I Picked Up a Witch With Amnesia

2. Winter Expedition – 03

In addition to that, the number of memories that Bianca and I have accumulated over the course of a year are so many that we can’t even count them, so I’ll stop here.

Now, let’s talk about a woman named Iris El Devhart who plays the role of a knight in ‘The Winter Fellowship’.

As one of the ten most powerful people in the Empire and a woman who has reached the level of ‘Master’, a level that even those who have wielded a sword for the rest of their lives cannot easily reach, this woman who also serves as the head of the current Imperial Knights, is a princess. had

princess. A word that literally means daughter of the emperor. Yes. A woman named Iris was a woman who stood in a noble position that I, now deprived of the dukedom, would not dare to look at.

But, what was the reason why each princess took part in such an expedition?

So, one day I asked her this question.

No matter how good your skills are, why did you bother to do such a dirty job yourself?

At that, she looked at me with stern eyes and answered me like this.

“Aren’t you also a noble? What do you think the duties of a nobleman are?”

“…Are you obligated? That’s right, governing your subjects properly…”

“Wrong.”

She shook her head at my answer.

“The nobles’ duty is not to rule over their subjects, but to lead them from the front. Everything we enjoy comes from the subjects of the Empire. The nobler the blood, the more one should not be afraid of the blood shed for the sake of the subjects, and should not avoid facing death at the forefront. Those are the first words that apply to me, who inherited the blood of the imperial family.”

“…..”

“That’s why I’m so proud to be here right now. That I can give back what I have received from the subjects of the empire, even in this form.”

The profile of the princess, who spoke as if she was admonishing herself, had a stern air, and that’s why she looked so proud.

In an instant, I thought of her as being so beautiful without even realizing it.

“…Hmm? what is that gaze? Did you even fall for me?”

Saying that, the princess smiled lightly.

“I’m sorry, but I like strong men. Kyung is too weak to be noticed.”

“…..”

who said what I’m not stupid enough to attack the princess without even knowing my subject matter.

“Hmm. Now that I see it, it seems that Sir didn’t train properly at all. The lower body is also weak, and the arms seem to have only flesh, let alone muscle. Wasn’t the Estelle duchy a family that produced great warriors for generations?”

“It’s because I’m not particularly interested in martial arts.”

“Even if it has been so in the past, I don’t think it will be like that in the future. You don’t know how long the expedition will last, so shouldn’t you have the skills to protect yourself?”

When I heard it, I nodded my head because it was very correct. Certainly, it was a dangerous journey, not knowing when and where monsters would pop out, but wouldn’t it be impossible to remain silent, trusting only others?

Especially at the moment when my life is in danger, imagining that I can barely survive with the help of a bitch like Bianca, I start to feel very sick to my stomach. In order not to see such a situation, I think I will have to train hard for swordsmanship from tomorrow morning.

It was then. The eyes of the princess staring at me were sparkling and shining.

“Sir Cain. Do you have any plans to learn swordsmanship from me?”

“…Yes?”

“What, there is no need to decline. We don’t even know each other, and you’re an important person in charge of guiding this expedition. As you get stronger, the power of the expedition also increases, so I think there is nothing to lose.”

Hearing that also made a lot of sense. In fact, when will I ever get a chance to be taught by a person of this level? In particular, if it is the teaching of someone who has risen to the level of a master, there must be an opportunity that others cannot easily obtain even if they come with money and kneel down to plead.

“I will. Thank you so much for teaching me.”

“Whoops, what? Aren’t we members of the expedition and colleagues? It’s nothing.”

That’s how I opened the second hell gate without even knowing it.

****

“…Sir, Sir. wake up.”

“…uh, uh…”

I wake up to the sound of someone waking me up.

When I opened my eyes and looked outside the tent, I saw that the outside was still enveloped in thick darkness.

What kind of guy is forcing me to wake up early in the morning?

Even the prickly Bianca didn’t touch me when I was sleeping.

“Sir Cain!”

I open my eyes involuntarily at the sound of thunder ringing in my ears.

In front of my nose, the image of the princess, fully armed, with her arms crossed, caught my eye.

“…Hwang, Princess…?”

“Hmm. It looks like you just woke up. Did you sleep well?”

“…why did you wake me up at dawn like this? Could it be that the Witchbeasts made a surprise attack…?”

“What are you talking about? Didn’t you decide to train with me starting today?”

“…yes?”

At that moment, my face slightly contorted. I’m still tired, but what kind of guy’s training from dawn is training?

“I’m sorry, but we’re not free enough to set aside time for training. We are on an expedition, not on a trip. In order not to harm others, I thought it would be best to split up my sleeping time for training.”

“…well, I guess so.”

The princess’s words were the only theories among the theories, so there was nothing to refute.

Since I said that I would be trained by her with my own mouth, I can’t say two words with one mouth.

In the end, I sighed and went out of the tent armed in my own way, and the sight of the stars still twinkling in the night sky was good for my eyes. I can’t even guess what time it is now. To be honest, I want to crawl back into the tent and go to sleep after training.

As I stand in front of the princess with drowsy eyes, she looks at me and clicks her tongue.

