It had already been a week since I was appointed as the commander of the Black Lion Knight Order.
Right after the inauguration ceremony.
Thanks to the neat handover data prepared by the deputy commander, I was able to roughly understand the reasons and causes behind the breakdown of the Black Lion Knight Order.
Furthermore, upon diagnosing the current situation and judging comprehensively, the heartbreaking conclusion emerged that the Black Lion Knight Order, as it stood now, was nothing more than a ragtag group that should never be called a knight order.
In any case, since I had been assigned as the commander of the knight order here according to the judgment of the imperial family, I decided to do my duty to the best of my ability rather than being dissatisfied.
In fact, from the beginning, I never expected the unit I was commanding to be perfect without flaws.
'At least it's much better than then.'
When the war was at its peak of intensity, I had the experience of having commanders above and below me assassinated overnight, and when I came to, my unit being shattered.
At least in terms of personnel, this Black Lion Order was fully organized without any vacancies, and thanks to its base located in the capital, it could continuously receive smooth supplies.
Although there were a lot of flaws right now, I considered it a unit with ample room for improvement.
'Rather, since it's a defective unit, there are also positive aspects to it.'
Above all, the taste of improving the various problems one by one and changing the unit to the way I wanted it to be seemed very exceptional.
As the first step, I threw out the corrupt administrative officer.
‘It’s unfair! I just did as the former commander told me…'
Come to think of it, it seemed like he was talking to me a lot right before he was taken away by the inspectors.
The excuses he wanted to make to me would have been heard to his heart's content by the Imperial Ministry of Justice instead. He was probably sitting meekly in the bars by now, with his feeling of unfairness fully dissolved.
'Ahahaha!'
In fact, the only thing I remembered clearly now was the clear and innocent laughter of the deputy commander as she appreciated the sight of the former administrative officer being dragged away.
Her wide smile was truly pleasant to see.
The fact that my immediate subordinate, whom I inevitably have to face frequently, was a competent and beautiful woman, had a very positive impact on my job satisfaction.
Despite the fact that the new administrative officer hadn't arrived yet, there hadn't been any disruption to paperwork so far. It was all thanks to Agnes, the deputy commander.
For me, her presence was my most liked element in the Black Lion Order. At least, up to now.
I was already planning to introduce the deputy commander to a custom tailor for her health and work efficiency, but if she continued to work satisfactorily as she was doing now, it would be okay to give her an even bigger gift.
A competent subordinate needs to be treated according to their abilities.
And, the second step was now moving steadily forward.
“Then let’s begin. First, show courtesy to each other.”
The central training ground where all the forces of the Knight Order were gathered.
In the middle of it, two knights fully armed, with real swords, were glaring at each other.
“Decurion captain from the 3rd Centurion Unit. I am Raoul.”
“Captain of the 2nd Centurion Unit. I am Pascal.”
Right now, in this place. The public sparring, which had begun to establish itself as a unique culture of the Black Lion Knight Order and an event to end the day's routine, was about to take place.
The members' eyes were sparkling as they watched the battle, considered one of the most interesting spectacles in the history of mankind along with the fire and water.
“Raoul! Win!”
“Centurion Captain Pascal! Just trample him!"
Even the subordinates, who had eyes that looked as dreary as rotten fish during the inauguration ceremony, were exuding a heat that made it hard to believe they were the same people.
… could it be that they were doing something scandalous like gambling?
It was a bit suspicious. I would have to investigate this separately later.
“I'll count backward to three. Three, two…”
Well, if you thought about it, they could do something like that. Because today's sparring had more than enough reasons to create a bigger buzz than usual.
It was not a spar between ordinary knights but a showdown between captains. That too between a decurion captain and a centurion captain.
Wasn't it enough to get the blood of energetic young warriors boiling? I, too, was looking forward to seeing what direction that battle would take.
"One!"
— Paaat!
With the sound of the wind splitting, the brown-haired decurion captain, Raoul, rushed towards the grumpy-looking centurion captain, Pascal.
As both of them were superhumans, the distance between them instantly converged to zero. Raoul's sword stabbed straight towards Pascal's solar plexus in an instant. It was a neat movement without any unnecessary elements.
‘Decurion Captain Raoul. Quite useful.'
However, the opponent, as befitting a centurion captain, didn't go down easily. Pascal, who kept his eyes on his opponent's movements until the end, twisted his body and avoided the thrust with minimal movement.
