Future Knight

Chapter 13

Elradian, leaning against the window, watched the human figure turn back listlessly, sharing the same heavy heart. He felt a pang of sympathy seeing Kang Chan’s eager attempt to learn.

It wasn’t just because he regretted not being able to teach Kang Chan swordsmanship. It was the stark contrast between his eagerness to learn and the elven youth.

Elves, who enjoyed a lifespan of nearly a thousand years, never felt the need to rush or be impatient. In contrast, humans, with their short lifespans of less than a hundred years, were a greedy and hasty race, rarely able to endure.

From an elf’s perspective, their lives seemed incredibly dynamic. If elves possessed the same greed and zeal as humans and dedicated centuries to swordsmanship, the title of the continent’s best swordsman would have been dominated by elves.

However, in reality, the only elf known as a swordsman on the continent was Elradian himself, one of the continent’s five great martial deities. No other elf was known to the world.

The reason was simple. They lacked the will or desire to learn anything. They were strong enough without learning swordsmanship. Upon reaching adulthood, they would contract with spirits and use their power effortlessly, also having innate talent in archery.

Yet, their lives lacked dynamism. The reason Keremion stood out among his peers was because of his deep-seated grudge against humans, sharpening his sword for revenge. However, he was ninety-seven this year, an age comparable to Jaina’s, who would already be in a coffin if she were human.

Keremion had only achieved the beginner level of sword expert. Compared to humans, it was not particularly impressive, but he was undoubtedly the most talented in swordsmanship in the village. The fact that his obsession was for his sister’s revenge bothered Elradian.

Elradian worried that the darkness festering inside Keremion might someday destroy him, always advising his student to let go of his dark thoughts. But to his deeply vengeful student, it was like preaching to a deaf ear.

He even suggested Keremion use a bow instead of a sword for revenge, but his student’s response was so shocking that Elradian had once felt chills run down his spine.

Keremion had only one reason for wielding a sword.

“It’s not enough to kill them from afar. I need to cut them with my own sword to relieve my and my sister’s grudge.”

From the look in his student’s eyes, it was clear that merely cutting wasn’t enough; he intended to mutilate them.

Thinking of his student, Elradian sighed deeply again today.

* * *

When Kang Chan returned home, Jaina jumped down from the tree branch in front of the house. She seemed to have been waiting for him all morning.

“Hey! How did it go? Will he teach you?”

Jaina was genuinely curious and not trying to mock or belittle him. But to Kang Chan, it sounded like she was teasing him.

Staring intently at Jaina, Kang Chan eventually sighed and said wearily, “Just go home. I want to be alone.”

“…….”

Jaina’s eyes filled with tears at his cold words. She had been waiting and worrying about Kang Chan, but all she got in return was his indifference and harsh words.

Overcome with sorrow, she burst into tears.

“Waaah! Aaang!”

When Jaina suddenly started crying, her tears wouldn’t stop. Kang Chan, flustered, tried to console her.

“Jaina, don’t cry. I’m not mad at you.”

Having no experience comforting a girl, Kang Chan found it difficult to know how to calm her down.

“Sniff… Sob… Sob…”

‘Was Jaina always this tearful?’ he wondered. Seeing her cry reminded him of a young girl he had met on the battlefield. She had sat beside the dismembered bodies of her parents, crying sorrowfully. All he could do for her was offer her a portable combat ration. But she seemed disinterested, as if she wanted to follow her deceased parents.

While Kang Chan was lost in these thoughts, Jaina’s eyes swelled up from crying so much that she could barely open them.

“Let’s go inside. I’ll make something delicious as an apology.”

Kang Chan slipped his hands under Jaina’s armpits, lifted her up, and took her inside. Her sobbing subsided a bit.

Kang Chan’s lodging had changed a lot since he first arrived. He had spent all his abundant time hunting and eating, turning his house into something resembling a hunter’s den. Smoked meat hung from the walls, and blankets made from the soft fur of the animals he had caught were stacked in piles. A hunter’s bow, given by the elves, hung on the wall.

No one but Jaina dared to enter his room now. The elves, who preferred a vegetarian diet, found the sight of smoked meat hanging all over the place quite horrifying. Particularly, his blanket made from the fur of the cute and small Tima rabbit had even caused Arteon, usually composed, to faint. This was one of Kang Chan’s proudest creations.

To console Jaina, he took out his favorite food: wild boar marinated in kiwi, and started grilling it. The key to the dish was to sprinkle it with a bit of lemon once it was cooked. This special dish, which he had come up with, was one that Jaina also loved.

In the elves’ village, where the concept of seasoning was nearly nonexistent, this was considered a remarkable dish. As the meat cooked to perfection, Jaina, who had stopped crying, sat beside Kang Chan and began to eat the meat he cut for her with great relish.

“Wow! How can a guy be so good at cooking?” Jaina said, her words coming out in bursts as she blew on the hot meat.

Watching her cuteness, Kang Chan couldn’t help but smile.

“Finish eating before you talk. A girl should be more ladylike.”

“Hmph!”

Kang Chan suddenly looked around cautiously, making Jaina also turn her head in curiosity.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

Kang Chan spoke to her very cautiously.

“Shall we have a drink of fruit wine?”

“Fruit wine?”

Jaina’s eyes widened in surprise and confusion. She looked so cute that he almost wanted to poke her eyes. In their elven village, it was considered a major transgression for underage elves to drink alcohol secretly. Of course, being an adult meant being over 100 years old.

