Chapter 14: Three-Party Merger

The academy staff, including Reda who rode an express horse out of Luca’s settlement, were racing along the highway toward Ryune. The Alsace Mountains spread in an L-shape across the kingdom’s southwest. From Luca to Ryune, switching horses and galloping the highway, they could arrive in three days. On the second day after leaving Luca, at noon, Reda and the others received news from Ryune at the highway horse relay station. The news was enough to stun Reda. It was news of a ferocious beast’s appearance.

“The first hunters sent to investigate were wiped out. The information brought back by the second investigation team estimates an incredibly large bear from the shape of claw marks and footprints. It is probably the deep-forest mad beast, the blood-soaked giant bear Bloody Evil Bear sighted a hundred years ago.”

“What… the hell…”

But she couldn’t stay stunned. From the second checkpoint to the third, the route went deep into the forest. The rule was to bring back flowers that grew naturally near the riverbank in the forest depths, so there was no faking it.

“From here, straight to the second point day and night, it’s a day and a half… today is the second day, if we hurry we can make it.”

Reda decided. In this situation, the march training was impossible. Several male academy staff would enter the forest from the highway, head straight to the second checkpoint, and declare training canceled. Pull the students back and leave the rest to the subjugation team.

“Normally, passing the second point would be afternoon of the fourth day, at best noon for the fast groups, passing on the third day is unthinkable. But…”

She remembered when she was a student. That Hero Chevalier passed the second checkpoint around ten on the fourth day. That was the all-time fastest record. She couldn’t imagine anything faster.

“Headmistress, the mad beast appeared near the third point. Even if a party has passed, we can call them back with horses.”

Reda nodded and issued the order to cancel training. Just in case, she arranged medical teams for both Luca and Ryune. They borrowed every spare horse at the relay station and all galloped at once. Racing toward Ryune faster than ever, Reda thought of one particular student. The only one with the potential to break her record.

(Kaito, please don’t hurry. If you’re safe, the other students will be too…)

Unable to suppress her racing heart, Reda whipped her horse.

The Wackenheim couple was spending a moment of peaceful time at their Ryune villa. Forgetting she was even a Saint Knight Paladin, just as one woman, writhing in her beloved husband’s arms. The kingdom’s strongest Saint Knight Gratina left the bed, leaving her sleeping husband. To prepare breakfast. During military duty her Hero Chevalier husband prepared meals, but once away from that, they lived like a normal couple.

“By the way, the knight academy is doing march training. In a few days the students will come to this town. This year even first-years are participating, so quite a number.”

“First-years… sixteen years old…”

At his wife’s mutter, the husband made a face like “oops.” Nearly twenty years since they married, but the two had no children. The boy born when she was twenty-two died of illness at just five. If alive, he’d be sixteen this year. Over ten years ago, but for the couple the child’s death was unforgettable no matter how many years passed. Walter fell silent a moment, then proposed to his beloved wife.

“How about it. Since the alma mater’s students are coming, why don’t we show our faces?”

The two were called “legends” even within the kingdom. If those two showed up, the students would go wild with joy. Gratina nodded too. They might be classmates of the son they could have had. She wanted to meet them.

Around the time the couple finished their meal. A messenger from the Hunting Guild came.

“Please, please lend us your strength! It’s an emergency!”

“What happened? First explain.”

To the flustered messenger, Walter responded calmly. Drinking the water Gratina offered, the messenger stated his business.

“The ferocious beast blood-soaked giant bear Bloody Evil Bear has appeared! Right now, academy students are training in the Alsace Forest! At this rate…”

Those words alone let Walter grasp the situation. He stood and turned to his wife. From gentle husband’s face to the face of a Hero Chevalier who had survived countless battles.

“Tina, you can use your Saint Knight Paladin power, right?”

“Of course. Lucky us. Right now I’m the kingdom’s strongest Saint Knight… Let’s quickly subjugate it and have bear meat outdoors.”

Walter grinned. Saint Knight Gratina Wackenheim’s power rivaled an entire army. Carrying the beloved sword he never let go even on vacation, the Saint Knight Paladin and Hero Chevalier set out.

Around that time, Kaito’s party was proceeding through the forest rather leisurely. They passed the first checkpoint in the morning of the third day. They’d expected around noon but earlier than predicted.

“After all, it’s their first march training. Let’s revise the speed estimate. Yeah, good experience.”

At the first checkpoint, several parties had already “retired and withdrawn.” They’d been spun around by the map, walked in circles, and exhausted themselves. Hunters used rocks or big trees as landmarks so they wouldn’t lose position in the forest. Without such info, they could only judge by sun or stars.

“At this speed, we’ll reach the second checkpoint tomorrow morning. From there on, the headmistress’s map is almost accurate. Just bring back the flowers and head to the third checkpoint, so no more shortcut shortcuts like before. Finally, it’s a stamina contest.”

