Chapter 12
Cheongsanggwan, the residence where Teo Syunelden, the eldest son of House Syunelden, stayed.
Fwoom—!
Fwoom—!
From within, fairly heavy sounds of tearing air echoed out.
In the clearing in front of Cheongsanggwan, Luke and Teo were swinging wooden swords.
What stood out in particular was Luke.
It was a very basic form they were practicing, but it was for that very reason that Luke shone even brighter.
'There's not a single superfluous movement to be found. How on earth should I explain this?'
Rahicheu watched Luke's swordsmanship, marveling inwardly.
No, it felt more appropriate to call it appreciation.
Simply watching Luke's swordsmanship made him feel like reflecting on his own form for no reason.
However, there was something he didn't know.
That at this moment, Luke was putting on an act, trying his hardest to suppress his strength and look unskilled.
'No, just how much worse do I have to be than this? Good grief, the state of this household….'
Luke grumbled inwardly.
He still hadn't forgotten Rahicheu's expression on the first day of sword training.
Even though he had swung with roughly half his strength removed for the sake of realism, Rahicheu's jaw had dropped.
If he had used even a little more strength, Rahicheu probably would have made a fuss about a once-in-a-century genius appearing.
In any case, for that reason, Luke was currently training while using only one-tenth of his strength.
This level was barely enough to even count as a warm-up, so Luke was dissatisfied.
'Let's endure a little longer. If I use the excuse that my skills developed quickly, then I should be able to at least warm up by then.'
While Luke was grumbling to himself, today's training came to an end.
Tap.
"Ooooooh."
At the word that it was over, a strange howl of a voice flowed out.
'A ghoul?'
Rahicheu genuinely thought so.
Anyone who saw a humanoid figure stumbling about, unable to even fully extend its arms, would think the same.
In fact, one could say a ghoul was closer to being human.
More than anything, the most shocking part was that the one responsible for such a wretched appearance was Teo Syunelden.
"Young master, you've worked hard. Please go inside and have a meal."
"No, I have no appetite today."
"You've worked hard."
"Right. I'm really working myself to the bone because of someone."
Teo let the words slip and passed by his side.
'Why does his condition seem to be getting worse and worse?'
It had already been half a month since Teo began exercising with Luke.
At first, he had naturally expected that rascal young master to say he didn't want to and throw that metal rod away.
But that had been his misconception.
On the contrary, even though Teo returned in a more wretched state every day, he continued exercising.
Just what method had been used?
Even after half a month, he still hadn't figured it out.
'From the outside, it just looks like they're exercising together.'
If that were all there was to it, Teo would have come to his senses long ago.
While Rahicheu was lost in thought, Luke called out to stop Teo.
"Hyung, you can't skip meals. Eating after exercising is part of the exercise."
"Ugh, I really can't eat anything today. I almost threw it all up earlier, didn't—"
Feeling Luke's gaze, Teo cut off his words.
"Yeah… I'll eat, I'll eat."
"That's a good mindset."
"I don't even have the strength to hold a knife, though…."
"If you're going to exercise this evening too, you need to eat well now."
"In the evening too?"
At Teo's question, Luke opened his eyes wide.
"Of course we have to exercise in the evening too."
"That's a bit…."
"Then shall we skip exercise today?"
"Shall we? Well, we have been overdoing it lately."
"Okay, then let's spar instead of exercising."
"Spar?"
"When you don't want to exercise, sparring is the answer."
"…No, let's just exercise."
"Really? Hyung, you sure are fickle. Then I'll go on ahead, so see you later at Baekunggwan."
Luke gave a gentle smile and left Cheongsanggwan.
"That devil bastard…!"
To think such words would come from the mouth of the one he had thought was a real devil.
Rahicheu found this sight amusing, but it was also true that he worried about Teo's condition.
Teo wasn't merely being dramatic.
Even from his perspective, the intensity of the exercise the young masters were doing was excessively high.
At first, he had let it be thinking they would quit within a few days, but now he was growing concerned that continuing like this might harm their bodies.
Since both were direct blood descendants of House Syunelden, if they overdid it and got injured for no reason, it would be an even bigger problem.
"Young master, is exercising with the second young master perhaps too difficult?"
"What?"
"Seeing your condition, I am worried. If that is the case, I shall inform the second young master."
"No, there's no need for that."
"Pardon?"
Rahicheu was surprised by the completely unexpected answer.
"I'm also experiencing the effects of the exercise myself, you know."
"By effects, you mean…?"
Before he could even finish his words, Teo infused mana into his muscles.
Because the process was so natural, Rahicheu had almost missed the flow of mana.
"Surprised?"
Teo asked proudly.
"According to that guy, by infusing mana into the muscles to their limit, the circuits become activated."
It was common knowledge that training activated mana circuits.
The reason Rahicheu was surprised was because there was no training method that could activate circuits to this degree in just half a month.
"Even so, isn't this far too stark a difference from half a month ago?"
"So that crazy stuff that guy makes me do is definitely effective, at least. And it means my talent is just that outstanding."
"There is no doubt about your talent, young master. But…."
