My Strange Savior - Chapter 23

 Chapter 23

“Focus on your training.”

At Kalion’s stern words, the hesitant members began to fill their training quota.

“Hold the sword like this.”

As Kalion explained and tried to draw his sword, Gia suddenly reached out her hand.

“Wait. Warm up a bit.”

“Yes?”

“Run a bit.”

Perhaps not fully warmed up yet, Gia twisted her neck in discomfort as her joints creaked.

“Please…”

As Kalion spoke, Gia swiftly put on her training armor.

After all, sweating is part of exercise and training.

Gia, circling the spacious training ground at the fastest speed she could muster, tied her disheveled long hair together.

‘Should I cut it…?’

The thought crossed her mind as she tightly tied her hair, unable to cut it easily.

Her father, who was always in the lab, used to lovingly comb her hair whenever he came home.

Even the urge to cut it short in discomfort was countered by the memory of her father’s caring touch, keeping her from doing so.

In the end, she hesitated and couldn’t bring herself to cut it.

To shake the old memories haunting her mind, Gia spun around the training ground at full speed. 

Recalling such thoughts was of no use in combat; it only made her mind strangely uneasy and weak.

The expansive training ground made her body heat up and sweat profusely even after just one lap. 

Gia, who had expected to pant heavily after one lap, surprised the members who were subtly conscious of her as she continued to the fourth lap.

Rockt was equally astonished by Gia’s stamina. While Kalion had some idea of Gia’s endurance from when she descended from the mountains, seeing it again was still remarkably impressive.

Maintaining such a rapid pace while circling the training ground was no easy feat, regardless of gender.

As she reached the fifth lap, she started to sweat, and by the sixth lap, her body seemed prepared.

With a refreshed face, Gia stood before Kalion, flashing her white teeth as she smiled.

“Alright. Now tell me.”

Gia, who had run flawlessly, stood before Kalion. Their eyes met, Kalion was about to continue his previous explanation when his mouth was slightly agape.

“What are you doing now?”

“It’s hot.”

“Ar… Are you…”

‘Are you insane?’

Kalion, who was about to shout, tightly closed his mouth and stood in front of Gia to shield her from the other members’ eyes.

Thud.

The members, having received Kalion’s teachings to not act recklessly like revealing their inner selves, widened their eyes.

“Ugh, the commander swung his sword around.”

Although it was a training sword, everyone was taken aback since Kalion had never wielded a sword so carelessly.

“Put it on.”

“It’s hot…”

“Right now.”

After a few grumbles, as the sweat trickled down her body, she gradually felt the heat. Gia, who had initially intended to train by taking off her black jacket and wearing only her inner clothing, hesitated as she grabbed the partly open shirt due to Kalion’s commanding presence.

“Why… I was like this when I first saw you…”

Through the open shirt, the white skin of Gia was revealed. Kalion, pretending not to notice the sweat drops falling between her ample collarbones, clenched his jaw tightly.

“Quiet… Please be quiet.”

Gia looked at Kalion, who rarely showed anger, and seemed to pout in frustration, not bothering to button up her shirt.

Kalion blushed and carefully buttoned up the shirt for her.

“This place is different from the world you lived in. It’s a place where men and women are distinct. How can you undress so carelessly?”

“Careless?”

Gia, who was about to press on and ask if he had finished speaking, closed her mouth when she saw Kalion turning red.

Right. He was a Confucian boy.

It was the same when she first met him. He was cautious, yet his gaze wandered as if unsure where to settle.

After unbuttoning the shirt to the neck and dropping the sword, Kalion picked it up.

“Never undress so carelessly again.”

Growling in a way, Kalion, who had said this near Gia’s ear, took a step back.

“It’s hot…”

“Hush.”

“Alright.”

Kalion felt a sense of relief at Gia’s acknowledgment.

Is it their culture to undress anywhere? However, no matter the culture, Kalion, who couldn’t respect it, pressed his temples in frustration as if it bothered him.

“Alright… Let’s start again.”

Demonstrating the efficient way to hold and wield the sword, starting from the standing posture, Kalion was unaware of the curious glances from the members behind him.

“Are you all not paying attention?”

Rockt, regaining his focus, clapped his hands to get the members’ attention.

The commotion subsided a bit, and Rockt continued to gaze at Kalion and Gia, who seemed to be in their world.

The exchange of words between the two couldn’t be heard. However, it was clear from a glance that a different kind of breeze was blowing between the fierce wind of the training ground.

‘Was the commander always this weak around women?’

While urging the members to focus on training, Rockt was lost in his thoughts.

‘Hmm… that can’t be.’

Coming from a prestigious family, with a face and abilities that made him stand out, Kalion was a popular figure who consistently ranked high in the nobility’s marriage market.

The admirers who showered him with gifts and letters were young nobles. Some, filled with passion, even made bold advances using their status and beauty.

Kalion’s reaction was always textbook-like, which was eerily intimidating. He would give a cold, indifferent look that said he was uninterested, all within the boundaries of proper etiquette.

The young admirers who thought they were humiliated by the commander would spread strange rumors during social gatherings, claiming that Kalion favored men or that he was impotent.

Yet, Kalion didn’t seem to care about these rumors or have any intention to correct them. Instead, it was Kalion who calmed down the spirited Rockt.

And now, Kalion, who usually had a stern face when approached by admirers, was standing closely to a woman, teaching her how to handle a sword, and doing so with a relaxed expression.

When approached by admirers, he used to have a stern face…

While most people couldn’t read Kalion’s expressions well, Rockt, who had spent a long time with him, could tell. He could sense how at ease their commander was right now.

