After returning to Esther’s mansion, we threw ourselves into training with great enthusiasm.

We could take a leisurely break since we just came back from a hellish experience, but where would I find the time to do that?

I couldn’t even handle two Abyss Priests and got scorched by black lightning in the process.

If you think you’ll just take a day off and then end up resting forever, you’re in for a surprise. Especially for those of us eating off the sword, most end up resting six feet under.

So, no matter how tired and exhausted I was, I couldn’t skip my training.

Besides, it wasn’t as hard as before. The focus had shifted from physical training to sparring, which made it less strenuous.

Clang clank!

“Haahh!”

Sparks flew as our swords intertwined. Four beams of light painted blue afterimages in the air, and the clash of swords unleashed blinding flashes.

A one-on-one duel to check how much I had improved.

While it was sparring, both sides were decked out in armor, channeling their powers, making the swinging blades shockingly sharp and real.

“Your power is now more fluid. Your movements are quicker too….”

“Haahh!”

The sword blades crossed. I took a large step and swung my sword, only to have it slide off Sir Veloren’s longsword.

Kaboom!

The edge of my blade chipped off, spurting metal fragments, and the tip of my sword, now directed downwards, smashed into the ground, scattering shards of stone everywhere.

“Ugh…!”

I clicked my tongue quietly and hurled myself at her. Shielding with my shoulder, I delivered an upward slash.

“But it seems you’ve picked up a bad habit in a short time.”

However, mother—Sir Veloren, anticipated this and stepped back while drawing a circle with her sword to deflect my longsword to the side.

Whoa, that’s slick.

Even my steel armor shattered like a cookie against her slender blade. That was an impressive parry.

“Just because you have greater strength than others doesn’t mean you should fight by recklessly unleashing it.”

After deflecting my attack, Sir Veloren seized my arm and pulled it towards her while softly advising me.

“Ugh…!”

The force was such that it wouldn’t have surprised me if my arm popped right out. The power of a high-ranking knight yanked my upper body forward.

“If you’re going to fight like that, you should’ve used a greatsword.”

At the same time, Sir Veloren kicked my legs out from under me. I tried to resist with all my strength, but recovering my balance after being knocked down was no easy feat.

I spun around like a top, my trapped arm becoming the pivot, and then thud—I slammed onto the floor. The sensation was more like a shock than mere pain.

“Ugh!”

“Remember this: achieving maximum results with minimum effort is the essence of technique.”

Sir Veloren released my arm after slamming me to the ground as she spoke.

“Those who rely solely on brute force may intimidate the weak, but they will find themselves powerless against stronger foes or larger numbers. Human stamina has limitations, and the time you can exert full power is not long.”

“Ugh, that’s true…?”

Those who just rely on power—what a stinging critique, with no retort to give.

Certainly, that previous slash was just an overwhelming display of strength, done without any special technique.

When fighting thieves, such straightforward brute force was enough to smash through armor or shields, which felt comfortable, but it was indeed a bad habit.

Adding the habit of pushing with strength amidst the swordsmanship I had been honing exposed glaring weaknesses against opponents of equal or greater strength.

“When you need to break armor, go all out and do it, but when it’s unnecessary, avoid wasting strength.”

Sir Veloren lightly tapped the gaps in my armor with the tip of her sword while continuing her advice.

“Even a small and weak force that can’t shatter metal can penetrate and cut through flesh and bones.”

Using a longsword to smash armor is just a waste of energy. Her advice was to fight like a longsword knight aiming for the enemy’s openings.

For someone like me, who was quick to tire from the recoil of sheer strength, it was truly invaluable advice.

◆◆

And so, we continued training for several days.

After sweating through all-day drills with Friede, we recovered from the day’s fatigue while bathing, and after collapsing into deep sleep, we woke up each morning to start training again.

That cycle only stopped after five days of returning to Bainen.

“Hilde, His Highness Argantir sent a letter. Please check it.”

“A letter?”

