kscans

Chapter 17 - The Royal Palace, the Honeybees, and Little One, Part One

"Congratulations on your Baptism."

When the twins arrived at the knighthood training grounds as usual, the members were for some reason lined up in two rows to greet them. The twins blinked and exchanged a glance. Harold appeared before them and received a sword from the knights standing by his side.

"This is a celebratory gift from the knighthood."

What was presented to them were slender swords. They were rapiers, the same size as the wooden swords the twins currently used. They had the weight and texture of real blades. The scabbards and hilts were simple, but the guards were decorated with the knighthood’s crest.

"This is the mark of a member of the knighthood. You have been with us for several years now, and we have made a special exception to recognize you as apprentices."

Seriously?

The twins stared up at Harold, dumbfounded. Around them, the lined-up knights drew their swords and raised them in unison.

"Welcome to the Frontier Royal Knighthood. We welcome you."

The knights stood in formation.

Following their lead, the Little One drew her rapier and held it before her eyes. Chihaya hastily did the same.

"Through any adversity, we shall be together for eternity. The path is behind us. We shall point the way forward."

It was an old phrase and custom. It was a custom Chihiro had only read about in documents, but she was confident it was correct. She responded with a sincere gaze. The knights, however, were taken aback. Their eyes widened, unable to hide their admiration. They never expected to receive the proper salute in return. Truly, who are you people?

Harold broke into a broad grin at the twins, who performed the old custom.

"Well then, you will be learning in earnest now. How shall we proceed?" Harold asked the two.

Chihiro thought about it. Normally, once you became a knight apprentice, you would first learn various weapons on a rotation and then choose a specialty. Then you would be assigned to knights of that specialty to learn martial arts and techniques. However, the twins had already completed that process, and moreover, they didn't have any skills that stood out. It wasn't that they had none, they were just decent at everything. Two faces wrinkled in thought.

Harold chuckled, guessing what they were thinking, and mentioned something more crucial.

"You both have the academy starting next spring, don’t you? You won’t be able to be stationed with the knighthood like regular apprentices. You won’t have the same freedom as before. That’s what I’m talking about."

The Little One’s head snapped up. So you really did forget.

The knights couldn't help but smile wryly. Chihiro frantically tapped her head, taking that into account as well. So, from now on I have the pilgrimage, and school, and knight training, and classroom studies? And I also have to discuss trade and tax rates with Romel and the others. And calculate the profits from honey sales. Huh? That’s weird, I’m still a kid, right? Why is my schedule so packed? This is impossible. God, please give me forty-eight hours in a day!

Seeing the Little One flustered with a pitiful look on her face, Harold let out a small laugh.

"Shall you participate only on holidays while the academy is in session?"

"No, that’s not good enough!"

Skills are honed through daily training. If you skip a day, it takes three days to get it back. The Little One groaned, and this time, another knight spoke up.

"In that case, how about participating in the early morning training? It would be on a daily rotation by department, though."

The knighthood has early morning training in addition to regular training. Once a week for each department, like swords or bows. Since it would be a rotation through all the weapons, it might be just right for the twins who hadn’t decided on a fixed weapon. Four to seven in the morning. This shouldn’t overlap with their academy classes.

"That sounds great!"

"Huh, four o’clock?"

Chihiro’s face lit up, while Chihaya’s brow furrowed slightly. The contrasting expressions of the two made the adults chuckle. Chihaya’s reaction was probably normal. It was early in the morning, before the sun had fully risen. It was painful even for adults, so it must be even tougher for a child. The one joyfully delighted was the strange one.

"The knighthood training is settled. Now I just have to coordinate the rest."

It’s decided? Ignoring Chihaya’s pale face, the Little One’s thoughts moved on to other matters. The members of the knighthood looked at Chihaya with sincere pity.

"Romel! Can we arrange it so I can get all my work done at once on the holidays?"

Romel’s eyes widened for a moment at the little girl who suddenly burst into his office, but he understood her words and then smiled softly.

"I’ve already done so. You have the academy too, after all."

Oh, as expected.

Romel smiled gently, but his eyes were not smiling. I’ve arranged it that way, so you’d better come, okay? His desperate feeling was conveyed without words, and the Little One couldn’t help but smile wryly, showing her gums. The palace is still short-staffed, I see. A quick glance around revealed that the surrounding subordinates were also staring at Chihiro with pleading eyes. I... I feel so awkward. "Well then," she said, quietly closing the door and gently pressing her hands together in a prayer.

