The Tutor's New Assignment
With Kyle, I entered the building where the knights stayed.
Unlike when I had arrived, it wasn't just Elin there; many knights were passing through the corridors and stairs.
"Lord Kyle has arrived! Everyone, bow to Lord Kyle!"
One knight shouted loudly upon spotting Kyle.
After all, Kyle rarely came to places with so many men, so the knights' reaction was natural.
Kyle, slightly surprised by the group bow from the knights, looked back and forth between me and them.
Although Kyle had grown a bit taller and more muscular lately, he was still a bit of a brat in some ways.
"Lord Kyle, if you don't give the order, they'll keep bowing like that."
"Ah, everyone can stand up..."
When Kyle said that, they finally lowered their hands.
Kyle still hadn't fully adapted to the male knights he had just met.
With the knights' gazes on us, Kyle and I walked down the corridor to the commander's office where the knight commander was.
Since I had already informed Elin, the knight commander was probably already prepared.
"Ah, no, Commander."
"Ah."
—Thud!
When we entered, the knight commander was lifting dumbbells.
Upon Elin's words, he immediately set the dumbbells down and bowed to Kyle.
"It's fine."
Then the commander and Elin relaxed their bows.
"Lord Kyle said he was looking for a swordsmanship instructor."
"Yes, that's right."
"It's a woman instructor... Is it because of that incident from before?"
"Yes."
Elin looked confused about what he was talking about.
But the knight commander seemed well aware of that incident.
"Sophia, exactly who do you want to hire as an instructor?"
"Someone who can teach swordsmanship to Lord Kyle and has a normal personality, a woman. That should be enough."
"Hmm..."
The commander fell into thought.
After all, it hadn't been long since Elin had told him the news.
"We are indeed the Eristirol Knights, but... knights aren't usually that many women."
"Yes, I know that much."
After all, in adventurers, women were mages or healers.
In fact, there weren't many who fought directly in the adventurer guild.
I was special in that regard.
"That's why the only one who fits the criteria in our knight order is Elin here."
"Hehe..."
Elin put her hand on her waist and laughed.
Seeing that, I wanted to bonk her on the head.
Especially thinking about when I entered the building.
"Although her demeanor might not be to everyone's liking, her skill isn't bad. In fact, she's much smarter than the surrounding stupid knight girls."
"Hmm..."
"The most important thing is that this girl is a woman."
"Yes."
"Besides her, there is no proper woman in the knight order."
If the commander says so, then that's it.
Honestly, I'm not entirely convinced, but it seems Elin will become Kyle's swordsmanship instructor.
"Lord Kyle, how about it? If this woman doesn't work, we can hire another female sword instructor from another place or region."
"You said vice commander?"
"Yes."
Kyle was watching Elin intently.
Elin's appearance wasn't bad, rather she was pretty.
It was the kind of appearance that would make one say "A knight with such looks!"
Elin's appearance with long sky-blue hair as a knight was a shame to say the least.
Was Kyle looking at Elin because of her appearance?
Was it too hasty to think that Kyle's thoughts about women, starting from Catherine, were slowly changing?
"It's not bad. Elin, do you have any other duties to do in the knight order?"
"No. I don't have anything special to do. Other than paperwork, I don't have regular tasks."
"I see. Then, for now, we will adopt her as a swordsmanship instructor for a while."
Well, if Elin's skill isn't as good as I said, we can change it.
Kyle probably thought the same.
By the way, Elin's blunt way of speaking was a bit surprising.
Not only me, but even to the knight commander, she wasn't doing that, but to Kyle she was.
"If she doesn't meet Lord Kyle's standards later, she might be excluded from the position of swordsmanship instructor. Please keep that in mind."
"Yes!"
"And... the rest of the conversation can be had later, just the two of us."
"Yes!"
Elin and I talked.
Kyle wasn't familiar with these kinds of things, so I had to explain.
Soon, Kyle, who would take over the family business, would get used to these things, but there was still a lot to learn.
