Engagement - Junior Knight
“Wow. That must have hurt.”
Lena and Leo arrived at the familiar infirmary to receive treatment.
Lena’s injuries were minor and only required simple treatment. Leo’s injuries were not serious either.
He had a deep cut on his chest, but it was a common and easy injury for the army surgeons.
The surgeon who had stitched his finger together before said, preparing his tools.
“It's going to sting a bit. Do you need a drink? If you can, just bear with it. Alcohol slows down the healing process.”
“...No, I don’t need it.”
“Good thinking. Don't bite down, you’ll break your teeth.”
The stitching was done quickly.
The surgeon moved his needle as if he were patching up torn fabric, and Leo endured the agonizing pain.
After the surgery, the surgeon praised him for holding still as if he were comforting a child, and then, as a bonus, he dabbed some honey on the herbs covering the stitches.
“This kind of thing, you just stitch it up and get a priest to cast a little healing spell on it, but it is what it is. I'll bandage it up later. It's hell to take it off if you put honey and a bandage on it. Hahaha.”
He patted Leo on the back.
“I'll take the stitches out when it heals. Be careful not to open up the wound. And no drinking.”
“Yes, sir.”
Leo walked out with a stiff posture. It wasn't difficult to walk since he just had to keep his upper body still.
Lena was waiting for him outside.
“Leo, how was the treatment? Let me see... They stitched it up well. That’s good.”
Lena came up to Leo and examined his wounds. Then she chuckled.
“You’re going to have a nice scar.”
The Einar tribe considered scars to be cool. Lena’s father, Dehorman, used to lament that he didn’t have any on him.
“Are you alright?”
“I'm fine. This much will heal even if I just put saliva on it. Oh, I met with the adjutant earlier, and it looks like I'm getting promoted to centurion.”
“Wow. Congratulations.”
“...Can you at least sound like you mean it?”
Leo had met with the adjutant when Lena had been seriously injured before. He praised Leo for his achievements but regretted to hear that he had lost his thumb.
Leo didn’t get a promotion back then.
Leo put on an exaggerated expression for Lena, who was pouting.
“Congratulations! As expected, our Lena is the best!”
“...Stop it.”
The two were relieved to confirm each other's safety and moved to the infirmary beds.
***
Leo spent several weeks recovering in the infirmary.
Lena, whose injury was minor, returned to the front lines but was recalled after only three weeks.
Prince Arnolf de Klaus had reappeared.
Arriving at the front, the prince held a military parade to boost the morale of the soldiers. At the parade, Lena and Leo were widely publicized as the warriors of the Einar tribe who had captured a knight.
Leo was neither a tribesman nor a warrior, but in the military, such trivial personal details were easily ignored. If those higher up said he was a warrior, then he was a warrior.
On the parade platform, Lena and Leo saluted the prince in the Akaian Empire's military salute. The prince was pleased to receive the unusual courtesy.
Leo was proud of himself for teaching Lena the etiquette of the Empire.
“Impressive. A soldier capturing a knight. I heard that the two of you took down a knight together. Is that true?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“You said you were warriors of the tribe… where did you learn swordsmanship?”
“My father taught me. He was a knight of the 1st Order. He’s retired now.”
“Aha! I see. That makes sense.”
Their accomplishment was exceptional. It wasn’t uncommon for an isolated knight to be beaten to death by soldiers, but it was rare for a small number of soldiers to capture a knight.
The prince smiled with satisfaction as if convinced and asked,
“Then you two are aiming to become knights.”
“Yes!”
“...Yes, Your Highness.”
Lena answered excitedly, but Leo was a little disappointed.
It was the first time he had introduced Lena to the prince. But it was too formal of a meeting, and there wasn’t an atmosphere where they could get to know each other personally.
“I will appoint you both as squires. Further achievements will help you in receiving a knighthood. Good luck.”
“Thank you!”
“...Thank you, Your Highness.”
The parade was over. The wounded and the meritorious were pleased with the generous rewards, and Lena, excited, grabbed Leo and shook him.
“Oh my god! We’re squires! I thought it would take at least ten years to be knighted. If things go well, we might even become knights and go back home!”
“Yeah, good job.”
He was more concerned about the prince's attitude than that.
The prince didn't seem interested in Lena. Of course, it was unlikely that the prince would fall in love at first sight just from seeing her at a military parade, but there was something that bothered him.
The prince was interested in him, not Lena.
[ Achievement: First Encounter with the Prince - Gained slight favorability from all princes. ]
[ Achievement: Encounter with Arnolf de Klaus - Gained slight favorability from all nobles serving the Klaus Dynasty. Gained slight favorability from Arnolf de Klaus. ]
It must have been because of the achievements he had earned before. That's why he was given the position of squire so easily... Come to think of it, the prince had also given him the title of honorary knight on the spot before.
Leo fell deep in thought.
He had something that accumulated as he repeated the scenarios, but Lena didn't.
She had to finish everything in one go.
‘For now, the goal is to survive the war... but how can I make Lena a princess like this?’
Meeting the prince like this was meaningless. Thanks to the nature of the military, they were able to easily meet the high and mighty prince, but because of the same nature of the military, there seemed to be no way for him and Lena to get close.
Maybe there was an {event} like saving the prince on the battlefield that would create a connection between them, but…
‘The prince is always in the rear. We have to go to the front. Can we meet during a retreat after a defeat?’
He had to wait and see how the situation unfolded.
‘Or should I become a knight in the war and visit him afterward? It’s possible since the war will be over soon anyway.’
He had to hurry to make Lena a princess. She was already of marriageable age.
Feeling frustrated, Leo returned to the tent with Lena.
Promoted to centurion, she had a tent to herself, but Leo naturally shared it with her.
“Hey! Come out. Let’s spar.”
“Alright. Want to practice after all this time?”
Leo took her provocation as usual.
The stitches on his chest had long since been removed. It still felt a little tight, but he was mostly healed.
As he was gathering his sword, he heard Lena's suppressed laughter behind him.
“Hehehe.”
“...What’s up with you?”
“Get your sword. You better be ready. Are you ready? Here I come.”
Lena attacked as soon as he drew his sword.
“Whoa?!”
Leo was startled and jumped back.
He felt a powerful strike that seemed to shake his entire body. He barely managed to block it, thinking it was a light feint, but almost dropped his sword.
“What was…?”
“It’s not over yet!”
Lena charged again, and the match was over in an instant.
She smacked him on the head with the flat of her blade.
Is this guy retarded? He should know he wouldn’t be able to bear parting with Lena, right? And, he’s still scheming idiotic plans like making Lena marry the Prince(s). Man, just try your best to become a Swordmaster and establish a kingdom.
ReplyDeleteIf I had the chance to infinitely return to a point I would train for hundreds of years if necessary.
DeleteThat's kind of my thought process; he's been shown to reciprocate the love of both Lena's multiple times; maybe his desire to return is just that strong? Or he just can't think of anything else. I'm honestly kind of hoping that in one life he does manage to finally pair Lena with a prince, but it tells him he still failed and sends him back.
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