Chapter 18

Chapter 018

Even though he found it difficult to take a single proper step, that difficulty eventually yielded to Mitchell’s continuous efforts.

Thanks to that, after two days, he was at least able to perform the footwork without falling over from start to finish.

If he kept training like this, he would be able to walk like a human being within a few days.

The problem was that someone intending to interfere with Mitchell’s training had caught up with him moments ago.

Rattle, rattle—

A carriage moved slowly, making a rhythmic sound. A familiar voice drifted out from inside.

"Just how long are you going to keep up that foal-like walking?"

"……."

"Sigh, I barely managed to sneak out, but at this pace, when are we ever going to arrive?"

"……."

"By the way, we have to stop at the nearby inn. That's the last one before—"

"Shut up for a second!"

Finally reaching his limit at Grant’s non-stop chatter, Mitchell exploded and shouted.

"And what do you mean by 'sneaking out'! Can't you see the guards right in front of you?!"

Mitchell pointed to the driver's seat, where two guards who had followed Grant were sitting.

Their auras were unusual; both seemed to be at least 4th-class aura users.

"It’s fine, the uncles won't say anything. Right?"

"I didn't say you headed for the Demon Realm……."

While answering Grant, the guard subtly averted his gaze.

'He told them.'

Yet, Grant smiled brightly as if he believed those words.

Watching him, Mitchell muttered softly under his breath.

"I can't tell if he's stupid or just naive…… he’s the perfect target to get scammed."

"What was that?"

"Nothing, just saying you're amazing."

"Felt like you were insulting me…… anyway, you’re planning to go all the way to the Demon Realm like that?"

"Yeah, so stop interfering with my training."

At Mitchell’s words, Grant nodded and hopped down from the carriage.

Then he began to move his feet, mirroring the exact movements of the footwork Mitchell was practicing.

"It looks like the Ghost Soul Step and the Forgotten Soul Body Technique you've been doing since a while ago. I guess my father taught you. I'll move along beside you, so watch me whenever you get stuck."

This guy really was a good person.

Considering he was going out of his way to do something so tedious.

Touched by Grant's sincerity, Mitchell blurted out a word.

"I’m sorry."

"Huh? For what?"

"For saying you’re a perfect target to get scammed a moment ago."

"……."

"Oh, and I'm also sorry for saying I don't know if you're stupid or naive."

Mitchell pushed the back of Grant, who had come to a dead halt at those words.

"Come on, move fast. So I can watch."

"I'm not doing it!"

"Geez, I said I was sorry. Don't be a pouting brat."

"After hearing those things, I—"

"How did the Sky-Rending Flash go again?"

"……I should do it. Since I received an apology. Of course, I should."

And so, Mitchell and Grant advanced slowly, unfolding the Ghost Soul Step.

Step by step.

Every time Mitchell’s footwork got tangled, he looked at Grant’s movements beside him and retraced his problems.

Grant's actions were certainly helpful.

It was definitely better than struggling alone for the past two days.

[A descendant being helpful? Preposterous.]

Because of that, Grant unintentionally earned Kalian’s dislike.

Well, it didn't matter to Mitchell.

It wasn't as if the two of them were going to have a conversation anyway.

Thus, continuing to receive Grant's help, they eventually arrived in front of the inn.

"This is the last inn. After this, you won't find a village until you get close to the Demon Realm."

"Really? Then we definitely have to stop by."

Since the village was further inside, it seemed they needed to buy necessary supplies at the inn before moving on.

The items might be more expensive, but having seen his bank account balance recently, Mitchell wasn't too worried.

When they opened the door and entered, the interior of the inn came into view.

It looked similar to the rural inns Mitchell had seen while coming to the North.

The building and interior style were slightly different, but the rustic and cozy atmosphere was the same.

Grant, who followed him in, sniffed the air.

"Wow, the smell is incredible."

Perhaps they were preparing dinner, as a savory aroma filled the inn.

When they took a seat, a young male employee approached to take their order.

"I'm going to hit the restroom for a bit."

While waiting for the food to come out, Grant headed to the restroom. Consequently, only Mitchell and the two guards remained at the table.

He had been too distracted by training earlier, but looking closely from nearby, the two looked identical.

Seeing that they appeared to be in their mid-to-late thirties, their ages seemed the same as well.

"Are you twins?"

"That is correct. I am the older brother, Ryderic, and this is my younger brother, Vendric."

He gestured with his hand, but it seemed it would be hard to tell them apart even if they swapped places.

"I remember your faces, but we haven't introduced ourselves. I’m Mitchell."

"Haha, who in the House of Runei wouldn't know the name Mitchell by now? Besides, we were there when we first fell into the trap."

Come to think of it, he remembered.

Even when he first met Grant in the forest, they were the ones fighting bravely at the vanguard.

"Oh, I remember!"

Meeting them with a friendly greeting, Mitchell suddenly asked something out of curiosity while still wearing a smile.

"But you did tell the Family Head, didn't you?"

"Yes…… no matter how much we tried to persuade him, he wouldn't listen, so we sent a carrier pigeon."

There was no way they hadn't told him.

Moreover, it seemed they had already tried to persuade him many times. Grant just hadn't listened.

However, there was one thing in Ryderic's words that didn't make sense.

Grant wasn't a child. He was even quite skilled.

Yet, the fact that two experts were attached to him meant there was a hidden reason.

Mitchell narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the two.

"But why are you two guarding Grant?"

"That's…… because of the remnants of Lapel. It’s nothing major."

Vendric answered with a stutter, but Ryderic cut his younger brother off.

"Let's just tell him properly."

"But the Family Head told us not to."

"I have a bad feeling. It would be better to tell him properly and ask him to persuade the Young Master."

