Chapter 183
Chapter 183
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Senior's Axe (1)
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“Haa… Take this directive first.”
Ekina let out a deep sigh.
She pulled a secret note from within her cognition-lowering robe and handed it to me.
“The upcoming Empire's Greatest Sword Tournament is going to be open to the public too.”
“To the public…? It used to be just knights competing in the central palace, right?”
I furrowed my brow.
“Yes, for some reason, His Majesty the Emperor has greatly expanded the scale. Almost like he’s trying to create a celebrity.”
I drew in a deep breath at the red knight’s words.
No way…
‘Is this Irina’s intention?’
Announce the Empire's Greatest Sword to everyone and elevate his master—me—in the process.
Then introduce me to His Majesty afterward.
“She’s really got me this time…”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing, just thinking.”
I waved her off casually.
Ekina continued right away.
“But in tournaments like this, illegal betting is rampant as usual.”
“Yeah, like a horse race.”
As an orphan, I was familiar with that system.
I’d seen street vagrants and thugs wager their lives on such pointless games all the time.
“And there’s no rule saying it won’t happen in this one.”
Ekina’s red eyes flashed.
Even though she’d colluded with the Crown Prince, she hadn’t abandoned her honor as a knight.
“The Crown Prince plans to hire them to weaken his knights’ opponents in advance.”
“Thinking like the son of Consort Rozanna.”
Ekina sighed heavily.
“Even I can’t stomach this one. For the Crown Prince of a nation to stoop to hiring such scum.”
“That way, if they get caught, it’s easy to cut off the tails.”
I acknowledged the Crown Prince’s tenacity and meticulousness instead.
“We don’t know who these shady operators are yet?”
“No, not even I…”
The next captain of the Scarlet Flame Knights wore a bitter expression.
“Don’t worry. I’ll look into it myself.”
I silently patted her shoulder.
“You help those idiots with their sparring here.”
“Feels like you’re subtly turning me into a sandbag?”
Ekina pouted.
“I haven’t agreed to that yet.”
She whipped her head away.
She seemed unwilling to train the opposing knights, true to her devotion to fair competition.
“Is that so…?”
But it doesn’t matter what you say.
“Hey, Allen!”
I called out to the blond knight lounging on the sofa.
Irina’s closest retainer.
“Hey, remember that time the Second Princess’s mansion burned down?”
The mansion arson.
Ekina flinched at the words.
“Yeah, I remember. We went through hell back then.”
Allen had suffered so much during it.
His handsome face trembled with rage.
“Yeah—and the knights were repairing and rebuilding day and night. Even watching broke my heart.”
I placed a hand on my chest with a deeply sympathetic look.
And gave him my most world-weary, empathetic gaze.
“…”
Ekina stared at me blankly.
Her delicate lips quivered.
“Exactly. If I catch whoever did it, I’ll hack their limbs off with my twin blades…”
Allen’s blue eyes flashed.
He looked ready to kill the culprit on sight.
“Haa… Fine.”
Ekina finally squeezed her eyes shut.
“But don’t expect much. I know sparring, but I’m no good at teaching.”
I pinched the hood of the Scarlet Flame knight’s robe.
And shook it playfully.
“Don’t worry. Sparring’s something you learn by getting beat.”
I gazed steadily at the men.
They’d all grown by taking beatings from me.
“Right, guys?”
“…”
The vice-captains nodded silently.
Satisfied with their obedience, I prepared to head out.
“Then keep sparring among yourselves. I’ll just scout the arena.”
I skipped the uniform jacket.
To avoid revealing my affiliation, I’d go in just my dress shirt and slacks.
“Oh, Miya-senior, come with me.”
“Me too…?”
Miya had been awkwardly silent until now.
Her tear-shaped beauty mark glistened as she jumped at the sudden invitation.
“Yeah. I’ll need a ‘partner.’”
Partner.
Realizing she was taking Ekina’s crucial role, Miya shot up from the sofa.
“Shall we?”
She stretched like an excited cat.
Matching me, she ditched her uniform jacket for just a shirt and stood beside me.
But at that moment.
“Where are you going?”
Allen stood up.
Richard did too.
He asked cautiously, since I was heading out with Miya.
“Hm…?”
Why were they suddenly acting up?
Everyone fidgeted as I tried to leave.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just something Her Highness asked me to handle.”
“Asked you?”
As I tilted my head, Batsu’s black eyes gleamed.
“The Princesses said to take in every single detail of Sir Veil’s appearance.”
“Imitate even his smallest gestures.”
