Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Verdant Knight Order (1)
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The Prime Minister's carriage departed.
Yet even after that, I couldn't relax.
Right before my eyes lay the territory permit.
Just looking at it filled my heart with unease.
"Help the princesses...?"
In my past life, I couldn't protect even one properly.
Now they wanted me to look after all three.
The me from back then would scoff at that.
Of course, the Prime Minister's thinking wasn't entirely unfounded.
Unlike before, I now had five years left.
If I could raise Iriena's knight order to match the other two princesses' levels in that time...
The three of them uniting might just hold off the Crown Prince's knight order.
The issue was whether it would succeed.
Whether the princesses' knight orders could grow to the level I wanted.
I let out a deep sigh.
Then gazed out the window, my heart heavy.
The sky, gloomy like my mood.
Soon, raindrops began to fall lightly.
I stretched.
And as I clasped my hands behind my head for a nap...
A sudden fluttering of wings at the window.
I squeezed my eyes shut at the sound.
A messenger bird, damp from the raindrops, had flown into the office.
"An imperial messenger bird...?"
I had no connections in the imperial court.
Yet the one person who'd send a bird straight to me...
「Bale, could you come to my knight order for a bit?」
「Allen's been acting strange since I met you.」
「Second Imperial Princess Iriena.」
Of course, only Iriena.
I flipped the note she'd sent over and over.
The message was just those three short lines.
"Allen's acting strange, huh."
I'd warned him at the banquet to behave himself.
Had the fool caused trouble again already?
Part of me wanted to ignore the note and lounge on the sofa all day.
But sending a messenger bird meant it was probably serious...
Might as well go.
I could check her resolve to build the knight order and decide whether to accept the Prime Minister's proposal.
With that thought, I threw on a poncho.
Then summoned a carriage and headed for Iriena's estate, the Verdant Knight Order.
―――――.
Drizzling rain poured down.
The rented carriage rattled noisily as it plunged into the downpour.
Finally, after a long ride, it stopped before the newly built log palisade and barracks.
"We've arrived, the Verdant Knight Order."
"Keep the change."
I stepped down from the carriage, rain tickling beneath my poncho.
Then tapped the neatly raised logs with the back of my hand.
'Well built.'
Allen currently held the highest rank in the knight order.
But given his personality, he wouldn't have overseen this...
Iriena, then?
My lips curved into a pleased smile.
Back then, she'd pored over tactic manuals so eagerly...
Now that she had noble backers, she was finally putting it into action.
I rubbed the logs lightly as I headed to the entrance.
There, I encountered a cadet boy guarding the gate.
"What brings you here?"
He looked bored standing watch in the rainy weather.
"I'm Bale, a guardian knight here on the princess's orders."
I gave the boy a light bow to show respect.
He looked flustered in response.
"Ah... We've been expecting you. Please, come in."
Bowing to a cadet wasn't common, it seemed.
He looked proud of his duty now, opening the gate with a crisp voice.
"Her Highness had prior commitments and went to the manor briefly. Is it all right to wait a little?"
I nodded at his polite question.
Then smiled brightly and made another request.
"In the meantime, I'd like to see Sir Allen, the knight order's representative—"
Normally, he'd refuse and report to Allen first.
But perhaps satisfied by my courtesy earlier...
He offered to guide me himself and took the lead.
Inside the palisade, the training grounds came into view.
Children swinging wooden swords at straw dummies.
They wore decent, cost-effective gear too.
Even in the dreary, rainy weather, they diligently practiced their basics.
And most satisfying of all were the children's eyes.
The conviction to become knights shone clearly.
Just like me in my younger days.
'The setup looks fine... So what's the problem?'
Trailing the boy with suspicious eyes.
He soon stopped before the captain's office.
"The captain's office?"
"Yes, we don't have an official captain yet, so Sir Allen's filling in temporarily."
The boy knocked.
"Come in."
An arrogant voice.
As if proclaiming himself king here, Allen responded lazily to the knock, obvious to anyone.
'This bastard...'
I entered in response.
But Allen wasn't in the captain's chair.
Finding it odd, I scanned the room.
My gaze landed on the leather sofa at the back of the office.
Strong mana emanated from there.
Approaching the sofa, I saw Allen lying there, hand over his eyes.
A travel case sat before him.
He looked ready to leave somewhere.
I stared down at him intently.
His mana was clearer now than at the banquet.
Pissed about losing to me, he'd trained hard, it seemed.
"Captain."
"I told you not to call me that."
Half-asleep, he mistook me for a cadet.
He muttered irritably.
I grabbed his arm.
Forcibly removing his hand, he grimaced like the light bothered him.
"The knight order's representative sleeping during training time?"
He said nothing to my question for a moment.
