Chapter 138 – Pangaea (4)

I was truly amazed by the level of shipbuilding in Pangaea.

Considering the development of their civilization, I had thought it would be at most at the level of Kalia where I used to live, but my prediction was splendidly wrong.

“Unit Leader! This is almost…”

“Yes. It’s quite surprising.”

The ship we were to board far surpassed my imagination in size.

I had never seen one in person, but I felt it wouldn’t fall far behind the giant cruise ships of Earth.

Ramel, who had only ever lived in the countryside, was just as amazed.

“Sir! This is almost like a castle floating on the sea!”

As much as its massive scale, the crowd of people using the ship was also diverse.

From simple tourists to merchants, businessmen, explorers, religious figures, and even high-ranking nobles, all sorts of people could be seen.

Among them, there was one group that particularly stood out: the Red Scorpion Mercenary Company, armed with various weapons.

And the guy who seemed to be the captain of this mercenary company would constantly make the atmosphere strange.

“Hey! Everyone, be grateful to Count Berwood. Got it?”

The reason was that since Count Berwood had hired his mercenary company as escorts, everyone on the ship could also have a safe journey.

“If pirates show up at sea, who do you think will be risking their lives to fight? Huh?”

“If you happen to run into the Count on the ship, greet him politely! Got it?”

It didn’t seem likely that the Count would order such a childish act, so it was highly probable that this guy was being overly loyal on his own.

He must have judged that planting a loyal image in a high-ranking family would be good for the future of the mercenary company.

“Hey! You, kid over there! Are you listening to me?”

The mercenary captain pointed at Ramel.

“Me?”

“Yeah, you! What are you mumbling to yourself about?”

He could have been flustered, but Ramel answered in a very calm voice.

“I was practicing my greeting of gratitude to Count Berwood.”

“Really? That’s very commendable.”

To believe that at face value, what a simple guy he was.

Just a moment ago, Ramel had been pointing out the guy’s severely ugly appearance.

The size of the Red Scorpion Mercenary Company was about thirty men.

Including the mercenary captain, a few of them seemed to be quite competent.

Although I didn’t know if they could handle the pirates’ full strength.

“Sir Ji-han! You’re stronger than that mercenary captain, right?”

Ramel asked.

“Are you curious about that?”

“Yes. Please tell me you are. That guy is not only ugly, but his personality seems like a jerk too. It would be too horrible if a guy like that was stronger than you, sir.”

“The horrible thing you’re thinking of probably won’t happen.”

At my answer, Ramel’s face brightened.

“That’s a relief, sir!”

“Ramel, you said you wanted to learn swordsmanship, right?”

“Yes!”

Now that we were on the ship, it was time to fulfill my promise.

The timing was perfect.

It would take about a week for this ship to reach the port near the capital.

It was enough time to teach Ramel how to properly hold a sword as he wanted.

Depending on his aptitude, it might even be possible to cover a part of the introductory course.

I had a rough idea of what to teach Ramel.

I was thinking of teaching him a popular swordsmanship style that could be learned in a short time, yet wasn’t too light, one that the children of Kalia’s noble families would learn at least once.

***

The waves were calm, and the voyage was proceeding smoothly.

The same went for Ramel’s swordsmanship lessons.

Every late night, when all the passengers had gone to bed, we would go out to the deck and begin our lessons.

Watching the stars pouring down in the middle of the vast ocean, Ramel devoted himself to his swordsmanship training.

What Ramel had originally wanted was how to properly hold a sword, but he had already mastered that on the first day.

I decided to revise my original plan and teach him a little more.

I thought he was just headstrong, but Ramel’s aptitude for swordsmanship was much better than I expected.

It was surprising and interesting that when I taught him one thing, he knew not ten, but three or four.

If I had my way, I would want to put him in the Chamryongdan.

And today was the night of the sixth day.

Swaaaaak!

The sword Ramel swung cut through the night air quite plausibly.

It was just a single sword stroke, but for this, Ramel had diligently honed his sword for six days.

If only he had proper mana training, it would have been much more spectacular.

Ramel himself seemed surprised by his own achievement.

“You really are an amazing person, sir.”

His way of praising me, the teacher, instead of himself, was also not boyish.

“It’s a shame. That I can’t teach you more.”

“It’s already enough. I feel like I’ll have to review what you’ve taught me over the past few days for several more years.”

“I will guide you from time to time until my journey ends.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“By the way, what is the reason you want to learn swordsmanship?”

Come to think of it, I had never asked until now.

“I want to join a knight order.”

It turned out to be a plausible dream.

And with Ramel’s talent, it was a goal he could definitely achieve.

“That’s a good dream.”

“Yes. And among the many knight orders, my dream is to join the Jerome Knights.”

“The Jerome… Knights?”

“Yes. It’s too absurd, right?”

Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed to be a rather famous knight order.

“Not at all. Ramel, you can definitely do it.”

“Really?”

“Of course!”

