Rain - Volume 5 - Chapter 1.2

Chapter 1.2

Part 2

He somehow managed to pry Senoa’s armor off so that she could stand . She was understandably furious . Selphie thought that it was such a shame that her pretty face was twisted in anger .

“I prepared my armor on purpose so we could show the examinees some of our dignity,”

Senoa muttered in spite .

Rain mercilessly replied,

“you idiot! What use is armor if you can’t even move in it? Learn the limits of your own abilities already . You useless fool!”

“Ugh…… You didn’t have to go that far…”

Senoa’s eyes darted to and forth like she was wounded……until they finally rested on Selphie’s .

“I was wondering, but who is this young lady?”

she began to vent her frustrations on the girl .

“Y, you mean me?”

“Oh yeah, she’s——”

Rain continued, as if he couldn’t have been any more bothered,

“she’s an examinee I met just now by the castle gates . Says she wants to become a knight . ”

“Examinees are supposed to be waiting outside . Why is she here?”

Senoa pressed on without bothering to hide her displeasure . Selphie almost apologized on instinct, but Rain waved his hand like he was swatting at a fly before she could .

“Well, the mood brightens up when there are women around . And besides, it’s just about time anyway . ”

“Yes, exactly . I don’t have any objections to cute young ladies being around either,”

Leni approved Rain’s statement with great zeal . He flashed a grin at Selphie at the same time . She tried to smile back at him, but she was sure that her face was extremely stiff .

“Sir Leni! That’s a controversial statement . ”

“Enough, I say!”

Rain interrupted Senoa and continued,

“it’s time, so let’s get this over with and eat lunch . ——Hey!”

He raised his voice and signaled to the two soldiers stationed at the door .

“Yessir!”

Examinees poured in once the two soldiers saluted and opened the door wide .

“Alright, you go on over there too, Selphie . ”

“Y, yessir!”

Selphie stiffly hurried back to where the rest of the examinees were as she was told .

“It doesn’t need to be perfect, so get organized into roughly four lines,”

Rain lazily called out, and about a hundred examinees obeyed and formed lines . Selphie, who had tried to line up at the very back, was jostled around by the crowd and found herself at the very front before she had realized . She was only a few steps away from Rain and his aides .

Eek~, I, I’m so nervous~ .

What will I do if they’re going to make it a tournament or something?

Selphie was already drenched in sweat even though the exam hadn’t begun yet .

After all, it wasn’t only her dreams that were at stake . She couldn’t help but be nervous because her livelihood was as stake as well .

The image of herself sleeping under a bridge after failing the exam and having her plans to stay at the castle lodgings go down the drain flickered before her eyes .

And, within ten days, she would have to stoop as low as to engage in night work…… Well, she wasn’t that much better off to begin with .

“Um, won’t you please buy me for a night?”

I definitely don’t want this .

Oh, but, a girl as skinny as I am might not even be able to do something like that .

Aah, what on earth am I thinking?!

An, anyways just please don’t make this a tournament…… Tournaments are scary .

Just as Selphie was secretly wishing to herself .

Leni turned to Rain and said,

“I suppose we’ll be using a tournament to decide who passes, General?”

I hate this person . I hate him!

Selphie burned up in irrational rage .

Fortunately, however, Rain readily rejected the notion .

“Nah, I’m not about to do something so tedious when lunchtime’s ticking closer . ”

Selphie felt the tension leave her cheeks .

General, I, Selphie, will follow you anywhere .

She truly felt this way, if only for now .

Completely indifferent to the girl who was staring at him with respect and gratitude, Rain took a cursory glance at the examinees and frowned .

“Whoa, they’re mostly gross men . Let’s get this over with as fast as possible . ”

“Hold on a moment please, General!”

The atmosphere, which had relaxed somewhat after Rain’s energy-draining comment, tensed up again .

Blushing furiously, Senoa continued her interjection,

“please allow me to saw a few words to the examinees before we begin . ”

“Well……I won’t stop you if you insist, but…”

Without sparing a glance at Rain who was wearing an expression that seemed to say, “don’t, stupid,” Senoa said, “well then,” and opened her mouth wide to start .

“Everyone, at attention!”

A shrill voice roared in sharp rebuke .

