New Allies

“Right… he might not know.”

It seemed that Theodore had been resting on his laurels, believing in his genius. But nothing was a given.

Furthermore, Theodore was still young. Sian reflected on how he had only seen Theodore as the ‘genius protagonist’ of the novel, and not a child.

“So, this is…”

“Ah… I see.”

Theodore nodded at Sian’s explanation. If he understood this easily, it didn’t seem like it would be difficult.

But there was no way that pure Theodore would have any other hidden thoughts. Sian, doing his best to brush it off, continued the lesson.

“Let’s stop here for today.”

“Yes, Teacher.”

“And tomorrow…”

Of course, Theodore wasn’t only learning to read and write. He was especially enthusiastic about swordsmanship and was training almost every day.

Sian had left Leon alone for a while so he could eat well and rest, but he figured it was time to start Leon’s training as well.

In fact, it might be better for Leon to become a s*ave gladiator to become strong like in the original work.

Even if he was treated like a beast there, below human level, the experience of fighting for his life against various magical beasts and strong gladiators would give Leon considerable strength in the future.

Besides, as a beastkin, Leon’s way of fighting was different from ordinary swordsmen.

Beastkin wielded their nails, which were harder than steel, like weapons.

Of course, that didn’t mean they didn’t use weapons at all, but they used unique weapons that could take advantage of their speed and their powerful strength.

Sian couldn’t help Leon much in combat because he had only mentioned it in the novel and hadn’t seen it himself.

He could teach him how to fight without a sword, or other combat techniques, thanks to his knowledge of the dragon… but he couldn’t make him as strong as Leon in the original work.

“Teacher?”

“Hmm?”

“Is he going to train with me in swordsmanship starting tomorrow?”

“Hmm… I’m thinking about it.”

Theodore was so quick-witted that he understood Sian’s feelings just by him staring at Leon and trailing off.

But his face was so expressionless that it was impossible to tell whether he liked or disliked training swordsmanship with Leon.

Sian knew perfectly well that the relationship between Theodore and Leon was bad.

He could hear them arguing even when he was preparing for the lesson in the reception room just now.

Their relationship seemed to be worse than Sian thought.

Sian guessed it was because they had met much earlier than in the original work.

He thought their relationship would surely get better over time, just like in the original, but there was no sign of that yet.

He was going to leave them alone until they got along on their own, but was that not the right thing to do? Sian was in deep thought.

“I think it would be fine for me to train with them from tomorrow.”

“What?”

At Theodore’s unexpected words, Sian quickly turned his head. Theodore, holding the thick textbook in his arms, smiled.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Just a moment ago, Sian had been worried because of Theodore and Leon’s bad relationship, but was that just a misunderstanding? Sian was confused.

“I’ll help Leon well.”

“You…?”

“Yes. Because I received a bit more teaching.”

“……!”

Sian stared at Theodore with eyes full of emotion. Theodore looked back at Sian with a bright smile on his angelic face.

‘Yes, there’s no way our good Theodore would really dislike Leon.’

It was probably because he had never made friends with people his age before, so he was shy.

Now that Theodore had offered to help Leon first, he wouldn’t have to worry about their relationship in the future.

“Then, let’s have Leon train in swordsmanship from tomorrow as well.”

“Yes, Teacher.”

“However, Teacher may be busy tomorrow, so can you take good care of Leon, Theo?”

“I will.”

Sian smiled and stroked Theodore’s head. He felt a little embarrassed that he hadn’t trusted such a lovely child.

“Alright, Teacher will only believe in you, Theo.”

“Yes!”

Sian didn’t know what kind of expression Theodore was making as he kept stroking his head as he answered cheerfully.

More than that, Sian was organizing in his head what he had to do tomorrow.

“Yes? You want me to find Ryuisa?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… Why does it have to be such a difficult thing…”

Carley was taken aback because Sian had given him a difficult task again, following the Dane Merchant Association. Sian asked carefully.

“Is it too difficult?”

“Well.”

Carley was deep in thought with a serious face. It was completely unexpected that Sian would need him.

Ryuisa. He was a notorious outcast in the Dark Elf village. He was living a life of wandering after leaving the closed Dark Elf village.

Of course, he didn’t just stay outside, but returned to the village occasionally, but at first, there was a high voice in the village that Ryuisa should be driven out for associating with humans and staying outside.

