Chapter 8
That day, too, Frain was teaching me how to ride a horse.
"Horses are intelligent creatures. They can sense when their riders are afraid."
"Even so..."
Since I wasn't particularly athletic, I was barely managing to cling to the horse's back and stay on.
"Well, that'll do for today. Once you get your own horse, make sure you take good care of it. A relationship of trust will make the ride much more comfortable. It's about time for lunch."
"Oh, yeah. Thanks."
When I dismounted, my thighs were trembling. While Frain laughed at me, I headed for the knights' barracks.
It had been half a month since I returned to Rudectrad, the capital of the Kingdom of Rudek. Since then, I had been spending my days more or less aimlessly, commuting to the Tenth Knight Order's headquarters and learning to ride like this.
The reason was that I could not officially join until Glantz-sama and the others we had left behind returned and gave their report. At the same time, my former department had already been notified of my transfer and told me I did not need to report for work.
Being plucked from the civil service and appointed to the Tenth Knight Order was unprecedented. My former supervisor probably had no idea what to do with me, either.
I was treated like something of a delicate problem even in the civil servants' dormitory, and felt like there was nowhere for me to belong. The only thing keeping me going was that my roommates, Derik and Yord, continued to treat me as they always had.
Since I had not formally joined the Tenth Knight Order, I could not help with its work, either, so Frain was the one looking after me while I remained in limbo.
"Either way, I'll be bored until the remaining troops get back." Despite saying that, Frain was surprisingly attentive. He had introduced me to the other unit commanders of the Tenth Knight Order who had returned with us, and had even accompanied me to horse-riding practice like this.
Thanks to him, I had at least managed to learn to ride a horse, and I was gradually starting to exchange greetings with people in the Tenth Knight Order.
Meals at the Tenth Knight Order's headquarters had one more side dish and larger portions than the food in the civil servants' dining hall. They were also characterized by slightly stronger seasoning.
It was probably a difference dictated by the soldiers' greater physical activity. I had been sweating a fair amount during my morning riding practice lately, so I appreciated the stronger seasoning.
"Still... Roa is a slow learner," Frain said thoughtfully as he gnawed on a piece of roasted meat.
"No, I understand it in my head. My body just isn't keeping up," I said self-deprecatingly.
"Then it's the same thing. At the very least, you need to learn to ride a horse, or you'll be in trouble when the time comes."
"Yeah. I'll manage somehow."
As we chatted over lunch, a commotion began to rise near the entrance.
"What is it?" Frain's wariness was plain to see, but his expression quickly relaxed.
"They're back!" He sprang to his feet and headed for the entrance. The soldiers around us rushed there too. I got up a step behind him, glanced at the soup on the table for a moment, then followed Frain.
As I left the dining hall at the rear of the group, I could see Glantz-sama, who had been in charge of the abandoned mine, in the outdoor courtyard. Frain and the others who had come to greet him were laughing together as they congratulated one another.
When Rays-sama appeared after hearing the commotion, Glantz-sama and the others immediately formed up in perfect formation. Glantz-sama, standing at its center, stepped forward and knelt before Rays-sama.
"The 3,000 men entrusted to my care have all returned without a single loss!"
"Excellent work! I'll hear the details later, but did any Golbel soldiers show up?"
"Yes, sir. They sent around 2,000 soldiers, but when we showed them that we had secured the abandoned mine and, as you ordered, made clear how large our force was, they withdrew without doing anything."
"I see. Then that's fine. I've already instructed the Fourth Knight Order to remain vigilant for the time being. Fortunately, those fools went to the trouble of turning that abandoned mine into a base for us. We'll take it exactly as it is and turn it into a fortress," Rays-sama said with a laugh.
The other soldiers laughed along with Rays-sama, calling out things like, "Those Golbel fools," and, "How thoughtful of them to go to all the trouble of building us a fortress."
Once the laughter and comments died down, Glantz-sama opened his mouth again.
"There's one more thing."
"What is it?" Rays-sama prompted him, maintaining his dignified bearing. Glantz-sama glanced briefly at me before continuing.
"We brought a former miner from Eren's village and had them inspect the tunnels Golbel had been excavating..."
"What did they find?"
"According to the miner, it was enough to make them exclaim, 'I can't believe a vein like this was still here!'"
Everyone's eyes immediately turned toward me. I had expected it, but I still felt a little relieved.
"...Understood. I'll hear the details in my office. Roa, you come too. And good work, everyone! You will all have the next few days off! You'll also receive special allowances, so go let loose once you've collected them!"
At Rays-sama's words, the soldiers who had only just returned raised a cheer!
Listening to their still-excited voices behind me, I followed after Rays-sama.
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Elsewhere, in a room somewhere in Golbel's capital.
A lone old man sat at a massive, heavy desk polished to a black gleam.
Maps of eastern Golbel and western Rudek lay on the desk, with several pieces placed on them.
"I see."
The man who had devised the plan to use the abandoned mine in Eren's village as a bridgehead merely replied with those words when he heard the plan had failed, showing no particular concern.
"Apparently, between 2,000 and 3,000 Rudek soldiers were holed up in the abandoned mine. What should we do?"
"Leave them be."
"But..."
"I said leave them be. It was a convenient location for us, but it isn't particularly useful for keeping an eye on our country from Rudek. At most, it will simply add the pointless burden of managing it," the old man said with a dry chuckle.
Then he casually plucked up the piece marking Eren's village and dropped it into the wastebasket as though nothing had happened.
"This time, we'll let Rays Stein take the credit."
Sakri said this with an expression devoid of emotion.