A Failed Knight Who Went to the Academy To Get Married

039 A Sudden Intrusion for Peace

A soldier of the Yumano Holy Kingdom entered the tent and reported.

“The 1st and 2nd Divisions have reached Queira Forest. The 3rd and 5th Units will be stationed at the palace for the time being.”

As the commander adjusted his somewhat loose priestly attire, he asked,

“Have you located the village of the elves?”

“Due to the perception-inhibiting barrier, we have yet to find it, but I believe it’s only a matter of time.”

“What’s the situation with the forces from Altoria?”

“The regular army and the knights have agreed to partially cooperate in the invasion of the elven village.”

“Is there no opposition?”

“A retired knight named Elford has gathered private soldiers to resist alongside the elves.”

“…That’s quite troublesome.”

“That concludes the report.”

“Thank you. May the blessings of Lord Yumano be upon your endeavors.”

Suddenly, Sister Maria struck the back of the commander’s head with force.

“You got it wrong again! It’s ‘May you be blessed by Lord Yumano!'”

…Commander Train glared at Maria with a sense of injustice and retorted,

“I did well enough!”

“And stand up straighter, carry yourself with more dignity!”

On the third day since Train’s revival.

After a lengthy discussion among the soldiers of the 4th Legion, they decided to serve under Train as their commander.

Thanks to that, Train had to endure Maria’s relentless indoctrination with the Yumano doctrine all the way back to Altoria.

In the midst of Train and Maria’s argument,

a soldier cleared his throat and asked Train,

“What are your plans for our movement now?”

“First, let’s head to the village of the elves to meet with the elder.”

“Understood. Then we shall move out as soon as dawn breaks tomorrow.”

“May Yumano’s blessing be upon us.”

After the soldier left, Train sighed deeply once again.

“Commanding a foreign legion is just too demanding.”

Then Cat, who was beside him, smirked and retorted,

“At this rate, you might actually become an officer of the Yumano Holy Kingdom, huh?”

“Quiet.”

Seiment soothed Train’s shoulders as he spoke.

“Just hang in there a little longer. Things are going well, aren’t they?”

“Where do you see that?”

Prince Shiran and Princess Sia, who were sitting at the table, chimed in.

“Behave yourself. One wrong move and you could be banished from both kingdoms.”

“Then it wouldn’t be so bad to seek asylum in another country with me.”

Traein sighed even more deeply and glanced over at Yuril,

who was sitting quietly next to Princess Sia, trimming herbs.

Cat whispered to Traein.

“You poor sap. How do you manage to get rejected even by the woman who saved your life?”

“I told you to keep it down.”

After that day, Yuril truly did not speak a single word to Traein.

It seemed she was sincerely intent on keeping her distance from him.

Unable to bear the stifling atmosphere any longer, Traein stepped out of the tent.

Dozens of tents were pitched across the vast grassland under the moonlight.

Having finally escaped that cursed mountain range, they had arrived in Altori, but,

Train was far from at ease.

So he lay on the floor for a moment, muttering to himself.

“What exactly does Lady Yumano want me to do?”

What Goddess Yumano had requested was to prevent the ‘genocide of other species.’

Moreover, rescuing King Sciandar was also crucial.

Therefore, Train found himself in a position where he had to lead the soldiers of Yumano’s kingdom into war against his own country.

For now, thanks to Maria, everyone was following Train,

But if it came to fighting among their own countrymen, there could be betrayals.

And before that, he wanted to avoid a situation where they would spill each other’s blood.

“Maybe if I consult with Master Elford, I’ll find an answer to what I should do.”

As Train sighed deeply once again,

Something heavy and massive climbed onto him.

“Woof woof!”

“Yes, yes. You’re the only one who worries about me.”

For a while, he indulged Pochi’s frenzied licking and rolled around,

Soon, Yuril emerged from the tent and approached Train.

Pochi growled towards Yuril, but,

with one fierce glare from Yuril, Pochi yelped and scurried away.

Train rose from his spot and said to her,

“What did you do to Pochi? Why is he so scared of you?”

Without a word, Yuril handed Train a small pouch filled with pills and a note.

“Ah, thanks. What’s the occasion for delivering it yourself?”

On her way here, Yuril had been gradually preparing an antidote for Train.

Previously, she always had it passed through Siana Cement.