But Sian, not Drake, ruled the Dark Elves, making it impossible to say such things.

Perhaps that was why Ryuisa, although of a free-spirited nature, listened to Sian’s words well. But because he lived as he pleased, it was impossible to know if he would be reached on time.

“I will try to contact him. But I don’t know if he will answer. More than that… if he’s still alive…”

“Yes, let me know if you can contact him.”

“Yes.”

Carley openly clicked his tongue. In fact, Carley was also disapproving of wanderers like Ryuisa. He was a conservative person who had never left the village in his entire life. But on the other hand, he was very rational, and he knew that the wanderer Ryuisa was a necessary presence in the village.

“What do you plan to order Ryuisa to do this time?”

“It’s not an order, but I’m going to ask him to train Leon if he’s willing.”

“Ah, the little beastkin kid?”

“Yes.”

“Then Ryuisa would be the right person.”

“That’s right.”

Cold Carley agreed, regardless of the private feelings he had for Ryuisa. And Sian also nodded.

Ryuisa left the village as soon as he came of age, wanting to experience the wide world directly.

He built up numerous experiences by associating with other races. Among them, he might have had experience fighting beastkin.

It was difficult to bring a beastkin as Leon’s teacher, but Ryuisa could teach Leon as well as any other beastkin.

“By the way, are you sure it’s okay to leave the little kids alone now?”

“Yes, it’ll be fine. I’ve put Tia with them.”

Tia was a familiar who followed Sian. Besides, the training hall wasn’t far from the mansion. Tia was watching, so she would tell Sian right away if something happened. He wouldn’t make the same mistake as before.

“Well… It’s not just that, though.”

“Hmm?”

“Nothing.”

“……?”

Carley, who was good at reading the situation, had already noticed that the relationship between Theodore and Leon was the worst.

Unlike Sian, whose head was full of flowers, he easily predicted that something would happen if he left the two alone.

But he didn’t feel the need to tell Sian. It had nothing to do with him. Carley didn’t like either of them.

“By the way, the effect of the medicinal herbs seems to have improved even more than before.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, an experiment on the humans in the village…”

“Hahaha…”

Sadly, the residents of the village of Ador had been the subjects of Carley’s experiments for a long time.

The magical energy had been somewhat purified after Theodore started living in the mountains, and the herbs that Carley cherished were more effective than before.

Carley didn’t know that it was because of Theodore, and firmly believed that it was all because his experiment had been successful.

Of course, that wasn’t entirely wrong, but Theodore’s role was probably bigger. Anyway, Carley, the herb devotee, began feeding the herbs to the humans he hated, to increase their effectiveness.

He didn’t want to make the villagers, who knew nothing, the subjects of his experiments, but Sian didn’t stop him because they had to take the herbs steadily to live in the mountains.

“Just you wait and see. I’ll make the flower trees bloom here soon.”

“Yes, well… do your best.”

“Yes!”

Sian stared at Carley, who shouted enthusiastically, with a complicated look. Carley was already full of dreams, but Sian was still skeptical.

It would be difficult to completely eliminate the magical energy at the top of the mountain where he was, let alone at the foot of the mountain. Making flowers bloom here wasn’t going to be that easy.

Of course, it might be different if Theodore, the protagonist, stayed here for a few more years… but he probably wouldn’t stay here for that long. Sian gave a bitter smile.

“Ah, speaking of which, what about the lord’s movements?”

After taking away the residents of Ador village and bringing the conscripted soldiers, Sian had expected the lord to send people again, but it was surprisingly quiet.

It seemed that he couldn’t pay any more attention to this side because of the constant territorial wars.

“I don’t think they’ll be acting for a while.

Besides, rumors are circulating about the soldiers going missing, so they’re more reluctant to investigate here.”

“That’s a relief.”

It was unfortunate that his reputation as an evil dragon had gotten worse, but it was fortunate that the rumors kept the soldiers away. He wished they would be forgotten from people’s memories and no one would come.

“I’ll keep an eye on the lord just in case.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Not at all. It’s for the peace of the mountain.”

Sian was relieved when Carley said that. The Dark Elves, who at first didn’t like humans living in the mountains, had changed their perceptions a lot these days, including Carley. It was because they had surprisingly positive effects.