The Sword Master’s Son-in-Law

– The First Trial

The day after arriving at the Messiah Count’s estate.

It was early morning, before even breakfast was served.

At such an hour, I was summoned by the Messiah Count.

“I intend to give you your first trial.”

The reason for the Messiah Count’s summons.

It was about the trial he’d mentioned yesterday.

“A first trial, you say?”

Could there be a second, a third, too?

If so, where would it all end?

A chilling feeling washed over me, as if it would never cease.

Well, even so, it could be a good thing.

‘If the trials continue, I can survive until five years from now.’

And then the old man will return to the family and rescue me from the Messiah Count.

Perfect.

“Why do you ask…?”

“Nothing! So, what is the first trial?”

“The Messiah family is, at its core, a martial family.”

I know.

That’s how they produced Sword Saints.

“Therefore, a man who marries into the family… that is, a son-in-law, cannot be weak.”

That’s a valid point.

Just imagining some flowery-worded scholar marrying into the Sword Saint’s family makes my blood boil.

“Thus, the first trial. Participate in the Messiah family’s Hell Training Week, and show me your special abilities.”

“Understood.”

*

The Messiah family’s Hell Training Week.

Twice a year.

The Messiah Count’s family’s training included something called Hell Training Week.

A training exercise in which all three knight orders that guard the Messiah family participate.

A trial that challenges the limits of human endurance.

At the far end, only one man stood, serene.

“Easier than I thought?”

The man’s name was Arthas, and the first trial was in full swing.

*

Hell Training Week.

Frankly, the name alone made me a little nervous.

But it was… not so bad.

“…This is it?”

They call it hell training, but honestly, it felt like any other day to me.

After all those days of being honed by the old geezer, this was genuinely easy.

I was enjoying the leisure when Tosar, a Paladin of the Pure Order, spoke to me.

“Huk, y-you seem… alright?”

“Well, it’s not too strenuous.”

Tosar, on the other hand, was panting heavily, a stark contrast to my ease.

He seemed to be struggling terribly.

“Ah, right. I forgot. Y-you’re the Sword Saint’s… Uwaaak!”

Tosar suddenly vomited.

I couldn’t help but frown.

But then…

“Waaak!”

“Ugh!!”

“Eeeeck!!!”

“Keck!!!”

Starting with Tosar, everyone began to showcase the contents of their stomachs.

I couldn’t help but feel a little pathetic toward them.

“Why is training of this level called Hell Training?”

Tosar, having emptied his stomach, answered the question.

“T-this training was created by the Sword Saint to challenge the limits of humanity.”

“Hmm… that sounds like…”

Back when I was being forged by the old geezer,

I thought it was a little extreme, but they said it was normal, so I figured as much.

But it seems hell training was my everyday life.

“T-the Sword Saint created this training for Count Messiah, who’s watching over us.”

“Count Messiah… you say…”

I glanced sideways at Count Messiah.

Still those imposing muscles.

I wondered how much training it took to get to that point.

A memory suddenly surfaced.

‘I have a son who has no talent, but he’s rather persistent. So I trained him as if to kill him. And that’s when I learned the limits of humanity.’

The Sword Saint, who had come to know the limits of man.

Thus, any pretense was impossible.

‘So, Count Messiah was the first casualty of that hellish training, you say.’

Thinking of it, I felt a strange pity for Count Messiah.

To not know the limits of man back then, it meant I’d wrung that Count Messiah dry, pushed him beyond what was humanly possible.

‘So, Count Messiah’s muscles… they were the result of that hell.’

.

.

.

And so, after finishing the unexpectedly simple hell-training, there remained one final trial.

The training to follow was sparring.

A gauntlet of duels, nicknamed ‘Knight Killing.’

Sparring until only a single victor remained.

To be more precise, it would proceed in tournament fashion.

Of course, without any rest periods in between.

This was the Knight Killing training.

“So, if I calculate roughly…”

There are three knight orders present here.

Which is to say, around 60 people.

That meant I only had to fight six times.

‘Was fighting six times in a row really that difficult?’

I suddenly recalled the time I’d sparred against the old man thirty times consecutively.

‘Hahaha, I thought I was going to die back then.’

I truly thought I would die.

Not eating, not sleeping.

We fought for nearly two days straight.

The record was 30 wins, 0 losses.

Of course, the old man had 30 wins.

“Pleased to meet you. I am Charles of the Silver Wolf Knights.”

While reminiscing about the past, my first opponent came to find me.

And so, the Knight Killing began.

*

“Already the last opponent.”

As was to be expected, undefeated.

Count Messiah was watching me with what seemed like interest.

