Chapter 149
Chapter 149
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 149
Chapter Title: Calculations Must Be Thorough (2)
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Rocarno Matiasi was the eldest son of a family that had served as the mayors of Gikambri City for generations.
He was supposed to succeed his father as mayor, but instead of receiving training as an administrator, he headed for the mainland.
It was his father's will.
“Even if Gikambri is the largest city in this area, it cannot compare to the great cities of the mainland. The same goes for our family. They praise us as a prestigious house, but we're nothing more than a humble family playing the part of village chief in some rural backwater.”
His father was an ambitious man and did not want his son to remain a country mayor.
This was welcome news to Rocarno Matiasi.
He, too, had been feeling that Gikambri was too small a stage for his talents.
With the funds his father provided, he went straight to the mainland and received knight training there.
And with great difficulty, he became a knight.
Instead of returning to his hometown, he remained on the mainland.
He had judged that building a reputation on the mainland would be far more advantageous for realizing his ambitions.
However, life on the mainland was much harder than he had imagined.
He was a knight in name only.
The 2-star Knight, Rocarno Matiasi.
The money his father had given him was far from enough to perform a proper Starseeking.
No knightly order would open its doors to him.
The reason was that his rank was too low.
Eventually, after wandering the world as a Freelance Knight, he couldn't bear the poverty and chose to return home.
It was a wise decision.
On the mainland, his 2-star rank wasn't even considered worthy of a knight, but here, it was a precious commodity.
In fact, among the twenty or so large and small cities in the vicinity, he was the only knight.
There wasn't even a knight in the 13th Legion stationed in this area.
The knights refused to serve on the 13th front, claiming they couldn't build a proper military record against such insignificant demi-humans.
Thanks to this, he wielded absolute power as the only knight in the area.
His father was extremely proud of his son.
Rocarno Matiasi, too, relished the awe directed at him.
But in a corner of his heart, his unfulfilled ambitions always stirred.
He had always hoped to become a knight who made a name for himself on the mainland.
But that was absolutely impossible with a 2-star rank.
There was only one way.
Raising his own rank was the only path to achieving his ambition.
To make the stars look upon him again, he had to accumulate sufficient military merit.
But the small-scale skirmishes that frequently occurred on the 13th front were not enough to make the stars take notice of him.
It wasn't for nothing that knights avoided the 13th front.
This was not a suitable place for a knight to build a record.
That was, until the demi-humans abandoned their fortress.
“Elias Fortress is under siege, and the Imperial forces deployed on the plains have suffered a severe blow.”
When he heard about the situation on the front from those who transported supplies there periodically, he realized that the opportunity he had been waiting for had finally arrived.
He immediately persuaded his father and the landowners of each city to raise troops.
He united the mercenaries staying in the city and filled the remaining numbers with conscripts.
The command, of course, fell to him.
Rocarno Matiasi immediately led his forces and rushed toward the front lines.
“The Imperial Army will never forget the friendship shown by the Matiasi family and Gikambri.”
Welcomed by the Cheonbujangs and Baekbujangs, he joined the Imperial forces.
“Two thousand-man units attempted to retake the plains; one was victorious, and the other was utterly defeated.”
“Even the victorious side suffered such heavy losses that they didn't dare advance further and retreated, so the situation at the front seems worse than imagined.”
“The smell of blood permeates the entire base. It's proof that there are an enormous number of wounded.”
The mercenary captains who had been sent to investigate eagerly reported on the situation at the base.
“Indeed…”
Rocarno Matiasi nodded.
There was a reason why the Cheonbujangs and Baekbujangs, who were usually nowhere to be seen, had come out of the base to welcome him.
The situation was much worse than he had thought, but he wasn't worried.
The greater the crisis, the more brightly his achievements would shine.
Even when a mercenary captain informed him that a mainland knight had died when the thousand-man unit was annihilated, his opinion didn't change.
“They are men with nothing to boast of but their mainland birth. No need to make a fuss just because one of them fell.”
