by Takehaya
“The opposite?”
“Yes. I realized that’s what the Blue Knight would have done.” Clan seemingly boasted as she explained herself to perplexed Koutarou. “If we continued walking down the road, the army would ambush us. Thinking about it rationally, there’s no way the Blue Knight would have just walked into a trap like that. So he would have led them on a detour, either through the mountains or across the river.”
Since they were currently in the middle of the mountains, they would either need to cross the river with a boat or leave the road and cross the mountain range off the beaten path in order to avoid the highway.
“And remember how the Blue Knight was attacked by brigands?”
“I see! That’s brilliant, Clan!”
Realizing what Clan was getting at, Koutarou’s expression brightened up.
“In other words, the Blue Knight and the others ended up getting attacked by brigands because they went into the mountain woods.”
“And that’s why they were fighting bandits in the play and not the army!”
The group currently had three options: continuing along the highway, crossing the mountains, or crossing the river. And the only one of those scenarios that would lead to them being attacked by brigands would be crossing the mountains. That way they would stay true to history.
“There will probably be less bandits in the mountains than there would be soldiers down the road, and we’ll stand out less in the mountains rather than on the river. I came to the conclusion that was what the Blue Knight would have decided as well.”
“I see... Clan, I thought you were just sly and vengeful, but now I see that’s not all there is to you.”
Koutarou cheerfully slapped Clan on the back.
“Ow, that hurts!”
“Sorry, I got a little excited and put a bit too much force into it.”
“And what’s this about being sly and vengeful?!”
“That’s how Theia described you, and I felt the same after meeting you.”
“Quit messing around!”
Now that she was riled up, Clan got on her feet.
“Don’t you forget! When we get back to our proper time and place, I’ll have you hanged for disrespecting royalty!”
“Your laws don’t apply to me. I’m not a citizen of your country.”
“Then I’ll just beat you to death!”
“Yeah, yeah. Okay. Just calm down, Clan.”
“Aargh, you...!”
“You’re going to wake everyone up.”
Koutarou forcibly dragged Clan towards him with his left hand and covered her mouth with his right. Clan unhappily struggled against him for a while, but she eventually wore herself out. Once he confirmed that she had calmed down, Koutarou let go of her.
“Like I said, once we get home, I’ll make sure you regret this.”
“You mean if we get home.”
Koutarou then looked up into the night sky. Earth was on the other side of that sea of stars, two thousand years away. He wasn’t sure he and Clan would ever see it again.
“If we can’t return, it’ll just be the two of us.”
“I’ll pass on that.”
“That goes for both of us.”
However, contrary to their words, they were both happy that they weren’t alone. Even if that meant being with an enemy.
“This is all because you were such a fool.”
“There was nothing else I could do. I didn’t know any better. Besides—”
As Koutarou was about to object, he saw someone get up on the other side of the fire.
“What’s wrong?”
“Looks like we woke someone up.”
Clan was wondering why Koutarou had stopped mid-sentence, but he pointed across the fire in response. Whoever had woken up now turned towards them.
“Princess Alaia.”
When they realized it was Alaia, Koutarou and Clan hurriedly stood up, corrected their lazy postures, and presented themselves as a knight and his servant.
“May I speak with you, Layous-sama?”
“Ah, y-yes, of course.”
“Thank you. Oh, and please relax, you two.”
Alaia approached with a small smile. She’d been listening to Koutarou and Clan talking for a while now, so she found it funny that they’d stop so abruptly. Having made her way around the fire, Alaia sat down near Koutarou.
“Veltlion...” Clan whispered as she jabbed Koutarou in the ribs with her elbow.
“What?” he whispered back.
“I’ll leave Alaia to you. Meanwhile, I’ll patrol our surroundings.”
“Hey, that’s playing dirty!”