“The ones ahead are Stefan and Carlos’s parties, and second-year Elcreid-senpai. We haven’t met the others, but did we overtake them?”

At Elsa’s words Sasha nodded.

“Probably. You have to know the water points accurately or this training is tough. Honestly, it’s weird that Stefan and Carlos are ahead.”

“Carlos-san has Elfina and Sofia with him, so they’re probably advising. Stefan-san I’m not sure…”

“He doesn’t stand out much, but Stefan is pretty sharp. Good maneuvering means he can judge situations accurately. He probably noticed the map’s trap too.”

Kaito’s prediction hit the mark. Stefan, a little ahead of Kaito’s group, had stopped relying on the map’s info.

“We stocked up extra water at the first checkpoint, so let’s push straight on. There should be a water spot near the next point. The instructors would drink water too.”

Stefan occasionally stopped to check the sun’s position. Afrodia and the Saint Knight candidates were preparing meals. Normally Hero Chevalier’s job, but the goal was first to complete this training. They couldn’t fuss over small details.

Looking at the map, Stefan muttered softly.

“Kaito. You could go faster and easier. But we should still be ahead. I won’t give up.”

Elfina’s group was running out of breath. A big man was in front. Carlos Rodriguez had initially followed the map, but when Elfina pointed out doubts about water point locations, he decided to ignore it. Water would run out with time. Then run and arrive faster. Extremely simple idea. During break, the two beauties whispered.

“Hey Elfina. I think Carlos is better suited for the kingdom’s knight order than Hero Chevalier.”

“Agreed. His thinking is too simple. Only we can keep this pace. The army could never keep up. And this is supposed to be march training…”

“Well, he seems aware he’s not smart, and having no crooked parts is a virtue.”

Charging like a boar, straightforward, simple and clear. That was Carlos. His bright open personality and honest listening to others made him strangely hard to hate. Elfina muttered softly.

“As a man he’s charming, but as Hero Chevalier he’s no good.”

Third day turned to evening. Kaito’s party resupplied clear water at a rocky area along the way and continued without rushing. Around sunset, they spotted a party running from the right. It was Carlos and his. They seemed to notice Kaito too.

“Oh! Kaito!”

Carlos was out of breath, and the Saint Knight Paladins behind him looked quite exhausted too. Running at this point couldn’t even be called march training anymore. Kaito thought inwardly, but decided it was for Carlos to think about, no need to say.

“We plan to camp around here. How about you guys too?”

Carlos looked back. He had enough brains to check on the Saint Knights he led. Seeing the tired girls, Carlos nodded. Then from the left a party appeared. Stefan’s.

“Kaito! And Carlos too!”

Stefan looked surprised and happy as he approached. They shook hands. Not as bad as Carlos’s, but Stefan’s Saint Knights looked quite tired too. Stefan immediately accepted Kaito’s proposal. If they rotated guard, the Saint Knight Paladins could rest. Preparing meals together would lighten the load. Above all, Kaito’s group had plenty of water. While the twelve ate together, Kaito explained.

“There was a rocky area along the way. We resupplied water there.”

“Rocky area? That’s not on the map?”

“Of course not. This is info we heard from hunters in Luca. You two probably noticed too, but this map is a ‘trap.’ Not complete nonsense, but the positions are slightly off. As a result, you end up lost in this forest.”

“Yeah. I noticed that too. So I planned to resupply extra water at each checkpoint and ignore the rest. Gets heavy, but better than trusting an unreliable map.”

“Me too. In my case, I planned to run through before water ran out. Well, more like jogging. But even then, water was about to run out. Lucky we ran into you guys.”

Kaito silently nodded at the two’s judgments. Stefan, curious about Kaito’s judgment, asked for his opinion on his own thinking.

“What do you think? Was my judgment wrong?”

“Neither of you can be called wrong. Judgment changes with the situation. For example, Carlos’s Saint Knights have top-class stamina even in school. So they could run. But that limits the water load they can carry as heavy baggage. On the other hand, Stefan didn’t run, resupplied extra water and walked. Speed drops but you can keep going sustainably. Above all, you protected the lifeline of water. Carlos, if you hadn’t met us, you would have run out of water, right?”

“Yeah, in my case it was a misjudgment. If I’d done like Stefan, maybe the girls could have had it easier.”

Carlos honestly admitted his fault. Despite being the baron house’s heir, he reflected without arrogance. Kaito valued that point highly. Stefan asked Kaito.

“What would you have done?”

Kaito paused a bit, then stated his opinion.

“Basically, the cause was not gathering info in Luca, but sometimes necessary info isn’t available. In situations with insufficient info or unreliable map, I would have made a different choice.”

“What is it?”

“Obvious. Early retirement. If a fight has no chance of winning, better escape quick. We Hero Chevaliers are required to make calm judgments. Not just advancing, we should think about retreating too.”

Stefan and Carlos looked at each other. That idea hadn’t occurred to them. You really are amazing, Stefan muttered self-mockingly.

