"Date"

The next day, all matters had been settled.

The purchased food supplies had all been loaded, and the hired transport team stood ready to depart.

The supplies promised by Earl Rochefort had also been confirmed. They would be shipped to Carnford in five days.

Most of the recruited craftsmen had taken care of their personal affairs. Some had even brought their families along, determined to follow Karl to the Northern Territory and build a new life there.

Karl stayed at the inn, suddenly finding himself with nothing to do. Instead, he felt somewhat lost.

He was wondering whether he should find an excuse to visit Charlotte again and use the free time before departure to "deepen their relationship" when the dutiful prompt in his mind rang out once more:

[Daily Mission Updated]

[Mission]: Go on a date with Charlotte Rochefort. (Incomplete)

What a great mission! Karl praised it inwardly. The trace of hesitation he had still harbored vanished in an instant.

This time, it was a "date by order." He had no choice but to go.

He carefully straightened his clothes, making sure he looked neat and spirited, then went out once more and headed for Charlotte's home.

When he knocked on the door, it was still the maid Martha who opened it.

But the moment Karl stepped inside, he realized that the situation seemed rather different from the "date" he had imagined.

Charlotte was standing in the parlor. With the help of two maids, she was putting on a suit of plate armor for training.

When she saw Karl, an excited smile immediately spread across her face. "Karl! You came at just the right time! I was worrying about not being able to find a suitable opponent! Come on, accompany me to the training grounds for a few exchanges. I've just advanced and need to consolidate my strength!"

Looking at Charlotte's eager, raring-to-go expression, Karl was suddenly seized by an extremely ominous premonition.

Half an hour later, at the training grounds in Fran City's inner district.

Karl stood where he was with an utterly hopeless expression. He had been forced into a heavy suit of full-body training plate armor that was extremely cumbersome for him.

Fortunately, nearly a month of military life and arduous reconstruction had greatly tempered his physical constitution. If he had been the mediocre noble young master who had just left the Royal Capital, the armor alone would have crushed him to the ground while he was merely standing.

Across from him, Charlotte had long since finished gearing up. Holding a blunted training longsword, she casually rotated her wrist, battle lust flashing in her eyes.

"Are you ready, Karl? Let me see the swordsmanship of the Schmidt Family!" Before Charlotte had even finished speaking, she lunged forward, driving the sword tip straight into Karl's breastplate!

Karl hurriedly raised his sword to block. Clang! The enormous force numbed his arm and sent him stumbling backward, his steps staggering and utterly without rhythm.

The time that followed completely became Charlotte's one-sided "lesson."

She moved around Karl like a butterfly flitting among flowers, her steps light and her swordplay fierce.

Slash, hack, thrust, sweep... Every basic technique came naturally to her, combining into a ceaseless offensive.

Karl, meanwhile, had been reduced to a human punching bag.

He possessed decent reflexes and considerably greater strength, but he lacked systematic swordsmanship training and combat experience. Against a knight like Charlotte, who had undergone rigorous formal training and possessed exceptional talent, he had no chance to fight back.

He could only rely on instinct to block and dodge wildly, getting struck again and again or being deftly tripped and sent crashing heavily onto the sand-covered training ground with a clang.

"Get up! Keep your blocks steady! Keep up with your feet!"

"Watch my feints!"

"Don't rely on brute force! Put your power into your waist!"

Charlotte continued attacking while calling out pointers, but they clearly had little effect.

After being struck in the chest by one of Charlotte's precise thrusts for who knew how many times, Karl once again lost his balance and fell flat on his back. Lying on the ground, he felt as if all his bones were about to come apart. He panted heavily while staring at the sky through the gaps in his visor, barely having the strength left to get up.

Charlotte walked over to him, lightly tapped his breastplate, and then removed her own helmet in one motion.

Her golden hair had been dampened by sweat and clung to her flushed cheeks, but her breathing remained even. Clearly, she was nowhere near her limit.

Looking at Karl sprawled on the ground, a trace of helplessness flashed through Charlotte's blue eyes, and she could not help complaining, "What a bore, Karl. You are from the Schmidt Family, at least, aren't you? Your ancestors earned the title of Duke and those vast territories through their illustrious military achievements and peerless martial prowess. How did you let the family's signature skills become this neglected?"

Karl struggled to sit up and laboriously removed his stifling helmet as well, revealing a disheveled face covered in sweat.

He panted heavily and gave a bitter smile. "If I really had those strengths... the family wouldn't have sent me to the Northern Territory... cough, cough... to die, would they?"

Charlotte froze for a moment at his words, then laughed as well, and her slight complaint seemed to dissipate.

She reached out and pulled Karl up from the ground.

"That's true." She tilted her head and studied Karl. "But you're lucky. You're clever, and... you always seem to find people who can help you."

Her words carried an implication. It was unclear whether she meant herself or Old Morrell, Brendan, and the others.

The two walked to the edge of the grounds and sat down. As they drank water, they began chatting.

The topic started with swordsmanship training before slowly circling back to Carnford, the situation in the Northern Territory, and even some gossip and amusing anecdotes from the Royal Capital.

Although the date had begun in a rather brutal fashion, the atmosphere instead grew more harmonious amid their sweat and candid conversation.

[Mission]: Go on a date with Charlotte Rochefort. (Complete)

[Reward Information Issued]:

[Information]: The Soren Battle Group lurking in the Black Forest west of the city has confirmed its primary target for tomorrow's first attack. They will ambush the forces of the noble Cyril von Eichberg at the Icewater Creek sector.