Chapter 31
“Eat Alone”
“From this moment, the 387th Elche training begins!”
With Senior Knight Lizzie Brown’s booming voice, the training officially started.
Ten new knights, including myself, stood at attention in navy training uniforms.
The training would begin with a week-long group camp. After that, we’d commute daily to the Knight Order for various drills and lessons.
“As you’ve probably heard, Elche’s group training is full of joy and excitement! So fun, you’ll laugh!”
It was unclear whether the laughter came from the newbies or the seniors.
Remembering how Lizzie ran the strength camp years ago made the statement even more suspect.
‘Still, there must be things to learn from it, too.’
Looking around, everyone wore mixed expressions—half anticipation, half nervous tension.
In the empire, there were over fifty knight orders.
The most prestigious among them was the Imperial Knight Order.
‘And getting into such a prestigious group… it’s natural to feel excited.’
But Elche was also notorious for its brutal training, so being nervous made sense.
“Hey, what are you looking around for?”
I looked around.
Apparently, someone was already breaking formation on day one.
“You there—Serdin Bibi!”
The name felt too familiar—it was mine.
“Serdin Bibi, let’s show you how much fun it is.”
Lizzie flashed me a sweet smile.
A smile that was so sweet it felt toxic.
Later that evening, walking back to the dorm after sunset:
“Serdin, you okay?” asked Manon, grabbing my arm.
Manon, with her deep voice and short red hair, was a fellow new recruit—slightly shorter and two years older than me.
We had agreed to speak informally with each other despite age differences.
“Mm, I’m okay…”
It made sense for her to worry. Just the day’s training had already knocked out the others.
And then there was the “fun” Lizzie had promised earlier.
Every cell in my body trembled.
“Really? I… don’t think I’m okay.”
Manon had been through it with me.
“Serdin, your legs are shaking way too much for someone who says they’re fine…”
“…Is it that obvious?”
Then, someone familiar approached—Enia, a knight with long blonde hair tied high.
“Hey, newbies! How’s the training going?”
“Hello, senior. I’m Manon Crisen.”
Enia was a third-year knight at Elche.
She had entered Elche immediately after graduation.
Though senior knights handled most of the group training, many regular knights, like Enia, came to help.
“So, how’s Lizzie’s training? Brutal enough?”
Enia began talking about the various Elche knights and how their training differed.
It was precious insider info, so even though our legs wobbled, we listened carefully.
Then I asked what had been on my mind:
“Is Roitz not coming? I heard he’s a senior knight now.”
I thought I’d see him right away during the camp—but he was nowhere.
“He’ll be here tonight. Said he was stopping by the palace first. Probably arriving soon.”
After giving us snacks and a warm smile, Enia walked away.
“Such a good senior,” Manon murmured, staring at the treat in her hand.
We sat under a tree and continued chatting.
“Ah,” Manon suddenly paused.
“Hey, Serdin—look. That senior just arrived.”
Her eyes lit up with recognition.
Under a willow at the entrance to the training grounds, knights stood chatting.
The long branches brushed the shoulder of a tall man.
I jumped to my feet.
‘Roitz?’
He had just returned from his palace errand.
There was a smile on his face—a calm, typical Roitz expression.
“That’s Roitz Velkirente, right? The Swordmaster of Velkirente? I heard he was incredible in the last monster subjugation.”
“Come to think of it, Serdin, didn’t you say you went to Yudeln with him? Were you close?”
“Yeah.”
It was subjective, but I answered without hesitation.
‘Well, we were close enough, right?’
Roitz had tried to cut ties last time, but only because he thought I no longer mattered to him.
Now that I’d joined Elche, he could mentor me again—just like we had always imagined at Yudeln.
‘Everything’s back to how it used to be.’
Well, except for the part where he now knows I don’t like him romantically.
Still, I didn’t think that would hurt his feelings.
‘In fact, during the Elche visit party…’
Didn’t he ask repeatedly if I really didn’t like him?
‘So, that shouldn’t be an issue.’
We could go back to our old dynamic. As long as I avoided the “original storyline” Roitz trap.
“Let’s go say hi, Serdin. I want to get to know him too.”
Manon smiled and pointed toward Roitz.
He had finished greeting the other knights and was heading toward the cafeteria.
Manon pushed me forward, and we both approached him.
“Senior!”
Roitz seemed to glance our way but didn’t respond—just kept walking.
Maybe he didn’t see us?
“Senior!”
I let go of Manon’s arm and ran ahead to cut off Roitz.
It was my first time seeing him since I declared I’d join Elche.
Roitz stared at my dirt-streaked face from all-day training.
‘Did he hear about my remedial lessons already?’
Maybe he’d be disappointed in his once-prized pupil.
But I wanted to talk to him again—about everything.
“Want to get dinner?”
Just to chat. Maybe get some tips for future training.
Roitz, however, answered dryly:
“Why would that interest me?”
“I thought maybe if you haven’t eaten, we could—”
“Eat alone.”
“Sen—”
Roitz cut me off, turned coldly, and walked away.
“….”
I stood there blinking, frozen.
‘That… wasn’t what I expected. At all.’
‘…Maybe he’s just really busy?’
As I stood there, Manon approached with a puzzled face.
“Serdin, you sure you two were close?”
“We were.”
“Really?”
“…Yeah.”
Even I had to admit his reaction was cold.
‘Maybe something bad happened at the palace.’
But I decided to think of it that way.
Roitz had remained important to me these two years.
I thought the same was true for him.
Especially since I’d joined Elche.
‘I thought that was obvious…’
Until I saw how he treated me the next day.
“Training the Next Day”
“You just need to cut five straw bundles.”
Roitz, wearing the blue uniform of an Elche knight and the insignia of a senior, stood before us.
It suited his tall, solid frame perfectly.
“Watch carefully—I’ll demonstrate.”
Roitz leapt up and swung his sword.
In that brief moment in midair, twelve straw bundles were sliced clean.
“Whoa…”
Gasps erupted all around.
Roitz had been admired since Yudeln, and now it was no different.
“Just do it like I did. Cut five. You’ll pass.”
This drill focused on increasing sword speed—requiring both precision and strength.
We practiced for over thirty minutes, but few succeeded.
‘Way harder than it looks. Roitz made it look effortless…’
Still, Elche only admitted the best. Slowly, some of my peers began to pass.
“Senior Roitz, I did it!”
“Good job. Just work on your accuracy a bit more. Pay attention to your sword angle.”
Though not overly warm, his tone carried a bit of praise.
That encouraged me even more.
I swung and swung—until I succeeded.
‘I did it!’
Excited, I rushed over to Roitz.
“Senior, did you see that? I did it!”
“Yeah.”
I waited for more.
‘Is he going to comment on my technique? My form? The timing?’
But that was it.
“The only thing Roitz said… was just one word: ‘Yeah.’”