"Ugh, you really have a bad feeling?"

When Ryderic nodded, Vendric’s face darkened.

Not knowing what the two were talking about, Mitchell just stared blankly.

"I have a good intuition. Whenever I have a bad feeling, something always happens. Anyway, the reason we are attached as guards is because Barque is alive."

"Barque?"

Mitchell pondered over the familiar name for a moment before remembering who he was.

Wasn't he the martial commander of the Lapel family?

Seeing Mitchell's surprised face, Ryderic continued.

"After the battle ended, they tried to recover Barque's body, but it had disappeared. And there were empty potion bottles around."

"Which means……."

"Yes, it seems Barque led the remnants and vanished."

"Ugh……."

"However, since the Young Lord handed Barque a defeat, we followed along like this in case he seeks revenge."

Indeed, it seemed highly likely.

Mitchell's face darkened at the thought of a situation larger than expected.

"How can I help?"

"Please persuade the Young Lord to return."

"Wouldn't it work if I just told him about Barque?"

"That's…… the Family Head seems worried that the Young Lord might take impulsive action to catch Barque instead."

I don't think he'd really do that…….

The Grant Mitchell had seen wasn't stupid enough to charge into danger.

He had only been running around diligently because Kayden tasked him with the High Overseer duties; if not for that, he wouldn't have done such dangerous things.

'Even looking at when he infiltrated Lapel, he seems to be the type to prepare quite thoroughly.'

Though it ended up being a trap.

Well, anyway, he could try persuading him, but it felt like things had become unnecessarily bothersome.

"Alright. I'll try talking to him."

Mitchell nodded and stuffed the food that had just arrived into his mouth.

Just then, Grant returned, saw the scene, and shouted.

"What! How could you start eating without me!"

"Here."

Mitchell picked up a piece of lamb from the table and stuffed it into Grant's mouth.

It was the price for bothering him.

After the meal and finishing his evening training, Mitchell was drenched in sweat.

[You're getting quite good at it now.]

"It’s thanks to Grant."

Thanks to the Ghost Soul Step and Forgotten Soul Body Technique Grant showed him while coming to the inn, he could feel his proficiency rising.

Especially with the Ghost Soul Step; he could now mimic the essence of shaking the psyche and strengthening the soul, albeit clumsily.

[Hmph, if seeing a little bit beside you was that helpful, every family's training would be conducted that way.]

"Grant said it helped when he was training?"

[That's a different story.]

Being able to simply step through the footwork properly and being able to draw out the essence were different issues.

To unfold footwork containing essence, understanding the flow of aura and the essence itself was more important than anything.

In that regard, Grant and Mitchell were geniuses.

Of course, Kalian, who had no intention of giving out praise, changed the subject.

[Anyway, you guys are the weird ones. By the way, send that Grant fellow back quickly. He doesn't seem like he'll be of any help to your training.]

"I know. I'll tell him when I go up later."

Mitchell practiced the Ghost Soul Step a bit more before heading up to the room he had taken on the second floor of the inn.

He planned to sleep here and start moving toward the Demon Realm tomorrow while training in earnest.

'First, I'll send Grant back.'

Mitchell shook his head slightly and headed to Grant’s room right next door.

Grant wasn't asleep yet and was maintenanceing his weapon.

"Oh, what's up?"

"I have something to say."

"Something to say? Are you finally going to tell me about the Sky-Rending Flash?!"

Mitchell clicked his tongue.

With his head so full of only the Sky-Rending Flash, he wondered how Grant had endured the past week while Mitchell was immersed in training.

'Come to think of it, I have been putting it off for a long time because I was in a rush to train.'

He felt a bit sorry, but he soon wiped it from his mind.

He was going to tell him everything anyway, so a little delay wasn't going to kill him.

"It’s not that. Why don't you just head back to the family?"

"Why all of a sudden? Is it because I snuck out?"

"You're not a kid, what's with the running away from home. Go back and get proper permission."

He thought if he sent him back, Kayden would handle it.

However, Grant shook his head, unaware of Mitchell’s intentions.

"Forget it. Father even attached guards because of the Lapel remnants; there's no way he'd give permission."

"Wait, you knew too?"

"Well, of course. But honestly, even if they are remnants, they're just small fry; what kind of danger could they be? And since I didn't want him to worry, I didn't ditch the twin uncles and brought them along."

As expected, Grant didn't know about Barque.

'This makes persuading him even more annoying…….'

Thus, Mitchell decided to just say it outright.

"I heard Barque is alive."

"What?"

"They looked after the battle ended, and Barque was gone. The Family Head thinks Barque took the remnants and went into hiding."

"……."

Grant fell into thought.

A picture must be forming in his head.

After a moment, Grant, having come to his senses, spoke.

"Tch, if he'd said that from the start, I would've stayed still. Why didn't he tell me?"

"It’s all your fault."

"My fault?"

"You stupidly got tricked and walked right into Lapel. He’s probably worried you'll do something similar again."

"No, that was because Father told us—!"

"Anyway, I'm saying this just in case, but if you wake up tomorrow and head straight back to the family, I'll teach you the complete Sky-Rending Flash."

At those words, Grant scratched his head vigorously.

"I would've gone back even without you saying that."

"Good. Then let's agree I'll teach you once my training in the Demon Realm is over."

"Oh! It’s a promise."

Grant held out his hand, and Mitchell grabbed it.

Smiles were hung on both their faces.

Seeing that, Kalian clicked his tongue.

[My disciple, sharing cringeworthy youth is all well and good, but shouldn't you pay attention to the outside?]

"……?"

Just as he wondered what that meant, a window shattered and a flaming arrow flew in.