MTLNOVEL Ch. 3
Chapter 3. Dammit, to think I died there (4)
“Ahem…. In any case, I was surprised.”
“Look at him changing the subject.”
“I had no idea the Young Master was hiding such skill.”
“Excuse me. Are you listening to me?”
“I will not be careless from now on.”
“Huh?”
“Now, let us begin again.”
And Brian retook his stance.
As if what had just happened had never occurred.
Seeing Brian, Patrick jeered.
“His mentality is at least 7-star.”
“Keheum.”
“Well, fine. So you want to go again, is that it?”
“I was careless just now.”
“Yeah. Right. I see. You were careless.”
At that moment, a bright smile formed on Patrick’s face.
“Yeah. Right. You can be careless. How can a person live without being careless once in a while? Right?”
“Ahem….”
“Then let’s go again. Don’t be careless this time. Got it?”
“……”
With every word Patrick spoke, Brian’s face turned as red as a ripe apple.
He knew it was absurd.
How could he not know?
But still, his pride would not allow him to admit defeat just like this.
‘I, a 2-star knight, a presence too great for this rural fiefdom. There’s no way I would lose to a mere ten-year-old kid.’
This is commonly called baseless confidence.
In any case, he put on a brave face and insisted unreasonably.
Without knowing what consequences it would bring.
Patrick let his hands hang naturally and spoke.
“Alright, here I come.”
His voice was no different from before.
A voice that even held a hint of playfulness, but Brian’s reaction to it was different from last time.
He tensed every muscle in his body, focused his mind, and said.
“Come.”
And then….
Jjeoeoong!
The same result occurred.
No, it wasn’t exactly the same.
This time, it was horizontal, not vertical.
Patrick’s strike sent Brian’s head spinning sideways.
And another thing that was different was….
“Kuuuk….”
Unlike before, Brian did not fall but endured.
Patrick spoke with a smile on his face.
“It’s bearable, right? I hit you lightly, so it should be bearable.”
“Haaat!”
Brian refused to lose and tried to swing his wooden sword.
But his diagonal attack was lightly blocked by Patrick’s wooden sword before it could be fully swung.
Ttaak!
“Ugh….”
It was an attack Brian had swung with all his might, putting his weight behind it with both hands.
But Patrick had blocked it lightly with just one hand.
No matter how hard Brian tried to press down with force, Patrick’s wooden sword did not budge an inch.
And Patrick swung the wooden sword held in his other hand.
“Ankle.”
Ttaaak!
“……!”
It was a pain that left him unable to even scream.
It was the first time Brian had experienced such a thing. And Patrick said with a sly smile.
“We’re not done yet. Head-, shoulders, knees, and toes, knees, and toes, knees!”
Ta-dadada-dadadak-dadak-ttak!
A noise like a woodpecker pecking at a tree, strangely keeping a beat, echoed throughout the training ground.
Baron Schneider learned for the first time.
That you could make such a sound by beating a knight with a wooden sword.
Brian was now curled up, being beaten one-sidedly.
The two wooden swords, flying without a moment’s rest, evenly struck his entire body.
The intensity was such that he wouldn't collapse or lose consciousness immediately, but it precariously embodied a level of pain that was damnably sore when hit.
In other words, it was exceedingly painful and agonizing.
“Ack! Aack! Young…. Young Master…. Keuak!”
“Hm? Don’t worry. You haven’t lost yet, right? Right? I acknowledge your grit and fighting spirit, so I’ll do my best to tenderize you.”
“Wa…. Wait…. Keok….”
“Hm? I think I just heard the profanity of the words ‘wai’ and ‘t’ pronounced in succession? No, right? It can’t be? How dare a knight utter such profanity during a duel? Isn’t that right?”
“I…. was wro….”
“Wrong? Hm? You did nothing wrong? Keeeeu…. As expected of our Sir Erickson. His grit is truly amazing.”
“……”
“Right. Right. If a person has no skill, a rotten personality, and no manners, they should at least have good grit. Of course, they should.”
“……”
Fear began to creep into Brian’s eyes.
And in proportion to that, madness began to creep into Patrick’s eyes.
“The thirty-seventh thing I hate the most is when someone loses but insists they didn't. You bastard!”
The true festival of violence had begun.
And in the midst of this, the one being hit, Brian, thought.
This bastard sure does hate a lot of things.
Patrick’s hands and words did not stop, but rather accelerated.
As if he were finally unleashing all the anger he had been holding back.
“A bastard who lives by the sword has gone completely crazy…. Wait? Sorry? Careleeess?”
“I’m sorr…. Kuuuuh….”
“You should have some damn shame. You bastard!”
“Kuaaaak!”
The two wooden swords in Patrick’s hands danced brilliantly, tenderizing Erickson until he was soft.
“Th…. That’s enough! Stop right there!”
The scene of the brutal tenderizing only stopped when Baron Schneider, who had come to his senses a beat too late, finally regained his wits. And then….
“Huuuu…. It’s been a while since I exercised violence. My mind and body feel refreshed.”
Patrick, having stopped his wooden swords, wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a refreshed expression.
He looked like someone who was satisfied after a very rewarding day.
If only there wasn’t a person writhing and groaning in pain at his feet.
‘Is my son a demon?’
He was his son, but how could he possibly wear such a refreshed expression after completely crushing a person so horrifically?
Baron Schneider said with a face full of anger.
“You wretched boy, Patrick Schneideeeer!”
“Yes. Father, did you call?”
Patrick answered the furious Baron Schneider politely.
His attitude was very polite and well-mannered, his voice calm.
As if he hadn't just beaten a man to a pulp a moment ago.
