Knock, knock, knock...
"Good morning, Tenma-sama. Breakfast will be ready shortly. Are you awake, Tenma-sama?"
I knew the sound of knocking on the door and Aina's voice had pulled me toward wakefulness, but my body refused to respond. My consciousness was being dragged back down, sinking once more into darkness.
"Tenma-sama, I'm coming in!"
I could hear Aina's voice, but I was on the verge of losing consciousness entirely.
"M-Miss! That's my job—let me wake him up!"
The instant my consciousness flickered out, Aura's shrill voice cut through, and my eyes snapped open.
"Oh, so now you show up! That doesn't erase the fact that you forgot your duties and overslept... And before that—are you really planning to show yourself before Tenma-sama with bedhead like that? Fix it this instant!"
"Y-Yes, miss~"
I heard Aura scurrying away. Going back to sleep clearly wasn't an option, so I reluctantly sat up in bed and stretched lightly.
"Tenma-sama, are you up?"
"Yeah, just woke up. Give me a minute to get ready."
I pulled a change of clothes from my Magic Bag, wiped away the sweat with a cloth, and quickly dressed.
"Morning, Aina. I'd like to wash my face—where do I go?"
I opened the door and greeted Aina, who was waiting right outside.
"Good morning, Tenma-sama. The washroom is right over there. I'll show you."
Aina led me to a washroom where an old man was grooming his beard.
"Oh, Tenma! Good morning!"
"Morning, Grandpa."
When I returned the greeting, the old man's body trembled for some reason.
"Grandpa?"
"Oh, sorry, sorry. It feels like a dream... I never thought I'd get to talk to Tenma again..."
His eyes were glistening with tears, but he masked it by splashing water from a bucket onto his face and washing it.
I stood beside him and washed my face and brushed my teeth.
"Oh, speaking of which—where are Shiromaru and the others?"
"Shiromaru and the rest are sleeping in the bag. Even though they're my familiars, if monsters go wandering around the castle on their own, strangers would probably panic. So I decided not to let them out until I get the king's permission."
At my words, Shiromaru poked his head out of the bag as if to ask, "Did you call?" but I patted his head and pushed him back in.
"Tenma-sama, you have visitors. They're currently at the gatehouse. What would you like to do?"
"Visitors? Who is it?"
Wondering who would come at this early hour, I learned the guests were Uncle Mark and Aunt Martha.
"I'll head over right away... The gatehouse—that's the place we passed through by carriage yesterday, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
If my memory served, the gate was nearly a kilometer from the main entrance.
"Then I'll fly there with magic."
"I'll come along too."
Grandpa decided to join me.
Using flight magic, we reached the gatehouse in a matter of seconds.
As soon as we stepped through the door, Aunt Martha spotted me and threw her arms around me.
"You really are alive! Thank goodness... Oh, thank goodness..."
She hugged me while sobbing, but after a while she stopped crying and let me go.
"Ah, it's like a dream! I'd heard the stories, but I was anxious until I could see it with my own eyes..."
"Heh heh, I felt the same way... When I woke up this morning and saw Tenma, I kept wondering if yesterday had all been a dream."
Grandpa nodded along with her words.
"So, what brings you two here this early?"
In response to my question, Uncle Mark, who had been silently watching Aunt Martha, finally spoke.
"Well, last night I went around to all the people from Kukuri Village living in the Royal Capital and told them Tenma was alive. A few of them suggested throwing a banquet tonight. So I came as their representative to check Tenma's and Merlin's grandfather's schedules."
Uncle Mark's words made Grandpa and me exchange a glance.
"We don't have any particular plans... Could we hold it in my garden?"
"That would be a lifesaver! We hadn't decided on a venue yet!"
"How very spontaneous..."
Uncle Mark gave a wry smile at my remark, but back in Kukuri Village, this sort of thing was par for the course. It felt oddly nostalgic.
"We'll take care of all the preparations, so just make sure you show up before sundown!"
With that, Uncle Mark and Aunt Martha hurried off.
"Heh heh, a banquet—now that brings back memories... Should I prepare some drinks?"
"Eat breakfast first... Aina will get angry..."
"Oh, that won't do! Let's head back, quick!"