"You know what's even more amazing? I've grown this much, yet I still can't even match that bastard's warm-up."
"That can't be. Lord Luke hasn't accumulated mana since then, has he?"
"Who knows? He might have been training behind our backs."
It seemed as if flames were burning in Teo's eyes.
"Anyway, I'll definitely lift more than him. How dare a younger brother try to beat his older brother…."
Watching that appearance, he felt like he understood how Luke handled the young master.
'Did he provoke the young master's competitive spirit?'
Come to think of it, in House Syunelden, there had been teachers who treated him in an overbearing manner, but no one who could stimulate his competitive spirit.
Moreover, since Luke was his younger brother, the effect would be all the greater.
'Though my worries haven't completely vanished, still, how long has it been since I've seen the young master with such an expression?'
Eyes filled not with the stains of liquor and women, but with the will to become stronger.
He recalled the young Teo who had trained, vowing to save the family.
'In any case, I must report this to the lord.'
Rahicheu left Cheongsanggwan at once.
* * *
A room that, while grand in scale, felt rather impoverished thanks to the shabby furniture filling it.
That was the office where the head of House Syunelden conducted his duties.
In the center, Yulrian could be seen with an expression as gloomy as the room's atmosphere.
"The situation regarding the offensive to secure safety on the trade routes is not favorable, they say."
It was due to the gloomy news coming from everywhere.
Since he had become family head, bad news had flown in far more often than good news.
But recently, even that little bit of good news had ceased to come.
Instead, only bad news continued to increase.
"I have dispatched all available vassal knights, yet we have failed to secure it?"
"Well… the bandits' numbers have grown abnormally large, and they are organized as well, so we are struggling."
"Where on earth did such an organization come from, and why would they target merely our trade routes with that kind of power?"
A sigh escaped him.
Dion, who had been reading the room, immediately unrolled the next scroll.
"The interest payment date for the loan borrowed from House Syarunga…."
"Is there no good news apart from such matters?"
"I apologize."
"What do you have to apologize for? It is all due to my lack of virtue."
It was then.
Someone knocked on the office door.
"My lord, it is Rahicheu Milli."
"Enter."
At the mention of Rahicheu, curiosity bloomed on Yulrian's expression.
"Rahicheu, what brings you here?"
"Loyal! Seolpung's…."
"Formalities are enough, speak. Is it about Teo and Luke?"
"Yes."
"It's the first time since the initial report. Very well, tell me."
Rahicheu immediately reported on the two young masters' recent circumstances.
They were training to the point of becoming half-dead every evening, and thanks to that (?), Teo had naturally drifted away from the liquor and women he so loved.
The brightest smile of the day hung on Yulrian's lips.
"How on earth did this happen?"
Rahicheu also explained how Luke kept Teo coming out to the training ground.
"Heheh, so that was the method. Indeed, it's a method only that boy Luke could use."
"But I am also a bit worried."
"What worries you?"
Rahicheu hesitated for a moment.
Seeing Yulrian's bright smile, he wondered if he might be planting unnecessary worries.
But as a vassal knight, he could not withhold his honest counsel.
"I am concerned that the training intensity is so high it might damage the young masters' bodies. Greed can be poison to a martial artist, so I wonder if I should not stop them at this point."
Yulrian smiled serenely.
"I understand what you are worried about. But from your perspective now, what do you think of my two sons?"
"Lord Luke has become a completely different person. Not only that, but he has also demonstrated outstanding ability in swordsmanship."
"I thought as much. I had a feeling Luke would do well. What about Teo? Has Teo changed as well?"
Rahicheu briefly recalled Teo's appearance.
Though not a heaven-and-earth transformation like Luke's, Teo had changed greatly as well.
And the speed of that change was gradually increasing.
"Yes. To be honest, in all my time teaching Lord Teo, this is the first time I have seen such a change."
Yulrian nodded, seemingly satisfied.
That gesture was steeped in trust toward Rahicheu.
"If it's about Teo, you know him better than I do. If you have seen it that way, that is enough."
"Understood."
"Then continue to watch over my two sons as you have been."
"Yes."
Having finished his report, Rahicheu left the office.
After Dion finished his report and left as well, the office fell silent once more.
But Yulrian's expression was no longer dark.
'The change Luke has brought about is beyond expectations.'
This decision had, in fact, been a gamble.
Under normal circumstances, he would not have placed Luke with Teo.
But the present situation was by no means ordinary, and Yulrian had placed his bet trusting only his instincts.
He hadn't expected the results to come this quickly.
Just the fact that Teo had been stimulated was already half a success.
What remained was whether Teo would continue to change steadily, and whether the transformation of both sons would be dramatic enough to end Syunelden's long winter.
'My role is to maintain House Syunelden until then.'
Yulrian became certain.
The conviction that if he could somehow hold on, this winter would end.
Since walking the path of the family head, he had never felt such a strong conviction.
Yet if someone were to ask him the reason, he could not readily answer.
'Because the look in Luke's eyes that day was simply impossible to express in words.'
In his mind, Luke's gaze from teatime was still vividly etched.