Chapter 38: A Walk with Amy
A month had passed since my Hell training with Master. Well... if I could even call it Hell, I guess it still falls short. Every day, I became a punching bag for his brutality.
There were times during training when I genuinely wished I would die—seriously, I'm not lying this time. But on the bright side, my sword skills have improved significantly. My stats, too.
And slowly, I've started adapting to some of his blows. It turns out there's another weakness to my unlimited adaptation skill, which is:
If the enemy's attack power varies, my adaptation slows down. And if I have already adapted to one attack, the opponent only needs to double their power to hurt me again without any damage reduction.
That trick was what Master used on me. Initially, he didn't realize it, but after I remained standing despite being hit dozens of times, he started noticing.
That made him very surprised and horrified. But that was it—once he realized it, he laughed like a maniac and said, "YOU ARE TRULY SUITABLE TO BE MY PUNCHING BAG!!"
And that's how my Hell training became even more terrifying every day, making it difficult for me to sleep for several days due to the fear of being beaten up again during training.
But now I'm used to it—maybe.
...
It was noon in Doren village, the name of the village where I currently lived. I was now walking with Amy to go to the children's park.
Actually, we only went out initially to buy chicken satay, but Amy insisted I go to the park with her.
"Hum~ hum, Lalala~ I'm happy~" Amy hummed as she walked, occasionally skipping ahead of me.
I looked at her back. This past month, I realized something surprising about her.
(Author: Important Explanation!)
First: Amy is a noble and the daughter of Duke Eldoria, the owner of this western region. It turns out this village is located within the territory of King Valenhard.
I was briefly stunned because I was so shocked; I never expected this chatterbox girl to be a high-ranking noble. At first, I didn't believe it and asked Master—but it turned out she was right.
And also, Master is the Duke's uncle... Quite an astonishing plot twist, I think.
In this Empire, there are several high and low nobles.
Master once explained it while kicking me out of the training ring—well, not a romantic explanation, but informative nonetheless.
According to him, the noble system in the ATLAS Empire—that's its name—is divided into two main layers:
High nobility and low nobility.
High nobility consists of large families that own vast territories, private armies, and direct political rights in the imperial capital.
Usually, they have a blood relation or at least a direct oath of loyalty—to the Emperor himself. Their ranks include Dukes, Marquises, and Counts of important regions.
As for low nobility, they are more like small regional custodians or district rulers. They are usually called Viscounts, Barons, and sometimes there are Noble Knights, who are given the title for service on the battlefield, not by descent.
They are still respected, but their position... could be said to be like "subordinates of subordinates."
He also said, "If a high noble can command a thousand soldiers, a low noble needs permission even to command ten."
And I think that's true, based on the medieval novels I read in my previous life.
Amy, it turns out, is the only daughter of Duke Eldoria, one of the Four Pillars of this region's king.
In other words... this little girl currently humming on the street—is someone who, if she wanted to, could make the entire village kneel with a single command.
And I... am just a disciple of a sadistic yet strong old grandfather, who is almost equivalent to the ruler of this Empire, the Emperor himself.
Also, Amy, she acquired an S+ rank sword-type fighter class. This immediately granted her her own sword technique upon awakening.
Namely: Flower Sword Technique.
Therefore, she lives in this village to learn swordsmanship from her grandfather, Himmel.
Don't be mistaken. It turns out that every child who receives a class of rank A or higher automatically gets their own technique.
But if it's lower than that? Nothing at all. They have to find techniques through hard work and exploring dungeons—except for nobles, of course. Life is indeed unfair.
...
I casually ran my hand through my hair while looking at her back. A few moments later, we arrived at the park.
As we entered the park, the children took notice.
Actually, I had been out for walks quite often during this month, and now the villagers knew me well enough to greet me when I passed on the street.
"Ren! Are you here to play with us?" asked a boy named Lucas.
I shook my head slowly, "Not really, Amy forced me to come here."
