Chapter 42 - Change

The vice-captain, who was about to show interest in the story of the great battle, placed various books and a thick stack of papers on the desk.

—Thud!

"Captain, please look at this first."

"...What is all this?"

I was slightly flustered. If I wanted to hear the story, was he telling me to hurry up and finish my work?

When I suddenly encountered a huge amount of documents in the morning, I pushed them aside for the time being.

I felt a kind of instinctive aversion.

—Thumping

However, the vice-captain, regardless of what I did, kept rummaging through the pile of documents with her light-colored eyes sparkling like a cat that had found a fun toy.

I watched her quietly, wondering what she was doing, and she found a book and held it out in front of me.

[Everything About the Knights' War]

Without hiding her nervousness, I unfolded it, and the vice-captain suddenly stuck her head out in front of me and began an explanation that I hadn't even asked for.

"Captain. The Knights' War is a time-honored event that has been held since the time His Majesty the First Emperor resided on this land…"

It was truly enjoyable to watch the sharp-faced beauty burning with passion right before my eyes, along with the sweet scent wafting in.

If I left it like this, I would be absorbed in the story of the Knights' War all day.

Did the vice-captain have this side to him? It felt refreshing in many ways.

With a strange sense of familiarity, I naturally reached for her hair, which was swaying in the wind at just the right time.

I stroked her hair and spoke softly.

"Vice-captain. That's enough explanation. Thank you for preparing the materials. I'll read this book later."

"Hot…! Sorry, Captain!"

Then, the vice-captain's face flushed slightly, not knowing what to do.

When I first met her, I thought she was a woman as cold and calm as ice, but lately, she's been showing me a lot of her human side.

That must mean she's getting close to me.

Well, we've been through so many thrilling and bizarre situations like mana injections and fake marriages and all sorts of things together.

Our relationship was already on the verge of going beyond the typical boss-subordinate relationship and becoming a relationship between a man and a woman. It was somewhere in that ambiguous gap.

But that's that, and since I'm on duty right now, I should focus on my work. I changed the subject appropriately.

"Vice-captain Agnes. It's the first time I've seen you so interested in something."

"Ahem, of course. As a knight, how could I just sit still?"

Even though we were the same knights, I was a bit unfamiliar with the knights' unique culture, having spent almost my entire life training and then being dragged to the battlefield and having to cross the line of fire.

Since it was hosted directly by the imperial family, it couldn't have been just an ordinary event.

Judging by what was going on, this seemed to be an even more incredible event than I had expected.

Furthermore, it wasn't just the vice-captain who was acting different than usual.

—One, two! One, two! —Run! Run faster! Are you trying to run slower than a horse? I can see your legs!

Since the inside of the unit was bustling since morning, I glanced out the window and saw my subordinates running around the training grounds at an inhuman speed.

Even though all knights are superhumans, the training was so harsh that I thought they would all fall off by the afternoon.

"Hmm, you're all doing well."

"That's true. Now, I won't be able to leave no matter where you put me."

I stood next to the vice-captain and looked out the window, exclaiming in admiration.

In their appearance, there was no trace of the previous rabble.

—Don't stop even if you feel like you're going to collapse from exhaustion! Go beyond your limits! Faster! Are you knights after all?

The identity of the person who was properly training his subordinates with a demeanor reminiscent of a demon from hell was the captain of the Imperial Guard, Lord Elizabeth.

She had originally come to receive practical training from me as Alicia's contact person.

However, before I could properly teach her anything, the mission broke down, and she ended up staying in the unit and being left in the unfortunate situation of being left behind.

Well, it's not my fault that things turned out this way, but it's more like an unavoidable circumstance…

Still, I felt a little guilty out of morality, but fortunately, while I was away, she seemed to have adapted to the unit like a drill instructor.

Despite the absence of elites including commanders, the reason why the discipline of the common knights did not worsen but rather seemed to be better than before was this.

… Come to think of it, my dispatch period is almost over, what should I do?

Since it has come to this. From now on, I should at least spar with the members of the royal guards and write the best performance evaluation for Lord Elizabeth.

Anyway, seeing my subordinates training so diligently made me feel so tense that I couldn't sit still.

—No, Sir Royce. Why has your swordsmanship become so… reckless?

—Well. Let's just say there was something that could affect you a little during the mission.

Seeing the commander-level personnel having a swordsmanship conversation in the separate training grounds made me want to move even more.

I looked at the vice-captain standing next to me and suggested.

"Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever looked at your swords separately. Would you like to train together?"

"Four?! The captain himself... It's an honor!"

On the way to the training room for the knight commanders with the vice-captain.

As expected, she kept talking about the competition incessantly.

"The preliminaries alone last a full two weeks."