“Pa…. Patrick, you…. you…. you….”
Baron Schneider was at a loss for words.
The current result was completely different from what he had envisioned.
Brian was supposed to shatter his son’s arrogance, and then his son, having come to his senses, would diligently apply himself to his training.
That was the picture he had hoped for.
But what was this situation now?
His son, who must be only ten, had one-sidedly beaten Brian, a 2-star knight.
“How do you possess such strength? I have never once seen you train.”
Patrick had anticipated this question from Baron Schneider.
And he had already thought about how he should answer. As a result….
“Just because.”
“What?”
“I’m a genius, so I get strong even without training.”
“……”
That’s right.
What else could there be?
There was no way a fantastic excuse would come out in this situation.
In the end, Patrick decided to just insist.
With a shameless face, in a ‘I’m a genius, what are you gonna do about it?’ manner.
Baron Schneider’s mouth fell open, and he was unable to continue speaking for a moment, before forcing the words out.
“Does that even make sense?”
“Why wouldn’t it? Didn’t I just show you the results right here?”
“……”
Baron Schneider was speechless.
He wasn’t wrong.
Hadn’t his son, who was only ten, overwhelmed Brian, the sole knight of the fiefdom?
It was an undeniably clear result.
To Baron Schneider, who still wore a look of disbelief, Patrick spoke.
“Father. What do people in the world usually call those who display outstanding skill at an early age like me?”
“They call them geniuses.”
“Then your son is?”
“...A gen…ius?”
“That’s right. A genius.”
“……”
This seems to make sense, but also not make sense….
Yes. Looking at the situation, his son was a genius.
And geniuses, by their very nature, are beings difficult to understand with conventional common sense.
Therefore, let’s assume this result was possible. But here, another problem arose.
“I understand that you are stronger than Sir Erickson. But, what on earth is the meaning of this?”
“Ah, what is it?”
“What…. What is it? What…. Keuk….”
Seeing his son answer while cleaning his ear as if annoyed, Baron Schneider beat his own chest with his fist to calm his indignation and spoke.
“How can you say ‘what is it?’ after putting a person in that state?”
“Yes. It comes out just fine?”
“This…. this boy…. Keuk….”
Baron Schneider clutched the back of his neck, about to collapse.
Seeing this, Patrick let out a sigh and said.
“Father, you may have thought that I had a bad relationship with Brian and opposed him at every turn simply because I have no manners.”
“Is that not it?”
“It is not.”
Was it really?
There was some room for debate, but let’s move past that for now….
Patrick pointed at the fallen Brian and said.
“Father, the reason I disliked that man is because he used his position to embezzle the property of the fiefdom’s people and misappropriate the fiefdom’s budget.”
“What!?”
For a moment, Baron Schneider shouted in great surprise, and the fallen Brian forced his head up and cried out.
“I-it’s a lie! My lord. That is a blatant lie…. Keok.”
“This one’s mouth is still alive.”
Patrick unhesitatingly stomped on Brian’s head, then looked at Baron Schneider and spoke.
“Father, you trusted this man and entrusted almost the entire military budget to him. From the money for purchasing weapons to the soldiers’ salaries and the purchase of reserve food supplies, everything.”
“That’s right. He is the only knight in our fiefdom. So isn’t it only natural to entrust him with the fiefdom’s military-related budget?”
“Did you entrust and then verify?”
“I did, a few times.”
“When was the last time you did?”
“I believe it was about six years ago.”
“Fatherrr….”
To the sighing Patrick, Baron Schneider said with a serious expression.
“Son, in the relationship between people, trust is the most important thing.”
“……”
“If I cannot even trust my own knight and must suspect his every move, how can I call myself the lord of this fiefdom?”
“Haaaah…. So that’s what you think, is it?”
Patrick said with a deep sigh.
What Baron Schneider had just said was a foolish remark that only sounded good.
It was something a person who governs a group should never say.
Because, from a consequentialist perspective, goodwill can very well cause harm to the world.
Patrick shook his head and said.
“As a result of you entrusting him with work and blindly trusting him, Brian has personally embezzled the budget.”
“What did you say?”
“He purchased cheap weapons for the soldiers and pocketed the difference, and he docked the soldiers' pay using all sorts of excuses and fault-finding, pocketing that difference as well.”
Baron Schneider was genuinely and greatly surprised.
As if he had never even imagined it, he was so surprised that Brian urgently cried out to him.
“A lie! It’s a lie, my lord. The Young Master is framing me right now.”
Patrick cleanly ignored Brian’s words and continued to speak.
“That’s not all. That man even embezzled the condolence money that was supposed to go to the bereaved families of soldiers who died fighting monsters.”
Hearing Patrick’s words, Baron Schneider was in such great shock that he momentarily staggered.
His legs seemed to give out as he stumbled, but he barely managed to regain his balance and spoke to Brian.
“Sir Erickson, is this truly the truth? Did you do such things?”
“Didn’t I say it’s a lie? Do you not trust me? I am your knight.”
To Brian, who was screaming as if in a last-ditch effort, Patrick spoke with a sneer.
“Trust, trust…. Such nice-sounding words.”
“……”
Words that are as easy to exploit as they are nice to hear.
Patrick knew the type of person like Baron Schneider well.
‘How can he be so much like my Master?’
A good-natured pushover.
If you say it like that, it sounds like a very good person.
But the world is overflowing with trash who aim for the backs of such good-natured people.
If you don’t know how to fight back against that and just show goodwill, how can you lead a group?
Indiscriminate goodwill breeds weakness, and weakness dulls decisiveness.
Just like Baron Schneider right now.