That Guy's Personality Is Shot
“You came looking for my Master…?”
“Hmm? What are you talking about? Master?”
“You just said it yourself. That you came looking for my Master.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
The two men stared at each other with blank faces.
“Hmm… so that’s how it is…”
After a silence that stretched longer than it should have, Blash stroked his chin.
“This is quite the surprise. To think the man you spoke of was Daywin Hasgard.”
“I’m the one who’s surprised. That the Commander of the Holy Knights wouldn’t know someone of my Master’s caliber.”
“Hmm? Isn’t it usually the other way around?”
Today was turning out to be full of surprises for Blash.
“I had my suspicions, but it seems my Master isn’t affiliated with the Order after all.”
“That’s right.”
Blash declared it with a cool, steady face.
“That’s exactly why I came looking. That’s why I want to meet him even more. I have to know how he came by that kind of power without ever receiving the Order’s training.”
“…My Master is special, no question.”
Laward nodded, a strangely pleased look on his face. It was an expression hard to put into words. If he had to find something close, it was the face of an ordinary person realizing that the little hole-in-the-wall restaurant he thought only he knew about had been recommended by a famous chef.
“Well, either way, this is perfect! The Goddess must have blessed us today. If you follow him and call him Master, then you must know Daywin Hasgard well. So—what kind of man is he?”
“That’s…”
Laward started to answer with confidence, only to remember that he didn’t actually know all that much himself. Benefactor. Master. The man was still a vague figure to him. And because Daywin’s every action was so full of riddles, he only felt farther away.
Someone once said that admiration is the emotion farthest from understanding. If Laward had known Daywin better, he probably couldn’t have admired him the way he did now.
“That’s… well…”
He groped for a single phrase that could sum the man up, then finally gave up and raised both hands.
“You should meet him yourself. I’ll take you to him.”
“By the way, Laward—you said you were the best at the Academy.”
As the two men walked side by side, Blash brought it up.
“What exactly do you mean by ‘the best’?”
At the Commander’s serious question, Laward’s expression stiffened. He remembered how, just a moment ago, he had gotten a little full of himself assuming the Holy Knights had come for him, and his face burned hot. On top of that, being asked to spell it out in detail left him speechless.
“Well…”
“Before that—what year are you?”
“First year.”
“A first-year who can claim to be the best in the entire Academy with that much confidence… Looks like the Academy’s standards aren’t quite as high as I thought!”
“…No. Strictly speaking, I’m the best among the first-years. I’ve been top of the class since the day I enrolled. That’s a fact.”
“But not the whole school, then.”
“I’ve never gone up against the upperclassmen, so I don’t really know. Ah—there was one time, actually.”
“Oh-ho, is that so. And? Did you win?”
Blash asked about the outcome of the fight with the expression of a child.
“Whether you can call it a win… I did disarm her, so I suppose it counts as a victory.”
“Well, that’s good! I don’t know who the opponent was, but a win is a win!”
Laward was quietly glad he hadn’t mentioned that Lucia ranked dead last among the third-years. Anyone who saw her fight would know her skill was nothing of the sort, but adults had a tendency to put blind faith in grades and numbers. Better to keep that detail to himself.
“So there was a reason for that confidence of yours after all!”
Blash clapped a hand on his shoulder.
“But listen. That’s exactly when you need to stay humble. We’ve got a kid on our side who’s a lot like you—and that one’s already too far gone.”
“Someone… like me?”
“Mm, that’s right. Always first place since he was little. And now he’s completely ruined. Especially his personality. His manners are shot to hell.”
“But that still means he’s skilled, doesn’t it?”
“No—he’s completely rotten! Separate from his skill!”
“That’s rather harsh…”
“A Holy Knight has to be even stricter with himself. Laward, a Holy Knight has to be able to accept hardship and frustration gladly. And if he can turn them into a stepping stone for growth, so much the better.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Speaking of which—”
Blash glanced away from Laward’s eyes and lowered his voice.
“The truth is, there was someone else among the Academy students we meant to meet. Besides Daywin Hasgard.”
“I-Is that so?”
Laward let out a quiet breath of relief inside. Of course. They had come all this way, even contacted the Academy—there was no way they didn’t know about him. He thought he understood why Blash had suddenly started lecturing him about humility. The Holy Knights had had Laward in mind from the start, but they hadn’t said so outright for fear he might get arrogant.
“I see…”
“Mm, that’s right.”
“Please, go ahead and tell me. I swear I won’t get full of myself—”
“A first-year student named Ester. Do you know her?”
“……”
“She made a big name for herself at the Subjugation Festival, same as Daywin Hasgard. Word is Daywin Hasgard recognized her talent and helped her in the first place. Since we were already here, we meant to see that young lady as well… Hmm. Laward.”
Blash stopped walking and talking at the same time and stared hard at him.
“Calm yourself. It’s hard to take at first. Come on, take a deep breath!”
“…Why does it have to be that woman again.”
“Breathe in deep. Then let it out big! Laward, your face is going dark at an alarming rate!”
“Why… why is it me who…”
“Laward, this is your trial. No protagonist is born without a rival!”
“A rival? Don’t be absurd! That woman is nowhere near good enough to be my rival. I’m the top of the class, and she’s the top from the bottom—”
“What kind of nonsense is that? Grades and numbers aren’t everything.”