After confirming that the examinees had reflexively moved to stand at attention, Senoa triumphantly began her speech .

“Right now, our fatherland, Sunkwoll, faces unprecedented danger! It has only been a mere month since the despicable Zarmine, the powerful kingdom from the North, invaded our country . We were able to repel their attack with great and strenuous effort, but should they invade us again, it is obvious that we knights, the cornerstone of our kingdom, must stand at the frontlines!”

Selphie began to question why Senoa had referred to this speech as just a “few words,” while the words began to flow more naturally from Senoa’s mouth and she started to blush red (from apparent excitement) .

“Our enemy, King Leygur, is already recruiting more soldiers to replenish those that he lost and is steadily rebuilding and restructuring his army . It goes without saying that he is preparing for yet another battle . And thusly! We too must reinforce our military might and appoint more knights in preparation for the upcoming enemy invasion and—”

It had come out of nowhere .

Without saying a word, Rain had hit the blonde beauty’s head with his scabbard and the full weight of the magic sword inside of it .

“Th, that hurt……”

It must have hurt a lot, since her blue eyes began to well up with tears .

“Of course it did, you fool! You said you’d just be saying a few words . So don’t just go off on a long-ass speech . ”

“Oww, I feel a bump…… I was almost done! And yet…!”

“Nope . I can’t bear to have my lunch wait for me any longer . ”

With about eighty percent of his brain worried about his lunch, Rain put Senoa aside, turned to the hesitant examinees, and ordered,

“all of you, weapons at ready and turn to me! You can use any stance you like . ”

Clatter clatter clatter

The examinees drew their weapons with confusion etched onto their faces . Then, they spread themselves out and aimed at Rain’s eyes just as he had ordered . There was even an exceptionally strong examinee who took up a battle axe high above his head .

Rain glanced through them and said,

“yep . That’ll do . We’ll begin the exam now . ”

Tension ran through the air .

Naturally, Selphie, who stood at ready with a second-hand sword, was also nervous .

He’s not gonna tell us to come at him all at once, is he?

On the contrary, Rain said,

“don’t think of me as a high general of Sunkwoll . Think of me as your worst enemy! Then, in a moment, I want you to psyche yourselves up as if you’re gonna come and cut me down . Now, begin!”

What the hellll!!

A silent protest that probably would have sounded like that if it had been put into words enveloped the entire area (or so it felt) . Even the honest and obedient Selphie thought that the examinees would not be satisfied with Rain’s orders .

Selphie had long since realized that she could feel surges of power rolling off of people who had more than a certain level of strength . She thought that Rain was intending on seeing which examinees had that kind of power, but——

Is that really……okay?

I mean, I’m happy with this because it’s not scary .

“Hey, go home if you don’t feel like doing it . Otherwise, hurry it up already!”

Despite being the most unwilling out of everyone present, Rain yelled out, “got a problem?!” at the crowd of examinees and glared begrudgingly at his two aides who seemed like they wanted to protest his methods .

The giant and tough examinee with the battle axe sullenly took a step forward, alone, but ultimately rethought his decision and returned to where he had originally been .

Other small voices of discontent leaked out and spread like a ripple before tapering off . All of the other examinees looked at each other as if they were saying, ‘this is stupid, but I guess we’ll play along,’ and readied their weapons once more .

“Alright, let’s hurry up and begin, quickly now . Psyche yourselves up as if you’re gonna cut me down in a moment, mkay? Pretend that you won’t have a future! I’ll kill you if you don’t get to me first……think something along the lines of that . ”

The tension in the air tightened up a little as he spoke with a hint of something sharp in his words . The venue grounds fell silent at once . Selphie had already psyched herself up long ago . Pressing her lips into a thin line, she fired herself up as much as she could and narrowed her large eyes .

This person is an enemy, an enemy I have to beat!

At that moment, all of the commotion faded from her ears .

Her senses sharpened . She forgot about the other examinees clamoring around her, and she even completely forgot about her extraordinary circumstances (that she was homeless) . She made sure that she wasn’t grabbing onto the hilt of her sword too hard so that she could swing it at any time, and she did not let her gaze fall away from her opponent for even a moment . Subconsciously, she drew back her left leg a little . Now, she could leap out at any given moment .

