Chapter 31
These days, I've been thinking a lot about the Imperial Family.
Following the ‘assassin,’ there was now the ‘Kingslayer.’ Could this really be a coincidence?
Could that prince and princess sibling pair actually be on good terms and conspiring together to mess with me by sending me these walking disasters?
I've had a lot to think about.
“My lord, are you all right?”
Damn, you startled me!
Rikain's rugged face suddenly popped into view right in front of me.
No matter how loyal a retainer he was, the man's face was still rather intimidating.
I hurriedly restored my poker face and spoke to Rikain.
“Hmm…I'm fine. I was just thinking about something.”
“You seem to have a lot on your mind. If this is too much for you, my lord, we can postpone the spar.”
“I'm fine. I want to see the escort knight the prince sent with my own eyes.”
“Understood. Then let's begin.”
This was the training ground beside the castle.
After hearing me, Rikain looked toward the knights in the training ground.
There were three people in the training ground at the moment.
One was the Justice Psycho—or rather, the Moonlight Knight 『Azel』—sent by the prince, while the other two were the most skilled knights in our order, the brothers Ark and Mark, who usually served as my escorts.
Rikain declared to the three people preparing with wooden swords in the training ground.
“Then, we shall begin the spar! Treat it as a real battle and don't hold back!”
“I look forward to learning from my seniors!”
Azel lightly and gracefully raised her wooden sword and settled into her stance.
Seeing her, the brothers Ark and Mark gripped their wooden swords with their hulking arms and shouted.
“Hmph! Even if you are from the Golden Knights!”
“You say you'll take on both of us at once? Aren't you being a little too cocky, junior?!”
The brothers Ark and Mark, who looked like a pair of hulking Scottish muscle brutes, seemed extremely pissed off.
It was understandable.
Azel had said she would demonstrate her skill in a spar because Rikain could not entrust my protection to someone whose abilities he did not know.
So I had planned to have her spar with either Ark or Mark, like Rana had before, but she told them both to attack her together.
It was practically the same as saying, ‘You weaklings are so far below my level, so come at me all at once,’ and Ark and Mark gripped their wooden swords with murderous looks in their eyes.
And then…
“Aaaaaaah!!!”
“Don't underestimate the Kron Knights!!!”
They charged at her with battle cries.
I could already predict what was about to happen, so I couldn't bear to watch the scene with my eyes open.
Whoosh-! Thud-!!
“Ghk!”
“Kraaak!!”
The match ended in just one exchange—or, more precisely, two exchanges, one for each of Ark and Mark.
Azel's wooden sword moved so quickly that it looked blurry even to me; it struck Ark on the crown of his head, then thrust into Mark's neck behind him.
If mages used mana to cast spells, knights used magic to manipulate their own bodies.
Enhancing one's body with mana was a basic skill for knights, but naturally, it was not something just anyone could do.
Moving at superhuman speed while controlling one's movements with such precision was a feat possible only for SSR-rank knights like Azel, and Rikain was watching in admiration as well.
“Amazing. She subdued both of them that easily.”
“Yes, she truly is remarkable. Even I doubt I could guarantee victory if I faced her one-on-one.”
For a moment, Rikain's words sounded like he was saying, ‘She is equal to or greater than me,’ like a certain ninja teacher.
Azel was one of the best SSR knights in terms of combat ability, and her blessing was extremely offensive as well.
Since Rikain's abilities and blessing specialized in group battles, he would probably have difficulty defeating Azel one-on-one.
I said nothing about that, in order to protect my loyal retainer's pride.
Meanwhile, Azel finished the spar effortlessly, approached me, knelt on one knee, and spoke.
“I dedicate this victory to the just Lord of Kron!”
“Th…thank you.”
It was nice that she dedicated her victory to me, but I really wished she would do something about those crazed eyes.
I felt like one careless mistake would leave a huge hole in my stomach.
* * *
Having silenced all objections, Azel became my escort knight from that day onward and followed me everywhere.
Having a beauty like Azel follow me around was wonderful.
The problem was that her sense of justice and her affection for me were far beyond anything I had imagined.
“I was truly moved and got goosebumps when I heard that you had freed the slaves of Dreihart, my lord.”
“I-Is that so?”
“Yes! It has been my lifelong dream to fight on such a just and honorable battlefield. If you ever have another righteous mission, please take me with you. I, Azel the Moonlight Knight, will lead the charge and wield my sword for you and justice.”
From what she said, it seemed she had heard stories about me from minstrels.
In particular, the liberation of Dreihart's slaves seemed to align perfectly with her view of justice, and she said that if she had not been chosen for the prince's mission, she would have come on her own anyway.
Seeing the flames of justice burning in her bright eyes made me a little afraid.
When I first heard about her, I honestly thought it was a joke.
Isn't that right?
Surely there was no knight in the world who would stab her own lord to death simply because he had done something unjust, right?
But after meeting her and seeing her eyes, I realized it.
She was the real thing.
She was genuinely a lunatic who could risk her life for justice and stab her superior.
And that madness grew stronger the longer she stayed with me.
“My lord! When will we have another righteous mission like suppressing the Dreihart Rebellion?”
“My lord! Shall I go catch some bandits for the sake of justice?”
“My lord! I am always ready to devote this body to a righteous mission. Give me an order anytime!!”
This crazy Justice Psycho never stopped asking me to give her a righteous mission.
No! Hey! You're my escort knight!
An escort knight was supposed to protect me, so why did she keep trying to go off somewhere?!