"Alright, what’s next....."

Chihiro rolled onto the edge of the palace garden and opened the memo in her map. She also took out a fountain pen from her bag and started writing things down one by one.

"Hmm, knighthood is in the morning..... Romel’s place is on holidays. During the pilgrimage, there’s nothing to do other than travel, so I can just have Dorfen train me, right? What else..... I want to practice for the pilgrimage before school starts."

She scribbled a drawing of a carriage, the people who would be riding in it, and the necessary supplies. She added various other things as well. Pochiko-san, who had been there before she lay down to write, began to buzz her wings ominously.

"Hm? What’s wrong, Pochiko-san?"

"Seize her!"

Just as the Little One raised her head, a loud voice shouted, and men suddenly appeared all around her.

"Weh?"

Several of the men couldn't hide their bewilderment before the little girl who looked up at them with a blank expression. They looked like palace attendants. Young men in well-tailored uniforms with gentle demeanors. What’s going on? the Little One wondered, tilting her head. At her utterly innocent gesture, one of the men couldn’t help but cry out.

"Lord Vifel! Did this child really steal it?"

The man called Vifel nodded emphatically at the attendant who cried out with a pitiful expression.

"Of course. This honeybee is a servant of Lady Fatima. I don’t know how she’s controlling it, but we will question her on that as well."

The man muttered with a stern face. The Little One recognized that nervous-looking face.

"Dacken? It’s you, right? What are you doing?"

Suddenly, the man called Vifel’s eyes widened.

"How do you know that name?"

Ah, I might have messed up. The little girl quietly lowered her gaze.

"Dacken is my brother. He foolishly fell from grace and is now confined to his room at our family home. How do you, a commoner, know of him?"

A commoner? Well, he's not wrong. The Little One stared intently at the man before her. Ah, right, about ten years have passed. He couldn't possibly have the same face as back then. The man called Vifel looked a lot like the Dacken of that time. But his face didn’t show the passage of ten years. His younger brother. I see.

Being stared at with an upward glance, Vifel cleared his throat lightly.

"The honeybee you have with you belongs to Lady Fatima, does it not? I don’t know how you tamed it, but you will return it."

Vifel had a condescending tone. He wasn't entirely wrong, but… hmm.

"Can you tell the honeybees apart?"

When the Little One asked, Vifel’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. The surrounding attendants also exchanged confused glances.

"What do you mean, tell them apart? There are hardly any monsters that are so tame as to be attached to a person."

Aha, so he's the type who doesn't know about the time when monsters flew all over the palace. The man before her was slightly younger than the Dacken of that time. Which probably meant he had only been at the palace for a few years. The Little One stood up straight and shouted loudly towards the sky.

"C’mon, everyone!"

As her voice was swallowed by the sky, a loud buzzing of many wings roared, and honeybees swarmed in from all directions. One, two, the swarm of honeybees grew in number, reaching several dozen.

"Which one of these belongs to Lady Fatima?"

Many honeybees swarmed around the men, whose faces were pale as they stood frozen. Knowing that these were disaster-class monsters, they were speechless, paralyzed with fear. The Little One raised the corners of her mouth and smiled innocently.

"Let me know when you figure out which one it is, okay?"

With those parting words, Chihiro grabbed onto Pochiko-san and soared into the sky. The other honeybees followed the Little One, flying off as the dumbfounded men watched.

"Unbelievable......"

They were the younger generation. They didn’t know of the time when the Little One ran rampant. They had some knowledge, but it was rare for those who had not yet been baptized, were still in school, or had not made their social debut to enter the palace. It was only natural that they didn’t know. Many thought the events of ten years ago, which they had only heard about secondhand, were tall tales. The children of the commoners in the castle town, who were closer to the Little One than the nobles, knew the truth.

But what had just happened was no tall tale. They stood there for a while, unable to move, their faces still turned up towards the sky in stunned silence.

"So I stole a honeybee, huh? I wonder what the story is in the palace. I’ll have to ask Romel about that too."

As she dangled from Pochiko-san, swinging back and forth, the Little One thought about Vifel. His nervous face was just like his brother's. He looked like Dacken, but he was a man with very serious eyes. Maybe there's a misunderstanding. Come to think of it, Romel did mention something about a dispute over monster ownership. The matter might not be over yet. The Little One swung her legs back and forth, tapping them together. To go where the wind blows, where her heart desires. Today, too, the Little One follows her own path♪