Perhaps something that was unseen to the eyes had been conveyed to the enemy——in other words, to Rain at the time .

Rain, who had been looking over at the examinees with a relaxed bearing, turned his head as if someone had called out to him and met Selphie’s gaze .

Oh? he seemed to say with his eyes and the corners of his lips curled upward .

His smile was even more brazen and bold than what the rumors said .

And then, there was a sudden counterattack .

And it was ever a spirited one!

Bam!!

She felt a sudden gust of wind pressure . Of course, there hadn’t actually been any wind . She had, however, certainly felt pressure exploding out from Rain like a windstorm .

She suddenly felt sweat dripping down her face…… For some reason, Rain looked like a giant towering over his surroundings to her .

Her overwhelmingly strong opponent astutely caught her gaze . She couldn’t look away .

His black eyes were so clear that they were scary, and it felt like they were peering through the depths of her very being . Currently, his eyes occupied her entire field of vision .

The man who had long since finished climbing the path that normal humans could only take little by little stared directly at Selphie . It was then that Selphie realized that her opponent was someone who had exceeded the realm of humanity .

Her opponent was in all likelihood not being serious, and half of the reason he had had mixed in a bit of his ‘power’ into his fighting spirit was likely just for fun . After all, he hadn’t even touched his magic sword .

“Well, I’m gonna come at you guys now…… Are you ready?”

He was probably only showing them how he boosted his own awareness right before a battle .

It was as if he wasn’t serious at all . It was something similar to how people sometimes pretended to take the puppy they were playing with seriously . Selphie could at least understand that much .

But even still——

At that time, Selphie had most certainly touched upon a fragment of Rain’s strength .

Her legs became unsteady, and she began to back up little by little before she knew it . Her opponent’s fighting spirit had blown away all of her willpower, and had even broken through any remaining stubbornness she had held . The tip of her sword was wavering……as if it was projecting its master’s discomposure with every tremor . Her knees trembled under the weight of the overwhelming, invisible power . The sound of feet scraping echoed from various places throughout the venue . It seemed that several other people had also felt Rain’s power . The people whose posture had crumbled out of fear .

I can’t do this anymore, I’m gonna fall to the floor!

When Selphie had let out a shriek because she could not endure the pressure any longer, Rain abruptly broke off his gaze .

The overwhelming pressure that had weighed upon her entire body gently faded away .

Then, as if it had all been no big deal, Rain ordered,

“alright, that’s enough . That’s the end of the exam . ”

Crestfallen, Selphie fell to her knees .

She could not help but do so .

While most of the examinees in the venue were sighing as if their spirits had left them, Selphie was breathing raggedly . She thought that there were a few other people who were just as exhausted as she was, but she did not even have the energy to check .

She had really thought that she was about to be killed .

“Ah~, well, I’m gonna announce the names of those who passed now . First, Selphie . ”

“Fuehh!?”

“No……don’t “fuehh” me, I really mean that you passed . Oh, and I can see your panties again, you know?”

Eh!?

She sprang up like she had been kicked .

“I’m kidding . Have you returned to your senses?”

Rain turned away from Selphie and continued to call out the names of those who passed, saying, “ah~, and you there in the second line, second from the front, and——” . Most of them were drenched in sweat and laying exhausted on the floor like Selphie .

The jubilation began to kick in little by little .

Forgetting about how nervous she had been up until now, Selphie was honestly moved by the fact that her dream to become a knight would come true . She would start out as a squire, but she was definitely a step closer to her goal than she had been before . She felt that the path leading to her dream had opened up to her all at once .

However, the only thing that bothered her was the question of whether or not it was really all right for someone like her to pass . After all, she had not been able to stand up against Rain at all .

“——And, that’s it . Unfortunately, the rest of you are disqualified . ”

Rain finished calling out the names of the examinees who passed .

Many examinees who had been listening with bated breath wailed silently . Most of them were probably dissatisfied with how the exam had been conducted .

“Hey, you can’t just do that!”

And, of course, a voice of dissent .

The owner of the outcry, the large man with a battle axe who had almost stepped forward to complain previously, left his line and lumbered up to the front .

He then began to glare at Rain from up close .

The mountain of muscle, who stood a full head taller than the longsword-wielding Rain and was unquestionably wider, insisted on making his existence known .

