Shinwa Densetsu no Eiyuu no Isekaitan - Volume 1 - Chapter SS3

Memories of a Knight

“Old bugger hits like a horse,” Dios groused, rubbing his cheek. He plunged his towel into the spring and soaked it through with water. His own face stared up at him with ill-tempered eyes. He offered the reflection a crooked grin. Leather armor lay on his chest, looking fresh from the tanner. A spear rested at his side, its tip glinting as it caught the sunlight. Together, they constituted standard issue equipment for a new recruit in the imperial army.

“What am I doing here, anyway?” he muttered.

Until a few days ago, he had been one of many urchins prowling the back alleys. Fighting and stealing had been the order of the day. It had been a robbery like any other that had changed it all—an ill-advised attempt to steal food from a musclebound old man named Tris. Looking back on it now, he could only assume that hunger had driven him half-mad or he would have picked an easier target. The old soldier had beaten him half to death and then, upon learning how he lived, forced him to join the imperial army.

Dios pressed the cool towel to his swollen cheek and scowled. “Ought to be going.”

Tris would be angry if he took too long. Not that it was the old man’s anger he feared; it was his fists.

As he trudged towards the training ground, a young girl caught his eye. She stood with her head bowed, holding a wooden training sword, and seemed to be crying. At first he thought better of getting involved, but his feet carried him towards her regardless. He couldn’t ignore somebody in need.

“What are you doing here, eh?” he asked, sighing internally at himself.

The girl looked up with a surprised noise. Dios’s brow furrowed as he saw her face. He knew her from somewhere, of that he was certain... Ah, yes, of course. She had been part of the emperor’s train on his visit several days prior. What business did a princess of the empire have here? He ought to ask her.

“I said, what’s a brat like you doing here?”

The girl pursed her lips. “Watching the ants.”

“That so?”

Silence fell between them once more. So, she had not been crying, simply staring at the ground. He was still none the wiser as to why she was there. As he wondered what to do, the girl spoke again.

“You look very old. Are you a soldier?”

“Wha—?!” Dios spluttered. Certainly, he looked older than his years, but this girl seemed to think he was as old as Tris. He dragged an exasperated hand across his face. “Yes, I’m a soldier. A new soldier.” He took care to emphasize the second part.

“Really?!” The princess stood bolt upright, her eyes sparkling. He had gotten her attention, and he had a feeling it was not because of his age.

“Really.”

“Can you teach me how to fight?” She raised her wooden sword. A fierce determination burned in her eyes.

Dios’s first thought was to refuse, but he could hardly turn down a princess of the empire. If Tris heard of it, he would be nursing the bruises for weeks.

“I’m a hard taskmaster,” he warned her.

“Good!”

He assumed that she would soon grow bored or else give up after the training grew too demanding. To his surprise, however, she returned the next day, and the day after that. Their arrangement did not last long; when Tris found out about it, he beat Dios to within an inch of his life. Yet that was not the end of their lessons. From then on, Dios and Tris trained the princess together.

The years passed, the seasons turned, and the sixth princess was blessed with Lævateinn’s favor. The emperor duly granted her the rank of major general. For a time, her star was on the rise, but everything came undone when her political rivals joined forces against her. Dios wept bitter tears then, knowing that he was powerless to stop her ongoing tragedy. He could lend her his shoulder, but he could not walk by her side.

After the news came of her reassignment, she took to sneaking away to the forest where she could take refuge from her woes. On the eve of her departure, she returned with a strange black-haired boy at her side, and her long-lost smile finally returned to her face. The boy offered to join her on her journey. Dios respected that. The boy had guts. Well, that or he was a fool.

“Listen well, boy.”

“M-Me?”

“We will meet again at Berg Fortress. Until then, take care.”

“Of course. You too!”

“Hmph. I’m not the one you should be worried about. Besides, you’ll have your work cut out for you once you reach the fortress.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean I’m going to train you up into a real soldier.”

He would say no goodbyes this day. This would not be farewell.

“Take care of her for me, eh?”

With that, Dios hefted his spear and turned away.