Chapter 17 — The East-North Inter-Dormitory Duel
Chapter 17 — The East-North Inter-Dormitory Duel
Fie stood, facing Queen with an intense expression on her face.
“Ugh, Queen!”
In her hands was a wooden sword, pointed straight at Queen.
The distance between Fie and Queen was approximately five meters — too long a distance for Fie, or any of her attacks, to reach.
In the outskirts of the squires’ training grounds, a one-on-one tournament was being held. Various squires held wooden swords in their hands and were engaging in intense sparring matches.
At least, that was the case around them — for Fie and Queen, the reality could not be more different. For starters, they were not clashing at all, although Fie and Queen were currently engaged in a sparring match... with each other.
“Queen!” Fie’s angry voice was met with a troubled expression from Queen.
In fact, Fie had been angrily shouting Queen’s name for a while now.
The reason for Fie’s shouting wasn’t exactly because Queen had launched a ferocious attack against her — if anything, it was the opposite. Queen had not made to attack Fie at all.
With a vexed expression, Fie took a step forward, only for Queen to retreat three steps in response — the distance between them was wider than a jump could cover.
Fie’s brow furrowed even more than it had before.
“That’s enough, Queen! I told you to treat sparring seriously!”
Although Queen usually obeyed every single thing Fie said, sparring was an exception.
Queen’s unwillingness to participate seriously in the sparring match could not possibly be good for either party.
However...
Queen promptly jumped to the left as Fie took yet another step forward.
Queen’s jump was impressive — to the point where Fie could not close the distance between them at all.
“Uggghhh!”
Stomping and cursing, Fie leveled her gaze against Queen’s, oblivious to his troubled expression as the two continued staring at each other.
The wooden sword held in his hand hung limply at his side — it was plain for anyone watching to see that Queen could not raise a finger against Fie.
As Queen had demonstrated in his match against Gormus, the distance between them was more than enough for him to close in a flash.
However, Queen stayed, unmoving, where he stood. In fact, Queen had not managed to raise a single attack against Fie in any part of their sparring — not once.
In reality, there was a large gap between Queen and Fie’s skill with the blade.
Fie, for her part, was more than aware of this. If Queen seriously attacked her, she would surely be defeated in a second, barely able to offer any form of resistance.
On another note, it could be said that Fie and Queen’s combat styles were actually similar. Both squires used agile movements to avoid their opponent’s attacks, before closing in to land their own.
However, their aptitudes for combat could not be more different. Although Fie’s body was naturally flexible, her strength was that of a normal girl’s. Under normal circumstances, she would find it difficult to compete with a boy her age.
One of the basic factors contributing to Fie being able to effectively engage in combat was her weight — being light allowed her to conserve stamina. Even if she continued to move, the burden upon her body would not be severe. She would then utilize her agile and unpredictable movements to provoke the opponent, all the while dodging their attacks. That was how Fie fought.
On the other hand, while Queen was of a slim build, his height was that of an average boy his age. Compared with the other squires, Queen was by no means short. In addition, although his build was somewhat slimmer, he was actually heavier than most of his fellow squires.
This was because Queen had unbelievably dense muscles. In fact, the explosive power in Queen’s muscles easily allowed him to employ the same movements as Fie, but faster.
The difference in their abilities was plain for all to see.
Put simply, Queen could move faster than Fie, who had been blessed with a naturally agile and light build. This, topped with his dense muscle mass, meant that Fie could hardly compete with him strength- or speed-wise.
With these factors combined, Queen had been able to defeat Gormus with a single strike.
It would be fair to say that Queen’s combination of strength and explosive power made him a bit of a monster. So the other squires could only look on in puzzlement as Queen continued to evade Fie’s attacks — despite the former’s higher combat potential.
There was no way Fie could possibly win.
However, all five matches between the two had summarily resulted in five draws. The reason for that was simple — Queen had simply refused to attack Fie in any way or form.
The other squires only lasted five seconds against Queen. Even Gormus, who was known for his strength and skill, had only lasted 30 seconds. Yet Queen, who was somewhat legendary in the northern dormitory for being undefeated in combat, could not even raise his sword against Fie.
Fie had mistaken Queen’s reluctance for fear — she assumed that Queen simply did not wish to incur her wrath. However, even after giving Queen a direct order to attack her, the result was the same.
Fie tried talking Queen into seriously attacking her before sparring matches — but the result was the same.
Eventually, Fie ended up snapping and yelling during her match with Queen — and yet the result was the same.
In fact, Queen only showed a reluctant expression when matched with Fie in sparring matches, and it was with this expression on his face that he continued his evasive maneuvers.
Queen, who was faster than Fie in his bursts of speed, effortlessly outpaced her. Nothing Fie did made a difference.
In the end, sparring matches between Fie and Queen ended in a similar fashion — Queen would refuse to attack Fie, causing the latter to snap and yell, even command him to do so. Queen, continuing to refuse, would evade Fie’s attacks until the match ended.
“Queeeennnn! QUEEEEEEEEEENNNNNN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!”
On this day, too, Fie spent her strength chasing and yelling at Queen, tired and flushed from her exertions. Queen, on the other hand, did not seem tired at all. With an apologetic expression, he continued watching Fie, taking care to maintain a distance beyond the reach of her blade.
At that moment, an unfamiliar laugh rang out across the training grounds.
“Haha. This is the squire’s training grounds? Is that really true? It seems more like a lame dance hall. Are you guys really training in the blade?”
“I’ve heard that the northern dormitory is weak and their skills low, but this is truly something else. Pfft.”
As the squires collectively turned to face the source of the voices, they were greeted by the sight of five unfamiliar squires.
More accurately, one of the squires amongst the five actually seemed familiar.
(A mushroom...?)
Of the two squires who spoke, one sported a top-heavy hairstyle very much reminiscent of a brown mushroom. The other squire had blonde hair that flowed down his shoulders, and an adequately stuck-up expression on his face. The two seemed to look down on Fie and the other squires, sneering as they did so.
Fie, too, had turned to the source of the voices and was currently looking at the unfamiliar squires.
As recognition dawned on the squires, an audible murmur rose from amongst their ranks. Fie heard the ones around her whisper amongst themselves about the squire with the brown mushroom hair.
“That is the genius of the Quin-Ji dojo, Rigel!”
“He got into the top four of last year’s Youth Sword Tournament!”
The blonde-haired youth, too, provoked another wave of reactions.
“Isn’t the one next to him the runner-up for last year, Luka?!”
“You don’t mean... that one from the famous knight family, the son of Duke Coille...?!”
The other members were in turn introduced in a similar fashion.
“That one... he was the top in my dojo, Kerio!”
“Jerid... Guren... They’re all from the top eight of last year’s Sword Tournament...”
“Why are they even here...?”
It would appear that the unfamiliar squires before them were winners in the very same squire test that Fie had taken. In other words, of the twelve winners in the squire test, five now stood before them.
Upon seeing the shaken reactions of her fellow squires, Fie moved to Gormus’ side and posed a question to her large friend.
“Hey, what is this... Youth Sword Tournament?”
“It is the biggest youth tournament in Orstoll, attended by representatives of dojos from Orstoll and other kingdoms, as well as sons of noble families who pursued the way of the sword. You could say that it’s a tournament that determines national champions.”
“Wow!”
It would seem that the tournament was of considerable import. Having understood this, Fie asked another question.
“How did you do in that tournament, Gormus?”
