Two weeks later, Fie stood before the snaking line of hopefuls taking the squire test.
(There are so many people... I’d better get to the back of the line quickly...)
The line had stretched from the open doors, where members of the Royal Knights were holding their reception, all the way into the center of the castle.
Fie had left early in the morning, earlier than the first guard would rise, escaped from the back pavilion, and made her way to the middle of the castle.
Of course, all this was for the squire test.
In order to not be spotted by the denizens of the castle, Fie had looped around to the outside walls, eventually making her way into the test grounds.
As such, although Fie had to line up with people from outside the castle, she had actually come from within it. So it was important to quickly find the end of the line and stand in place.
For the last two weeks, Fie had been practicing her hand at the sword day and night.
Fie was on her own — so other forms of practice were not really very practical, but she had put her all into it, and did what she could in two weeks’ worth of time.
To be frank, she wasn’t in very good shape, and she hadn’t really been able to eat. Upon arriving in Orstoll, Fie’s status had been upgraded to that of “troublesome individual,” which was slightly higher than her standing back in Daeman, where no one had noticed her at all.
No food, supplies, or amenities were provided to her. If one thinks about it, perhaps that is a given.
To the people of this country, Fie was an add-on, an unwanted being, who was only here as part of a wedding condition for her glamorous twin. Upon arriving in Orstoll, she was regarded as little more than dust — just a nameless princess from a rural kingdom. Who would deign to look after such an individual? It was seen as imposing to even ask for the most basic of items and services required for living.
Ever since arriving at Orstoll, the only things provided for Fie had been unmotivated guards, and a pavilion that probably functioned as a sort of storage facility graced only by endless visages of walls before her arrival.
Due to the above-stated reasons, the ingredients for Fie’s food so far were purchased with Fie’s own funds, by her now-resigned chef. They were probably ingredients purchased from merchants who visited the castle... And although the food provided was nothing but cold and unappetizing, with the chef now gone, there was no one who would venture out to procure food for the occupant of the back pavilion, Fie.
Upon realizing this, Fie knew that she had a problem. However, there wasn’t much she could do about it. It was pointless to ask the guards for assistance of any kind, and Fie had made up her mind to walk her second path in life. For that very reason, it would be foolish to reveal her face to guards who hardly knew it.
As a result, for the last two weeks, Fie had feasted upon the remaining ingredients that the chef had bought — if leaving bits and pieces for the coming days could be thought of as feasting.
How absolutely sad, to be in one of the few Great Kingdoms such as Orstoll, and even within its castle walls, only to engage in such a hand-to-mouth, survivalist lifestyle. But life isn’t fair. Of that, there was no doubt.
In spite of all her efforts, Fie’s food supply had run out two days prior to the test, so for the past two days she had been unable to eat. Even so, she continued practicing her swings.
(A chance like this will never come again!)
Today was the day that Fie would pursue a different life — one that was completely unlike the one she had known before.
Failure was not an option.
Fie was still in the middle of the castle. From here, she would pass the main gates, and line up with the rest of the aspirants. This was the first hurdle to overcome.
To avoid attention, Fie had purposely taken a side path to the line — and she had reached it, when a voice behind her rang out.
“Hey, pretty little miss. Are you lost?”
(Oh no! Have I been found out!?)
Hearing the phrase “pretty little miss,” Fie’s heart sank. Cold sweat dripped from her cheek and brow.
The reason for this was simple: Fie was currently dressed as a man.
Utilizing one of the many dismal dowry gifts she had received from Daeman, she had cut her hair short with scissors, found a tattered and ragged gardener’s outfit from somewhere in the pavilion’s storage areas, and promptly put it on.
With that, Fie was applying for the squire test as a man... Or so she had thought.
Although there were no rules in the test stating that all candidates had to be male, to Fie, who lived in a rural kingdom like Daeman, female knights were rare. She had hoped that this would improve her chances. She thought that it must be easier to be accepted as a young boy, compared to a young girl. It was a simple reason.
After all, Fie’s entire life was at stake here, at this specific moment in time. No matter what happened, Fie absolutely had to make it.
