Around me, a dozen soldiers kneel down and watch the outcome with bated breath.
Their faces are filled with anxiety and anger.
The anxiety is directed at Jiruk, their commander, and the anger is directed at Lord Sandall, the guest.
From their eyes, I can tell that Jiruk is admired by these young men.
After all, they are nothing but rookies who were recruited in Lelis City just two months ago.
Jiruk’s approach to training them focused on drilling in the discipline and physical conditioning necessary for a military unit. To some extent, they had real combat experience against bandits and goblins, and it’s not like they hadn’t trained in the use of weapons.
But maybe from Lord Sandall’s perspective, who must have led an army as a general of the northern kingdom of Shulendal, they look too soft.
As for me, if he becomes a fellow staff member in the future, I don’t mind entrusting him with the command of the entire army.
But it’s too early for that now.
“First of all, I’ll take care of this matter.”
“Sure, of course.”
“I don’t mind.”
The plan I came up with in my head… or maybe a compromise? It is to have Lord Sandall conduct special training in martial arts for the soldiers outside of the regular training hours, as a kind of martial arts advisor.
It’s a plan that I thought would save face for both Lord Sandall and Jiruk, and also gain a new instructor.
However, depending on how this compromise is reached, it could leave some emotional scars.
I’m not very confident, first I need to listen to both sides’ arguments in a calm place.
…As I was thinking that.
“Ma, Margils-sama!”
“Hm? What is it, Lend?”
One of the soldiers called me in a strained voice. If I remember correctly, he was the first young man whose name I heard when I greeted them after they arrived from Lelis City to the castle.
“Ah… W-well… I think Jiruk’s training is right! Please don’t replace him with that knight!”
Lend’s voice choked for a moment. He was probably surprised that I called his name right away.
“O-oh, I agree too!”
“Thanks to Jiruk, we’ve become stronger!”
Many soldiers followed suit and backed him up like this. Jiruk is really loved by them.
“Hey, stop it, you idiots. That’s something Margils-sama has to decide!”
“Muu…”
Jiruk frowned and tried to calm down the soldiers. Lord Sandall stroked his beard and groaned.
No, this is not a good situation.
If I settle this by accepting the soldiers’ plea, Lord Sandall’s dignity will be crushed, and Jiruk will also feel like he was spared his position out of pity.
The commotion attracted the servants, dwarves, and Shulz people to the courtyard.
Considering my position, I could silence the soldiers and execute my plan as an order, but that would be a bad move.
“Margils-sama! We just need to prove that we’ve become stronger, right? Then let me have a match with the knight!”
“Alright.”
After some hesitation, I decided to bet on Jiruk’s coaching ability and the soldiers’ spirit.
I have no confidence that this will work. But I have to choose.
“Lord of the castle…?”
Lord Sandall looked down at me with a suspicious gaze.
He’s not as tall as Leid, but he’s still a giant who towers over me by a head. And when he stares at me in full armor, he has quite a pressure.
If I were still in Japan, I would have lost my voice for sure.
…But, yes, he’s not as tall as Leid.
“I have no doubt that Lord Sandall is an excellent warrior, but this castle and its soldiers have a special background. They may have different characteristics from the army you led. Also, Jiruk is not specialized in commanding an army. He should have a lot to learn from your experience.”
The difference in skill between Lend and Lord Sandall is obvious. But depending on how Lend “loses” or “wins”, I might be able to bring this to a good conclusion.
I carefully continued my words, making sure that my voice didn’t crack from the tension.
“Lord Sandall, can you teach him a lesson? I think you’ll understand each other better if you act instead of talk.”
“…Huh?”
“Hmm, I understand!”
Lord Sandall agreed as expected, but Jiruk looked like he couldn’t believe it.
“Jiruk, Lend. This is just training. It’s for confirming each other’s arguments in practice.”
“…I understand.”
“Yes! I’ll prove that Jiruk’s training is not useless!”
Lend got up with enthusiasm.
The same fire of ambition and ideal that I saw when I first met him was still burning in his eyes after two months.
To be honest, it’s pretty much decided that Lend will be beaten up by this.
I feel heavy… but this is my position, which will also send them to fight against worse dark demons. It’s my duty to make them fight in the best possible way at “that time”.
I made the rules for the match on the spot, taking into account the opinions of Jiruk and Lord Sandall.
– The weapon is a training spear.
– The armor is what they usually use.
– Attacks to the head and vital points are prohibited.
– Lend wins if he lands a valid hit on Sandall once.
– The match continues until either one declares defeat or the referee (me) stops it.
Essentially, this match is a contest of Lend’s spirit and Lord Sandall’s stamina.
But more than that, I want to pay attention to something else.
…It’s unfair that only I am “measured”. So I’ll do some measuring too.
“Then, let’s begin.”
“Yes!”
“Ranger, watch this!”
Lend wears a leather armor for soldiers, while Lord Sandall wears a heavy full-body armor. The weapon is the same, a training spear with a rounded tip that is over two meters long.
Lend holds the spear at his waist level, steps forward with his left foot, and points the tip at Lord Sandall’s abdomen.
By the way, I chose the spear as the weapon for the match because the castle’s soldiers have only received basic training in spears. They have been given swords and shields, but they just hold them.
