Chapter 50

"S-Sir Knight, just now...?"

"Yeah. You heard it right."

The first to react to Yaan's sudden bombshell were the Penal Corps members.

"Pfft!"

"Well, well, Prince Charming on a white horse?"

"Look at him going through all this fuss just to save one little brat. Sir Knight! Hahaha!"

Paying no mind to their jeering, Yaan lifted Irene and brushed the sand from her uniform, speaking quietly.

"This is my offer. You can accept it, or you can leave after escaping this situation. Either is fine."

A voice soft enough for only her to hear. Yet Irene, looking at Yaan, nodded with a firm expression.

"I accept."

"Good."

A decision almost too quick to be called foolish. But once made, from this moment on she too became a member of the 87th Company.

And Yan Verkut was not one to neglect rewarding loyalty.

"Among the Empire knight's authorities, there exists this: should the knight deem his own or a nearby person's honor to have been damaged, he may dispose of it immediately under military law."

A knight's privilege, absurdly biased. Hearing it, the Penal Corps members who had been snickering at Yaan froze.

"Sir Knight, what did you just...?"

"And the disposal of a Penal Corps member who has persecuted a noble is immediate execution."

A decision possible only for Yaan, who knew both the knight's privilege and the Penal Corps' disposal law.

The pistol pulled from the holster fired without the slightest hesitation.

Taang-!

A gunshot suddenly echoing across the island, relaxed from rest. In an instant, every soldier's gaze turned to Yaan.

Thud!

A Penal Corps member collapsed in a heap, a hole drilled between his brows in an instant. Before the others could even speak, Yaan's pistol fired again.

Bang! Taang-!

Three Penal Corps members turned into lonely spirits on the spot. The face of the last member who'd joined in beating Irene turned deathly pale.

Even if the mockery had been blatant, knights originally did not personally punish Penal Corps members.

They thought it dishonorable for an Empire's renowned knight to be swayed by the words of such lowly folk, and above all, a single word to the commanding officer would suffice for retribution.

But the knight before them was different.

"A-A knight laying hands on a Penal Corps member in broad daylight...!"

"Like you said, since I'm gutter rat born, I've got no reputation to protect."

Speaking thus, Yaan immediately aimed the pistol and walked toward the soldier.

"A-Aaaack!"

When the hot barrel from firing was shoved against the soldier's forehead, the terrified Penal Corps member collapsed on the spot.

"I'm bored, so how about a game?"

Saying that, Yaan spun the revolver's cylinder with two bullets remaining,

Cha-rurrrk!

The soldier's eyes spun as if they'd follow the metallic sound of the cylinder.

"I played it a lot when I was a rookie."

With Yaan's words, the cylinder stopped. As soon as he confirmed it, Yaan pulled the trigger toward the soldier's head.

"I-I was wrong! Please spare me-!"

Click.

What rang out was the sound of the revolver's hammer striking an empty chamber. Realizing he was alive, the Penal Corps member scrambled away from the muzzle, gasping ragged breaths.

"Hah! Huh...!"

"You survived. Congratulations."

Soon Yaan spun the cylinder again and pressed the muzzle to the soldier's thigh. Seeing that, the soldier's face turned ashen.

"Isn't it over...!"

"It's over. This is just because I want to try it."

With those words, Yaan pulled the trigger.

Taang-!

"Aaaaaaack-!"

The soldier thrashed at the chilling sensation of the bullet piercing his thigh.

Calling the medics who'd been watching, Yaan gestured for them to stop the bleeding and muttered quietly.

"Missed the major blood vessels. He'll be stuck in solitary for about three months."

After saying that, Yaan holstered the pistol and walked to the campfire where Cain and Kyle were as if nothing had happened.

"Ilak."

"Yes, sir!"

Calling the commander's fake name softly, Yaan pointed with his chin toward the corpses of the three dead Penal Corps members.

"Dump them roughly and come report."

"Understood, sir!"

With only those words, Yaan disappeared.

Until Irene, her body completely exhausted, had moved and buried the three corpses, no one dared touch her.

***

"Weak as it is, you have mana aptitude."

After rest and intermediate loading were complete, the Veloster and transport convoy began sailing.

In one of the Veloster's cabins, Yaan, Cain, Dandel, and Ren sat examining Irene, who had just joined the group.

"M-My great-grandfather was a knight, I heard."

"A knight from the age of swords, that's quite a distinguished family."

The age before colossi appeared. The period when refined mana was coated onto swords to create 'aura blades' was called the age of swords.

But those who could visibly manipulate mana faded away, and with the appearance of colossi, knights who wielded aura blades were pushed from the war's forefront, now remaining only as romance in novels.

"In the early days of colossi, there were said to be knights who coated their colossus's sword with aura."

"That's the words of the first head of House Lorenz!"

"Not just our ancestor."

Adding that, Cain released Irene's hand, grabbed a knife from the table's corner, and focused.

Wooong-!

"Ohh!"

Soon, a blue light flowing through the knife began gradually dyeing the entire blade blue.

"Phew!"

But that was brief; as cold sweat poured down, Cain's eyes wavered for a moment, and the aura surrounding the knife scattered as if it had never been.

"Even I, who pride myself as the Empire's greatest knight, can only manage this. Well, it's a useless skill now."

"Still, it's amazing! To think I'd see a real aura blade!"

"Your words are kind enough."

