SWDnovel Chapter 79 : Business and Respect! Sword Training?
Chapter 79 : Business and Respect! Sword Training?
Chapter 79: Business and Respect! Sword Training?
“My Mia is coming back?!” Lady Manta was clearly a little excited.
“Mm.” Laforin responded with a grunt. “She should arrive at Blackstone City in about a month.”
With a stiff expression, Laforin seemed somewhat helpless when it came to this youngest daughter of his.
“Who knows how much trouble that girl will stir up this time. Hmph.” Laforin stepped out from the hidden passage and quickly headed toward Anthony’s residence to discuss countermeasures.
……
On the other side, Leo passed through the dungeon, climbed the stairs, and soon reached the surface.
Sunlight spilled down from outside the door. Leo frowned slightly, deep in thought. “Didn’t expect that just now, Knight Laforin was also in the potion laboratory.”
As usual, before leaving the dungeon, he habitually activated Hunting Moment for an instant.
After obtaining this ability, whenever Leo opened doors or entered unfamiliar places, he would instinctively rely on the enhanced hearing from Hunting Moment to confirm safety first.
After experiencing that accidental transmigration in his previous life, Leo’s sense of caution was now ingrained deep into his bones.
“Heh… if I had this ability in my previous life, I wouldn’t have been sent off by that truck and ended up in this world.”
But that seemed like a paradox.
If he hadn’t come to this world, he wouldn’t have gained this ability, nor would he be having these thoughts now.
Leo pushed open the iron door, left the dungeon, and walked out briskly. “The Mia Laforin mentioned earlier should be his youngest daughter.
Feels like the relationship between that father and daughter isn’t very good.”
He reined in his thoughts and stopped dwelling on it. Matters between such important figures had little to do with him.
In a good mood today, Leo quickened his pace and returned straight to his Quasi-Knight courtyard.
After being formally appointed as a Quasi-Knight, Leo had been granted an independent courtyard as his residence.
Perhaps due to his outstanding assessment results, he had received priority in choosing his lodging.
Thus, his courtyard was larger than those of Rog and Fidis, and its location was excellent—close to the Knight Hall, making it convenient whether going there or to the dungeon.
Compared to before, when he was still a Knight’s Squire and lived in a small shared room—
Back then, one servant served an entire floor. Now, outside his Quasi-Knight courtyard, a dedicated servant was always waiting.
With someone specifically handling daily trivial matters, Quasi-Knights could devote themselves fully to training and missions.
Although the courtyard only had one bedroom, one hall, and a yard of less than forty square meters, within the castle, such a space was already not small.
Moreover, compared to the Knight’s Squire dormitory, this courtyard was enclosed by several-meter-high walls, offering far better privacy.
As part of his daily routine, Leo first fed his white horse.
After moving here and obtaining this independent courtyard, Leo finally had a place to keep a horse.
So on the very next day, he had brought his white horse over from the back courtyard stables.
Additionally, he had servants install a feeding trough in the yard and build a thatched shelter over the stable to protect from wind and rain.
Just the horse area alone occupied more than half of Leo’s courtyard.
Building a stable inside one’s own yard was absolutely unique among Quasi-Knights.
Because of limited space, most Quasi-Knights tethered their horses in public areas.
But Leo did this not only to raise his own white horse, but more importantly to facilitate his future business operations here.
With this courtyard, Leo could run his business from home.
That way, his daily routine would simply be a straight line between the dungeon and his residence—far more convenient than before.
His white horse also seemed to like this private courtyard. Upon seeing Leo return, it happily rubbed its neck against his cheek.
After this period of feeding, the horse’s coat had become as sleek as artificial leather, its muscle lines smooth, and its size had clearly surpassed that of other horses.
Leo estimated that the horse was already approaching four meters in height.
If he continued raising it like this… would it grow into a monster dozens of meters tall?
Looking at his handsome steed, Leo muttered, “Been with me this long, and I still haven’t given you a name.”
Just as he was lost in thought, his ears twitched slightly—he heard a noisy set of footsteps approaching rapidly from afar.
A few seconds later, a group of people leading several horses entered through the courtyard gate.
At the front was his “professional manager,” Arthur.
“Hey! Leo, look how many people I brought you.”
After greeting him, Arthur suddenly seemed to recall something. His expression tightened slightly. “Leo… Lo—Lord Leo…”
After all, following the year-end assessment, Leo was now a Quasi-Knight.
Meanwhile, Arthur was still a Knight’s Squire. According to knightly etiquette, he should address Leo as “Lord.”
The five Knight’s Squires behind Arthur also bowed in unison. “Lord Leo.”
In this world, etiquette was taken very seriously—especially among knights.
The Knight’s Code devoted extensive sections to knightly etiquette.
Hierarchy and order could be said to be their very first lesson.
Looking at the scene before him, Leo still felt somewhat unaccustomed to his new identity.
But seeing Arthur’s slightly awkward and unnatural demeanor, Leo patted his shoulder and lowered his voice. “When working, you can call me Knight Leo. In private, it doesn’t matter.”
Sensing this special treatment from Leo, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Arthur’s lips.
He then began introducing them. “Leo, these are five deals I brought you. They all came on their own initiative. Let me introduce—this is Bart, Jimmy…”
As Arthur spoke, Leo glanced at the five Knight’s Squires before him and frowned slightly.
He didn’t consider himself someone who held grudges.
But when others offended him, he would still mark them in his memory.
And these five had clearly been marked before—they had spoken disrespectfully to him in the past.
It seemed that after he became a Quasi-Knight, they were trying to ease relations through business.
Leo slowly stood up. “Good. I now have a new service. See if you’re interested.”
“A new service?” Arthur clearly had no idea what Leo was planning.
He hadn’t heard Leo mention anything about it before.
Meanwhile, the Knight’s Squires behind him hurriedly nodded. “Lord Leo, we’re interested!”
Leo nodded and began explaining, “Generally speaking, people have uneven legs. Due to walking habits, each leg bears force differently, and shoe wear varies. The same applies to horses. I can help you assess your horse’s gait habits and improve poor walking posture by adjusting the horseshoes.”
Leo spoke with a straight face, completely serious.
The Knight’s Squires seemed to half-understand, but all nodded as if they agreed with his reasoning.
“The fee isn’t high. The inspection costs just one silver coin per horse.”
Leo didn’t set a high price.
Although they came to mend relations, business should not rely on power or coercion—that wouldn’t last long.
Since he was offering this service, it had to be worth the price.
The Knight’s Squires didn’t mind. Including the cost of replacing horseshoes, it was only three silver coins in total.
For noble youths like them, it was merely pocket money.
As Leo spoke, he had already marked each horse’s hooves with white ash.
“Go on, walk them around outside for a few laps.”
Though he said it casually, he had already given instructions to the horses and arranged their routes.
The Knight’s Squires rode out and obediently began walking their horses.
Arthur, however, stood in the courtyard looking confused.
He had no idea what Leo was up to.
But judging from Leo’s gaze, he felt as though Leo wanted him to do something.
Leo didn’t waste time. He got straight to the point.
“Arthur, I haven’t seen you practice swordsmanship in a long time.”
He directly tossed him a training iron sword. “Come, give it a try.”
“Ah?” Arthur hadn’t expected such a request. “Sword training? With you?”