Edo was awakened by the chirping of birds coming from outside the castle. Sunlight streamed into his room, and some of the rays fell directly onto the boy’s face, effectively forcing him to open his eyes.
Edo tossed and turned in bed for a little while longer before finally getting up, seeing no reason to stay there any longer.
"I feel... unusually well-rested. Come to think of it, this is the first day since I arrived here that I’ve had a peaceful sleep. Nothing tried to kill me or jump on me like a certain magician."
He glanced at the bed once more to make sure, but he didn’t see his body lying there.
"Looks like I don’t enter my spiritual form every night. But what causes it? Stress? Or maybe the amount of sleep? I did go to bed a little later yesterday."
The boy thought about it for a moment, but eventually decided not to dwell on it any longer. He headed to the bathroom to get himself ready before breakfast.
***
Dressed in a dignified suit, just like yesterday, the boy found himself on the lowest floor of the castle, ready to eat as much as he possibly could. After yesterday’s rather unsuccessful breakfast, and the fact that he hadn’t eaten any other meals afterward, his appetite was even greater.
He served himself a generous portion of meat and something resembling a salad before sitting down at the table.
"Hmmmm... Where’s Leni? I don’t see her anywhere. That’s a little strange. From what I’ve learned, demons don’t need much sleep and often don’t sleep at all. She’s probably in the library or in her room, reading some books of questionable quality."
Edo thought this with embarrassment as he began eating.
He finished much faster than he expected. However, he felt full enough, so there was no chance of getting a second helping. Just as he was about to get up from the table, a woman sat down beside him.
She was tall and looked to be around forty years old. She wasn’t particularly fat or thin. She had long, violet-gray hair and green eyes. Despite a few barely visible wrinkles, her face was genuinely beautiful and well cared for. She wore a white coat marked with the number 7 and a short skirt.
The boy immediately realized who he was dealing with.
She was the Seventh Court Mage.
The woman sat down across from Edo, placed a bottle of beer on the table, looked at him, and said:
"Wanda. Nice to meet you. Who am I dealing with?"
Surprised by the woman’s confidence, the boy replied:
"Edo. Nice to meet you too."
After a brief silence, which seemed to drag on endlessly for the boy, Wanda spoke again.
"New recruit of Nolan’s? Hah! You look like a weakling to me. Can’t say otherwise, kid!"
The woman laughed as she took a sip of her beer.
Slightly annoyed, the boy replied:
"Beer in the morning? You won’t live very long..."
Finishing her sip, the woman answered:
"You don’t know what you’re talking about, kid. Alcohol is the key to youth. Just look at me! Haha! Besides, a kid like you, demon or not, is probably older than me, but you’ll still be a kid in my eyes."
Edo immediately realized what kind of person he was dealing with.
"She just says whatever comes to mind."
"Do you need something from me, Miss Wanda? Or did you just want to make fun of a weakling like me?" Edo asked, trying to remain calm.
After a moment, Wanda replied:
"Kid... I mean Edo, right? I just sat down because I wanted to tell you something. It’s about Leni."
The boy raised an eyebrow with interest.
"Leni? What about her? Did something happen?"
The woman answered in a gentle tone:
"I just saw her happier and more talkative yesterday than I’d ever seen her before, you know? I think that’s thanks to you, kid... I mean Edo, right? I tried talking to her many times before. A lot of other people did too, but she always pushed everyone away and avoided meeting with them. She was closed off, even though she’s actually a very kind girl. Thank you, kid... I mean Edo, right?"
The woman spoke with genuine emotion before continuing:
"I get the feeling you have a good influence on her. You may look like a weakling, a wimp, a loser, a good-for-nothing, and a failure, but you’re a good kid. I’m grateful that Leni finally found someone and opened up a little."
Edo looked at her with irritation.
"So am I good or bad?! You’ve insulted me in every possible way!"
The woman simply laughed.
"Here."
She handed the boy the bottle of beer.
"Take a sip."
Edo quickly protested.
"No..."
"Come on. Don’t be a pussy."
The woman chuckled under her breath.
Sighing, the boy took a sip of the alcohol and immediately felt the burning taste.
It wasn’t beer at all...
It was vodka.
"Woman, what the hell are you giving me?!"
He shouted, grimacing.
"Haha! What a weakling! No wonder Leni picked you as her boyfriend."
"I’m not her boyfriend..." the boy replied.
Wanda looked surprised.
"Really? Hmmmm... I don’t believe you. You two look pretty good together. Trust your elder, kid."
Edo, annoyed but trying to remain calm, said:
"You’re the Seventh Court Mage, so you must be pretty strong. If you were to compare yourself to Leni, how big is the gap between you two?"
He asked curiously.
The woman placed a finger against her lips and thought for a moment.
"Hmmmm... Well... If we’re talking about the overall picture, she’s much better than me. I can use Tier IV magic, though. She can use three elements at Tier III and one at Tier II, while I can use one element at Tier III, two at Tier II, and one at Tier IV. She lacks experience as a Court Mage, but that girl has talent. I simply have more years of experience, as well as something that sets me apart and is the reason I hold the title of Seventh Court Mage."
The woman paused for a moment before saying:
"I can use a special element. The element of darkness, Tier II."
She said it proudly.
The boy, clearly surprised, asked:
"A special element... Wow. From what I know, learning magic of such an element even at Tier I is an achievement that really sets you apart."
