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“I like it here.”

“You like it here?” Wilkis looked at Damian with a puzzled expression.

“Erkal is clearly…” Wilkis hesitated and glanced at Taron and Vashel.

He knew the next words he was about to say would be quite disrespectful to those who were serving in Erkal.

“…Are you really not interested? Becoming a knight means you’ll be elevated to a quasi-noble status. You won’t be a commoner anymore,” Wilkis urged again. He thought it was a waste to keep such talent here.

“I deeply appreciate your lordship’s kindness. I am grateful for the offer, but I will remain here.” Damian’s response was a polite yet firm refusal.

Wilkis couldn’t hide his disappointed expression at Damian’s words, but he nodded.

“If that’s your choice, then there’s nothing I can do. Here, have another drink with me.”

“It would be my honor.” Damian, who had met nobles and even royalty in his past life, knew how to flatter them when necessary, despite his sharp tongue.

When Damian raised his glass, Wilkis grinned and poured more wine.

“For the kingdom!”

“For the kingdom!” Others echoed Wilkis’ toast, raising their glasses.

Gulp, gulp.

Damian quickly emptied his glass, carefully set it down, and saluted Wilkis.

“Glory to the kingdom!” He pressed his right fist against his left chest before exiting the tent.

“Whew.” The strong liquor’s heat filled his mouth.

Damian used his magic to expel the alcohol from his body and looked in the direction of Erkal’s entrance.

‘…Now.’

The curse in the Bronselian Forest had been cleansed. From a historical perspective, this was an immensely significant achievement.

‘In my past life, the Bronselian Forest was purged by the Empire, but now…’ Damian thought, ‘this time, it was achieved by the hands of our kingdom—by my own hands.’

No one knew what kind of changes this would bring in the future, but…

‘One year from now.’

For the next year, he had secured exclusive rights to everything that came out of the Bronselian Forest.

‘I’ll gather everything I can during this year.’

This was the turning point.

Over the next year, he could amass far more wealth than he had ever achieved before.

Resolving his thoughts, Damian headed to the staffing office to send a letter.

* * *

A few days had passed since the purge.

Thanks to the successful purge of the Bronselian Forest, the Neokalitz unit had some ceremonial matters to attend to.

“To think they’d give us a week off.”

“The senior members are in an uproar, saying they’re going to make up for all the hardship.”

“The taverns are going to be packed.” It was clear even without seeing it. With a week of leave and no training, everyone was bound to let loose.

But—

Swish! Whoosh! Slash!

Dianal and Kyle turned their heads toward the sound. The spear Damian wielded now made a completely different noise.

Kyle swallowed nervously. “…Did he do something to his spear? Otherwise, it wouldn’t make that kind of sound when swung….”

“He’s changed a lot since the last purge,” Dianal said, looking at Damian. Indeed, after the purge, his entire demeanor had shifted, and his spear movements had become more refined and powerful.

‘…How much further has the gap widened?’

Even before, it was impossible to match him in combat. But now, after the purge, it was hard even to gauge the extent of the difference between them.

“Whew…” Damian, drenched in sweat, exhaled deeply after training with his spear for a long time.

“…Hmm?” Damian noticed Kyle staring at him.

Damian spoke to Kyle, “Why are you just sitting there watching?”

“What?”

“If you’re just going to idle, come at me. Let’s have a light sparring match.”

Damian beckoned Kyle with his finger, and Kyle immediately sprang up.

“Alright! You’ve been acting pretty cocky lately; I’m going to beat you down today.”

“Heh, aren’t you the one who’s going to get beaten?” Dianal chuckled softly, and Kyle snorted harshly.

“Hmph! I’ve got a secret weapon to handle that guy; watch closely.”

Kyle grabbed his hand axe and shield. Ever since Damian had given him some advice, he’d been practicing with the axe and shield, and it made fighting much easier.

Kyle charged at Damian. “Don’t blame your exhaustion later!”

“No need for such pointless worries.” Damian thrust his spear at the approaching Kyle.

Whoosh!

Kyle deftly twisted his body to dodge the spear and swung his axe at Damian, aiming to target his legs and hinder his movements.

Swish!

“…?!”

But before Kyle’s axe could make contact, Damian had already pulled back his legs and thrust his spear forward.

Bang!

“Ugh…!”

Was his movement too wide? Kyle cautiously swung his axe at Damian again, choosing a smaller move that would ensure he landed a hit.

Swoosh! Whoosh! Thud!

But all of Kyle’s attacks missed their target.

Before his hand axe could even touch Damian’s body, Damian had already evaded, as if he had predicted the direction of the attack.

“…….”

Dianal watched Damian’s every movement without missing a single one.

