139-133 Distortion of the Knights

With the training for mock combat only completed, it was expected that they would return to their respective duties in the afternoon.

However, some knights didn't think that was a good idea... or rather, the fact that we were planning to train with the War Maiden Holy Knights in the afternoon as well, the captains of the seventh squadron, except for the War Maiden Holy Knights, heard about it and protested to Catherine-san.

I decided to work on Lionel and the others without getting involved in it.

'Good job, everyone. How did it go?

The first to answer my question was Lionel, who had a stern face.

''I didn't know they were this bad of a unit.......If we had attacked when I was an imperial general, this place would have been the territory of the Illumasia Empire. The saving grace now is that the adventurers and the people of the surrounding countries have created a situation where the adventurers and the people of the surrounding countries can't attack it even if they wanted to because of Luciel-sama's policy of revising the fees of the healers, and because they are on the shoulders of the St. Surul Cooperative State.

I apparently didn't know that I was going to be resented by the Empire again.

I'm definitely not going to the Empire again.

If I went there, I would be completely assassinated.

I swore firmly in my heart that I would never go to the Empire again.

I'm sure I agree with you. If there were a group of people like Luciel-sama, I was glad that Lionel-sama didn't advise the attack, but without the secret weapon, the Holy City would fall and be destroyed.

The two of them have very good analytical skills.

''I have a feeling that the priest knights of Yenis were stronger than the knights here.

Kefin said so too.

Lionel then spoke up with an improvement plan.

With that assurance, Lionel looked up at the sky with a faraway look in his eyes.

The squadrons lurked in the mess hall in turn, and we announced that we would eat slowly at the end. Then, the knights who had suffered a disastrous defeat in a mock battle began to ask Lionel and the others for their opinions.

Although it seemed that there were some race supremacist sides, they treated Keti and Kefin with a respectful attitude and didn't discriminate against them as I had thought.

In the end, until the cafeteria was empty, I put area barriers on the knights who had requested them and asked them to try out the effects of the barriers while I told them to make their own efforts based on Lionel and the others' opinions.

However, I avoided explaining the power leveling of the healers here.

It's a good thing that you're not going to have to worry about the fact that you're not going to be able to get your hands on any of these things, because if you imagine your healers being forcibly sent out into the battlefield, there's a high possibility that you'll create a disastrous situation.

If they were forced to fight alone because they couldn't use their magic, if they couldn't even defeat a weak demon, that would spell the end of that healer's life.

I can't decide if it's the right thing to put the healers at that level of risk or not.

If the adventurer's party includes a healer who can use recovery magic, it can be managed. But unlike in a game, even if you're good at the beginning, as you progress to the latter half of the game, you'll be stuck with no one to follow.

It's the reality of this world, and while I was thinking about it, I was reminded of the reality of this world.

After a while, we headed to the mess hall for lunch, and Catherine was waiting for us.

And then I heard that the afternoon training had been rescheduled and switched to a general exercise instead of a mock battle with the War Maiden Holy Knight Squad.

''Since that's the case, I'd like you to confirm the comprehensive exercise from above?

It was Lionel, not me, who was told by Catherine. But Lionel's gaze drifted to me.

''You mean you want advice after seeing the exercise?''

I decided to ask Catherine straight away without getting muddled.

In the past, when I was at the church headquarters, there were only three comprehensive exercises that were held. To do that at this time, he wants Lionel to see it and give him advice.

I can't help but understand the feelings of Catherine, who has risen to the rank of Knight Commander at such a young age.

It's natural to want to receive advice from someone who is older than you, more capable of commanding, and personally stronger than you when you're lost.

'There are conditions. First of all, we will not participate in this exercise and will observe it from above. We will hear what we notice from Lionel and the others, and we will put it all together and give it to you later.

...Okay. Good luck.

Catherine bowed her head and then sashayed out of the dining room.

When Catherine had completely disappeared from the dining room, Lionel opened his mouth.

''Are you glad you didn't participate in the exercise?''

'I don't know why, but I have a feeling that Ms. Catherine's confidence is lacking. If Lionel is in charge of the exercise here, or Ketty or Kefin join the exercise, it's possible that Catherine could say she's retiring.