But it didn’t seem like Yuril was in a particularly forgiving mood.

Yuril pointed to the note with her chin,

and Train reluctantly read it.

‘Three pills a day. Never miss a dose.’

‘You may use magic, but always keep half in reserve.’

‘If you feel even the slightest abnormality in your body, speak up immediately.’

Yuril’s round handwriting felt endlessly cute.

But the person’s expression was not cute at all.

“Got it. I’ll remember what you wrote on the note.”

Yuril tossed a flower to Train and then turned around.

As she was about to leave, Train spoke to her back.

“I’m truly sorry for breaking the promise.”

“……”

“But I will never regret saving you.”

“……”

Yuril took out a few pills from her pocket and put them in her mouth.

“What are those, anyway?”

“Stomach medicine. I get an upset stomach whenever I see you.”

It was obviously a lie.

It must be an emotion-suppressing drug.

After all, she said that a curse would be triggered if her heart fluttered.

That meant Yuril didn’t necessarily dislike Train.

But it also meant that Train shouldn’t recklessly close the distance between them.

In the end, Train could only smile bitterly.

“That’s too much.”

Eventually, Yuril left her seat,

And Train lay back down on the floor, sighing deeply.

“What exactly am I doing?”

***

Meanwhile.

Lizbeth had been wandering the Quesiya forest for days.

One hundred soldiers from Altoria and a thousand from the Yumano Holy Kingdom.

Their mission was to locate the Elven village.

“Is it really impossible to find with ordinary methods?”

Then, Dorea, the envoy from the Yumano Holy Kingdom, said with a sly smile,

“The 4th Legion is coming to help, so we should be able to find it soon.”

“If we don’t have a concrete plan, even if they come, they’ll just waste their forces on enemy ambushes like us.”

“Even so, the opposition is nothing but insignificant guerrillas. The forces we’ve lost so far don’t even amount to a tenth.”

Elisabeth couldn’t understand him, talking about war as if it were merely a numbers game.

“You speak of our forces as if they’re expendable.”

“Our sisters are happy to lay down their lives for Lord Yumano.”

…To use their god as an excuse only at times like this.

Displeasure aside, she couldn’t afford to turn these people into enemies.

If the Yumano Holy Kingdom were to declare war on the Altoria Kingdom, it would be evident that they would fall within a month.

“Anyway, let’s continue our patrol as planned.”

Suddenly, one of the soldiers was struck by an arrow and fell.

Elisabeth immediately shouted.

“An ambush! Everyone, deploy your shields!”

At her command, the staff-wielding soldiers took the lead and simultaneously unfolded their shields.

Soon, a barrage of arrows rained down, relentlessly pounding on the shields.

“Prepare for close combat, everyone!”

As her cry rang out, a multitude of elves sprang forth.

Amidst the soldiers calmly engaging under Lizbeth’s command,

Only the Dorea envoy hid behind Lizbeth, grumbling.

“Treacherous mixed-breeds, resorting to a cowardly ambush!”

“In my view, it seems like a highly efficient strategy.”

“Watch your tongue. Do you know what will happen if you side with Yumano’s enemies?”

That’s when it happened.

Someone approached the Dorea envoy from behind without a sound, attempting to stab him with a sword.

“Who goes there!”

Lizbeth, quick to notice, swiftly intercepted the assailant.

After clashing swords once,

Lizbeth murmured with a somewhat surprised expression,

“You are…”

The opponent stepped back and said,

“It’s been a while since the Romer Empire.”

Lisbeth halted the other soldiers with a gesture as they rushed towards him,

From noble mtl dot come

and stood before him, bowing politely.

“It’s been a while, former Knight Commander Elford. Have you been at peace?”

“I’m relieved to see you unharmed.”

Behind him stood a familiar muscular elf.

It was Muscle, a subordinate of Train.

That meant Train had become an enemy as well.

Perhaps they would earnestly seek each other’s lives in battle.

…No, rather, the veteran before her eyes was the problem.

Lisbeth soon took up her sword and assumed her stance.

“I must ask you to sheathe your sword.”

“Rather, that’s what I would like to request of you.”

“Your current actions constitute treason against the kingdom.”

“Isn’t treason the word for what you have done?”

Lisbeth gave a bitter smile and then raised her sword.

