257. Engagement – Bailei

“Not gonna wash up?”

Lena asked, rubbing her damp hair with a towel. Her once short hair had grown down to her shoulders.

This is the campsite. Lena and Leo returned to the main base after being ordered to withdraw from the battlefield they had fought on for almost two months.

As soon as they arrived, Lena rushed to a nearby stream to wash up. The area was designated for females among the soldiers, particularly with many drafted warriors mixed in.

So Lena took her toiletries and went off separately, while Leo remained in his battle-worn state, lost in thought.

The newly supplied tent was clean. The previously muddy and frozen mat was replaced with a new one, and he received a new military uniform as well. In a fresh mood, Lena hummed as she tended to her personal gear.

First thing first was the sword. Lena shone her sword, gifted by her master, in the sunlight. She wiped off the blood and grime from the blade and polished the fuller with a dry cloth.

The handle needed the same care. Lena unwrapped the leather strap on the sword’s hilt, cleaned off the congealed blood, and took out a whetstone from her backpack. She squatted at the entrance of the tent, sharpening the dull spots.

‘No need to go to the blacksmith.’

Despite fighting frequently and fiercely, there weren’t many chipped areas. This proved she handled her sword well, making Lena feel a sense of pride.

After putting away the freshly cleaned sword, Lena began to tidy up her greaves, armguards, and upper and lower armor in turn.

Aside from a small amount of added iron, everything was leather. Again, Lena meticulously wiped the blood from the leather seams with a towel and discarded the unusable straps soaked in blood. She donned her uniform made of cotton over the armor and tightened new straps. The same process was repeated for her greaves, armguards, and trousers.

The heavily buttoned trousers were taken from an enemy soldier. The top didn’t match the design since it was tied with straps, but Lena wasn’t one to care about appearances.

She finished her tidying up.

Meanwhile, Leo remained sitting quietly with his chin resting on his hand. Lena couldn’t help but nag him.

“Hey, you smell bad.”

“…”

“Wash up already! What are you doing? Got something on your mind?”

Leo broke from his daze, loosening his tense jaw. “Ah, I’m just… thinking about some things. I’m going to wash up now.” He gathered a sponge, towel, and change of clothes to go outside.

But Leo was still deep in thought.

Why hadn’t Baron Arpen Albasete shown up? He walked, pondering the changes, with a thought dawning on him.

‘Ran and Anne Abiker sisters haven’t appeared at Abrival Castle.’

That was the only change regarding this engagement round.

The problem was why they hadn’t shown up and what kind of connection existed between those sisters and Baron Albasete that the Swordmaster hadn’t even departed.

Was it possible that Baron Albasete had been influenced by another scenario unrelated to the Ran and Anne sisters? — he doubted, but it seemed unlikely. Though the engagement began about half a year later than other scenarios, this was the Austin Kingdom, far too distant.

Moreover, Reb and Lean hadn’t made any notable moves yet, so influence shouldn’t have reached them…

‘No. Lean might have done something.’

Honestly, he wasn’t sure about that.

In the previous round, Lean had awakened at Reb’s call and acted independently, saying she’d met a beggar with a broken arm in Oberg. That led to the Duke Astroth, the King of Belita Kingdom disguised as a person. From the start, he had warned her not to meet that beggar, claiming he barely escaped after the encounter…

Reb’s perspective had changed.

It’s not that he didn’t trust Lean, but something could have changed in the process.

It seemed suspicious that Baron Arpen Albasete hadn’t come to the battlefield due to matters occurring in enemy territory, but it somehow made less sense that those sisters, who merely “wanted to hunt monsters as barbarian mothers,” had influenced the Swordmaster.

If such a relationship existed, then ‘I’ should have conveyed that fact.

Since Minseo had been daydreaming during the previous round, there was a lack of information. However, just before Leo disappeared at the ending, he left a message, giving Leo a rough idea of what had happened in that round. Plus, there was no mention of the Ran and Anne sisters having any relation with Baron Albasete.

‘Alright, then what must happen in Belita Kingdom for Baron Albasete not to show up on the battlefield? Could it be…?’

What if Count Hermann Forte also stayed away from the battlefield? If Lean’s actions influenced Count Forte, causing him to not show up there, and Baron Albasete learned about it…

That would make sense.

Though the absence of an enemy Swordmaster and our Swordmaster might seem irrelevant, Baron Arpen Albasete had always displayed indifference towards this war from the start.

When Leo first met him in the 8th round, the baron stood at the rear, guarding the prince while refusing to make any move on the battlefield.

He arrived at the stream. But with a click of the tongue, Leo discarded his recent hypothesis.

It was overly optimistic.

Hermann Forte might very well decide not to show up just like Katrina. However, that was just speculation, and it was better to think he would definitely come rather than wish he wouldn’t.

