Knights of Tristein (2)

The estate of Tristein was a fortress built on a cliff in the mountains. The base and walls of the castle were carved out of the rock, with turrets on all sides and a watchtower spire rising high from inside.

‘It’s a natural fortress. A thousand years ago, it even stopped monsters… There must be such legends. To build that height with medieval technology, they would’ve used magic, right?’

Looking up from the bottom of the winding road, you could only see a sheer rock wall, but when you went up the ramp across the castle’s moat, a different landscape unfolded. The mountain fortress had a bright atmosphere, with expensive paving stones laid down from the main gates to the castle entrance. The thousand-year-old building was well renovated, with smooth windows and more recent expansions. Not only the knights, but also the servants had clean clothing and looked well-fed. Kleio had heard the lives of the lord’s temperament.

‘The climate is bleak, but they are well off. The Duke Tristein is good at governing.’

As soon as the carriage stopped, Mietsu disappeared into the castle under the soldier’s guidance alongside the other mercenaries. The carriage’s owner began to help to unload the cargo alongside the villagers. Arthur and Isiel moved to help, but they were chased away from the wagon as the owner said they were too injured. The group stood off with their own luggage in a distant corner of the fort’s vacant lot. Cel put down her luxurious leather suitcase and sat atop it.

“So, what should I do now?”

After taking the documents out of her bag, Isiel, the leader of the training group, looked around but was unable to find who she was looking for.

“The person in charge of our practice should be here… I called the castle in advance, but I don’t see them.”

“Who’s in charge?”

“I heard that they are the vice-captain of Tristein’s knights.”

“I can’t see anyone like that.”

Cel tried to grab onto someone to ask them, but everyone was hurrying about, moving a massive amount of food and necessities. Around the time the luggage was roughly organized, a large middle-aged man in the uniform of a knight walked out from the main entrance. A tall knight with hair like a lion’s mane and a smaller knight with a bow followed. The middle-aged man, who had a large scar on his cheek, looked around. It looked like a mountain was moving as his muscles wriggling under his uniform.

“Rotan!”

“It’s been a long time. I thought you were about trying to catch the beast.”

“I came back because there was a message from above. The people in the south are looking at our situation.”

“You always have a lot of trouble. There’s always some issue to be screaming about.”

“I have to be careful for the time being. Everyone has worked hard to transport this much here! When you go in, lunch is prepared, so afterward, eat well! Trude, Lysa! Escort the villagers on their way back.”

“Yes, vice-captain.”

“Yep!”

“Thank you!”

“Oh, thank you.”

The man called Rotan welcomed the younger people who were a good head smaller than him.

‘This is Rotan Tepito.’

He was the vice-captain of the Tristein knights and a 6th-level knight. As soon as he found Arthur and his companions and heard Isiel’s greeting, he responded.

“Turn around. A child, a girl, what else is this? Am I supposed to take care of kids in this emergency? Are the guys in the south sane?!”

Arthur and Cel stared blankly at Rotan, and the twins weren’t sure they heard him right. Isiel repeated herself without blinking.

“I’m Isiel Kision, a freshman at the Royal Capital Defense University and the head of this training group. Please accept these documents from Dean Zebedee. Take good care of us.”

“Ah, oh! This!”

The hot-blooded man clenched his fists, then grabbed the envelope from Isiel’s steady hand. It contained documents and letters of recommendation with their names and personal information, but he didn’t open it. That giant had lost to Isiel, and Kleio had to turn away to hide his smile.

‘There’s no way men from the extreme north would welcome fresh-faced children from the capital. Well, it’s easier to deal with those who are openly hostile like that rather than those who’re insidious.’

He wanted to ask about the demon Pyton, but it seemed difficult to communicate for the time being. Kleio wasn’t a character full of justice who could persuade someone who didn’t intend to listen. A prophet who predicted an ominous future would be persecuted in any country, after all.

‘It’s my blessing too, so what can I do?’

Rotan walked away, leading the children to the top of the three-story building behind him. The lodging assigned to the children were narrow rooms just under the roof.

“Boys on the left, girls on the right. The bathroom and toilet are on the bottom floor. You should also clean up and organize your bedding. You won’t get any practice points if you rely on the servants!”

“Yes, yes. Don’t worry!”

Arthur moved happily in front of Rotan.

“I don’t have any luggage, so my hands are empty already. What should I do? Everyone looks busy!”

“What’s your name?”

“It’s Arthur!”

