Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Since I need to prepare separate documents, I will take my leave now. The Knight Order will likely send someone, and as for the Adventurer Training Institute, well, I'm not sure if it's better to go through the Imperial Family or contact them directly. However, I will do my best to look into good places. Somewhere that will take special care of our brave Young Master Rickart. Hohoho."

There were several Adventurer Training Institutes within the Empire, most of which were sponsored by the Emperor, Kings, or high-ranking nobles and operated by guilds.

It hadn't been long since they were institutionalized to train professional adventurers, so their operation methods varied, and almost none were fully established yet.

Anyway, since the two boys had made their decisions, what remained was procedural matters. Given the times, everything had to be handled by people.

"Go carefully. Please give my regards to the Count."

"I will never forget the grace of your hospitality. Take care, young masters. Ah, there is one thing I want to ask of you. Never trust what merchants say, and do not associate with spellcasters at all."

"......Why?"

Vilter asked.

"Merchants are guys who would sell their souls to the devil for money, and spellcasters are arrogant and selfish guys who have no sense of guilt. Their way of thinking itself is different. So it is beneficial not to associate with them."

Leaving these last words of advice, he put on a fur hat to keep his bald head warm and left the mansion.

Although no one told them to, Vilter and Rickart climbed the watchtower to watch Dr. Reno leave. The cold winter wind blew fiercely, but it couldn't daunt the boys.

When he reached the horizon, almost invisible, he waved his hand widely towards them. The two boys also waved their hands widely.

If there was anything that changed since he left, it was that Vilter's anxiety and annoyance had turned into excitement, expectation, and a little fear.

And Rickart was personally curious about how the world had changed after 100 years. He wasn't as excited as his brother Vilter.

About a month passed, around the time the frozen ground was melting little by little. As villagers spread manure on the fields, the smell of dung filled the whole manor.

Piercing through that smell, a strange knight came on horseback. Chain mail, white surcoat, and the crest was a flame.

A helmet, shield, spear, axe, etc., were hung on the saddle, and looking at the scratches and wear, they revealed that they were not simple decorations.

According to rumors, one knight of the Flame Knights could handle at least 40 Salamans, and indeed his eyes and atmosphere proved it. It seemed like an aura was flowing from over his shoulder.

When he entered the courtyard and scanned the audience, there was something that intimidated people just with his eyes. The retainers of Stormhearts all avoided his gaze.

He didn't get off the horse until Abelich, who looked like the Lord to anyone, came out of the mansion. Then, in a way that could be seen as somewhat arrogant, or perhaps confident, he introduced himself.

"Senior Knight of the Flame Knights, Edmund."

"Lord of Stormhearts, Abelich. Do the Flame Knights usually come out of the blue without sending a separate message?"

"Your family applied for a volunteer, and we accepted. What more procedure is needed? I am not here as a guest. I have no intention of being treated."

"......"

"Who is the volunteer? I will take him right now."

Barging in and saying he would take Vilter abruptly was somewhat absurd and dumbfounding.

Everyone looked back at Vilter unconsciously, and Vilter looked up blankly at the knight of the Flame Knights with a somewhat shocked expression. It seemed like excitement and expectation collapsed in an instant and fear grew.

Then, an unexpectedly young voice popped out.

"Who said we'd treat you as a guest? This is Stormhearts, not the Knight Order. If you entered someone else's territory, you should show proper manners to the owner."

People were surprised to see it was Rickart.

The knight named Edmund stared quietly at Rickart who was glaring at him, then smirked.

"Is it you? The volunteer? You have useful eyes. But don't be cheeky. The Knight Order won't treat you like a young master."

"Hmph. Look at yourself. Isn't it you who is being cheeky in someone else's house right now?"

"......"

Everyone was overwhelmed by the strange knight's spirit and couldn't say anything, but Rickart, the smallest here, was retorting sharply.

However, with a cute face, mature tone, and young voice, there was no power in his words.

In fact, strictly speaking, Rickart wasn't saying anything wrong. He stepped forward suddenly because of the attitude that seemed to ignore his father, brothers, and hometown people.

"Ricky, stop. I apologize for my son's rudeness. Edmund, you did nothing wrong. As you said, we volunteered and the Knight Order just accepted it. However, the volunteer is not Ricky here, but my second son Vilter here. I have something to tell my son, so wait a moment."

Abelich restrained Rickart and went into the mansion.

But hearing that Rickart wasn't the volunteer, Edmund showed a slightly surprised expression. He had liked him inwardly.

Because guys with that kind of venom, or should I say temperament to butt heads, endure well.

