Chapter 15
Three months had passed since the Appraisal Ceremony in April, and it was now July. In the end, Krena still hadn't been summoned by the lord. Rodan and Gerda seemed to have made up during their sleepover. Telesia told Allen they'd occasionally fought even back in the old days.
Summer in the Pioneer Village was just as hot as anywhere else. The temperature had to be well over thirty degrees Celsius. Allen made sure Mash drank plenty of water so Mash wouldn't get dehydrated. Mash had turned two and could walk quite well now, so Mash followed Allen everywhere. Once Mash turned three, Mash would probably be allowed to go outside, too.
As for Allen's training, neither his level nor his Skill levels had changed. His Synthesis Skill was close to Level 3. Since he had to create two cards before synthesizing them, Synthesis was harder to level up than Create. It wouldn't be much longer before all that effort paid off.
His Swordsmanship was still at Level 3, too. In Hell Mode, levels didn't go up so easily.
"Allen, are you ready?"
"Yeah, Mama."
There was a major event taking place today. A group of knights was coming to the Pioneer Village. The lord hadn't summoned Krena, but the knights were coming to meet her. Three months after the church appraised Krena as a Sword Saint, the appraisal had finally set the Knights in motion.
A herald had arrived a few days earlier. He'd informed the village chief, who came to Gerda's house the next day. They were told to come to the residential district.
(The knights, huh? Are they the rulers of the territory? To a serf, they're people from on high. I hope they don't say, "If you make eye contact with us, we can cut you down without consequence.")
Naturally, the ones summoned were Krena and her father, Gerda. But Rodan, Gerda's childhood best friend, was going to witness Gerda and Krena's success, too. Gerda had asked him to come if he could. He'd be there to see his friend rise from serfdom to success.
"We're off, Telesia."
Mash was home again today, so Telesia would stay behind. They couldn't take Mash along and risk him getting scared and crying at the crowd, the horses, and everything else.
When they headed to Gerda's house, Gerda and Krena were already standing in front. Michilda was beside them, holding Lily.
"Alleeeen!!"
Krena spotted Allen and waved enthusiastically.
(She looks so happy. She's going to meet actual knights, after all.)
It had been almost three years since they'd started playing knights. Krena had kept introducing herself as "Knight Krena!" almost every day. Now actual knights were coming to meet her. Her excitement was clear in her voice.
The four of them headed toward the residential district. The nine o'clock bell had rung a little while earlier, so they would probably arrive sometime after ten. The knights were expected to arrive after noon.
They set out for the residential district well in advance so they wouldn't keep the knights waiting.
It took about fifteen minutes to walk from Allen's house to Krena's at their pace. From Allen's house to the center of the residential district took about an hour.
"I'm going to be a knight starting today, right?!"
"Hahaha. We'll have to ask the knights to find out."
Gerda patted Krena on the head. Allen figured she'd probably keep up this excitement the whole time. They listened to Krena chatter as they reached the residential district.
"Where are we supposed to go?"
Rodan asked.
"I think they said the plaza."
"The plaza? Not the gate or the village chief's house?"
Apparently, it was a plaza in the center of the residential district. Quite a crowd had gathered there. He heard people saying, "The Sword Saint is here!" from all around. Everyone had heard the Knights were coming today.
Today, even Allen's black hair and eyes couldn't draw as many stares as Krena.
No one came over when Krena and Gerda arrived. Maybe they were expected to wait until the Knights came.
(Whoa, are we going to wait here for over two hours? There's nothing to do. Maybe I'll take a nap.)
Paying no attention to the people's stares, Allen began to doze off. It was like sleeping while riding the bullet train or flying on a plane. Allen generally slept whenever there was nothing to do. When he started nodding off, Krena leaned against him and began to doze, too.
He'd been sound asleep for quite a while. As he snoozed in a corner of the plaza, the bell rang for noon. The sound was much louder up close. Startled, he woke up.
"Huh?!"
"Oh, you're awake? Looks like they're here."