Rotan stood with both hands against his back, glaring at Arthur with fierce eyes. The boy had messy hair, hadn’t shaved, looked filthy, and wore an old fur-coat. The prince of the kingdom, a 5th-level knight, and the being who presided over the security of this world… Of course, they wouldn’t see the same thing.

“Oh, since you went to that school, your head would be stiff. There’s no kid like you in the north, so don’t think about it. It would be enough to fill the pits in the training ground.”

Kleio’s gaze went out of the window as he turned off Perception. He examined the condition of the training ground. Certainly, there were pits dug up into the land, which was frozen over with snow. It seemed like it would take a while to fill it all up.

‘I was expecting as much, but did all of us come here to shovel dirt?’

The response would’ve been better if Tasserton Tristein had been there, but Rotan seemed to have no room to speak.

‘Even if we were twenty, they would’ve acted less shallow. But, this is because of the manuscript’s faster progression. Huh.’

Kleio could understand Rotan’s feelings. His leader was away, so his responsibility was heavy. If he made a mistake in such an emergency, his life and well as those of his charges would be at risk. They sent students to train in a workplace where people lived and died. What use were kids labeled as geniuses without experience?

‘Although he grunts a lot, he’s a human with common sense.’

Of course, he would be grateful later on. This land was where poisonous demons would arise. The beasts that would awaken in this territory couldn’t be prevented by a total of forty knights and a hundred soldiers.

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.

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Isiel and Arthur were good at shoveling. The weather was cold, causing the melted snow to freeze over and turn the soil as hard as a stone, but the two of them gently filled their shovels with ether to save time. They looked like skilled hands who had been doing this their entire time, but as Kleio wondered about that, Arthur was clearly upset.

“Heavy snow is common, and landslides happen once every few years. I grew up in such a manner, but I closed my eyes to shoveling.”

“Arthur, be careful. Keep your eyes open.”

With ether filling the shovel, if he accidentally hit his foot, he was liable to take off some toes. Kleio was rather embarrassed to see the calm and mature Isiel work so efficiently. The twins and Cel had taken to it shortly after, and within fifteen minutes, they had all taken their respective areas. Of course, Kleio didn’t shovel. He knew how to, but he didn’t say as much. In the first place, Cel had only retrieved five shovels from the warehouse; all of them have reached an agreement that they wouldn’t give one to Kleio.

“What should we do if you hurt your back, or get some blisters, or fall? Lei, you stay there, and if needed, heal us.”

Kleio sat on the bench at the entrance, curled up with his sheepskin gloves, warm boots, and his coat that was unsuitable for work. However, he wasn’t just waiting. He used this time to explain about the demon that might appear soon.

“Before coming here, Mietsu and I drank all night. While we were, he said that there was a demon-like Pyton that couldn’t be killed at this estate a thousand years ago.”

“Really, Kleio?”

“Really. Drinking didn’t affect my ears.”

Arthur clicked his tongue as he moved a pile of hard ice and piled dirt.

“Ha. Then it is what we came for!”

“Your master must also have a plan.”

Cel shrugged.

“Would he give us a tip if he thought that something like that would come out, or would he patrol by himself?”

“He’s probably worried Arthur would run off into the mountains himself if he heard about it.”

“Well, enjoy your master’s grace and shovel in this safe fortress.”

Kleio shook his head.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know if Mietsu’s feelings will work out. I’ve read about the beast: it’s a big, winged snake that can fly.”

The five looked up at the sky as one, but there weren’t even birds in the gray clouds.

“This citadel is an impregnable fortress from the ground, but it’s useless when it comes to an aerial attack.”

“Right, so listen carefully. The monster’s weakness is its heart. A sword can’t scratch its scales, but after putting ether into the sword, put it in the gap in the scales, and in that state…”

Kleio, turning on Memory as he spoke vaguely, described the demonic Pyton as it was described in the manuscript with his eyes on the sky. It was just an expression, but the children were considering it seriously. At this moment, Kleio felt like an unreachable prophet to them. If Kleio knew of it, he would’ve run away, but what could be done? They all shared similar feelings that couldn’t be specified in words. After speaking, Kleio noticed they had stopped shoveling and was confused by the oddly welcoming atmosphere flowing among the children.

“Is it alright? Do I need to explain it one more time?”

One beat later, the twins replied.

“No, we understand.”

“Because the blade can’t penetrate the scales, we need to cooperate in groups of two to catch it.”

“Yes, why do you have blank faces while you’re listening?”

“No, we were curious what sort of book describes the beast in such detail.”

It was a manuscript, not a book. Kleio felt a stab in his heart as Lippi asked the question born out of pure curiosity.