“Guard!”
The head of the Royal Guard shouted, and Rem’s gaze turned to one side.
“Mm?”
That was while the assassin woman tilted her head and reacted.
“I am Falan of the Manur Cavalry!”
One horse broke away from the approaching group and shouted.
“He is the commander of the Manur Cavalry and a knight.”
Valmung said while looking out the window.
“A cavalry commander? Not affiliated with an order of knights?”
Enkrid asked as soon as an Imperial knight, his subject of interest, appeared.
“He is affiliated with the order and serves as the cavalry commander stationed in Manur.”
“Does the Empire have only one order of knights?”
“Yeah, one. I heard the current emperor merged them into one. The official name is the Imperial Order of Knights. There is no other.”
If it was not about the emperor, Valmung answered readily. I see. While Enkrid nodded, the knight named Falan approached, and his horse ran with frightening speed.
That horse ran parallel to the carriage as it gradually drew closer from the side. No matter who saw it, there was no malice.
“I greet the lord of Naurillia.”
Knight Falan said. Looking at the neatness of his razor-cut nape and closely trimmed sides, he seemed quite fastidious.
“I do not think of myself as its lord, but as everyone’s representative. In any case, I am pleased to meet you.”
Was it because Count Coty’s behavior from before had been too exceptional?
This man named Falan, who calmly showed courtesy to the king first, instead looked awkward. And while he was being polite, it seemed like mere formality.
“Sir Seriana.”
After greeting the executor with a nod, he spoke to Valmung this time.
“Sir Wandering Valmung! Are you resting this time? Is it not about time you took a sabbatical?”
Imperial dispatched positions were originally given a period of rest with no duties every few years, so that was what he meant.
“I do not think it is time yet.”
Valmung answered with an indifferent attitude.
“I see.”
After that plain, ordinary answer, Knight Falan drove his horse around to the other side. At that window, Enkrid had one arm propped on the frame and was looking outside. Their eyes met, and Falan spoke without showing emotion.
“So you are the Demonic Knight.”
“Has my title in the Empire been decided as ‘demonic’?”
Rem, who had taken over the top of the carriage, chuckled, and Shinar agreed with those words.
“For the crime of winning over a fairy such as myself.”
Esther did not even look over and showed no interest. Temares observed the man who had briefly approached, then said,
“Mm.”
Ambiguous. He was decent, but not to the point of being pleasing, so this time, the word beautiful did not come out. What was certain was that among the people Temares had seen until now, this one was the ugliest. That was Temares’s evaluation.
“You want to have a bout, don’t you?”
Falan did not turn his gaze to anyone else. He merely asked without ever taking his eyes off the blue-eyed knight.
Every knight was someone who had devoted themselves to training while half mad. He might be observing propriety, but would Falan be any different?
Unlike his calm-looking attitude and expression, heat showed in his eyes.
“Stay in Manur. We may not be able to do anything serious, but we can enjoy ourselves lightly.”
At Falan’s repeated words, Enkrid nodded. Of course that was what he wanted.
Like that, the carriage headed for the city of Manur. A city cultivated by a cow driven by a god—that was the meaning of the name Manur.
Most of this place was farmland. There was far more land than people. Instead of walls, low wooden fences came into view, then several houses, and along with them, more than several dozen enormous windmills entered their sight.
The structures lined up regularly on one side were a sight that drew admiration by themselves.
It was only natural that not only Enkrid, but everyone, could not tear their eyes away.
Crang was even busier looking around. It was something that would have to be done someday in the land of Naurillia too.
However, he had no intention of implementing exactly what he saw now. He was already thinking windmills alone were insufficient and researching a way to turn dozens of millstones with magic or some new power.
‘When we first build it, we have to introduce new technology and challenge ourselves.’
If they copied the stability of the past from the very start, development would be far too slow. For someone starting late to catch someone who had begun running first, a special skill was needed.
It was not that he meant to defeat the Empire or make it a rival, but preparing for everything was still the right path.
When they entered the city like that, a welcoming crowd came out, but there were not many of them. Three in total, men and women combined.
“Manur is a grain-producing region. The grain grown here spreads throughout the Empire.”
