Knights of Tristein (5)

Water from the hot spring was drawn into the large communal bath located on the basement level of the castle lodgings. The children, washed with hot water, gathered together on the first floor and in the drawing-room connected to the cafeteria. All the furniture was cut from rough raw wood, but the wide-open fireplace created a cozy atmosphere. Cel, wearing her pajamas, sniffed at her shoulders.

“Don’t I still smell?”

“We’re clean like fresh blankets, so stop that.”

“No, it’s unpleasant. I have to bring some perfume; this isn’t polite to the ladies.”

“Don’t worry, Cel. The duchess died twenty years ago, and Duke Tristein isn’t married. There’s no such thing in this castle.”

“What are you talking about, Lippi? The lady who baked us bread this morning, the lady who brought us water to clean up, and the lady in front of the stove.”

Now wasn’t the time to listen to Cel’s ramblings. Arthur looked embarrassed as he tried to focus their attention.

“Guys, stop talking. So, do you agree to transfer the mana stone onyx here to the Tristein knights?”

“I answered earlier. Give it to him.”

“If we do that, I’m curious what the vice-captain’s face will look like. Right, Leticia?”

“Yes, I’m really curious.”

“Actually, it was funny before, but we shouldn’t laugh in this serious situation. I did too. Hehehe.”

Cel and the twins said they were fine with it as Arthur looked to Isiel for help.

“Arthur, it is also the rule to leave the items acquired during the training to the supervisor.”

Unlike the disciplined students who had devoted themselves to training since they were children, Kleio had come into the parlor belatedly, as he was slow to wash and tidy up his clothing. He was quicker about it when he was in the military, but that was a long time ago.

“Of course, the rules don’t assume a mana stone of this size.”

“Are you here, Lei?”

The mana stone onyx left by the beast Pyton was almost the size of a child’s fist. It was an extremely rare mana stone, like the one in Pierce Klagen’s sword.

“Let’s see.”

“Here.”

Kleio looked carefully at the jewel in Arthur’s hand.

‘It looks quite valuable, but it wasn’t mentioned in the last manuscript. Hmm.’

Jungjin figured the manuscript was mainly described from Isiel and Arthur’s point of view, which was unfortunate as the two weren’t interested in wealth. Promise added a kind explanation without fail.

[Sleeping Onyx: Brings stability to the body and mind.]

‘Is it a coincidence that Pierce had an onyx like this, or was it that the king gave it to him to help him? Not that it seemed to have been that much of a help.’

Even looking at it like that, there wasn’t any use for it that came to mind immediately. As Kleio contemplated it, Arthur asked for his opinion.

“Then, what would you do?”

“What to do? Follow the rules. That choice is right.”

“Is it reliable because you say that?”

Arthur laughed brightly like he had seen something good. Kleio couldn’t understand the protagonist’s actions or even grasp the emotions of the adolescents around him.

“What do you say?”

Arthur was the first to suggest handing over the onyx. Even though it was a good resource, it would likely end up being sold to accrue funds.

“I agree. Let’s send it to that vice-captain.”

“Arthur, we’re not paying a bribe.”

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.

.

Rotan faced the mana stone onyx with a burning fire in his eyes. Arthur waited calmly for Rotan, who was rather timid and meticulous, to accept the situation. The confrontation between the two was ended by the lion-maned knight that followed Rotan.

“Get it quickly, vice-captain. Even if you say thank you right now, it’s not enough.”

“Lysa!”

“You can’t accept it but take it first. This kind of mana stone could be helpful for disease or the like. We couldn’t find another even if we searched for five years.”

The lion-maned knight that snatched the onyx was the same who ran with the apprentice wizard. Tall and with a magnificent physique, the wound that started on her chin seemed to have been ripped open by something. Aside from that, however, she was an attractive person. Cel noticed it faster than anyone else as she pushed Arthur aside with a gorgeous smile.

“Please use it wherever it is appropriate.”

“Thank you for capturing a big beast and for giving us such great loot. So, your name?”

“Please call me Cel.”

The two shook hands as the knight bared her teeth as she laughed. She gripped Cel’s hand tightly.

“As you may have heard, I am Lysa. I apologize for the late greeting; welcome to Tristein Castle.”

“I am Lippi. This is Leticia.”

“I am Arthur.”

“…Kleio.”

As their greetings came to a conclusion, three more stepped into the reception room a step later than Lysa. Each of them was injured, having a splint on their arms or using a cane to move about.

“Hey, the newcomers are looking good! I saw you fighting earlier. It was really amazing!”

“It was better than some trainees.”

The knights surrounding the children praised each of them with pure admiration. None of them seemed to be jealous of the students, but they were tremendously curious. Kleio grasped it in an instant.

‘It’s the vice-captain’s personal tendency to treat them coldly; it seems the rank knights aren’t like that. That’s a good sign.’

