Chapter 20
That night, three knights were holding a secret meeting in the recreation room reserved for captains and deputy captains inside the royal castle.
This exclusive recreation room, open only to a select few, was luxuriously appointed.
The spacious room's floor was made entirely of black walnut, gleaming a rich brown and making a pleasing sound beneath one's feet.
Several chess and billiards tables stood at the far end of the room, with tables and chairs arranged so as not to get in the way. Every piece was a superb work of craftsmanship.
Cyril, captain of the First Knight Order, sat in one of the luxurious velvet-upholstered chairs and began to speak.
“...So? How is our new recruit?”
Desmond, captain of the Second Knight Order, swirled the glass in his hand and gave a terse reply.
“I don't know.”
Upon hearing that answer, Cyril leaned toward Desmond.
“What are you talking about? You said you'd investigate her yourself, and since you're the head of the military police, I left it in your hands. You've already spent one-on-one time with her three times during chess class. Normally, you'd have reached a conclusion by now!”
“Don't get worked up. You're ruining your image as the ever-composed captain of the First Knight Order.”
“Hmph. You know that's just a rumor, don't you? I'm the most combative and aggressive man in the Knights.”
“Don't say that about yourself. ...Fia, huh? Well, she doesn't fit any of the types I've encountered before.”
Desmond downed the amber liquid in his glass, then ordered another from the attendant waiting behind the counter.
Desmond, captain of the Second Knight Order.
He was the highest authority in charge of guarding the royal castle, and also served as commander of the military police, the head of an organization staffed by members from multiple Knight Orders.
The military police were responsible for investigating and apprehending cases not only within the Knights, but also involving intruders in the royal castle and suspicious individuals among the public. Desmond himself was a leading expert in interrogation and torture.
His harmless, good-natured appearance was nothing but a façade. All information on spies and suspicious individuals who infiltrated the royal castle was brought to light by his hand.
“You know, almost all torture devices are given women's names. Things like ‘The Duke of Exeter's Daughter’ and ‘The Witch's Wedge.’ Why? Because women are always the ones who bring disaster. That's why I don't trust women just because they're women.”
“Hold on, Desmond. That's just a personal prejudice based on your fiancée leaving you to marry your younger brother! Before you get prejudiced, take a good look at your own appeal!”
“Shut up! I'm not the type to torment myself. If I took a good look at my own appeal, the results would be miserable. Why would I do that?!”
Desmond grabbed the fresh glass set down in front of him and took a hearty swig.
“Back to the point. Fia's a peculiar type. Take chess, for example. If she plays a strong opponent, she loses. That's normal. But when she plays a weak opponent, she wins by almost as narrow a margin.”
“What do you mean?”
“Normally, your own strength doesn't change, so if your opponent is much weaker, you win by a landslide, and if they're about evenly matched, you barely win. But Fia always wins by a narrow margin, whether her opponent is much weaker or about evenly matched.”
“That's interesting.”
“She was surprised when I pointed it out, so she does it unconsciously. She probably gauges her opponent's strength and unconsciously adjusts herself to win by just a little. She's done it so often it's become a habit. ...I just don't know why, or when she developed it.”
“I've never heard you say there's something you can't figure out when analyzing someone's behavior.”
Cyril was genuinely surprised.
“...She saw through the old injury in the Commander-in-Chief's left leg. Normally, no one would notice something like that. She figured it out from the Commander's slight movements in that short time. It's extraordinary. But when I observe Fia, she isn't perceptive at all in everyday life. She didn't even notice Fabian had cut his hair. That's unbelievable! Someone she sees every day had cut three centimeters off his hair, and she didn't notice! So, if I had to classify her normally, I'd say she's incredibly oblivious.”
“So, to sum up, she can gauge an opponent's strength in a fight and tries to win by a narrow margin. And she only has an eye for injuries. ...That's a very confusing portrait.”
“Yeah. That's why I said I don't know.”
Desmond drained his glass and ordered two more of the same.
“And what about you, Enoch?”
The man who had been quietly enjoying his drink alone raised his head at the call.
He was a handsome man with long, wisteria-colored hair.
His narrow eyes seemed intelligent, and people said his mind could understand every phenomenon in the world. Unfortunately, it was also said that the only thing inside his skull was magical formulae.
Enoch, the captain of the Third Mage Knight Order, gave a slight nod.
“After examining that sword, we determined that it is an effect-variable sword, a type that could only be made during the ‘Super Golden Age’ three hundred years ago. In other words, the stronger its wielder, the greater its attack power and speed.”
“Seriously?! That's a genuine treasure sword!”
“There are only three effect-variable swords in the kingdom, aren't there? And all three have been passed down through the royal family for three hundred years. Not a single other one has been found in all that time. How could a sword like that turn up now?”
“Deputy Commander Dorf said he found it in his manor's armory, but his family hasn't even been a knightly house for a hundred years. Why would a three-hundred-year-old treasure sword be there? It makes no sense!”
“But Deputy Commander Dorf and Fia gave the same account, didn't they?”
At Cyril's question, Desmond narrowed his eyes.
“That's right. I questioned them both myself. Neither of them was lying.”
Then Desmond lightly ran his fingers through his hair, a habit of his when he was thinking.
“...Actually, this is creepy. These inexplicable points are probably all connected by a single thread. But I can't see it.”
“Perhaps there's a hidden factor you haven't even imagined. ...By the way, could you stop bothering Fia now? She's in my order, so she's one of ours. I only gave you permission to question her, and that's as far as it goes.”
“Fine. There's probably nothing more I can get out of Fia anyway. But she was a letdown. You know, in her mock battle with the Commander-in-Chief, she went after his weakness to win, then had the nerve to claim it was chivalry. I was looking forward to seeing what kind of scheming villain she was, but when I got a closer look, she was astonishingly simple and honest.”
“Isn't that a good thing? Then stop following Fia around, all right?”
“I was doing my job! Stop treating me like some kind of obsessive pervert!”
Two Knight Order commanders bickered, while a third enjoyed his drink.
And so the night in the upper recreation room wore on―――……