Chapter 84
Anivo.
It is the unique footwork of the Gradas family, known as the Beast's Stride.
Originally, the Gradas family was an assassin household.
Even before the founding of Carpe, the Gradas family had made their name as an assassin lineage, which led to the development of techniques and weapons related to assassination.
If Jervan of the north was famous for swordsmanship that flourished in the light.
The Gradas family of the east was famous for thriving in the shadows.
The first head of the Gradas family was the founder of the footwork, and his movements were said to be at a speed that even she—the daughter of Carpe's founding king, a princess, and at the same time, the saint of Valterus—could not catch up to.
Stella.
"What are you thinking about so deeply?"
Click.
Brans, who set down his teacup on the table, spoke with a look of curiosity.
"Brans."
"Yes. Do you have something to order me to..."
"You are truly useless."
"Why such a resentful remark..."
"I heard you had a spar with a pilgrim not long ago?"
"Hehehe, how did you know that?"
Just hearing that obnoxious laugh told me the spar had absurdly ended in Brans's victory.
The reason they even ended up sparring was because he tried to hit on a Sister of the Order and ended up fighting some other guy instead.
I didn't want to know any more than that.
"You took him down with some strange trick and what are you smiling about? Is a servant of the Jervan family throwing away his sword and winning with bare-knuckle brawling something to be proud of?"
"...I'm sorry. The sword just doesn't suit my hand, and when I fight, I get heated up and lose control."
I shook my head.
I knew he had no talent in swordsmanship.
His body had been through all sorts of hardships following me around, so it was more or less properly built, but the sword was particularly unaccustomed to his hands.
When the longsword didn't work, I gave him a dagger, but he still couldn't put it to use.
"Useless fellow."
"I'm sorry..."
How am I supposed to make something useful out of this crushed cheese of a man.
Truly hopeless.
"What is Orcal doing right now?"
"He is going around the estates of the noble families you gave word about, gathering their information with bugs."
"Good work."
For a moment, anger flared up at the comparison between Orcal and Brans, but I calmed myself down.
'Comparing Orcal and Brans in the first place is an insult.'
Orcal is a paladin and a captain.
Comparing him to some punk is no small insult.
If I had to compare...
"Hmm."
I suppose I'd have to compare him to Bibi, who's sleeping curled up at my feet.
"No, Bibi is a bit different too."
Bibi is cute.
Why would I compare her to Brans? She's practically a baby.
I clicked my tongue and drank my tea.
Slurp.
The tea tasted bitter.
So black tea can be bitter.
First time I knew.
"Did you put poison in the tea or something?"
"Yes?! P-poison?!"
"How would I know if you know or not."
"I'll call a doctor right away!"
Watching Brans making a fuss, I pressed my fingers to my temples.
"Get out."
"Yes?! Should I go out and call one right now?"
"Just get out."
"The poison..."
"I already detoxified it."
"A-as expected... you're amazing!"
Is he really a madman? I don't even know where to start explaining.
Looking at that stupid face makes my blood boil with rage.
"Brans. From now on, I'll give you an order only you can carry out."
"Y-your command!"
"Find the one who put poison in my tea—I mean, in my teacup. They should still be nearby. You must find them."
"But there's no one else around here except you and me, right?"
Come to think of it, that was true.
After becoming the captain of the Sixth Division, I should have headed to the assigned office, but I flatly refused.
Being close to the Order meant my traits kept popping up, making me spout nonsense to the Sisters walking around.
And I refused because of those Sisters who were constantly hovering, eyeing me.
This place right now was a villa in the forest, a little far from the Order.
Since I occasionally lent it to the knights of the Jervan family who came to the royal capital, it was well-maintained and ready to use immediately.
It was surrounded by forest, the yard was wide, and the building was large.
It wasn't too far from the Order either, making it perfect for raising Bibi.
There was a training hall and plenty of rooms, making it just right for living comfortably.
"If no one was here, there's no way there could have been poison in the teacup. Find them."
"I see! Understood!!"
Watching Brans scurrying out, I clicked my tongue.
"Even after getting caught by Viola, he still has no sense. None at all."
Even though it was quite a big deal if you thought about it, he didn't seem to think much of it.
If it were me, I would have felt a sense of alarm and put more effort into training.
"I should have made him clean the villa at least."
I did something pointless just to mess with him.
Anyway. Let's continue the thought about the Gradas family...
"Where was I again."
I forgot because of that Brans fellow.
"Anyway, what's important is the footwork."
The Gradas family's Anivo.
As the kingdom's foremost footwork, it would be very useful to learn.
"The problem is there's no way to learn it."
Even Stella, called the genius of the century, couldn't catch up to Anivo.
She did create a similar footwork, but thought it wasn't at a level worth passing down to future generations, so she didn't record it.
"It's not like the Gradas family would teach me either. Hmm... it's better to forget about it for now."
There was no good solution even if I thought about it, and since it was an unavoidable part, it was better to erase it from my head quickly.
"What are you thinking about so hard? Looking at your face, it seems like you were thinking exactly what I was thinking? I got it right, didn't I?"
"...What is it."
They say even a tiger appears when you speak of it.
He appeared out of nowhere.
Even though I was thinking about something else, I truly couldn't detect his presence.
Until right before Zenos spoke.
"What do you mean 'what.' I came to see if my new adjutant was doing well. You're using formal speech today. Very nice to see."
"It's only because you're my superior right now, so I'm giving you the proper treatment."
"What if you take off your rank insignia?"
Zenos lightly covered the rank insignia on his uniform.
"I should be the one receiving the treatment."
