Chapter 90 - Before the Joint Knights Training
Knights began to gather at the expansive training grounds of the royal castle in preparation for the joint knights training session.
Under the glaring midday sun, their armor and helmets gleamed brightly.
The lack of wind and the relentlessly blue sky made the heat almost oppressive.
In the Kingdom of Ordine, the knights were divided into four main groups:
The Royal Guard, the First through Fifth Knight Orders, the Mage Division, and the Monster Subjugation Force.
The Royal Guard was an elite unit composed of handpicked warriors, primarily tasked with the protection of the royal family.
The Knight Orders were divided as follows: the First Knight Order focused on the castle’s security, while the Second through Fifth Orders handled kingdom-wide and border security, each commanding a large number of soldiers.
The Mage Division, composed primarily of mages, frequently operated alongside other units when necessary.
Finally, the Monster Subjugation Force, true to its name, specialized in combating monsters.
Although the kingdom was currently at peace, with no conflicts with other nations, preparations for unforeseen circumstances continued. Additionally, there were ongoing responsibilities such as dealing with monster threats and natural disasters. For these reasons, maintaining a capable and well-trained military was indispensable. Rigorous training was an integral part of this preparedness.
The day’s joint training would involve select members from the First Knight Order and the Monster Subjugation Force. Each group contributed around fifty knights, with more than half consisting of young recruits, as part of their routine exercises.
"Just make sure he can’t move. He’s already been abandoned by his family anyway, so a little rough handling won’t matter."
"Isn’t that going too far...?"
"This seems dangerous, doesn’t it...?"
In one corner of the sweltering training grounds, about twenty young knights from the First Knight Order were engaged in a tense discussion, their expressions grim.
The words of the man who seemed to be the leader were being admonished by the others, but no one was actually stopping him.
"I didn’t say to injure him. But targeting the 'most capable' in a fight is a basic tactic, isn’t it?"
"Well, that’s true, but..."
"There’s no problem, then. In this unit, we take down 'the one most likely to cause trouble' first. Got it?"
"...Yes."
"Understood..."
In the end, they grudgingly nodded, unwilling to defy the blunt orders.
A few people had distanced themselves slightly from the group with the murky atmosphere, speaking quietly while avoiding eye contact.
"This feels wrong. Shouldn’t we stop it?"
"They say he confessed to a young lady but got rejected because she liked Volfred. Then, this time, his fiancée apparently told him to invite Volfred to a tea party if there’s a joint training session with the Monster Subjugation Force. He’s probably trying to use an injury as an excuse to avoid inviting him. He’s been in a foul mood since the day before yesterday."
"A textbook case of taking out his frustrations."
The knights sighed bitterly.
Though they thought the man issuing orders was an idiot, part of them sympathized.
If they were in his shoes, they might have directed their frustration at Volfred rather than the young lady too.
Across the field, their eyes landed on a single man. His refined, cool expression seemed untouched by even the faintest bead of sweat.
Even without animosity, one might describe him as “the kind of man no one would want standing in front of them beside the woman they liked."
"But with that face, if he had magic, he could probably win over a duke’s daughter if he wanted."
"No, I heard he’s pretty familiar with a certain duchess, isn’t he? Not that it would be anything serious.”
"God doesn’t give with both hands, huh? Still, even without external magic, life must be easy with a face like that."
"Is that so? I disagree. Once that face starts aging, what’ll he have left?"
"Well, if he marries into a good family while he’s young..."
As the conversation completely shifted to discussions about faces and marriage, the man on the opposite field—Dorino— stretched his body wide. Afterward, he bent down to stretch further, turning his back toward the First Knight Order.
"Seriously, they’re just chatting away about whatever comes to mind."
"They probably think no one can hear them."
"So, even the 'the one most likely to cause trouble' heard them, huh?"
Though there was a fair amount of distance, Volf seemed to have caught wind of their words. The two began murmuring to each other.
"When you use body enhancement, your hearing improves too. And their voices were too loud to begin with."
"You’re already enhancing yourself that much? Must be nice having all that extra magic."
