Reinhardt could already tell that it was not a house built for a common citizen but for someone who earned their place in the upper echelons of the society. The only reason why Melissa showed the house to them for 2 silver coins was because she knew Reinhardt wanted to rope the wife into his knight order.
Karl might be a country bumpkin who did not know about the value of real estate. However, Delicia was a former knight and a city girl. She knew very well how much a house like this would cost, especially in a place that is destined to develop into a major city in the future.
What’s more, as a woman, she was extremely sensitive to the passing glances the Governor and his secretary were giving each other. Immediately, she understood what was going on, and a warm feeling surged in her heart.
In the end, she made up her mind.
"Karl..."
"You don’t have to say it, I already know. You want to stay in this house, right? In that case, I won’t get in between your dreams. We will shift here from the village".
The husband made up his mind too. Seeing his wife so enamoured by the house and the prospect of becoming a knight again, he did not have the heart to stop her anymore.
After having a fight earlier, he had been pondering this whole time, and he had finally arrived at a decision at this moment.
"But what will happen to the village if you, the chief move away?"
"Heh, I can easily be replaced. They can get Jork to become the new village. In any case, the village is no longer my concern. What matters is you and your dream".
The reason why he had been adamant about her not joining a knight order was because he didn’t want to see her get hurt again.
As a knight, it becomes mandatory to go on missions and expeditions that are fraught with danger. However, because of his selfishness, he forgot to see what was important. His wife being happy.
If she really wanted to become a knight, then he as her husband, needs to support her.
Delicia’s eyes glistened with emotion. The couple finally made up.
"That’s very great. Now then, shall we talk about some important matters?"
Karl and his wife looked at him.
"I might have said that you can join my knight order. However, in the state that you are in, you are even worse than an ordinary citizen. All of your cultivated skills have become useless, and your level and stats have dropped to one. In the way that you are now, no knight order will take you".
Delicia understood the condition of her body the best. She knew that everything Lord Reinhardt said was true.
"To become a knight again, you will need to thoroughly train your body and stats from the beginning. Join my knights in their training early morning from tomorrow on. As for your treatment, we will continue to do it in the mansion".
Reinhardt gave his instructions. Now it was all on her whether she had the resolve and determination to start over from the scratch.
.
The next morning, the members of the Temple of Light gathered on the training grounds dressed in their training gear as usual. It was supposed to be like any normal day for them. However, there was a slight change today.
Joining them for the morning training were two people today. One was the black haired boisterous young squire who seemed to have gone missing a couple of days ago, the other one a new face.
"Everyone, she is Delicia, and she will be training with you all from today," Reinhardt announced, addressing his squad.
"My name is Delicia Solstice. I will be joining the Order of the Temple of Light from now on. Please take care of me".
The members welcomed her with excited shouts and celebratory yells, something that surprised her quite a bit. Usually, a knight order would be much more reserved and their knights mannered and less spoken.
However, the order of the Temple of Light was completely different from the knights of Silver Shields that she remembered. Not only were these people more forthcoming and unreserved, completely unlike that of a knight, the atmosphere here was less that of a knight order and more of that of a big family.
Naturally, their silly and welcoming nature made Delicia feel at ease. Soon, the tension in her shoulder disappeared, and in a couple of minutes, she became friends with her new order.
"Attention!!" On Reinhardt’s shout, everyone stopped their chatter and gave their undivided attention to him.
"There will be a slight change in today’s training. We will go back to basics and relearn the techniques, movements, and swing that we have performed tens of thousands of times already".
Saying that, he ordered everyone to grab the weights and start running. Of course, he ran along with them, making two circles of the outer perimeter of the city.
By the time they were done, most of the recruits and squires were tired, and needless to say, Delicia whose stats had degraded, and she needed to start from Low again.
That said, Reinhardt did not give her any special treatment; he treated her with the same severity and intensity he used to train his knights.
After the running, it was basic flexibility training to relax the muscles that had been stretched taut. After that, it was unarmed combat training. There was no opponent; each of them had to use the combat techniques they had learned or indoctrinated in the order and repeat the sets.
Then it was back to sword handling and swings.
.
By the time the training was over, Delicia was dead tired. When she returned to the house which they newly rented, Karl was waiting for her with food prepared.
"Ah, are you alright?" Looking at the dirty and sweat covered body of his wife, the latter asked in concern.