The ceremony began just before dawn, when it was still pitch black.
During breakfast, I heard that in Sutherland, the time when the Great Saint saved the clan was considered the most sacred time, and that time was around dawn. Therefore, important events, including today's comfort ceremony, would begin at that time.
When I heard that explanation from my fellow knight, I tilted my head in confusion.
…Come to think of it, when I cured the yellow spot disease in this land in my previous life, was it around dawn? I had been riding all night — in fact for two days straight — so I was exhausted and had no memory of the time of day.
Hmm, it's quite amazing that the people of a remote island have been passing down things for 300 years that even they themselves don't fully remember. I felt like if I held a Great Saint Quiz Tournament, I'd lose to the residents of this place. But what about a tournament where the person himself loses?
While I was thinking about this, it seemed the time had passed, and the knight who was giving the command raised his voice in a loud voice.
"We will now begin a memorial ceremony for those who lost their lives in the Sutherland conflict."
With that voice as a signal, the 100 knights and civil servants who had been dispatched from the royal castle, along with several times that number of residents, bowed slightly and began a silent prayer.
"Sutherland's Lament" happened just 10 years ago.
There were likely many relatives and acquaintances of those who had passed away. I prayed for those who had died and for all the residents of this area to rest in peace.
Next, Captain Cyril stepped forward as Duke Sutherland, second in line to the throne. To show that he was a representative of royalty, he wore a badge depicting a black dragon, the royal crest, on his chest. Captain Cyril walked with beautiful manners, stopped in front of a stone monument erected in memory of the residents who had died, and bowed deeply.
"We offer our heartfelt condolences to the victims." (Cyril)
The Captain's deep, heart-warming voice echoed throughout the area, speaking in a slower tone than usual.
Then, Captain Cyril offered holy water and holy flowers to the stone monument. All the sacred flowers were Adela flowers.
The ceremony proceeded carefully, step by step. All the programs had finished without a hitch, and all that remained was to wait for the command to close the ceremony, when suddenly a strong wind blew, and one of the knights standing near the cliff seemed to lose his balance and stumbled.
"Whoa...!"
The knight standing next to him seemed surprised by the voice the staggering knight raised and reached out his hand, but the knight, who had already stumbled, was unable to grab the hand properly—and as a result, he fell straight into the sea.
With a loud noise, one knight was sucked into the sea.
"Oh, he fell! This is terrible! We have to help him!" (Fia)
Surprised by this sudden turn of events, I went right to the edge of the cliff and peered down at the sea below.
However, it seemed that the moonlight alone was not enough to find the lone knight in the pitch-black ocean, and they were unable to find the knight who has fallen between the waves.
"Dan! Hey, answer me!"
Several knights called out, peering out at the sea just like me.
As I strained my eyes desperately, I heard the hushed voices of the residents from behind me, but with no sense of urgency whatsoever.
"...Knights can swim, right? The sea here is deep, so there's no need to worry about getting hurt if you jump in, and the waves are calm today, so it'll be harder to drown. What are you worried about?"
"Maybe he's worried that the seawater will ruin his fine knightly uniform?"
"Ah……"
Hearing these whispers, I turned around with a start, as if I had found my savior.
That's right! The inhabitants of Sutherland have webbed hands. Based on what I overheard, it seemed that the locals wouldn't find a sea this big to be a problem, so perhaps I should ask them for help.
"Umm, everyone, please help me if you don't mind..." (Fia)
However, I couldn't finish what I had started to say.
I was looking back in an unnatural position, and when the strong wind blew again, I lost my balance.
"Uh, uh, wait..." (Fia)
Realizing that I was falling off a cliff, I desperately reached out to reach the nearest knight, but instead of grabbing hold of my companion, my hand ended up grasping at the air.
"Ah, what..." (Fia)
My upper body ended up hanging off the cliff and I fell backwards, so I tried to stop myself from falling by flapping my arms like a bird, but my efforts were in vain as my feet left the ground.
"I, I was just trying to help someone――!!" (Fia)
With those words I was thrown off the cliff and after feeling like I was floating for a few moments I sank into the sea with a loud splash.
