Chapter 13
Ian smiled kindly. Contrary to his slightly sharp impression, he was approachable and had a sociable personality. Eki could see why he was the representative. She sighed faintly.
"Then, can you tell me why the, uh, recruitment competition will be so fierce?"
"Well."
Ian cleared his throat. The cadets around them were subtly focusing on them. It was because the unusual freshman and the cadet representative were sitting side by side in the bustling cafeteria, making them stand out.
Under those gazes, he scrutinized Eki once more, then dropped a bombshell.
"Freshman Ekinesia Roaz, Squire designation."
In an instant, the noise in the cafeteria vanished. After a chilling silence, voices erupted from all directions.
"Squire? A freshman is a Squire?"
"...What is that supposed to mean?"
"Ian! Hey! Are you kidding me?"
"Senior, what's going on?"
Some of them even approached Ian and began to question him. Ian smiled awkwardly, as if he had expected it.
"There will be an announcement on the main building's bulletin board soon."
"An announcement? Crazy, is it really a Squire designation?"
"Come on, it must be a temporary designation. No way."
"Is it true, Senior? Isn't it the first new Squire in two years?"
Gazes, twice as fierce as before, were now focused on Eki. Eki was dumbfounded and gaped in disbelief.
It was not uncommon for not a single Squire to emerge from the 50 Military Cadets who entered each year.
A knight having a Squire was only a recommendation, not an obligation, and the cadets took turns handling errands and assistance anyway. In this situation, designating a Squire was essentially taking on a personal disciple.
Therefore, Eki had no intention of becoming a Squire from the start. Becoming a Squire, which meant forming a deep relationship with a formal knight, was something she wanted to avoid as much as possible. Her goal was to make a name for herself in the Azure Knights as a Military Cadet, achieve some merit, and then become a Master and immediately become a formal knight.
But a Squire on her first day of admission? She ground her teeth without realizing it and asked.
"Who is it?"
Which crazy bastard suddenly designated me as a Squire? I haven't even exchanged names with a single knight from the entrance exam until today! Could it be that someone among the Giosa Owners recognized me? No, if that were the case, they would have tried to kill me or arrest me. Then who the hell is it?
All sorts of thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant. At her question, the cadets' gazes turned to Ian. Ian accepted the attention without a care. He calmly replied.
"It is Lord Yurien de Harden Kirie."
A silence, incomparably heavier than before, settled.
It was a name no one had expected to hear. A Giosa Owner, the owner of the Holy Sword Rangiosa, the captain of the Azure Knights. At twenty-three, he became a Master, and at twenty-four, he defeated the former captain with his skill and became the captain. For the four years since then, he had never designated even a temporary Squire.
A cadet broke the long silence with a trembling voice.
"Ian, is this a joke?"
"Go check the announcement."
Ian shrugged and turned to look at Eki. Eki was frozen as if time had stopped. He took out a parchment scroll and placed it in front of her, speaking calmly.
"It's an appointment letter. The probationary period is one month, and the formal assignment is after that. During the probationary period, I will conduct Squire preliminary training for you. Come to the fourth training ground east of the main building by 9 a.m. tomorrow, that's all. Any questions?"
"......"
She stared down at the scroll in front of her. The Azure Crest was clearly stamped on the red wax sealing the rolled-up, high-quality parchment. Her mind felt blank.
"I guess not, then."
When she didn't answer, Ian stood up. As he was about to leave, he added as if he had forgotten something.
"Ah, I heard you have a duel scheduled for sunset today? Behind the women's dormitory, the seventh training ground? I heard it from Cadet Alice. I accepted the role of witness, so I'll see you then. Enjoy your meal."
Only then did she come to her senses. Eki reflexively grabbed the scroll and jumped up.
As soon as she disappeared out of the cafeteria, the cafeteria became as noisy as if an explosion had occurred. Words like Owner, Squire, freshman, captain of the Azure Knights, and duel filled the space in a chaotic manner. In the narrow academy, rumors spread like wildfire.
Eki returned to her room at almost flying speed. Fortunately, Alice was not in the room. She closed and locked the door behind her, then collapsed on the spot. With trembling hands, she tore off the wax seal of the parchment scroll.
An appointment letter written in neat handwriting with deep blue ink came into view.
-Appointment Letter-
Ekinesia Roaz, Military Cadet, 1st year.
The above cadet is hereby appointed as the Squire of Knight Yurien de Harden Kirie.
April 18, 1629, Divine Era.
No matter how many times she read it, the content did not change. The red seal clearly stamped was also definitely the Azure Crest. Eki threw the appointment letter away carelessly.
[Yurien, the owner of Rangiosa, right? Does he have his memories? Does he seem to recognize you? But if he knows, shouldn't he be trying to kill you? A Squire, Master, what do you think?]
'Yurien? Did you say Yurien?'
The Demon Sword's babbling didn't register in her mind. She stared into space. The images of Yurien that she knew occupied her mind.
The man who pointed a white sword at her. The face that was surprised to see her tears. The voice that said he would give her a chance. The blue eyes that watched her through the gap in the iron door. The eyes that looked at her amidst the stench of corpses covering Ajenka.