“It feels like a dream just imagining it! Following the Princess’s command in the Jerome Knights!”

Princess?

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind.

“Ramel. The princess you mentioned, are you perhaps talking about the 3rd Princess, Clera Erendina?”

At my question, the boy wore a baffled expression.

“Then who else is there, a princess who leads the Jerome Knights besides her?”

In fact, the 3rd Princess I met in the dungeon had introduced herself as a Sword Master.

I couldn’t confirm if her swordsmanship was truly at that level, but it seemed her words weren’t entirely a bluff.

“I suppose that’s true. By the way, do you admire the 3rd Princess that much?”

“Of course. She is one of only three Sword Masters that exist in Pangaea!”

It was an interesting coincidence, if I may say so.

The reason I was on this ship right now was to go to the capital and meet the 3rd Princess.

“I’ll let you meet her.”

I could make this much of a promise.

Getting Ramel into the Jerome Knights was a problem on another level.

“Pardon? Who?”

“Who else. The person we’re talking about right now.”

“The 3rd Princess?”

“Why. You don’t seem to believe me.”

At my words, Ramel just laughed as if it were amusing.

And another laugh was heard from far away.

Actually, I knew he was watching us.

However, I thought he would just pass by as usual.

I never expected him to reveal himself before us like this.

“Wahahahaha! You two, your conversation is so funny I couldn’t just stay still.”

The man was the captain of the Red Scorpion Mercenary Company. It was Ramas.

“What? What about the Jerome Knights, and what about the 3rd Princess?”

But I didn’t bother to respond to his provocation.

The moment I responded and exchanged words, it seemed like it would get more tiring.

The problem was that the guy seemed quite bored as the voyage had continued for six days. Ramas raised the level of provocation a notch.

“Can you take responsibility for what you just said? Impersonating a royal is by no means a light crime. Well, if you beg me now, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear.”

Saying so, he tapped my chest with his finger.

Mana was transmitted.

The guy had sent a faint amount of mana for the purpose of threatening me.

If it were my Johan Raven days, one of his fingers would have been pulled out and thrown into the sea, but my personality after reincarnating as Seo Ji-han had definitely softened.

Ramas’s actions just felt childish.

“You seem very bored.”

“What?”

“If you really think my statement is an insult to the royal family, you can report it. I won’t stop you.”

“What kind of crazy bastard is this! Hey, did your guts spill out of your stomach or something?”

“However, you’ll have to take responsibility for touching my body just now.”

At my words, Ramas laughed like a madman. And then.

“Responsibility?”

The guy repeated the same action one more time.

He poked my chest with his finger.

But the amount of mana he pushed in was much greater than before.

He seemed to be trying to overwhelm me by showing off his power, but he should have noticed right away when he was neutralized once before.

As I looked at the guy calmly, Ramas finally showed a slightly flustered expression.

“Oh? So you learned swordsmanship somewhere, huh?”

Saying so, the guy continued.

“Did you say responsibility just now? Fine, I’ll take responsibility. That is, if you have the ability to make me.”

Chaaeng!

Ramas drew his sword.

“If you can prove it, I’ll take responsibility in any way you want.”

I nodded.

This situation. It wasn’t bad for Ramel’s sake either.

I had been teaching him swordsmanship for the past six days, but I hadn’t been able to show him how this swordsmanship could be used in a real battle.

That was the most regrettable part.

But since a villain had appeared just in time, I was able to show him an example.

“Ramel. Watch carefully. How the swordsmanship you learned over the past few days unfolds in reality.”

“Yes, sir!”

“First, I plan to defend against this person’s attacks using only the three basic movements. And on the fourth exchange, I will counterattack using the basic 1st form, so watch the connection of all these movements carefully.”

“Yes!”

“In particular, the attack will end with just a single blow, so you must concentrate even more.”

“Yes!”

Ramel answered with eyes full of motivation.

Ramas had a dumbfounded expression.

To have all the plans laid out in front of him, he must be wondering what this was all about.

“Crazy bastard. I’ll teach you that theory and reality are different.”

Hwiiiiing!

As soon as his words ended, Ramas’s sword quickly aimed for my neck.

A momentum as if he didn’t care if he killed me right then and there.

He might be thinking that he could just kill one person like me here and throw the body into the sea.

Chaaeng!

But I calmly raised my sword and blocked Ramas’s sword.

Just as I had announced.

And this only provoked Ramas’s anger further.

“This bastard?”

The guy’s mana exploded.

And the following attack became even more violent.

A clear killing strike.

A provocation that started half as a joke had now become a life-or-death battle.

Kwaaaaaang!

But my holy sword, held lightly horizontally, completely neutralized his attack.

“I recommend you pour everything you have into it this time. This is the last time I’ll passively receive your attack.”

I wanted him to launch as big an attack as possible.

I wanted to show Ramel that no matter how massive an attack flew in, it could be dealt with by a simple basic form.

Because I was always serious when it came to teaching.

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