(What am I going to do? There must be some way I can pull the wool over his eyes...)
In retrospect, it was fine if the stranger behind her had realized she was a woman. That wasn’t the real problem. It was the worry that if her presence were regarded as suspicious, and if the authorities found out her true status as an add-on bride from some rural kingdom, she would probably be trapped in the back pavilion once more.
And this time, they wouldn’t give her guards that practically did nothing at all.
(In any case, I have to smoothly get out of this...)
Fie needed information. Exactly how much the stranger believed that Fie was a woman... And if they had found Fie particularly suspicious in any way or form.
“Uh. Well, I’m...”
Turning around, Fie came face-to-face with a blonde, hazel-eyed knight. With his height and facial features, she thought that he must be popular with the ladies. Then she thought...
(He looks like quite the flirt.)
And that was Fie’s first impression of the knight before her.
The knight, finding Fie’s gaze somewhat interesting, laughed in a carefree manner.
“Oh, sorry. My bad. Don’t make such a surprised face. You just have a cute face, little boy — and I just had to make fun of you. So, what’s wrong? Are you lost?”
Fie was a little stunned at being called a “little boy.”
It seemed like the knight was just making fun of her, after all.
“Um. Well, I uh, want to line up. For the squire test.”
“Oh! Did you get chased out of the queue? I mean, you’re quite small, so.”
“Y-Yes! That’s right! That’s what happened!”
Although Fie had not even been in the line at all, she jumped at the knight’s misunderstanding, and was determined to use it to her advantage.
“Well I’m sorry, but in this case you’re gonna have to line up again. I’ll show you to the end of the line.” The knight smiled — and it was a broad one, at that.
The maids from Daeman would probably have flushed beet red, and eventually fainted from seeing such a smile. Fie however, was more concerned about being brought to the end of the line. She was grateful for that, even.
(With this, I won’t be treated as a suspicious person and I’ll be able to leave the castle to join the line!)
Quite good luck, if Fie could say so herself.
“Hey, you guys! Step aside! I don’t want to bump into a bunch of burly, sweaty guys like you. If anyone’s going to touch me, it’ll be a cute, naked girl in bed, all right? Step aside!”
And with that, the knight parted the crowd of aspirants, opening up a path for Fie and himself.
(Yeah... He’s a flirt all right. Just as I thought.)
Fie’s suspicions, having been more or less confirmed, cemented her first image of the knight in her mind.
Having parted the crowd, the knight waved, smiling as he motioned for Fie to follow.
“Come on, kid. Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
(But... I guess he can be a nice guy.)
Fie smiled.
And so, following the slightly flirty, but also somewhat pleasant knight, Fie was finally out of the castle gates.
“I’m Crow. I’m pretty sure you know, but I’m one of Orstoll’s knights. And what are you called?”
“I’m Heath,” Fie answered, without as much as an inkling of hesitation.
For the past two weeks, Fie had made sure to dedicate time to think of a false name for herself
.
(Well no. Not a false name. That’ll be my new name from now on.)
To be honest, she had wanted a completely new name — but if she were found out to be a stowaway princess, things would get considerably more difficult. And that was why Fie chose a name that sounded vaguely similar to hers — “Fie” and “Hee-th.” At least, that was what she thought.
Upon exiting the castle gates, the line of hopefuls stretched on as far as the eye could see.
Although Fie would have been fine on her own from here on out, Crow somehow saw fit to personally escort her all the way to the back of the line.
And so the two of them walked together.
“So, Heath. Why do you want to be a knight?”
“Ah. Um...” Upon being asked that, Fie became flustered.
Although her goals were obvious from the get go, she had never really come up with a reason — a fictional motivation to go along with her false name. It wasn’t possible to just say that she wanted a new life and identity.
And so, in a panic, Fie answered: “B-Because they’re so cool!”
It was a direct, but flippant reason.
Sweat formed on Fie’s face once more. Would the knight think her reason was suspicious? However, Crow seemed to have taken positively to the response.
