Tale Of A Knight

"I am sorry for being impolite, young man. It is just…I never thought that man would ever take an apprentice."

Mr. Greyhound continued.

"You see, a long time ago, your teacher saved my life"

Mr. Greyhound revealed the wounds hidden underneath his kimono. His upper body was covered in unmistakable burn marks.

The burn scars covered his chest, traveling up to his neck and entire right arm. Wounds from dragon fire.

"During one of the many battles I ended up in, our forces were ambushed by seven dragons under the control of a warlock. None of our attacks were strong enough to pierce their hides. Against dragons, our swords meant nothing."

"When they blasted us with their infernal flames, I was lucky enough to survive with just some burns. The others were reduced to ashes."

"Just when I thought everything was done for, Sword Lord stepped in. I screamed at him, "Run, you fool!" but he paid me no heed. He simply walked forward with confidence exceeding any hero I have ever seen. With a smile on his face, he brandished his sword, a beautiful black blade, and pointed it at the dragons. "You there, you, overgrown lizards! You are my prey for today!" he declared."

"It was an unbelievable battle. I could only watch in silence as he took on seven dragons alone. If someone told me back then that he was a G.o.d in human form, I would have believed it."

"By the end of the battle, dragons were no more. He left them alive, but when he was done with them, they were mere overgrown snakes. Their horns, teeth, legs, and wings were all severed, cut into pieces, lying nearby on the ground as the beasts were bleeding to death."

"One of them was even missing a jaw. Sword Lord did not hold back on them."

"After witnessing such a display of power before me, I realized just how weak and pathetic I was. I was a mere Holy Knight, aspiring to be a hero, but after witnessing the feats of Sword Lord, a Legendary Hero, I knew that I will never reach his level."

"I chose to retire and start my own school of swordsmanship. Even if I did not possess the talent to become someone great, perhaps one of my disciples could one day reach that level."

"So, basically, you just gave up, huh. That explains a lot"

Bakit uttered without holding back.

"How rude! Don"t speak to my father that way!" Armina"s voice was adamant, but her expression was that of a woman whose confidence was completely shattered into countless pieces by Bakit"s skills.

"I refuse to accept this! Next time, next time, I will surely beat you!"

"Oh, wanna fight again?" Bakit"s left eye was glaring at her with a piercing gaze.

Mr. Greyhound felt cold sweat dripping down his neck.

Just remembering Bakit"s teacher was enough to bring back those horrifying memories.

If the student is anything like his master, then if he goes all out it will be a ma.s.sacre.

Raul Greyhound knew that too well.

Watching Zenjuro cutting dragons apart all the while laughing like an insane clown on a murder parade was not exactly the most comforting memory.

Worst part? As far as Raul could tell, Zenjuro was enjoying himself to the fullest. He was having a blast.

Perhaps it was because he saw how powerful Zenjuro was or because he was traumatized by the sight of that ma.s.sacre. Either way, since that day, Raul could not stomach the idea of going to the frontlines again.

Not with the Sword Lord still being active.

Strangely enough, Sword Lord skills and ferocity in battle have earned him the fear and awe of not only his enemies, but humanity as well.

If anything, when humans see him in action, the first thing they think is "Glad he is on our side".

Sword Lords were in sense self-proclaimed protectors of human kingdom, but they did it in most extreme sense possible.

Wreaking Sword Lord"s wrath is equivalent to a death sentence.

And since this young man was going to become the future Sword Lord, making him angry was a big no-no.

"You fool!" Mr. Greyhound bonked his daughter"s head with a hand chop.

"I am very sorry about my daughter, Lord Bakit"

"Uhm, ok" Bakit was not sure why this old veteran started to call him lord, but he could help but enjoy the feeling of importance.

Mr. Greyhound then asked his daughter to wait outside the room; he wanted to speak to Bakit without further interruptions or loud outbursts.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Mr. Greyhound began.

"So what exactly is the esteemed disciple of the Sword Lord seeking within this city?"

