One minute and one second were rushing.
I already learned that the suppression army had suffered a massive defeat, losing 70% of its forces, and I couldn’t afford to waste any more time.
I had to gather available troops and set off immediately.
“So you got permission from the emperor? Even got appointed as a court knight?”
“It’s just temporary.”
“Come on, even if it’s temporary, being a court knight means you can only aspire to be an elite knight! There are so many elite knights in the empire aiming to become court knights!”
In the underground training room.
Trie was chattering away.
While others gathered, I decided to spar with Trie, giving her a heads-up.
Thanks to that, when everyone finally arrived, I realized it would be better not to mention my temporary knight status.
Iris or Erica might be fine, but Aintz would definitely cause a ruckus.
“So, I’m thinking of heading south, and I’d like you to come with me, Trie. Of course, if you need time to think…”
“Sure!”
“What?”
“I said sure. You needed someone to back you up, right? I’ll go with you.”
Her answer came too quickly.
Did she even understand what I was saying?
“Trie. It’s not something to decide so easily. Where we’re headed is a battlefield covered in blood and guts, and we’re using class cancellation to go, so if an emergency arises, we might not be able to return in time for classes…”
“I know. I’m fully aware of that when I answered. Is it that I don’t want to go?”
“That’s not it.”
“Then it’s settled! Decision made!”
“…”
Her answer was so clear-cut that it worried me.
I expected Trie to accept after a brief moment of thought, but I never thought she’d skip the thinking part altogether.
I almost asked if she didn’t need to consult her family but stopped myself.
The outcome was pretty predictable anyway.
Her family would try to dissuade her, and she would ignore them.
After all, Trie held enough status and power in Schlusenburg.
“But didn’t you say you wanted to test something today?”
“Oh, right. I want to practice against you. I can’t get a grasp on it by myself…”
“What is it?”
“I want you to go all out against me.”
As I activated the internal circuit, a *weeing* sound filled the air, and heat surged through my body.
At the same time, a pillar of light erupted from my right palm, forming a sword shape as I grasped it.
Then, I drew the metal sword from the leather sheath with my left hand.
“Whoa… Twin Sword Technique?”
I nodded silently and took my stance.
The metal sword extended forward in a middle guard stance, while Vafe was raised high in an upper guard.
It was the most ideal stance I could come up with after some self-study.
Defending with one sword while attacking with the other.
If theory held true, it was a perfect execution of simultaneous offense and defense.
“I’ve never faced the Twin Sword Technique before… Alright, I’ll try my best to break through.”
Trie took her stance, standing firm like a mountain.
She exuded an aura that made opponents shrink back just by facing her.
I didn’t think she was this formidable before.
It seemed that during our visit to the Whist Forest, Trie had reached a new level of swordsmanship awakening.
But her defense wasn’t invulnerable either.
I knew that firsthand because I had pierced through it before.
Knowing that possibility meant I had nothing more to fear.
“Prepare yourself, Trie.”
I felt lighter than ever.
I kicked the ground and charged towards Trie, aiming for her neck.
*Thud!*
“Damn it…”
“Hehe. Was that too much?”
Trie scratched her head and laughed.
I felt like getting up and giving her a light smack, but the pain in my side had me sprawled on the ground.
I almost died.
Trie’s white sword had turned sharply just before it sliced into my side, striking me with the back of the blade.
Thanks to that, I didn’t die but found myself drowning in a swamp of pain that felt like death.
It felt as if all my organs had twisted.
I wondered if I could go without a potion.
“That was a crazy idea. I need to scrap this.”
I had tried to imitate something I’d seen in an anime, and look where it got me.
Using two one-handed weapons would be fine, but fighting with two longswords, one in each hand, was definitely unbalanced.
That awkwardness immediately turned into a vulnerability, and I ended up taking a hit.
There was a reason why two-handed swords were meant for two hands.
Let’s use weapons according to their intended purpose.
“Huh? Scrapping it? No way! It was sharper than I expected!”
“I’m fine, Trie.”
“I’m serious! It felt like I was facing both a sword and shield at once.”
“Even so, it didn’t match the agility of a one-handed sword and couldn’t replicate a shield’s stability.”
“But with proper stance, you can flexibly switch between sword and shield roles anytime! That’s a huge advantage!”
I could understand her words.
In a fight, if either the shield or sword were misaligned, one of them could become useless.
But with twin swords, you could just swap the roles of both.
“And when both swords shift into offense! I was genuinely terrified! If I hadn’t been a skilled swordsman, I would’ve panicked!”
Hearing that from someone who managed to block it didn’t carry much weight.
But Trie wasn’t one to give empty praise or insincere compliments.
Considering she explicitly stated it was sincere, there might’ve been some exaggeration, but I didn’t think she was lying.
“Okay. I’ll research it.”
“Good choice!”
A technique worthy of a sword god to study, by all means.
Listening closely seemed like a wise decision.
Holding my side, I took Trie’s hand and stood up.
Ugh. As soon as I stood up, it felt like my insides were tumbling again…
I reached into my pocket to grab a handkerchief and wipe the cold sweat from my forehead.
I didn’t want to lose Emilia’s scent.
“Hainkel. All the guests have arrived.”
“Ah. I’ll be right up.”
“Schlus is coming up…”
Just then, Emilia opened the door.
Seeing me supported by Trie, it seemed she had something to say…
“What?”
“Nothing, Hainkel. I’ll serve the tea.”
She turned with a cold expression.
She seemed irritated that there were so many guests to attend to.
After all, I wouldn’t be around in a few days anyway.
Just a little more patience.