Chattering like that, we headed back to the castle—which turned out to be a mistake, because Aina, who had been waiting near the entrance, looked none too pleased.
"Um... Is something wrong, Aina...?"
"Why are you being so formal all of a sudden... No, I apologize. I just suddenly felt... irked for some reason..."
Aina's intuition was apparently superhuman.
"It's probably Aura pulling something again... More importantly, I'm hungry. Could you show me to the dining room?"
"That must be it. Very well, I'll lead the way... I'll have to interrogate her later..."
Without a shred of suspicion, Aina resolved to interrogate Aura.
I felt bad for Aura, but given her track record, I figured she should just accept the consequences.
Aina brought me to the same room where I had spoken with Maria-sama the night before. Inside, breakfast was already laid out—all we had to do was take our seats.
"Sorry I'm late... By the way, why are the king and the others here?"
Seated around the table were not only the king, but also Maria-sama, Caesar-sama, Finance Minister Lyle, Grand Duke Tida, and Luna.
"Well, yesterday we barely got a chance to talk... So I thought we'd make up for it over breakfast!"
The king was smiling, but I couldn't help thinking he had brought this on himself. Then I noticed Maria-sama's expression shift.
"You... Before anything else, why don't you apologize to Tenma? That was no way for the king of a nation to behave."
At Maria-sama's words, the king broke into a cold sweat and straightened his posture.
"Tenma, I'm sorry about that! Please forgive me—I bow my head to you!"
The king pressed his hands to the table and bowed deeply. Depending on how you looked at it, he was practically prostrating himself.
"You always do that pose when you apologize... What do you think, Tenma? Will you forgive this man?"
When Maria-sama asked me, I looked at the king again. He hadn't moved an inch.
"Yes, I forgive you. I was irritated at the time, but I wasn't that upset about it... And more than anything, being the king, I figured there had to be some reason behind it."
Just as I said, I hadn't really been bothered. The arrow he'd fired at me had no arrowhead, and besides, his mouth had been grinning as he approached me—so I'd known something was up.
The king raised his head and visibly relaxed.
"Really? You forgive me! That's a relief! Now then, let's eat breakfast before it gets cold!"
I was exasperated by how quickly his mood shifted, but more important than that was the breakfast sitting in front of me.
During the meal, Lyle suddenly called out to me.
"Tenma, once you're done eating, join the joint training session! More participants should be gathering soon—hurry up!"
He said this as though it were already decided.
"Starting in the morning?!"
While I gaped in surprise, Lyle stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth and grinned.
"In real combat, enemies won't politely wait until you're ready! Our knights are trained to maintain that kind of readiness at all times!"
"I'm not a knight, though..."
My murmur went completely ignored. Lyle washed down the bread with milk and stood up.
"Come on, let's go!"
He looked like he'd drag me there by force if necessary. Even Maria-sama seemed exasperated.
"Calm yourself for a moment. Tenma is a guest!"
"Mother, I understand, but I've already informed the soldiers. I can hardly back out now."
Lyle explained, but Maria-sama wasn't convinced.
"I was planning to take Tenma shopping! What are you going to do about that!"
...Maria-sama was pretty selfish too. Everyone around her was taken aback by her words, but Lyle alone was unfazed.
"If that's the case, it should be fine, Mother. The training should wrap up before noon, so you can go shopping afterward."
"That works then... It'll be a shorter shopping trip, though..."
Maria-sama appeared to agree in principle, but she hadn't actually asked for my consent. Before I could get a word in, Aina interjected.
"If Tenma-sama is going out, I'd like to use that time to train Jeanne and Aura."
At Aina's announcement, Jeanne and Aura's eyes went wide. Both of them seemed to think today was their last day off and had been completely caught off guard.
"W-Wait, Miss! You can't just spring that on me with no preparation! Let's just take it easy today!"
Aura raised her voice in protest, but Aina shot her a sharp glare.
"Don't worry—once Maria-sama leaves for her shopping trip, I'll have free time. I'll use that to teach you, so it'll be fine."
