By a stroke of luck, they managed to catch a carriage that was heading out to hunt down monsters.
Without hesitation, Sena paid the gold.
“Got it? What was Ria’s name again?”
“Astria von…, the 17th Empress of the Laperci Empire…”
“No, no…! Ria, the ordinary village girl from Rendel! Chosen as a Holy Knight candidate and on her final training mission!”
Before getting on the carriage, Sena made sure to drill it into Astria’s head, but honestly, Sena wasn’t sure if she got it.
Still, they managed to board the carriage safely. There were already many people inside.
“Did you hear? There’s been a divine oracle.”
“Is it true? Do you know what it was about?”
“No idea. Just that the Church has been turned upside down.”
It felt like an arrow piercing the chest.
‘Of course, it wouldn’t be unknown to them, right?’
Sena sighed deeply. But still, there’s no way they’d imagine it was him.
“They’re looking for someone because of it. From what I overheard, they have silver hair.”
Flinch.
“Blue eyes.”
Flinch.
“And the person is male. Supposedly on the shorter side.”
“Quite a distinctive look, wouldn’t you say? If they were in front of us, we’d notice right away.”
“True, silver hair isn’t exactly common…”
The mercenary talking naturally glanced at Sena, who was sitting in front of them.
Sena’s hair was quite long, not something easily hidden even under a robe.
“Right here? Silver hair.”
At that moment, everyone’s gaze in the carriage turned towards them.
“Wait, no way…”
Thump thump.
Sena’s heart raced. Sylvia, too, had a tense look, with her hand on her sword. Only Astria was leisurely yawning.
The mercenary brought their head closer to Sena. The moment they saw Sena’s face…
“What? It’s a girl.”
“?”
Sena looked up, expressionless. The mercenary was already back in their seat, laughing with their group.
“Hahaha! There’s no way we’d find them so easily. If the Church is looking, they could be hiding at the ends of the earth. Who would come to a city like this?”
That crazy person would be me.
And I am not a girl.
Why are you so sure after just seeing my face…!
Even though Sena had dodged the crisis, they couldn’t laugh.
“By the way, are you mercenaries too? Or adventurers?”
Sena was quite irritated but smiled brightly.
“We’re more like adventurers. We’re apprentice priests.”
“Oh, priests.”
The mercenaries in the cargo hold focused their attention. Some even uttered words of admiration.
“You really do look like priests.”
‘…What does looking like a priest mean?’
Sena wasn’t sure if it was a compliment but decided to smile anyway.
“But those two don’t look the part.”
Astria was sitting arrogantly, leaning on one knee.
Sylvia was on high alert, watching their surroundings with cat-like eyes.
…Even to Sena, they made a strange group.
“Oh, haha. There are many types of apprentices. These two are Holy Knight candidates.”
“I’ve seen apprentice priests before, but never Holy Knights candidates. How strong are they?”
Astria’s eyebrow arched.
“Don’t you dare speak to me, worm.”
Sena waved both hands frantically.
Did you forget the setup, Your Majesty…!
“…Their rudeness suggests they’re indeed Holy Knight candidates.”
But the mercenaries seemed convinced instead.
…Is this right?
“Senior, I think walking would be better. The smell of these pigs is giving me a headache.”
“That’s a Holy Knight for you.”
“Definitely a Holy Knight.”
…Sena wondered what kind of reputation Holy Knights had. Just how bad were their personalities?
“But I’ve been curious about something.”
Fortunately, the mercenary shifted their gaze from Sena. Instead, they spoke to someone else in the corner.
It was a female knight in expensive-looking armor.
“You, by any chance, are you a knight?”
“…A free knight.”
“Oh, what’s your rank?”
“1899th.”
At the female knight’s heavy words, Sena tilted his head in confusion.
Is that strong?
“My goodness! To think we’d encounter a knight ranked in the thousands.”
So it is strong!
‘Wait a minute, then Sylvia’s 21st rank isn’t weak at all, is it…?’
He realized something new.
His knight is unbelievably strong.
“If you understand your place, cooperate with me. You lot should consider it an honor just to speak with me.”
“Pfft.”
Sylvia covered her mouth. The female knight glared at Sylvia with a stern expression.
Sena put his hand on Sylvia’s shoulder.
“Oh, come on. Was my joke that funny?”
“What joke? For your information, Senior’s jokes are probably the funniest in the world.”
“…”
Does she have no sense…!
“You there, why did you laugh just now?”
The female knight, clearly angry, directed her question at Sylvia, making Sena tense up.
“Isn’t it laughable?”
Astria, who had been silent, smirked as she spoke.
“How can one not laugh at a fool who doesn’t know their place?”
