When Maxi didn't move, Ursuline nodded to encourage her.
She swallowed hard and said, "N-Aren't you...
who are...
in charge of the castle while Riftan is away, Sir Ursuline?
I couldn't burden you with this task...
when you're already so busy."
"I can spare you a few days, my lady.
And when I can't, Ulyseon here will oversee your training."
The young knight's head turned to stare at Ursuline in surprise.
"And me?"
“Will this be a problem?”
Ulyseon shook his head quickly, but Maxi could tell by the apprehensive look on his face that he wasn't entirely happy with the plan.
Mortification passed through her.
He was probably remembering how he had hit her in the forehead, in addition to his complete lack of physical agility during his dagger training with Riftan.
Ursuline raised an eyebrow.
“Ma’am, please hurry and put on something more suitable for physical activities.”
"Y-You...
really don't need to bother, Sir Ursuline.
If there was a battle, I would be in the support forces at the rear.
I wouldn't be fighting“"
"Anything can happen during a battle, my lady.
I'm sure you're more than aware of this from experience.
You could be ambushed by monsters or find yourself in a situation where you can't use magic.
It's always better to know more ways to defend yourself."
Unable to refute his solid logic further, she reluctantly entered the great hall once more.
Shortly afterwards, she found herself nervously facing Ursuline, her flowing dress replaced by a knee-length woolen doublet over loose trousers.
After assessing her attire from head to toe, the knight placed his fingers on her chin.
“First, we must provide you with some protective equipment.”
Tilting his head, Ulyseon looked at Maxi, who was now more than a head shorter than him.
“Do you think we could find something in your ladyship’s size?”
Maxi glared at him angrily.
"I-It's not that I'm small!
It's you knights who are excessively tall.
And may I remind you...
y-you were my height just a few years ago!"
“Ma’am, that’s not true!” Ulyseon said, practically jumping up and down in protest.
“I was already much taller than you when we met!”
"Very?" she said, mouth open.
Ulyseon's face flushed as if he was truly upset.
“I had at least half a hech left.”
She was about to disagree when Ursuline interrupted.
"We have no time for fighting.
We must go to the smithy immediately.
I'm sure some of the squires' armor will do."
Maxi sighed and reluctantly followed Ursuline's example.
They circled the castle and walked along the forest trail, cast with web-like shadows across the canopy of bare branches.
Soon, the sound of hammering reached them.
As they entered the open door of the blacksmith shop, the robust master blacksmith, who had been scolding the apprentices with his booming voice, turned to look at the visitors.
The man had a thick black beard and large, bright eyes.
A faint hint of irritation crossed his face.
“May I know what brings you here?”
“We have come to find armor for your lordship,” Ursuline replied casually, entering as if accustomed to the blacksmith's brusqueness.
Following him, Maxi looked at the blazing furnace and the sandbags and equipment stacked awkwardly against the wall.
More than ten blacksmiths were working hard.
Among them, she spotted Anette and Armin.
It was incredible to see how naturally they had integrated with the blacksmiths in just a few hours.
Anette, engaged in conversation with one of the blacksmiths, gave Maxi a big wave when she saw her.
"Max!
We have some great options here!
Why don't you pick one of them?" she said like she owned the place.
The blacksmiths around her looked incredulous at her audacity.
Anette didn't seem to care about them.
She grabbed a helmet from one of the racks and began twirling it in her hand.
“They are all very well made!” she exclaimed.
“This one may be simple in design, but it's well polished and surprisingly light.”
The helmet's creator gave him a satisfied smile.
“You have a good eye, miss.”
Anette threw the helmet aside and picked up another one.
"It limits your vision, though.
This one should be better."“Wait, what about this black guy?” Armin suggested.
"It doesn't reflect any light, so there's no chance of it giving away when she needs to hide.
Plus, it looks sturdier than that one."
"That's unnecessarily heavy.
I've already tried it.
Whoever made it must have wanted to break the neck of the wearer."
The blacksmiths' faces grew redder as the exchange between Anette and Armin continued.
Looking away, the master blacksmith said to Maxi, "I was told they were your guests, my lady.
Could I ask you to take them somewhere else now?
They are disturbing our work."
