Chapter 10 : The Hidden Truth, Mount Control and Sword Training
Chapter 10: The Hidden Truth, Mount Control and Sword Training
The two quickly returned to their respective rooms.
The dim oil lamp flickered slightly in the wind.
Leo recalled the events of the night—this world was not as simple as he had originally imagined, at least not outside the castle.
Tonight, Leo had eaten Merfolk Meat for the first time, and also encountered a creature beyond his understanding.
He was certain that what he saw back then, under the dim lighting, was only a vague outline.
It resembled a crouching person, but those five-toed, separated footprints—
Because he could not see it clearly, it only left more room for imagination.
When facing the unknown, people instinctively felt fear. And the only way to overcome that fear was through one’s own strength.
Leo looked at his panel.
【Leo
Strength: 1.0 Agility: 0.9 Spirit: 1.2
Class: Stablehand (White), 【Swordsman】 (Green)
Traits: Horse Whisperer (White), Tempering (Green)
Skills: Basic Sword Techniques (White) Level 1 25/100 (Strength +0.1, Basic Sword Techniques Proficiency Level 1)
Mount Control (White) Level 3 62/100 (Spirit +0.3, proficient in caring for horses, can issue commands to horses with weaker Spirit than oneself)】
“While the warmth from the merfolk meat is still here tonight… Since I can’t sleep anyway, I might as well practice swordsmanship a bit more.”
Under the lamplight, Leo continuously swung his Wooden Sword until late into the night, drenched in sweat.
Afterward, he ate the meal Natalie had left for him. As drowsiness overtook him, he unknowingly fell asleep at the table.
……
Early the next morning, before dawn had fully broken,
Leo was awakened by the crowing of a rooster and left even an hour earlier than the previous day.
However, instead of going to the Training Room, he first headed to the stables.
Last night, he had agreed with Arthur to help take care of the horses every morning.
“Hey, Leo.” Arthur greeted him from afar. “Did you know? I ran into the captain of last night’s guard patrol. He said they caught that person.”
“Person?”
“Yeah, a person. Guess we saw wrong. He said it was a thief—stole gold coins and didn’t dare hide them at home, so he dug a hole to stash them.”
“That’s not right. What about the footprints?”
“Ah, we probably saw it wrong at the time.” Arthur waved it off casually, clearly not thinking much of it.
Leo frowned. He remembered those footprints very clearly—they were definitely not from a thief.
Combined with the guards’ reaction last night,
he felt that things were not as simple as they appeared.
He had always heard that Blackstone City was very safe, but now it seemed that perhaps certain things had been deliberately concealed.
If there were rumors of danger in Blackstone City, nobles would not send their children here to become Knight’s Squires.
‘From now on, better avoid going outside the castle whenever possible,’ Leo decided inwardly.
At the very least, this castle—guarded by five great knights and stationed troops—should be safe.
It took about half an hour for Leo to efficiently prepare the morning fodder.
Arthur stood by, observing carefully. He still kept his distance from the white horse—overcoming fear took time.
Watching the six horses happily bury their heads into the trough and chew, Arthur suddenly said, “Strange… why hasn’t the Stablehand Luka come today?”
“Luka?”
“Yeah, he was the one who led us in preparing the fodder yesterday.”
Leo seemed to realize something.
Yesterday, the horses had said there was a scent in the fodder that frightened them.
But today, with the fodder he prepared, the horses had no issue eating it.
Could it be that the scent came from Luka?
Leo thought about it but did not reveal anything.
He quietly walked up to the white horse, and his suspicion was confirmed.
It was indeed the scent lingering on Luka that caused the horses’ fear.
Could it be related to whatever was in the main stable?
Leo suppressed his curiosity.
He was just a Knight’s Squire in training—curiosity could be fatal.
After finishing the stable work—
【Mount Control (White) Level 3 62/100 → 65/100】
The experience increased by 3 points.
Next came sword training.
Leo moved back and forth between the Training Room and the stables, practically becoming a master of time management.
Taking care of the horses served as his rest.
Throughout the day, Leo made four round trips. Aside from eating lunch, he barely stopped for a moment.
After a full day of effort, Mount Control gained 10 experience points, while Basic Sword Techniques gained 20.
Watching Leo work so tirelessly, Arthur felt somewhat embarrassed. “Leo, you’re really something. But I think I’ve already figured out how to deal with horses. Look, I’m getting along pretty well with this one now.”
Arthur tried to place his hand on the white horse’s back, but hesitated and pulled it back.
“Is that so?” Leo looked at Arthur, who was now awkwardly raking horse manure. Hogg silently assisted him from the side, holding a dustpan.
It was obvious that neither of them had done such work before, but their attitudes were still earnest.
Leo gave the white horse a subtle look.
The reason the horses were being so cooperative today was, of course, because Leo had communicated with them.
The price was giving them an extra feeding at night.
In contrast, Eddie stood apart from the group, lazily leaning on a rake near the fodder pile, slacking off.
Because of Leo’s presence, a rift had already formed within Arthur’s trio.
Strangely, however, Eddie did not seem worried at all about the upcoming horsemanship assessment.
Last night at the table, Leo had learned about Hogg and Eddie’s backgrounds—both were sons of minor barons, always acting as followers around Arthur.
The difference was that Hogg was honest but lacked initiative.
Eddie, however—even Arthur could not quite see through him.
Leo had already taken note of this baron’s son, so he became more cautious and had the horses keep an eye on him.
Although the horses only had intelligence comparable to human children, they could still provide some basic information.
With that, Leo and Arthur quickly finished all the stable work.
Then Leo prepared to begin his extra training.
As the sun set, Leo and Arthur finished dinner separately and returned to the stables.
“Dear Leo, haven’t we finished all the work? Why are we back here?” Arthur asked with a pained expression.
“To practice swordsmanship.”
“Swordsmanship?! It’s already dark! I’ve been working in the stables all day, and now you still want to train? Are you trying to exhaust me to death?” Arthur slumped instantly. “Let’s go to the tavern and have a couple of drinks—relax a bit.”
Leo felt that the merfolk meat Arthur had treated him to yesterday was indeed powerful—he had not felt hungry all day.
So to save time, he had only eaten a few bites at mealtime. “You agreed to this. I help you with the horses, and you accompany me at night.”
“I thought you meant I’d keep you company going into town at night.” Seeing Leo’s firm expression, Arthur sighed and gave up resisting. “Fine, fine, let’s do it.”
Arthur looked rather listless.
But Leo was completely serious—true training was only just beginning.
“Be careful.”
Leo raised his sword with both hands and dashed forward in a single stride toward Arthur.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of Wooden Swords clashing rang out repeatedly.
Facing Leo’s full-force attacks, Arthur casually held a Wooden Sword in one hand, effortlessly adjusting angles.
Leo’s attacks posed almost no threat to him.
They were all basic techniques—easily blocked.
Arthur assumed Leo had only just started learning swordsmanship, driven by momentary enthusiasm.
So he casually played along, treating it as post-meal exercise.
Until a figure appeared at the entrance.
Arthur turned his head and glanced over—his eyes instantly widened. “M-Miss Eve.”
Eve stood there in a fitted, short outfit, her slender waist accentuated and her pale legs exposed, watching the two from a distance. “I was wondering why you kept running out today. So you were hiding here playing house.”
Arthur looked at Eve, then at Leo. “Y-you two know each other?!”
“She is my teacher.”