He kinda smells like sweat .

She felt bad about it, but that was Selphie’s impression of him .

Rain jabbed a finger at the large man with a side-eye that anyone could tell was filled with irritation and asked,

“what’s with this?”

He was asking Leni, who was standing next to him .

The large man opened his eyes wide .  He’s mad, he’s super mad .

Flustered, Leni dropped his eyes down upon a piece of paper in his hand that was likely a register of the examinee’s names . Selphie had reacted before either of them……but, because her legs were still trembling, she could only move to the front while tottering like an old woman .

“Excuse me! There’s something I want to ask you, Lord General!”

“What is it? You passed, so what are you so dissatisfied about? Did you want to fail instead?”

He was still glaring out of the side of his eye like he would brush aside any nuisances at any moment .

“Of course not! I’m not dissatisfied about anything . It’s just…”

“It’s just what?”

“……I couldn’t measure up to you at all, Lord General . So how did I pass?”

“Look here, you . ”

Rain looked like he was looking at a pitifully feeble creature . He continued,

“first things first, quit with the “Lord General” thing . ”

After giving his warning, he added on,

“what did you think after facing me?”

“Eh? After facing you, Lor——no, General? Well that’s……”

Selphie glanced back and forth between Senoa and the others, who were listening in on the discussion, and the flabbergasted man who had been rendered unable to protest because he could not follow the flow of conversation, and continued in an extremely high-pitched voice,

“I think that you have a very masculine face and that you’re very handsome, General, but I like older brother types who give off a kinder vibe, so——ack!”

Wham!

Rain hit her on the head with his scabbard (with the magic sword still in it) .

Giant stars danced before her eyes . Selphie now understood how Senoa had felt earlier . She felt like her head would split in two as she sank down to her knees like a nun in prayer . What ever had Rain meant when he called himself a “man who’s sweet to girls before all else”? That wasn’t the case at all!

“……That……really hurts,”

Selphie managed to squeeze out .

“Of course it does! Who the hell asked you about the types of guys you like?! And what was with that shameless part about kind older brothers?! Besides, I don’t prefer little kids like you either!”

“But I’m already seventeen,”

she somehow managed to say . She couldn’t say any more because her head was still throbbing .

“Seventeen is still young enough to be kid from my point of view . And that’s not it! I was talking about our invisible fight from earlier . I was asking about your thoughts on facing me during that!”

“Oh, if that’s the case——”

Recovering from the hit, she continued,

“I thought you were amazing! I knew you were strong, but I’d never guess you had that much ‘power’! General, you’re definitely stronger than you say you are!”

“……Pft!”

Rain’s mood visibly recovered .

After taking a moment to brush back his hair, he pointed at the brawny muscle man who had been left out of the conversation and unable to continue his protest .

“In a nutshell, that’s the reason . You’re weak, but you’re still able to read how strong your opponent is . But this sweaty dude here couldn’t do that at all . That’s why you passed and he failed . Got it?”

……Now that you spell it out like that, I think I do .

It couldn’t be argued that being able to feel Rain’s fighting spirit was worth points in and of itself .

“……I think I understand . ”

“Well there’s no way in hell that I do!”

the man clamored in protest, recovering from his daze after watching Selphie nod repeatedly .

Leni finally looked up from his piece of paper and said,

“oh, General, I found it! This guy’s name is…”

“Who cares what his name is?!”

Rain curtly rejected his aide’s hard work .

Turning to the protesting man, he twisted his mouth into a frown and continued,

“I see that you’re pretty dissatisfied with how I run my exam . ”

“Of fuckin’ course I am! Who the hell’d be okay with the damn nonsensical way you ran it, huh?”

the large man angrily barked back while raising his thick eyebrows . A few other ex-examinees who remained in the venue surrounded them from a distance and secretly nodded amongst themselves . He continued,

“for starters, I’m obviously stronger than that brat no matter how you look at it!”

The large man pointed his battle axe at Selphie with a whoosh and threw out his chest . His pectorals bulged atrociously through his vest . It looked like his buttons would explode off at any moment .

“Eek!”

Selphie squealed and stepped back out of disgust, rather than fear .

