The following day, serious and not-so-serious Josh, who couldn’t stop laughing for the love of his life, were sitting at the table trying to draft a letter for the Count. Josh, not being proficient in overly formal letters, was a nightmare for Leo to work with.

  Could the highest of the highest Counts, the mightiest of the mighty rulers in this world of ours, listen to my humble plea for assistance?

  In the end, they did manage to settle on something that was noble enough for Leo, and acceptable to Josh.

  “Honorable Count Maximus Voss

  I hope this letter finds you in good health. It is your loyal vassal Baron Josh Brookes of Daim Barony, that seeks you out. A matter of great concern has arisen, and your esteemed advice and help is required. Please grant me a meeting at your earliest convenience.

  With all due respect,

  Baron Josh Brookes.”

  Josh let out a massive sigh of relief after they finished the letter, as it had taken them a better part of the morning to draft a simple letter. Whose response will probably be negative.

  Just showing urgency is what matters here.

  “Milord, would you like to accompany me as we send out the letter?” Leo asked Josh with a smile.

  “Sure, lead the way,” Josh replied.

  Is he trying to show his usefulness? After the blunder yesterday? I mean, who the hell decided to feed the goblins was the right choice? They should have just relocated the people from the village and played defense.

  It didn’t take them longer than a couple of minutes to reach a small hut just outside the manor. The hut itself wasn’t overly anything special, just a regular hut made out of wood and cobblestone. But what resided inside the hut caught Josh off guard.

  At first look, you would just call it a chicken coop. A second look would make you notice that instead of chickens, you had sky-blue pigeons whose feathers were glowing in the dark, leaving a trail of sparkling dust as they squandered from place to place. A small, empty cylindrical container was tied on their legs for letters to hold.

  “B-beautiful,” Josh stuttered out while marveling at the tiny, beautiful creatures. “What kind of creatures are they?”

  “They are Skylight Pigeons, Milord,” Leo said while catching one of the pigeons and giving it for Josh to hold. “They are cowardly creatures. Hard to grasp for people unfamiliar with them, though once trained they are one of the best when it comes to delivering letters, you won’t find any better in the whole kingdom only it’s equals,” Leo explained.

  They are so cute. I want one. Josh counted the pigeons inside the hut.

  Wait, I do have six of em.

  Good job, Josh!

  Josh was petting the fluffiest, cutest creature he had ever seen, and definitely not because it was the very first he had seen magical creature that was not a filthy goblin .

  Yep, Definitely not.

  “Milord, I’ve meant to ask you. Would you like to train with me in the way of sword?” Leo asked with a smile that couldn’t hide his eagerness.

  Sword?

  “Why would I train with swords out of all weapons? Wouldn’t a spear make like ten times more sense?” Josh replied.

  “It would if you were a peasant. But as a Lord and bearer of mana, it would be dumb not to choose the noble weapon: sword. It’s also already hard enough to enchant the tip of the sword of mana for a regular knight, let alone the tip of the much longer weapon spear,” Leo rebutted.

  Josh nodded, deep in his thoughts.

  Isn’t learning the sword supposed to take years or even decades? Compared to a couple of months with a spear.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Leo nervously unsheathed the sword he was carrying. “Also, you are supposed to inherit this magical sword. It was the sword of the founder of the Daim Family. Awarded for his achievements together with the territory,” Leo examined the sword with longing eyes, unwilling to part with it as he handed it over to Josh.

  Josh gasped as he took the cold metal sword into his hands. Its blade was in the simple form of a long sword and made out of dark blue metal. The metal resembling the depths of the ocean. The guard was purple, shaped in the form of a crescent, making for a striking sight. The hilt was wrapped in a simple dark leather, and through the gaps of it, you could catch glimpses of the same purple metal as the guard.

  “Its name is ‘Stellar Night,’ the biggest treasure of the Daim Barony.”

  “Beautiful,” Josh whispered.

  I don’t think I ever wanted to know how to wield a sword as badly as I do now.

  “The ‘Stellar Night’ is part of a thousand and one dwarven masterpieces, and even among them, it ranks in the upper half at 487th place,” Leo pointed out, adding to the marvel of the beautiful long sword.

