I am Cyril Sutherland. I am the captain of the First Knight Order.
Additionally, I inherited the title of duke from my father 10 years ago at the age of 17, and therefore I called myself Duke of SAZARANDO.
Because my father was the younger brother of the previous king, I was also in line to the throne, second only to Commander Savis.
Perhaps because of this, I was sometimes called "The Dragon and Tiger of the Kingdom" together with the second knight order's captain, Desmond, but individually, Desmond was the "Tiger of the Kingdom" and I was the "Dragon of the Kingdom." I found this very unpleasant.
In the first place, the dragon was the royal emblem, and the king was sometimes referred to as a dragon.
Even if I had a higher right of succession to the throne, this would be extremely disrespectful.
Seeing me so indignant, Commander Savis said without changing his expression, "For example, if you become the crown prince, it wouldn't be strange to be called a dragon."
There were some things in this world that just inevitable.
No matter how capable you are or how hard you try, there are some things you just can't do anything about.
Ten years ago, when the commander lost his right eye and his emotions, he learned this very vividly.
Even though I was next to the commander, there was nothing I could do.
From that day on, I became the commander's right eye.
As the right eye of the commander, I had seen what should be seen and rejected everything that should not be seen.
On the battlefield, I always stood on the commander's right side and served as his right eye.
I had dedicated everything to the kingdom. There was nothing I would hold back for this man, the next king.
That day, I went out to a nearby forest with the commander from noon.
Because it was a forest infested with monsters, 50 guards would be assigned to be on the safe side.
The commander swung his sword periodically.
Although he practiced his sword at the training grounds inside the royal castle every day, he was also expected to take part in real combat on a regular basis.
It seemed as if he was simply releasing his frustration by moving his body, and also as if he was seeking to become even stronger by gaining more experience in actual combat.
Or perhaps when he was troubled or confused, swinging his sword helped him organized his thoughts.
That day, I defeated about 10 monsters in two hours.
All of the monsters were C-rank or lower, and the commander had defeated them almost single-handedly. It was a regular occurrence.
As he lightly swung his sword and shook off the monster's blood, he hoped that this would make him feel a little better.
It was at that moment that the sound of a rescue whistle was heard nearby.
This sound was coming from a flute exclusively used by the knights, and this forest should be under the jurisdiction of the Sixth Knight Order.
For them to use the rescue whistle, did something unexpected happen...?
I admonished the commander who was trying to go ahead and followed the sound of the flute, and just as I expected, I came across a platoon of the Sixth Knight Order.
...Hmm, what is this?
As I grasped the situation, I stood there frozen for just a moment. It was something that should never happen on the battlefield.
There's Flower-horned Deer, a B-rank monster that's usually found deep in the forest.
It's a strange story, but that's okay in itself.
But what did it mean that the person sitting in the center of the arena, directing this battle, was a rookie from the First Knight Order?
When I called out to her, the new recruit was the first to turn around.
"Captain Cyril! This is -FURAWAAHOONDIA_. We've surrounded it thoroughly so there's no need to worry about it escaping for now. It has 450 vitality and 85% remaining. In 7 seconds, its eyes will turn blue, and the flames will disappear!" (Fia)
"Heh..." (Cyril)
I was raised strictly from a young age and was repeatedly instructed, especially regarding my speech.
I was taught to speak precisely so that the listener could understand correctly, and I had always practiced this.
I didn't think I'd ever uttered such stupid, meaningless words in my life...
...First of all, Flower-horned Deer was a species endemic to this forest. Not much was known about its characteristics, so why did Fia know so much about it?
And how could the life force of monsters be quantified? This was the first time I'd heard of quantifying the vitality of monsters, so I didn't even know if it's right or wrong. The same applied for the remaining vitality.
Furthermore, the most difficult thing about fighting this monster was that it's difficult to grasp the timing at which its eyes switch between red and blue. Hmm, maybe I just didn't know enough.
"Fia... I'm now more interested in you than I am in monsters." (Cyril)
Even though I spoke with a complete lack of strength in my heart, the young knight in front of me just grinned happily.
"Now that Captain has come, I feel relieved. I too have so many thoughts about you, Captain!" (Fia)
No, she didn't understand...
Even though I was feeling tired, I took my usual position to the right of where the commander was meant to stand. At the same time, th stood in front of the monster.
"Eh? Commander?!" (Fia)
Finally, Fia recognized the commander and uttered a cry of surprise.
Really, how should we interpret this?
Her ability to grasp the battlefield situation was top notch, but just as Desmond said, she's incredibly slow in everything else, was that correct?
...It's impossible not to notice such a powerful presence until you get close to him.
Or perhaps she was able to see the current situation that no one else had noticed, and therefore did not recognize Commander (her ability to grasp the situation on the ground was perfect)—that's the correct answer.
... No, that's really impossible.
I switched my focus and faced the monster.
The moment the monster extinguished the flames, the commander quickly drew his sword, easily dodged the monster's charge, and cut off its head with a single slash from above.
"Amazing..."
"As expected of Commander! You managed to strike down a monster that even 20 of us couldn't even weaken with a single blow!" (Fia)
The knights exclaimed in surprise, but to me, this was a familiar sight. The commander was strong.
Now, I left the cleanup of the deceased Flower-horned Deer to the Sixth Knight Order. I still had work to do. Or more accurately, a new one.
"Fia, come in for a second." (Cyril)
"Yes, Captain!" (Fia)
Fabian, knowing what she would be questioned about, looked at her pityingly from behind, but Fia, who didn't seem to understand the main question at all, approached me with a smile on her face.
"Thank you, Captain! You saved me a lot." (Fia)
Yes, she said thank you with a big smile.
When Fia noticed the commander sighing at how carefree she was, she quickly turned to him.
"Oh, no, that's not right! 'Thank you for coming!' is for Captain and 'Thank you for defeating it!' is for Commander!!" (Fia)
And then she uttered words that were completely inappropriate.
The commander looked at me as if he wanted to say something, then raised one eyebrow.
…Yes, I knew. It's just my lack of education.
Author's Note
Thank you for reading.
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