Virgin Knight Who Is the Frontier Lord in the Gender Switched World - Chapter 35

In the royal capital of Virendorf.

On the long and wide main street that leads straight to the royal palace, the people of Virendorf were eagerly waiting.

The envoy from the Kingdom of Anhalt.

Faust von Polydoro, that is.

Everyone had heard the heroic songs about him to the point of getting calluses in their ears.

A beauty beyond human comprehension, almost demonic in nature.

A physique as splendid as the sun itself, muscles bulging prominently.

A towering giant, surpassing 2 meters in height.

All of these traits were celebrated within the values of Virendorf.

And since the decision for him to visit Virendorf as an envoy was made, new stories began to be woven.

It started with a declaration at the national border that since the leader of the Virendorf knightly order, Reckenber, did not flee, he would not either, leading to 99 duels along the way to the capital.

Each opponent was a knight renowned within their military service, proving Virendorf’s elite were without a single weakness.

Yet, Faust von Polydoro won every single battle.

Journeying across the lands of an unfamiliar foe, he faced a continuous line of duel volunteers.

Despite these conditions, he won 99 out of 99 battles.

He was nothing short of a legendary creature.

Ah, so it is.

The leader of the Reckenber knightly order must have truly ascended to Valhalla.

Indeed, she had died.

A result that left the entire nation with no choice but to accept.

Then, let us acknowledge.

And let us praise.

Otherwise, it would dishonor the leader of the Reckenber knightly order.

As citizens of Virendorf, we must not do anything that would embarrass that hero in Valhalla.

On this boulevard, we shall shout our welcomes with loud voices.

The hero from the enemy nation who defeated the leader of the Reckenber knightly order.

Yes, that’s what everyone thought.

And what they eagerly awaited.

The hero’s arrival.

“Here he comesーーー!!”

Someone shouted.

At the front, the commander of the Virendorf national border was leading the hero.

Atop her spear, the Virendorf national flag fluttered, held high as she rode her horse.

Following her was the official envoy, the Second Princess of Valiere, on her horse, with her personal guard walking beside her as protection.

To the citizens, all of that mattered little.

What was essential came nextーbut then.

“Huh?”

Everyone tilted their heads in confusion.

Indeed, the figure matched the rumors.

Over 2 meters tall.

Beneath the meticulously engraved fluted armor, muscles that would drive the women of Virendorf wild must have been packed tightly.

That much was clear.

On his waist hung a great sword, so large that ordinary people could not possibly swing it.

Next came the horse.

A magnificent steed, indeed.

Covered in a red cloth fully engraved with magical runes, resembling horse armor, the horse was fitting for a hero to ride, its eyes exuding more intelligence than some humans.

But.

But, still.

“A bucket?”

Someone murmured.

Why was it just the great helm that looked like a bucket?

To those unfamiliar with the name “great helm,” it resembled an everyday bucket.

That was the only association they could make.

It was entirely unsuitable for the splendid fluted armor.

“Show your face!”

“Yes, the face!”

A buzz, almost like booing, began to fly towards Faust.

His body was good.

A body that Virendorf would admire.

Surely his rear was as commendable.

But without seeing his face, it was all for naught.

This was a memorial to honor the leader of the Reckenber knightly order, but at the same time, they wanted to see his face.

To see the face desired by the leader of the Reckenber knightly order as a second husband.

They gathered to see that face.

The crowd raised their voices, each in a different way, but the meaning was the same.

“Take off that ill-fitting bucket helm and show us your face!!”

Responding to the crowd’s voices was a loud laughter.

Truly a large, battlefield-like laughter that made the crowd wonder if this is how he laughed in battle.

It was Faust who let it out.

“Very well! I shall show you my face!!”

The procession halted, as if in response to his voice.

The commander at the front, walking her horse at the border line, wisely lowered her spear, stopping the march.

The sound of unfastening the bucket helm echoed.

The crowd held their breath in anticipation.

Then, Faust took off the bucket helm, cradling it at his side.

The crowd that saw this was…

Speechless.

