TMLLT 36

Chapter 36

“The Beginning”

“Yes.”

The other seniors had also said I was skilled enough to be recognized, so surely Roitz thought the same.

‘Unless I did something seriously wrong, there’s no reason Roitz wouldn’t like me.’

So then…

“Honestly speaking—I wished you hadn’t been assigned as my mentee.”

But Roitz, as always, was different from most people.

His answer wasn’t anything like what I’d hoped for.

“Why?”

“I don’t want to get attached to things that are already over.”

When I thought about it, it was a fair point.

Roitz always had people around him, people who admired him, people who wanted to be close to him.

“I see.”

Right now, I was probably just one of many to him.

Compared to others, the fact that we had a two-year gap made me less competitive in his eyes.

‘But even so…’

After staring at him for a moment, I smiled and said:

“Then we can just start fresh.”

Of course, it was disappointing to hear that Roitz hadn’t wanted me.

Honestly, more than a little.

But I was confident I could earn his recognition again—and get him to give me his time.

“I’ll work even harder, senior.”

I spoke with strong determination.

With the mindset of starting over, I reached out my hand to him.

“May the blessing of the banner be with us.”

Smiling as I gave the traditional Elche greeting, Roitz stared back with an unreadable expression.

A few weeks had passed since I became Roitz’s mentee.

In that time, I had followed him on several missions.

Every time, the other seniors would say things like:

“Roitz! Go easy on the rookie!”

But it wasn’t because he pushed me too hard or gave me difficult tasks.

It was actually the opposite. Roitz barely spoke to me and didn’t assign me any specific tasks.

He just didn’t stop me from tagging along.

So, from my point of view, the best thing I could do was follow him everywhere and learn as much as I could by watching.

Roitz, being the classic overpowered male lead, was quick on his feet and always had intense missions.

“Hah… hah…”

After running around all day keeping up with him, I’d always end up completely exhausted.

To the other seniors, it probably looked like he was working me to death.

‘Is this just Roitz’s style now?’

Every mentor has a different teaching style, but back at Yudelln, Roitz used to teach directly and step by step.

This current version was completely different.

‘Same person, but this different? Maybe…’

Maybe this is just how things are in the professional world.

‘Back then, he was still a student—maybe it was more like tutoring.’

I reminded myself to learn all over again and strengthened my resolve.

“I’ll take care of what you mentioned within a few days, Sir Belkirente, Sir Bibi.”

Today’s mission was to deal with monsters near the southern Delzers village and instruct the lord on preventive measures.

After the work was done, Roitz and I were sitting in the mansion’s parlor, having tea with the lord.

“Thank you both.”

The lord, along with his daughter, had taken us on a short tour of the old mansion before serving tea.

“Again, the border between the forest and the village must be built within a week.”

“Yes, Lord Belkirente. I’ll keep that in mind.”

The lord looked at Roitz like he would follow anything he said.

Delzers had been suffering for months because they couldn’t figure out why monsters kept appearing.

But Roitz figured it out as soon as we arrived—it was because there wasn’t a clear boundary separating the forest from the village.

‘His intuition is really something.’

While the lord kept talking, I got lost in thought.

Over these past few days as Roitz’s mentee, I’d realized a few things.

First—real fieldwork is way tougher than I imagined.

Sure, real combat was fun, but it also came with real danger.

We had to move fast, assess situations quickly, and make decisions without hesitation.

As a rookie, I didn’t do much. I just followed Roitz around like a parent at a school observation day.

But everything I saw him do wasn’t easy.

‘He was doing this kind of stuff even before I entered Yudelln?’

Even though I’ve been training for years, I’m still just barely managing to keep up.

Roitz handled monsters and mediated conflicts like it was nothing. He really was incredible.

‘I’m not the only one who changed in the last two years.’

Even when I first met him, he already had perfected swordsmanship.

But in two years, he had grown even more.

Like discovering there’s an extra floor above a skyscraper.

With his overwhelming skill, people were already calling him the next captain. And in the original story, he really would become one.

