NOVEL NEXT Chapter 200
Chapter 200. Beggar Siblings – Eating Habits
“Oh dear – I didn’t join the knights to look after rookies…”
Katrina, who had scolded her frustrating junior again today, grumbled. It was supposed to be a pleasant time after work, but she was in a bad mood because she didn’t like the new recruit, Deros, who recently joined as her assistant.
Sometimes there are people who seem dazed for no reason. That was Deros. His skills were mediocre and he was very timid, which made the quick-tempered Katrina feel like her patience was being tested just by watching him.
However, Katrina was quick to regain her composure as fast as she lost it. When she arrived at the market, she started humming and shopping.
Bread. Vegetables. Bread. Cheese. Bread. Bread.
The ingredients Katrina picked were mostly bread. She enjoyed eating carbohydrates, which was closely related to the swordsmanship she practiced.
A very aggressive swordsmanship full of feints and tricks. To include unexpected moves or timings, she had to push her body to the limits.
For example, she would rotate her body using only the strength of her ankles, or twist her waist to its limits to deceive the opponent’s attention.
As she trained in such a physically demanding swordsmanship, she came to enjoy high-calorie bread. She thought her eating habits had become more refined as she got older.
“Should I buy some meat too?”
Katrina hesitated in front of the butcher shop, recalling her father-in-law (though she wasn’t married to Ellen yet), who had visited Orville a few months ago to see his son.
Her father-in-law, who ran a trading company, seemed to have suffered a loss in his last business. Seeing him set off for a big challenge to the kingdom of Orun this time, it seemed he was determined to make up for that loss.
Should I buy it or not?
However, the hesitation didn’t last long. Katrina ordered the butcher to slice some meat thinly to eat with the bread.
She hesitated, thinking, ‘Should I save some money too?’ worrying about supporting Ellen, an artist who hadn’t earned enough yet…
Ha! Seriously. I’m a knight.
She was confident she could support an artist. She even had a house in her name.
Feeling she had worried needlessly, Katrina ordered more meat. Preparing for an unexpected meat party, she felt bold.
The butcher, happy to meet a generous customer, smiled brightly.
Having even bought alcohol, Katrina hurried with her arms full of bags. Thinking she might get scolded by Ellen, at that moment,
“Excuse me. Knight, please wait a moment.”
A young boy followed her. Looking back at the boy dressed in flashy clothes, Katrina thought, Oh wow, look at how handsome this guy is. She glanced him up and down.
“I have something to tell you.”
“What is it? I’m busy. Speak quickly.”
“Well…”
The young man hesitated. Katrina, slightly annoyed, waited, and the young man finally spoke.
“Quit the knights.”
“What?”
Both the listener and the speaker seemed bewildered, and the young man rubbed the back of his neck. Katrina’s response was predictable.
“What a crazy guy. Are you bored with life?”
Katrina, replying bluntly, turned around sharply. Normally, she would have thought, ‘I was feeling itchy anyway, good timing,’ and taught him a lesson.
[ Achievement: The Man Katrina Risked Her Life to Protect – Gained Great Favor from Katrina. ]
But she didn’t feel like it for some reason. Probably because she was carrying a lot of shopping bags…
– Swish.
She heard the sound of a sword being drawn.
Carrying bags in both hands, Katrina turned around again. She looked at the young man who seemed like he would die with a single touch and asked absurdly.
“What are you doing?”
“I told you to quit the knights. I’m saying this for your sake. If you really don’t understand… I’ll cut off one of your arms.”
“Wow…”
Katrina put down her bags in the alley. She spat on her palm and drew her sword, striking down mercilessly.
She intended to split this madman in half.
However, the man gripped the sword handle in a reverse grip and raised it high. Both wrists crossed, and the sword blade touched his outstretched right arm, held upside down.
It was a difficult posture to understand. But Katrina soon realized the depth behind that stance.
– Swaang-!
