Chapter 43
43
I almost snapped, “Who’s spreading such nonsense?!” but now was the time to listen.
“Yesterday, Nina, you said it yourself. That you have to dance until the very end. I never even thought of that. So I wondered if there was anything I could do.”
Jin frowned.
“There wasn’t.”
He spat out the words and trembled with helplessness.
“I don’t know how to find plausible plants in the Violet Forest like you do. I’m not as great as Kirill, and I’m not as helpful as Chief. Sure, I do some accounting. I can count numbers. But I don’t even do that anymore.”
Nina waited for him to say more, but Jin only raised his green eyes to look at Nina.
Nina cleared her throat and opened her mouth.
“You know, Jin. This is incredibly cliché, but.”
“Say it.”
“When I came back that day, would you not have been happy if I was crippled?”
“What are you talking about?”
Jin’s face filled with irritation and anger.
“Do you think I’m that kind of person? I would have been happy even if you came back as a mouse.”
Nina grinned at Jin’s words.
“What if I was sad that I couldn’t be helpful as a mouse?”
“Well, you are, just by existing…”
Jin closed his mouth and then opened it again.
“That’s a little different.”
“Different?”
“You’re you. Nina La Del.”
“Yeah, you’re you. Jin Raka.”
Jin muttered, almost shocked.
“I even forgot my last name.”
“I’m your Captain.”
Nina said proudly, staring intently at Jin.
“I’m glad Jin is here. I’m even really glad about that worry. There’s no need to worry. Jin is enough just being Jin.”
“I’m not enough.”
Jin said sullenly, making Nina laugh again.
“That’s included in being enough. Young Master would be thrilled to hear that, too.”
“What? Why would you tell that to His Excellency?”
Jin’s voice rose in embarrassment. Nina, who had been laughing silently, lowered her gaze for a moment before raising it again.
“Jin, we can’t be the same. And we shouldn’t be.”
Jin frowned slightly, but Nina waved her hand.
“No, I’m saying we’re different. We can’t help but be different. Young Master and I are different too. We look at the same goal. That’s right. But to get there, we see different paths.”
“You mean there are many ways to capture a castle?”
At Jin’s words, Nina nodded, saying, “That’s it.”
“You can’t do it alone. No one can be perfect alone. We support each other with our differences.”
Nina slowly reached out and took his hand.
“So Jin does what Jin can do. I do what I can do. It’s not too little, and it’s not too much.”
It fits perfectly.
Nina frowned and said sternly.
“So don’t stay up all night. It’ll ruin your health. You need to eat well and sleep well.”
Jin made a very sullen face and said,
“Am I being lectured by someone seven years younger than me right now?”
“No, I’m saying that I like Jin so much that I need Jin.”
At Nina’s brazen words, Jin made a short sound that was somewhere between a laugh and something else.
He reached out and lifted her up. Nina said with a disgusted look.
“I’m definitely eating a lot, you know?”
“But why are you so light?”
“The Spirits must have messed with my body.”
Jin chuckled at Nina’s grumbling.
“I can’t help it since Nina needs me.”
Nina widened her eyes and nodded.
“Of course, of course. I need Jin so, so much. To put me in a warm bed in the middle of the night, and to bring me Tangpa. I really, really like you. I need you.”
Jin said, “Yes, yes,” and then threw her out of bed. Nina landed as gracefully as a cat, as always.
“Jin!”
As she protested and jumped up, Jin wriggled into the blanket and said.
“I’m going to sleep more. Captain, I’m taking the morning off today.”
“Eek-!”
Nina rushed over to try to snatch the blanket from Jin, but Jin desperately held onto it.
“I’m really sleepy.”
At Jin’s words, Nina puffed out her cheeks and patted the blanket.
“Come out after lunch.”
“Okay.”
At the gradually fading voice, Nina chuckled and opened the window of his room. Nina, who had politely closed the shutters from the outside, jumped onto the balcony of her room.
Then she stood on the balcony for a while, enjoying the early spring sunshine.
The spring sun was so gentle that it was warm and not hot on her cheeks.
As she looked at the soft honey-colored sunlight shining on the castle, she thought she could hear the faint buzzing of bees somewhere.
Even the balcony railing, which had been cold all night, had a subtle warmth.
Nina clicked her tongue.
‘I overslept.’
After quickly changing her clothes and tying her hair back, Nina went out to the training ground.
\ \ *
The new recruits at the training ground were training on their own.
Nina exclaimed, “Oh,” and widened her eyes. As she hid slightly and watched how they were training, she could roughly see the hierarchy among the new recruits.
‘It’s those two, after all.’
Kell and Raja.
The two of them were the most competitive in their training, and the other new recruits were drawn to it and training as well. The existing members, stimulated by seeing the new recruits, were also busy with their morning practice.
Then where is the other one of the three who stood out in the selection process?
‘Oh my.’
She could see him training alone in the corner.
Nina chuckled and revealed herself.
“Everyone’s diligent.”
“Captain.”
“Captain.”
The members quickly stood at attention. Nina waved her hand.
“Let’s skip the greetings. Keep training. I’ll watch while I do it too.”
Everyone returned to their training positions at Nina’s words. As Nina went to find her training Iron sword, someone approached.
“Captain, here it is.”
Nina smiled at the person who politely handed her the heavy Iron sword with both hands.
“Thank you, Sharlo.”
Sharlo smiled shyly at the words.
Sharlo, with her smooth brown skin and woolly beige curly hair, was the only woman among the new recruits.
Nina, who had received the heavy Iron sword, started with basic training. The body immediately shows signs of becoming dull if you don’t use it for even a day.
Nina asked Sharlo, who was staring intently from the side.
“Sharlo, aren’t you training?”
“I am.”
Sharlo blushed as if embarrassed and raised her wooden training sword.
Everyone has slightly different weapons, but in the end, the basic training is the same.
Nina considered basic training to be the most important thing before all training. The members had to complete the amount of basic training that Nina had set every day.
By the time they finished basic training, their mouths tasted sweet and they were about to throw up, but not a single person failed to complete the training with all their might.
This was because Nina would give them individual training after they finished training until they were limp.
Today, Raja was the first to finish basic training. His lavender hair and training uniform were wet with sweat, and his stylishly swept-back two-block haircut was all messed up. However, as soon as he finished basic training, he shouted, “I’m done!!” and ran to Nina.
“C-Captain. I’m done!”
Nina took a long breath. She was also covered in sweat from training, but she smiled and asked.
“Are you really done?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Then come.”
There were no special gestures or signals. Nina’s words were light, and Raja reacted to them and swung his sword with all his might.
Everyone stopped training and stared at the scene. Watching others fight is also a great learning experience.
Especially if the opponent is the Captain.
Sharlo’s mint-colored eyes were watching their movements as if they were about to catch fire.
Kell quietly stood next to her and whispered.
“Um…”
“Get lost.”
Kell shrugged at Sharlo’s words and said again.
“You know, we’re the same-.”
“Get lost.”
“We’re fellow members and we can’t live without talking to each other, can we?”
At Kell’s words, Sharlo raised her eyes to look at him. Kell gave her a bright smile that always easily won people over.
However, Sharlo only retreated slightly.
“I’ll have necessary conversations. Unnecessary conversations right now.”
Kell was somehow glad that she had said so much, unlike her usual self. He fully understood why Sharlo was acting defensively among all the dark-skinned men.
But if they continued like this, wouldn’t it be a problem as fellow knights?
“Unnecessary? How do you know what I’m going to say?”
Sharlo didn’t respond to Kell’s words and focused on the sparring.
