The Knight Order's Training Grounds

"Is everyone here? There's a carriage in front of the training grounds, so please board it."

At Ossen-sensei's words, we started walking toward the carriage. On the way, Martine approached me and spoke in a whisper.

"Leon, what is that girl?"

"I don't really know either, but she seems to be a little strange. I don't think she's a bad person, though... Martine-sama, did you know Stacy-sama?"

There were probably plenty of baronial families, so Martine might not have known her, but someone that strange could easily have become famous.

"This is the first I've heard of her. She certainly didn't seem like a bad person, but... Leon, you promised to visit her estate. Are you sure that's all right?"

"I can't make that decision myself, so I plan to consult Richard-sama."

"That would be best. Oh, that's right—thank you for helping me earlier."

"Not at all. You've always helped me, Martine-sama."

"Even so, I was happy that you tried to help me."

We boarded the carriage while continuing that conversation. It was sturdily built, and the seats had cushions. It wasn't luxurious, but it looked comfortable enough.

Ossen-sensei was riding with us, so the atmosphere was somehow tense. Once we got into the carriage, no one said a word.

I didn't think Ossen-sensei was a bad teacher, but he had a strict, almost inflexible air about him that made me straighten my back. He didn't seem like someone I could casually talk to.

Overwhelmed by the atmosphere inside the swaying carriage, I did my best to maintain good posture. As a result, by the time we arrived, my entire body hurt and I was exhausted. Next time, I would try to relax a little more.

The Knight Order's training grounds seemed to be quite close to the royal palace. As soon as we got off the carriage, we could see the royal palace right there. I suppose they were located nearby so the knights could protect it quickly if anything happened.

When we got off the carriage, a knight came out to greet us. He was tall and looked quite sturdily built.

"I look forward to working with you again this year."

"Likewise, we're grateful to have you heal us. Few people can use Healing magic, and our magic capacity is limited. We leave injuries that aren't serious enough to warrant Healing magic untreated."

"Thank you. It's easier for us to ask when you say that."

"The Royal Academy is everyone's alma mater, after all."

After saying that, Ossen-sensei turned toward us.

"This is a knight from the Third Knight Order. During your classes from now on, you'll be allowed to participate in the Third Knight Order's training, so practice diligently and make sure not to cause trouble."

"Yes."

As I replied, I found myself wondering about something. The Third Knight Order was the one that went to the Forest of Monsters, right? So they were in the royal capital sometimes, too. What did they do here?

I thought about asking Ossen-sensei, but he had already followed the knight toward the training grounds. Ossen-sensei, you're walking too fast!

I figured I could ask Lucien later. As I started walking too, Martine came up beside me.

"Leon, did you have a question?"

"Huh? How did you know?"

I replied in a whisper.

"You wear your thoughts on your face, so you're easy to read. So what were you wondering about?"

Was it really that obvious?! I thought I had recently gotten better at keeping a poker face! I was quite shocked as I answered Martine's question.

"I was wondering about something Ossen-sensei said earlier—the Third Knight Order. Isn't the Third Knight Order in the Forest of Monsters?"

"Basically, yes, but some of them have families living in the royal capital, and they periodically return to the capital to train here."

"That makes sense. I didn't know."

"It's nice to be able to teach you something, Leon! Things have been the other way around until now."

Martine murmured the last words in an especially quiet voice. It was true that I had been her teacher until now.

"Martine-sensei, would you continue to teach me from now on?"

I said it in a slightly teasing tone, and Martine's face immediately lit up with delight and pride. She was incredibly cute.

"Of course!"

I was glad Martine smiled. She had mostly looked angry or bewildered earlier. As expected, she looked best when she smiled.

"The training grounds are just ahead. It's dangerous, so don't move around alone. Stay together as a group."

As I was talking with Martine, it seemed we had arrived at the training grounds. We got off the carriage, entered a building, walked through it for a while, and then stopped in front of another door. Was the training grounds beyond it?

When the knight opened the door, there was a vast field on the other side. Many knights were training with swords, and some were using magic as well.

Amazing... It's so cool! This is what men dream of!

When we entered the training grounds, an incredibly cool-looking knight who seemed to be in his prime walked toward us.

He's so cool! He looks strong!

"I'm Gerald Fevan, commander of the Third Knight Order. I ask that you take care of everyone's healing. Your Highness, I ask for your cooperation as well."

"I'm here for class, so I'm just another student. Treat me like everyone else."

"Understood. Then, everyone, come over here."

Fevan... That name sounded familiar. It was a marquis house, if I remembered correctly. Recently, I had been working hard to memorize the names of nobles.

The Fevan marquis house was in the same faction as the Townsend ducal family, so I didn't need to be overly wary of this man.

Now that the royal family had clearly declared its support for Goddess-sama and Apostle-sama, we had to be more careful than ever, which was difficult. Still, nothing was particularly different from before, at least for now... I wondered what Artur-sama thought about it.

For now, I would wait and see until someone hassled me again.

More importantly, if he was the commander of the Third Knight Order, that meant he hadn't inherited the Fevan marquis house. Perhaps he was a second or third son who had devoted himself to knighthood.

Come to think of it... I think there was a Fevan knightly house as well. Maybe this man was the Fevan Knight. Noble titles were complicated and difficult to understand.

"Sit here. Injured people will probably come one after another, so heal them without using up all your magic. Even if someone has a serious injury, the Order has healers, so it'll be fine. Some of us can use Healing magic too. We'll send even the severely injured here for now, so don't put too much pressure on yourselves. All right, count on you."

Fevan-sama said that and returned to the people training.

We were shown to a simple rest area of sorts at the edge of the training grounds. Ossen-sensei stood in front of us.

"Continue healing until you're right on the verge of running out of magic. When you think you can't go on, step back and rest. Treat severely injured people as much as possible, and if you can't heal them completely, tell them so. Clearly visualize them as fully healed. With Healing magic, how quickly an injury heals and how cleanly it heals are determined by your image of it. In the case of serious injuries, they may not heal unless you can clearly visualize them healed, so be careful. Still, you'll be able to do it once you get used to it. It's important to handle a lot of cases."

Ossen-sensei said that and stepped back. Healing magic could fail sometimes...? I had no idea. I really didn't know the common sense of this world. I had to be careful.

Ossen-sensei moved farther back to keep an eye on everyone.

All right! I'm going to do my best to heal them all!!