Allen and Batsu’s eyes gleamed.
At that, I stared straight at Richard.
“Jeez…”
I couldn’t help but snort in disbelief.
“Yeah, you guys have no choice. Knights follow orders.”
I crossed my arms alone.
And coolly reassured them.
“Don’t worry, I’m just going to work.”
The Princesses must be checking in on me through the vice-captains.
So heading out alone with Miya made them uneasy.
“I’ll be back soon. Keep training hard.”
“Yeah, no time for slacking anyway?”
Ekina chimed in.
She was gearing up to properly drill these men a rank below her.
“Shall we test endurance first? You all look sturdy enough to take a beating.”
Was it from all the times I’d pushed her around?
Ekina’s red eyes blazed like flames.
A brilliant golden aura rippled from the sword at her waist.
Thanks to the elixir I gave her and the training, she was now a full-fledged Swordmaster.
She was primed to vent her pent-up frustration on them.
‘I’m counting on you, guys.’
The knights scrambled to their feet at her aura.
Forgetting the Princesses’ injunctions, they hurried to prepare for training.
Thanks to that, I slipped away from the Princesses’ watchful eyes unscathed.
As I opened the front door, Miya cautiously followed.
We finally escaped the cramped office full of burly men.
“Those guys have it rough too…”
“What?”
Miya tilted her head curiously.
“Nothing, just a thought.”
I smiled thinly and stepped out with her into the city streets.
We called a carriage.
Then headed toward the capital’s central district where the preliminary tournament would be held, sitting face-to-face on the plush seats.
“Wah…”
Miya stared out the window like a cat seeing the world for the first time.
She closed her eyes gently, feeling the cool breeze.
“Senior, it’s been a while since you left headquarters, huh?”
“Yeah. First time in a week.”
Her bobbed hair fluttered.
I squinted, brushing strands behind her ear.
“Feels good.”
I stared at the dark circles under her eyes.
The sunlight seemed to lighten them a bit.
‘If I’d been an ordinary knight, would I have lived like Miya?’
She was the empire’s average knight.
Unlike those taking bribes or playing faction politics, she’d always done her duty uprightly.
That set her apart from the others.
“On a day like this, time for another one…”
But belying my praise, Miya instinctively reached into her breast pocket.
She unconsciously went to light up in the carriage.
“Oh.”
Miya stopped patting her cigarette case and scratched the back of her head apologetically.
“Ahaha… Sorry, it’ll stink, right?”
“No, it suits you. Looks good.”
I chuckled and waved it off.
Miya adorably cocked her head.
“Suits me?”
She’d always had sharp eyes.
But now that we were close, all her actions felt endearingly cute.
“Feels like I’m being patronized…”
Miya stared at me with a sulky expression.
She looked like a grumpy black cat.
“Time to get off soon? Looks crowded—probably near the arena.”
I deftly sidestepped her words.
Just opened the carriage door and guided her out.
“Jeez, treating your senior like this.”
Miya poked my shoulder with a finger as she stood.
Then gracefully stepped out.
“…!”
The dazzling main street unfolded before us.
And at its end loomed the massive circular stone arena, Rastium.
“Wah…!!”
Miya’s eyes sparkled like a child entering a fairy tale world.
Even her smoke-weary eyes lit up bright.
“First time at Rastium?”
“No…”
The bobbed-haired woman stared at the fathers and children passing by.
Then, unconsciously, a bitter smile crossed her lips.
“Came once as a kid. With Dad.”
Knowing her family’s downfall, I understood her bittersweet look.
“…”
She took in the world with tender eyes.
For now, she’d forgotten the cigarette always dangling from her lips.
I wanted to let her savor this freedom a bit longer.
“Want to grab something to eat first?”
“Got time for that? You said we’re here to work.”
Miya looked at me worriedly.
Embarrassed at being caught getting excited.
“You gotta eat hearty before work.”
I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with her.
And grinned.
“Let’s go, Senior.”
Miya glanced up at me.
Without uniform jackets, we both wore just shirts.
We looked like a matching pair.
“…”
She soon averted her gaze and murmured softly.
“Yeah, a snack couldn’t hurt…”
We walked side by side.
Uniform stone-paved roads.
Neat buildings of white brick.
Amid them, merchants hawking tasty snacks caught my eye.
We headed to the least crowded one: a pancake stand.
「Leon Oblé」
The rich aroma of bread.
Miya’s gaze kept drifting toward it.
“Senior, pancakes?”
“Uh, yeah…?!”
While she hesitated.
I headed to the stand first.
