Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 4 - Chapter 6

Theiamillis’s Blue Knight

Wednesday, November 11th

The cultural festival kicked into high gear the next day and continued for two days without any troubles. This of course included the drama club’s play, “The Silver Princess and the Blue Knight.”

The play received all kinds of high praise, in particular for Harumi in her role as the Silver Princess. It was such a success that the club decided they would continue it the next year. Because of that, Theia would be writing a new manuscript for the second part coming the following year.

Moreover, Yurika was able to safely return the Hercules beetle to its original owner. But since she had gotten deeply attached to Hercules after everything they’d been through together, parting with it was hard on her and she spent several days crying.

After the battle during the party, Clan didn’t appear to Koutarou and the others again. Although they remained on guard for a while after that, several days after the cultural festival, the Blue Knight detected a large-scale space distortion. According to the Blue Knight’s analysis, it was the Hazy Moon leaving Earth’s orbit. So if the analysis was correct, Clan had left Earth and returned to Forthorthe.

And so Koutarou and the others were able to return to their everyday lives. The battle for the small apartment would probably continue, but Koutarou was strangely okay with that. It was a sign that he had begun accepting the invading girls, though he wasn’t mature enough to admit it.

But not quite everything returned to normal. In fact, something was changing that no one had noticed.

“Zzzzz...”

Room 106 was quiet during the night. Although Koutarou rolled around in his sleep, he wasn’t snoring or sleep talking. Apart from when he rolled into something, the only sounds that could be heard in the room were the ticking clock and Koutarou’s breathing.

The other two staying in room 106 had their own places to sleep—Sanae in the ceiling and Yurika in the wardrobe. Because of that, the apartment was quiet enough right now to hear the grass blowing in the wind outside.

It was a calm autumn night. The change in the room was so gradual that it was hard to perceive. Normally the night would peacefully pass like this until dawn with nothing more eventful than the ticking of the clock and Koutarou’s breathing.

But not tonight. As the clock’s hand pointed to two past midnight, the wall furthest into the room began glowing.

The first thing that happened was a leg stepping out from the wall. It was a mysterious sight, almost as if someone was on the other side. And after that stockinged leg confirmed its footing, it returned back through the glowing wall. The next moment, a girl wearing a luxurious, pure white dress came out from the wall.

“...”

When she came out from the wall, the girl looked down. After making sure the only thing under her feet was a tatami mat, she slouched her shoulders and looked relieved.

“...Your Highness.”

Next, another girl came out from the wall, this one dressed in a military uniform. She did the same thing the first girl had and looked down at her feet. She also looked relieved she hadn’t stepped on anything.

“To think I’d have to worry about my own vassal’s sleeping habits...”

“It was the only way, Your Highness. We couldn’t afford to step on Satomi-sama tonight...”

Of course, the two girls that had come out from the wall were Theia and Ruth.

“That’s true.”

They giggled quietly with each other and approached Koutarou who was leaning against a wall in his sleep.

However, something about the two of them was strange. They were both wearing clothing in a more lavish style than normal. Although Theia’s dress had the same white base as always, it had an obvious formal design to it. On top of that, she had on more accessories than usual. The tiara on her head in particular was loaded with jewels that looked like they were worth billions. The military uniform Ruth was wearing was different from normal as well. This one had elegant colors and plenty of decorations. Clearly prioritizing design over function, it was intended for ceremonies.

And what was even stranger than their clothing was the sword Ruth was holding in her hand. She was holding it close to her chest, and it appeared to be of a similar design to the one Koutarou had broken. The two girls who were clearly acting different from normal walked over to Koutarou and kneeled down beside him.

“He’s just sleeping without a care in the world... He doesn’t even know what’s about to happen...”

“We could always do it boldly during the day when he’s awake.”

In order to not wake up Koutarou or Sanae, the two girls were whispering to each other. Fortunately, neither of them showed signs of waking up. Their breathing was heavy and regular.

“I’ll pass on that.”

Theia shook her head, causing her dress and accessories to shake as well. Her overly extravagant dress made it even harder for her to move around in the small room.

“Because of the circumstances, this is a good trade-off...”

“Heehee... Oh, Your Highness...”

Ruth nearly doubled over as she tried to hold in her laughter. Their efforts would all be for naught if she burst out laughing and woke up Koutarou now.

“Quiet down. You’ll wake Koutarou up.”

