The Fate of the Sixth Knight Order

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...