“Yeah, that’s right, isn’t it? Knights are cool. I’m cool too, right?”
“Yeah! You’re so cool! I want to be just like you!”
It was a bit of a stretch, but Fie really did believe in Crow’s inherent degree of “cool” — that much was true. His handsome features, blonde hair, and muscled body, plus his armor and sword all came together to form quite the image.
Fie had wanted to be a knight since a young age to begin with, and perhaps that was why she had thought of such a reason. It was a fuzzy thought in her mind — when she had to take up duties as a princess, that thought was taken away from her, all but forgotten.
Looking at Crow’s appearances alone, he was indeed the very image of a knight — knights that Fie had come to admire.
“Yes, yes. Isn’t that right? Knights have it good. We’re popular with the ladies. If you became a knight, you’d get all the ladies too. Even a whole bevy of girlfriends!”
“I don’t really need that, though...”
Fie didn’t really know where to start picking apart Crow’s statements.
(He’s a flirt all right... Although he looks cool on the outside...)
Fie stared at Crow somewhat coldly.
Upon seeing Fie’s reaction, Crow laughed.
“Hahaha, I see you’re still such a kid, Heath! Hey, you have quite a strange accent... one not really heard around these parts. Where are you from anyway?”
Fie’s promptly froze up at the mention of her accent. Although she had taken sufficient time over the last two weeks to think of her own profile, upon having her accent pointed out, Fie quickly lost confidence in her imaginary self.
Crow knew a lot more about Orstoll than she did. If she made any mistakes, he would think she’s suspicious. And of course, she had not thought of a reason to explain her accent.
“Ah... well... that is...”
“Oh. I guess you don’t want to talk about it. Well that’s fine. You don’t have to! Sorry about that.”
Crow suddenly ceased his line of questioning upon seeing Fie become considerably shaken. He thought he knew the reason why. (Probably the child of illegal immigrants... His clothing is in tatters too...)Crow observed.
It was a typical story that such a child would hope to become a knight, seeking a better life.
Strictly speaking, the knights were supposed to deal with that in some capacity, but they usually turned a blind eye to those situations, providing that they were not criminals. And as such, the doors to the castle were open even to such individuals on the occasion of this test. Instead of chasing them away or arresting them, they were given a chance — a new direction in life, provided they were willing to work for it. That, too, was one of King Roy’s ideas, and subsequent approaches to local laws.
As they walked side by side on the way to the back of the line, a pleasant smell wafted by Fie’s nose. Around them were food stalls targeted at the queuing applicants. Suddenly Fie was reminded of just how empty her stomach was.
(Ooh... I’m so hungry...)
But it wasn’t like she could buy anything. While Fie did have some currency on her person, the coins she carried were not legal tender in Orstoll. The Daeman coins contained some degree of precious metals, and as such had some value by virtue of weight. However, a young boy from a foreign country paying for goods with gold coins was a definite beacon of suspicion.
(Bear with it... Bear with it...)
Fie walked past the stalls, decidedly fixing her stare away from the food on display.
“What is it?”
“No. No, it’s nothing.”
Fie did not want to arouse any more suspicion in Crow than she already had. So she tried to pretend like nothing was wrong.
Noticing this, Crow turned to Fie.
“Wait here.”
“Sir Crow?”
Crow vanished into the crowd. When he returned, two kebabs of fried chicken were in his hands, which he promptly pressed into Fie’s.
“Here, eat up.”
“Huh? But...?”
“Well, you’re hungry aren’t you? Don’t hold back. You aren’t gonna go far in that test if you’re in this state.”
An impossibly delicious smell wafted up to Fie’s nostrils from the chicken kebabs. She peered up at Crow slightly, holding the kebabs in her hands — and Crow nodded, matching her gaze.
Fie opened her mouth, biting down into the kebab. It was the first time in quite a few weeks that the taste of meat had filled her mouth.
(It’s... It’s so delicious...!)
Once Fie had one bite, it was impossible to stop. So she wolfed down the kebabs, stuffing them down her mouth in a most un-princesslike manner.