“My dojo prohibits competing against other schools. I wanted to go, but I couldn’t.”
“I see...”
Gormus had wanted to go, but was prevented by the rules of his dojo. It had not occurred to Fie that dojos would have varying cultures and rules.
“Was Queen in these tournaments?”
Upon hearing those words, Queen shook his head.
“I lived with my master and his other disciples in the mountains.”
It would seem that, despite being a noble, Queen had lived in somewhat rural environments. Queen’s master was himself a noble, and had lived in a mansion before taking on disciples. As such, his disciples learning noble etiquette from their master was perhaps not too strange of a thing.
The long-haired youth known as Luka sneered, staring down the squires of the northern dormitory.
“So it would seem like what Sir Carnegis said was true. The northern dormitory — where all the rejects gather.”
Following up on his comrade’s insult, mushroom-headed Rigel smiled leeringly.
“You shouldn’t just say the truth like that. They should have some shred of pride, after all.”
“Hmm. I guess that is true.” The long-haired youth swung his head back, running a free hand through his hair.
Upon witnessing that motion, Fie recalled having heard his name at least once — his name was frequently brought up in the maidservant circles for being somewhat similar to Crow.
However, Fie could only think one thing.
(No way! They’re not alike at all!)
Although her fellow squires seemed equally insulted by their words, none of them stepped forward — perhaps out of fear of incurring a noble family’s wrath.
Gormus, however, folded his arms and advanced toward the front of the crowd.
“Having a good time, aren’t you? Talking like you own the place.”
A younger Gormus would have reacted with anger. Gormus as he was now, however, closed a single eye, staring at the offending squires with an expression of utmost calm on his face.
“So, you’re Gormus of Zal-Shiq Dojo. I’ve heard the rumors. They say you’re strong, but in the end you’re just a bumpkin who hasn’t even been to external tournaments. The fact that you were not chosen by our dormitory is proof,” said mushroom-headed Rigel, his provocative tone matched by his equally unpleasant smile.
“Want a match, then?” Gormus’ response was calm, hardly responding to Rigel’s taunts.
“Yeah, someday,” Rigel responded, suppressing his laughter as he did so.
Not wanting to be outdone, the long-haired Luka struck a haughty pose, pointing a single finger towards Queen.
“Also, Queen, I saw that! What was that pathetic show you put up during that battle just now? Didn’t you leave us to fight someone in the northern dormitory? Look at you now, how far you have fallen! You have become a fangless, clawless wolf! No, a mere dog!”
Upon hearing those words, Fie felt anger welling up from deep inside her.
“Calling Queen a dog... your rudeness knows no bounds! Take that back at once!”
Approaching the youths, Fie violently pointed towards them, anger plain in her actions. The other squires from her dormitory, however, could only think one thing upon witnessing this scene.
(You’re one to talk...)
Luka squinted his eyes at Fie’s sudden interruption.
“What is it with you...?”
“I’m Queen’s friend, Heath! If you ridicule Queen, I won’t forgive you!” Fie found herself severely angered by the squires’ comments.
Although Fie and Queen had a somewhat unusual beginning to their relationship, Fie could not think of Queen as anything other than an important friend after the time they had spent together.
To Fie, this “Luka” was nothing like Crow at all, and she found her opinion of him sinking lower than ever.
Hearing Fie’s words, Luka smirked, lowering his stance.
In a flash, he was right before Fie’s eyes.
(He’s fast...! Although not as fast as Queen...!)
Fie could only stare blankly as the other squire closed the distance within them in mere moments — soon, his hand was on her chin. Leaning in, Luka began to speak, holding Fie’s face in place as he did so.
“Acting cool and all is fine, but if you push it too much... I’m going to have to hurt that cute face of yours.”
“Stop it...!”
Before Fie could register his movements, Queen was between them, motioning to shield Fie from her assailant.
“Huh. How about we fight right now? You are no match for me as you are now.”
At that moment, a voice rang out from behind the two squires, who were staring daggers at each other.
“That’s enough. Luka, Rigel. We did not come here to pick fights.”
Parting the crowd of unfamiliar squires was a dark-haired, bespectacled youth. His appearance once again triggered a wave of audible gossiping from the stunned squires of the northern dormitory.
“Hey... isn’t that the three-year consecutive winner of the Youth Sword Tournament, Persil?!”
“Are you serious...?!”
“Then what are you here for?” Fie demanded.
Persil remained calm in the face of Fie’s stare, giving his response in a quiet, composed voice.
“I apologize for the behavior of my fellow squires. We are squires from the eastern dormitory. We come bearing a message of import.”
“Message of import...?”
The squires of the northern dormitory collectively shook their heads, confused.
Holding up a piece of paper to the members of the northern dormitory, Luka smirked.
“The official notice for the East-North Inter-Dormitory Duel!”
“East-North Inter-Dormitory Duel...?”
Persil nodded at Fie’s blank repetition of his announcement.
“Yes. In three weeks, a duel will be held between the squires of the eastern and northern dormitories. The format will be a group battle, and a total of five members are expected to participate. Do prepare yourselves.”
“Well then, try your best!”
“The captains and members of all knight platoons will be spectating. It is an important event. Let us hope that none of us bring shame to our platoons.” One of their number handed over the pamphlet, and soon the squires from the eastern dormitory were mere shadows in the distance.
It was a few days after the visit from the squires of the eastern dormitory.
The squires of the northern dormitory held their heads collectively in despair, and an equally hopeless atmosphere filled the dormitory canteen.
Upon confirming the contents of the pamphlet, the squires had realized that this duel was apparently somewhat historically significant — it was essentially a tradition at this point. The two dormitories would choose five squires to represent them, and the two groups would show their skill with the sword under the watchful eyes of the various platoon captains.
However, as the activities of the knight platoons were restricted to a need-to-know basis, the squires of the northern dormitory did not know anything about this event — until now.
After having received the pamphlet, the atmosphere in the northern dormitory could only be described as one of oppressed fear.
“A duel with the eastern dormitory? But the difference in power...?”
“The other side has members that are basically the cream of the crop of our generation! A literal five-man dream team...”
Slumped over the canteen tables, the squires continued to complain.
“To begin with, aren’t six of the twelve tournament winners and runners-up on their side?”
“Queen was assigned there to begin with, so it was originally seven people... In comparison, we only have one person — Gormus...”
Looking at the present situation, it would almost seem like the eastern dormitory’s claims of how the northern dormitory was a gathering of rejects had some weight to it.
In the past few days, some squires had gathered information from their seniors. Although they did find what they were looking for, the answers only served to worsen their already pale expressions.
“So... they said that the northern dormitory isn’t a gathering of rejects at all. However... It seems like the knight in charge of the eastern dormitory has a severe grudge against us because of three consecutive losses against us when he was a squire... If the rumors are to be believed, he still holds a grudge to this day, and so purposely gathers strong, talented squires to his dormitory with each intake. And this year... for some reason, he managed to get the best of the best, and he’s going to use those squires to finally avenge his three consecutive losses... and make us taste his sorrow through defeat!”
“What the hell is that, even?”
“That’s some serious resentment...”
Faced with such an unreasonable explanation, the usually good-natured squires of the northern dormitory raised their voices in anger.
“What the hell did the previous dormitory head even do...?”
“Isn’t our motto ‘Work hard after being assigned!’ or something like that?”
“So, we just drew the short straw...?”
