Chapter 44 : Chapter 44
Chapter 44: Clearing Up Her Doubts
After hearing her sister’s words, Nila began to look at Ryan in a new light as well.
She had never expected Ryan to possess such formidable strength.
She understood her sister well.
Nika would never lie about something like this.
What she did not realize, however, was just how great a shock those words had dealt to Isabella.
She had been born into a great family like the Jurgens.
From childhood to adulthood, the education she received had always been the same: Mages were the strongest.
And because her magic talent was only D-rank,
even though she was the lord’s daughter, people her own age had never treated her kindly.
That was what had led to the long-standing introversion that now defined Isabella.
Now that she knew someone like Ryan existed, she desperately wanted to know how he had done it.
But after so many years of living with such a withdrawn personality, she did not dare take the initiative to speak to Ryan and ask him herself.
And Nika had already made her stance clear.
There was no way Isabella would learn anything about Ryan from her.
Before long, after Ryan had practiced martial arts for a while, it was time for a break.
Isabella could not resist the urge to ask Ryan how one could become strong.
But at that very moment, the Jurgen Family’s craftsmen, who had been waiting for quite some time, all came forward to ask Ryan about the details of making perfume.
Although Ryan had already told the Jurgen Family all the raw materials and the entire Production Process,
if they wanted to start producing perfume for sale as soon as possible, then Ryan naturally had to give them more detailed guidance.
The proportions of the various ingredients were especially important.
Ryan also regarded himself as one of the partners in this venture, so he personally taught the craftsmen step by step how to make perfume.
Once the break was over, Ryan once again resumed martial arts training under Alfred’s instruction.
Because Ryan’s foundation was so poor, this was precisely the stage where he had to suffer the most.
Alfred did not hold anything back.
As he carefully taught Ryan, he also poured all his years of experience into the lessons without reservation.
When he saw Ryan’s progress improving more and more, he felt deeply gratified.
“So it seems I actually do have talent for teaching others!”
Alfred sighed inwardly.
He had guided other members of the family in martial arts before.
But that group had constantly complained that what he said was too difficult to understand.
Because of that, Alfred had once believed he had no talent for teaching at all.
It was only after seeing Ryan today that he realized the truth: the people in his family had simply been too useless.
As Isabella watched Ryan and Alfred begin training again, she looked as though she wanted to cry but had no tears to shed.
“Young Lady, what is it?”
Nila noticed that something was off about Isabella and asked with concern.
“I-It’s nothing.”
Isabella shook her head.
“Oh, Young Lady, do you really think I don’t know you? Something is definitely bothering you. Can you tell me? Let me help you think of something.”
Nila coaxed gently.
“Mmm... actually, it isn’t anything serious.”
Isabella lowered her voice and said, “Earlier, your sister said that Mr. Ryan was able to defeat Mages even before he knew martial arts. I want to ask Mr. Ryan exactly how he did it.”
“Oh, so that’s what it was.”
Nila let out a sigh of relief.
She had thought it was something truly serious.
Who would have guessed it was only such a small matter?
Nila took Nika’s hand and asked with a grin, “Sister, could you help the Young Lady ask Mr. Ryan?”
“No problem, but not right now. Master is practicing martial arts at the moment, so it would not be appropriate for me to disturb him. We can wait until Master is finished.”
Nika shook her head.
She had already seen through it.
This Young Lady of the Jurgen Family, Isabella, treated her younger sister Nila extremely well.
Otherwise, Nila would never have been helping Isabella so wholeheartedly.
But Nika also had her own position to maintain.
She might be Nila’s elder sister, but she could not possibly interrupt her own master on her sister’s behalf without permission.
...
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, evening had fallen.
Ryan had trained for an entire day.
After eating dinner in the dining hall, he returned to the guest room and immediately lay down on the bed, unwilling to move at all.
When Nika saw how exhausted Ryan was, she immediately came to his side and began massaging him.
“Hm? Nika, you know how to give a massage too?”
Ryan asked in surprise, his eyes closed.
“Hehe, Master was training during the day, so I learned some massage techniques from the other maids. I guessed Master would definitely need them.”
Nika was overjoyed as she watched Ryan’s expression of enjoyment.
“Mmm, not bad. Not bad at all.”
Ryan let out two satisfied hums.
It had to be said—today had truly been exhausting.
“Master...”
“Mmm? What is it?”
“I want to ask you something.”
“Then ask.”
“Master already has such powerful Magic Tools, so why do you still train so hard in martial arts?”
Ryan gave a soft snort and replied, “You said it yourself—the powerful thing is the Magic Tools. If I ever run into bad people who destroy them or steal them away, then wouldn’t I be at the mercy of others? That’s why I need to raise my own strength to the point where I can still protect myself even without Magic Tools.”
“Master is truly amazing, to be able to think that far ahead.”
“It’s nothing much. That’s only normal.”
Ryan was in an excellent mood.
No matter who it was, everyone liked hearing pleasant words, and he was no exception.