‘Pascal isn’t bad either. Well, it's to be expected when he's a centurion captain.'
A thrust inevitably leaves a big opening right after the attack.
Therefore, Pascal immediately tried to catch Raoul's right arm, which was extended toward the air, and break it as it was. However, Raoul showed an irregular movement as if he had anticipated this in advance.
— Shoosh!
Just before he was caught, Raoul lowered his body even further. It was an attempt to break the opponent's movements. It was a stance that seemed to be preparing for a close-quarters fight or a joint-lock fight.
A method that had nothing to do with the fundamentals. But bold and threatening.
In a fight between superhumans, where both sides could employ unconventional movements, it seemed he instinctively realized how he could shake his opponent's psychology to gain the upper hand.
Pascal, with a bewildered look on his face, hastily somersaulted backward and widened the distance. As long as he did not know what his opponent would do, he had no choice but to do so.
“Waaaaah!”
“Raoul! Raoul! Raoul!”
As the spar reached a momentary lull, the members' shouts that seemed to pierce the sky rang out.
However, I had no intention of stopping them. From the beginning, I intentionally created this space to allow them to observe their colleagues' sparring, indirectly develop their skills, and alleviate the fatigue and frustration caused by the daily routine.
At that time, I heard a low voice of a woman talking to me from the seat next to the head seat.
“… Decurion Captain Raoul will win.”
It was the deputy commander. She was watching the battle with such interest that I wondered if she was the same person who, not long ago, was worried that the atmosphere in the sparring match might overheat and cause an accident.
It was really cute to see her properly enjoying herself while pretending not to be.
"Why do you think so, Deputy Commander?”
“Centurion Captain Pascal has already been caught up in his opponent’s psychological warfare. Moreover, to respond to such an irregular method, one must have an overwhelming advantage, whether it be strength or speed, but Pascal doesn't have either."
"It's a reasonable analysis."
“Since this current situation is nothing more than a sparring match."
The deputy commander left a meaningful comment, crossed her arms, and began to concentrate on the sparring match.
However, of all things, she crossed her arms, which made her already bulging uniform jacket stand out even more, so I had to rigorously control the gaze that kept turning in a rude direction due to the men's instincts.
The more I looked at it, the more it looked like a body that would cause many troubles in carrying out her duties in the Knight Order, which had a much higher proportion of men. It was a bit of a serious problem that affected not only her but also others.
“Tch, is this not enough? I’m sure in that book…”
For some reason, she seemed disappointed about something and clicked her tongue, but I didn't bother to attach any meaning to it and decided to focus on the sparring, which continued again.
As neither of them allowed each other any space very easily, Raoul's mouth eventually opened first.
“Wow, as expected, it seems you can respond somehow when you become a centurion captain. I don’t think the next one will work.”
“…Hmph. That's obvious. It would be a good idea to change that undignified fighting style."
When I heard that, I couldn't help but chuckle. Didn't he just offer praise?
When fighting, saying things like ugly, undignified, or you fight dirty meant praising the opponent's outstanding skills.
In the end, Pascal, feeling frustrated by the prolonged stalemate, intentionally revealed a gap. And Raoul, as if he had no intention of refusing, tried to attack again in a similar manner to before.
— Clang!
This time, Pascal responded more appropriately. The clash of swords created a metallic sound.
Stabbing. Blocking. Swinging. Slashing. In an instant, sharp sword blows passed back and forth between the two knights. Pascal clearly had the upper hand in swordsmanship.
Raoul's figure looked as if he was gradually giving up the initiative to his opponent when he was no match for him in swordsmanship.
At Raoul's collapsing posture. Although Pascal tried to quickly finish things at the gap that seemed to be greatly exposed for a moment for all to see.
— Quaang!
“…Got you!”
"What?!"
Holding the sword blade stuck in his own shoulder as it was, Raoul tried to kick Pascal in the groin, whose movement was restricted by his spread legs.
Feeling seriously threatened by the merciless attack, Pascal forgot that he was in a sparring match and tried to raise his aura to cut off the opponent's arm as it was.
"Stop."
But I quickly intervened between the two and stopped the sparring.
“Tsk!”
“You crazy bastard!”
The atmosphere between the two was as fierce as if sparks were flying, but I liked the current situation very much.
Thanks to the fact that both of them showed more than I expected. Fighting spirit was one of the virtues of an excellent warrior.
