It had been a week since Fie had become a squire.
And in that short span of time, Fie’s life was rich and fulfilling. She had made friends with her three dorm-mates, and they had set off into Orstoll’s streets together on a shopping trip.
Although they were men’s clothes, Fie was able to purchase her own garments and living supplies. She filled her narrow and tiny room with decorations of her own choosing, and was currently living a fun-filled daily life. She had been handed the funds by Crow, who had somehow
heard from somewhere that Fie was going on a shopping trip, claiming that it was her salary up-front.
Fie learned on her first trip out with her friends that Remie was apparently fond of soft toys. He himself was aware of the contrast in image — claiming that a boy aiming to be a knight would find it embarrassing to indulge in such things. Fie, however, did not think so, and instead took it upon herself to buy each and every one of Remie’s choices as he stared at the soft toys through the shop window, too shy to personally interact with the shopkeeper. Ironically, the unhesitating behavior displayed by Fie only seemed to portray her in a manlier light.
It could be said that this was Fie’s very first experience — of going out with friends and having a good time, that is. Although there was a curfew upon which all squires must return to their dormitories, Fie sincerely felt that she was having an amazing experience.
A fulfilling second path for Fie.
A week has passed since then, and the northern dormitory now housed its full roster of squires. Amongst them was Gormus, who had openly taunted Fie before their bout.
And so it came to be that Fie was in the lounge of the dormitory drinking tea by her lonesome on the night before training formally started. She wasn’t quite alone, however — two youths were busy gossiping in a corner.
They did not seem friendly. In fact, they peered down upon Fie condescendingly, their eyes full of contempt.
(I guess they’re not all nice guys after all...)
Fie was used to the ill-intent of others. After all, she had spent her life being despised for being secondary to Fielle, and as such was not a stranger to such emotions.
“Hey, aren’t you so full of yourself, just because you got into the 18th.”
“You even lost in the squire test, didn’t you?”
Fie, who was now somewhat famous for being the very first squire accepted into the 18th Knights, found that her reputation preceded her. She herself, however, did not seem to recognize the significance of her assignment. It was like Captain Yore had said.
(I am here because the Captain needs me, and so he recruited me. It is meaningless to compare between platoons and come to some arbitrary choice on who was better or worse.)
That reason was why Fie was very open about her results in the test — namely that she had lost her bout.
It was not as if her fellow squires made fun of Fie for her revelation. They understood why Fie was chosen for the 18th: because she was small.
For a while after that, the youthful squires, who generally considered a tall height to be a boon, started feeling envious of the much shorter Fie. The phenomenon had started with Gees, who apparently took it upon himself to squat down to about Fie’s height, before mysteriously saying: “So... this is your world...” Upon witnessing that, countless other squires took to doing the same, and Fie could not help but come to the conclusion that men were somewhat silly. However, their actions were not malicious, and Fie found it all in good fun, and took part in the activity herself.
However, as word of Fie’s assignment grew, so did the volume of the voices of dissent.
“I mean, aren’t you from Teornoah, anyway? You’re probably poor or an illegal immigrant, right? How can you even think about being a knight!”
Fie had learned the meaning of “from Teornoah” after Crow had explained it to her, and she had thanked Crow for his help. After all, ever since coming to this kingdom, Crow was the one who had helped her out the most — although Crow himself knew next to nothing about her circumstances.
And as such, although Fie did not think that highly of herself, one thing that Yore had said remained in her mind.
To take pride in herself, and stand proud.
This was why Fie matched the youths’ gazes without withdrawing a single step.
“It is true that I am weak, and am an individual of indeterminable origin. However, I had abilities that were wanted — and that was why I was assigned to the 18th Knights. That’s all there is to it. There’s nothing good or bad about it. Also, nationality is not a deciding factor in if one can become a knight or not in Orstoll.”
Although she had just arrived here, Fie had already established an unlikely reputation of being stubborn and unyielding when it came down to it — something which caught the boys off guard. They had thought that she would be easy to bully, especially with her small frame and cute, almost girlish face... In addition to having lost in the first bout of the tests.
“Ugh... Hmph, someone like you couldn’t possibly get in. I bet you paid your way in with some sort of bribe!”
“Yeah, it must be something dirty like that!”
In that moment, Fie’s eyes narrowed, and froze. To their obviously antagonizing and condescending expressions, she smiled, ever so slightly.
Fie was angry.
To claim that Fie was poor, or an illegal immigrant was one thing — but claiming that she had bribed her way into the 18th was something else. The issue did not quite lie with Fie, however.
“Are you two stupid? Do you think the Captain is that kind of person?”
In the week that she had become a squire, Fie had more or less become one of Master Yore’s loyal worshipers. Although all the squires looked up to Yore, there was a particularly intensely devoted — maybe even crazed, faction within the squires.
To begin with, Yore was the first person who made Fie feel needed in her entire life. In the short week of her being a squire, her comrades in the dormitory had regaled her with tales of Yore’s exploits, and this all served to further intensify Fie’s unwavering devotion.
And this was how Fie looked up to, trusted in, and became willing to do almost anything for Knight-Captain Yore — it was the birth of Fie as a Yore groupie. To someone who loved Master Yore with all of her being, to even hear a suggestion that she had bribed a way into his personal unit was tantamount to an insult against his very person... In addition to insulting the 18th Knights, and all its incredibly skilled members.