“Haha, don’t rush. It’s going to get stuck in your throat. Hey, this isn’t worth crying over, is it?”
Fie had only noticed upon hearing Crow’s question that large tears had formed in her eyes, and were currently rolling down her face unceremoniously.
Ever since coming to this kingdom, Fie had been ignored. No one would acknowledge her presence, and she was thrust into the confines of the back pavilion, with only an unbearable loneliness for company. As such, the current situation was not one that Fie was used to at all...
And amongst all this, the first person to show her some degree of kindness was Crow.
As she bit down on the warm kebabs, an even warmer feeling filled her heart. “Sir Crow... Thank you so much...” In spite of her tears, Fie managed out some words of thanks.
To that, Crow gave her a wry smile.
“I told you not to cry, right? I’ll tell you now, I won’t comfort crying men. The only time I’ll comfort anyone crying is if they’re a woman in bed. You get that, right?”
“Yes.” She couldn’t help but laugh at Crow’s words.
Fie felt resolved to do her absolute best. If there were such good people in the fold, the Royal Knights must be full of them. If there was any suitable place to start a new life, this would be the place. If things turned out well, maybe she would even be in the same platoon as Crow.
And so, the two of them finally reached the end of the line.
“Thank you for everything, Sir Crow.”
“Don’t worry about it. After all, this is part of my job too.”
However, it was obvious to a certain extent that buying kebabs for wannabe squires wasn’t exactly part of the job. “I should also tell you that there is no special treatment in the test. All candidates are equal. And they will be judged fairly.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Seeing Crow’s slightly more serious expression, Fie mustered a serious face of her own with some effort.
But of course this was the case. There were this many candidates, after all. Just because she had become a little familiar with a knight didn’t mean that she was going to have an easier time at the test — it simply did not work that way.
For a kingdom as large as Orstoll, it was probably incredibly difficult to enter an organization like the Royal Knights. With the sheer number of participants present, it was sure to be a strict, harsh test.
(Will I be able to see it through...? No, there is no way out but to win.)
She was going to leave behind her life as Fie in the rotten corners of the back pavilion, and live her new life as Heath. For that, she had to win.
Seeing Fie’s suddenly nervous expression, Crow slapped her on the shoulder amicably, grinning his broad smile as he did so.
“I can’t give you preferential treatment, but I’ll cheer for you!”
Fie thought that this was a great thing to hear. After all, not even a single person had cheered for her ever since she came to this country.
“Yes! I’ll work hard!”
“Yeah, give it everything you’ve got!”
And with those parting words, Crow waved nonchalantly as he set out in the general direction of the castle.
(A knight... I want to become a knight!)
Fueled by thoughts of leaving behind her captive, unwanted princess life, Fie’s desires of achieving knighthood burned stronger than ever.
The entry procedure progressed without much of an issue. It seemed that the test would be split into two groups, one for those under 17, and one for those 17 and over. As Fie was still 16, the contents of the test were simple — a one-on-one trial by combat, courtesy of supplied wooden swords.
The bouts would be monitored by the judge, who would watch as said wooden swords clashed. Amongst them were figures clad in knightly dress, one of whom was Crow.
After a short while, Fie’s name was called.
Her opponent was a thick-set boy, almost three times Fie’s body size. However, if he was paired with Fie, it meant that he was around her age.
After having their names confirmed by the knights in attendance, the pair headed off into a wooden pen in preparation for their bout.
Sneering at Fie, the boy laughed, regarding Fie’s stature with dismissive amusement.
“The hell is a kid like you, who doesn’t even have any hair down there, doing here? This is not a place for kids to play pretend sword fighting. You’ll probably get hurt, so you might as well just head home and have some of your mama’s milk, huh?”
Although the match had not started yet, spectators had already begun to crowd around the pen, discussing the events of the day with enthusiasm.
“Man... That kid has it rough. To be paired up with Gormus for his first bout...”
“Yeah. Wasn’t he one of the top candidates in previous tests?”
