Chapter 47

I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince - Chapter 47 [The Sword Carries the Will (6)]

The typical grinding system in RPG games was the most basic way to play, gaining experience points and leveling up to become stronger.

It’s fair to say that this has been the most fundamental and traditional method of RPG games for nearly 30-40 years.

However, in recent RPG games, the ways to gain experience points are not limited to just defeating monsters.

There are cases where you can gain experience points as rewards for completing quests, and you can also fill up experience points with growth leaps that can be obtained while exploring regions.

In addition, “typical” RPG games usually have various convenient methods to gain experience points in many other ways.

This is because RPG games usually have differences in character growth balance depending on the player’s playstyle.

While there are people who need to wander around every single map and defeat all the monsters before moving on to the next map, there are also people who try to engage in the minimum amount of combat possible and progress through the main storyline as much as they can.

The most important thing for game balance is to set an appropriate level of difficulty so that users of both playstyles do not get bored.

The problem is that when two people with such extreme opposites play the same game, there is inevitably a structure where one person is bound to have complaints at some point.

Even if the developers think they have set the strength of the monsters to an appropriate level, it may feel too easy for some and too difficult for others, which is one of the chronic problems that RPG games cannot escape from.

Therefore, game companies usually create items or facilities within the game that can supply experience points in addition to hunting monsters.

Luminor Academy, the game that I enjoyed in my previous life, was, of course, no exception to this.

One of the ways to gain experience points created in the game was the “Training Facility” system.

It was a system where if you left your companion characters, excluding the main character, at a training facility to be trained, you could gain experience points without having to hunt monsters together.

Usually, these facilities had conditions that made it obvious that they were training facilities.

Most places that regularly accepted a certain number of new trainees each period and trained them, such as “Beginner Adventurer Training Center,” “Apprentice Wizard Education Center,” and “Lower-level Soldier Training Grounds,” also served as training facilities.

‘I used them a lot when training characters that were burdens in the early game but useful in the late game.’

It was a system that was very helpful for progressing through the story, as you could just throw them into a training facility, do some adventuring, and when you came to pick them up, they would have leveled up on their own.

Of course, most of the time, those were facilities used to train male party members, since carelessly putting the heroine in a training facility and neglecting her would lower her affection.

Anyway, the reason I mentioned training facilities now was not for any other reason.@@novelbin@@

It’s a place where new soldier candidates are recruited at least once or twice a year, trained to be able to do the minimum, gauge each other’s skills through sparring, and grow.

This place, the “Blackwood Estate Guards’ Mock Training Grounds,” also completely met the criteria for a “Training Facility” in my memory.

In other words, it meant that I could sufficiently gather experience points just by training here without having to defeat monsters.

‘I don’t need a lot… Just enough to raise one more level.’

If I could just raise one more level and somehow learn Mana Blast, just that one skill…

I felt like it would be very reassuring for the future.

It seemed too much of a waste to just let go of the opportunity to level up that had come so close.

With the thought that I had nothing to lose, my mouth had already begun to make this suggestion to Emilia.

“If you’ve finished looking around the mock training grounds, shall we go to the outdoor physical training grounds next…?”

“…Miss Emilia.”

“…What is it, Miss Lilith?”

“Is it possible to actually experience these mock training grounds?”

“Pardon?”

“…Maid?”

Emilia reflexively asked back at my sudden remark, and Ethan tilted his head at me half a beat later.

Although I could feel similar emotions from both of their gazes, I couldn’t give up this precious opportunity that had come.

I added a little more to my expression and continued the suggestion I was trying to make.

“I mean the mock training grounds used by the new soldiers. I thought it might be helpful for the young master’s patrol if we could experience it directly.”

“…The young master?”

“It would be dangerous if the young master were to directly cross swords with them, and it would also be difficult for them to have the right mindset to properly engage in a match if their opponent was Young Master Ethan, so that’s obviously impossible.”

“…Maid, what are you trying to say…?”

“So, I will experience the Blackwood Estate Guards’ mock training grounds. It will be helpful for the young master’s patrol to see how the mock training is conducted in the Blackwood Estate and gauge the skill level of the new soldiers.”

“……”

“……”

Upon hearing my words, Emilia and Ethan froze with dumbfounded expressions, staring at me.

It’s not that I didn’t expect these kinds of glances to be thrown at me.

Needless to say, for Ethan, who was seeing his exclusive maid insisting on wielding a sword and fighting among men, it must have been absurd.

…And from Emilia’s perspective, a crazy maid who suddenly wanted to swing swords with her unit’s soldiers would also be dumbfounding.

However, this was a rare opportunity to gain precious experience points that I might not get again if not now, so it was too regrettable to just leave like this.

“…Miss Lilith, I fully understand your desire to gauge the skills of the new soldiers in the mock training grounds, but I’m concerned that you might get hurt because of it.”

“It’s alright. It’s not like I haven’t been seriously injured before, and since I’m voluntarily asking for this, I will endure any injuries myself.”

“No, it’s dangerous, maid. There’s no need for you to go that far to check. If you really think it’s necessary, I will…”

“As I said before, we won’t be able to properly assess the true skills of the new soldiers if they are up against the young master. Above all, shouldn’t you preserve your precious body, young master?”

“Maid, I said no.”

…As expected, their attitudes are firm.

Well, from Ethan’s perspective, there’s no need for me to participate in this mock training, so he would want to stop me.