“Geh……gross . You really can find guys like this almost anywhere . ”

Rain also frowned and created some distance between himself and the large man . Then, he continued,

“guys who’ve made it through the world on brute strength alone and impulsively think that brute strength will carry them through anything just because it’s worked for them so far . It can’t be avoided that they don’t realize how weak they actually are . ”

“Wha, what’d you sayy?!”

Rain let the large man’s anger pass right over him and brazenly smiled .

“I’ll force you to understand . I’m gonna sock you now, so try blocking it . If you can avoid it or even hit back, I’ll make you a knight or a general or whatever . I’m sure you won’t have any objections!”

“What! ……Seriously?!”

“Of course . Besides, do you really think I’d still be a general if I couldn’t even deal with punks like you?! Just try and fight back as hard as you please . ”

The muscle man, who was clearly pouting about being called a punk, slowly began to grin widely as he digested Rain’s proposition . He stroked at his stubble and laughed vulgarly . It was clear that in his mind, he was already vividly imaging himself basking in glory after having defeated Rain and succeeding him as the high general .

Even Selphie might have imagined Rain getting beaten up if this exchanged had happened half an hour ago, but her current opinion differed .

This guy just doesn’t get it .

“You’re gonna regret it . Gahaha!”

the large man laughed heartedly, as if he wanted to blow away the ceiling with his laughter, as he returned the battle axe to his waist . The reason he spoke so freely was because he did not doubt that he would be victorious .

Leni looked at him as if he was a cow that was about to be turned into beef, and Senoa looked like she didn’t know whether she should stop him or not .

Rain, who was at the center of this all, laughed along with the large man .

“Hahaha!”

He laughed in harmony with the man for a while and then suddenly stopped midway . Then, he said,

“well, are you ready?”

“Yeah, I’m good whenever you are . Gimme your worst!”

And a moment after he said that——

“Bweh!?”

The man flew into the air while bleeding heavily from the nose and his large body slammed into the right-hand wall . He really must have flown at least ten meters .

It should have been impossible considering his weight, but Selphie couldn’t help but accept it as real because it had happened right in front of her .

Even Selphie, who had been watching from the very beginning, had not grasped Rain’s actions . Just like what had happened at the castle gates, there had simply been a gentle breeze that had slightly lifted up her bangs .

Then, she had seen a black afterimage for a moment before it lost its shape and disappeared .

That was it .

Before she could even think, ‘whoa,’ the large man was already convulsing on the floor . He could not move at all . Or rather, considering how far he was thrown, he probably wouldn’t wake up for a while .

“……He was so weak that he wasn’t really even worth doing this for . In any case, he failed,”

Rain said cheerfully as he lowered his fist . It was thanks to this action that Selphie finally realized, “oh, I see, he punched him . ” Rain had been so fast before that Selphie had no idea what he had done .

“——And?”

Rain swiftly looked over at the ex-examinees who had been spectating . He continued,

“does anyone else have any complaints? I’ll listen to any objections you might have . ”

He received a quick response . Everyone shook their heads in tandem . Even the people who had passed .

“It’s all good as long as you understand . Well then, the exam has safely concluded,”

Rain wrapped up in an arrogant manner .

Then, a lovely soprano sounded through the air .

“Rain!”

The gleeful shout of an extremely happy girl echoed throughout the silent venue grounds .

Eh?

The voice had come from…… A lone girl had appeared from a small exit along the right-hand wall instead of the entrance behind Selphie with an expression that seemed to say, ‘I found you . ’

How……beautiful……

Even the heartfelt joy that Selphie had felt at passing the exam temporarily vanished .

The girl had such a well-proportioned appearance that Selphie found herself at a loss for a moment . Her long, straight blonde hair, which lacked even the slightest hint of dullness, reached down her back and her azure eyes, which was characteristic of her status among the nobility, were so large and lovely that Selphie was almost jealous .

Along with her kindly shaped eyebrows, the distinct shape of the bridge of her nose, and her porcelain-white skin, Selphie couldn’t help but think that this girl was favored by god .

Selphie had been called “cute” countless times in the past, but she felt like the dull moon before the bright sun when she compared herself to this girl .

People could find fault with any beauty if they tried hard enough, no matter how lovely the beauty was, but they would have to give up on finding any faults with this girl . She was the embodiment of perfection .

