Border Guard (1)
Border Guard (1)
The people in the carriage grew worried when I suddenly trembled with pain.
"Should we take a short break?"
"Here, have some water."
The Princess looked concerned, too, and her maid handed me some water.
Balea subtly eased the carriage's jolting without anyone else noticing.
"It was just a sudden bout of motion sickness. I'll be fine after a short rest."
"Do you clench your teeth that hard when you get motion sick? There's almost blood on your lips."
At Balea's words, I wiped my mouth, but there was no blood.
As always, she had fooled me again.
"I didn't say you were actually bleeding. But it hurts enough that you thought you were, right?"
"Whew. I'm okay now."
Thanks to Balea's playful antics, the agony seemed to have passed.
I felt like I could finally breathe again.
I smiled at everyone to reassure them, then dismissed the message window blocking my vision.
Then I focused intently on one of my abilities.
The window reappeared before my eyes.
It wasn't a message window, but an information window displaying my abilities.
< Knight-type Hero Ability User >
< Active Abilities >
- Physical Optimization: Level 16
- Mana Circuit Construction Method: Level 1
- Mana Resonance: Unsealing in Progress
- Sealed
- Sealed
< Unauthorized Abilities >
- Mana Materialization: Level 1
- Death Regression: Level 2
Thanks to the 'practical lesson' and the training that followed, Physical Optimization had leveled up once more.
Along with my physical growth, I could distinctly feel strength settling into my body.
With this confidence, I had volunteered to guard the Princess, but my recent death had shaken that confidence badly.
The world was vast, and there were many powerful inherited ability Users.
And I wasn't the only one who wielded multiple abilities.
It didn't seem to be common, though.
Of the people who had swarmed in to kidnap the Grand Archduchess, only one had used multiple abilities.
A man named Vid. He was exceptionally formidable in sheer skill, on top of possessing multiple abilities.
A genuine powerhouse who had built up his prowess through years of real combat and training.
Come to think of it, I felt like I had heard about the abilities he used.
I had heard that among the heroes who founded the Empire, there was one who wielded both flame abilities and a Mana Cultivation Technique...
If the stories I'd heard were true, perhaps Vid's multiple abilities had been inherited from a single ancestor.
Just as my 'Physical Optimization' and 'Mana Circuit Construction Method' belonged to the First King Carlos.
In that case, was it impossible for others to receive abilities from completely unrelated individuals, unlike my 'Mana Materialization' or 'Death Regression'?
I cut off my train of thought.
I had only seen one such person so far. It was dangerous to make assumptions based on a single individual.
Still, I needed to be more careful and pay closer attention.
And I had to give my absolute best in every life until the moment I died.
I had intended to live that way from the start, but now that such a life promised rewards, I had even more reason to work harder.
'The problem is that I don't know what changed now that Death Regression has reached Level 2.'
Surely there had to be an explanation somewhere, but perhaps because the orb wasn't fully intact, no description was visible.
Even with this sudden level-up, I hadn't known how to level it up until it actually happened.
The same went for 'Mana Circuit Construction Method' and 'Mana Materialization,' which hadn't leveled up yet. And I had no idea how the unsealing of 'Mana Resonance' was progressing, either.
In the end, it all came back to square one.
Repairing the orb.
I had to ask the Grand Archduchess to repair it.
'Now then, how should I proceed from here?'
Among the events to come, there were things that needed to be changed and things that should be left untouched.
There was no guarantee the enemy would act as I wanted, but I intended to do my utmost to end this in a single attempt.
Silence reigned in the carriage until we reached the Duchy's capital.
As I remained deep in thought, both the Princess and Balea stayed quiet, seemingly reading the mood around me.
"What a strange-looking city."
Upon arriving at Ironwall, the 'Fortified City' and capital of the Duchy, Balea made exactly the same remark as before.
A half-crumbled fortress city.
Before us lay a fortress city overrun with various commercial shopping districts.
Just as before, the Princess explained why the city was in this state, and soon we arrived at the gateway.
I listened intently, just as I had before my death.
"...Why are they being so strict today?"
"Look over there. High-ranking dignitaries from the Kingdom have arrived. On top of that, things on the Empire's side have been strange for the past few days, so everyone's..."
What the merchants and guards were saying was no different from before.
I'd worried that the situation might have changed, but fortunately, nothing was different.
As expected, simply sitting quietly in a carriage wasn't enough to trigger a major butterfly effect.
While we waited at the gate, knights from the royal palace rode up, and we followed them toward the palace.
After we arrived at the palace, I made a request to the Princess before stepping out of the carriage.
"What? Why?"
The Princess did not seem to like my request.
But after I earnestly persuaded her and promised to return to the original plan under specific circumstances, she granted my request with a somber expression.
Balea tilted her head at my words, too, since she didn't understand what I meant.
After stepping out of the carriage, I approached Viscount Daniel, who had arrived in another carriage, and made the same request I'd made to the Princess.
The Viscount's face filled with surprise at my words.
The corners of his mouth even twitched upward. He clearly seemed pleased by what I'd said.
Once all the students who had disembarked from the carriages had gathered, he announced the schedule in a loud voice.
"Originally, Student Havier was to stay with the knights at the border guard, while Student Benjamin was to reside at the Duchy's administrative department."
"Huh? Not the palace? What about Young Lady Balea? And Alex?"
Havier asked with a bewildered expression, but the Viscount ignored him and continued.
"The Princess and Lady Balea were slated to stay at the palace, and Student Alex was also scheduled to stay there as the Princess's escort."
