Chapter 38: To the Knight Order Headquarters

“Ugh, how did it come to this…”

Entering the living room, I involuntarily leaked such a voice. The cause was my parents relaxing in the living room. Father in a dress shirt and slacks, and Mother in a border shirt and a flared skirt with a waist ribbon. I don’t know why, but it has turned from an otherworldly fantasy world into a scene of everyday life in Japan. No, since the two of them look like models, there is still a somewhat extraordinary feel to it, though. The two of them have started wearing Earth clothes mostly when relaxing at home without meeting anyone. It seems that really is more comfortable for them. When going out or meeting people, they wear their usual noble-like clothes, but they said they can no longer go back to their old underwear. I understand the feeling. Me too. Female underwear from Earth is often cuter, after all. Much more so than drawers and such. Although he doesn’t say it, Father must be delighted too… Now, today is another day of study time to become a splendid noble lady. If I laze around idly, a destiny of ruin awaits me, so I have no time to slack off. Etiquette, embroidery, horseback riding, languages, Imperial history, history of neighboring countries, swordsmanship, calculation, and dance—I am managing to get through them all reasonably well. Fortunately, since I am with Estelle and Bianca, I don’t feel it as much of a burden. It’s nice to have friends. I also had Estelle‘s mother, Julia, learn to drive the kitchen car. It’s tough for Estelle and Bianca to walk to our house every day, after all. Since both have residences in the Second District, I call them in the evening to give them a ride home together, and give them a ride here again in the morning. Since my level went up and I can summon five kitchen cars now, renting one out is no problem. Bianca is a key person who could enter the Jean route, so I am being cautious in associating with her, but so far there seem to be no problems. Just a normal friend-like relationship… I think. I don’t know what she thinks, though. To us, the person who could become the root cause of ruin, Jean, wandered in casually. Even though the three of us were happily drinking tea in the garden gazebo… Damn you.

“What are you here for…” “Just greetings. I came because I have business with Bianca rather than you.”

Ignoring my wariness, Jean walked up to Bianca. Business with Bianca?

“You, what are you doing about next month’s match? Are you going to change your affiliation from ‘Knight Order Custody’ to the le Philharmonie Ducal House to participate?” “Ah, shoot! I forgot…”

Asked by Jean, Bianca opened her mouth wide as if to say ‘oops’. Match? What’s that?

“It’s the Squire Joint Match held once every half year, hosted by the Knight Order. You fight divided by age. If you catch the eye of a Knight Order Captain, recommendation for entry is possible, you know. Well, it’s rare though.”

Squire… a match for apprentice knights, huh. I see, so if you show your ability there, it becomes advantageous for joining the Knight Order. Until now, Bianca apparently belonged as a squire under the custody of the First Knight Order, where her father is the Captain, and participated in matches. But now that she has become my personal attendant, she apparently has to participate as a squire of the le Philharmonie Ducal House. Bianca seems to have forgotten that procedure. If I recall correctly, in the game, Bianca didn’t have a confirmed informal decision to join the Knight Order, while Jean was scheduled to join. Was she recognized in this joint match?

“If you’re going to do the procedure, they say do it by today. Well, I don’t think it’s a problem even if you stay under Knight Order custody as before, but…” “No, since I have become Lady Sakuraile‘s personal attendant, even as an apprentice, I am a knight of the le Philharmonie Ducal House. Naturally, I should participate as a squire of the Ducal House.”

Bianca declared sharply to Jean. She’s a serious girl as always. She was like this in the game too. Being serious is good, but that also means she can be stubborn or inflexible.

“Excuse me, Lady Sakuraile. May I go to the Knight Order Headquarters for a bit?” “I don’t mind, but…”

Just as I started to say that, I realized I didn’t have any more plans for later today. In that case, I want to go to the Knight Order Headquarters too. In the game, I only visited there a few times in the Jean route, and Jean‘s and Bianca‘s fathers should probably be there too. I need to greet them properly at least once. There are destruction flags I can’t weather without borrowing the power of the Knight Order, after all… Though not in the Jean route.

“Wouldn’t it be fine if you just observe? As long as you don’t disturb the training.” “I-In that case, me too!”

Oho? Estelle too? Alright, let’s all go observe the Knight Order Headquarters. Since we are going outside, Tanya Celesta will come along as a guard. Bianca alone wouldn’t be able to handle it if something happened. Bianca is a personal attendant, but also an apprentice knight. My official guard is Tanya Celesta. By the time I go to the ‘Academy’, I need Bianca to be able to take over that duty from Tanya Celesta. If I can break the Jean-related destruction flags by then, that would be great, though…

◇ ◇ ◇

The Imperial Capital has main streets running east, west, north, and south centered on the Imperial Castle, and is divided into concentric circles from the First District to the Fourth District. The Knight Order Headquarters of the Sinfonia Imperial Kingdom was in the Second District of the Imperial Capital. We entered the Second District in the Ducal House’s carriage and headed straight for the Knight Order Headquarters. Eventually, the Knight Order Headquarters came into view; it was a building like a small old castle. When I say castle, it’s not a gorgeous castle, but a sturdy and practical castle, almost like a fortress. It even has a moat? Is this designed so they can besiege themselves in case something happens in the Imperial Capital? Perhaps because of the Ducal House crest, our carriage passed the gatekeepers at the castle gate without stopping and entered the Knight Order Headquarters grounds. When we arrived in front of the headquarters entrance, Jean jumped out energetically and welcomed us with a smug face.

“How is it, this is the Knight Order Headquarters!” “No, it’s not like it’s your house or anything.”

