New Knight Order Recruits

Gregory reacted with evident surprise to Hemingway's words.

It was usually the case that recruiting new knights for the order took a very long time.

The recruitment test for new knight order members had already just been held, and, furthermore, it was rare for there to be applicants for the Dawn Knight Order, which was famous for its harshness.

It was something he couldn't easily comprehend.

"How many people are you talking about...?"

Hemingway pursed his lips in brief thought, weighing the number of new recruits.

"Well... I'd say there were about thirty or so."

Gregory looked even more puzzled at Hemingway's continued explanation.

Hemingway, paying no heed to Gregory's reaction, went on.

"Oh, wait. If I put it like this, it could easily be misunderstood, so let me correct myself. This time, we included quasi-knights as knight order members, so pay special attention to that."

Alessandro also looked just as startled as Gregory at Hemingway's words.

Quasi-knights were knights at the first tier, those who had just awakened their mana or were about to reach tier two.

'What... Why would they choose to bring in quasi-knights? Ah, could it be?'

Only then did the situation seem to make sense to Gregory.

In fact, when war broke out, if the Dawn Knight Order suffered a major defeat in battle, Hemingway thought the entire knight order might be wiped out.

It wasn't right, as a commander, to forcefully keep together those who had lost their comrades and the will to fight.

So when Gregory had asked to replenish their numbers, Hemingway had pondered ways to ensure the continuation of the Dawn Knight Order.

'Hmm... It seems he really put some careful thought into things this time.'

If quasi-knights could be added and inherit the will of the Dawn Knight Order, and train together, then they might well achieve the results everyone hoped for.

Given that the Dawn Knight Order was newly expanded and rebuilt, raising new seedlings for the future could not be considered a bad idea at all.

Gregory could vaguely guess Hemingway's intentions.

"Thank you for granting my request."

Gregory was grateful for Hemingway's wise decision, but felt a little embarrassed and kept his thanks brief.

Hemingway was pleased by Gregory's naïve demeanor but chose not to show it.

"That's enough. That concludes what I needed to pass along. You may return."

***

Gregory and Alessandro finished their business and left the Radiant Light Order. Gregory repeatedly apologized to Alessandro.

Because of him, the topic of herbalism had suddenly surfaced, and though his explanation had been ambiguous, Hemingway had most likely seen right through the gaps in Gregory's logic.

That was why he believed he had failed to persuade Hemingway.

"It's fine, Gregory. As I said before, if war breaks out and the kingdoms are unified, then the herbs in Blandi Kingdom should become cheap and easy to buy."

Since Alessandro—the one most directly involved—said it was fine, continuing to apologize would only be rude. Gregory decided to show respect and felt even more determined about their training.

"Alright... Since I've chosen the path of the sword anyway, I'll make our training really fun."

"W-wait a second. Th-that's not exactly what I had in mind..."

Alessandro was grateful for Gregory—not only for his devoted help when Alessandro was injured, but also for his habit of stepping forward in situations where Alessandro's shyness held him back.

He tried to muster as much dignity as possible, but when he sensed the mad glint in Gregory's eyes, he grew needlessly afraid and averted his gaze, pretending distraction.

***

A few days later, Alessandro and Gregory returned once more to the Radiant Light Order.

Caught by a sudden downpour, the two barely managed to take shelter in the shade, but a chill hung in the air.

Maybe it was the rain. The massive stronghold looked even more grand and imposing than usual.

And Gregory's colleagues had already prepared to welcome him—the news of the two's return had reached them.

To greet them, they stood in the rain, cloaks draped about their shoulders.

Alessandro spoke to Gregory.

"Gregory, so this is what it feels like every time you come back."

"What do you mean?"

Gregory, used to frequent deployments, wasn't much moved by the others' enthusiastic welcomes. Alessandro, however, felt differently.

Just being welcomed so openly like this made him deeply appreciative. Even for Gregory, that was enough to awaken feelings he'd forgotten.

