Chapter 133

Yoanna.

A Knight Squire being trained under Jereuth and Hagen’s ‘New Generation Knight Commander Project’.

Riding alone on her horse, she glanced at Leonardo, who was following her on foot from behind.

‘Your Highness…… it’s been a really long time since I’ve seen you in person.’

She had seen Leonardo from behind the knights at the coronation ceremony before, but at that time, she couldn't see him properly as he was blocked by the knights' backs. Leonardo was also wearing a mask.

‘……He’s so cool.’

It wasn't about his appearance. Leonardo's appearance was already beyond a level she could evaluate.

Besides his appearance, Leonardo had a ‘coolness’ in his very aura. He had been incredibly cool when he saved her from the thugs a long time ago, but now, he even exuded the dignity of a king.

And this was despite him wearing the same leather armor as any low-ranking soldier.

‘Vice Commander Hagen strictly told me not to acknowledge His Highness…… but I really want to talk to him separately.’

Leonardo was the savior of her life. It might be the same for many of the kingdom's people, but Yoanna thought she was more special.

Because she was saved ‘directly’ by Leonardo.

‘He was very thin when I first met him, but now he seems much healthier…….’

It was a young girl's heart. No matter how much knightly training Yoanna received, that heart was unlikely to be erased.

For her entire life.

Because of this, Yoanna also felt a little resentful towards Leonardo. He had never come to visit her after bringing her to the royal castle. Moreover, he was now acting as if he didn't know her at all.

‘He must have his reasons…… but still, I should be satisfied that he at least gave me a nod earlier.’

Leonardo's eyes, more beautiful than any star in the sky.

Because she had seen those eyes, Yoanna felt she wouldn't be able to sleep properly tonight. If the eyes of the demon from the stories called an ‘Incubus’, which seduces women to steal their youth, truly existed, they would surely be Leonardo's eyes.

‘But why did Vice Commander Hagen assign me to this mission?’

Generally, a squire lives with their assigned knight every moment before being officially appointed as a knight.

It was the same for Yoanna. When she first became a squire, she was assigned to a low-ranking knight, and around the time Leonardo went to the Wasteland of Ruin, she was suddenly assigned to Vice Commander Hagen.

Yoanna was truly surprised when she was suddenly assigned to a high-ranking knight—and the vice commander at that.

Since Jereuth and Hagen hadn't told her they were raising her as the ‘knight commander of the new generation’, Yoanna had no way of knowing why someone like her was assigned as the vice commander's squire.

Of course, Yoanna still didn't know about that project.

‘If I was assigned to this mission as His Highness's escort and for my own training…… other knights would have been more suitable.’

Yoanna was curious about Hagen's intentions.

But Hagen had his own thoughts for assigning her to Leonardo's mission.

He had arranged for Yoanna to spend some time with Leonardo, even if just a little, before she eventually became the knight commander. After all, the knight commander's position was responsible for the King's life.

‘Anyway, for this mission, for one week, I must absolutely not let His Highness get hurt or feel uncomfortable. The mission area is only up to the entrance of Ness Plains, so it's a relief that it's not very dangerous.’

Yoanna, who had been thinking while watching Leonardo out of the corner of her eye, turned her gaze forward again.

However, there was something she didn't know; her cheeks had turned red.

Yoanna was a girl so pure that she couldn't hide the color of her face in front of the person she loved.

***

After departing from the royal capital.

I walked while looking straight ahead, lost in thought.

‘It feels like we’re marching.’

It reminded me of the old days. When I was in the military in the Republic of Korea, before I came to this world.

‘Even the way we're watching our surroundings while marching is similar.’

It might have seemed like we were just walking while staring blankly at Yoanna's horse's behind, but surprisingly, we were scanning our surroundings in a rather systematic way.

Anyway.

‘So…… am I really going to meet the Anakros? The Anakros is my ally anyway, so there shouldn't be a problem. Still, it would have been nice if I could have known through the Future Diary if the Anakros really appears, and what kind of conversation we'd have if we meet.’

Right now, the Future Diary was left in my room at the royal palace, so I couldn't check it.

I felt a bit stifled. Was I anxious?

‘To feel this uncomfortable about not having the Future Diary for even such trivial things…… I really was relying on the diary a lot.’

But what could I do?

For me, who lacked ability, the diary was essential to survive as a King.

While I was thinking about various things.

Neigh—!

Yoanna reined in her horse. She pulled the reins to turn it around and spoke to us while still on horseback.

“We will make camp here for today. We've come about a third of the way, so let's plan to arrive at the mission area by tomorrow evening.”

—Yes!

I really couldn't get used to Yoanna with her youthful voice speaking so sternly. It was also hard to get used to the drill assistants, who were well over twenty, answering with such tension.

‘Well…… if you think about it, Jereuth saluting me, a thirteen-year-old, is also strange.’

