I Became the Butler of the Seventh Princess, Who’s Regressing Into a Child - Episode 18

Episode 18

It seems Luciana-sama had already spoken to Klaus-san. And he agreed to come to the mansion.  

—

And so, on the promised day. I met the man introduced as my sword instructor, Klaus-san, in the garden behind the mansion.  

This is where I usually train.  

…He’s the swordsman who once served as the captain of the knights, huh?  

At first glance, I almost thought it was some kind of joke.  

His appearance was that of a complete vagrant.  

The first thing that caught my eye was the tattered brown cloak.  

It looked like it hadn’t been washed in years, with holes scattered here and there.  

The clothes under the cloak were no better.  

His faded shirt was filthy, and his pants were completely worn out.  

……At the very least, it seemed like he had washed them.  

There wasn’t any particularly strange smell.  

But no matter how you looked at him, it was hard to believe he had once served as the captain of the knights at the royal castle.  

However, once we faced each other, it became clear.  

The aura he gave off made it obvious—this man was no ordinary person.  

“So, you’re the one who wants to learn the sword?”  

His low voice carried a weight that instantly changed the atmosphere.  

Klaus-san, ignoring my gaze, looked down at me with sharp eyes. It was as if he could see right through me.  

“Take your stance.”  

With just those words, Klaus-san immediately drew his sword.  

…I hurriedly drew my own, just as Klaus-san kicked off the ground.  

That movement—!  

It’s the [Soaring Kick], a skill you can learn with the [Swordsman] job…!  

I barely managed to meet Klaus-san’s sword as he closed in on me in an instant.  

“Sorry, but I don’t have much free time. I only agreed to this because dear Luciana asked me. If you’re not serious about this, I’ll stop right away.”  

“…I-I understand!”  

It seems this isn’t going to be a polite, formal kind of instruction.  

It’s more of a “watch and learn, feel it with your body” kind of training.  

Klaus-san swung his sword in a powerful arc.  

…Fast.  

At first, he used a skill to close the distance. But after that, it was pure swordsmanship.  

He’s adjusting his strength to match mine.  

That’s why I can barely keep up in the blade-locks.  

But in every other aspect, Klaus-san is far superior.  

This isn’t about stats or skills.  

It’s a simple difference in swordsmanship.  

I leapt toward Klaus-san in a sudden attack.  

But he effortlessly deflected my strike, his sword redirecting mine with ease.  

“…Damn it!”  

I turned quickly and slashed again. But it was as if his sword wasn’t even there—my attack just slipped past him.  

In this command battle, it felt like Klaus-san was acting twice, or even three times as fast.  

Every attack I made was blocked, dodged, and rendered useless.  

Each swing of his sword was fluid and smooth, making my technique look like a child’s play.  

—He’s too strong.  

The overwhelming difference in skill filled me more with excitement than despair.  

I focused intently on observing Klaus-san’s movements and clashed swords with him.  

But my sword was knocked out of my hands by one of his strikes, sent flying into the air.  

“Boy, are you done?”  

“…No, please, one more time.”  

“Then hurry up and pick up your sword.”  

I gripped my sword again and immediately took my stance.  

Klaus-san charged at me again, and I desperately tried to keep up.  

Several times, he smacked me with the flat of his blade.  

It was clearly a brutal, Spartan-style training, but his swordsmanship was solid.  

…If I could catch up to Klaus-san, I would become much stronger.  

With that thought in mind, I continued to clash swords with him relentlessly.  

Finally, Klaus-san let out a small breath.  

“That’s enough for today. I’ll come here once every three days. By then, you’d better have learned what I taught you. If not, there won’t be any more lessons.”  

“…I-I understand. Thank you very much!”  

“…Hmph.”  

Klaus-san let out a short breath, turned his back to me, and walked away.  

…There was too much to learn.  

I didn’t gain any skills from my fight with Klaus-san, which means his swordsmanship wasn’t reliant on skills.  

…In other words, anyone can reach that level with enough effort.  

I want to be like that too…!  

…But first, I need to test what I learned in today’s dungeon exploration.  

—

After spending the whole day in the dungeon, I returned to the mansion by evening.  

I had work as Lady Luciana’s butler for the next two days. It would make it difficult to train with the sword. Of course, I planned to practice in the mornings and evenings, but… just that wouldn’t be enough time to fully grasp all the techniques I learned today.  

…Hmm, what should I do?  

As I pondered this while swinging my sword in the garden, Karin came over.  

“Rondo-kun, you’re looking a bit troubled. Are you okay?”  

“……Yeah, I’m fine.”  

“But your expression looks a bit serious, you know?”  

She furrowed her brow, mimicking me.  

“……Well, I was getting some sword training this morning, but—”  

“Oh, with Klaus-san, right? That’s great! It’s pretty rare to get a second training session from him, you know?”  

“Huh? What do you mean?”  

“Klaus-san doesn’t seem interested in people he’s not keen on. The soldiers under Lady Luciana said they were all turned down on the first day.”  

“…Is that so?”  

That means… I might have caught Klaus-san’s eye with some potential.  

“That’s why it’s great! But you still look troubled, huh?”  

“Actually, Klaus-san told me that if I don’t master what he taught me by next time, there won’t be any more training. …But I have butler duties tomorrow and the day after. And I’m wondering when I’ll be able to practice.”  

“…Yeah, that’s tough with work too.”  

As I gave a wry smile, Karin seemed to think for a moment. She then clapped her hands as if something came to mind.  

“In that case, I’ve got a good idea!”  

“A good idea?”  

“Yup. I was thinking maybe your big sister here could help you out a little.”  

“Help me with sword training?”  

“Nope! Don’t get all serious on me! Here’s a question: What’s my race?”  

“S-Succubus, right?”  

“That’s right! Succubi have the power to interfere with dreams. I can enter other people’s dreams too. I sometimes sleep with Lady Luciana when she has trouble falling asleep, you know?”  

…….Is that so?  

But what does that have to do with this? …Wait a minute.  

Come to think of it, there was something similar in the main game.  

There was a “Succubus Training Dojo” where succubi used their power to summon past strong opponents for training purposes.  

“Are you saying you could interfere with my dreams and help me train in my sleep?”  

“Oh! You catch on fast, as expected. You can’t strengthen your body in a dream, but you can practice techniques. How does that sound?”  

It’s an incredibly tempting offer.  

There’s no way I’d have enough time to train everything Klaus-san taught me by the next session.  

If I could train in my sleep, then that time would directly become practice.  

“Could I ask you to help me with that tonight?”  

“Of course! I’ll come to your room tonight, so be ready.”  

Wait, what?  

With that, Karin left, but… she’s coming to my room tonight?  

W-What should I do? I should probably let Lady Luciana know.