44 — Chapter 44

Have you ever taken a day off, only to find that when the day actually arrives, you can’t think of a single thing to do and end up wasting the entire day?

The busier your daily life is, the more you realize that a single day off isn’t enough time to actually start anything. Eventually, doing anything feels like too much effort, so you just lounge around to “recover from fatigue” until the sun goes down. Then, you end up Regretting that you didn’t make a proper plan for your holiday.

That regret then melts away into the renewed busyness of the work week, only to reappear on your next day off. Sadly, this loop repeats itself indefinitely.

“So, since Nonoka-chan, your junior, and your senior are all away, you came here looking for something to help with because you’re bored? Varna-boy, that’s a sickness. I can’t give work to a sick person.”

“My physical exam said I was fine, you know? …No, I’m kidding. It was a joke, so please don’t just silently shake your head with a face like ‘this kid is hopeless.’”

I tried asking Tamae-san, who was in the dining hall even on her day off, but as expected, there was no work to be found. Tamae-san herself was undoubtedly planning to head home soon. The proof was in the kitchen; the usual boisterous chatter of the cooking squad was absent, and Tamae-san wasn’t wearing her usual apron.

What awaited the Order after our frantic return from the Kliffia mission was a few days of leave, granted because there were no immediate follow-up requests for subjugation.

Even for the busy Royal Foreign Hazardous Species Countermeasures Knights, there are times when there is simply no work.

This is especially true during the year-end and New Year period when severe cold waves hit. Orcs, hating the cold, either go into hibernation or simply freeze to death, so there are fewer requests compared to other seasons. In fact, autumn Orcs, who move actively to store up fat, are the most troublesome.

In short, now that the cold had become biting even in the Royal Capital, Orc activity had quieted down nationwide. Of course, winter expeditions were their own kind of hell because you’d run into “den-less” Orcs and face the risk of freezing to death, making for a grim battle. Regardless, as a certified workaholic, I found myself with nothing to do.

Tamae-san looked at me with exasperation; the spirit of a public servant had clearly become second nature to me.

It was only natural. To be honest, I was a little exasperated with myself, too. My life lacked any “flair.”

“It’s a rare holiday, so surely there’s something to do? You could go find a nice girl and try to pick her up, though not like that drunkard does… sorry, I said it myself, but I know that’s not happening.”

“I won’t deny that.”

Going into town to hit on girls wasn’t my style at all, and if a rumor like that ever reached my friends, the embarrassment would be unbearable. I’d likely be teased mercilessly by my comrades. Even if I succeeded, the relationship would likely only involve meeting a few times a month, so I’d probably be dumped sooner or later. It seemed the season of love was a long way off for me.

It was painful to see the future where my parents tell me to find a wife the next time I go home. I’m currently dodging the subject by saying I don’t have the luxury for that, but I have a feeling the day where I actually have “luxury” amidst this current workload will never come.

“Being a knight who’s too young is a bit of a problem, isn’t it? Other Orders can find women on the side of their duties, but you lot can’t. Romance within the Order is allowed, but Varna-boy, you’ve become too famous; there’s no one who’d step up… Well, it’s a rare day off, so go do some shopping or something.”

“Yes, ma’am. Sorry for bothering you with such a pointless conversation on your day off…”

“Stop that. I don’t remember becoming an adult so unreliable that a brat like you needs to apologize to me!”

Pushed back by the force of Tamae-san’s voice, I almost bowed reflexively, but I caught myself, realizing that would only make her angry again. She was a different type from my mother, but her boisterousness in moments like this was, for lack of a better word, “motherly.” That was exactly why she was one of the Three Great Mother Goddesses.

Anyway, having been given a kick in the rear, I wandered out into the Royal Capital.

Whatever I ended up doing, a walk might help clear my head.

I’ll follow Sedona’s example and eat my way through the food stalls.

Now, there is a theory that great people exude an “aura,” but according to that logic, it seemed I wasn’t great despite being number one in the Kingdom. The proof was that as I strolled through town, surprisingly few people said, “Hey, isn’t that Varna?”

Well, unless you were part of the privileged class, you couldn’t see the Imperial Matches up close, and more importantly, the Royal Foreign Hazardous Species Countermeasures Knights spent such an extremely short time in the Capital that my face wasn’t widely known. While I’d hate to have a crowd form every time I went for a walk, it was a little sad to blend in so perfectly as “Passerby A.”

The looks people gave me were, at most, “Oh, he’s carrying a sword, so he’s a knight? Huh.”

In this Capital, a knight wandering around on leave wasn’t a rare sight. In fact, I had already spotted several seniors from my own Order enjoying their time off. One of them was even sipping tea all alone after failing to pick someone up.

‘But what should I do… I have enough shoes and clothes, I wouldn’t use accessories even if I had them, and I have plenty of books back at the Order…’

I thought about various things, but I couldn’t think of anything to do other than buy food to satisfy a small hunger.

Where to go, then? Astraea was basically always at sea, Sedona was likely busy with work, I didn’t have anyone else I particularly wanted to see, and I didn’t have enough time to justify going all the way back to my parents’ house.

Technically I was on leave, but in this Order, there is “In-City Leave” and “Requested Leave.” This was In-City Leave, which would be canceled the moment a subjugation request came in. I wasn’t allowed to step foot outside the Royal Capital.