Aura tried desperately to wriggle out of Aina's special training, but Aina stood firm, absolutely refusing to let her escape. And Jeanne was a blank slate. The gap in power among the three was obvious—no matter how much Aura struggled, she wouldn't escape Aina's training.
As for me, I was in a similarly hopeless position with Lyle and Maria-sama. The two of them were already discussing my schedule right in front of me.
"Um, I have plans for the evening too, and there are a few things I'd like to do..."
They both gave me a bright smile and—
"We'll have you done by then!"
—they said in perfect unison.
From that point, my schedule was set: join the training immediately, finish before lunch, accompany Maria-sama on her shopping trip after lunch, and return to the castle before evening... It was decided... No, it was imposed on me.
My objections were not permitted... Or rather, they simply weren't heard!
They were being so overbearing that I looked to the king for help, but he didn't seem to care. In fact—
"I'll go watch Tenma's training too!"
He was actually excited about it. I glanced at Caesar-sama and the Finance Minister, and they both said in unison:
"Give it up..."
"Regrettable, but the two of them won't be stopped..."
"Well then, let's head out! Can't keep them waiting too long!"
Lyle grabbed me and started walking—I was not getting away.
The place Lyle dragged me to was the arena-style training ground on the opposite side of the main entrance.
"Oh, everyone's assembled! Din! I brought Tenma!"
Lyle called out to Din Dee in a booming voice and pushed me forward.
From the ranks of the First Knight Order and the Imperial Guard, I could hear murmuring about who I was.
"Tenma... So you've been dragged here too..."
"Yes..."
Din Dee seemed to grasp the situation.
"Din! Training will proceed as always—real combat format. At the end, select several members each from the Imperial Guard and the First Knight Order for a team battle... Punish anyone who puts on a sorry performance! That's all from me!"
At Lyle's words, tension rippled through the knights who had been watching me.
"Everyone, you heard him! Find an opponent and begin!"
At Din Dee's command, the knights who had been standing at attention sprang into motion.
They seemed to choose their partners freely—some called out to whoever was nearby, others challenged knights from different units, some requested opponents stronger than themselves, and a few forcibly dragged along anyone who looked weaker. It was quite the spectacle.
As for me, perhaps because Din Dee was standing right next to me—or maybe because they figured there was no point in sparring with a child—nobody came over.
"Nobody's here... Fine. I suppose I'll be your partner... Go easy on me!"
With that, Din Dee suddenly struck at me with his sword still in its sheath.
I shifted to a half stance and dodged the blow, then immediately spun around and launched a kick at his back.
He must have anticipated it—the kick didn't land—but the surrounding knights were clearly surprised that I'd been able to react to Din Dee's strike. Those who had been watching nearby froze in their tracks.
"It didn't land, huh... Most guys go down from that..."
Din Dee glanced over at the knights, and a few of them quickly looked away.
"Could I at least borrow a weapon first? If I'm allowed to use a real sword, that's a different story—but I won't be responsible for any injuries."
Din Dee laughed at my quip.
"My bad. If you have your own blade you've sharpened, feel free to use that. Otherwise, take your pick from the ones over there."
He pointed to a collection of weapons at the edge of the arena.
I pulled out a staff that looked like the shaft of a spear. It was about a meter long and didn't show much wear.
"Ready? Then let's begin."
Din Dee took his position directly in front of me. I held the staff in a sword-like stance.
We faced each other, motionless, each waiting for the slightest opening to strike.
The knights around us continued their own training while stealing glances at our standoff.
"Ah!"
At that moment, one of the knights sparring nearby was struck and dropped his sword.
That was the signal. Din Dee and I closed the distance simultaneously.
Din Dee struck first—he lunged with a thrust, then followed up with a sweeping slash.
I parried Din Dee's attacks while waiting for a specific opening.
He swung his sword twice, three times. I feinted a counter and thrust forward.
The instant Din Dee deflected my thrust, the opening I'd been waiting for appeared.
It was an overhead strike—as Din Dee raised his sword high...
"Pffft—!"
A spray of water erupted from my mouth.
Even Din Dee hadn't predicted this attack. Unable to dodge, his aim was thrown off.
In that instant, I drove my body into him like a sweeping low kick, tackling him to the ground.
And then...
"I believe I win."