Ahhhh, I'm not that good at swimming...
As I sank backwards into the sea, I raised my head and stared at the surface. For now, I have to surface...
As I was thinking this, something suddenly sank into the sea with a loud splash.
"Huh?" (Fia)
I let out a cry and seawater got into my mouth.
...It's salty. Seawater really is salty. I frantically tried to cover my mouth with both hands, but it was no use.
Because the next moment, my arms were pulled from both sides and I was pulled up to the surface.
"Pfft!" (Fia)
Although I knew it was bad manners, I spat out the salt water that had gotten into my mouth.
Ah, good thing it was dark. Even if it's salt water, spitting out something that has already been put in your mouth is unbecoming of a lady. Even though it was a full moon and the moonlight was shining, no one would notice my indecent behavior unless they're looking at me from close up.
Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief thinking that, I suddenly realized that someone was peering at me from both sides at close range.
"Eeeeeeeek!" (Fia)
I was so startled that I almost fell backwards, but hands reached out from either side of me to support me and keep me from falling.
"Are you okay, Fia? Does anything hurt?"
"Lady Fi! Oh, I'm so glad you're safe...!" (Curtis)
On my left was Captain Cyril, and on my right was Captain Curtis, each holding one of my hands. Apparently, he jumped in to help me and pulled me up.
That's why both Captains were completely soaked...
"C-Captains, how dare you jump into the sea for a mere knight?! Ahhhh, what should we do? The ceremonial attire, made of high-quality fabric, is soaked with seawater! The knight's uniform, which is intricately embroidered with silver thread, and the sash are soaked!" (Fia)
I exclaimed in disbelief.
The Knight Captain was in charge of overall command. It would not be wrong for him to jump in to rescue one of his subordinates if they fell into the sea.
Also, although neither of them seemed to mind, everyone was wearing formal attire today instead of everyday clothes in order to attend the ceremony. Captain-class uniforms were even more extravagant, with intricate embroidery on the collar, cuffs, and sash. And yet they are submerged in seawater—Feeling dejected that my beautiful clothes had been ruined, I looked at the Captain and the others' knight uniforms.
Seeing me like that, Captain Cyril had his eyes wide open in bewilderment. As for Captain Curtis, for some reason, his eyes look like they are looking at something painful.
"Clothes... are you worried about our clothes? Well, I have some spare clothes to change into, so would that reassure you?" (Cyril)
Captain Cyril narrowed her eyes curiously and spoke.
"Oh, that Lady Fi should have to worry about such a thing as clothing! Is Lady Fi in financial difficulty?" (Curtis)
Captain Curtis asked with a worried look on his face.
When Captain Cyril heard what Captain Curtis said, he looked at me in surprise.
"Now that I think of it, Quentin once handed you an unopened pay envelope on payday, right? Fia, are you in dire straits?" (Cyril)
…This is no good. It began to feel like the "Law that occurs when multiple knight captains gather together causes chaos" was about to apply.
Yes, I discovered this rule. I recently noticed that although each of them was a fine knight, they tended to act strange when several of them get together. I thought this was a wonderful discovery. Let's call this "Captain Knight's Law of Chaos."
However, rather than thinking about the laws, I decided it would be best to leave the scene first, in order to avoid getting caught up in the Captain's chaotic situation. Therefore, I thought about getting out of the place as quickly as possible, but for some reason, people started falling one after another, blocking my path.
"Captain Cyril! Are you okay?"
"Captain Curtis! Which way?"
"Fia! What on earth are you doing?"
The knights were speaking their minds.
"Great Saint! Oh, Great Saint!!"
"Great Saint, are you safe?!"
The residents shouted in panic.
...What should I do? Things are getting even more chaotic.
"Found it... What, it's you, Dan! Where's Fia?"
...No, that knight, wait! Why did you mistake me for a burly male knight? I mean, finding him was the whole point in the first place, right? But thank goodness, the first knight to fall into the sea was safe.
I heard some voices and felt relieved, but when I came around, the area was full of people. Despite this, the sound of splashing into the sea continues one after another.
Unable to bear the sight any longer, Captain Curtis looked up at the cliff and cried out loud.
