Sir Hero, It’s Time to Train!

“Ah, today, I can finally take a proper bath, right? It would be nice if there was a large bathhouse!”

Aira pondered, frowning as she assessed her own condition while being led to her lodging by a soldier.

Since leaving the mansion of Viscount Derin, she hadn’t had a proper wash, which left her feeling somewhat unclean.

However, that was not to say she was dirty; she had a mana tool that kept her body clean and used it regularly.

Yet, this was only a means to maintain cleanliness and could not compare to soaking in hot water to relieve physical and mental fatigue.

Additionally, her clothes were in a terrible state, covered in dust.

It was undeniable that her appearance might lead to misunderstandings with the knight Rick and the soldiers.

“I want to live!”

Aira mumbled wishfully, her humble desire to bathe contrasting with Caedwin’s strong survival instinct.

Caedwin advanced unsteadily, with eyes like those of a half-dead fish. The fact that he managed to lead both the horse and the carriage in such a state was impressive.

“I want to go home, elder brother Liber!”

Sonya murmured in a dying voice, burying her face in Liber’s back as she was carried on his shoulders, apparently fed up with the carriage.

Liber gave her a wry smile in response to her pitiful state.

“Well, there’s no need to worry since Paltima is quite a big city. Just hang in there a little longer, Sonya.”

“Yes…!”

Sonya replied, trying to lift her spirits with a nod, although her once small, cute face was now overcome with exhaustion.

Christian, who had been watching their group from behind, found himself without anything to say and simply gazed around the surroundings.

‘There are more people residing in this city than I thought. But they all seem too robust to be mere residents.’

Among the ordinary people, there were many imposing figures with scars that were hard to ignore. They carried weapons that ordinary people would never wield.

‘Mercenaries, perhaps?’

The city of Paltima, a gateway city connecting the Rangar region to the main land of the Rondel Kingdom, attracted many trading companies.

Consequently, it was also frequented by mercenaries employed by these companies or those seeking work.

Due to frequent monster subjugations, the Rangar region always had work available, and the local lords quickly filled their ranks, continually drawing in mercenaries.

Christian was observing these mercenaries with interest when Aira, noticing his curiosity, asked, “What are you looking at?”

“Oh, just seems like a bustling city.”

“Really? Flamme is quieter compared to here.”

In the Rangar region, being quiet was synonymous with being a good place to live.

Flamme, with its well-trained soldiers and knights, could survive on its own without hiring outside mercenaries.

Hence, external visitors in Flamme were limited to trading companies that made periodic visits or mercenaries brought in for large-scale subjugations.

In Paltima, mercenaries were primarily hired by frontline Viscount Cotra and neighboring lords, with large-scale subjugation seasons seeing the joint hiring of mercenaries by four families: Worden, Cotra, Derin, and Humbleton.

“Why? Don’t you like it?”

“No, it actually feels more lively and agreeable.”

Christian and Aira found the lively atmosphere invigorating, contrasting the more subdued population in Flamme and Paltima.

‘Mercenaries…’

Watching these mercenaries reminded Christian of someone.

The self-proclaimed King of Mercenaries, Nemea Robran.

‘While I’m here, I might as well look around.’

If a city like Paltima, which had considerable size, was frequented by mercenaries, it likely hosted a mercenary guild managing these individuals and connecting them with jobs.

Mercenaries joined guilds not just to avoid having to seek jobs on their own.

By law, to operate as a mercenary in the kingdom, one had to register with a guild to confirm their identity.

This system was in place to prevent mercenaries from engaging in or being used for illegal activities.

In return for verifying and managing the identities of mercenaries, guilds took a portion of the commission fees.

Of course, some mercenaries received jobs secretly to avoid sharing earnings or performing illicit tasks, but affiliation with a guild protected them from threats encountered during assignments.

Hence, most mercenaries would at least nominally belong to a guild, and some information about them would be available.

‘Though not detailed.’

Mercenaries were often wanderers whose origins remained unknown. Many erased or hid their pasts.

Therefore, the odds that Nemea Robran was the same are likely.

The only sure thing was his apparent deep affinity with the mercenary profession and a strong chance he was affiliated with a guild.

‘Alright. It’s not difficult, and it’s worth checking out.’

If he could find him, great, but it wouldn’t be a huge loss if he couldn’t. Chances are, wherever he was, he was doing just fine.

