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258. Engagement – Speed

The duty of escorting the prince is certainly comfortable. As a squire, Lena and Leo, while escorting the prince, were guaranteed ample leisure time.

This is because they weren’t the only ones escorting the prince; there were four other knights alongside them, meaning a mere four hours of duty completed their day’s work.

Of course, Leo stood for eight hours.

Being alone without Lena felt dull, so he often followed her whenever she was on duty, and one day the prince asked.

“What is your relationship?”

“We are promised to each other for the future.”

It was a warning not to develop any ulterior motives. The tone was so blatant that Lena frowned and poked Leo’s side.

“Haha, is that so? Quite nice.”

Prince Anolf de Klaus responded nonchalantly. In fact, he was more interested in Leo than in Lena.

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

It was likely due to the favor achievement and abilities like {Nobility} and {Royal Blood}. The prince often sought advice from Leo, the son of the infamous noble butcher, Noel Dexter, and Leo answered fluently. Naturally, this happened during Leo’s work hours after Lena returned from her shift.

“We must hasten our advance. Outside of the slight stabilization of supply routes by occupying minor towns along the way, there’s no benefit in dawdling.”

“Hmmm. That contradicts the Commander-in-Chief’s opinion. So, what is the reason for the urgency?”

“If we continue like this, we won’t reach ‘Lanzra’ until autumn. It’s a small city with less than a thousand population and low walls, but it will take a long time to conquer due to the sorcerers there. However, if we ignore it, there’s a river behind the city. It’s impractical to cross with the enemy at our back, so reaching that city swiftly and preparing for the siege is the best course of action.”

The prince, scanning the map, nodded as if he understood.

“So… if we can’t capture that city, we won’t cross the river this year?”

“Yes. Even if it freezes, it’s not a river suitable for the army to cross on foot. To reclaim the Asgard territory, we must greatly increase our marching speed. If we don’t occupy Lanzra as a supply base and cross the river, we will soon be overwhelmed by Belita Kingdom’s material offensive.”

Prince Anolf nodded again, as if he understood.

Belita Kingdom is a powerful nation. As a wealthy kingdom with a long history located in the center of the continent, it had a vast population.

For the poor Austin Kingdom in the cold north, it was a tough adversary, but the reason the Austin Kingdom army managed to hold out until now was primarily that the ranks were filled with barbarian warriors who didn’t require combat training. This allowed the Austin Kingdom to rapidly reinforce their troops without the need for rookie training.

However, this advantage would diminish as months went by.

Once the rookie training in Belita Kingdom was completed, a large army would flood in, and at that point, the Austin Kingdom would only have to face defeat. In fact, repeated instances had shown that the Austin Kingdom was not only failing to reclaim Asgard but repeatedly facing defeat instead.

Leo stated firmly.

“We must capture ‘Toridom’ by spring at the latest. Once we capture that natural fortress, even if the Belita Kingdom army comes with a massive force, they won’t easily retake it. If we defend it, it will become our border. This way, the nearby Todler… no, the Asgard plains will belong to us.”

Leo quickly corrected his slip of the tongue.

In Belita Kingdom, the Asgard plains were referred to as ‘Todler territory’. He momentarily mixed it up due to the memories from the beggar siblings arc.

Asgard plains and Todler territory.

This region, with different names, held historical significance for both kingdoms.

‘Asgard’ plains. It derives its name from the Asran Kingdom before the north was split into Austin & Aster Kingdoms.

It was the homeland of King Maunin and Queen Letty, who gained independence from the Acaian Empire, making reclaiming this land a long-held desire of the northern kingdoms.

On the other hand, ‘Todler’ territory.

The founding king of the Acaian Kingdom, Todler Akiunen, left his mark in history alongside his sister Leisia. There were various opinions about where they were born, but the prevailing theory was that they first united human forces here to defeat the sub-races.

Thus, for the Belita Kingdom that claims to be the legitimate successor of the Acaian Empire, Todler territory was incredibly important, leading them to build a fortress atop the towering mountain known as ‘Astro’. This was the fortress ‘Toridom,’ built in honor of Todler Akiunen.

Of course, the Belita Kingdom didn’t suddenly build this fortress; the Acaian Empire had previously erected a small castle there. The castle’s establishment was deeply connected to the first castle lord, Azra…

“I must admit you have a point. I’ll relay this to the Commander-in-Chief.”

The prince said, then muttered in a somewhat bitter tone.

“Well, considering this, we have to win…”

Leo’s argument was accepted. The Austin Kingdom army, led by the prince, began to push the frontline significantly while quickly descending south, leaving minor towns behind. They secured only minimal supply routes and aggressively advanced, encircling the city of Lanzra as summer heat set in.

The sorcerers from the Belita Kingdom were surely defending the city, so the mages from the ‘Regd Tower’ started to cast barriers around the city.

This was to disable mana rods, preventing anyone from using magic during the siege. Regd Tower was a mage tower belonging to the Austin Kingdom, and red was their symbol.

As magicians donned in red robes circled around the city, Leo gradually heightened his vigilance.

