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The next day, Caim went to the soldiers’ training ground to demonstrate his abilities, as requested by the Knights of the Blue Wolf’s captain. Only Lenka was with him, as Millicia was talking with Lance, Tea was meeting with the Knights of the Black Dragon, and Rozbeth and Lykos were off doing their own things.
At the training ground, the soldiers were swinging their weapons—either swords or spears—in preparation for the coming war in a week.
“Once again, I’m Louivi Ildana, the captain of the Knights of the Blue Wolf.” A man who looked to be around thirty years old, whom Caim had met at the war council, greeted him as he arrived. “I’ll be leading our army in the coming war—though only on the battlefield, of course. Our supreme commander is Prince Lance.”
“I’ve been thinking this ever since I first saw you, but you’re pretty young. I’m surprised you’ve managed to reach the top rank of a knight order at your age,” Caim commented.
“The empire is a meritocracy. As long as you have the skills, age doesn’t matter.” That meant that Ildana was simply outstanding enough to ignore seniority and become the commander of an army at his age. “You’re Princess Millicia’s lover, and you’re going to move freely on the battlefield, right?”
“Yeah, that’s what I heard.”
“Can you really do that? To be honest, I don’t understand why your presence is valued so much.”
“Do you doubt the princess’s words, Ser Ildana?” Lenka asked with a frown.
“I know of your strength as a member of the Knights of the Golden Lion, Lady Lenka. But I do not know of his strength, and I can’t entrust my life to someone I know nothing about. You should understand that much, no?”
“I...”
“Only special people receive special treatment. Unless he can prove he deserves it, I will not allow him to do whatever he wants on the battlefield, even if he has Princess Millicia’s endorsement. Naturally, I intend to say the same thing to Prince Lance.”
“I see...” Caim’s lips curved up at Ildana’s harsh words. In short, he was indirectly picking a fight with Caim. “Fine, I get it. So, what do we do? Are we gonna fight?”
“Yes, but I won’t be your adversary. There is someone who wants to face you.” Ildana turned around as a soldier who had been training approached them.
“I will be your opponent.”
“You’re...” Caim tried to remember the soldier’s name, recognizing him as the young man who had sat next to Ildana during the meeting.
“Audy Iscow, the vice captain of the Knights of the Blue Wolf!”
“Ah, right.”
Audy had lost his temper when Caim had been introduced as Millicia’s lover. Even now, he was glaring at Caim hatefully, as though trying to kill him with his gaze.
“I don’t think you’re worthy of Princess Millicia! I’m going to expose your true colors!”
“Sounds like a personal grudge... Are you sure it’s a good idea to have this guy as your vice captain?” Caim asked Ildana.
The captain looked away. “Audy is a brilliant knight—on the battlefield, at least.”
“If you say so. Anyway, I just need to fight him, right?”
“Indeed,” Ildana replied with a sigh before continuing his explanation. “You’ll spar, but it will be under the same conditions as a true battle with real weapons. Naturally, however, you are not allowed to kill your opponent.”
“I am gonna kill him. I’m gonna tear apart that damn insect who soiled Princess Millicia! I won’t let him get away alive!” Audy mumbled.
“Looks like he’s pretty intent on killing me, though...”
“It should be fine... I think.” Still, Ildana looked awkwardly away. “Princess Millicia said you were a peerless martial artist who could compete with Ser Gawain and Dame Merlin. You should be fine.”
“Well, yeah, I guess it’s not a problem.” Caim scratched his head, accepting the duel. He didn’t mind the mock battle. In fact, he welcomed it. After all, first impressions were important, and he didn’t want people to underestimate him. “But he won’t be enough.”
“What do you mean?”
“Gather everybody who doesn’t approve of my participation in the war,” Caim declared arrogantly with a savage grin. “I’ll fight them all at the same time. I’ll hold back, so you don’t need to worry about anybody getting hurt. Just relax and bring it on!”
“Oh...” Ildana narrowed his eyes and smiled slightly. “I hope you’re good enough to back up your boast. Well then, you heard him, everyone!” Ildana turned toward the many soldiers behind Audy. They were all scowling at Caim, hungry for blood.
“How dare he become Princess Millicia’s fiancé?!”
“I’m gonna kill him... I’ll never forgive him for laying a hand on our goddess!”
“I’ll tear him apart and feed him to the dogs!”
“Man... Millicia sure is popular...” Caim was a little put off by the frenzied soldiers as he moved to the center of the training ground. His opponents numbered around a hundred—that was more than he had expected, but he didn’t intend to back down.
Audy shouted toward the assembled soldiers, “Our adversary is Princess Millicia’s self-proclaimed fiancé! There’s no need to hold back!”
“Yeeeeeeaaaaaaaah!” the soldiers replied in unison.
“He deceived our angel—I mean, our princess—and defiled her! He wants us to come at him all at once? Then let’s show him what we’re made of!”
“Yeeeeeeaaaaaaaah!”
“Wow, he’s good at motivating people. I guess that, in that sense, he is a good leader.” Caim smiled wryly. Audy had been pretty rude to him from the moment they’d met, so Caim had wondered if he really was fit to be the vice captain of the Knights of the Blue Wolf. Apparently, though, he was rather popular among the soldiers. Audy had spread his zeal among the hundred knights, and they were now acting as a single unit. “He dyes his men in his colors and takes charge on the battlefield... I guess that’s another quality necessary in a leader.”
“Hey, you!” Audy called out.