CH 149

The girl who called out is short. She’s probably on par with Kuruni. Her bluish-black hair is moderately long, and her confident golden and slanted eyes remind me of Miu, their intensity make up for her short stature.

In fact, she’s more of a strong-willed type than a rough-tempered one, and she has a good demeanor when practicing, and you could say she’s a serious and diligent student, with a stubborn determination that will never bend once she puts her mind to something.

However, if you ask if everyone hates her for that, it’s not the case. You could say that it is a personality suitable for a swordsman.

“Adel! Don’t be rude!” Landrid yelled.

“What?!” Adel snapped. “I didn’t say anything wrong!”

Even with Landrid chastising her for her yelling, her attitude did not change.

After all, once she starts talking about it, she won’t be able to stop. It’s been like this since I started teaching swordsmanship until now. It seems that Landrid is also struggling to grab her reins. Honestly, I had a hard time too.

Or rather, right now, the atmosphere in the dojo is in serious trouble. Somehow, the air of harmonious practice has disappeared.

“… As one of the knights, I’m curious as to why she thinks that,” Henblitz said, calm even after the sudden verbal attack.

As expected, he is the Vice-Captain of the kingdom’s #1 knight order. It’s almost unthinkable to imagine him, a knight, losing his temper after one country girl provokes him.

Kuruni, on the other hand, has been fussing the entire time. You should be a little more knightly.

“Adel. I won’t deny your way of thinking or feeling, but shouldn’t you at least introduce yourself?” I asked.

Putting Henblitz aside for the time being, I have to get Adel to calm down.

She has a lot of emotional ups and downs, or rather, she has a personality that makes it easy for her emotions to come to the fore, but that doesn’t mean she can’t be reasoned with. On the contrary, you can say that she is rather smart.

In fact, when I pointed it out, she kept silent. If what was said was valid, she was a child who had the ability to take it into consideration immediately. So once I calm her down, I think I will be able to talk to her properly.

“… Adel. Adel Klein,” she said with a stony expression and tone of voice. “I’m a disciple of Master Beryl and Master Landrid. Someday I’ll become a splendid adventurer like Master Landrid.”

“I think that’s an admirable goal,” Henblitz said. “As I said earlier, I am Henblitz Drought.”

The color of Adel’s eyes was as aggressive as ever.

Adel Klein. One of my disciples.

She must have been 15, or about that age. Although she is now a disciple of Landrid.

She wasn’t raised in Bidden Village, but in the neighboring Ard Village. If their home was in the area, and since I was the only one who runs a swordsmanship dojo in the region, outsiders like Adel often travel to study here.

As for swordsmanship, she is excellent, and if I remember correctly, she should be in her 3rd year.

Although she remembers things well from the beginning, she has a strong personality and a different swordsmanship style than Alexia or Thyssel. If I had to choose someone close to her, it would be Selene. Well, Selena wasn’t exactly my disciple.

Adel also came from an unusual background.

“Big-Big Sis, calm down… everyone here was so shocked…” a timid-looking boy said.

“Edel! You think that too, don’t you?!” Adel yelled.

Edel Klein. Adel’s twin brother. They’re fraternal twins with an older sister and a younger brother. Twins are seen every once in a while, but it is rare to see twins of different genders.

Compared to Adel, he is slightly taller, his similarly-toned bluish-black hair is short, and his eyes are a lightly reddish-golden color. In a way, I think this is the best representation of his temperament.

Adel and Edel have similar faces and are of course the same age, but you could say that their personalities are polar opposites. The older sister is strong and fearless, while the younger brother is quiet and withdrawn.

Moreover, it is also interesting that Edel is actually a little stronger than her. Apart from that, this is not so much that there is a clear difference in the strength of the two, it is simply a difference in the way they fight. True to his personality, Edel specializes in careful and elegant swordsmanship.

Adel is a tough opponent to beat, but the deciding factor is compatibility. On the opposite end, there are opponents that Adel can’t beat, but Edel can beat. That is what I meant.

“Does Mr. Edel think so too?” Henblitz asked.

“Ah, umm… that’s, uhh…” Edel stammers.

Henblitz’s tone is kind but he doesn’t immediately deny that Edel thinks the same, albeit to a different degree.

However, it was a little surprising that the two of them had these feelings. That’s because while I was teaching them…in other words, until I left for Baltrain as a special instructor, there wasn’t even a hint of such a topic.

In the general public’s perception, the Rebelio Knights rank among the highest-honored professions and are also highly regarded. In fact, there are many people like Kuruni who are learning the sword with the goal of becoming a Rebelio Knight.

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Of course, being an adventurer is one of the most popular occupations, but if you rank them, the knights are the winners. On the other side, the odds of becoming an adventurer are higher, as it’s not easy to become a knight of Rebelio.

But even so, it may be the first time I’ve heard a statement that looks down on the knights themselves. That’s because the Rebelio knights are so famous and their members’ strength is well-known.

“This guy is a messing around a bit, but he has almost the same opinion as me,” Adel said.

“… I’m even more curious as to why you think that. Can I ask you something?” Henblitz said.

Edel stammers, unable to decide what to do.

