Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Friend-5
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Alphonse Armstrong
He was currently just an apprentice knight, but in his previous life, he was capable enough to serve as the knight commander.
Not simply in terms of combat prowess, but also highly regarded for his overall popularity and character, he had been praised as a role model for knights.
Someone he had acknowledged and respected to some degree,
"I'll get straight to the point. You should quit being a squire."
was now advising him to resign.
Leonardo was just as flustered. He couldn't find any reason for him to say something like that.
"...That's awfully direct... Could you explain in detail?"
"Of course. You wouldn't accept it without hearing the reason."
Alphonse let out a long sigh before opening his mouth again.
"I heard you had a conflict with the other squires not long ago. You remember it, right?"
It was so recent there was no way he could forget. Leo nodded at the question.
"Those guys were my contemporaries. They're still squires, but I was promoted to apprentice knight a little while ago."
"No need to misunderstand. I know my contemporaries were in the wrong, and I'm not here for revenge."
He had already grasped from his memories of his previous life that it wasn't revenge. But that only made his suggestion even harder to understand.
"Then why?"
"The problem is that the other squires and apprentice knights don't see it that way."
Alphonse's expression darkened.
"This evening, after my contemporaries received their punishment, they gathered the other apprentice knights and squires and talked about you. I was there too."
Finally, things started to make sense.
"...Not exactly positive talk, I assume."
"Most of them were dissatisfied with you and harbored grudges. They were all busy feeling the injustice."
He understood.
On the surface, Leo was practically a parachute drop-in right now, and even looking at it internally, he hadn't entered through the proper channels. On top of that, considering his travels with the head butler and his one-on-one dinner with the family head...
Dissatisfaction leaking out was only natural.
"I'm aware. Overcoming that will be my ability."
"It's not that simple. They're not just going to ignore you—they'll crush you completely."
He had roughly anticipated as much. They would come at him even harder than the initiation ritual from before.
They would think it was a little more 'fair' and helped restore their 'prestige' that way.
"Whether sooner or later, they'll thoroughly put you in your place. Under the excuse of instilling discipline, nothing they do to you would be strange. So..."
"Go ahead."
"Pardon?"
"It doesn't matter if they do."
But it truly didn't.
"Didn't you understand what I said? It's not comparable to those guys from before. In the worst case, it won't end with just minor injuries..."
"I know. The level is completely different."
Squires were one thing, but apprentice knights were warriors officially recognized as knights.
From their various martial techniques to their mana capacity, comparing them to squires—who were little more than servants—would be rude in itself.
"But so what?"
Even so, it didn't matter.
"So what..."
"If you run away like this, you'll end up running away in other situations too. If you run from people, you'll easily run from the monsters you actually need to fight."
Anything becomes a habit with repetition.
The training he'd been doing was the same, and this urging to flee was no different.
"But this is your decision to make..."
"We'll see when we try."
"...What?"
"It's something you find out by doing. Whether you win or lose, figuring that out is what duels and fights are all about, isn't it?"
It wasn't mere bravado.
All Alphonse saw in Leo's eyes was deep conviction.
He scratched his head for a moment, then stood from his chair.
"...If you're that set on it, fine. It's your choice, after all."
Alphonse grabbed the doorknob and opened the door. At that moment, he quietly spoke.
"...Honestly, I didn't look at you in a favorable light either. You basically broke all the usual rules to get in."
As he stepped out the door, he smiled and added,
"But seeing you now has changed my mind. I get why Chris brought you along."
"...Thank you."
Leo expressed his gratitude.
"No need to thank me. It was just my opinion that..."
"Not for that."
Leo's gratitude wasn't focused on that shift in perspective.
"It can't be pleasant going out of your way for someone you don't like."
Alphonse had no obligation to come give this warning. In fact, the apprentice knights banding together to crush Leo wouldn't look out of place at all.
"And yet, you came here to warn me. That's what I'm grateful for."
This was the greatest thanks he could offer an old comrade from his previous life.
"...Impressive. Sorry to my comrades, but this time, I hope you come out on top."
"I'll make it worth it."
The door closed, and Alphonse left the room.
The morning sunlight stung Leo's dry eyes even more.
Leo had only slept 28 minutes today.
Damn it.
【So just wait a little. Until I'm in a position to speak informally to you.】
Aria tossed and turned in bed.
"...Ugh..."
【The Ariasfil in my mind can't be summed up in one sentence.】
Her faint breaths grew rough.
"...Ngh... Hnngh..."
She kept kicking off the blanket. Deep down, she wanted to tear it apart with her feet.
【Ariasfil is my goal.】
At those words, a boy appeared before her eyes.
Beneath his deep black hair, shining red eyes gleamed vividly—even in a dream.
【Aria, you are my...】
Her eyes and mouth snapped open at once.
"Hwaaaah!!!"
Riiip!!
Was the dream too vivid? Or had her legs been too strong? The blanket tore a little when she kicked it.
"...Hah?!"
Startled by the sound, Aria bolted upright in bed.
"...Ugh... It was my favorite one..."
Her cherished blanket had split open from her feet and grip, cotton spilling out. Alfred would definitely scold her if he saw this.