‘Honestly, I used to think it was just exaggerated writing.’

Every main character in stories has those too-good-to-be-true traits.

A Swordmaster by age one, a mage who can destroy the world with a finger snap…

A prince who has everything except the girl… and so on.

‘Kind of like those drama characters who become CEOs in their 20s.’

When I first recalled the original story, I thought it was all just flashy nonsense.

But even if this was based on a novel—this world was real.

Now that I was here, seeing it up close…

‘He really needs the responsibility and skills to back up that kind of role.’

Keeping calm instead of freezing in tense moments.

Shutting down unreasonable demands with quiet confidence.

Handling everything cleanly, even when overloaded with tasks.

‘So this is what a future captain looks like.’

Roitz was always confident—and now I knew why.

“Then, we’ll take our leave.”

After finishing his conversation, Roitz stood up.

“Y-You’re leaving already, Sir Belkirente, Sir Bibi?”

I hadn’t done much today, but I stood up with a serious look, trying to act like a capable assistant.

Outside, it was already pitch black.

The lord tried to stop us.

“It’s very late. Wouldn’t you like to stay the night?”

Honestly, I agreed—it would be exhausting to travel through the dark at this hour.

It’d be better to rest and head out in the morning.

But Roitz was firm.

“No need.”

“Still, it might rain soon…”

“We’re fine.”

He was so adamant that I didn’t press the issue—but I was curious.

‘Wouldn’t it be easier to just stay overnight?’

The house looked big, and during the tour earlier, it seemed like the guest rooms were ready.

But soon, Roitz and I left the mansion and headed toward where the horses were tied.

Once we were far enough that the lord couldn’t hear us, I asked him quickly:

“Why didn’t we just stay overnight?”

“Just because.”

“If it’s just ‘because,’ can’t we go back and stay? It really might rain.”

And I wasn’t joking—the sky had turned gloomy.

It had been sunny all afternoon, but now thick clouds were rolling in.

“We could slip on the forest path at night.”

Even as I talked, Roitz kept walking toward the stables in silence.

He was so firm about it that I had no choice but to follow.

After all, I was still just his tag-along rookie—I couldn’t exactly throw a fit.

But I still wanted to know why.

“At least tell me why.”

I muttered without meaning to.

Roitz continued walking, eyes forward, and answered flatly:

“It felt like they wanted more than just for us to sleep there.”

More than sleep? The lord?

That wasn’t what I expected to hear. Roitz explained in his usual unemotional tone.

“The guest room they prepared was right next to the daughter’s bedroom.”

“Oh… yeah, it was.”

“Normally, people don’t assign guest rooms there—unless they want something to happen.”

‘So the lord was hoping Roitz and his daughter would hit it off?’

I thought back to the daughter who had shown us around earlier.

Come to think of it, she had kept blushing and sneaking glances at Roitz.

I glanced at him as he walked next to me.

The faint streetlights reflected off his sharp features—his nose, his jaw.

His deep navy eyes, like a mix of midnight and ocean, stared straight ahead.

Honestly, with that face and build, anyone would stop and stare.

And if they knew how capable he was, they’d be even more drawn to him.

‘Come to think of it—has Roitz ever dated anyone?’

It wasn’t something I had ever thought about before, but now I was curious.

The Empire was fairly open when it came to romance. Unless you were in a political marriage, dating was allowed.

‘Sure, he’ll eventually meet the heroine Lucike, but that’s not a political match either.’

Even back at Yudelln, a lot of people looked at him with admiration—or something more.

So surely, someone must’ve tried to get close over the years.

‘Maybe he even has someone now, and I just don’t know about it.’

It had been two years since I last saw him.

And even two years ago, we didn’t really talk about that kind of thing.

‘Well, there was that time he thought I liked him, but…’

That was more of a misunderstanding than a real talk about love.

I couldn’t hold back my curiosity anymore, so I asked:

“Have you ever been in a relationship, senior?”

Roitz’s pupils, which had been calmly staring ahead, trembled ever so slightly.