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Chapter 15 – The Knights ①
Three months have passed since the appraisal ceremony, and it was July. In the end, Kurena wasn’t summoned by the lord. Rodan and Gerda seemed to have made up after the sleepover. Theresia had said that they would fight every now and then, ever since they were young.
It was a normal summer day in the pioneer village, with temperatures well over 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Allen made sure that Mash drank plenty of water so that he wouldn’t get dehydrated. Mash was 2 now, and could walk quite well, so he followed Allen around wherever he went. When Mash turned 3, he would also be allowed to go outside.
Allen’s training had progressed, but his level and skill levels hadn’t changed. Synthesize would reach level 3 soon. Since he had to make two cards to combine them, it was harder to level Synthesize than Create. But soon, his hard work would all be worth it.
His swordsmanship was still at level 3. In Hell Mode, levels really didn’t go up much.
“Allen, are you ready?”
“Yes, Mama.”
There was a big event today. A group of knights was coming to the frontier village. Even though the lord didn’t summon Kurena, he had sent knights to see her. Finally, three months after Krena was appraised as a Sword Saint, the lord was making a move.
A messenger came a few days ago. They spoke to the mayor, and the next day, the mayor came to Gerda’s house. He told Gerda to go to the residential area.
(Knights, huh? So they’re like the arm of the lord’s law? So to a serf, they’re like gods. I hope they don’t cut me down just for looking at them wrong.)
Naturally, only Kurena and her father Gerda were summoned. However, Rodan, Gerda’s best friend since childhood, would also be going. Partly because Gerda asked him to, and partly because he wanted to witness his friend’s ascension from serfdom.
“Theresia, I’m off.”
Theresia would be staying home with Mash. They didn’t want to take him and have him start crying if he got startled by the crowd or horses or something.
They headed to Gerda’s house, and they saw Gerda and Kurena already waiting in front of their house. Next to them was Mitilda, holding Lily.
“Alleeeeeen!!”
Kurena looked at Allen and gave him a big wave.
(You look incredibly happy. So you’re finally going to meet a real knight.)
They’d been playing knights for almost three years. Everyday, she introduced herself as “Kurena the Knight”. And today, actual knights were coming to see her. Her voice overflowed with joy.
The four of them headed towards the residential area. The nine o’clock bell had just rung, so they would arrive a bit after 10. The knights were supposed to arrive in the afternoon.
They headed to the residential area early, not wanting to be rude to the knights.
From Allen’s house to Kurena’s house, it took about 15 minutes walking at the children’s speed. Iit took about an hour from Allen’s house to the center of the residential area.
“They’re gonna make me a knight today, right?!!!”
“Hahaha, you’ll have to ask them.”
Gerda patted Kurena’s head. She was probably always like this. While listening to Kurena talk, the group arrived at the residential area.
“Where are we supposed to go?”
Rodan asked.
“I think the village square.”
“The square? Not the gate, or the mayor’s house?”
It looked like the square was at the center of the residential area. There were quite a number of people there. You could hear voices from all over saying that the Sword Saint had arrived. Everyone had heard that the knights were coming today.
Today, all eyes were on Kurena, instead of Allen with his black hair and eyes.
When they arrived, the knights weren’t there yet. So they waited.
(So we have 2 more hours until they get here? If there’s nothing else to do, maybe I’ll sleep?)
Allen started to fall asleep, without caring what others might think. It was like when you were on a plane or a bullet train. If there was nothing to do, you’d fall asleep. As Allen drifted off, Kurena leaned against him and started napping too.
While Allen was sleeping peacefully in the corner of the square, the 12 o’clock bell rang, which was much louder than expected.
“Guh!?”
“Oh? You’re up? Looks like they’re here.”
Allen replied to Rodan’s question in a drowsy tone. It sounds like the knights had arrived on time.
(Hoh, I can’t see them from here, but are they here?)