I glanced at Amy who was playing with her friends. Fortunately, even though Amy is a high-ranking noble child, she is not arrogant. The children are also used to her because Amy often comes here during breaks from private lessons.
"I see, then do you want to come with me?" Lucas continued.
I tilted my head slightly, asking. "Where to?"
"Just follow me..." he said, smiling strangely while rubbing his hands together playfully.
"... Alright," I said softly, feeling a little uneasy.
Lucas grinned triumphantly, like a cat who had just found raw fish.
"Then follow me for a moment, you won't regret it!" he said with suspicious enthusiasm.
We walked past the park, heading toward a small corner of the park that had a small house, which was usually for children to study together. The further we walked, the more uncomfortable I felt.
I started to get suspicious.
"Lucas... You're not setting me up, are you?" I asked, looking at him flatly.
He turned back with a smile that was too innocent. "No. But this is important, I promise."
'Uh-oh,' I thought. The phrase 'I promise' from a child his size is usually a sign of disaster.
We stopped in front of the door. Lucas opened the door carefully, peeked inside—then pushed me in without warning.
"Eh, wait—!"
THUD!
I stumbled inside, and the door immediately closed behind me. From outside, I heard Lucas holding back his laughter.
"I'll lock it first, Ren! They're waiting for you inside! Hahaha!" then he loudly said from outside, "And thank you for the chocolate, sis!"
"What? Chocolate??" I asked quickly.
Too late.
As my eyes adjusted to the situation, I saw them—five girls were standing there, all looking at me with a mix of satisfied and shy expressions.
The first one, a blonde girl—I knew her, her name was Mira, the daughter of the coffee shop owner Master often visited for coffee.
Then, the brown-haired twins, Nelly and Nara.
The fourth was a girl with two braids, I remember her name is Rena.
And the last one... well, the one who made me want to AFK from life for a while—Lila. The most popular girl in the village because they said she was "the prettiest and the most talkative" after Amy.
All five of them were around 14–15 years old.
They all stood surrounding me like a group of hunters who had just captured their prey.
I looked at them, then looked at the door that Lucas had locked from the outside. 'Of course. Life is never easy for me.'
I sighed and coughed softly, then in a relaxed voice—pretending.
"Ahem! Sis Lila, what are you doing?"
Lila, who was in front of me, crossed her arms, "Are you pretending not to know, or do you really not know?"
I tilted my head innocently, "What do you mean, sis?"
Lila rolled her eyes with an amused expression and turned to Mira, who was behind me.
"Tie him up now!" she said quickly.
That surprised me and made me flinch immediately. That's right, Sis Lila really liked to bully me; I don't know what her problem was. But what's clear is that ever since she saw me walking around for the first time, she did everything to get me.
I wouldn't exactly call it bullying... but sometimes her actions were more terrifying than that. "My prince has come for me!" That was her first sentence when we met. And since then... my life has been less peaceful.
"Eh, wait, don't—"
Before I could finish my sentence, Mira and Nelly had already pulled my hands from two sides. Meanwhile, Nara and Rena were preparing the rope.
"Wait! This is kidnapping, you know!" I protested.
"It's not kidnapping," Lila replied casually while looking at me from a small chair in the middle of the room. "This is... a secret meeting."
Huh? Why didn't I use physical force to break free? Here's why: my mother once said in my previous life, she said.
I remembered those words and I feel like I see them flying and having wings in front of me right now... Ahem.
I looked at them with puppy dog eyes, my secret move to escape from this—embarrassing indeed, but what choice do I have? It's the only way.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Hey, hey~! Don't look at us like that," Mira replied with a bit of pity. "This time, that won't work on us!"
"Tsk!" I clicked my tongue, looking away.
I could hear all their suppressed laughter. Ropes on my wrists were tied to a small wooden chair, strong enough to keep me from moving freely.
"Good," Lila said in the manner of a school gang leader. "Now, the meeting begins."