It had been 2 months since Arato began his hellish training. Thanks to his [Blessing of the Goddess] and [Prodigy] skills, he was already learning the basics of swordsmanship from Reinheart.
The sword technique he was being thought was Imperial swordsmanship. It is an effective technique that utilises simple and easy-to-learn techniques for maximum efficiency during combat. Though it seems weak at first glance, if mastered properly it would be one of the most formidable techniques ever known.
Arato's daily routine went like this; he'd wake up before sunrise and go for a run around the training field or practice swordsmanship alone for a while. After that, he would come back to his room and take his bath, then he would eat his breakfast. After that, he would spend some time talking to Fei about his world and she would tell him about hers. Arato would then get beaten up repeatedly by Reinheart as training till the evening. Arato would then go back to his room to take a short rest. After resting, he would go back to the training grounds to train alongside Eric. They would train for some hours and then talk for some time. After that, Arato would go back to his room where Fei would be waiting for him with his dinner. After eating, he would take his shower and then talk to Fei for a while, after that, he would sleep and repeat the same thing the next day.
Not all of Arato's days were dedicated to training. Sometimes he would spend the day with Isla and sometimes help with her duties, though he didn't know what he was doing, he just did what she said he should do. Other times, he would leave the palace with Fei and explore the city till nighttime and head back to the palace.
Arato wakes up and stretches a little bit. He then carries his practice sword and leaves his room for the training grounds.
At the training ground, Arato swings his sword repeatedly as sweat trickles down his forehead. After about three hours of repeated swinging, he sits on a bench nearby and opens his status.
[Name-Arato Kirigaya
Age-17
Race-Human(Male)
Class-Divine Paladin
Title-Hero
Job-Hero
Level-24
Outer Force-■■; Blessing of the Goddess-S; Luck-A; Prodigy-C; Durability-E; Stamina-E; Speed-E; Strength-F; Swordsmanship-F; Divinity-F; Dexterity-F.]
'My durability went up as expected.'; Arato says while shuddering a little bit. 'But I still don't know how to use my divinity.'; he continues.
The other knights had started arriving. They stopped to greet Arato as he walked past them towards his room.
Arato opens the door to his room to see Fei waiting with his food. He goes to the chair, sits down and starts eating the food set on the table.
'Hey, Fei.'
'Master Arato?'
'What's with the cap anyway?'
'Oh.'; Fei looks at him in surprise. 'Oh..... you don't know.
'Know what?'; Arato asks in confusion.
In response to Arato's question, Fei removes the cap to reveal two white feline ears on the top of her head. Arato looks at her in surprise as he drops his fork. 'You're a cat girl?'
Fei chuckles at his ridiculous question; 'A lot of demi-humans would be offended by your question.'
'Oh, sorry about that.'
'No need, I'm not bothered. Besides, your reaction is refreshing.'; Fei admits.
'How so?'
'You see, we demi-humans are often a topic of fear and discrimination. This is due to our kingdom being at the edge of the continent, far from other races and rumours of demi-humans succumbing to their primal instincts.'; Fei explains.
'So your family is at the edge of the continent?'; Arato asks.
Fei's expression saddens a little as she lowers her gaze to the floor. 'I don't have one. I was raised in an orphanage.'; she replies.
Arato cursed himself internally for asking such a question. He starts thinking for a while as the place becomes silent.
'I'm sorry for bringing the mood down ma...'
'I've decided.'; Arato declares while standing up immediately.
'Decided what?'; Fei asks with vivid confusion.
Arato looks at her with determination in his eyes and grabs her shoulders, startling her even more.
'Since you don't have a family, I'll just have to become your family instead.'; he answers.
Fei was both shocked and happy at his response. 'Thank you, Arato. I needed that.'; she says as she embraces him. After some time, Fei lets go and smiles at him. 'I need to take care of some things.'; she says while walking away hurriedly.
Arato watches as she closes the door. He then sits down and continues eating in silence.
In a large mansion, a fat old man is sitting behind a large mahogany desk in his office writing some documents. The man hears a knock on the door as he is still writing. 'Come in.'; the man says while still writing.
The door slowly creaks open till it's completely ajar. The man looks at the door to see no one there. 'Who's there?'; the man asked with uneasiness in his voice but no one answered. The man looks around to see his four guards motionless on the floor.
At this point, the man was scared out of his wits as he looked around frantically for who did this. Suddenly, a black-gloved hand pats his shoulder as the man slowly looks behind him to see a man wearing a plain white mask and a black trenchcoat.
'Boo.'; the masked man said in a cold calm voice.
The man breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the masked man. 'What's the meaning of this Mask?'
Mask walks slowly to the front of the desk as he traces his hand on the edge of the table. 'Don't worry, they're not dead Lucius. Well, most of them aren't.'
Lucius sighs in annoyance as he reclines in his seat. 'You know those guys cost money to recruit and train. So, when are you commencing the operation?'; he asks.
Mask stops in front of the desk and looks at Lucius. 'Tomorrow. That's the only opportunity to strike since the Knight King won't be around then.'
'What about his apprentice?'
'He won't be a match for the Black Lotus.'
The Black Lotus is an organisation that specialises in the assassination of notable figures, no matter how high their status is in society. Lucius had always wanted to ascend the throne and become king. He was the Duke and the most powerful Noble in the kingdom after all. It was also the perfect time to kill the once-powerful king since he was very sick due to mana overflow.
Mana overflow is an extremely rare condition where the person's body absorbs too much mana than it can handle from the air. This causes the body to slowly deteriorate. The reason why the king lasted so long was because of his strong constitution, but everything breaks eventually.
Mask continues; 'You'll have to handle the aftermath of the assassination and suppress the Knight King.'
'Don't worry, the Knight King won't be able to do anything since I would have ascended the throne by then. He has no choice but to serve me.'; Lucius says with a smirk on his face.
Mask starts walking away, as he reaches the door, he stops and asks; 'The hero?'
'Kill him too.'; Lucius answers immediately.
'Alright, the job is as good as done.'; Mask says before disappearing.
Lucius sighs and stands up. He looks at the possibly dead guards and walks out of the office.