Eleanor swooned as she recalled the incident, then turned to Leobolt and posed a sudden question to him.
“Tell me, do you know what it is that I like more than anything else?”
“Um, no...”
“Well, allow me to tell you. I like people who are stronger than me,” Eleanor said. “Sieg’s strength has put me under his spell.”
“Excuse me?”
“Now this is not intended as a boast, but I am a beautiful woman—extraordinarily so, some would say. When I walk through the city streets, all the men stop and stare, transfixed. Yet Sieg shows no interest in me whatsoever, despite all my attempts to get closer to him. Everything I do is deflected by his inherent defense power.”
“I’m not sure what to say...” Leobolt searched for the right response. “That must be difficult for you. Have you ever thought about giving up?”
“Not at all. Quite the opposite, it fires up a passion within me. I find more pleasure in giving chase than being chased, after all. I swear that someday I shall win Sieg’s heart.”
“So, um, what is it exactly you’re trying to say, again?” Leobolt murmured in confusion.
“Only that I understand Sieg’s true splendor far better than you,” Eleanor announced with a proud grin, putting a hand to her chest.
Apparently, she just wanted to compete with him. There was no need for him to play her game—he could just smile, nod, and ignore her.
That was what I thought would happen, at least.
“With all due respect, I believe I have a firm grasp on Sieg’s splendor, as well.”
“Huh?” I sputtered. For some reason, he had decided to stoke their rivalry instead.
“Oho. You intend to compete against me? Need I remind you, though, that my relationship with Sieg began long before yours did?”
“Come on, that’s enough already,” I cut in, hoping to stop the two of them. They really didn’t need to be right there in front of my face arguing about exactly how awesome I was. If they had to, they could at least do it out of my earshot. “Honestly, I think Leobolt is more amazing than I am.”
“What?” They both looked at me quizzically.
“He gave up his status as a noble and enlisted as a guard in the royal capital for the sake of protecting the world—it takes an amazing amount of resolve to pull something like that off.”
Upon hearing my praise, Leobolt looked greatly pleased. “I am truly honored by your words. They are like music to my ears.”
“What about me, Sieg? Have you no words for me?”
“Of course I have great respect for you too, Eleanor. It’s quite an accomplishment that you were able to rise to the rank of Commander and lead the Knight Corps at such a young age.”
“Heh heh. Your words of praise give me motivation to work twenty-four hours a day.”
“Please only work during work hours,” I groaned.
Eleanor, with her hands placed against her cheeks, seemed satisfied.
“My decision to leave the House and come here to join the guards seems to have been a wise one. It has afforded me the opportunity to work with a man of your caliber, Sieg,” Leobolt declared. “If we join hands, we can definitely protect the peace of this world.”
“Yeah, we can.”
“However, there are a few areas in which the Guard Corps is lacking currently.”
“Lacking?”
“Yes. The overall skill level of our men is far too low. They’ve been able to get by thanks to your presence, but that has made them entirely reliant on you,” he explained. “We need to raise the level of our fighting force as a whole, in preparation for emergencies.”
“How do you plan to do that?” I asked.
“Most likely the wisest course of action would be to increase the amount of time spent on training,” Leobolt said. “I proposed the idea to Commander Bolton, but he dismissed me outright. He claimed the volume of training I suggested might burn the guards out.”
He furrowed his brow, perhaps recalling his frustration at the time, then continued.
“How can he afford such leniency when we carry the very fate of the world on our shoulders? If any of the guards are so weak as to burn out from mere training, we have no need of them,” Leobolt declared emphatically. “We can’t expect the Guard Corps to progress any further while he remains their commander. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“What point are you trying to make...?” I asked bluntly.
“Ah, my apologies. I let my emotions get the better of me. Please put it out of your mind.”
Having said that, he shot me a potent gaze.
“Just know that if we are to keep the world out of the Demon King’s grasp forever, the Guard Corps must change. It cannot remain in its current state—it is absolutely untenable.”
✦ ✦ ✦
The capital had been abuzz about something that day: another city within our kingdom, Randolph, had been beset by monsters. Randolph was about two days away from Astaroth by carriage.
Monster attacks were an everyday fact of life for the people of the royal capital. When it came to other cities, though, they were quite a rare occurrence. Most monsters within our territory were drawn to the Orb of Light, which was held in the capital, meaning they usually ignored all the other cities.
“If that’s the case, it’s possible a demon is involved.” We were in the barracks cafeteria before work that morning, and Fam was giving her take on the situation. “All monsters are naturally drawn toward the Orb of Light here in the capital. Any that are bothering to attack other cities must have someone controlling them behind the scenes.”
“And you think it’s a demon,” I said. “Why would they be trying to accomplish?”
“Who knows? It could be anything. Though they might not even have any particular goal either. They could just want to amuse themselves with destruction and carnage.”
“I heard from some citizens that Randolph is in dire straits right now. It’s possible the city might fall within a few days,” Seira noted with concern.
“Well, Astaroth is usually the only city that gets attacked by monsters, so it makes sense that Randolph’s defensive forces are much thinner,” Fam said. “Though whoever is behind this probably had that in mind when they invaded.”
“Ugh. What a bunch o’ creeps,” Spinoza spat. “What the hell’s so fun about huntin’ down weaklings? Ain’t nothin’ that gets the blood pumpin’ better than goin’ face-to-face against the strong ones and knockin’ ’em flat on their backs.”
“Will the Knight Corps send anyone out?” I asked.
“I think it’s unlikely,” Seira responded. “Eleanor and the others are out on an expedition right now. We only have just enough knights remaining to maintain defense of the capital.”
“They can’t leave the capital any more shorthanded than it already is, huh...”
That meant Randolph probably wasn’t going to get any backup; they’d just have to defend themselves with whatever forces they had on hand. Even though the defending side typically had the advantage, they were going to be in for a rough battle if they hadn’t been specifically prepared for a monster attack.
It was just as Seira said—their city might fall.
“It also doesn’t help that there’s a big group of monsters headed our way right now too,” I added.
Three days prior, our reconnaissance units had reported that there was a group of monsters incoming. There had been a sudden huge influx of deathworms—giant earthworm-like monsters that inhabited marshy areas—and they were apparently headed to attack the capital.
At the rate they had progressed, the monsters were due to arrive as soon as the next day. The Knight Corps and the Guard Corps were set to intercept them.
When the capital was facing an emergency, they couldn’t afford to dispatch knights to other cities. Randolph almost certainly wouldn’t be getting any knightly backup.
“Sieg, it’s just about time for work,” Fam reminded me.
“Ah, so it is.” Having finished eating breakfast, I grabbed my tray and stood up. “Let’s just focus on our own jobs for now.”