40 — 37. The Banished Girl

Reet came to the training grounds for his daily practice.

It had been a full week since he’d properly wielded a sword, and his body had grown sluggish. With the exam approaching, he needed to regain his sense of touch.

As Reet entered the training grounds with sword in hand, a commotion caught his attention.

“Please! I’m begging you! Please let me take the exam!”

A girl’s desperate voice rang out.

Looking over, Reet saw a girl who appeared to be around ten years old, dressed in a shabby gray dress that spoke volumes about her poverty at a glance. Her light brown hair was cut roughly and unevenly—she must have done it herself.

The girl was on her knees, hands pressed to the ground, pleading with a man who wore a knight’s badge on his chest. Looking closer, Reet could see it marked him as Seventh Rank, the same as Reet himself. For someone in his twenties to already be Seventh Rank meant he was quite accomplished.

“Lord Rand! Please, I’m begging you!”

Reet wasn’t sure what exactly she was pleading for, but the knight called Rand looked down at her with utter contempt.

“Shut it! You’re an eyesore!”

The man spat on the ground beside the girl.

“I’m done babying you. Already told the platoon leader anyway. A runt like you could never become a knight.”

Those words made the situation clearer. The girl pleading so desperately was what they called a “dwarf”—a disease that stopped growth around age ten. Commonly believed to be divine punishment, it was the target of widespread discrimination.

Her shabby appearance suddenly made sense. She looked like a child, but apparently was an adult. She likely possessed combat-type Skills and aspired to become a knight.

“If you came along to take the Platoon Leader exam with me, I’d lose fights I should win. This is my life on the line here.”

Rand spoke those words and turned to leave.

But the girl scrambled in front of him, getting back down on her knees.

“I’ll work harder! I swear I won’t be a burden! Please!”

“You’re lying. Someone like you is nothing but dead weight.”

With that, Rand delivered a side kick directly to her abdomen. He didn’t appear to be holding back—the girl gasped as the blow landed, falling to the side.

Without a second glance at the fallen girl, Rand left the training grounds.

What a terrible person.

Reet rushed to her side.

“Hey, are you alright?”

Kneeling down to check on her, he saw tears streaming down her face. It was clear immediately that the pain wasn’t what was making her cry.

“…Is it forbidden for dwarves to become knights?”

She voiced that bitter question.

Certainly, dwarves were not suited for combat. Even with combat-type Skills, becoming a knight would be difficult for someone of her stature. Reet wanted to tell her otherwise, but he couldn’t find any basis that would make such words anything other than a lie.

So instead, he quietly stroked her back.

“Were you training to become an apprentice knight?” he asked.

The girl shook her head.

“I was apprenticed under Lord Rand. But he said I’d be a burden in the exam, so he kicked me out.”

“I see…”

Reet had no words for her.

But in the next moment, the girl noticed the badge on Reet’s chest.

“Ah… You’re… Seventh Rank! Do you… are you taking the Platoon Leader exam?!”

As if suddenly grasping onto hope, she looked straight at Reet with earnest eyes.

“Ah, yeah. I was planning to.”

“Do you have an apprentice?! Has your apprentice already been decided?!”

“No, not yet, but…”

The girl seized Reet’s hand with sudden intensity and bowed her head.

“Please take me as your apprentice! I’ll work hard, I promise!”

Reet hesitated at her words. He wanted to help her because he felt sorry for her, but this wasn’t something he could answer immediately. Taking an apprentice wasn’t a casual decision.

“Um, well… I don’t know your strength yet, and I don’t know anything about you, so I can’t really say. But I’ll listen to what you have to say.”

When Reet answered that way, the girl suddenly stood up.

“Then let’s have a mock battle right now! I’ll prove to you that I’ll be useful in the exam!”

“…A mock battle? Right now?”

Reet was taken aback by her momentum. But since he had no reason to refuse, after a moment’s thought, he agreed.

“Alright. Let me see what you can do.”