The Knight Order, especially the Flame Knights, belonged to the very difficult side. No, it was undisputed that it was the organization where the most excellent combat personnel in the Empire gathered because it was the hardest.

High-intensity training, strict discipline, and countless actual battles where life and death went back and forth. In such a place, one couldn't even endure with ordinary determination or temperament.

And failing to endure mostly meant death. And once joined, one couldn't give up or run away. Because desertion was a felony under military law.

Even after Abelich went into the mansion, Rickart kept glaring at Edmund with an angry expression with his mouth shut tight.

A 10-year-old glaring wouldn't scare a knight who had been through all sorts of hardships, but Edmund felt a strange sense of incongruity from the hazel eyes.

It was a kind of instinctive danger warning tempered by actual combat, but he himself thought it couldn't be.

Anyway, looking at Vilter beside Rickart, he had a scared expression like ordinary boys.

Then Edmund felt the interest that had flared up briefly because of Rickart cooling down rapidly.

"Have you ever lived as a squire?"

Edmund asked looking at Vilter.

"......"

But Vilter seemed out of it and didn't seem to hear Edmund's question. So Rickart poked his brother's side hard without turning his glaring eyes away from Edmund.

"Ah! Why, huh?"

"That person asked if you've ever lived as a squire."

Rickart delivered the words as if whispering.

"S-Squire life? T-That is, I know how to maintain armor and weapons to some extent......"

"Combat experience?"

Nobles sometimes participated in battles at fourteen if unlucky. And in the case of great heroes, they often showed prominence in battle from a young age.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Vilter had no combat experience.

"N-No......"

"If you volunteered for the Knight Order because of vanity, you'd better fold your expectations. If it was decided by the family regardless of your will, it would be comfortable to just accept it. You can't withdraw now. There is only service and devotion to the Empire. Don't think too much. It only eats away at your will. Just endure silently."

"......"

It sounded like a very savage warning, not advice. Of course, life in the Knight Order was actually savage too.

Then Abelich came out of the mansion again. In his hand was a heater shield with the family crest painted on it.

The crest was divided into four parts by white lines on a red background, which was bestowed by the Emperor.

"Take it. I hope this shield protects you."

Vilter received the shield quietly with a heavy heart. Edmund watched the scene silently, then got on the horse without saying anything special.

"Follow me. I will be going. Lord Abelich."

And he turned the horse's head and left the courtyard.

Vilter looked back and forth between his family and Edmund, saying "Uh, uh." If he left now, he didn't know when he would return. He might never return.

It seemed he should say something, but his mouth didn't open. What should he say? Shouldn't he say goodbye or something?

In the meantime, Edmund kept getting farther away, and Vilter had no choice but to take a step. It was common for knights to ride horses and squires to walk.

It wasn't easy from the start. Because it would take at least a month to walk to where the Flame Knights headquarters was.

Rickart watched Vilter getting farther away until the end. He ran to catch up with Edmund, then walked again repeatedly. And he looked back countless times, beyond measure.

Then he disappeared over the horizon.

Even though Vilter left, nothing changed in Stormhearts. Plowing fields, sowing seeds, weeding......

The neighborhood older brothers he used to play with when young tried not to show their regret. When Vilter's story came up once in a while, they used to say this.

"He didn't go to die."

Right. He didn't go to die. And it was his own choice. We have no choice but to believe he will do well. Wouldn't he become a dashing knight if we see him again someday?

Rickart kept such regretful and lonely feelings inside. And now it was his turn.

He spent time wandering around the territory with a hunting dog that hadn't fully grown or been trained yet.

Sitting in the field where fresh sprouts were coming up, watching the dog running excitedly alone, appearing nearby and lying down, he stroked its head and back.

Now, laughter didn't come out just by running in the field like before.

His routine was to return home at sunset with the dog, eat with family, wash, and sleep.

Then, about a week after Vilter left. Returning around evening after wandering outside with the dog today too, Graut, who was pacing around the courtyard in outdoor clothes, said.

"Ricky, good timing. I was just about to find you. Go to the office quickly."

Rickart was calm as usual, saying "Whatever happens happens," rather than thinking "The time has come."

Going to the office, someone was sitting on the sofa. He was slender, looked very agile, and was carrying a leather bag across his shoulder.

He was completely different from the Senior Knight Edmund. Just staring blankly at Rickart sitting down, he was just an ordinary person with no spirit at all.

He didn't look very old either, about the same age as his eldest brother Graut.

He was talking about something with Abelich, then said looking at the newly appeared Rickart.

