—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Ah…”
I was walking like a zombie with a dazed expression.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to carry a heavy military pack like the other knights around me.
I wasn’t sure if it was because I was a mage or if they were giving me special treatment because I was a man.
There was no way magical beasts that the knights could hunt for practical experience would be roaming around near the capital, so naturally, my first real battle would take place far away from the capital.
As soon as I received the notification the day before, I hastily packed my luggage, carried it through the teleportation magic circle, and then walked on my own two feet from the magic circle to the place where magical beasts frequently appeared.
In fact, there was the option to comfortably travel using flight magic, but I wasn’t so oblivious as to fly comfortably using magic while everyone else was diligently walking.
Come to think of it, this wasn’t much different from marching with full gear on my own, right?
Ugh.
Even after reincarnating, and into a world where the roles of men and women were reversed, the thought of marching with full gear made me feel miserable.
It was my first time using magic in actual combat, so I had come with expectations, but it felt like those expectations had been shattered.
They say everything depends on your mindset, but the thought of it being a march suddenly drained my energy and made me not want to do it.
This was the real magic, not some other nonsense.
‘And I don’t even know anyone here.’
Looking around, there were only heavily armored knights everywhere, and no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find a single familiar face.
If at least Sylphia had come with me, I could have talked to her while walking, or if I had gone to the North, I could have talked to Eileen to dispel this awkwardness.
I thought it was a bit too much to bring a cat among the crowd, so I had no choice but to leave Arwen behind, and all I could do was walk while staring at the ground alone.
I didn’t like this awkward situation.
“Halt!”
As I was walking and having random thoughts, a command to stop was given from the front.
Looking around, there was a lush forest everywhere. And a clearing large enough for the knights to set up camp appeared.
“We’ll set up camp here. As soon as the camp is established, we’ll move out to hunt the nearby magical beasts, so stay alert!”
“Yes, sir!”
As soon as the knight commander gave the order, the knights began to move in unison.
The knights of this era were an advanced type of soldier on par with mages.
It was the same in the history of the original world, but especially here.
It would be easier to understand if you thought of them as tanks or fighter jets in a fantasy world.
Moreover, if they were Imperial Knights, they were the elite of the elite, so it was no exaggeration to call them a group of human weapons and human monsters.
And it wasn’t just the knights, but also the attendants accompanying them, totaling around two hundred personnel.
‘It would be quite difficult to set up a camp for this many people to stay.’
My only experience was from my previous life when I was working my ass off in the military while being called a hero, and based on that experience, just setting up the camp would be grueling labor.
The thought of pitching that ridiculously heavy 24-person tent for the command post still made my teeth chatter.
Anyway, I was just here as a dispatch, and I was looking around carefully with the intention of helping out with magic if there was anything I could assist with.
“Mage, you can use this.”
“…Pardon?”
Some knight who looked like a novice approached me and handed me something that looked like a capsule.
“Sir Knight, what is this?”
“Ah, you don’t know? I thought you would naturally know since you’re a mage.”
The short-haired knight scratched her head as if embarrassed, and then kindly began to explain.
“That’s a mana kit that comes with the supplies. If you infuse a little bit of mana, the built-in items will automatically come out. It’s not bad for use as a makeshift accommodation in the field.”
“…There was something like that?”
“Yes. It’s quite convenient thanks to that. When packing up after camping, if you infuse mana into the kit again, a recovery magic is cast, and it automatically retrieves the items.”
The knight finished her explanation and left with her own mana kit, but I was left with a dazed expression, staring at the mana pack.
No, I didn’t know there was something like this.
Well, if there’s magic, there’s no need to carry heavy tents, set them up one by one, and then disassemble them one by one…
“Technology has advanced quite a bit in this area compared to what I expected.”
Clicking my tongue, I found a suitable spot as the short-haired knight had instructed and infused mana into the kit.
Then, a spacious and respectable tent instantly appeared before my eyes.
It was an unbelievable sight, making me realize once again that it was magic.
Peeking inside by lifting the fabric, there was more than enough space for one person to sleep.
And I belatedly realized that the other knights were setting up their tents huddled together at least a few dozen steps away from where I had set up my tent using the mana kit.
“…”
How should I put it?
It felt like I was being isolated.
I understood that they were being considerate since I was the only man here, but it felt strange, as if I was being ostracized.
It would have been nice if at least one person had come with me.
With a thought that I had lost count of how many times I had, I let out a deep sigh and roughly shoved my luggage inside the tent.
I guess there’s nothing for me to help with using magic.
Even if they’re building a camp, they just quickly use the mana kit they each received to pop out a tent, set up some palisades around, and dig some drainage ditches, and that’s it.