I pressed the staff against Din Dee's throat.
The moment it happened, a massive chorus of boos erupted from all around.
It turned out quite a few knights had been secretly watching our fight. Among the jeers, I could make out shouts of "Coward!" and "What a joke!" and "Have some shame!"
I pulled the staff away from Din Dee and waved toward the crowd.
A few of the knights took my gesture as a provocation and started moving toward me—
"Outstanding, Tenma! Well done!"
A booming voice froze the knights in their tracks. The speaker was—
"Y-Your Majesty!"
It was the king. The knights dropped to one knee and bowed, but the king stopped them.
"There's no need to bow. Instead, listen to what I have to say."
The knights fell silent and focused intently, not wanting to miss a word.
"If you're going to condemn Tenma's actions, then why didn't anyone condemn Din Dee's? He launched the sneak attack first! Tenma merely dodged it, and Din Dee simply failed to dodge in return! In real combat, you'll face enemies who use even more underhanded tactics. When that happens, will you cry 'Coward!' while they cut you down? Real combat must be conducted with the expectation of such attacks! Whether one uses underhanded tactics or not is one thing—but knowing about them versus not knowing makes an enormous difference! If anyone still has complaints, step forward!"
The knights stood stunned by the king's words. However, several of those who had been jeering appeared to be deep in thought.
"And for those who still aren't satisfied—acquire enough strength to overcome anything that comes your way! I look forward to seeing such people emerge."
With that, the king walked back toward the castle.
"The king is right... That was clearly my fault for being careless."
Din Dee had already gotten to his feet and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Next time—no magic—just a straight-up sparring match!"
He raised his sword again. I readied my staff at the same moment—
"Sei!"
He charged—and with sand to boot. He'd kicked up sand from the ground during his rush.
From that point on, anything went.
We locked blades and actually spat on each other during the bind. I threw a nearby weapon at him. I threw a nearby knight at him... It was an absolutely insane training session.
Din Dee was having so much fun that the surrounding knights were completely dumbfounded. And since Din Dee kept spinning into their midst, they inevitably became his weapons—flung right at me.
"Hey, Din! Time to switch! You can't just keep going at it with Tenma—there's no training value for anyone else!"
After about an hour, Lyle called for a stop.
"Ha! Understood. Tenma, that was a blast! See you later!"
Din Dee wore a satisfied grin as he walked away from me.
"Hey, next! Someone fight Tenma!"
No one stepped up right away, so Lyle ordered them to go—anyone would do—but nobody came near me.
"Are you really that afraid of losing to Tenma?! Isn't facing any opponent head-on the pride of a knight of the Kingdom of Christin?!"
At Lyle's reprimand, most of the knights started to approach—but two of them arrived before the rest.
"Two against one is fine, right! Tenma!"
"Please take care of us, Tenma-kun."
The newcomers were Jean and Edgar. I'd met Edgar the day before, but it had been a while since I'd last seen Jean.
"That's fine, but... won't the other knights think less of you for this?"
I wasn't trying to taunt them—I was genuinely worried they'd be mocked by the other knights later—but neither of them cared one bit.
"What do we care what people who aren't even fighting have to say!"
"Even two might not be enough, honestly... But it's still better than one, right?"
With those words as their cue, they drew their swords and took their stances.
Jean gripped a greatsword with a low center of gravity, while Edgar equipped a one-handed sword in his right hand and a shield in his left.
"Here we come!"
I decided to switch from the staff to a pair of one-handed swords. I made sure not to stand directly in Jean's line of attack while also being careful not to let Edgar get behind me.
Unlike the earlier bout with Din Dee, this time I focused on a defensive, counter-oriented style.
Jean's fighting style was fundamentally based on wide, sweeping swings. However, he aimed for my arms and legs, and the moment my sword stopped, he'd go for a body tackle—clearly trying to throw me off balance.
Edgar's style involved using his shield to deflect attacks and countering with his sword.
They took turns trying to flank me, making it difficult to deal with both simultaneously. If I attacked one, the other would come at me from behind. On top of that, one was a power fighter and the other was a speed fighter—two completely different types—which meant feints from either one could put me in real danger.