"That's right. Considering the size of the empire, it's an incredibly tight schedule."

"Then what about the main event?"

"The main event is the crown jewel of the knight competition. It's an honorable occasion where His Majesty the Emperor personally attends. This means that it's the perfect opportunity to prove the skills you've honed on the promised stage."

The atmosphere of the entire unit was heated up, and even the vice-captain, who was my closest subordinate, kept encouraging me.

Naturally, all my interest was drawn to that area as well.

I don't know how many great knights will participate in the knight competition.

I am confident in my personal power, but the empire is so large that I might encounter a strong person who uses a unique and powerful image that would be difficult for me to deal with.

However, seeing my subordinates who have become incomparably more trustworthy than before, I thought I would have a chance against any knight order.

At least I don't have to worry about being eliminated in the preliminaries.

Well, whatever happens, I will have to prove it in real combat.

As it has always been.

......…..

The Palace of the Sun where the Emperor resides.

Always standing tall in the same place, never collapsing, and accompanying the empire's thousand-year history, this place had a mysteriousness that transcended simple architecture.

The conference room where important matters that determine the empire's course of action are discussed.

The cool air that lingered there changed in an instant.

Under the single, always empty chair. The twelve seats surrounding the large round table began to fill up one by one.

The twelve rulers who protected the empire in their respective positions could gather in one place whenever and wherever they wanted.

"Let's begin."

Starting with a word from the Chief Justice, one of the twelve rulers and the head of the empire's strict judicial system.

The cabinet meeting, which had been on hiatus for quite some time since the war, was finally held again.

"I heard that the authority of the empire has been seriously damaged due to the recent disturbances in the center. What do you think, Commander-in-Chief?"

The one who touched his chin and went straight to the main topic as if nothing had happened, and tried to poke at the most sensitive topic was none other than Duke Bellaryon.

A few people coughed in vain at his direct, even bold, remark, clearly showing their discomfort, but he didn't even care.

He was the one who had the entire West under his sphere of influence and controlled the entire logistics of the continent.

If the Empire had not existed on this land, the four dukes would have been called kings.

As one of them, I have no hesitation in expressing my opinion.

"First of all, I deeply feel responsible for this situation. As someone in charge of the Empire's military sector, it is clear that not being able to prevent this in advance is disloyalty to His Majesty the Emperor and a great sin."

"Ha! Then what are your plans for the future?"

Craig, the commander-in-chief of the Unified Command.

Contrary to his rough and tough impression, he seemed to quietly accept the restraint directed at him and tuck his tail between his legs.

This is because he is the only one of the twelve rulers gathered here who is attending as a proxy rather than in person.

Normally, the Imperial General should be present, but the High Elf, who has lived for many years, is a free spirit who is not influenced by the secular world.

In most cases, her position would always be taken by the Commander-in-Chief.

From an objective perspective, it was an extremely rude act, but no one was foolish enough to point that out for at least the past thousand years.

However, even if he were a proxy, Commander-in-Chief Craig was also the highest-ranking official, the de facto head of the military sector of the Empire.

He would never quietly accept Duke Bellaryon's restraint toward me.

"It's truly unfortunate. I never thought that a child of the traditionally prestigious Marquis Medici would do something like that."

"Oh my! Having overcome his humble origins and risen to the position of Commander-in-Chief, isn't his confidence a little excessive? His voice grew louder as he fought the war, huh?"

That's right.

Pietro de Medici, the mastermind behind the recent large-scale riots and the one who committed treason by joining hands with traitors and devil worshippers.

The Marquis de Medici, the family he belonged to, was one of Duke Valerian's closest associates.

"How could that be? I just expressed regret."

"Your challenge. I will never forget it. How long do you think you can maintain the position of Commander-in-Chief?"

Not only Marquis Medici, who was directly responsible for the near-destruction of the clan, but also Duke Bellaryon could not be completely free from the aftermath of this incident.

He tried to defend his position to some extent by somehow holding on to the Commander-in-Chief and dragging him into the mud.

"Pfft! Sir West. You look terrible. Honestly, you're ugly."

"What? Be polite, you savage leader with no foundation."

"Oh, what a rude remark. But aren't you and I the same Duke? I'm not your subordinate. If you don't like what I say, come at me with your fists."

"Damn it! That's why you're so lowly!"

Of course, in the end, he didn't even get his money back.

When the meeting was about to lose its original direction and become noisy due to Duke Bellaryon.

—Boom!

With a loud noise, everyone's eyes were drawn to the center of the round table.

"It's been a while, my children. Hmm... There are some faces here that I've never seen before."

A person who should not have appeared here under the pretext of being annoying.

The Imperial Grand General, Arien de Lauriel Alfheim.

She barged into the conference hall.

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