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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Anyway, it was a dramatic sibling reunion after ten years.
Blessings in disguise, a mysterious turning in life’s fortunes—was this the kind of situation those sayings were meant for?
It wasn’t like I was being dragged into something I disliked against my will, but who would have thought I would meet my older sister when I was already feeling bored?
If it had been the first time since I was 10 years old, it was almost like reuniting with a family I had practically cut ties with.
First, I put mana back into the mana kit to retrieve the tent, moved next to the tent my older sister had set up, and used the kit again.
“…Rick, what are you doing?”
“I’m moving my spot. Next to you, sis.”
“Why…?”
“Do you not like it?”
“No, it’s not that I don’t like it, but…”
I moved because I needed someone to chat with, but my older sister trailed off and avoided my gaze for some reason.
It wasn’t like I was suggesting we sleep together, I just moved my spot next to hers.
Of course, I knew it would be strange for grown adults, even siblings, to sleep together, no matter how you looked at it.
But moving the tents to be next to each other was a bit different from that.
…Well, it might feel awkward since we were meeting again after ten years.
Even I didn’t recognize her at first, if only for a moment.
But it was irksome when she reacted like this.
“Sigh.”
“…?”
“If someone saw us, they’d think you were an only child, not that we have three siblings. My older sister, who hasn’t even visited home, grew up a bit and is now keeping her distance from her brother~”
“Th-that’s not it!”
My sister hurriedly tried to dissuade me with a visibly flustered expression, but come to think of it, it was irksome.
If she hadn’t even visited home for ten years and had been stuck in the academy, wasn’t that practically cutting ties?
You should be grateful that your brother hasn’t forgotten your face, but you shouldn’t show such an awkward reaction when your brother moves his tent next to you because he feels lonely and has no one to talk to.
“I guess I should consider myself an only child too… Sigh…”
“Rick, I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad, okay?”
“I’m not mad though?”
“…”
My sister fell silent at my words.
If you put yourself in my shoes and think about it from my perspective, wouldn’t it drive you crazy to be on the receiving end of this kind of conversation, not the one initiating it?
It was a kind of verbal judo where no matter what you said, you would get caught.
In my previous life, this way of speaking was called “woman language,” but in this world, it had somehow become the exclusive domain of men.
But since I didn’t really mean it and was just joking…
When my sister saw me giggling, she must have realized it, as her expression quickly softened.
“…Oh my, when I left for the academy, you were just a little kid. And now, ten years later, you’re teasing your sister.”
“I can tease you a little. You acted like you didn’t like it when I just moved my tent next to yours.”
“It’s not that I don’t like it.”
As if she couldn’t do anything about it, my sister ruffled my hair again, and I swatted her hand away.
I’d have to tie my hair again because of this.
After giving my sister a glare, I was about to enter the tent and start unpacking.
“All units, form up in five rows!”
It seemed that while we were joking around, everyone had finished setting up the camp and putting down their gear, as a formation order was given, and knights began to move busily from here and there.
Seeing my sister with a face as stiff as a newly enlisted soldier was a refreshing experience, but in contrast, I was moving leisurely.
I had roughly guessed it while observing the knights’ reactions on the way here.
I was just a tagalong in this training, so to speak.
‘There are several reasons for that.’
First of all, I didn’t belong to the knights.
My official position was as a disciple of the Imperial Court Mage, and even though I didn’t have a clear affiliation, being a disciple of the Imperial Court Mage put me in a delicate position for the knights to give orders or instructions freely.
And strictly speaking, this was the Imperial Knights’ training, not mine.
I was just a side addition that had been brought along.
Moreover, if it was an order from the Second Princess in that high position, wouldn’t it be awkward even if it were the knight commander?
One should always be thoroughly objective about oneself.
If I’m in a position where I’m relying on others’ goodwill, there’s a saying that a protruding nail gets hammered down, so instead of being cheeky, it’s best to act according to the situation.
“Now that everyone is gathered, I will convey the details!”
As proof, the knight commander shouting at the top of his lungs in the front didn’t care whether I walked leisurely by myself or not.
It would probably be enough for my role to just cast healing magic when someone gets injured and occasionally use attack magic once or twice.
“From now on, disperse in squad units and scout the area. As soon as you discover magical beasts, annihilate them. Practice forming squad-level formations. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!”
Resounding responses burst out from here and there.
…But I didn’t have a specific affiliation.
While I was wondering which squad I should join, the knights began to scatter in groups.
The only ones left were the knight commander, a few knights who seemed to be his adjutants, and me.
“…Ahem.”
I stared at the knight commander as if asking what I should do, and he cleared his throat as if he hadn’t considered my situation.