"Weren’t you listening in just as much, Dorino?"
"Of course I was. You never know when they might accidentally reveal a plan. Gathering intel is basic strategy."
Beneath his slightly pulled-back black leather glove, the faint red glow of a bracelet could be seen.
"Dorino, is that a bracelet for hearing enhancement? How much did it cost?"
"You’ve been really into magical tools lately. It wasn’t cheap, I’ll say that much. But this one’s borrowed from a senior."
As Dorino adjusted his glove, several other team members approached them.
」
"Volfred, looks like you’ve become today’s target. Want to pull back?"
"Alfio-senpai, you heard that too?"
"My 'ears of the day' aren’t half bad, you see."
He deduced from the black gloves that Alfio, who was acting as today's overall commander, was wearing.
Though Alfio’s smile was cheerful, there was an unsettling chill in his dark brown eyes.
It was clear that Alfio was indignant on Volfred’s behalf for being targeted. More than that, he likely disapproved of the First Knight Order’s attitude toward battle. Bringing personal grudges into training, acting on those grudges, and the others who stood by without stopping it—none of it sat well with him.
The First Knight Order was large in number and composed of many nobles.
Some younger members of noble birth looked down on the Monster Subjugation Force, driven by baseless rumors and stereotypes.
While it was true that the First Knight Order had a fairly high bar for entry, it didn’t necessarily gather the strongest warriors.
By contrast, the Monster Subjugation Force members grew much stronger after joining, thanks to their irregular expeditions and life-or-death battles with monsters. Their strength and camaraderie only deepened over time.
Joint training sessions were held to address this disparity. By experiencing real combat together, the knights could no longer look down on the subjugation force. Many were inspired to better themselves as a result.
"Um, isn't our conversation being overheard by the other side right now?"
"I was told by my senior to put a anti-eavesdropper in my pocket, and it's on too."
"I carry a bracelet for that. Can’t risk letting our plans leak, so I always have it. Many monsters possess intelligence too, after all."
Dorino and Alfio answered immediately, their backs turned to the opposing side, and then Volf asked a follow-up question.
"Why aren’t they using one?"
"The rear units have them. Judging by how everything’s being overheard, it’s only the young nobles in the front group who didn’t bother. For people of such high rank, they seem to be enjoying a very peaceful life. We’ll have to make sure these promising young men learn their lesson."
There was a terrifying edge to Alfio’s polite tone.
Anti-eavesdroppers were something of a staple among nobles, but Volf had to admit he hadn’t thought to bring one to the training grounds himself.
"I’ve never brought one..."
"Well, you’ve never been in charge of strategy. And it’s not like you’ve ever said anything that could cause problems if overheard."
"That’s true, but still..."
Up until recently, Volf had always left strategy and planning to his seniors.
Only in the past month had he started speaking up, and even then, it was mainly because he wanted to finish expeditions faster—a purely selfish motivation.
"Well, Volf, looks like you’ve joined our side now. We'll have you join in on the strategy planning."
"That would make things easier."
"No, I’ll try my best, but I think it’ll be a while before I’m any good at it... By the way, today’s exercise is 'Helm Drop,' right?"
"That’s right."
"Helm Drop" was one of their mock battle exercises.
Each side set up a base on the training grounds with a pole at the back where they hung a helmet. The goal was to knock down the enemy’s helmet first.
Whether by magic, a direct assault, or a methodical advance while maintaining defenses, the exercise offered a great deal of flexibility.
The rules restricted magic to beginner-level spells and all weapons to practice models. Even so, injuries were common in the chaos of battle, so healers and priests capable of using recovery magic were always on standby at the training grounds.
"It’s hot today, so let’s just go for a frontal assault and finish this quickly!"
Dorino declared decisively.
"A frontal assault, huh? What’s the plan?"
"Volf, the front line will probably send twenty men at once. Can you jump over them?"
"Sure, but am I going solo on this?"
"Don’t go trying to end the exercise all by yourself. Can you carry me and leap over? After I've jumped to my limit, of course."
