Chapter 8

First impressions were the worst.

I thought he was a young nobleman who had grown up pampered in a carefree environment, oblivious to the troubles he caused others, and lacking in common sense.

But how wrong I was.

He dispatched six Scarlet Mantises in just thirty seconds. And he did it from a distance of twenty meters, with just a longbow, using archery of unbelievable power.

How much effort must he have put in?

To lump him with a dirty nobleman would be a disgrace.

What about me?

I, who have aspired to be a knight since childhood and have relied solely on my sword until now.

No good. Nothing I do is good. My family abandoned me for lacking talent with the sword, and in the knight's order where I finally managed to join, I am at the bottom and don't fit in at all.

I have no real strength.

I am only seen as a noisy little girl who talks about justice.

I can't even uphold that justice.

Whenever I expose the corruption of the nobles, my superiors always put a stop to it.

And when I try to expose the corruption of my superiors, my colleagues get in the way.

Dogs of power.

It's utterly depressing.

I hate this kingdom, this system.

Look at it.

Even now, with our comrades dead, this corrupt upper echelon is desperately trying to take in the savior of the Third Knight Order and use him as they see fit.

Despite the fact that the cause of our predicament was an incompetent commander and unreasonable demands from the upper echelon.

Is this what the knight's order is?

Is this the image of a knight I once admired and aspired to be?

If so, I, I...

* * *

"Second, are you interested in joining the Adventurer's Guild?"

After helping the Third Knight Order, I was brought to a room in the knight's order with a high-end sofa.

I thought I would be thanked, but the first thing the old man sitting across from me said was that.

"Adventurer's Guild?"

"Whoops, I got ahead of myself. I heard that despite being an adventurer, you are not affiliated with the guild."

Indeed, I am not affiliated.

But there is no reason for me to join.

The Adventurer's Guild of the Castel Kingdom is an organization that oversees the mediation of requests such as monster hunting. In other words, it is a bridge between the citizens and adventurers—officially. In reality, it is a corrupt organization that extracts personal information to unilaterally manage adventurers.

Why do I know this? Because it was written in the story of Mevion, so there's no helping it.

"I appreciate the offer, but I must decline."

"May I ask why?"

Don't push it, old man. What's your goal?

"I'm not really in need of money, and I don't like being bound by an organization... I guess?"

There's no point in hiding it, so I told him the truth.

Then the old man put on a troubled expression.

"What's the matter?"

"Well, as a knight's order, we don't want to leave an excellent freelance adventurer like Second alone. Especially after this time, your skills have been made widely known. If we don't do something, the nobles will be eager to recruit you."

"...So, the guild will protect me?"

"That's right."

Suspicious.

He says my skills have been widely known, but there are no witnesses, so the Third Knight Order just needs to keep quiet, right?

Why does this old man want me to join the guild so badly?

...Hmm, I don't get it.

It's not like I mind joining, but I have a feeling it might hinder my goal of becoming the best in the world.

"I'll pass on joining."

"...I see."

When I said that, the old man backed off.

Then he opened his mouth thoughtfully.

"In that case, we'll send Sylvia with you. If the Third Knight Order is with you, it will serve as a deterrent to some extent."

Sylvia as a companion...

I see. She's not very smart but she's beautiful. Any man would want her around.

That's why I'm afraid to accept the old man's offer.

This is probably his real intention, but I don't really understand what it is.

"The nobles will use any means to recruit you. Sylvia is known in the capital for being a strict knight against the nobles. I think it will be quite effective. What do you think?"

The old man's follow-up attack.

...Hmm, I think I get it.

Sylvia is strict with the nobles. And the upper echelon of the knight's order is connected to the nobles. So, the knight's order sees Sylvia as a hindrance. In other words, they want to demote her?

Oh, the situation has changed.

If that's the case, maybe this is actually a great offer for me?

Because, you know, it's a rare opportunity to add a beautiful female knight to my team.

"How long will you be with me?"

"Hmm. Let's ask her—Sylvia."

When I asked, the old man opened the door and called for Sylvia.

After a short wait, Sylvia appeared, having taken off her armor.

"Sylvia, you will be assigned as Second's bodyguard. As for the term, the knight's order will respect your and Second's opinions."

"!"

Sylvia was surprised by the old man's words.

Of course, it's essentially a demotion. And the fact that the knight's order will respect the opinions of Sylvia and me means that my word will determine Sylvia's term. Clearly, the knight's order is unhappy with Sylvia.

"..."

Sylvia fell silent and looked down. A glimpse of her cleavage caught my eye. Hmm, just the right size.

"Do you have any preferences for the term?"

"...No."

The old man implicitly silenced Sylvia.

Then he looked at me. He wants me to decide the term. If so—

"How about two years?"

I said what I had decided.

Two years. That should be enough to aim for the top.

The old man said without changing his expression.

"Agreed."

And so, the female knight Sylvia became my bodyguard.

* * *

Demotion—.

I was "sent away" by the knight's order.