"...What time is..."
Glancing at the clock, her eyes flew wide.
"Eh...?!"
The hands had already passed 10 o'clock.
"...I overslept...!"
She hurriedly shoved aside the torn blanket and jumped out of bed. Her restless sleep had ironically kept her in bed longer.
Aria usually woke at her own hour without a maid rousing her, so even this oversleeping left her flustered.
Before anyone else noticed, she quickly combed her messy hair and washed her face.
In a short time—rushed as it was—she soon stepped out of the room in neat attire.
"...But why is it so quiet...?"
The mansion felt unusually quiet that day. It wasn't empty, but the number of servants was noticeably low.
"...Ah, Lina!"
Just then, Lina—a servant carrying laundry—walked by. At the call, Lina looked at Aria with wide, surprised eyes.
"Miss? Didn't you go watch?"
"...Watch? Watch what?"
"There's a duel at the training grounds right now. I figured you'd be the first one there."
She had spent that time writhing in shameful sleep. There was no way she knew about some duel at the training grounds.
"...I see. That's why everyone's..."
"You should go too, miss. The other servants headed over saying it'd be fun."
"No, it's fine. I'd rather catch up on sleep..."
"I see. Well, it's the new squire dueling the other apprentice knights..."
At that instant, Aria vanished from Lina's view.
The reason lay hidden in the words 'new squire'.
The training grounds were packed with people.
Or rather than packed, it was more accurate to say they were surrounding it.
Like an ancient colosseum, the mansion's residents had gathered around, ready to watch the duel.
"...Why are there..."
"So many people?"
Behind Aria, who had rushed to the training grounds, someone was already waiting.
The training grounds had turned into an arena.
A person appearing right behind her, as if they'd been waiting.
It was too perfect to call a 'coincidence' and too eerie to call 'deliberate'.
"...Brother?"
Only one person in the family would pull something like this.
"Overslept today, huh? I figured you'd be the first one here."
Rios curved his eyes into a smile. The pale blue eyes peeking between his lids reflected Aria's face.
"What's going... on here?"
"Simple. We're watching a fight."
It wasn't simple at all.
"...You started this!?"
"Don't misunderstand. It was the apprentice knights and Leonardo who kicked things off."
The moment Leonardo's name came up, Aria's expression shifted. For some reason, that only deepened Rios's smile.
"As the family's eldest son, I just mediated things well. With the best possible solution."
Aria stared at the training... no, the duel arena.
"...That?"
"Blindly trying to stop them wouldn't solve anything, so I just made the stage bigger."
"You incited them!!"
"Words differ by just an 'eo' or an 'ah', little sister."
She had no patience for such sophistry. Ignoring her as if it were all a game, Rios held out a large cup.
"Don't be like that. Have some too."
"What's this?"
White and yellow lumps were piled into a mountain inside the cup. At a glance, it was impossible to guess what they were made of.
"Picked it up during an expedition. It's called popcorn. Learned the recipe for times like this."
"...Pass. It'd ruin my mood."
Not just the popcorn—Rios too.
"I'd like to try some."
The woman worthy of the title Black Rock stood silently beside them.
"Ah, Black Rock. Perfect timing! Eat it before it gets cold."
"A knight must be like an explorer—fearless in the face of adventure. That goes for food too, Aria."
Spouting a philosophy she'd learned from novels, she popped some popcorn into her mouth and chewed. She soon spoke again.
"Hm... Can I keep going?"
"Of course. I figured..."
He pulled out another cup.
"...so I prepared more."
"Impressive."
Taking the cup, Chris and Rios finished preparing to munch on popcorn while enjoying the duel.
"Looks like it's about to start."
Rios and Chris could watch easily enough, but being small, Aria couldn't see the action clearly.
"...Fine then..."
Aria pushed past the two and began weaving through the crowd. She could have forced her way with strength alone, but the servants wouldn't ignore their lady.
Like the sea parting, the crowd split open, clearing a path straight to Leo's duel area.
She could see Leo clearly without even approaching that far, but curiosity drew her closer still.
Leo didn't spare her a glance, focusing solely on the opponent ahead. The look in his eyes was identical to the asura's gaze she'd seen at first.
"Oh, isn't that the lady who favors you? Must feel good having her watch in person. Right?"
The tone was provocative to anyone listening.
The words, unbecoming of a knight, echoed loudly.
As he taunted, he gripped his sword. The blade gleamed sharply, ready to slice into Leo at any moment.
"...Is that all you have to say?"
"What?"
"Let me give you one tip, while I'm at it."
Leo vanished.
"You don't hold a sword like that."
It was more accurate to say he had already moved.
Not just his body—the sword too.
"...?!"
That was all he could say. In the blink of an eye, it was over.
The apprentice knight's sword snapped, and Leo dashed to his rear. From behind, he struck the nape with the sword's hilt.
Thud.
The apprentice knight collapsed.
There were no cheers of victory.
Rendering the colosseum comparison meaningless, the training grounds fell as silent and solemn as mourners before a grave.
The silence was broken by the duel’s victor.
"Next."
In search of his next opponent, the winner shattered the quiet.