- White Bread and Raw Ham
I pretended to be crazy and filled my schedule entirely with classes and training. As my routine became simpler, the flow of time also became more straightforward. Around the time the seasons changed and the air began to cool, while practicing breathing, I became aware of the massive flow circulating within my body.
The old man was right. Once I fully recognized it, I could make it my own naturally, inhaling and exhaling like breathing, even without consciously being aware of the flow.
I thought this might be what novels called “qi.”
Once the flow of qi became as comfortable as if I’d always possessed it, I could also perceive the spear within that flow. Even with my eyes closed, I was aware of where the spear was, extending from my fingertips, and I could read its trajectory before swinging it.
“You’ve now entered the first gate.”
The old man, who visited the villa after a long time, was greatly pleased when he saw the level I had reached.
It was just the first step that I had barely reached after a full year of wielding the spear and two years since entering the mansion.
“It seems the blood hasn’t gone astray. If you continue like this, you won’t bring shame to the Bliss name.”
“Thank you for your praise. However, I still have far to go, so I’ll continue to work hard.”
As my progress was faster than expected, the old man didn’t return to Bliss for a while. Over the course of a year, he passed down to me all the basic forms of the spear technique that had been handed down as the Bliss family’s secret art, almost as if hammering them into me.
After the harsh training disguised as instruction ended, vomiting and fainting became my daily routine, but gradually the frequency of my collapses decreased. Around that time, my strength improved, and with Sir Tom’s permission, I was able to spend more time on physical training after dinner.
I wondered if it was alright for the old man, a Margrave, to be away from Bliss for as long as a year, but I didn’t directly ask. I had enough on my plate without worrying about others.
Since I needed to get as much as I could, I mercilessly absorbed everything the old man taught me, getting up again and continuing even after losing consciousness or vomiting bile.
Thanks to this, the wavering of my spear tip disappeared. Even with my eyes closed, the tip of the spear I held accurately targeted the mark. The space I could perceive continued to expand.
Memorizing the forms wasn’t difficult. By the time I became accustomed to naturally employing the forms during sparring, and adding variations while handling the spear, my etiquette lessons ended.
To tell the truth, the etiquette lessons were the most difficult to learn. Humanities subjects could be memorized, and horseback riding, spear techniques, and swordsmanship involved using the body, so they were relatively easy. Among the etiquette lessons I took with a newly invited tutor, the aesthetic judgment classes in particular became increasingly difficult the more I studied.
According to the old man, the Bliss family had always been particularly weak in aesthetic judgment and etiquette.
“Indeed, I also find it difficult to determine what’s better.”
“It’s because I’m lacking. I’ll work harder.”
“You don’t need to push yourself that much. Time to catch your breath is necessary. If a spear shaft is too rigid, it breaks easily.”
As we continued living, eating, and sleeping together for several months, the old man’s razor-sharp aura gradually softened a little. Though it might have become easier to deal with him, I conversely became more uncomfortable in conversation with him.
In any case, the old man would die in a few years. Just because the other person treats you kindly doesn’t mean you need to respond in kind. I maintained a respectful attitude toward the old man as much as possible.
The humanities classes with tutor Daibel progressed faster than I expected, allowing me to acquire knowledge equivalent to a Local Academy graduate in just three years. Oh, impressive former exam student. Amazing.
It had been a full three years since I entered the Bliss mansion.
During that time, I had grown quite tall. I was almost as tall as Jerry, my exclusive attendant, and my build was much larger. By then, my spear and sword techniques had reached the entrance level of a first-class knight, while my archery and magic were at the level of a mid-level knight.
Unfortunately, it seemed Zaher Bliss was better at using his head than his body. Well, that’s why in the original work, he died from being too clever for his own good.
Not long after the humanities classes ended, invitations began to arrive one by one in my name, somehow knowing it, asking me to attend theater, opera, salons, and exhibition openings.
From what I heard, it seemed the etiquette teacher who taught the aesthetic judgment class had spread word about me. It’s not a big issue for it to become a talking point that the Bliss heir, thought to have disappeared, had returned.
In any case, noble children can debut in social circles after turning 15. The etiquette teacher, as if making an excuse, subtly mentioned that although it’s not established by etiquette, the later one debuts, the more one might become an object of ridicule for being late to grasp etiquette and culture.
Go ahead and ridicule me.
No, my life is hanging by a thread—do I look like I care about others’ opinions? Even if I keep postponing, I’ll have to enter social circles after graduating from the academy, and by then, I’ll already have fled to a free trade city with a bag of money, dyed my hair, changed my name, and be leisurely looking for a ship to take me to the islands of other races.
I asked Noah to write rejection letters for the invitations addressed to me without reporting them to me. “Thank you for the offer, but due to personal circumstances, I cannot attend, etc.”
So, while postponing my social debut, all I did was train and train some more. Following that incident, the etiquette teacher concluded the lessons without extending the contract.
Apart from minimal sleep time, all I did was review humanities lessons and read books, but the old man actually took my side, saying, “Your mindset as a knight is consistent. Do whatever you want.”
Tom and the other knights, who seemed to have the blood of warrior tribes flowing in them, had reactions not much different from the old man’s.
After maintaining a life close to wall-facing meditation for a while, Jerry, the only attendant by my side, began pleading with me to go out.
