Chapter 33
The Seventh Knight Order had arrived at Liese Fortress. They had come to take over from our Tenth Knight Order.
When Rays-sama summoned me to his office and told me, "Go greet the commander of the Seventh Knight Order," I went, only for Rays-sama to open with, "This is Roa, the man who recommended the Seventh Knight Order," leaving me dumbfounded.
I had no idea what he was talking about.
"Oh? So you're the one." The commander of the Seventh Knight Order narrowed his eyes at me. He was an exotic-looking man with curly red hair and slightly reddish eyes.
The commander of the Seventh Knight Order was Thorl di Solurgia. If I remembered correctly, his great-grandfather had been a merchant from the southern continent. Plenty of people at the royal court had ancestry from the southern continent, so General Thorl was not particularly unusual.
Anyway, I asked, "Um... what are you talking about?" completely at a loss, and Rays-sama flashed a mischievous smile.
"You did advise the king, didn't you? 'The commander of the Seventh Knight Order isn't well known, but he's a self-made man who rose through the ranks from a private in what was then the Fourth Knight Order, and he's good at defense.'"
"What!? You said that was just a joke!"
"Our liege isn't so narrow-minded as to dismiss useful advice from a retainer as a joke," Rays-sama said. I really ought to stop saying unnecessary things in front of the king... No, that was impossible.
"It is flattering, if a little embarrassing, to be judged so favorably by the clever man Rays-sama discovered. Still, it is something to be proud of. But I am impressed that you knew I had served in the Fourth Knight Order," General Thorl said brightly, with a hint of admiration.
Having my off-the-cuff assessment of him repeated in front of him was so humiliating that I wanted to run away immediately, but that wasn't an option. Damn you, Rays-sama!
Pulling myself together, I replied, "If I recall, you transferred to the Third Knight Order after its captain recruited you so enthusiastically, didn't you?"
"Where did you hear that? You surprise me. Who... are you?" General Thorl's expression changed, and a hint of wariness appeared in his eyes. I'd gotten carried away.
"Interesting, isn't it? Apparently, researching generals from every country is his hobby," Rays-sama said, coming to my rescue. That was a slight misrepresentation, though.
"Um, I don't actually have a hobby of researching generals. I enjoy researching war records..."
When I corrected that, General Thorl furrowed his brow in slight confusion this time.
When General Rays said, "Interesting, isn't it?" again, General Thorl gave him an ambiguous smile. I felt as if I had been completely labeled a weirdo.
"In any case, I may need your help with something in the future. I hope we can work well together." We shook hands, and my first meeting with the commander of the Seventh Knight Order ended on a distinctly awkward note.
In any case, our life at Liese Fortress ended after just under two months, and we were to return to the royal capital.
〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜
Hey, everyone. Thanks for your hard work while I was away!"
As soon as I returned, I went straight to the others involved in the bottled-goods project. Rufa, Nelfia, Sazaby, and Dick all seemed to be doing well.
Dick had gone all the way to Liese Fortress to bring the bottled goods, but the day after he arrived, he had to take everything except Lapiria-sama's jam back with him.
This had only been a trial run for transporting the bottled goods, and the bottled goods themselves were still strictly confidential. We couldn't leave the wooden crates containing them at Liese Fortress. As a result, it had been almost two months since I'd seen Dick.
"By the way, do you know what became of the Sixth Knight Order?" I barely exchanged greetings before asking about something that had been on my mind.
I had been wondering all this time because I hadn't received any information about what had happened after the Sixth Knight Order returned to the royal capital.
"Nothing in particular," Nelfia answered.
"Nothing?"
"No. Commander Wickhart is under disciplinary suspension. The Sixth Knight Order is being kept in the royal capital with disciplinary action pending."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm guessing, but... perhaps they were waiting for Rays-sama to return?" Sazaby suggested.
Ah, I see. That made sense.
Rays-sama was someone the king relied on not only for military affairs, but also for domestic administration and diplomacy. He was also one of the people who knew the situation on the ground firsthand... So now that Rays-sama had returned, did that mean the Sixth Knight Order's punishment would finally be decided?
A few days later.
"It seems a meeting to decide the Sixth Knight Order's punishment will be held this afternoon," Nelfia informed me.
All I could do was ask Rays-sama for leniency. Ryuzel, one of the parties involved in the incident, and I drew up and submitted a joint petition.
I didn't know how effective it would be—in fact, it probably wouldn't have much effect at all—but I still wanted to do whatever I could.
And that night, we were informed of the punishment decided for the Sixth Knight Order.