Knock, knock, knock.....

'Good morning, Lady Temma. Breakfast will be ready soon. Are you awake, Tenma-sama?

　I heard a knock on the door and Aina's voice, and I knew that my eyes were brightening before me.
　But my physical body didn't respond, and gradually my consciousness was being fished out, and I was about to sink into the darkness again.

'Temma-sama, are you ready to open up?'

　I could hear Aina's voice, but I was on the verge of losing consciousness.

'Oh, sis! That's my job, so I'll wake you up!

　The moment I lost consciousness, I was awakened by the sound of Aura's boisterous voice.

''Even if you come over now, it won't make up for the fact that you forgot to work and overslept... and before that, you're going to go before Tenma-sama with your sleepy head? Go ahead and fix it!

Okay.

　I heard the sound of Aura leaving with a thud. It seemed impossible to sleep twice, so I had no choice but to get out of bed and stretch lightly.

'Temma-sama, did you get up?'

Yeah, I'm up now. I'll be up in a minute.

　I took a change of clothes out of my magic bag and wiped my night sweat off with a cloth before quickly changing.

'Good morning Aina. I need to wash my face, where can I go?

　He opened the door and greeted Aina, who was waiting just outside.

'Good morning, Temma-sama. There's a washroom right over there, let me show you around.''

　Aina took me to the washroom where there was a grandpa who was trimming his beard.

'Oh, Temma, good morning,'

Good morning, Grandpa.

　When I returned the greeting, Grandpa was shaking for some reason.

''Grandpa?''

Oh, I'm sorry. It was like a dream... but I never thought I'd be able to talk to Temma again...

　Grandpa had a thin layer of tears in his eyes, but he began to wash his face with the water he had stored in the tub to cover them.
　I stood next to him and washed my face and brushed my teeth.

'Speaking of which, what happened to Shiroumaru and the others?

'If it's Shiroumaru and the others, they'll be sleeping in the bag. Even though they're in the military, the strangers are going to make a big deal out of the demons walking around the castle without permission, so we decided not to let them out of the bag until we got the king's permission.

　Did Shiroumaru call you when I said that? He looked out of the bag, but patted his head and put it back inside.

'Master Temma, you have a visitor here to see you. I understand you are at the gates of the guardhouse right now, how may I help you?

Customer? Who is it?

　When I asked who it was this early in the morning, I heard that the customers were Uncle Mark and Aunt Martha.

'I'll be right over ... the gate choke point is the one we drove by in the carriage yesterday, isn't it?'

Yes, sir.

　If I remember correctly, it was nearly a kilometer from the front door to the gate.

''Well, I'll just magically fly over for a bit.

I'm coming with you.

　Grandpa had to go with me.

　I was able to get to the gate in about a few dozen seconds by flying magic from the front door.
　As I ducked through the door of the stuffy room, an old lady noticed me and hugged me.

'You're really alive! Good....really good....

　My aunt was crying and hugging me, but after a while she stopped crying and let go of me.

'Oh, it's like a dream! I'd heard about it, but until I saw it with my own eyes, I wasn't sure...

Ho-ho-ho, that's what happened to me, too... until I saw Tenma in the morning, I wondered if yesterday was just a dream.

　Grandpa nodded at his aunt's words.

'By the way, what's up with you two so early in the morning?'

　At my question, the uncle, who had been looking at the aunt in silence, opened his mouth.

Last night I went around to the people from the village of Kukri, who live in the capital, to inform them that Tenma was alive. Then some of them suggested that we should have a banquet tonight. So I was the representative of the group and asked for the availability of Tenma and Merlin's grandfather.


　Grandpa and I looked at each other as he said, "We don't have anything in particular to do.



'Thank God for that! We didn't have a location in mind yet!

'It's a complete idea...'

　My uncle laughed at my words, but this kind of thing was an everyday occurrence in Kukri village, so I kind of missed it.

'We'll take care of the preparations, Temma and the rest of you should be here before nightfall!

　When I said that, my uncle and aunt left in a hurry.

''Hohoho, I've missed the banquet.......let's get some sake ready.

'But first you have to eat your breakfast Aina will be mad at you...'　

You can't do that! Yes, we're back!

