Chapter 28
“Calm down, my lady. The magical beast has already been captured.”
“Huh?”
They already captured the magical beast?
“Yes, because the one that appeared this time was only a needle larva. It was probably drawn here by the smell of fragrance.”
“Oh.”
A needle larva.
It was a magical beast so weak that it couldn’t be compared to a snow worm.
It was so weak that, despite being called a magical beast, it was sometimes even defeated by household dogs.
“That’s good news, but then what was so urgent?”
“Because there wasn’t just one or two of them that came here.”
There had been no fewer than seven needle worms at the soap factory.
“With that many… it certainly could be dangerous.”
“Yes. It would be fine if they only appeared at the soap factory, but it could be disastrous if even one of them made its way into the territory.”
It hit me anew that the magical tool meant to repel magical beasts was broken.
“So, to get to the point… how about we form the militia again?”
“The militia?”
Gold nodded, his eyes clouded with nostalgia.
“Before my lady was born, young men stepped forward to protect the villages in the territory. I used to manage them, too.”
“I think I’ve heard about that.”
Mostly from the old men of the territory who got drunk and rambled.
They used to boast that they had once taken up weapons and protected the territory, so they were no different from knights.
“That certainly sounds like the best course of action.”
The magical tool was so badly damaged that buying a new one would actually be preferable.
We did have some money, but it was nowhere near enough to buy a magical tool.
“I understand. I’ll authorize it, so go ahead.”
“Thank you, but… there’s one problem.”
“What is it?”
“The problem is that we have no instructor to train the young men and teach them tactics.”
What was he talking about? Why wouldn’t there be one?
“Don’t we have Sir Gold?”
“I’m too old.”
When I asked, pointing at Sir Gold, he shook his head.
“The odds are low, but the militia could lose their lives fighting magical beasts. That’s why they need high-intensity training.”
“Yes.”
“But if the instructor just stands around giving orders, who would be happy with that?”
“Ah.”
I had a rough idea of what he meant.
Even in the army, I used to get annoyed when I saw an assistant platoon leader order us to run around the training field during physical training, then sit on a bench and rest.
“The militia’s purpose is to serve the territory. We need to make them proud of that duty, rather than make them question it.”
“I see.”
Of course, paying them properly would solve that, but at that point it would be better to hire experienced soldiers or mercenaries.
“So I came to ask whether Sir Heter might become the militia’s instructor and train them.”
“Me?”
Gold nodded toward Heter, who pointed at himself.
“I’m sorry.”
Heter immediately bowed his head and declined.
“Hoho, at least think about it….”
“It embarrasses me to say this myself, but I was a genius, so I’ve had no talent for explaining things to others ever since I was young.”
‘Ooh.’
He was obnoxious, but I couldn’t say he was wrong.
Everything he had shown us was so extraordinary that even calling him a genius seemed insufficient.
“Wouldn’t it be better if I simply patrolled the territory regularly….”
“That would be physically impossible.”
Gold explained why Heter’s proposal wouldn’t work while holding up two fingers.
“As I said before, our first concern is an attack by something more dangerous than a needle larva. The second is an attack on a residential area instead of the factory.”
“Indeed, unless Sir Heter can use clones, he can’t protect both places at once.”
“Hmm….”
Heter had no counterargument, but he looked far from pleased.
To persuade him, I would probably need to offer him a carrot.
‘It can’t be helped.’
It was a little wasteful, but if I didn’t use it now, when would I?
“Sir Heter.”
“Yes.”
“If you train the young men of the territory well, I’ll sign the contract for you.”
“…Are you serious?”
He looked at me with a puzzled expression.
Compared with subjugating the snow worm and dealing with the mage, this task was far easier, which was probably why he was reacting that way.
But those other matters had been exceptional.
If I only signed under circumstances like those, it would take decades to complete the contract.
“I mean it. So, what will you do?”
“Phew, then I suppose it can’t be helped.”
Heter let out a deep sigh and nodded.
“However, I have one condition.”
“What is it?”
“I will teach exactly what I learned.”
“Huh?”
If it was the training Heter had received, it must have been intense enough to produce a knight.
He intended to teach it exactly as he had learned it?
“Unlike Sir Gold, I’m neither very knowledgeable nor good at teaching others.”
“Hoho, you’re flattering this old man.”
“This is no time to laugh, Sir Gold.”
That was what he said, but to be honest, I was curious too.
What kind of training could produce a knight like Heter?
And what if our territory had someone talented enough to endure such training?
“My lady, I understand your concern, but they are men of the North. How about trusting them just this once?”
“Hmm… if that’s what you say, Sir Gold.”
I accepted Heter’s proposal, pretending to do so reluctantly.
Although I could already picture the suffering those men would endure, they might discover talents they hadn’t known they possessed.
Wouldn’t that actually be a good thing?
***
Talent will out.
It means that outstanding talent will reveal itself even if one tries to hide it.