He removed the hand that had been covering it.
"I suppose I'll have to wear it for the rest of my life."
"But what business brings you here? I never invited you."
"I told you. I came to see if my new adjutant was doing well. There's no deeper meaning."
"Did you come to monitor me?"
"If you want to hear it that way, then hear it that way. Is that your pet demonic beast? Cute. Can I pet it?"
"It'll bite if you touch it."
"Even cuter. So does that mean I can bite too?"
"I'd appreciate it if you'd shut up and leave."
"Hahaha! That was a pretty good comeback."
Is he a madman?
Probably so.
Bang!
"My lord! I found traces of the one who put poison in your teacup..."
Brans came in holding some shoes.
Looking closely, Zenos was barefoot.
'He is a madman after all.'
It seemed he had taken off his shoes somewhere in the villa to avoid being detected by me.
How seriously can someone take such a pointless endeavor.
"Who is this?"
"This fellow's superior. Kneel, you servant."
"I've knelt. Here are the shoes too..."
"Brans."
"Yes."
"That fellow put poison in my teacup. Fight and defeat him immediately."
An earthquake occurred in Brans's pupils.
He seemed to be pondering whose orders to follow.
"You dare judge my words?"
"N-no, my lord! This fellow! So you dared to make a fool of me!"
Brans charged at him.
"A mashed potato-like fellow has some amusing tricks."
Swish. Swish! Swish-swish-swish!
"M-my lord, he's too fast!!"
Zenos moved around the office splendidly as if playing tag with Brans.
"Oh...
This was an unexpected opportunity.
I intently observed Zenos's movements, striving to covet the Anivo.
"Ha! Since when on my head...!"
"Your body is quite decent. But you don't know how to use your well-trained muscles, and your head is too poor to make use of them. You're exactly at the level of a mercenary evolved from a back-alley punk."
"Oh... That's accurate."
Zenos had seen through Brans's essence in a short time. Brans's face turned red like a ripe persimmon from shame, but no one cared.
"The Gradas family's Anivo. I've seen it well. It's truly excellent."
From a third-party's perspective, I could glimpse the greatness of Anivo.
Honestly, it was so fast that it was difficult to even track the position or traces of his feet.
"I haven't seen it yet."
He must be referring to the Jervan family's swordsmanship.
"You will see it soon."
"I heard you fought the vice-captain?"
"It wasn't even a fight. She said she couldn't acknowledge me, so I decided to take off my rank insignia and fight her tomorrow."
"That should be a good spectacle. If it's the vice-captain of the Sixth Division, is it Diego? Then I shouldn't stay here, I should go to the vice-captain."
When I asked why.
"If I want to see a more entertaining spectacle, it's better to stick with Diego, right?"
"Do you want me to lose?"
"Yeah. I want to see you lose miserably at least once. The moniker Arbiter, I was a bit envious. If you give me the Arbiter's Sword, I'll give you my position as Division Commander."
"I refuse."
"Tch."
Well, his moniker is Cat's Step.
"He's so straightforward it doesn't even make me angry."
Zenos must have truly just come to see, as he threw open the office window wide and placed his foot on the windowsill.
"Oh right, by the way, why did you apply to the Royal Academy? Do you have a disciple?"
It probably wouldn't matter if I told him.
The one overseeing the Academy was one of the only five Masters in the kingdom.
The Fire Demon.
"I have a daughter."
"A daughter? I heard you were unmarried?"
Before I could even answer.
He nodded as if he roughly understood.
"So that's why you don't use the office provided by the Inquisition. Are you intentionally keeping women at a distance?"
"...Yes."
It wasn't a wrong statement.
It was true I was keeping my distance.
"I see. So that was it... I didn't know you'd become a father. So..."
It seemed like he was making some strange misunderstanding.
"......"
"I'm not married yet, but I do know that a father with a child is great. Good luck."
Watching Zenos leap out the window, Callius muttered.
"What a truly strange fellow."
* * *
The outskirts of Kaladi street.
Zenos, walking while chewing on a piece of bread as big as his face, muttered as he recalled his conversation with Callius.
"He was a strange fellow."
I'd heard all sorts of rumors—that he was a wastrel, a prodigal son, and so on—but he was surprisingly neat. His face was handsome as if drawn with a brush, and the energy and divine power he possessed were extraordinary.
But what was strange about him?
It was strange how he kept trying to hide things.
Rather than strange, it was suspicious.
"He seemed skilled at concealing his energy too. He might be stronger than I thought."
It seemed he usually trained to move around while regulating his divine power.
'I've never seen anyone hide their divine power except for the Masters.'
There was no way that fellow was a Master, but he was still a strange one.
A fellow so insidious, always hiding something.
But there was also something unexpected.
"I didn't know he had a daughter. If I had gotten married sooner, I might have had a daughter who's just about the right age too. Or a son."
Why couldn't I get married?
With a face like this, I'm not bad.
Zenos suddenly drew his sword in the middle of the street and looked at his own reflection, startling the citizens.
"Wh-what...!"
Seeing the startled woman, Zenos bowed his head and apologized.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"It's fine."
After apologizing to several people, he suddenly lifted his head. The responding woman's voice echoed in Zenos's ear.
Beautiful.
A voice like rolling jade beads.
Zenos couldn't hold back.
"I want to have a son."
"What?"
Panic rose in the woman's eyes.
At that, Zenos stepped back with tears in his eyes.
"Excuse me."
Ah, rejected again.
Zenos ran again today with the pain of heartbreak in his chest.
"Orphin, what was that just now?"
"...A crazy bastard."