“We are at war with the subhumans. But are we supposed to kill them on the orders of their own kind? I can’t accept that.”
*The pushback was stronger than anticipated.*
Yeah. A private knight commander no one has ever heard of suddenly takes over the Commander in Chief position, sure, that makes sense.
The suppression army had been shattered to pieces, and aside from the one responsible for the wreckage, the highest rank available was the leader of the private knight division.
But they were grossly underestimating their fundamental character.
It was easy to forget that, to them, subhumans were nothing more than bottom-tier manual laborers unless they were slaves.
The rigid classism and racism of this world hadn’t been taken into account.
And as a result, here we are.
Even though Kane announced his resignation from the Commander in Chief position, the knights were still uncontrollably rebelling at the military meeting.
With morale already shattered, the suppression army seemed on the brink of another split.
“I will not give up the Commander in Chief position.”
“Imperial Knight Commander!”
“It is absurd for a human to heed the orders of a subhuman. Let us duel. If you can beat me, then I will neatly step down and treat you with due respect as a superior.”
“······.”
I couldn’t help but be surprised.
Kane, who just lost to me moments ago, was insisting on his way again.
With that pained expression, he nearly tricked me.
I almost believed he truly wanted the Commander in Chief position.
“Very well. Let us fight in a single match right now.”
“Woooaahhh······!”
But I felt convinced.
Even if I won this duel, the forces of the Holy Knights that faced Kane would be expelled, cutting the already dwindling strength of the suppression army in half.
Kane, even if he had to lower his pride, would prioritize the mission; he was not someone who chased honor alone.
If my predictions were correct, Kane was intentionally challenging me to lose.
As an exciting spectacle began to unfold, knights started coming out of their tents one by one.
“Schlus.”
“······?”
I was about to follow, but I felt someone tugging at my collar from behind.
It was Iris.
She looked uncharacteristically flustered.
“Show me your arm again, Schlus.”
“But I already treated it earlier.”
“I was scared because it was too dark back then and I might have missed something. There’s light here, so just let me take a look at your arm for a moment······.”
Was she talking about the wound that got pierced by the stake earlier?
There was no pain left and it didn’t feel awkward to move, so it was clear it was fully healed, yet Iris seemed anxious.
I sighed and rolled up my sleeve to show my forearm.
“Ahh······! What are we going to do? That scar······.”
“······.”
Is she talking about that tiny scar?
I hadn’t even noticed until Iris pointed it out.
But she was panicking like a doctor who sewed blood vessels together wrong.
The same girl who calmly treated me when I was on the verge of death from a stab to my liver······.
“It’s fine, Iris. It’s okay.”
“But still······.”
“I promise, it’s really okay.”
Holding Iris’s trembling hand as she swallowed her tears, I had many thoughts.
I had only thought of her as a cold and rational person.
Even I, who created her character and dialogue, saw her that way.
Someone who quietly does the right thing without expecting anything in return, truly fitting of a saint.
That’s how I had viewed her.
But Iris, while she may be a saint, was not a superhuman.
She was just a person who had a desire to be acknowledged, a yearning for gratitude.
Now that I realized Iris was the one who restored Schlus’s eyes and ears in the past, she had been breaking her own character in real-time since I recalled that past.
At least in front of me, she was tossing aside her aloof, cold saintly mask.
It showed how starved she was.
She was gasping for that mental reward from all her overwork.
“If it weren’t for you, I would have bled out and died.”
“That can’t be true······. It wasn’t that bad of a wound.”
“Then this scar is nothing too, right? Don’t worry about it, Iris. And thank you.”
“······.”
That mental compensation was something I could provide in plenty.
I could let Iris, who had lived without rest as a saint, relax and be herself around me.
She could be a normal girl laughing at silly things instead of the strict, fair daughter of the gods.
It felt like a minimal act of atonement for getting her caught in this painful life.
“How about we go watch the duel?”
“Ugh······ Alright······.”
Once I stepped outside, everyone was already excited.
Though it felt like a sudden storm during a military meeting,
I had no reason to stop them, and even if I did, I figured no one would listen.
