Chapter 70 – The Levi Earldom (2)

Mutai, the captain of the guard of the Levi Earldom.

Having a bushy beard and a rugged physique, he tilted his head at the sudden command order.

“You are telling me to hand over the command?”

“What you saw is correct.”

“Who is the opponent?”

“A knight……”

“Oh, finally! Is it support from the royal family? Or from the count next door……”

“……A trainee.”

“Pardon?”

Mutai narrowed his brow tightly. The butler who delivered the order just shrugged as if there was nothing that could be done.

But in Mutai’s thoughts, the situation was not that bad.

Because although a trainee, it was true that they were much stronger than ordinary territorial soldiers.

“How many people?”

“One person.”

“Oh, dammit. Why on earth did such a situation happen to me?”

“It is because the Lord commanded so. Is there any other reason?”

“Surely the Lord would not have welcomed a situation where such a brat acts big either.”

“That is true. Honestly, he probably did not expect only one person to come. Wouldn’t it be the same for you?”

“What kind of fellow is he?”

“He was overflowing with confidence.”

“The situation has gotten slightly worse, then.”

“But he has manners. Not only to the Lord, but he was also like that to me.”

“Would he do the same to us?”

“Well……”

The butler shrugged.

Mutai let out a deep sigh.

“When is he coming?”

“He will be here in a little bit. Talk to the other fellows in advance. Make sure no unnecessary trouble occurs.”

“Of course.”

“I feel sorry.”

“No need for that. Who knows? Maybe he will resolve those headaches for us.”

Naturally.

Neither Mutai nor the butler had such expectations.

“I will tell the other guys in advance. Have a good day.”

***

The Levi House, Guard Headquarters.

Captain of the Guard Mutai gathered the soldiers in front of the headquarters.

Their number was no less than three hundred.

Excluding those standing guard on the outskirts right now, they gathered without a single person missing.

In fact, it was impossible for the entire number of personnel to enter the building, so Mutai had currently left the soldiers standing outside and entered with only a few officer-level men.

“Captain, what is with the sudden emergency mobilization?”

“An emergency mobilization because it’s an emergency, you punk.”

“Seeing the way you speak, it seems so. Did something happen? Don’t tell me we are properly clashing with those bandits……”

“It’s not that.”

Mutai shook his head.

Vice-captain Rayleigh tilted his head in wonder.

“Some brat is coming to command us.”

“……A brat? What does that mean? Then what will you do, Captain?”

“I am also told to follow commands. I will hand over the command entirely. I do not know how long it will last, though……”

Mutai roughly explained the situation.

The content was that a trainee from the academy had arrived, the request sent by the Lord was the cause, and all soldiers, including himself, had to follow the trainee’s instructions.

Vice-captain Rayleigh opened his mouth wide.

“Did you accept that?”

“Should I refuse then?”

“Well, at least express strong dissatisfaction…… honestly, if they tell us to do it, we have to. Understood. Should I deliver it to the other guys too?”

“Wait for now. Since there is no need to unnecessarily agitate them. I was told not to create any unpleasant incidents.”

“Are they worried they might attack him?”

“He is a noble.”

“Oh, my god.”

Despair fell upon Rayleigh’s face.

It was because he felt as though he could already see a terrible future.

Since he produced results at the academy, he would have received treatment accordingly, and moreover, nobles were extremely picky humans.

In fact, even Count Levi whom they served was a person who could not perfectly understand the grievances of his subordinates.

Despite belonging to the relatively ‘wise’ lords.

Looking back at the faces of Rayleigh and the officers, Mutai let out a deep sigh, not knowing how many times it had been.

“Let’s meet him ourselves first and decide. So that we at least have something to say to the other guys.”

“When is he coming?”

“He said he is coming soon……”

Knock, knock.

“He has arrived now.”

Mutai made a grim face.

Just what kind of human would be beyond this door?

Thinking so, he managed his expression. Since there was no need to plant an unpleasant impression from the very start.

The door opened.

The opponent revealed was exactly the image expected.

He was young, almost child-like, a decent scabbard was hung at his waist, and his facial expression was full of confidence.

“Nice to meet you. I am Mutai, Captain of the Guard of the Levi Earldom.”

“I am Henry Camilton, a knight trainee of the Royal Academy. Nice to meet you.”

“……Come inside for now.”

As long as he was still in the status of a ‘trainee’, Mutai had no reason to use honorifics to Henry.

But the same went for Henry, who had no reason to do so either.

However, a moment ago.

Henry, receiving Mutai’s greeting, was extremely polite.

‘It is different from my expectation.’

Thinking so, Mutai glanced back at the officers, including Rayleigh.

It was clear that everyone had a similar thought.

Since hope was revealed in their eyes.

‘No, maybe.’

But Mutai did not lower his guard.

Although it might seem fortunate at a glance, it could mean the situation had worsened instead.

‘A fellow drunk on his status as a knight would be like that.’

Knight!

The image contained in those two letters was substantial.

Righteous, brave, and firm.

Even someone completely unrelated to knights would naturally recall a ‘knight-like’ image, so if one was a knight himself?

‘Naturally, he would strive to show a knight-like appearance.’

The knight himself might think so.

That he is righteous and brave.

However, subordinates usually accepted such thoughts a bit differently.

Inflexible and simple.

There was no situation as troublesome as receiving such a person as a commander to serve.

