Chapter 381: Friendship with Grand Marshal

"Huff... Huff..."

"What's wrong? Tired already?" I looked at both Princes sprawling over on the ground, their bodies filled with sweat.

It had been an hour since I started training them. At first, I taught them how to swing and hold their sword. They learned fast, and so I moved to a basic movement. This was where they got stuck and stumbled continuously.

Yes, I didn't even teach them my technique yet, and they already got exhausted.

"I guess we will end our training here."

"N-No, we can continue."

Both of them tried to stand with their trembling legs. They looked wobbly, as if they could fall anytime with just a light push.

"Yes... W-We can still continue, Instructor. P-Please heal us and let us continue."

"No, we will stop here." I shook my head and put my wooden sword back in my inventory. "I am glad you guys are tenacious, but it's not good to push yourself. While your physical strength might have recovered from my healing, your mental strength has been exhausted. The only way to heal it is to rest."

They showed disappointed faces as I was adamant about stopping the training right now. Their desire to get stronger seemed to be more serious than I thought.

Garland stopped lifting barbells as the training was finished. He approached us with steady steps and stopped on the Princes' side.

"Your Highness. Training excessively won't make you stronger. Just as His Holiness had said, resting is also important. I shall help you to review today's training tomorrow, so let's stop it here for now."

"I understand." Thomas finally receded after hearing the Grand Marshal's words.

Edison also nodded weakly. They excused themselves and walked away with much difficulty. Let them experience pain, and they wouldn't whine afterward. It seemed like Garland also knew that and helped me to convince them.

But for whatever reason, the giant Grand Marshal still stayed behind. He looked at me with a serious gaze.

"Your Holiness, may I ask something?" He asked, his tone was deep and heavy.

"Of course. Is it about the Princes' training?"

"Yes." He nodded firmly, still expressionless.

Honestly, he looked scary with the scar on his face and missing left eye. There was this kind of fear-inducing aura from him. The only reason why I wasn't scared was because I knew I was way stronger and scarier than him.

Then, he spoke with a voice filled with curiosity, "Were you telling the truth when you said both Princes could reach Lv 3 in <Swordsmanship> in just a few months? Even the most talented knight needed a year and three months to reach Lv 3 from Lv 1 with the techniques taught to the Royal Knights."

As expected, he still doubted my words.

Naturally, he wouldn't take such a ridiculous and dreamy situation at hand when he had the experience of training other knights for years. The Grand Marshal knew better how long it would take for a person to reach Lv 3 <Swordsmanship> or any of the skills even when they trained since childhood.

"Grand Marshal, may I ask how old you are and how high your <Swordsmanship> skill is?" I asked politely, trying to structure my sentence so I didn't offend him.

"I don't mind." He answered with a slight nod. "I am currently 58 years old and achieved Lv 7 <Swordsmanship>. And I just achieved Level 72 a few days ago."

"That's impressive." I praised honestly.

"Thank you for your compliment, Your Holiness." He answered humbly, bowing slightly.

For a knight who trained and had the job of protecting the Royal Family 24/7, it was hard for him to spend time getting stronger. I thought he was at most Level 65, but I was wrong.

People from the church were stronger than kingdom knights because they were also taught <Holy Magic> and how to get stronger since they were kids. Most of them grew up in orphanages before joining the church to repay their kindness.

As for kingdom knights, they mostly only joined after graduating from the Temperantia Academy. The time they spent on training was way less than the church knight. Not to mention, the duty was also different. The former was protecting the city, while the latter was to exterminate monsters.

However, that didn't mean that Garland should be skeptical about my training method. I knew he was just curious, so I would answer him.

"I am just around 19 years old, Grand Marshal." I started, and he looked confused by my words. I smiled softly and continued, "But I have managed to achieve Level 100 and Max Lv in both <Swordsmanship> and <Holy Magic>. It is what made me pass the Paladin test."

"I see..."

The Grand Marshal looked surprised at my words. His remaining eyes widened slightly and flickered. It seemed like he wasn't certain about what I said yet.

"The training method I taught the Princes is the same one used by my knight squad. Their skill Lv steadily increased, with the average being Lv 3 after a month of practice. Using similar tricks, my soon-to-be fiancee also achieved Lv 3 in her Magic skill in less than a month. So trust me in this, Grand Marshal Garland."

My voice was firm, and I looked him straight in the eyes.

"I always believe in your skill, Your Highness. But I guess I am a bit skeptical. My vision is too narrow. Please forgive me."

"No, it's perfectly fine. No one will believe me if I say I can make them achieve what normal people only achieve after training for years in a few months. Rather, I hope you can always join in our training session. I believe this will also be beneficial for you to break through Lv 8."

If there was anyone who was loyal to the Queen and could protect her, it would be a waste not to use him. Also, showing my kindness like this would also make him see me in a good light, which led to his friendliness.

Once again, he didn't seem to show any interest, but the edge of his lips tugged up into a small smile. This old man was truly hard to read. Why would someone like him be an important character in the Sins Paradise? Why did the developer not just create a female Grand Marshal?

I knew the reason was because the King was a male, and Garland looked cool and scary. Well, he was a real person in this world, so I could only do what I could to read him.

Bowing his head deeply, the Grand Marshal said, "I am deeply grateful for this opportunity, Your Holiness. I shall endeavor to repay this favor."

"Please raise your head, Grand Marshall. Queen Eve and I are allies. When you break through Lv 8 <Swordsmanship>, I hope you will use your strength to protect her better."

The giant raised his head at my words. His smile was more apparent than before.

"Indeed, that is a matter of course." He nodded deeply.

We chatted for a while, and he mentioned he was curious about the <Swordsmanship> skill that got unlocked in Lv 8. I happily provided him with the information. There were only 3 skills unlocked in Lv 8 <Swordsmanship>, but all of them were strong and had a big area of effect.

He looked rather impressed and thanked me for the information. It motivated him to reach Lv 8 <Swordsmanship> before the end of his lifespan and, if possible, to reach Max Lv like me.

Then he also told me about the information dug from the assassin, H. There was nothing I didn't know, so it was useless information. But I pretended to be thankful for it.

I encouraged him for the last time and left the training ground. The Grand Marshal was adamant to guide me out, but I made some excuses that he should return to the Queen's side as soon as possible and just asked a maid to escort me out.

After some convincing, he gave up and followed my suggestion. The maid escorted me out of the Royal Castle, giving me another [Teleportation Gem] that could be used to teleport in the Royal Castle and another one that was prepared to reach the Academy City.

However, I didn't use them and just walked down the stairs. As I walked down, I contacted Beatrice with my [Earring of Communication]. The call connected after a few seconds.

"Meet me in the biggest hotel in the Capital City. You can find me, right?"

(Yes, Master! I will arrive in half an hour after finishing the tea. Eve really likes to have tea around dusk while watching the sunset from her tower.)

"Alright. You can take your time if you're still with the Queen."

I ended the communication and went to the biggest hotel on the main street connecting the Royal Castle to the main gate.

When I walked, it seemed like the rumors about the Queen deciding to take the throne had already spread. Whether she did it deliberately or someone was spying on her, I didn't know.

But one thing was clear.

Things had turned serious.