Was this even a human face?

Or something demonic?

Of course, not in a bad way—

“Beautiful.”

As these words were spoken, among the thousands of women observing the parade, hundreds experienced a warmth spreading between their legs.

Could he truly be human?

Was this the same person who, in the Kingdom of Anhalt, was mocked for his muscular build and towering height as being ugly?

Everyone wondered.

In Virendorf, it was the complete opposite.

“Too beautiful.”

He offered a smile, a mix of embarrassment and trouble over his own beauty evident on his face.

He must be usually reticent.

His personality was readily apparent from his expression, laying bare his usually reticent nature.

And his stature, towering over 2 meters tall, was simply magnificent.

The muscles packed under the fluted armor.

Everything about him…

Enthralled the women of Virendorf.

Silence.

The air stood still for a moment, then, as if enough was enough, the commander at the border line, sensing the mood, raised her spear tip.

The march, the parade, resumed.

Faust von Polydoro and his horse, Flügel, started moving again, embodying perfect beauty for Virendorf.

The crowd exclaimed,

“Beautiful. Truly a hero who defeated the leader of the Reckenber knightly order, in form and in looks!!”

An upper-class citizen, clad in exquisite attire, spread her arms wide to express her full admiration.

“Please, duel with me, I beg you! Just once is enough!”

A hereditary knight in armor desperately tried to stop four squires from interrupting the parade.

“This… this is indeed art. A living masterpiece.”

An artist, wearing an expression of desperation, began to sketch Faust from a second-floor window.

They praised him without end.

Words of admiration for Faust von Polydoro flowed endlessly.

This record would remain for a thousand years.

A knight, who had accompanied him from the border and documented everything, muttered so.

Along the long, straight road to the palace, surrounded by cheers, the parade continued.

At the very end, thirty citizens from Polydoro’s lands, finally feeling their beloved lord was recognized, followed with beaming smiles of pride.

As they approached the palace, crossing the moat over a bridge, with the drawbridge raised and the castle gates closed, the cheers continued.

Even after it ended, the cheers did not cease.

It was as if they had witnessed a masterpiece created by a god.

Women standing side by side did not stop sharing their admiration for the beauty they had seen.

※

Meanwhile, Faust and his companions entered the castle.

“I wish I was born in Virendorf.”

“Lord Faust, even as a joke, that’s not something you should say.”

“No, I can’t help but say it when the reactions are so different from Anhalt.”

Following me, Martina and the chief retainer Helga spoke.

I muttered with an expression of agony.

“Why is it that I’m so popular in Virendorf but not at all in Anhalt? The world is strange.”

“Shall we just move the territory to Virendorf?”

“If only territories could walk, I would.”

Helga and I bantered lightly.

A little complaint wouldn’t hurt.

But then,

“Lord Faust, remember that the Second Princess Valiere and her personal guard are here. If they heard this…”

“Understood. I won’t say it anymore.”

Silenced by Martina’s reproachful voice.

Sabine.

The Second Princess’s personal guard leader, Sabine.

The woman who, even through her clothes, has unmistakably large breasts and is so far the only woman who shows a genuine interest in me.

I’d hate to be disliked by her.

Those breasts are too precious.

Too precious indeed.

However, I was never given a chance to interact with Sabine.

The month-long daily visits to the forge in my fluted armor.

Then being chased by the gathering of information on Queen Katarina, and at the farewell party, Queen Liesenlotte interfered.

Since entering the border, it’s needless to say, it’s been days of duels.

How am I supposed to make contact with Sabine and her breasts like this?

There was no time for complicated discussions.

At most, we exchanged a few greetings.

The world is wrong.

Well, it doesn’t matter.

Such is life.

The world is inconveniently against me.

Faust von Polydoro quietly resigned himself to something.

Time to change the mood.

Finally, it’s the audience with Queen Katarina.

“Helga, did you receive that ‘thing’ from the Ingritt Commerce Guild?”

“Yes, right here.”

That ‘thing’ covered in cloth.