Usually, at this point, I would step up and quickly take care of it with magic, and receive admiring gazes like, “Wow, Mage, you’re amazing!” But that’s not how it turned out.
As I was grumbling to myself and looking around, I heard someone calling my name from somewhere.
“…Rudrick?”
“Huh? Who are you?”
Thinking that there was no way someone I knew would be here, I turned my head.
The voice sounded slightly familiar.
And as I turned my head…
“The mage dispatched here is Rick…?”
“…Sis?”
There stood a strangely familiar face.
The same brown hair as mine. The only difference was that while my hair was cut short, covering my neck, hers was grown long down to her waist.
And if I looked closely, she had features that were oddly similar to mine.
No matter how long it had been since I last saw her face, if we looked this alike, I had no choice but to recognize her right away.
The owner of the voice that had called me was Serilla Weiss.
“It’s you, Rick! How long has it been?”
In other words, she was my older sister.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
It was a dramatic reunion of siblings in a foreign land.
If we traced it step by step, it was truly an amazing coincidence, to say the least.
Serilla, a senior at the academy and part of the Second Princess Elena’s faction, was almost certain to join the Imperial Knights after graduation, and her participation in the regular magical beast hunt.
And Rudrick, who had become a disciple of the Imperial Court Mage Lorenzo Tonali and needed to gain practical experience according to Lorenzo’s judgment, was also dispatched to join the regular magical beast hunt.
Although it had been ten years since they had seen each other’s faces, the bond between the siblings who had reunited after a long time was still warm.
“We haven’t seen each other for nearly ten years, but I never thought we would meet here.”
“That’s because you’re always busy and don’t even come home during breaks, sis. At least you managed to remember your little brother’s face without forgetting. You’ve changed a lot since you were young.”
“Do you think your sister would forget the face of our cute little baby? Of course, I remembered. You haven’t changed much from when you were young.”
Serilla answered with a constant grin on her face. While affectionately ruffling Rudrick’s hair.
Rudrick, whose hair was actually being messed up, was complaining, telling her to stop.
In fact, the relationship between siblings was fundamentally difficult to get along well, but in the case of Serilla and Rudrick, the slight age difference was a major factor.
Although they had been apart since a very young age, which would normally lead to awkwardness, they had been in constant contact through letters until recently.
It was hard to find even a hint of awkwardness between the siblings reuniting after ten years.
“Go and pay your respects to Mother and Father. Father misses you a lot even though he doesn’t show it.”
“Ugh.”
Serilla raised her hands as if she couldn’t help it.
It was a gesture of surrender.
In fact, there was nothing she could say even if she had two mouths.
She was about to graduate from the academy with outstanding grades, and it had been ten years since she had returned to her hometown, using the excuse of being busy as her appointment to the Imperial Knights was virtually confirmed.
It was already enough time for the scenery to change.
“Okay, okay. Is Ria visiting home?”
“My little sister? I don’t know who she takes after, but she doesn’t even show her face at home. I wonder who she resembles.”
“She probably takes after me.”
“Is that something to brag about?”
“…No.”
Serilla gave a wry smile.
Although her youngest brother’s body had grown tall in the ten years since they last met, his behavior was no different from before, still making snarky remarks.
Even that sight looked adorable in Serilla’s eyes.
It reminded her of old times.
Back then, too, when she pinched his soft cheeks like now, he would get annoyed and tell her to stop.
With that thought, Serilla unconsciously pinched Rudrick’s cheek.
The texture was just as soft and squishy as when he was young.
“…Sis, what are you doing?”
“I was checking if it’s really my little brother.”
“And you do that by pinching my cheeks?”
“Of course. It’s just like when you were little.”
Smack.
Rudrick irritably slapped away the hand pinching his cheek and frowned, while Serilla laughed, giggling.
And from a distance, the knights of the Imperial Knights were watching the scene with envious eyes.
“…Is that the friend who is graduating from the academy and joining us this time?”
“That’s what I heard. I’m envious. At least her little brother seems to get along well with his sister.”
“My little brother has been frowning and walking past me since he was young whenever he sees his sister.”
“It’s the same in my family. It’s amazing to see siblings getting along so well.”
Seeing the sight that anyone would perceive as affectionate siblings, sighs of envy escaped from here and there.
Someone’s murmur represented everyone’s feelings.
“…I wish I had a little brother like that.”
Someone else coldly faced reality.
“Get a grip. You shouldn’t have any fantasies about little brothers.”
Sadly, that was the reality.
The fact that Rudrick and Serilla’s relationship was unusually close, and that ordinary siblings were not like that.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