Most of the mainland knights he knew were just lucky bastards who happened to be born into prominent families.
A knight who had drifted all the way to the 13th front couldn't have been a proper knight in the first place.
As mentioned, this was a front that knights avoided.
“Your words are wise.”
“Not all knights are the same.”
“Someone like you, Knight, should be on the mainland.”
The mercenary captains vied to praise him, saying things like if he had been born on the mainland, he would now be a 4-star knight, or perhaps even higher.
“It matters not. In any case, this war will allow me to be where I was always meant to be.”
Rocarno Matiasi was certain.
The day would come, before long, when his name would echo throughout the 13th front.
That he was the hero who would end this war.
He believed it without a doubt.
However.
“Salute Centurion Yan and the search party!”
The praise that should have been directed at him was going to some other fool.
“All hail your indomitable courage!”
It was an excessively grand reception for a paltry achievement that amounted to nothing more than rescuing a few stragglers.
He felt as if something of his had been stolen.
“It’s no wonder the Imperial Army is so powerless on the front lines, putting a brat like that in command.”
That alone was enough to twist his insides, but then,
“Well… there’s a rumor that the Centurion who returned today is a cadet from the Cradle.”
“I’ve checked several times, and it’s almost certain.”
To top it off, that thieving cat of a man was affiliated with the Cradle of Stars.
While he couldn't even cross the threshold of a provincial knightly order, his rival was set to walk a smooth path thanks to the prestige of the Cradle, without any real hardship.
His insides felt like they were not just twisting, but being torn apart.
“I heard a knight from the mainland was on this mission as well, right? It’s obvious he did all the work.”
It was unbearable.
“A squire stealing a knight's glory. As a fellow knight, I simply cannot overlook this. I shall personally teach him a lesson.”
There was no reason to endure it either.
If the opponent had been an ordinary Baekbujang, it would have been more complicated.
As a member of an allied city, he would have had to consider his relationship with the Imperial Army.
But since the opponent was a squire, it was a different story.
Cadet of the Cradle or not, he was ultimately just a squire.
To a knight, he was nothing more than an underling.
That was the hierarchy established by Imperial law.
“I will make sure that bastard learns the virtue of knowing his place.”
As he was biding his time, a mercenary captain came to him.
“Knight! Does this make any sense?”
The thoroughly incensed mercenary captain relayed the Cheonbujang’s message.
The Imperial Army would take command of the forces recruited from Gikambri and the other cities.
So far, there was no major issue.
It wasn't uncommon for the forces of an allied army mobilized in wartime to be placed under the command of an Imperial officer.
Besides, while it was called command, it was closer to an advisory role in practice.
There was no reason to get upset about it now.
“The problem is that the commander they’ve appointed is that Centurion from the Cradle.”
That was a hasty judgment.
“How can this be? Unless they’re trying to openly insult you, Knight, how can a knight be placed under the command of a squire?”
As the mercenary captain said, it was an impossible appointment unless it was a deliberate insult.
Just as Rocarno Matiasi, furious, was about to leave the tent, another mercenary captain stopped him.
“In my opinion, this seems more like a gesture of gratitude for you, Knight, having rushed here with your forces.”
“What?”
“Think about it, Knight. What is a squire? Isn't it a position that serves a knight?”
In short, it could be that they had deliberately assigned a former squire to accommodate him.
“Even if that wasn’t their intention, if you show your authority, Knight, won’t it make things easier for us in the future?”
“Hmm.”
The mercenary captain’s words calmed Rocarno Matiasi’s anger.
“Perhaps he got on Millenion’s bad side by acting high and mighty because of his background. Those who coast by on their connections are bound to be arrogant.”
“I think you’re right, Knight.”
“Millenion is surely using you, Knight, to teach his arrogant subordinate a lesson.”
In truth, it didn't matter which it was.
Whatever the Cheonbujang’s intention, the stage had been set.
A perfect situation to teach a lesson to an underling who didn't know his place.
He waited patiently.