Falan said as he watched them approach. His words were full of pride. Enkrid listened to him while watching the three men and women who had come closer.
“Knights Ranolt, Rebel, and Rodio.”
Falan naturally introduced them. They all looked young, and they were young in reality too.
Four knights, including Falan, were staying in an agricultural city. It was a reality that proved the number of Imperial knights was not small.
‘Not a border region, but an agricultural city has four knights.’
Enkrid and Crang were thinking the same thing. The Empire had many knights. That proposition was true. There was no exaggeration.
“Normally, one knight and part of the cavalry defend the city. This group is, well, you could call them a welcoming party.”
Seriana cleared up a small misunderstanding. Even the Empire did not waste personnel unnecessarily. Nor did she spout nonsense to inflate the Empire’s stature for no reason. The Empire was strong without doing that, so she could afford to be honest.
“May I think they came because of me?”
Enkrid asked. From inside the carriage, he met the eyes of those who approached one by one.
“That is correct.”
One male knight among the three answered. In Enkrid’s eyes, he looked inferior to Rophod, but what he was showing was not fighting spirit.
Was he slightly drunk on a sense of omnipotence?
“It is an honor. I wanted to meet you once.”
The other man beside him had the opposite attitude. Did he not look like someone who had met the protagonist of a famous story?
“Me?”
When Enkrid asked back quietly, the knight nodded vigorously.
“Yes, Sir Enkrid, the Demonic Knight. I was deeply curious about the secret to winning over a fairy.”
Pfft. Rem burst out laughing. Shinar had not been paying attention, but she glanced over and checked his face.
His moderately pockmarked face and thick lips fit together in a way that made him look like he would resemble the ugliest fish dredged up from a river.
“I also have a fairy I care for, but it has not gone my way at all.”
The fish from the river smiled awkwardly. He was talking about fairies, but he did not seem sincere, and there was something light about him. Overall, he was not pleasant to look at. His looks and his insides were like a rotten persimmon.
“Is that an insult?”
Shinar muttered. Was that not an attitude that ignored a fairy’s aesthetic sense?
“This bastard is an idiot, so please leave him be. Sir, if you come in, there will be a chance to learn a move from you, yes?”
The last was a young female knight. Was she Rodio? Their passion and spirit were not bad. However, mixed into their overall attitude was a subtle sense of looking down on the other party.
“There is no need to rush. They are not people who will run away.”
Knight Falan rebuked the three. The three accepted his words by lowering their heads slightly.
“They seem to be looking down on the captain too much.”
Rem said with a wide grin. Enkrid had been ignored countless times since long ago, so his sense for that kind of thing was extraordinary.
“Yeah, seems that way.”
That fellow full of fighting spirit named Ranolt was one thing, and the fellow named Rebel, who was more than capable of using his face as a weapon in a different way from Enkrid, was another. Just how lightly did they see him to ask about something like the secret to winning over women?
The female knight who stepped forward last was no different. She overflowed with confidence that she would quickly measure his skill and break apart his empty fame. More than anything, Knight Falan irritated him the most. This bastard had been subtly picking a fight since earlier.
“Understand them. They are the sort who cannot accept anything until they experience it directly.”
Valmung said it as if making an excuse, though he did not seem to care very much.
“They make me want to raise a mess.”
Rem muttered from atop the carriage.
“Don’t.”
Enkrid said.
“What, so we’re just supposed to leave things like that alone?”
Just because they had entered the Empire, Rem did not become a kind and polite Rem.
“If I cut off one ear with an axe, they’d quiet down.”
“...Sir Enkrid’s fame has spread a great deal within the Empire as well. You met Recruiter Schmidt, did you not? He was greatly disappointed about you, so you became even more famous.”
Because he was someone who truly seemed likely to do it if left alone, Seriana changed the subject. Within the Empire, Recruiter Schmidt was recognized more for his natural eye than for his skill.
“Is that so?”
Enkrid roughly nodded. Looking at him from the outside, he seemed calm, so it did not appear that he was angry. Everyone was composed. Crang, too, acted as though it was nothing special.