As the squires continued to talk amongst themselves, they slowly began to understand their collective situation — and the difference in power between the two dormitories.
“I mean, I get that whole train and become strong thing... But look at their members! This is impossible...”
“The only ones who can stand up to them in our dorm are Gormus and Queen...”
“Also, just so you know, the northern dormitory’s projected win percentage for the year is only about 10%...”
“Sure, it’s normal for squires to only find out about the duel after the dates have been finalized, but apparently they had insider information and knew about it as soon as they were recruited into the eastern dormitory...”
“Oh, and I heard that they did special training for this duel, too...”
As information from various squires flooded in, the very notion of hope disappeared from the minds of the northern dormitory’s youths.
“Ugh... It’s impossible... There’s no way we are winning this... I don’t want to participate...”
“I don’t want to look bad in front of the platoon captains...”
“Me neither...”
The squires now had a tinge of despair mixed with fear in their voices as they slumped over on the canteen tables.
On the other side of the canteen, Gormus folded his arms, sighing.
“Hmph. These guys are all pathetic. Getting all scared before the match has even happened.”
Remie, who was seated next to Gormus, responded with a troubled smile.
“Well... their feelings are understandable. They’ve attended the same dojos as them, attended the same tournaments, and experienced the difference in their power in person.”
Although the grumblings of the squires were indeed pathetic, they were not without basis.
The members of the eastern dormitories were either the top performers in their dojos, or were the winners or runners-up in tournaments they had participated in. If they had indeed trained in the same dojos, the difference in talent and ability would be plain for all to see — and if they had encountered these top performers in tournaments, they would surely have been defeated in mere moments.
Although they had been training as squires for over half a year now, none of the squires felt that they could catch up with the members of the eastern dormitory.
“Even so, I cannot overlook how they talked about us — as if they owned the place. I intend to win this.”
“Yeah, we’ll help too.”
Fie’s usual group of three friends expressed their support for Gormus’ views.
Although the three of them were not exactly known for their combat prowess, they were good-natured youths with a strong sense of duty.
“Yeah, thanks! It’ll be a great help if you all participate. However... the problem lies in putting together a full team.”
“Hey hey, what about me!”
“Yeah... Gees is still injured, so we’ll have an open spot.”
“I apologize for being unable to help...”
“Don’t worry, we’ll all work hard on your behalf!”
The squires, however, were drawing a blank about who should represent them in the duel.
Although they had intended to gather all the squires of the northern dormitory and field members based on their strengths and compatibility, no one wanted to participate in the duel.
The only ones who were keen on participating were Gormus and Queen. While Remie and Slad had volunteered to assist in the war effort, Gees’ injury meant that they were one member short from the start.
While Gormus and Queen were eager to participate and win, the current situation did not look very positive at all.
“Hey, hey! Gormus! What about me?”
“What about Zerius? That guy will definitely participate, right?”
“About that... Apparently the day of the duel overlaps with his grandmother’s birthday. As the celebrations are held back in his hometown, he can’t participate...”
“So he’d put family before an event that involves the favor of the platoon captains? As usual, he’s such a manly guy...”
“Gormus! What about me! What about me!”
“...”
“...”
Gormus and the others had been trying their best to ignore the persistent voice coming from the small squire standing before them, eagerly pointing his finger at himself. Next to the squire stood Queen, who was currently sweating for reasons unknown.
Prompted by the silence, Fie placed her hands on Gormus’ cheeks, pinching them to get his attention.
“You know... Do you even understand your performance in our sparring matches?”
“I haven’t lost a single match in my last ten matches! Maybe I should fight you next, Gormus!”
“What is it with you and that overly-positive outlook?! Your recent results were two wins, ten losses, and thirty-three draws! You’ve lost most of the time!”
It was worth noting that sparring in the northern dormitories was carried out in a round-robin format. Fie was the only one who had an odd streak of draws on her results list.
Her agile and unpredictable movements, along with her various tricks and tactics, made Fie a difficult opponent to fight. Nonetheless, this did not translate into wins — as the opponent could not decisively end the battle, Fie’s sessions often ended in draws.
Queen’s score, meanwhile, was forty-four wins and one draw (against Fie). Gormus was next, with forty-four wins and one loss (against Queen).
Depending on how one looked at it, Fie’s results could be considered impressive — however, her tactics and tools were not permitted in official matches. This was the reason why they did not think Fie participating was a good idea.
“Since there are no referees in our dormitory’s sparring, your tactics have been working. However, in a duel with strict rules, your repeated dodging would be seen as a lack of offensive intent, and you would be issued a warning. If you get two warnings you’re out — I think that’s a bit harsh for you, Heath...”
Remie and Gormus both carefully explained their reasoning.
Although Fie would first move to attack her opponent, she would default to evasive action if her opponent moved on the offensive. Given Fie’s build, she wasn’t likely to have much of a tactical advantage in a straight-up match.
To begin with, the rulings involved were sometimes overly technical. This simply did not work in Fie’s favor.
“It’s fine! I’ll do my best to win in the actual duel!”
“Where does that confidence of yours even come from...?” Gormus sighed as he watched Fie pound her chest, announcing her intent to win one way or another.
However, it was also true that the squires were out of options.
“Oi! We need one more! Does anyone want to participate!” said Gormus as he held up the pamphlet and waved it around the canteen.
“Ahh! My sword... I’ve lost my sword! Where did it go?”
“Ugh, I’ve had enough... I would lose three seconds after the match starts...”
“Light... I... I see the light...”
A chorus of despair rose from the squires seated in the canteen. It would seem like mere talk of the upcoming duel was capable of inflicting severe mental trauma upon them.
Upon seeing the pathetic faces of his fellow squires, Gormus finally sighed, giving up.
“There’s no choice... Make sure you do this right, you hear!”
“Yay!” Fie, elated at having received Gormus’ approval, jumped for joy.
Having decided on the participating members, the squires decided to move on to their next topic of discussion.
Fie joined the others, who were currently all seated at her usual canteen table. Upon pulling out her chair, a metallic sound rang out across the air — although Fie was familiar with the furniture, her leg had been acting up recently.
The next thing the squires had to decide on was the order in which they would be fighting.
“It seems like those guys have kindly informed us of their member order.” Gormus waved the pamphlet before his group — indeed, written on the paper was a list of numbers and ranked names.
Luka would be the vanguard, with Jerid being his second. Kerio would be mainstay and third on the field. Fourth would be Lieutenant-General Rigel, and finally, General Persil.
“Ahaha... Ranks...?”
“Yeah, now I definitely want to beat them to a pulp and make them say uncle.”
Remie’s shoulders slumped, a comical yet sad smile on his face. Slad, however, folded his arms angrily.
“Hmm. Even if Gormus and Queen were guaranteed to win their matches, one of the remaining three has to win theirs to decisively win the duel,” Fie said as she began thinking about the issue at hand seriously.
Taking into account the differences in their power, Fie’s group seemed to have no other options.
The remaining members were Fie (2 Wins, 10 Losses, 33 Draws), Remie (22 Wins, 18 Losses, 5 Draws), and Slad (23 Wins, 21 Losses, 1 Draw).
Even if they were to exclude Fie, who was infamous for her draw-making abilities, they were in a precarious spot.
“Queen, do you know how strong the members on the other side are?” Gormus, in yet another moment of strategic genius, decided to extract information from Queen, who once lived at the eastern dormitory.