For the greenhorn, drunk on his own background, to dig his own grave.
“Knight! Th-that Centurion is coming this way now!”
And that moment arrived sooner than he had expected.
“Let’s see just how arrogant he can be.”
Rocarno Matiasi smiled coldly.
He could already picture the display of arrogance without even seeing it.
His background as a cadet from the renowned Cradle on the mainland.
The authority to command the allied city's forces.
He would surely use those two things to ignore the hierarchy and act like a superior.
He had no intention of tolerating it.
He would make him ruminate on the insurmountable gap between a knight and a squire for a long, long time.
That was his firm intention, but.
“Knight Rocarno! It is an honor to meet you!”
The attitude of the greenhorn who entered the tent was strange, somehow.
He didn't swagger around, relying on his background from the Cradle.
Nor was there any sign of him trying to override the hierarchy by flaunting his command authority.
“I wondered what the very incarnation of chivalry might look like, and truly! Your dignified and brilliant presence is a refreshing sight!”
“Your righteousness, rushing here without hesitation in the face of the alliance's crisis—I shall carve it into my heart and engrave it in my bones to serve as my lifelong guide!”
Far from being defiant, he was busy showering him with endless praise.
It was a completely unexpected situation for Rocarno Matiasi, but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling.
“Seeing you, Knight, it feels as if even the slightest hesitation that had filled my heart before the battle with those rough and savage demi-humans has been washed away.”
“It is as if I have seen a ray of light in the pitch-black darkness.”
He forced himself to suppress the smile that threatened to break out at the continuous praise and adulation.
“I cannot express what an honor it is to meet a true knight, the likes of which are rare even on the mainland, in a remote place like this.”
But the moment his counterpart mentioned the knights of the mainland while praising him, he could no longer hold back his laughter.
“Hahahaha!”
After a hearty laugh, he rose from his seat.
“To know honor and show such profound respect for a knight, it is clear the teachings of the Cradle are not shallow.”
His face was full of goodwill as he patted the young man's shoulder.
***
He’s loving it. Absolutely.
I smiled with satisfaction as I watched the young knight grinning from ear to ear.
When I heard that the allied city's forces, which I thought would be mostly mercenaries and conscripts, unexpectedly included a knight, I was so happy I felt like doing a somersault in the air.
Actually, the allied city’s forces were supposed to be another Baekbujang’s responsibility.
It was a measure taken by the Cheonbujang, who thought I would be busy enough just handling Rangfin Haime.
Considering the relationship between the allied cities and the Empire, he said they could manage them well enough on their own.
Naturally, I protested vehemently and volunteered to take charge of the allied forces.
It was definitely the right decision.
“To know honor and show such profound respect for a knight, it is clear the teachings of the Cradle are not shallow.”
The knight who had been glaring as if he wanted to eat me alive when I first entered the tent was no more.
I disparaged the mainland knights and moderately praised him.
Just that was enough to turn Rocarno Matiasi into a puddle.
It was a natural reaction, if you thought about it.
Low-ranking knights from the frontiers typically harbored a severe inferiority complex toward mainland knights.
His unnecessarily ornate steel armor was proof of that.
The armor, which looked like something the commander of a famous knightly order might wear for a ceremony, was clearly meant to hide his inferiority complex about his provincial origins.
“I do not doubt that you will treat me with honor, and thus, I will not object to the command authority granted to you by the Empire.”
That solemn tone, a clumsy imitation of mainland knights, was all an expression of his inferiority complex.
Without showing any of it, I continued to praise him.
“Command authority is an undeserved title. I am here merely to handle the trivial tasks so that you, Knight Rocarno, can fight honorably.”
“Trivial tasks? How can we waste such talent on menial matters?”
“Trivial tasks are enough.”
There was likely a significant difference between the trivial tasks he was thinking of and the ones I had in mind, but I felt no obligation to explain.
In any case, I was in a good mood.
Rangfin on the right. Rocarno on the left.
The saying “flowers in both hands” must have been made for times like these.
If not, oh well.