Frondier sudah bertekad untuk menerima tugas atau suruhan apa pun. Ia bahkan siap berguling-guling seperti anjing bila memang diperlukan. Ia sama sekali tidak menyangka akan mendapat bimbingan dari para ksatria atau berlatih tanding dengan mereka. Rencananya hanyalah meniru latihan mereka, mencuri berbagai teknik senjata dengan matanya, dan jika perlu, menggunakan skill 'Analisis' untuk menjadikannya miliknya sendiri. "Hah, hah...! Hah!" Saat ini, Frondier benar-benar berguling-guling seperti anjing. Di tengah-tengah lapangan latihan para ksatria. "Titik berat badanmu. Jangan condongkan tubuhmu ke depan. Musuh akan membaca gerakanmu." Frondier saat ini sedang berada di tengah-tengah latih tanding. Dikelilingi oleh para Ksatria Roach. Para ksatria mengamati pertarungan Frondier dengan wajah tanpa ekspresi. Tidak ada kekaguman terhadap Frondier, begitu pula tidak ada cemoohan. Ekspresi mereka datar begitu saja. 'Bagaimana ceritanya sampai jadi begini?' Frondier mengingat kembali situasi beberapa saat yang lalu. Awalnya, ini semacam tes kemampuan. Karena Enfer telah memperkenalkannya kepada sang Komandan Ksatria, wajar saja untuk memeriksa tingkat kemampuannya sebelum memberinya tugas-tugas kasar. Ia yakin itulah niat awalnya. Namun setelah Frondier bertukar beberapa serangan dengan seorang ksatria yang dipilih secara acak. Komandan Ksatria Sylvain tiba-tiba angkat bicara. —Tuan, bolehkah saya mengajari putra keduamu sebentar? Dan setelah itu, Frondier mendapati dirinya dihajar habis-habisan oleh orang-orang yang menggunakan berbagai macam senjata, satu demi satu. "Jangan mengangkat pedangmu sembarangan. Itu membatasi opsi seranganmu. Menyerang, bertahan, menghindar. Ketiganya harus selalu berawal dan berakhir bersamaan, dengan gesit. Pertahankan postur yang sama untuk hal lainnya." "Saat menghadapi tombak dengan pedang, jangan cuma menangkisnya. Kecepatan mereka menarik kembali tombak selalu lebih cepat daripada kecepatanmu mendekat. Lebih baik menempel pada tombaknya. Itu lebih aman." Para ksatria bergantian menghajar Frondier hingga babak belur, lalu melontarkan sepatah dua patah kata nasihat yang bernada ramah. Para ksatria lain yang menyaksikan saling berbisik di antara mereka. "Sudah berapa lama?" "Dua jam, dan lima orang." "Dia bertahan cukup lama." Semua senjata berbahan kayu, dan tidak ada aura yang digunakan dalam latih tanding tersebut. Meski begitu, tubuh Frondier sudah dipenuhi luka-luka ringan. Bagi orang yang tidak tahu apa-apa, pemandangan itu mungkin tampak menyedihkan, tetapi bagi para ksatria, ini agak janggal. "Benar. Sayang sekali kalau dia cuma disuruh mengerjakan tugas kasar." "Fakta bahwa kepalanya tidak berhenti berpikir itu patut diacungi jempol. Akhir-akhir ini, banyak orang yang cuma mengayunkan senjata sembarangan, hanya mengandalkan bakat semata." Salah seorang ksatria yang sedang berbincang tiba-tiba bersuara seolah teringat sesuatu. "Kalau dipikir-pikir, jika dia putra kedua Tuan Enfer, berarti dia adik laki-laki Azier, kan?" "Berarti Azier yang mengajarinya? Pantas saja gerakannya seperti itu." "Yah, memangnya orang itu tipe yang mau mengajari siapa pun?" "Kudengar dia sempat jadi guru sementara di Constel." Frondier terlalu sibuk menghadapi rentetan serangan yang memusingkan hingga tak sempat memedulikan percakapan santai para ksatria itu. 