The Order of the Shardena Kingdom’s knights is famous across the continent.
Each knight in the order is made up of powerful individuals who are so skilled that even those who are somewhat mediocre wouldn’t dare to present their business cards.
This is due to the fact that they only move at the command of the royal family.
The Shardena knights possess such overwhelming strength that, unlike the ordinary soldiers who handle the kingdom’s minor tasks, only the royal family members are allowed to manage them in any capacity.
As a result, the daily routine of the Shardena knights can honestly be described as very relaxed.
They wake up at 6 AM, do a simple jog together, take a bath, have breakfast, and those with escort duties take turns guarding, while the others train, meditate, or read to strengthen both body and mind.
In the afternoon, all members except those on duty gather to train intensely, and after that, unless there are specific orders, it’s free time.
In other words, the knight order is a group of powerful individuals who enjoy the freedom of training and resting at their own leisure.
Of course, there are times when the knights go on reconnaissance and extermination missions in dangerous areas or take on other important duties besides escorting, but compared to soldiers who stand watch over the castle walls, the outer perimeter, and are called for various other tasks like maintaining public order and fortifying the kingdom, their freedom is incomparable.
Therefore, today, the commander of the Shardena knights, Zenre Hyde, who started the morning with a light jog alongside about fifty members of the order, was enjoying her work while sipping well-brewed black tea.
“Ah… the aroma is nice.”
Clink-
As she felt the sunlight from the window, she savored the fragrance and taste of the tea before setting the cup down.
The position of the commander required dealing with written orders from above, which was a bit of extra work compared to the other knights, but still, Zenre was content with her current position.
She earned much more than her work warranted, had ample time for swordsmanship training, and even if she retired, she’d receive a generous pension.
It was a position too good to complain about having to do a bit more paperwork.
And above all, the reason being the commander was good was because, except for the king, the commander was the highest authority in the kingdom regarding military leadership.
In other words, unlike other knights who had to obey orders from the royal family and protect them, the commander could act independently.
Furthermore, unless it was the king’s command, the orders of the commander took precedence over those of the royal family.
Finally, unless it was the king’s order, the commander was free from having to follow commands and perform escort duties, making the position even more free within the already free knight order.
“Let me see… this document…”
Therefore, the past few years after the war, Zenre had been enjoying a leisurely life after completing her busy work, and this relaxation had become something of a given.
If it weren’t for the sudden ringing of the communication orb, this peace would have lasted indefinitely.
Bleep bleep-
The communication orb, which usually rarely rings because there are almost no registered contacts, suddenly emitted a reception sound.
In this rare situation, Zenre’s eyes widened, and she put the quill she was holding back into the ink pot.
“Who could it be all of a sudden?”
Surely, there was no reason for anyone to contact her at this time.
If it were the king’s order, someone would have come in person, and the few close friends registered in the communication orb would all be busy with their own work.
So then, who could it be?
With that question in mind, Zenre picked up the communication orb from her desk.
Clunk!!
“Ah, aah?!”
Zenre, whose usual calmness vanished, had no choice but to spring from her chair when she saw the name that appeared on the orb.
“Kael?”
“Master?”
The name that appeared on the communication orb was none other than the person who made Zenre the commander and taught her everything about swordsmanship.
It was her master, Kael.
Though Zenre had contacted him about once a year, Kael had never been the one to contact her first, so Zenre was understandably flustered.
However, since this wasn’t a position she earned through chance, Zenre quickly regained her composure after a few deep breaths and adjusted her posture.
“Ahem…! Ahem!”
Not wanting to appear embarrassed in front of her respected master, she calmed her nerves.
When Zenre confirmed that her heartbeat had slowed, she carefully poured mana into the communication orb.
Swoosh
The once transparent orb began to cloud over, turning the color of Zenre’s mana.
At the same time, a voice came through from the other side of the orb.
“Ah, Zenre. Can you hear me well?”
“Yes, Master. I can hear you clearly.”
Upon hearing Kael’s first words, Zenre instinctively stood at attention and replied.
Though it had been over five years since she last saw him, just hearing Kael’s voice made her whole body tense up, and she could feel the nervousness running up her back.
At the same time, memories of the days when she trained under Kael flooded her mind.
“Ugh… Just thinking about it gives me a headache.”
While those days were the foundation that made her who she was now, they also felt like a nightmare, making Zenre shudder.
“Well, it’s been quite a while since I’ve heard your voice. Not that you’d come visit me, but were you so busy that you couldn’t even send me a message?”
“Heh, haha… I’m sorry, Master.”
Caught off guard by the direct question, Zenre awkwardly smiled and responded.
It was true that she hadn’t contacted Kael as much during the past few leisurely years.
How could she argue when Kael had done so much for him?
“Could it be that you’re upset that I haven’t contacted you often?”
Zenre swallowed dryly, feeling a fleeting anxiety, but fortunately, it turned out to be unnecessary worry.
“Well, I guess it’s understandable that you haven’t contacted me often… Anyway, Zenre, are you busy these days?”