Upon hearing their words, Fie did think of herself as unlucky. But there was no choice but to win. And that was why her attitude took a sudden, unpredicted twist.
“Huh? It seems like the gorillas in Orstoll actually speak! How incredibly smart! I am so surprised. But... why is a gorilla attempting a squire test? Even for a talking gorilla, becoming a knight is a bit too much isn’t it?”
Normally, Fie would not be one to bad-mouth others, let alone say such words to them. It was a little cold and even twisted. As she had shown to Crow, she was otherwise a proverbial good kid.
However, having lived the life of one born in the shadow of another, Fie had a certain dark part in her heart that was very well-acquainted with insults and other demeaning mannerisms of speech. She had first picked it up from her nursemaid, who was swearing at Fie for causing undue work for her. At that time, Fie had wanted to cry.
Even such painful experiences had their uses, although exactly how useful they were was yet to be seen. But to live on, Fie was willing to do anything — of this, she was sure. This once in a lifetime bout, upon which her entire life hinged upon, had somehow released Fie’s darker side to the world.
“Y-You! You’ve got some damned guts! As soon as the bout begins, I’ll friggin’ kill you, you hear me!”
“Man, this kid doesn’t know what he’s in for...”
“What’s going on in that head of his?”
Yet for Fie, it was natural to behave this way. If she lost here, she would be as good as dead — or at least, would have to live a life that was worse than death.
As such, Fie held the sword with a definite sense of resolution, perhaps the most resolute since the moment she had been born.
Shortly after the test began...
(I knew this wasn’t going to be easy...)
Fie felt it in her body and soul.
It was a fact that her opponent was bigger and stronger than her. However, he probably couldn’t move very fast, so Fie moved around quickly in hopes of spotting an opening.
(I can’t even make a dent...)
Although this was a bit of a given, Fie realized that the sword-practice she had as a child, and her recent two weeks of practice swings, could not possibly hope to compete with one who had studied and practiced swordcraft all their life. It was impossible to match her opponent’s skill with the sword.
She was unable to even swing her sword blade at her opponent — it took everything she had just to dodge his blows.
On the other hand, Gormus was also surprised at the current turn of events.
(This guy... He’s so small but fast, I can’t bloody hit him! I thought I’d send this punk flying in a minute, and make him grovel in front of everyone in shame!)
But then, for the past five minutes, Fie had been dodging Gormus’ wild blows.
Her movements were distinctive. Her small and soft body was that of a cat’s — she jumped and leaped, landing in strange stances that made it impossible for Gormus to predict where she was going to come from next. At times she would stay low, or roll away while avoiding his attacks.
(Even so... Even so, this punk is nothing to me!)
It was a definite fact that Fie’s ability to dodge was astonishing. However, from the very beginning, Fie had not even taken one swing at Gormus.
(You can tell from how he moves. This punk doesn’t know very much about the sword at all.)
If his opponent didn’t have the power to overwhelm him, then he would win just by continuing to attack.
(There’s no way I’ll lose.) That was what Gormus believed.
“Ah... This match has become really one-sided, hasn’t it? The poor thing.”
“But then, look at him! Isn’t all that dodging kind of impressive? Gormus is attacking that much, but ain’t hitting him. I haven’t even seen an adult move like that before.”
“But if he doesn’t attack, he isn’t going to win. At this rate, he’s just going to get tired out, and then he’s done for.”
Maybe it was because there were other small bouts before this one, but the hopefuls who had time on their hands found themselves spectating this particular match. And as they said, in the face of Gormus’ ferocious attacks, Fie was starting to look worn down.
Fie had always loved sports more than her sister, but a princess was a princess, and princesses were not exactly known for their stamina. In addition, there was also the issue of her not eating for the past two days, and taking all of that into consideration, it was easy to see why she did not have enough stamina.
(Just... a bit more... Wait for an opening...)
Her body became heavier and heavier, and her breathing was now a halting, raspy sound rising from the depths of her throat.
And in that moment, Fie’s legs tripped over each other.
(Oh no...!)
“GOTCHA!”
And at last, a single blow from Gormus landed on Fie’s body.