Rem had said that, but he was chuckling and tossing out jokes.
“It is a good city.”
Temares said as he looked around. Passersby smiled, and children peeked out, observing the guests who had come to the city. A dog raised by the people wagged its tail excitedly from side to side. In many ways, it was a pastoral scene.
The people accompanying them, rather, seemed like the ones who did not belong.
Esther was still silent even after seeing the city, and when Seriana spoke to Shinar, Shinar merely stared at her quietly.
There was no particular boundary line in the city of Manur. After passing through the farmland, the cluster of houses was where the villagers mainly stayed, and if one went out toward the outskirts from there, a large barracks and stables could be seen on one side.
It was not quite a mansion, but one large house was Knight Falan’s home.
The carriage stopped in front of the barracks, and Enkrid got down. Everywhere here was spacious, so the area before the barracks was open as well. It was dry, firm ground. In other words, a perfect place to fight.
“Knight Rabelt.”
As soon as he saw that, Enkrid opened his mouth. At that call, one of the young knights tilted his head, then answered with his face flushed red.
“My name is Ranolt. Whose name is that supposed to be?”
Mm. Easy. His emotions showed right away just because his name had been called wrong once.
“Ranolt? Was that your name? I got confused. You came because of me, so surely you did not come only to admire my face.”
“Of course I came because I wanted to exchange a move with you.”
The faded yellow hair braided to one side showed that he was not of noble birth.
He pulled the trident slung diagonally across his back to the side and drew it out. The sound of the leather strap coming loose went tuduk. He gripped the spear in hand and turned back toward Enkrid.
‘Empty fame.’
Knight Ranolt thought as he glared at his opponent. A mere knight from the continent did not please him. He did not like that the man had piled up a few hollow titles and acted arrogant either.
Enkrid looked at him quietly, then said,
“You may come first. Knight Rabelt.”
...Why does this bastard keep saying my name wrong? A vein stood out on Knight Ranolt’s forehead. The sound of the gray-haired barbarian chuckling behind him scratched at his insides even more.
Tang. Ranolt struck the ground once with his spearhead. With that, he let out some of his emotions and aimed the spear forward.
The knight of empty fame from the continent looked at him without even drawing his sword.
Hanging hands, indifferent eyes, legs spread moderately apart.
‘Do not let your guard down.’
Ranolt steadied himself. Even if it was empty fame, this was a man with various reputations attached to him.
‘I will show him that Imperial knights are different.’
Some time ago, a fellow who had come called a genius had left the Empire.
He had said there was no future here, was it? Then, without showing even the slightest lingering attachment, he had left the Empire as he was.
‘The Empire is not the future?’
What reckless nonsense.
“You certainly say all sorts of rubbish.”
He had said that while blocking the man’s path, then had collapsed to his knees after exactly three sword strikes, his pride crumbling all at once.
“Below standard.”
The man’s words remained in his ears. They remained in his memory and tormented his heart.
“My name is Ranolt.”
He spoke and thrust the spear. As he thrust, he added rotation, intending to knock the opponent away if he blocked and follow if he dodged.
His thoughts accelerated, and his concentration burned. He saw his opponent’s movement. The man placed his hand on the grip of the sword at his waist. He intends to draw and swing.
That was what he thought for an instant. Then, tak, his spear stopped midway.
Huh? It would not budge, as if it had been wedged between rocks. At that moment, the knight from the continent standing before him strode forward.
Ranolt had no time to shout. He released the spear shaft with his left hand and drew the shortsword tied at his waist in a reverse grip, slashing upward.
The man who had approached avoided even that and swung his elbow.
‘I need to dodge...’
Because his thoughts had accelerated, his head was working, but his body did not react. His opponent was just a little faster than him.
Crack— That was the last sound Ranolt heard. *** Enkrid knocked one man down, raised his head, and said,
“Lucky.”
Rem caught Enkrid’s intention and snorted.
‘Cunning as hell.’
He had learned only the bad things from hanging around that alley cat. Right now, Enkrid intended to deliberately pretend to be weak and lure in his opponents one by one. That was why he had only let a clumsy bit of presence show since earlier.

Comments

Loading...