He answered Rodan in a sleepy voice. The Knights seemed to have arrived right on schedule.
(Oh, I see. I can't see from here, but they've already arrived?)
The villagers murmured among themselves. Allen looked around, thinking that the crowd had grown quite large. There were a lot of serfs who didn't usually come to the residential district. He could tell serfs from commoners by their clothes.
As he thought about that, he heard the clatter of horses' hooves.
(Whoa! They really came. They went all the way to the Pioneer Village. I don't know how far away the lord's city is, though.)
A group of mounted knights rode in. The Knights weren't a force of dozens or hundreds; it was a cavalry unit of about ten, small enough to count by sight. Allen figured they wouldn't need many people just to meet Krena.
The village chief was waiting in the plaza, too. He ran over to a knight who seemed to be the commander of the mounted group. Allen couldn't hear clearly, but it looked like he was greeting them and welcoming them.
The village chief pointed toward Krena. The knight who seemed to be the commander took off his helmet and looked in her direction. The other knights removed their helmets all at once and looked Krena over, too. Krena was already awake, returning their gaze with shining eyes.
The village chief beckoned Krena over. Gerda looked at Rodan and nodded. At last, she was going to meet the knights.
Krena walked over to the knights with Gerda. Rodan and Allen watched them go.
(Is Krena going to leave the village with the Knights now? Will this be the end of playing knights together and napping together?)
Allen watched Krena approach the knights, his feelings of wishing her well mingling with a vague sadness. Though they were some distance away, he heard her loud voice: "I'm Krena!" Gerda, a hulking mass of muscle, was being remarkably deferential. It looked as though he was telling her to keep her voice down a little.
A burly, mustachioed knight who seemed to be the commander spoke with Krena's father, Gerda. Allen couldn't tell what they were saying from this distance. He simply watched to see how things would unfold.
As he watched them talk, Gerda suddenly recoiled in shock.
"Wha—?! No! That's impossible!"
(Huh?)
It didn't look like they were having a friendly conversation. Rodan hurried closer so he could hear what they were saying. Allen followed him. The plaza buzzed at Gerda's voice and gestures. More than a hundred villagers, both commoners and serfs, were already watching to see what would happen.
Gerda seemed to be trying to reason with the knights.
"Krena's only five, and she's never even held a sword before! That's too much for her..."
"Still on about that? She's a Sword Saint, isn't she? Then there shouldn't be a problem. Or have you deceived us—no, our lord?"
"N-no, that's not it, but having her fight a knight..."
Gerda kept arguing stubbornly. Seeing no point in continuing the back-and-forth, the commander called out to one of the knights who had dismounted.
"Vice Commander Raybrand, prepare yourself."
"Yes, Commander!"
The horses were taken out of the plaza. The knights led them off somewhere. The village chief looked bewildered, too, but when the knights gave instructions, he guided them to the stables.
"N-no! Krena will die! Please, have mercy!"
Gerda prostrated himself on the ground.
"Hmm. You still don't understand, so let me make this clear. Deceiving us during the Appraisal Ceremony is a capital offense, and that applies not only to your daughter, but to you as well. If she refuses to fight a knight, then we will cut you both down here and now for the crime of falsely claiming she is a Sword Saint. What will it be?"
Gerda couldn't even speak anymore. Despair showed on his face and in every part of his body. One of the knights handed Krena a real, unsheathed sword. It was a double-edged blade almost as long as Krena was tall, a Western-style longsword.
(Huh? Seriously, isn't this completely unreasonable? What the hell is going on? Is that why they chose the plaza, because they intended to make Krena fight from the start?)
Allen finally understood the situation. As he wondered what he should do and how to get them out of this, Krena spoke up.
"Huh? If I beat that knight, can I become a knight?"
Even the commander of the Knights was taken aback by her words.
"Y-yes. If you win, the path to knighthood will open to you."
"Okay, I understand!"
Krena was the only one smiling in this situation. Her eyes sparkled as she gazed at the real sword she was holding for the first time.