“Y-Yes... Then let’s finish up our business.”

“You’re right... Ruth, give me Saguratin.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Ruth unsheathed the sword she was carrying—the treasured Saguratin. It was the sword that was made when Theia was born, bearing her crest, a golden flower.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes.”

After receiving the sword from Ruth, Theia turned back to Koutarou.

“...Koutarou.”

Theia smiled as she started whispering to him.

“You have served me well since the second princess, Clariossa, appeared. I am deeply grateful for your actions that have repeatedly protected me from danger. Normally I would like to grant you whatever you wish as a reward. Yet since I am but a wanderer, I cannot do so under these circumstances.”

And with those words, Theia held the sword firmly with both hands.

“So as a proof of my gratitude, I have decided to grant you the rank and title of knight. However, you wouldn’t be pleased if I treated you like a vassal, so I have come at this late hour with Ruth as the only witness.”

Theia continued softly whispering, although it saddened her a little because she truly wanted to convey her feelings directly to Koutarou.

“...Forgive me, Koutarou. I don’t know any other way of showing my gratitude. You can laugh at me for being a sheltered princess if you like. I didn’t know any other way of living until I came here.”

Theia revealed a lonely smile, then gently tapped the flat part of the blade against Koutarou’s shoulders.

“Just don’t move right now, Koutarou. I may hurt you if you do...”

First the right, and then the left. That was the traditional ritual when bestowing knighthood to someone in Forthorthe. All that was left was for the title of the knight to be conferred.

“...Satomi Koutarou. I, Theiamillis Gre Mastir Sagurada von Forthorthe, bestow upon you the rank of knight and the title of ‘Theiamillis’s Blue Knight.’”

Waiting for Theia to finish speaking, Ruth presented the sheath to her.

“...Your Highness.”

“Yes.”

Theia took the sheath and slowly stowed the sword inside.

“And as a bonus, I’ll give you this sword as a replacement for the one you broke. I’ll keep it safe for you, so let me know whenever you need it.”

As Theia said that, she handed the sword back to Ruth, who held it with great care. Right now, Ruth was incredibly happy. Although it might have been one-sided, she was thrilled that Koutarou and Theia had formed a master and servant bond. This sword was proof of that. To her, there was nothing more valuable.

“Good work, Your Highness.”

“Yes...”

With that, both of them looked pleased at finishing what they had come to do.

“Mmm, mm...”

But that was when Koutarou’s eyelids began twitching. It might have been because he realized Theia and Ruth were there, or it could just have been a coincidence. Either way, Koutarou was about to open his eyes and find them out for sure.

“Mm...”

When Koutarou did wake up, he saw Theia in front of him and blinked repeatedly.

“...Hmm? What...? Is it already time for practice...?”

Half-asleep, he had assumed it was time for training. Theia smiled at him and gently shook her head.

“No. Practice is on hold for a while longer...”

“I see... Huaaaah... Then I’m going to sleep a little more... Wake me up when it’s time...”

Koutarou’s eyes slowly closed again.

“Yes, I will...”

Koutarou fell asleep in an instant, leaving Theia and Ruth on their own once more. The two had accomplished their task so they no longer had any reason to be in the room, but neither of them moved.

“...Rest well, my knight...”

“Goodnight, Satomi-sama...”

Motionless, they simply stared at the first ally—in the truest sense of the word—they had found in the outskirts of space.

Not long after the cultural festival, another transfer student arrived at Kisshouharukaze High School.

“So this is the cosplay society...”

The new student was a girl.

“It certainly is a good place to hide your true identity. I’d never even considered it myself, so all I can say is well done...”

She was sixteen years old, the same as Koutarou and the others. Like them, she was a first-year student.

“I thought she was just a stupid coward, but I guess I should reevaluate things. That, or she’s found someone to think for her... Either way, I can’t be careless.”

As she mumbled to herself, she knocked on the door in front of her.

“Coming!” someone quickly called from the other side of the door.

“Excuse me, I would like to join!” the new girl responded, announcing her intentions.

“President! We have an applicant!”

“R-Really?! Are you sure it’s not just some other club pranking us?!”

“Heehee... Just you wait, Yurika...”

Her goal was Yurika. She was going to defeat her and claim the power spot Yurika was protecting for herself. This girl was one of the enemies that Yurika stubbornly claimed existed. Yes, an evil magical girl.