Chapter 36

‘Oh, geez. I ‘m really such a half-hearted person… I keep hiding things from Gazelle and Felix. However, I’m not sure if my actions are really right, and deep down in my heart, I’m just constantly hesitant. I think it would be so nice if I could talk to them, but even if I confess, they might distance themselves from me or be disappointed that I didn’t speak up earlier.

Thinking about that makes me feel scared. I know they’re not that kind of people, but still, I can’t muster the courage. …At this rate, I’ll probably even get warned by Captain Ortolan… Ah! Come to think of it, I hadn’t considered it before, but maybe Captain Ortolan is here today?!

What should I do… …Considering the atmosphere the last time we met, it’s going to be really difficult to face him… However, since he gave me advice for my sake, I should say words of thanks and apology. Hmm… What should I do…

“The Green-winged knights haven’t arrived yet.”

“I wanted to discuss the joint exercise before the meeting, but I guess we’re out of options.”

“Then should we talk to the Yellow-winged knights first?”

“The White-winged knights haven’t arrived yet, but should we go greet Captain Ortolan from the Yellow-winged knights before we get involved with them?”

“…Get involved?”

My face tensed up involuntarily when the White-winged knights were mentioned in the two people’s conversation. I couldn’t help but be uneasy when I heard the name White-winged knights. If things continued as they did in the game “Change the World,” the annihilation of the Black-winged knights would occur soon. And the White-winged knights were heavily involved in the Black-winged knights’ annihilation.

“I haven’t explained it to Takumi, have I?”

“Oh, right. I should have told him before we came here. Takumi, don’t get too close to the ‘White-winged knights’, okay?” Gazelle said this and made a gesture of pulling at the collar of his uniform.

What he meant by that was, “Stay away from people of the knight order who wear white uniforms.

“Previously, did I explain the characteristics of the knight orders?”

“Yeah, I remember. For example, the Yellow-winged order was mainly composed of beastmen, and the Green-winged order is mostly made up of commoners, right?”

“I think dividing the organization of the knight orders based on the birth of its members is a primitive thing.”

“I also think so. But well, there are closed-minded people everywhere.”

“It’s unavoidable to some extent. It’s meaningless if we can’t use them during crucial times because of internal conflict.” Gazelle and Felix laughed when I responded in this manner.

“I’m glad Takumi understands quickly.”

But what does that have to do with the members of the White-winged knight order?

“Well, the truth is that the White-winged knight order is honestly called the ‘Decoration Knights’[1].”

“Decoration?”

That reminds me, I feel like Iris said something similar before.

“For example, if the Green-winged knights were made up with commoners… The White-winged knights are organized with people from the noble class.”

“The main task of the White-winged knights is to protect the royal capital. The chance of monsters or bandits appearing around the royal capital is not high, right? Monsters or bandits that appear in the suburbs of the royal capital will be defeated by us, the Green-winged knights, or the Yellow-winged knights.”

“…Hmm.”

“For parents, it would be troublesome if their important heir died or got injured… In other words, the White-winged knights are a knight order capable of obtaining honor despite having little actual work. It is a knight order reserved solely for the decoration of nobility sons. Well, things have gotten better since the change of leadership, but it was really bad for a while there. Those guys didn’t even train properly and just drank all day long.”

…And the truth about the White-winged knights is closely related to the destruction of the Black-winged knights event.

In a certain city of the Ritzheim Magic Kingdom, the Black-winged knights were besieged by a large horde of monsters and forced to defend themselves. The protagonist hurries to another nearby city and asks for help from another group of knights stationed there. But surprisingly, his request for aid is denied.

The noble who ruled the city said, “If that story is true, then this city will be attacked by monsters next! We need to evacuate the citizens as soon as possible. It’s pointless to go for help now. We should lead the citizens of this city to safety!”.

Although the leader of the stationed knights disagreed with the noble’s opinion, the voices of agreement from the deputy leader and below caused a disagreement among the group. In the end, the noble was convinced, and they set out to provide aid, but it was already too late, and the city had been completely destroyed. It was a really depressing turn of events. And.. “The knight order that was stationed in the neighboring city” is the White Wing Knight Order.

