Chapter 65: Requesting Lessons

Even without my left hand, I have a feeling I’ll improve if this person teaches me. This is purely intuition, but I won’t know until I actually try.

I walked along the edge of the vacant lot and approached Bob Brunning. He had already noticed me coming and turned his face toward me. He looked me up and down with narrowed eyes.

"What’s up, kid? Need something?"

That picture-perfect gruff tone! I almost teared up.

"I’m sorry for the sudden visit. My name is Robin Murray. Would you please teach me swordsmanship?"

"Sword? Me teaching a kid like you?"

"Yes, me."

"Hmph. I don’t mind teaching you, but I’m not doing it for free."

"Yes, I understand. However, I can’t pay too much..."

"How much can you pay?"

"Umm... actually, I don’t receive a regular allowance. I just get money when I need it, so I can’t give a clear answer... but, for example, I think I could manage one silver coin per lesson."

"One silver coin? Hmm, well, that’s fine. For today, let’s call it a trial run—free of charge. I want to see what you can do. Grab a stick or something from around here and swing it."

"Yes."

Instead of a random stick, I picked up a sword with its blade blunted and began doing practice swings. Whoosh, whoosh.

"Hmm... not bad. Looks like I don’t need to teach you the basics. In that case, want to spar with me a bit?"

"Eh!? Is that okay?"

"Yeah, it’s fine. Let’s do it."

The instructor (I suppose I can call him that now, even though I haven’t paid yet) picked up a sword that was lying nearby, gave it a couple of practice swings, and said casually,

"Alright, come at me. Strike whenever you want."

He’s only using one hand. I gripped my sword with both hands as usual and attacked!

I swung downward toward the front of his body. With a sharp clang!, my sword was deflected. The force pulled me off balance, and I staggered sideways. Even when Marin-sensei had deflected my strikes before, they hadn’t been this powerful. I was surprised by the strength.

"What’s wrong, kid?"

"Nothing! Here I come!!"

"Come on!"

Following his voice, I attacked again and again, only to be deflected each time. I could tell he was parrying with plenty of room to spare. This pattern repeated over and over until I could no longer stand.

"Haa... haa... haa..."

I was breathing heavily from my shoulders.

"Done already? Don’t push yourself too hard. You need to get back, right? Looks like you don’t even have any escorts with you."

He was right. If I used up all my strength, I wouldn’t be able to run or fight if something happened on the way back to the palace. I needed to keep some energy in reserve.

"Yes, thank you for your concern. I’ll make sure to save enough strength for the return trip."

"Good. So, did you learn anything?"

Hmm. It was hard to say after just one session. The only thing I really learned was that the teacher makes a big difference in how you’re taught.

"To be honest, I’m not sure yet."

"Hmm, honest, aren’t you? Most kids would say ’I learned a lot!’ But those types usually never come back."

"..."

"That’s just how it is, hahaha."

"Is that so? But I will come again. I have various circumstances, so I won’t be able to come every day though."

Mainly financial circumstances.

"Yeah, that’s fine. Come when you can. Oh, and we take days off when it rains."

"Thank you very much. I’ll come again."

I bowed and started walking back toward the palace. It hadn’t even been an hour, but my body felt quite exhausted. It was still before noon, yet I already felt like I’d want a nap after lunch.

There was one thing bothering me on the way back. I had told him one silver coin per lesson, but how was I supposed to get that money? Should I ask Cass? I hadn’t expected today’s outing to turn out like this, so I had slipped out without permission. I was planning to just wander around the city like usual and go home.

Anyway, I had to tell Cass, my personal allowance manager. I’d need to get the usual amount plus an extra silver coin.

When I returned to my room and Cass came in, I first apologized for leaving without permission. In an instant, her face transformed from a goddess into a demon—truly a rare sight.

"Wh-wh-what are you saying!? You were quietly staying in your room earlier, weren’t you!? And now you’re telling me you went outside!!"

"...Yes."

"Without any escorts?"

"...Yes."

"Without anyone’s permission? Without telling anyone?"

"...Yes."

"I can’t believe this!! Th-th-there’s no way you should be allowed to do something like that————!!"

Cass’s voice, almost a shriek, echoed through the room. A maid peeked in from the doorway with a face that said, "What’s going on?"

Cass’s clenched fist was trembling. The flesh where her nails dug in had turned bright red. I was worried she might start bleeding, but since it was my fault, I stayed quiet.

From my experience in sales in my previous life, I knew the best move in this situation:

"I’m soooorrryyyyy!!"

I dropped to my knees in a dogeza, pressing my forehead against the carpet and apologizing. I didn’t know if dogeza existed in this world, but I performed a full Japanese-style apology anyway.

"Geh!!"

I heard the maid at the door let out a startled sound.

"R-R-Robby-sama!! P-p-please stop!! Wh-what are you doing!? Please raise your head!!"

I could hear Cass panicking above me.

This was an absolute last-resort apology technique passed down from my former sales manager. When a client was furious, you would dogeza in front of the angry person and keep your head down until their rage subsided. No excuses—just pure apology. Eventually, the other party would give in and say, "Please raise your head. Let’s talk." You just keep your head down and repeat apologies until then. It’s even more effective with an audience. Luckily, there were maids at the door. I just had to wait for Cass to grab my shoulder and make me lift my head.

And finally, a hand was placed on my shoulder, forcing me to raise my head. When I looked up, Lily was standing there for some reason.

"Robby-sama, where did you learn that way of apologizing?"

Her voice was as cold as ice.