“Hey Kaito. I have a favor to ask. Carlos will probably agree too.”

Then Stefan made a proposal to Kaito.

“In other words, joint marching?”

The gathered nine Saint Knight Paladins looked at each other. Sofia crossed her arms, thought a bit, and nodded.

“I’m in favor. I heard from Roksane that Kaito’s group gathered info about this forest in Luca. Meaning Kaito knows this forest better than anyone. That’s why even starting last he advanced so fast.”

“Yeah. I agree with Sofia. Moving as twelve will be easier in many ways, and we can sleep safely at night. Let’s go all the way to Ryune like this.”

“Yes. I agree too. Sorry to Stefan-san who pulled us so hard…”

At Afrodia’s words Stefan shook his head.

“I’m the one who asked Kaito. Don’t worry about it. I’m relieved he accepted.”

“Me too. Through this march training I realized maybe the Hero Chevalier role doesn’t suit me. Strength and stamina alone don’t cut it.”

When almost consensus was formed, Sasha raised her hand.

“I’m not against it, but what’s in it for us? This is a competition. The top party gets three gold coins and three days off in Ryune. At this rate we can be first. What reason to throw that away and help?”

Sasha’s words were reasonable. The ones in trouble were Stefan and Carlos’s parties, not Kaito’s. But Kaito floated a smile like a kid who thought of a prank.

“You’re right, Sasha. That’s why we merge.”

“What do you mean?”

“At that time the headmistress said this. ‘To the party with the best results, three days off and a bonus of three gold coins…’ How do they evaluate results?”

“Wait Kaito, isn’t it the party that arrives first in Ryune?”

Kaito shook his head at Elsa’s words.

“She didn’t say that. She just said best results, not arrival order in Ryune. Probably there’s another judging standard. Yeah. I’d judge not just rank but remaining march funds or members’ fatigue level too. Setting that aside, what I’m focusing on is that she said nothing about tied first place. If three parties have the same results, what then?”

“That would…”

“Normally impossible. But if three parties intentionally match ranks, possible. I’m a bit pissed. I want to at least get one shot back at the academy for handing out this bullshit map. My aim is for the three parties, all twelve people, to each get three gold coins and three days off. Using this bullshit map and my accurate map I wrote as evidence, I’ll corner that sadistic beautiful woman.”

Roksane smiled happily. She’d read Kaito’s intent.

“So Kaito-san wants to complain and trouble her? Like a kid.”

“Three months of Elsa’s allowance. Everyone takes it and relaxes in Ryune.”

“Nn. Agreed. Ryune is famous for sweet snacks. I’ll use all for sweets.”

Everyone laughed at the beautiful girl’s childlike statement.

That night, originally Elsa was supposed to handle Kaito. Despite her strong personality she was weak in odd places, complaining but actually very interested in sex, that was Elsa. He planned to let her complain while making her service with her mouth, and enjoy her breasts too, but merging with the two parties ruined that plan.

“After all, it has to be me, right?”

Roksane happily offered her beautiful ass. While devouring the melting flesh, Kaito thought. Even compared to the other Saint Knights, Roksane’s body was outstanding. Her insecure timid side was fading in this training. By day a dignified chaste Saint Knight, by night an utterly lewd whore offering her body. A wonderful wife.

“I won’t let go, Roksane. You’re mine forever.”

He whispered from behind and released inside. This time they connected face to face. Lips overlapping, clinging, Roksane responded too.

“I love you. You… don’t let go…”

That night he came three times too, and Kaito slept satisfied.

Next morning at sunrise the three parties set out. Per Kaito’s prediction, they should pass the second checkpoint by before noon at latest.

“Water is low but we can resupply at the second point. Probably arrive in three or four hours, so don’t worry about remaining amount. If you feel leg pain or anything, tell me right away. The checkpoint won’t run away.”

While checking on them frequently, Kaito called out to everyone. Roksane’s group was used to it, but the other two were surprised at Kaito’s manner.

“Is that really Kaito? The Kaito who badmouthed instructors and calmly denied other students’ opinions…”

At Sofia’s surprise, Sasha cut in.

“I don’t think that’s changed. Kaito’s acting like that because he thinks of himself as a Hero Chevalier. The candidate Kaito is probably the same.”

“Top Hero Chevalier… makes sense.”

Elfina nodded too. Those with stamina carried extra luggage to lighten the tired ones’ burden. Break every hour, groups of three massaging each other’s calves and thighs. Soon the second checkpoint came into view. Thirty minutes earlier than the record of ten in the morning.

The male academy staff who had advanced day and night split into two groups midway. Two heading to the second checkpoint, three heading toward the first checkpoint to explain to the students who hadn’t arrived yet. They had spare horses, but both were nearly broken. Soon the second checkpoint came into view. The two men jumped off their horses. Two hours after Kaito’s group had passed.