Havier and Benjamin's jaws had dropped at the Viscount's initial words, but as his announcement took an increasingly strange turn, they tilted their heads in confusion.
"However! By order of the Princess, the assignments for Student Alex and Student Havier have been swapped. Student Alex will proceed directly to the border guard, while Student Havier will remain at the palace to serve as the Princess's escort."
Well, strictly speaking, it wasn't the Princess's directive, but my own request.
The Viscount seemed genuinely thrilled that I wouldn't be staying at the palace. He made a great show of explaining what was, in essence, a simple matter.
Regardless, Senior Havier clenched his fist in excitement at the Viscount's announcement, while Senior Benjamin repeatedly pointed at himself with a bewildered expression.
"What about me? What about me?"
His murmurs could be heard, but regrettably, no one was paying Senior Benjamin any attention.
Senior Havier approached the Princess and offered an exaggerated salute, while the Princess shot me a stealthy glare from the corner of her eye.
Balea kept looking at me inquisitively, but I couldn't share my plan with the others.
The group dispersed in front of the royal palace.
Those heading to the palace took their luggage and went inside, while Senior Benjamin and I picked up our belongings and had to follow the knights and scribes.
"I heard the Viscount is extremely meticulous. Be careful."
"That's just a nice way of saying I'm going to suffer more than expected. I'm already dying of frustration, so don't you start, too."
Senior Benjamin looked even more depressed on his way to the administrative department than he had in my previous life, before my death.
"I mean, he dragged me all the way here, only to slip into the palace himself! He didn't even say goodbye!"
That was because Senior Havier had left him behind and vanished into the palace.
I parted ways with Senior Benjamin in front of the administrative building, which wasn't far from the palace, then mounted one of the remaining horses and headed north alongside the knights. That was where the border with the Empire lay.
The border guard defending the Duchy's border with the Empire was situated at the city's northern wall.
This side of the wall wasn't in good shape, either.
Countless peddlers were passing through the half-collapsed walls.
At least, unlike the southern checkpoint, inspections here seemed to be thorough.
What was reassuring was that the area in front of the ruined wall had been reinforced with wooden palisades and traps.
Though they were no match for a full rampart, they seemed capable of holding off a sudden attack for at least a 'brief moment'.
The border guard used a building connected to the wall as its quarters.
The knight in charge of the guard welcomed us.
"We requested reinforcements recently because the Empire's movements have been suspicious. I didn't expect much, but I'm glad at least you all came."
To my ears, his words sounded like a "chicken instead of a pheasant" sort of remark—a way of settling for second best.
Then again, no matter how skilled a knight might be, foreign knights were hardly preferable to knights from one's own country.
Was it like the US forces deployed in Korea to support national defense?
There seemed to be very few knights in the guard unit assigned to this gate. Most sentry duty and inspections were handled by regular soldiers.
We were assigned to guard duty, too.
After all, inspections couldn't be entrusted to knights from another kingdom.
Fortunately, there were plenty of vacant quarters, so there was no issue accommodating us.
"Originally, it was a fortress built to hold off the Empire, after all."
When I asked the soldier guiding us why so many quarters were vacant, I received a realistic answer.
Since it had become a trading city rather than a fortress city, the number of guards on duty must have decreased. Naturally, the quarters were bound to stand empty.
After unpacking in the dust-filled quarters, the senior knight briefed the knights on their upcoming duties.
"Now that we've arrived in the Duchy, our main duty is simply to escort the Princess on our return journey."
"Then isn't it basically a vacation until the Princess departs?"
At one knight's question, the others chimed in agreement, but the senior knight merely shook his head.
"You know full well that's not the case."
"Fair enough."
It was all just light banter.
The Order of Knights was far less suffocating than I'd expected.
Though these were different people from the Royal Knights I had seen in the ruins before my deaths, they were still part of the same Royal Knights—yet I couldn't feel the rigid military discipline I had witnessed back then.
They seemed capable enough in a fight, but they felt a little different from the Royal Knights I'd envisioned.
"What we're doing from here on out is an additional assignment in place of leave. Under the pretext of dispatched training, we're to assess the border situation between the Duchy and the Empire."
Everyone listened intently as the senior knight adopted a serious tone.
"It's nothing critically important. It's just an assignment to check things out whenever convenient between our duties guarding the Princess, so act accordingly."
"Understood."
It seemed the senior knight was giving us a reasonable amount of leeway.
Just as I was beginning to think the Order was quite decent, a question cut through the air.
"Shouldn't we also properly assist with the dispatched training?"
All the knights turned their gaze toward me.
"He's from the Knight Faculty, after all. We ought to give our junior a proper knight's lesson."
Their eyes gleamed menacingly as they looked at me.
Seeing those eyes, I realized why Senior Havier had been pushed to the brink of death before my regression.
But I had no intention of obliging these knights with their combined training and hazing, much as I was sorry to disappoint them.
The senior knight looked at me. He didn't seem keen to speak up himself.
Fine, then. I could speak for myself.
"I may need to step away at times to carry out Her Highness's orders. I ask for the senior officers' understanding in advance."
At my words, everyone wore expressions of utter disbelief.
"Look at him acting like a lord."
"A mere bastard getting high and mighty just because he hitched himself to the right line..."
Angry voices buzzed from every corner, clearly intended for my ears.
"You're in for a rough time. Since everyone's dissatisfied, you'd better brace yourself to some extent."
The senior knight warned me, sharing their sentiment.
I accepted it calmly.
"Understood."
Now wasn't the time to engage in a power struggle with disgruntled knights.
Overnight, I had to locate the imperial knights crossing the border.