Queen nodded thoughtfully, then gave a detailed response.
“Persil is strong. Rigel and Luka are about the same. Rigel might be a bit stronger, actually. Kerio wasn’t in the group until recently — so he may be the easiest to defeat.”
It would seem like the power rankings in the eastern dormitory were somewhat clear-cut.
“Even if he is the easiest to defeat, he is a tournament winner. Apparently he’s won some other lesser-attended tournaments as well,” said Remie with confidence.
Even if Kerio was simply filling the space that Queen had left behind, there was no mistake about him having a fair measure of skill.
“But there’s no choice. We have to do this. In any case, Queen and I will deal with their strongest and second strongest members. The rest of you just have to raise your percentages of winning. More importantly, we should decide on our member order, and think of individual strategies to increase the chance of victory.”
“I agree.”
“I guess we’re employing a clear-cut strategy as well, then.”
Gormus’ suggestion was nothing short of the logical truth. The difference in skill and power between the upper and lower echelons of Fie’s group was plain for all to see. If this distance was not at least somewhat addressed, they would have no chance of winning, no matter the matchup.
All the other squires nodded at Gormus’ suggestion, and the combat order was promptly decided.
General Queen, Lieutenant-General Gormus.
And...
“I’m the vanguard!”
Fie, who had been tasked with leading the charge, made a valiant effort to muster an intimidating expression. She was, however, not very successful.
The vanguard was, after all, an important position that determined the overall flow of battle. It was only natural that Fie felt fired up upon being entrusted with such a task.
“Oh... about that. If we were to slot you somewhere in the middle, the flow of battle could get messed up. So, we have no choice but to have you as the vanguard.”
“What is that supposed to mean?!” Such was Fie’s somewhat predictable reaction to Gormus’ explanation.
“If that isn’t the case, prove it to me in a duel.”
“Hmph. I will!”
There was, however, another reason why Fie was particularly amped up about this — her opponent was to be Luka.
“Also, that guy made fun of Queen! If I don’t get a clean hit in, I’ll never let it go!”
Although all the squires present at the time felt that Fie of all people shouldn’t talk, Fie was, for her part, actually very much angered by this.
Regardless of the nature of their relationship, Queen was, for all intents and purposes, Fie’s friend. Whether Fie’s strange definition of friendship had its roots in her royal upbringing or simply her personal quirks remained unknown. One could even assume that Fie simply really liked large dogs.
“I don’t mind.”
“I mind,” Fie insisted.
Worry was written all over Queen’s face.
“But Luka is strong.”
“Don’t worry about it, Queen. Focus on your own match. After all, your opponent is the strongest of them all, right? I’ll work hard too,” Fie said, completely oblivious to the worry in Queen’s words.
And so, the squires finalized their member’s combat order.
First up was Fie against Luka. To Fie, Luka was someone she wanted to win against at any cost.
Next was Slad and Jerid, followed by the mainstays of Remie and Kerio. Disregarding the over-eager Fie, Gormus hedged his bets on Slad or Remie’s matches.
The battle of the lieutenant-generals featured Gormus and Rigel. The two large youths, who had been staring each other down during their initial meeting, seemed destined to clash on the battlefield.
Last but not least were the generals themselves — Queen versus Persil.
On the very next day, Fie set off in search of Yore, with the intent of discussing her upcoming match with Luka.
Spotting Yore at last, Fie approached him, greeting him as he turned around.
“Good morning, Captain!”
“Oh, Heath. You seem cheerful today.”
“Yes!”
Fie, sensing that she had stopped him in the middle of something important, asked if she should return later, only to be reassured that it was of no particular import. She got to the point quickly, explaining her circumstances to Yore.
“Hmm...” Upon hearing Fie’s words, Yore remained silent, brows furrowed in thought. “It is true that such a matchup is disadvantageous for one of your build. Even I have heard of Luka. He is apparently a youth of considerable talent.”
Realistically speaking, Fie’s abilities were barely able to force draws upon her fellow squires of the northern dormitory. As she had not been able to score decisive wins over them, it seemed unlikely that she had much of a chance against Luka.
However, Fie did not want to give up.
In fact, Fie was in this to win, and this was why she had approached Yore for a discussion.
“Is there any way for me to gain the upper hand?”
Fie wanted to know if there were perhaps some ways where she could win, despite the wide gap in their builds and skill levels.
“Duels are a world wherein skill reigns supreme. Just as how your innate talent does not lie with the sword, the difference in experience and skill does not bode well for your chances at victory.”
“Yes...”
Yore was strict with Fie — just as she had expected. Fie knew that a way to win despite the large gap in their skills would be too good to be true.
“However... at the same time, if you do take the duel, there may yet be a chance of victory.”
“A chance...?”
Yore nodded at Fie’s query.
“My advice: you have to observe your opponent and identify a single point or trait that can be constituted as a weakness. You will then come up with a plan of action to exploit or attack this weakness with all of your strength. With how you currently are, a 100% chance of victory is perhaps impossible. However, if you approach the duel with a winning mindset, even if you only have a 10% chance of victory, you will be a great help to your teammates.”
Indeed, it was true that Fie was not like Queen or Gormus — she wasn’t exactly being counted on for a definitive victory.
Of the three other squires, only one had to win.
Taking that into account, the best thing Fie could do was gather information on her opponent and raise her chances of victory, however slim the margin may be.
What was important was not a definitive victory — it was a chance, a possibility of victory.
Upon hearing those words, Fie steeled her resolve and mind.
“There may be instances where the weak can triumph over the strong, if they cling onto every opportunity like you did during your squire test. However, at the same time, to grasp said opportunities to begin with, one requires a certain degree of strength.”
Images of her first fight with Gormus crossed Fie’s mind. Although Fie had been blessed with a one in a thousand chance, her lack of stamina had prevented her from grasping it.
Fie could almost sense the humor on the face beyond Yore’s mask.
“I know, of all other people, what you have done and how hard you have worked to grasp the strength that you have today. I will be present at the event as well. I look forward to your feats.”
“Y... Yes!” Fie could only happily nod at Yore’s words.
After all, Captain Yore acknowledged her efforts. She had relentlessly trained from that day to improve her stamina and skill — to the point where she could even keep up with some of the squires’ standard regimen.
Once a month, Yore would ask after her, in addition to receiving reports on her growth from Crow.
Fie was somehow overcome with a warm feeling.
“Well then, I’m off to gather information on my opponent!”
“Very well. Be on your way, then.”
Fie set off on her reconnaissance mission, running off in the direction of the eastern dormitory with a happy bound in her step.
Finally arriving at the eastern dormitory’s training grounds, Fie proceeded to do what she did best.
“Hey... what the hell is that...?”
“Some guy from the northern dormitory. What’s he doing up there...?”
Fie had promptly scaled a tree.
Standing on a particularly thick branch of the tree, Fie, very much visible, drew a fair amount of attention.
For the most part, the squires were not sure how Fie managed to climb the tree in the first place — she wasn’t exactly very tall.
“Don’t worry about it. Probably here for recon,” Rigel said, as he continued sparring with Kerio.
“Recon...?! Shouldn’t we stop him?” Kerio lost his cool upon hearing that Fie was here for the purposes of reconnaissance and was promptly disarmed by Rigel, his sword spinning out of his hands and into the air.
“I don’t mind. After all, the weak can work however hard they like,” Rigel responded, a confident smile on his face.