…At some point, the one putting blind faith in scores had become Laward. It was a clean counterpunch from the Commander.
“Take that back. Laward, people have to treat people as equals. It’s in the scriptures, isn’t it? Humanity is beautiful because of the value that cannot be seen.”
Blash scolded him with a straight face.
“…I’m sorry.”
“Mm, that’s more like it! This is how you learn, one step at a time!”
“Yes… I’ve… learned a lot.”
“Good. If only Chris could learn an attitude like yours!”
“Chris?”
Ah. So that was the name of the young Holy Knight who had already been praised too much and gone completely rotten.
While he was thinking that, Laward sensed Daywin’s presence and jerked his head up.
“Hmm?”
“I can feel my Master’s energy nearby. Very close.”
“Is that Master of yours some kind of evil spirit?”
“I remember his scent. I can sense it even from a distance.”
“Sounds more like you’re the evil spirit…”
“There—found him.”
Laward deliberately ignored Blash’s consecutive jabs and pointed a finger straight ahead.
“Mm. I found him too.”
At the same moment, Blash nodded as well.
“So this is where you were, Chris.”
Where Laward was pointing, Daywin and Chris stood together. More precisely, Daywin was holding a sword to the throat of Chris, who lay face-down on the ground.
Crack—creak—
The cheap blade that had been packed with multi-buffed spirits finally couldn’t take the strain and melted away. Sizzle, hiss—
Hot molten metal dripped at Chris’s feet and began to cool.
“Uh…”
“Looks like Chris has finally learned some humility as well.”
From a distance, the Commander of the Holy Knights and the aspiring knight watched the shocking scene.
“Well, I’m sorry about this.”
“Hahaha! We’re the ones who should be apologizing!”
The positions had been swapped. Back to the original seats, you might say. Now Laward stood at my side, and Chris stood beside the Commander. The two disciples had returned to their respective masters.
“Knowing this brat’s personality, he was the one who picked the fight. Clear as day! He probably realized midway that you were the person we’d been looking for—and that only made him charge harder.”
Blash spoke calmly, and Chris clamped his mouth shut as if the answer were self-evident.
“When first impressions matter most, he goes and ruins them like this. I have no face left. This is my failure for raising him wrong. Allow me to apologize in his place. I am truly sorry.”
He bowed his head deeply and stayed that way for a long time, as if he had no intention of rising until I said it was fine. Well, first impressions mattered to me too. I needed to raise Laward properly as soon as possible, and I needed to make contact with the Holy Knights before long—so their visit was an enormous opportunity. But the fact that they had run into Laward alone without me—
“We’re the ones who should be apologizing as well. He almost certainly treated the Commander with a complete lack of manners.”
From time to time, Laward got particularly prickly toward a specific type of person. Adult men—everyone except me.
“If Laward gave you any grief, Commander, that’s entirely this fool’s fault. Hey, Laward. Apologize.”
“What? I-I’m sorry.”
Laward, who had been standing there off-guard, hurriedly bowed his head as well. Blash had probably expected a warm, mutual apology that would wrap things up nicely, but the one who actually bent at the waist was Laward.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Chris take a beating like this.”
Blash was still speaking toward the ground, head bowed.
“Commander, I didn’t take a—”
“So you were just cleaning the floor, then.”
At Chris’s petty protest, Blash finally straightened and scolded him sternly.
“Honestly, I regret not seeing it from the start. If I could have watched how Chris lost from beginning to end, I would have a much clearer picture.”
“Commander, I didn’t lose—”
“If possible, I’d like you to thrash him one more time. Right in front of me. Chris, you’re talking back, so you must be fine—how about taking a few more hits?”
“…No.”
“I could hit him more for educational purposes, but—wait a moment. A clearer picture?”
“Yes. I was curious how you fight.”
…Huh? The Commander of the Holy Knights… about me?
In my previous life we had known each other very well, of course, but that was not the case now.
“Ah, Master. Commander Blash is actually—”
Behind Laward’s oddly darkened expression—
“I came here to meet you, Daywin Hasgard.”
Blash’s deep voice dropped into the air.
“……”
“I heard of your exploits at the Subjugation Festival. They left a deep impression. I sent a letter to your house to find you, but they said you were away.”
Well, of course. I had returned to the marquisate the moment the festival ended.
“So I tracked down where you were staying and sent another letter, but again there was no reply.”
That… also made sense. Ester’s letter hadn’t been the only one I ignored. Apparently both Ester’s letters and the Holy Knights’ letters had arrived at my old lodging.
“I apologize for showing up unannounced like this. The man in the rumors was a talent our Order simply had to secure.”
Beside him, Laward nodded as if thoroughly satisfied with that assessment, but I still hadn’t caught up to Blash’s train of thought. Me? Not Laward—me?
“I originally meant to confirm the truth of the rumors before speaking, but Chris has kindly verified it for us. Daywin Hasgard—you are indeed the talent the Order has been seeking.”
And with that, Blash extended a gloved hand.
“Will you become a Holy Knight?”
A Holy Knight. No matter how much the future changed, that path alone remained the same. A Holy Knight was one chosen by the Goddess. One who had passed the Order’s trials. One recognized by his brothers and sisters. And one who was pure. No matter the age. Even past thirty… forever pure. One who had to abandon human nature itself in order not to lose his holy power.
Was I insane enough to do that again?
“No. I will not.”