Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - Chapter 28

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 28: Building Stamina and Survival Instincts
The tutors assigned to teach Marlin and Abel were devoting themselves wholeheartedly to their roles.
“How you grip the dagger is crucial.”
The Basement, now repurposed as a classroom but whose original construction purpose remained suspiciously vague.
The butler Sergius walked among Marlin and the thieves as he spoke.
“Do you know what happens when you swing a blade at someone without gripping your fist properly?”
While the adult thieves hesitated, the youngest among them, Marlin, shot his hand up eagerly.
“Well, sure, the opponent gets hurt worse, but wouldn’t your own hand get injured too?”
“Precisely. You certainly possess uncommon insight.”
The elderly butler turned his gaze to the other thieves, stroking his chin with a gentle smile.
“…Why must only Marlin always answer? Things that even a fourteen-year-old grasps—why don’t you?”
His brow furrowed and his voice dropped with evident displeasure.
Unfortunately, that grandfatherly warmth and kindness seemed reserved exclusively for Marlin.
Andre, who had been the sub-guildmaster of the Black Blade Guild, hastily opened his mouth.
“It’s just that Marlin is so remarkably clever that us simple-minded thieves never get a chance to answer!”
At first glance it seemed like a transparent excuse, but it wasn’t quite that simple.
By lavishly praising Marlin, who enjoyed the butler’s favor, he was strategically warming up the cold treatment with a touch of camaraderie.
Sergius saw through such scheming at once, but chose to let it pass.
“A fair point.”
In any case, it was undeniably true that Marlin was far more brilliant than the other thieves.
The Doctrine Member Karl had praised him so confidently—calling him “talent of a caliber that makes teaching a pleasure”—that he’d been curious to see.
Honestly, not quite to that degree, but given his young age, he was clearly a considerable talent.
“Let me return to the main subject. For a thief, the handling of short blades and hidden blades should be as natural as breathing. It means that when facing an enemy, your body should respond fluidly without waiting for your mind to process thought or judgment—as if your instincts themselves command the movements.”
Since Marlin had taken to answering so readily, questions kept tumbling out.
“A thief’s essential foundation comprises four elements. Just as Short Sword Technique and Hidden Blade Technique intertwine in weapon mastery, the other two belong to that same category. Marlin, do you know what they are?”
“Hmm…”
This time it seemed a touch more difficult—his brow creased briefly—but the answer still came clearly.
“Concealment, perhaps? I read in a book that thieves employ ambush tactics, striking at openings rather than engaging in direct combat.”
“…Exactly correct.”
A smile bloomed naturally on Sergius’s face as he continued his explanation.
“The remaining two are Footwork and Concealment. I intend to transmit to you, Marlin, one of the Secret Arts regarded as supreme among the basic techniques of the thief class that the Brithes Family has accumulated.”
Secret Arts were typically learned through divine bestowal or Secret Tomes, though other acquisition methods existed.
Repeated combat, cultivation, and labor.
The same factors that elevated one’s spiritual essence.
While acquiring a Secret Art imposed far stricter conditions, that presented no obstacle.
The single drawback—difficulty—could be overcome through sheer effort.
“Um, I have a question, sir.”
Andre, whose expression was characteristically harsh, hesitated before speaking.
“Are you teaching it only to Marlin…?”
“…?”
The elderly butler tilted his head in confusion.
What sort of question was this, exactly?
“Of course not. All of you will be trained in adequate Secret Arts.”
“…I see.”
“In exchange, I shall hone your proficiency to the absolute limit through rigorous and grueling training. My standards are quite exacting, so you would do well to give your absolute best each and every day.”
The thieves’ faces fell in silent dismay.
Marlin, reading the mood, clenched both fists tightly.
‘I can’t wait…!’
What if, after receiving the full education, he had become a perfectly elite thief?
Karl would surely be shocked speechless.
If nothing else, he was determined to throw himself into training with all his might—just for the sake of astonishing that ever-teasing patron.
‘Get ready to be amazed!’
At that very moment.
Abel was receiving instruction in the Kitchen.
“You know what? The Cook is the most important class in any expedition party.”
Charlotte, the cook, sipped her drink slowly and spoke in a leisurely tone.
“I see.”
“Don’t give me such a wooden answer. Think about why that might be.”
“Is it because, depending on the conquest conditions, parties often must stay within a dungeon for extended periods?”
“Wow-!”
The freckled maid rubbed her cheek with her hand.
“The Doctrine Member praised the child so highly, saying how clever they were… So this is why! Haven’t you received the blessing of knowledge from Artein?”
“You’re too kind.”
“Well, perhaps a little.”
“As I thought.”
Truly, this person was impossible to pin down.
Abel nodded along steadily, doing his best to absorb every word his teacher spoke.
“A cook bears the crucial responsibility of satisfying the hunger of their companions alone.”
Charlotte set down the wine bottle and continued, her tone suddenly grave.
“So don’t entertain foolish thoughts of becoming a decent explorer. Cast aside any half-hearted notion of simply making delicious food.”
He understood perfectly what she meant.
“You’re telling me to approach it with the resolve to become the best cook from the start.”
Abel spoke with unwavering determination in his voice.
“I will become the most famous Explorer of the Cook Class in Pletica.”
He was certain of it.
For the sake of his patron who believed in him.
“I like that.”
Charlotte chuckled, her shoulders bobbing as she picked up a kitchen knife.
“Then let’s begin. How to cook delicious meals from monsters that look as though they crawled up from hell itself.”
***
By regulation, Doctrine Members cannot stay out overnight while exploring a Dungeon without explicit permission.
The rules had not always been so strict.
