I Refuse to Try to Max Out Any Stat So I’ll Just Start Finding My Own Way Around! A Healer That Doesn’t Specialize in Anything, Separates From His Friends, and Goes on His Own Journey - CH 199

“I’m sorry, you even had to guide me.”

“Don’t worry about that!” (Dalita)

After leaving the duke’s room, I am heading to the training ground behind the duke’s mansion, being guided by Dalita-san.

Dalita-san has already returned to her usual tone, and I feel somewhat awkward to the contrary. It’s a mystery why she’s like this when she can speak properly as she did before the duke, but it’s easier for me to talk to her this way, so it’s probably a good thing.

I parted from everyone else in the duke’s room. Seam-san is probably being treated to a sumptuous meal right now, and Lucille is probably reading a book in the library. Cyrus-san is still in the room because the duke wanted to talk with him a little more. I’m a little curious about what they are talking about… I’ll ask him about this later.

Exiting the mansion through the back door, past the corridor decorated with expensive-looking vases and paintings, and through a garden full of blooming flowers. Passing through a gate that looked like iron bars woven with metal, I came upon rough-looking ground with bare soil.

The structure may be similar to that of Clan House.  Clan House also had a practice field like this at the end of the courtyard.

On the field, about 20 knights in metal armor were practicing with their respective weapons, and a white-haired knight in silver armor was glaring at them with his arms crossed. He was about 60 or 70 years old. He was muscular and looked as if he was still in active service.

“This is the training ground of the First Order.” (Dalita)

“It is amazing. Are they the duke’s knight…?”

The actual I’m not sure about knights, but I’m going to address them politely since it seems to be a profession with a certain status included. [T/N: He’s addressing them as knight-sama, but it sounds awkward so I’m keeping it the way it is.]

“Hmm… they are a little different. The knights here are knights of the Republic of Canadaira.” (Dalita)

Eh? Didn’t Cyrus-san just say, “If so, would the duke be willing to make me his knight?” But they are not knights of the duke?

“Originally, knights were appointed by the king, but there is no king in this country now. The dukes appoint them instead, but they don’t work for the dukes. …It’s just a formality, you see.” (Dalita)

“…I see.”

There seems to be some kind of complicated situation.

Formally, they are making a pledge of allegiance to the country, but since there is no king in this country and it is governed by the three dukes, they are effectively subordinate to each of the appointing dukes. Is it like that?

I think knights in fantasy works serve princesses, kings, nobles, and many other things, but apparently, they may be serving something a bit special in this country.

“Um, I don’t know much about knights… so for example, is the person guarding the front of the gate a knight?”

“Is the gate outside? He’s the duke’s squire.” (Dalita)

“A squire?”

“A knight is a nobleman who has been knighted, and a squire is a soldier under his command. In Canadaira, nobles are not allowed to have knights. That is why all noble family hires squires and forms squire corps.” (Dalita)

I see. I think I have some idea of what the occupation of a knight is in this country.

In other words, a knight is a title, a person who belongs to a chivalric order and is expected to contribute to the country by fighting as a knight. And in this country, they are practically under the command of the respective duke who gave them the knighthood.

There was a part of me that thought a knight was similar to military personnel under a brass, but from the looks of it, it doesn’t seem to be that kind of thing. It seems to me that if you become a knight, it will be difficult to move later on. It would not be easy to quit even if I wanted to, and I think it is a good decision not to become a knight.

“Then, in other countries, do nobles sometimes have knights?”

“There are countries where nobles can appoint knights, and there are countries where nobles can even have other nobles under their command. The system differs from country to country.” (Dalita)

Well, it seems that there is no single system of aristocracy in this world, and the way of doing things is quite different from country to country. Probably the status and authority of nobles and knights are also quite different depending on the country. This is something I have to pay attention to if I go to a different country.

“Oh, if it isn’t the princess? How are you today?” (Sem)

“Oh, Grandpa Sem! I brought a guest today.” (Dalita)

The white-haired knight walked toward us and called out to Dalita-san.

Up close, he is huge. He might be more than 190 centimeters tall. I wondered if he was the knight commander.

“I am Rook, and with the duke’s permission, I will be observing the knights. I look forward to working with you today.”

“Observing?” (Sem)

The knight called Grandpa Sem glanced at us, then looked at Dalita-san.

Somehow, I’m feeling a little scared! What’s this feeling, I might have run away if Dalita-san isn’t here. I’m glad that Dalita-san is here.

“He is an adventurer from my Clan. He’s one of the adventurers who got the Golden Dragon’s hair, and he wants to observe the knights practicing.” (Dalita)

“So, he’s an adventurer from the clan?” (Sem)

The white-haired knight bowed to Dalita-san and returned to his original position, after saying, “See you again.”