‘He moves like a ghost.’

Every time he saw it, Damian’s movements were astonishing.

How could someone move like that in a real battle?

And at that moment—

“You little…!”

Kyle, frustrated by his continued misses, gritted his teeth and swung his hand axe sideways.

Whoosh!

His axe missed again.

But then—

Swish!

Kyle, spinning from the swing, suddenly swung the shield he had been holding back at Damian.

“……!”

Damian’s eyes widened as he leaned his head back, narrowly avoiding the shield flying toward him.

Slash!

Kyle’s shield grazed Damian’s bangs.

But then—

Thud!

With a dull sound, Damian struck Kyle’s side hard with the shaft of his spear.

“Gah!”

Kyle clutched his side and fell to the ground.

“Oh? S-Sorry!”

“Ugh…!”

Damian approached the fallen Kyle.

Kyle grimaced in pain, clutching the spot where he had been hit.

“Ugh… You bastard. Did you have to hit so hard?”

Kyle slowly got up and spoke to Damian.

Damian looked at him, bewildered.

‘…This guy’s built like an ox.’

Most people would have been knocked out by that blow.

But Kyle just rubbed the spot a few times and got up.

Damian asked Kyle.

“You okay?”

“Not really. It’s not broken, is it…?”

“But what was that move just now? I’ve never seen it before.”

It looked like Kyle swung his shield in a blind spot when he spun with his axe.

He couldn’t predict Kyle’s move.

It was completely different from Kyle’s usual fighting style—creative and smart.

When Damian asked, Kyle chuckled.

“Hehehe, it’s my special move. I practiced it for a long time just to use it on you. But… damn, I can’t believe it missed so badly.”

Kyle couldn’t hide his disappointment.

Damian shook his head.

“No, it was a really good attack. I never expected the shield to come flying.”

“…Really?”

Kyle grinned at the compliment.

‘…Simple-minded guy.’

At that moment, Dianal approached Kyle and spoke.

“As the opponent, your attack was hard to see. Since Kyle’s big, the shield was completely hidden when you spun.”

She then added from a third-person perspective.

“When you attack with the shield, you could also try lifting it from below or swinging it sideways to change the pattern. Targeting your opponent’s thigh to impede their movement could be effective, too.”

“Good advice.”

Damian chimed in.

“Oh! That’s a good idea!”

“With enough practice, it could become your unique technique.”

Dianal encouraged Kyle.

Kyle chuckled deeply.

“Hehehehe, does this prove my genius? Then, I’ll refine this special move a bit more.”

Kyle immediately sprinted toward the training grounds, where the wooden practice dummies were.

It seemed like he was starting to see some progress in his own way.

After Kyle left, Damian asked Dianal.

“How’s the fit with the black sword?”

“I still get frustrated when it doesn’t take down monsters in one blow.”

“Heh, is that so?”

“But it’s been much more manageable lately.”

Dianal glanced at the swords hanging on both sides of her waist as she spoke.

Damian nodded.

“It might be time to change.”

“…Change what?”

“We can’t fight monsters forever.”

Damian’s expression grew serious.

If an era of war were to come, they would have to fight powerful ‘humans,’ not monsters.

Dianal tilted her head at his words.

“What do you mean…?”

But just then—

“Damian! Someone’s here to see you.”

“Ah, I thought my neck would snap.”

Damian seemed to know exactly who it was.

He nodded to Dianal and rushed to the entrance of the camp.

Left alone, Dianal pondered over Damian’s words.

“…We can’t keep fighting monsters.”

What did that mean?

She decided to ask Damian about it later as she made her way toward the training grounds where Kyle had gone.

“It’s been a while.”

The one waiting at the front of the camp was, as expected, Diel.

Diel spoke to Damian.

“After receiving your letter, I assembled a team and came to Erkal. Including the merchants, we have about fifty people. But… is what you wrote in the letter true?”

“Of course. Did the head of your guild come as well?”

Damian asked, and Diel shook her head.

“My father’s in the capital. I’m in charge here.”

“You’re setting up a branch here, right?”

“Let’s hear what you have to say first.”

Damian smirked at her words.

“There’s going to be a lot of work ahead. Clearing the Bronserian Forest has brought quite a few changes.”

It was impossible to cover all the details in a letter.

But Damian’s reliability had been decent enough that Diel had come to Erkal with her team based on a single letter.

It was a move that wouldn’t have been possible without mutual trust.

This alone showed how much Diel trusted Damian.

Damian guided Diel to a quiet place.

“Let’s go. It seems like we have a lot to discuss.”

“I came with high expectations. If you don’t meet them, I might be disappointed.”

“Heh, let’s go.”

With that, Diel nodded and followed Damian.