'Tetap saja, mereka masih lebih mending daripada Azier.' Alasan Frondier masih bisa bertahan meski dihajar sedemikian rupa. Itu karena latih tanding yang dijalaninya bersama Azier selama ini jauh lebih brutal. Di sini, lawan dan senjatanya terus berganti-ganti, yang memang membingungkan, tetapi Azier bisa membuat orang kelimpungan tanpa perlu berganti senjata sekalipun. Berlatih tanding dengan begitu banyak orang kuat membuatnya kian menyadari kehebatan Azier. Azier selalu menyodorkan persoalan paling sulit untuk dihadapi lawannya. Frondier mungkin belum mampu memberikan jawaban yang sempurna, tetapi ia sudah belajar cara menghindari jawaban yang benar-benar keliru. Latihan itu membuahkan hasil di sini. 'Ini waktu yang berharga. Aku harus menyerap semuanya.' Dan jika memungkinkan, alih-alih sekadar menjawab pertanyaan, ia ingin bisa melemparkan pertanyaan balik. Mengingat apa yang pernah dilakukan Azier, Frondier menjulurkan pedang kayunya. Menemukan celah di tengah-tengah pertahanannya yang mati-matian, ia menyodorkan masalah yang sama kepada para ksatria—masalah yang sempat menyulitkannya saat berhadapan dengan Azier. Para ksatria mengatasi masalah-masalah itu tanpa banyak kesulitan, tetapi baik rekan latih tandingnya maupun para penonton sama-sama mengubah raut wajah mereka. Andaikan Frondier memiliki kekuatan, kecepatan, dan kemahiran skill yang memadai, masalah-masalah itu pasti akan mempan. Meski napasnya memburu kasar, tatapan mata Frondier tetap tajam. Tubuhnya bergetar, tetapi posturnya tetap kokoh. Pemandangan itu memantik kilatan aneh di mata para ksatria. "Hentikan, cukup untuk hari ini." Dengan pernyataan dari Komandan Sylvain, sesi latih tanding pun berakhir. Ksatria yang baru saja bertarung dengan Frondier mundur selangkah, dan Frondier menurunkan pedangnya. Tiba-tiba saja, rasa pusing yang teramat sangat serta rasa dingin menyergap tubuhnya. Ia baru menyadarinya setelah mendengar kata-kata itu. Beberapa saat yang lalu, ia mengira masih bisa melanjutkan, tetapi begitu mendengar kata 'selesai', tubuhnya langsung merengek meminta istirahat sekuat tenaga. "Kau pandai menyembunyikan ekspresimu. Tapi bakal merepotkan kalau kau sampai menipu dirimu sendiri." Kenyataannya, Sylvain adalah satu-satunya orang yang menyadari bahwa Frondier sudah memaksakan diri melebihi batasnya. Itu pun ia agak terlambat menyadarinya. Hal ini mirip dengan apa yang terjadi saat karyawisata Constel dulu. "Ya, saya akan berhati-hati." "Istirahatlah hari ini, dan kembalilah ke sini pada jam yang sama besok." Raut wajah Frondier berubah getir mendengar perkataan Sylvain. "...Apakah saya akan berlatih lagi besok?" "Kenapa, kau tidak suka? Lebih memilih mengerjakan tugas-tugas kasar?" "Bukan begitu, tapi saya kira saya akan disuruh melakukan tugas kasar. Lagipula saya tidak ikut serta dalam pertempuran pembatas." "Jangan khawatir. Ini bukan cuma untukmu." Sembari berkata demikian, Sylvain menatap berkeliling ke arah para ksatria. "Anak-anak kita juga butuh sedikit rangsangan."
