I Became the Guardian of Big Shots in the Game

The next morning.
Ponya still hadn’t woken up.
However, it wasn’t because Levi and Hwaryon had done something terrible to her.
They had only instilled Ethan’s greatness into Ponya.
It took over a week to come from Legville to Serdin.
The fatigue from the journey hadn’t fully dissipated, which was a big factor.
Of course, Levi’s ‘power’ did give Ponya psychological pressure.
And it manifested in the form of nightmares.
In her dream, Ponya fought a pitch-black shadow that couldn’t be cut.
She fought and fought but couldn’t win.
-He knows everything.
-All of this is for your sake, so accept it.
-Only He can save you.
The shadow that chased Ponya, repeating exactly what Levi had said.
Stuck to her stickily and dyed her body black.
Just before waking from the dream, it had covered Ponya’s entire body.
“Hah!”
Feeling as if she was being buried forever in deep darkness, Ponya woke up.
It was a chilling nightmare.
Even for a tough beastkin child, it was too harsh for 10-year-old Ponya to endure.
“Sob, sniff!”
Overwhelmed by helplessness, Ponya covered her face with both hands and started crying loudly.
At that moment.
“Are you alright?”
“Waaahhhh!”
At the gentle voice, she unknowingly hugged tightly and sobbed.
It was Ethan who had come in to check on Ponya’s condition as she was sleeping late.
He comforted Ponya by stroking her head as she sobbed.
“It was hard, wasn’t it? It’s all okay now.”
How difficult must it have been for a young child in the underground arena?
She must have had a nightmare because of bad memories.
“Sniff! Sob!”
“No one can hurt you anymore.”
“R-Really?”
“Of course. I won’t let that happen.”
At those words, Ponya started crying again.
She cried in Ethan’s arms for a long while.
‘She must have had a really hard time in the arena.’
[The World Tree’s First Root carefully suggests that the cause seems a bit different.]
‘What are you saying? The child is crying, so be quiet.’
*
Swollen eyes.
Ponya finally calmed down.
“Are you okay now?”
“Yes.”
She tensed up a bit when she realized it was Ethan she had hugged as soon as she woke up from the dream.
But contrary to her expectations, there was no hostility.
Rather, he hugged her warmly.
And somehow, she didn’t dislike the familiarity she felt from him.
-He knows everything.
Recalling the words of the scary woman named Levi.
Ponya carefully observed.
‘Is it true?’
Since such a scary woman follows him blindly.
Maybe he really is the savior from legends.
‘If so, does he know where mom and dad are?’
The parents who abandoned Ponya when she was young.
She resented them but had no intention of revenge.
She was just curious why they abandoned her.
So Ponya had planned to first look for traces of her parents once she got out of the arena.
“Ethan-nim.”
“Yes?”
“Do you perhaps know where my parents are?”
Ethan pondered for a moment and said.
“I do know. But you can’t meet them now.”
‘He really knows?’
“Why…”
“When you become strong enough to go meet them, I’ll tell you then.”
It meant she wasn’t ready yet.
But since it didn’t seem like he was lying.
She obediently nodded.
“Then shall we go eat breakfast first?”
“Yes!”
From a bad person to an honest and kind person.
Ethan’s image changed in Ponya’s heart.
Perhaps that’s why.
She held Ethan’s hand even tighter.
As if she didn’t want to let go.
And.
‘…Her grip is stronger than I thought.’
Ethan thought he needed to train more.
*
Ponya quickly adapted to life in the mansion.
Ponya also joined Teacher Yuria’s lessons with the others.
At first, Ponya doubted the necessity of the lessons, but.
-Why do I need lessons?
-It’s meaningless if only your body is strong. Your mind needs to be strong too.
-Then can I meet mom and dad faster?
-Of course.
When he said that, she participated even more actively.
However, her learning ability itself lagged behind Hwaryon, Hwarin, and Levi.
She was still struggling to read letters.