At Dandel's exclamation, Cain gave an awkward smile and glanced at Yaan opposite him with a wry expression.

"Really, what kind of knight decides on the spot the moment the word commander is mentioned?"

"Strictly speaking, Yaan's existence itself is an exception among exceptions."

At Ren's quiet assessment, the others nodded.

"E-Excuse me...."

A newspaper article, the Silver Knight Cain, a noble-born officer, a girl in pure white who seemed from a painting. Despite the incomprehensible group's appearance, Irene spoke resolutely.

"W-What work will I do if I become a commander?"

"Ah, right, I didn't explain that."

With that preface, Cain began explaining with a smiling face.

"In the previous age, the age of swords, a commander's role was clear. They maintained the knight's armor and weapons and accompanied them to war."

Speaking thus, Cain poured water into the tea leaves on the table and handed Irene a cup of tea.

"T-Thank you...."

Tea brewed by the Silver Knight himself.

Her head spun at unimaginable luxury, but still Irene opened her ears to hear Cain's explanation.

"But modern knights are different. The colossus, which could be called weapon and armor, already has specialized technicians."

"Then the current commander...?"

"It varies by person. Some serve as personal stewards attending the knight like a personal butler, while for others like me, it's a system that can be used merely as a pretext for patronage."

As Cain explained, Irene nodded. Soon Yaan spoke to her.

"Though you're called my commander, your status hasn't actually changed."

At those words, Irene's eyes deepened as she sipped her tea.

"I'm not going to treat you easy like the other commanders. The moment we reach the garrison, training starts, so hold out until you're used to it."

"Understood!"

Yaan gave Irene a sidelong glance as she answered in a firm voice, then soon rose from his seat.

"Lieutenant, where are you going?"

"We'll arrive soon. I have to move the Frame."

When Yaan exited the cabin after saying that, Ren quietly followed him out.

Irene watched the two of them with puzzled eyes. Looking around at her surroundings, she tilted her head when she met Dandel's gaze.

"Second Lieutenant, is something the matter?"

"...Hang in there!"

"Pardon?"

Without another word Dandel grabbed Irene's hand and shook it.

His expression looked like someone recalling an old trauma.

"You'll think you want to die! Even if you actually try to die, those bastards will drag you back to life! Just grit your teeth and endure! Our rookie!"

"H-huh?"

Remembering the days when he had rolled and rolled with the Penal Corps members under the promise of retraining him from scratch, Dandel could only desperately pray that the fragile new recruit before him would not die.

***

"You've done something unreasonable again."

Glaepnir's cockpit.

Sitting back-to-back with Yaan, Ren spoke softly to him while he checked the Frame with a cigarette in his mouth.

"I took her in because I needed her."

"Not out of pity?"

"Not at all."

Having dismissed it like that, Yaan must have felt the explanation lacking; he clicked his tongue and opened his mouth with a sigh.

"The talent the Commander recommends is practically a member of House Lorenz. Right now I'm working for him, but the future is unknown, so I can't make his person my commander."

"Then that child...?"

"Does it seem like a noble gone mad would enlist an information agent in the Penal Corps?"

A 90% fatality rate. The assignment is practically no different from telling her to die.

"If I need a commander, Dandel would work. There are other squad members too."

"A middling noble with a title could be bought. The other squad members... the moment they become personally involved with me, unnecessary conflicts will arise."

Even if they met through shared misfortune, they were still just a collection of people. Except for himself, who bore the brunt, they had to maintain strictly horizontal relationships.

Otherwise, any group would disintegrate from internal strife.

"The Penal Corps, whose origins need no suspicion. No connections, no disqualifying traits in character-suitable as a commander?"

"Exactly."

"An excuse. Excellent."

At Ren's brief remark, Yaan clicked his tongue as though annoyed.

"I have another true reason."

"...She reminds me of when I first came to the Penal Corps. That's why."

Hearing that, Ren finally nodded in satisfaction.

"That's enough."

"What?"

Just as Yaan asked back-

Hooooooorn-!

Along with the horn announcing arrival, Veloster's cargo bay opened, revealing their new base.

"I'm glad we arrived safely, Sir Cain."

Behind Count Zeke, who greeted him with an affected smile full of pretense, Glaepnir could be seen walking slowly.

"It's an honor to fight alongside you, Count Zeke."

"By His Imperial Majesty's grace. I heard about the battle on your way here. They say you performed splendidly?"

"Not me, but Lieutenant Yaan behind me."

"Oh, the one from the Penal Corps...?"

Behind Count Zeke as he spoke, a group of knights passed by.

"Hm? Those people..."

Cain, recognizing them, had to focus all his nerves to keep his expression from twisting.

Whether he knew or not, Count Zeke, still wearing his smile, opened his mouth with a composed face.

"Ah, those knights. They were specially sent by the Belkuth family. They're in charge of one part of the port's defense."

While he spoke, Yaan appeared from Glaepnir stationed behind Count Zeke.

"Greetings, Count Zeke. I am Yan Verkut, dispatched by order of His Imperial Majesty."

At Yaan's greeting, Count Zeke, his face still carrying a smile, approached Yaan.

"Lieutenant Yaan. You..."

Seeing Yaan's face as he exchanged greetings with Count Zeke, Cain could only smile bitterly in resignation.

Yaan's face, recognizing the knights, wore the brightest smile ever.

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