"I am Captain Curtis of the Thirteenth Knight Order! We have secured custody of Lady Fi and Captain Cyril and confirmed that they are safe! There is a risk of injury from collisions, so any further dives are prohibited!" (Curtis)
Then Captain Curtis looked around and cried out again.
"Everyone, get to land immediately!" (Curtis)
The moment the residents, who were gathered in clusters on the edge of the cliff, heard the words of Captain Curtis, they all turned around and started running away.
"Towels! Bring me towels!"
It seemed as though it was moving around the land to a point where we could stand.
"Fia, can you swim?" (Cyril)
While I was distracted on the cliff, Captain Cyril asked me a question, holding my arm.
Hehe, that's a good question, Captain Cyril!
"Yes, once my face is out of the water, I'm fine! In fact, I can swim without even putting my face in the water!" (Fia)
After I answered proudly, Captain Cyril smiled quietly.
"……is that so" (Cyril)
I opened my mouth, thinking that I had to show Captain Cyril my swimming skills.
"Yes, so it's okay if you let go of my hand. ...Curtis, could you let go of my hand as well?" (Fia)
As I said this while looking at my left and right hands that had been taken, Captain Cyril and Captain Curtis slowly let go of their hands with a timid look on their faces.
I bent over with my head out of the water and started kicking my legs back and forth. In addition, if you moved your hands alternately in front of your chest with your elbows bent, lo and behold, you would start moving forward with your face still out of the water!
"See, isn't it amazing? I realized that because I put my face in the sea, seawater gets into my mouths when I breathe, and it becomes salty! But with this method, I can swim as far as I want without having to immerse my face. I got the idea when I saw some animals swimming in the sea!" (Fia)
When I proudly explained this to Captain Cyril, he looked at me as if I was a small child.
"...That's right. I think it's a great idea to develop your own swimming style. However, since the skeletal structures of animals and humans are different, perhaps there are other swimming styles that are more suitable for humans." (Cyril)
Then he looked at me as if wondering what was going on.
"Fia, your swimming style is unique and wonderful, but your speed could use some improvement. If you don't mind, would you like to hold onto my back? Everyone is worried about you, so I think you should hurry up and show them that you're doing well." (Cyril)
When I looked around again after hearing this, I saw that despite being urged to move, many of the residents had remained at sea and surrounded us, looking at us with worried expressions.
...Ah, well, causing worry and trouble is something that shouldn't be done.
Thinking this, I gratefully accepted Captain Cyril's offer and clung to his back.
"Captain, please take care of me." (Fia)
"Yes, please hold on tight so you don't fall." (Cyril)
Captain Cyril glanced back at me and, at first slowly, but once he was sure I was holding on tightly, he began to swim faster and faster.
"Wow, it's so fast, it feels like we're on a boat!" (Fia)
I exclaimed happily.
The Captain I was clinging to had a broad back, and although I thought he was slender, he seemed to have plenty of muscle and was solid and stable. It felt like I was really on a ship.
"A ship? That's the first time I've been compared to a ship. Thank you, Fia, for this first experience." (Cyril)
Captain Cyril thanked me with a funny look on his face.
Author's Note
Thank you for always reading.
Thank you for your comments, bookmarks, ratings, typo reports, and reviews!
Given that a certain number of comments we receive are asking us to update more frequently, this is a very brave announcement to make, but we have started a new work.
〇 "The villainess has entered the doting route!?"
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n2907ga/
A noble lady who is reincarnated into a game world tries to prioritize her own safety, but what should she do when the targets of her capture, whom she has been avoiding, start to approach her and pay her attention?! That's the story (or so I intend to say, but for some reason I'm currently in the middle of a magical battle).
It's been two weeks since I posted it, but it was ranked 5th in the monthly rankings for the [Another World Reincarnation/Transfer_Romance] genre, so I think people might find it quite interesting. I hope so.
I hope you enjoy it (.>人<.) Thank you very much.
By the way.
If you are a WEB reader who is confused by the story about Captain Quentin in the main text, you are a very insightful person.
This is a short story from the second book.
I mentioned this as an opportunity to let you know that this kind of thing does happen.