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Today, as always, Repenhardt was diligently working. He was in the midst of handling and giving final approvals to reports about the lives of different species.

Knock, knock, knock!

There was a sound of knocking from outside.

“Are you there, Repenhardt-nim?”

Soon, the door opened, and an elf beauty carrying a large tray entered the room. Repenhardt stood up from his seat to greet her.

“Welcome, Iniya.”

Since joining the Duchy of Antares, Iniya visited Repenhardt whenever she had a chance. In the early days, when the Stiria Tribe settled in Elven Forest, it was about once every three days, but lately, she almost resided in the Ducal Castle.

Seeing her so often, Repenhardt had become accustomed to her visits.

“What brings you here today?”

Iniya, smiling brightly, approached with the tray. She set the food on the table in the sitting room. It was grilled bass, made using the Stiria Elves’ special recipe with fragrant sauce.

Just as the Dahnhaim Tribe excelled at cooking meat due to their environment, the Stiria Tribe excelled at cooking fish. Though their elf ancestors, who lived on fresh fruits and clear dew, would have been dismayed, living in the wilderness had inevitably changed the elves’ diet considerably.

“If you work too much, it will wear out your body. I thought you might skip a meal, so I brought some food.”

After setting the table, Iniya kindly pulled Repenhardt by the arm. He awkwardly sat down.

“Ah, yes…”

In truth, he never skipped meals. Siris made sure he ate three meals a day without fail, so he had no reason to go hungry.

Of course, in his past life, when he was busy, he sometimes lost his appetite and skipped meals, but his current robust body never lost its appetite, no matter the situation. If anything, he would eat while working, but the concept of skipping meals due to lack of appetite did not exist for him anymore.

Anyway, he couldn’t refuse the dish she had brought, and since it was almost time to eat, Repenhardt accepted it gratefully.

“Well, then, thank you for the meal.”

Watching Repenhardt eat the grilled bass, Iniya asked softly.

“Does it suit your taste?”

Repenhardt smiled contentedly.

“It’s excellent. The combination of the sauce is particularly exquisite.”

Iniya rejoiced inwardly. She had brought the dish to raise his favorability, and judging by his expression, it seemed to have worked quite well.

In truth, Iniya hadn’t cooked the grilled bass herself. Having spent her life wielding a sword, when would she have had time to cook? Naturally, she had one of the women from her tribe prepare the dish and brought it as if she had made it herself.

However, there was no way Repenhardt could know such a fact. As she subtly sat beside him, she muttered to herself.

“There’s a human proverb that says, ‘A man is happy with a beautiful woman for three years, but happy with a woman who cooks well for thirty years.’”

Iniya was subtly bringing up a bold topic. However, Repenhardt didn’t notice at all.

“Yes, there is such a proverb.”

It wasn’t that he was particularly dense; there was a reason he didn’t catch on. Continuing to eat with his fork, Repenhardt responded calmly.

“Oh, and please tell Miss Taria that the meal was delicious.”

‘Gasp!’

That was right. Even in his past life, Repenhardt had often received food from the Stiria Tribe. He distinctly remembered the taste of this sauce. It was undoubtedly the work of Taria, the best cook among them.

Iniya was taken aback by Repenhardt’s casual remark and diverted her attention.

‘…How did he know?’

She marveled anew.

‘As expected of the wise owner of great wisdom!’

She felt a renewed sense of awe for the man she had chosen. Although it seemed beyond the realm of wisdom, the infatuation she had for him justified everything.

“Well, I’ll be going now. Enjoy your meal.”

“Yes…”

Watching Iniya scurry out of the room, Repenhardt tilted his head in puzzlement. She seemed to be fleeing. But no matter how he thought about it, there was no reason for her to run away from this place.

“What’s going on?”

Puzzled, Repenhardt shrugged it off and focused on his meal. Just then, the door opened again, and this time, as usual, Siris came in carrying his meal.

“Welcome, Siris.”

With sauce still on his lips, Repenhardt raised his hand. Siris tilted her head slightly and quietly asked,

“Oh? You’re already eating?”

“Yes, Iniya brought me something. Put that down. Let’s eat together.”

Without thinking much, Repenhardt gestured toward the table. During his training days with Gerard, he could finish a cauldron’s worth of food meant for an orc battalion. Eating two servings was nothing.

But…

“Oh? Miss Iniya has been here?”

Setting the meal on the table, Siris murmured quietly. Repenhardt flinched. For some reason, Siris’s expression looked quite fierce.

Her mouth was smiling, but her eyes… her eyes…

‘Why is she like that?’

“Well, enjoy your meal.”

Siris placed the food gently on the table and gracefully left the room.

“Oh? Aren’t you going to eat with me?”

“I’m not hungry.”

Bang!

The door closed with considerable force. Repenhardt was bewildered. It seemed like Siris was angry, but he couldn’t recall doing anything that would make her upset.

“Hm…”

Repenhardt seriously reviewed the situation. And, true to his mage nature, he came to a rational conclusion.

“The wind must have blown hard.”

* * *

Iniya, who had just left the office, moved with a sluggish gait.