Practical matters could be taught quickly.
Different from swords or magic.
"Lord Kyle, shall we head back for now?"
"Yes, let's do that."
Before returning to the castle, Kyle and I gave a rough greeting to them.
They bowed, and since Kyle had forgotten again, he kept his arms down until we left the room.
*
"Sophia."
"Yes."
"Have you contacted the Magic Tower?"
"Not yet. I'll contact them by today."
"Yes."
Contacting that crazy woman felt strange.
Neither of us contacted the other often.
Probably, if it weren't for this incident, we wouldn't have had anything to contact about in our lives.
"Oh my, Prince Kyle?"
"Lady Catherine Oldenburg."
"What business do you have here at this time?"
"I had some business at the knight order and was coming back."
When I entered the castle, I met Catherine.
And to my surprise, Kyle conversed with Catherine fluently.
Honestly, I thought he would speak to Catherine like he used to with me, but he didn't.
"Hmm.. Since we met in the castle, it's fate. How about having tea together?"
"...Understood."
As expected, Catherine was a proper noble lady.
She smoothly continued the conversation and made a promise.
Thanks to that, I also got to have tea time with Kyle.
"Prince Kyle, is there a particular tea you like?"
"Lord Kyle doesn't have a very firm preference for tea."
And Sebastian was there beside him.
I thought he would just sit comfortably and relax, but thanks to Catherine, it felt like we were working.
Several maids brought tea.
I had no choice but to stand behind Kyle, like Sebastian standing behind Catherine.
Normally, when Kyle was drinking tea or resting, I could just relax, but with Catherine in front, I had to be careful with my image.
Honestly, I wanted to sigh, but I held it in because she was close.
If I sighed, it would ruin the atmosphere.
And honestly, I hadn't been able to rest since morning and was tired.
Normally, during Kyle's exercise time, I could rest comfortably, but today, because of the sword instructor duty, my body was more tired than usual.
Probably, there would be lunch soon.
"Prince Kyle, are the ingredients for this tea from Eristirol territory?"
"Yes. It's green tea made from leaves from our territory."
"Hmm.. It smells good. When I return later, could you give me some tea leaves?"
"Of course. If Lady Catherine Oldenburg wants them, even a little."
I wanted to be amazed.
Actually, I was already amazed inwardly.
Kyle could talk to women like that!
I couldn't help but be surprised.
Of course, we had talked before, but this was more than that, so I was even more surprised.
It felt like a scene from a romance fantasy novel.
I thought it was the kind of scene that would appear in romance fantasy: a pretty noble lady and a duke's prince elegantly conversing while drinking tea.
Of course, I didn't watch much romance fantasy.
"By the way, I heard you've been living together with your tutor for several years."
"Yes. I've been with Sophia for a long time."
That's right.
Since Kyle and I had been teaching together for several years, it had been a long time.
Now, not teaching Kyle felt awkward.
More precisely, not being together.
"Hmm.. I'm a bit envious. Our Sebastian is still a new recruit of only a few years."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. After all, our territory doesn't like to keep people for long, so we make contracts yearly and end them cleanly when the contract is up."
As Catherine said, the Oldenburg family... the servants and workers of the family were mostly young.
Right away, Sebastian, Catherine's personal butler, was young.
Of course, he looked older than me.
"In that sense, it's a bit surprising that you've been together for so many years. The Eristirol Duchy is solid in many ways."
"...?"
What did "solid" mean?
It was something I didn't know.
Since I hadn't heard much about Eristirol in my life, it was possible.
Solid... what was solid?
Heart? Perseverance?
Since it was a word that could include many terms, I couldn't figure it out.
"...."
"Oh my, Prince Kyle? Why is your face like that?"
"No."
Unfortunately, since I was behind Kyle, I couldn't see his face.
It was a bit unfortunate.
If Catherine said that, it meant Kyle's expression had changed, but I couldn't see it.