Chapter 31
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Welcome to Our Family-Like Knight Order! (7)
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This game was very similar to Football Manager.
Excluding a few heroines that absolutely needed nurturing, you had to recruit the most promising talents to build your knight order, manage your territory to earn money and reputation, and so on.
Every choice I made in this game would eventually come back around to me. Especially that time when the commoners I'd extorted reported me to the Holy Kingdom—it was quite the spectacle.
Of course, there was also the option to bribe my way out of it. But this game was designed so that bad choices led to more bad choices piling up.
Endings filled with bad choices were utter disasters. Bad endings where the protagonist died, and the heroines scattered to the winds. That one was the first ending I'd ever seen, too.
Back then, I thought that was the worst ending possible.
[Heh heh! I unknowingly pumped her full of my semen!]
I had no idea. That there could be a bottom beneath the bottom.
Either way, choices mattered immensely. Even if it felt like a short-term loss, acts of kindness would eventually pay off—that was the core message of this game.
And lately, I'd been feeling like I'd made the absolute best choice. That was recruiting Cluna to the Royal Knights. Of course, it hadn't been easy at all.
It was basically the same as poaching the top leader of elf society. To put it bluntly, it was like dragging another country's defense minister over. That kind of thing was impossible in normal circumstances.
But right now, things were far from normal.
With the Royal Knights wiped out, the racial alliances were shaking. And with her daughter currently in the Royal Knights, she'd lost her entire family. She had no choice but to waver.
"Oh, you're already awake?"
In the end, she quit her post as a guardian captain and chose to join the Royal Knights. Her silver hair, similar to Clara's but a deeper shade, curved gracefully around her face.
Actually, when I found out, she'd already handed off her duties as guardian captain and come straight here. She'd originally planned to retire, but changed her mind and joined the Royal Knights instead.
To protect her daughter. And now, she was everyone's mom. Cluna smiled brightly and extended her slender hand. I startled and shouted.
"No, I'm fine. Take care of the other kids first."
"If that's what the Captain says."
"...Hoo."
Cluna nodded at my words and stepped back. Left alone in the room, I let out a sigh of relief. It seemed my trauma was still lingering.
That aside, Cluna had become an excellent fortress manager. On her first day, she'd declared that she could handle the entire fortress by herself...
At first, I thought it was just bravado. No matter how talented she was, managing a fortress this massive alone was impossible. Or so I'd thought.
I finished preparing and stepped out of the room. Right away, I ran into them wiping down the windows. They were tiny little girls with wings.
"Good work."
[Kyaa! Kyaa!]
"Is that your way of saying thanks...?"
The little girls giggled and laughter rang out as they flitted around above my head. Naturally, I couldn't understand their words, so I could only grimace.
These pint-sized little girls were fairies, a race that coexisted with elves through contracts. They were incredibly versatile, handling everything from housework to scouting.
The catch was that communication required knowledge of ancient elven tongue—and only by fairly senior elves at that. Thanks to recruiting Cluna, Lionheart Fortress was coming alive.
Of course, key facilities like the smithy were still closed. But once the manpower requested from the human kingdom arrived, we'd sort it out somehow. Cluna's burden would lighten up, too.
"Damn it! Two knife-ears?! This is seriously bad news!"
"What the hell, you bastard?! You wanna die today or what?!"
"..."
As I headed down to the dining hall, familiar shouting echoed. My head was already starting to throb. Those two fought at every opportunity. I had to handle this somehow.
Clara aside, if Cluna overheard Ruby's words, it could spark a real fight. Both were top-notch Royal Knights material, sure.
But the experience gap was huge. Ruby would probably get one-sidedly crushed by Cluna. And I'd be the one in trouble then. So I was about to step in and resolve it when—
"Tch. Can't use words like that."
She'd clearly been in the kitchen moments ago, but now Cluna had slipped right between Clara and Ruby. With a faint smile on her lips, she lightly pressed her index finger to Ruby's forehead.
"Uh, uh... Sorry."
"Yes, as long as you get it. Clara? You too—go sit down now."
"Yeah, got it. Sitting now."
"Wow."
Look at that benevolence. More than enough to qualify as our mom, right? But at the same time, I wondered. Knife-ears was a slur for elves—how could she brush it off like that?
"Teacher."
"...Good morning, Helia."
No joke, she hadn't made a sound. As if it were the most natural thing, Helia was just there. For a moment, I thought I saw her red hair swaying wildly.
Helia was staring right at me. Her gaze was so intense, it felt like it was burning a hole through my face. Finally, Helia smiled and spoke.
"You smell like another woman."
"What?"
"But don't worry. I'm always on your side, Teacher."
"Wait—!!"
I quickly snapped my index and middle fingers together. At the same time, everything around me started turning gray. Once time had fully stopped, I could finally see it.
Helia lunging at Cluna, sword swinging. I panicked at the sight. I knew Helia was devoted to me, of course...
But I'd never dreamed she'd snap like this. Originally, Helia wasn't a yandere... was she? Thinking back, she did have some obsessive traits in the original story.
Either way, I couldn't just leave it. In the stopped time, I rushed over, sheathed Helia's sword, and gently lowered her floating body back down.
"Just a brief commotion."
"Teacher?!"
"Calm down, you too."
"...Yes, Teacher."
Truth be told, Helia's talent was exceptional. But even at Clara or Ruby's level, blocking her current attack wouldn't be that hard.
That's why I stepped in myself. She could've gotten seriously hurt otherwise. But I'd never imagined this kind of outburst. Time to set some firm rules.
"Your body reeks of Teacher's scent..."
"..."
I'll pretend I didn't hear that one.
"Everyone, listen up! Before we eat, I need to make something clear."
"We don't mess with folks at mealtime—even dogs know that!"
"Yeah! I'm starving over here!"
Predictably, Clara and Ruby pushed back. But before I could even speak, there was a loud thud! I turned to see Cluna, smiling with a vein bulging on her forehead.
"Both of you, quiet. The Captain is speaking."
"If it's Teacher's words, anytime."
Despite Clara and Ruby's protests, Cluna's single quiet word shut them up. Helia went without saying. All eyes turned to me. Finally, I spoke.
"From now on, fighting between squad members is strictly forbidden."
"Huh? What the hell's that about all of a sudden?"
"Clara, watch your language."
"...What do you mean by that, sir?"
Cluna, nice assist. It was a bit abrupt, but I had to announce it here with everyone gathered. I'd been thinking about it since the day I first took command of the Royal Knights.
"Exactly what I said. You all know the real reason the Royal Knights got wiped out, right?"
"..."
"Small quarrels lead to emotional rifts. A vessel that leaks inside won't hold up outside, either."
So no fighting among ourselves. It wouldn't be easy, but even so, everyone nodded. Helia notably avoided my gaze.
"And Ruby, prepare to head out after breakfast. With me."
"I'm going on a mission too?"
"We're going to drag back that deserter knight."
"Just the two of us? That's absolutely no—!"
"Kids grow big and strong when they eat plenty."
Helia, who'd been listening silently, started protesting. But Cluna calmly brought over a bowl and fed her, finally settling her down. I continued.
"I told you before, right? We'd bring that lone guy back."
"Oh yeah. You did say that once."
"Demons could strike anytime. We need to haul back the deserter as fast as possible."
First, gather all surviving Royal Knights.
The rest of the talk could come after.