Reborn As Noble

Chapter 1429: A Deep Exhale and a Head Shake ( 1429 )

”Brother Aelius?”

”Hmm?” Aelius, who had been crossing his arms while watching Javier put down the flintlock musket after his shooting demonstration, glanced at him. ”What?”

”You know, I’ve never once seen how you fight or what skills you have.” Javier reached for a double-barrel flintlock pistol, took out a powder horn, carefully poured a measured amount of black powder into each barrel, then used a small ramrod to tamp a lead ball and a wad of cloth down onto the powder. He primed the pan with a finer powder, checked the flint in the hammer, and finally snapped the frizzen shut.

He held the pistol up, inspecting it with a satisfied nod before putting the weapon down and turning back to Aelius.

”I’ve seen Marcellus fight. I’ve seen Cedric fight. I’ve even seen Heres fight in that ’simulation.’ But you? You’re always in the background, handling the economy, the trade, the numbers. I’ve never seen you draw a weapon or your fighting style.”

”Why? Are you curious?” Aelius smiled, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

Javier rubbed his chin thoughtfully before reaching for the bolt-action rifle. He picked up a small box of ammunition, sliding the bolt back with a smooth metallic click. He took a single cartridge, its brass casing gleaming under the light, and pressed it into the open chamber. With a forward push and a twist, he locked the bolt into place, the action clicking shut with practiced precision.

”Nah. Just wondering if you’ve ever had to fight an enemy before.”

”Yeah. What Javier said is true. You rarely show up on the training grounds.”

”True.” Cedric smirked, crossing his arms. ”It’s always me and Marcellus. Javier often fights on missions, or...” Cedric shrugged. ”Who knows where he trains.”

”Right?” Javier smirked while reaching for a large, silver-colored five-shot revolver. He popped open the cylinder, took five bullets from the box, and loaded them into the chambers with swift, practiced motions. He snapped the cylinder back into the frame, gave it a spin with a flick of his thumb, and locked it into place with a satisfying click.

”We’re all curious, of course. Heres fights with dual white ore fans or magic blades. He can use mana Glocks, dual mana guns, and magic healing skills, and he can fight in both close-quarters combat and ranged attacks, despite being the silent one among us.”

Javier smirked as everyone watched how excited and smooth Heres’s voice was, still wearing the helmet and fully immersed in the ’simulation.’

Aelius smiled, glancing at Marcellus and Cedric before calmly crossing his arms and turning his gaze to Javier.

”I have fought a few times, I believe. Especially during monster attacks when Athine and I were traveling by pekko-drawn carriage toward the eastern towns, or when we attended the merchant assemblies in the Beastkin Nation, where all the major traders and wealthy merchants gather.”

He paused, his expression thoughtful.

”Sometimes we encountered trouble on the road, but during those situations, it was always handled by our Pekko or the Armand escorts. You know our Armand personnel are incredibly strong and have perfect coordination. They are trained for everything. So whenever Athine and I go to handle our economic affairs, the roads are usually cleared by wild Pekko, our personnel units, Armand patrols, or the Armand forest patrol. So... I rarely have to draw my weapon myself.”

”Oho?” Javier, who had finished adjusting and reloading all the shotguns, from break-action single barrel, sawed-off, double barrel, pump action, semi-auto, to fully automatic, glanced at Aelius with his eyebrows raised, narrowing his eyes before smirking. ”What kind of weapon do you use?”

”Yeah. Tell us.” Cedric tapped his special white ore paladin sword at his waist. ”Is it a sword like this?”

”Or maybe like this.” Marcellus grinned as he raised his palm, a concentrated fireball floating above it, his aura flaring with heat. Both he and Cedric pointed toward Javier with exaggerated, teasing expressions while keeping their eyes on Aelius. ”Or like this weird brat?”

”W... what? Oi! I’m nearly an adult! And since when am I being weird?”

”Huh? To us, you’re still a brat, ’Honey Bun~’” Marcellus grinned, wiggling his eyebrows as he casually crossed his arms and puffed his chest. ”You’ll always be a brat to us, no matter what.”

”Yeah, Honey Bun~ You’re weird because despite mastering all advanced and intermediate magic attacks and close combat, you always rely on punches and kicks. You rarely use magic or a sword. And the only magic you often use is Ultimate Gravity to pin the enemy down. And worst of all? You always pretend to look like you’re being defeated in some dramatic flair of yours~”

”Oi! Just so you know, Apple Pie, Pumpkin~” Javier grinned, pointing at them with one hand while the other rested on his hip, a cheeky expression on his face. ”I do have my dual swords. And I can use magic. But I don’t use them on enemies that are... err... how do you say... low level? Weak?”

He wiggled his eyebrows with a mischievous grin. ”Just like Gorak and Jaigar before. No way I’m going to use them on those kinds of foes. If I took out those two weapons, they’d be screaming and fainting before I could even measure their power. Besides, there’s much more fun in making the enemy believe they’re winning, only to crush both their body and their spirit in the end.”

”See?” Cedric grinned, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder toward Javier while his eyes remained fixed on Aelius. ”This brat is weird~ He likes toying with his enemies, drawing out the fight for his own amusement. It’s like he enjoys the psychological game more than the actual combat.”

”Yeah! It should be manly~ Like me.” Marcellus wiggled his eyebrows with a confident smirk.

”Oho~? Do tell me this ’manly’ way of fighting.”

”Hah! If it were me, I’d use gravity skill and launch the strongest magic attack at them, seeing the enemy piss their pants, trembling at the sight of my overwhelming power!” Marcellus struck a dramatic pose, flames flickering around him.

”No~ It should be calm and collected. Like me.” Cedric smirked before standing with his arms crossed, an aura of light flaring around him as countless luminous light swords materialized and floated around him and in the sky above. ”Overwhelming power with grace and control.”

”Heh~ That’s not manly. It should be like this.” Javier puffed his chest out and snapped his fingers while swiping his hair back. In an instant, a hundred Shironii puppet knights materialized behind him, white and black armored samurai, each wearing full face masks and dual katanas at their waists. ”This is a man’s dream.”

”Dream, your ass, brat!”

”What!? You looking for a fight!?”

”Yeah! Bring it on!”

All three of them reached for their zippers. ”Let’s compare whose dick is bigger, then!”

”Challenge accepted!”

Meanwhile, Aelius just pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling deeply and shaking his head as he watched the three brothers now comparing whose dick was bigger.

( End Of Chapter )