　While saying that, we went back to the castle........I don't know if it was wrong, but Aina, who was waiting near the castle's entrance, was somewhat unhappy.

''Um........is something wrong, Aina-san.......''

Why do you use honorific language...............no, I'm sorry. For some reason, I'm suddenly annoyed...

　It seems that Aina's intuition is tremendously high performance.



'I'm sure you're right. Well, I'll show you around and we'll have to question him later...　

　Aina agreed to my words without a doubt and decided to question Aura.
　I'm sorry for Aura, but I'll have her give up on her previous bad behavior.


　Aina brought me to the room where I spoke with Maria and the others last night.
　When we walked in, breakfast was already ready and all that was left was for us to take our seats.

''We're late.......By the way, why are the kings here?''

　There was not only the King there, but also Maria and Caesar, the Treasurer and Lyle, and the Grand Duke, Tida and Luna.

'No, what, I couldn't even talk to you yesterday so I thought I'd join you for breakfast instead!

　The king is laughing, but isn't that what he deserves? And then Maria's mood changed.

'You ... how about apologizing to Temma first? That wasn't what a king would do...

　At Maria's words, the king began to break out in a cold sweat and straighten his residence.

'Temma, I'm sorry about that section! Please forgive me, it's just like this!

　The king put his hands on the table and bowed his head. Depending on how you look at it, it looks like he is on his knees.

'That's the pose you always take when you apologize... what do you think, Temma? Can you forgive this man?

　He looked at the king again when Maria asked him, but the king didn't move slightly.

''Yes, I forgive you. I was annoyed at the time, but I didn't mind it so much... and most importantly, I knew there was something to it, since it's what the king does.

　True to my word, I wasn't too worried about it. The arrow shot at me didn't have an arrow butt on it, and most importantly, the king who was approaching me had a smirk on his face, and I knew something was up from that.
　The king looked up at my words and was clearly relieved.

'Well, you'll forgive me! Thank God! Come on, let's have some breakfast before it gets cold!

　I was dismayed at how fast the king was changing, but it was more important to eat the breakfast in front of me.

　In the middle of the meal, Lyle-sama suddenly called me over.

'Temma, when you're done eating, join the joint training! Because in a few moments, we should start getting participants! Hurry up!

　He speaks as if it were a decision, such as.

'You mean in the morning!'

　To my surprise, Master Lyle laughed as he put a piece of bread in his mouth.

'In a real battle, the enemy won't refrain from saying it's morning and night! That's what I tell my knights to do!

'I'm not a knight, but...'

　Completely ignoring my mutterings, Master Lyle swallowed his bread with milk and sat up.

'Here, I'd better get going!

　Lyle-sama was stunned by the fact that she seemed to be taking him away, even if it was by force, and Maria-sama was stunned as well.

''Calm down for a moment. Temma is a guest!

Mother, even if you say so, I've already told the soldiers and I wouldn't want to take them away from you now.

　Lyle-sama explained that, but Maria-sama wasn't convinced.

'I was going to take Temma with me to go shopping and now... what are you going to do about it!

　........Maria-sama was generally selfish too. People around them were taken aback by Maria-sama's words, but only Lyle-sama was different.

''It's all right then, Mother. Our training will be over before noon, so you can go shopping then.

'That's okay then ... although it will take less time to shop ...'　

　Maria seemed to agree in passing, but she didn't take my consent. Before I could say a word, Aina interrupted me.

'If Temma-sama is going out, I would like to train both Jeanne and Aura.

　At Aina's statement, this time Jeanne and Aura rolled their eyes. They both seemed to think that today was their last day off, and they were completely caught off guard.

''Eh, hey, sis! You're not ready for that all of a sudden, you're not ready for anything. Let's take it easy today!

　Aura voiced her disapproval, but Aina glanced at her.

'You don't have to worry about that, when Maria-sama goes out shopping I'll have some free time to teach you in that time and you'll be fine.

　Aura is trying to duck Aina's special training, Aina is ready to not let it go, and Jeanne is turning into air, the difference in power between the three of them is obvious, so no matter how you look at it, there will be no way to escape Aina's training.
　Thinking that way, I also can't seem to escape from Lyle-sama and Maria-sama.
　With me at their backs, the two of them are discussing my schedule.

''Um~ I also have plans in the evening, so there are a lot of things I want to do, but.......''

