kscans

Chapter 17 - The Captain Takes a Vacation and Secretly Goes to Her

"Oh, right!" Mireille’s face lit up.

"I was so excited, I forgot to tell you about this!"

She trotted to the corner of the room and returned, holding the dagger Leonhard had given her that morning in both hands.

"I’ve never handled a dagger before, but... this is no ordinary thing."

She revealed just a bit of it from the sheath and stroked the magic stone on the hilt with her fingertip.

"It’s enchanted with almost every attribute except light and dark. Normally, the magic stones would clash and shatter. It’s like trying to melt gold and silver coins together."

"Hoh..."

Leonhard took it and drew the dagger from its monster leather sheath.

Instantly, a hot lightning bolt shot from his palm, up his arm, and raced up his spine. The air grew dense, and the outlines of his vision became unnaturally sharp. Magic filled his entire body like spring water.

(...This is bad.)

Everyone in this world possessed some magic, but only a handful could join the Mage Order. Right now, he felt as if he had stepped into the ranks of that handful.

"...Wow, this is on another level."

"Right!?"

Mireille leaned forward happily, but then her brow furrowed.

"A moment ago, when I saw this dagger, I got so excited... and caused you such trouble...."

Her shoulders slumped. Watching her, Leonhard thought.

(No, normally people’s emotions don’t spike this much over a single weapon.)

"It’s fine," he said.

He returned the dagger with a wry smile.

"Besides, the wind attribute magic stone is amazing. It can change the power of the wind, so it can be adjusted to handle weapons with strong recoil like yours today, Leonhard-san. ...If I could just figure out this mechanism, I could put it on that greatsword."

She stared intently at the magic stone from all angles. The sheet slipped from her shoulders.

--Hey now, you've forgotten the sheet again.

"...Alright. I’ll get the clothes tomorrow and take leave until the weekend. And we’ll test this sword too."

Leonhard made his decision.

"Is it okay for you to take that much time off?"

Mireille looked worried. It was probably because she used to run a shop herself. Her face showed she understood that taking several days off would cause work to pile up.

"Work won’t get done anyway while the supreme commander is gone."

The rumor was that the captain of the Imperial Guard would be promoted to the new supreme commander. He didn’t expect it to be a comfortable workplace.

"So I’ll take a good long rest until then."

---

He could have slept in the empty space on the fourth floor, but it would be troublesome if a visitor came to the barracks.

He made her promise absolutely not to go outside on her own, and then Leonhard returned to his room.

The next morning. Kyle came to the barracks, as if avoiding being seen. He held a large package in his hands.

"You said you wanted normal, so I got a variety of normal!" Kyle puffed out his chest.

"You also said you wanted normal underwear, so I threw in a little something extra as a gift."

"...I wanted actually normal, though."

"It’s fine!" he said, giving a confident thumbs-up for some reason.

When Leonhard told him he was taking leave until the weekend and would be staying at his townhouse, Kyle nodded even more vigorously.

"Of course, I understand. I’m glad you’ve come over to our world, Captain. Please make good use of these clothes and do your best!"

(...He’s definitely misunderstanding. But correcting him is too much trouble.)

He delivered only the clothes to Mireille once, submitted his leave request to the Knight Order, and headed for his home in the Royal Capital, his townhouse.

An elderly couple managed it.

Though he was a Knight Captain, he was a commoner by birth and not the type to desire a lavish lifestyle. This house was also simple, and he only requested the bare minimum of upkeep.

"Well now, Master. Welcome home."

The old woman who greeted him showed a gentle smile.

"I’ll be resting here this week. I’m sorry, but I’d like to shut myself in my room for a bit. Could you buy some groceries for me? After that, you can take the rest of the week off, it's been a while."

"My... is that alright? In that case, I’d like to go see my children."

"Yes, you’ve been looking after this place for me, so take some time for yourself."

The old woman bowed her head happily several times and went out for groceries. He discreetly asked her to get some light snacks for Mireille and a large amount of preserved food at the same time. After finishing her shopping, the caretaker left happily.

--So far, there was nothing suspicious.

Leonhard firmly locked the front door and then locked his own room as well.

He slung the groceries he had placed on the table over his shoulder and put on the ring on his left hand.

"...Alright."

The next moment, his vision swayed slightly, and the density of the air changed.

The magic of teleportation passed through his body, and the scenery at his feet switched to the place where Mireille was.