Chapter 14 — The Bad Habits of Captain Yore

It had become custom for Fie, who was now a squire, to offer a monthly report to Yore.

Although Yore was typically busy and had to travel to a variety of places, he made it a point to make time for Fie and listen to her report. And so the two would speak, and Yore would offer Fie advice and praise.

“Captain, a transferee by the name of Queen has come to the northern dormitory! We are very good friends!”

“Ah. The student of Master Kaizer. I have heard rumors of him. It would seem that he could become a famous swordsman in the future.”

“Yes. He really admires you, Captain. He says he would really like to meet you one day.”

“Hmm. I see. If there is time, I should meet with him once.”

“Yes! Queen would be very happy!”

Although Fie usually met Yore in the 18th Knights’ headquarters, she was speaking with him in the back courtyard of the royal castle this time.

However, Fie felt another set of eyes on her today. Turning to the right, Fie noticed a maidservant of about her age, who was looking in her general direction timidly.

It did not take Fie long to notice that the maidservant was looking at Yore instead of her. Fie smiled at the maidservant when their eyes briefly met.

Upon seeing that, the maidservant timidly and carefully made her way across to Fie and Yore.

In her hands was what appeared to be cookies, wrapped in a colorful material. It would appear that the maidservant had made these cookies for Yore.

Her expression was very much one of a maiden in love.

“Um... Master Yore, these are my handmade cookies. Please have some if you would like...!” Averting her gaze, the maidservant held out her cookies to Yore with both her hands.

Upon seeing this, Fie was filled with a sense of admiration.

(As expected, Captain Yore is very popular with the ladies. He’s cool and strong. What an amazing person! Of course he would be popular. Sir Crow is that way, and most knights are popular, too. Ufufu. One day that’ll be me!)

Fie began to imagine a scene in which she was surrounded by maidservants, each one trying to hand her a gift.

The maidservant’s face was flushed, and she fixed her gaze on the ground, an anticipatory expression on her face. Fie smiled, thinking that she was perhaps too shy to look her recipient in the eyes.

“I don’t need it.”

Yore’s response was like a bucket of cold water over the maidservant’s head. Yore, however, did not hesitate in its delivery.

“Eh...? Captain...?”

The maidservant, upon hearing those words, lifted her face, her expression one of cold shock. Tears filled her eyes, and it looked like she was about to burst into tears. However, she persevered, continuing to speak in a shaking voice.

“Um... Perhaps you dislike cookies... I am very sorry. I... I’ll make s-something else next time...”

“As I said earlier, I don’t need it. My decision will not change whatever you make. I will never place anything you make into my mouth. It is a waste of your time.”

With a cold expression, Yore stared down the maidservant, his equally cold words washing over her being.

The shocked maidservant remained rooted to the spot.

“I’m sorry...” With that, and tears overflowing in her eyes, the maidservant turned, and quickly ran away.

Yore, for his part, acted as if nothing had happened, shifting his gaze away from the running maidservant.

“C-Captain!” Fie, now pale, cast her gaze upon the running maidservant, and then her platoon captain.

“What is it, Heath.”

“Don’t ‘what is it Heath,’ me! That was so mean! Why would you say that?”

Yore’s brow furrowed upon Fie’s protests.

“If I do not use heavy-handed words, they will surely come to me bearing gifts once more. To engage in such activities is a waste of time. Even if I do speak to them, nothing will arise from those interactions. More than anything, I would like to limit such pointless uses of time. I am very busy, after all.”

“That’s mean! How can you just say that it is a waste of time! She baked those cookies especially for you, Captain Yore!”

“I do not recall asking for such gifts. Furthermore, it is true that no matter what is made, I would not eat them. Is it not better to tell the maidservant up-front? Undoubtedly, this is better for her as well.”

It was Fie’s turn to furrow her brows as she stared at Yore, who was standing with his arms crossed.

Glancing in the direction that the maidservant had run off in, Fie promptly gave chase, despite Yore’s panicked voice calling out to her from the courtyard.

“Heath, where are you going! We have not finished discussing the contents of this month’s report!”

Turning to face Yore as she ran, Fie had the following to say:

“It’s more important to comfort a crying girl, isn’t it? Captain Yore, you’re such an idiot!”