I wanted to say that, but I couldn't, because provoking that Justice Psycho seemed likely to earn me a stab.
“My lord, it seems we need to take some action regarding Knight Azel.”
Her justice mania must have looked serious even from the side, because Hart commented on it as well.
Even if she was capable, asking her lord to give her missions was certainly problematic behavior.
“Don't worry. I have a way to deal with it, so leave it to me.”
“Understood, my lord.”
More than just the escort knight sent by the prince, Azel was extremely capable and indispensable when facing certain enemies.
Rather than abandon her, I decided to find a way to reform her and keep her at my side.
The next day, I told Azel that I had a mission for her.
After hearing me, Azel spoke with eager anticipation in her eyes.
“My lord! Are we finally beginning a righteous mission?!”
“Yes. At last, that day has come.”
Azel looked ecstatic at my words.
As her breath quickened with excitement, I asked her,
“Azel, are you truly ready to act for the sake of justice?”
“Yes! I am ready!!”
“Then, from now on, follow me in light clothing!!”
“Yes! Understood, my lord!!…But, my lord, what do you mean by light clothing? If we're going to a battlefield, shouldn't I be heavily armored?”
“When did I say we were going to the battlefield?”
I told her we were going on a righteous mission,
but I never once said we were going to fight.
“We are going to the ‘rice paddies.’”
“…What?!”
I took her with me to the rice paddies.
* * *
These were the rice paddies newly reclaimed through the strength of the migrants and Sharen's magic.
Planting crops was in full swing there.
“Everyone, one!”
[ “”One!!!!”” ]
“Two!”
[ ““Two!!!!” ]
Dozens of people were planting crops row by row in time with my words.
Among those dozens of ordinary laborers was Azel, a noble young lady.
It seemed to be her first time doing anything like this, and she was flustered as sweat poured down her face.
“Azel! Your rhythm is off.”
“Yes!”
“Don't forget—this is a righteous mission!”
“Yes! Understood!!”
What exactly did she understand?
She couldn't hide her confusion or the fact that she thought this was damn awful.
I'm a knight. I'm supposed to do righteous and impressive things, so what am I doing here?
It was obvious she was thinking that, and as a result, she was even worse at planting crops than I was.
Ignoring her confusion, I simply continued working the fields.
The farming we did together was finished around sunset.
“My lord, you've worked hard.”
“Thank you, Rana.”
“You should eat too, Lady Azel.”
“Th…thank you, Lady Rana.”
I drank the cool water Rana gave me.
As expected, ice water after farming was the best.
Afterward, I joined the farmers and knights for dinner, grilling a wild boar caught in the mountains and sharing it as barbecue.
My helping with the farmwork did not send productivity through the roof, and I was busy too, so I could not do this often.
But doing this occasionally made my subjects happy, so I kept it up from time to time for image-building, like politicians visiting markets.
And honestly, the taste of the meat and alcohol after working like that was incredible.
While I was spending time like that, I looked around for the day's protagonist, the Justice Psycho, and saw her sitting nearby, listless and staring blankly into space.
I went over and sat beside her.
“Are you all right, Azel?”
“Oh! My lord! I'm fine! Nothing is wrong with me!!”
What do you mean, nothing is wrong? I can practically feel how shitty you feel.
I consulted a walkthrough I had seen in the past and tried to win her over using my own adapted version of its strategy.
“Azel, what is your justice?”
“My justice is…wielding my sword for what is right, for the sake of my lord!!”
From what little I had seen of Azel in the walkthrough, I had learned that she had developed an obsession with justice because of something that happened in the past.
Because of that, she tried to become a righteous knight and suffered tremendous stress whenever she could not carry out a righteous mission.
Then what exactly was justice?
Was swinging a sword the only righteous thing to do?
“Then was what we did today not righteous?”
“I…don't know.”
The first step in winning Azel over, according to the walkthrough, was to teach her that justice could take many forms.
Recalling that, I said to Azel,
“Swinging your sword to protect my subjects from bandits is certainly a righteous act.”
In a world of bandits, corrupt lords, and even Bloodkin, it was impossible to deny that wielding a sword for justice was a righteous act.
But that was merely a means.
The means must not become the end.
“But I also believe that farming and hunting to feed my subjects and creating a place where ordinary people can live happily without worry are righteous acts.”
“Ordinary life…justice…”
The farmers who had finished their work were enjoying their lives happily, laughing and chatting as they tore into pieces of meat with a drink in hand.
Was protecting the ordinary happiness of ordinary people not justice?
At least, that was my idea of justice.
“At least, that is my justice. I need your sword for that; justice is not needed merely so that you can swing it.”
“My lord…”
“Let me ask you once more. Azel, what is your justice?”
The walkthrough said that saying this would awaken Azel, prompting her to reflect on her own sense of justice and grow.
Just as I began hoping that a more mature Azel would develop a proper view of justice and finally free herself from being a Justice Psycho, Azel spoke with sparkling eyes.
“I was narrow-minded. I had never thought deeply about justice. Thank you for opening my eyes, my lord!”
“Th…is that so? As long as you've opened your eyes, that's good.”
I couldn't tell if it was my imagination, but her eyes were burning even more fiercely than before.
There was even something vaguely fanatical about her gaze.
“So! Until the moment I find my own justice, I will consider you my justice!!”
“What?!”
From that day onward, Azel's obsession with justice was eased.
And she began to obsess over me.
Uh…this isn't what was supposed to happen…Something seems to have gone wrong again.