The following afternoon.
I hurried to the meeting place to fulfill my promise to teach Iona the hero's secret techniques, the Brave Arts.
When I arrived, Iona was already waiting for me, even though it was early. As per my first impression, she seems to have a serious and methodical personality.
"Thank you for today in advance."
When she saw my face, her face turned a little red, probably because she remembered last night's affair. "Is your body okay? If it hurts, feel free to tell me. I'll do whatever I can to heal you."
"I'm grateful for your concern. However, it was healed last night, so I'm fine." I casted a healing spell yesterday, so exercise doesn't seem to be a problem.
Her response seemed a little emotionless, but if she was truly uncomfortable, she would have said something so I could heal it.
"I'd like to confirm something."
"Yes." "Can Iona use offensive magic?"
"No, I am a knight, so I have only learned simple support magic and healing magic."
"Then I'm going to ask you to learn a projectile technique, I have the perfect skill for you."
What I'm trying to get Iona to learn this time is the Brave Art secret technique "Flying Izuna."
This technique attacks with a vacuum wave of sword strikes and is effective against targets that are far away, especially those that are flying. It seems that this technique was not developed by someone of the hero bloodline but was used by eastern swordsmen known as "samurai'' who possessed a special sword called a "katana''.
The samurai who mastered this technique were called an "Izuna User" and were feared.
Since it is classified as a blade art, even Iona, who is not related to the hero, can learn it.
I briefly explain this and then move on to demonstrate. I moved to a position about five cedres (about ten meters) away from the straw dolls that I had prepared in advance and readied my wooden sword. "Watch carefully." "Yes." Iona watches my every move with bated breath. "Ha!"
With the shout, a vacuum wave was created and the target, the straw dolls, were cut in two.
"Well, it’s like this." "That's amazing! I can't believe you cut it with a wooden sword!""The advantage of this technique is that it can be used with any weapon, even a stick if you master it. But there are other advantages, can you guess them?"
"Yes, it increases the range. For those who use swords, the benefits are immeasurable." "Yep, you understand perfectly. As expected of Iona." For those who use swords, the benefits of expanding the range are immeasurable.
Iona seems to understand this very well.
If Iona learns "Flying Izuna'', I'm sure she will be able to master it. As I think about this, I praise her for her insight.
"I'm honored to receive your compliment."
Iona's cheeks turn slightly red at my compliment.
She doesn't seem wholly satisfied.
But I can't drag it on forever, so I continue talking.
"There are other things, but I think the most important is being able to attack flying enemies. If you can master this, the range of Iona's sword will be much wider." "Yes."
"First of all, I'd like you to learn how to throw slashes at short distances. I'll show you the form a few times, so for today, you'll do a 1000. Do it slowly, but without breaking the form. Understand?" "Yes. Thank you."
After I showed her the form several times, Iona swung the sword exactly as I had taught her, albeit slowly. It looks like it'll be fine for now. "There are some drinks in the bottle over there, so if you're thirsty, just drink whatever you like." "I got it."
"Sorry, I'm going to go out for a bit. I'll come back later."
"Where are you going?" "I'm heading to the royal castle due to work." "I'm sorry for bothering you while you were busy." Iona bows deeply. She's really polite.
"No need to apologize, this is what I want to do, after all."
"I appreciate you saying so."
After that exchange, I headed to a room in the castle to get the materials for tonight's partner. Along the way, I encountered a troublesome person.
The woman who appeared was Fassone, the wife of the first prince Ichabod, who was mentioned in my conversation with the king on the first day I returned home.
Though technically speaking, she is a widow now.
This person is beautiful, but she has a harsh personality, and doesn't like me. The fact that my mother was just a commoner is probably a big reason, but I feel like she's been particularly harsh on me. Other than the fact that my mother isn't from a noble family, there shouldn't be any particular reason why I would be shunned. I look at her while thinking such things.
There's one in it that has to do with Fassone's family, so I think that's why she dislikes me.
First, let's talk about her daughter, Kazuhaine, whom I have met several times in the past. She is not like her arrogant parents and is well-received by the public as a gentle princess with an excellent yet neat demeanor. When I actually met her, my impression was not that different.
When talking about Fassone's impression of me, it is no surprise she considers me a disgusting insect who takes advantage of cute girls. However, I don't think she knows that I and her daughter Kazuhaine are acquainted, so that can't be the reason.
Then why does Fassone consider me an eyesore?
The most important reason why Fassone is looking at me with displeasure.
That is.
The oldest of the princes' children, Neal BraveLord is her son.
Fassone thinks that I, the only remaining brother, is threatening his position as the next king. He must only be about ten years old, but he seems to have inherited the blood of my eldest brother, Ichabod, and is extremely talented.
