After leaving the Margrave’s office.
“Why are you here?”
The place I headed to was none other than Sienna’s room.
“I think we need to prepare for deployment.”
“Huh?”
It was because of what the Margrave said after giving us the mission.
‘Ah, take that trainer girl with you too.’
Sienna wasn’t a formal knight.
But if the Margrave gave an order, what choice did I have?
“Uh….”
At the mention of deployment, Sienna looked momentarily flustered.
But after I explained the situation, she nodded in understanding.
“All right… But then, should I also wear armor?”
“Yes, they said they’d provide you with one. Follow me.”
After that, we left the castle with a maid and headed to the Knights’ exclusive building to check our equipment.
“You must be Sir Rain.”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“I will guide you.”
A servant was already waiting at the Knights’ building, and he recognized me immediately before leading the way.
“You will be borrowing equipment along with the Black Wing Knights joining this deployment.”
“Oh, I see.”
The Black Wing Knights…
I had heard of them before from Lowell.
They were an elite order, positioned just below the Black Claw Knights, the Margrave’s personal unit.
A combat force known for its swift mobility—
A famous knightly order, even within the kingdom, specializing in battlefield dominance through rapid response.
“Here you go.”
Following the servant alongside Sienna, we soon reached another attendant who had already prepared two sets of armor.
Each set had a different shade.
My armor was a deep gray, while the one given to Sienna was a lighter gray.
More importantly… they seemed to fit perfectly at a glance.
Had they been prepared in advance?
Well, considering this was the Boyd family, a month would have been more than enough time to arrange for armor.
“It’s light.”
“Yes, this armor has undergone special processing.”
When I lifted the armor from the servant, I found it surprisingly light for its size and durability.
It wouldn’t hinder my movements at all.
“And take this as well.”
Just as I was admiring the armor’s lightness and sturdiness,
the servant handed me a cloak.
“This is…?”
“The Black Wing.”
A luxurious cloak, black with the Boyd family’s crest embroidered in dark gray.
“The texture is unique.”
“It is made from specially treated leather. It will block most low-level magic.”
Seriously?
I quickly fastened the cloak over my back.
“It’s nice.”
It didn’t feel cumbersome at all.
And since it bore the Boyd family’s crest, most people would back away just from seeing it.
Not that it mattered—
With my size and armor, most people would steer clear anyway.
“Wow… You look amazing in that armor.”
“Thank you.”
Having finished putting mine on, I then waited as Sienna received help from a female attendant to wear hers.
“How do I look?”
“You look dignified.”
Since Sienna wasn’t an official knight of the Boyd family, she was given the armor of a knight apprentice instead.
The chest plate was slightly adjusted to her frame, but overall, she looked like a proper knight.
Then again, even by the standards of my previous life, she was tall for a woman.
And she had a well-trained body to match.
“Hmm….”
She examined herself, even putting on the helmet, before nodding in satisfaction.
“This is nice…!”
“Yes, now just prepare for tomorrow’s deployment.”
“Understood.”
With the armor checked, we spent the rest of the day making final adjustments.
The next day.
“This way, please.”
Dressed in armor from the morning, I finally went outside to meet the Black Wing Knights.
Following the servant through the castle’s main gate.
I saw a massive open area in front of the fortress.
There, in three neat rows, stood knights in gray armor with matching cloaks.
…So these were the Black Wing Knights.
After glancing at them for a moment, I walked toward the man standing at the very front.
A man clad in the darkest gray full-body armor, wearing an elaborate cloak.
“You must be Sir Rain.”
“Yes.”
“And this is Sienna. Though temporary, welcome to the unit.”
“Y-Yes….”
This man was none other than Sir Barts, the Commander of the Black Wing Knights.
He was a well-known figure, having left his name in history by achieving great merits in a war years ago.
Since we hadn’t departed yet, Sir Barts had removed his helmet, revealing a stern-faced middle-aged man with white hair.
“You’ll be assigned to Squad Two.”
“Understood.”
After a brief greeting, I joined Squad Two, as instructed.
“Welcome. I’m Deline, the squad leader of Squad Two.”
“An honor to meet you.”
Unlike the stern Sir Barts, Deline had a more relaxed demeanor.
He was a young man with red hair, looking rather easygoing on the surface.
“I’ll introduce the others later. Let’s start the deployment ceremony first.”
He looked quite young… how old was he?
Even considering his Aura mastery, he seemed around the same age as Darren or Kaiden.
Yet, he managed to rise to the rank of squad leader despite the presence of many other elite knights.
That alone spoke volumes about his capabilities.
“Alright! Move out!”
And so—
After a short deployment ceremony, the knights and I departed from the castle.
But there was a problem right from the start.
“…You can’t ride a horse?”
“Yes.”
“Have you never been trained, or can you just not ride at all?”
“I’ve never been trained.”
“Huh. Well… that happens.”
Since we were moving quickly, we needed to ride horses instead of carriages.
But the issue was—I couldn’t ride a horse.
“What should we do?”
“Uh… should I have him ride behind me?”
“That sounds good, Miss Sienna.”