  “You can’t, under any circumstances, let the Count or anyone else, even your mentor Magus Elaria, know of this sword’s nature. Promise me that, Milord,” he quickly added, his voice filled with caution.

  Josh nodded.

  Leo sternly asked, “Promise me in words, Milord.”

  Josh, caught off guard, replied. “I need to know it’s worth to make such promise. After all, once words are spoken and they take flight, you can't catch them back.”

  “It would be enough to buy ten baronies like this,” Leo replied.

  So a piece of metal costs as much as an airplane.

  Gotcha.

  “I promise I will take care of it,” Josh promised.

  “Glad to hear that, Milord. When do you want to start your training?” Leo asked.

  “Now,” Josh replied before awkwardly adding, “Can you sheath ‘Stellar Night’ for me.” It was too heavy for him at the moment, weighing close to fifty kilograms.

  Leo nodded, took the sword, sheathed it, and handed it back over to Josh, who could barely hold it in both of his hands.

  “Milord, I can safe keep the sword for you until you are ready to use it,” Leo proposed.

  Josh waved it off. “I want to study it a bit more after our training; after all, it’s a masterpiece.”

  For sure, I’m handing over a sword worth millions to you. After all the previous blunders you committed while I wasn’t even summoned yet.

  They stepped out of the hut. The Skylight pigeon flew off to deliver their letter to the count. Josh watched it with amazement as it left a trail of blue motes as it flew off before heading off to the small clearing behind the manor to commence their training.

  Josh couldn’t help but get excited as they reached the clearing. After all, he had seen what Leo did to those goblins with that sword of his. And now he’s going to learn how to do exactly the same.

  While Josh was daydreaming, Leo pulled out two wooden swords from God knows where and threw one for Josh to catch. Fumbling, Josh somehow managed to catch the wooden sword.

  “Milord, look at me!” Leo shouted to draw the attention of Josh. “This is the basic guard position. It’s essential to any knight since it keeps you balanced and well poised for any advance,” Leo said, starting the training straight away.

  Leo walked over to Josh. Who was doing his best to mimic the basic guard stance. Leo lightly knocked on his fist and shoulder, correcting his stance, before showing him how to slash.

  “This is a downwards slash. It has the most strength behind it out of all slashes and is best at breaking guards. Yet it comes with the most risk as it leaves you off balance and exposed to counterattack.” Leo performed the slash for a good minute, allowing Josh to try and mimic it.

  You raise your sword, you lean forward, and you slash with your core muscles.

  After repeating those words in his mind countless times, Josh slashed sluggishly. Leo was needed once more to walk over and correct his form, adjust his stance and grip.

  “Milord, remember it’s all about consistency and not leaving any gaps,” Leo explained confidently.

  Only a handful of minutes had passed since Josh started to train, yet sweat poured down his face, his breath shaky from exhaustion.

  This is mind-numbingly good for me. It reminds me of the runner’s high I experienced a couple of times back in middle school.

  After his downward slash looked barely passable, Leo continued instructing him, showing him all the essential slashes, stabs thrusts and stances, calmly explaining their pros and cons.

  They trained for at least two hours before calling it quits. Josh was utterly exhausted, but with a smile on his face, the heavy exercise lifted his burden off his mind.

  Before heading off, Josh asked, “Leo, from now on, every morning straight after breakfast, I want you to train me in swordsmanship for two hours straight.”

  “With pleasure, Milord,” Leo replied, a smile on his face.

  While heading back to the manor, Josh remembered, that he did want Leo for one more thing today.

  “I still have something for you to do today, Leo. Now that the fields are sowed, the serfs should have more of their time available. I want you to post a listing for those willing to work out of their debts. Five copper coins exemption for four hours of work making direct roads from the manor to three villages, barring Shallow Lake Village,” Josh commanded Leo.

  “Milord, we can’t afford that.” Without even thinking it through, Leo quickly replied.

  “That’s why we are only taking a part from their debts, rather than paying them,” Josh replied, before quickly adding. “Just do as you are told.”

  Not like I approve this serf thing, which is basically glorified slavery.

  Leo grunted in affirmation, clear displeasure on his face; the orders just didn’t make sense to him.