All rigid rules, as they say, are written in blood.
Years ago, some members wandered about freely and caused such serious trouble that later recruits found themselves under stricter control than high school dormitory students.
‘What on earth did you seniors do?’
Since the Great Cathedral Incident, the sect had gained no new followers, lost all its influence, and failed to pass down the expertise of appeasing the evil god.
Not a single senior had built themselves any real reputation as an Explorer.
There were plenty notorious as lawless rogues, though.
In the end, if a junior like me, walking the abandoned wastelands of the forsaken, wanted to succeed as an Explorer, there was no choice but to forge my own path.
“Karl, I’m heading out!”
“I’ll be going then.”
The tiger-kin siblings—my wards and the very heart of my pioneering spirit—waved to me as they headed toward the wealthy district.
In recent days, the pair had been commuting daily to Odillon’s Mansion, treating it as their school.
I’d suggested they stay at the Brithes Family Villa, a more elegant place with far more amenities, but they insisted on living with me in my small, shabby house in Doctrine Town instead.
《Those siblings must have developed separation anxiety. If I don’t educate them properly from now on, they might end up clinging to you and refusing to leave.》
A minor problem born of my being far too charming.
Once adolescence set in, they’d snap at the slightest word and slam doors behind them, so there was no need to worry about trouble developing.
《Why not begin your own training soon? Idleness and procrastination are terrible diseases that rust the spirit of any thinking being!》
“I was about to start anyway.”
I sipped the special brew ‘Flower Field in the Lake’—Abel’s fragrant elf-blood favorite—and descended into the Basement.
The ominous flicker of mana-stone lamps and an eerie silence.
Perfect conditions for reading.
I drew the Yellow Secret Tome from my chest and opened it.
《Tier 1 Secret Art (Growth-Type) – Avatar of Earth》
《Originally the innate Secret Art of earth elves, but for some petty reason you won’t tell me, it became a Secret Tome. You accept the earth’s energy and strengthen your body.》
Avatar of Earth.
A high-performance growth-type Secret Art that gains additional effects at each stage.
Up to Tier 3, it’s nothing but simple physical enhancement.
But at Tier 4, you can convert the earth’s energy into an Aura and wrap it around your body, and from Tier 7 onward, you could move the earth itself.
《As the Tier of [Avatar of Earth] rises, your flesh will grow ever healthier and stronger. Though it will completely block the growth of ‘the weed sprout’!》
A ridiculous Secret Art that grants 3 Strength per Tier increase.
According to the right eye’s theory, I’d face interference from the ‘weed sprout,’ but the effect of [Dark Cloud Rumbling], copied via the artifact [Copying Mirror], returns half the growth value—1.5—as Vitality.
In other words.
When I used it, contrary to its original function, I could steadily boost my Vitality stat and thereby my survival ability.
‘But the content is way too difficult.’
The problem was that no matter how many times I read it, I couldn’t grasp the meaning.
It was like a hybrid fusing classical verse by Jung Seol, dense with unfamiliar Chinese characters, with the avant-garde poetry of Lee Sang.
Nothing like the smooth reading of [Ghoul’s Mobility].
Likely, simply learning it would take at least a month or more.
‘So that’s why it took so long to learn in the game.’
It was only now that I realized how meticulous was in so many ways.
This was why its creator, Kato Roger, enjoyed such popularity.
Though after it came to light that he was a serious fanatic, he’d become a laughingstock and punchline in Korea.
Zap.
Will flowed through the lightning mark near my collarbone—that exalted presence making itself known.
‘If you keep letting your mind wander like that, wouldn’t it be better to just go look at our handsome Odillon instead?’
Something to that effect.
“I see my reluctance to read has been discovered.”
The text was so abstruse that I had no desire whatsoever to engage with it.
Still, I’d been suppressing the steady stream of intrusive thoughts and concentrating on the reading when it happened.
Ding-dong.
The sound of a doorbell echoed from upstairs.
I immediately tucked the Avatar of Earth Secret Art into my robes and went up to open the door.
“Good day to you.”
Three holy knights in armor—an exquisite fusion of black and white—stood before the threshold.
The holy knight in the center stepped forward.
“A pleasure to meet you, Karl of the Twisted Truth Doctrine. I am Valentin, the lesser shield of Artein.”
《Holy Knight Valentin of the Order of the Spear, belonging to the Hypocrite Goddess’s holy knight division (Human, 37 years old). It appears I cannot read his detailed information, suggesting he is a formidable opponent. He may have come to capture and dispose of you, so prepare for escape.》
He was certainly a dangerous and powerful adversary.
Vice-commander of the Order of the Spear and a level six holy knight.
His epithet was “Heresy Crusher.”
In direct combat, he could easily subdue even Rosalya.
Yet there was absolutely no reason for me to flee.
“The pleasure is entirely mine, Valentin.”
A holy knight who treats obedient and cooperative doctrine members with appropriate courtesy, after all.
“I hear you’ve seized Artein’s favor in as many as three dungeons recently? It seems the one who protects all mankind is looking favorably upon you, Karl.”
“What an honor for a mere doctrine member to have his future illuminated. Artein, with character as refined as her beauty and renowned for her virtue—you are as advertised.”
《Refined character? :->》
With a casual gesture, I was erasing the sardonic gloss when Valentin broke into a smile, his teeth brilliantly white and striking.
“The reason I’ve come is to notify you that you are now able to undertake External Requests.”
My mind, tangled from reading that difficult text, cleared in an instant.
An event that occurs when a doctrine member builds up enough reputation.
This was the only thing I’d been waiting for all along.
‘At last.’
It was the opportunity to legitimately venture outside the territory.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————