Virgin Knight Who Is the Frontier Lord in the Gender Switched World - Chapter 139

“This world is mine, I feel as if nothing is missing from the full moon I see.”

I have heard such a poem from a ‘Samurai’.

“In this world, there is nothing that doesn’t go the way I want. Just like the full moon, nothing is missing, everything is complete.”

Interpretations vary, but the Samurai seems to perceive it that way.

“I used to think that way too.”

I sympathized with those who read that horribly beautiful poem.

I was born as a knight and lord of the powerful Temeraire territory.

I am a superhuman, and I have never been defeated by anyone.

I was blessed with subordinates, and everyone revered me.

Ah, that’s right.

Surely, I thought I was the protagonist of a knight’s tale.

Not the protagonist of a noble’s wandering tale, which is preferred by those trivial people who suffer through hardships.

Bloodline, ability, position, honor, even subordinates.

Everything was there from birth.

Hardships and difficulties were merely trivial matters that served to highlight my story.

I have lived with that belief until now.

Until seven years ago.

Yes.

“Claudia von Reckenber.”

Distinctive thin eyes.

Her eyes were so narrow that even the color of her pupils was uncertain.

She was tall, with a voice that resonated like water seeping into the ground, and shone brightly, especially on the battlefield, like a madwoman.

The greatest pride produced by the Electorate of Virendorf.

Just being praised by her would guarantee eternal honor and open the path to Valhalla. Soldiers and knights would go mad with joy and throw away their lives on the battlefield for that recognition.

I thought that until I met that devil.

We first met on the battlefield.

I challenged Reckenber, who was invading the imperial capital to usurp the throne of the Holy Gusten Empire.

I had powerful soldiers.

Mercenaries hired with the vast revenue from my territory.

They were trained, well-paid, and were not reluctant conscripts, but regular soldiers.

I had prepared a powerful army, combining complex arms and field artillery.

The number of soldiers exceeded ten thousand.

What are the Landsknechts? Armored beggars.

In the end, they are nothing more than serf soldiers.

No matter how brutal, they cannot become soldiers if they are disorderly like mountain bandits spitting at the heavens.

Moreover, naturally, in Temeraire, there were those who had been drawn to me and followed me unknowingly.

A superhuman unit called “Knights of the Mad Boar”.

Yes, those dogs.

“Lord Temeraire! Lord Temeraire! Please flee!”

They were being killed alongside me.

Despite being on the battlefield, the cries of the ‘Disinherited’ echoed.

“Ka-ka-ka-ka!!”

The terribly high-pitched voice of the demon.

Reckenber, who was shouting a kind of bizarre cry, swung her halberd and slashed down the ‘Disinherited’ who was desperately resisting.

With the crashing sound of the blow, the ‘Disinherited’ rolled on the ground, her right arm bending in a strange direction.

Already, half of the Knights of the Mad Boar had been half-killed by Reckenber alone.

Ignoring the dogs crying and screaming like babies, telling me to run, to run.

If I were to abandon you and run here, the name of Lord Inotsuki would weep!

“I am Charlotte le Temeraire! Lord Reckenber, I challenge you to a duel!”

“Very well!!”

My first conversation with Reckenber.

While raising another strange cry, she wielded a halberd in her right hand and a morning star, taken from the ‘Disinherited’ in her left, striking their handles together above her head.

A thunderous sound that made not only my skin but even my brain tingle.

I don’t remember much of the first duel, to be honest.

With the first strike, a sharp blow from above, she cracked my helmet open with her halberd and knocked me unconscious.

I heard that “The Shadowed One” desperately carried me away while being repeatedly almost killed by Reckenber.

“Half of the Knights of the Mad Boar have been captured by Reckenber.” “What the hell is she!?”

When I threw my shattered helmet to the floor, it made a crisp sound, “kaaan.”

No matter how much of a superhuman one may be, they are still human. Humans only have two arms, and there is a limit to what actions they can handle. Yet, how could our superhuman unit be half-destroyed by a single Reckenber? She fought with such agility and precision on the battlefield, it was as if she had six arms.

“My right arm hurts. My right arm is in pain,”

The ‘Disinherited’ sobbed, apparently having suffered a compound fracture in her right arm.

Superhuman knights don’t cry!

In any case, I had to rescue my captured subordinates.

But why were the professional mercenaries and my regular soldiers losing to a mix of inexperienced farmhands who probably had never even held a sword or spear before?