“You must be crazy! How can we drink without the adults knowing? Besides, do you even have any wine?”

Seeing her adamant refusal, Kang Chan tugged at her cheek and said,

“How about we just pretend with some water?”

Kang Chan started digging the ground in front of the house, soon pulling out small barrels.

“It’s more like fruit juice than wine. We’ll just have a bit for fun. What do you think?”

“Great!”

Seeing Jaina nodding eagerly, Kang Chan thought he had done well to make the fruit wine.

Among the various types of fruit wine he had prepared, Jaina chose raspberry. When Kang Chan opened the raspberry-labeled bottle, the sweet scent of raspberries filled the air, stimulating their senses.

“Here, take it.”

“Okay!”

Pouring the fruit wine into cups made from fruit peels, it created quite an atmospheric scene.

“Wow! The color looks amazing!”

“I worked hard on it.”

Jaina blushed and smiled as she watched Kang Chan confidently patting his chest.

“Let’s make a toast.”

“A toast? What’s that?”

“It’s just something we do. You say ‘cheers’ too.”

“Okay, got it. Cheers!”

As they drank the fruit wine, Kang Chan was reminded of his last drinking session with his colleagues at the space station before departing for this place. Despite the synthetic alcohol and bland snacks, they had drunk to the point of throwing up, using intoxication as an excuse to celebrate.

Since drinking alcohol was strictly forbidden by space law outside the station, they had no idea when they would return. That night, they had drunk until they all collapsed, unable to speak.

“Wow! You made this really well! Give me another!”

Jaina, whose face had already turned red, held out her cup, and Kang Chan filled it halfway.

“Drink in moderation.”

“Wow, this tastes really good! Hehehe.”

Indeed, the atmosphere was different when there was alcohol involved. As their appetite grew, they continued to drink the fruit wine, using the grilled wild boar as a snack, laughing and chatting away, oblivious to the passage of time.

Fortunately, Kang Chan’s lodging was somewhat removed from the village, allowing them to drink more freely. Tonight, Kang Chan truly wanted to get drunk.

Time passed, and the sky, which had been darkening, became completely black. Sitting by the bonfire, they ate fruit desserts and discussed the day’s events.

“So, that’s how it went.”

Jaina, her face flushed from the alcohol, buried it between her knees and spoke.

“But I won’t give up.”

Kang Chan’s eyes flickered as if ablaze, possibly from the bonfire. Watching him, Jaina moved closer and whispered in his ear.

“Then, how about this?”

“…?”

“I’ll stop learning magic and start learning swordsmanship. Then I can teach you everything I learn.”

Kang Chan paused from eating his fruit and said,

“What?”

“I’ll teach you. How about it?”

“No way.”

Kang Chan’s firm refusal made Jaina lean in closer, trying to persuade him.

“We can keep it a secret from others. Okay? I’m not good at magic anyway, so I’m switching to another subject. I’d prefer to learn swordsmanship so I can help my friend—you.”

“Still, no. I can’t make a friend do something wrong.”

“Why is that wrong? You’re my friend. My only friend.”

Jaina hugged Kang Chan’s head tightly, and he noticed a very pleasant scent emanating from her.

“I’ll visit Elradian every day and keep asking until he agrees. So, Jaina, don’t do anything risky.”

“Okay. But no matter what, I’m going to learn swordsmanship. So if you have any questions, ask me anytime, and I’ll help you.”

“Thank you. I’ll gladly accept your kind offer. I’m truly lucky to have a friend like you.”

Jaina’s face was filled with smiles at Kang Chan’s sincere words.

“Me too!”

* * *

The next day, Elradian stepped outside and frowned at the sight of someone kneeling in front of his house. The person’s shoulders were damp with morning dew, indicating they had been there since early dawn.

“It’s useless.”

Elradian uttered this cold remark and hurried on his way.

Even long after Elradian left, Kang Chan remained kneeling. Eventually, he slowly lifted his head and smiled with determination.

‘I have my own plans, Elder.’

The day Jaina decided to learn swordsmanship and became Elradian’s disciple, Kang Chan’s swordsmanship lessons also began. Although he couldn’t directly learn alongside Jaina, Kang Chan didn’t give up. The previous night, he secretly went to the training ground and set up a camcorder he had brought from the battleship in a nearby tree.

This ultra-small camcorder used by the Space Forces, despite being the size of a thumb, could take tens of millions of ultra-high-resolution photos even in solar winds and record videos in 64K quality for two weeks straight. It also had night vision and X-ray capabilities, used primarily for inspecting the belongings of prisoners or civilians.

Inside this tiny camcorder were stored a few photos and videos that captured his entire life. He had brought it from the battleship, never imagining it would be so useful.

‘It might be sneaky, but it’s necessary for the mission.’

Feeling a bit ashamed of having to learn secretly, he justified it by the mission and quietly set up the camcorder.

The next day, through the wireless transmission of the camcorder, he was able to participate in the joyous swordsmanship training with Jaina. After the designated swordsmanship training, he would recall Elradian’s words stored in his memory and dedicate himself to practice all day.

Occasionally, when he encountered unknown terms, he would remember them and reluctantly ask Jaina. Each time, she was astonished, wondering how he knew such things, and would teach him as much as she knew.

As time passed, even learning covertly, Kang Chan gradually began to grasp the basics of swordsmanship.

He had a very reliable ally in Jaina by his side.