On the other hand, the general public's opinion seems to be that he is an unlovable, hard-nosed bastard who behaves in an arrogant manner unbefitting his age, making it hard to believe that he is only 10 years old. I rarely hear good stories about his behavior. Probably because he was the long-awaited first prince, he grew up spoiled. There are other daughters besides Kazuhaine, but I haven't heard anything particularly bad about them. It seems that Ichabod really wanted a boy, so he had Fassone give birth to a baby every year, but all of them turned out girls.
Therefore, it is not hard to imagine that Neal, the only male child, was given special treatment. As evidence of this, their procreation stopped after getting a boy.
They must have been satisfied with the birth of the boy they wanted.
Judging by the fact that she doesn't have any children younger than Neal, Fassone's night life may have been quite absent even before she became a widow.
The reason why Fassone is always so irritated is probably due to sexual frustration.While I was thinking about such things, Fassone started approaching me as a social gesture.
"Thank you for your hard work last night." "No, I did what was natural for the sake of the country's prosperity." I replied the same to keep up the public appearance."To be able to tame Iona Cucorose, who is famous for hating men, is an impressive feat as a breeding horse, let me praise you." It's not something to hide, but apparently, it's already known that I have a good relationship with Iona. "I don't remember taming her. We both use swords, and when we crossed swords, we found that we had a rapport, that's all." Through swords, Iona and I deepened our understanding of each other. That's not a lie. But.
"You speak so eloquently don't you? Yet you must have devoured that fresh body of hers."
Fassone said bitterly with sarcasm.
She is a member of the noble family by birth, so this is probably something she would never be able to understand. "That's my duty." I replied without denying that Iona and I had slept together. Fassone snorts at my refusal to fall for such provocation.
I was not amused at all.
"You returned after years of debauchery and not showing your face. Do you think it's a good opportunity to take over the throne now that your annoying brothers are gone?" As has always been the case, this woman is openly hostile to all princes other than her husband. I was no exception even though I was the youngest sibling and had almost zero chance of inheriting the throne.
"I'm grateful to my elder brothers for supporting the country. I have never once been unsympathetic to them. Because of my elder brothers, I was able to act as I wanted.''
"In that case, wouldn’t it be fine if you just left and continued doing whatever you want like you have been doing up until now?" Whatever the reason, it seems like she doesn't like the fact that I'm back, and she makes sarcastic comments like this.
"That selfishness was only possible when my elder brothers were still alive. Now that my elder brothers are no longer with us, it is natural to fulfill my responsibilities as a member of the royal family, no matter how incompetent I am. Isn’t that the right thing?"
I was well aware that my level of strength would be limited, but even though I was foolish, I understood that this was no reason to abandon my responsibility.
"What pleasant words, however what is your true motive for returning? Isn’t it because you were aiming for the throne?" "I came back to help develop the Kingdom, I have no desire of becoming king." I speak my true feelings without lying. But it seems like she doesn't believe me.
"I would like you not to speak such obvious lies. Do you think this is a fantasy story to be born as a prince and never dream of the throne?"
For Fassone, who clings to the power of the throne, my words, which are nothing but an insult, can't help but sound like lies. "I'm interested in the fate of the Kingdom, but I'm not interested in the throne. There's no way an uneducated man like me could become king." Even though I knew she wouldn't be convinced no matter what I said, I had no choice but to answer. "That's right. If you think about it normally, there's no way you can become one. But isn't there a difference between being able to become one and trying to become one?"
One by one, she picks at everything I say. It's as if she has a disease that will kill her if she believes that I don't have the ambition to become king. "It may seem tedious, but I don't think I'll ever be able to do it." I replied, wondering if she would just let me go.
"I wonder? You’re born from the belly of such a vulgar woman. You never know what kind of ambition such lowly people have."
*Thump*
The moment I heard that line, I felt the blood in my whole-body flow backwards.
"Lady Fassone."
I lowered the tone of my voice.
"Oh, is there something?" However, it doesn't seem like she noticed it."For someone as noble and beautiful as you to use such frivolous words only degrades your own dignity."
I reprimanded her while trying to be polite.
"Oh, you seem to be quite good at seducing women did you use such honey dipped words last night."
But she doesn't seem to care.
So I will continue. "Also..." "Oh, what else?" "It's true that I'm an incompetent idiot prince. So, I can just laugh and listen to the insults thrown my way."
I say with a smile on my face.
"However, I will never forgive you for insulting my mother, who gave birth to me at the cost of her own life."
Contrary to my previous expression, this time I glared directly at her. "...!?" She notices the murderous intent in my eyes, and flinches.
"Well, anyway! All you have to do is the work that is given to you! Don’t have unreasonable ambitions! Farewell!"
Perhaps she was put off by my murderous intent, so she said what she wanted to say and quickly disappeared.
Chapter length 5212 characters.
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