After that, we brought Leobolt over to see Commander Bolton.
“Well, looks like you really are the Leobolt Alexandre.” The Commander, seated in his office at the guard station, addressed Leobolt with a murmur. The crest-emblazoned scabbard had been placed on his desk.
“What exactly is goin’ through that head of yours that makes you want to join the Guard Corps, though? You’re the eldest son of a noble house.”
“It’s just as I explained previously,” Leobolt responded politely, placing a hand to his chest. “Your royal capital houses the Orb of Light, which seals the Demon King. I may be the eldest son of the House of Alexandre, but first and foremost I am a man who loves peace. Should the orb be stolen, our world would fall into the hands of the demons. I would like to be a part of preventing that from happening.” His gaze, as clear as a cloudless day, was straightforward and firm.
“Have you told your family already?”
“I have—though they were strongly opposed. They insist I have a duty to be successor to the House and protect our own territory. But that’s because my father is only concerned with the interests of the House. He prioritizes protection of our territory over all else—be it the Kingdom of Silvesta or the entire world,” Leobolt explained.
He then paused and shook his head. “No, that’s not quite right. It’s more than just my father in the wrong. Our neighboring kingdoms are no different; even though the Demon King would be resurrected if the Orb of Light were seized, they merely stand by and leave our kingdom with this most difficult of responsibilities. They all feign ignorance out of fear that they’ll sustain their own losses if they dare meddle—though by all rights this problem is one that all of humanity should be working together to deal with.”
It was plain how indignant he was based on his harsh tone of voice. It must have been impossible for him to stomach.
“Well, there are some people in those other countries who just plain don’t believe us. They think we made up the whole thing about the Demon King being sealed in the orb,” Commander Bolton replied.
“It’s quite simple to confirm that the legends of the Orb of Light are true. One need only consult their histories and literature. Their ignorance is a natural consequence of those in power putting their own kingdoms above all else.”
“So how did you deal with their objections?”
“I concluded it would be impossible to convince my father, so I set out alone. In essence, I’ve been exiled from the House of Alexandre.”
“Oh, you’ve gotta be kiddin’ me...” The commander put a palm to his forehead in frustration.
Leobolt had given up his status as the heir to his noble family to come to the royal capital all by himself. It was an act that could only be described as sheer lunacy—though he did want to join the Astaroth Guard Corps to protect the Orb of Light, and that itself was a perfectly respectable motivation. A decent number of our own guards had said the same thing during their interviews when they first joined; however, many of them had just given that reason to make themselves look good, with very few of them holding it as a firm personal belief. And by very few, I mean virtually none.
Most of the Guard Corps was made up of people with problems. A good number of them had found themselves with no place to go in other cities and ended up drifting over to Astaroth. That meant their main motivation for wanting to join was simply to secure a job and make ends meet; they had no particular desire to protect the Orb of Light. That was how even I had been, starting out.
However, Leobolt was different. He desired to protect the orb from the bottom of his heart. Otherwise, there was no way the son of the margrave would’ve given up his position as the successor of his house and volunteered to join the rank-and-file city guards in the royal capital.
“I had originally intended to persuade my father and set out on my journey with my own guards in tow... I ask your forgiveness for only being able to offer myself,” Leobolt said apologetically. “Protecting the Orb of Light is a duty that absolutely must be performed by someone. I have nothing but heartfelt respect for all in the Guard Corps, who have taken on that responsibility and put their own lives at risk for the sake of humanity. I find it a more noble line of work than any other—one that should be held in high esteem.”
He looked to us with reverent eyes. Under his pure, unsullied gaze, all of us in the Fifth Squadron couldn’t help but look away uncomfortably. He wouldn’t find anybody here who had joined the guards with such noble aspirations. Everyone had done it for their own personal reasons.
For me, the Guard had been recommended as a new place of employment after I had been let go from the Crimson Fangs. Seira had barely managed to make it to Astaroth with her life after her homeland had been taken over by demons, and Fam had infiltrated the guards as a demon spy. I hadn’t been told why Spinoza had joined, but I was pretty darn certain it hadn’t been for the sake of humanity.
That was why none of us could look Leobolt in the eye when he gazed at us with such reverence. We all knew we weren’t exactly amazing people.
“I would like to join you all in carrying out your noble task in the service of world peace.” Leobolt placed his hand against his chest as he confidently announced his aspirations. “Commander Bolton, would you be willing to bring me into the Guard Corps at the lowest rank? I swear to give my utmost effort in defending the orb.”
“Well, we’ve definitely got a constant shortage of manpower... When a guy who knows how to fight wants to join us, there’s zero reason for me to say no,” the commander answered. “Especially since it sounds like you have experience leading an army. Honestly, I’d give my left arm for a future squad sergeant candidate like you.”
“I am truly delighted to hear your kind words,” Leobolt said, bowing respectfully.
“You don’t gotta be so formal. It makes me tense up.”
“My apologies.”
“Seriously, what were you gonna do if I said no, anyway? You don’t have anywhere else to go after running away from home, do ya?”
“I hadn’t even considered the possibility of failing to get into the Guard Corps,” Leobolt responded without a moment’s hesitation. “Because I am capable of pushing myself to my limits for the sake of our world—more so than any other.”
“O-Oh. I see.” That put Commander Bolton off a bit. He decided to change the subject. “Oh, yeah. It’s no substitute for an interview, but I’m hoping I can get ya to give us a little demonstration of your skills. I wanna see what you’re capable of.”
“But of course,” Leobolt replied in a dignified manner.
The commander looked in our direction. “Sieg. Mind taking him on?”
“Me?” I asked.
“Leobolt’s good enough for people to call him the ‘supreme sword’—and since you’re the ‘supreme shield’ of the guards, I kinda wanna see who’s gonna come out on top.” He put on a wide smirk.
“I’m curious as hell!” Spinoza agreed.
“I certainly have some interest in knowing too...” Fam admitted.
“In that case, I have no problem with it,” I responded. I did consider myself somewhat of a warrior, after all; it was only natural that a chance to fight someone called “supreme sword” would get my blood pumping.
“I see. How interesting.” Leobolt’s mouth suddenly curved into a refined smile. However, that elegance had another aspect hidden within it—that of a beast that was raring for battle. “I shall prove to you that my sword is worthy of belonging to the Guard Corps.”