As Pelaine and Kane stepped into the open area, knights and soldiers rushed in, causing a huge crowd.
Surely the sentries didn’t come out to watch either······?
“I will only fight with an arming sword.”
“Wooaahhh······!”
As Kane drew his one-handed sword, cheers erupted from all around.
It seemed they interpreted it as him looking down on them.
“Taylor, did you bring it?”
“Yes, Commander.”
“……?”
But when Pelaine received the sword from the deputy commander, something felt off.
An absurdly oversized sword handle.
And an even more gigantic blade······.
It resembled a massive two-handed sword, almost the same height as a person.
Wait, is it even right to classify that as a two-handed sword?
Isn’t that just a giant’s sword?
“Umm······.”
Kane looked genuinely startled this time.
As Pelaine raised the sword high over her head, it gave the impression of coming down like a cross from a cathedral.
Well, in this world, where people with immense strength abound, it wouldn’t be unusual for someone to wield such a sword.
“What are the rules for the duel?”
“Regardless of time or place, they have never changed. Until the opponent surrenders.”
That was a rather tough rule.
After confirming the rules, the two men started putting distance between them.
The knights formed a small circle as an implicit dueling arena.
“Look at that subhuman in armor. Quite amusing.”
“I think it’s even funnier that you’re facing me with a one-handed sword.”
Both men were staring each other down as if ready to charge at any moment –
“······.”
“······Huh?”
After a long silence, they were looking at me.
Ah, I see now.
“Begin!”
*Bam······!*
At the signal, both figures leapt back, kicking up dirt in an instant.
Previously, I could only see traces of them, but now, having trained with Trie, I could keep up with their movements.
…Of course, that didn’t mean I could actually fight them.
*Whoosh······!*
The massive sword swung through the air, creating an eerie howling sound.
It seemed they were about to clash at terrifying speed, but when Pelain swung the sword, Kane twisted his body to evade it.
The difference in reach was truly overwhelming.
Kane had to hastily retreat instead of attempting to swing his sword.
With a flick of her wrist, Pelain returned to her stance and began to approach.
On the surface, it appeared Kane had no chance of winning.
But I, who created the character of Imperial Knight Commander Kane, knew better.
The skill of this seasoned veteran, who had weathered countless battles, was far from just this.
*Gahhh······!*
With the arming sword drawn, Kane slipped into the range of the greatsword.
As Pelain’s sword descended with lethal speed, Kane’s choice was-
*Scratch······!*
*Grrrkk!*
Instead of backing away, he deflected it with his arming sword and moved in.
Sparks flying as the blades grazed each other.
That arming sword must have become unusable now that it’s lost its edge.
What could he be scheming?
I pondered that when Pelain began to make a back slash as if she couldn’t allow any more proximity.
*Clang!*
“……!”
But Kane countered that threatening back slash with the plate armor on his left arm, stepping even closer.
It was a rational judgment based on the assumption that the mass was too great for a back slash to generate enough force.
And the courage to catch the blade with his arm.
Those two factors combined shaped his response.
Even if it lacked any real power, it should at least have left a bruise on his arm.
*Gahhhh!*
Ultimately, Kane discarded his sword and punched Pelaine in the abdomen.
The metal armor dented inward as Pelaine was lifted momentarily off her feet.
Yet even in that moment, she didn’t let go of the greatsword in her grip.
I squeezed my eyes shut at that moment.
Ah. I thought it was over.
*Whack!*
*Gahhh?!*
At that moment, Pelaine landed just barely and slammed her forehead forward.
In an instant, Kane’s face turned from shock to the embarrassment of blood gushing from a broken nose.
That embarrassment was turning into fear rapidly.
The opponent, who should have been crumpled by a direct hit to the liver, was now drooling and baring her teeth, making it hard not to be scared.
Instinctively as a subhuman, Pelaine would have dropped her weapon and gone for Kane’s throat.
But she was well aware she’d face scorn for being savage.
It seemed she intended to win with the civilizational tools the humans emphasized.
*Boom!*
Taking advantage of Kane’s panic, Pelaine thrust the blade forward and caught him off-guard.
The shockwave created by her monstrous strength sent Kane flying back, landing with a thud.