… In that event, he remarks from the mob characters under the Vice Commander of the White Wing Knight Order were often along the lines of “There’s no chance of winning no matter where we go!” and “I-if that story is true, even we’re in danger! The Black Wing Knight Order guys should take care of it themselves!” Such pessimistic remarks.

Although I thought it was not a statement befitting a knight, I now could see it. Perhaps there was a setting that “the knight order was formed mainly by the children of nobles” that I did not know of.

“So why do the White-winged knight order and the Black-winged knight order have a bad relationship?”

“If we were to explain the detailed reasons, it would be endless… But the fundamental cause would be the way the Black-winged knight order operates. As you know, Takumi, the Black-winged knights order is established as a knight order that conducts enrollment and organization based solely on individual ability, regardless of status or race.”

“Oh, I know,” Felix, speaking to me with a rare boastful and somewhat proud expression, made me momentarily envision the wagging tail of a happy dog. “So, in other words. Do you think the noble-centered, historically prestigious White Wing Knights and our meritocratic household, which is a mix of commoners and beastmen up to the nobles… can get along?”

“Well, it’s certainly difficult,” I replied, using a euphemistic expression instead of saying it would be impossible, since I didn’t want to be too negative.

“In addition, there’s also the matter of my joining the Black Wing Knights, which ended up making Lord Leon lose face.”

“I’ve said it many times, but that’s not really a big deal, Felix. The White-winged knights and us haven’t been on good terms since the previous generation. We haven’t had a joint exercise with them for decades, not even once during my generation.”

However, we have to find a way to get the Black and White-winged knights to get along somehow. I can’t prevent the Black Wing Knights’ annihilation event alone. When that event happens, we’ll need the White-winged knights in the neighboring city to come to our rescue. But they may be hesitant to do so, given the lack of combat experience and, above all, the hostile relations between our two orders.

Ideally, we should all work together in times of crisis, but in my former world, I often heard stories of a lack of coordination in such situations. However, I’m sure we can come up with a solution if we start working on it now. But, honestly, I can’t think of any good ideas at the moment! Making the Black and White Wing Knights get along may sound easy in words, but it’s not that simple.

Hmm… if we’re talking about creating an opportunity to talk openly with each other, would a drinking party be the way to go? Should the members of the Black Wing Knights and White Wing Knights have a drinking party together?

But, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea either. From what I heard from Gazelle and Felix, they have some concerns about the past practices and policies of the White Wing Knights, but they don’t seem to dislike the current leader of the White Wing Knights that much. In fact, they seem to appreciate the current leader.

As I was thinking about this, I suddenly noticed that the noise in the room had gotten louder. I must had been talking to Gazelle and Felix for quite a while. There was only ten minutes left until the meeting was supposed to start. And just now, the last of the knights had finally arrived.

“We were talking about them and here they are. Takumi, those are the guys from the ‘White’ order.”

Three knights entered the room. The one in the center, with two people behind him, was probably the leader of the White Wing Knights. He had long silver hair tied with a blue velvet ribbon flowing down his back. His pale ice-blue eyes gave somewhat unnerving impression, but the color of his icy gaze and the glossy pure white knight’s uniform he wore were suitable for calling him the noble prince of White-winged knights. After quietly scanning the room with just his gaze, his gaze suddenly stopped at a certain point.

“—Takumi?”

Yes, it was to me of all people.

I, too, opened my eyes in surprise.

“You are…?”

The man I met in the castle town who was pickpocketed before…!! No way, are you kidding me? That silver-haired handsome man I met in the castle town is the leader of the White-winged knights…?! Wait, hold on. It’s not like it’s been decided that he’s the commander yet. There’s a chance that he’s just a regular lower-ranked member who came to the meeting like me. Isn’t that possible? I hope that’s the case!

Footnote

[1] Refer to Chapter 20