Induction Ceremony Mock Battle (1): How Did It Come to This?

"How did it come to this...?"

Today was the induction ceremony for the new recruits, as well as the day of the mock battle between the Tenth Knight Order and the Sixth Knight Order, the units leading those recruits.

The venue was a training ground a short distance from the royal capital: a featureless, flat stretch of land with little more than an artificially raised platform for the commanders.

The eastern army, with the royal capital at its back, was composed primarily of the Tenth Knight Order and led by our hero, Rays-sama.

The western army, centered around the Sixth Knight Order, was led by none other than me, Roa.

The battle was scheduled to begin at noon, so there was still some time to go.

Our command tent was filled with the Sixth Knight Order's unit commanders, Dick, Ryuzel, Frein, and the civil officials Nerphia and Sazaby—a colorful assortment, to say the least.

There was a perfectly good reason for this chaotic gathering.

First and foremost, why was I the commander?

It all started with the fact that the Sixth Knight Order currently had no commander. Wickhart was under my command, but he had clearly declined to participate. He would neither take part in the mock battle nor even come to watch, considering the possible repercussions.

Naturally, that meant we should appoint an acting commander from within the Sixth Knight Order. However, many of its veteran generals, Scudelia-san among them, were currently in circumstances amounting to demotion or suspension.

After all, they had only just put the entire military in danger for their own selfish reasons. So they, too, declined, saying they could hardly step forward now.

Then what about the young officers who had opposed the ambush at the Battle of Hakusha? Their opponent was Rays=Stein, after all. They shrank from the idea, saying, "We can't disgrace the Sixth Knight Order with an inept performance." The loss of Rimar-san, who had been a leader among the younger officers, was a major blow.

Looking at it this way, the Sixth Knight Order was in terrible shape. Maybe it had been a good thing they were assigned to highway maintenance. They hardly seemed ready to be deployed to the front.

Once it became clear that finding a commander from the Sixth Knight Order would be difficult, Rays-sama said, "Roa should do it."

His reasoning was that I had probably earned a certain amount of trust from the Sixth Knight Order during the Battle of Hakusha.

Naturally, I refused. Rays-sama had Granz-sama and Lapiria-sama, two people who would not have seemed out of place commanding a knight order. If we were talking about who was best suited, they were clearly the better choices.

Granz-sama declined, saying indirectly, "Even if it's only a mock battle, there's no way someone who has pledged his sword to Rays-sama could fight him."

Hearing Granz-sama's words, Lapiria-sama declared, "Of course, same here!" But I hadn't missed how eager she'd been just moments earlier, you know?

In the end, I was pressured into accepting command by Rays-sama. That was three days ago.

On top of that, Rays-sama said, "Leading the Sixth Knight Order out of nowhere will certainly be difficult, so I'll send some units from our side as well," and assigned Ryuzel and Frein, both of whom were close to me, to the western army.

Dick was my subordinate, so his presence here was only natural. Nerphia and Sazaby, however, were civil officials, so there was no particular reason for them to be here.

As for those two, it all stemmed from a conversation at the wrap-up party at the inn in Tranza the other day.

At that lively dinner, Nerphia said, "I'd like to watch the mock battle up close, too, so may I join you, Roa-sama?" and I casually replied, "Sure."

At the time, I had neither plans nor the slightest intention of leading the western army. In fact, I had been thinking of myself as a spectator who would not participate in the battle at all, which was why I made such an easy promise.

But then things ended up like this. When I hurriedly explained the situation to Nerphia and Sazaby, who had asked to participate despite being drunk that night, their unexpected response was, "Oh, I see. No problem."

"No, seriously, even if it's only a mock battle, it's dangerous for civil officials to go onto the battlefield, you know?" My heartfelt words—as someone who, despite being a civil official, had only recently been made to race through a deadly situation—fell on deaf ears.

"As the king's scribe, accompanying the army to the battlefield is perfectly normal. I may not look it, but I'm fairly skilled with a bow. And when it comes to handling a spear, Sazaby is no worse than any ordinary soldier," they said.

Isn't that a little too harsh? Being the king's scribe.

Even as I thought that I could never become the king's scribe, Nerphia and Sazaby ultimately wore me down too, bringing us to the present.

Once the initial introductions were over, I was about to discuss our strategy when one of the few older generals among the Sixth Knight Order's unit commanders raised a hand to speak first.

"At Hakusha, and again this time, we caused Roa-sama trouble. Please accept my apologies," the old general said, bowing his head. The other Sixth Knight Order unit commanders followed suit.

"No, no, please raise your heads!" I said, flustered, but the unit commanders remained bowed.

However, I couldn't add anything more.

I had no idea what I should say.

I was reluctant to mention Wickhart, and saying that Rays-sama had forced me into this didn't feel right, either.

A brief silence followed.

Even so, when the Sixth Knight Order's unit commanders still made no attempt to raise their heads, I thought for a moment...

"I can't say we'll win... But I'll do everything I can to make victory possible." At last, they raised their heads and smiled, their faces crumpling into crooked smiles.