Clan was planning on leaving this to Koutarou while she feigned ignorance. That was partially because she didn’t want to deal with Alaia, but also because she knew there were no famous stories about the Blue Knight’s servant. It wasn’t even certain if one existed to begin with. There were no records of such a person, so in order to not change history, Clan left all of their dealings with Alaia to Koutarou, their stand-in Blue Knight.
“Well then, Your Highness, Lord Veltlion, I will take a look around the area.”
“I’m sorry for troubling you, Clan-sama.”
“Not at all. Besides, keeping an eye on the area is important. In return, please keep Lord Veltlion company for a while, Princess Alaia.”
“Very well.”
“H-Hey...”
Leaving behind a smiling Alaia and a panicking Koutarou, Clan quickly scurried away from the campfire.
That insufferable brat... She definitely won’t be back until we’re done talking.
Being deserted, Koutarou decided that he would complain until Clan’s ears bled whenever she did come back.
“Layous-sama?”
While Koutarou was watching Clan leave with complex feelings brewing inside him, Alaia called out to him. When he turned his attention to her, she tilted her head and giggled.
“Goodness...”
Dumbfounded, Koutarou sighed and sat back down.
“You seem to get along very well with Clan-sama.”
Alaia smiled, but Koutarou lightly shook his head and denied it.
“She and I were just sort of forced together... stuck in the same boat, if you will. It’s not that we actually want to be together or get along.”
They were originally enemies, and if it wasn’t for their current situation, Koutarou and Clan would probably still be fighting.
“Heehee, is that so?”
But that wasn’t how Alaia saw it. Even if what Koutarou said was the truth of the matter, everyone else saw Koutarou and Clan as friendly. Alaia said they got along because that’s exactly what she’d seen.
“So what did you want to talk about, Your Highness?”
It was an embarrassing and problematic topic for Koutarou, so he was quick to change the subject.
“Ah, yes..."
There was a glimpse of loneliness in Alaia’s expression before it turned serious. As she was now, she gave off a powerful, willful impression befitting of a princess.
“Actually, I wanted to say farewell to you and Clan-sama,” Alaia said quietly.
And upon hearing those words, Koutarou—unlike Alaia—was unable to keep his composure.
“Farewell?! What do you mean?!”
If they split up here, history would be completely rewritten. It was a serious problem that would prevent Koutarou and Clan from ever returning home.
“It’s just as I said. I don’t believe that I should involve you two any further.”
“So this is to keep me from getting involved?!”
Despite his surprise, Koutarou did his best to recollect himself.
Ah, this man really did only help me with the best of intentions...
Seeing his reaction, Alaia was reassured that she’d made the right call about Koutarou.
“Yes,” she answered with a nod.
“But why?”
“At this rate, the lord you serve will be bl
amed.”
“My lord? My master will be blamed?”
“Yes.”
Koutarou served no master. And learning that Alaia’s fears were largely unfounded helped calm him down. After taking a deep breath, he urged Alaia to go on.
“Why do you think that?”
“You’re very strong, Layous-sama. Strong enough at your age that it must mean you’re part of a large band of knights.”
Larger bands of knights were known for producing especially high caliber squires. And that wasn’t just in regards to their sword skills. The quality of their gear—carrying fine swords, elaborate armor, or even magical items—was a good indicator that a knight was from a large band. So after seeing Koutarou fight, it was only natural for Alaia to assume that he had come from one such band.
“And there are only two bands of knights that large that are still my allies. Pardomshiha and Wenranka.”
Both had deep ties with the royal families, and their great financial strength had allowed them both to refuse Maxfern’s bribes.
“However, you are not part of either of them. If you were a squire from Pardomshiha, we would have met before, and Wenranka doesn’t use colors for their titles.”
With what Alaia knew about Forthorthian society, it was obvious that Layous Fatra Veltlion wasn’t part of Pardomshiha or Wenranka. In other words—
“In other words, you serve a lord that follows Maxfern. If you continue allying with us, it is only obvious that blame will fall on your lord. That will put your lord in a very dangerous situation where he is rejected by both sides in this conflict. I don’t wish for that to happen.”