As Sir Henblitz said, I’m certainly curious as to why they believe that. The Rebelio Knights rarely travel to the countryside like this, but conversely, it’s rare to have such a negative impression without meeting them even once.

“I have never met a Knight of Rebelio. Today is the first time,” Adel said, puffing up her chest.

She speaks as if there isn’t even a single gap in the solidity of her opinion.

“When my village was about to be attacked by monsters, when were suffering from a bad harvest, when Master Beryl went to defeat the saber boas, not a single knight came to help us,” Adel said.

“…”

“The ones who always helped me were adventurers, hunters, and both my masters,” Adel said. “You guys are always holed up in the capital, anyway. That’s why you all must be nothing.”

“… Quite the incisive accusation to make,” Henblitz said, lowering his eyebrows a little.

It’s not like I don’t understand what she means. It’s a little rude to admit it, but the knights don’t set off to work because of a trifle in the countryside. Knights have priorities as knights, and they have limits.

Originally, the Kingdom Garrison should have been organized to cover that part, but they weren’t spread all over the kingdom. There is no Garrison presence in Bidden Village either.

So, people living in such rural villages rely on adventurers or hunters based in those villages.

Mercenaries are also an option, but they rarely travel to rural areas where they can’t expect a good income. Although the reason is different from that of the knights, it’s a job that doesn’t have much to do with the countryside.

On the other hand, I also understand why the knights are unable to protect the whole kingdom.

Well, in short, their numbers are absolutely insufficient.

The Rebelis Kingdom is vast. Even if you mobilize all the knights, you can only protect a very narrow stretch of land.

Then you might say that we should increase the number of knights, but that would be tough. Increasing recruitment means lowering the difficulty of the entrance exam.

Of course, even if the quantity increases, the quality will decrease. Not only in terms of military power, but also in their reputations as knights.

In addition, if the quality of the knights declines, their reputation will go down both at home and abroad. If that happens, the country will not be able to argue for the appropriate budget for them, and it will be a hindrance to their operations. If that’s the extent of their problem, it’s already the worst-case scenario as the organization will start rotting from within. I can’t even imagine it.

As with any organization, a certain degree of selection is necessary to ensure a certain level of quality. If it’s okay for the knights to become a rogue organization with military might, they can increase the number of recruits, but no one wants that future.

At first glance, Adel’s argument makes sense.

Or rather, it wouldn’t be strange if she only based her judgment on things she experienced with her eyes. My wish is for her to have a little broader insight, but in a remote countryside like this there will be limits.

And from the adventurers who were somewhat involved from the beginning, the recognition was spurred by the fact that Landrid was born and raised in this region and became the assistant instructor.

“As a member of a knight order, it is a pitiful problem that we have not been able to ensure the safety of all the people,” Henblitz said. “I have nothing to say in that regard.”

You could have taken Adel’s words as a tantrum, yet Henblitz still responds sincerely. That’s enough to be grateful for, but it’s a little difficult for Adel and the others to be convinced that’s just how the knights should be.

“However, the knights have not given up on that,” Henblitz said. “It’s a bit of an excuse, but that’s why I continue to train every day. I’ll have to work hard so that you can understand my truth even a little. I can’t just convince you now through words. I’m not afraid to show my determination if necessary.”

The Knights of Rebelio cannot protect all the people of the Kingdom. Whether it is feasible or not, it is a compelling question for those who are actually threatened by danger and peril.

However, the Knights also have pride. They are proud that they are the strongest group in the kingdom and the ones who protect the country. It seemed that those feelings were expressed in Sir Henblitz’s words.

“… Fuhn. Are you saying you’re strong, yourself?” Adel said.

“I’m not as good as Sir Beryl, but I’m certain I am still,” Henblitz said.

“No, let’s say you’re strong,” I said, stumbling in without thinking.

Don’t use me as a comparison against Adel’s question. Say that you are confident and strong. Sir Henblitz is strong enough.

“Master Beryl,” Adel said. “Is this guy strong?”

“I don’t think you should be asking me, and Henblitz instead,,” I said. Well, it’s weird for me to evaluate him, but he’s stronger. At least he’s stronger than you are now, Adel.”

“Fuhn… then that’s not first-class,” Adel said.

Oh no. I didn’t mean to provoke her, but I think it turned out that way.

But as I said, Henblitz is strong. It’s true that Adel is also excellent and has excellent qualities as a swordsman, but if asked if she could win against the Vice-Captain of the Rebelio Knights, it would be impossible. In terms of current strength alone, Kuruni is still stronger.

In short, she doesn’t know how vast the world is yet. Her perspective of strength is within the extremely narrow range of a swordsmanship dojo in Bidden Village. I want her to know that the world is much wider and that there are various types of strength.

Landrid seems to be of the same opinion. In particular, he didn’t stop their conversation and was watching the progress with a half-resigned expression. Well, if you can stop it by speaking, you should have spoken up and stopped it.

“Sir Henblitz. If you’re going to claim that much, you’re going to have to fight me to prove them,” Adel said.

And most of the people here could predict what Adel was going to hear next.

“I don’t mind. If you want, Mr. Edel can also help you with your challenge.”

“You…! You’re mocking us!” Adel yelled.

However, it was completely unexpected that Sir Henblitz would throw tinder on those fiery words.