‘That’s normal.’
Honestly, the other kids were too much like honor students.
But Ponya excelled in perseverance, so.
She didn’t give up easily.
About a week passed like that.
“I’m back!”
Sir Rashid, who had left for Ligrion, returned.
‘I heard it takes a little over a week one way?’
Sir Rashid, who made a round trip in a week when it should have taken two weeks.
Without any sign of fatigue, he unpacked his luggage and came out to the yard with wooden swords.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Rashid Lakan, who will be your swordsmanship instructor from today.”
“Hello!”
“Please take care of us.”
Four students lined up in front of him.
Slightly nervous Hwarin, innocent Hwaryon, always relaxed-looking Levi, and Ponya.
Ponya, probably the only experienced one here, was secretly proud.
‘You tormented me with strange powers last time, but this time I’ll show you clearly!’
The appearance of the winning streak champion from Legville’s underground arena!
Rashid looked over the students’ conditions and exclaimed.
“You all have quite solid bodies. You’re ready to hold swords. Good, since it’s the first day, let’s practice postures.”
“Yes!”
Always cheerful Hwaryon followed Rashid’s demonstrated posture perfectly.
Hwarin, who took it more seriously than her sister, followed surprisingly skillfully too.
Levi followed without even changing her expression.
‘What’s with these kids? Is this really their first time holding a sword?’
A stick flew at Ponya’s head, who hadn’t checked her own posture because she was looking at others.
-Thwack!
“Ow!”
“Focus. Your posture is sloppy. Spread your legs more.”
About 30 minutes passed like that.
Ponya had a somewhat empty expression, and.
Rashid had a very surprised look.
‘There wasn’t just one raw gem, but four!’
Even Ponya alone was worth throwing away a knight’s title for.
But lo and behold, there was even more value here.
He continued the lesson with an excited expression.
Hwaryon, who lost focus, and Hwarin, whose body tired, dropped out first.
The last ones left were Levi and Ponya.
Ponya was full of enthusiasm to beat Levi, but.
Levi didn’t seem to care about Ponya at all.
“I didn’t expect you to learn this fast in just one day. Now, let’s try combining the movements you learned today.”
To Rashid the knight, Levi’s movements seemed weak and soft, but.
They hid sharpness within.
‘Like a snake.’
Flexible and swift, but hiding sharp venomous fangs in its mouth.
On the other hand, Ponya.
“Haah!”
Powerful and solid, typical of a lion beastkin.
Both had pros and cons, but.
The talent that could be raised as a knight was clearly Ponya.
“You both did well. If you keep training diligently like this, you could become excellent swordsmen like Ethan-nim.”
Ethan, who had been watching the lesson with satisfaction.
“Me?”
Wondering what nonsense this was, he asked without thinking.
*
“That’s right. You may have stayed far away so as not to discourage the children, but you can’t fool my eyes.”
‘I didn’t know this guy could say such flattering words?’
That can’t be.
If he was the type to do that, he wouldn’t have been backstabbed by his juniors and seniors in his later years.
‘Then is he serious?’
[The World Tree’s First Root conveys to the user that Rashid’s words are sincere.]
‘Why?’
“A sturdy body visible even from the outside, and a firm posture revealed when walking. You know how to handle a sword, right? Though probably not as well as knights, you must be able to handle a sword above a certain level. Won’t you show us a demonstration for the lesson?”
Though he felt suddenly flustered.
It was inevitably pushed away like a bulldozer by his composure stat.
[The World Tree’s First Root conveys its opinion that it seems like a good idea.]
“Big brother! I want to see!”
“I’m also curious what my lord’s sword would feel like.”
“Ethan-nim will surely show amazing skills.”
The kids are watching.
If he backs out here, his position as a guardian will be in danger.
‘No, come to think of it, there’s nothing I can’t do.’
Even if not as good as Sir Rashid.
He can look quite impressive to children who just learned the sword today.
