The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom: Part 1

Under normal circumstances, one would call on an adventurer or hunter, but most of them were already dead, and the remainder had already fled to the south or to other countries. Therefore, with no more experienced candidates to choose from, Neia had been selected.

While she was far inferior compared to her father, she harbored some pride in the fact that her senses were sharper than those who had only been trained as paladins. She was very happy that her talents could serve her nation, but that feeling was steadily being worn away. Now, she was starting to resent the fact that she had been chosen.

“Really? ...Well, if you think so, then that’s fine. I’ll allow it.”

“Thank you very much, Captain.”

“...Squire Baraja. Like we just said, you will remain in the corner of the room and listen to our conversation. If anything happens, inform us. ...Now go back to your room and freshen up before coming back.”

“Understood!”

Finally, I’m free, Neia thought, but then Gustavo followed behind her just as she made to leave. After they left the room, he spoke quietly to her.

“Sorry about the Captain.”

Neia halted in her tracks, turned around, and then she voiced the doubts she had been harboring in her heart all this while.

“...Did I do something to upset the Captain? I mean, I’ve heard that the battle where we lost that city changed her completely, so what happened?”

“...Many paladins died in the battle with Jaldabaoth, including the Holy Queen-sama and the Captain’s sister.”

I know that. But so what?

The same thing had happened to Neia.

Both her father and mother were dead. People like this were hardly uncommon throughout the Holy Kingdom. Of course, she could not actually say that.

“Without a place to vent the grief and anger she felt from that, the Captain chose to take it out on you. I think the reason why she did not do so with us paladins was because we fought and suffered with her.”

What the hell, Neia grumbled in her heart.

In other words, all this was because Neia had not taken part in that battle.

This was just unfair.

Half of Neia’s fellow squires had travelled to the same city and many of them had ended up dying. The reason why Neia had not been in that half was due to her luck, and not because of any choice Neia had made.

“Let me also say this: please bear with it. Right now, the Captain is irreplaceable to the Holy Kingdom.”

“...Even if she takes her anger out on others and gives them a hard time, then?”

“Indeed.“

Gustavo looked at her with a pained look in his eyes.

Anger raced through her body. She wanted to shout at him. Neia knew that woman was strong, but still, Neia had also done her part in getting them safely to the Kingdom. She had spotted the demihumans’ lookouts and she had been more careful than anyone else when they pitched camp at night. Neia had a role in getting the ambassadorial party to their destination. That being the case, Neia did not feel she was any less valuable than that woman.

However, Neia quashed her feelings as they boiled up.

She had to bear with this for the sake of the people suffering in the Holy Kingdom. Allowing any of them to be lost, and thus prolonging the plight of countless people, was the most foolish course of action imaginable.

In addition, she would be free of this duty once she returned to the country. Thus, all she would have to do was bear with it for a while longer.

Neia smiled and nodded.

“Understood. If it is for the sake of the Holy Kingdom, I will endure it with a smile.”

♦ ♦ ♦

Blue Rose arrived at the inn not long after Neia returned to the room.

Neia waited, among the paladins who stood motionless by the walls.

Soon, the door opened, and a group of people entered.

She was not a fangirl of theirs, but their reputation still shone brightly in the Holy Kingdom, and it made Neia’s heart flutter. These were great people of her gender who had ascended to heights which she herself could not reach. Personally, she would have liked to ask them all kinds of questions. That said, she could not do such a thing.

They’re… one of the three adamantite ranked adventurer teams in the Kingdom. Blue Rose… they’re awesome...

While she had heard their descriptions and names from rumors, this was the first time she had seen them in the flesh. There was quite a big discrepancy between how she had imagined them from their stories and how they actually were.

Standing at their head was Blue Rose’s leader. She was a priestess who bore the holy symbol of the Water God, the wielder of the demonic blade, Kilineyram — Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra.

Her beautiful features were such that even her fellow females might fall in love with her, and it was hard to believe she was a top-class adventurer of the like which only fighting geniuses could be. If she wore a dress, she would be the very picture of a princess from the dreams of a commoner like Neia