"Probably."
"Then we’ll do a two-man assault. Cause some chaos, and Volf, you can bait them by jumping further in to draw their attention. Once their formation breaks, the younger members can charge in, followed by the veterans. One-third of our forces will stay behind to defend the base."
"I see. Sounds good."
Alfio nodded and began discussing the strategy with the other knights.
"Volf, when we jump together, just grab onto the upper part of my armor and toss me into their base."
"Won’t that make your armor ride up and make it hard on you?"
"I’ll manage. Just don’t even think about carrying me in a 'princess hold' just because it's easier."
The phrase "princess hold" made Volf’s thoughts drift to Dahlia from the previous day.
She had been self-conscious about her weight, but he’d been surprised by how unexpectedly light and soft she was.
He could still remember the warmth of holding her in his arms, and the faint sensation of her red hair brushing against his neck lingered vividly in his mind.
"Hey, hey, don’t look so excited. You really are a 'battle freak,' aren’t you?"
"Huh? Do I really look like that?"
"Yeah, you look ridiculously happy."
"...I will deeply reflect on that..."
A heavy sense of guilt weighed on Volf. What in the world had he been thinking about his beloved friend?
Maybe it was because he hadn’t been moving his body enough lately.
He decided that he would channel all his energy into this exercise and vent it properly.
"It’s not really something you need to reflect on, though."
"No, this calls for some useful, new training!"
Something that would allow him to use all his strength without standing out too much, while also being unpredictable—Was there even such a method? Volfred racked his brain, desperately trying to come up with an idea.
Finally, inspiration struck, and he grinned at his friend as he pitched his idea.
"Hey, Randolph, don’t you ever feel like trying a preemptive strike for a change?"
"Why would it come to that? Randolph’s the shield bearer!"
"It does sound interesting, but I’m pretty heavy, you know. Even if I jump, I won’t get much distance, and carrying me would be tough for you."
Despite being a Scarlet Armor, Randolph moved with a large shield. Against fast-moving monsters, he often had to wait and hold his ground.
Rather than charging ahead, Randolph, as the Scarlet Armor rear guard, often took the position at the back, fully committed to defense.
Above all, he was a towering giant, taller than Volf, and quite heavy. It seemed impossible to carry him with just one hand.
"Kirk, can I ask you something? Do you think you could push us three from behind with wind magic and launch us over there?"
"Yes, if it’s like what we tried earlier, I can manage!"
"Earlier?"
"Me and Volf-senpai were practicing during lunch break, figuring out the most effective way to use wind magic for the squad!"
"Oh, now that sounds intriguing."
"But the impact might be pretty strong..."
"Oh, that’s no problem for me. Even Volf’s kick didn’t bother my back."
"Huh?"
"There was that time when a Crag Snake almost ate me. Volf kicked me in the back to get me out, then pried its mouth open with his sword while a mage hit its throat with magic."
"Whoa! I wish I’d seen that! When did it happen?"
In response to Kirk’s question, tinged with a hint of regret, Randolph retraced his memories.
"Let’s see... That must’ve been three years ago. Volf had quite the struggle breaking free from its jaws afterward."
"Yeah, The stench was unbearable... I’d rather not relive that."
The black-haired young man spoke with a horribly displeased expression, causing the surrounding squad members to burst into laughter.
In that raw expression, which they had never seen from Volf, they felt a strong sense of closeness to him.
"Volfred, talking about the stench..."
"Most people would complain about their hand or leg hurting, you know."
"When I apply a strong body enhancement, my sense of smell also increases. I was using my full strength at that time, so even though I was breathing through my mouth, it was absolutely overwhelming..."
"So that’s why you were teary-eyed back then..."
"Your body enhancement just got a lot less enviable."
With time running short, they steered the conversation back to strategy.
Though Volf’s proposal initially elicited a few chuckles, the moment they realized he was serious, the group’s mood turned somber.
After confirming the details with Volf and Kirk, Alfio gave the green light to proceed with the plan.
Comments
Post a Comment