‘Of course, I’ve made several Sword Masters with my own hands. There’s nothing I can’t do.’
Ethan received a wooden sword from Sir Rashid.
After taking a deep breath, he took his stance.
“Hah.”
Imagining a virtual enemy in front of him, he swings the sword.
The first movement is to gently raise the sword to block the upper part.
Then he deflects the attack while stepping forward.
The naturally connected movement deflects attacks from the side and steadily advances towards the target in front.
The opponent is gradually pushed back and struggles to block.
This is the so-called technique of wearing down the opponent.
Taking one step forward, then another.
The effort put into defense decreases, while movements to swing at the opponent increase.
Finally, when it reaches its climax.
He ended with a confident attacking motion.
“H-How was it?”
But.
Sir Rashid sighed deeply with a hardened expression and.
“…Thank you. Well then, that’s it for today’s lesson.”
And left first.
‘Was it too amateurish?’
*
“Sigh.”
“Phew.”
In the backyard behind the mansion.
Rashid and Ponya each sighed and.
Checked the person next to them and smiled.
“Why are you like that?”
“Why are you like that, mister?”
“I feel pathetic about myself.”
“Me too.”
After rolling around in the arena for years.
Ponya who thought she was quite skilled.
But there were real skilled people elsewhere.
Likewise, Rashid who was born in the Lakan family of the Ligrion Kingdom and endured harsh training.
He thought he had reached a certain level after devoting himself to training for years.
‘What kind of swordsmanship was that?’
But the movements Ethan showed.
Were strange ones he had never experienced before.
It’s not the straightforward pushing style of Ligrion swordsmanship.
Nor is it the defense-focused Etrion style swordsmanship.
It was similar to Haikel style swordsmanship which is proficient in both attack and defense but ends up being neither here nor there.
But it was even stronger and more solid than that, so the lineage is different.
After finishing his analysis, Rashid concluded.
“I’ve lived in vain.”

Why would someone of that skill look for a swordsmanship instructor?
Rashid wondered about that.
If he wanted to teach the children, couldn’t he have taught them directly himself?
Ethan had both the skills and knowledge to do so.
‘Maybe there’s another reason.’
Perhaps there was a profound reason he couldn’t understand.
Rashid decided to be satisfied with the fact that he became the teacher of talented children.
That day, Rashid and Ponya deeply felt the lesson that the world is wide and there are many skilled people.
And.
‘I need to devote myself more to training.’
‘That monster Levi. I’ll definitely beat her in swordsmanship at least.’
It served as a kind of stimulus for both of them.
*
Northeast Etrion.
Count Sharian’s domain.
The young lady of Count Sharian asked again with trembling heart.
“…What did you say?”
“As I said, my lady. Marquis Mackleton’s family, Count Segrina’s family, and Baron Pike’s family were all massacred one after another.”
The three were influential noble families in the northeast who were pressuring Count Sharian’s domain.
And the ‘massacre’ of a noble family is not something you hear easily.
But all three at the same time?
It clearly can’t be a coincidence.
“My lady! The Count has sent a letter!”
“Give it to me quickly.”
Butler Garfield rushed over and handed over a rolled-up letter.
[When I arrived at the contact point, all the people from the Secret Order were dead. The situation seems strange, so I’ll return to the domain for now. Strengthen the castle’s defenses.]
“What on earth…”
She had been prepared to hand over all the mines and forests of the domain.
But now the nobles pressuring the domain and even the Secret Order have all been taken out.
‘The only person capable of doing this is…’
At that moment.
In the young lady of Count Sharian’s mind.
That person’s words came to mind.
[This is not for me to step in.]
“Could it be…”
All the enemies were swept away in less than a month.
That must have meant that the boss of the underworld himself didn’t even need to step in directly.
“Thank you. Thank you so much…”
The black man who was magically monitoring the weeping young lady of Count Sharian from afar.
Eventually wrote a report and sent off a mana messenger ball.
The destination was south.