Chapter 12 - Luca Returns to Knighthood
[Eliana's POV]
"Luca. How would you like to become my knight?"
My master said this while picking the bones out of his grilled fish at breakfast.
I froze with my bread halfway to my mouth.
Beside me, Luca had also gone still, his steaming cup held motionless in his hands.
"...You mean me?"
"Do you know another Luca around here?"
"No, but being a knight..."
"You'd serve as a knight under the Count of Coenna. I want you to take command of the soldiers stationed here. As their captain."
My master lined up the bones he had removed along the edge of his plate.
There was something incongruous about the magnitude of his proposal and the meticulous way he went about picking bones from his fish.
"Even captain...?"
"Yeah. I've been leaving it all to the old hands until now. It's about time I properly assigned someone to the position."
Luca set down his cup.
He straightened his back.
"What would my duties entail?"
"Patrol the town and its roads. Settle disputes at the harbor. If monsters appear, gather the men and deal with them. If things get beyond your ability to handle, put out a request for a monster hunt or call me."
"Would I also be responsible for training the soldiers and maintaining their equipment?"
"That's right."
Luca didn't answer right away.
He clenched his hands in his lap once.
"Why did you choose me?"
At last, my master looked up from his fish.
"You pay close attention to people's feet, don't you?"
"Their feet?"
"I don't just mean their shoes. You notice when a child gets tired, inspect people's gear when they return from a hunt, and go back for anyone who falls behind."
His words brought back memories of our hunt among the rocky shores.
The way Luca had warned us about slippery ground.
The arm that had caught a man as he stumbled.
And before we left, he had even repaired that man's shoes.
"I want a captain who thinks about the men who need to make it home, too."
Luca slowly relaxed his fingers.
"...May I have some time to think about it?"
"Of course. You've still got work at the shoemaker's, too. If you want to hear more about the job, I can take you to meet the soldiers."
With that, my master lowered his gaze to his plate again.
"And your fish is getting cold."
We hurriedly returned to our breakfast.
But Luca was much quieter than usual.
◇◆◇
After the midday work had settled down, I went out into the back garden.
Luca was sitting on a wooden crate, sewing a leather strap.
Each time the needle pierced the leather, the thin thread glimmered in the sunlight.
"Mind if I sit with you?"
"Of course."
As I sat down beside him, he paused his stitching.
"What do you think, Lady Eliana?"
"I think my master chose the right person."
I answered without hesitation.
"But what do you want to do, Luca?"
When I asked him in return, he lowered his eyes to the leather in his hands.
"I enjoy working at the shoemaker's. It makes me happy when someone puts on a pair of shoes I've repaired and tells me they're more comfortable to walk in."
I nodded.
The day he bought a secondhand sword with his own money for the first time.
Luca had examined the scabbard over and over, looking a little embarrassed.
We had taken that sword and hunted monsters together.
He had repaired shoes, counted our travel money, and taught the children how to use swords.
Even after leaving the royal palace, he had built a life of his own, one experience at a time.
"When I live in this town, I find myself thinking of the people I want to protect. My master at the shoemaker's, Ms. Hannah, the children..."
Luca continued slowly, as though carefully choosing his words.
"I want to work so that those people can go about their lives as usual tomorrow, too. I've realized that that's the kind of knight I want to be."
There were small scars on the hands holding the leather strap.
Scars from wielding a sword, and marks from working with a needle.
I gazed at his hands before looking up at his face.
"Then you should become one."
"...Yes."
Luca smiled.
I was happy for him.
And yet, deep in my heart, I felt a little lonely.
The person who had been by my side had found his own path.
There would be work I knew nothing about and people he had yet to meet waiting for him along that path.
"Lady Eliana?"
Luca leaned over to peer at me when I fell silent.
"No. I was just thinking that it would suit you."
"What would?"
"Being called Captain Luca."
He gave me a slightly awkward smile.
"I can't imagine it at all yet."
"Neither can I. That's why I'm looking forward to it."
This time, when I said it, I was able to smile for real.
◇◆◇
Luca gave my master his answer in his own words.
He wanted to serve as a knight of Coenna.
He wanted to accept the responsibility of protecting the townspeople.
There was just one condition: he would first finish the work he had already taken on at the shoemaker's.
Apparently, his master, Mr. Maurice, had been surprised, but in the end, he had clapped Luca on the back and sent him off with his blessing.
"He told me to look after the soldiers' shoes, too."
"Knowing you, you'd probably end up checking every single pair."
"If their feet hurt, they won't be able to patrol properly."
He answered with such a serious expression that I couldn't help laughing.
A few days later.
In the back garden of the Seabreeze Inn, Luca knelt on one knee before my master.
There was no large gathering of witnesses, nor any grand musical ensemble.
Ms. Hannah watched with her hands drying on her apron, and I stood beside her.
At Luca's waist hung the sword my master had bought for him.
The secondhand sword he had purchased with his own earnings was still in his room, carefully maintained.
My master drew his sword.
The blade gleamed in the sunlight.
He gently touched the flat of the blade to Luca's shoulder.