She raised her own sword in defense in a last-minute reaction, but the difference in power was far too great. The impact sent Fie’s entire body up and away, flying and crashing into the wooden pen that surrounded their makeshift arena.
The impact jolted up Fie’s spine, and for a while she stopped breathing.
Fie’s body shook, and then she fell where she stood, landing on her back on the cold, hard ground.
(Quickly... I have to get up...!)
But she could not get up.
It hurt everywhere.
A ringing sound filled her ears.
(I have... have to win. I absolutely must win...)
Yet her body would not move.
(There will never be... another chance like this...! And even so...)
The notion of giving up seeped into the weakened crevices of her heart.
(Is... Is this it?)
“Are you giving up already?”
And then, a voice.
(Who...?)
Before she knew it, the face of a man filled Fie’s field of vision.
“Is this all you’ve got? Does it end here?”
Standing in front of the wooden railings, he looked down upon the fallen Fie. From behind his mask, a pair of blue-grey eyes silently bore into her.
Quiet murmurs rose up from the crowds at the sight of this man.
And so the masked man issued a straight question.
(No...)
Fie felt the strength coming back to her body, welling up from deep inside.
“No... It... It isn’t over yet!” Fie had control of her voice once again.
The sounds of her surroundings returned to her ears.
“Don’t you dare give up yet, Heath!”
She could hear Crow’s cheering.
“Oh! This one seems to still have it!”
“Yeah, but he fell over. He isn’t gonna be able to take another one of those.”
Gormus glanced in Fie’s general direction, swinging his wooden sword downwards.
Fie’s body still could not move. If she went on like this, the bout would definitely end in her loss.
With just a single moment to think, Fie decided on her next course of action.
“TAKE THIS!” Grabbing a fistful of sand with her right hand, she flung the mixture right into Gormus’ face.
“WHAT!?”
Unable to predict or defend against such an unexpected attack, the grains of sand robbed Gormus of his vision.
“Hey, that punk blinded Gormus! What a dirty move!”
“Does this kid really want to become a knight!?”
With this opening, Fie got down on all fours, rolling past Gormus’ large body.
“Kuh, where the hell did you go?!”
In his desperate search for Fie, Gormus did not notice her crouching, and was adequately surprised by Fie taking away a shoe from his outstretched leg.
“Wha—”
And with that, Fie continued rolling on the ground, placing some distance between herself and Gormus, before finally standing up.
“Hey, that brat stole his shoe!”
“What terrible conduct!”
“Hey you, that’s not fair play!”
“Heh heh heh.” Fie was holding his removed shoe and grinning like a villain in a play. Gormus started to advance on her — when suddenly, his movements stopped.
The ground of the bout pen was covered by a fine layer of sharp gravel. Although one could get used to the painful feeling of gravel eating into one’s foot, Gormus was not prepared for it — and so for a moment, he stopped.
His missing shoe threw off his movements, and Gormus had become sluggish. He was confused. Should he take off the remaining shoe? Or should he leave it on?
Although Fie had made a snap decision to remove his shoe, it seemed to have had a much greater effect than she thought.
“Now!”
Without letting the opening go to waste, Fie swung down her sword, ignoring the waves of pain through her body.
“How naïve!”
Gormus defended against her attack, and so the two wooden swords clashed.
However, Gormus was shaken from his impaired vision and missing shoe, which slowed down the movements of his sword accordingly. As he was unable to plant his foot down onto the ground, Gormus lost the ability to send Fie flying — he was unable to muster the power required to do so with his current weakened stance.
What was once a one-sided bout was now a clash of two swords.
However, Fie was still overwhelmingly disadvantaged.
“There’s too much of a height difference. He won’t be able to hit Gormus where it counts like that.”
Fie’s height — and summarily, her reach, only allowed her to hit the lower portions of Gormus’ body. She was unable to land blows on his head or neck.
And if enough time were allowed to pass, Gormus would recover from his current state. In other words, if this dragged on, Fie would have no chance of victory left.
(It has to be now!)
