Chapter 41
“This is the Sinclair estate.”
The Sinclair estate, which I visited at Elaine Sinclair’s invitation.
I had some expectations, considering it belongs to one of the Six Great Houses of the Empire.
“It’s more ordinary than I thought.”
Despite being a renowned noble house in the Crescent Empire, the Sinclair estate felt rather unremarkable.
The mansion was large but not extraordinarily so. The interior and facilities were within predictable bounds.
To exaggerate a little, it was only slightly better than a villa I had built somewhere in the western part of the continent.
“It’s my first time inviting someone over to the house.”
Elaine muttered, avoiding eye contact as though embarrassed.
“Cynthia should’ve come with us…”
Earlier, Cynthia had disappeared somewhere with a serious expression, saying she couldn’t join us for dinner.
I considered following her but decided against it, having an idea why Cynthia acted that way.
Although we hadn’t known each other for long, I had a clear understanding of Cynthia’s personality.
Cynthia disliked being indebted to others.
No one particularly enjoys owing someone, but Cynthia’s aversion to it was notably strong.
Given that she hadn’t had an opportunity to shine during this competition, it must be weighing on her mind.
While she could justify it during the first and second tests, she hadn’t been able to do anything when confronted with the undead in the dungeon.
Elaine had a somewhat similar personality, but at least she had charged at the ghouls without hesitation.
“So, what’s on the menu today?”
“Well… I did ask them to prepare something more elaborate than what I usually eat, but I’m not entirely sure…”
“I—I’m fine with anything!”
As Elaine trailed off hesitantly, Emily interjected as though to console her.
One thing that had significantly changed after the competition was how much closer Emily and I had become.
Before, even while preparing for the competition together, there had been a certain distance between us.
While Elaine, Cynthia, and I would converse, Emily rarely joined in or initiated conversations.
Now, however, she would occasionally speak first without prompting, and she naturally joined in our conversations, as she was doing now.
I wasn’t sure why, but it made me feel oddly proud.
It felt like watching someone introverted, much like myself, slowly grow.
“I’m craving beef today. Hmm, surely the Sinclair family would serve that, right?”
“I-I’ll inform the kitchen right away! I’ll tell Maria to make sure beef is a must on the table…!”
Watching Elaine panic and flail, I couldn’t suppress my laughter.
Teasing Elaine was always so satisfying.
“But something still feels strange.”
Not that visiting Elaine’s house would make me dwell on it, but the thought kept surfacing lately.
Since the competition ended, quite a bit of time had passed.
Though it was only a matter of days, for me, it felt like an eternity.
Enough time to conclude the investigation into the undead that had appeared within the academy.
“How is everything so quiet?”
After showing off my green-flamed Death Knight to Addy, we had a serious discussion.
The appearance of undead, a phenomenon unseen on the continent for decades.
That, in itself, could happen, but the issue was that it occurred within the academy.
The undead appearing in the northern monster-infested regions or at some battlefront would’ve been a different matter.
But within the Crescent Empire’s academy? That was unprecedented.
Addy mentioned that it was the kind of event that could shake the entire world to its core.
And yet, reality wasn’t as tumultuous as one might expect.
I understood that the academy was deliberately keeping the incident under wraps.
If news of this got out, it would cause all sorts of commotion.
Even so, it was surprising how silent everything remained, even within the academy.
“Was Addy exaggerating? No, the undead are a significant matter…”
I didn’t know how far the investigation had progressed, but the complete lack of updates was strange.
Perhaps they simply weren’t sharing the details with the students.
“Ah, whatever.”
“Excuse me? What do you mean?”
“Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself. So, is it just the three of us dining tonight?”
“Yes, it seems so. It would’ve been nice for you to greet my father, but he said he wouldn’t be home today.”
“What about your brother? Professor Cassis?”
“Well… my eldest brother usually doesn’t have dinner at home.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
It was a little disappointing not to meet other members of the Sinclair family, but it couldn’t be helped.
I felt a bit guilty toward Elaine, but just being able to enter this house was a significant gain for me.
As long as I remembered everything well, I could visit the Sinclair family whenever I wanted in the future.
Following Elaine toward the dining hall, I made a mental note of every corner of the Sinclair estate.
Surely, this knowledge would come in handy someday.
“We’ve arrived. This is the dining hall… Oh.”
“Hm?”
“What’s wrong?”
As Elaine paused midway through opening the door, Emily and I naturally stopped as well.
And from beyond the door, an unexpected voice reached us.
“You’ve arrived.”
“F-Father?”