Rockt clicked his tongue.

‘Well… it’s just my imagination, right?’

Rubbing his chin, Rockt forced himself to avert his gaze. 

While these thoughts were running through Rockt’s mind, Kalion and Gia were engaged in a conversation with their teeth clenched. The other members and the deputy commander were unaware of these thoughts, and the conversation continued in hushed tones between Kalion and Gia.

“The basics of handling a sword as a knight…”

“Ah… I told you, I’m not a knight.”

Gia, hoping to somehow quiet Kalion’s pretty lips that kept uttering that damned ‘knight’ phrase, playfully flicked his smooth forehead.

“Didn’t you say you were a soldier over there?”

“Do you think being a soldier there is the same as being a knight as you describe it?”

“Respecting and protecting the weak, defending the nation, and standing against injustice—seeing those things, aren’t they similar?”

“I told you no! Can’t this one understand what I’m saying?”

She had asked for a lesson on handling the sword, not a lecture about being a knight. Gia, looking at Kalion’s handsome face and explaining patiently, took a long breath.

‘You should be grateful for that face of yours. I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place, poor thing.’

Gia, squinting her eyes, looked up at Kalion with a face that asked for an explanation.

Unaware that they were so close that their breaths nearly touched, Kalion stared intently at Gia.

“The soldiers in the world that have perished aren’t noble and chivalrous knights like your world’s knights. Got it? Just show me how to efficiently cut and thrust.”

As if enduring, when Gia’s breath, as if snarling, brushed against his neck, Kalion stumbled back in surprise.

What did he eat that’s making him act so strangely? Looking puzzled at Kalion suddenly withdrawing as if she had done something wrong, Gia shrugged and flicked her wrist dismissively.

“Ah, I’ll just do it alone. Forget it.”

Watching Gia with the longsword head towards a corner of the training ground, Kalion, who held the long-felt warmth of her breath against his neck, continued to touch his throat.

Has there ever been a time when someone was this close to him? And willingly so?

Many admirers wanted to be close to Kalion. They would deliberately bump into him or drop their handkerchief to catch his attention. 

It wasn’t the martial arts he had learned, but it allowed him to gracefully evade such attempts.

Yet, within just a foot’s distance, without hesitation or awareness, he had let Gia into that space.

In a situation even unfamiliar to himself, Kalion covered his reddened cheeks with his large hands.

* * *

Gregory frowned as he looked at the arranged laboratory as if he expected it to be this way.

“Seems like it was all prepared as if they knew I would come.”

All the items his father used before he passed away remained exactly as they were. Gregory ran his finger across the dust-free desk.

Seeing Oscar, who was just smiling without responding to his words, Gregory couldn’t bring himself to say anything sharper. He knew all too well how much his grandfather regretted losing his father. He didn’t want to add more pain to his grandfather, who had already lost so much.

“Go on in. If you need anything, let me know.”

“Alright… Don’t overexert yourself.”

Watching Oscar leave the laboratory, carrying a heavy burden, Gregory sighed and touched his forehead.

When did he shrink like this? His grandfather, who had a physique so good that it could be called a model of a knight, seemed smaller today.

Feeling unsettled, he absentmindedly ran his fingers through his hair in a nervous manner. Some hair got tangled and pulled out, falling onto his finger.

“Damn.”

He had promised himself he wouldn’t do anything like alchemy again. Especially not for someone else.

But seeing the piece of metal in his hand reignited the pride of being a scholar within him. How were the items from this other world created, after all?

Gregory stared at the bullet containing a blue liquid.

“What on earth is this…?”

Not even Kalion’s powerful bowstring could penetrate the thick wooden plank as deeply as the object from the other world that Gia, a woman, brought did with just a tug of a finger. It pierced through a wooden plank as thick as an adult man’s fist.

In terms of aggression, it was undoubtedly an efficient item. Their swords and bows couldn’t even compare. 

Gregory still couldn’t believe that a piece of metal the size of a few fingers could exert such power.

Glancing around, Gregory carefully placed the bullet on the table and began unpacking the luggage he had brought.

‘It’s my grandfather’s request, so I don’t have a choice.’

He couldn’t ignore the kindness of his grandfather, who had raised and cared for him.

During the Emperor’s sudden suppression, his grandfather was the first to rush in and hide Gregory.

Gregory, who rationalized his actions, recalled the intense Gia he had encountered.

It wasn’t because of that crazy woman.

Thinking about how she pushed her face so close and fiercely berated him, Gregory felt like ignoring everything, including the bullet.

As he clenched his fist, thinking about the girl who sneered at him and chin-chucked him as if to belittle him, his heart boiled with irritation.

“What’s her problem?”

He was annoyed that he couldn’t respond properly to her remark. Gregory, who had a personality of needing to repay as much as he received, bravely took a seat.

It now occurred to him that he had obediently given in to Gia, whom he once regarded disdainfully for being enamored by the object from the other world.

‘It’s all for my grandfather.’

Despite pushing away thoughts of Gia, Gregory rose from his seat and aimed the bullet at the table.

It was evident that if he couldn’t create a mana bullet, the girl would mock him endlessly.

Although Gia had no such intention, Gregory, driven by a sense of inferiority, was ignited.

‘I’ll make it, no matter what.’

Behind Gregory’s scholarly enthusiasm, a determination even stronger than academic zeal seemed to burn brightly.

‘I’ll create it and flatten that pride. I’ll make sure she never looks at me like that again.’