“Hey, you guys! Step aside! I don’t want to bump into a bunch of burly, sweaty guys like you. If anyone’s going to touch me, it’ll be a cute, naked girl in bed, all right? Step aside!”
And with that, the knight parted the crowd of aspirants, opening up a path for Fie and himself.
(Yeah... He’s a flirt all right. Just as I thought.)
Fie’s suspicions, having been more or less confirmed, cemented her first image of the knight in her mind.
Having parted the crowd, the knight waved, smiling as he motioned for Fie to follow.
“Come on, kid. Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
(But... I guess he can be a nice guy.)
Fie smiled.
And so, following the slightly flirty, but also somewhat pleasant knight, Fie was finally out of the castle gates.
“I’m Crow. I’m pretty sure you know, but I’m one of Orstoll’s knights. And what are you called?”
“I’m Heath,” Fie answered, without as much as an inkling of hesitation.
For the past two weeks, Fie had made sure to dedicate time to think of a false name for herself.
(Well no. Not a false name. That’ll be my new name from now on.)
To be honest, she had wanted a completely new name — but if she were found out to be a stowaway princess, things would get considerably more difficult. And that was why Fie chose a name that sounded vaguely similar to hers — “Fie” and “Hee-th.” At least, that was what she thought.
Upon exiting the castle gates, the line of hopefuls stretched on as far as the eye could see.
Although Fie would have been fine on her own from here on out, Crow somehow saw fit to personally escort her all the way to the back of the line.
And so the two of them walked together.
“So, Heath. Why do you want to be a knight?”
“Ah. Um...” Upon being asked that, Fie became flustered.
Although her goals were obvious from the get go, she had never really come up with a reason — a fictional motivation to go along with her false name. It wasn’t possible to just say that she wanted a new life and identity.
And so, in a panic, Fie answered: “B-Because they’re so cool!”
It was a direct, but flippant reason.
Sweat formed on Fie’s face once more. Would the knight think her reason was suspicious? However, Crow seemed to have taken positively to the response.
“Yeah, that’s right, isn’t it? Knights are cool. I’m cool too, right?”
“Yeah! You’re so cool! I want to be just like you!”
It was a bit of a stretch, but Fie really did believe in Crow’s inherent degree of “cool” — that much was true. His handsome features, blonde hair, and muscled body, plus his armor and sword all came together to form quite the image.
Fie had wanted to be a knight since a young age to begin with, and perhaps that was why she had thought of such a reason. It was a fuzzy thought in her mind — when she had to take up duties as a princess, that thought was taken away from her, all but forgotten.
Looking at Crow’s appearances alone, he was indeed the very image of a knight — knights that Fie had come to admire.
“Yes, yes. Isn’t that right? Knights have it good. We’re popular with the ladies. If you became a knight, you’d get all the ladies too. Even a whole bevy of girlfriends!”
“I don’t really need that, though...”
Fie didn’t really know where to start picking apart Crow’s statements.
(He’s a flirt all right... Although he looks cool on the outside...)
Fie stared at Crow somewhat coldly.
Upon seeing Fie’s reaction, Crow laughed.
“Hahaha, I see you’re still such a kid, Heath! Hey, you have quite a strange accent... one not really heard around these parts. Where are you from anyway?”
Fie’s promptly froze up at the mention of her accent. Although she had taken sufficient time over the last two weeks to think of her own profile, upon having her accent pointed out, Fie quickly lost confidence in her imaginary self.
Crow knew a lot more about Orstoll than she did. If she made any mistakes, he would think she’s suspicious. And of course, she had not thought of a reason to explain her accent.
“Ah... well... that is...”
“Oh. I guess you don’t want to talk about it. Well that’s fine. You don’t have to! Sorry about that.”
Crow suddenly ceased his line of questioning upon seeing Fie become considerably shaken. He thought he knew the reason why. (Probably the child of illegal immigrants... His clothing is in tatters too...) Crow observed.
It was a typical story that such a child would hope to become a knight, seeking a better life.
Strictly speaking, the knights were supposed to deal with that in some capacity, but they usually turned a blind eye to those situations, providing that they were not criminals. And as such, the doors to the castle were open even to such individuals on the occasion of this test. Instead of chasing them away or arresting them, they were given a chance — a new direction in life, provided they were willing to work for it. That, too, was one of King Roy’s ideas, and subsequent approaches to local laws.
As they walked side by side on the way to the back of the line, a pleasant smell wafted by Fie’s nose. Around them were food stalls targeted at the queuing applicants. Suddenly Fie was reminded of just how empty her stomach was.
(Ooh... I’m so hungry...)
But it wasn’t like she could buy anything. While Fie did have some currency on her person, the coins she carried were not legal tender in Orstoll. The Daeman coins contained some degree of precious metals, and as such had some value by virtue of weight. However, a young boy from a foreign country paying for goods with gold coins was a definite beacon of suspicion.
(Bear with it... Bear with it...)
Fie walked past the stalls, decidedly fixing her stare away from the food on display.
“What is it?”
“No. No, it’s nothing.”
Fie did not want to arouse any more suspicion in Crow than she already had. So she tried to pretend like nothing was wrong.
Noticing this, Crow turned to Fie.
“Wait here.”
“Sir Crow?”
Crow vanished into the crowd. When he returned, two kebabs of fried chicken were in his hands, which he promptly pressed into Fie’s.
“Here, eat up.”
“Huh? But...?”
“Well, you’re hungry aren’t you? Don’t hold back. You aren’t gonna go far in that test if you’re in this state.”
An impossibly delicious smell wafted up to Fie’s nostrils from the chicken kebabs. She peered up at Crow slightly, holding the kebabs in her hands — and Crow nodded, matching her gaze.
Fie opened her mouth, biting down into the kebab. It was the first time in quite a few weeks that the taste of meat had filled her mouth.
(It’s... It’s so delicious...!)
Once Fie had one bite, it was impossible to stop. So she wolfed down the kebabs, stuffing them down her mouth in a most un-princesslike manner.
“Haha, don’t rush. It’s going to get stuck in your throat. Hey, this isn’t worth crying over, is it?”
Fie had only noticed upon hearing Crow’s question that large tears had formed in her eyes, and were currently rolling down her face unceremoniously.
Ever since coming to this kingdom, Fie had been ignored. No one would acknowledge her presence, and she was thrust into the confines of the back pavilion, with only an unbearable loneliness for company. As such, the current situation was not one that Fie was used to at all...
And amongst all this, the first person to show her some degree of kindness was Crow.
As she bit down on the warm kebabs, an even warmer feeling filled her heart. “Sir Crow... Thank you so much...” In spite of her tears, Fie managed out some words of thanks.
To that, Crow gave her a wry smile.