Sirius had certainly left a strong impression from his very first day with the brigade, but he steadily won the knight’s trust as he continued to spend more time with them. This was because he never showed any fear or intimidation.
For example, during a monster hunt when they had the creature surrounded, there was a moment when the knights, intimidated by the monster’s ferocity, hesitated and took a step back. Sirius alone stayed his ground, but this effectively meant he was a step ahead of the others, so the monster immediately targeted him.
Once they realized this, the knights rushed to his aid, but Sirius had cut the monster down with a single slash before they could even wield their swords.
The knights tended to prize bravery and strength, and Sirius had both qualities in spades. His unmatched power and the sense of security it instilled, backed by demonstrable strength, quickly captivated the knights.
Additionally, Sirius took the initiative to do the paperwork that everyone despised and deftly handled it without any errors. No one had even seen a knight that excelled so highly in both matters of brawn and brain; everyone said as much. But even though he appeared to be perfection incarnate, Sirius was not without his flaws.
For one, he demanded the same high standards from those around him.
“At the time, we were all somewhat baffled, thinking that Sirius’s high abilities were causing him to set standards based on his own exceptional skills. We assumed that—being young—he would eventually come to understand the typical level of ability among the knights and adjust his ideals accordingly…but we were mistaken.”
No matter how much timed passed, Sirius held strong to his idealist standards.
Still, that was acceptable in its own right.
On the day of his coming-of-age celebration, when Commander Wezen shared drinks with Sirius for the first time, the young man quietly spoke about his dreams.
“I’d like to follow in the footsteps of my late father, who wanted to work for this country but was unable to do so because of his illness. If my father had been in good health, I’m sure he would’ve led the Knight Brigade as their commander. That’s why I intend to take on that role in his stead.”
Sirius’s father, Duke Achernar, had golden hair and blue eyes. With his silver hair and silver eyes, Sirius didn’t resemble him in the slightest, and indeed, it had long been rumored that they weren’t flesh and blood. Sirius was likely aware of those rumors, but hearing him refer to the former duke as his father and express his intention to continue his ambitions made Wezen surprisingly emotional.
Still, the fact remained that the king had three sons.
Under normal circumstances, one of them would surely take on the mantle of the Náv Knight Brigade commander. However, when compared to Sirius, the differences in martial prowess, bravery, esteem, and polished charisma were strikingly obvious.
“Given that the position of commander would normally go to one of the king’s sons, your wish seems unlikely to be fulfilled. However, if you’re the one they’re up against, I think you just might be able to pull it off,” Wezen said, unable to suppress his thoughts. He was truthfully unable to envision anyone else being given the role of commander over Sirius.
“Yes.” Sirius nodded in agreement. “I’m going to become the commander of the knight brigade. And then I will dedicate myself to serving the Kingdom of Náv.”
While he still had his own reservations, Wezen simply responded, “I see.”
Sirius might have had high ambitions, but he was unable to revel in any form of pleasure. Wezen found that to be somewhat of a waste. However, if Sirius could become the commander of the knight brigade, he would likely find satisfaction in life.
“Wanting for anything more would be considered indulgent on his part. I truly believed that at the time.” Commander Wezen mused to himself as he met up with Sirius in front of the king’s office to join the meeting.
During the meeting, Sirius would be asked to confirm and allocate the backlog of work that had piled up in his twenty-day absence. Of course, he was as competent as ever, calmly giving instructions on each issue that was presented. But he seemed a bit irritated that so much work had accumulated in such a short amount of time.
✦ ✦ ✦
As they were walking down the hallway once the meeting had ended, Commander Wezen reached out to Sirius with an invitation.
“Would you like to have a meal after this? I got my hands on some excellent wine.”
“In that case, I’ll join you tomorrow.”
The commander cocked an eyebrow in disbelief. It was exceedingly rare for Sirius to turn down an invitation. Did traveling back from the west coast fatigue even the infallible Sirius? he wondered, as a cute voice echoed from the end of the hallway.
“Sirius!”
The moment he heard the voice, Sirius smiled, visibly happy.
“Excellent timing, Serafina. I just finished my work for the day, so let’s go to the banquet room together. After that, I’ll read those picture books to you as I promised.”
“You’re prioritizing reading a picture book to the princess over drinking a rare wine, of which only one hundred bottles are produced each year?!”
Commander Wezen broke into a smile as Sirius glared at his involuntary exclamation.
“Oops. I didn’t mean to say that out loud. My apologies. Still, including those eye daggers you just shot me, when did you become so human?”
It was simply a matter of time before Sirius became commander of the knight brigade, and he would likely be sufficiently satisfied attaining that position.
But the commander was filled with a sense of happiness as he watched the scene unfolding before him. Had Sirius finally started to feel human emotions and experience joy?
“You’ve finally achieved perfection!”
But the commander’s statement was met with a dismayed sigh.
“Commander, you don’t have to force yourself to praise me just because I’m taking on all the work you left unfinished these past three weeks.”
Sirius’s expression was undeniably human, and the warmth in his eyes as he turned to look at Serafina was unmistakable. Seeing this, Commander Wezen laughed jovially.
“Ha ha ha, Sirius! You’ve finally got it all! All right, go read those picture books to your heart’s content tonight. We’ll pop open my fine wine tomorrow!!”
“Okay.”
After a succinct response, Sirius headed toward Serafina with long strides.
Commander Wezen gazed after him with a mixture of happiness and pride.