However, Fie knew that getting angry wouldn’t reflect well on her maturity. After all, Knight-Captain Yore would not get riled up at a few verbal barbs from some squires. And that was why Fie found them pitiable, and smiled.
Finding that they were now the ones being ridiculed by Fie’s cold, demeaning smile, the squires’ faces turned red.
“Y-You! You think you’re so smart, picking at people’s words...!”
“Yeah, just like one of them poor folk!”
“Hmph.”
Fie didn’t exactly remember picking apart their words or engaging in foul play, but at the same time, she felt a little silly for engaging with the youths, who seemed to only endlessly repeat their small menagerie of insults.
“Could you please get out of the way? I feel like I’m getting stupider just talking to you.”
Although Fie had no longer wished to interact with them in any way or form, the two youths blocked her path. They stared holes into Fie’s head, but they did not actually seem to have the guts to physically strike her.
Just then, an enormous silhouette surfaced from behind them.
“What the hell are you guys doing?”
The speaker had a built and muscled body that one would not think belonged to a young squire. He had a gorilla-like, strong-edged face. Gormus.
Upon seeing Gormus, the two youths’ expressions transformed into one of glee.
“Hey Gormus! This little thing here is gloating about his first bout even though he lost to you! He thinks he’s so great, being assigned to the 18th!”
“Yeah that’s right! Please teach him a lesson!”
To come all the way here but not have the courage to raise a fist for themselves — such were the pathetic souls of these boys. Fie thought it was a miracle that people like them had managed to pass the test.
However, she was cognizant of the situation — if Gormus had joined in, there was no way she could win. If it came down to it, Fie was prepared to grit her teeth and fight them off, but Gormus was a different story. She had fought him in the bouts personally, so she knew of his strength. Although she had a wooden sword, Fie could not beat him. And if they were to engage in fisticuffs, Fie would have virtually no chance of winning.
Seeing an opportunity, the bullies moved to surround Fie — not that this intimidated her. She was prepared to make their lives difficult.
Glancing up at her opponents, Fie tried to gauge their movements, when her eyes met with Gormus’. And then Gormus grabbed the two youths by their collars, and summarily lifted them off the ground.
“Why do I have to listen to what the two of you punks are saying? I’ll kick your asses.”
In the face of Gormus’ strong stare, the youths made their escape, crying as they did so.
Fie looked up at Gormus in spite of herself. He was grinning — the very same grin he had given her when they first met.
“Hmph. You find them anywhere, don’t you? Like weeds. Idiots who are small and insignificant, and don’t know how to pick fights.”
“Seems like I’ve heard those words somewhere before...”
Not used to Gormus’ familiar tone of speech, Fie eyed him warily.
“Don’t be stupid. That was me making fun of you because I’m strong. It wasn’t because you’re small.”
“Yeah. You’re strong, all right.”
Fie had no choice but to admit that. Through a string of coincidences, she had managed to go far in the bout, but it would not have been strange if she had fallen by his hand right away. Even with luck on her side and hard work on Fie’s end, she could not win against him.
“Hahaha. So you admit it, huh. I’m really strong. Of course I’ll win.”
Folding his arms, Gormus laughed haughtily, before pointing to a bandage stuck onto his forehead with a single finger. That was where Fie’s sword had hit him with all her might.
“But... the one who gave me the most trouble was you, even though you lost to me in the first round. Your irritating movements, stubbornness, and your little petty tricks. You’re really the worst.”
With those words, Fie suddenly understood Gormus’ acknowledgment of her skills.
“I see, so the one who gave you the most trouble was me.”
“That’s right. So don’t care about what those two idiots say.”
“Yeah.” Fie let out a happy but embarrassed laugh in spite of herself.
Sitting down in a chair next to Fie, Gormus spoke, a serious expression on his face.
“It was my bad for calling you a kid and asking you to go home. You did all you could. There’s guts in that.”
“Yeah... Don’t worry about it. Also... I’m sorry for calling you a gorilla.”
“Yeah... Maybe you could give that a rest. Don’t wanna think about that too much...”
Upon remembering the infamous gorilla incident, Gormus took on a relatively sullen expression. Although remorseful, Fie explained that she was merely returning the favor at the time, and insisted that he didn’t quite look like a gorilla at all. However, in her heart, Fie felt that even if he really did look like one, Gormus would be a cool gorilla.
Reassured by Fie, Gormus’ normal expression returned to his features, and he held out a fist in Fie’s direction.
“Well, the next time we fight it won’t be so easy or convenient, so you had best prepare yourself. The next time, I’ll blow you away with a single hit.”
“Then I’ll find new ways and tactics to mess with you. I’ll work hard and think of them every day!”
“Hmph... Punk. First, go learn how to swing your sword...”
Fie’s response, without a single shred of chivalry in it, turned Gormus’ face an unhealthy shade of blue.
“So... since you came out top in the finals of the test, does this mean you’re the strongest amongst all the squires?”
Having registered Gormus as a friend, Fie reverted back to her usual self, casually posing the question to Gormus.
“Of course! ...Is what I would like to say, but the aspirants for that test are split into many small blocks. There is no way to know. There were 11 more people who made it to the finals. Although... I’m probably the strongest.”
“I see... So you’re just in the top 12, huh?”
“Oi, you!”
Suddenly stripped of his title of strongest candidate, Gormus stared daggers at Fie intensely once more.
“Ahaha. Both you and I have to work hard, Gormus.”
“Ahh. That’s right.”
And then the two of them turned to face each other, and laughed heartily.
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