When Gahariet stepped into the castle later that morning, he was met with a huge commotion. All of the Royal Knights’ attention was focused on him. The captain, in as foul a mood as always, was glaring at his men, not bothering to mask his true feelings. This had always been his way of doing things: he’d show his displeasure through his actions and let his subordinates scramble to try and better his mood.
This chivalric order was Gahariet’s own little kingdom. He was the king, the one with absolute power over everything. The knights owed him absolute obedience at all times. He’d never been able to achieve much in life and never fit in with his own family; this was his last bastion.
Tch. Why are they staring at me?
Since last night, inexplicable things had happened one after another, and his mood continued to darken. Being the head of the Royal Knights was the most comfortable he’d ever felt, but his peace was crumbling! He knew the root cause of his issues—those impudent rookies.
“You all took way too long to gather here! Do you think you can get away with this?! As collective punishment for those who were late, you’ll all run fifty laps around the practice grounds later!” he barked.
His men scrambled to their positions. Gahariet loved that sight. It reaffirmed that he was the one in charge.
“Rookies! Go clean the toilets!” he yelled in a shrill voice.
The second the words left his mouth, he felt as if his line of sight shifted upward slightly.
That must be my imagination. Or perhaps not...?
He thought back on last night’s events. He clearly remembered going to the barracks’ mess hall, yet he woke up alone in a forest. He’d struggled to make his way back but was hit with another shock: his line of sight kept getting lower and lower. To be precise, it seemed that his legs were...shrinking?
He knew who’d done this to him.
Those damn rookies!
Since he’d been drunk, he didn’t remember anything from then clearly, but he knew he’d had a run-in with some recruits. Even his voice had become odd now, and his subordinates were making fun of him under their breath! He wouldn’t let those upstarts get away with this.
Are these rookies mana wielders? How did such a disgusting bunch manage to get through the document screening? They should’ve been disqualified immediately. Unless they used their magic to cheat their way in? I don’t get it!
Gahariet had no understanding of magic whatsoever, but the rookies in question made his skin crawl. He didn’t know whether he should mess with them or not. He had been jealous that morning when the male and female recruits had dined together but couldn’t muster the courage to go tell them off.
All of a sudden, the female knights’ squad leader ran up to him. She was the daughter of a baron and had a decent face, so he was usually a little more lenient toward her.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“There’s something I need to tell you about the new recruits. One of them is actually a mana wielder—the one called Lam, with the green hair. She keeps making strange things happen and just creeps me out overall.”
“What?! A mana wielder?! So it really was magic!”
Gahariet felt like he’d finally connected the dots. However, this only made him more irritated, and he was slowly losing control of his own emotions. His anger was about to explode.
“Good work, squad leader,” he told the woman, whose eyes sparkled with joy, like a loyal dog.
Good. This is how women should be.
His gaze followed the squad leader until she was out of sight, then he glared at the rookies standing a little farther away. The one with the silver hair got on his nerves the most. He was handsome, had managed a decent score on the exam, and, worst of all...the woman Gahariet had set his eyes on was dating him! That he couldn’t tolerate. His foggy recollections of the previous night supplied hazy images of the man stepping in just as things were finally starting to look promising with her.
I was about to take her to my room.
The fact that Lam herself was a mana wielder had already slipped out of his mind—as if a woman could ever be a hindrance to him.
“Hurry along, rookies! After work, I’ll have you all do five hundred push-ups on top of the fifty laps around the practice grounds!” he roared.
His line of sight rose slightly higher again; he seemed to have grown taller.
Looks like my height is back to normal. I was a tad worried yesterday, but things seem fine now.
Most mana wielders weren’t great at magic, so whatever spell these rookies had put on him must’ve stopped working.
If they’re not that good, then I just need to find a way to get rid of them. And there just so happens to be a hunting tournament next week. I’ll make them regret ever crossing the son of a marquis.
He could easily put them out of business and make it appear like an accident. In fact, he’d gotten rid of many annoying subordinates before. Not by killing them or anything, just forcing them to resign.
This was Gahariet’s kingdom, and his word was law. No exceptions.
Keep acting cocky while you still can.
A dark smile curling on his lips, he barked more orders at the knights. “If I spot any of you slacking off, I’ll shave your head bald, you hear?! Ga ha ha! Only those who can endure my training are worthy of being Royal Knights!”
Unfortunately, his voice was so high-pitched that his threats weren’t nearly as menacing as he hoped.
Oh well. It should go back to normal soon, just like my height. Turns out there was no need for me to be worried about any mana wielder. The spell should fade away soon.
Gahariet truly believed it would.