In an instant, the surrounding area was in chaos.
The knight captains of each group were making a fuss.
"What?! The Knights Commander are going to make an appearance? Hey, MC! Are you kidding me?!"
"...No, well, this is Commander's own instruction."
"...Huh? In that case, make me your opponent! Let me fight the commander!"
"No, no, no, no, this is a demonstration match with a new knight. The purpose is different. It's purely for the new knight to learn from the commander..."
"If that's the case, bring out this Fia Ruud guy! Who is he?! And in the first place, how can he be a member of the First Knights when he's just a rookie?"
...W-what should I do?
It was totally through no fault of mine, but it turned into a big mess.
Fabian looked at me with genuine sympathy.
"...Umm, do your best? ...The commander is someone with many legends and anecdotes about him, like defeating an A-rank monster by himself or cutting down a thousand enemy soldiers. Since he's such an opponent, you don't have to worry about the outcome." (Fabian)
Before the fight even started, he told me how to prepare for when I lose! Or rather, how to prepare for when I get completely beaten?!
"That's right. Usually, the opponent in an exhibition match is a senior knight who joined about five years earlier, and even a knight captain would rarely appear. I've never even heard of a knight captain being the opponent, so that's what I'm saying..."
"One strike! If you can withstand this strike, you're a hero!"
A strange sense of solidarity seemed to have been born, and even fellow knights whom he had never spoken to were cheering me on.
Imagine myself as an animal being led to the slaughterhouse and stepped forward cautiously, but the knights who had gathered there stared at me with blank looks on their faces.
"Huh? Who's that girl?"
"Oh, she's small, isn't she? She's only up to the commander's belly! What's wrong with that little brat?"
"Th-Th-This will just lead to a one-sided massacre. Please stop!!"
A shriek-like roar erupted.
I was already in tears.
No, that's impossible.
I got so nervous about attracting so much attention that I couldn't move my body.
I could see that my right hand and right foot were out together, but I didn't know how to bring them back.
When I looked back to where my classmates had gathered, asking for help, I found that they were all gone.
Looking around in surprise, they suddenly found themselves joining the oval formation of the senior knights that had surrounded the newbie knights.
...H-how terrible. They're offering up human sacrifices and then just watching the match.
As I stood there trembling, unable to run away, I saw my brothers come rushing to my side.
"B-Brother..." (Fia)
I was moved to tears in a different way.
It's true that blood was thicker than water! In the end, the people I could rely on were my family!!
"Fia, listen carefully! Crossing swords with Commander Savis is the sum of all the good fortune you've ever had in your life! I don't care if I die or get cut in half, just keep fighting for even a second longer." (Leon)
My second brother Leon, started saying something I couldn't understand.
"Fia, listen. The golden rule of a knight is to never give up on victory, even in the most unfavorable circumstances. Maybe an ant can defeat a dragon. That possibility only arises if you never give up. Do you understand?" (Ardio)
My eldest brother, Ardio, also began talking about his lofty ideals.
Seeing the two of them talking nonsense with serious expressions on their faces, I remembered that.
My brothers were crazy about knights.
And I too have always wanted to be a knight. Now I was standing in the land of my dreams, what was I afraid of?
Thanks to my brothers' (stupid) words and actions, I was able to calm down and look up at Commander Savis... I noticed that he was walking towards me. Before I knew it, he had taken off his cloak.
"Fia, right?" (Savis)
"Fia had the commander call her by her name!!!" (Leon)
Leon screamed as he ran off with Ardio so as not to get in the way of _SOUCHOU_.
Even though we were far apart, I could feel the commander's heat, the weight of his muscles, and the crushing pressure with my whole body.
...and it gave me goosebumps.
On the other hand, the commander didn't move an inch, even though he had the attention of 1,200 knights on his person. He stopped about 20 meters in front of me and drew his sword.
"I won't launch any attacks. Come at me with all your might." (Savis)
...Wow, what a handsome guy!!
Even though he's a veteran hero, he still intended to properly face me.
Normally, someone of the highest rank in the Knights' Order and the king's younger brother wouldn't even look at a rookie knight!
This was no longer a fight I could half-ass. It would be disrespectful to the commander.
Or rather, I'd be killed by the group of knights around us!
I put my arm over my sheath and chanted a spell quietly.
"[Physical Enhancement] Attack power x3, speed x3."
The sword I was holding also had some effects added to it, but I didn't think it's enough against the commander, so I strengthen myself to my limits.
But.
I took a quick look at the commander and felt despair.
Wow――――……
What is this? What is this? I wonder, is he a human?
The commander looked just like a monster to me. Or rather, he was a monster. Yeah, he was a monster. Like the black dragon Zavilia, but even more so.
As a saint in my previous life, I was just as adept at gauging strength as I was at sensing the extent of an injury.
The reason was that in order to avoid wasting magical power, I looked at the enemy's strength and deployed defensive magic of a strength that corresponded to that strength...
Haha, even with all that doping, the only thing I was better at was speed...
Behind the commander, an image of a dragon could be seen.
"My humble self, Fia Ruud! I'll be relying on you, Commander!" (Fia)
After I gave a knight bow as politely as possible, I raised my voice.
Biting my lip, I steeled myself and set off running.
About five meters ahead, I suddenly increased my speed, drew my sword, and attacked with all my might.
There was a heavy thud, and the commander narrowed his eyes slightly as he caught it. In an instant, his whole body tensed up.
——Is that so? His sword was extremely heavy.
I understood. ...I felt the weight of it all the same when I was fighting...
Since I was up against the commander, he had missed the magic stone that would have paralyzed his entire body, but he was so incredibly strong that I thought he might be able to blow away any abnormal conditions with sheer force of willpower.
I jumped back at once.
Then, I attacked the commander's left, left, left, then feinted to cut to the right, then again to the left.
The sound of thump, thump, thump echoed.
Before I knew it, a small murmur began to rise in the hall.
...Yeah, the sound of the sword was different from a normal sword slash. Those who knew it probably knew the weight of the sword.
"...What is that speed..." (Savis)
"By the way, that sound of the clash! That sword must be pretty heavy!" (Fia)
I took a step back again, took a running start, jumped up, and attacked the commander's left side.
"Haaah!!" (Fia)
Then left, left, left, and left again!! Left again!!
"Tsk!" (Savis)
The commander muttered this dismissively and for the first time pushed back my sword, sending it flying with such force.
"...The contest is over! The winner is the Knight Commander Savis!"
The judge loudly announced that the commander had won, but the knights just looked at us in a daze.
The commander glared at me with his glaring eyes.
I sat on my bottom on the ground and gave a polite smile.
...Ah, what? Did I make a mistake?
Author's Note
It was ranked number one in the genre for that day.
Thank you to everyone who bookmarked my post, rated it, and read it.
I'm very happy. Thank you so much!