In reality, Alaia wasn’t worried about his lord, but the people living in the land he resided over. She was also worried about Koutarou, who had saved her life out of the goodness of his heart. If he remained Alaia’s ally, he would be putting both himself and the people of his territory in danger. So to prevent that, Alaia had decided to part ways with Koutarou.
“I asked Flair to arrange the schedule so that you and Clan-sama would be on watch at this hour. Please leave while everyone is still sleeping.”
“Princess Alaia...”
Koutarou struggled for an answer. He had to come up with a way to keep traveling with Alaia and her party, but he had trouble arguing with her when she stared at him with such a determined look in her eyes.
How should I answer? What could I say that would satisfy her?
Koutarou wasn’t the real Blue Knight. The real one most likely wouldn’t have any problems answering her now. But Koutarou was at a loss. He couldn’t rely on the script either since this scene wasn’t in it.
Tell me, Theia! What would the Blue Knight say here?!
Koutarou thought of Theia back on Earth. He knew lies or deception wouldn’t work on Alaia and her deep, piercing, clear eyes. So he had to tell the truth more or less. He just wished Theia was there to tell him exactly what to say.
Theia, what would you do?! How would you answer?!
The current Theia was different from her past self. And the Blue Knight had the qualities that she believed made an ideal knight. What she respected the Blue Knight for, however, also revealed her ideals as a princess. As royalty, Theia also wanted to embody the virtues of the Blue Knight.
Koutarou only knew of the Blue Knight from the script she’d written, but he knew Theia well. She was selfish, but at the same time lonely and very kind. Despite the adversity she faced, she wanted to become an ideal princess worthy of leading her people. And thanks to how well Koutarou knew Theia now—thanks to all the time they had spent together—Koutarou was able to imagine what she would do in this situation.
Yeah, that’s right. That’s probably just what you would say, Theia...
Koutarou’s hesitation vanished. He now knew how he should answer Alaia.
“There’s no need to worry, Princess Alaia.”
Koutarou smiled. He’d been so focused on acting as a replacement for the Blue Knight that he’d almost lost sight of himself. In that sense, he wasn’t all that much different from Theia when she had first come to Earth. And just like in Theia’s case, he only had to remember the basics of what was really important here.
Before becoming the emperor, one had to be a splendid royal. And before becoming the Blue Knight, one had to be a splendid knight. Realizing that erased Koutarou’s doubt as he stood before Alaia.
“I will continue staying by your side, Your Highness.”
“But Layous-sama, in that case both you and the people of your land will suffer!”
Alaia held fast on the matter. She didn’t want to see people suffer, nor did she want to see Koutarou suffer. She was so determined on the matter that words alone wouldn’t be enough to change her mind.
“It’s okay, Princess Alaia. I can’t go into the details, but I don’t serve a lord.”
Koutarou told Alaia the truth. He also honestly told her that he couldn’t fully explain his situation to her.
I just need to do this, right, Theia?
Even though he was acting as the Blue Knight to keep history from changing, he could never become a splendid knight if he built his character upon a foundation of lies. If he did, he would eventually disappoint people and lose the trust they placed in him, casting a shadow over the whole legend of the Blue Knight. If that happened, he wouldn’t be able to return to his own world. So he instead committed to following the path of a knight as best he could, despite the risk it involved. He would borrow the Blue Knight’s words, but he would put his own feelings into them. In other words, Koutarou had to be worthy of being a knight himself in order to get through this.
Giving both my mind and body to serve the nobles, huh?
In the past during their practice, Theia would often say that was his duty as a knight. Back then, he hadn’t paid any attention to those words, but now he understood what she meant. Just trying to feign knighthood wouldn’t fool anyone.
“Wh-What are you—?!”
