After discussing the matter of returning home with Riezel, Yuri finally left.
Though she mentioned wanting to go home, given her status, returning to her territory involved many arrangements in the royal capital that needed to be taken care of first. Otherwise, even if she wanted to leave, it wouldn't be possible.
At the very least, she needed to visit the royal palace and report the matter. Otherwise, as a chief court magician and a Strategic-Class Magician, leaving the royal capital without authorization might cause unnecessary trouble.
This made Riezel understand a bit more why she sarcastically referred to herself as a tool of war. She indeed gained status, privileges, fame, and popularity, but at the same time, she lost her freedom.
'Nobility, huh...'
Riezel sighed softly in the pavilion, and shortly afterward, he suddenly remembered something.
'Crap, I forgot to ask about the Holy Dragon Sword Style...'
It seemed that this matter would have to be temporarily set aside.
Yuri's current mood was not particularly pleasant, and Riezel was not eager to trouble his benefactor for his own concerns.
'Never mind, I'll ask next time.'
He was not in a hurry, so decided to resume his practice.
He picked up a wooden sword placed beside him and began swinging it again.
First, he would master the swordsmanship in the Holy Dragon Sword Style. That would never be a wrong choice.
Even if the crucial breathing style was missing, mastering the swordsmanship would still increase his strength. If he later had the opportunity to obtain the breathing style, he could seamlessly integrate it, skipping the familiarization process entirely.
This was a genuine practice of special swordsmanship that could transform one's body akin to a dragon.
As a result, Riezel practiced the swordsmanship over and over again until it was nearly dark.
===
The next day, he experienced what it meant to have sore muscles.
'Practicing the Holy Dragon Sword Style actually made my muscles sore?'
Riezel wasn't frustrated; instead, he felt happy.
If it could make his muscles sore, it meant that this swordsmanship indeed affected him.
This motivated him to decide that starting from today, he would practice the Holy Dragon Sword Style every day.
'Without the dungeon, there's no way to grow through defeating monsters. I can only persist in training like this.'
Self-training also served as a means to enhance status.
Falna acted as both an accelerator and a stimulus for the growth of abilities. With regular use of a particular ability, one could gain experience and results. When updating the status, excelia could be extracted from this factor to enhance it.
Persisting in daily training like this would allow his status to grow even without defeating monsters or enemies.
'If there's a way to acquire the Holy Dragon Sword Skill's breathing style and practice this special swordsmanship, even if not hunting monsters, my status could rapidly grow, and there might even be a chance to level up.'
After all, transforming oneself into a dragon through swordsmanship could be considered a great exploit, right?
Of course, it was hard to say.
In the world of Danmachi, Riezel had never heard of anyone achieving an exploit through self-training and leveling up as a result. The original work also never mentioned anyone leveling up by means other than defeating powerful monsters or undertaking formidable adventures.
But in a situation without the dungeon and monsters to hunt, Riezel could only persist in training this way.
This kind of training continued for a full three days.
During these three days, aside from eating, drinking, bathing, sleeping, and taking care of personal needs, Riezel spent most of the time practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard pavilion.
Many people in the mansion noticed this scene, and through word of mouth, for some reason, news of him switching to swordsmanship spread.
With Yuri intentionally spreading the news, many people already knew that Riezel's 'Gate' was damaged and could no longer use magic, rendering him unable to be a magician in the future.
Considering this, his shift to swordsmanship did not seem too abrupt.
Moreover, as time passed, people began to treat it as a scenic view of the Frenzel residence. Many servants and even bodyguards secretly watched Riezel practice swordsmanship, gossiping about it and creating quite a bit of discussion.
However, with the spread of this news, some troublesome individuals, in the end, still came knocking at the door.
===
On this day, after finishing his usual swordsmanship practice, Riezel was just about to go back for a good bath when he was informed of something by the servant.
"Someone is looking for me?"
Upon hearing the servant's words, Riezel was quite surprised.
"Yes." The servant stood in place meticulously, speaking respectfully to him. "The visitor claims to be a servant of your friend, stating that they have a letter they would like to deliver to you."
With that, the servant handed a letter to him.
Taking it, Riezel furrowed his brows slightly, but still opened the letter and began reading its contents.
After a while, his tightly furrowed brows remained unchanged.
