When I Cleared the Death Game World, I Reincarnated as a Villainous Noble Even if They Talk About Doom Flags, I'm Actually Immortal. - Chapter 8

Lior wanted to grow stronger—strong enough to challenge the hidden bosses.

But his body was weak, as fragile as a sprout in the wind.

So he decided to start from the basics—building stamina.

He made morning runs a daily routine, and before long, Laura started running with him.

He wasn’t sure why.

Maybe Laura was a shotacon.

Whenever he finished running, panting and exhausted, she would watch him with an oddly pleased expression.

Maybe that was her thing.

Lior couldn’t help but look at her with suspicion.

But whatever the reason, having a knight willing to train him was a stroke of luck.

“Laura, would you teach me swordplay?”

He had asked on a whim, half-expecting her to refuse.

But to his surprise, Laura’s face lit up with excitement as she eagerly nodded.

And so, two weeks passed since their training began.

“Lord Lior! Don’t hesitate—strike with confidence!”

“Hah!”

“That’s it—keep going!”

Clack! Clack!

The sound of wooden swords clashing echoed through the courtyard.

Lior swung with all his strength, but Laura blocked effortlessly.

Their exchange continued until—

THUD!

Laura’s heavy counterstrike sent Lior flying.

“Lord Lior, are you all right?”

“I’m fine. I’m good at breaking falls.”

Lior quickly got back on his feet, stretching his arms to prove he wasn’t hurt.

“More importantly, Laura, you’re incredible. I tried to deflect your strike, but the impact was too strong—I could feel the sheer weight of all the training you’ve done.”

“Ah… Th-Thank you.”

Laura blushed, looking embarrassed as she awkwardly tucked her hair behind her ear.

She seemed strangely happy about the praise.

(Someone as strong as Laura should be used to compliments… right?)

Didn’t they spar within the knight order?

Lior found it odd, but he didn’t dwell on it.

“This style you’re teaching me—Hazan-ryu, was it? It’s one of the major sword schools in the empire, right?”

“Yes. Hazan-ryu is one of the three major styles in the empire. It focuses on delivering powerful, decisive strikes, making it particularly well-suited for large weapons like greatswords.”

“I see… If I keep training, do you think I’ll be able to land a strike as strong as yours?”

“Not just that—you’ll surpass me!”

Laura’s eyes sparkled with conviction.

“From what I’ve seen, Lord Lior, your talent is exceptional—no, beyond that! You’re a prodigy! The way you absorb techniques is simply astonishing!”

“Uh… th-thanks…?”

She beamed, her enthusiasm radiating as she praised him.

A good student made training more enjoyable, and Laura had become even more eager than Lior when it came to sword practice.

“But there’s something strange…”

“What do you mean?”

“Have you trained in combat before, Lord Lior?”

“No, not at all.”

“Really? Sometimes, your movements remind me of a seasoned assassin—the way you evade attacks like a mirage and counter from a blind spot with a lethal strike… I assumed someone had taught you.”

“T-Totally just a coincidence!”

Lior averted his gaze, a drop of cold sweat trickling down his temple.

His past life’s habits had slipped out.

In Drag Machina, the enemies were monstrous, each one possessing overwhelming power.

A human’s strength alone wasn’t enough to defeat them.

A single direct hit meant instant death.

So he had learned how to avoid attacks entirely—to move unseen, to strike from outside the enemy’s awareness.

That instinct had become second nature.

(That fighting style isn’t bad… but it’s my own unpolished method.)

(Now that I have a proper teacher, I should start fresh and learn swordplay the right way.)

The combat techniques Lior had learned in Drag Machina were meant for hunting monsters far stronger than himself.

It was a style of survival, built purely through instinct and adaptation.

But it was also completely self-taught, relying too much on intuition.

To truly grow stronger, he needed proper knowledge and technique.

That meant starting from the basics—learning everything from scratch.

That was the conclusion he had reached.

“Would you two like something to drink?”

As Lior and Laura took a break, Felicia approached, balancing a tray of drinks.

A refreshing citrus aroma drifted from the cups—it was lemon-infused water.

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy this.”

“I’ll have some as well.”

Lior accepted the drink, and Laura followed suit.

As the liquid touched his tongue, the mild tartness of the lemon seeped into his tired body, cooling him from the inside.

“By the way, Lady Laura, I heard that a village in the territory is being attacked by goblins…”

“What?”

Felicia’s words made Laura snap her head up in surprise.

It was rare for them to speak directly.

Felicia usually watched Lior’s training from a distance, and once it was over, she would accompany him to the baths.

It seemed that Laura wasn’t expecting a conversation, let alone this particular topic.

“Where did you hear that?”

“I overheard the knights discussing it.”

“…I see.”

Laura’s gaze wavered, looking uneasy.

For some reason, she seemed troubled.

“Shouldn’t the knights just take care of it?”

Goblins were a common nuisance in this world.

With their high reproductive rates and adaptability, they could be found almost everywhere.

They were classified as demi-humanoids, meaning they possessed some intelligence.

However, their aggression and unnatural breeding methods had led them to be recognized as a harmful species, one that needed to be eradicated on sight.

Fortunately, they were weak.

A group of knights should have no trouble wiping them out.

“The knights are short on manpower, so the matter has been left to adventurers. The commander has already made the decision.”

“I see…”

Laura bit her lip in frustration.

She clearly wanted to deal with the issue but couldn’t due to a lack of resources.

From Lior’s perspective, the knight order always seemed to have too much free time—but apparently, they were busier than he thought.

That meant the only option was to leave the extermination to adventurers—but that wouldn’t be easy either.

Adventurers were mercenaries—they only took jobs that paid well.

Most of their work involved hunting monsters that posed a direct threat to cities or gathering rare resources from dangerous locations.

For example, they might accept jobs like:

• • Exterminating monsters that threaten trade routes

• • Retrieving medicinal herbs that only grow deep in the mountains

But hunting goblins?

That wasn’t profitable.

A small village couldn’t afford to pay a large sum for protection.

And goblins weren’t worth anything—their corpses had no valuable materials to sell.

In Japan, hunters might cull bears for low pay, but in this world, adventurers weren’t going to risk their lives for charity.

No pay, no work—that was the simple reality.

“Can the goblins be left alone for now?”

“…For now, they’ve only attacked livestock and crops.”

“If they’ve started targeting livestock, it’s only a matter of time before they go after people.”

Attacking farm animals meant the goblin pack was growing larger.

And when that happened, their next target would be the villagers themselves.

They couldn’t afford to wait for adventurers to take an interest.

(…Well, this might be a good opportunity.)

Lior gazed up at the sky, thoughtfully.