A silence fell between us as Captain Curtis and I went quiet, and feeling a bit awkward, I looked away, only to meet the eyes of Captain Cyril, who was talking with Chief Radek.
Apparently, the captain and the chief were discussing the details of their future plans.
However, even while we were having the meeting, Captain Cyril seemed to be keeping an eye on his surroundings, and by chance, his eyes met mine as I looked towards the captain.
I was so happy that our eyes met that I thought it was a great coincidence, and when I waved my hand, the captain let out a small sigh for some reason.
Huh? I thought, and I turned to see that Captain Cyril had already excused himself from the group after speaking with the chief and, he was walking towards me. Then the captain stopped in front of me and exclaimed in an exasperated voice.
"That's incredible, Fia. ...A rare and precious stone, and the loyalty of the residents of Sutherland. Not only have you made me, the lord, your guardian knight, but you have even captivated the knight captain of this land and brought him back to the royal capital. ...Though I couldn't hear your conversation, I could see from afar how much Curtis is infatuated with you. Really, how can you charm someone so much in less than ten days? ...Yes, it's as Curtis says. From now on, Sutherland is yours." (Cyril)
"…………" (Fia)
That was a really unpleasant thing to say, I thought as I glanced back at Captain Cyril, then my eyes met with the commander, who was standing behind the captain.
The commander had one hand over his right eye patch, likely due to pain from an old injury. The way his long fingers traced his eyepatch gave me a sense of déjà vu, reminding me of a scene I had seen the commander did the same not long ago.
——That's right. The commander, who was also tracing his eyepatch, gave me instructions about my role in Sutherland. At that moment, the words he had told me came back to my mind.
"You are still in training. Go as a future knight. See the land from an impartial standpoint, not as a knight. See with your own eyes who should be impeached."
At the time, the commander's expression was a mixture of complicated emotions and I couldn't read his true intentions, but now I kind of understood.
Like Captain Cyril, the commander was concerned about the conflict between the people of Sutherland and the knights, and wanted to do something about it.
I looked at the commander and smiled.
"Commander, no one was impeached."
I knew it wouldn't be appropriate to report it in a place with so many residents around, so I thought I would give a formal report later, but for now I would just try putting on a smile and reporting it.
In response, the commander gave me a similar smile.
"... I, I got through to you! This is what they mean by telepathy!!" (Fia)
After a month and a half of hard work since joining the Knights, I've finally started to communicate with Commander!
As I thought this and clenched my hands and trembled with emotion, I heard Captain Cyril's murmuring voice.
"I am not an extraordinary person, so I cannot imagine what you are thinking, but Fia, I am certain that what you are thinking right now is wrong." (Savis)
Well, how rude. Besides, isn't it strange that you can know when I'm wrong without knowing what I'm thinking?
Thinking that, I sat back with a sigh.
"Hehe, unfortunately, this time it's not a case of me misunderstanding things, but rather of Commander Savis having a high reception ability. He read what I wanted to say from my smile and returned the signal of agreement with a smile." (Fia)
"...There is no doubt that Commander is extremely skilled, but that and being able to imagine what you are thinking are two entirely different things. You should definitely verbally report to him what you were trying to convey later." (Cyril)
...In the end, it was Captain Cyril who refused to evaluate me.
——The ceremony that followed—or rather the banquet, was simply lively and enjoyable.
The food was delicious, everyone was smiling, and the knights and the residents of Sutherland talked to each other without any barriers. I drank as much Sutherland alcohol as I was encouraged to and felt great.
...Ah, it's fun. The only downside is that I'll forget all about this fun conversation by tomorrow morning.
Thinking that, I suddenly looked away and saw a man standing in the darkness——It was Captain Curtis.
It was dark and I couldn't see his face very well, but there was no mistaking him.
I approached him wondering what was wrong and found Captain Curtis gazing silently at the newly planted young Adela tree.
"...Lady Fi. When you come to see the flowers of this tree in ten years, please let me come with you." (Curtis)
When I got within just a meter of Captain Curtis, he said this without even looking back.
Actually, I was thinking maybe I would try and scare him a bit, so I approached quietly, and I was surprised when he noticed me.
"Huh? How did you know I was there? I used all my skills as a knight..." (Fia)
"...On the other hand, how could I avoid noticing you?" (Curtis)
To which I replied with another question, I gave a vague "Um, yeah." Perhaps due to the influence of alcohol, my head was a little hazy and I didn't feel like I could respond as well as usual, so I just said, "Yes, that's right," and said what I wanted to say.