Although Kerio was treated as nothing more than a reserve member when Queen was still in this dormitory, it was without a doubt that he himself was somewhat capable. To a normal squire, Kerio would surely be an opponent that one could not hope to win against.
To Rigel, however, Kerio was not very much of a challenge at all — if the smile on his face was anything to go by. The difference in their potential was painfully evident.
Interestingly, knights from other platoons did not find Fie’s presence particularly intrusive. So she was able to continue her observation without much objection from anyone present.
The training they were currently participating in was similar to what the northern dormitory did — one-on-one sparring.
However, instead of self-regulating their matches and altering match rules as they saw fit, a few squires acting as referees were present for each bout, complete with instruments for measuring elapsed match time.
It would seem that the squires of the eastern dormitory took their training very seriously.
Fie continued observing Luka.
(He’s strong...)
She had to admit it.
Luka was rapidly going through opponents, with squires that were not part of the duel team functioning as training fodder.
Casually dodging an overhead swing from one of his fellow squires, Luka struck while his opponent was preparing his next strike, decisively ending the fight with a swift horizontal strike. The battle was concluded with a swift blow to the abdomen.
A basic and traditional style of swordplay.
A good balance of speed, power, and technique left no openings to exploit.
One could even say it was the strongest way of fighting — if only because it did not suffer from compatibility issues, allowing it to be employed even against opponents who specialized in certain areas.
For example, unlike Queen’s explosive bursts of speed or Gormus’ powerful swings, Luka’s style was decidedly normal and not flashy. In exchange, it had no visible weaknesses or openings.
Fie could not see any means to break through Luka’s perfect swordplay — to begin with, the weaknesses which she had been looking for hardly surfaced.
Although Luka knew that Fie was observing him, he merely continued his training, batting aside opponents with a relaxed expression on his face.
Although Fie had thought that his confidence was just for show, it would seem like Luka actually had the skill to back it up — although Fie personally thought that Queen was much stronger.
Even so, Fie continued to observe her target.
Luka, on the other hand, was now facing off against a new opponent. Striking, Luka smiled once again as his opponent barely managed to block his downward swing. Moving his face close to his opponent, Luka whispered menacingly.
“Oh, you blocked that nicely, didn’t you? But... You’re too naïve.”
Continuing his attack, Luka twisted his sword under his opponent’s, disarming him with a strong uppercut.
A week had passed since the announcement of the inter-dormitory duel.
Fie and her friends found themselves en route to the royal library within the castle’s walls. Much like the squire dormitories, the library was a separate, standalone building, and all individuals who worked within the castle walls were able to use it.
In addition, there was a separate storage vault for valuable scrolls and books in the royal palace. However, only royalty, nobility or officials with permission could enter.
Upon exiting the northern dormitories, the squires would turn westward, circling the royal castle to reach the library. One could say that it was situated in a roughly south-eastern direction within the castle walls.
The pavilion that Fie once lived in was visible during their journey, a simple structure to their right.
The group made its way through one of the castle’s inner walls, past the western gates and through the gardens, finally arriving at the library.
“Ah, marlettas,” Fie said, as the group passed through the gardens.
“Marlettas?”
The small flowers, sporting yellow stigma and white petals, were blooming in the warm sun. Their leaves, however, were of an odd shape — spiny and almost spear-like in appearance, they jutted out at odd intervals on the flowers’ stems.
“This...” Fie stopped herself in time — it wouldn’t make sense for her to say that this flower was from her hometown. “To think that such flowers would be blooming here...”
Fie’s resultant statement was ambivalent at best.
“Hmm. So they’re called marlettas?” responded one of the squires in a decidedly uninterested tone.
After all, although all squires were interested in the sword, few, if any, would be interested in flowers.
As such, no one in the group knew if said flower was common in Orstoll — or anywhere else for that matter. Perhaps a squire or two would say that they haven’t seen it often, and that would be the end of it, under normal circumstances.
Remie, however, was present today, and upon hearing the flower’s name, eagerly started a conversation with Fie.
“It’s a flower that blooms in Queen Fielle’s hometown in Daeman, isn’t it? I’m sure the gardeners planted it here for her. Although they’re somewhat plain, they’re very pretty flowers. Also, it would seem like marlettas are currently trending amongst gardeners in Orstoll due to how plain and simple they are!”
It would seem like Remie liked flowers very much.
Although Remie’s enthusiasm was plain for all to see, the other squires did not appear very interested at all, and Fie appreciated her friend’s unintentional assistance.
After walking for a while, the group finally arrived at the steps of the royal library.
It was a grand building, three stories tall — even its walls looked new. If Remie’s historical facts were accurate, the library had apparently been constructed a decade ago by the then king of Orstoll.
There were, however, not too many people inside said library. Although it was made with the self-betterment of the castle’s workforce in mind, public reception to the library was lukewarm at best. It seemed like few people enjoyed reading books in depth — at least amongst the population of the royal castle.
It was worth noting, however, that the overall literacy ratio in Orstoll was somewhat high. Fie had been told that this was especially true amongst younger people — who could mostly read and write without issues.
In addition, various classrooms teaching simpler, shorter words had also been established. This measure positively impacted the many sword dojos scattered across Orstoll, allowing their students to be introduced to a simple curriculum of words.
Although the King himself had wanted to open large-scale schools and improve overall educational standards, a combination of factors including cultural differences and the job market made it difficult to implement anything more at this point in time.
Thinking deeper on the issue, Fie realized that even Slad and his friends, who were born in the poorer parts of the downtown district, could read magazines. In fact, the peasant classes being as well-acquainted with language as nobles and merchants was something she would probably never see in Daeman.
“It’s kinda empty, isn’t it?”
“Well, there are no magazines, so it’s boring, you know? This is my second time here.”
The lack of magazines seemed to have severely impacted public interest in the library. It was somewhat of a waste, considering the unusually high literacy rates of the kingdom.
On that note, it was also worth mentioning that Fie only received the above information after becoming a squire — specifically, information on the king that had shut her in the back pavilion in the first place.
Upon entering the building through its large front doors, Fie’s group came face to face with what appeared to be a counter.
Apparently, one could even borrow books if they applied for a permit authorized by the kingdom. Although this was not common even amongst smaller libraries built for the peasantry, the risk of books going missing was somewhat low, considering that anyone who would borrow them worked on the grounds.
After securing some seats in the otherwise deserted library, Gormus turned to Fie.
“Well, bring it here. It is probably somewhere on the shelf containing knightly records.”
“Okay!”
To begin with, Fie’s group was visiting the library because Fie had never been in a duel before, and as such had to be acquainted with the rules.
Although Fie had just requested a simple explanation, Gormus and the rest became somewhat passionate about the process, eventually resulting in them visiting the library — and Fie running off to fetch a book detailing sword dueling rules from a certain shelf.
With clearly marked navigational plates and a logical arrangement system, the library had clearly been built with great care — one could see the extent of the king’s love of education in various minor details.
As Fie walked amongst the shelves, her eyes came across a sight — one that perfectly represented the fruits of the king’s labor.
She must have been in the middle of her break, or so Fie thought. Seated in a chair with her head buried in a book was a maidservant.
To be precise, it was a maidservant that she had befriended as of late, and one that she had obtained cookies from — Arsha.