And so, Fie gave chase to the fleeing maidservant, quickly disappearing from Yore’s field of view.

Yore looked up, a stunned expression on his face, before muttering to himself in disbelief.

“I... I am... an idiot...?”

As Fie continued her chase of the running maidservant, the other maids had already gathered and began to gossip.

“What a foolish girl. It is precisely because Master Yore is like that, that none of the maidservants dare approach him.”

“That’s right! I just look at him from a distance! He looks good.”

“Even if she is new, it doesn’t excuse her from not knowing. Just because Master Yore helped her with one thing or another in the past doesn’t mean he’ll remember who she is, let alone accept her gifts! This is the result.”

Upon hearing the gossip, Fie approached the maids, placing her left hand on her waist. Mustering an angry expression, she stared at the maidservants in the face as she spoke.

“Hey, it isn’t good to speak of someone like that behind their back.”

“S-Squire Heath?!”

The maidservants seemed shocked at Fie’s sudden appearance. In their midst was one girl who was slightly red-faced.

“So, have any of you seen that maidservant? The one who ran. I lost track of her.”

“Um... She went that way...”

“Thank you! Well, I have to go, see you!” Smiling briefly at the maids, Fie waved, running in the direction they had pointed out.

“Th-The smile of an angel...”

“How cute...”

The maidservants simply stood, watching, as Fie continued running.

Fie eventually found her target — the maidservant was seated under a tree, crying and hugging her knees.

Taking a seat next to her, Fie asked after her in a gentle voice.

“Are you all right? I’m sorry that Captain Yore said such terrible things to you.”

“Squire Heath?!”

It seemed like she had been crying somewhat intensely, to the point where she had not even noticed Fie’s approach. The maidservant looked up at her with a surprised expression, her face streaked with tears.

“No... it is all my fault. I did not think about Master Yore’s feelings, and I interrupted a conversation he was having with someone else. It’s natural that he would hate me.”

“I don’t think that’s how the Captain feels about you...” Fie said. She withdrew a handkerchief from her pocket, gently wiping away the maidservant’s tears.

“Try not to rub your eyes with your hands. They’ll become red, you know.”

“Y-Yes. I’m sorry. But... is it okay for you to be here? Weren’t you speaking with Master Yore?”

Having been reminded of her hasty exit, Fie also felt somewhat down herself.

“Yeah... I think I snapped and called the Captain an idiot...”

“I-I’m sorry! This is all my fault!”

“No, you are not at fault at all. I said what I did by my own will, after all.”

“But...”

Tears still flowed from the maidservant’s eyes. She was apparently even upset about the fact that Heath and Yore had argued because of what she did.

It occurred to Fie that, although she had chased the maidservant to offer words of comfort, her mission was not going too well.

“Hmm...”

After some time in thought, Fie pointed at the maidservant, drawing her attention. Meeting her eyes with her own, Fie slowly spoke.

“Tears don’t suit you. What I want to see is your smile... So, please stop crying.”

“Eh...” The maidservant, stunned by Fie’s words, opened her eyes wide.

Fie, for her part, could not think of a follow-up to her words and fell silent. The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

Out of ideas, Fie took the maidservant’s hands, shaking her head and sighing.

“Ahh. I thought that copying what Sir Crow would say would make you stop crying, but it seems like I am not very good at it.”

“Th-That was a mimicry of S-Sir Crow?”

“Yeah. I know for a fact that he says this sort of thing to girls all the time.”

“I think it doesn’t really suit you, Heath...”

“Yeah... But you stopped crying, right? So it worked out in the end.”

“Ah...” With those words, the maidservant finally noticed that she had stopped crying.

Although she had mostly stopped crying out of fatigue, she felt a little bit happier — a far cry from the mental desolation she had experienced just now.

“Either way, I would really like for you to cheer up. That was all I wanted to say.” Fie smiled, and the maidservant finally nodded.

“Thank you... Heath.”

Although her eyes were still very red, a smile had returned to her face.

As the two smiled, looking at each other, a strange sound filled the air — a sound that was unmistakably a complaint from Fie’s stomach.

Fie held her stomach, slightly blushing as she did so.

“Ah, how terrible. It was a good moment, too!”