“…You are free to act as you wish. I will assign a few knights as your escorts.”
“…”
Commander, isn’t that too flimsy for an impromptu position? I wanted to retort, but…
What choice did I have? At least he said he would assign escorts.
I didn’t know how strong the magical beasts in the vicinity were, but even if I thought I didn’t need escorts, it would be rude to ignore his goodwill.
“Can I just wander around as I please?”
“That’s right. You have autonomy. However…”
The knight commander lowered his voice and quietly added, glancing around.
“…If you get injured, it could lead to many problematic factors. Do you understand what I mean?”
“Roughly, yes.”
I nodded my head.
If I got injured, it wouldn’t just be me getting hurt, but it could develop into a political issue.
There was no other way.
It was a matter directly ordered by the Second Princess herself, and I wasn’t a member of the knights but a disciple of the Imperial Court Mage.
The knight commander also nodded his head when I nodded to indicate my understanding.
It was the establishment of a tacit agreement.
I would act on my own to the best of my ability to avoid any potential issues.
And the knight assigned as my escort was also a familiar face.
“…It’s been a while since Weiss County. I look forward to working with you, Young Master Rudrick.”
“So your name was… Serin, right?”
“Serin Cayer.”
One of the knights with a graceful impression who had been escorting Princess Elena from behind when she first visited our territory for an inspection.
Although I had only seen her briefly, she had left an impression on me, but I never thought I would meet her again like this.
Well, if I were alone, I would have just slowly looked around using flight magic and acted according to the situation.
“Fly.”
As I muttered the activation word, my feet gently floated off the ground.
It wasn’t high-altitude flight, just flight magic used because I was too lazy to walk.
Serin, true to her somewhat old-fashioned first impression, vigilantly guarded the surroundings, ready to respond to any threat that might appear, staying true to her duty as an escort.
With her hand on the hilt of her sword, Serin asked while keeping watch.
“What would you like to do, Young Master Rudrick?”
“How many squads are there in the Imperial Knights?”
“This time, they are divided into five squads. Each squad has dispersed in different directions… Did you not attend the briefing, Young Master Rudrick?”
“No one really paid attention to me.”
“…My apologies.”
Serin made an apologetic expression.
If she was close enough to escort the princess, she must be one of the elites in the Imperial Knights, and thanks to that, she seemed to understand the meaning of my words right away.
I waved my hand to dismiss it.
“It’s not like you need to apologize, Serin. In a way, it’s true that I’m in an awkward position since I joined in the middle.”
“…This regular training will take place on this entire mountain.”
I turned my head towards the mountain Serin pointed at. A mountain rising tall amidst the lush forest.
It looked close to a thousand meters above sea level at the very least.
It would certainly be tough to run around the vicinity of this mountain wearing heavy armor, but I wasn’t surprised that the Imperial Knights trained in such a crude way.
As my gaze shifted, Serin calmly continued her explanation.
“Most of the magical beasts inhabiting the area are low-level, but we have obtained testimonies from nearby residents about sightings of trolls and ogres around the middle of the mountain. An investigation confirmed that a significant number of magical beasts actually reside there.”
“And those are the ones the knights are targeting, right?”
“That’s correct. Although they seem to have formed their own ecosystem in the mountains, we don’t know when the ones pushed out of their territory might come down.”
Mm-hmm.
I nodded my head.
I roughly understood what had happened.
If the magical beasts were that powerful, they were just the right targets for the Imperial Knights to hunt while training.
They were killing two birds with one stone by preemptively dealing with powerful magical beasts to prevent damage to nearby villages.
Trolls and above were typically classified as high-level magical beasts, and I remembered reading in a book that most high-level magical beasts had some level of resistance to magic.
It didn’t mean my magic would be completely ineffective against them, but…
I neatly organized my thoughts.
Even if they were the Imperial Knights, they had to be somewhat tense when facing high-level magical beasts.
Then it wasn’t difficult to find what I needed to do.
“Do you happen to know which squad my older sister… I mean, Serilla Weiss belongs to?”
“If you’re referring to the prospective member… As far as I know, she is in the 1st Squad.”
“Then let’s go find the 1st Squad first.”
“The 1st Squad… you say?”
“Yes.”
The picture was clear.
“I’m going to tag along with the 1st Squad first.”
“…?”
No matter how awkwardly I had joined in the middle, I still needed to do field training, right?
And I had to show off a bit to my older sister.
Even if my talent was half-exchanged for my lifespan, I still possessed the qualities of a great mage.
This was an opportunity.
Not an opportunity to leave a deep impression… but an opportunity to show her how cool I was.
This was the first time I would be using magic in actual combat, and thinking about it that way, my heart was beating with a strange excitement.
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