Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Escort Knights (1)
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With the temporary assignment to the princess's escort knights handed down, the matter of assigning me a new position was put on hold.
Hamilton and Newyork, who had been eagerly trying to appeal to me, looked quite disappointed.
"Come to the east after you're done in the south."
"The west is always waiting for you! You have to come, Sion!"
Besides Hamilton and Newyork, there were many relatives who showed interest in me.
They kept approaching without a break, striking up all sorts of conversations.
I was so busy dealing with them one by one that I barely had time to talk with the people I actually wanted to speak to.
'I wanted to chat a bit with Est and Liz, too.'
Unlike Sheshes, Helena, and their kids from headquarters whom I clashed with often, I hadn't had many chances to meet Est and Liz.
In Liz's case, it had been almost three years since I'd last seen her.
[Not just Est, but you're concerned about Liz too?]
'She's the most talented among the cousins.'
But the chance to talk with Liz never came, and in the end, the family meeting wrapped up completely.
* * *
Before I knew it, the new year had arrived, and I celebrated my seventeenth birthday.
That's when I was officially given the Knight Badge of a Non-Commissioned Knight.
And I parted ways temporarily with the members of the 13th Unit.
"Your next position hasn't been decided yet, but for now, you're stepping down from the knight brigade leader role."
As Bernhard had mentioned last time, they couldn't keep a non-commissioned knight in the position of leader of a mere independent knight brigade forever.
The now-vacant 13th Unit leader position went to Lotus, the veteran knight who had assisted me all this time.
"To us, the only leader is you, Sir Sion. We believe the day will come soon when we serve you again."
"Yeah, we'll see each other again before you know it."
The 13th Unit members seemed to believe that if I led another unit, I'd take them with me.
For me as well, I had no intention of just handing over the 13th Unit that I'd trained so well.
If the opportunity arose later, I planned to formally request them back under my command.
In particular, I called aside Edwin and Lieselotte, who could be called my close aides, for a talk.
"Edwin, Lieselotte. I've arranged for you two to serve me again once this mission is over. So just wait a little."
"Understood, Sir Sion."
"You know you're not abandoning us, right?"
"And there's someone I want to introduce you to. Meet them while I'm gone."
"Pardon? Someone to introduce?"
"Who could it be..."
The person I planned to introduce Edwin and Lieselotte to was none other than Shuhaien.
Shuhaien would be able to maximize their mana accumulation speed.
After explaining to the two how to meet Shuhaien, I went to bid farewell to Bernhard.
"Thank you for everything, Brigade Leader."
"I'm the one who's grateful. Thanks to you, the Independent Knight Brigade has grown tremendously."
Bernhard shook my hand with a bright smile.
"Who knows, maybe next time we meet, we'll be on equal footing."
"That's a bit premature."
"Is it? Doesn't seem like it will take that long."
After the farewell, I left the Independent Knight Brigade alone.
To be precise, I wasn't entirely alone.
Dietrich was following behind me.
"Everyone's gathered."
When I arrived at the appointed place, Sena, Cain, Robel, and Liz were already there.
"We'll carry out this mission as a group of five. It's an unofficial assignment, but since Grandfather put me in charge of the escort knights, I'll take the leader role."
"No objections, Sion."
With Sena's words, Cain and Robel nodded as well.
"Yeah, you've got the Non-Commissioned Knight's Knight Badge, so we follow your orders."
"Wait, does that mean we have to use formal speech with you?"
Robel glanced at me cautiously.
"Or should we...?"
"No need. Don't make it awkward."
I waved it off.
"No need to be formal. Not in front of others, anyway—just act normal."
"Phew, that's a relief."
"Hmm, having to use formal speech with a younger cousin five years my junior would've hurt my pride."
Cain crossed his arms and let out a sigh of relief.
Cain and Robel, who used to pick fights with me before, were now acting like normal cousins, friendly and all.
This was probably partly because Helena no longer treated me as an enemy.
"I hope Liz does the same, sis."
"Got it."
Liz's response was short and curt.
She seemed somewhat dissatisfied.
'Since she's Est's daughter, can't be helped.'
I decided not to mind.
As long as she does her job well.
"Alright, let's head out, everyone."
And so, we mounted our horses and set off south.
* * *
The capital of the Holy Empire, Romancia, lies even further south than the Papal States.
The lands around Romancia are directly ruled by the emperor, and the surrounding areas are mostly territories of the 'Imperial Marquises' appointed by the emperor.
As such, the southern region was one where the Holy Empire's influence held strong sway.
"Sion, as you know, be careful in the south. There are plenty of nobles who wield power like it's the Middle Ages."
"I know."
"We'll meet a knight from the southern branch in that city up ahead. With his guidance to Romancia, there shouldn't be any issues."
We were now entering Lusechia, one of the major cities representing the south.
We were supposed to meet a holy knight from the southern branch there... but since he's under the southern branch, he's ultimately Gretus's subordinate, so I'm doubtful he'll cooperate well.
