I found it easier than I thought to get past the first gate. When one moved, ten followed. Even before we reached them, people let us pass. We were so well organized that you could say we were Moises who parted the Red Sea. The experience was both fun and sad. This illustrates the great difference between the common people and the nobility. This amazes me how I could take something as simple as this for granted in the past. To make matters worse, I didn't even notice it.

Due to the gatekeepers letting us in faster than expected, it was already past noon when we reached the Count's place of residence. At the entrance, I was greeted by my brother. As I was about to exit the carriage, he came to me and gave me a big hug.

“Hey there, little brother! It's good to see you are doing well! That incident really caught me off guard! How dare those disgusting creatures even approach my little brother? To eliminate them from the forest, I had already organized a few adventurers' teams! How is it, aren't I awesome?? " said my brother, Charles, as his hug got tighter and tighter.

While our height difference wasn't that great, he was still able to lift me from the ground. Even though he was just 3 years older than me, he was extremely hardworking. His other duties included fief management and knight training. Seeing him now, he could have been a revered figure back on Earth. Slim and muscular, he had dark-brown hair and blue eyes. He had a beautiful smile and a sharp chin. Okay, that's enough looking.

I asked him, "Where are your parents?".

“My father is planning a few events to take place soon, while my mother has gone to a tea party. I expect that they'll be free for dinner. Let's train until then, I heard that you've already started training. Come duel with me!"

"No, thank yo..." I was about to refuse him when I received a system notification:

*Ding*

*Quest issued*

*Win swordsmanship duel*

*Searching for possible rewards*

*Report: Swordsmanship (LV0) is available for upgrade*

*Quest reward: Swordsmanship (LV1)*

I shouted at top speed, "LET'S DO IT!". I had to have the reward. It's a good thing as I didn't have any skill points left.

I ran up the stairs as fast as possible, changed into something more comfortable, and ran back to the entrance. At the time I was trying to calm down my breathing, and my brother was smiling broadly while looking at me.

As I started toward the training area, I hurried him, saying, "Let's go!". Since it was almost evening and the servants had already unpacked, no one was around. Still, just thinking about the reward made me twirl around while leaking my lips.

"Yeah, it seems like you are pretty motivated, eh? Let's see how happy you are after we're done!" For some reason, my brother was giving bad vibes while choosing a wooden sword from one of the barrels.

I had to focus. While choosing a sword, I took a close look at the short swords. Because I was too heavy to wield a normal sword, I was able to gain a little speed boost by wielding a shorter sword. Upon turning around, I saw my brother already standing in place. His sword rested on his shoulder as he smiled. As I approached him, I took the basic stance a little away from him: left foot forward, sword in both hands, right hand on top of the left. My plan was to take a big step and then make a quick thrust.

As I lowered the sword, my brother said, "Ready...Go!".

My hands went numb the moment I took my first step, as I could no longer feel them. The sword was nowhere to be seen when I looked at them. Following that, a sudden *thud* was heard behind me, and when I turned around, the sword was lying there, broken into two pieces. While I was asking how my hands swelled as a sudden pain came over me.

"Argh." I went down on my knees, and I started waving my hands with tears in my eyes.

He admonished me and healed me simultaneously, "Silly brother, did you think you could beat me? Sigh. Here, 'Heal'!" he replied. What? He could use Heal? But he wasn't even a priest!

*Ding*

*Quest failed*