Half a day after departing from Latham, the title ‘Lord Illoud’ had changed to ‘Sahara.’ The tone had become friendly, as if speaking to a friend.
Having nothing to say except ‘I’m sorry,’ I just rolled my eyes, and Cheshire urged Theo to continue recounting his tales of valor.
“So when we entered, the captain was already crossing swords with that monster. The captain is fairly large for a woman, but the creature was a giant, two or three spans taller than most men. It was swinging a massive claymore, making a whoosh, whoosh sound…!”
“They say the ground shook with the sound of the captain and the creature clashing swords. It wasn’t a clang, clang sound, but a bang—!”
“They do cross swords sometimes. Yesterday, they didn’t even give the opponent time to draw their sword.”
I felt Cheshire’s sidelong glance.
“Ah… sometimes that happens…”
“It’s really scary when it does.”
For a moment, the members fell silent, looking sullen. Sahara watched the cheerful Crown Prince and the members, then withdrew to the edge of the formation.
“He seems like a down-to-earth person. Surprisingly.”
At Penelope’s casual remark, Sahara nodded in agreement. He seemed like someone who would be very sensitive and picky, whether considering his status or appearance, but so far, he had been easygoing. It was uncertain how things would be if the journey extended, but for now, that was the case.
“Still… I’m a bit worried that being so informal might lead to a mistake.”
“They’re not the type to do that, but we’ll reach the capital in about four days, so it should be fine.”
Moreover, he didn’t seem to be the type who was overly sensitive about etiquette or hierarchical relationships. If he were, he would have revealed his status and made Sahara kneel when she pointed her sword at him.
Penelope glanced at Cheshire.
“It’s really strange. He seems like a good person. Down-to-earth and well-mannered.”
“What’s strange?”
He genuinely seemed like a good person. Although they weren’t in a position to judge the crown prince, seeing how he interacted so freely with his subordinates, he couldn’t be a bad person.
“It’s very strange. He seems like a good person, yet I keep being drawn to him.”
Penelope sighed, placing a hand on her cheek.
“—Your intuition might be wrong sometimes. He’s quite the gentleman that many women would pine for.”
Even if he were unattractive and short, many ladies would want to become the crown princess, but being tall, handsome, and having a good personality, it’s natural for Penelope to be attracted to him. She was always drawn to bad men, but it might have been because she hadn’t met someone like the crown prince.
“That can’t be.”
Penelope tilted her head. Well, you can’t really know a person just by looking at them briefly, so it’s something to watch and see.
“―But is it the same for the captain? Are you drawn to him?”
A gentleman who could make many women pine for him. It was rare for Sahara to praise a man. Penelope, thinking it was a formal compliment to the crown prince, asked playfully. Sahara blinked at the question she had never considered.
“How could I dare? That’s disrespectful.”
“…No, is it to that extent?”
Disrespectful? Penelope looked at Sahara, who had no trace of a smile. Sahara spoke as if she felt insulted just by the thought.
“Does it make sense for a knight to have personal feelings for their lord? Don’t joke about such things, even in jest.”
“Oh? What’s wrong with young men and women, I mean. ―I’m sorry. I misspoke.”
At Sahara’s sharp glare, Penelope raised her hands to calm her. It seemed the evening training time was indeed intimidating.
“Well, it would be nice if the captain keeps her distance. The captain may not have the skill to seduce men, but she’s pretty.”
“Don’t create problems.”
Sahara advised blandly. Penelope shrugged her shoulders and swept her voluminous hair back with a laugh. As she subtly loosened her robe to reveal her ample chest, Sahara shook her head. Penelope never listened to Sahara when it came to men. She wasn’t a knight, so she had no interest in chivalry. Having seen the handsome and well-mannered crown prince, she seemed only to think of having a good night.
“…So, I struck Knut’s head with a broken sword, and guess what, he caught the sword with his bare hands. To block the captain’s two-handed sword with his bare hands, that guy was really something.”
“If he were an easy opponent, you wouldn’t have struggled so much.”
“That’s right. Besides, the captain’s leg was broken, so we really thought it was the end. The guy swung that big sword at the captain―!”
Theo’s vivid recounting of Sahara’s exploits painted a picture as if it were happening right before their eyes. Everyone was engrossed, as if he had been a storyteller all his life. Cheshire listened with interest, wondering when the story about eating eyeballs would come up.
Clang―! Clang! The sound of metal clashing echoed.
“Stop! It’s the enemy!”