“…Can you handle it?”
“Try it, fool. Show me how you can entertain me.”
Sena anxiously looked back and forth between Astria and the female knight.
The female knight slowly reached for her sword, while Astria leisurely watched her.
It was a tense moment, where anything could explode at any second.
“We’ve arrived!”
Just in time, the carriage came to a stop.
Sena hurriedly pulled Astria’s arm and stumbled out of the carriage.
**
“What are you doing?”
Sena was biting Astria’s arm.
“…This is something Sena does when he’s upset.”
Sylvia briefly interpreted the action.
Astria looked at Sena with a face that couldn’t be more unimpressed.
“If you’re upset, just say so.”
“What is Ria’s identity?”
“The 17th Empress of the Laperci Empire…”
Sena’s cheeks puffed up.
Astria smirked.
“Then let’s make a deal.”
“What kind of deal?”
“It’s simple. If you want me to act according to your wishes, you need to pay a corresponding price.”
“A price…?”
“It’s nothing special. Just the usual.”
Sena looked at Astria innocently, then his face turned red.
“I-I-I don’t know.”
“Then, let me enlighten you.”
Astria whispered, holding Sena’s cheek.
Sena hiccuped and lowered his head.
“…Okay. But please, listen to me carefully.”
‘Do you really have to do this in front of Sylvia?’
Embarrassed, Sena quickly ran away.
Sylvia stood still for a moment, seemingly in shock.
“Senior. You’ll get hurt if you run around like that.”
She soon followed with a sad smile.
“Hurry up.”
The fluffy white furball seemed to be having a great time exploring here and there.
Astria, following behind, shook her head.
“It’s a completely different scene from the palace.”
“But this is also the senior I know.”
Astria walked leisurely as she spoke.
“If someone tracks Sena, kill them.”
“Yes.”
Sylvia responded briefly.
“Of course, make sure Sena doesn’t find out.”
“…Can it be hidden?”
“Hide it.”
“…”
“I want Sena to only see what he wants to see.”
‘So this is the method Your Majesty has chosen.’
Sylvia understood.
Sena wouldn’t want this.
If he knew, he would be extremely disappointed in Astria.
But she didn’t reveal this fact.
‘I suspected it, but I didn’t think they’d advance that far.’
A lord and their knight.
It wasn’t such a rare occurrence, as her senior knights had mentioned.
‘…I’ll do my best too.’
“Um, Senior.”
As Sylvia approached, Sena turned his head.
“Yes?”
“Your hand.”
“Yes.”
Sena grasped Sylvia’s hand without hesitation. As Sylvia looked at him with a slightly bewildered expression, Sena cutely tilted his head.
“…Shouldn’t you hesitate a little?”
Despite her bafflement, Sena responded with a cute smile and a V-sign.
“It’s my knight’s command. I can’t hesitate.”
‘He’s like this with everyone.’
Sylvia was quite dissatisfied with Sena’s affectionate behavior. She knew this cute smile was automatically given to others as well.
But the expression she saw earlier was different. Sena had blushed. Surprisingly, that fluffy ball of mischief could be sly too.
For Sylvia, it was a shock. Sena had never blushed at anyone else before. He had never been that embarrassed either.
“…What are you doing now?”
At Astria’s cold voice, Sylvia flinched. Astria stared at their hands with a distinctly displeased expression.
“Miss Sylvia. How dare you touch the Empress’s man…”
As Sylvia started to sweat, Sena boldly intervened.
“Don’t scold our Sylvia.”
“What? Our?”
“I’ll get angry about this, if nothing else.”
Astria clicked her tongue in annoyance and walked forward.
“Don’t sulk!”
Sena chased after Astria, naturally letting go of Sylvia’s hand.
Sylvia looked down at her now empty hand with a bittersweet expression.
‘That was my greatest act of courage.’
Accepted too easily, and it ended too quickly.
Sylvia bit her lip.
Was it really impossible for her?
Did she have no chance at all?
‘But still…’
Sylvia took a deep breath.
Think back to the beginning.
The fact that she got to see Sena again was a miracle for her.
She had thought she would never see him again.
Wasn’t she satisfied just with being his knight?
Being in this place was a testament to that qualification alone.
So.
‘I have nothing to lose.’
Sylvia clenched her fist.
‘I’ll give it my all.’
As Sylvia resolved herself.
She sensed something with the magic she had faintly spread around.
“Oh.”
Astria also stopped walking and stared at something.
Sena tilted his head in confusion, not knowing what was going on.
“Senior.”
Sylvia drew her sword and spoke seriously.
“Return to the lodging. I can’t guarantee I can protect you here.”
