Chapter 23

Sera, who was currently engaging in combat with the goblins, turned her head when she felt a presence, and opened her eyes wide in surprise.

"...?!"

There were three people coming to her.

Those who should have been waiting until her fight was done were now making their way towards her.

"Young Master and Lady Iris too... Why?"

A goblin charged towards Sera to avenge its fallen comrades, whom Sera had easily cut in half. She then proceeded to look back at them.

'There's still so many left.'

He wasn't aware of the original number of goblins, but from what Riley could see, it would take not just thirty minutes but at least an hour for the carriage to start moving again.

"I came...to have a look."

Riley answered with a forced smile on his face.

"A look?"

Sera made a dejected expression as if she couldn't believe what she had just heard, and gave a warning as she cut down another goblin approaching her.

"W-well it's good to have a look, Young Master, but it's dangerous here. In the middle of the forest... there might be more ambushes."

Ambushes.

After hearing Sera's words, Riley extended his mana secretly to everyone else, and scratched his chin as he confirmed that there weren't any hidden enemies in their surroundings.

"Hmmm..."

Ian agreed with Sera and pointed towards the carriage.

"Sera is correct. It's not a good sight anyway, so we should head back to the carriage."

Riley ignored Ian's words and glanced at his mother.

Iris was asking...

'What will you do?'

...with her eyes as she looked back at Riley.

It meant that she would respect his decision, no matter what Riley chose.

"..."

Riley fell into silence as she watched Sera fight the goblins.

Because of the darkness, Sera was being too cautious and only attacked the goblins who approached her, unable to charge amidst the fray herself.

That was the reason for the prolonged battle.

'It's not just frustrating when I watch up close.'

If what he saw from the carriage was like shoving a potato down his throat, watching up close felt like shoving a sack of potatoes down his throat.

Riley twitched his fingers as he felt his throat dry up in frustration.

He needed a drink.

He needed a fizzy drink.

'Coke... I really want to have it soon. And not be stuck here because of something like this.'

Riley's eyes sharpened as he was becoming more impatient.

'Ah... Why's all this happening, just when I've decided to take it easy in this life.'

Riley's gaze turned away from Sera and settled on the goblins instead.

As he watched them, only looking for an opportunity in the dark from Sera's blind spots, Riley's patience had finally reached it's limit.

Now it would  take not one, but two hours to finish.

'...Do they just want to mess with my life?'

On second thought, they didn't just ruin his journey to drink Coke.

He was also having a sweet dream on his mother's lap.

They ruined that too.

"..."

"Young Master?"

Restlessness.

Frustration.

Annoyance.

Riley could not hold back his habit from his past and walked to Sera.

"Young Master, where are you going? It's dange-..."

Where Sera was fighting...

Ian quickly reached his hand out, worried about Riley who was walking directly towards the goblins.

"Ian."

"..."

But Ian's hand could not reach Riley's.

He saw them.

The eyes which were about to explode from frustration.

The glistening eyes silently telling him to watch.

'Young Master...'

With a flinch, Ian looked blankly at Riley's back.

"...Sera."

Finally.

Riley approached Sera and spoke.

"Y-Young Master? Why? It's dangerous. Please go back to..."

Because Sera was unaware of Riley's approach, she quickly told Riley to return as his voice could be heard just behind her.

"Sera, do you..."

"..."

Riley asked without a concerned or threatening tone in his voice.

As if he wasn't aware of Sera's feelings.

"Do you not use your legs in your moves?"

"Sorry?"

"Ah, f-... This is frustrating! Seriously! Give them here!"

Riley crumbled his face as Sera didn't understand his words, and stepped forward after snatching her twin swords.

"Y-Young Master! Stop!"

"It's going to take the whole night at this rate."

As he disregarded Sera's words, he adjusted the grip on the two swords and looked at the goblins in the dark.

Just a quick glimpse, and he could tell that they were similar to the lesser demons he'd cut down in his previous life.

'Now then... How much should I show them?'

Riley had a quick thought about what to do.

As he'd pushed the body to it's limit from the fight with Tes, he's decided to fight purely with his swordsmanship this time.

'This much should be alright.'

And, it can teach Sera as well.

With those thoughts Riley began to speak again.

"Use your legs. Your legs. It's frustrating. Are you trying to refrain from looking too far ahead? I can't tell, whether you don't know or don't want to...."

"Young...Master?"

"Sera, you're acting like there's a circle around you and you don't want to move out of the circle. That's the feeling I get. Then there's no way for you to take the initiative yourself. It takes too long."

There was no reply from Sera.

Riley realised that she was simply staring blankly at him, so Riley scratched his head and began to take action.

"So what I mean is, if you use the legs..."

Riley moved forward.

If it was her from the past, she would have never allowed Riley to act as he was now.

It was clearly dangerous.

But...

There was that other time she received advice from Riley.

She remembered how he told her to keep it a secret.

She couldn't stop Riley.

"Maybe."

That was all she could mutter.

"..."

"Kiek!"

Iris gripped her hands together into a fist as she watched.

As Riley charged at them, and the goblins began to rush forward with a shriek in kind to avenge their brothers.

'Huh?'

Riley pushed in while dropping the two swords in a slight angle.

His foot slid on the ground, and when the goblin was right in front of him...

"Kuek?"

One.

No, two goblin heads flew into the air.

"...you can-..."

Riley's hands and feet continued to move.

More heads flew in the air, as Riley continued to speak.

"Kiek!"

Riley continued to move his feet as he parried the dagger coming at him from the side.

And number eight.

The eighth goblin head flew into the air.

Sera's jaws dropped.

'What..is that?'

It was an art.

Riley began to move his fingers as he moved forward.

One of the two swords he was holding was flipped and clutched in the reverse grip.

It was slow compared to Sera's practice, but much more stable.

"...apply it like this."

As Riley spoke, the remaining two goblins charged at him simultaneously.

Their shrieks were much louder than the others, as if determined to avenge the dead.

But... Riley did not allow their weapons to reach him.

"Kek!"

Thud!

A dull sound could be heard.

Riley had used his leg.

The kick didn't have mana in it so it didn't have the power to kill, but it was enough to push the goblin back and gain some distance.

'The last one.'

With the distance created.

He stabbed the sword he was holding in reverse into the goblin's head and rushed at the goblin who was kicked away.

As if it were a dance.

Riley dashed past the goblin's side.

"..."

Riley's sword was not strong like the Iphelleta's Strong-blade(1st son), or fast like the Quick-blade(2nd son).

It had no clear strengths.

That was obvious.

But...

"Well, this is how you do it."

Riley stabbed the sword into the ground as he finished talking.

Then the goblin he dashed past began to fall.

"..."

"..."

Ian looked at Riley as if he was possessed.

Simply...

The potential Ian saw in Riley was simply the 'affinity to mana'.

It was the potential which would allow him to use the aura blade which imbued mana onto the sword with the greatest efficiency.

But...

What he just saw was more shocking than mere 'affinity to mana'.

'What did I just see...?'

His affinity with the sword.

Genius was not enough to describe it, but something more.

"Now, let's go."

After cleaning out the goblins in a flash, Riley put his hands in the pocket and walked back to the carriage.