According to the rumors Fie heard, Arsha was a long-term resident of the castle, having been born into a peasant family that was not particularly well-off. Originally, maidservants could only come from nobility, or were the eldest daughters of wealthy merchant families — such was the case in Daeman as well. Although Orstoll had adopted such traditions in the past, maidservants could now be employed with a background check and an aptitude test.
Arsha was one such maidservant. In her previous life, she would not have had many opportunities to touch books, much less read them. However, she was now seated back in her chair, voraciously reading the thick tome in her hands.
Arsha’s actions struck a chord of curiosity in Fie, who attempted to have a look at the book’s title.
The Knight and the Maidservant’s—
Fie, however, could not quite make out the rest — at least, not from her angle.
Unfortunately, Fie’s intense stare had caught Arsha’s attention. Suddenly blushing upon realizing she was being watched, Arsha’s eyes opened wide, dropping the book with a loud thud on the table in shock.
“H-Heath?!”
Arsha, having been accidentally surprised by Fie, let out a louder and higher-pitched voice than she had intended to.
Feeling somewhat guilty that she had interrupted Arsha’s passionate reading, Fie smiled, waving as she once again made her way through the numerous shelves of the library.
Finally reaching the shelf, Fie began her search.
The contents of the shelf ranged from books on knightly history, encyclopedias of famous knights, and other tomes in that vein.
Upon closer inspection, Fie discovered what appeared to be a registry and logbook for the northern dormitory — several volumes, in fact. Said registers were neatly shelved by year, and registers for other dormitories were present as well.
Fie was reminded of a similar looking book in one of the northern dormitory’s rest spaces, although it was still pristine, with few signs that anyone had bothered to read it.
Looking away from the dormitory registers, Fie begun her search anew, only to immediately come across what she had been looking for.
Rules for Dueling in the Art of the Sword — For Knights
It would seem like there were many rules for duel participation. The book was somewhat thick.
Retrieving what she had come for, Fie made her way back to Gormus and the rest of the group. And so it came to be that Fie was made to copy and write out the dueling rules from the book in question.
“Go on. Write it seriously.”
“Ugh... Can’t I just read the rules?”
“No. Write it. Do it properly.”
Gormus had been strangely passionate about instilling the dueling rules into Fie’s mind.
However, the rules in the book were all rather simple — anyone with some degree of common sense could guess them. Fie could feel her motivation dropping.
Swords will be used in the duel. No other weapons are permitted.
Such was an example of the obvious rules written within the book, amongst others.
Queen, Slad, and Remie, meanwhile, all seemed preoccupied with various measures of time-wasting.
Queen, having fetched a few books on knightly stories, was happily reading. Slad was doodling on various pieces of paper. Remie was revising what he had learned during a lesson that morning.
Gormus, for his part, was reading a book on muscular training while supervising Fie.
Fie, furrowing her eyebrows, was interrupted from her rule-copying by a timely comment by Slad.
“So, from what I’ve heard, apparently people from Daeman write ‘D’ this way...”
Perhaps it was due to King Roy’s recent marriage with Queen Fielle — the residents of Orstoll had slowly begun to become interested in Daeman culture and affairs. However, of those discussions, about 10% were on Daeman’s flowers and linguistic scripts, 90% were about Queen Fielle, and roughly five minutes of most conversations consisted of negative gossip on Fie.
“Yeah, I’ve heard of that. It looks strange. But when you look at the scrolls the Queen has written on, the words look pretty, even if they are strange.”
“Oh, you write it that way? Seems difficult.”
“‘E’ and ‘F’ are apparently written like this...”
“Oh, even the strokes are different...”
Fie could not help but gulp. After all, her fellow squires could easily discern that she was born in Daeman from her handwriting alone.
Just as that thought occurred to her, Remie took a peek at Fie’s paper, filled with the rules she had copied out.
Cold sweat begun to drip down Fie’s back.
After staring at Fie’s handwriting for what seemed to be an eternity, Remie smiled.
“Your handwriting is the Orstoll standard, Heath. It’s really neat and tidy... almost like it was written by royalty.”
Upon hearing that, Fie heaved a sigh of relief. Although she did not really understand these developments, it would seem like her handwriting did not ring any alarm bells.
(Hmm...?)
Fie’s mind, however, was immediately filled with another thought.
(Come to think of it... who taught me how to write anyway?)
Fie was sure that it was not Lynette. After all, she had learned how to write before meeting Lynette.
Although Fie tried to remember, she found herself drawing a blank.
“Oh. It seems like you’re finished. All right, one more time.”
“Eh?!”
“Those were the terms we agreed on. Go on. Make sure you do it right.”
“Uggghhhh!”
And so it came to be that Fie copied out the entirety of the dueling rules (for knights) three times that day.
With only two weeks left before the inter-dormitory duel, Fie and her friends worked hard.
Heslow, upon hearing of the upcoming competition, allowed the squires to use their free time as they saw fit, in addition to offering his support and advice.
To begin with, the main reason for Heslow being assigned to the northern dormitory was an administrative decision — he had been posted to account for the difference in strength between the squire dormitories. For his part, he was strict and carried out his duties well — if the rumors were anything to go by, he had become an instructor precisely because of these traits.
On that note, the knight-supervisor in charge of squire guidance had also become a bit of a familiar sight to Fie, having seen him from a distance on a few occasions. He was a somewhat plump knight, with small, slit-like eyes. Fie, however, remembered him for his gentle disposition.
However, their efforts were like droplets of water on hot rocks — no matter what they did, it didn’t seem quite enough.
Although the members of the duel team had already been selected, the dread of having to face off against the eastern dormitory left quite a dent in the other squires’ morale. For the most part, they were now preoccupied with drifting about aimlessly, a hollow shell of their former selves — the proverbial steam rising from said hot rocks.
Fie and her group, however, kept largely to themselves, giving their all to train for the upcoming competition.
Fie observed the enemy while Gormus and the rest engaged in training. As the days passed, it became clearer and clearer to Fie that it may be impossible to think of a plan that exploited Luka’s yet-undiscovered weakness.
Gormus and Queen’s training regimen mainly consisted of duels, with Slad and Remie facing off each other, or Gormus and Queen, and so on.
Honestly speaking, they were terribly short-staffed.
After all, amongst the squires in the northern dormitory, Gormus and Queen were the only ones in their skill bracket. Although the two had wanted to help the comparatively weaker members of their group, they themselves were preoccupied with their match preparations, and could not be of much assistance.
While Slad and Remie had gained a fair amount of skill from their practice sessions, their opponents this time were strong to begin with — so the situation didn’t appear to be improving. In addition, due to Fie’s special combat tactics and build, she was unfortunately unable to assist the two with their training regimen either.
The group understood that appropriate training partners for Gormus and Queen were simply not present, and they now faced the worrying reality of the lack of variety in their training.
Fie found herself at the royal library once again in the afternoon — although her visit no longer had anything to do with rules or rule-copying.
Faced with a lack of weaknesses to exploit, Fie had decided to consult books on military strategy for some ideas.
While Fie had thought this would be a simple grab-and-go affair, she came across an unexpectedly familiar face.
The other squire quickly noticed Fie’s presence as she approached.
“Oh? Aren’t you that kid from the northern dormitory?”
The familiar face Fie had come across was none other than Luka.
“It’s Heath.”
Luka’s expression was one of mild surprise.
“I see. So you are my opponent.”
The rules of the duel dictated that the order of both teams’ members be decided upon within a week. In other words, both teams were by now familiar with the names of their opponents. Neither dormitory had submitted any requests to alter their initial placements.
