Side Story:
Kurtis — The Proper Way to Spend a Day Off
“THE PATH TO THE women’s dormitory has certainly seen better days…”
I’d been inspecting the castle grounds when I spotted a pothole on the path leading to the women knights’ dormitory where Lady Fi was staying and halted.
“How terrible. What if Lady Fi stumbled because of this?”
The pothole was by no means huge, but Lady Fi was prone to going deep into thought and highly likely to trip on it as she walked. It just so happened that I had the day off, so I rolled up my sleeves, hauled over a sandbag from the equipment storage room, filled the depressed area with sand, then covered and leveled it with dirt to make it match its surroundings. Once complete, I surveyed my work with satisfaction.
Just then, Desmond passed by, and he stopped to regard me strangely. “I’m guessing it’s your day off as you’re in plain clothes, so what the heck are you doing?”
“Is it not obvious? I’m making sure the path to the women’s dormitory is level so there’s no danger of Lady Fi tripping.” I announced my plan proudly, but Desmond shook his head.
“Huh?! You, a knight brigade captain, are doing such a thing on your day off?!”
“I am!” I said, bemused by Desmond’s shortsightedness.
“…I see. You know, I’ve been cursing my luck lately for having to work back-to-back-to-back overtime, but after seeing how you spend your time off, I feel like I still got it pretty good!” He cheered up as he spoke and smiled broadly by the end.
“Good for you,” I said, and we parted ways.
I was passing by the dining hall when the shouts of the chefs inside stopped me in my tracks.
“Whaddya mean the fura-fura bird meat failed to deliver?! We need that meat for tonight’s dinner! These knights are nothing but lumps of muscle. They need their protein! If we serve ’em nothing but vegetables, they’ll riot, for crying out loud!”
“Look, complaining to me about it isn’t going to fix anything! Ahh, blast! Why’d we also have to be out of ham and sausage at such a time?!”
“You mean we’ve got nothing but rabbit food?! Ain’t no way! We’re dead, I tell you! Dead!”
I listened to them panic for a few moments before cutting in. “Starfall Forest is about an hour one-way from here. A round trip should take me three hours or so. Should I hunt some monster meat for tonight?”
The three chefs gaped at me wide-eyed. I waited for them to muster a nervous reply.
“U-uh… You’re a knight brigade captain, right? There aren’t many of ya, so I more or less remember your faces. You seem to be on break today. Are you sure you wanna trouble yourself with something like this?”
“It’s fine,” I replied. “We must have meat at tonight’s meal at all costs.”
“E-exactly! You don’t want to deal with hordes of starving knights either, huh?”
It seemed the chefs had misunderstood me. I cared little for the other knights, but I would not allow Lady Fi to go without. Unconcerned, I let the misconception stand, then turned away to make for the stables, where I could borrow a horse.
“Lady Fi is fond of meat. I cannot let her suffer a disappointing dinner.” She also wished to grow a little taller, from what I understood. Thus, she needed meat—the building block for healthy bones and muscles.
Precisely three hours later, I returned to the dining hall with the body of a deer-like monster. The chefs showered me with effusive appreciation.
“Th-thank you so much!”
“Now we don’t have to worry about the knights throwing a fit!”
“I understand we can’t make you a meal because you captains have your own dining hall, but isn’t there anything we can do for you?!”
I rejected their attempts to repay me, but they insisted on doing something, so I made one simple demand. “Very well. If a female knight with vivid red hair comes to eat here, let her eat all the meat she wants.”
“Absolutely!”
Satisfied with that deal, I left the knights’ dining hall behind.
I still had a little time before dinner, so I made for the eastern side of the castle grounds with a bag of herbs I’d brought back from Starfall Forest. The eastern side hosted a spring gurgling with green healing potion. I knew Lady Fi visited this place from time to time.
When I reached the spring, I took out the herbs I’d brought and planted them around the water. I’d picked them specially from Starfall Forest, knowing they couldn’t be found around the castle itself and figuring Lady Fi would enjoy seeing them.
I devoted myself to planting the herbs until a long shadow suddenly draped over me. I looked up to see Zackary standing over me with a quizzical expression.
“Kurtis, what the heck are you doing? Why are you planting weeds in the royal castle garden?”
Of course, these were not weeds but herbs. However, the modern world had all but forgotten their medicinal properties, categorizing them as weeds, so I understood his confusion.
“Lady Fi likes these plain-looking kinds of plants,” I said. “I figured she might stroll through a place like this in her free time, so I planted them here in the hopes she might see them.”
“…You’ve sure got a lot of free time. Fia’s a good kid, but I don’t get why you and Quentin act all weird whenever she’s involved.”
Something about what he said bothered me. “Are you suggesting Quentin and I are alike?” I asked.
“Well, no, you’re far better. I was talking to Quentin a bit ago, and, uh…let’s just say I’ve sworn never to go near that guy again!”
For all his bulk, Zackary trembled as he spoke, and I wondered what Quentin must have done to make a man as kind as Zackary want to avoid him. It must have something to do with Quentin’s monster obsession, I concluded and parted ways with Zackary.