Even considering his past life, such kindness had been rare. Now, as a part of growing, he thought he should learn to accept this warmth as well.

Sometimes, it was better to show generosity than to be constantly hard-edged.

Thanks to Alessandro, Gregory found himself contemplating many things.

"Hm... I suppose you're right."

Alessandro watched Gregory mutter to himself at the empty air and whispered,

"Wh-what do you mean, I'm right?"

"It's nothing. Let's go."

As they reached the gathering spot, Ernest looked at Gregory with worried eyes.

"Gregory, nothing happened, right? You're not getting into trouble again, are you? I got the letter, but it didn't say much and it arrived late."

Gregory shook his clothes out and waved his hands.

"No, nothing like that. I just got a little delayed by something, wasn't causing trouble at all."

Adrian asked Gregory,

"Then... Are you able to use the Great Sword now?"

As if he'd been waiting for that, Alessandro turned and showed off the Great Sword.

"Tada! Well? Isn't it amazing? The master of the Great Sword, Alessandro himself, has arrived!"

Amidst the noisy, welcoming commotion, Gregory glanced around. There were some familiar faces missing. He asked Ernest,

"Wait... Where's the commander? He should be here now, smiling as he greets us."

There was a clear reason for Ernest's worry over Gregory's late arrival. While Gregory and Alessandro were away on deployment, Walter's condition had worsened.

He answered carefully.

"The fact is... he's been taken ill and is bedridden."

At those words, Gregory looked back at Alessandro. In that instant, meeting each other's gaze, the two knew they were thinking the same thing.

Almost as if rehearsed, Alessandro and Gregory shouted at once,

"Where is he? Take us to him, quickly!"

Gregory and his companions hurried directly to Walter's room. Walter, frail and feverish, was barely conscious.

Gregory turned to Ernest and demanded,

"What were you doing, letting it get this bad? At the very least, you should have called for a doctor!"

Ernest looked offended as Gregory tried to pin all the blame on him. But it wasn't as if he'd done nothing.

"Well... the weather has been so severe that it's hard to bring any doctors qualified to treat a case like this. Even if they agree to come, they said it'd be a long time."

"Haaa..."

Gregory spoke out of straightforward concern for Walter, but Ernest could only find his attitude grating.

He wanted to ask, "But why are you so annoyed?" but swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue. After all, Walter had been ill for a long time—and this sudden decline had caught them by surprise.

Well, the truth was, he did know. But it was Walter himself who'd stopped Ernest from asking for help, insisting he was alright.

Ernest reasoned there was no point blaming Gregory, who'd only been away on deployment for a long time.

But all that was before Gregory and Alessandro brought out their secret weapon.

With the urgency of the situation, Gregory signaled to Alessandro. Alessandro immediately dug into his bag, taking something out.

Ernest was perplexed by Alessandro's actions.

"W-what are you doing?"

Alessandro looked at the water glass by Walter's bedside. Carefully, he mixed into the water the medicine he'd ground himself.

Gregory and Alessandro confirmed that Walter still had some consciousness and, to give him the medicine, gently elevated his upper body.

Adrian burst out, trying to stop them.

"Hey! What are you two doing? Can't you stop?"

Ernest quickly assessed the situation. When Adrian tried to block Alessandro and Gregory, Ernest instead restrained Adrian.

"Stop. Do you not get why they were late?"

Adrian stared at Gregory, his eyes shaking, and asked Ernest again,

"What are you talking about?"

"Their mission was only to make a report—so why would they be late?"

"Don't tell me..."

Alessandro took Walter's hand, lifted his chin, and carefully poured the medicine into his mouth.

It was technically risky to give medicine to someone not fully conscious, but the situation was dire, and they had no choice.

Thankfully, Walter swallowed the medicine, and Gregory and his companions gently laid him back down and left the room.

As they made to leave the hallway, Ernest blocked Gregory's way, grabbing his shoulder and stepping in front of him.

"How did you figure it out?"

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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