Chapter 271: Amidst the Thunder

In the chapel, thunder roared loudly. Despite it still being daytime, the surroundings were dark, and flickering candles illuminated the anxious faces of the knights.

Seventeen knights from the former Thirteen Knights Order remained; the remaining three were out on reconnaissance. The only sounds were the rain pounding against the windows and occasional thunderclaps. Everyone remained silent.

The door creaked open. Keith, startled, turned to see the village priest, Arjan.

“Would you like something to eat? I can prepare something simple if you wish.”

“No, I’m fine. What about everyone else?”

Keith asked his companions, but they merely glanced at him and said nothing.

“I… I don’t need any food.”

Even though he declined, Arjan didn’t move. When Keith looked up, he seemed disappointed.

“I wish you looked a bit more dependable.”

“…I’ll try.”

“With that attitude, can you really protect the village?”

“I don’t know. Ask the orcs.”

Keith replied half-heartedly.

He knew his body wouldn’t hold up without food, but he couldn’t stomach it. What would Leonard do in this situation? He’d probably eat silently. Victor, on the other hand, would likely laugh heartily while eating and ask if there was any wine.

They were different. He had admired them from afar but never tried to understand or get closer to them. And now, he was suffering because of it.

“I don’t expect anything from you.”

That’s what Arjan’s eyes seemed to say.

…Shut up, go away.

Keith wanted to shout, but if he lashed out, he’d only feel more miserable.

Bang! The knight who had been on reconnaissance rolled into the chapel with a loud noise.

What now? Please stop. A knight, drenched, threw off his rain gear and yelled.

“Five giant orcs are heading this way!”

Oh no… Keith closed his eyes tightly, feeling the worst. The main force of the Fourth Knight Order wouldn’t make it in time, so they had to deal with it themselves. Against monsters that even the hero Leonard had fallen to.

“Are you sure it’s not a mistake? Maybe they’re just wandering around.”

Someone wished fervently. But the knight screamed like a banshee.

“I double-checked multiple times! They’re definitely headed here!”

Nobody wanted to believe it. But they couldn’t imagine he was lying.

“Keith, what do we do…?”

One of his comrades asked with a face on the verge of tears.

“What do we do…?”

Keith gripped his sword tightly and stood up.

“We have no choice.”

His clenched teeth made an unpleasant grinding sound. 

If he ran away now, he might save his life. But he’d lose everything else. His status, honor, even the pride of having been Leonard’s subordinate.

This is no joke. That was something he couldn’t tolerate.

He couldn’t become Leonard’s understanding companion. He couldn’t catch up to that broad back. But he wouldn’t let anyone deny that he admired Leonard, that he truly loved him. Running away now would be like denying himself.

“I’m going. Anyone who wants to come, come.”

Keith looked at the door of the chapel. It was a gate to hell, and he knew it. But he had to go, even he understood that. If he didn’t go, if he didn’t face it, he’d regret it for the rest of his life. That would be his true hell.

He didn’t even have time to grab the handle before the door swung open, and the remaining two knights who had been on reconnaissance rolled in. They were also drenched.

“I-It’s terrible!”

“What’s wrong? We already know the orcs are coming.”

Keith said, clicking his tongue as his resolve faded.

“It’s tough for you too, but not that! Outside, outside!”

“What is it? Just say it already.”

“Leonard-sama is…!”

The breathless knights stared at Keith. Even if it was a joke, it was in poor taste.

Leonard wasn’t here anymore. He was dead. That’s why they were suffering like this. But still, if there was such a thing as a miracle in this world…

With that feeling, Keith dashed out into the rain without even wearing rain gear.

“Which way!?”

“That way, that way!”

Amidst the roaring rain, Keith and the knights shouted forcefully. Keith didn’t care about getting wet, or his armor getting wet. None of that mattered.

“Leonard-sama, Leonard-sama! Where are you!?”

He stumbled over the muddy ground, face-first into a puddle. As he pulled his face out of the mud, he realized what a foolish thing he was doing.

“What am I doing…”

As he raised his face to wash it in the rain, he saw figures ahead.

Someone was on horseback. Holding the reins was a butler he recognized. Two knights, one of them unfamiliar, stood beside the horse, and a white-haired old man followed behind.

“Ah… ah…”

Keith stopped in front of the horse, covered in mud.

The person on horseback was wearing Leonard’s armor. Much shorter and differently built than Leonard, it seemed like a struggle for him to wear it.

“What’s wrong, Keith?”

A dignified and beautiful girl’s face appeared as she removed the hood of her raincoat. She was a completely different person from Leonard. Yet, speaking kindly from horseback, she seemed to overlap with Leonard in Keith’s eyes.

“Leonard-sama, it’s an honor to meet you…”

Keith knelt in the mud, not clasping his hands, but his posture was akin to a prayer. Knights followed him, one after another, and when they saw the girl in Leonard’s armor, they too knelt in the mud.

In front of the twenty loyal subjects, the girl looked around and spoke.

“Everyone seems well. Can you guide us to a place where we can take shelter from the rain?”

“Understood!”

The knights shouted in unison and stood up together. They were drenched and covered in mud, but their faces were full of vitality.

—

Let’s rewind a bit.

Karin and the others pressed on through the pouring rain. The butler, who hadn’t worn leather armor in a long time, shouted loudly.

“Karin-sama, aren’t you cold!?”

“I came to encourage the knights. There’s no time to talk about being cold or uncomfortable!”

Karin said bravely, but then,

“Achoo!”

She sneezed ungracefully.

While Lutz, Gerhardt, and Josel didn’t complain about walking in the rain, it was uncomfortable. Spring was already halfway through, but it was still cold when it rained.

“There’s someone over there…”

The butler pointed, and they thought they saw a person, but then they fell over dramatically.

“Let’s go.”

They approached quickly, and they saw a familiar knight sitting absentmindedly without rain gear. It was strange to see someone like this here.

“What’s wrong, Keith?”

When Karin removed her hood and spoke, Keith froze as if he had seen a ghost and suddenly burst into tears.

“Leonard-sama, it’s an honor to meet you…”

What was this man mistaking? Certainly, Karin was wearing Leonard’s armor, and the rain made visibility poor. But mistaking Karin for Leonard was inconceivable.

As knights gathered and knelt one by one, it was an odd sight, but they were deadly serious, and Karin couldn’t bring herself to laugh it off.

All the lengthy speeches she had prepared for encouragement vanished from her mind.

When she asked to find shelter from the rain, the knights moved so briskly that they made her forget it was raining.

“Hey, Lutz, isn’t something off?”

Gerhardt, looking puzzled, spoke to Lutz.

“Weren’t those guys supposed to be tough knights, not just a bunch of crybabies weeping for Leonard all the time?”

“I didn’t say that, but it’s surprising.”

“Yeah, they’re genuine knights everyone can trust. They’ve got the faces of men you can rely on.”

“Are you going to let Gerhardt say that much?”

As Karin listened to Lutz and Gerhardt’s conversation from horseback, she felt unexpectedly happy. That’s right, they were knights who had fought on the battlefield alongside her brother Leonard. They shouldn’t have been weak to begin with.

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