　They smiled at my words and smiled at me and...

"Don't worry, it'll be over by then!

　I said in a voice.
　Then it was decided that the schedule handed down was that we would attend training immediately after this, finish before lunch, accompany Maria-sama to shop after lunch, and return to the royal castle by evening......... They've made up their minds!
　I wasn't allowed to argue.............and I didn't listen!

　I looked at the king because he was too forceful, but he didn't care. Rather.........

"Maybe I should go watch Temma train!

　He was all tensed up. Then, Master Caesar, I looked at the Lord Treasurer and they were both together....

Give it up...
"I'm sorry, but that won't stop you two...

　He said.

'Then let's get going! We can't keep you waiting too long!

　Master Lyle walked out to pull me along he's not going to let me get away with anything!

　Lyle-sama dragged me to an arena-type training area that was built in the opposite direction of the entrance.

'Whoa, you're all here.......Din! I've got Temma!

　Master Lyle called out loudly for Mr. Din and brought me forward.
　I can hear voices from the First Order and the Kingsguard talking about who I am.

''Temma you've been brought in........''

Yes.....

　Mr. Dinh seemed to have gotten the general idea of the situation.

''Ding! The training will be in the form of a real battle as usual. At the end, we'll pick a few people from the Konoe and the First Order for a group fight........Punish the one who fights in a hapless manner! That's it from me!

　Lyle-sama's words made those who had been looking at me tense.

'All of them, you heard it right! Each of you find a partner and start training!

　At Din-san's words, the knights who had been posturing up started to move.
　Each of them seemed to be freely choosing an opponent, some calling out to those who were suitably nearby, some calling out to knights from different squads, some wishing for an opponent who seemed stronger than them, and conversely, some forcibly catching those who seemed weak.

　As for me, maybe it was because Mr. Din was right beside me, or maybe it was because they didn't think it was worth it to deal with the kids, but no one came up to me.

'No one came by I can't blame them. You'll have to do it with me ... or you can go easy on me!

　As Din-san said that, he slammed down on me with his sword in its sheath in a surprise strike.
　I half ducked the blow and then took my back and delivered a kick.

　The kick seemed to be read and didn't hit, but those around me seemed to be surprised that I was able to react to Din-san's blow, and the knights who were watching nearby stopped moving.



　As Din-san said that, some of the knights looked away as he looked at the knights.

''Before that, at least lend me your weapon.......unless you're serious and allowed to do it......I don't know if you get hurt....

　Mr. Dinh laughed at my flippant comment.

'Sorry about that. If you've got your own blade-puller, that's fine, but if you don't, you can use whatever you want from what we've got over there.

　Mr. Din pointed to the weapons on the edge of the arena.
　I pulled out a stick that looked like the handle of a spear from it. It was a little over a meter long and didn't look very well used.

'Are you ready? Then let's get started.

　Dinh said and came to the front of me. I also held my stick like a sword.
　We didn't move slightly as we held each other at the ready, looking for an opening to strike even a little.
　The knights around me were also training themselves and looking at us from the side.

''Ah!''

　At that moment, one of the knights who was training nearby was struck and dropped his sword.
　Taking that as a sign, me and Mr. Dinh closed the distance between us.
　It was Din-san who took the lead. He was the first to thrust and then swing his sword.
　I fought off Mr. Ding's attacks and waited for a certain attack.

　Mr. Dinh swung his sword twice, three times. I pretend to take a counter and deliver a thrust.
　The moment Mr. Dinh taunted my thrust, the attack I was waiting for came.
　It's a swing down from the top step, and the moment Mr. Ding raises his sword....

Boo-hoo.

　Water shot out of my mouth in a mist.
　As expected, Mr. Dinh didn't read the attack, nor was he able to avoid it, and his aim was off.
　I took the opportunity to hit Din-san with my whole body in the manner of a kosai kari, sending him tumbling to the ground.
　And then.........

Do I win?

　He held the stick to Mr. Dinh's throat.
　At that moment, there were quite a few boos from the surroundings.
　Apparently, there were quite a few knights who were stealing the fight between me and Din-san.
　Some of them were cowardly! And don't be silly! And shame on you! and other angry voices mixed in.