Neigh! A horse neighed harshly, and someone shouted loudly from the front.
“―Captain, it seems to be an ambush.”
Neigh! Neigh! Sahara stopped her horse and looked back at Cheshire. Cheshire met Sahara’s calm and expressionless eyes. Despite the sudden ambush, there wasn’t even a flicker of emotion in her dark eyes. She confirmed Cheshire’s safety and shouted to those around her.
“All of the 128th Knights, guard His Highness and stand by. Maintain the formation!”
The vanguard and rearguard were protected by Cheshire’s escort. Sahara seemed to be waiting for a report, but only the sounds of combat came from the front instead of a situation report.
“Buzz! What’s the report?”
At Sahara’s call, Buzz shook his head. Cheshire, who had never experienced an ambush on such a mountain path, looked around as if observing. Due to the winding and rugged terrain, it was impossible to know what had happened to the vanguard. Sahara’s unit seemed accustomed to such situations, maintaining their formation and waiting for a report. The knights, who had been animatedly sharing tales of valor just moments ago, were now seriously on guard.
Even though they weren’t far from the front, several minutes passed without any report on the number of enemies or the nature of the ambush. Just as Sahara was about to send Buzz and four other knights to the front, a knight came running with an urgent expression.
“What’s the situation?”
Sahara asked, but the man passed her and reported directly to Cheshire.
“Your Highness, the vanguard has been attacked by orcs. There are about thirty confirmed, and there may be more. The formation is being pushed back, so we request that the rearguard be sent to the front.”
The escort knight, Sir Joan, caught his breath as he spoke. It seemed he didn’t think it was a situation to report to Sahara.
“Send the rearguard to the front?”
In terms of military hierarchy, the crown prince’s escort would indeed rank above the 128th Knights. It wasn’t a situation to report to a commoner woman, a captain of a border knights’ order far from the capital, without a noble title. Cheshire understood.
“Send the two rear lines to the front.”
“No, please wait a moment.”
Sahara urgently interjected.
“Forgive my rudeness for interrupting, Your Highness. Right now, we need to maintain the rear formation as well. Orcs are generally monsters slightly less intelligent than humans, so when they attack our force of over 200, they must have a plan. Hastily removing forces from the rear could leave us vulnerable to a surprise attack from behind. That’s probably what they’re aiming for. What they’re likely after is the supplies we’re guarding in the rear.”
Cheshire was slightly surprised at Sahara’s quick analysis. It was the first time he had heard her speak so much.
“No, what…! The rear is fine! Your Highness, we need to send soldiers to the front. We’re being pushed back due to lack of numbers!”
Sir Joan seemed to imply that it didn’t matter whether the front or rear was breached. He glared at Sahara, who had opposed his suggestion, then looked at Cheshire. His gaze hoped that Cheshire would take his side. Cheshire, feeling tired about not having sorted out the chain of command earlier, looked around.
“If we don’t send the knights from the rear to the front, won’t the front line be breached? What do you plan to do about that?”
Cheshire asked Sahara. Sahara answered simply.
“I will go.”
“…Ah, you alone?”
Cheshire let out a low laugh.
“Whether it’s the front or the middle, if our numbers decrease, they’ll attack immediately. It’s rational for just me to go.”
“What kind of support can one knight provide by going alone!”
Sir Joan burst out in frustration. Sahara remained unmoved, as if she hadn’t even heard him, waiting for orders. Sir Joan sneered and urgently appealed to Cheshire again.
“Your Highness, we don’t have time. Please, send forces from the rear quickly.”
“I heard you, Sir Joan.”
Cheshire cut off Sir Joan’s words and looked at Sahara.
“Are you confident, Sahara?”
“? Of course.”
Sahara answered as if wondering why he would even ask such a question.
A gust of wind blew, carrying the scent of blood from the front. Sahara tucked her hair behind her ear and looked at him. Her confident, dark eyes. Cheshire suppressed a smile and nodded seriously, acknowledging the gaze waiting for orders.
“Alright, Lord Illoud. Go and annihilate the orcs at the front. I look forward to your return without a scratch.”
At Cheshire’s command, Sahara dismounted and knelt slightly.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
She answered briefly and equipped the swords she had hung on her horse. With a swift motion, she sheathed swords at her waist and both thighs, then slung a claymore as large as herself onto her back.
Just as one wondered if she really used such a large sword, she firmly planted her feet on the ground and—whoosh!—shot forward like an arrow. Sir Joan’s eyes widened to the size of pumpkins.
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