At first, he recommended light walks, but as the weather grew colder and I didn’t leave the mansion for two years, it got increasingly worse.
He looks at me like the guardian of a reclusive loner, begging me to please go out, get some fresh air, and interact with other people, which makes me feel a bit guilty. I subtly avoided Jerry’s gaze by pretending not to notice.
“I still have books to read today… I’ll go on the weekend, on the weekend.”
“You said that last week too, didn’t you? And as soon as the weekend came, you grabbed your spear and trained for two whole days.”
“Well… there’s no reason to go out. Nothing particular to buy. And the entrance exam is just a year away.”
In the world of “Roll On, Hero,” the concept of four seasons is vague. The words spring, summer, autumn, and winter exist, but they don’t express the intensity of the seasons I knew.
Winter is just a bit chilly, and spring is closer to a rainy season with pouring rain. Summer is just a bit hot, but bearable. Autumn, on the contrary, is dry.
It’s a world where one can live through all four seasons with just a shirt and a pair of pants, and if one must wear something more, a single knit is enough. That’s why people didn’t freeze to death or get steamed to death even living in huts.
The butler gradually replaced the old furniture in my room with monochrome furniture to match my taste. Occasionally, a seamstress visits the mansion to tailor new clothes to fit my rapidly changing body. There’s no need to shop, new printed materials are immediately brought to the library as soon as they’re published, and I have no friends to interact with.
It’s not like I’m going to meet Freckles or Crazy Ox again. With less than a year until the Royal Academy entrance exam, shouldn’t I refrain from going out?
The reasons are valid, but now that I think about it consciously, it does feel like I’ve been secluding myself for years. No, even so, with the war approaching soon, how can I afford to rest?
According to Sir Tom, my level has just barely reached first-class. That’s still far from enough.
Now, when I spar with Tom, I can win four or five times out of ten. Tom admired me, saying I’ve reached a high level considering the time I’ve spent learning, truly a descendant of Bliss, but I know better. In the novel, first-class knights are extras who get sliced, burned, or die without even realizing they’re dead when they meet the Demon King.
The monthly allowance for maintaining dignity is exchanged for gold at Noah’s request and stored in a magic pouch. Not wasting a single coin, I’ve accumulated quite a sum, enough to make me laugh whenever I check it.
“You need to go outside to make friends. At the very least, you could accept salon invitations from outside.”
“A young man without a title or knighthood has no business attending salons.”
“What are you going to do when you go to the academy and end up alone? I’m already worried since you’re neither a Local Academy graduate nor entering through a donation.”
“…”
“You said you’re going in as a work-study student. You know how territorial the imperial nobles are. Although since you’re the Bliss heir, no one would dare openly oppose you.”
Within a year, I had surpassed Jerry’s height. Gently patting the top of Jerry’s round head, I shook my head. He seems worried I might feel intimidated at the Royal Academy, but having classmates pick fights with me would hardly be a stumbling block in my life.
“If they pick a fight, I’ll just fight back.”
“Don’t be like that, socialize. Even if not salons, invitations for balls and picnics come occasionally, don’t they?”
“Those aren’t addressed to me, they’re addressed to Grandfather.”
“Well, you redirected them. Since you’re registered as Squire to Margrave Daniel, can one request the visit of an attendant without the knight’s approval?”
“…I can make friends after I go to the academy.”
Unable to find any more excuses, I fled to the training ground, wooden sword in hand. Behind me, I could hear a wailing voice saying, “Young master, at this rate, you’ll eat lunch alone at the academy,” but do I care? Delicious food is delicious even when eaten alone.
Dressed in a simple shirt and pants, I ran around the training ground. Since I had already told Tom I would use the training ground in the morning, I was the only one using it now. Leisurely warming up my muscles, I became lost in thought.
I had wondered how Zaher Bliss from the side story, who was a fool who acted cocky just relying on the Bliss family’s power, could have entered the Royal Academy, but there was a way to enter the academy without passing the entrance exam.
Typically, if one receives good grades at a Local Academy, they can enter the Royal Academy without an exam through the Local’s recommendation. For nobles from Locals, ten out of ten enter through recommendations.
The next most common method is entrance through exams. Even among the merchant class or working class who cannot afford the expensive tuition of Local or Royal Academies, those with good brains challenge the entrance exam.
If they pass, they get a chance to attend the Royal Academy, and if they perform well on the exam, they can have fees waived in exchange for helping with academy work outside of class hours.
And finally, there’s admission through donations. If one’s grades are insufficient to receive a recommendation from a Local, or if one fails the entrance exam, they can donate a large sum to the academy and attend school as a sponsor. I suppose that’s how the original Zaher Bliss got in.
Upon hearing tutor Daibel’s report of my good academic performance, a smile flickered across the old man’s face, unable to hide his pleasure. From what I heard, the Bliss family was a warrior family, not particularly adept at intellectual matters.
For the old man, who had only taught the basics and was considering donation-based admission, the news that I could easily pass the entrance exam must have been welcome. That’s why the donation money he had prepared smoothly slid into my magic pouch as a reward for diligently attending classes.
If I pass the exam with high scores, I can pay the tuition if I have the means, without necessarily having to help with academy work as a work-study student.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
