Envious Simon
A few days have passed since Galahad-san was appointed as the Commander of the Sanctuary Knights.
It was inevitable that everyone in the knight order was surprised at the announcement and introduction of Galahad as the new Commander.
Some among the members were of noble origins from Valkyra Kingdom, so their reactions were even more reasonable.
Then Galahad paid me a visit.
「Umm, are you being serious?」
「Of course, as serious as a heart attack!」
「But……… a dungeon attack?」
「Mhm, despite the level gap, I am confident I will not lose with my skill and experience. However, a commander must be the final stronghold of an order. For that reason, my level is lacking.」
「Well, I get what you’re trying to say, but……」
The Sanctuary Knights have undergone extensive power leveling, to the point that they were far above even Valkyra Kingdom’s knights, least in terms of levels.
They were still lacking in terms of fighting skill proficiency and lacked one-on-one combat experience, but I think their base stats were more than enough to make up for it.
Overwhelmed by Galahad-san’s enthusiasm, we’ve come to the Demon Continent.
Unlike when we had rookie members, we didn’t have to go to the Forest of Death to polish his skills, so we’re diving right into the high difficulty dungeons.
「Gahahahah! It’s overflowing! It’s overflowingggg!!」
Galahad-san was so hyped up, he was starting to act strange.
Having originally been a knight commander, Galahad-san’s level wasn’t low at all, but even so, he still wasn’t strong enough for a high difficulty dungeon. That said, he was still fairly high leveled by normal standards, so it’s been a while since he leveled up. Now that he was leveling up like bam, bam, bam, similar to when he was a knight trainee, so I could somewhat understand why he was acting that way.
And, of course, there was someone who got dragged into this……
「Please give me a break! Why are we getting dragged into this too!?」
「Shut it, Lyle. Stop complaining and keep your guard up.」
「……it’s a good chance to learn how knights fight.」
Galahad-san’s companions for the power leveling aside from Kaede and I were the members of the 『Lion’s Fang』 party, namely Heath-san Lyle-san, and Bogah-san, as well as the samurai-speaking trio Dan, Bill, and Madd.
(Did Commander Galahad have that kind of personality?)
(I know not. The position of the commander of the kingdom’s royal knights was far above my station. I have seen him from a distance, though……)
(My father told me that Commander Galahad was always a calm and steady presence no matter what situation he may be in.)
Dan, Madd, and Bill were whispering in secret. It seems Galahad-san’s rowdiness had bewildered the trio.
Heath-san’s party were participating to get used to the knights’ way of fighting just as Bogah-san said, so I brought them with us to make up the numbers.
Though it’s a dungeon dive, it was also combat training for several knights, but Dan and the others completely outmatched them.
「Master, Galahad-ojichan look like he’s having fun.」,
「……yeah. I guess he had a lot of stress built up from his responsibilities at the Capital.」
Having been occupied with guarding His Majesty and managing the capital’s knights, Galahad-san was now letting loose.
The fact that his equipment now was far better than when he was the commander of the Royal Guard was another reason that his spirits continued to stay high.
「……still, he’s probably a little bit too wild.」
Since they were brought along for the joint training with Heath-san and the others, the samurai trio’s eyes looked completely dead inside.
◇
At Valkyra Kingdom’s Royal Castle. A knight in his 30’s was walking and handing over the duty of guard to a subordinate and left the King’s office.
「Oh, if it isn’t Lord Bauer. Have you become familiarized with your position?」
「Lord Simon. It is still far better than doing unfamiliar deskwork.」
「Fufu, inside the palace, guarding His Majesty is mostly for appearances.」
The roughly thirty year old knight was Guilford von Bauer, who succeeded Galahad, becoming the new Knight Commander of the Royal Guard. The person who greeted him was Valkyra Kingdom’s Prime Minister Simon.
「So I hear Lord Galahad moved to the Sanctuary with his wife?」
「Yes. He said that for a variety of reasons, it would be difficult to always stay in the capital now that he has retired……」
「How very like him. How utterly envious I am.」
「He said his only regret was not seeing his grandchildren so readily, he took brought a single maid and minimal luggage with him.」
「How…… enviable.」
「Eh?」
「No, nothing.」
「Ha, I see. Still, Father only did the bare minimum greetings, brought only the least amount of luggage and departed. There should be a limit to doing as he pleases.」
「What, he has been by His Majesty’s side for many decades, bearing heavy responsibilities on his shoulders. The Sanctuary is the perfect place to relax.」
「An idyllic retired life is still far too soon for Father and Mother.」
「What? He has a splendid successor he could entrust the future to. He could retire with peace of mind. Oh, I must have kept you while you’re so busy. Then, I shall take my leave.」
Simon parted ways with Guilford and return to his assigned room at the castle.
With a thud, he slumped back onto his stately chair.
「Hmm, that damn Galahad. Immigrating as fast as he could by himself.」
Recently, the words that Simon had been coming out of Simon’s mouth were words of envy towards Galahad.
His own wife was showing no signs of returning from the Sanctuary. He had been receiving reports that Rosary had been enjoying a vibrant life, as though she had forgotten about her husband.
「……the next prime minister…… who can I push it to?」
It was inevitable that Simon had begun searching for the next potential prime minister in his head.
And Simon was still unaware.
That after leaving the Royal Guard and being inaugurated as the Commander of the Sanctuary Knights, he was enjoying even more fulfilling days than ever before……
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