As if he had found the situation somewhat amusing, Luka chuckled.
“Well, well. Isn’t this something? Are the squires of the northern dormitory so cowardly? To throw the match by forcing someone like you into a match against me... Ha.”
“I’m the same age as you are. You seem relaxed, huh?” Fie glared at the other squire.
“Oh, is that right? I thought that there was some sort of a mistake, matching a mere child against me. I see. So that’s how it is. So... with the match just around the corner, what are you even doing at the library?”
“Searching for a way to defeat you. What are you doing here?”
Fie decided to deliver her reason straight, without a hint of hesitation. She had no intentions of hiding anything — nor was she intimidated by her opponent.
“Well, well. Wouldn’t it be nice if you found something?”
Luka looked at Fie, suppressing a laugh as he spoke. Fie’s attention, however, was drawn to the book in Luka’s hands. It appeared to be an instructional book on ballroom dancing.
“It is most unfortunate that I have to fight an unworthy opponent like you. As for your question — I am merely enjoying some leisure time reading. Well, I am the son of a noble family after all. It wouldn’t do to while away my free time with aimless pleasures. I am somewhat envious of Rigel and Persil — after all, they have real opponents.”
Luka, looking straight at Fie, had called her unworthy. He clearly did not view Fie as a threat — much less a legitimate opponent.
“Well, if you think that you can find some way to defeat me by digging around here, give it your all, won’t you? Even if you lose, surely your platoon captain will be comforted by the fact that you did what you could under the circumstances.”
With those parting words, Luka walked away from Fie.
Apparently changing his mind, however, he suddenly stopped and turned to face Fie.
“Ah. I forgot to mention. Please don’t take up too much of my time in the actual match.”
In a moment, Luka was before Fie, once again holding up her chin with a free hand.
With a smile of absolute confidence, Luka stared into Fie’s eyes.
“After all... Even if you are a man, it’d be a pity to injure that cute face of yours. Why, I might even feel guilty!”
With those words, Luka left once more, an unpleasant sneer painted across his features.
Fie stood absolutely still, looking at Luka’s back as he walked away.
At the moment, a flash of inspiration enveloped Fie’s mind, an idea rapidly forming in her head.
Upon returning to the northern dormitory, she saw a large number of squires holding wooden swords gathered at the training grounds.
For the past week, these very same squires had the look of death about them, and had returned to their dormitory after engaging in the absolute minimum amount of training.
Their expressions today, however, were very different. Somehow, for some reason or another, the life had returned to their faces.
“Everyone decided to help us out with our training!” Remie said happily to Fie, who had just returned from her excursion to the library.
“Our bad. We let ourselves get to such a miserable state.”
“But we’ve decided that enough is enough! Although we won’t be in the duel, we’ll help you guys out with all our might!”
Fie, however, delivered a relatively deadpan response to the newly-revived knights.
“Aren’t you guys saying that just because the duel members have been locked in and can no longer be changed?”
“Ugh...”
“Y-You got us...”
Fie’s blunt deduction struck the squires right in the heart, some of whom had to sit, clutching their chests from the impact.
Fie, however, giggled.
“I’m just messing around. Thanks for volunteering, it really helps!”
“O-Oh... If there’s anything you want us to do, we’ll do it! We’ll do everything we can!”
And so, the squires of the northern dormitory agreed to cooperate with the training plans and requests of Fie’s group.
Amongst them, however, Fie’s training was unique.
“Uh... are you sure you’re okay with this...?”
“Yeah, may I have another round?”
Fie was training to block her opponent’s blows.
For Fie, who spent most of her time dodging, escaping, or evading attacks just in time, this defense-focused training was a highly unusual request.
“Is it okay if you don’t do any attack training? If you get too many warnings, you’ll lose the match!”
“Don’t worry. I’m in this to win.”
Gormus, who was worried about Fie’s apparent tunnel vision into defense training, received only a smile from the latter.
The day of the duel competition arrived.
The duel was held in a purpose-built structure in the capital, which had hosted its fair share of events. Circular and large, the structure was constructed with large-scale events in mind, complete with rings of spectator seats.
Although it was mostly deserted when no competitions were being held, a fair number of knights could be seen walking through it today.
While the event in question was called the East-North Inter-Dormitory Duel, spectating rights were not restricted to the dormitories’ respective platoon leaders. Knights of other platoons were allowed to spectate as well.
Between the knights that were here to witness their juniors in combat, the members of both dormitories, and other interested parties, the number of spectators present was not exactly low.
In one corner of the structure’s arena, the squires of the eastern dormitory were lined up in a row, with a single, particularly loud knight standing before them.
With a headful of blonde hair swept backwards and set in place by copious amounts of hair gel, the knight stood, laughing and shouting at the same time.
“GA HA HA HA HA! The time has come at last! Today is the day where I will make those north dorm folks pay for my three consecutive losses! This is only the first step! Come to think of it, so many terrible things have happened since then! After losing to the north, I was dumped by Elizabetta, failed in my transfer to the 1st Knights five times, failed the same amount of subsequent dates — and since I’m still single at 35, even my parents have recently begun bugging me to just get married to a random girl! This is ALL because of those accursed three chain losses! That’s why... today, I will let you taste my pain! I will let you feel the shame of three back-to-back defeats! TODAY IS THE DAY I TAKE BACK MY YOUUUUUTHHH!”
“Ahh. Seems like Sir Carnegis has gone berserk again.”
“Year after year. You’d think he’d get tired of it at some point?”
“You know, besides that, he’s actually a very nice guy...”
“Man... seeing that makes me feel old.”
The various knights passing by could only look upon their compatriot with a variety of exasperated faces.
However, it would seem that not a single one of their voices reached Carnegis.
“ALL RIGHT! You are elites who have been assembled for one sole purpose today! Go forth and fulfill your destiny! And then make those north dorm folks PAY for the shame that they have inflicted upon me!”
Although Carnegis’ statement was delivered with many vigorous motions, none of the squires present found themselves following his instructions — even the squires of the eastern dormitory could only stand and stare blankly at the spectacle.
Luka and Rigel, however, sneered as they walked slowly towards the arena.
“Why did he bother saying all that, I wonder? After all, we’ll easily defeat them anyway.”
“There’s no way we can lose.”
Filled with confidence, the two walked ahead. Trailing a short distance behind them was Persil, silently adjusting his glasses as he headed in the same direction. Kerio, Jerid, and the other squires followed suit.
At the spectator seats, various platoon captains and knights started to assemble.
Amongst them was a masked knight. Yore, too, was present. As the true identity of Yore was an open secret to the platoon captains, the King’s presence in the stands made them somewhat nervous.
Of all the knights present, however, one in particular stood out. He appeared to be slightly over 40 — visibly older than the other platoon captains. Although his grizzled countenance and features suggested a strict attitude, his face was instead filled with a child-like grin.
“It’s been a while, Yore.”
Upon seeing this older knight, Yore and all the other knights present rose to their feet.
“It has been too long, Master Zephas.”
“Haha. Cut it with the pleasantries. We’re all captains here. Actually, I should be the one using the formalities, huh. But then, if I were too formal with you while you were dressed like that, it’d be suspicious, wouldn’t it? Forgive me.” The last part of his sentence was almost half a whisper, inaudible except to the nearby platoon captains.
“I do not mind. I find that, if anything, it helps.” Yore, for his part, continued being formal as usual.
