Having failed to recruit both Haruna and Irene, I had exhausted the last of our options.
There were plenty of people out and about on the streets, but finding one who could hold their own against monsters was like trying to find a piece of gold in the desert sand. At the rate we were going, the excess vacancies in the Guard Corps would never be filled.
Just as we were losing all hope, a familiar voice called out.
“Oh, hello, Sieg. What a pleasant surprise.”
We had just so happened to run into Eleanor, Commander of the Knight Corps, who was clad in silver armor and accompanied by a couple of subordinate knights nearby.
“Ah, Eleanor,” I greeted her.
“You there,” one of her knights piped up. “How dare you address Lady Eleanor so rudely? Use ‘Lady’ when you’re speaking to her, got that? We don’t take kindly to people disrespecting our commander.”
“It’s fine, Benedetta,” Eleanor said in admonishment to the subordinate who had so passionately raised her voice at me.
“But...”
“Leaving off my title provides more of a sense of intimacy, don’t you agree?”
“Amazing! There’s not the slightest hint of arrogance to be found in you, despite your status as the commander of the Knight Corps...! I am truly taken by the level of open-mindedness you possess...!”
The woman named Benedetta knelt before Eleanor in admiration. The gaze she cast up at her commander carried a hint of intoxication.
Just then, a young man came passing by. His cheeks were red, and he had an unsteady gait; by the look of his fancy attire, he was most likely a noble. Normally the nobles stayed in their own ward, located within the second, inner perimeter wall, but there were a few among them who would wander out to where the commoners lived to check out their “local offerings.”
Upon seeing Eleanor, the drunken man sauntered up to her.
“Oh, hey, Eleanor! You’re looking quite fine today as usual. What say we head out for a drink together after this? It’ll be on me—I’ll show you a great time,” he purred smoothly into her ear, placing a hand on her shoulder. His expression was brimming with confidence, like someone who had never had a rough time dealing with the opposite sex before.
But there was a first time for everything.
“Do not speak my name so casually, sir.” Eleanor grabbed the man’s head with one hand and began squeezing.
With his skull caught in her viselike grip, he could do nothing but let out a pathetic shriek. “Owww! I-I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! Please forgive my rudeness! You’re crushing my skull to pieces! Aaagh!”
Upon being released from the vise, the man, on the verge of tears, immediately turned tail and ran. The confident swagger he had displayed before had vanished into thin air.
Eleanor glared at the fleeing man with disdain. “Hmph.”
Benedetta seemed perplexed. “Lady Eleanor, I thought you just said it was fine to leave off your title...?”
“For those I deem worthy. Was that not obvious?” Eleanor responded coolly. “I am not so easy a woman as to allow every passing stranger to address me casually.”
“O-Oh, I see.”
The other knight, seeing Benedetta’s apparent confusion about their commander’s response, spoke up. “Gosh, you’re slow on the uptake, Benedetta. Lady Eleanor’s in love with Sieg, so she wants him to be the one to address her like that.”
“Really?” Benedetta asked.
“Yeah, earlier she said it was a ‘pleasant surprise’ when she ran into him and the others, but she had actually been wandering around the city looking for him the whole time.”
“Ahem. Hold your tongue, Cherio.” Upon clearing her throat, Eleanor turned back to us, blushing slightly. “You seem to be troubled by something. The guards and the knights both protect the royal capital together—we certainly wouldn’t be unwilling to assist you.”
“We appreciate the offer, at least,” I replied.
“Are you saying our help would be inadequate?” Eleanor asked.
“Not at all,” Seira responded for me. “We have a shortage of manpower in the Guard Corps, actually. We’re looking for candidates to recruit. That’s why we can’t really ask the Knight Corps to help out.”
“It’s not as though you would just join the guards instead if we asked...” Fam chimed in.
“Of course not. We’re knights,” Benedetta said.
“I’ll definitely pass on being a guard. Their stations are decrepit, their pay is abysmal... I’d say your chances of finding someone who’d quit the knights for that are pretty much zero,” Cherio added.
“Hell, I’d probably refuse, myself,” Spinoza muttered.
“I wouldn’t say the chances are zero, necessarily.”
Upon hearing those words, everyone’s eyes widened as they turned to look at Eleanor.
“Lady Eleanor, what do you mean by that...?” Benedetta asked.
“It means that if Sieg insisted, I can envision a potential future where I quit the Knight Corps and transfer over to the Guard Corps.”
“Huh?!” the two subordinate knights shrieked wildly in unison. “Lady Eleanor?!”
“I am a maiden, after all, meaning I am susceptible to being forced around by the man I love. Were he to pressure me, I would even be willing to run off with him and elope.” Blushing, Eleanor placed a hand to her heart and let out a maidenly giggle.
“Uh, what’s this about elopin’? This’d just be transferrin’ from the knights to the guards—an’ they’re both right here in the capital. You kinda gotta leave the city to elope,” Spinoza pointed out.
“That would be out of the question. I have an obligation to defend this city.”
“So you’re firm on that point, even when romantically involved,” Fam said. “Though wouldn’t transferring from the knights to the guards be a huge downgrade for you in every way?”
“That matters not. Whatever difference in compensation there may be, my charge would remain the same. Though my pockets may be empty, being with the one dearest to me will keep my heart full.”
“Ugh, this lady’s totally head over heels...” Spinoza groaned.
“I think Eleanor in love is quite charming!” Seira remarked in excitement. Though she was a princess of Sorcera, another facet of hers was how much she thoroughly enjoyed discussions about romance.
Seira then turned to Sieg. “All you’d have to do is ask, and she’d join the Guard Corps, right, Sarge? That would give our forces a huge boost in power!”
“I don’t plan on asking anything of the sort,” I replied, then called out to Eleanor. “Listen, Eleanor, people shouldn’t throw away their careers in a momentary fit of passion. Give all this another thought before you just give up your Knight Corps position.”
“Sieg, you truly do care about me, I see.”
“I was just speaking in generalities. Besides, if the Knight Corps lost their commander, the rest of the knights would be at their wits’ end, wouldn’t they?”
“He’s right!”
“Please reconsider, Lady Eleanor!”
Encouraged by the two knights accompanying her, I did my best to talk Eleanor down. Placing my hand on her shoulder, I looked her straight in the eyes and made an offer.
“You have a deep desire to protect the royal capital, and I truly respect that about you. Why don’t the two of us, the Guard Corps and the Knight Corps, join hands together as equals, and work toward making the future you desire a reality?”
“O-Of course...”
Eleanor acquiesced, nodding meekly.
“I cannot turn down feelings that have been expressed to me with such fervor. I shall continue to fulfill my duty of protecting the capital as Commander of the Knight Corps.”
“Right. So long as we’re on the same page, we’ll always have each other’s backs.”
We shook hands, pledging to fight for one another to the end.
That was a close one.
Eleanor had been that close to transferring to the Guard Corps.
We might’ve seen a vast increase in combat power with her on the team, but it would’ve cost us our most accommodating contact in the Knight Corps. We absolutely needed her to stay in place as their commander.