“Ah, you mean recently? I’m not that busy, actually…”
While there were a few busy times in the past few years, Zenre didn’t want to make things complicated by mentioning them.
If she did, Kael would definitely ask why she hadn’t contacted him more often.
So, Zenre simply replied that she was enjoying her free time, but soon she heard Kael speaking with someone else on the other end of the communication orb.
After a moment, Kael’s voice came back, clear as ever.
“Well, I’m glad to hear that. Zenre, if you don’t mind, how about becoming my daughter’s teacher?”
“…?”
Even though she clearly heard it, Zenre couldn’t quite understand what Kael had said and absentmindedly let out a confused sound.
Daughter? Did my master have a daughter? Could it be that he’s already married? But I’ve never heard any news about that before.
In an instant, dozens of questions flowed through Zenre’s mind, causing her frozen thoughts to start spinning again.
However, no matter how much she thought about it, there was no way she could find an answer to this mystery by questioning herself.
Therefore, after a moment of hesitation, Zenre finally spoke up.
“M-Master… Did you… get married? What do you mean by a daughter…?”
[Ah, right. You didn’t know.]
Kael’s voice responded calmly, as if he had grown accustomed to Zenre’s reactions by now.
Zenre’s mind grew even more confused at that sight, and before she could even regain the composure she had before answering the call, she was about to fire off a barrage of questions—
—but Kael spoke faster.
[She’s a baby someone left in front of our house five years ago. I’ve been raising her since then. I couldn’t just let a newborn die, could I?]
“Ah… So you mean…?”
[I’ve been raising her for so long that she’s basically my daughter now. It’s better to think of her as my adopted daughter.]
“Ah… I understand, Master.”
Kael’s explanation came even before Zenre could voice her questions, helping her quickly organize her thoughts.
Indeed, if anyone found a baby abandoned at their doorstep, it would only be natural to take care of it.
And considering Kael’s familiarity with the inner workings of the monastery, he likely never considered handing the child over to them—he must have chosen to raise her himself.
When Kael told her to think of her as an adopted daughter, Zenre nodded in agreement.
“But if that’s the case, wouldn’t that mean your daughter is now five years old? What do you mean by asking me to be her master…?”
Having sorted out his confusion, Zenre returned to the original topic.
If Kael’s daughter was only five years old, why would she need a master?
Zenre tilted her head, wondering if it was some kind of metaphor.
[My daughter’s been pestering me about learning swordsmanship. But if I actually teach her real swordsmanship at this age, her body will definitely suffer for it—so I need someone to train her physical strength first.]
“Ah, I see what you mean. But why are you asking me to be her master? Wouldn’t it be better for you to train her directly?”
Zenre truly meant what she said.
She knew he was strong, but surely it would be better for Kael—the one who trained her—to handle it himself, wouldn’t it?
The answer Kael gave to that question made Zenre understand the reason immediately.
[Because the only thing I can teach her is swordsmanship. I can teach her swordsmanship when she’s older, but I’m not suited to training her physical strength.]
“…Ah.”
Kael’s words about only being able to teach swordsmanship—Zenre understood them instantly.
After all, when Zenre trained under Kael, there was nothing like proper physical training aside from the hellish sword training.
Just learning swordsmanship alone was enough to build incredible physical strength, so no other training was necessary.
In other words, Kael lacked the ability to teach anything other than swordsmanship.
At most, he could teach mental discipline.
When it came to the body, however, Kael was practically ignorant about training outside of swordsmanship.
Of course, the level of swordsmanship Kael taught was enough to nurture countless prodigies—Zenre herself was proof of that.
[So I thought about asking some of the other guys to handle it… but she’s my daughter, you know? I couldn’t just hand her over to some random guy. You were the first person who came to mind, Zenre.]
“It’s an honor to be chosen by you, Master.”
Zenre smiled without even realizing it, genuinely feeling honored.
After briefly considering her schedule, Zenre quickly organized her thoughts and spoke up.
“Then, I’ll report to the administrative department and leave within three days. Work hasn’t been too busy lately, so aside from essential duties, I should be able to make time five days a week.”
[Five days a week… But where will you sleep? You can’t be traveling back and forth from the kingdom every day. Using a teleport gate daily would be exhausting.]
“Yes, that’s why I plan to find accommodations nearby. There are a few villages near your cabin, aren’t there?”
[Hmm… There are two about a 15-minute run from here.]
“I’ll arrange for private lodgings in advance. Hagen Village is about mid-sized, so it should be comfortable enough.”
Since there wasn’t much going on lately, this was a welcome opportunity.
It was a chance to repay Kael for everything he had done for her.
After going over the schedule with Kael a few more times, Zenre gave her farewell.
“Then, I’ll see you soon, Master.”
[I’ll be waiting.]
With that final farewell, the communication ended.
As the mana within the communication orb scattered and faded, Zenre sighed and collapsed into her chair.
“Haah… Well, I guess I should start with the report.”
Imagining Kael’s daughter—whom she had never seen before—Zenre started humming to herself as she began writing the report.