It was worth noting that this man was the platoon captain of the 1st Knights, and was also responsible for re-establishing the Kingdom of Orstoll after the reign of the previous king. Amongst the peasantry, Sir Zephas, as he was known, was considered a hero.
He was also another student of Kaizer, who was responsible for training members of the royal family in the ways of the sword. To Yore, Zephas was his senior and mentor.
Unknown to most, Yore had felt that the training he had received as a prince was not quite enough, and ended up asking Kaizer to make him a formal apprentice instead. In addition, he had refused to be treated like royalty during his apprenticeship. Kaizer and his fellow students, in turn, accepted Yore as one of their own.
As such, to Yore, Zephas was more than just a knight under his command — he was someone who had trained with and taken care of him. A senior in the ways of the blade, and a man worthy of respect.
“Sorry for being late. Perhaps you have heard, but we’re having yet another one. I went with Melissa to the doctor’s. Seems like both mother and child are healthy.”
“I have heard the news from Finn. I am glad Melissa is in good health.”
Sir Zephas, for all his heroic past deeds, was now older, married, and had a family — one could say that he was half-retired. Most of his tasks were handled by his lieutenant, Finn.
Zephas had married his childhood sweetheart, and despite his age, had fathered his third child with his wife as of late.
“Hahaha. Marriage is good! Also, Yore, how goes it with Queen Fielle?” Zephas lowered his voice furtively, leaning in as if to make sure no one else could hear. His expression was one of slight worry.
However, Yore responded in his usual tone of voice, without a hint of hesitation.
“Yes. It is going very well.”
Upon hearing his response, however, Zephas could not help but cringe.
“Your definition of ‘really well’ is a little....” said the older knight, his voice trailing off.
However, he did not finish his sentence, instead mischievously grinning and changing the conversation topic once more.
“Come to think of it, isn’t the squire you have taken in participating in the duel today? Is he a good kid?”
Acknowledging Zephas’ question, a smile flitted across Yore’s face.
The gentle glint in Yore’s eyes threw Zephas off completely. Yore, however, did not notice the older knight’s reaction.
The kindness that Yore showed was often that of a king or leader, shown to his faithful citizens. Kindness stemming from personal feelings and intents, however, was not a common sight in Yore — unless for one he had known personally for a considerable amount of time.
“Ah. Yes. He is an individual of amazing talent, and has a chivalrous disposition. His innate aptitude makes him more suitable for Grass-related duties, and as such I have been unable to formally deploy him on anything other than covert assignments. However, I hope that he will one day take his rightful spot on the stage as one of the many knights carrying Orstoll on their backs.”
Thinking of Heath’s talents, there should have been no issue in training him in the ways of the Grass — he would work hard regardless of the nature of his training. The very fact that he remained a squire, however, was indicative of how Yore felt about Heath.
Zephas smiled upon seeing Yore’s expression.
“Well then. I guess today’s matches are worth looking forward to.”
“Yes. Very much so,” said Yore with a nod.
Having arrived at the dueling grounds at last, Fie and her group found themselves standing before a man — he was by no means unfamiliar; in fact, Fie had seen him several times before. It was the knight-supervisor in charge of squire guidance of the northern dormitory.
He did not fit the stereotypical image of a knight, however — not with his rotund body and slit-like eyes. However, he did leave an impression with his gentle disposition.
Fie struggled to remember his name. If she was right, it was Trokko.
With a slightly slouched posture, Trokko stood before Fie’s group, addressing them in a voice that was calm and soothing — there wasn’t a single strand of malice in his words. Slowly, he began speaking, albeit in an apologetic tone.
“Hello, squires. Good of you to come. Since you are standing before me, I would suppose you understand the circumstances surrounding this duel. I do apologize for this... Dragging unrelated squires such as yourself into the issue...”
Trokko’s brows furrowed deeply into his features, looking more troubled by the minute.
Regaining his composure at last, Trokko resumed speaking in his calm voice.
“As you should know, the northern dormitory’s motto of ‘Work hard after being assigned!’ is no lie. All of you are like unpolished diamonds — precisely the kind of diamond that we at the northern dormitory wish for. We trust that by the time you have graduated and taken up arms as knights, you will fare better than knights from any other dormitory.”
Trokko glanced over the squires before him.
“This inter-dormitory duel is meant to evaluate the skills you have gained in your first year of squire training. If you all work hard, you could easily catch up in your second and third years — at least, that is how it usually is.”
Trokko looked over the squires gathered before him once more, this time without slouching or sounding apologetic. He smiled, addressing the squires as he did so.
“It would seem from the looks on your faces that words of consolation are not necessary. Your expressions tell me that you will give your all in the duel today. As an unreliable senior, here is my advice: show these people gathered here the full extent of your strength. I will be cheering for you. Well then, go forth.”
Trokko’s gentle parting words somehow inspired a loud, inspired response from the squires of the northern dormitory.
As the squires made their way to the dueling grounds, Trokko saw them off, watching from a distance.
As the last of the squires faded into the distance...
“Ahh. They are good kids. In fact, I feel ashamed for standing before them and making such an arrogant speech. To begin with, today’s situation was probably caused by me overlooking things too much. Honestly... I should never have been soft on him just because he was a friend.”
Trokko’s slit-like eyes opened ever so slightly, a sharp edge evident in his gaze. And then, in a voice stricter than the one he had used before, Trokko said, to no one in particular:
“It’s about time we took responsibility as adults for our actions... Carnegis...”
With that, Trokko set off in the opposite direction that the squires had departed in.
Ten minutes had passed since Fie’s group had entered the dueling grounds.
It would seem that the duel’s preparations took up a fair amount of time.
To the left of their group, on the innermost spectator seats, sat the members of the northern dormitory. Predictably, seated on the innermost spectator seats opposite from them were the members of the eastern dormitory.
The central seats, from which one would have the best view of the duel, was in turn occupied by the platoon captains; with the other seats taken up by knights who had decided to spectate out of interest or curiosity.
Upon recognizing Yore’s figure amongst the seated captains, a surge of happiness welled up in Fie’s heart.
“Hey, Slad! We’ll be watching! Do your best!”
“Seniors! You came for me?! Thank you very much!”
Slad, whose seniors had apparently turned up to cheer him on, was happily waving at them. Apparently the duel’s member list was public knowledge at this point.
“Remie! Don’t be scared of the likes of them!”
“Yes! Of course!”
Remie had his fair share of supporters as well — and he responded to their cheers with a gentle smile.
Fie, envious of her teammates, looked in Yore’s direction, and their eyes met for a moment.
She waved, somewhat timidly. Although Yore did not wave back, he nodded — and to Fie, that was a significant response.
Yore’s gesture filled Fie with happiness.
However, Fie did not know what to make of the older gentleman behind Yore, who was waving with all his might.
“All right, we will confirm the process one more time. After the knight-referees enter the grounds, all members will alight from the stands into the arena and exchange courtesy greetings. After which, they will return to their places, and the vanguards of both teams will enter the arena — then the match will begin.”
With Trokko gone from the dueling grounds, Heslow took over, briefing the squires on proper procedure.
On the eastern dormitory’s end, a knight with blonde, swept-back, heavily-gelled hair was currently making a huge fuss. It would seem like all of his actions were, to some extent, noisy.
Fie and her comrades, having gathered for Heslow’s briefing, nodded resolutely at his words.