Chapter 34

As I was dozing off, the one-eyed knight called out to me, saying, "It's over."

The end of work meant it was time for lunch break, which was also my once-a-day mealtime. When I lived in this fortress, I used to get meals in the morning and evening, but now that I come to play at noon, they serve me lunch at that time.

I opened my eyes wide and jumped down from the one-eyed knight's lap to the floor. I wanted to go to the dining hall right away, but the one-eyed knight was taking his time organizing papers on the desk, so I busily paced back and forth at his feet, waiting. Hurry up, hurry up!

The one-eyed knight knew that if he let me walk on my own, I would rush and run into a door that wasn't fully open or collide with someone in the hallway, so he picked me up before we left the room. I've learned that while I can get away from Tina, I can't escape the one-eyed knight's arms, so I gave up on running myself and stayed quiet. I tried to hide my excitement for the meal by licking my nose repeatedly.

However, even though I was hungry, we couldn't go straight to the dining hall. Just as we were about to leave the office, Kicks burst in without knocking.

His golden hair slightly disheveled, he looked at the one-eyed knight and shouted, "Deputy! Is it true that the commander is quitting the knights...!"

I couldn't understand his sudden words at first. But as Kicks' serious voice sank in, I looked up at the one-eyed knight and opened my mouth.

"Quitting? The commander...!"

The one-eyed knight gave a reproachful look, and Kicks finally noticed my presence. He let out a "Ah!" but quickly regained his composure.

"But, Mil, you're curious too, right? You wouldn't want the commander to leave, would you?" "No."

I opened my mouth wide to answer.

"Why is it like that?"

The commander seemed to be doing his job with enthusiasm. Was it all a facade? Being a commander must be tough, with a lot of responsibility and stress.

Wait a minute? I realized I hadn't been there for him. What had I been doing? I had been barging into his office during his precious break time and making him throw balls for me. The commander threw the best, while the one-eyed knight threw too hard.

Playing with balls is fun for me, but I imagine it's not fun for the person who just keeps throwing. It must have been tiring and stressful to spend his break time repeatedly doing such a simple task for me. What should I do, I thought, feeling guilty. The one-eyed knight sighed and said to Kicks,

"Who's spreading such a 'tale'?"

"Tale? You mean it's a lie?"

I tilted my head and looked at the one-eyed knight. Kicks also seemed a bit confused.

"But, I heard Jild say that he heard the commander and deputy talking about it..."

The one-eyed knight frowned, realizing the source of the rumor. But he firmly stated,

"The commander is not quitting the knights. It's a misunderstanding by Jild."

So it's just a misunderstanding, I thought, relieved.

"Is it really?" Kicks pressed, still doubtful.

The one-eyed knight raised an eyebrow.

"It's true."

"But Jild did hear the commander talking about quitting or not quitting—ah, I get it!"

Kicks snapped his fingers.

"The commander isn't quitting the knights, but he's stepping down as the commander of this fortress, right?"

I widened my eyes in surprise. Kicks has a sharp intuition. He often notices things that people try to hide, like when I sneak food from the dining hall or when I drool all over the one-eyed knight's coat. This prediction is probably right too.

"Commander, are you leaving here?"

The one-eyed knight looked down at me with a troubled expression. After a moment's hesitation, he began to explain.

"It's just a proposal to return to the capital's main headquarters. Nothing has been officially decided. The commander wishes to continue his duties here and won't be leaving."

He patted my head, as if to reassure me. The one-eyed knight didn't seem to want to go into more detail, but Kicks pressed further.

"Jild said that in your conversation, the name of Captain Sarell from the capital was mentioned. Is he involved?"

"That conversation was supposed to be in the commander's office. It seems Jild was eavesdropping at the door."

The one-eyed knight's right eye glinted sharply, and Kicks quickly defended Jild.

"It can't be helped. If I heard such a conversation, I'd be pressed against the door too. It's because of my respect for the commander."

Jild is a young knight who often talks with Kicks. They were both in the capital and in the same unit when they were new.

"You were under Captain Sarell in the capital, right?"

When the one-eyed knight asked, Kicks replied with a bitter expression.

"Just when I joined the knights. But after Jild and I showed a bit of rebellious attitude, we were quickly transferred here. He doesn't even remember me. I remember him as a bad superior, though."

Kicks continued, glancing at me.

"Ah, I get it! The proposal is that the commander will return to the capital, and Captain Sarell will take his place here."

The one-eyed knight listened to Kicks' words with a complex expression, as if thinking, "Why do you only think clearly at times like this?" It seemed Kicks had hit the mark.

Meanwhile, I was digging through my memory. I had learned about the main headquarters in the capital before.

Pushing aside important knowledge like "playing in the mud gets you a bath" and "the kitchen shelves in the dining hall have jerky stock," I recalled what I knew about the knights.

The main headquarters in the capital has many units, like the Ninth Garrison, but on a much larger scale. A single unit in the capital has about as many people as the entire Ninth Garrison. The ranks are also different; a captain in the capital is equivalent to a commander in the regions. Captain Sarell of the First Unit is one of the captains in the main headquarters, a fairly high-ranking person.

And he apparently wants to become the commander of this northern fortress.

Being assigned to a remote and harsh environment like this northern fortress is usually considered a demotion. Why does Captain Sarell want to come here? Is he as ambitious as Commander and Tina? But he seems to be too disliked by Kicks for that.

"He's really sharp, or ambitious. He hasn't changed, has he?"

The one-eyed knight neither agreed nor disagreed with Kicks' harsh words.

"Anyway, there's nothing I can tell you at this point. Nothing has been decided yet. Be sure not to spread this. Tell Jild the same."

After that, the one-eyed knight and Kicks headed to the dining hall, but I was so preoccupied with the commander's situation that I barely tasted my meal.