If I were to participate in the training at this mock training grounds and lose, it would only increase the troublesome matters for Ethan.

So far, based on my attitude alone, I was just a thoughtless maid who simply wanted to swing a sword at the mock training grounds.

But now, I had a suitable excuse prepared to supplement the justification for this crazy behavior of mine.

To Emilia and Ethan, who were trying to stop me, I also spat out the excuse I had prepared in advance and supplemented my argument.

“No. I will engage in the match, young master.”

“Maid…!”

“By engaging in the match and proving my skills, I can completely deny the suspicions that Miss Emilia has about me.”

“…!”

Emilia reacted with a slightly surprised expression to my words as I met her eyes.

I could also see her eyes momentarily alternating between me and the mock training grounds, even if it was just for a brief moment.

Yes, that’s how it should be.

I knew that deep down, that woman also wanted to be sure whether I truly had the skills to subjugate the Hooked Tusk or not and whether it was really true that her superior, Sir Blacksong, was charmed by me and conceded and recorded the feat.

…Or, by any chance, whether this maid was truly a skilled person beyond her expectations.

Although she couldn’t mention it herself due to Ethan’s firm attitude, there would still be doubts about me left in her heart.

Seeing such a suggestion coming out of my mouth first, Emilia would also want to be sure about that part.

As I read the slight hint of emotion flowing from her eyes, Ethan stepped in front of me and started approaching Emilia.

“…So, it’s because of that woman who still doubts you that the maid is going to swing a sword among those men…?”

“…Ah, no. I don’t doubt her, young master. Absolutely not!”

“It’s because you blurted out unnecessary things that the maid…!”

Of course, to allow this situation, it wasn’t Emilia’s opinion that mattered, but I needed permission from Ethan, the highest-ranking person among us.

I called out to him, who was approaching Emilia with a sharp reaction, and continued my persuasion.

I didn’t forget to add words that even Ethan couldn’t easily dismiss.

“Is the young master worried that I will get hurt in a mock match against a new soldier?”

“…That’s obvious. No matter how new the soldier is, the opponent is an adult male. If a maid faces them, of course, you’ll get hurt.”

“Does that mean I can take it as the young master thinking I’m weaker than the new soldiers?”

“…Maid?”

“As I thought, even you didn’t believe it, young master. You still don’t believe the record of me subjugating the Hooked Tusk.”

“…!”

This time, Ethan showed a surprised expression, just like Emilia did a little while ago, at my words.

The flustered look on Ethan’s face as he was countered by his own words was quite a sight to see.

If Ethan, who had already referred to me as his “most trusted servant” in the office, were to worry about me here, it would naturally lead to the conclusion that he didn’t believe in my record of subjugating the Hooked Tusk either.

In other words, the moment it was revealed that his act of covering for me in the Security Department office earlier was not because he truly trusted me but merely a quibble made to exploit me politically, it would be exposed for all to see.

If that happened, he would not be able to achieve his original goal of “creating a sense of intimidation in preparation for seizing power.”

Here, the only solution that Ethan could respond with was to nod his head and show that he believed in me.

‘You started it first, Ethan.’

Just as Ethan used me to create a sense of intimidation in the estate’s guards, it was my turn to use Ethan to earn experience points.

If he were to stop the training here out of concern that I might get hurt, that act itself would be hypocritical and contradictory.

In the end, in order not to have the image of a ruler who “talks on both sides of one’s mouth,” Ethan couldn’t interfere with my participation in the training here. At least, not for a superficial reason, like worrying about me getting hurt.

To be honest, letting me participate in the training was a no-lose situation for Ethan, regardless of the outcome.

If I showed a good performance in the match, he could demonstrate the virtue of a good lord who trusts his subordinates.

On the other hand, if I got beaten up miserably, he could just say, “You betrayed my trust.” and cut ties with me.

Of course, in the case of the latter, there would be some damage to me as well, so I intended to win as much as possible.

…And so, I was waiting for Ethan’s decision, who was essentially left with only one choice.

For some reason, permission for me to participate in the training was not readily given from Ethan’s mouth.

“Hmm…”

‘Why is he like that?’

Logically thinking, just letting me participate would be the easiest solution.

If he stopped my participation in the training here, it wouldn’t be good either for me or him, right?

…There’s no way that fatty is really stopping me from participating in the training because he’s worried about me, right?

No matter how I thought about it, it was a sight of Ethan agonizing over something that he had no reason to agonize over, so I quietly approached him and stimulated him one more time to make a decision.

I then spoke in a quiet voice, almost whispering, so that Emilia wouldn’t hear.

“I understand. If that’s what you think, young master, I guess it can’t be helped.”

“…Maid?”

“Just a moment ago, I thought you said I was your most trusted servant, but I guess I misunderstood.”

“Ah, no! You really are the person I trust the most, maid!”

“Yes, I’m sure you do. Until just now, you didn’t doubt that I had subjugated the Hooked Tusk on my own, but now you’re worried that I will definitely get injured in a match against a new soldier. I really find your words believable.”

“Ah, no… That’s not what I meant…”

With this, even Ethan should know for sure that letting me compete, whether I win or lose, is the least dishonorable method for now.

Eventually, after much deliberation, Ethan’s footsteps fell one step forward.

He quietly met Emilia’s eyes there and calmly declared.

“…Emilia.”

“…Yes.”

“…Provide proper equipment and protective gear so that my maid can participate in the mock training with the new soldiers.”