Training

After the meal, the prince and the knight went out for a walk with the royal dogs, so they could work off their lunch.
Issei enjoyed walking in the fresh air, but the prince's restlessness ruined even that moment of tranquility. The entire walk he talked about dragons, not allowing the knight a single moment of silence. He hopped from one side of the path to the other, the dogs looked more disciplined.

On the way back, Josuke stopped to observe some knights training in the castle courtyard.

Those words brought back memories of the devastated room from that morning.

<Yes, doing it out here is much better. Let's go back to the castle and get the swords.>

The idea thrilled the prince, who immediately began dragging him toward the castle. Issei, on the other hand, looked up to the sky as if begging his god for the strength to face the long day.

Once back inside, they asked the king for permission to train.

<You're a knight, after all. Why not? Maybe you can even keep him under control.>

Issei smiled bitterly. Managing that child was a real feat.
Shortly, they found themselves back on the training grounds, each with a practice sword. Josuke immediately grabbed his, swinging it with confidence.

<Show me what you can do.>

Issei assumed a proper guard position. The prince, however, simply stood there with his sword pointed at him. His posture was completely wrong, so much so that he looked like a child who had never held a weapon before.

Holding back a laugh, Issei charged. He wanted to show him the difference in experience before moving on to the basics.

Thud!

Issei clearly heard the sound of the blow... but it wasn't what he expected. He spun around. Josuke was already behind him, swinging his sword with a satisfied smile.

<You're not very strong. Hahaha!>

The big knight was surprised. The child had dodged his attack with impressive speed and struck him from behind with absolute precision. Issei smiled. He couldn't accept being hit by a child.

<Let's see if you can do it again.>

This time he increased his speed. The prince was still fiddling with his sword. Issei tried to take advantage of this, but the result was the same.

Thud!

Josuke's speed was incredible.
With a swift movement, Josuke deflected the blow with ease and landed another blow on the knight's head. Although he wasn't very strong, he made full use of his agile and light body.

<We're two hits to the head. On the battlefield, you would have died, you know that?>

Issei began to get nervous. He continued to attack with a flurry of slashes, but the prince dodged them all, giggling and hopping left and right, as if it were a game.

Finally, Issei changed his strategy.
He approached until he was almost touching him, intertwined his legs with his, and, with a quick movement, tripped him. Josuke fell to the ground, and Issei immediately pointed his sword at his chest.

<No matter how fast you are, experience wins. Hahaha!>

<No fair! You cheated!>

Issei burst out laughing, even imitating the child's laugh, proclaiming himself the winner of the fight. Only then did he notice the silence around him. The knights present had stopped their training and were staring at him.

From their perspective, they had just witnessed a grown man exulting after knocking out a child.
The laughter immediately died in his throat.

<Um... I think we can stop with the fights here. Let's get to the basics.>

Issei began correcting the prince's posture. He adjusted his feet, the hilt, and the position of his arms, explaining the advantages and disadvantages of each stance.

After just a few minutes, however, Josuke dropped his sword to the ground with a huff.

<How boring... it's even tiring.>

Issei sighed. That kid was probably the most impatient person he'd ever met. He couldn't concentrate on anything for more than ten minutes... unless the topic was dragons.

<You're always talking about dragons. Wouldn't you like to defeat one someday?>

Josuke looked at him, almost shocked.

<Are you kidding?! I love dragons! I would never hurt them!>

Issei let his arms fall to his sides. He truly had no idea how to train that prince.
Issei's desperate attempt to teach Josuke the basics was a complete failure. As talented as he was, he wouldn't listen to a word.

<Do you want to learn a super-strong technique?>

Josuke, who until moments before had been balancing with his sword resting on his foot, met Issei's gaze with interest. A flame burned in his eyes.

Issei gripped his sword, struck a pose, and then, with an almost hypnotic movement, unleashed a tornado of blows.

<Tornado of a hundred blows!>

Josuke admired the incredible technique with his mouth open.
A nearby knight fell to the ground in fear.

<That technique... Where did you learn it?! Demon!>

Issei looked at the terrified man to his right in confusion. To him, it was a complex technique he knew. But in reality, it was a famous technique of the Nordost knights.
When Issei thought back to the technique and its origins, he covered his face with his hands and sighed.

<I'm one of the survivors of the war against the demon king. I learned it while I was in that area.>

All the knights around, who had now stopped training, stared at Issei in amazement. Issei, on the other hand, didn't seem so happy.

<You fought the demon king?!>

The prince looked at Issei in amazement and shook his butt like a petted dog. In his eyes, the person before him had completely changed.

<I mean, it's not like I faced him in person, but...>

<Formidable! You're incredible!>

Issei scratched his head and thought back to those days.
He hadn't fought against the demon king, nor against any other enemy. He'd deemed the war against the demon king impossible and retreated immediately after discovering the expedition's objective.

He'd been a coward; he hadn't had the courage to go into battle. And when he did, it was too late.

Victory was assured, and the soldiers celebrated the demon king's defeat. But Issei entered the demon castle, not out of heroism, but out of greed. He searched for something of value to make up for his family's poverty.
He passed through countless rooms but never found the treasure.

Issei, his gaze lost, returned to reality, with Josuke admiring him. But he could feel it.
A bitter taste in his mouth.

From that moment on, the prince seemed to take his teachings more seriously. Issei managed to teach the boy the basics and some simple techniques.
Without them noticing, the light dimmed and the sky turned red. Josuke's hands were covered in blisters.

<I'm tired, let's go back inside.>

Issei, accustomed to having to fight for days, smiled slightly. The little prince, on the other hand, had never spent so much time training.

<You're right, it's getting late, let's go back.>

The next few days were similar. Josuke admired Issei as the warrior who had fought against the demon king. But Issei knew the bitter truth he kept hidden. Either out of fear of losing his authority over the prince, and because he was afraid.

Even with all that admiration, the prince didn't change his bad temper. Whenever he could, he tried to drive Issei mad. And the knight, as much as he wanted to put an end to the little human, held back as much as possible.