Sir Hero, It’s Time to Train!

“As soon as he arrived, he went to the private training ground?”

“Yes. He’s always done that.”

Aira looked at Christian strangely, as if his question about the family head’s routine was new to him.

However, while the former Christian Worden might have known, the current Christian had no way of knowing the habits of the family head.

Christian tried to cover his ignorance by answering cheekily.

“This time he returned late. I thought he would be resting.”

“Come on, have you ever seen Father resting?”

Aira walked down the corridor with a nonchalant expression.

‘This is just like Master, isn’t it?’

Christian reminisced about Master’s previous ways while watching Aira’s retreating figure. He thought perhaps Master had inherited her habits directly from Father.

‘I feel like I’ve discovered an aspect of Master I never knew before.’

In his past life, master often left to earn money for Christian’s training expenses.

She would carry out assignments for up to a month and still never skipped training upon returning.

The mystery behind Aira’s lack of the concept of rest was finally unveiled, tracing back in time.

Christian had always prided himself on knowing more about Master than anyone else. Still, seeing her as a child revealed many unknown facets.

It wasn’t something he couldn’t understand. Christian had been the half-brother who was lost, causing Aira’s life to crumble.

While he didn’t know the exact connection between them, it was evident something significant enough to sever ties and prompt a runaway occurred.

‘So, can I never see the Master of that time again?’

However, now Christian was alive, and Aira hadn’t run away. The possibility of Aira growing up to experience the same turmoil as Master from his past life was minimal.

There was no need for Aira to become the slightly lonely and solitary figure that his previous Master had been.

‘Although I feel a bit regretful, it can’t be helped. It means Aira doesn’t have to suffer anymore.’

Christian felt a bittersweet satisfaction knowing the Master he once knew no longer existed.

The past that tormented and led his Master to regret was no longer haunting her. As her student and family, he was glad.

With those mixed feelings, he followed Aira to the exclusive training ground for the family head. Before Aira could knock on the door, a voice came from inside.

“Come in.”

The tone implied that they were fully aware of who had come calling.

At that, Aira opened the door to the private training ground and went inside, with Christian quietly following behind her.

‘Wind?’

In the indoor private training ground, a breeze flowed. The strange phenomena made Christian halt.

‘This… is it mana?’

The mana, scattered like a gentle breeze, was a breathtaking sight whenever he saw it. Christian was well-acquainted with this unique type of mana.

‘As expected, the Worden family’s mana was the wind.’

If his Master was a raging typhoon, then their father’s mana was a gentle breeze in late autumn.

Or perhaps, the gentle breeze their father exudes is simply an expression of affection for his children.

When facing an enemy, he would become a fierce tempest like his master, sweeping everything away.

Christian’s gaze, focused on the flow of mana, shifted to the center of the training ground where Roberto Worden stood still.

Roberto directed his gaze toward the two siblings who had entered, with his sword’s tip aimed at the floor.

“It’s been a while.”

“Father!”

Aira ran to her father with a bright smile as he welcomed her.

In contrast to the gentle mana he emitted, the solemnity radiating from Roberto made Christian cautious in his presence.

He still perceived him as a ‘stranger’ rather than a ‘father’. Therefore, Roberto’s presence felt burdensome to Christian.

‘Father…’

Christian keenly observed Roberto.

Initially, he was fixated on the mana, but Roberto’s appearance and demeanor reminded him of a mirror image of what Christian Worden might become.

‘He resembles me.’

While Aira bore a resemblance to Liana, Christian bore a strong resemblance to Roberto. Christian naturally thought that he might grow up to look just like him.

“You’re not hurt anywhere, are you? I was worried because you returned late.”

“Do I look like someone who would get hurt by mere monsters?”

“Hehe.”

Christian closely watched the conversation between the father and daughter. It wasn’t that he was shocked by Aira’s childish tone—it was simply amusing.

Though she had a distant relationship with their mother, it seemed she got along well with their father.

Seeing Aira approach someone warmly was something Christian was unaccustomed to, in both his past and present lives.

“However…”

“Father! It’s a gift!”

Christian’s attempt to speak was interrupted as Roberto’s attention shifted to him while he approached. Aira wasn’t pleased by this, so she hurriedly handed a gift to Roberto.

Roberto gently rubbed his temples with his hand, knowing that the horrid object in his angelic daughter’s hand wouldn’t disappear.

“Is that thing in your hand supposed to be a gift? Hah, no wonder you rushed back. You’ve been up to another terrible prank, haven’t you?”