When I think about it like this, my youth is a total shade of gray… No hobbies, few friends to play with—what is this? It’s not like I can just make new friends now, either.

With this little to do, I started to feel as if the path I’d chosen—becoming a knight—had been a mistake from the start. I’d probably get booed by others if they heard the “Strongest Knight in the Kingdom” was regretting his life, but as someone who had sacrificed much of what makes a person “human” to the way of the sword, I had complicated feelings.

While wandering aimlessly and thinking of nothing in particular, I heard a sharp whack! the sound of something being struck. Wondering what it was, I looked up and immediately guessed the source of the noise.

“I ended up at the Military Academy out of old habit… That means someone’s practicing their sword. It’s supposed to be a holiday, but I guess it’s voluntary practice. I used to do that too~”

It was a grand campus with impressive school buildings, designed to cultivate officers and project the prestige of being the highest-ranking institution in the country. On the raised flags, the image of a lion surrounded by countless stars—the national flag—fluttered in the wind.

I had learned in my lectures that the lion represented the Royal Family, while the surrounding stars represented the scattered island nations and the people and cultures gathered from various places. I remembered feeling a sense of resolve every time I saw that flag, thinking, Ah, I have truly become a person who serves this country.

“It’ll make for a good way to kill time. I might even see some faces I’ll be working with next year, so it’ll serve as a check-up. Excuse me~”

It had been nearly two years since I graduated; it might be nice to see the faces of my future juniors.

I’d seen knights coming to visit before, so there shouldn’t be any problem with entering.

Without thinking much of it, I passed through the gates of the Military Academy and went inside.

The image I held of this place had changed drastically, but the location itself remained unaltered no matter how many years passed. Even now, I could vividly recall the floor plan and which rooms housed which classrooms.

It was currently covered in withered leaves, but come spring, the cherry blossoms on campus would bloom all at once, followed shortly by a massive outbreak of caterpillars. I had a fond memory of Sedona stepping on one while running in a hurry and descending into a total panic. …Actually, that was a terrible memory. If I told her, she’d surely turn bright red and scream at me to forget it. I’ll have to try that the next time we meet.

Until the year before last, I was here with them—they say time flies, but looking at it like this, it’s a strange sensation, as if I’m remembering yesterday.

Only a year, and yet, a whole year.

I walked the path toward the swordsmanship training ground, reminiscing about the military academy life that felt both short and long.

If I remembered correctly, it was just past that corner. I used to swing my wooden sword there until the very last second before lights out, only to be barked at by an angry instructor to get back to my room. That spot held more memories for me than any classroom.

“Now, I wonder who’s training—”

As I rounded the corner lost in thought, what flew into my field of vision was the tip of a wooden sword flying at me with ferocious speed.

“Whoa, dangerous!?”

I reflexively snatched the tip of the sword out of the air, averting the tragedy of a head-on collision. Had I failed to catch it, the force was enough to split my forehead and leave me bleeding. Could it be that Mr. Insidious, Cushu, who found me an eyesore, had sent an assassin to the academy to take me out!?

It was only a rumor, but apparently such things did happen among the privileged classes. Above all, I could clearly hear footsteps sprinting toward me. If so, this wooden sword was a distraction, and the lethal blow would come next!

I had to fight—the moment that thought crossed my mind, something clicked in my head.

With my hand still gripping the wooden sword, I naturally reached for the hilt of my own blade.

“Come at me if you’re coming—but be prepared to lose an arm or two.”

“I’m so sorry, the wooden sword slipped out of my hand… Uwaaaa!? I’m sorry, please wait! it wasn’t on purpose! Just spare my life!! Please, anything but my life!!”

“…Huh?”

The development was so different from what I’d imagined that I let out a confused sound. I moved the wooden sword away from my face and looked straight ahead, only to see a girl, pale as a sheet, clinging to my leg while trembling and weeping.

Seeing the girl apologizing frantically with a look of despair—as if she had just received a death sentence from a hitman—I realized I’d made a colossally stupid misunderstanding and felt like dying of embarrassment.

An assassination plot? A lethal blow following a distraction? Thinking back, that was some cringeworthy, delusional-level nonsense that would never actually happen in a place like this. I’m an idiot, a moron; my imagination is stuck in boyhood. Grow up already.

“Please, Sir Knight!! At least spare my family!! Actually, spare me too!!”

“Ah, yeah. It’s fine, it was just a misunderstanding on my part. I’m not going to kill you.”

“Uwaaaaaah!! It’s all over!! I studied so hard to become a knight and came all the way here from the countryside, but my classmates look down on me, my teacher has given up on me saying I have no talent for the sword, and the exam is next week but I haven’t mastered a single secret art yettttt!! Just kill me!! Please just kill useless old meeeee!!!”

“Your argument just did a total flip!?”

In the end, it took me several hours to comfort the girl through her crying and self-deprecation.

By the way, I wondered if I had looked so terrifying when I gripped my sword earlier that she’d lost the use of her legs. Apparently, while I didn’t exude the aura of a celebrity, I was perfectly capable of radiating the aura of a murderer.

Needless to say, even if I could use such a thing, it didn’t make me happy in the slightest.