As I thought, I was about to prepare for camping with the other soldiers. I had practiced setting up a tent during recruit training, and I had set up tents many times before when going to Misty Port or the Wasteland of Ruin, so it wasn't difficult.

Just then, Yoanna called me.

“You there, recruit. You…… ahem, I have something to discuss with you separately, so follow me.”

“Ah. Yes, I understand!”

Why was she calling me?

Yoanna tied her horse to a tree and then led me quite far away from the drill assistants and Remond.

From a distance, I could hear the sound of Remond being scolded by the drill assistants.

—……Remond, hey! How can you tie it like that?!

—I-I'm sorry!

—You're sleeping outside today, you bastard!! This Remond guy, I gave him a good score because he was training his ass off following Nar, but now I see he's a total fuck-up?!

—I-I will correct my ways!

—Correct my ass, go dig a latrine!

—Yes, I understand!

—With your bare hands, you bastard!!

It seemed the drill assistants regained their power once Yoanna was gone.

Poor Remond. I had a bad feeling when he got on their bad side this afternoon.

As I was mourning for Remond, Yoanna checked the distance between us and the drill assistants and soldiers and spoke to me.

“Y-Your Highness…… uhm…….”

Her face was beet red.

More importantly, she shouldn't be calling me ‘Your Highness’.

“Knight Squire Yoanna. I am the recruit ‘Nar’. Please call me that.”

“Ah…… yes.”

“Please don't use honorifics either.”

“B-but…… the King is using honorifics with me.”

Honorifics.

‘Come to think of it, I've been speaking informally to Yoanna from the beginning. I used honorifics with Elly from the start…… maybe it's time to change my way of speaking.’

The reason I used honorifics with Elly was actually nothing special.

It was because she was the first person I met after coming to this world.

I couldn't just speak informally to someone I had just met, so I unknowingly used honorifics, and it just stuck with me until now.

But now that I was a ‘King’, I might need to change my way of speaking a bit. The same goes for Olivia.

‘Still, it would be better to use honorifics with people much older than me, like Jereuth or Heinshtangl. It's more comfortable for me that way too.’

Let's think about my speech patterns later.

“I am currently ‘Recruit Nar’. Remond and the other drill assistants might not be able to hear, but I would still appreciate it if you could adhere to that.”

“I underst…… understood.”

“Thank you. May I ask why you called me?”

Throughout our conversation, Yoanna couldn't meet my eyes. Her face and neck were red as if she had a cold.

After a moment's hesitation, Yoanna managed to speak.

“Uhm…… I called you because I thought you might be tired from walking for so long…… called you. I thought it would be hard to prepare for camping.”

“Are you saying you intended to give me special treatment?”

“W-well, yes.”

At Yoanna's words, I answered immediately.

“In that case, I will return.”

***

Yoanna was momentarily flustered by Leonardo's words, ‘I will return.’

She had called him separately so he could rest a bit more comfortably after the long march, but he had spoken as if he was displeased by it.

“Wh-why are you going back?”

“I told you, didn't I? I am currently ‘Recruit Nar’.”

“……”

“I cannot rest while the drill assistants, who are my seniors, are working hard. Would Knight Squire Yoanna do that?”

“Th-that's…… that's not what I meant…….”

“But this isn't just because I'm a recruit. When we went to Misty Port before, I prepared for camping together with the knights and soldiers. You must have seen it then.”

“……”

“It's not my place to teach you, Knight Squire, but I think it would be good for you to think a little differently.”

Yoanna felt as if she had been hit hard on the back of her head.

Although Leonardo was calling himself a ‘recruit’ now, he was speaking with the demeanor of a king.

More than any time she had been scolded by the knights, Yoanna couldn't get her thoughts straight. Her heart felt like it was shrinking. For some reason, her stomach also ached.

The reason she felt that way was because she had offered kindness to the person she admired, only for that person to reject it—

But Yoanna was not yet mature enough to understand such emotions.

“Then I will return.”

“Wai—!”

Yoanna tried to stop Leonardo, who turned his back after bidding farewell, but she couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence.

It was partly because she was embarrassed about being scolded by Leonardo, but more so because Leonardo was so remarkable.

‘He's like…… the high-ranking knights.’

The high-ranking knights who always set an example for others in training.

They swung their swords more than any other knight and sparred fiercely. Even though their palms were calloused and harder than stone, they swung their swords so much that their palms would sometimes tear and bleed.

The high-ranking knights who trained harder than the mid and low-ranking knights.

Yoanna had never quite understood why they trained so hard. She had simply thought, 「“So that's how you become a high-ranking knight. Amazing……”」

‘But…… now I understand. The high-ranking knights knew. Who it was they were serving.’

Also, among the soldiers, the veteran soldiers trained really hard.

Come to think of it, those particularly hard-training high-ranking knights and veteran soldiers were all ones who had been to Misty Port with Leonardo.

‘Everyone realized it back then. Why couldn't I realize it then?’

Yoanna felt pathetic.