Why am I suddenly bringing this up?
“You’re all hopeless.”
“What? Is that true?”
“Yes.”
If there had truly been a talented young man among them, he would have stood out long ago.
“Huff—no, Sir Heter! That’s too harsh!”
“Exactly. We completed all ten laps you told us to run, yet you call us hopeless?”
After running ten laps around the territory for the physical test, the exhausted men lay sprawled on the bare ground with aggrieved expressions.
“I should have been more specific. I meant hopeless by the standards of knights.”
‘Isn’t that basically the same thing?’
The young men had seemed to run quite well to me, so how on earth must knights run for Heter to say something like that?
“I’ll run ten laps too. See for yourselves.”
Perhaps intending to show rather than tell, Heter began running as soon as he finished speaking.
One lap, two laps, three….
“Wow.”
“Good heavens.”
“How is that possible?”
By observing Heter run, we could see why he had said that.
The angle at which his arms swung, the frequency and force of his breathing, and even the way he used the muscles in his legs.
All these technical details were on an entirely different level from those of ordinary people.
“You can learn things like this. However, anyone who intends to become a knight should be able to do this without learning it.”
“Yes….”
“I admit it.”
After seeing Heter complete the same ten laps without his breathing becoming labored at all, everyone seemed convinced.
“Next is how to use weapons. Swing a sword one at a time.”
As he spoke, Heter held out real iron swords to the young men instead of wooden practice swords.
“What? We’re using real swords from the start?”
I was startled when I saw that.
Wasn’t a real sword too dangerous for someone holding one for the first time?
“Yes.”
“Whoa!”
Contrary to my concerns, the young men, getting their first chance ever to touch a sword, had shining eyes and even argued over who would go first.
“Yes! I won!”
“Tsk… Men fight with their fists, and yet you used that dirty trick.”
“Haha! Don’t you know the winner is always right?”
“Now that it’s decided, swing your sword at that scarecrow over there.”
The young man who had won rock-paper-scissors took the sword and headed for the scarecrow Heter had indicated.
“Hah!”
The first young man to get a turn let out a powerful war cry and swung the sword down from above, but—
Thwack.
“Aagh!”
The sword struck the scarecrow with a dull sound and stuck there, while the young man nearly lost his grip because of the recoil.
“Your feet are too close together, and you pulled your arms back too far. Also, your right hand should be on top, not your left. Next.”
Heter finished his assessment with an impassive expression, and the next person took a swing, but the result was much the same.
….”
Since he offered no praise beyond his feedback, it seemed he saw no one as knight material.
Well, that was only natural.
If knightly talent were common, anyone and everyone could become a knight.
‘It’s a little disappointing.’
Just as the last person’s turn was coming to an end—
“Everyone!”
At the mansion entrance, Ruby waved at us while holding a picnic basket.
“Huh, why is Ruby here?”
“My lady. Don’t tell me that’s….”
“That’s right. I asked her to prepare lunch for everyone working hard for the territory.”
“Hooray!”
The discouraged young men quickly perked up at the news that refreshments had arrived.
“Here you go! Cured-ham sandwiches and potato soup. Come and get them.”
“Thanks, Ruby.”
“Big Sis Ruby. Why are you suddenly speaking so formally? It doesn’t suit you.”
“Then die.”
…?”
After handing out all the prepared food, Ruby looked around curiously.
“What kind of training were you doing?”
“It wasn’t training. We were just testing them.”
“I see.”
When Ruby saw the sword embedded in the scarecrow, her eyes lit up and she approached it.
“Ruby! That’s a real sword, so it’s dangerous!”
“Aw, I’ve handled weapons while taking care of them before, so you don’t need to worry.”
Then Ruby gripped the hilt and pulled the sword free.
“…Huh?”
“Huh?”
A dumbfounded sound escaped Heter as he watched her.
“Sir Heter. What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”
“Ruby. Could you swing the sword at that scarecrow just once?”
“Eek, me?”
“What?”
“Ruby’s going to swing a sword?”
Startled by Heter’s request, the young men eating sandwiches began murmuring and all turned to look at Ruby.
“Once is enough.”
“Hmm, all right.”
Self-conscious under everyone’s gaze, Ruby took her stance.
‘Oh?’
Having learned a little swordsmanship as a child, I thought her stance looked fairly convincing.
Then Ruby slowly raised her arm and brought the sword down diagonally toward the scarecrow.
Shhk.
“Gasp.”
The scarecrow, which had stood firm through countless sword strikes, was cleanly cut in two.
“Huh? Wha?”
“Holy shit.”
“We’d better not mess with Big Sis Ruby.”
Seeing Ruby, who was smaller and looked weaker than they were, cut through the scarecrow, the young men—and Ruby herself—looked shocked.
“So there really is one.”
Heter examined the cut surface of the scarecrow and spoke admiringly.
“Someone with the talent to become a knight.”