Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Moonlight Knight 『Azelle』
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Lately, I'd been thinking a lot about the imperial family.
After the 'assassin,' now a 'kingslayer'? Was this just coincidence?
Maybe that prince and princess siblings actually got along great and had conspired to send me these bombs just to screw me over?
So many thoughts were swirling in my head.
"My lord, are you all right?"
Damn! You scared me!
Suddenly, Rikain's burly face popped right in front of mine.
No matter that he was my loyal retainer, that uncle's mug was still intimidating as hell.
I quickly schooled my face into a poker expression and said to him,
"Yeah... I'm fine. Just had something on my mind."
"You must have a lot weighing on you. If it's a burden on you, my lord, we can postpone the sparring."
"No, it's fine. I want to see the skills of the guard knight His Highness sent with my own eyes."
"Understood. Then let's begin."
This was the training ground next to the castle.
At my words, Rikain glanced at the knights on the field.
There were three people on the training ground right now.
One was the justice freak His Highness had sent—not, the Moonlight Knight 『Azelle』. The other two were powerhouses from our knight order, Ark and Mark, the brothers who usually handled my personal guard.
Rikain declared to the three of them, who were already holding wooden swords and ready,
"Then, let the sparring begin! Treat it like real combat—no holding back!"
"I'll learn a thing or two from you seniors!"
Azelle took a light, elegant stance with her wooden sword.
Seeing her, Ark and Mark gripped their wooden swords with beefy menace and bellowed,
"Hmph! Golden Knights or whatever!"
"You think you can take both of us at once? Got a bit of an ego there, junior?!"
Ark and Mark, looking like burly Scottish muscle machos, seemed seriously pissed.
Which, yeah, they had every right to be.
Rikain had said he couldn't entrust my guard to her without knowing her skills, so Azelle offered to prove herself in a spar.
They'd planned to have her face Ark or Mark one-on-one, like with Rana before, but she insisted on taking both at once.
It was basically like saying, 'You're both so weak, come at me together, you scrubs.' Ark and Mark were glaring murderously as they clutched their swords.
And then...
"Raaargh!!!"
"Don't underestimate the Cron Knight Order!!!"
They charged with feral roars.
I could already picture the disaster unfolding, so I couldn't bear to watch with my eyes open.
Whoosh—! Thwack—!!
"Gahk!"
"Urk!!"
It ended in just one exchange—technically two, one for each of Ark and Mark.
In a blur too fast for my eyes to track clearly, Azelle's wooden sword smashed down on Ark's crown, then thrust straight into Mark's throat behind him.
If mages used mana to cast spells, knights used magic to enhance their bodies.
Mana-based physical reinforcement was basic for knights, but of course, not just anyone could do it.
Moving at superhuman speed like Azelle while striking with such precision was a feat only SSR-grade knights could pull off. Even Rikain was watching in admiration.
"Impressive. Taking those two down so easily."
"Yes, truly remarkable. Even I couldn't guarantee a win against her one-on-one."
For a split second, Rikain's words sounded just like that one ninja master's line: 'She's my equal... or better.'
Azelle was top-tier among SSR knights in raw combat prowess, and her blessing was aggressively offensive too.
Rikain's skills and blessing were specialized for group battles, so he'd probably struggle to beat her solo.
I kept quiet to spare my loyal retainer's pride.
Meanwhile, Azelle sauntered over after wrapping up the spar effortlessly, knelt on one knee before me, and declared,
"I dedicate this victory to the righteous Lord of Cron!"
"Uh... yeah, thanks."
Dedicating the win to me was nice and all, but could she do something about those maniacal eyes?
One slip-up, and I felt like she'd punch a hole straight through my gut.
Dismissing all complaints, Azelle officially became my guard knight from that day on, shadowing me everywhere.
Having a beauty like her trailing me was pretty great.
The problem was her sense of justice—and her inexplicable fondness for me—were way beyond what I'd imagined.
"When I heard you'd freed the slaves in Dreihart, my lord, I was so moved I got chills."
"I-is that so?"
"Yes! Fighting in a righteous and honorable cause like that—it's been my lifelong dream. Please, if there's ever another just mission, take me with you. Your Moonlight Knight Azelle will lead the vanguard, swinging her sword for you and justice!"
From what she said, she'd heard tales of me from bards.
The Dreihart slave liberation especially resonated with her justice complex, and she'd have volunteered even if she hadn't been picked for the prince's dispatch.
Looking into her sparkling eyes burning with zeal for justice... yeah, it kinda terrified me.
At first, when I heard about her, I'd thought it was a joke.
I mean, come on?
What kind of knight in this world actually guts their own lord on the spot for something 'unjust'?
But after meeting her and seeing those eyes, I knew.
She was the real deal.
A bona fide lunatic who'd stake her life on justice and shank her boss without hesitation.
And that madness only intensified the longer she stuck around me.
"My lord! When's the next righteous mission like quelling the Dreihart rebellion?"
"My lord! Shall I go round up some bandits in the name of justice?"
"My lord! I'm ready to lay down my life for any just cause anytime. Just give the order!!"
This crazy justice freak wouldn't shut up for a second, constantly begging me for 'righteous missions.'