And the final match, the very last.

My opponent for the long-awaited final was…

“Huh?”

It was Asia, clearly exhausted.

But why was Asia even here?

“Why would the Asian Miss be here?”

“I, I am a k-knight too… Huu, training, can’t miss it!”

Still, she possessed considerable skill, somehow climbing to the finals. Asia, that is.

Well, he seemed to know the reason, to some extent.

‘The Captain and Vice-Captain aren’t participating in this training.’

So, there wasn’t a single member capable of matching Asia, a Sword Expert of intermediate rank.

‘But what am I supposed to do?’

This was difficult.

That his opponent would be Asia.

Asia was a knight with considerable tenacity.

‘I probably can’t subdue her easily…’

What if he injured her while trying to subdue her…?

He glanced sideways at Count Messiah.

‘Could the Count kill me…? No, that old geezer will surely try to kill me from the start.’

But to lose was a bit… problematic as well.

Then, wasn’t there only one option he could choose?

For that, first…!

“Asian Miss, how about a spar where we don’t use mana?”

Asia’s face twisted at his words.

“What…! Are you looking down on me?”

A spar sealing away mana.

It had the advantage of being safe, but it was far from being a proper duel.

That was why Asia was angry.

‘Well, I didn’t bring it up hoping for this in the first place, though.’

When making a proposal, one must make an outrageous statement before getting to the point.

“Then, let’s add one more condition to the terms of victory.”

“What do you mean?”

“The one whose wooden sword breaks loses… How about that?”

“…You only intend to break the wooden sword, then.”

“It’s better than sealing away mana, isn’t it?”

“I understand.”

Fortunately, she accepted this proposal.

Frankly, he would have been troubled if she hadn’t.

And so, the final match between him and Asia began.

Asia, leading her exhausted body, dashed towards him.

Powerful mana, for a Sword Expert, surrounded Asia’s wooden sword.

“Now that I know you’re only aiming for the wooden sword, there’s no chance for you to win!!!”

Expert intermediate-level mana.

That mana enveloped the wooden sword.

To break through and destroy this mana, Aura might be necessary.

“But Aura is a power that only Aura Knights, or those near to becoming Aura Knights, can briefly draw upon.

I had no intention of flaunting that power now.

Except, there was one exception.

Unique Mana.

Asia swung her sword at me.

“…! Why aren’t you surrounding yourself with Mana?!!!”

I timed my move as well, aiming for Asia’s sword.

The moment my sword and Asia’s sword met,

‘Now!’

I enveloped my wooden sword in Mana.

Simultaneously, a ‘crack’ resounded as fissures appeared on Asia’s sword and my own.

‘Fragments might fly towards Asia…!’

I raised the crumbling wooden sword upwards.

With that recoil, Asia’s wooden sword and mine shattered simultaneously, scattering into the air.

I offered Asia, who was standing there blankly, the same smile I always did.

“Surely, the one whose sword breaks is the loser… so in this case, it’s a draw, isn’t it?”

The sparring match with Asia went as I’d intended, thankfully.

Though Asia was a little furious, thinking she’d been played.

“…If you do something like this again, I won’t forgive you.”

It seemed Asia had no forgiveness when it came to swordsmanship.

Just as I thought I’d fulfilled the exam conditions,

“Impressive!”

Count Messiah began to applaud me.

“It seems Asia’s fiancé candidate is quite skilled. To manage a draw! with Asia, no less.”

“You flatter me, sir.”

I couldn’t afford to be insolent in front of Count Messiah, so I adopted a humble demeanor.

But…

“The result is a little disappointing. A draw, really…”

Count Messiah was feigning ignorance, even though he’d clearly noticed I’d engineered a draw.

I had no idea why he was bringing this up suddenly.

Disappointing result, he says.

‘I shouldn’t have failed the exam, right?’

“Which is why I’ve planned something rather amusing.”

“An amusing plan, sir?”

“Indeed. I understand your skill level… to a certain degree. Therefore, you should be given training befitting your abilities.”

Count Messiah gestured towards the Captain and Vice-Captain who were watching the training from the outer edge of the grounds.

“You will face both the Captain and the Vice-Captain.”

“…Understood.”

I had no choice but to accept, so I acquiesced.

“Ah, of course, you will be fighting them one after the other, alone.”

“Understood.”

Three Commanders, and three Vice-Commanders.

In other words, just like before, I would have to repeat the six spars exactly the same.

Of course, the difference this time was that the six I was about to face had reached a higher plane, brimming with stamina.

‘Well, it’s not exactly a difficult task.’

Especially compared to the thirty-odd continuous spars I’d had with the old codger.