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Frondier had resolved to accept any errand or chore. He was prepared to roll around like a dog, if necessary. He hadn't expected to receive instruction from the knights or engage in sparring with them. His plan was to mimic their training, steal various weapon techniques with his eyes, and, if needed, use the 'Analysis' skill to make them his own. "Huff, huff...! Huff!" Right now, Frondier was literally rolling around like a dog. In the center of the knights' training ground. "Center of gravity. Don't lean your body forward. The enemy will read your movements." Frondier was currently in the middle of a sparring match. Surrounded by the Roach Knights. The knights were watching Frondier's spar with expressionless faces. There was no admiration for Frondier, nor was there any contempt. Their expressions were simply blank. 'How did it come to this?' Frondier recalled the situation from just a moment ago. Initially, it was something akin to a skill test. Since Enfer had introduced him to the Knight Commander, it was a formality to check his level of skill before assigning him chores. He was sure that was the initial intention. But after Frondier exchanged a few blows with a randomly selected knight. Knight Commander Sylvain suddenly spoke up. - Lord, may I teach your second son for a moment? And then, Frondier found himself being beaten up by people using various weapons, one after another. "Don't raise your sword carelessly. It limits your means of attack. Attack, defense, evasion. These three must always begin and end together, swiftly. Maintain the same posture for everything else." "When facing a spear with a sword, don't just parry it. The speed at which they retract the spear is always faster than the speed at which you can close in. Try to stick to the spear instead. It's safer." The knights took turns beating Frondier to a pulp and then added a kind word of advice. The other knights watching whispered amongst themselves. "How long has it been?" "Two hours, and five people." "He's lasted a long time." All the weapons were wooden, and no aura was used in the sparring. Yet, Frondier's body was already covered in minor wounds. To those who didn't know, it might have seemed pathetic, but to the knights, it was rather strange. "Indeed. It's a waste for him to do chores." "The fact that his mind doesn't stop working is commendable. These days, there are many who just swing their weapons around, relying solely on their talent." One of the knights who had been talking suddenly spoke as if something had come to mind. "Come to think of it, if he's the Lord's second son, then he's Azier's younger brother, isn't he?" "Then did Azier teach him? That explains his movements." "Well, is that guy the type to teach anyone?" "I heard he was a temporary teacher at Constel." Frondier was too busy dealing with the dizzying attacks to pay attention to the knights' peaceful conversation. 'Still, they are better than Azier.' The reason Frondier could still endure despite being beaten so much. It was because the sparring he had done with Azier until now was even more brutal. Here, the opponent and weapons kept changing, which was confusing, but Azier could confuse people enough without even changing weapons. Sparring with so many strong people made him realize Azier's strength even more. Azier presented the most difficult questions for his opponent to deal with. Frondier might not have been able to give the perfect answer, but he had learned to avoid completely wrong answers. That training was paying off here. 'This is precious time. I have to absorb it all.' And if possible, instead of just answering the questions, he wanted to be able to ask them. Remembering what Azier had done, Frondier extended his wooden sword. Finding an opening in the midst of his desperate defense, he presented the knights with the same problems that had troubled him when facing Azier. The knights dealt with those problems without much difficulty, but both the sparring partner and the observers changed their expressions. If Frondier had enough strength, speed, and skill proficiency, those problems would have worked. Despite his rough breathing, Frondier's eyes remained sharp. His body was trembling, but his posture remained firm. This sight brought a strange glint to the knights' eyes. "Stop, that's enough for today." With Commander Sylvain's declaration, the sparring session ended. The knight who had been sparring with Frondier stepped back, and Frondier lowered his sword. Suddenly, extreme dizziness and chills swept over his body. He realized it only after hearing it. Just a moment ago, he thought he could do more, but as soon as he heard the word 'end,' his body craved rest intensely. "You're good at hiding your expressions. But it's troublesome if you're deceiving even yourself." In fact, Sylvain was the only one who noticed that Frondier was overexerting himself. Even he was a bit late. This was similar to what happened during the Constel field trip. "Yes, I'll be careful." "Rest today, and come back here at the same time tomorrow." Frondier's expression became subtle at Sylvain's words. "...Am I training again next time?" "Why, do you dislike it? Do you prefer chores?" "No, it's not that, but I thought I'd be doing chores. I'm not even participating in the barrier battle." "Don't worry. It's not just for you." Saying that, Sylvain looked around at the knights. "Our boys need some stimulation too."
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