After parting ways with Captain Cyril and Captain Curtis, I returned to dormitory.
In the end, it seemed that Captain Curtis and I were the only attendees at the "training completion celebration" that Captain Curtis had organized.
What, I'm not popular!? I thought, but Captain Cyril had other plans, Fabian was leaving for his territory this afternoon, and Charlotte was just a child so I didn't ask her about going out at night— everyone had their own reasons, so I convinced myself that it had nothing to do with my popularity.
It was still a little after noon, so I made an arrangement to meet up with Captain Curtis in the evening and decided to go shopping alone in the afternoon. I realized that if I was leaving tomorrow on a trip that would last more than three weeks, I would need to buy a few things today.
I quickly changed into my going-out clothes and headed into town. Being the capital of Nav Kingdom, one of the largest nations on the continent, everything was available there. Finding everything I saw intriguing, I decided to look around the shop from the sidelines.
Even though I had resolved not to buy too much because there was only so much I could bring with me on my trip, I found myself accumulating more and more useless items.
I looked at the cute pens, diary, and fluffy stuffed animals in my arms and wondered why I had bought these things. It was definitely not something I would be bringing on this trip.
This is a problem, I thought to myself, this time I really needed to buy the things I need, like towels and underwear, when I heard a cute voice call from behind me.
"Oh, isn't it _FIIACHAN_? Are you out shopping?" (Clarissa)
When I turned around, a beautiful girl with pink hair and amber eyes was standing there. There was no mistaking her adorable, doll-like appearance.
"Captain Clarissa, it's been a while!" (Fia)
"Yes, it's been a while, _FIIACHAN_." (Clarissa)
The one who returned the greeting with a cheerful expression was Clarissa, the leader of the Fifth Knight Order, responsible for guarding the royal capital. It seemed that Captain Clarissa was on duty, and she was wearing a knight's uniform, although her chest seemed a little too open to be called tight-fitting.
"Her pink hair and white knight uniform go perfectly together," I thought as I gazed upon Captain Clarissa in admiration. Then, Captain Clarissa looked down with interest at the several paper bags I was holding, so I opened my mouth to answer her question.
"I'm planning on heading to the northernmost part of the kingdom starting tomorrow, so I came here to buy some things I need." (Fia)
In fact, there was nothing in the luggage I was carrying that I was going to take with me the next day, but I wouldn't go into detail about that.
"The northernmost part of the kingdom is probably the Margrave of Gazzard, where Blackpeak Mountain is located. It’s a tough place there, you know?" (Clarissa)
Captain Clarissa said to me with a worried look on her face, and I replied with a smile.
"Thank you for letting me know. My sister is a member of the 11th Knights who guard the north, so I thought I'd go and see her." (Fia)
"Oh my goodness, is there some happy news to report?" (Clarissa)
After hearing what I said, Captain Clarissa became excited and started asking questions one after another.
"Huh?" (Fia)
"I've always wanted to ask you who your favorite is, _FIIACHAN_." (Clarissa)
"My favorite?" (Fia)
By favorite, I mean the racehorse that is the first candidate to win, right? Clarissa So you're interested in racehorses?
"Well, I wonder who your favorite is among the Knights?" (Clarissa)
...The first candidate to win among the knights? Is it fair to say that we are asking who is the strongest knight? Captain Clarissa is a fine knight, so she probably already knows who the strongest knight is, but perhaps she would like to hear the opinion of the new knight as well.
Thinking that, I pictured a strong knight in my head as I answered.
"That's right. Until recently, it was Captain Cyril, but recently I've come to think that Captain Curtis should not be underestimated..." (Fia)
As I was about to say that, I suddenly remembered something important.
Ah, that's right! I previously promised Captain Cyril that I wouldn't tell anyone that Captain Cyril was stronger than Commander! Oh no! I had completely forgotten and was about to blurt out something I shouldn't have said.
"...I thought so too, but it's Commander! My favorite is Commander Savis by far!!" (Fia)
When Captain Clarissa heard what I said, her eyes lit up.
"Wow! _FIIACHAN_ favorite was Commander Savis?! Wow, that's really unexpected! Commander Savis... that's surprising. I thought _FIIACHAN_ would prefer someone more suitable for beginners." (Clarissa)
Although she said something in a lively voice that I couldn't quite understand, Captain Clarissa looked very happy and having fun.
It must be a joyous thing that the top knight, Commander Savis, was the strongest. Seeing Captain Clarissa's elated attitude, I was once again convinced that I had given the correct answer, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, just as I was about to say goodbye to Captain Clarissa, I suddenly noticed that the surroundings had become quite noisy.
"Well, what's going on?" (Clarissa)
Saying this, Captain Clarissa walked briskly towards the commotion without any sign of trouble. I hurriedly followed her and saw a woman surrounded by three men who looked like bad guys.
Even from a distance, the woman was cute, trembling and looking like a small animal, the kind of person who made you want to call out to her. The three men on the other hand were tall and wide, and judging from their grinning expressions, they looked like they were trying to force themselves on the women, asking them to go out to dinner or shopping with them.
"Oh my, how troublesome. Of course, the men who forcefully solicit women are the worst, but what about the men who just watch as spectators..." (Clarissa)
Captain Clarissa muttered in a dissatisfied tone and walked briskly towards the center of the commotion.