If this were after several years had passed, it wouldn’t be surprising. But those serf soldiers—those who were called Landsknechts—were still greenhorns, gathered by Reckenber less than a year ago.

Yet, in the battlefield, it was clear that we were being pushed back.

“It’s because of Reckenber. The enemy soldiers are just savage, crude marauders, but it seems even the worst of them have their uses,”

Muttered the “Loyalist.”

We still don’t know the full picture, and any specific tactics or strategies would only become apparent after the battle. Nevertheless, it’s because of that demon.

“What do you want me to do about it!?”

“Lord Temeraire. Let’s return to our territory. We’ve planted operatives in the imperial capital, but the situation looks dubious. Maxine I seems to be making moves to take over Windbona.”

“That little girl!!”

It’s a difficult decision.

Time is short.

If more time passes, the capital will be taken by Reckenber and Maxine. And it should have been overlooked. The optimal strategy at this point was to return to our territory and come up with an appropriate excuse. Maxine, who is nothing more than a plaything for the electors, does not have the military strength to punish me. Reckenber would also likely return to Virendorf after sowing the seeds of some scheme.

I should retreat for now.

There will be plenty of opportunities to usurp the throne in the future. The Loyalist’s suggestion was correct, but there was one thing I had to do first.

“My dogs! The superhuman knights and soldiers of my territory! Can I return home without retrieving them!?”

“We’re trying to negotiate a ransom, but Reckenber won’t respond.” 

“Why not!?”

I have money.

I have money.

My territory is wealthy enough that none of my subjects suffer from hunger. If paying money could resolve this, it would be wise to withdraw. Surviving means victory, so I should have retreated temporarily. However…

“Frankly, you were saved. ‘Come at me again. I have nothing else to do for a while, so let’s have some fun,’ she said.”

“You’re kidding me! What do you mean, ‘saved’!?”

What is Reckenber thinking?

If I racked my pig-like brain, I could think of a few things. It wouldn’t be good if Reckenber occupied the capital as things stood. The Landsknechts she led were brutal and disorderly, inventing games like stabbing peasants’ tongues with knives and dragging them to the slave market by the hair. They’d set fire to the straw-roofed houses of poor peasants and laugh heartily, clapping their hands in delight. If money was involved, they’d dismember citizens and nobles alike and sell the meat to butchers, calling it pork. They were armored beggars.

Yes. If Reckenber took control of the capital, the Landsknechts would commit rampant plunder and massacre the city’s citizens. Even at worst, the capital would be paralyzed for years as a central city. Reckenber would face criticism.

In other words, Reckenber, who is a demon that does not choose means to achieve victory, was worried that everything would fall apart once victory was within sight. The strategic goal as a general commanded by the Elector of Virendorf was to extract rewards from the Empress for their victory. Therefore, even if she reached the capital, Reckenber could only besiege it meaninglessly. She had to wait for the little girl Maxine to seize control of the capital.

However, if she did nothing, people would later ask, “What was Lord Reckenber doing?” So, she wanted to use fighting with me as a pretext for the delay, making me her playmate for political reasons that couldn’t be stated openly.

That was the kind of command from on high.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself!!”

“Duchess Temeraire, we, the Knights of the Raging Boar, share the same sentiment, even those of us already captured. Please flee to your territory.”

“How can I do that! Are you insulting me!!”

It’s all over if we die!

If I run here, there’s a slight chance that Reckenber, who wouldn’t even negotiate a ransom, will throw my dogs to the Landsknecht.

I expect that Reckenber, who considers people’s honor, wouldn’t do such a thing, but that’s just my wishful thinking, with no guarantees.

My soldiers, who have neither talent nor real strength, are killed by mere foot soldiers.

Unable to resist or given any honor, they are tortured like toys and simply suffer until they are killed.

“Can you accept this! I will rescue my dogs! I will save my dogs!!”

“How do you propose we defeat that monster!!”

I punch the loyalist in the jaw.

She loses her balance and falls to the floor.

“If that monster is getting ahead of itself, then we just have to teach it a lesson! Only those who wish to die, follow me!”

Myself and my wobbly-footed loyalists all obey.

It’s a rematch.

It’s my second duel.

I’ve been beaten with a halberd so many times that I can’t move, bearing bruises, swellings, and fractures all over my body, and was carried away in the arms of the Shadowed One.

