“Alright, I’ve found the master.”
As the communication ended, the communication orb scattered and became transparent.
I put it back into my pocket and turned to look at Ruina with a satisfied smile.
What I saw, however, was Ruina looking at me with an expression of disbelief.
“Good grief… You’re the only one who would call me all the way here and make me play the role of a child’s teacher for the commander of the Shardena Knights, Kael.”
“Well, you know the Knights have plenty of free time, right? It’s only right to do something like this, especially since you haven’t been keeping in touch much.”
Considering the reputation of the Shardena Knights and their commander, Zenre, this really was an absurd request.
I admit that.
But after the war, with no royal political struggles to deal with, everyone knew that the Shardena Knights had nothing to do and were idly sitting around.
Zenre probably thought I didn’t know that, which is why she hadn’t been in touch often, trying to avoid getting scolded… but that was even more irritating.
How could my disciples, who hold important positions in the kingdom and elsewhere, not know that?
She intentionally hid the truth from me so she wouldn’t get scolded, so she had to endure doing this teacher’s role.
“She seemed to like it from the start, though, didn’t she?”
“Well… I guess so. She’s your disciple, after all. All of your disciples like you, don’t they?”
“There are many who are scared of me, though.”
“Even the ones who are scared of you still like you in the end.”
As Ruina said, my disciples did like me a lot.
I used to train them harshly, so there were a few who were scared of me, but even those who were scared still came to like me in their own way.
As a teacher, that was a pleasing thing.
Of course, I didn’t know why none of them contacted me often or visited me directly, despite liking me so much, but judging by Zenre’s reaction in the last conversation, it seemed she wasn’t displeased with taking on the role of Elia’s teacher.
“Above all, there’s no one better than Zenre when it comes to handling the body and teaching that.”
“That’s true. Who else could stand shoulder to shoulder with the commander of the kingdom’s knights?”
And as I thought, I could trust Zenre to train Elia in physical training, so Elia would surely grow well under her.
There were a few others who could take on the job, but none were as good as Zenre.
She was the perfect fit for the role I wanted as a teacher.
Now that I had secured a teacher for Elia, all that was left was to wait for Zenre and make the training sword Elia would use.
“Three days… That should be enough time to carve and make one myself.”
Three days until Zenre arrives.
That was plenty of time to create a handmade training sword to gift.
Though I couldn’t train her physically, I was confident in making a lightweight wooden training sword.
To do that, I needed to go out and find some wood, but it was better to get the materials tomorrow.
I couldn’t ignore Ruina, who had made time to come here today, so I pushed the task to the back of my mind and asked her.
“Ruina, have you eaten yet? If you’re okay with it, should we eat together now?”
“Heh, sure. I’d love to.”
It was an easy answer from Ruina, who came to eat with me once a month without fail.
As I thought about what ingredients we had left in the pantry, I entered the house with Ruina to prepare the meal.
Though we weren’t blood relatives, we were still family, and I prepared our meal for us.
“…What did you just say? Zenre, the commander of the Knights.”
“I asked if you could assign me some fieldwork, Administrative Minister.”
After writing up a report, Zenre’s next stop was the office of the Administrative Minister, the head of all administrative affairs in the kingdom.
When Zenre knocked and entered, she placed the report and requested fieldwork, to which the minister gave an incredulous look.
However, knowing that Zenre didn’t say such things without reason, the minister picked up the report she had placed down.
“Why are you suddenly requesting this… Let me see, you want to do fieldwork in Hagen Village five days a week?”
“That’s correct.”
The minister couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at the absurdity of the first line of the report.
Hagen Village was a relatively large town for a rural area, known for its frequent trade, though it was still a village.
The villagers lived leisurely, and the atmosphere was peaceful.
So why would someone of Zenre’s rank, a commander, request fieldwork there?
Moreover, she was asking to stay there five days a week, without specifying a particular end date.
It seemed like she planned to stay until the work was done, working five days a week.
“Hmm… five days a week in such a rural village? That seems a bit too much, don’t you think, Commander?”
“I originally wanted to stay there longer, but there were a few essential tasks to handle, so I compromised on five days. Besides, with the teleportation gate, there’s no problem with work travel.”