“W-Well…”
Maxi looked back and forth between the blacksmiths and the Umri mages, his face worried.
While she stood there undecided, Anette and Armin finished selecting a set of armor for her.
“Try this,” Anette said, handing him a breastplate.
"It's the smallest one here.
It should fit you well."
Ulyseon's face hardened.
“This is mine.”
“Isn’t it a little small for you?”
“I used it when I was a squire.”
"Wow, ordinary humans really grow up frighteningly fast.
He went from this to that," Anette said in awe.
Armin poked her reprimandingly in the shoulder, a subtle warning about her use of the phrase 'ordinary humans'.
However, Ulyseon didn't seem to find what she said strange and just looked wistfully at his old breastplate.
He looked so discouraged that Maxi tried to comfort him.
"Don't let it get you down, Ulyseon.
Y-You've grown so much, after all.
I was really surprised… when I first saw you in the tavern.
I barely recognized you."
Ulyseon's face instantly lit up.
"It's true, right?
I'm taller than Garrow now!
And soon, I'll be equal to Sir Ursuline and Sir Elliot!"
The young knight stood straighter next to Ursuline to prove his point.
Although a subtle frown took over the older knight's face, Ulyseon didn't seem to notice.
Excitedly waving his hand from the top of his head to Ursuline's, he smiled widely.
“I’m a little taller now.”
When neither Maxi nor Ursuline responded, the young knight continued his exuberant conversation.
"Still, I don't think I'll grow much further.
If I couldn't reach Sir Hebaron's height, I was hoping to at least match Sir Riftan's.
Unfortunately, I've been at that stage for months.
I suppose I should be satisfied, since I'm still one of“"
“Rovar,” Ursuline interrupted in a low voice.
Ulyseon turned to look at him with an innocent expression.
“Yes, Sir Ursuline?”
“Shut that mouth, immediately.”
"Yes sir!"
Ulyseon made a gesture of closing his mouth.
Pushing the young man aside with an annoyed look, Ursuline grabbed Anette's armor.
"Come closer, my lady.
Let me help."
He deftly fastened the breastplate around his chest, then protected his wrists and legs with protectors.
Maxi swayed under the weight of the metal.
As Ursuline walked away to assess the fit, Ulyseon waved indicating that he wanted to talk.
Ursuline sighed and looked at him.
"What is it?"
"Shouldn't we also get a chainmail for your lordship?
Your abdomen is completely unprotected."
“One breastplate will suffice.”
"What if a spear or arrow comes your way?
And small monsters like goblins tend to aim for the lower abdomen!"
Persuaded by Ulyseon's argument, Ursuline began searching for a chain mesh.
Staggering behind them, Maxi felt like an animated armor stand as they added pieces of equipment to him.
“She should have shoulder protectors too.”
"They would be very heavy.
With her lordship's stamina, the weight would easily tire her during the journey.
It would be best to keep it to a minimum."
"But a helmet is essential!
What if a monster ambushes you from behind with a club?!"
As if Ulyseon's anxiety was contagious, Ursuline began covering her entire body in armor.
Half crushed under the constantly increasing weight, Maxi looked to Anette and Armin for help, but the pair seemed to have lost interest.
They were arguing with the blacksmiths in front of the furnace.In the end, unable to quell the knights' worries, she left the forge fully armed.
It only took her ten steps to realize that she wouldn't be able to go anywhere with so much steel weighing down on her.
However, upon seeing the knights' satisfied looks, she couldn't bring herself to say it.
Unaware of her discomfort, Ulyseon said cheerfully, "It may be uncomfortable now, my lady, but you'll soon get used to it.
I also found wearing armor cumbersome at first.
Give it two days and it'll soon feel like just any other outfit."
Maxi looked at him as if he were a strange creature.
How could she get used to this?
Ursuline, on the other hand, looked skeptical.
Despite his doubts, he stood back and watched her struggling to walk as if to see how far she could get.
When they reached a clearing near the forge, Ursuline began her lesson by tracing something in the dirt with a twig.
"While it is always best to start with the basics, let's jump into some practical techniques since we are short on time.
You must compensate for your lack of stamina by taking your enemy by surprise.
