t be unusual for her to learn [Divination Magic] which could be her excuse as to where she got it.

The apprentice at a Cathedral wasn’t exactly a title or have any sort of value, but it would be better than a commoner. Or so she hoped.

She watched as Paunor paused. A slight look of confusion entered his expression, followed by recollections, then surprise, then he seemed to be trying to figure out a very complex problem, before his eyes closed and his face settled into a very easy to read expression.

‘I am so fucked.’

“I’m sorry if this all seems strange to you young Priestess. This is merely my way of encouraging the young lord. A bit of a reverse pep talk to help keep him motivated. You understand, don’t you?” Paunor said as he did his best to salvage the situation. 

“I really don’t, but I’ll take your word for it.” Scarlet said, more bewildered than ever before.

“Well, don’t worry about it.” Paunor laughed, rubbing the back of his head. “The young Lord mentioned that you’ve been having trouble in your hunting. If you would like, I could speak to the young Master Foxway about you joining with our party. We’ve got a long history of success in our ventures.” 

“...Thank you for the offer, but I am happy where I am.”

“...I see. Well if you ever change your mind. Just find me.” He said before turning and walking away, his limbs as stiff as a windup doll’s. 

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“That bastard. How dare the son of a mere baron act so brazenly towards our master.” Raphaela almost screamed as she glared daggers at the boy’s back.

“...Alright. I give. What was that?” Maria finally asked the children.

“He was attempting to pick a fight with our young master.” Mehal explained as he arrived on the scene with a very angry Leon.

“You knew he was here, didn’t you.” Charles said with an accusatory look. “You were testing me again.”

“And you passed with flying colors.” Mehal said, congratulating the boy.

“But why would he want to pick a fight?” Scarlet asked in confusion.

“Because if he could start a fight, then he could get the both of us banned from the Hunting Season.” Charles said, looking down at his now clenched fists. “His entire goal was to hurt my progress, even at the cost of his own.”

“...Why!?” Scarlet and Maria cried out together, not getting it at all.

“It’s politics.” Mehal said with a shrug. “It doesn’t matter. Thanks to our little Priestess, his group won’t bother us anymore.”

“Me? What did I do?” Scarlet asked with a tilt of the head.

“The Paunors are subservient to the Foxway family, and are part of the Nationalists Faction. As such, they consider themselves to be our enemies, and are outside of our territory and don’t need to worry too much about retaliation from us, despite being of lower rank.” Mehal explained. “However, even if your exact identity isn’t wide spread, people know that there is a young commoner girl with exceptional talents who is rumored to be apprenticed to the Archbishop. I don’t know if you are aware of this, but several Duke families are interested in you, and some believe that the Archbishop wishes to set you up to marry one of the next King. If the boy makes a bad impression on you and ruins his Lord’s reputation in your eyes, then he will be in serious trouble. And if he actually got you banned from the Hunting Season, and the rumors about Joshua’s intentions were true, his entire house could end up being demolished as a consequence.”

“That… That’s crazy.” Maria said, not liking that her daughter was receiving that kind of attention.

“That’s politics.” Mehal said with a shrug. “Now let's order some food. Our next training site is a good way away from here. We’ll be traveling for two days to get there.”

“So far?” Sidney said, his shoulders slumping. “Just where are we going?”

“To a lake north of here, deeper into the wildlands. There are a lot of caves and hidden places where monsters tend to spend the winters, as well as a species of monster toads that have had a population boom that also borrow for the cold season. If you wish to keep seeking out sleeping monsters and ambushing them, that would be the place to do it.” Mehal said. “It will also give us a good excuse to move past something I want all you kids to see. So it will be well worth the trip.”

“Something you want us to see?” Caesia asked her uncle.

“You’ll see it when we get there.”

Mehal refused to tell them what it was, so eventually they just had to give up and eat.

They would find out sooner or later anyways.

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Charles swung his sword harder and harder, the memory of Paunor’s words echoing inside of his head, causing him to growl in frustration.

In his anger, he put too much force into his swing and couldn’t pull out and lost his balance, slamming his claymore into the ground hard enough to split the ground.

He panted, sweat pouring down his face, despite the cool air. He then collapsed to his knees, gave another shout and punched the ground. Blood dripped from his fingers as he had crushed his hand and tears flowed from his eyes, which had nothing to do with the pain.

Then, the wounds on his hand started to knit themselves back together.

“Couldn’t sleep?” He blinked and looked up to see Scarlet looking at him with sympathetic eyes.

