[Ding! Despite being away from Gamer Naoto, Renne has overcome her own trial of reflection. Renewed with a newfound sense and hope for the future, Renne has found herself at a crossroad. She is willing to cross it, in hopes to remain by Gamer Naoto's side.]
[Ding! As a result of this, Renne's Favorability with Gamer Naoto has reached 100%.]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto has received Renne's Blessing! Your Stats have been updated.]
"The hell?", I uttered, suddenly receiving a Gamer Notification out of the blue. It distracted me, since I wasn't expecting one to arrive at this time, if we took into consideration where I presently was.
"Is everything alright, Naoto?"
Hearing that caused me to lift my head upward a bit. While I was surprised by the sudden Gamer Notification, I wasn't startled by it. This wasn't the first time. Just unexpected, that's all. Renne's Blessing, huh? Sounds like she went through a trial of her own. Enough to trigger a response from the Gamer System. How nice. As I was happy for Renne, I saw my eyes looking upward, only to see Emma's face above me.
That's right, Emma currently had my head in her lap. The so-called lap pillow. As you can see, some time had indeed passed since my duel with Lady Aurier concluded. Even though I had the Gamer System backing me, I still came out battered and bruised.
But victorious.
Lady Aurier was pleased with how much I progressed learning the Arseid Style school of Swordsmanship. I say that, but regarding the outcome of the duel, Lady Aurier still came out on top. While it was counted as a loss for me, I still viewed it as a victory, since it left Lady Aurier pleased like that. Adding to that, I also had a duel against Klaus, and he too came out on top over me. Those who oversee Training Halls no matter the sword style are never meant to be underestimated. Klaus even has the duties of attending the Arseid Family on top of all that, so I have nothing but respect for him.
Likewise, Lady Aurier measured my determination during this duel, and found it sufficient enough. Even though she won in the end, she permitted me to continue my swordsmanship training, learning the Vander Style. Back in Legram, I became acquainted with Laura. and here in Parm, it looks like I will be training alongside Kurt! I don't think I will learn the dual-blade style, however. That form doesn't interest me much. But the Vermillion Knight is known to use a myriad number of weapons, so we'll see. He's the only Divine Knight who can use any weapon whatsoever without any drawback. How cool is that?
Once my spar with Lady Aurier concluded, we stayed for the night in Parm, and enjoyed a hearty meal together with the Vander Family. Very similar to how Laura invited us for our farewell party back in Legram. This time, it wasn't a farewell. I would be staying with Mueller and Kurt for the next three months, and hopefully, the Thunder God is available once we reach Heimdallr. Just like how Victor extended an olive branch to me, the Thunder God did the same. Fingers crossed!
To my surprise, Kurt was already showing interest in joining the Vander Family's long-standing tradition. Becoming a direct bodyguard to Erebonia's Imperial family. Down the line, Prince Cedric will be named Crown Prince Cedric so Crown Prince Olivert can take a step back. He's in the same position I am in, a bastard son. His Mother, who had the Lenheim name, passed away a long time ago, but that still made Crown Prince Olivert take the title of Crown Prince. In his eyes it was merely temporary. He had full intention of passing this title down to his younger brother, Prince Cedric. Crown Prince Olivert had little interest in inheriting the throne. That is where our differences lay, as I have full intention of ascending Liberl's throne in the future. But I don't need to talk about that right now.
My point is, Prince Cedric will soon become Crown Prince Cedric. And you even see this take place during Cold Steel's latter half of its story. At that point Kurt attempted to serve alongside Crown Prince Cedric, but he was already too corrupted by Duke Cayenne by that point. Kurt couldn't be by his side thanks to that. This time around, this likely won't happen since I'm taking Testa-Rossa for myself. Duke Cayenne will have no one to corrupt. He likely doesn't even know that I'm doing this behind his back. By the time he'll realize what is going to happen, it will be too late.
And because of that, there's a very good chance Kurt may be able to serve as a bodyguard to future Crown Prince Cedric! Pretty exciting huh?
To say the least, many laughs were shared during the meal we had. During this, Kurt's Favorability unlocked. He was as interested in me as Laura was when Laura's Favorability unlocked back in Legram. Laura's increased to 50%, so we'll see if that happens with Kurt's Favorability. Kurt also showed me just how much respect he has for his brother. There isn't a single ounce of hatred shared between the two siblings. You'd often see this in other fantasy stories, but nope, that's not the case here. It was a pretty harmonious relationship. Having different mothers had little influence on that.
In that sense, Kurt is very similar to me. Rean and I have different mothers, and we have no ill will toward each other. Go figure.
I was grateful for Lady Aurier giving us lodging for the night in Parm. She allowed Emma and Fie to stay too. In separate rooms, of course. I'm pretty sure Emma still likes me, if we're talking about romance matters. I am not sure when she will settle the matters of the heart, since she resolved herself to go on a training adventure of her own. We're merely crossing paths right now. She may go on her own way again once everything is over. Only time will tell, and I am in no rush regarding this.