This was where Count Hermann Forte had appeared. Back then, it was a bit early due to the fast march in autumn, but Count Forte had come to launch a surprise attack when they had begun to surround the city.

Leo turned to Lena.

“Lena, I stay with you when you’re working, so can you stay with me when I’m working too?”

He asked her to be with him. Lena awkwardly chuckled and agreed.

“Hehe, sorry. Commander Jensen has been giving me a lot of training… so I’ve been a bit busy. Did I hurt your feelings?”

“Yeah. A lot.”

“Sorry. I’ll make it up to you~ I won’t do it again.”

Lena pouted, cupping Leo’s cheek. Leo turned away with a sulky expression. Was he really mad? He muttered to the anxious Lena.

“…If you do it, I’ll forgive you…”

“Hmm? What do you want me to do?”

“If you give me a kiss, I’ll forgive you, but not before that!”

“Oh dear, well… is that enough now?”

– Smooch.

“Hmm. I do feel a bit better. But give me more.”

“Okay, that’s enough. I’m not a kid…”

Leo pulled her in. No, he intended to lean in for a kiss, but thud! Lena’s arm shook off Leo’s hand.

“Try if you can.”

Lena struck a pretty solid stance. With a smirk, Leo pressed her raised arm inward with his elbow. At the same time, he slipped a hand under her armpit.

It was a grappling technique designed to cross arms and subdue the opponent. He intended to pin her wings down, but twirl! Lena’s hair brushed his nose.

“Whoa?!”

Lena leaped, doing a forward somersault. When Lena landed and twisted her body, Leo had no choice but to go along with her, caught under her armpit to avoid breaking his arm.

– Thud!

And this was the result. It was somewhat of a tackle; Leo had jumped himself, so it wasn’t Lena’s strike, but that was how it looked.

On the firm sandy ground, with the clear blue sky as the backdrop, Lena looked down at him. Pouting her lips cutely, she provocatively said, ‘Come on, keep trying.’

Haha! I must have underestimated you… I am a Swordmaster after all!

Leo sprang up and charged at her. Thwang, arms entwined, they sometimes tripped each other with legs. Lena was no pushover in grappling either, so it took some time, but ultimately, the stronger Leo pinned Lena down.

“Ugh, this isn’t happening. I surrender… umm!!”

Leo and Lena shared a kiss.

This had happened similarly once before. Back then and now were worlds apart.

Back then… I was so weak I couldn’t even follow Lena into battle. I didn’t know how many stronger folk there were than me now.

As he gazed at Lena, engulfed in a sense of generational difference, she spoke up.

“Did you know? I really hated losing to you. Back then, you were such a frail guy.”

“When are you talking about?”

“When I first saw you. But your swordsmanship was amazing. I was quite confident in my weapon skills, you know.”

“Did I really?”

“Yeah. It was my first time losing to someone my age. So I threw away my hatchet and begged my dad. I asked the knight next door to teach me swordsmanship. I wanted to beat you one day.”

…Sorry, but that’s unlikely to happen in your lifetime. Leo felt an undesired sense of guilt.

“But you always stayed ahead of me. Just when I thought I might win, you were out in front again… Honestly, you still are.”

“…”

“But I’ve decided not to care anymore.”

“…What?”

Looks like she couldn’t completely hide her feelings. I thought she’d start complaining now, but Lena looked directly at me, confidently smiling.

“I think my swordsmanship has come together. No, maybe that’s a bit exaggerated. Let’s say it’s formed. But after forming it, comparing myself to others seems pointless. It’s all about how straight I can draw my sword.”

“…”

“I just thought that the other day. I still want to beat you, but… oh man, I don’t know how to put it. Haha. But when are we going to establish our main field? If we only escort the prince, will we even become knights?”

“No. But wait. There will be chances for us to shine.”

Leo declared confidently as he held Lena’s hand. He felt proud of her, having attained a level where she grew at a terrifying pace, not comparing herself to others.

This was the mindset of a knight who had just created their own swordsmanship.

– As long as I do well. First, I must perfectly implement my method.

Engrossed in her unique swordsmanship, she delved in deeply, a time when the gap from ordinary fighters widened dramatically.

Of course, to break through that stage and move forward, one must begin to care about their opponents again. Be it a duel, competition, or contest of life and death, it’s never done alone…

As Leo pondered this, he chuckled heartily.

Even after shaking off his regrets, Lena was still trying to catch up with him. He suddenly felt that it might be easy for her to shed her obsession with her swordsmanship at this third stage (according to the achievement system) and quickly transition into the fourth stage, where one harmonizes with others.

Even now, she had the skills to be acknowledged anywhere, but at that level, she would stand tall even against a Swordmaster. In terms of caliber, excluding Swordmasters, she could probably even match bart, a knight comparable to knight commanders like his father, Jensen Bailei, Sir Lloyd Agnak, or Sir Hazen.

So how could he not be happy? The environment provided for Lena’s growth was perfectly set.

In response, Count Hermann Forte did not appear until the Austin Kingdom army captured Lanzra. Leo thought he would probably show up in autumn— that was his speculation.

If it were Minseo, he might have thought differently…

Lena’s growth was just too fast.