Chapter 91
“There you are, Shibel-chan. I figured you’d be here after all.”
“Leo-san. And Mirko-san too.”
“…!!”
While I was thinking about that, Leo-san and Mirko-san—apparently looking for me—came over.
Leo-san already knows perfectly well that whenever I have free time, I often come here to watch the knights train.
“…Commander Leo, and Vice-Commander Mirko…”
“?”
Seeing the two of them, Armin-kun began to tremble slightly.
“Hm? You’re—”
“Long time no see! Leo-san! Mirko-san!! It’s Armin! Do you remember me!?”
“Ah, so you’re Armin, Yoti’s younger brother after all. Of course I remember you. You look well.”
“Yes!!”
At Leo-san’s response, Armin-kun nodded enthusiastically, his eyes sparkling.
He looked incredibly happy.
“More importantly, why are you in a place like this? I didn’t hear anything about it from Father.”
“I heard that you guys from the First Knight Order came back to the capital.”
“Huh?”
“You promised, didn’t you! That when you returned to the capital, you’d let me join the knight order and train me!”
“…Ah.”
At Armin-kun’s reply to Yoti-san’s question, Leo-san and the others exchanged glances.
“We did say something like that.”
“Please take me on as your disciple!!”
When Mirko-san muttered quietly without changing his expression, Armin-kun raised his voice.
“Wait a second—you know this ‘Commander Leo’ was Prince Leopold, right? He’s the Crown Prince now!”
“I know. But that’s amazing! I’ll join the First Knight Order and become strong like Mirko-san, so please train me!!”
“……”
Unfazed, Armin-kun showed no sign of backing down, and the three of them exchanged looks once again.
“It’s true that when we stopped by the Duchy of Myukke, we told you, ‘We’ll be waiting for you at the knight order once we return to the capital,’ but…”
“That was meant for when you were older! Right?”
“Yeah, that was the intention.”
“I’m already eleven! I can hold a sword!!”
“You’re still… only eleven!”
While Leo-san looked troubled, Yoti-san tried to reason with his younger brother.
If I remembered correctly, the earliest one could join the Royal Knight Order was fifteen.
Leo-san and Mirko-san had joined right after turning fifteen, but Armin-kun was still too young.
“First you need to learn proper conduct as a gentleman and build up your strength. At eleven, you can’t even become an apprentice in the Royal Knight Order.”
“…Then isn’t it fine if I attend the academy in the capital and at least receive training?”
“But you won’t enroll until next year, right?”
“…That’ll be too late.”
“Huh?”
As Armin-kun muttered while clenching his fist tightly, all of us turned to look at him.
“I want to become strong as soon as possible!! I want power so I won’t lose to monsters!!”
“…What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”
Seeing Armin-kun looking almost frantic, Yoti-san’s expression changed.
“Monsters appeared in the Duchy of Myukke.”
“I’ve received that report… but I heard the city’s mercenary group handled it on their own?”
“But if monsters keep increasing like this, everyone in that city will be wiped out…!!”
“……”
Even after hearing Leo-san’s words, Armin-kun still looked anxious.
They may not be as dangerous as those in Tori, but monsters exist throughout the country, and reports of appearances come in from all over.
Each city has its own mercenary group, and if they can’t handle the situation alone, the Royal Knight Order is dispatched. So far, however, there haven’t been reports of major damage.
“Don’t tell me—you actually saw the monsters yourself?”
Yoti-san stiffened when Armin-kun spoke through tears, forcing out his words.
“I’m going to become a knight someday and go subjugate monsters. I thought it’d be better to see how the mercenaries fight, so I went along on the subjugation.”
“You idiot! Don’t do something so dangerous—you’re just a kid!”
“I told you, Father’s been training me too! I can already wield a sword!”
“You came here because you saw real monsters and felt a sense of danger, didn’t you?”
“…Yeah.”
If this continued, it would turn into a sibling fight.
Yoti-san was speaking out of concern, but Armin-kun couldn’t understand that yet.
And Armin-kun’s actions were probably driven by his desire to protect his hometown…
“We stay in regular contact with mercenary groups and local lords. I’ve heard that Myukke is managing fine for now without knight order support.”
“But if you wait until it’s too late, then it really will be too late…”
“……”
Even Leo-san’s words failed to convince Armin-kun.
That’s true. If something happens first, it’s already too late.
Even a saint can’t bring people back to life, and if they’re far away, they can’t help immediately.
So I understand how Armin-kun feels.
It’s the town where he grew up—of course it’s precious and worrying.
“Even so, training won’t make you strong overnight! Strength comes from daily, steady effort. Getting this impatient won’t help, you know?”
“…But—”
“You’re very brave, aren’t you?”
“Huh?”
I gently spoke to Armin-kun as he lowered his head after being lectured by Yoti-san.
“You came all the way here alone from Myukke because you want to become strong as soon as possible, didn’t you?”
“…Yeah.”
“That alone is amazing. Your resolve is already that of a fine knight! Yoti-san, for today at least, let’s let Armin-kun rest.”
“Shibel-chan…”
“You’re right. Armin, I’ll take you to the knight dormitory. Calm down for now—we’ll talk after that.”
“The knight dormitory!? Understood!!”
At Leo-san’s suggestion, Armin-kun’s eyes lit up as if he’d regained his energy.
For some reason, I felt a strong sense of familiarity with him.
“—Thank you, Shibel-chan. Thanks to you, Armin seems to have accepted it.”
“I’m not sure. He might ask for training again tomorrow.”
“…Well, that’s true. Still, I’ll speak with Count Myukke as well.”
Leaving the overjoyed Armin-kun in Yoti-san’s care, I returned to my room with Leo-san.
But after hearing what Armin-kun said today, I found myself wishing I could personally travel around the country.
Even if mercenary groups are holding things back, monsters are appearing everywhere.
Just because monsters don’t reach the capital doesn’t mean we should forget that fact.
It’s said that simply having a saint present brings peace to the land, but my power still can’t reach a wide area.
The Duchy of Myukke isn’t that far from the capital, yet my power still doesn’t reach it.
I understand why the saint should remain in the capital—but I think it would be fine to leave it for short periods.
The palace has many magic stones imbued with the saint’s blessing, and I don’t think monsters would attack immediately just because I was gone for a little while.
If that’s the case, it would be more efficient for me to regularly travel around the country and directly bestow blessings onto magic stones.
…This country is vast.
There are many people living beyond my sight, and perhaps many who live in fear of monsters.
Even though I’m a saint, how powerless I am.
I don’t know if I can save everyone in this country, but I want to save as many people as I can.
Just because the capital is peaceful doesn’t mean I have time to say I’m “bored.”