Giggling, the maidservant held out her bag of cookies.

“If you’d like, please eat these...”

“Is that really all right?”

“Yes... Well, I don’t have anyone left to give it to, so I would be happy if you ate it.”

“I see. Well, I’ll gladly have them then!” Fie accepted the maidservant’s cookies with a grin on her face.

Without any hesitation, she opened the bag, stuffing the contents into her mouth.

“Mm! They’re delicious!”

The cookies tasted of high-quality butter, in addition to good baking technique. They were perfectly baked, lightly toasted. Their flavor was controlled elegantly, a subtle sweetness lingering in Fie’s mouth.

Fie’s face naturally filled with a wide smile.

“...” The maidservant, transfixed by that smile, could only blankly stare at Fie’s face.

“Arsha! Where are you?”

“We’re sorry for being mean! We should have warned you!”

“Please, come out!”

At that moment, Fie heard voices from around the corner.

The voices had an audible note of regret to them, and perhaps a tinge of worry as well — it was the other maidservants, searching for one of their own.

“Ah, my seniors...” The maidservant reacted to those voices, turning her face in their direction.

It would seem like this particular maidservant did not seem to mind what her seniors had done. Although they fought and had arguments sometimes, they probably were still good friends. Upon seeing that, Fie’s heart was filled with relief, and she smiled once again.

“I guess they’ve come to apologize to you. So your name is Arsha... It’s a cute name.”

“Ah... Yes.”

Fie’s words caused Arsha to blush, her face a fresh shade of red.

“Everything seems all right, so I am going to go now.”

Standing up, Fie patted some mud and grass off her pants, and set off running to one place or another yet again. Turning back as she left, she smiled, waving at Arsha as she did so.

“See you, Arsha!”

“Ah... Thank you...”

Fie’s speedy movements saw her vacate the premise before Arsha even had a chance to thank her.

“Arsha! There you are!”

“Hmm? What happened?”

“Heath...”

When the senior maidservants found her, Arsha was still staring with a flustered expression in the direction that Heath had left in.

On this particular day, it was Crow’s turn to instruct junior knights on the ways of the sword.

Although Crow wasn’t exactly much of a veteran himself, his personable attitude and ability to get along with just about anyone meant that he was often tasked with such assignments.

“Well, let’s get started. Do your best today.”

“Yes sir!”

Although Crow addressed his charges with his usual casual attitude, his charges all respectfully lowered their heads.

“Although I was told to teach you about the sword, I’m not really good at teaching. So, instead... I will fight each of you one-on-one, and if I have any advice, I will give it to you. Well... as for the rest, that’s for you all to think about.”

Being an instructor apparently did little to reduce Crow’s casual outlook and manner of speech.

A line quickly formed amongst the junior knights, and soon the first in line was up for his instructional bout with Crow.

“Ready when you are.”

Crow seemed relaxed, his stance almost unguarded as he stood, facing the younger knight.

“HA!” The younger knight, having passed his squire training, ran at Crow with the stance that he had perfected.

However, the younger knight’s sword whiffed through empty air.

Having effortlessly avoided his junior’s attack, Crow seemed to move with an agility unseen in his previous relaxed stance. Soon he was next to his opponent, bringing his sword down on the younger knight’s neck.

The junior was unable to guard against Crow’s sudden movements. Crow’s sword lightly came to rest against his target’s neck, stopping precisely against his skin.

“I-I give...” the younger knight announced, his voice shaking.

Sheathing his sword, Crow looked at his charge with a worried expression, offering guidance in his carefree manner.

“Hmm... You shouldn’t rush your attacks. Your movements are too straightforward. If your opponent doesn’t show you an opening and you just charge forward without a plan, you’re exposing yourself. Should your opponent be more skilled than you are, you would surely be on the receiving end of a vicious counterattack. When you first see your opponent, you should be gauging his strength against yours, formulating plans on how to proceed with the battle... Oh, sorry. It seems like the others want me for something.”

“S... Sir?”

“Anyway, if you are unable to fight at least slightly defensively, you will do yourself no favors if you end up fighting a more skilled opponent. For now, go practice with the others.”

Crow pointed in the general direction that the junior knight should go, before turning his gaze in the general direction of a tree — specifically, the tree from which someone had been looking at him all this time.