On the other hand, the wandering knight raises the spear above his head and points the tip at the soldier’s toes. It must be different from Japanese spear techniques, but I guess it’s a left upper stance.
Come to think of it, I had a skill in quarterstaff too.
Maybe because of that, I can somehow tell that Lord Sandall chose this stance to aim for a counterattack.
“……..Ugh.”
Lend was sweating profusely as he faced a master who was more skilled than Jiruk for the first time.
He stepped left and right, looking for an opening, but Lord Sandall was calm.
He changed his body direction to match Lend’s movement, but his footwork was so smooth that it seemed like he wasn’t moving at all.
“Haah!!”
“Take that!”
Lend made up his mind and lunged forward, thrusting his spear straight.
Even from my perspective, Lend’s attack was too slow. He “braced his foot to gain momentum”, “aimed”, and “stepped forward”.
Lord Sandall easily deflected the spear and jabbed his shoulder.
The knight’s movement at that moment looked like he just changed his stance from upper to middle. This must be what he meant by “form”.
“Ugh.”
Lend dropped his spear and crouched.
On the other hand, Lord Sandall remained in the middle stance with a cool face.
“That was a “crown stance” followed by a “twisting thrust”! Well, do you give up?”
“No, not yet!”
“Ugh… ugh…”
“Is he still standing?”
Lend’s persistence seemed to have far exceeded Lord Sandall’s expectation.
He had been knocked down twenty times, but he still tried to get up.
“I can’t stand to watch this…”
“Please stop…”
Jiruk was silent with a bitter face, but even the soldiers and the spectators around were murmuring.
Honestly, I feel very painful watching this too. Even though I knew this would happen and let them do it.
“Hah, hah… One more time…”
“…Muu, you still won’t give up. I admire your spirit.”
The young man staggered but held his spear again.
Lord Sandall was also sweaty, but he wouldn’t give up even if he repeated this a hundred times.
“…Then, I’ll go without holding back!”
“Gah!?”
Lord Sandall’s spear butt spun and swept Lend’s ankle, making him fall.
Still, he tried to get up.
“…Mmm…”
Lord Sandall had been glancing at me from time to time.
I know he wants me to stop the match even without using “ESP Medal”.
…No way.
Realize that you are the one being “measured” right now.
If he and Earl Flandre want to assess my character, I’ll do the same to them.
Lord Sandall can’t choose how to win, but he can choose how to lose.
Well, what will you do, wandering knight? …Hurry up and choose.
“Gyafu!”
And Lend flipped over. It was the twenty-fifth time, but he started struggling for the twenty-sixth time.
“…Huh…”
“…Gahahahaha!”
While the soldiers and servants were almost in tears, and Jiruk was shaking his fist, and some of the Shulz people even reached for their weapons, creating an atmosphere that was reaching its limit.
Just before I couldn’t stand it anymore and was about to call off the match, a hearty laughter rang out.
“Hahaha! I give up! I give up! You have such endurance and stamina! You’re too much for this old man!”
“U… ah…?”
(Yes!)
Laughing happily with his mouth wide open, Lord Sandall helped Lend up.
Lend and the others around him were dumbfounded, but I was secretly cheering inside.
Yes, this is the best way for Lord Sandall to lose.
“That was a splendid match! Lend showed us the results of his training! And Lord Sandall’s martial prowess was amazing, everyone must have seen it. I want to give both of them a round of applause.”
“Clap, clap, clap.”
A single clap sounded in response to my voice.
I turned around and saw Claura clapping her hands with a somewhat cold look in her eyes. She must have arrived halfway through, but she seemed to see through my intentions.
“Wow, you did great, Lend!”
“That was amazing guts!”
“The knight was splendid too”
“You have a different style, indeed”
“You’re not bad for a human!”
Claura’s clap became the catalyst for everyone to applaud, praising Lend’s performance and Sandall’s attitude.
This way, Lord Sandall and Jiruk could save face. And of course, Lend too.
Looking closely, I saw that the servant was also clapping.
“Lend, you endured well. I thank you”
“You overdid it, you know”
“Margils-sama… Captain…”
I took Lend’s hand, who was standing with Lord Sandall’s support, and thanked him from the bottom of my heart.
His guts and loyalty were genuine. He made me feel ashamed of myself, in comparison.
I’ll send him a healing potion and some good wine later.
“Hahaha! But the lord is a wicked one!”
“…No, no. I just trusted Lord Sandall. …Or rather, I wanted to trust him.”
Lord Sandall smiled at me with a friendly look in his eyes. He must have noticed my plan and played along.
What was important for me was that he gave me a perfect answer to my test of whether he could choose a loss that wouldn’t lower himself or his opponent.
I shudder to think what would have happened if he was a fool who would beat Lend to a pulp and laugh like an idiot…
Except for the fact that my own reputation didn’t rise, I think I managed to get through this trouble somehow.
“Phew. Really, for a moment, I almost hated Margils-sama.”
“Jiruk, you endured well too. And you raised them well.”
Jiruk’s impression of me might have worsened…
But if he told me his true feelings, even a little bit, I think our relationship is better than before when he only feared me.
Still.
I wish I could experience choosing one option with confidence once in a while.
Thanks for picking this up