The encouraging voices of the Shadowed One and the samurai saying, “Please don’t die!” still echo in my ears.

I was unconscious and thrown into a bed.

The loyalist with a tearful face came to me.

“Please escape.”

It was a line telling me to flee.

Ah, I’ve heard the story.

I heard that under Reckenber’s command, the Landsknecht mutilated the Empress—strictly speaking, the usurper to the throne—into pieces, and Reckenber was delighted to receive such news.

Outwardly, Reckenber burst into laughter and, I believe, rewarded the girls.

That’s the one I was supposed to hand over to Her Imperial Majesty, not kill myself, I think, sobbing in bed.

At this rate, Reckenber will win.

At this rate, Reckenber will destroy the imperial capital and claim a great victory.

Even the current Empress Maxine I, who is desperately trying to save her family, lacks any qualities of an Empress.

Neither the Landsknecht nor Reckenber’s subordinates will recognize her as the Empress.

Everyone is desperately looting the imperial capital, claiming that “Reckenber, who destroyed the imperial capital, is the rightful Empress of the Holy Gustein Empire.”

The ruler of the looted imperial capital, where not even a dog remains, will be Empress Reckenber.

“What did Reckenber say?”

“Help.”

“Not ‘help’, you fool! You were getting cocky last time, screaming weirdly while beating us up, weren’t you!!”

Unlike me, Reckenber doesn’t want to be the Empress.

The Elector of Virendorf, who she serves loyally and advises, she might have put forth her best effort if it meant placing a little girl named Katarina in the highest position.

Reckenber, a noble of the clergy, would not have gained any honor from being recognized as Empress by sheer military force.

She would bear the stigma of a usurper and nothing more.

Listening to the various stories, even the position of the precious Katarina she cherishes would be in jeopardy.

“What’s the meaning of this battle!”

“That’s why, let’s escape.”

“If we escape, who knows what will happen to my precious subordinates, my dogs!”

I screamed.

I like battles I can win.

I don’t want to fight losing battles.

Surviving means winning!

That’s why I couldn’t senselessly kill my subordinates.

They are being held hostage.

I desperately think about settling this battle with just us, without involving my soldiers or even the mercenaries I’ve hired.

“I’ll join you! I’ll take you on! I’ll take on that overly victorious fool of a general! To hell with Reckenber!!”

Formally, I challenged for the third one-on-one duel with only superhumans.

The superhuman Knights of the Raging Boar, battered all over, desperately challenged the still unscathed Reckenber.

The outcome is clear, even with my eyes closed.

Everyone lay on the ground, and I genuinely tried to kill Reckenber but couldn’t reach er.

I couldn’t even scratch her armor.

Reckenber, without explaining the situation to his subordinates, without holding back at all, did not even spare me and continued to pursue me.

The disowned were already captured the second time around.

I feel like I last saw the samurai knocked down and lying in a pool of blood.

The defeated, the Shadowed One, and the loyalists are still here.

Everyone else is captured.

“Lord Reckenber has sent a request for a fourth one-on-one duel.”

“Will you not return my precious subordinates? Surely, being soldiers, they are prepared to die. But being killed for such trivial reasons would be too pitiful, wouldn’t it?”

My heart was already broken.

It’s all over if we die, I think.

This Charlotte Le Temeraire is ready to accept even the conclusion of defeat.

The loyalist reluctantly opens her mouth.

“If we do nothing, the imperial capital will be destroyed, so please help us. Your life is probably guaranteed. That’s what Lord Reckenber has said.”

“What do you mean ‘probably’?”

It’s not the highest priority.

To Reckenber, my life, Temeraire’s life, was not the highest priority.

What’s important to her is her own honor, the life and property of the citizens of the imperial capital, and the girl she cherishes like a daughter, Katarina.

Ah.

Really.

It’s been terribly hard.

But was that really when I felt most miserable?

No, it was when I heard that Reckenber had died.

It’s nostalgic.

Ah.

I sigh repeatedly.

The sun that had been shining in the sky is setting.

It’s already sunset.

Temeraire continues to reflect on the past for a moment.

There is one certain thing.

I was not the protagonist of a knight’s tale.

—But perhaps, I could have been the protagonist’s companion.

As I think about such things, reminiscing about old foolish tales, I smile at the corner of my mouth.

“Light the torches.”

More light.

I tell my subordinates, close my eyes, and continue to reminisce.