...I understand what you're saying, Captain Clarissa. However, the three bad-looking guys are well-built, wear fine clothing, and all had swords on their waists. If the three men were of a certain status, you might find yourself in trouble later if you opposed them, and in the first place, they might have the temper to suddenly draw their sword on someone who warned them. An opponent whose sword skills were completely unknown was terrifying, and unless you were extremely skilled, it was unlikely that you could be of any help.
However, Captain Clarissa is the coolest person ever as she goes to help without any hesitation, as if none of that matters to her!
While thinking that, I didn't know Captain Clarissa's skills, so I thought that a one-on-three fight would be reckless, and so I quickly followed behind him to help the captain (although I wasn't wearing knight's uniform and all I had was a dagger).
But before we could reach the heart of the commotion, a leisurely voice called out to the besieged woman.
"Ah, a butterfly-shaped hair clip. I see, this kind of thing is in fashion these days, isn't it? Sorry to interrupt you, young lady, but could you tell me where you bought that hair clip?"
What's going on in such a tense situation? I was shocked and turned to look, only to see a man pushing aside the three people surrounding the woman and speaking to her. The new man who appeared was about a head taller than the three rough-looking guys I thought were large, and although I could only see from behind as he had his back was towards me, I could still tell from that figure that he was well-built.
"My……" (Clarissa)
Captain Clarissa was rushing to the scene, but the moment she saw the new man appear, she let out an amused exclamation and slowed down her pace.
However, like Captain Clarissa, I was not amused, and so with a feeling of anxiety I quickly approached the large man and the group of three, my eyes fixed on them.
Just as I had predicted, the three people who had been pushed aside were in a sulky mood and angrily grabbed the arms of the man who had intervened.
"Hey, I don't know if it's a hair clip or something, but I'm busy here. Don't hit anyone else!" (Clarissa)
However, the large man seemed to be unable to read the mood, and continued speaking in a leisurely voice despite the tense and potentially explosive situation.
"Even if you say that, my little sister asked me to buy her a hair clip that's popular in the royal capital. This butterfly hair clip looks good on her, so if I buy the same one and bring it home, I think my reputation as an older brother will skyrocket."
"Hey, don't mess with me!"
"If you want to buy a souvenir for your sister, why don't you just pick some flowers from the roadside?"
"Yes, yes. It's just as my brother said."
As soon as they heard what the large man said, the three men became enraged, and one of them reached for the sword at his waist ——— but in that moment, the man was knocked face down to the ground.
"Huh" (Fia + the man)
I think the man who had fallen over and I both said the same thing.
Before I realized what was happening, the large man was clutching each of the remaining arms of the two men with both hands.
"You guys don't have younger sisters, do you? Little sisters are incredibly difficult. Even I, who's had a little sister for many years, have no idea how to treat her. And if you treat them wrong, they don't complain directly, but just whine and moan, which makes you feel even more at a loss as to what to do."
The large man, with his arms still clutched, continued to tell the two men about his sister, but of course they had no intention of listening and only became more and more furious.
"Shut up! Just let go!"
"That's right, that's right. Let go of my brother's hand."
Seeing the two men not listening to what he was saying at all, the large man shrugged his shoulders in exasperation —— and for some reason, the remaining two also fell face down on the ground.
"Well, you may not understand now, but someday when you two have a little sister..."
The large man sighed and continued speaking as he looked into the faces of the three men who had collapsed, but suddenly stopped short with a look of surprise. After that, I looked intently at the three of them in silence, and continued speaking with some difficulty.
"Because you were acting without common sense, I thought you were a well-developed, big child, but you seem to be quite old… Ah, it might be difficult to have a little sister at your age. In other words, it’s something you need to know when you have a stepsister or a daughter."
The large man tilted his head and concluded as if to convince himself.
The well-built man tilted his head and looked cute from behind, but he seemed to be terrified by the three women peering at him from above, and his face turned pale in an instant before he nodded his head in agreement, still lying on the ground.
Seeing this, the large man nodded with satisfaction and called out to the woman, who was still trembling.
"Sorry for interrupting. I can't cause any more trouble, so I'll look for the hair accessory myself."
As soon as she heard those words, Captain Clarissa exclaimed in admiration.
"Oh my, what a fine specimen you rarely come across! Full of chivalry, good at fighting, and not at all patronizing. If someone behaved like that, I'd be sure to have him fall for me right away." (Clarissa)
As she said this, Captain Clarissa continued to stare at the large man with great interest, but the moment the man turned around, her mouth dropped open in shock.
"...Huh? What is this? Even her face is so beautiful..."
I heard Captain Clarissa's voice sounding genuinely surprised, but I was just as dumbfounded, so I couldn't say anything in response.
...Huh? I wonder why he's in a place like this? Oh, he must have gone back to his home country?
With that thought in mind, I muttered the name of the person I knew who appeared before me in a daze.
"……Green?" (Fia)
I muttered in a small voice, and I figured that it would be impossible for anyone to hear given the distance, but for some reason the man who was called looked startled, raised his head, and stared at me with an expression of greater shock than either Captain Clarissa or I.
"Fia!" (Green)
The voice that came out in surprise was undoubtedly the familiar voice of "Green."
Author's Note
Thank you for always reading!
Thanks to you, novel volumes 2 and 3 have been reprinted.
Thank you to everyone who picked up a copy!
Also, I apologize to those who commented that the book was sold out in bookstores and online. I think it will start to appear in various places soon... ヾ(^-^)
By the way, "Green" who appeared this time is one of the main characters of the side story published in the novel volumes 1 to 3. If you are interested, I hope you will pick up a copy and enjoy it.