CH 20.2

“If anything, I’d rather talk about it now. Not only us, but it also involves the White Winged Knights, so it’s better for you to know what’s going on.”

And so the story that Iris told me was… For me, who had played “Change the World” in my original world, parts of the story were familiar, but most of it was completely new. 

Felix Von Alpharetta. He’s the third son of Count Alpharetta of the Ritzheim Magic Kingdom and is the only nobleman in the Black-winged order. He’s also an excellent swordsman who was entrusted with the position of vice commander at a young age.

This much I know.

I knew that much because in the story of “Change the World,” it was often mentioned that he was from an aristocratic family of Ritzheim Magic Kingdom.

“Do you know the characteristics of each order in this country?” 

“Ah, yes, I remember,” I nodded at Iris’s question.

There was a total of eight knightly orders in Ritzheim Magic Kingdom. They were; Gold-winged knights, Silver-winged knights, Black-winged knights, White-winged knights, Red-winged knights, Blue-winged knights, Green-winged knights and Yellow-winged knights.

The main duties of the knights ranged from defeating monsters and bandits, mainly for national defense, and guarding the borders. As for the knights themselves, anyone may join as long as they are sure of their origins. From commoners to nobles, from humans to dwarves and beastmen, any status or race is accepted.

However, depending on their race and origin, the knightly order to which they would be assigned would differ. For example, the Yellow-winged knights was an order composed of members from bestial race.

The other day, I had the opportunity to meet Commander Ortolan of Yellow-winged knights—a bird-type beastman.

I’ve been wondering about this for a while now, but can we call him a “beastman” even if he’s a bird-type beastman? Ah, but you wouldn’t call them birdman, do you?

While I was thinking about this, Iris leaned toward me and peered into my face. For some reason, his eyes twinkled and his cheeks were slightly dyed.

“Come to think of it, Takumi is quite close to Commander Ortolan, right?” 

“Oh. Commander Ortolan is a good man.”

“That guy, although he’s a bit naïve, he’s still cool, isn’t he? I guess people of the beast race have a mysterious charm that humans don’t have…”

I~know~right? Beastmen are so nice, aren’t they?

Commander Ortolan, whose hair resembled bird feathers, in particular, exuded a certain charm that human hair lacked. 

I wonder if I could touch Commander Ortolan’s head someday…

“Ehem. Excuse me for getting a little bit sidetracked just now.”

“No, I know how you feel,” I shook my head and Iris flashed a bright smile while narrowing his eyes.

“Fufufu, I’m sure you don’t need to force me to talk to you. Let’s see… Since the Yellow-winged knights are made up of beastman, our Black-winged knights on other hand are a mix of knights of all races and origins, right?” 

“Hmm.”

“So… Felix was originally invited to join by the leader of the White-winged knights.”

“Speaking of the White-winged knights, if I remember correctly, is an order of knights coming from an aristocratic background, aren’t they?”

“You’re right. That’s why they’re also called as “Decoration Knights” 

“Decoration?”

“Hmm… I’ll explain that later,” Iris giggled deceptively, looking a little troubled with her long eyelashes downcast.

Iris giggled deceptively and looked a little troubled, her long eyelashes downcast.

Come to think of it, I think there was a story like that in “Change the World”… I wonder what it is… 

In “Change the World,” you can choose either a male or female protagonist and the story branches out according to the favorability of the characters in the game. The ending also changes depending on the character with the highest favorability.

While I had played “Change the World,” a lot before, however, I always ended up with high favorability among the female characters. So there were parts that I didn’t understand such as the detailed settings of the male characters. Hence, even though I had played the game, there were a lot of things I didn’t know of. Nevertheless, it was indeed a strange story if you ask me.

Why did Felix, who comes from a noble count’s family, join the Black-winged knights instead of the White-winged knights?

“At first, the head of Alpharetta’s family, Felix’s father. Felix was supposed to join the White-winged knights at that person’s request. Besides, the current Commander of White-winged knights, Leon de Dorme, is the eldest son of the same rank, a count family. 

“Huh,” I listened to Iris’s words with a serious expression on my face.

“Just now, we talked about the Gold-winged knights and the Silver-winged knights, didn’t we? To be admitted into those two knight orders, you must be a knight among knights, or to put it bluntly, a super elite, and you must have the recommendation of at least five members of the Gold-winged knights or Silver-winged knights. That’s how narrow the cutoff is.”

“That sounds pretty difficult.”

“Yes, it is. So, Count Alpharetta probably wanted Felix to join the Gold-winged knights in the future. To ensure that, joining the White-winged knights was the only way.” 

“Is it because the White Winged Knights, where the children of noble families gather, allow one to expand their connections and lay the groundwork for getting recommendations?”

