The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

Chapter 139

"The world has truly advanced a lot," remarked the Swordmaster as he looked at the airship while we waited to depart.

"When I was young, I never even imagined that humans would be flying through the sky," he added, clearly impressed.

In the Swordmaster’s youth, wasn't the clashing of swords more common than gunfire? Decades ago, swordsmen who could unleash sword energy had a clear advantage. While guns and cannons existed back then, firearms with cases were still an emerging concept, and mass production hadn’t quite taken hold. This kept ammunition prices high, so most armies preferred single-shot weapons. This was why firearms often had “magazine cut-off devices,” which might seem cumbersome today.

Things have changed with modern warfare, where planes fly in the sky, steam-powered tanks and machine guns are employed. Fortunately, the northern warlords can’t afford to maintain such advanced weaponry.

"Even so, your great swordsmanship hasn’t lost its shine, Swordmaster," I said, hoping to offer some flattery.

"..."

The Swordmaster turned to the voice beside him. Unsurprisingly, it was Jaiden.

Jaiden had been trying to catch my eye, eager for an introduction to the Swordmaster, but I was avoiding talking to him, and Alice was simmering with frustration.

It was probably because I had called Jaiden “older brother” before I had referred to her as “sister.” I felt like calling her out on such a trivial reaction, but I knew that would only lead to another unpredictable outburst, so I kept my mouth shut. Instead, I left Jaiden to bear the brunt of her frustration.

"I am Jaiden Fangryphon, leader of the Gryphon Knights," Jaiden introduced himself.

"Ah, so you're a prince as well," the Swordmaster noted with a brief glance at me.

"By chance, I ended up taking both of your sisters as my disciples."

Jaiden’s mouth dropped open a little at that. His gaze was uncomfortably intense, so I averted my eyes.

"R-Really?" he stammered, a glimmer of hope crossing his face. After all, the Swordmaster had accepted two imperial children as disciples, so Jaiden thought he might be welcomed as well.

“Seeing such a grown-up older brother, it seems that skill runs in your family,” the Swordmaster mused, then glanced at Alice and me, his gaze shifting between us.

Having observed me during training earlier, he must have sensed something. He hadn’t yet seen Jaiden in action, but if he figured out my moves were a “deception,” then he’d surely be curious about Jaiden’s abilities as well.

For the Swordmaster, this was a hint to solve a puzzle. His approach to unraveling things was very... Swordmaster-like.

"Hmm."

After a moment’s thought, the Swordmaster murmured with a slight smile, "A knight captain, huh?"

His lips curved into a smirk as he added, "I’d like to test the swordsmanship of the Imperial Knights someday."

An imaginary exclamation mark seemed to appear over Jaiden's head, like in a game.@@@@

"Any time, I would be honored to welcome you!" Jaiden replied eagerly.

Hmm...

Watching the two of them, I thought, "Once I get all the information I need, I'll have to turn back time." If those two end up teaming up, calling Jaiden “older brother” would be the least of my worries.

---

The Swordmaster didn’t respond, either because he had no rebuttal or he knew arguing would only prolong her teasing.

"Where am I staying?" he asked me instead.

"...In the royal palace," I replied, watching his expression darken. I quickly added, "It’s temporary. We’ll arrange a place for you outside the palace soon."

"Oh, surely there’s no better place for you, Master! After all, you were a great hero in the last war—"

The Swordmaster's hand moved swiftly, but Jennifer sidestepped it with ease.

"So much for quietly staying here," he sighed, glancing at his hand before releasing a deep breath.

...Should I apologize?

Honestly, this situation was mostly Jaiden's fault. If he hadn’t gotten so excited about alerting the capital, the Swordmaster wouldn’t be this irritated.

"Fine, then," the Swordmaster said suddenly in a calm voice. "Since I’ll be staying near my disciples, I’ll do my best to teach you all I can."

His tone and expression were far more serene than when he was frowning earlier—

—Yet somehow, he looked more furious than ever. Was it just my imagination?

Sensing something ominous beside me, Jennifer let out a quiet whistle.

"You're all in for it."

"..."

"In this state, Master is ‘serious.’ Sylvia, you should be grateful. This could be an explosive opportunity to improve your swordsmanship."

...And it’ll probably leave me feeling like I was hit by an explosion.

"Oh, in that case, I just remembered, I need to go back to my estate—"

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

Even I, who wasn’t attuned to sword energy, felt something, so Leo, who had trained in swordsmanship, must have felt an intense threat to his life.

But of course, the Swordmaster had no intention of letting Leo go.

"Do you really think it makes sense for one student to skip out while the others are training? Weren’t you planning to spend the rest of the break in a cabin, honing your skills?"

The Swordmaster looked at Alice and me, then smiled kindly.

"The royal palace should have one more room, shouldn’t it?"

"..."

Well, it seemed he was genuinely serious.