"A bit worrying."
"Can't we just go to Romancia on our own?"
Cain and Robel seemed to share my thoughts.
"What do you think, Liz sis?"
"Hmm."
"..."
I tried talking to Liz, but got no proper reply.
It had been like this the whole few days of travel together.
'Is she even worse than Est...'
As I thought that, we arrived at Lusechia.
Perhaps due to its proximity, the atmosphere felt similar to the Papal States.
We decided to head first to the local knight brigade's garrison that oversaw Lusechia.
'The town looks clean, and security seems decent.'
I walked the streets, reminded of the Hermel region from two years ago.
The local knight brigade's garrison was a far more proper building than the one we'd used in the Hermel region.
But when we entered, no one was there to greet us.
"No one's here."
"What happened? Did they all go out on patrol?"
Cain and Robel muttered as they looked around the garrison.
[No mana is detectable. Looks like it's really empty.]
Igzard confirmed there was truly no one in the garrison.
"Sis, don't local knight brigades in places like this usually have a lot of personnel? The garrison being completely empty seems off."
"Hmm... Maybe some incident broke out and they all mobilized."
"Weren't they supposed to guide us?"
"Could be a major incident..."
Sena spoke uncertainly.
"If they had an appointment with us but left no one behind, it really might be a big incident."
"Hmm, then we can't just sit here!"
"Yeah, let's join in and help!"
Cain and Robel raised their voices.
Excited at the chance to do some proper holy knight work after so long, perhaps.
"Isn't it better not to butt in recklessly? I just said to be careful in the south."
"Sion, we can't just sit idle if there's an incident!"
"If it's for the mission, we'll follow your orders, but this is different!"
"It's not even confirmed there's an incident..."
The two seemed to have already made up their minds.
"Sion, how about I take Cain and Robel and check outside? You and Liz wait here."
"If you're okay with that, sis..."
With Sena's calm personality handling Cain and Robel, there shouldn't be issues.
In the end, Sena took Cain and Robel outside to check, while Liz and I waited at the garrison.
"Other knights might return, so let's wait here."
"Okay."
She was still the quiet type.
It seemed she was like this not just with me, but with everyone else too.
At least she talked a bit with Sena.
Cain and Robel followed Sena well too—must be her seniority and charisma.
"..."
"..."
Silence fell.
After sitting quietly for over ten minutes, I stood up.
And began looking around the garrison interior without a word.
Liz was lounging on a nearby chair, but I could feel her gaze on me.
'She's not completely indifferent to people, then.'
As I stood before a large painting on the wall, Liz's voice came from behind.
"Sion."
"What?"
This was the first time Liz had spoken to me first.
"I have something I want to ask."
"You get curious about people too, sis."
"..."
Liz clamped her mouth shut at my joking remark.
Did I offend her?
"What are you curious about?"
"Everything self-taught?"
"Pardon?"
"Mana control, swordsmanship—all of it self-taught? I know you didn't learn from Sir Kurt."
"Yes, self-taught. No particular master."
"I see."
"And you, sis?"
"I... learned almost everything from Mother."
"Aunt Est is impressive, after all."
"Yeah, she's the person I respect most."
An unexpectedly honest answer.
"Sion."
"Yeah?"
"I have something secretive to tell you."
It was sudden.
"Can I whisper for a sec?"
"No one's here—can't you just say it from there?"
"..."
Liz clamped her mouth shut again.
Then she approached me without another word.
"What is it?"
Liz, now close, opened her mouth expressionlessly.
"Actually..."
Shing!
Liz drew her sword in a flash and sliced the picture frame I'd been looking at into two pieces.
But it didn't end with the frame breaking.
"Urk..."
A masked man tumbled forward, spilling dark red blood.
There had been space behind the shattered frame—he'd been hiding there from the start.
"I sensed something suspicious."
Liz let her dripping blade hang low, speaking in a cold voice.
"You felt it too?"
"Yes."
While we'd been waiting quietly, a suspicious presence had begun to emanate.
Igzard hadn't detected any mana, but someone was definitely there.
"But why'd you just stand there?"
I didn't answer Liz's question.
Instead, I hurled the Demon Spirit Sword Xantia from my waist.
The shortsword flew past Liz's bobbed hair and embedded in the wall.
"Urgh..."
With a small death rattle, blood began seeping from the wall.
It was an empty wall, but someone had been hiding inside there too.
"..."
Liz's eyes widened slightly—she hadn't noticed that one.
[No mana was detectable. What the hell?]
'Not a Special Grade 1 assassin from the Dialogue Church. But...'
A creepy sensation crawled up my spine like insects.
Realizing the ambush had failed, their comrades were now launching a surprise attack.
"Can you handle the left, sis?"
"Your skills seem better than mine."
Liz muttered calmly.
"I'll do as you say."
With those words, the garrison windows shattered as assailants leaped in.