And so, in the end, I rode behind Sienna.
“…I’ll be in your care.”
“Ah, yes! Hold onto my waist tightly.”
This really felt like I had become a burdened soldier.
I really needed to learn how to ride a horse soon.
Regardless, that was how I ended up following the knights from the back row as they galloped forward.
“They’re all really good at riding….”
“Yes, it seems they’re used to it since they’re a mobility-focused unit.”
Though the situation was a bit awkward, sitting behind Sienna at least made it physically comfortable.
With that extra ease, I took the chance to observe the knights.
And they definitely carried an air of authority.
Excluding us, the Black Wing Knights consisted of twenty-five members in total.
There was the commander, three squad leaders, and seven knights per squad.
Seeing them all dressed in armor, their black cloaks billowing as they rode, it truly looked like a scene from a painting.
Honestly, I hadn’t expected the entire order to be deployed.
Wasn’t this a bit excessive for a support mission?
Then again, considering what the Margrave had said, he must have anticipated a situation requiring this level of force.
Anyway.
After that, we slept and rode for several days.
“Doesn’t that place look familiar?”
“We must be close.”
We were able to reach the Viscount’s territory.
As expected, we arrived much faster than by carriage.
It seemed like the knight order had their own route. Every night, we arrived at an inn, rested, and continued our journey.
On top of that, the horses must have been a special breed. They showed no signs of exhaustion, even after running without rest.
“From now on, we’ll divide the roles.”
Upon arrival, we followed the commander’s orders and split into teams.
The commander and the first squad went to meet the viscount.
Meanwhile, the second and third squads were tasked with investigating the viscount’s territory in advance.
Among them, our second squad was assigned to scout the forest and the nearby villages.
We left the horses with the first squad to be taken to the city and began searching the closest forest.
“Ha~ This kind of search is the worst. If it were a battle, that’d be another story.”
I was temporarily assigned to this squad, and Sienna and I followed right behind our squad leader, Deline.
“Newbie, have you ever done a search like this before?”
Deline was quite the talkative type.
“Yes, I participated in an investigation of the Kaine Mountain Range when I was in the capital.”
“Oh? Ah, so that was you? The knight who received a medal?”
“That’s right.”
For reference, I intentionally left my medal behind on this mission.
Wearing it on my armor would make me stand out too much, after all.
Since I was only here temporarily, I planned to keep a low profile.
“And what about you, Miss Sienna? Have you done this kind of work before?”
“Y-Yes! I used to do it often in my hometown mountains…!”
“Wow~ Looks like we’ve got some real talent here.”
Hearing that both of us had search experience, Deline grinned from beneath his helmet.
“The guys here are hopeless at this kind of search. They always come back empty-handed.”
“Squad leader….”
“What? Am I wrong?”
More than that, standing beside him, I realized something unexpected.
The overall atmosphere was much more relaxed than I had imagined.
“Aren’t you just as careless, squad leader?”
“When have I ever been? Hah, and since when do you talk back to your squad leader?”
Was it just the second squad?
It seemed like the group’s mood followed the leader’s personality.
Since Deline had a lighthearted nature, the squad had likely adapted to his style.
Anyway, while we were deep into investigating the forest—
“Wearing armor in this heat is a pain. Winter was so much bett—”
Swoosh!
The ground beneath Deline, who was walking at the front, gave way.
“Hmm?”
Even though the footing collapsed in an instant, Deline managed to keep his balance without falling.
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Seeing that, the knights, including myself, inspected the ground where he had stepped.
And then—
“This is….”
Inside the small pit, iron spikes were sticking out, unable to pierce through Deline’s plated boots.
“It’s a trap.”
“Looks like it.”
It was a trap where, upon stepping on the plank, the boards would collapse, impaling the foot and ankle with spikes hidden underneath.
Thanks to Deline’s plated boots, he wasn’t injured.
But if he had been wearing regular leather boots, his foot and ankle would’ve been skewered.
“…Who would set up something like this?”
“It doesn’t seem like it’s meant for animals…”
Yeah, just as Sienna pointed out, this wasn’t designed for monsters or wild beasts.
Its size made it clear that it was deliberately aimed at humans.
“Could it have been the villagers?”
Deline calmly examined the ground as he spoke.
Even though he had nearly been injured, he showed no sign of anger.
Maybe that’s why he was chosen as squad leader.
“Judging by the location, it seems likely.”
More importantly, this was an extremely malicious trap.
Placing something like this on one of the few paths in the forest?
“But why would they…?”
“It’s probably related to the Red Powder.”
People addicted to the drug would become obsessed with money to afford their next dose.
Rather than hunting animals, robbing a passing traveler would be far more profitable.
“…This territory is a complete mess.”
There was no definitive proof yet, but if our suspicions were correct, then the knight’s muttered words weren’t far from the truth.
“Where’s the nearest village?”
“If we head east, we’ll reach Lien Village.”
“Alright, let’s start there and search thoroughly.”
“Yes, sir!”
And with that—
Since a knight squad leader had nearly been injured by a trap, we headed straight for the nearest village to question the locals and hold them accountable.