Like a beast of the feline family jumping toward its prey, Pelaine pounced over him.
“Guhhh! Damn it!”
“Yaaaaahhh······!”
A power struggle had started.
Pelaine held the sword horizontally against Kane’s neck.
Kane tried to push it away.
But Kane showed no signs of enduring, and he had swiftly pushed the blade against his throat.
It wasn’t just because he’d lost the high ground; he couldn’t withstand the unbelievable strength of the subhuman.
Soon his face reddened as blood rushed to his head.
“Kuk······! I concede!”
“Woooaahhhhh!!!”
A cheer erupted from one corner.
It came from the knights of the Holy Knights.
Pelaine had just been drooling moments ago, but her expression returned to normal as she reached out her hand to Kane.
Kane stood up, appearing somewhat displeased but shook her hand.
“I acknowledge my defeat. I, Kane von Sturmgarten, accept the Holy Knight Commander as the new Commander in Chief of the suppression army while also accepting the position of Vice Commander.”
It was a clean resolution that no one could dispute.
.
.
.
“Haah······.”
At the back of the deserted mansion.
Kane sat there, rubbing his neck.
It was probably because the sword had pressed down on it forcefully, leaving a mark.
“So you were here.”
“Schlus Hainkel······.”
At that moment, someone appeared as the curtain was lifted, and it was none other than ‘reinforcements.’
The person who saved my life, then suddenly snatched the position of Commander in Chief away from me······.
“I came to express my gratitude.”
“What gratitude?”
“Gratitude for quelling the knights’ discontent.”
“······.”
Kane’s expression turned stiff.
Clearly, he had applied for a duel to bring the knights under Pelaine’s control.
In the atmosphere immediately after revealing her as a subhuman, it was obvious that no one would heed her orders.
But by applying for a duel and losing decisively, he had successfully suppressed all discontent.
No mere knight could refuse someone acknowledged by the Imperial Commander.
But he didn’t plan to let it be known publicly.
I thought I had executed a delightful performance, yet it seemed this sly creature had seen through it all.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Thank you for conceding. It must have been a challenging choice. I didn’t expect you would lower your honor as the Imperial Knight Commander to serve a subhuman.”
“······.”
That was genuinely a misunderstanding.
Initially, I did plan to let him win.
I figured I’d mess with him a bit, let him see the wall he couldn’t surpass, and then gracefully lose.
But I got caught in his beastly fighting method, panicking instead and unable to showcase my true skills.
Actually, saying I lost because I was overwhelmed by Pelaine was more accurate.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about at all, but… I’ll gladly accept your gratitude. To think I’d receive thanks from an imperial hero.”
“Oh, the Imperial Knight Commander is saying such things.”
A seasoned veteran who has faced countless battlefields.
Aside from the Empire’s strongest swordsman, Kane was the one the Emperor trusted most.
At Schlus’s mocking tone, Kane smiled wryly.
After this big defeat, that trust would surely crash down around him.
“I had no choice. If you tried to hold onto the Commander in Chief position, His Majesty the Emperor would have stepped in personally to remove you. Pelaine is an excellent knight and strategist, but she can’t lead like you can. I hope you’ll assist her in leading the suppression army to victory.”
“Victory? Surviving comes first, now you speak nonsense.”
“We will win. Now that I am here, we will make it happen.”
“In just about a week’s time?”
“Yes. I’ll give you the chance to make your contribution as Vice Commander. If the tide turns, then seek to restore your honor.”
If the tide turns.
That felt like a dream scenario.
If the imperial army reinforcements arrived, perhaps, but what reversal could come from the Empire University’s rookies crashing onto the battlefield?
However, Schlus’s voice was oddly filled with confidence.
Those types usually fell into two categories.
Either a boastful flimflammer.
Or a true talent.
I had no way of knowing which one it was, but for Kane, he had no other choice.
“I advise the Holy Knight Commander to always watch his back. The moment the tide turns, I’ll stage a coup to reclaim the Commander title.”
“Feel free to do so.”
The two, who exchanged grins, walked side by side back to the tent.
Returning to the military meeting that would decide the future of the suppression army.