“Then brace yourself!”

The clash of two swords rang out, sending a heavy metallic sound echoing throughout the forest.

***

Seimint rested her hand on a tree and closed her eyes for a while, then,

soon frowned and muttered to herself.

“This isn’t good.”

Trine then asked her,

“What’s the matter?”

“It seems Mr. Elford has started a duel with someone named Lizbeth.”

“Damn! Are we too late?”

“We’re not far from here, so if we hurry, we might catch them before the duel ends.”

“Then let’s all head there right now!”

At those words, Prince Shiran grabbed Trine’s shoulder.

“What are you planning to do?”

“We have to stop it.”

“If we act now, won’t the information about the 4th Legion be leaked?”

Currently, the 4th Legion is still keeping the existence of Traein a secret.

Any rash movement could brand us traitors to the other legions and make us a target of their attacks.

“Then I’ll just change clothes and step out for a bit.”

“It’s time you became aware of your responsibilities.”

Prince Sirian brought his fist close to Traein’s jaw.

“You are the leader of a legion now. If you act on your own, it will be seen as a lack of control.”

“Ugh…”

He wasn’t wrong.

The soldiers of the 4th Legion followed Traein solely because of his Stigma.

Yet, many still distrusted Traein, and should the situation shift even slightly, they would undoubtedly betray him without hesitation.

“But I can’t just stand by and do nothing.”

As Traein grew restless, Seiment seemed to smile with a bright idea.

“If the goal is to break up the fight, how about creating a common enemy?”

“Public enemy?”

“For example, a monster covered in mud riding a large dog.”

Only then did Train recall an incident from a few days ago and smiled triumphantly.

“That’s right… There was that method.”

***

“Argh!”

Every time Lizbeth blocked Elford’s sword strike, she let out a groan.

“You won’t stand a chance if you only defend.”

“I’d rather be praised for blocking well, actually.”

In strength, speed, and skill, Elford was a cut above Lizbeth.

It felt as if she was fighting Train from several decades in the future.

From a distance, the Dorea envoy hid behind a tree and snapped irritably.

“Can’t you fight properly?”

Lizbeth didn’t even have the luxury to get angry at those words.

As soon as she felt a surge of anger, Elford, as if aiming for it, came in deep.

Lisbeth narrowly parried his sword and racked her brain.

‘There’s no chance of winning like this. What would Trine have done?’

Surely Trine would have come up with some clever trick,

she thought, and let out an involuntary chuckle.

Even Trine had never won against Elford, not even once.

‘So if I defeat Elford, that means I’m stronger than Trine!’

It was a somewhat childish thought, but it was enough.

At least her spirit wasn’t broken.

Elford seemed to notice the shift in her resolve, pouring out sword strikes while asking nonchalantly,

“You have remarkable tenacity.”

“It’s all thanks to your disciple!”

“Ha, that praise is quite pleasing.”

But nothing changed.

In the end, when Elford feigned a sword strike and stepped back,

Lisbeth swung at the air, missing completely.

Elford didn’t miss the opening and shoved Lizbeth with his shoulder.

“Argh!”

Eventually, Lizbeth fell to the ground.

“That was a splendid fight.”

Just as Elford was about to thrust his sword into Lizbeth’s neck—

“It’s a monster! A disaster-class monster has appeared!”

“Everyone, evacuate the forest immediately!”

“Sisters! Run away quickly!”

Elford cautiously stepped back at the sound of shouting coming from all directions.

The golems and soldiers who had been fighting each other also paused for a moment.

And then, they were all terrified.

A giant monster covered in vines, emitting the cries of a chicken, charged at them.

“What on earth is that!”

“Just run!”

“Save me!”

The battlefield turned into chaos in an instant.

Lisbeth quickly rose to her feet and retreated, seizing the opportunity,

But for some reason, Elford stood in front of the monster, ignoring her.

And just before the monster could charge at Elford with its body,

“…Hng!”

With a single thrust, Elford brought the monster down.

As the vines that were entwining the monster unraveled, its true form was revealed.

“Good heavens!”

“Gasp!”

Elford pointed his sword at Train, who had fallen to the ground.

“To play tricks on your master, what a terrible disciple you are.”

Train forced a smile and replied,

“Exactly, in front of the master, everything turns into a mere jest.”