Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Dogs and Wolves (3)
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A mere candidate was challenging the integrity of the prestigious Cradle’s examination.
He was way, way out of line.
It wouldn’t have been strange if he were kicked out of the examination hall on the spot.
But the old knight neither scolded me for my insolence nor threw me out.
He simply crossed his arms and took a step back.
As if to say, ‘Go on, say your piece.’
“Anyone can simply sharpen a blade. If it’s about reforging a broken sword, one need only go to a blacksmith.”
So I said my piece.
“Even for a skilled squire, it’s not easy to match the deftness of a blacksmith, so in some ways, that might be the much wiser choice.”
The battlefield was no different.
Most armies had blacksmiths who traveled with them to repair damaged swords and armor from battle.
When needed, they could just entrust their swords to them.
It was the same at other times as well.
Blacksmiths with enough skill to properly sharpen and repair a blade were a dime a dozen.
There was no reason to entrust the care of a sword to a squire who lacked both the strength and the know-how.
“In that case, is the act of inspecting and maintaining our master’s sword every morning a completely useless task?”
Having said that much, I belatedly noticed the look of irritation welling up in the old knight’s eyes.
It seemed my introduction had been too long.
“N-No, it isn’t! Because we can learn so much through this process!”
Thus, I skipped the many words I had prepared and went straight to the conclusion.
“I, too, have learned a great deal while tending to this sword.”
“Learned? What did you learn?”
It was then that the old knight, who had remained silent the entire time, finally spoke.
Instead of answering, I took the sword.
*Shing.*
Then I raised it high.
The midday sun revealed the sword’s condition in stark detail.
It was a pitiful sight, so wretched that even someone without a keen eye could easily spot the nicks carved into the blade.
And just as I expected.
“The lowest score for this subject is decided. He knows it himself, which is why his tongue is running so long.”
“It looks like he’s trying to make up for his score with sophistry. A waste of time.”
“Does he think the Cradle is some marketplace where he can haggle?”
The surrounding candidates, having confirmed the state of the sword, openly mocked me.
Of course, I paid them no mind.
“This sword… it wasn’t just damaged for the sake of the test.”
I simply took in the wretched state of the blade revealed in the sunlight and placed my hand on its edge.
Slowly, I ran my fingers along it.
The rough texture unique to damaged and worn steel touched my fingertips.
“It is a veteran of countless battles, having fought alongside its master.”
Traces of being chipped by steel armor and bone in the process of ending countless enemy lives.
It wasn’t easy for a knight’s sword to end up in this state.
Knights fundamentally imbued their swords with a special power to prevent the blade from being damaged.
And yet, this sword was miserably broken.
That meant its owner had fought so desperately that he didn’t even have the leeway to protect his blade.
“To me, every single scar etched on this blade is proof of valor, the very path its master walked.”
*Shing.*
After swinging the sword once, I corrected my stance.
“From this sword, I dared to glimpse a knight’s fierce life, and I learned of the unyielding spirit he possessed.”
I held the sword with both hands and presented it to the old knight.
With the utmost reverence, as if I were handling a priceless treasure.
“I hope that the other candidates can also see and learn the same things I did.”
I looked the old knight straight in the eye and spoke clearly.
If the purpose of the test was simply to see how skillfully one could maintain a weapon, how was it any different from the blacksmith guild’s selection for apprentices?
“Gasp.”
“Lecturing an examiner? He’s insane.”
“Has he become intoxicated by his own empty rhetoric? He’s crossed the line.”
The moment I finished speaking, the candidates around me began to stir.
But the old knight himself said nothing.
He silently took back the sword from my hands and turned away.
“Ah?”
I was left dumbfounded.
It was a different result than I had expected.
A thousand thoughts raced through my mind.
Should I have just moved the whetstone a few more times instead of getting lost in thought about the essence of the test?
Should I have phrased my last words a bit more delicately?
Should I have just given up on one subject and focused on the next, instead of needlessly getting on the examiner’s bad side?
“…Still.”
As I was lost in my own thoughts, I heard the old knight’s voice.
“There was at least one.”
A voice so quiet that I wouldn’t have heard it if I hadn’t pricked up my ears.
“Pardon?”
I asked, my eyes wide.
But the old knight didn’t answer.
He simply continued walking and disappeared beyond the examination hall.
I stared blankly at his retreating back.
I couldn’t fully grasp the meaning of what he had said.
But one thing was clear.
The old knight’s steps as he left the hall seemed, for some reason, lighter.
* * *
“It would have been the same for anyone in your position. You just had bad luck, my friend.”