Charles turned his face away from her in embarrassment and quickly worked to wipe away his tears and sweat, hoping Scarlet hadn’t been able to see it in the dark of the night. “Just… Trying to get out some frustration.” Charles replied, before noticing how uneven his breathing still was.

Scarlet then came and sat down not far away from him, taking out her things and preparing for a long practice section of her own.

“You don’t need to stay up on my account.” Charles said, seeing the girl settle in.

Scarlet looked up at him with a smile. “Don’t worry. I meditated during the ride today. So I’m still feeling very refreshed.”

“...You are able to meditate while on the back of a horse?” Charles said, surprised.

“It required some getting used to, but I am nothing if not quick to adapt.” Scarlet said proudly. “The hardest part was learning to ride a horse. I’ve never had to before.”

“Is that so?” Charles said, turning away a bit.

“...I can’t claim that I will understand, but sometimes talking about things helps.” Scarlet said.

...Talk about it? How could Charles just talk about it? Where would he even begin?

“...Years ago, before my father was born, my grandfather was hailed as one of the strongest fighters in the entire world, and a companion to our King. He had been a man to be proud of. But, a little more than 20 years ago, after the death of his younger sister, he changed.” Charles said as he began his story. The story of his circumstances. “He started to ignore his duties as a Noble, in favor of drinking all day. He pushed his responsibilities for managing the territory onto my father who was the same age we are now, and because of that…”

Charles swallowed hard and pulled his sword up out of the ground, resuming swinging it steadily.

“My father was always kept busy managing the territory, and doing what was supposed to be my grandfather’s duties. Rather than being allowed to participate in the Winter’s Hunting Season, he was forced to go to the Noble gatherings in order to defend the interests of our territory. To make matters worse, our political enemies kept making trouble for him to make sure he had no time for anything else. Because of that… By the time my father was 10 years old, he was only level 11, and his highest level skill was level 71. He ended up receiving the Tier 3 Expert Swordsman Class.”

While for a commoner, a Tier 3 class would be considered impressive, for someone of the High Nobility, it was a horrible embarrassment.

“His fiancé left him because of it and he married my mother, who is a viscount’s daughter, with a Tier 4 Guiding Hand Class, a leadership and management Class. He had to struggle through the Royal Military Academy, and when he finally graduated, he returned to our territory in shambles from neglect and had to abstain from military service in order to help bring things under control… and because of that, people called him a coward who abandoned his duties as a Noble.”

“...What they say doesn’t matter. You know the truth.” Scarlet said, trying to comfort the young boy.

“I know but!” Charles shouted as he brought down his sword full force, pulverizing the ground. “I hate it. I hate it when they bad mouth my father for doing what he had to do. And I hate being forced to just sit there as they rub their shit in my face!” 

Scarlet didn’t know what to do or say. While she had been the target of many injustices in her past life and this one, she couldn’t say that bullying was one of those injustices.

“I have to reach a high enough level to regain my family’s honor. I will become strong enough that no one would laugh at us for being weak ever again.” Charles said through gritted teeth, the tears returning to his eyes. “I… I won’t just settle for a Tier 6 Class anymore. I get a Tier 7 Class, even if it kills me. No, I go even further beyond! I’ll surpass my grandfather! I’ll reach Tier 8, just like the King did! Then, no one will be able to laugh!”

At the moment, his [Two-Handed Sword] level had reached level 120, having exploded upwards thanks to the introduction of the resistance training clothes, and with the last two Talent Points, he was on course for making it to the level 150 mark before his 10th birthday and would receive a Tier 7 Class, something that would be a shocking achievement for most Nobles, but that didn’t feel good enough anymore. Reaching the same level as his grandfather just didn’t feel good enough.

...He wanted to be strong. So strong that his family's name would become synonymous with strength. So strong that no one would ever mess with them again.

Charles looked up as he felt magic flowing into him and his stamina being restored. “If that is the case, let's train together.” Scarlet said, pulling out her own practice weapons. “Sparring is more effective than just swinging your sword alone.”

“Are you sure?” Charles asked.

While his Hereditary Bonuses for combat were low for a Noble’s, Scarlet shouldn’t have received any from her parents. …Then again, Maria was pretty good with a weapon regardless.

“I’m used to sparring with mama, so I should be okay.” Scarlet said with a smile. “Besides, I have a lot of practice in PvP.”

...Charles had no idea what that meant, but that night, he found out that Scarlet was skilled at swordsmanship beyond her levels.

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