Her sword slipped. Following the slope of the reversed grip sword, Katrina’s sword slid off, and Leo’s sword tip quivered. Despite Leo’s successful deflection, his fragile body wobbled, and he took a step forward.
“…!!”
Katrina was horrified.
He had deflected her attack, turning her full strike into a half strike, and the reversed grip sword came straight in. Her body froze for a moment, but Katrina reacted swiftly.
I have no choice but to grip my sword in reverse as well.
My sword, thrust down, was to the lower left, and his sword aimed for my right arm. Blocking it was the only option.
Katrina quickly flipped her sword into a reverse grip. Not a well-practiced move, she risked failing and dropping the sword, potentially losing an arm as the man threatened.
Fortunately, her sword spun smoothly. She took a step back and managed to block just in time.
One deflected, and the other blocked, so someone unfamiliar with swordsmanship might call it a draw, but Katrina knew she was at a disadvantage.
This is not an even exchange.
The opponent had taken the initiative by stepping forward, while she retreated and was on the defensive. The young man’s upper body leaned forward, while hers leaned back, making it clear who was at a disadvantage.
Moreover, if his body hadn’t wobbled earlier, she wouldn’t have had the chance to block, sending chills down Katrina’s spine.
There was a significant difference in their swordsmanship skills. Instead, her physical abilities were superior. So…?
– Crack.
Katrina twisted her hips to the point of breaking. In that brief moment, she forcibly created an angle to charge forward, lowering her body significantly, and pushed off the ground diagonally with a “Hyaaa!”
– Thud.
As if anticipating her move, the opponent hooked his leg between hers.
The two, both holding their swords in reverse grips, spun closely. One trying not to fall, the other trying to take down and pin the other.
Although not embracing, the two exchanged positions like a dance move, feeling each other’s breaths. Katrina fell, and Leo pressed down with his sword.
“Get off!”
– Thud!
Katrina’s knee struck Leo’s waist. Although not fatal due to her fallen position, it hit his ribs, leaving Leo breathless.
I can’t kill him for real.
Leo, unintentionally covering Katrina’s body, shifted the pressing sword’s position with a grinding sound.
He lifted the sword towards the handle of Katrina’s grip, angling the blade upwards, which could have pierced her abdomen. Instead, Leo targeted her arm.
As a result, with both hands gathered in front of her chest holding the sword, Katrina was in trouble.
Her stance was so poor that she had no way to prevent him from cutting her abdomen if he chose to.
The only relief was that he seemed to aim for her arm, keeping his earlier threat, though not enough to be considered fortunate.
“Ugh! I said get off!”
As a last resort, Katrina planted her sword’s tip in the ground beside her waist. Using it as a support, she pushed the handle with her right hand and tried to prop herself up with her left hand. But,
“Hya!”
Leo twisted the sword forcefully. Ignoring Katrina’s attempt to escape, he pressed down sideways on her right arm.
Facing the threat of losing her arm, Katrina let go of her sword.
She quickly got up and kicked Leo’s handsome face. Then she tried to retrieve her sword…
– Clang!
“Enough. This ends here.”
The young man had taken her sword. While being kicked, he had picked up the fallen sword and thrown it away, leaving Katrina unarmed while he held a sword.
Katrina panted heavily.
She didn’t know if it was because she was angry or because she had been on the brink of life and death for a moment, but she realized at least that this young man hadn’t intended to kill her.
The two caught their breaths in silence for a while. As their heavy breathing subsided, it was Katrina, glaring at Leo as if she would devour him, who broke the silence.
“Damn it. Fine, I know you’re stronger than me, but why are you doing this to me? Who the hell are you to bully an innocent person like this?”
As their conversation began and the tension eased somewhat, Leo sighed. Lowering his sword, he rubbed his aching side and spoke.
“Quit the knighthood. I warned you. I’m telling you this for your own good, so don’t ignore it.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? Why should I do that? And who are you to boss me around? Do you even know me?”