While Mutai was testing the waters with Henry, Henry was also grasping the people here.

The earldom on the outskirts of the kingdom.

It was not a very bustling territory, and the residents were simple.

The territorial soldiers were not much different either.

Those who were clumsy at hiding themselves.

Just by looking at the expressions revealed on their faces, Henry felt he could tell roughly how the situation was going.

“They seem very anxious. Worried that I might be stuck-up…… in fact, it is natural. The fact that the lord of this place handed over the command of these men was also for the purpose of sending me back moderately. Actually, it is no different from dumping the burden of me onto them.”

In the end, it was an obvious thing.

They did not know what kind of human Henry was, and were feeling anxiety because of it.

The solution was simple.

“I only need to show them what kind of person I am. What is important is the method. First, I should try doing something.”

A picture was roughly drawn in his head.

Henry spoke first to Mutai, who had an awkward air.

“You do not have to worry so much.”

“……Pardon?”

“Is it not unnecessary to go through the process of sizing each other up? While it is true that Count Levi delegated the command of the guard to me, I have no intention of running wild as I please.”

“…….”

“May I sit?”

“Ah, of course.”

Mutai looked visibly flustered.

The other officers were not much different either.

Henry took a seat at a suitable spot on the meeting table.

It was neither the seat of honor nor the end, but an ambiguous position.

“May I speak of my thoughts first?”

“I do not know what kind of thoughts you are speaking of.”

“Do you really not know?”

“No, well…… I can guess. Would it not be related to those bandits?”

“Accurate. In the request I received, it was written so. That the scale is about a hundred people, and because they move extremely swiftly, suppression is difficult.”

“It is true.”

“I felt a question there. Also, I saw on the way to meet the Lord. The territory residents here were leading a relatively comfortable life.”

“It is not that comfortable.”

“Before the bandits appeared, that is. Right now, even in the midst of having the grain storehouse looted, their meals were plentiful. Also, the clothes they wore were neat. Is it not easy to raise the standard of living, but difficult to lower it?”

Even if a painful situation strikes right away, unless the content is extreme, a human cannot easily give up what they have enjoyed so far.

Typical examples of that were food and clothing.

The issue of housing was actually a part where rapid changes were difficult to occur, but the first two were not.

“They must have always maintained such a level until the bandits appeared. The fact that the territory residents are peaceful would mean that the lord is wise and the guard is brave.”

“……I understand.”

“Also, the guard led by Master Mutai must have been not only brave but also competent. Although you are clashing with external enemies now, previously you probably mainly oversaw the public security inside the territory, correct?”

Mutai nodded to agree for now.

Since that fact was a part where he himself felt pride.

“However…… ah, from now on I wish to have a conversation with just the two of us. Would the others please leave the room?”

Reflexively, the officers’ eyes turned to Mutai. Mutai nodded slightly, and soon only the two of us remained in the room.

“Is it done now?”

“Let’s continue. In any case, from there……”

“I apologize for interrupting, but by any chance, may I ask just one question?”

“Go ahead.”

“To us, the bandits are a very big problem, but I get the feeling that to you, it is not a problem that needs to be processed this urgently.”

“Do you think it is too urgent?”

“Honestly, yes.”

It was a natural doubt and a reasonable question.

While the fact that he did not stand on authority was not bad, pushing like this as soon as he arrived felt strange in its own way.

“There is a reason why it must be so.”

Henry spoke calmly.

A moment ago.

When he turned back after finishing the conversation with the count.

It was because of Mute, who appeared at the perfect timing.

Immediately after hearing the manager’s explanation of the situation.

Mute pushed Henry into a typhoon without fail.

A whopping one million won!

It was not even about suppressing the bandits, but just getting the guard under control earned him one million won.

Naturally, Henry had no choice but to be in a hurry.

‘I cannot confess honestly, though.’

He needed a suitable excuse, and Henry happened to have a plausible story.

“I am a trainee of the academy. For now, at least.”

“I heard so.”

“I cannot remain in this state forever. I have always dreamed of the moment I become a complete knight and perform the assigned missions.”

“Well……”

“To speak honestly.”

Henry lowered his eyes slightly as if embarrassed.

“To me, this place was merely an unrelated land. If it were not for the mission, I might have never come here in my life. That is why.”

“…….”

“It was like that before I saw this situation directly. I could not realize it even when facing the request. Because I lacked experience. Only after seeing it directly did I realize what kind of situation the Levi Earldom is in, and also came to vaguely know what I must do as a knight.”

“I understand roughly, but……”

“I looked back on what I wanted to become a knight for, and thought about what I must do now. It felt complicated at first glance, but in fact, it was not that difficult of a problem.”

Mutai was still showing no particular reaction.

He only had a expression asking what kind of confession this was all of a sudden.

“A mission was given, and I only perform it. Because if we clean out the bandits, the people suffering because of them will regain peace of mind. Would it not be so?”

“……It is not that simple of a matter.”

In the end, Mutai let out a sigh.

It was because at the end of a long, long confession, a story as obvious as obvious could be flowed out.

But thanks to that.

The reason why Henry acted this ‘urgently’ took root in Mutai’s head.

“I understand what you are saying, but……”

“Give me just five days.”

Toward Mutai, who was looking at him wondering what on earth this meant again, Henry spoke in a voice full of conviction.

“If I cannot clear out the headache of the Levi Earldom in exactly five days, I will quietly return.”

BJ Swordmaster