The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom: Part 1

Then let’s settle it with ranged combat. Those words did not issue from Olrand’s mouth. That was because he knew it would only be an insult to a worthy opponent.

He recalled Pavel’s bow skills. He was still not confident that he could evade his attacks and close the distance at the same time.

—No, not yet.

“Well, if that’s all, time to make your report.”

“No need to rush, boss. It’s not time for the shift change yet, right? Look, the bell hasn’t rung yet.”

Indeed, the chime that signalled a shift change had not yet sounded.

“You still need to prepare to change shifts, right? There’s things to do before the bell goes. You ought to be getting yourself ready so you can change over the moment the bell rings.”

“It’s still too early even for that, right boss? Come talk with us for a bit.”

“Then, may I make a report to the Platoon Sergeant’s second-in-command?”

The person who spoke was one of his men.

“Oh, that’s a great idea. Excellent job, you. How about that, boss?”

“...Hah. You’re being really persistent today. You want to say something, right? Good grief... if you want to say something, come out and say it.”

But of course, he could not.

While he had acknowledged the other man as someone he could talk with because he respected him, Olrand was the type who did not speak to people precisely because he respected them. That was because he wanted to be seen as a man who could stand on his own.

“Well, that’s why you’re the boss. You get it, don’t you?”

“...Hahhh. So, what is it? I won’t let you off lightly if it’s some trivial nonsense.”

“Well, about that...” Olrand took off his helmet and scratched his head. The cool air felt strangely comfortable on his heated scalp.

“The truth is I want to go on a warrior’s pilgrimage. So can I leave this place?”

He could hear the gasps of surprise from all around him. However, the expression on the slender man in front of him remained unmoved.

“Why tell me?”

“That’s because you’re the man I respect the most in this nation, boss. If you won’t stop me either, then I won’t have any more doubts.”

“...Aren’t you an NCO? If you’ve finished your conscription period, I can’t possibly stop you.”

The Holy Kingdom practiced conscription. Therefore, they sometimes called those people who chose to be career soldiers noncommissioned officers, in order to differentiate them from those people who had been conscripted. Pavel and all his men were NCOs, while Olrand had some NCOs and conscripts under his command.

“In that case, you don’t mind if I quit, right?”

Being asked that question marked the first time Pavel’s face had changed apart from when the topic of his wife and daughter had come up. Olrand had barely managed to discover it by dint of his extraordinary powers of perception gained from being a warrior. Nobody else around them had noticed it.

He was someone that Olrand acknowledged as a man of steel, but he was actually perturbed by the question of his staying or departure. His heart swirled with a mix of delight and sorrow.

“...Well, legally speaking, I have to accept that. I can’t stop you… That said, we’ll sorely feel the absence of a strong man like you. You should have gone on your warrior’s journey earlier, right? Why now? Is it because there aren’t any more demihuman attacks?”

Since that time half a year ago, the demihumans had stopped attacking this fortress. In the past, they had attacked about once or twice a month, in groups of about a few dozen each time.

While they only numbered a few dozen, they were still demihumans, who had superior physical abilities compared to mankind, and many of them possessed special abilities on top of that. Those were numbers which could easily slaughter an entire outpost wholesale.

Both Olrand and Pavel had experienced many situations where they had to send out elite troops for relief operations.

“You know I don’t enjoy slaughtering the demihumans, right? I like fighting strong people and becoming strong.”

“So how about the Grand King, then?”

“Ahhh, that guy…”

“Oh, and then there’s the Demon Claw, the Beast Emperor, the Ashen King, the Iceflame Lightning, and the Spiral Lance.”

Pavel had mentioned the nicknames of several notable demihumans, but none of them moved Olrand’s heart apart from the one he had first mentioned.

The Grand King Buser.

He was the king of a certain demihuman tribe, a being known as the Lord of Destruction.

That nickname came from the fact that he was skilled in martial arts that destroyed weaponry and his fighting style that revolved around such sundering techniques. He was a mortal enemy of the Holy Kingdom who had defeated many famed warriors, and he had fought Olrand in the past. Back then, he had destroyed Olrand’s longsword, his backup weapons of a shortsword and handaxe, and even a billhook used to cut trees for firewood.