After all, this concerned Leo and Lena’s future, so Leo had no intention of being careless in his preparations.

So what should he do?

In any case, since there was no Swordmaster to lend a hand…

– Plop.

Naked, Leo plunged his body into the stream. The water was cool because it was summer. While scrubbing his muscle-defined body with the sponge, he suddenly remembered that another person whom he could rely on might be here.

Leo quickened his pace.

Gasping for air, he hurriedly finished his bath, not leaving a moment to comb through his hair with the sponge. He changed into his new military uniform and stopped by the tent (“Where are you going, Leo?”) before heading towards the Knight Commander’s tent.

“I wish to see the Knight Commander. I am Leo Dexter, son of Noel Dexter.”

“Dexter…! Please wait a moment.”

A squire presumed to be in training entered the tent, and soon Leo met with the Third Knight Commander, Jensen Bailei.

“Son of Noel Dexter?”

Was he busy with work? He was sitting at a table. Jensen looked up at Leo as he entered the tent.

“You do resemble him a bit… Do you have any proof of identity, soldier?”

“… Yes. Here is a letter from my father to Baron Albasete.”

“Let me see. Sorry for the intrusion.”

Jensen looked over the letter’s envelope. Seemingly unsatisfied with the handwriting alone, he subtly gestured to Leo and then opened the letter.

It may have been a rude action.

Perhaps sensing this, Jensen read only the first few lines of the letter before folding it back into the envelope.

“Seems like it’s genuine. Nice to meet you. I saw you a few times when you were very young; time really flies. You look a lot like your mother. Is she doing well? No letters from your father for me?”

Jensen Bailei stood up and offered his hand for a handshake. Leo grasped the scarred hand without a word.

“… You still seem angry with me. Please, sit down.”

Jensen insisted on having Leo sit next to him, not across the table.

That was a significant gesture of goodwill.

Previously unsure of who this person was and his relationship with his father, Leo didn’t bring up personal matters. But now he felt secure enough to do so.

This was partly due to Jensen’s consistently friendly demeanor in the last engagement round and his oval-shaped handsome face, connected to a barony not far from here.

“I’ve heard a lot about you. They say you are the sister of Holy Woman Maryel.”

“…”

He definitely resembled Holy Woman Maryel. It was difficult to put into words, but the distance between his eyes, the length of his philtrum, and the width of his brow indistinctively matched hers. In fact, he was the brother of Holy Woman Maryel.

However, Jensen’s face was marred with scars, giving him an appearance that didn’t quite look angry but rather one filled with too many vibrant scars that could not be erased even by blessings.

After a moment of silence, he sighed lightly and spoke.

“Yeah, my big sister is the Holy Woman. Hm… At least I know your father hasn’t mentioned me. What brings you to find me?”

Should I not have asked about my father’s past without mentioning the Holy Woman? It felt awkward to ask now, so Leo went right to the point.

“It’s about…”

I want to become a squire. After gathering enough experience as a soldier on the battlefield, what I want is to try my hand at something different. Jensen stroked his chin and burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! Now I understand. They called you the Invincible Ten, right? I thought you were just a lucky squad, but if you’re the son and disciple of Noel Dexter, that changes the story.”

“Then will you grant me approval?”

“No.”

Jensen adjusted his perfectly starched uniform and said with humor. He was a man of clear public and private distinctions.

“Performance needs to be seen first. Go there and bring over a soldier named Lena.”

The squire rushed off to find Lena, and Jensen gestured to Leo, inviting him to display his skills while holding his sword.

“… Understood. Then…”

As gently as possible. Leo exchanged several blows with Jensen. Even though it was merely a demonstration of the basics, Jensen Bailei was impressed.

“How old are you?”

“This year, I’m of age.”

“Impressive. Honestly, you still can’t compare to your father… Hah, I’m not belittling you. Your father is exceptionally outstanding. Now I see you’ve even got a knack for teaching. I wish he hadn’t retired… I can’t fathom why he did. Ah, here she comes.”

Lena arrived. She bowed to the Knight Commander, wearing a puzzled expression.

“I heard you are a disciple of Noel Dexter. Let’s see some of your skills.”

“Ah! Thank you!”

To duel with the Knight Commander!

Lena winked at Leo, signaling that she did well, then took up her sword. Recently, she had realized something and took a unique stance.

She held her sword low by her left waist in a thrusting position. Jensen noticed and smiled broadly, recognizing that this soldier was prepared to give her all.

“Come!”

Before the words even finished, swish! Lena’s sword flew. Jensen quickly dodged and took the initiative…

“Wait!”

In her thrusting position, Lena’s body spun around. Stabilizing her weight on her forward step, her left foot lifted. Greedily, she tried to follow up the thrust with a kick.