No! Hey! Aren't you my guard knight!?
Why's my bodyguard always itching to run off somewhere!?
...is what I wanted to yell, but provoking a justice psycho like that felt like begging for a shanking, so I held my tongue.
"My lord, I believe some measures are needed regarding Knight Azelle."
Her justice frenzy looked serious even from the sidelines, enough that even Hart piped up.
She might be skilled, but demanding missions from her lord was definitely problematic behavior.
"Don't worry. I've got a plan. I'll handle it."
"Understood, my lord."
More than just a guard from the prince, Azelle was an exceptionally capable knight—essential for facing certain foes.
I decided against discarding her; better to fix her and keep her around.
The next day, I told her I had a mission for her.
Hearing that, Azelle's eyes lit up with anticipation.
"My lord! Are we finally embarking on a righteous mission!?"
"That's right. The day has come."
She looked ecstatic, practically trembling with excitement, breathing ragged.
I asked her,
"Azelle, are you truly prepared to act for justice?"
"Yes! Absolutely!!"
"Then from now on, dress light and follow me!!"
"Yes, my lord!!... But, my lord, light clothes? Don't we need full armor for the battlefield?"
"When did I say we were going to battle?"
I'd said we were off on a righteous mission,
never once that we were going to fight.
"The place we're headed right now is the 'paddy fields.'"
"...Pardon!?"
I took her to the paddy fields.
The newly reclaimed paddy fields, thanks to the immigrants' labor and Sharen's magic.
Crop planting was in full swing there.
"Everyone, one!"
[ "One!!!!" ]
"Two!"
[ "Two!!!!" ]
Dozens of people planted crops in perfect unison to my calls.
Mixed in among those dozens of ordinary laborers was Azelle, looking every bit the noble beauty.
She was sweating buckets, clearly flustered—this was all new to her.
"Azelle! You're out of sync."
"Yes!"
"Don't forget—this is a righteous mission!"
"Yes! Got it!!"
Got it, my ass.
She couldn't hide the confusion and frustration on her face.
Her thoughts were plain as day: I'm a knight—supposed to do cool, righteous stuff. What the hell is this?
And because of it, she was even worse at planting than plain old me.
I ignored her bewilderment and kept at the farm work.
The group planting wrapped up around sunset.
"My lord, you worked hard."
"Thanks, Rana."
"Lady Azelle, have some too."
"Th-thank you, Lady Rana."
I gulped down the cool water Rana handed me.
Ice-cold water after farm work really hit the spot.
After that, I barbecued wild boar caught in the mountains and shared dinner with the farmers and knights.
Me joining didn't magically boost efficiency like crazy, and I was busy anyway, so I couldn't do this often.
But doing it occasionally made the townsfolk happy—like politicians visiting markets for image points—and I made sure to drop by now and then.
And honestly, the booze and meat after a hard day's labor tasted out of this world.
As we hung out like that, I scanned around for today's star, the justice freak, and spotted her slumped nearby, staring blankly.
I walked over and sat beside her.
"You okay? Azelle."
"Ye-yes! My lord! I'm fine! Totally fine!!"
Fine, my foot—she reeked of frustration.
I recalled a strategy guide I'd skimmed in the past and tried my own arranged version to win her over.
"Azelle, what is your justice?"
"My justice is... wielding my sword for what's right in service to my lord!!"
From what little I'd gleaned about Azelle in the guide, some past event had locked her into this justice obsession.
That's why she strove to be a righteous knight, and failing at just missions stressed her out massively.
So, what was justice, really?
Was swinging a sword the only righteous act?
"Then was what we did today not righteous?"
"That... I'm not sure."
The first step to conquering Azelle was supposedly showing her that justice came in many forms.
I recalled that and told her,
"Wielding your sword to protect the people from bandits—yes, that's righteous."
In a world crawling with bandits, corrupt lords, and even Bloodkin, you couldn't deny sword-swinging for justice.
But that was just a means to an end.
Means and ends shouldn't get flipped.
"But farming to feed the people, hunting to sustain them, creating a place where ordinary folk can live without worry and in happiness—that's righteous too, in my book."
"Ordinary... justice..."
The farmers who'd finished work were laughing, chatting, enjoying drinks and bites of meat—happy in their simple lives.
Protecting that everyday happiness for everyday people... wasn't that justice?
At least, that's what justice meant to me.
"That's my justice, at least. I need your sword for that—not justice for the sake of swinging your sword."
"My lord..."
"I'll ask once more. Azelle, what is your justice?"
According to the guide, this would make her awaken, reflect on her own justice, and grow.
Hoping the reformed Azelle would shed her psycho side and grasp true justice, the moment arrived—and her eyes sparkled as she spoke.
"I've been narrow-minded. I never thought so deeply about justice. Thank you for opening my eyes, my lord!"
"Uh... yeah, glad your eyes are open."
Call it a hunch, but her eyes burned even fiercer than before.
Almost like a fanatic's gaze.
"So! Until I find my true justice, I'll consider you—my lord—to be my justice!!"
"What!?"
From that day, Azelle's justice obsession mellowed.
And she started fixating on me instead.
Uh... that's not what I meant... something's gone wrong again.