"Ah, I am a courier affiliated with the Imperial Guild Agency. I came because I have something to deliver. You are Young Master Rickart, right?"

"Yes."

Imperial Guild Agency? Is there such a thing? Anyway, he took out a cylinder made of hard leather from his bag. Opening the lid, a scroll sealed with wax came out, and he handed it to Rickart.

Rickart broke the wax and unfolded the scroll. It was an Academy Admission Letter. Academy? Admission?

The admission letter written in fluent handwriting was mostly boasting about their academy.

Our academy continues a long tradition, learns ancient characters, learns survival methods and other martial arts, cultivates cooperation and through competition blah blah......

The border of the admission letter was decorated with gold leaf, and the crests symbolizing the Imperial Family and the Academy were stamped mixed together.

Rickart handed the admission letter to his father to see once, and said to the courier.

"I heard it trains professional adventurers."

"Well, Young Master. I am just a courier so I don't know well, but aren't there many people who don't view the word adventurer very favorably. If you say Academy, it looks somewhat classy...... I haven't seen many places that openly use the word adventurer."

"......Anyway, you mean it's an academy sponsored by the Imperial Family?"

"That's right. I understand the operation is done by the guild."

"Adventurer Guild?"

"Haha...... Probably?"

"Which Adventurer Guild?"

"If it's Beringen Academy, wouldn't it be Beringen Adventurer Guild?"

Beringen was a place name. Located in the northeast of the Empire, but not as north as Heiden.

In fact, most adventurer academies were on the eastern side of the Empire. Because it was close to Fernland.

The ultimate goal of the adventurer academy was to go to Fernland and find ancient relics or Codex. Fernland was a kind of base city, and the area surrounding it still remained unknown territory.

Abelich read the admission letter silently and asked the courier.

"It says to enter by March 14th, are you the guide?"

"No, sir. I am just a courier. I can guide you to Rheinfurt, but Beringen is impossible. I also have work......"

In the case of the Flame Knights, Senior Knight Edmund came to pick up the volunteer. But it seemed the Academy wasn't like that. seemed like one had to arrive by the set date on their own.

"If it's the 14th, it's a bit tight......"

Abelich fell into deep thought. He, the Lord, couldn't leave the territory carelessly, and it was the same for the successor Graut.

Even if he tried to send someone else, it was a time when many hands were needed for farming. Since it wasn't a rich territory, the absence of one person made a big difference.

In fact, the main family paid for all costs for joining the Knight Order or entering the Academy.

He couldn't just send anyone either. It had to be someone who could protect Rickart to some extent, but such people were busy right now.

"If you go to Rheinfurt, there is a branch of the Beringen Guild. Or, you can follow another courier going that way. However, since it's a long way, the wage is a little......"

The courier said. He meant he wouldn't take him personally, but if given some money, he would solve it.

Abelich didn't trust the commoner in front of him. But on the other hand, since he belonged to a place called Imperial Guild Agency, that part was reliable.

"I'm fine. Father. I'll follow this courier tomorrow. Whether Billy or I, it's the same in terms of leaving home. We can only wish for fortune."

Rickart said resolutely. Abelich had nothing to say. No matter what, in the end, it was cutting off sons other than the legitimate eldest son to complete the succession structure.

The main family took interest and even paid the costs, and the father also cared in his own way, so asking for more was also something he couldn't do.

It was time for both Abelich and Rickart to harden their hearts.

Abelich opened his office desk drawer. And took out something wrapped in cloth from there, and handed it to Rickart.

"This was custom-made at the main family's combat smithy, not the blacksmith here. Take it."

Just as he gave a shield to Vilter as a gift, it seemed he had something for Rickart too.

When Rickart received and unwrapped the cloth, it was a single dagger.

"It was made by melting the spearhead you used when catching the boar. Luck dwells in those who act, not those who only speak. I hope the luck that dwelt in you continues to follow you."

Rickart pulled out the dagger. It was wider or longer than ordinary daggers.

Putting it back in the sheath and wrapping it with cloth, Rickart said. A smile spread on his lips.

"It's not luck. Father."

"Hmm?"

"Thank you. I will use it well."

Without saying more, Rickart put the dagger in his bosom.

Early next morning, Rickart filled his stomach and followed the courier out of the house. It was a time when people hadn't woken up yet. The father watched the leaving son through the window.

It would be a lie if there was no regret, but Rickart tried to keep precious and longing things only in his heart. So unlike Vilter, he didn't look back even once.

On the path leaving on one's own, there was no horizon to disappear over.