Under the Oak Tree

Chapter 140

Translators – LN & LL

Proofreader – Nymeria

Note: The two young knights who appeared in chapter 65 were named Yurixion Lobar and Garow Livacon, we’re now changing their names in Yulysion Rovar and Garrow Livakion since we think it’s a more accurate translation.

“Greetings, My Lady.”

The boy gave her a casual greeting that didn’t suit his terrible condition. Max looked coldly at the boy’s ruined face and told the servants to prepare a clean cloth and hot water. Sir Gabel, who followed him into the kitchen, saw the scene and sighed deeply.

“Winter rain made the field all wet, and today was the day these young men were supposed to be trained in horseback riding. He was riding a horse and rolled on the ground just like that.”

“It wasn’t just me who rolled and got injured…”

Sir Caron groaned as he rubbed his hair. Yulysion scraped his blood-soaked hair with a distant face.

“Because of me… I’m really sorry, Sir Caron.”

“You’re the third person to put me on the ground, kid.”

Lord Caron grumbled and stood in front of the fireplace, drying his wet body. Max frowned a little angry at the boy’s appearance, who showed no signs of concern even though he was covered in blood.

“Y-Yulysion, don’t touch your h-head! There’s blood, it’s still b-bleeding. Come on… sit down. I’ll t-treat you with the h-healing magic”

“It just looks like this but it’s not that serious My Lady. The blood already stopped, I can’t burden you…”

“D-Don’t be silly… sit down.”

Max pulled his arm a bit roughly and sat him on a chair near the fire. The boy opened his eyes wide, surprised by her actions, but Max was genuinely worried about Yulysion, who looked like a wounded wild dog.

Max bent over his head and looked carefully at the wound. Lord Gabel handed her a clean towel soaked in hot water.

“I think my scalp was torn when I fell because I used a saddle that didn’t fit. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the bone, but… I’ve a pretty long wound, would that be okay?”

“I-if you’re hurt like this… with m-my magic, I-I can cure it.”

Max carefully wiped the blood with a towel and examined the injury. A long wound was seen between the silver hair stained with blood. She put her hand on it and used the magic to control the mana. Thanks to her steady accumulation of mana, she was now able to perform healing magic at a pace similar to Ruth’s. She checked from his hair to his forehead and carefully examined the wound’s healing.

“W-Where else… are you okay now?”

“I am alright, My Lady.”

He said with a red glow on his white, freckled cheeks. Max pulled off her hand awkwardly because she thought she touched him too casually. Yulysion was a boy with a slender frame and a face as pretty as that of a woman, but he was also scheduled to soon become a member of the Remdragon Knights. It would not be appropriate to treat him as if he was still a child. She smiled awkwardly and handed him a clean new towel.

“Uh, the b-blood on your face… you n-need to wipe it all.”

“Oh! Thank you, My Lady.”

Yulysion wiped his face with a wrinkled smile.

“I have a lump in my head, can you take a look?”

Lord Caron, who was still standing in front of the fire, asked her to check around the back of his head. Max immediately cast a healing spell on him, too. In the meantime, the knights who were drying themselves with towels sat down in front of the table and began to eat the food brought by the maids. At that point, Max could only have a meal with them. It was unusual to sit in front of the same table at that time because the knights usually settled their lunch in the knight’s quarters, next to the training center, and she was nearly confined to the library. She scooped up the almost cold stew and looked around the long table, packed with big, distracting knights.

“I-Is the Lord… out of t-the castle…?”

“He’s in the Oval Office in a meeting with Lord Hebaron, Lord Uslin, Lord Lombardo… And the wizard too.”

“Meeting…?”

“It’s about planning for the coming season of water.”

Sir Gabel, who was sitting across from her and eating the steaming soup, burst out.

“There is a hierarchy within the Knights. The better the knight, the stronger the voice. At the end of winter, the leader often meets with them to discuss their future plans. Recently, monsters from the north are moving closer, so we also need to make a barrier against them. “

“Can I take part in the next round of corrective action?”

Yulysion, who was eating food in a hurry, joined the conversation with his eyes shining. Sir Caron was blatantly fed up with him.

“If we look at today’s big mistake, we’ll have to postpone your knight’s appointment until next year.”

“I agree. You rolled in the mountains during the Goblin siege, didn’t you? You’re so careless that you won’t pass the initiation ceremony properly. You look like you’re having a hard time catching a bull lizard, let alone a half dragon.”

Gabel’s sarcasm made Yulysion angry, and he shouted.