The villagers were buzzing. Allen looked around, thinking that there were a lot more people now. There were a lot of serfs, who weren’t usually seen in the residential area. Based on their clothes, Allen could tell if they were serfs or commoners.
While he was thinking that, he heard the clopping of horse hooves.
(Ohh! They’re here. They came all the way out to a frontier village. Although I don’t actually know how far away the lord’s city is.)
A group of knights arrived. It wasn’t hundreds or even dozens of knights. It was a cavalry corps of around 10. They probably thought that they didn’t need that many people just to meet Kurena.
The mayor was also waiting in the square. He ran up to the knight who seemed to be the commander. Allen couldn’t really hear them, but he felt that the mayor was welcoming him.
The mayor pointed to Kurena. The knight took off his helmet to get a better look, and gazed directly at Kurena. All at once, the knights took off their helmets and looked at Kurena too. Kurena was already awake and returned their look with a glowing face.
The mayor beckoned Kurena over. Gerda looked at Rodan and nodded. They were finally meeting the knights.
Kurena went over to the knights with Gerda. Rodan and Allen watched.
(I wonder if Kurena is gonna leave the village with the knights. So that means no more napping together and playing pretend?)
He stared at Kurena, who was approaching the knights, with a mixture of loneliness and a teacher’s pride. They were pretty far away, but Allen heard someone loudly proclaim “I’m Kurena!”. The muscley macho gorrilla Gerda was being quite humble, and it was obvious that he felt that Kurena was being too loud.
The knight commander, mustachioed and good-looking, talked to Kurena’s father, Gerda. Allen was too far away to hear what they were saying. He could only watch as the scene progressed.
He was surprised when Gerda suddenly recoiled.
“Wha!? That’s! That’s ridiculous!!”
“Eh?”
It seemed that the conversation was no longer peaceful. Rodan was surprised and went closer to hear them. Allen followed. The square was buzzing with movement, and you could hear Gerda’s voice. More than 100 commoners and serfs were watching.
Gerda was trying to persuade them.
“Kurena is only five years old. And, she’s never held a real sword! This is crazy.”
“Regardless, you’re still saying she’s a Sword Saint, yes? Then there shouldn’t be a problem. Unless you’ve conspired against us, and against your lord?”
“N-no sir. But, for her to fight a knight….”
Gerda persisted. The commander said that there wasn’t any point in continuing the conversation, and called out to one of the knights behind him, who dismounted.
“Lieutenant Commander Wraybrand, ready yourself.”
“Yes Sir!!”
The other knights moved the horses out of the square. The mayor looked at them with a face that said “what’s going on?” but he followed the knights’ orders, and guided the horses to the stables.
“N-no. Kurena is going to die. Please don’t.”
Gerda was down on his knees.
”Hmm, since you still don’t seem to understand, I’ll make it very clear: faking the appraisal ceremony is a crime punishable by death, not just for your daughter, but for you as well. If she doesn’t fight the knight, I’ll cut you and your daughter down, right here and now, for pretending that she is a Sword Saint. So, what will it be?”
Gerda was silent. Despair oozed from his face and body. One of the knights pulled a sword from its sheath, and handed it to Kurena. A double-edged sword that was almost as tall as Kurena – a Western-style longsword.
(Eh? Isn’t this kinda unreasonable? What’s he saying? Did they want to meet in the square because they were going to have Kurena fight no matter what?)
Allen finally understood. He tried to figure out how to diffuse the situation when Kurena interjected.
“Eh? If I beat Mr. Knight, do I get to be a knight?”
Hearing these words, the Knight Commander was astonished.
“Y-yes, well, if you win, you’ll be inducted as a knight.”
“Okay! Got it!!”
The only one smiling in this situation was Kurena. With sparkling eyes, she stared at the sword in her hands – the first real sword she had ever held.
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Thanks for reading! 🙂
JATranslations 
Pretty stupid. So the knights are calling the priests liars? It’s easily verifiable without threatening to kill a little girl.
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