That’s one way to kill the mood.
“Albert?!” the princess cried out in surprise.
“Nemophila! Stop him!” shouted Palu, telling Nemophila to stop the blue-haired guy’s rampage. Supervising her holy knight was a holy woman’s duty. Nemophila obeyed.
“Stop.” However, Palu’s request came several seconds after we clashed.
I wasn’t just going to stay locking swords with him that whole time. First, I pushed him back. His sword and body were lifted slightly, unable to endure the force trying to send him flying. I tried to kick his undefended stomach, but he adjusted in midair and dodged it. He then immediately counterattacked, swinging down the sword I had knocked away a moment earlier.
I pulled back the leg I had used to kick and readied my sword diagonally, the hilt pointed toward the sky, successfully deflecting his swing and avoiding the impact. Our swords then crossed three more times. Each time, the difference in strength became even clearer. After it was established who was on the offensive and who was on the defensive, one side soon gained the upper hand. That side was me, of course, inching toward victory.
After the fourth time, the blue-haired knight finally realized he was at a disadvantage and stopped his assault, leaping back. Just before he did, I unleashed a quick swing using only my right hand that just barely missed him. Had he been just a bit slower, it would’ve ended the fight. “You’ve got good eyes.” He clearly wasn’t weak—it was fair to say he was a first-rate swordsman—but he was far from the best. In terms of pure skill with the blade, my adoptive father and Myra both were probably better. That’s what makes this so weird.
“Your fighting style is like street brawling mixed with holy knight techniques,” the blue-haired knight said, murderous intent still in his eyes.
“And your fighting style seems designed to be used against other people. You weren’t a holy knight to begin with, were you?” In the past, holy knights had fought against various threats, so combating other humans was just one small part of the job. Yet his fighting style was specialized for fighting against other people. That meant he hadn’t originally been a holy knight. Not that you had to be a holy knight to become a unique curion or anything.
Then, as though right on cue, Nemophila broke up the fight. “Stop.”
“But, Princess—” he protested.
“That gentleman is like us.”
“Like us?”
“Are you going to make me repeat myself?” Nemophila smiled ever so slightly. It was an empty smile, like the freezing wind blowing through a winter alleyway.
“My apologies.” The blue-haired asshole sheathed his sword, then stood before Nemophila and dropped to one knee. Ignoring her knight, she looked straight at me.
“I apologize for the discourtesy. I hope the two of you can forgive us.” Nemophila bowed her head in apology. Her voice was entirely devoid of emotion.
Was she testing me?
“Explain yourselves,” the princess demanded. It seemed she hadn’t realized the blue-haired knight’s identity. That was to be expected considering we were covered in flesh like regular people. Only a fellow curion would be capable of identifying us as undead.
“I’ll be sure to reprimand him, so could we please ask for your tolerance?”
“That’s not an explanation!” The princess was seriously pissed. Come to think of it, she had gotten mad when Myra cut my cheek too. It was proof of how much she really cared for me. It kinda made me happy.
“Lady Nemophila, I have something I would like to ask you.” Pushing my happiness aside, I called out to Nemophila. She glanced at Palu for a moment, then looked back at me.
“Then let’s continue this another day.” She was well aware of her knight’s identity as an undead. And since he had suddenly attacked me, she knew I was one too. Furthermore, she knew that we couldn’t discuss any of it with Palu around.
“I’ll be looking forward to your invitation.”
“As will I. You’re quite intriguing.” Still kneeling before Nemophila, the blue-haired knight glared at me. If nothing else, his loyalty—or rather, his attachment to her seemed genuine. “We must take our leave for the day. Congratulations once again on being granted the title of White. I pray that the day comes where we’re able to fight alongside one another.” With that, she headed to a separate carriage from the one her luggage had been loaded onto.
The blue-haired knight stood up and opened the door for her. After waiting for her to enter, he then closed it. It seemed like he wasn’t allowed to ride with her. “Why are you here?” he asked.
“None of your business.”
“If you dare try to hurt the princess—”
“Do you have a sewing needle and thread on you?”
“What?”
“You might wanna sew that up before your master notices.” The crest on his right shoulder split. I had cut it earlier—just enough so the symbol indicating his status as one of the Twelve Knights wouldn’t tear until he moved a bit.
“Why did you do that in front of the princess?”
“I wouldn’t want a woman to feel bad that her holy knight is a weakling. Men don’t get that courtesy.” Although the blue-haired asshole gritted his teeth, he didn’t object. He rubbed the crest once, then boarded the covered wagon Nemophila’s luggage had been loaded onto without a word and it left.
“Holy knight Albert,” Palu said as she approached me.
“Just Al’s fine, Palu.”
“I’m sorry about my friend. She wasn’t like that before.”
“It’s nothing for you to apologize about.”
“I have no idea why that holy knight attacked you out of the blue.”
“The world’s full of idiots.” Honestly, trying to kill one of the Twelve Corpses on sight might have been the right call as a holy knight. Though given we were in the middle of the city, it was still reckless. “Do you know anything about him, Palu?”
She shook her head, her golden hair swaying gently. “No. I still can’t believe that she would choose a second holy knight.” It seemed like her bond with her first holy knight had been so strong that Palu couldn’t imagine her finding another before even taking the time to grieve her loss.