“I will never make this mistake again! Not one-half dragon, but two! I can catch even three of them!”

Max couldn’t keep up with the back-and-forth conversation and Lord Caron, who was having a decent meal beside her, explained it in a polite tone, as if he noticed what she was curious about.

“Remdragon’s initiation is to hunt down the dragon’s subspecies. We can only be recognized as a member of our team if we have acquired the Dragon Mana Stone before the ceremony. It’s a ceremony of the Knights of Remdragon.”

“In fact, it doesn’t matter if it’s a demon with a mana stone. But Banryong is perfect for beginners.”

A young knight with dark brown hair intervened and enthusiastically helped explain.

“Catching a bulldozer would be a laughingstock, and it would be hard for a new knight to hunt high-quality creatures like Wyvern, Hydra or Vasilisk.”

“Ban-Banryong… What k-kind of… devil?”

“It’s a demon that looks very much like a dragon. The average size is 20 to 30 cubic feet, covered with hard scales, sharp fangs and claws. But unlike dragons, they don’t have wings, and they can’t use the breath.”

“But they’re not easy ones. To compensate for their inability to fly, they’re agile and have fast legs, so if they start to chase you, you can’t run away even if you’re riding a horse and running at full speed. They have a very good sense of smell too, so they can find any place you’re hiding in.”

“They have a strong grip, so most magic doesn’t work.”

The knights began to help each other one by one as if they were trying to scare the apprentice.

“The most troubling thing is that they live in groups: they’re not that smart, but they have excellent cooperative skills. When they find a prey, they send signals to each other and persistently track it down. A green knight is not a beast that can hunt three or four of them.”

“Ah! I can see the future. It’s a terrible ending for Rovar, the clumsy guy, to rush into a Banryong only to become its lunch!”

“Are you going to have lunch? There’s nothing left for a little guy like you to chew on.”

But it was Max’s face that got blue because of their teasing. She looked anxiously at the boy, who had an innocent face and a slender figure. It was a terrible ordeal for a young man who was only seventeen years old.

“Come on, y-you can’t go to the hunt…r-right?

Garrow, who was silently eating in the corner until now, opened his mouth.

“He’ll do it with me. Yulysion and I are the only two knights to hold the ceremony this year.”

Max parted her lips in disbelief. Garrow was only a year older than Yulysion, he was taller and had a better physique, but he did not completely throw off the immature boy’s appearance. She was more and more ashamed of herself.

“Y-you two are going? Isn’t it t-too dangerous?”

“If you can’t take that risk, you don’t deserve to be a member of the Knights of Remdragon.”

Lord Caron said firmly.

“And the skills of Rovar and Livakion are enough, as long as they don’t make stupid mistakes like today.”

“He’ll have to bring in the biggest one to restore his reputation.”

Yulysion lifted his chin high and nodded.

“You’ll see. I will make new boots for you with the scales of the Banryong I’ve caught.”

“Oh, just don’t be a Banryong’s toothpick.”

The knights giggled and burst into laughter. Max was stunned by their casual, vicious jokes.

Are they not worried about these innocent boys jumping into danger?

As she frowned and stared disapprovingly at them, Sir Gabel, who was giggling, suddenly grabbed his stomach and laughed from across the room, saying: “Hey, don’t talk dirty in front of My Lady.”

The word “dirty” was also part of the harsh words that should not be said in front of a lady, but instead of pointing it out, Max continued to express concern about the apprenticeship knights.

“It’s not like y-you’re doing it, aren’t you? Yulysion and Garrow y-you’re young, you’ll be in danger, w-what if you’ll g-get hurt? S-Someone should help you…”

“We are not children to take care of, My Lady. We don’t need a guardian for a test to be recognized as a decent knight!”

“Yes, that’s insulting.”

Yulysion and Garrow protested at her words with a sulky look on their faces and Max stared at them with a puzzled look.

Are they not afraid to die or get hurt?

The boys didn’t look a bit frightened or intimidated by the trials ahead, instead they had a confidence which was close to arrogance that made Max even more astonished. She had lived four or five years more than them, but she didn’t have half the courage they had.

“I… I-I didn’t mean to i-insult you. I’m just… w-worried…”

“There’s nothing to worry about since they both have a special talent for swordsmanship.”

Suddenly, Max looked up at the sudden sound and saw Hebaron and Riftan walking into the kitchen.

TL – I love seeing Maxi so friendly with the knights, they all laughing and talking with her… if this isn’t character development! And I’m sure there’s still much to come <3