It was unusually quiet compared to others.
The only customers were black-haired siblings barely up to my waist.
“What syrup flavor?”
“Honey for me. The more, the better.”
I ordered two pancakes from the potbellied man.
He promptly poured batter onto the griddle.
“Didn’t peg you for liking this stuff.”
Miya smiled faintly.
“Dad got me pancakes here last time too.”
Her eyes grew distant with memory.
“…”
Senior fell silent after that.
She just blankly watched the batter turn golden-white.
The shop echoed only with the laughter of the siblings beside us.
“Here you go…”
The man plated the honey-drenched pancakes on paper.
Sprinkled nuts on top and handed them over.
“How much?”
I naturally reached for silver coins.
But Senior confidently blocked my arm.
“I got it. Seniors buy this stuff—”
She always took the lead, insisting she was senior whenever we met.
“No…? Let me this time.”
“Nope. Thanks to you, I get to see the outside world.”
Miya slowly raised her hand.
Pinched my cheek playfully.
“Thanks, Veil.”
Her black eyes sparkled.
She then pulled out two silver coins and paid the merchant.
“…”
For some reason, I watched warmly.
“Looks so good—”
Miya stared at her pancake.
She looked like a cat eyeing fish.
“呵呵…”
Watching her innocent expression.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“What, again?”
“No, no—try it.”
Miya defiantly retorted, thinking I was patronizing her again.
“You should try headquarters’ stale bread! You, rolling around the office all day—how would you know about eating out?”
Grumbling, she speared a piece with her fork.
Bared her cute little fangs to take a bite.
“Ah…!”
Then an old silver coin dropped at her feet.
“S-Sorry…”
The siblings at the next spot eating pancakes.
The boy hurriedly bowed to pick it up.
“No, it’s fine—”
Miya smiled and picked it up for him.
That’s when she noticed the boy’s worn clothes, full of grime.
They clearly weren’t well-off.
Big effort to come to bustling Rastium—they looked tense.
“Brother, I’m okay… We can share one.”
“What’re you saying? I made good money today.”
The boy’s face was smudged with black polish-like stuff.
We instantly pegged him as a shoe shiner.
“Mister, one more pancake please.”
The man chuckled and took the kids’ coins.
“This’ll only get you one without sauce. Sure?”
“Y-Yeah!”
The boy stammered.
Whispered to his little sister.
“If we spread the leftover sauce on the paper as much as possible…”
Miya overheard.
She suddenly stared at her fork-speared pancake.
Dripping with honey, sticky and sweet.
One bite would flood her mouth with sweetness.
But a whim made that sweetness feel cloying.
“Kids.”
She called them, and the siblings flinched.
“Y-Yes…?”
They instinctively feared adults.
Shoe shiners often got stiffed or harassed by nasty customers.
“I ordered the wrong syrup—too much honey, got soggy. Want it?”
Miya made a plausible excuse to offer it.
But the world-weary boy firmly refused.
“No, can’t take food for free.”
‘Well, well…’
I watched the boy with interest.
Like seeing my younger self.
“It’s fine… I asked for too much honey by mistake. Don’t like it soggy.”
Like the eldest daughter leading a fallen house.
She smoothly persuaded him.
“Oh…”
“I’ll just order another—”
Miya subtly pushed the pancake toward him.
The boy hesitated…
“Thank you so much…”
He bowed deeply to us.
“Thank you…”
The gap-toothed little sister greeted in her childish voice.
Miya replied with a big-sisterly gentle smile.
“Eat up.”
With the food gone, Senior felt empty and pulled out her cigarette case.
Choosing smokes over nostalgic pancakes.
“Why stare like that.”
Catching my gaze, she blushed and lit one.
“I like smokes better than sweets anyway.”
Her eyes half-lidded seductively as she went to light it.
“Sweets make you fat…”
Just moments ago, she’d been chattering like an excited cat demanding extra honey.
My lips twitched.
She reminded me of orphanage big sisters saving their share for the little ones.
“Senior, don’t. Share mine.”
I neatly halved my pancake.
Smeared extra honey, folded it, and held it to her mouth.
“Here, try.”
Miya blankly stared at the pancake I offered.
Glanced around.
“Nom…!”
She closed her eyes and took a big bite.
“…!!”
That instant.
Her eyes sparkled like a kid’s, forgetting the cigarette.
“Kuh—”
“Tasty, right?”
She unwittingly bounced on her heels, shivering with joy.
“Yeah, definitely…”
Her tear mark crinkled happily too.
Pancakes beat cigarettes now.