‘Oh?’
The low, deep voice that Elaine called her father belonged to none other than Royce Sinclair, the current head of the Sinclair Family.
“Father, why are you here… Didn’t you say you wouldn’t be returning today?”
“My schedule was canceled. I must welcome the guests of our family.”
“Oh.”
‘How very like him.’
Just hearing his voice, I could already imagine Royce Sinclair’s expression.
Royce Sinclair, head of the Sinclair Family, known as the greatest knightly house.
Elaine and Emily couldn’t possibly know, but I had a bit of a history with Royce Sinclair.
‘He probably doesn’t know that I’m the leader of the Black Shadow Corps.’
“Um… These are my classmates. This is Ryu Yeong, and this is Emily Franz.”
“Come in and have a seat.”
Seeing Royce Sinclair for the first time in a while, he looked just as I remembered.
His solid presence was apparent from his appearance alone.
Even his hairstyle hadn’t changed—short and military-like, with a large, sturdy build.
The only difference was that he was wearing casual clothes instead of his knight’s uniform, which emphasized his muscular frame, giving him an even more imposing aura.
‘This guy even feels the same at home.’
“Hello, I’m Ryu Yeong.”
“H-Hello! I’m Emily Franz!”
“Nice to meet you both. Please, have a seat.”
Royce casually accepted our greetings and guided us to our seats.
The light and cheerful atmosphere from earlier was completely transformed with Royce’s arrival.
Not just for me and Emily, but even for Elaine, who had invited us, this was an unexpected situation.
I glanced at Elaine and saw that she was flustered and unsure of what to do.
It seemed Royce had shown up entirely on his own whim, without telling Elaine.
‘But there’s no way this man would cancel his plans just because there were guests.’
The Royce Sinclair I knew was someone who strictly adhered to principles.
For him to cancel a scheduled plan, there must have been a significant reason.
“So, you’re Ryu, the top entrant everyone’s talking about.”
“…That’s right.”
As expected, Royce didn’t recognize me at all.
Well, during my encounters with him as the leader of the Black Shadow Corps, I always wore a mask and used a disguised voice.
“I hear you performed remarkably during the recent competition.”
“Well… everyone did their part. Especially Emily here—if she hadn’t solved the written exam questions, we wouldn’t have even made it to the dungeon.”
“Hoho.”
Even though I openly praised Emily, Royce’s gaze never left me.
As soon as the three of us sat down, Royce didn’t spare a glance at anyone else, focusing solely on me.
It was then I realized his true purpose.
This man had come here specifically because he was interested in me, canceling his plans to do so.
“So, where did you learn swordsmanship?”
“Uh… Here and there.”
“Here and there, you say.”
Royce stroked his chin, clearly dissatisfied with my answer.
My words weren’t a lie. I hadn’t learned swordsmanship from just one person.
In fact, most of what I knew was self-taught through real combat experiences. If anything, Royce himself could be considered one of my unintentional teachers.
‘If I count formal instruction, there’d be about three people.’
Three individuals had spent a considerable amount of time teaching me swordsmanship.
“You achieved results surpassing our Sinclair Swordsmanship with skills learned ‘here and there.’”
“Oh, it wasn’t just the swordsmanship. I’m a mage, after all.”
“…Haha.”
Royce’s eyebrows twitched slightly at my response, his eyes narrowing.
To him, my answer was likely unappealing.
He was someone deeply rooted in the belief that mages should stick to magic and knights to swordsmanship.
‘That’s why he once challenged me to a duel out of nowhere.’
“I’d like to see the level of swordsmanship a mage has achieved.”
“…”
Hearing the exact same words as before, I barely held back a laugh.
Back then, I could’ve laughed without consequence, but doing so now would create an awkward atmosphere.
After all, I was here as Elaine’s friend.
“F-Father! You can’t just suddenly—!”
“That sounds great! It’d be an honor to spar with none other than the Ironclad Knight, Royce Sinclair.”
“Uh…”
Elaine tried to stop Royce, flustered, but when I readily agreed, she looked at me in disbelief.
It was the first time I’d seen Elaine’s emotions show so clearly on her face.
Even when facing ghouls in the dungeon, she had looked calmer than this.
“Ryu? Ryu, are you sure?”
“Hahaha! How bold, very bold!”
Royce laughed heartily, his gaze never leaving me.
I, too, met his gaze without wavering.
‘This is a perfect chance to test the magic I’ve recently learned.’
Plus, I was curious to see how much better I could handle Sinclair’s swordsmanship compared to last time.
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