The delivery completed, Ingritt said it was the most nerve-wracking transport she had ever done.

Understandably so.

“Lord Faust, you’re definitely going to get scolded by Queen Liesenlotte for this. Just so you know, I’ve already asked Lady Valiere to apologize with you.”

“Is it really that bad?”

“Of course, it is!”

Martina’s words of reproach.

Indeed, Queen Liesenlotte would be angry.

But it should just end with her being angry.

I think that’s all there is to it.

“Well, it’s time for the audience. Nothing strange about me, right?”

“Except for that great helm, nothing in particular. Make sure you replace it when we get back.”

I like it, this bucket helm.

What does everyone have against it?

It’s fine as it is, I can mostly cover the narrow field of view with intuition.

It even proved useful in a duel.

Though I could have won without it.

Still, the knights of Virendorf are indeed more skilled than those of Anhalt.

Though they were the elite gathered from the country, after 99 duels, one can’t help but think so.

But they were just a group that had stepped one foot into being superhuman.

None of the knights, like the Reckenber Knight Commander, brought me to the edge, wondering if I might lose—the tension, that sense of crisis.

“Helga, keep the great helm for me. You can’t join the audience. You’ll be entertained in another waiting room.”

“Understood.”

I handed over the great helm to Helga.

“Martina, as an apprentice knight and retainer, stay by my side. Hold the gift for Queen Katarina.”

“Are you really going to give it? Well, I won’t stop you now.”

Martina muttered, quietly resigning to something.

“Well, let’s see if this can cut through Queen Katarina’s heart.”

I doubt it.

But I couldn’t think of anything else.

Despite thorough information gathering, the episode between Reckenber Knight Commander and Queen Katarina was all I could come up with from the stories of the minstrels.

“Let’s try to make her laugh, at least.”

I’m sorry, Second Princess Valiere.

Being guided first and stepping into the Virendorf border, I began to walk with the treatment of a true envoy for the first time since then.

I saw the small back of Lady Valiere.

It seems I’ll have to ask her to play the fool a bit, but I bear no ill will towards her.

This was all I could come up with.

To elicit a laugh from Queen Katarina.

For that, I need this, and Lady Valiere’s reaction is essential.

“However, Reckenber, huh?”

“What is it?”

“No, just thinking. Lord Reckenber truly loved Queen Katarina, didn’t she?”

Looking at the thing wrapped in cloth that Martina was holding.

I had the minstrel sing every hero’s poem known about Queen Katarina and Knight Commander Reckenber, taking breaks in between.

It was during such times that I heard of their peculiar episode.

That Knight Commander Reckenber, just once, had been reprimanded along with Queen Katarina by the court.

Perfect in politics, military, and combat.

A superhuman who, combining all her talents, would have surpassed me.

That was Lord Reckenber.

The feelings behind such an episode are more than enough to surmise.

“She must have truly loved her.”

“I cannot understand. Did Queen Katarina ever return anything of the love that was given to her by Lord Reckenber? Was it not just Lord Reckenber unilaterally pledging her loyalty and continually offering her achievements?”

“Martina.”

I murmured Martina’s name in a slightly reproachful manner.

“I’m not saying that one shouldn’t expect anything in return. However, seeking only compensation is not what love is called. And there is even love that one only realizes when they are about to die, or no, after they have died.”

“Is that from personal experience?”

“Yes. And perhaps, for the dead, that is enough. Maybe there is a love that, only after death, does one realize the affection, and the thought of the deceased, even in death, reaches the loved one.”

Unless one thinks that way, it’s impossible to go on.

Mother.

I couldn’t do anything for you while you were alive, not any act of filial piety.

But, at least I can protect the people and the territory you left behind.

Yes.

For that reason, too, I need to make the peace negotiations with Virendorf succeed.

Leading the way, Lady Valiere spoke to me without turning back.

“It’s time to go, Faust.”

I took a deep breath and responded to Lady Valiere.

“Understood.”

My voice quietly echoed through the corridors of the Virendorf royal palace.