While savoring this fact, I accompanied Second to an inn and drank with him in the tavern on the first floor.

Even though I refused, saying it was my duty as a bodyguard, Second insisted, "Come on, come on."

I had been through a lot of shocking events, so I gave in to the temptation.

"Hey, how about a deal?"

At that moment,

Second suddenly said something like that.

I, who was quite drunk, replied, "Let's hear it."

Unaware that this deal would drastically change my life.

"Surely, Sylvia wants to work as a knight with more pride. I want to help you with that."

I was a bit startled when he called my name.

Thinking back, Second's appearance was very attractive. I had been so focused on my sword that I never had time for romance, but drinking and relaxing like this made me feel a woman's desires.

No, that's not the point. His words.

His words accurately expressed how I felt.

I want to be a proud knight. That has been my justice since I was a child.

"If you are tired of the current state of the knight's order, I want you to quit and come with me."

It was a shocking statement.

Come with me!?

W-What is he saying...!?

"W-What, what, what are you talking about?"

"Wait, wait, calm down! I said it was a deal, remember."

R-Right. Calm down, me. It's a deal, not a p-proposal. Damn, my face is hot!

I downed the contents of my glass in one go.

...Phew, a bit calmer now.

"I think, Sylvia, you can't stand to bow to power, right? If so, you should gain the necessary strength. I have the means to help you with that."

Yes, that's true.

But it's not that simple...

"I was born a Virginia Knight. It was my duty as the second daughter of the Virginia family to become a knight and achieve military honors. So, I started training with the sword at the age of four. I've been training with the sword for 13 years... but I failed. I had no talent for the sword. I was looked down upon by my brother, sister, and even my parents. I'm a loser. Even after finally becoming a knight, I can't uphold a single justice..."

I rambled on. I was quite drunk.

"Ah..."

Then, Second hesitated before speaking.

"Sorry to say, but if you don't have talent for the sword, you should try something else. A spear or a bow, for example."

"Y-You—!"

I got angry, grabbed Second's collar, stood up... and then thought better of it.

What am I doing?

Second is right.

I had become stubborn and only trained with the sword. Even though I was told I had no talent, I kept training with the sword...

"A knight... is someone who wears armor, wields a sword, rides a horse, and gallantly rushes to the rescue in times of crisis..."

I wanted to be a knight. A noble knight. Someone who never bows to evil, a hero of justice.

...How pathetic. Tears welled up in my eyes.

What would my childhood self think of me now?

She would probably hate me. Even if I wear armor, wield a sword, ride a horse, and belong to the Third Knight Order.

Because I'm not a knight at all. I can feel it painfully.

"Stop imposing your own romanticized image of a knight. Any weapon is fine. The important part is being a hero of justice who gallantly rushes to the rescue, not the sword or armor, right?"

"..."

Second is absolutely right.

That's true.

There's no need to be fixated on the sword or its form.

What's important is the heart of a knight!

Yes, that's it!

Such a corrupt organization is not a place for true knights!

Leaving the knight's order doesn't mean I'm no longer a knight!

This is the only time I can change—

"Second! I've made my decision. I will follow you!"

I said it.

But I don't regret it. I've decided to bet on him.

Second smiled happily when he heard my bold declaration.

My cheeks naturally flushed. I might have had a bit too much to drink.

"Then, let me tell you about my dream."

Second said and began to speak passionately.

He wants to become the best in the world, apparently.

It's a very vague and laughable dream.

But his side profile, smiling and with sparkling eyes, looked like a boy's.

—Ah, Second is seriously aiming to be the best in the world.

I could feel it sincerely.

Then, I want to go with him and help him.

Surely, something interesting will happen.

Ah, this is the most enjoyable night I've ever had.

My future was bright—!

* * *

"..."

After drinking with Sylvia, I returned to my room and sat on the bed.

"Haha, hahaha, hahaha!"

I couldn't help but laugh.

I got a beautiful female knight!

I didn't expect things to go so smoothly.

She probably has talent in archery or magic. After 13 years of training in swordsmanship with no results, it's likely she is a DEX or INT specialized type. There's a slim chance she's a production type, but that's fine too. The most important thing is that I have a new companion, which greatly increases safety.

Cutting ties with the troublesome knight's order and bringing her to my side is a big plus.

Not to mention, I didn't tell her to immediately resign from the knight's order.

On the surface, she will serve her two-year term as a member of the Third Knight Order, but in reality, she will continue to provide me with information from the knight's order, essentially acting as a spy.

In fact, it seems the knight's order had given her the instruction to "seduce Second and bring him back to the knight's order," but it would be meaningless if she told me that bluntly.

The knight's order probably never imagined that a dutiful and "knightly" knight like Sylvia would disobey their orders.

This is a two-for-one, no, three-for-one, no, four-for-one deal.

I'm looking forward to the days ahead.

I want to train Sylvia, learn the necessary skills for swordsmanship, explore dungeons, and more...

I lay down on the bed, thinking about all this, and fell asleep.

Thank you for reading.