Then muttered to himself in disbelief.
"Another dream? Why's that guy's face...?"
"It's no dream, you idiot."
I grabbed his collar to wake the dazed fool.
Yanking him up roughly, Allen's foggy green eyes flashed.
"Ba, Bale Mikhail...!"
"Were you that eager to see me in your dreams?"
I asked with a grin.
Allen looked up at me, face full of fear.
The young cadet watching this.
Seeing his idolized dual-sword maniac flustered, he stared in wonder.
"I told you at the banquet. You're the princesses' face now—behave yourself."
I hauled him up and sat him on the sofa.
"So what'd you do this time for Her Highness to summon me?"
Allen snorted at my question.
"What, the Second Princess called you? To keep me here?"
The noble arrogance was back.
Beaten as he was, it hadn't changed.
"Hey, think about it logically. Does it make sense for talent like me to stick around this hole-in-the-wall?"
He shrugged, palm up.
I couldn't help but be exasperated.
"Then why'd you join in the first place?"
Allen dropped the arrogance at my question.
He got serious and answered.
"Back then, no one was calling me."
Allen stood fully now.
He grabbed his prepared suitcase.
"But things are different now. Thanks to that banquet duel, I've got offers pouring in."
The maniac claimed it was time to go and donned his uniform jacket.
"..."
I watched his back steadily.
And thought.
The banquet duel was all to promote himself, huh.
I'd thought he jumped in out of anger at Leah ditching him.
He was colder and more self-serving than I realized.
Not just some maniac.
A rational knight who could plan his own future.
I smirked at that.
His cunning appealed to me more than expected.
'At least he's not dumb.'
"Fine, go ahead."
I flopped onto the sofa.
Then added a meaningful line.
"You're an idiot. Staying here's your best bet."
He halted abruptly at my words.
"What do you mean?"
I pulled the territory permit from my pocket and dangled it like a treat for a dog.
"Nothing. Go on. Plenty of noble sons will line up for the Second Princess's knight order now without you."
He scowled unpleasantly.
Then stared at the fancy paper in my hand.
"Who'd help a discarded princess? The investments coming in are just test runs anyway."
Allen approached and countered coldly.
"Is that so? I got a pretty tempting offer for a 'test run.'"
I shoved the permit in the suspicious guy's face.
"I'm getting a territory as payment for being dispatched as Iriena's instructor."
Soon he'd see the imperial Prime Minister's seal.
"From the imperial Prime Minister himself."
Allen's dull eyes sparked.
He read the permit in disbelief.
"A commoner like me got this huge backing—imagine what a great noble house's son could get."
I smiled thinly.
He swallowed hard and asked if it was real.
"What... Is this legit? Why would the imperial Prime Minister back the Second Princess?"
I grinned slyly like a scheming minister in response.
"Because she's worth investing in."
I placed a hand lightly on his shoulder.
Then whispered secretly so no one else heard.
"You know this is the only knight order recruiting commoners, right? That's why rich merchants and talent are flocking here."
"Is that true...?"
He eyed me suspiciously.
I nodded shamelessly.
"Yeah. Once that happens, you'll get fervent support from the masses and grow your forces fast."
I explained earnestly like a peddler hawking wares.
"Even the guy managing the empire's treasury smelled the money!"
Allen inhaled sharply at the Prime Minister joining in.
Then muttered as something clicked.
"No wonder... A few days ago, he met with Her Highness..."
"You thought this dump was just some backwater? It's a gold mine, you fool."
I slapped the hand clutching the permit.
Then urged him indifferently to leave.
"What can you do with a guy turning down luck that falls in his lap? Off with you."
"W-Wait!"
The hooked maniac waved frantically.
He switched to a meek attitude and asked submissively.
"So you're joining this place too?"
Eager eyes.
Having witnessed my sword aura, he now rated me highly and probed my plans.
But I couldn't answer that one readily.
My gaze drifted to the children training hard, shouting with spirit.
In my day, commoners or orphans had almost no chance to become knights.
But now was different.
Iriena had no prejudice about origins, recruiting me early on.
With funds trickling in, she was personally raising talents like me.
Meaning these kids could become knights like me someday.
Then the great gate nearby opened.
A petite woman in a robe and her maid emerged across the drizzling training grounds.
She shed her snow-white robe, revealing silver hair.
The girl's face emerged, holding raindrops like dew.
Clear green eyes.
The princess praised the bowing cadets with those eyes.
She didn't see them as mere possessions.
She was truly grateful to these young knights who'd come believing in her.
Watching that, I told Allen.
"Helping out? No reason I can't."
I folded the permit neatly.
Tucked it carefully into my inner pocket.
Then approached Iriena.
'This life's not just the two of us anymore.'