“Master, today Lady Isabella asked me about the time you defeated a Mage. Should I tell her about the Magic Tools?”
Nika asked softly.
“That’s fine. Just tell her.”
Ryan waved a hand indifferently and said, “You should have noticed too. Guns are powerful, yes, but the most important thing is the bullets. If you have only the gun and no bullets, then that thing is no different from scrap metal.”
“Yes, Master. I understand.”
Nika nodded.
Ryan had long since given Nika a Glock 17 for self-defense.
It was just that Nika did not have many bullets in her possession, only enough for three or four magazines.
Once all the bullets in those magazines were used up, the Glock 17 would be as good as scrap metal.
Ryan suddenly thought of something and said, “By the way, Nika, starting tomorrow, you’ll learn martial arts along with me. You do not need to become highly skilled. You only need enough ability to protect yourself.”
“I’m going to learn too? Understood.”
Though somewhat puzzled, Nika still obeyed Ryan’s order.
Ryan had only just realized it now.
Nika had a gun in her hands as well.
If someone seized her gun, then Nika would become a fish on the chopping block.
He had no desire to see his own people be easily brought down.
After Nika’s massage, Ryan had now recovered.
During the day, Alfred had beaten him mercilessly in training.
Now he was burning with pent-up heat.
When Ryan looked at Nika, endless desire blazed in his eyes.
Nika trembled.
She understood all too well what that look in Ryan’s eyes meant.
An intense night was about to begin.
“M-Master, aren’t you tired?”
Nika asked in a low voice, her cheeks flushed red.
“Hehe, not tired, not tired at all. On the contrary, I’m full of fire right now!”
Ryan laughed, then stood up, picked Nika up in his arms, and walked toward the bath chamber.
“Ah!”
Nika was startled by Ryan’s action and let out an involuntary cry.
But in the next instant, she covered her mouth and buried her head in Ryan’s chest.
...
Ten thousand words are omitted here; dear readers, just use your imagination.
...
It was a sleepless night.
The next morning,
Ryan and Nika came to the dining hall for breakfast.
After finishing breakfast, Ryan once again followed Alfred to the training grounds.
After Ryan told Alfred what he had in mind, Alfred readily agreed.
Then, at Ryan’s signal, Nika stepped aside and began learning along with them.
Of course, Alfred was nowhere near as strict with Nika as he was with Ryan.
There was even less chance that he would strike her directly.
So Nika’s progress was not especially fast.
Fortunately, Ryan was not expecting her to become exceptionally skilled.
He only wanted her to have at least some ability to protect herself.
She could not place all of her strength entirely in the gun.
Ryan, meanwhile, received the same strict instruction from Alfred as he had the day before.
Although his body hurt and Alfred’s words remained severe,
Ryan could clearly feel his strength rising rapidly.
Perhaps because he had crossed over into this world, his mind worked exceptionally well.
More often than not, Alfred only needed to briefly explain the essentials of a martial technique,
and Ryan would quickly grasp it and fully integrate it into his understanding.
That was why his learning speed was so astonishingly fast.
At the same time, Isabella and Nila appeared nearby once more, watching Ryan’s training.
Whenever it was time for a break, Ryan was once again surrounded by the craftsmen.
Nika slowly walked over to Isabella’s side.
“Sister, why have you started learning martial arts too?”
Nila could not help asking.
“It was Master’s order. Master wants me to have some ability to protect myself, so he specifically told me to learn along with him.”
Nika replied.
“Mr. Ryan really is very good to you, Sister.”
Nila envied her sister for having met such a good master as Ryan.
Her own master, Lady Isabella, also treated her very well.
That was why she devoted herself so completely to helping Isabella change her introverted nature.
Even so, in her spare moments, she had sometimes yearned for the world outside.
But before she repaid Lady Isabella’s kindness, she could never leave.
Earlier, her sister Nika had also proposed taking Nila away with her.
For a single brief moment, Nila had almost opened her mouth and agreed.
But after thinking it over, she had still refused.
At the very least, until Isabella was no longer so withdrawn, she would not leave.
“Yes. I’m truly fortunate to have met Master. Otherwise, my life might have become unbearably miserable.”
Nika said with emotion.
“Nila...”
Isabella tugged at Nila’s sleeve and spoke in a low voice.
Nila understood what Isabella meant, and quickly took Nika’s hand as she asked, “Sister, did you ask Mr. Ryan yesterday or not? Can you tell Lady Isabella?”
Nika already understood what Isabella wanted, so she nodded and said, “Mmm, do not worry. I already asked Master.”
“Ah? Really? Then what did Mr. Ryan say?”
Nila asked in delight.
Isabella said nothing, but her beautiful eyes remained fixed tightly on Nika.
“Master said I can tell you, but he requires both of you to keep Master’s secret.”
Nika spoke of Ryan’s decision.
She had simply added the requirement of secrecy on top of what Ryan had originally said.