“For the first time in my life, I saw such strange magic in the world.”

“Trude keeps saying that.”

Since it had been in the early stages of the battle, Kleio unleashed his attack; it seemed that only a small knight called Trude had witnessed him. Kleio was relieved that he hadn’t needed to use more magic in the fight.

‘Admire the prince, Cel, and Isiel instead of me!’

Not aware that he was thinking like a passionate parent, Kleio mentally grunted.

“It was magic! An arrow appeared and hit that big beast. Ha, these people don’t believe me. Hey, which one of you is a wizard?”

“That’s me. I’m Kleio.”

As Kleio stepped forward, he saw the expectation in the eyes of the knights stain with doubt and disappointment. Except for Trude, they couldn’t hide their inner thoughts.

“This sickly kid used something like that?”

“Trude, aren’t your eyes bad?”

“I only saw the magic; I didn’t see who cast it…”

Lysa smacked each of the knights in the back of the head as she made eye contact with Kleio.

“I’m more curious that these kids’ wounds were healed cleanly over that arrow or whatever. Kleio, could you take a look at my broken leg after recovering your ether? I tired myself out earlier when I ran to you.”

“The apprentice wizard doesn’t seem to work well, right?”

“That apprentice is a demon. He likes living demon research, but his ether level isn’t great, so he has to use gems for treatment. Aside from him, there’s only one official wizard here, but he’s in the search team.”

“I understand your grievances. Please come tomorrow morning or evening when you feel comfortable.”

Kleio, his bowl of ether increased, had enough to heal one or two even now, but he didn’t want to overdo it. Of course, that was enough to draw admiration from Lysa.

“Hey, even if you use that enormous magic, you can recover it in a day? It’s good to be young. But why only in the morning and evening?”

“That’s…”

Kleio had to quickly refine his speech, so he didn’t speak his mind and say, ‘Because your vice-captain keeps us busy with useless chores,’ but Lysa was quick to notice the cause. With both hands on her waist, she turned to shout at Rotan, who was looking awkwardly at the onyx.

“They even dug the moat, vice-captain, so there’s nothing to shovel now, right? Stop being grumpy at them. They used ether skillfully like that, so it’s a waste to pass it through a shovel.”

Rotan, his eyes regaining some clarity, rebutted her.

“No, you…! It’s like you don’t know what’s inside…! Don’t you know how we are treated by the center?”

“No, I was worried they would be arrogant nobles, but they’re good at shoveling, and they even caught the demon.”

“Vice-captain, you don’t have the room to hold such complex thoughts.”

“It’s why the vice-captain has stomach troubles. You couldn’t sleep properly since the day they first arrived.”

“You’re all saying that…?!”

“I know, I know.”

“You can’t sleep because of all the counting.”

“You’ve been busy since taking on the ledger. I know it too.”

“Even when winter passes every year, you’re bitter. You know we’ve been talking about stuff like that…”

“Stop. It’s not a story to be told by others!”

Kleio struggled to manage his facial expressions as he glanced at the vice-captain.

‘I already heard it all.’

Rotan seemed to be taking care of the province’s finances. As his subordinates exposed and praised his work, Rotan’s face grew red, and soon, even his ears looked like they had been boiled. Each of the students looked away and pretended not to notice it.

“Look, vice-captain. It’s a good thing to be grateful that our friends in the Defense Force’s university came to help us deal with the beasts. It’s rather lucky compared to our usual worries.”

Kleio could guess what those worries might’ve been. The knights would’ve thought that Arthur and his friends were the children of some central noble who grew up without knowing hardship.

‘In the winter, even newspapers can’t be delivered here, so these people won’t even know about the political situation in the south.’

The ‘central nobility’ was a term referring to the royal nobles, including Duke Cruel and the old nobles of Duke Saville. In fact, Angellium and Viscount Kision were far from the central nobility that they criticized, both of which were new nobility. Angellium only went back six generations, and Kision only four. They were knights of commoner origin who had supported Absalom II’s return.

‘Rotan still calls Duke Tristein by name. He rejects the name after the return of the dynasty.’

Theo Tristein, the twenty-second duke and father of Tasserton, was the person who revived this barren estate. It was proof of the personal loyalty he had received.

‘Originally, the names of Albion’s families were different, but that all changed under Absalom II’s influence since he grew up in Brunnen.’

Marquis Sergey and Duke Tristein lost their influence in central politics after going against the will of Duke Seville. However, of all the dukes signing the oath to determine the king’s successor, only Duke Tristein was from the time of Leonid the First.

‘The other two were paid off to the side with the queen. Only Tristein is an aide to the crown prince, but he’s stuck up here.’

In fact, there had been a nice line in the last manuscript from Tasserton.

‘My ancestors had an affair, so now I must guard the north until this day.’