Angelo consoled me.
“There’s no need to be disappointed already. There are still eight more tests left.”
He told me to cheer up, that I could make up the points in the remaining exams.
I gave a small nod in response.
I deliberately pushed the old knight’s peculiar final attitude from my mind.
Just as Angelo said, the upcoming tests were far more important.
As I was calming my nerves and quietly waiting for the next test, a few candidates approached me.
“Can I help you with something…?”
They looked like they had something to say, so I first asked their business.
“Hey, that thing you said, about learning a lot by looking at the traces left on a sword… that was really impressive.”
“I’d never thought about it that way before, but hearing you speak made me realize a lot. I even thought that maybe I’ve been missing many things until now.”
I could only blink at the kids’ rather unexpected words.
“We just wanted to tell you that it’s not just us; a lot of the other candidates agree with what you said.”
“So don’t be too down!”
Unexpected encouragement from the kids.
Only then did I look around.
Many candidates were looking at me.
Those who met my eyes gave me a grin.
One even made a fist and gave me a gesture of encouragement.
“Hmph!”
Of course, there were still some, like the kid with number 23 who had mocked me during the last test, or the kids from prominent families, who wore displeased expressions.
In any case, the majority sent me looks of goodwill.
“What’s all this commotion!”
Just then, a sharp voice rang out.
I turned my head to see a man of small stature entering the examination hall.
With him were ten horses—black, white, and dun.
“Alright, listen up!”
The moment the man finished speaking, the kids who had been scattered in small groups lined up in neat rows.
I, too, stood at the very back and watched the man.
If the old knight who had judged the first subject was excessively indifferent, this one was the opposite.
“You have eyes, so I’m sure you can all guess what this test is about.”
The newly appeared examiner made no effort to hide his foul mood.
“From now on, I will be assessing how familiar you are with horses, and how well you can care for them.”
It was to the point where he looked like he had been forcibly dragged to the examination hall.
“I’m warning you in advance, these are incredibly precious creatures, far too good to be left in the hands of brats like you. Therefore, if any of you harm these fellows by so much as a single hair, I won't let you off easy.”
After starting with a threat, the examiner began to call out numbers in order.
“Numbers 1 through 10.”
Once again, it started from the front.
“Try to mount them, if you can.”
The candidates looked bewildered.
They were likely flustered at being told to suddenly mount the horses when he had said he would check how they cared for them.
Moreover, the horses the examiner had brought were, at a glance, not the typical riding horses one would see.
They were ill-tempered, ferocious warhorses.
As the candidates hesitated, unable to approach the horses, the examiner for the second subject scoffed.
“If you thought I came all this way just to watch you feed them fodder like stable hands, well, that’s a laugh.”
Despite the blatant mockery, the candidates remained frozen.
It was only natural.
Horses were incredibly expensive.
Especially warhorses like the ones before them, which were even more valuable than riding horses.
Meaning they weren't creatures one could see easily.
But even if they hadn't seen them, everyone knew they had nasty tempers.
It was standard for warhorses to kick with their hooves and bite with their teeth when anyone other than their master approached.
It was no surprise that the candidates were hesitant to go near them.
“If you lack confidence, you may forfeit. That might earn you a better score than pointlessly bothering these precious creatures.”
At the ambiguous words, which could have been either mockery or encouragement, the candidates exchanged glances.
The first to step forward were, as expected, the kids from noble families who probably had a warhorse or two back home.
“Whoa, whoa.”
The kids approached cautiously.
Seeing this, the other candidates also mustered their courage.
And then.
“Ack!”
“Gah!”
A catastrophe ensued.
*Thud.*
A candidate who was kicked by a horse went flying into the distance.
*Chomp, chomp.*
A candidate whose hair was being chewed on shrieked and screamed.
Even the kids from noble families barely managed to avoid being kicked, but not a single one succeeded in mounting a horse.
“Heh heh.”
The man watched the scene and laughed with glee.
“Alright, numbers 21 through 30.”
The man, calling out the next set of candidates with a mischievous face, seemed to have no interest in the examination itself.
I really didn't like his cantankerous demeanor.
However.
“Gyaah! My hair!”
When I saw the number 23 kid, who had mocked me in the previous test, getting his hair pulled and being swung around by a horse, for that moment, I laughed along with him in perfect harmony.
“Hahahaha.”
“Hahahaha.”
After laughing for a while, my eyes met the man's.
The man’s eyebrows twitched.
It seemed he was fine with laughing, but he didn't want to see me laughing.
Wiping the smile from my face with an awkward expression, I quietly waited for my turn.