“Of course, travel isn’t an issue with the gate, but…”
The minister realized that if Zenre only handled essential tasks, there was no real issue with allowing it.
Still, if a commander was going to stay in a rural village for five days a week, there needed to be a valid reason.
So, to find out the reason, the minister turned to the second page of the report.
And as he read through the second page’s reason for the fieldwork request, he couldn’t help but speak.
“…You were requested to teach Lord Kael’s child?”
The minister stared blankly at the words, unable to stop reading them out loud.
“As you read, that’s correct.”
Then, seeing the administrator’s reaction, Zenre smiled knowingly and nodded.
Since the administrator knew exactly what that smile meant, he let out a chuckle and leaned his head back against the chair.
“Haha… In that case, I have no choice but to approve it. If Sir Kael personally requested it, I suppose I have to give you at least a knight commander who’s only receiving a salary without doing much work.”
“…Administrator? For the record, I am working hard in my own way.”
“Even so, you’re not exactly working enough to justify your salary, are you?”
“….”
At the administrator’s sharp remark, Zenre flared up and tried to protest, but she couldn’t say anything in response to what followed.
After all, it was the honest truth—what was there to argue?
When Zenre fell silent, the administrator resumed reading through the remaining reports.
With each page of Zenre’s detailed report that the administrator read, different types of clicking and tutting sounds escaped from his lips.
Finally, after reading through the last page of the report, the administrator stamped it and nodded.
“I’ll report this part directly to the HR department. So, you’re starting your leave the day after tomorrow?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Alright, have a good trip… and if you see Sir Kael, send him my regards.”
“Understood. I’ll make sure to pass along your regards to my teacher.”
Although it took a little time, Zenre managed to get the approval fairly easily.
Zenre gave a slight bow to the administrator, then left the office.
Creaaak—
Clunk.
And finally, as she stepped out of the office, a long sigh of exhaustion escaped from her.
“Haaa… It’s finally over.”
After writing up that report under pressure for the past three hours, her aching wrist was finally starting to throb.
Her back, which had been stiff from maintaining proper posture, also loosened up a bit when she stretched.
“Ugh… Phew, I guess I should start packing now?”
Thinking about the things she needed to pack for her departure in two days, Zenre turned to leave.
Even though she’d be staying at an inn in the village, she still needed personal items like clothes and toiletries.
Just as Zenre was about to head toward her private quarters to pack, she suddenly stopped when she heard someone call her name.
“Oh, isn’t that Zenre, the knight commander? It’s been a while.”
The one calling her was none other than the first prince of the kingdom, Enoch Ring Shardena.
“Ah, greetings, Your Highness.”
As soon as she saw Enoch’s face, Zenre immediately placed a hand over her heart and bowed her head.
But at Zenre’s formal greeting, Enoch chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.
“It’s fine, I was just joking. Didn’t I tell you to speak casually when we’re not in public? We’re fellow disciples, after all.”
“Still…”
“That’s an order—speak casually already.”
“…Alright, it’s been a while, Enoch.”
As Enoch had said, the two of them were fellow disciples.
They had trained and honed their swordsmanship together under Kael.
Of course, the results of that training had turned out differently for each of them, but the fact that they had endured the same training together was what mattered.
That’s why, even though Enoch spoke somewhat sternly, the playful tone in his voice was unmistakable.
After glancing around to confirm that no one was nearby, Zenre let out a small laugh and dropped the formal tone.
“By the way, Zenre, what brings you here? Coming to the palace isn’t exactly common for you, is it?”
“Ah, I had to file a report because I’ll be heading out for an external mission soon. It’s a pretty important matter.”
“An important matter? Important enough that you had to deliver the report personally instead of sending someone else… What exactly is it about?”
“Well, it’s nothing much… Apparently, my teacher is looking for someone to help train his daughter’s stamina…”
Thud.
Before Zenre could even finish speaking, the stack of papers slipped from Enoch’s hand.
And as Enoch stood there with a bewildered expression, his face full of questions, Zenre rubbed her aching forehead.
“…I’ll explain from the beginning, so stop making that face.”
It looked like packing would have to wait a little longer.