72 Gratitude
"Ho~ You look stronger than before!"
Selani greeted Diether… They arrived at the practice area that Diether made near the Wailing Forest. This spot is the same place where he set up his dummy targets and the hanging woods.
"Sir Tristan… Sir Selani… So a month has already passed. That was fast…"
Diether was unable to track the time due to his master's constant training.
He also didn't believe that there are visible changes on him that made him look stronger, so he just smiled at Selani's compliment.
He thought that he was only being considerate by saying those kind words.
"We'll stay here for the day before we go to Saalstein… You can settle things in the village first…"
"Saalstein?" Diether was sure that it was not the capital of Chodora Kingdom…
"Mhmm… The Sun Fire Knight's Headquarters where you will receive further training is located in that city…"
"If you're thinking about the Knights Order at the capital, you must be thinking about the Chaos Knights."
"C-chaos Knights?! They're in the capital?"
Diether suddenly felt a bit excited after hearing it. He still remembers Marian and Rina who were somehow related to this Knights Order…
'They might still be thinking about me since I haven't returned the money I borrowed yet…'
The young man thought for a moment but he suddenly felt someone was staring at him…
'Oh…I forgot about them…'
"Sir Tristan, you've brought someone with you…"
"Ah! You're right. This is Kazim and Sevdi… They similarly passed our even more stringent examination… You guys are the same age and will be together in your training."
"That wasn't stringent at all..." The two young kids said in unison...
Kazim is a bit taller than Diether even though they were the same 10 years old. He has tanned skin and brown hair, unlike Sevdi who had pale skin…
Also, she just recently turned ten so Diether was older than her for a few months…
Aside from that, Diether noticed her long brown hair was also braided and neatly tied, unlike Yasmin who always let her hair flow down and only tied them when she's practicing.
"…"
They were still unsure how to start a conversation… It seems that all three of them don't have a lot of friends and lacking some social skills.
"Alright… You can continue your practice here for now and we'll leave tomorrow at this time…"
"Yes, Sir Tristan."
Again, Diether was left alone in this practice area… He glanced at the surroundings and closed his eyes.
He was about to move to a different place and felt a bit reluctant that he had to leave everything here.
"I should ask Yasmin to use this place freely… As long as someone's practicing here. This place will remain for a long time…"
Reiji remained silent as he listened to the kid. Feeling that the kid's drama ended, Reiji urged him to continue practicing…
Although Diether already learned the Mu No Kamae, they still had to practice for a long time until it became muscle memory. This way, Reiji would be confident that the kid would survive for a long time.
After a few hours of Energy draining and swinging the sword, Diether was on his final training cycle for the day.
"Haa~ It's really mystical…"
Diether muttered to himself as he took a deep breath after draining his Energy from hitting the dummy target…
"Mhmm?" Reiji wanted to know what he was referring to…
"Ah… It's these new clothes… It feels like I can easily concentrate even after being exhausted…"
"Well, that's Tranquility Fabric for you…"
Reiji blandly replied. He wouldn't be easily surprised anymore considering the mystical things that he had experienced himself. The fabric they bought seemed to be truly worth its price.
In truth, it was also due to the tailor's ability. Their profession wasn't as popular as Knights or Arcanists but their skills were truly something else.
'The old lady's shop seems to be the real deal.'
Now that the shop somehow gained the old fairy's trust, Reiji felt that the particular store would improve even more.
That's right. When they took Diether's order a few weeks ago. Reiji noticed the presence of the old fairy hiding within that store and was roaming around. He was already healthy and although his wings were still destroyed, he wasn't as hopeless as before.
He still lacks knowledge about this race so it just made him even more interested.
"Master…"
"Yes?"
"I… already… completed… the cycle…." Diether said while gasping for air. He was extremely tired.
"Very good… You need to rest for now."
On that afternoon, after getting some rest, the young man visited Orga to tell him about his plans… The three-star Hunter didn't stop him from joining the Knights Order and even recommended it to Diether.
"The Hunter Association doesn't have a good system to nurture young talents like you… However, the Sun Fire Knights were capable of doing just that…
"I see…" Diether answered but he was still feeling down. Orga noticed this and smiled at him…
"Don't worry, your identity as a Hunter will remain forever… So make sure that you won't lose your license card."
"Yes! I'm still planning to put some number in my license!"
Diether remembered and suddenly announced with full of vigor… He was referring to the S-Ranked, A-Ranked, and B-Ranked mission completion rate written on the license card. At the moment, the number was written as "0" and Diether had dreams of completing some of these high ranking missions someday.
Later on, he met with Yasmin who was surprised by his sudden decision. However, she fully supported his decision in joining the Knights Order since being a Hunter seems to be more dangerous for a young kid.
"We'll meet again…"
"Of course, I may be three-star Hunter when we meet again…"
Yasmin smirk as she boasted to Diether…
"Haha! That would be amazing… I know that you can do it…"
The young man smiled and sincerely believed that she can accomplish it. He remembers how she easily passed that hanging wood training that he struggled to pass for several weeks.
***
On that night, his master also bade his farewell…
"Master?"
"You heard it right… I've already taught you most of the things you needed to learn. You can now stand on your own feet..." Reiji said after deliberating for a long while.
Diether was only silent after hearing this. He was already expecting this after he realized that his master was rushing all his teachings. However, hearing this from his master felt different… The Arcana was the one who saved him from his sure death so he was saddened that they had to separate now…
But he can't be too greedy… It was one of his master's teachings he had to uphold. He had to be grateful that his master has allowed him to learn his sword techniques that seemed to be unparalleled in this world…
"Thank you for everything, Master!"