This letter was indeed from his so-called 'friend', more accurately, it should be said to be from the friend of the original Riezel.
He was well-regarded by many due to his naturally abundant magical energy, which attracted the attention of numerous noble children to his side.
And this letter was sent precisely by one of these noble children.
His name was Archie Rhein, the second son of the Rhein family, a count family in Jinas.
Among the group of noble children gathered around the original Riezel, most were from viscount and baron families, with only two being from the count family. These two, being of major noble status, held higher positions and identities than the rest, thus leading the group.
Archie Rhein was one of these leaders, and he was particularly fond of taking charge.
Initially, when the original Riezel first entered Spriller Academy and gained some reputation, Archie approached him, showing concern and care, and soon after, brought him into this small group of noble children.
Whenever the original Riezel went out fooling around, it was Archie who took the lead, almost always the one to invite him.
In other words, the decline and loss of motivation of the original Riezel could be attributed to Archie, accounting for at least half of the reasons.
Archie was the typical 'bad influence'.
If parents knew about him, they would certainly advise their children with solemn warnings not to be friends with such a bad influence.
Now, somehow, he got wind of Riezel's relationship with the Frenzel family and sent him a letter through his servant.
While the letter contained a lot of irrelevant pleasantries and greetings, the main purpose seemed to be just one.
That was, he wanted Riezel to hang out and meet with everyone.
The so-called 'everyone' undoubtedly referred to those noble children who used to fool around with the original Riezel.
"So be it..."
After recalling memories of those noble children, Riezel let go of the letter in his hand.
"Let's go meet them."
With a calm tone, he let the letter fall, blown away by the wind. Only then did he turn and leave, returning to the mansion.
===
Frenzel Mansion, Top-Floor Office.
"You want to go out?"
Yuri, who was busy with some paperwork and sat at her desk was surprised to hear Riezel's request.
"Yeah..." Riezel nodded. "An old friend invited me out for a meeting."
"Is that okay?" Yuri expressed hesitancy. "Don't forget, you're likely still being watched by the Heretic Assassin."
"But as I said before, I can't hide forever. I have to move on." Riezel smiled slightly. "Regardless, I can't just stand still and need to do something, no?"
Although he accepted her proposition and temporarily stayed on her side, it didn't mean he wanted to rely solely on her protection. He also wanted to turn from being passive to taking the initiative, wanting to know how strong the enemies he faced really were.
Facing a terrorist organization at the national level, he might indeed be in over his head. But avoiding them for the rest of his life was not his intent.
This was also an opportunity for him.
He wanted to go out, explore, and test the reactions of various parties. Whether it was the original Riezel's acquaintances or the assassin who attacked him, without probing and understanding, how could he plan for the future?
If he were to be attacked again, Riezel could use it as a chance to verify his power in this world. Now that he had reached Level 5, he wanted to see where he stood.
Yuri was unaware of his train of thought, but she could somewhat guess that he wanted to test the reactions of those who were secretly observing him. She didn't know his current power, and her perspective naturally leaned toward considering it dangerous.
However, Riezel's approach couldn't be entirely dismissed. Going out like this could at least test whether the Heretic Assassin had abandoned pursuit due to the news of damage to his 'Gate'.
After pondering, Yuri had an idea.
"How about this..." Yuri stared at his eyes. "I'll assign two bodyguards to you. How does that sound?"
"Bodyguards?" Riezel frowned.
"You can't go out alone, can you?" Yuri replied irritably. "What if you run into danger? Without someone to protect you, do you think you can survive?"
'I believe I can.' Riezel replied inwardly and couldn't voice it aloud.
He hadn't figured out how to explain to her that he was different now, no longer defenseless and powerless. Therefore, even though he understood her stance and reason, he was still quite conflicted.
On the other hand, Yuri was extremely decisive at this moment.
"That's decided then." Yuri turned to Marilyn. "Marilyn, bring Ain and Ian over."
Marilyn nodded and quickly left the office. It didn't take long for her to return, bringing two people with her.
They were two knights.
Moreover, they were two beautiful female knights with striking and classy appearances.
"Let me introduce them."
Yuri smiled slightly, introducing the two female knights.
"These two are my attendants, Ain and Ian, bound by a contract with me."