But once their attacks started becoming predictable, I decided to settle the match.
First, when Jean raised his sword to attack, I took a step forward. This caught him off guard, forcing him to swing his blade down short of his intended target.
Before Jean's sword could complete its arc, I launched myself backward with all my strength.
Edgar, who had been moving to take my rear, had to slam on the brakes and froze for just an instant behind me.
Using my momentum, I drove a kick straight into Edgar's midsection.
"Ugh!"
Edgar let out a groan as he was sent flying backward, tumbling to the ground.
"Ah well, Edgar's out of the picture... Guess I'll just have to keep going!"
Jean closed the gap in the blink of an eye and swung his greatsword at me.
Unlike before, the blade moved fast and sharp. The power had dropped compared to his earlier strikes, but it was far harder to deal with.
Jean's combo attacks were relentless. I wasn't hit, but my swords were nearing their breaking point. He had to be reading that—yet I couldn't just wait for my weapons to shatter.
"Here I come!"
Up until now I'd been planting my feet and waiting for counter opportunities, but this time I decided to try a more mobile approach.
I didn't block Jean's attacks head-on—I deflected and dodged them. This naturally made him miss more and more, and gradually fatigue slowed his swings.
The moment his blade work dulled, I concentrated my strikes on his arms and legs.
Jean finally stopped his barrage and switched to a more guarded offense, but the accumulated fatigue and my strikes took their toll—he finally lost his grip on his sword.
"How about this?"
I pressed one blade against the bridge of his nose and the other against his neck.
"I give up! I surrender!"
Jean raised both hands while panting hard.
Behind him, Edgar had finally managed to stand up.
"Cough, cough... I thought a hole was going to be punched through my stomach... If I hadn't been wearing armor, I'd be dead..."
As Edgar staggered over, Jean gave a wry smile upon hearing those words.
"Then I'd say I got off much easier, relatively speaking..."
"Both of you fought splendidly! Who's next to challenge Tenma?"
At some point, the whole thing had turned into a tournament with me as the final boss.
Lyle was about to assign the next opponent, so I called for a time-out.
"Lyle, please let me rest. If I get injured from exhaustion, the whole training exercise loses its purpose."
Lyle conceded and let me take a break, but the number of knights who had volunteered to fight me earlier easily exceeded fifty or sixty.
Apparently, the joint training involved fifty knights each from the Imperial Guard and the First Knight Order—roughly a hundred total. That meant more than half of them had wanted to spar with me.
It was a world apart from how things started. It seemed the knights no longer saw me as just a kid, but as a worthwhile training partner.
For reference, both the Imperial Guard and the First Knight Order had a hundred members each, so only half of each unit had participated in today's joint training. That was why Chris and Sigurd weren't there.
After resting for about twenty minutes, I trained with several more knights.
What I learned from those sessions was that the Imperial Guard's knights generally had higher skill than those of the First Knight Order—not necessarily in terms of raw strength, but in technique. The Imperial Guard's repertoire was broader, and their teamwork was sharper.
That said, I couldn't find anyone who was clearly stronger or more skilled than Din Dee, or even Jean and Edgar. As a result, I earned the evaluation that my strength was roughly on par with Din Dee's.
The training continued until just before noon, at which point it wrapped up due to the approaching lunch hour.
There would apparently be another training session in the afternoon—this time for the remaining knights.
Din Dee invited me to the afternoon session as well, but I had my prior arrangement with Maria-sama—more of an order, really—so I declined.
Before lunch, I took a quick bath and checked on Shiromaru and the others inside the Dimension Bag. Shiromaru and Solomon were looking a bit sulky.
Apparently they were unhappy that I hadn't paid them much attention... Slarin was hard to read, but seemed content enough.
I promised to make it up to them later and tossed in some beef and horns I'd cut up earlier. They perked up immediately, so I figured their moods had improved.
What scared me was not knowing what the afternoon shopping trip with Maria-sama would entail. In both my past life and this one, one thing held true: women's shopping trips took forever. And this time I'd be accompanying the queen of an entire nation—there was no countermeasure for that!
Please, let nothing too troublesome happen...
With those thoughts swirling, I tucked my lunch into my stomach.