Alaia’s eyes opened wide. She was quite surprised by Koutarou’s answer.
A knight roaming the lands without a lord wasn’t all that rare. In this day and age, there were plenty of knights traveling the nation to find a lord to serve. But that was usually limited to knights from fallen houses or knights that had caused trouble and been banished. Even stranger, knights generally had no reason to hide the fact that the house they served had fallen, and Koutarou didn’t exactly look like a knight that had been banished by a former lord.
“Please rest easy, Princess Alaia. I may be a wandering knight far from my homeland, but my loyalty for the royal families remains unchanged.”
Those were words taken straight from the script. Since Koutarou wasn’t all that sure how to talk like a knight, he relied on the Blue Knight’s words. But even though they weren’t his words, Koutarou was sincere about wanting to help Alaia. He put his heart into what he said, and in that sense, made those words his own.
His desire to help Alaia was sincere. At first he had only saved her because she looked like Harumi, but after experiencing the dangers she was in first-hand, he wanted to be of help to her. Moreover, Theia’s ideal knight would never lie. Telling Alaia the truth might cost him the ability to return to his own world, but Koutarou was sure that Theia would praise him if she could see him now.
“But becoming our ally when we’ve lost our positions would make you an enemy of all of Forthorthe!”
Even then, Alaia earnestly tried to persuade Koutarou to turn back. If he served no lord, she definitely couldn’t put an innocent bystander like him in harm’s way. Alaia’s sincere eyes were fixed on Koutarou, but he simply nodded at her.
“It might be just as you say, Princess Alaia.”
“Then—”
“But that doesn’t mean I have to betray my pride, my loyalty, and most importantly, the hearts of the citizens of Forthorthe. They are not my enemy. Besides, who considers you an enemy is not all that important. What really matters is who stands by you.”
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There were certain things Koutarou felt he simply had to protect. Theia’s straightforward and earnest desire to be of help to her mother, for example. The legend of the Blue Knight was an outlet for those hopes, and Koutarou refused to do anything that might jeopardize them. He didn’t want to betray her dreams. They were far more important than protecting history or returning home.
He may be a legendary hero, but in the end, what he felt may not have been all that different from a normal boy like me... He just wanted to protect what was important.
That’s how Koutarou felt as he recited the Blue Knight’s lines. This was starting to feel personal for Koutarou, but he knew the Blue Knight must have felt the same way. And the more and more he identified with the Blue Knight, the less and less guilty he felt about deceiving Alaia and the other girls by pretending to be him. Right now, Koutarou wasn’t even sure what was an act and what wasn’t anymore.
“Layous-sama...”
“And Princess Alaia, I’m sure the person who gave me this sword and this armor wouldn’t forgive me if I abandoned you. So, please, let me stay by your side.”
The girl that had given Koutarou the Blue Knight’s replica armor and the treasured sword Saguratin was prideful, strong, and kind. If she learned that Koutarou had abandoned a girl being chased down by her enemies, she would most likely erupt like a volcano.
“Your sword and armor...”
Alaia’s gaze shifted to Koutarou’s equipment.
Ah...
It had been too dark to clearly see before, but now that he was standing in the light of the campfire, Alaia spotted the crest engraved on his armor.
Theiamillis’s Blue Knight...?
The crest depicted a knight fighting a dragon, and written on it in Ancient Forthorthian (which was modern language to Alaia) were the words “Theiamillis’s Blue Knight.” When she saw that title, Alaia was more shocked than she’d been before.
Layous-sama isn’t a squire, but an established knight?!
Koutarou had introduced himself as Layous Fatra Veltlion, which implied to Alaia that the only words carved around his crest should be “Fatra” and “Blue Knight.” But that wasn’t the case. The words that were there—Theiamillis’s Blue Knight—were a much bigger deal. It was a personal title, meaning he wasn’t just any Blue Knight. He was an established knight that had been directly knighted by royalty.