“Let’s go up, Trie. I’d appreciate your help with persuasion.”
“What? Are we bringing more people along?”
“Yeah. The more comrades, the better.”
“Are you planning to ask Professor Sergey?”
“No, that won’t happen…”
I had no intention of mentioning anything to Sergey.
Even if I asked, he wouldn’t easily move for me.
Unless there was a formal request for assistance from the imperial family, Sergey wouldn’t participate in the battlefield due to his civilian status.
“You know these folks well enough.”
I climbed the stairs with Trie.
There was no way I wouldn’t be anxious.
To exaggerate a bit, my destiny hung in the balance at this moment.
I had made bold statements to the emperor.
Yet if I ended up going south with nobody, just digging a hole for myself, it would be the most embarrassing thing.
I would lose my honor to an irretrievable extent.
Hence, I absolutely couldn’t fail.
*
“Are you going to keep the guests waiting?”
Erica said curtly while sipping her drink.
She glanced straight ahead and then to the side.
Aintz and Iris.
Two familiar faces.
“Do you know why we got invited here?”
“Huh? Was it an invite? I just rushed over when Schlus called.”
“Oh, right…”
Aintz was leaning back with a silly look on his face.
For some reason, he seemed to have become Schlus’s loyal lapdog lately.
“What about you, Iris? Didn’t hear anything?”
“Not really.”
“Oh.”
Seeing Iris’s gentle smile made me remember.
Iris had future sight…
So, is it just Erica who was puzzled about why we were called here?
“Damn! This is driving me crazy! Attendant! When is Schlus coming…?”
“You seem quite anxious. Do you have other appointments?”
Just then, a soft voice came from behind.
It was Schlus Hainkel’s voice…
But he wasn’t alone.
Alongside him was a girl with green hair who always carried a white sword.
Strangely, Schlus was also carrying a sword.
Did he receive a gift and was now all excited?
“No, it’s not that I have other plans. It’s just a waste of my precious time.”
“Is that what you say when you’re interrupting others’ time with your nonsense?”
“Th-That’s different!”
“I’ll get straight to the point.”
Schlus Hainkel walked over to the front of the sofa.
The girl with green hair glanced around briefly before quietly sitting at the edge of the sofa.
“Trie and I are going to join the civil war in the south. We’re recruiting comrades.”
“What?!”
Erica couldn’t hold back and yelled.
Looking to the side, sure enough, Iris remained calm as ever.
I couldn’t tell if she already knew or if she was just naturally composed.
“W-What do you mean by that?”
“It’s just as I said. Do I need to explain this simple sentence further?”
“No, it’s not that! Why the sudden decision! Especially during the semester!”
“To strengthen the empire’s ties and uphold peace on the continent.”
“Oh…?”
Was it simply because he stated such an obvious reason?
Erica was left speechless hearing Schlus casually say something so preposterous.
I wouldn’t even be able to make a sarcastic remark like, “Oh, a patriot here,” since I was taken aback.
“You are among the proven students I trust. To put it frankly, I need your assistance. I need dependable comrades I can trust to guard my back and take watch while I sleep.”
“But what can we do on the battlefield?”
“Magicians are treated as valuable tactical assets. Don’t worry about the magician’s oath. You’re going as hired mercenaries, not as soldiers.”
The magician’s oath was a promise made by anyone who walks the path of magic.
It included a vow never to use the magical powers granted by the deity Aigis for evil deeds, which meant that within the Freya Empire, it was prohibited to include magicians in military organization.
But this was all just a facade.
In reality, magicians were often thrown into battle disguised as mercenaries or infantry skilled in magic.
“…”
Erica glanced at Iris.
Though Erica wasn’t particularly pious, she was curious how the saintess felt about such loopholes.
“You can’t take this lightly. The battlefield is a place where people kill and are killed, and we are no exception. Blood might stain our hands. I’ll do my best to prevent that, but some might not return. I want you to acknowledge all these risks and then answer.”
“I’ll go. You saved my life, Schlus. Sacrificing for you wouldn’t be bad at all.”
“Please don’t sacrifice yourself…”
Aintz immediately answered without hesitation.
Wait, are you just accepting the offer to go fight on a battlefield out of the blue?
No matter how close they’ve become recently, it was difficult for Erica to comprehend.
I almost suspected that perhaps Aintz had been hypnotized into accepting the proposal.
“I’ll go too.”
“Huh? Iris too? Are you sure? As a saintess?”
“It’s fine. I’m going for humanitarian reasons, to heal the wounded.”
“Oh…”
In that case, it was conceivable that a saintess could indeed go.
But what on earth was the reason for going, regardless of that?
“Schlus, if you’re hiring us, how will you pay us?”
“You already know, don’t you?”
“Huh. You got me there.”
I had no idea.
Why was I the only one in the dark here?
As Erica looked exasperated, she stared back and forth between Iris and Schlus.
‘Are they playing a prank on me?’
I began to suspect that everyone here had teamed up to make a fool out of me.
Unless that was the case, there was no way they would accept such nonsense without a second thought!
Especially everyone except me!
“I don’t know anything about it! The payment! Tell me too!”
“I’ll provide a separate payment for you, Erica.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll fix the nightmare your brother is having.”
“……!”
What nonsense.
That statement hovered on the tip of my tongue.
“I thought you’d have trouble making a decision on your own. There’s no need to answer right now. I’ll be leaving at 7 PM from the Institutional way station, so you can delay your answer until then. Now, everyone should gather their gear and disperse.”
“……”
As everyone stood up and started moving, only Erica remained frozen in disbelief.
