The Female Knight of Doom - TFKOD 14: Becoming an Apprentice

Alice followed Rom.

First, she went back to her home and took all her savings. As for her luggage, which was neither valuable nor worth taking, Rom saw no need to bring it, so she only took a blanket.

While she was packing, the landlady’s dog, Grizzie, stood in the street and eyeballed her without saying a word.

She figured Grizzie would think she was doing something atrocious when she saw her leaving with an older mercenary like Rom, but she didn’t care what they thought anymore because she was about to leave.

Alice didn’t say farewell to her or any of the people on Dark River Street. If it had been before, she probably would have missed Burke before leaving. But after what happened, she had no intention of seeing him again.

Although she knew it was probably an accidental mistake, she had a complicated time forgiving him.

After leaving Dark River Street, Rom brought her to get a haircut and dress her in a man’s garb. Once dressed, she looked like a slender teenager. Although her face looked a little too clean, she had an androgynous air, though not so much as to be recognized as genderless at first glance.

Pleased with her, Rom patted the new apprentice on the shoulder, “Before the sun sets completely, let’s go to the blacksmith’s shop and pick out a sword for you.”

A sword!

Alice felt wonderful when she heard him say that. She realized that she was getting farther and farther away from the girl who was thought to be able to achieve a future only by believing in Fragna.

The future was full of unknowns and prospects.

On their way to the blacksmith’s shop, they passed the temple’s door. She raised her head and gazed at the tall building next to the temple that housed the priests and temple apprentices.

Which of those upstairs windows belonged to Etienne?

Departing with Rom this time and not knowing when she would return, she realized that she might not have the chance to meet him again. If she returned, she hoped she would deliver back the gold coins he had given her.

She had promised him that she wouldn’t leave with the mercenaries, but she ended up breaking her word.

She was more or less apologetic about it but also understood there was a force in the underworld pushing her in this direction. Her own ability was too insignificant to resist this kind of annihilation, and unfortunately, Etienne couldn’t do anything about it either.

Meanwhile, Etienne was busy in his room writing responses to the noble ladies of the royal capital.

A year had passed since his last visit, yet the ladies of the aristocracy had not lost their enthusiasm for him. They continued to deliver him flowers and gifts, forcing him to write thank-you letters in return.

These mundane tasks were so annoying that they made even someone with a gentle personality like his more or less impatient.

However, the Lord High Priest had reminded him many times that he should never disappoint the noble ladies of the royal capital. For a young man like him, their support was essential if he wanted to become the Vice Lord High Priest before turning thirty.

Etienne lifted his head, moved his sore neck, stood up, and walked to the window.

He happened to see a mercenary with a teenage redhead hurrying past the street below.

The teenager’s red hair reminded him of Alice. For some reason, the poor lass’ shadow always appeared in his mind, superimposed over his younger self.

Other than the fact that he was also an illegitimate child, he didn’t see any similarities between himself and the lass.

Although he didn’t have loving parents, he had a noble lady as his protector. She was extremely tolerant to him as if he was her own child and never let him suffer. Although his father failed to give him a family name, he arranged his future early on by sending him to the temple to become a priest.

Priests were supposed to abandon their mundane surnames, so after joining the temple, no one would know that his lineage was unique from the others’.

After spending a few years at Poztar’s temple and returning to the royal capital as Poztar’s vice-priest, people would only know that he was a priest from a noble family.

No one would question his identity.

The plan itself was flawless, but Etienne couldn’t help but meddle with it himself. Although his father had organized everything, he had never appeared before Etienne.

He had questioned his protector many times when he was young, but the woman had always been too reserved to confess anything about his father’s identity.

But Etienne speculated about it himself.

When he reached twelve years old, his protector took him to the square for the Festival of Lights for the first time. It dawned on him then that his father was the man standing above ten thousand with his dazzling golden hair shining in the daylight as if the God of Light had descended to the human realm.

His protector saw what he was contemplating from the look in his eyes. She held his hand tightly and did not allow him to race to the man’s feet.

All he could do was watch the man turn away at the end of the celebration without even glancing in his direction once more.