Of course, if they did manage to meet…

‘I’d probably have to help him at least once.’

In his previous life, Christian had appropriated the Ether Weapon entrusted to him, leaving him with a debt of conscience.

*

The lodging they settled in was spacious and clean. The usual patrons were affluent merchants, which meant raucous mercenaries were nowhere in sight.

Though the intention was to assign individual rooms, Sonya’s anxiety meant she shared a room with Aira instead.

However, this arrangement led to the men sharing a room, to which Caedwin objected strenuously, quite naturally.

For the prospect of being tortured with late-night push-ups or other exercises was all too certain.

Hating the thought of feeling like he was training just before bed, Caedwin resisted strongly, but Christian rebutted his protest.

Having no more grounds to argue with Christian’s decision, Caedwin knew better than to risk crossing him, uncertain of what might await him the following day.

Such was the plight of the oppressed.

Once room assignments concluded and Christian, dressed neatly, led the contingent down to the first-floor dining area for a meal, the group’s off-kilter state was palpable.

Caedwin and Sonya, seemingly lacking appetite, just stared at their plates, barely touching their food.

“Huh? This is delicious, aren’t you guys hungry?”

“Ugh, my stomach feels….”

Only Liber, who was nibbling on vegetables, offered a strained smile in return.

The sight of Christian and Aira devouring their meals almost seemed odd in this context.

Once the meal concluded and tea was served, Christian suggested,

“Shall we take a proper break today? Everyone seems to need some downtime.”

“Rest?!”

Caedwin exclaimed in surprise. Despite Sonya’s indifferent dead-eyes look, Caedwin found the suggestion more than welcome news.

“So, does that mean you’ll remove this instrument of torture?”

“I’ll deactivate it for you. But taking it off is out of the question.”

“….”

Desperate to remove the damnable ring, Caedwin felt disappointed in its permanence. Yet, having a day guaranteed for rest lifted his spirits a bit.

‘Simple-minded. How could someone get that happy?’

Christian clicked his tongue softly as he looked at Caedwin, before shifting his gaze to Aira, who stared absent-mindedly at her teacup.

“What? Don’t like resting?”

“Resting for just one day means muscles will loosen up, right? I’ll just do some personal training instead.”

That’s a wonderful mindset.

It seemed she was getting closer to matching her previous life’s master’s level, with even her brain appearing to be turning to muscle.

Quietly observing Christian’s amusement, Liber sipped his tea and said,

“I’m fine too. Though I can’t manage a physical workout like Aira, I’ll just continue training my mana sensitivity in my room.”

This was also a meritorious response for a student.

For Liber, who was not yet close to Aira’s level, it was smarter to replenish his depleted mana through sensitivity training rather than through physical exertion.

Christian, pleased, glanced sideways at Caedwin.

“…”

“…”

“What? W-what? Why are you looking at me like that? I’m taking a break today, no, sleeping. Consider me dead till morning. Don’t wake me up.”

“Well, not all students can be diligent. There’s always space for slackers.”

“Ugh…!”

Christian’s pitying gaze left Caedwin feeling somewhat perturbed.

“Still, it’s not good to focus solely on physical exercises, Aira. Make sure to practice your mana sensitivity training too!”

Christian advised.

“I know, okay?!”

Aira replied, pouting her lips.

However, it was evident she recently focused more on building her body, which was concerning.

Mana sensitivity was not simply about rapidly gathering mana; it was tied to the size of one’s mana reservoir.

The mana reservoir grown through sensitivity training served as the first vessel to store mana. Training the body was necessary to endure the high-purity mana extracted from it.

Thus, these two aspects had to be balanced without leaning overly toward one side.

While it may have seemed she focused only on physical training, Christian never allowed such imbalance.

Indeed, due to Aira’s initial focus on mana sensitivity, she concentrated on physical training to achieve equilibrium.

‘But it’s different now.’

At this point where they achieved some balance, tilting toward either aspect was inadvisable.

“Make sure you also don’t skip mana sensitivity training. I’ll check after I return.”

“I said I know. Wait, return from where?”

Stuffing a piece of fruit into his mouth as dessert, Christian got up from his seat, prompting Aira’s curiosity.

Christian replied, “Going for a walk. I need some leisure time too.”

It seemed he truly intended to savor his downtime properly.