About a month has passed since Commander Drake resigned from the Royal Guard.
The defense of Royal Capital Kaditt has deteriorated dramatically.
First, following Commander Drake’s resignation, there was a constant stream of people resigning from the Royal Guard in his wake, and now only about 300 Guardsmen remain, roughly 30% of the original force.
As a result, the security of the Royal Capital has naturally worsened, and the Royal Palace has received numerous complaints from residents.
In addition, the remaining 300 Guardsmen do not listen to Wilfred’s instructions as the one in charge of the Royal Guard, exposing his lack of popularity and leadership skills. It seems that Wilfred’s reputation is plummeting among not only the civil officials but also the knights and soldiers.
However, among the populace, Wilfred is seen as struggling alone to maintain the peace in the Royal Capital, facing adversity due to the Royal Guard’s opposition, resulting in an unfortunate situation where the Royal Guard is facing harsh criticism.
In reality, the 300 Guardsmen led by Vice-Commander Coleman are working day and night to maintain the peace in the Royal Capital.
Huh? Why is Wilfred still receiving a positive evaluation from the populace?
Of course, it’s because the Royal Palace is exaggerating Wilfred’s solitary struggle to the extreme and publicizing it widely.
The people don’t know what’s really happening within the Royal Guard, and it’s understandable that they blindly accept the information released by the Royal Palace.
By the way, Cardis is, of course, the one in charge of Wilfred’s PR.
However, he seems somewhat smug when he sees Wilfred exposing his lack of leadership. Well, I’m glad he seems to have gotten some satisfaction out of it.
As for me…
“Guh, gufuu… Thank you very, much…”
I’m rolling on the ground again today after special training with Sandra.
“As expected of Lord Hal. To be able to defend against 70% of my attacks… In terms of shield techniques, you undoubtedly possess the best skills in the kingdom at the moment.”
“Ah, haha…”
Although I received Sandra’s endorsement, it was only with the condition “at the moment.” I need to work even harder.
Well, I’ll continue to do my best with that.
“Uooooooo! Prince Harold! Please spar with me next!”
“Eh, eeh…”
Even though he’s almost sixty years old, former Commander Drake, or rather, Lord Drake, is still energetically swinging his massive sledgehammer today.
The reason he’s here at the Royal Palace is that after resigning from his position as commander, he had nothing to do and his body was getting out of shape, so I reluctantly gave him permission to use the Royal Palace’s Training Grounds.
Or rather, Vice-Commander Coleman begged me, saying, “I want you to keep an eye on him because I don’t know what he’ll do if I take my eyes off him.”
As a result, he waits for my special training to end and then asks me for a sparring match.
At first, he tried to interrupt my special training, but Sandra scolded him severely, and he stopped interfering.
…Well, I’ll leave it to your imagination how Sandra scolded him.
“Haa… Well, just five bouts, okay?”
“Umu!”
So, with a sigh, I agree to spar with Lord Drake.
As expected of the one hailed as the strongest in the kingdom, his attacks are tremendous, far surpassing even Marion, the main heroine.
Well, he’s the protagonist’s mentor character, so that’s to be expected.
Rather, Sandra is so overwhelmingly strong compared to Lord Drake that my sense of scale has become distorted.
“Nuuuuuu! Take this! Take this!”
“Nyahahahaha! It’s me and Hal together, you know? It’s impossible for you, old man!”
Caz, transformed into the Jet-Black Shield Caspary, taunts Lord Drake, who is turning red in the face as he slams his hammer against the shield.
I wonder if I’m even needed here?
We continued this pointless exchange for about an hour.
“Haa… haa… This match is a draw…”
“Hmph, I’m still going strong, though.”
Caz, who had returned to her black cat form, puffed out her chest proudly at Lord Drake, who was breathing heavily.
Since we’re not attacking, we’re just defending endlessly, but in reality, we’ve already won when he’s exhausted and unable to fight. Lord Drake is extremely unwilling to admit defeat… I see.
“…………………”
Wilfred is glaring resentfully from outside the Training Grounds.
He believes that his predicament is entirely due to Lord Drake. Moreover, he’s training with that annoying me, so his anger must be even greater. I don’t know, though.
“Wah ha ha ha ha! Prince Wilfred’s (Loose Dog) gaze is so pleasant!”
Wow… Lord Drake is quite malicious, too.
“But, what are you going to do now? Vice-Commander Coleman is currently managing things, and the 300 Guardsmen are somehow maintaining the security of the Royal Capital, but…”
“Do not worry. The others are also guarding the Royal Capital in shifts.”
“Yes, I know that, but…”
Even though they resigned from the Royal Guard, Lord Drake is still the leader of the Guardsmen, and the 700 who also resigned still hold their pride as Guardsmen.
In other words, this mass resignation of Guardsmen is solely a retaliation against Wilfred and King Aival, who arbitrarily appointed that guy to oversee the Royal Guard. Their desire to protect the Royal Capital remains unchanged.
This is all because they hold the ideal—no, the pride—that “the Royal Guard serves the kingdom.”
And yet…
“May we, the Royal Guard, be with the kingdom and Prince Harold.”
“Ah, haha…”
Lord Drake straightened his posture and offered his sword in fealty.
His expression was filled with the dignity and pride of a veteran warrior who had supported the kingdom for many years as the commander of the Royal Guard.
I smiled wryly but accepted his oath of loyalty.
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