I'd never seen Catherine clinging to me like that.

I felt different asking around about what had happened during the year, and I was tempted to hold my head up and worry about it.

''Well I don't think it's that bad, Nya. But looking for someone to lead the charge might be the right decision, Nya.

What do you mean?

"As a commander, I know the whole picture. But that requires results and strong charisma in order to organize each unit... is that it?

As Kefin has learned to appreciate... "Information is his number one skill.

''You mean you can't keep the whole knightly corps together?''

The answer seemed to have been derived from analysis rather than beastly intuition, and I decided to listen to the details while admiring the intelligence abilities of these two men.

''For example, when Lionel-sama was leading the imperial army as a general, he would take the lead while giving orders to the various troops, and if he was outnumbered, he himself served as a lord, Nya.''

Lionel, thrusting forward with his javelin on horseback, ducked through bows and magic and blew away anything that came near him.

It was easy to imagine such a scene.

''I feel that Luciel-sama has the same belief in not letting even one soldier die, or even stronger than I do. And as for commanding, I have no problem commanding a small number of people, so depending on the training, I think I can command a large number of people as well.

Do you think I'm in charge of the Church Order?

When I asked the three of them that, as I expected they said........not so much.

'If you can't refuse to go with the flow and take command, you will.

'When Luciel-sama has to answer alone, she's often already involved in something, Nya.

Where I chose to observe the comprehensive exercise I just described, I honestly thought I grew up.

My reputation was low across the board.

''Well I don't want to be tied down here, and I want to head to Melatni at the earliest opportunity.

'In that case, you should probably get out of here after dinner today.

I know that I have to make decisions like Lionel's.

Still, that's not my decision.

''Thanks for the advice. But I have to thank Rosa for her help, and I think it's a risk to move on immediately. That's why I'll be heading to Meratoni in a week's time. Fortunately, the horses haven't been let out of the hermit's stables yet, so they should be fine.

I'll be there in a minute. "I'll be there in a minute.

Isn't that one of the best things about Lady Luciel?

"We are Master Luciel's squire, so we'll keep you company.

Ketty chuckled and Kefin gave me affirmation while Lionel concluded.

After we talked about that, we made our way to the large training area again, and from the seats overlooking the large training area that Catherine-san had led us to in the past, we decided to watch the general exercises.

The priest knights and the holy knights were divided and Catherine-san led the priest knights, while Lumina-san, the youngest in each squad, commanded the holy knights and clashed with them.

It's a unit of four squads each, but the priest knights required twice as many people in terms of strength than the priest knights.

The battle between the Priest Knights led by Catherine, who formed a semi-circular formation like a fan, and the Holy Knights led by Lumina, who formed a formation like the letter V at a sharper angle than that, began.

''How do you see it?''

''Normally, the priest knights have the advantage, but since the individual abilities are higher for the holy knights, the rest will likely depend on the command.

I think so too. And there's one thing I've learned. I'm sure you'll find that this exercise is relying on Luciel-sama's recovery magic. It was easy to understand since the exercise was suddenly turned into an exercise.

I felt myself brought back to reality by Ketty's words following Lionel.

'I have a hunch, but the Holy Knights will probably win. There's that much of a gap in strength.''

''Well, it's still going to be the Priestess Knights led by Catherine-san who will win... or it will end in a draw.

When I muttered that, the three of them looked surprised and then looked at me curiously.

How do you know that?

''One thing that Lumina-san admires about Catherine, one thing that concerns the morale of the Order if Catherine-san loses, and one thing that doesn't give the Holy Knights a sense of supremacy.

The Order had become distorted.

'You seem to be seeing things right,'

I'm sure Luciel-sama could manage a squadron like that.

You three knew that, didn't you? That's how I felt, from above, and I'm sure it would look different on the ground.

It depends on your experience.

He said that while smiling at Lionel, but I couldn't imagine that figure.

Just as we thought, the comprehensive exercise between the Priest Knights and the Holy Knights ended with the Priest Knights winning.