Well, Jean‘s father is the Knight Order Grand Master who commands all knight orders, so I understand the feeling. Young knights scattered around at a distance were looking at us as we got off the carriage. There are third and fourth sons of high-ranking nobles among the knight order members, but the majority are occupied by third and fourth sons and below of lower-ranking nobles. There are a decent number of heirs of lower nobles and knights of commoner origin, but they are rather the minority. Jean is the heir of a Count house, yet he aims to join the Knight Order. In families with generations of knights, there seems to be a trend that the heir should become a knight precisely because he is the heir. Whether the son of the Knight Order Grand Master can become the Knight Order Grand Master depends on ability, but Jean seems to be highly expected. We, having gotten off a carriage with a Ducal crest, are completely attracting attention. Hmm, what should I do… While I was thinking that, Bianca beside me spoke to me.

“I will go complete the registration, but what will you do, Lady Sakuraile?” “Hmm, then I guess I’ll observe for a bit. Jean, can I ask you to guide us?” “Sure. Though I can only show you places like the training grounds or the stables.”

I guess the armory and such are off-limits, huh. I wanted to see real lances and large ballistas. As expected, that seems to require permission from above. Well, whatever. After Bianca ran off inside the headquarters, we headed to the stables first as guided by Jean. Inside the lined-up stables, horses of various colors—bay, dark bay, black, chestnut, and grey—were relaxing as they pleased.

“They are big. They feel different from the horses pulling our carriage.” “Of course they are different. Technically these are warhorses. They are trained daily, after all.”

To Estelle‘s impression, Jean answered with a smug face again. No, like I said, they aren’t your horses. By the way, I am also training to ride horses. As a noble lady, or rather, as a noble, it’s out of the question if you can’t even ride a horse. For nobles in this world, horses are as familiar a vehicle as bicycles. One doesn’t ride them around daily, but horseback riding is indispensable as a noble accomplishment. There are many cases where it would be troublesome if you couldn’t ride a horse alone when something happens. Well, in my case, since I have the kitchen car, I won’t be troubled even if I can’t ride a horse. I can’t drive it now, but I should be able to when I grow up. Leaving the stables and passing through a side path of the Knight Order Headquarters, we suddenly came out to an open space. Many knight order members are training in a place as wide as a school ground. Those sparring with wooden swords and shields, those doing practice swings with real swords, those doing push-ups intently, and those running around them—everyone seems to be working hard at training. Among them, some children about middle school age and some about our age are participating in the training. Presumably, they are also squires.

“There are quite a few squires, aren’t there?” “If you aim to join the Knight Order, it’s advantageous to become a squire from an early age. You gain ability, and you make connections with knights. Well, even so, only a portion who can pass the entrance exam can join.”

Unless you become someone’s personal attendant like Bianca or Jean, squires are strictly apprentice knights, and it’s not guaranteed they can become knights. If they fail the entrance exam, naturally they cannot become knights. If they fail, they become mere soldiers, or go down to the city and become adventurers… The exam isn’t just once, but even that has a limit. A ‘Knight’ in this country refers to a one-generation noble holding a Knight title. Even if called a noble, a knight is a quasi-noble and doesn’t have that many privileges. Though the income might be slightly better. And the number of knights is limited. I don’t know the fine details, but the upper limit is decided: this many for the Imperial Knight Order, this many for each noble holding a title. The number of knights each noble holds depends on the prosperity of that house, but in the case of the Imperial Knight Order, the national budget and various other things might be involved. Since we are a Ducal House, we hold many more knights compared to other nobles. Not just those at the mansion in the Royal Capital, but many in the territory as well. The fact that the number of knights is fixed means that a seat won’t open unless someone quits. It is by no means something one can easily become. Well, essentially, even if one retires from duty, they don’t have to return the title, so that person is called ‘Knight’ until they die. So the number of knights itself increases. Some of the squire kids here will probably go to the ‘Academy’ later on. Since there are no knight-related capture targets other than Jean, I don’t think any strange flags will be raised, but there might be mobs that appeared in stills like Entourage A, or someone’s personal attendant.

“What, Jean. You were here?” “Ah, Dad.”

Turning around in reaction to Jean‘s voice, a magnificent man in his prime stood there. His age is probably a few years past his mid-thirties. Perhaps because of his red mustache and beard, he looks somewhat older. He was wearing the armor of the Imperial Knight Order, and a broadsword hung beneath his red mantle. If he is Jean‘s father, is this person the Imperial Knight Order Grand Master, Count Albert Ludra Staccato, known as the ‘Tiger of the Empire’? I’ve seen this person from afar once. The knight who rushed to Elliott during the Founding Festival. So he really was Jean’s father.

“Dad, this is Sakuraile. She said she wanted to observe────Ouch!?”

Jean screamed mid-sentence. The Grand Master had dropped a fist onto the top of Jean‘s head.

“Fool! Calling the daughter of His Highness the Emperor’s brother ‘this’, what kind of language is that! A knight is not just about being strong with a sword! Learn more manners!”

Well, yeah. What his father says is correct. Calling a Ducal Lady ‘this’ in front of people is indeed bad. Well, since I told him he could speak freely, I must follow up for Jean.

“I do not mind. Jean is, tentatively, a friend, and I am not fond of stiff formalities.” “See! She says it’s fine, so it’s fine—ouch!?”

A fist dropped again onto the head of Jean, who got carried away and started babbling.

“Even so, that is no excuse for behavior lacking manners in public! Reflect a little!”

A valid argument.