As he grew older, he realized that he apparently had nothing to complain about. Even though he was the man’s rightful heir, he wouldn’t have gotten a better home than the temple.

However, he had always harbored a grudge because the man had never visited him, not even to glance at him during the ceremonies in the square.

It was with this resentment that he came to Poztar, and perhaps it was this resentment that made him feel such pity for the red-haired maiden.

But that was all the sympathy he would allow.

Alice knew nothing of this; she had already trailed behind Rom to the blacksmith shop.

Poztar City was not known for its casting machinery; the blacksmith shop did not have any decent weapons for sale. Rom picked out a light, thin sword for her from a pile of broken brass and iron.

She looked at the thin sword in her hand, then at the huge sword on Rom’s back.

She was more than a little dissatisfied, “I thought you were going to get me one like this.”

Rom snorted, “You little one doesn’t have the strength for a giant sword. Wait until you can hold it.”

Alice wore the thin sword on her waist and followed him to an inn that specialized in providing accommodations for mercenaries.

The closer they got, the more people greeted Rom. Everyone here seemed to know him. The older ones seemed to know him exceptionally well.

When they saw him from afar, they started jesting, “Hey, Rom! Why did you bring a child back? Is he your bastard son?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. He’s the disciple I took in.”

Some of the young mercenaries eyed them, “Why didn’t you ask me first if you wanted to take on an apprentice? I want to be Immortal Rom’s apprentice too.”

“It’s not too late to ask me.” Rom remarked. “Two gold coins for tuition. Can you afford it?”

“Can’t afford it, can’t afford it. Forget it.”

Alice noticed that when Rom announced the tuition fee for becoming his apprentice was two gold coins, the young mercenaries’ eyes fluctuated from teasing to awe when looking at her.

She faintly grasped it was because she had paid a fee none of these mercenaries could afford. She had never been looked at like that before and felt a little embarrassed.

Moreover, the money wasn’t hers, but rather what Etienne had given her.

This was really embarrassing.

She lowered her head and chased Rom into his cabin. He was staying in a spacious suite at the inn with enough room for both him and her without it seeming inconvenient.

Though she had never stayed in an inn before, she could tell that such a place was not standard, “This room must be pretty expensive, right?”

Rom shook his head, “I’m kind of a celebrity among mercenaries. The places I stay in can be rented out by the owner for twice the price afterward. So he only charged me the usual fee; it’s not that extravagant.”

Alice didn’t understand such a thing. She looked at him with her mouth wide open in surprise.

He smiled, “Once a person has a reputation, they can often spend a lot less money. Mercenaries are superstitious and want to sleep in rooms where I’ve stayed so they can tap into my good fortune.”

As he spoke of this, the smile on his face narrowed, “I can’t deny that it takes a bit of luck to survive the battlefield. But if I say that I haven’t died after being a mercenary for more than twenty years solely because of good luck, then I think the person saying such a thing is insulting me.”

After saying this, he fell silent for a moment.

Alice remembered the God of Doom saying that Rom was the embodiment of all the coincidences between Chaotic Heaven and the Human Realm and that he was luckier than any believer.

If Rom heard such words, he might get mad. Out of caution, she did not chime in.

However, her face perhaps exposed a bit of what she was thinking.

Rom reappeared with a smile, “Don’t look at me like this, but I’m from a family of soldiers with a heritage of literacy. Coupled with my sword skills, which I honed over decades of actual combat. You won’t lose out if you worship me as your master.”

Alice didn’t know how to respond and could only nod.

She had originally followed the God of Doom’s instructions to worship him as her master in order to survive and had no absolute understanding of sword arts.

Rom glanced at her somewhat silly appearance and could not help but feel compassion.

He reached out and rubbed her hair, “All right, from today on, you are my only apprentice, Rom. Mercenaries have always been alone. Having a little guy like you by my side is not easy to get used to. However, since we’ve made an agreement, I’ll take responsibility for teaching you well. You must study hard and not dishonor my prestige.”

His words were sincere, and Alice’s head bobbed earnestly.

After saying everything that needed to be said, he cleared his throat and asked gravely, “Since we are master and disciple, we shouldn’t have any secrets from each other. Now, you should tell me where you got the gold coins from.”