That girl is so pretty…… Selphie was captivated . She thought that it would have been bad if she was a boy . She would have fallen in love at first sight .

The girl’s face enthusiastically brightened up after seeing Rain and she did not seem to have even noticed the smelly muscular man sprawled out at her feet .

Most likely, all of the other spectators, including Selphie, had not even entered her field of vision . She was simply looking at Rain, and only Rain, with that much earnest .

Immediately, the girl trotted her way over to Rain . She looked so very, very happy as she did .

The mysterious girl’s identity was revealed soon afterward .

Senoa and Leni saluted her reverently, and Rain called out to her with great familiarity, as if he had been calling out to a close friend .

“Hey Princess . ”

Ehh——————!?

Unrest spread through the crown of spectators like ripples across water’s surface .

There was only one person who could be called “Princess” in all of Sunkwoll . That person was Her Royal Highness Princess Shelfa, who was to be the next queen . There was a coronation that was planned to take place soon, and once the ceremony was over, she would be queen in both name and reality . No, she was basically the queen already .

Generally speaking, the Sunkwoll throne was inherited from parent to child .

While there were several nobles who could be considered royalty, Shelfa was to be the next queen according to this basic principle .

Ehhh———?!!

Still extremely flustered, all of the other examinees bent down on one knee . Technically speaking, the Princess was just another noble and wasn’t even their liege, but it was still considered proper etiquette to kneel before royalty .

To explain, Selphie was a squire under Rain’s command and her only liege lord was Rain, not Princess Shelfa .

This arrangement would not change even after Shelfa ascended the throne . Other countries aside, Sunkwoll knights only served their respective feudal lord, so Selphie’s only true ruler was Rain . As an extreme example of this principle, should Rain ever exclaim, “I’ll overthrow Shelfa and become the king myself, gahaha!” Selphie and the other knights would have no choice but to aid his plans .

This was the case from Selphie’s position even if Rain was also a knight in Shelfa’s service . Just because Rain was Shelfa’s retainer, it did not mean that Selphie was as well .

It was a little complicated, but it could be said that the king of Sunkwoll was simply the greatest feudal lord in the kingdom .

That being said, the aforementioned schema was simply the official doctrine, and the next queen was still the next queen . It was only natural to pay her due respect .

Selphie wanted to bow so low that her head hit the floorboards, never mind just bending a knee . After all, she had been a homeless commoner just mere minutes ago .

And thus, Selphie tried to bend down on one knee like everyone else—— . However, her legs had not completely recovered yet and were still wobbly, causing her to lose her balance like a fool and classically fall over . Naturally, her skirt flipped over spectacularly .

Rain immediately looked over and rudely commented, “this is getting old . ”

Then, he added,

“I’ve been watching you for a while now, but……do you have some kind of fetish where you feel a pressing need to show off your underwear at periodic intervals?”

Selphie knew that her face was probably bright red by now .

“Ab, absolutely not! Besides, do people like that even exist?!”

“They do,”

Rain replied without missing a beat .

No, well, if you say so .

Discouraged, Selphie knelt again with an awkward look on her face . She lowered her head so that the princess would not see her blushing . Still, she secretly peeked up to look . ……She had never laid eyes upon royalty before, so she could not help but be curious .

The princess lifted a slight hand up to her lips and opened her eyes wider, as if she was saying, “oh my . ” It seemed that she truly had not noticed Selphie and the others until now .

“Um…… Am I interrupting something, Rain?”

Shelfa gently placed a hand on Rain’s back . She was rather timid for a princess .

“Not at all, it’s already over . We held the Official Knight Recruitment Exam today . ”

“Is that so? And……who is the person on the ground over there?”

Again, the princess, who was fretfully staring at the fallen man, did not seem to have realized he was there until just now .

Blood was pooling on the ground from the man’s nose as his large face planted a kiss on the floor . ……It was truly a wretched scene .

“Oh~, him?”

Rain sighed as if nothing had happened and continued,

“he was a bit oversensitive, despite what his body frame may suggest . He got a nosebleed and fainted because he was too nervous during the exam . Man, it didn’t suit him at all…… It’s a pity, but he was disqualified . Truly unfortunate . Well, he did have plenty of enthusiasm, to say the least . ”

Th, the nerve of this guy!