Lady Aurier seemed to have further business in Parm, so she did not leave the town with us. I told you the scenery has changed, didn't it? We were now riding in the same orbal car Mueller was going to use to leave Parm the day before. Only Mueller was old enough to drive right now, so he was stuck in the driver's seat. I was currently resting on Emma's lap, while Fie sat next to Kurt. Emma suggested I take a nap during the ride from Parm to Saint-Arkh as my body was still sore from the duel. Thankfully Lady Aurier used a wooden naginata, so it's not like I had any deep wounds or anything. Any bruises had long since healed with Greater Regeneration.
Seriously, that Skill is really busted. I bet it could even recover a lost limb over time. I did not expect Regeneration to upgrade to Greater Regeneration. It doesn't heal the tiredness of the body, so that is what I am mostly feeling right now. I didn't think Emma would be proactive and actually lay my head on her lap.
But I'm not one to reject such an offer now, am I? Haha!
We weren't directly heading to Heimdallr either. We have several checkpoints to pass through first. There's a long road that goes all the way from Saint Arkh to Heimdallr. To make that drive, we have to pass through Saint-Arkh, and this was a place I was interested in visiting. At the moment, we are likely going to enjoy some lunch in the city.
As for what Saint-Arkh is, it actually used to be the Old Capital of Erebonia. During the Dark Ages, a heinous beast known as the Dark Dragon ran rampant throughout Heimdallr, destroying most of it in the process. From there, a long period of reconstruction took place, and during that time, all its people moved to Saint-Arkh. Even the Imperial Family did. Because of that, our next destination had much significance to Erebonia's history as a whole.
And to the present day, Saint-Arkh ended its temporary position, and soon became what is now called the Sutherland Province. It is ruled by one of the Five Great Houses, the Hyarms Family. Its ruler is Marquis Hyarms, who holds the same title as Marquis Rogner who oversees the Nortia Province.
While Parm to Saint-Arkh wasn't terribly long, it still allowed me enough time to take a short nap.
Just as I was about to venture off into dreamland, my thoughts stirred wide awake with that sudden Gamer Notification. The very same one that rewarded me with Renne's Blessing.
Still...
'Just what in Aidios's name did you experience during my absence, Renne?', I thought to myself. All Renne told me was that she would remain in Liberl as I left the country. In the end, I guess it's good? She grew stronger from this, no doubt. The question remains. If she underwent such a trial without my presence, what is she going to do next? There's still a couple years before she continues her role as an Enforcer during Sky's Second Chapter. We'll see what she ends up doing.
I'll need to check what [Renne's Blessing] does as well. I already feel stronger from it. But that would have to be saved for another time. My eyes were open now. I saw a hint of worry in Emma's eyes. Even Fie looked at us.
"You alright, Naoto?", Fie asked.
"Yeah. Sorry to cause some worry.", I said, and stretched my arms a bit. I then lifted my body upward, becoming upright again. "Nothing to worry about. Given the chance, I'll tell you about it later."
"Well, alright.", Emma responded. The worry she had eased, and became curious, wondering what I was referring to. Unlike Fie, Emma knows about Renne. She was with us on Nemeth Island, so perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to explain it to her later.
"Still, you woke up at a good time, Your Royal Highness. Mother already sent word to Lord Hyarms. He is expecting our arrival. He knows you are currently training with us.", Mueller's voice said, calling out to us from the driver's seat. "It shouldn't be much longer until we reach the Old Capital."
"Excellent.", I happily replied.
"I must say. That duel you had with Mother was quite splendid. You have learned much already. I guess most Nobles in Liberl train in Rapiers?", Kurt asked, unsure.
"Sort of. It is a popular weapon of choice amongst the Royal Army, not just Nobles. It isn't the only weapon I can use either.", I said, smiling back at Kurt.
"You know how to use multiple weapons?", Kurt asked, becoming interested. In response to that, I saw another Gamer Notification arrive.
[Ding! Kurt holds Gamer Naoto with genuine respect for having learned multiple combat techniques.]
[Ding! Kurt's Favorability has increased to 25%.]
Score~
As the saying goes, the grind never ends, haha!
I am not sure if I'll receive any more Gamer Notifications once we arrive at Saint-Arkh. Perhaps one for Marquis Hyarms? For the time being, the Gamer System went quiet again.
"Yeah. I'm sure we'll spar here and there, so you can see what I can do.", I said, giving an invitation to Kurt. Laura was my sparring partner back in Legram, so I can definitely have Kurt as my current sparring partner for this next segment.
I saw Kurt nod his head. Our ongoing conversation didn't seem to last much longer after that, but I could see a hint of anticipation in Kurt's eyes. As for Fie, she turned around, and began window-watching. Somehow, both Celine and Tamamo found their way into the orbal car. Now that the lap pillow ended, Celine curled up against Emma, quickly snoozing off. Tamamo did the same with me. Thankfully, Tamamo has the ability to adjust the number of tails she has, so right now, she just has one large bushy tail.
Just like that, we continued driving along the road. Before long, an exquisite-looking city soon came into view. Ahh, Saint-Arkh at last!