“Grandpa Sem… No, Count Sem Moss teaches swordsmanship as a leader of the Knights. He used to take care of me.” (Dalita)

“That person…”

He must be from the family that teaches swordsmanship in the knighthood. Moreover, he was a count. He must be a very important person in this country.

“Okay! Separate! Change of opponents!” (Sem)

At the sound of Count Moss’ voice, the knights who had been practicing bowed, then changed opponents and began practicing again.

“Listen up! Consider this your first-time fighting! You must quickly assess your opponent’s strength and weapon skills!” (Sem)

The knights closed the distance zigzagging, thrusting, and feinting with their swords as if trying to control the battle.

After such time continued for a while, finally some knights started to attack their opponents with their swords.

The sound of swords striking shields echoed in the air.

It seems that the tactic is to basically avoid the opponent’s attack while parrying the unavoidable attacks with the shield. It is a way of redirecting the attack rather than blocking it with the shield. Well, it certainly sounds similar to the Japanese martial arts I have learned. Of course, it is different because of the shield.

Then, a knight lost his balance and caught an attack that he couldn’t avoid with his sword.

“Moron! I always tell you not to catch an attack with your sword!” (Sem)

“Forgive me!” (Knight)

Count Moss yelled angrily.

…Hmm? What was wrong with that? I think it’s just a normal thing to catch an opponent’s attack with your sword. I turned to Dalita-san and she explained.

“ If you catch your opponent’s attack with your sword, you won’t be able to fight back. Besides–” (Dalita)

She pulled out the sword from her waist and held it up in front of her, and it took on a pale red glow.

“Knights fight against knights, A knight would most likely have an Attribute Arms or a Magical Arms. You’ll be in danger if you don’t use magic-resistant armor to catch them.”

While saying that, Dalita-san waved her sword lightly.

Is the sword that Dalita-san is holding an Attribute Arms…?

“…Um, I don’t know much about attribute weapons and magic weapons, how exactly are they dangerous?”

“Hmm, that’s right… The Attribute Arms are often made from rare materials, so there are many kinds of weapons. Attribute Arms are strong because they have attributes. It still depends on the ability of the user, like this one. However, Magical Arms can activate spells just by putting magic power into them, so even if they can block physical attacks, they can still get hit by the magic.” (Dalita)

Oh, I see. In this world, the performance of armor and the performance of people are higher compared to my common sense from Earth, and depending on the conditions, there is a possibility that a sword can be cut.

Thinking about it, I can’t help but tremble. I had an unpleasant thought…

Certainly, if I take Gordo-san’s serious slash, I’m sure to be cut along with my weapon.

And in the case of Magical Arms, even if I can block the slash with my sword, I can’t block the spells emitted from that sword. I guess the only way to avoid it is to use a sturdy shield or something with enough magic resistance.

“Well, few knights have magical weapons!” (Dalita)

“What do you mean?”

“First of all, there aren’t many people who can channel magical power into objects. Besides, Magical Arms consume magical power, and their power is determined by the magical skills of the user. Talents in magic are rare. So, isn’t it stronger to use Attribute Arms?” (Dalita)

… This may be a piece of interesting information.

In other words, an Attribute Arms is strong because it has attribute damage in addition to the weapon’s performance no matter who uses it, but a Magical Arms is limited to those who can use it, and its power is dependent on the user’s parameters. It would be something like that. Since magical talent is rare, for many people, Attribute Arms is far more useful than Magical Arms.

But could it be that magical weapons are the perfect equipment for me?

In short, magical weapons are equipment exclusively for people who have both martial arts and magical abilities, right?　I want to get one very badly, but I can’t find any stores that sell them, and the price is too high for me to afford it. I’m sure the price starts at 100 gold coins or something like that. But I want it. …… I wonder if I should save up the money for it, even if it is a bit of a stretch.

With that in mind, I finished my observation of the knights.

After parting with Dalita-san and joining everyone else, Cyrus-san gave me 20 gold coins. Apparently, it was a reward from the duke. It seems that he had prepared it for the Golden Dragon materials because he felt that our desires were out of proportion to the value of the Golden Dragon material.

However, even this, I still don’t have enough for Magical Arms.

Money is disappearing like steam when I try to get good equipment.

Now I can understand why the adventurers who failed to Strengthen their Attribute Arms and burned them in the town of Elem fell to their knees. The equipment he had bought with 100s of gold coins disappeared in an instant when he failed to strengthen it. It’s not a normal thing to do, is it? But it is truly amazing that those who are strong are willing to take such risks and spend money on such pieces of equipment.