“What are you even doing, Heath...?”

Shifting his gaze upwards as he approached the tree, Crow found Fie sprawled out like a cat on a particularly thick branch.

There were frown marks all over Fie’s face.

Although Fie had thought to return to the headquarters, she could not bring herself to do it; she instead decided to listen to what Crow had to say when training junior knights.

“I called Captain Yore an idiot...”

“...Why did you have to go and do that?” sighed Crow, shaking his head slowly at the sulking junior squire.

Having found someone to talk to, Fie explained the previous sequence of events to Crow.

“I see...”

“Is the Captain always like that with women? Did something happen?” Fie thought that she would get some answers if she had asked Crow, who was the closest to Captain Yore.

“I guess it’s time I told you about it, too.... It was when he was about 14 years old. It was between him and the oldest daughter of a duke from a neighboring kingdom...”

Crow continued his explanation of Yore’s history, his expression suddenly becoming serious

“...Actually wait, no, that’s not it. It actually started when he was a child... When he was about seven, there was some princess from a neighboring kingdom who fell for him at first sight. He made her cry. It was during a party — he ignored everything she had to say and she started bawling. The situation developed into a bit of a diplomatic crisis... If anything, I would say he was born with it...”

It sounded pathetic. Crow, who had described affairs for what they were, spoke seriously without a single hint of a joke. In fact, Crow looked somewhat depressed himself. Although Yore was a good friend and a person of good character, he was impossibly dense in certain regards, and this kind of situation was the result of his quirks.

“I see...”

Fie figured that if Yore was indeed born this way, nothing much could be done.

So she just nodded.

“I apologize, Heath.”

Upon returning to headquarters, Fie was greeted by the sight of Yore, who lowered his head as he apologized.

The unexpected turn of events sent Fie into a panic.

“I-I should be the one who’s sorry! I even called you an idiot...”

Yore’s serious expression held fast in the face of the panicking Fie, who was now rapidly shaking her head.

“Well then, will you forgive me?”

“Yes! Of course!”

Fie had dreaded seeing Yore again, and she certainly did not expect him to be the one apologizing to her. However, Fie then realized that Yore seemed to have a relatively tolerant personality after all, and relaxed.

Having unexpectedly made up with Yore within such a short time, Fie found her mood lifting.

“Well then, you will be more gentle with girls now, right?”

“What? Why?”

Fie could only shake her head at Yore’s reaction, as he seemed genuinely confused at her words. Beads of sweat started rolling down her cheek.

“D-Didn’t you just apologize a few seconds ago...?”

“Yes, I did. However, that apology was for causing you discomfort. One’s attitude toward another offends a spectator — this is indeed a common phenomenon. As I would like to maintain a positive relationship with you, do allow me to apologize for my actions once more.”

Upon hearing those words, a deep sense of despair rose up from within Fie.

(This person... he’s hopeless! He isn’t sorry for what he did at all!)

Fie had finally come to a realization — that Yore was only apologizing to her, and no one else.

In other words, he wasn’t exactly repentant about his behavior toward the maidservant, and was only concerned about having negatively impacted Fie’s mood.

Fie did not find this acceptable, so she decided to speak to Yore about it at length.

“Look, I am angry about how you treated the maidservant and the mean things you said to her!”

“Mean things?”

“You made that maidservant cry!”

“I did not need her gift.”

“Even if you didn’t need it, isn’t there a better way to say it?”

“No, this is the best way of expressing oneself. Empirical evidence has proven that if I phrase my words in such a manner, the woman involved would never return.”

Fie’s mouth openly gaped at Yore’s words.

“Did it even occur to you in the slightest to be nicer to that girl?!”

“Why? Even if I acted in such a way, it would not have any progressive impact on the tasks at hand. In fact, such unnecessary measures would only serve to lower my efficiency.”

“If you keep being this terrible to girls, one day it’s going to come back and bite you where it hurts!”

“Are you perhaps suggesting a scenario whereby the womenfolk in question cause a revolt? Very well. If that is the case, I shall accept their challenge with all my strength, and subjugate said revolt to the best of my ability!”

Fie could not understand how their discussion of treating women in a more gentlemanly way had progressed to one of a woman-led revolt. In addition, a strange aura started to emanate from Yore, radiating an almost menacing pressure.