This time, too, I was last.
It wasn't bad.
The later my turn, the more tired the horses would be.
Of course, contrary to my expectations, there was also the possibility that the previous candidates had thoroughly agitated the ill-tempered warhorses.
And so, the group before me finished their test.
So far, a total of five candidates had succeeded in mounting a horse.
Bern of House Vigete (number 32), Hummel of House Hildegard (number 45), and two other kids whose names I didn't know (numbers 57 and 72) had succeeded with relative difficulty.
“Number 88, Amelia, success!”
Amelia, the one who said she was from the Trial Knights, succeeded with ease.
“Hoh. You seem adept at handling horses.”
Among them, Amelia of the Trial Knights was particularly skilled in handling horses, to the point where even the grumpy examiner praised her.
Amelia responded to the examiner’s praise with a stoic nod before returning to her spot.
*Glance.*
But as she returned to her place, she turned her head toward me.
It wasn't just her.
Almost everyone was looking my way.
While Amelia and the majority of the candidates seemed curious about what kind of clever talk I would come up with this time, the kids from the Eight Great Families and other noble houses looked like they were hoping for my downfall.
“Numbers 91 through 99, forward.”
As soon as the examiner finished calling, the candidates quickly claimed a horse each.
Only one horse was left.
A black steed that looked particularly large and fierce even among the other large warhorses.
The owner of the strong teeth that had created bald spots on the heads of numerous candidates, including number 23.
“This examiner doesn’t seem generous enough to accept any empty rhetoric.”
“And it’s not like he can reason with a horse.”
“He must have been waiting for a chance to make up his score. Too bad.”
At the blatant mockery from the noble kids, I let out a small chuckle.
They wouldn't know.
What was most important for a cripple to survive on the battlefield.
What kind of effort I had to make to avoid falling behind with a bad leg.
“Heh.”
I would show them now.
*Stride, stride.*
I walked forward without hesitation and grabbed the black horse’s reins.
The black horse, which had been staring at me blankly, belatedly flinched and bared its teeth.
“Woah!”
“Danger…!”
Someone screamed. Another sent a warning with a sharp intake of breath.
Instead of backing away, I quietly looked into the black horse’s eyes.
*Flinch.*
The black horse, which looked ready to grab my hair and shake me at any moment, trembled.
Its heavy breathing quickly subsided.
“That’s right. Good boy.”
I stroked the horse’s muzzle.
The black horse did not refuse my touch.
“What in the world…!”
The candidates let out gasps of astonishment.
I couldn’t care less.
“Hup.”
I simply grabbed the mane of the black horse, which had conveniently lowered its head, and climbed onto its back.
“N-No way. That boy submitted so easily?”
The examiner, who had been watching with a look of disbelief, spoke as if he couldn't believe it.
“Good boy. So good.”
I patted the black horse as if to show off.
*Whinny.*
The examiner laughed in bewilderment, and I just laughed.
This should be enough to make up for the score I bombed on the first test.
* * *
“Knight. You seem to be in a good mood.”
The red-haired young man asked, and the old knight chuckled.
“There was a lad who recognized this sword.”
“If you mean that sword…”
“That’s right. It’s one of the two swords my old master left behind.”
The old knight gently stroked the battered sword as if it were a legendary treasure.
“To my shame, I too had forgotten for a time. That what he truly wanted to leave me in his final moments was not the famed sword ‘Blue Sky,’ but this ‘Broken Sword.’”
He mused that as the years passed, the teachings engraved in his heart had faded, and he had been left a fool, dazzled by the value of a famous sword.
He said it was a relief to have finally awakened from his delusion.
A rare smile graced the old knight’s face as he spoke.
“Who is this boy?”
Just as the old knight was about to open his mouth to answer the young man's question…
“Unbelievable, just unbelievable…!”
The examiner for the horsemanship subject, who had been away for the test, returned.
He had claimed he would thoroughly intimidate the candidates, but he himself looked as if he had received a great shock.
“That boy… how could he… to me…”
But one of the ten horses he cherished so dearly was missing.
And it was his most prized one.
Unable to contain his curiosity, the red-haired young man asked about the horse’s whereabouts.
“Well! That boy just stuck to a complete stranger and wouldn’t leave his side! After everything I’ve done for him…”
The examiner began to lament at length, his face looking as if his world had collapsed.
“This is all his fault…! That rascal who lured away my innocent boy is the bad one…! Yes, that’s right.”
As he muttered like a madman, the two men asked him.
Who on earth was this ‘rascal’?
“Number 99!”