"Luca. I welcome you as a knight in the service of Count Severan of Coenna. Protect all those who make their lives in this land."
"Yes. I shall devote my strength and this sword to that duty."
His voice was calm and steady.
I held my breath as I watched his profile.
Even when I left the royal palace, he had chosen to come with me of his own accord.
And now, here in this town, he had chosen the work he wanted to do for himself.
"Stand up. You're the captain starting today."
Luca rose to his feet.
The same clothes. The same sword. The same chestnut-brown hair.
And yet, he seemed to stand just a little taller.
"Congratulations, Luca."
When I finally spoke to him, he turned toward me.
"Thank you, Lady Eliana."
His smile was just the same as always.
◇◆◇
From there, I accompanied the two of them to the local soldiers' barracks.
It was a stone building a short distance from the harbor.
Spears stood in rows in the courtyard, while shields awaiting maintenance leaned against the walls.
There was just one problem—
It wasn't very big.
Neither the building nor the courtyard.
And there were far fewer people than I had expected.
"We've been expecting you, Captain."
The soldier who greeted us had a sun-weathered face and a short mustache.
"My name is Marcel. Until now, I've been responsible for assigning the patrols."
"I'm Luca. Please teach me about the town and all of you as well. I look forward to working with you."
Marcel shook the hand Luca offered him.
After the introductions, the soldiers in the courtyard gathered around us.
There were six of them.
Luca looked around before asking a question.
"Are the others out on patrol?"
"Four are out on patrol, and two are off duty."
"Then what about the rest of the troops?"
"The rest?"
"The ones stationed at the other barracks..."
Marcel blinked.
"This is everyone."
Luca fell silent.
So did I.
"Counting you, Captain, that brings us to thirteen."
Marcel added this cheerfully.
Thirteen.
I couldn't help looking at my master.
He was examining the tip of a spear he had taken from where it leaned against the wall.
"...You protect the entire territory with this many people?"
When I asked, Marcel smiled.
"We don't keep many soldiers on hand to prepare for a major war. After all, we have him."
He gestured with his chin toward my master.
"You've heard the story of how he defeated the Demon King, haven't you?"
"Yes."
"Before that, he broke through ten thousand demons guarding the Demon King. Lord Severan did it all by himself."
Ten thousand.
I tried to picture that number in my head.
Even ten people standing together would make this courtyard feel cramped.
A hundred would probably fill the street outside.
Now imagine a hundred times that number of demons, all armed and waiting for him.
And my master had fought his way through them.
"Normally, you'd need a massive army to face an enemy like that, and even then, victory would be uncertain. Yet he broke through their ranks and went on to defeat the Demon King himself. There aren't many people foolish enough to invade the territory of someone like him."
"That was a long time ago."
My master said this as he returned the spear to its place.
"More importantly, show him the patrol routes."
"Certainly."
Marcel smiled as though this were all perfectly normal, then led us inside.
As I followed him, I remembered the budget documents I had seen at the royal palace.
The soldiers' wages.
Food, weapons and armor, horses and their feed.
The more soldiers there were, the more carts would be needed to transport their supplies, along with warehouses to store everything.
The cost of defending a kingdom went far beyond the number of swords it needed.
But this territory had my master.
He was stronger than ten thousand soldiers.
They didn't need to maintain a massive army.
And that meant there was no need to collect excessive taxes from the people.
I felt as though I was finally beginning to understand one of the reasons they could cut taxes in half.
The roof Ms. Hannah had been able to repair.
The new sails I'd seen at the harbor.
The shoes that fit the children's feet.
Perhaps my master's strength had made all these things possible, too.
"Captain, about the eastern street—it's a little treacherous underfoot at night."
Marcel pointed to a map spread across the table.
Luca immediately leaned forward to examine it.
"Please show me the route today. I'd also like to know what it's like when it rains."
"Then we'll take you along on the daytime patrol."
"Yes. And I'd also like to inspect everyone's equipment in turn. If anyone has trouble with their shoes, please don't hesitate to tell me."
Marcel glanced down at his own feet.
"...Actually, the sole on my right shoe is a little—"
"I'll take a look at it later."
I covered my mouth to hide my smile.
He was already making promises to repair shoes.
My master seemed to have heard them, too, and chuckled softly.
Even with someone as strong as my master around, they still needed people to patrol the streets at night.
They also needed someone who would listen to people in trouble and notice when the soles of their shoes had worn thin.
Luca studied the map, listening carefully as Marcel explained each detail.
Without interrupting them, I stepped back a little.
This was his responsibility from today onward.
There must have been so much he wanted to learn.
After a while, Luca looked up.
"Lady Eliana, I'll be back by dinner."
"All right. I'll let Ms. Hannah know."
"Thank you."
At the doorway, I turned back one more time.
"Good luck, Captain."
Luca smiled bashfully, then nodded firmly.
"I will."
As I made my way back to the Seabreeze Inn, my own steps felt a little lighter, too.
Tonight, I'd ask Ms. Hannah to add one more of his favorite dishes to the menu.
I'd listen to him tell us about his new duties as a knight.
I was sure I'd linger at the dinner table longer than usual.
Comments
Post a Comment