　For now, I let go of the stick from Din-san and waved my hand towards those voices.
　A few knights who saw this took my action as a provocation and tried to come towards me, but....

Good job, Temma! Well done!

　The knights stopped moving at a loud voice. The owner of that voice was........

"Hey, Your Majesty!

　It was the king. The knights were about to poke their knees and bow their heads, but the king made them stop.

He said, "You don't have to bow. Instead, listen to me.

　The king's voice quieted the knights and they began to concentrate on not missing a word.

'If you are condemning Temma's actions now, why aren't you condemning Din's actions before that? Din was the one who launched the surprise attack first. Tenma ducked it, and Din just couldn't duck it on the contrary! In actual warfare, there are enemies who would use a more cowardly hand than that one. Will you then be cut off, saying that you are cowards? Actual warfare should be based on the expectation that such an attack is possible! Whether or not you use a cowardly hand or not, the consequences of knowing and not knowing can be very different! And on top of that, anyone who has a complaint can step forward!　

　The knights were dumbfounded by the king's words, but some of the knights who were yapping seemed to have a point in mind and were thinking about it.

It's a very good idea to make sure that the people who are not convinced of this are strong enough to rebound, no matter what they do to themselves! I expect such a one to emerge.

　With that, the king walked into the castle.

''Your Majesty is right that was my fault for being so careless, no matter how you look at it.

　Din-san, who had stood up before I knew it, said that and put his hand on my shoulder.

''Let's go with normal actual battle practice (.........) without magic this time!

　As I said that, Mr. Dinh readied his sword. As soon as I held my stick up....

SAY!

　I ran into it ... along with the sand ... I think I kicked the sand off the ground with my foot as I rushed forward.
　From there, it was all over the place.
　It was a mess of training, really spitting in a battle of courage, throwing weapons that had fallen nearby, throwing knights that were nearby.......etc.

　So much so that the knights around him were dumbfounded as Mr. Dinh was flabbergasted.
　And as Mr. Din moved around to involve the stunned knight, the knight naturally became Mr. Din's weapon and flew at me.




'Hey, Din! It's time for a change! You can't train the rest of us if all you do is work with Temma!

　After continuing for about an hour, Lyle-sama called for a stop.

''Ha! Understood. Temma, that was fun! See you later.

　With a look of relief on his face, Mr. Din moved away from me.

'Oi, next! Somebody go f*ck Temma!　

　The next knight doesn't come easily, so Master Lyle, whoever you are, go! I instructed him, but no one came to me.

'Are you so afraid of losing to Temma! Isn't it a proud knight of the Kingdom of Krastin to face any opponent!

　At Lyle-sama's reprimand, most of the knights tried to come to me, but two knights appeared in front of me a step ahead of me.

'You can have both of them at the same time! Temma!
Please, Mr. Tenma.

　It was Mr. Jang and Mr. Edgar who showed up. I met Edgar-san yesterday, but it's been a long time since I've seen Jean-san.

''That's fine, but.......what about being a knight?

　They weren't trying to provoke him, they were worried that the two of them would be made fun of by the other knights later on, but they both seemed to not care about such things.

''Nah, we don't need to worry about what someone who hasn't fought says about us!
I don't think two would be enough but it would still hold up better than one.

　With those words as a cue, the two drew their swords and held them at the ready.
　Jean-san held the large sword at a slouching position, while Edgar-san was equipped with a one-handed sword in his right hand and a shield in his left.

''Then let's go!

　I decided to change my weapon from a stick to two one-handed swords. I tried not to stand in front of Jean-san as much as possible, and at the same time, I was careful not to let Edgar-san take my back.
　Unlike the previous training with Din-san, this time we decided to train mainly on counters and focus on defense.

　Jean's style is basically a big swing. However, he seems to be aiming to break my stance by aiming at my arms and legs and setting up a body strike when my sword stops.
　And Edgar-san seems to have a style of dealing with attacks with his shield and aiming to counter with his sword.
　Both of them are trying to strike behind me in turn, and it was difficult to deal with them at the same time.
　If you launched an attack on one of them, the rest would attack you from behind.
　Moreover, since they were two different types of people, with one attack heavy and one sharp, there were times when it was dangerous to feint at either of them.
　But when their attacks began to become monotonous, I decided to decide on a winner.