The letter from the second prince, Argantir. I pushed aside the empty stew bowl and took the envelope my mother was holding and opened it.

Clatter.

It wasn’t just a letter.

As I tore the envelope and flipped it over, a slightly dull metallic sound accompanied five gold coins dropping onto the table.

That would be five hundred silver coins. It seemed to be a reward for defeating the Abyss Priest Ganagl, but it felt like a rather ambiguous amount for being a lot or not.

For an adventurer’s compensation, it was indeed a staggering sum, but for killing an Abyss Priest, it felt truly mediocre.

…Our prince must have a tight grip on the purse strings. Is he the type who doesn’t feed the fish he catches?

‘Well, it’s not like I’m doing this for the money anyway.’

A bit disappointing, sure, but nothing to complain about.

As long as I could rid myself of the notorious name Brunhilde, I’d earn as much money as I wanted later.

“What does it say?”

As I set the gold coins down and began reading the letter, Friede, who was sitting beside me, leaned in curiously.

“Umm… there’s nothing special. It says it was tough taking down Ganagl… It’s regrettable that our allies suffered heavy losses, but now that Ganagl is gone, Ariane showed up, so it’s understandable… He regrets not being able to foresee it…”

The opening part of the letter was somewhat complimentary towards the exploits that Friede and I had performed.

It mentioned that the loss of the leader for the Abyss Sect drastically weakened its power, or that the organization’s assassins managed to handle Ganagl’s corpse properly and successfully retreated. Just those sorts of things.

“And… um… ‘Cleaning up also counts as work, so try not to cause too many incidents…?’ What’s this about?”

However, from the midsection of the letter, the tone changed abruptly. I paused while reading the latter part, tilting my head in surprise.

Pinwood Forest is severely contaminated. Monster outbreaks as a result. The Paladin Order’s intervention. A significant reduction in adventurers.

“Uh… this…”

I let out a light sigh while reading. The contents seemed eerily familiar, penned in a tightly squeezed handwriting.

But that’s not all. Due to the reduction of adventurers, there’s a power vacuum in the surrounding area, and with Baron Braum’s death, the entire territory has fallen into chaos. Naturally, the responsibility to settle this mess falls squarely on the royal family.

Just plain statements regarding Baron Braum’s territory.

Yet, just glancing at the overexerted handwriting made it clear how Argantir felt while writing this letter.

It seems our dear prince was a bit angry.

Well, considering how he had to bear the entire aftermath of the incident caused by hired help, it’s only natural for him to be upset, unless he’s an adult of remarkable composure.

Causing such a disaster with a single journey. I knew your notorious reputation wasn’t unfounded. Be careful. Should this happen again, I won’t just settle for a pay cut like this.

He knew that the monster of Pinwood Forest was indeed me.

This time, he chose to let it slide with just a deduction in the reward, but if such incidents continued, he wouldn’t let it go so easily.

That was the message from Argantir’s letter.

I couldn’t help but marvel at Argantir’s ability to deduce the identity of the ‘monster’ that no one else seemed to figure out.

‘He really is sharp. How did he figure that out?’

I swallowed my scoff and turned the stationery over to read the contents on the back.

“Let’s see, the back side… Ah, here’s a new job.”

Not long after returning, already another mission? It seems Argantir couldn’t stand to see his subordinates resting.

Well, he sure fits the role of a leader in an underworld assassination organization. After all, the Shadow of the Eagle has no business with justice in the first place.

The pay was horrendously low, the upper management was authoritarian, and the workload far exceeded what normal people could handle. Even holidays were absurdly short.

This was a full-on black company. A black company.

I suspected something was off when all the staff wore black. Argantir should’ve been managing a cotton field instead of a kingdom, only to not notice it.

“A job? What kind of job? I want to know too!”

“You’re to organize a newly discovered mid-level dungeon. It hasn’t been fully explored yet, so be exceptionally cautious.”

The mission to clear a mid-level dungeon that hadn’t been explored yet—that was the second directive Argantir had sent us.