Even though she had thought she was special to Leonardo compared to others—in a way, she had been conceited—she didn't know Leonardo at all.

But this wasn't because Yoanna was lacking.

No matter how much of a ‘squire’ Yoanna was, she was still a newcomer who had enlisted not long ago, so such subtle details were not visible to her.

‘I should go prepare for camping too. If His Highness is doing it, I can't just stand here.’

Taking the lead in even the most trivial matters.

That was the example set by respected knights like Jereuth and Hagen, and by Leonardo.

Yoanna realized that too and was about to follow suit.

Just as Hagen had intended, Yoanna had begun to grow.

“I'll help t—!”

Just as Yoanna steeled her resolve and spoke to Leonardo's back.

Rumble…….

The ground beneath them felt like it was shaking.

BOOM!!!

The ground shot up as if it were exploding.

The explosion was as brief as a flash, but Yoanna saw it clearly. What was coming out of the ground.

Yoanna was able to see it because her kinetic vision was that naturally gifted.

However, no matter how amazing her kinetic vision was.

Yoanna couldn't move a single step in front of the massive monster that appeared before her, before Leonardo.

‘……A snake?’

That thing.

‘Is that the snake monster? The one whose tracks Commander Jereuth found…… that snake monster?’

Yoanna had been through many spars until now.

Recently, she even sparred with Vice Commander Hagen every day. And in her spars with Hagen, Yoanna had to endure until the very point of collapse every time.

Through such spars that pushed her to her limits, Yoanna had gained skill and courage.

No, that's what she thought of herself.

That I have courage, and my skills have improved a lot.

But.

Tremble, tremble, tremble, tremble—.

In front of that overwhelming monster.

She couldn't dare to muster any courage.

Yoanna's legs trembled so visibly that it was obvious from the outside.

‘H-His Highness is in danger…….’

I have to go and protect him.

‘But my legs won't move……. N-no.’

It wasn't her first time seeing a monster.

When she lived in the slums, Yoanna had often gone into the mountains to dig for roots, and at those times, she had occasionally encountered Goblins. She had even seen an Orc once.

But that thing—

‘What…… is that.’

It was a truly overwhelming monster.

It wasn't just a matter of being large.

It was a colossal snake that made it impossible to even think about resisting.

‘I-I have to protect His Highness.’

That thought kept circling in her head.

‘I trained so hard to protect His Highness…… because I wanted to protect him.’

That thought also kept circling in her head.

But her body wouldn't move.

She couldn't even think of drawing her sword.

—U-uaaaaaaah!!

—W-what is that!!

The drill assistants and Remond, who had spotted the snake, screamed. They all fell on their behinds as if on cue. Had the strength left their legs?

Regardless, Yoanna had only one thought.

‘I have to protect His Highness…… move, what are you doing?’

But no matter what, she couldn't move.

Her trembling legs seemed to have difficulty just standing.

It was then.

Step—.

Leonardo, who was closest to the snake, moved.

He slowly approached the snake, and the snake also brought its face close to Leonardo's.

Yoanna couldn't understand the situation at all.

At a glance, no, contextually, it was clear that…… Leonardo and the giant snake were glaring at each other.

The snake seemed to be telling Leonardo to move aside so it could eat Yoanna—her.

And Leonardo seemed to be refusing to move in order to protect her.

That's truly how it looked in Yoanna's eyes.

—…….

—Sssssssss.

—…….

—Sssssssss.

Just as the snake's hissing and Leonardo's silence had been surrounding them for a while.

Sssssssss—.

The giant snake slowly began to coil around Leonardo.

As if to guard against outside entities, and to protect the being within.

The sight looked as if…… Leonardo was controlling the snake. Though that couldn't possibly be true.

It was then.

Whoosh—!!

The giant snake, which had been wrapped around Leonardo for a moment, quickly re-entered the ground from which it had emerged. Its massive body disappeared into the ground in an instant.

—…….

—…….

—…….

—…….

—…….

A long silence followed after the snake disappeared.

The first to move, and the first to speak, was Yoanna.

Step—.

With legs that had almost lost all their strength, having even wet herself from the overwhelming fear, she approached Leonardo.

In front of Leonardo, her legs finally gave out completely, and she collapsed, looking up at him.

“Again…… Your Highness saved me…….”

Yoanna's gaze and voice were like that of someone seeing a god.

The scene of a young girl knight worshipping the young king was surprisingly sacred—

But the other soldiers, especially Remond, took it differently.

“Nar is ‘Your Highness’? Uh…… come to think of it…… blonde hair…… uh, huh? Eh? Ah? Hmm?”

Remond, perhaps even more shocked than when he had faced the giant snake.

He muttered blankly to himself.

“The person I was slapping on the back of the head every day was…… His Highness Leonardo?”

When he had slapped ‘Nar’ on the back of the head before.

‘Nar’ had mentioned something in passing.

「“You’ll regret that later.”」 —he had said.

Remond finally realized the meaning of those words.