“What?”

Aira, holding up the ogre’s head, looked confused, causing Roberto’s expression to harden even further.

“No, I cut this to present to you, Father… Do you not like it?”

Aira said, thrusting the ogre’s head toward Roberto. Christian watched in internal agony.

‘No, that’s not a gift. You’re not supposed to present it like that!’

No matter how accustomed someone is to monster hunting, there’s something fundamentally wrong when a daughter offers an ogre’s severed head as a present.

“I caught this one.”

And with eyes shining like a puppy craving praise, Aira continued to present the ogre’s head.

Roberto, after contemplating his daughter’s actions, eventually took the ogre’s head, examining it thoroughly with pride.

“Is that to say, it wasn’t an illusionary spell? Let’s see, did you really cut this off?”

“Yes! I sliced it in one motion!”

“Well done. The cut is clean. It seems you managed it in one go. However, cutting the neck isn’t as easy as it seems. If your blade gets stuck in the neck bone, it can become perilous.”

“So, I’ve been studying crucial points diligently. Before, I thrust my sword into an owlbear’s mouth like this!”

“You must be training hard.”

“Hehe.”

Christian, watching the father-daughter duo, suddenly realized that monster heads could be effective gifts for his parents.

‘… No, it’s just this father and daughter that are unusual. I guess that’s it.’

A father praising a cleanly severed ogre head and the daughter proudly showing it off were both surreal.

Christian, who had been an orphan, didn’t know what a normal family dynamic looked like, but he was sure about one thing.

The scene before him was definitely not indicative of a typical family life.

Christian had seen many unsavory and dirty sights on the battlefield, but even he found himself reluctant to approach.

However, he couldn’t simply let Roberto take Aira away, so he quietly approached her side.

“Hmm?”

“It’s been a while, Father.”

“Hmm.”

“… What’s wrong?”

Had he made a mistake?

Despite what Christian thought was a friendly greeting, Roberto’s expression was off.

In addition, his gaze towards Christian was notably different from when he looked at Aira.

‘Surely not…’

Wasn’t this because he addressed his father informally, as he did with Liana?

It was already difficult confronting the embarrassment when dealing with his mother, and having this ordeal with his father too might drive him to actually run away.

Oblivious to Christian’s anxiety, Roberto stared at him.

“Um, is something wrong?”

“Well, it’s just…”

“Hmm,”

“Hmm!”

Roberto made some unclear sounds as he touched his unkempt facial hair.

“You’ve changed a lot.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s too much to say you just grew up. Your body has changed significantly.”

“Ah…”

Christian instantly understood what Roberto meant.

Indeed, there was a stark contrast between his previous body and the current one.

He had grown taller and developed more muscular mass. Moreover, the density of his mana and overall aura had transformed.

Roberto must have sensed an unfamiliarity in his own son.

“I changed my training methods.”

“Changed your training methods?”

“Yes. And it’s not just me…”

Christian glanced sideways, and Aira rolled up her sleeves to reveal her toned arm muscles.

“I’ve changed a lot too, don’t you think?”

“… You’ve grown close.”

After meticulously inspecting the mana and physique of both his children, Roberto sighed.

“I’ve heard bits and pieces about you two. Honestly, the notion sounded too fantastical for me to believe without seeing it myself.”

Before he left, the siblings were rivals.

Like heirs of noble families often are, they treated each other as strangers, and Roberto, fearing their rivalry might intensify, could only watch with trepidation.

He found the sight of his children getting along more agreeable than watching them grow, yet he was also concerned they might lose their competitive spirit and urge for self-improvement.

As a father and head of the family, he felt a plethora of complex emotions.

Roberto, gathering his thoughts while observing his children, walked over to the weapon stand on the side of the training ground and picked up a practice sword.

“Shall we spar after such a long time?”

A knight’s conversation doesn’t happen over a leisurely cup of tea.

It’s through sword and body, meeting each other’s sincerity without reserve. That’s the communication of knights.

‘Now, I truly understand whom Master took after.’

Christian chuckled at Roberto’s actions. Aira let out a sigh, seemingly having misunderstood something.

“All right, you go first.”

“Really? Oh, then I’d feel bad. You might not get your turn.”

Roberto chuckled softly as he listened to his children.

“Christian, Aira. It’s almost dinner time, so come at me together.”

The two, revealing white teeth and fierce disposition at Roberto’s suggestion they come at him collectively, exchanged glances.

“You might regret this.”

“You will regret this.”

‘Hmm, kids these days grow up so fast.’