Aim for a critical hit.
A stab to the chest is always effective, or a blow between the ribs, aiming for the heart or lungs.
Either would be instantly fatal.
However, this requires strength and skill, and would be difficult with monsters of the Ayin race who are most often wearing breastplates.
As your enemy will be better protected if you fail on the first attempt, you should attack where a fatal blow is most likely.
Aim for visible vital points.
That would be the eyes, throat, and abdomen.
Even if the blow doesn't kill your enemy, it should give you enough time to escape or take cover."
As he explained, he used his skillfully made sketch of the human body to indicate the various points.
"Monsters of the Ayin race have anatomies quite similar to humans, including the location of organs.
Attacking the liver or spleen should cause heavy bleeding, as well as large arteries in the inner parts of the joints.
A deep cut into the hamstring muscles should also work.
All of this requires a lot of strength, however, and it would be difficult for anyone other than a trained knight to make a large enough cut.
If these areas are the only ones open, aim for a stab rather than a cut.
Hold the dagger with both hands and use all your strength to stick it as deep as possible.
Then twist the blade like this before pulling it out to open the wound.”
Maxi listened to the lecture in a daze.
She nodded when he paused, made even more difficult by the weight of his helmet.
Ursuline narrowed her eyes as if determining if she was listening before continuing with the lesson.
"The techniques I've explained so far only apply to low-grade monsters like goblins and kobolds.
It's unlikely, but if you come across a troll, don't try to fight it.
Trolls possess formidable regenerative abilities.
Since most wounds would heal instantly, the only way to kill a troll is to decapitate it.
The best way to attack would be fire magic.
Monsters of the Ayin race are not as resistant to magic as the subspecies of Ayin.
dragons, and magic will be effective against them.”
"I-I...
specialize in defensive magic.
I can't cast such powerful fire magic."
When she saw Ursuline's face turning dark, Maxi added hastily, "But...
I'm confident in my defensive magic skills!
Concealment spells are my strong point."
"Let's see how you fare first, my lady.
As a longsword would be too heavy for you, a baselard should be a suitable option."
Ursuline pulled a forearm-sized dagger from her belt and extended the hilt.
"It's one of the most commonly used daggers.
Its blade is longer than most, making it easier to land a fatal blow at close range."
The weapon looked like one Riftan had given him some time ago.
That dagger had been lost in the chaos of war.
She stared blankly at it, then held the handle with both hands.
After observing it silently for a moment, Ursuline stepped forward to show the correct way to wield it."Holding it this way reduces the weight on your wrists.
Remember to keep your wrist aligned with the blade as you thrust it.
This way, you can focus your strength in your arms more effectively and mitigate the strain on your joints."
“L-Like this?”
After silently assessing her posture, Ursuline nodded.
"Yes.
Very well, my lady.
Now try to attack.
I will correct your posture as we go."
Maxi frowned at him.
He wasn't wearing any protective gear.
"Did you guys...
just teach me how to aim for vital spots?!
What if I accidentally hurt you?"
“Then you could heal me with your magic, my lady,” Ursuline replied dryly.
With that, the knight took a few steps back.
A strange feeling of déjà vu enveloped her.
She wondered if all knights were so confident.
Narrowing her eyes, Maxi stared at his impassive face before raising her dagger with a sigh.
To be fair, even she didn't believe she would be able to hurt any of the White Dragons.
She would certainly make a fool of herself again.
However, the knowledge that he would never be able to land a blow did not lessen his apprehension.
It was still difficult to muster the courage to run towards the knight, aiming for his eyes or throat.
After a moment of hesitation, Maxi closed his eyes and walked forward.
Immediately, his legs gave way.
She hadn't even taken three steps when the weight of her armor caused her to fall to the ground.
Although she half expected something like this to happen, she still felt her face burn with embarrassment.
She tried to get up, but the heavy armor made it impossible.
After struggling like an overturned turtle, Maxi called out to the knights, whimpering.
"H-Help, please!
I can't...
r-breathe!"
“Allow me, my lady!”
Ulyseon threw himself down and lifted her to her feet.
Seeing her hanging in the young knight's arms, Ursuline sighed heavily.
“We should change your armor first, my lady.”