“Exactly!” Iris leaned in closer to me and responded enthusiastically to my words.

Inwardly surprised by his vigor, I looked straight back at him. “But Felix joined the Black Winged Knights, didn’t he?”

“…Yes. Originally, Felix was already famous as a “once a hundred-year sword talent” ever since he was a trainee. That’s why Commander Leon was so keen on Felix by saying, ‘If he joins us, the members of the White-winged knights will be inspired, and the atmosphere of slackness will change.’” 

“Kicking that to the curb and going against the wishes of his household, Felix joined the Black-winged knights…”

It seemed such a stark behavior that I couldn’t connect it with his usual calm, smiling, good-natured appearance.

No, that’s not true. Felix is a calm, cool, and collected young man, but he can sometimes show a burst of passion. That’s why I’m sure… At that time, he too must have had something he could not compromise.

“Un, that sounds like Felix.” 

“…Fufu, it’s very typical of Takumi to come up with such an impression.”

“While Felix looks like that, he’s certainly a man with conviction.”

“Fufufu, now that you say so, he sure is. But, Count Alpharetta didn’t feel the same way. After all, Felix did turn down the invitation to join the White-winged knights and joined Black-winged knights instead, which is an order comprises of commoners and beastmen.”

What’s more, Felix refused a direct invitation from the leader of White-winged knights… So, it’s not hard to imagine Count Alpharetta’s rage. 

“By nature, Count Alpharetta is a man who gets easily riled up. I heard that he yelled at Felix, ‘If you want to join the Black-winged order, you’ll have to leave this house!”

“And what about Felix?”

“He just said, ‘I understand. Thank you for taking care of me until now, father,’ and left his house with nothing in his hands.”

T-That’s amazing, Felix! 

“It seems that The Count of Alpharetta didn’t expect Felix to nod his head, and he seemed to have a hard time wrapping his head around it. However, there’s no way he would be able to retract his words once they’ve been uttered. And so, in a state of being almost disowned by his family, Felix lost contact with his household…”

“…Hmm? How long has Felix been a member of Black-winged knights?”

“It’s been five years now.”

F-Five years??! That’s really amazing, Felix! What’s amazing is that you’ve held on to your will even under such circumstances. If it were me, I’d have let the pressure get to me and swept away by my surroundings. 

What was he thinking when he joined the Black-winged knights back then…? In the first place, why did he want to join the Black-winged knights so badly? Someday, I’ll ask him. If I ask him, I wonder if he will tell me at least a little…

“Going back to the topic, both Gazelle and I were very concerned about the conflict with Felix’s family. I’m glad he was so eager to join the Black Winged Knights, but…” Iris broke his sentences before smiling dejectedly. “But to leave your own family because of that, you know? All the more because both I and Gazelle were orphans. I can’t imagine being separated from my family while they are still alive…”

“…That kind of feeling, I know it well.”

I, too, had come suddenly to this world from the world I came from… I still think about my family from time to time. Well, I was a miser compared to my brother, so I’m sure my mom and dad don’t miss me now that I’m gone, and I’m doing fine! Still, I would have liked to thank them one last time. Well, even if my brother doesn’t have me, he probably doesn’t care much. 

Suddenly, I felt a prick in my chest, as if I had been stabbed in the heart with a fine needle, and I turned my head slightly. Silence fell in the room for a while, and then, as if to break the somber atmosphere, Iris spoke up in a particularly cheerful voice.

“But you know! Because Felix’s  achievement in potion development was recognized by the country, Count Alpharetta contacted him saying, ‘In recognition of your contribution to the country, I will disregard your actions until now.”

“Oh really? I’m glad!”

“Yes, yes, really! That’s why both I and Gazelle felt really relieved that a weight has been lifted from our shoulders. 

“Un, I feel relieved too.”

“…Takumi, thank you,” Iris’s eyes relaxed, and smiled gently.

His voice was full of affection, and I averted my eyes from him and lightly clenched my fists. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I could feel my ears burning.

“…I didn’t do anything, did I? The potion thing was all Gazelle’s and Felix’s doing.” 

“…”

Iris shot me a wry smile. I didn’t know what to say, so I got up from my seat and cleaned up the small plates with scattered pastry crumbs on my desk to cover up my expression.

…That’s right. I gave Gazelle and Felix the method for refining potions, so… I was worried that I might have passed the trouble to both of them, but I guess it had that effect on them.

I’m really glad. Everything I did also caused some good things to happen to people I care about. 

… Well, I also caused a catastrophic change that canceled out all those good things, such as “the main character is not summoned to this world”!

…Nope. It’s a catastrophe no matter how you look at it!