The emotions she had for him were difficult to express simply. Those emotions might have even developed into love. When she gathered the words she wanted to say to him when she woke up, she was even excited. Clearly, her heart was beginning to blush.
But before her heart could ripen, the things she had done were too terrible. She couldn't bring herself to love him.
The memory of meeting his eyes, which seemed to have cracked in the massacred Ajenka, the moment he breathed his last, became a sharp sense of guilt and throbbing sorrow, overwhelming her other feelings for Yurien. Her emotions were shattered before they could even bloom.
The number of people she had killed, tainted by the Demon Sword, was countless, and among them were several precious people. Ekinesia felt guilty towards them, but on the other hand, she had something to argue. That she didn't do it willingly. That it was all because of the Demon Sword.
But she couldn't do that with Yurien. Because what he believed in was not the shell tainted by the Demon Sword, but the Ekinesia inside. And she betrayed his expectations.
'It wasn't the Demon Sword, it was me who broke that trust. I... ruined the chance he gave me. Because I couldn't overcome it...'
Eki buried her face in her knees. Why on earth would he designate her as a Squire?
Just because she had the top score on the entrance exam? Was she too much against the Associate Knight during the second test? Did that Associate Knight tell him something?
Or is it really, does he have his memories? Did he recognize me? But how? I haven't encountered him since the regression? That can't be. If he recognized me, he would have come to kill me with the Giosa Owners, not designate me as a Squire.
He was the one who faced a terrible destruction after giving her a chance once. If a second chance came, he would try to cut her down without hesitation. Eki was so sure of it. If he had his memories, there was no way Yurien wouldn't hate her. That's why she wanted to meet him, but she had no intention of meeting him at all.
But a Squire. Someone who has to stay by his side.
She felt dizzy. She didn't move from that spot and thought for a long time. The Demon Sword chattered several times in the middle, but when Eki didn't respond, it gave up and shut its mouth.
As the sun set, the sunset streamed in through the window. Only then did Eki get up from her seat.
She picked up the longsword that was standing in the corner. It was the only crude item among her flashy belongings. It was a cheap sword she bought roughly in Ajenka, so the quality was not good.
She couldn't wear a sword with a dress. She grabbed the sword in its scabbard in one hand and headed straight to the seventh training ground behind the dormitory.
Every cadet she encountered on the way flinched in surprise at her attire, and then whispered something to the other cadets around them. The word "Squire" was heard several times.
The crowd gathered around the training ground was enormous.
The academy didn't provide classes, but it certainly provided support for training. There were several training grounds, each with different sizes, types, and purposes. The seventh training ground was a small training ground surrounded by a hawthorn hedge, with several scarecrow models installed, for cadets to loosen up briefly before going to bed or after waking up.
There was enough space to have a duel, but there was no space to watch. So the cadets were huddled together outside the hawthorn hedge or near the scarecrow models. It was a number that made one suspect that most of the cadets in the school were here.
The duel between the top and second place students on the first day of admission would be enough to arouse curiosity, but one of them was even designated as the captain of the royal guard's Squire. Even cadets who had no interest in duels had no choice but to flock out.
If the cadet representative, who was the witness, had kept his mouth shut, it would have been different, but he had talked about it in the cafeteria where so many cadets were gathered, so it was an inevitable result.
As the protagonist of the rumor that had taken over the academy in half a day approached, the cadets hesitated and stepped aside.
Eki stepped into the training ground with a blank expression. Alice Winterbell was already there. Her expression was strange, as if she had also heard about the Squire designation.
"Welcome, Cadet Ekinesia."
Ian Pelletror greeted her with a friendly smile. Eki bowed her head without answering. She stood opposite Alice.
"Well, there's no reason to drag this out... shall we start right away? Cadet Alice, the applicant, will make the first move."
"Yes, thank you."
"Okay."
Alice and Ekinesia agreed. Ian, standing in the middle of them, lightly clapped his hands to make a sound. The gazes of the cadets packed around the training ground focused on him.
"Late afternoon, April 18, 1629, Divine Era, under the supervision of witness Ian Pelletror, Cadet Ekinesia Roaz and Cadet Alice Winterbell begin the dialogue of swords. May mercy and tolerance be with the victor, submission and humility with the loser, and may honor and justice dwell in the swords. Arse Sebatiel."
It was a duel declaration similar to a prayer. Since the origin of the Azure Knights was the apostles who revered the Divine Sword Kairos Giosa as evidence of God, such religious aspects remained quite a bit in the culture of the Azure Knights.
Arse Sebatiel, an ancient word meaning 'May there be the glory of God,' was also an expression mainly used by priests.
As the declaration was made, Alice drew the sword she wore on her waist. The sword's sleek silver body was as smooth as a mirror. It was a masterpiece that had been carefully maintained and steadily tamed at a glance.
Alice held the sword in front of her upper body. She straightened the blade, bringing the guard between the handle and the blade close to her lips as if to touch them. Then, she lowered the tip of the sword to the right. It was an orderly Imperial knight's etiquette.