Normally, one would just shake hands.

Since he merely evaded, Jensen had the leisure to slice into her airborne left foot. However, he didn’t; it was a duel, after all, and the sword being pulled tightly along with Lena’s kick was aimed at his abdomen.

Giving up his leg would mean risking his life. A good knight wouldn’t choose that option… but wait, that’s not right?

Jensen’s gaze locked onto Lena’s stabilizing foot. The strength she exerted dug into the ground, and she was straining to avoid tipping her weight forward.

Ha! So that kick was a feint. The soldier, planning to strike with that airborne foot, would likely launch another thrust.

It was her goal all along.

Jensen grinned.

In a split second, he pierced through her intent, ignoring her kick. He laid his sword down, using his foot to skillfully deal with the overloaded base.

“Whoa!!”

Confident Lena was taken aback.

Realizing her left leg was about to be pulled back, she utilized its momentum to deliver another thrust, but Jensen’s sword was aimed at her right foot first.

In that case, what would she stab?

No, if her base leg got cut, would she even be able to stab?

Lena slammed her right foot down. Since it was a duel, Lena leaped upward on one leg as Jensen’s sword moved sluggishly beneath her.

As Lena landed, she hurried to regain her stance, but Jensen’s kick came flying in.

– Thwack!

“Ugh!”

She was sent rolling from a heavy kick to her shoulder. Yet in that moment, she managed to raise her sword just in time to block Jensen’s descending attack.

However, she should recognize this as an act of mercy. Jensen’s sword, blunt and square-ended, wasn’t meant for a thrust but specialized for slashing, resembling a saber rather than a sword.

If he had truly intended it, he would have continuously struck down, smashing Lena’s sword to pieces.

A chaotic flurry.

Jensen’s favorite environment. Yet he restrained the violent surge surging from within. The flames of rage flickered in his eyes, but returned to normalcy as he sheathed his sword and smoothed out his clothing.

“Quite impressive. Very clever. Using a kick as a feint fits perfectly with the phrase ‘clever’! Hahaha.”

“… Ha… Haha. That, it seems so.”

“But it’s still clumsy. You need to refine it a bit more… Hm, yet it’s remarkable. Are you already constructing your own swordsmanship? You could receive your knighthood at any moment…”

“No. Being a squire is enough.”

Leo interjected.

“We have yet to achieve the merits worthy of becoming knights. We’ve not even taken the formal entrance exam. I wish to earn the title of squire through my merits and then proudly receive my knighthood.”

If he suddenly received his knighthood, that meant he would have to head to the battlefield!

Since the goal was to defeat Count Forte with the other knights’ aid from the rear, Leo spoke like a knight who valued honor. That pleased Jensen.

“That’s true. There’s no urgency in the situation, and since these are the disciples of Noel Dexter, hurrying to grant them knighthood wouldn’t be appropriate.”

Jensen said, “I see. Return and wait,” Lena chirped, “Wow… I thought I had carefully plotted my move, but it didn’t work on the Knight Commander. Leo, did you know I nearly died just now?” She chattered on, grabbing her sword again and replaying the recent duel in her mind.

Leo thought the squire title would be granted swiftly. He assumed he would probably end up guarding a thousand-man commander or a general, but he didn’t get any response from Jensen.

Not wanting to go pushy to hurry the matter, he waited idly until Prince Anolf arrived, and a parade began.

The squad, which included Lena and Leo, climbed onto the platform amid the cheers of soldiers and warriors. They promised significant rewards for having gone through over twenty squad battles without a single casualty, and then the prince pointed at Lena and Leo.

“Knight Commander Jensen Bailei. Are these two going to be my escorts?”

“Yes. I can vouch for their skills. Moreover, they are the well-known disciples of Noel Dexter. This one here is my son. Will you grant them the title of squire?”

[ Achievement: Met Anolf de Klaus – Gained slight goodwill from all nobles serving the Klaus royal family. Gained slight goodwill from Anolf de Klaus. ]

“Oh! The son and disciple of Noel Dexter? If the Knight Commander guarantees, they must be quite impressive! There’s no reason not to grant it.”

Thus, Lena and Leo received the squire title. Everything was great. All was well, but…

‘Why the prince’s escort of all things?’

Recalling past events, Leo felt uneasy. With a sigh, he murmured,

“Why are we supposed to escort the prince! What do we do? I don’t know a thing about etiquette. Leo, do you know?”

Excited, Lena buzzed around, while Leo prepared to teach her the military etiquette of the Acaian Empire. It was summer, and the Austin Kingdom Army was advancing vigorously towards the land they had long wished to reclaim, the plains of ‘Asgard’ in the Belita Kingdom.