But regardless of that, as a commander, I couldn't help but pay attention to Raoul.
“The sparring is a draw. And Decurion Captain Raoul.”
“…Yes, Commander.”
“I won't punish you today since it's the first time I've seen your fighting style. But if you cause or try to cause an accident in sparring next time, it won't be overlooked. Understand?"
I deliberately let my energy flow a little to put pressure on him. Such frenzied people needed to be treated a little roughly.
“U-understood!”
“Centurion Captain Pascal, you also did a good job. It was a very impressive battle.”
“Thank you, Commander!”
Thus, at first glance, it seemed like the sparring ended awkwardly, without a winner or loser being decided.
But in the end, it was clear who would have the last laugh.
“Kuhahaha! Did you see that? Did you guys see that?”
"Shit!"
Raoul, who was laughing excitedly while clutching his pierced and bleeding shoulder, and Pascal, who had no wounds but was frowning, were in stark contrast.
A sparring match between a decurion captain and a centurion captain.
Although the absolute variable, the aura, was restricted, considering various factors such as experience and swordsmanship skills, it was a fight in which the centurion captain should have been overwhelmed.
However, Pascal was unable to overwhelm Raoul, and instead continued to be dragged along by his opponent's schemes, and in the end, his balls almost exploded.
If it had been a real fight, of course, Raoul would have been torn apart by Pascal's aura in an instant without being able to utilize his strengths.
Paradoxically, as fighters risking their lives, Raoul was far superior in skill.
If both of them had been able to control aura, Raoul would have won.
I didn't know why someone who would have made a name for himself if he had become a mercenary joined the Knight Order, but he was definitely worth keeping an eye on.
He was a rough gemstone, but if he was polished somehow, he could be reborn as an excellent gem.
Pascal was also quite good.
I thought he was an empty shell because he couldn't stand the energy and collapsed during the inauguration, but it seemed like if he just improved his standard aspect, he could be kept in the position of the centurion captain.
'It is fruitful.'
Most of the ordinary knights didn't even know the basics, so it was just frustrating to watch them spar.
But it was interesting to see the captains fighting with each other, and I'd already discovered two useful talents.
Then it would be right to encourage the public sparring in a direction that encourages competition among captains, as it was now.
Sparring among the ordinary knights was included in the daily routine anyway.
Of course, if a remarkable knight appeared to challenge the commander, I was willing to accept the request for a public sparring with pleasure.
It seemed like I found just the right way to instill tension in the captains who tended to slack off.
'It's been a satisfying day. I'm starting to become attached to the Black Lion Knight Order.'
* * *
So, the scene that I came to face upon my return to the mansion after leaving work feeling satisfied in so many ways was—
"Master. What on earth did you do outside..."
The sight of the old butler, who was usually so blunt that one would wonder if he had no emotions, drenched in cold sweat and blurring the end of his words.
Sensing that something unusual had happened, I quietly followed the butler to the reception room.
Then, the man who was staring at the empty pastry box and tea cup and the two knights who were standing motionless on either side of him turned their heads toward me at the same time.
The skills of the knights were individually superior to a centurion captain. Moreover, the patterns embroidered with pure gold thread on the uniforms worn by those three were clearly...
“Commander of the Black Lion Knight Order, Wolfgang von Schwarz, is to receive a handwritten letter from the imperial family."
Between the two imperial guards who stood on either side of me as if surrounding me, I hurriedly got down on one knee and paid my respects to the messenger holding the seal with the imperial family's emblem.
“Eternal glory to the imperial family! Eternal loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor!”
Then, I held out my hands and waited, and soon a paper envelope, exceedingly light and soft to the touch, was placed on my palm.
“With this, the will of the imperial family has been conveyed. Embrace it with honor as the duty of a faithful subject."
Once the burdensome procedure, which felt new every time I experienced it, was over, the guests from the imperial family left without looking back.
'A message from the imperial family, what on earth is going on...'
The war was already over. Could it be that the remnants of the northern barbarians were on the move again?
— Gulp
After tearing the seal full of tension, I immediately rolled my eyes and checked the title and sender.
Immediately after, I personally experienced the mysterious fact that letters could make people feel dizzy.
[Letter of notice of visit and inspection of the Black Lion Knight Order]
[Princess, Alicia von Diana Solaris]
"Ah."
Fucked.
Current Paid Chapter: Chapter 11 - Progressing Relationships
If you find something really out place, let me know in the comments.
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