“Tsk, you must be a really weak man. My eyes are so blurry because I only slept a few hours less. If you belonged to the Knights, they would have given you mental training.”

“…..”

“Well, there is nothing I can do. This is not an institution. Then we’ll start training. Let’s start with a simple skill test first.”

Saying that, the princess tapped the sword tied to her waist.

“Pull out your sword and attack me. I’ll have to test how good you are. By the way, I will deal with you with my bare hands.”

“…Are you all right? This is a real sword, but…”

I said that I was worried in my own way, but the princess burst into laughter at those words.

“Kyung buys your worries. Did you think you could touch even the tip of my hair with your skills?”

The princess’s words, which seemed to ignore me, made me unknowingly feel uncomfortable.

It seems like they’re ignoring me because I’m like this now, but even so, I’m the heir to the Duke of Estelle, who made a name for herself on the continent as a warrior.

It’s been quite a while since I let go of the sword, but as a child, I was trained in swordsmanship as part of my education.

“I won’t look after you just because you’re the princess. My sword doesn’t have eyes.”

“Ohhh, now you’re showing me worthy eyes. nice Where can I try to jump on it?”

As soon as the princess stopped talking, I drew the sword from my waist. I will have to clearly imprint on the princess, who knows nothing about the world today, how terrifying a man can be-

“Haa!”

…And exactly one minute later, I was rolling awkwardly on the lawn.

“Cuck! Cuckoo! oh oh oh…”

As I was trying to get my stomach hit right by the princess and I couldn’t even breathe properly, the princess looked at me with truly pitiful eyes.

“…Well. You’re much weaker than you think. A much lower level than the youngest member of the Knights Templar. I couldn’t believe it, but I never imagined it would be on this level.”

“…..”

Damn, isn’t that obvious? They say that it is not easy for even geniuses who have been holding swords since childhood to join the Imperial Knights. Isn’t it a little too much to compare such human weapons with me who was caught here after rolling a pen in the office?

“I will have to revise my plans. Originally, I was going to train mainly in swordsmanship, but if you keep going like this, even after 10 years you won’t be able to compete. I think we need to use a little drastic method.”

“…A radical method?”

Why does the resonance of that word feel so ominous to me?

“What is it?”

The princess thought for a moment about how to explain to my question, then opened her mouth to answer.

“Practice.”

****

Two days later, the expedition, heading north, begins preparing for camp as night falls again.

Of course, preparation for camping is entirely my responsibility.

All four members of the expedition are too precious to prepare for camping, and their bodies have not even been wet with water. If I don’t do these trivial things, who the hell will?

I had already prepared for camping several times throughout the expedition, but my hands slowed down by itself, perhaps because my body was so tired today.

“…I’m really tired, I’m going crazy.”

Two days ago, the schedule of waking up at dawn and receiving basic physical training and swordsmanship instruction with the princess was added. Normally, during the day, I would die from the pain of walking down the street with the four people carrying their luggage on my back, but now that I couldn’t even sleep properly at night, I didn’t live even if I was alive.

That’s how I was half insane, making a bonfire and setting up a tent.

“Ghm, this is so heavy.”

thud!

As soon as I said that I was preparing for camping, the princess who had disappeared somewhere suddenly returned and put something down in front of me.

“aagh! You made me like this! I will not forgive you, human!”

Looking closely, it was an orc. That’s a f*cking strong orc with two scars across the corners of his eyes.

I was curious about why he didn’t rebel against the subject that he would not forgive with his mouth, and when I looked at him, I saw that both legs and right arm were deformedly bent.

Indeed, even if I wanted to rebel at the end of the day, it must be impossible.

I had a little sympathy for the orc and asked the princess a question.

“Why did you bring this guy here? He didn’t kill me right on the spot.”

“Well. Isn’t that what it is because it is necessary? I used my strength for all of you.”

“…for me?”

What kind of nonsense is this? Is that why you captured that orc for my sake? Could it be that that orc was a kind orc who prepared for camping or made food for me like a fairy in a fairy tale?

“aagh! I will kill you. They will rip my body alive and quench my throat with that fresh blood! I will especially tear you to pieces and kill you for humiliating me like this!”

“…..”

I couldn’t believe it was the words and actions of a good orc who would do the cleaning and cooking for me.

When I looked at the princess with a gaze prompting me to explain, she lightly shrugged her shoulders.

“Didn’t I tell you? I think you need a real fight.”

“…yes?”

In an instant, the blood drained from my face. It was because he understood what the princess was talking about.

In an instant, I unknowingly scan the body of that orc up and down.

Although his face was disgustingly ugly, his body was so well developed that there was nothing to say about it even if he was called a first-class warrior. There was no need to talk about the abs that showed off his presence on the lower belly, and his biceps boasted a size that seemed to exceed twice the size of my thighs.

…no way. isn’t it? Are you kidding? I want to believe it’s a joke. no way. If the princess was sane, she would never let her do something like that-

“…are you kidding?”

“You’re kidding. You sound terrifying. This is the best training method I have ever devised.”

Saying that, the princess unsheathed the sword from her waist and handed it to me.

“As your teacher, I will give you an order. Let’s fight that orc once and win with all our skills.”