"Curtis, thank you for coming back to the royal capital with me! I told you I would set you free, but I'm still happy to think that we can be together." (Fia)
"Lady Fi........."
When Captain Curtis saw my smile, he was taken aback and went quiet, then held the upper half of his face with one hand as if he had given up.
"I have never been able to deal with your attacks, which you vary in speed, so I would appreciate it if you would go easy on me." (Curtis)
"……huh?" (Fia)
"No, I told you that you haven't changed at all since the old days. I am the one to thank you. Thank you for understanding my desire to accompany you. Also, thank you for accepting our desire to present the Sacred Stones of the people of Sutherland."
Hearing Captain Curtis' words, I hurriedly raised my voice.
"Not at all, Curtis! I am the one who was saved. If you hadn't told me, I would not have understood the feelings of the residents and would have continued to say rude things like, 'I'll pay for the Sacred Stone's" (Fia)
Captain Curtis shook his head slightly as if to deny it.
"No, I was the one who butted in. I understood the feelings of the people on the remote island and blurted out my point." (Curtis)
"Of course, you were right... But now that I think of it, why did the chief suddenly offer to give the Sacred Stones to me in the middle of a banquet?" (Fia)
I was curious, so I asked Captain Curtis. Then, as if he had remembered something, Captain Curtis suddenly gave a small smile.
"Either way, we were planning to dedicate that stone to you, but... I think the reason we chose that timing was because we were so happy that you made such a nostalgic mistake." (Curtis)
"A nostalgic mistake?" (Fia)
"The language of the people of the remote islands has a unique pronunciation, with some sounds that are difficult to pronounce. And you have not been able to pronounce 'Oatsun' correctly for the past 300 years." (Curtis)
"Huh? Oachii, right?" (Fia)
Upon hearing my pronunciation, Captain Curtis smiled as if he had heard something ancient and important.
"Hehe, the sound seems a little different to the people of the remote island." (Curtis)
"Hmm, I see. That's difficult, isn't it?" (Fia)
"What should I do? To me, the pronunciation of Captain Curtis sounds the same as mine," I thought, smiling vaguely.
The captain suddenly became serious and smiled sadly.
"Lady Fi, even now I sometimes feel like the time I spend with you is a dream. Especially tonight, having a peaceful conversation with you about things from 300 years ago is something I never would have imagined in my previous life." (Curtis)
After a brief silence, Captain Curtis continued speaking haltingly.
"...If the Black Knight were to see a scene like this... would he think it was a beautiful dream?" (Curtis)
In the silence, far removed from the hustle and bustle, the voice of Captain Curtis fell quietly.
However, I tilted my head in confusion at the unfamiliar words.
"The Black Knight?" (Fia)
I had heard of the "Blue Knight" and the "White Knight" being chosen based on the colors of the national flag 300 years ago, but I thought this was the first time I had heard of a "Black Knight."
Black is... well, the knight order in this world is called the "Black Dragon Knights". So does that mean that strong knights are now called "black knights"?
Thinking that, I blinked rapidly, and Captain Curtis looked at me in shock.
"Huh? Um, Curtis?" (Fia)
Not understanding the reason for his surprise, I called out to him in curiosity, but Captain Curtis remained silent with his eyes downcast, as if he was deep in thought. Without saying a word, he slowly brought one hand to his face and hid the lower half of his face with that large hand. However, upon closer inspection, his hands were slightly trembling.
"...That's right. Lady Fi has never met the Black Knight." (Curtis)
As he said this, Captain Curtis' hands started to shake more and more, which made me worried.
...Huh? W-w-is this a sign of a hangover? Captain Curtis' appearance hasn't changed, so he's been offered lots of alcohol, right? Maybe he's actually feeling sick.
Thinking that, I hurriedly called out to Captain Curtis.
"Curtis, I'll go get some water, okay!" (Fia)
As I said this, I ran off in a hurry, and so I missed the next thing Captain Curtis said.
"The Black Knight is...... the strongest knight in history, who went mad after the death of the Great Saint." (Curtis)
The words muttered by Captain Curtis in anguish were not picked up by anyone and disappeared into the silence...
——Two days after that, in the morning, the group of knights and civil servants who had come to Sutherland to take part in the memorial ceremony left for the royal capital after their ten-day stay.
At that time, scenes different from when they arrived were seen everywhere in the Sutherland territory——Many residents lined the sidewalks, smiling and waving until the knights were out of sight.
Author's Note
This concludes the Sutherland edition.
That was a long one. Thank you for joining us!