Yes, damn it.
I know your terrible temper, that you’ve been living with Ellen for years, your age and birthplace, and even who your father-in-law is.
A thug of a woman.
Yet, I also know that you’re an honorable knight who deserves respect. You can’t stand injustice (though it’s mostly your temper), you have a soft side despite appearances, and you demand others to uphold the honor of knights, even risking your life.
‘But if you go, you’ll die again!’
To Leo, Katrina was a benefactor. Given his shared memories, other Leos would feel the same, but with varying degrees of intensity. Only Leo de Yeriel, the beggar sibling Leo, had directly received help from her.
Conversely, Leo Dexter neither liked nor disliked Katrina. If pressed, he’d say he disliked her, as in the first engagement, she had killed Lena. He had also cut off her arm once and verbally abused Lena in a previous round.
Of course, Leo Dexter’s personal dislike for Katrina wasn’t the issue. The problem was that the last round’s results were fixed as the ending, meaning Katrina would inevitably die by Leo Dexter’s hand if she went to the battlefield.
Though why she arrived at the battlefield early was a mystery…
What to do with this woman. Leo, frustrated by Katrina’s incessant cursing, shouted.
“When I say quit, just quit! Why do you have so much to say!”
“You crazy bastard, how dare you order me around…”
…Did you?
Katrina’s eyes widened. This madman… no, this madman’s sword emitted a bubbling glow.
“S-S… Swordmaster?”
It was undoubtedly an Aura Blade. The indignation of losing to a rude young man vanished.
Katrina collapsed to her knees.
* * *
[Quest: Katrina’s Life – Help Katrina break free from her shackles.]
Despite the unexpected events, Leo walked the night streets, lost in pleasant contemplation.
Katrina had asked to be taken as his disciple.
She had begged, saying learning from a Swordmaster was her lifelong wish. Leo then understood the nature of her shackles.
Katrina was dissatisfied with her swordsmanship. He never thought so, seeing her always confident, but… understanding people’s minds is difficult.
Anyway, for Leo, it was a welcome development. He said,
“Alright. But I can only teach you for a week as I must leave soon. Will that suffice?”
Katrina was overjoyed. She even readily agreed to leave the knighthood as payment for the lessons.
It seemed to resolve too easily, but Leo didn’t think so.
Katrina’s shackle quest was immensely difficult. Only becoming a Swordmaster or introducing her to Count Hermann Forte could clear it. Unlike Cassia’s quest, which required just a hug, this was on a different level.
It took until the 18th round to barely grasp the clue, so there was nothing more to say. Leo let out a bitter laugh.
‘Where was it? Over there?’
Thinking it had been a long time since he had such a chaotic day, he walked down an unfamiliar alley.
Having not visited in a long while, he was uncertain but soon arrived at his desired location.
No, it wasn’t desired.
There simply was no choice.
He had arrived at the back of a building, at the ‘home’ of the beggar siblings. If leaning wooden planks against an arch and covering them with rags could be called a home.
Leo picked up a small cup of collected rainwater, drank it, and crawled into the makeshift shelter. As ridiculous as it seemed, there was no choice.
He had gone to Katrina hoping to stay at her place.
But Katrina had said,
“Master! Thank you so much today. I will never forget what you taught me. I’ll fix everything by tomorrow. Where shall we meet tomorrow? If it’s not too much trouble, may I come to your home?”
She used the highest honorifics. He couldn’t say, “I have no home.”
Leo vaguely pointed to a suitable open area and set a time. Katrina might have thought he was mysterious, but he had nowhere to go. Spending the initial funds on lodging seemed wasteful.
‘I have to get up early, so let’s just sleep quickly.’
Leo hurriedly lay down in the cramped space. The building owner would come to demolish this ragged home by morning.
The young Swordmaster fell asleep, satisfied only that his sister wasn’t here.