　First, I stepped forward when Jean-san swung his sword to attack.
　This caught Jean-san off guard and caused him to swing his sword a bit closer to the position he was planning to swing it down from in the first place.
　Faster than Jean-san's sword could be swung down, this time I flew backwards as fast as I could.
　Then Edgar-san, who was trying to get behind me this time, suddenly braked and stopped moving for a moment behind me.
　I used the momentum to shoot Keri at Edgar-san's abdomen.

''Ugh!''

　Edgar-san was kicked away with a groan and rolled backwards as he was.

'Ahhhh, Edgar's gone... well, it can't be helped... let's go!

　As Jean-san said that, he closed the gap in a flash and swung his sword.
　Unlike earlier, his sword line was quick and sharp.
　In terms of power, it was lower than earlier, but this one was harder to do.　

　Jean's continuous attacks were hard to stop.
　I didn't get attacked, but the sword I have is nearing its limit.
　I'm sure he was anticipating that with his continuous attacks, but I couldn't just wait for the weapons to break like this.

''It's time to go!　

　Earlier, I had stopped my feet and looked for an opening to counter, but now I decided to try a fighting strategy using my legs.　
　I didn't take Jean's attack with my sword properly, but instead I ducked and ducked.
　As I did so, inevitably, Jan's strikes would increase, and my sword muscles gradually grew dull with fatigue.

　When my swordsmanship had slowed down, I focused my attacks on my arms and legs.
　Jean-san, too, stopped attacking continuously and started attacking me while fortifying his defense, but the fatigue from earlier and the pain from my attacks finally made him let go of his sword.

''How about this?''

　I stopped one sword between Jean's eyes and the other at his neck.

'Oops! I give up!

　Mr. Jean raised his hands, breathing on his shoulders.
　Behind him, Edgar-san was finally standing up.

''Go-ho, go-ho.......I thought I was going to get a hole in my stomach......If I hadn't been wearing my armor, I would have died.......''

　Edgar-san staggered closer to him, and when he heard those words, Jean-san smiled bitterly.

''Then I was much better, that's why........

'Brilliant work on both sides! Who's going to take on Temma next!　

　Before I knew it, it looked like it was going to be against me.
　Lyle-sama was about to decide on his next opponent, so I waited.

''Lyle-sama, please let me take a break from the quicksand. There's no point in training if you get seriously injured from fatigue.

　Lyle-sama agreed with my words and allowed me to take a break, but the knights who had just stood up against me seemed to lightly exceed five to sixty people.
　I heard that a total of one hundred people, fifty each from the Kingsguard and the First Knights, are participating in this training, so it's more than half.
　It's a huge difference from the first time. It seems that the knights recognized me as a suitable training partner, not just a child.
　Incidentally, both the Kingsguard and the First Order have a hundred members, so half of them are participating this time. So Chris-san and Sigurd-san didn't participate in the joint training this time.


　After taking a twenty-minute break, I trained with the other knights as well.
　After training, I found out that many of the knights of the Kingsguard are more skilled (...) than the knights of the First Order... not in the sense of strength.
　Basically, it's like the Konoe Guard has a wider range of skills and better coordination.

　However, not to mention Din-san, there is no one in sight who is stronger or better than Jean-san and Edgar-san, and at this point in time, my strength is rated on par with Din-san's.

　The training, which continued until before noon, came to an end when it was almost time for lunch.
　It seems that they have another training session in the afternoon, so now it's the rest of the knights' turn.
　I was invited by Din-san to attend the afternoon training, but I refused because I had a promise (compulsory) to Maria-sama.

　When I looked at Shiroumaru and the others in the dimension bag after taking a dip before lunch, Shiroumaru and Solomon were a bit unfaithful.
　Apparently, they weren't happy that I wasn't paying much attention to them... I don't know about Slarin, but he seemed to be quiet.
　I decided to do something apologetic next time, and threw some beef meat and horns I'd carved up in my bag, and I think his mood improved because he was happy to see me.

　I'm afraid I don't know what to do with my post-lunch shopping.
　It's common in both my previous life and this one that women's shopping takes a long time, but this time I'm going along with the queen of a country shopping, there's no way to counteract that!
　Please don't get into any trouble.

　With that in mind, I put my lunch in my stomach.