Her face kept feeling hot.

‘Ha, did he find out? Did he notice and pretend not to? This is so embarrassing…’

A slender elf man who had been waiting outside looked at her and asked.

“Iniya-nim, judging by your expression, it seems things didn’t go well?”

He was Serpel, Iniya’s lieutenant. A loyal aide who had stayed by her side for over fifty years since she became the leader.

“Do you really like that human man so much?”

Looking towards the other end of the corridor, Serpel asked, as if he couldn’t understand. Iniya glared at Serpel with cold eyes.

“Hmph.”

Serpel, with his slender yet agile build and feminine beauty, was quite popular even among the Stiria Tribe.

Iniya suddenly hugged Serpel from behind. Despite her ample chest pressing against his back, Serpel didn’t even blink.

After a moment, Iniya clicked her tongue and released him.

“I don’t get excited at all, even when I hug you like this.”

Serpel replied seriously.

“If you got excited, I would have resisted while crying.”

Iniya gazed wistfully towards the other end of the corridor, at Repenhardt’s office. Just thinking about his robust chest made her heart race.

‘He’s different.’

Indeed, no matter how much she tried to like the men of her tribe, she couldn’t get excited at all. Iniya sighed and murmured.

“What should I do to win his heart?”

“I believe there are better ways than deceiving with someone else’s cooking.”

Iniya glared at Serpel, who responded calmly. Although he was a loyal aide, he had a bad habit of not choosing his words carefully.

“He is a powerful warrior. I believe he will fully appreciate Iniya-nim’s strengths.”

“Do you think so?”

Of course, despite his harsh words, Serpel was a loyal subordinate. Naturally, he deeply wished for his leader Iniya’s happiness. So he had gathered various pieces of information here and there.

“I heard something…”

Serpel spoke cautiously.

“Repenhardt-nim is a perfect warrior, but he is particularly vulnerable in one area. That’s why he pays special attention to that field…”

Iniya’s eyes widened like a cat’s.

“Really?”

* * *

Repenhardt’s exclusive training ground, halfway up the White King Castle.

Two men, shirtless, were facing each other there.

“Hup!”

Holding his breath, Russ took a low stance and went in for a tackle. At that moment, Repenhardt moved his legs back and pressed down on Russ’s back to block the tackle. As Russ grabbed Repenhardt’s waist and aimed for his legs, Repenhardt immediately pushed his hand away and repositioned his legs, preparing his stance again.

As they reached a stalemate, Russ offered some praise.

“You’ve improved a lot, Hyung-nim.”

Repenhardt asked as he pulled away.

“Really? I think I finally get the hang of it.”

Ever since being harshly beaten by Teslon, Repenhardt had been learning ground techniques from Russ whenever he had the chance. Even now, he was sparring in between his duties.

Russ, rubbing his shoulder, remarked.

“It’s getting tough for me to face you now, Hyung-nim. The physical difference is just too much…”

In the past, Repenhardt, being such an amateur, was easily toyed with by Teslon despite his excellent physique. But with some understanding of ground wrestling, sheer strength itself becomes a formidable weapon.

“Do you think I can face Teslon with this level of skill?”

“Well, the ground techniques I know are just the basics that knights learn, so against a proper Carzian martial artist, it’s hard to say.”

“Hmm, should I hire an expert?”

While Repenhardt was pondering, a clear voice rang out in the training ground.

“Shall I teach you?”

“Ah, Iniya-ssi.”

Russ greeted Iniya lightly.

Recently, Iniya had practically taken a room in White King Castle, roaming around as if it were her own home, so it wasn’t strange for her to suddenly appear in the training ground. Moreover, being an Aura User, they had sensed her presence from earlier.

Entering the training ground, Iniya asked Repenhardt.

“I know a bit of ground techniques too, would you like to spar with me?”

“Uh, that…”

Repenhardt looked down at Iniya, flustered.

She was dressed simply, without her usual fur sleeves, in light clothing. It seemed the warming weather had led her to leave her slender arms and legs bare.

To grapple in ground wrestling with a woman dressed like that? Their bare skin would touch directly?

Repenhardt muttered in confusion.

“There’s a distinction between men and women, how could we…”

“Where is the distinction between men and women for a martial artist?”

Her serious retort made Repenhardt stammer. Indeed, it was disrespectful to not recognize the opponent as a warrior.

“Y-yes, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

Russ, with gleaming eyes, stepped back. He had gained a lot just by watching Iniya and Kalken fight barehanded. Seeing another opportunity, Russ encouraged the sparring.

“Give it a try, Hyung-nim. Her skills are impressive. She didn’t back down even in a hand-to-hand fight with Sir Kalken.”

Repenhardt looked at Iniya with newfound surprise.

“Really?”

Iniya moved to the center of the training ground. Her gaze turned cold, befitting that of a warrior.

“Please, take the sparring seriously.”

Whoosh!

A silver aura flared up around Iniya like flames, enveloping her whole body. The intense energy was something Repenhardt couldn’t take lightly.

“Then, please take care of me.”