(Why... did it become like this?)

Fie held her head, unable to comprehend this nonsensical turn of events.

However, she understood Yore’s general argument. In other words, Yore felt that being more empathetic towards women would only slow down his work, and therefore was an unneeded measure. In addition, he also felt that them approaching him was a bother, and as such, he had wished to avoid them at all costs.

“Tell me, Captain...” Mustering a sad expression in her eyes, Fie looked straight at Yore. “If I were useless to you and did not fulfill any purpose, would you treat me terribly, too?”

Fie did not want Yore to nod — this was all she could think of as she stood before Yore, waiting for an answer.

She could hear her own heart beating, pounding in her chest. Although she was the one who asked the question in the first place, Fie was filled with uneasiness.

“Hmm... Well...” Yore stood, a single hand on his chin, considering Fie’s words.

After about 30 seconds, Yore turned to Fie, his answer ready.

“Regardless of any hypothetical situation, you possess a rare talent amongst the Royal Knights. You work hard and sincerely attempt to overcome your weaknesses. Also, I know that you do all this to assist myself and your fellow knights. That is how you are. In addition, your presence harmonizes the atmosphere of the platoon. Even I feel at ease when I spend time with you. To me, you are an irreplaceable existence. I would be hard-pressed to think of you as anything else but what you currently are. As such, I am unable to answer your question meaningfully. I have no answer.”

Upon hearing Yore’s words, Fie’s face turned an intense shade of red, and it took every fiber of her being to prevent her mouth from uncontrollably gaping.

“Y-You won’t escape the question by praising me!” Fie attempted to hide her embarrassment with annoyance, delivering her line with aplomb.

“I-I see. I apologize.”

Yore’s expression suggested that he did not have the faintest idea as to why Fie was angry in the first place. He was, essentially, a prime living specimen of a rigid mind.

After some thought, Yore seemed to come to a certain conclusion, an enlightened “Ah” escaping his lips.

“However, if you were to become injured and as a result be unable to continue your duties as a knight, the Kingdom will dutifully offer its support to you. After all, knights give their all for their kingdom. We have no intent of being negligent with our veterans. As I have no intention of seeing you injured, I have also taken extra measures to prevent that from happening. Do not worry about such a scenario.”

“That’s not what I am talking about at all... Ugh... Never mind...” With her face still red, Fie’s shoulders slumped as she sighed, giving in at last.

Fie could feel that Yore’s words were indeed earnest. In the end, she came to the conclusion that it was a hopeless situation.

If Yore himself does not possess the capacity to understand a need to be more empathetic toward others — women in particular, then it was basically a problem that could not be resolved.

However, Fie felt that she had a moral obligation as his subordinate to at least offer him some words of advice.

“Then... Captain, take this as a request from your subordinate. Please be more gentle with girls, in any way you can.”

Upon hearing those words, Yore folded his arms, apparently in deep thought. After a while, his arms started shaking, accompanied by an equally shaky frown on his face. Finally, in a barely stable voice, Yore offered his response.

“A-As the situation calls for it...”

It occurred to Fie yet again that this wasn’t quite the result she was hoping for.

(Does he hate dealing with girls that much...?)

Yore seemed to be in severe pain, his entire body shivering at the thought of Fie’s request.

Realistically speaking, Yore was indeed a busy person, and Fie realized that imposing unreasonable demands of him was somewhat cruel. However, leaving him as-is wasn’t exactly a good option either.

Even if one were to excuse the potential problems that Yore would run into as a knight, there was his love life to consider.

(If Captain Yore had someone he liked, perhaps his habits would change... For example, if he met someone as radiant as Fielle, he should surely be changed...)

It was perhaps worth noting that Fielle was regrettably already someone’s wife. To be precise, she was the wife of King Roy, and it would be absurd to suggest that Captain Yore interacted with such a person in anything more than a professional capacity.

Finally coming to the conclusion that she had no plausible means to alter Yore’s behavior at this point in time, Fie finally decided to shelve the matter.

All she had to do was wait for Captain Yore to meet the woman of his dreams — she would have plenty of time to offer her support and assistance afterward. And with that, Fie decided to let the matter rest for now.