Chapter 27
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Welcome to Our Family-Like Knight Order! (3)
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Goodso's Law. First: If you're told to strip, strip.
It's true of any company, but especially at Goodso—backtalking your boss, even a single word, was absolutely unforgivable. At least big corporations would pretend to listen.
A lot of places applied military-style hierarchies just because the boss had done his service. And I planned to use that to my advantage, fitting it perfectly to the current state of the Royal Knights.
I first assigned the three of them to the largest room available. Not one room each, mind you. All three sharing one room. Just like army barracks. Naturally, they rebelled hard.
"You want me to share a room with a runt shit-sack like this?!"
"Sharing a room with a snot-nosed twerp would make my gut explode!"
"I want to room with Teacher."
It was understandable, in a way. Not only was I restricting their privacy, but I was cramming an elf and a dwarf—who got along like oil and water—into the same space. The stress must've been immense.
But.
Even more dangerous than that was isolation. The memory of losing comrades could drive anyone to a drastic choice at any moment. It was my duty to prevent that.
"I told you before, right? We're in the same boat now—we're family."
"......"
"What's so hard about family sharing a room?"
Here comes Goodso's Law.
Second: We're family, kid!
When I asked for my employment contract, they hit me with, "We don't do that sort of thing in the family." That's still one of my legendary experiences. They threw "family" around for everything.
No overtime pay for family. No contracts for family. In my eyes, real family wouldn't pull that shit. But surprisingly, it works on newbies.
Let's be honest—what does a fresh grad know? They fall for fancy words. Clara and Ruby shot me dissatisfied looks at "family," but I ignored them.
There were more Goodso Laws originally, but for now, this would do. Push too hard, and they might actually bolt. Right after, I started one-on-one talks with the members.
"Why do the talks have to be in the confessional?"
"It's got atmosphere, doesn't it? Even if I'm no priest."
"What the hell is that?"
I called them "interviews," but they were really just squad leader check-ins from my army days. Still, better than nothing. First up: Clara.
Lionheart Fortress had a confessional built for the purpose. Thanks to that, I could ditch my helmet. Wearing it nonstop was brutally hot.
"So? What do I do for this interview?"
"Just answer a few questions."
"Simple enough."
"Where were you, and what were you doing?"
"I was working as a guardian in the forest. Oh, guardians are the elves who protect the woods. Not just anyone can do it, you know?"
Just having someone listen made a world of difference in reassurance. I'm no psychologist, of course. But that was fine.
Even I could manage sitting there and listening. Clara said she'd been a forest guardian. At just 100 years old, young for an elf.
For an elf to be a guardian at 100 was like becoming a knight at age 10 in human terms. Impressive. Royal Knights lived up to the hype in talent.
"What drove you to work so hard?"
"I wanted Mother's approval. She was always looking ahead."
"I see."
"Yeah. So if I'd run forward too... maybe Mother would've looked at me."
"Is that why you joined the Royal Knights? Fine talent you've got."
They say praise makes whales dance. Simple truth everyone knows, but the effect is huge. Yet Clara responded coldly to mine.
"No. That's not it."
"Hm?"
"I was just a clueless rookie. A pathetic frog in a well, feeling superior over something that small......"
Her voice sank like ink in water. What? The mood was good just five seconds ago. Did I hit a trigger? If so, I'd blown it.
"Mother would click her tongue at a pathetic kid like me. That's not why I left the forest—I...!!"
"That's not true."
"How can you be so sure? You don't know anything. You've never even met Mother!!"
I tried to salvage it before it got worse, but her reaction was fiercer than expected. A few compliments weren't cutting it—too naive of me.
"True, I've never met her."
"Then why act like you know everything?"
"A parent's heart for their child is always the same."
"......"
"I told you—we're family."
Even I found it repulsive. How many times had I heard that "family" crap at Goodso? But it led to a surprisingly solid answer. I pressed on.
"Your mother surely thinks the same."
"You think... so?"
"Without a doubt."
"......Thanks. I feel a bit better."
The rest of the talk was uneventful. But if her voice—scraping the floor before—had lifted even a little from that... was it my imagination?
No. Not imagination.
The same words can be an insult or the highest praise, depending on who's hearing them. So here, we need a quick look at Hans's past life.
He was an office drone at Goodso. Not every small company is hell, but Goodso was the blackest of black companies.
They'd spam "family" when they needed you, then cut you loose coldly when you were no use. Hans suffered there far longer than you'd think.
So "family" made his teeth grind. That's why he hammered it home. He figured it'd hit others the same shitty way.
"Captain's weird, huh? Suddenly pushing the family thing."
"What's with the sudden nonsense?"
"Come on. We're totally different races."
"......"
"And a human captain saying that."
But to other races like Clara and Ruby, it felt fresh. Elves and dwarves hated each other most, and weren't fond of outsiders either.
Humans especially had a rep for discriminating and looking down on everyone. Yet here was one declaring us one family. First time for them.
Even the captain who'd saved them called us comrades in the same boat. He hadn't said "family" then. Ruby sighed after a pause.
"Don't fall for it so easy. Captain's human in the end—could have ulterior motives."
"I thought that at first too. But now I'm starting to think maybe not."
"Ha? Fell for the face under that helmet?"
"A half-elf, maybe. But a human? Nonsense."
Clara snorted. No way she'd catch feelings for another race—half-elf aside. Ruby half-joked and moved on.
"Then why the sudden talk?"
"......Just a feeling."
[A parent's heart for their child is always the same.]
We couldn't see his face. But that voice carried endured pain. The captain must have family too. Enduring pain like that meant...
Clara shook her head to clear it. Just her assumption. Guessing hurts both sides.
"Yeah. Teacher's that kind of person."
"Oh right, Helia's the captain's disciple, isn't she?"
"How'd you end up his disciple?"
"Teacher saved me."
Just being together leads to talk, building bonds. Shared pain makes them stronger.
Clara and Ruby had already leaned on each other subtly before Hans arrived. Even those elf and dwarf rivals...
Wounds don't heal easy. But huddling, laughing, chatting nonsense like this... little by little, they'd mend.
"So neither Ruby nor Clara has any interest in Teacher?"
"Obviously."
"Lusting after another race is beyond mere sexual desire."
Helia watched Clara and Ruby closely—especially Clara after today's talk. No emotions on their faces. Only then did Helia relax.
"Good."
Really good. No need to kill them later.