"A place to stay for starters. I should be able to find an inn somewhere. And then I am gonna join the adventurer"s guild."

"Is that so? I am afraid I have no experience with adventurer"s guild, I have been a knight for the most of my life, which is somewhat similar, but also profoundly different…."

Coughing a little, Mr. Greyhound continued.

"I might not be able to help much with the adventuring, but I might be able to do something about the former. A place for you to stay in"

"How much do you charge?" Bakit immediately asked.

"No-no-no. There is no need for that. Your master had saved my life; although this does not even begin to repay my debt to him, I would like to help out as much as I can. Though, during the time that you stay here, I would like to ask you a favor"

"Go on"

"My dojo is frequently challenged by n.o.bles who want to destroy it. If possible, when they come, could you please get rid of them?"

"Got it. Where should I bury the bodies?"

"Not in that kind of sense! Goodness! You truly are Sword Lord"s pupil!"

Mr. Greyhound could not help but feel a slight tinge of fear.

He now realized that if he phrased his words wrongly, Bakit might misinterpret them and take most extreme measures.

"I meant that if they try to challenge or destroy the dojo, I would like you to face and stop them. Just defeating them is enough. Whatever you do, do not kill them"

"Got it. No killing. Can I chop off their limbs?" Bakit"s nonchalant way of talking about it made Mr. Greyhound even more disturbed.

"Only if necessary" Raul Greyhound truly hoped he would not regret his words.

"Understood"

As such, from today on, during the time he stayed inside the dojo, Bakit would be the dojo"s unofficial representative.

Since he was clearly stronger than Armina, Mr. Greyhound was sure that the dojo would be safe during his stay there. What he worried about was if Bakit would hold back instead of going all out.

"Also…My daughter is a little hopeless in these regards, but please take care of her"

"Not sure what you mean, but ok"

Armina ended up overhearing their words while leaning on the wall with her ear. Her entire face flushed red from the implication of her words.

"Is father saying he approves that man as my groom?! Father, what are you thinking?"

* * *

After Bakit went to sleep in the room Mr. Greyhound provided, Armina found her father gazing at the stars.

"Father, I refuse to be beaten by him. I will challenge him every day he is here if I have to, but I will beat him"

"Do your best. I asked him to stay her partially for your sake"

"For my sake?" Armina was a little confused.

"Think about it, my child. He is the disciple of the Sword Lord, the Legendary Hero. He may be young, but that young man is already on the level of a hero, a level I could not reach during my time as a Holy Knight."

He continued.

"I taught you as much as I could, but there is a limit on how far you can go with your skills in this dojo. It is a great opportunity. Since he is the future Sword Lord, training with him might be just what you need to become stronger"

Mr. Greyhound then chuckled a little.

"Just so you know, I wouldn"t mind having that lad as a son-in-law."

"Are you insane?! You just met him, father!"

"Sword Lord would never pick a man with a foul character as his disciple"

"How do you know he wasn"t lying?"

"My amulet did not react. He was telling the truth"

Mr. Greyhound always wore an amulet on his neck that would grow cold as ice whenever someone told a lie in front of him.

Because of the amulet, Mr. Greyhound was a rather good judge of people"s character.

"Besides, his fighting style is definitely similar to that of Sword Lord"s. Granted, his version is less polished and incomplete, but after seeing him fight, I could clearly recognize Sword Lord"s technique"

"Then he truly is who he says he is?"

"Indeed. Honestly, I was rather surprised to see you lose to someone, so many times, in fact."

Armina"s face made a rather bitter expression.

"Today"s defeat does not count! Tomorrow! Yes, I will definitely beat him tomorrow!"

With a pouting expression, Armina marched away to her room.

Chuckling to himself, Raul Greyhound lit his pipe.

"Sword Lord…the peak that I could never hope to achieve…" Raul reached for the moon and sighed.

If he had been just thirty years younger, then perhaps he would have been jealous of that child, who had the fortune of being Sword Lord"s eventual successor.