Pleased with his reaction, the woman replied:
"Haha! You know your stuff, kid. Darkness magic can erase space... Watch this."
The woman extended her hand.
Suddenly, the bottle sitting on the table rose into the air and flew straight into her hand.
"I can also do this to an opponent, but then they’ll end up with a hole in their body. Ahahah!"
The woman laughed.
Edo, however, didn’t find it funny at all.
"Alright, kid. It was nice talking to you, but I have to go. Say hi to Leni for me and tell her I’d love to talk to her myself. Now that she’s more trusting toward people, maybe she can get to know more people in the castle. Wonderful people like me!"
The woman said this with obvious pride.
Edo replied sarcastically:
"Yeeeeah... Sure..."
But she was already gone and didn’t hear him.
Edo knew, however, that despite her appearance, she was actually a genuinely good person who cared about others. After all, she herself had said that she had repeatedly tried to reach out to Leni.
"They only hire crazy people here."
He said this as he left the table, put his tray away, and exited the dining hall.
***
After leaving the dining hall, Edo headed straight for the library. He didn’t have much to do at the moment, and starting his training seemed impossible for now. Still, it would be good to do something productive.
He already had some understanding of magic, but he knew nothing about sword styles, of which, from what he’d heard, there were four.
"It would be useful to learn the basics, but... I don’t want to read about them. A sword has always been something I associated with practice. I could learn magic from books, but I can’t imagine learning swordsmanship that way... But I don’t have a better option."
As Edo browsed a shelf containing books about swordsmanship, a young knight approached him.
"Oooo, Peeping Knight! Good to see you! Perfect timing, because I was just looking at books about sword styles. Surely you know some good ones."
"I’ll give you Peeping Knight?! Seriously... Please, stop..." Klein said sadly.
"Fine, I’ll try not to call you that anymore. Now I have a question: what do you recommend when it comes to books about technique? You must know a lot."
With a serious expression, Klein said something completely unrelated to Edo’s question.
"Listen, Edo. I have something very important to tell you."
However, he didn’t get the chance to explain what it was, because Leni entered the library.
The moment Klein saw her, he quickly hid behind a bookshelf.
"Idiot..." Edo muttered under his breath.
Leni spotted Edo and walked toward him.
"Good morning, Leni. I didn’t see you at breakfast. Why weren’t you there?" the boy asked.
Leni yawned, covering her mouth with her hand.
"I was reading through the night, so I didn’t sleep. The book I borrowed recently turned out to be too interesting," Leni said tiredly.
Edo sighed quietly.
"Was it another hentai slop? Get a grip, woman. It’s not worth staying up all night for..." Edo said tiredly.
Leni simply shrugged.
"I have no idea what this ’hentai slop’ of yours means, but the book was really good, okay?!"
"Fine, whatever. But don’t read all night. Since you weren’t there, a drunk lady sat down with me."
Leni looked at Edo in surprise.
"A drunk lady? Ahhhh... Wanda. Yeah... She drinks way too much, from what I’ve observed," Leni replied with a laugh.
Edo asked:
"Don’t get me wrong. I think she’s actually a really good person... Just a very peculiar one. Like everyone else here."
Leni nodded.
"Yes, she is a caring person. She asked about me many times and wanted to know how I was doing, but back then I didn’t have the energy for longer conversations."
She said this as if forcing the words out.
Edo could tell it was because she had trouble trusting people, but he didn’t comment on it.
"By the way, what are you doing here, Edo? In the section about the theory of swordsmanship?" the woman asked curiously.
Edo quickly replied:
"That’s a stupid question. If I’m going to be in Nolan’s unit as the Fourth Court Knight, I need to brush up on my skills."
He said this while continuing to look through the books.
"Brush up, huh? Alright, I won’t bother you. We’ll probably see each other again today anyway. See you later."
Leni waved at Edo and headed deeper into the library, making her way toward the fiction section.
"See you," Edo replied before returning to browsing the books.
Suddenly, Klein peeked out from behind the bookshelf.
"You... You’re incredible! A master, seriously!"
Edo tilted his head in confusion.
"A master? What did I do to deserve that title?" he asked, bewildered.
Klein quickly answered:
"Because of your conversation with Leni! You must have tons of experience with women, right?! Earlier, your closeness with Leni annoyed me, but now I understand everything. You’re simply a master!"
Edo didn’t know what to say.
However, this was a good opportunity to improve his reputation in the castle. A little lie never hurt anyone.
Klein didn’t need to know the truth: Edo himself was completely hopeless when it came to women, and his only experience was limited to harem visual novels and manga.
"Just so you know! Where I come from, I’m practically a guru! Everyone listens to my advice. That’s how great I am!" Edo said proudly.
Klein looked at him with admiration.
"So I was right... You really are a master. I knew it..." Klein said in awe.
Edo thought for a moment.
Let’s be honest, there was definitely something wrong with this knight’s head, but he could be useful.
"If you want, I can give you some advice! With my advice, you’ll definitely be able to win Leni’s heart," Edo said confidently.
Klein practically jumped.
"REALLY?! I’ll do it! I’ll do anything, Master!" Klein said happily.
Edo smiled and snapped his fingers.
"In exchange for my advice, my dear student, you will teach me the Way of the Sword!"