Multiple reproachful glares converged on Rain, but he only continued to act as nonchalant as ever .

“And what about you, Princess; did you have some business here?”

“No, I simply wanted to speak with you, Rain . ”

She smiled brightly .

Her smile was so beautiful that Selphie found herself deeply moved again .  She’s so pretty……but she’s really obvious about her favoritism . I’m kinda jealous .

“Oh, but now that I think about it,”

the princess recalled,

“Lord Ralphus was looking for you, Rain . ”

Why is she only referring to Lord Ralphus as “Lord”?

Selphie wondered right off the bat . She knew that Ralphus was Rain’s fellow high general . Actually, there wasn’t anyone who didn’t know that Ralphus was Rain’s fellow high general . Ralphus had deep ties with royalty and was one of the greater nobles .

Even still, the reason that the princess addressed Ralphus politely was likely due to her personality, so why didn’t she extend the same treatment to General Rain?

From the aforementioned point, one would generally reach the conclusion that ‘there’s something suspicious about those two,’ but Selphie, who did not have any ill will toward them, simply thought, ‘I’m glad that I’ll be serving under someone who gets along so well with his liege~,” and was relieved . She was sure that she would be able to serve under Rain as a proper knight (though she was still a squire) for many years to come since that was the case .

At any rate, that was what she had thought at the time .

Later, she would be brought to tears after recalling her naïve prediction .

Anyhow, Rain replied to the princess,

“he’s calling for me? Ohoo…”

Satisfied, he nodded to himself . Then, he called out to his two aides and said, “hey, I’ll leave the rest to you,” and made to leave with the princess . Senoa, who looked angry for some reason, and Leni, who looked a little jealous, gave them a light bow .

On the other hand, Selphie, who was still sitting on the ground, recalled her pressing situation .

She called out to the retreating black figure,

“Um, General!”

“What’s up?”

Selphie blushed again as the princess and her retainer turned around . After thinking things through, she realized that what she was about to ask wasn’t the sort of thing she should be asking the general, who was technically her liege lord .

“Umm~……”

“What is it; hurry up and spit it out . ”

“Of course . Err……is it possible for me to enter the lodgings today?”

“……Are you seriously asking me that?”

As expected, he told her off .

“You’re a pretty cheeky one, you know that?”

He even delivered the final blow .

“I, I’m sorry!”

“Well you see, there’s a bit of a complicated procedure that has to take place before you can stay at the lodgings, and it usually takes at least five days . ”

Leni, ever the kind older-brother type, informed her from the side . She should have asked him instead to begin with .

“Oh, is that so?”

Selphie nodded .

Meanwhile, Selphie wanted to cry . She was embarrassed after drawing attention to herself, and she didn’t know anywhere she could stay for five days . A few copper was all that she had on her…… It would only net her maybe one meal or so .

By the time she had resolved herself to sleeping under a bridge, Rain brusquely said,

“it’s fine . ”

“Eh?”

“You can stay at lodgings starting today . I’ll make a special exception for you . ”

Really?!

Before Selphie could express her joy, however, Senoa flared up and exclaimed,

“General! You can’t simply say things like that! It sets a bad example for the others!”

“This is why I don’t like people who were pampered growing up,”

Rain grumbled with his mouth twisting into a frown . He continued,

“if anyone has a problem with it, they can just shut up and leave my service, I won’t stop them . And besides,”

his tone became intentionally cockier,

“in my unit, I am the law!”

“But——”

“Enough! ……Leni, deal with all the paperwork so she can stay at the lodgings . ”

“Yes, yes, please leave it to me,”

Leni nodded with a smile .

Selphie was relieved from the bottom of her heart . While she could nibble on bread crusts for food if it came to the worst, there was nothing she could do about not having a place to sleep . She was truly grateful .

“Well, make sure to do it properly,”

Rain said as he pat the reassured Selphie on the shoulder . Then, he whispered to her so that the others couldn’t hear,

“come to my room once you’re done putting away your things . ”

Eh? Selphie immediately looked up at Rain, but he had already urged the princess forward and was walking away as if nothing had happened .

Come to his room later…… I wonder why .

Selphie’s face had already become as red as an overripe apple .

There, there’s no way……right?

He didn’t mean it like that, right……?