Perhaps because of the time they had spent clashing, Fie had gotten a feel of Gormus’ swordplay quirks. He preferred straight, direct blows at his opponent.
So Fie lowered her stance, and Gormus responded with a downwards swing.
(Just as I thought!)
Fie rolled to the side, dodging the blow, only for it to be followed up with a horizontal swing. Although Fie would have usually evaded in a downwards fashion, she jumped up high instead, evading his swing.
Viewing it as an opening, Gormus swung his sword up where he stood.
“IT’S OVER!” he roared.
(Here it comes, this is it!)
As she jumped, Fie contracted all the muscles in her body like a tightly wound spring. Then, landing on the sword that was meant to strike her down, Fie kicked off it all of her being.
“H-Hey, that kid is using Gormus’ sword as a jumping board!”
Fie’s body rose up through the air in a great leap.
Beneath her, she could see Gormus’ head. And with all the might she could muster, Fie swung her wooden sword downwards.
(I’m going to win this... I’ll start my second path!)
And so, Fie’s blow, carrying all the strength of her small body, made contact with Gormus’ head.
And then —
Shortly after —
“The winner of this bout is... Gormus!”
The match was over.
Fie sat in a corner of the arena, crying and hugging her knees.
(I couldn’t win...)
It was true that Fie’s spirited strike had been a direct hit on Gormus.
However, that alone could not topple him, although the damage that he had suffered was great.
“Guh...” Gormus’ huge body wavered.
“Are you kidding me? Gormus is...!”
“Hey, what if that kid wins?”
The spectators were stunned with disbelief at the turn of events.
Finally recovering from her leap, Fie made contact with the ground at last.
(I didn’t get him with that one blow... I have to follow up on that now...)
Gormus was still shaking, unsteady on his legs.
Fie took a deep breath, steadying her sword, before running towards her opponent with a renewed stride.
“This victory... is mine!”
But in the next moment, the one who was sprawled on the ground was Fie.
Dazed, she tried to move her leg, but was met with a sharp pain in response.
“Guuh...!?” It was as if her leg were being torn apart.
Whispering rose from the spectators around the ring.
“Hey... You don’t think...”
“A muscle cramp huh...”
“Wow, that’s quite something...”
To begin with, when Fie had been avoiding Gormus’ blows, her body was already at its limit.
In addition to that, to create an opening, Fie had executed a series of taxing movements — the jump and landing being the final nail in the coffin for her leg.
Fie could no longer get up from the sharp pain.
Upon seeing this, the judge walked up to Fie, who immediately raised her voice in protest.
“No, I’ll keep going! I can still... keep going!” Fie tried standing up. “Ugh... Ah...”
But Fie’s legs had already reached their limit. Both of her legs cramped up, and she was no longer in any condition to stand. Attempting to do so immediately sent waves of immense pain through her body.
“I haven’t... I haven’t...! I can’t lose!”
Fie attempted to prop herself up with her sword. She did not want to give up. After all, she had come all the way here. After just a bit more, she could reach it, with her very own hands.
When the masked man had posed his question to her, Fie felt it in the very core of her being.
There would be no one else in that pavilion. No one other than Fie. And then, her life would end there, with her being alone. All alone, surrounded by those high, impenetrable walls. In a dark, dark place. Just by herself... Eternally alone.
From the day she was born in the shadow of her sister, to a place where she would disappear and die of loneliness — a last and final place.
She didn’t want that. She could not accept that.
Fie wanted to walk in the light. She wanted to spend her life with someone else in such a place. A place where the sun shone.
As a child, Fie had fallen in love with stories of knights, and in their path she saw light — or so she thought. But as she came of age for marriage, she was made to put down the sword, and forget about everything she once knew.
Now, more than ever...
She had wanted to meet new people. Like Crow. Friends, comrades, senior knights, a place where she could see many people — a place where she could truly live.
“I won’t lose... I... I won’t give up... Agghh...”
In the face of her evident pain, Fie stood up, desperately leaning on her sword. The spectacle silenced the bout spectators.
Even Gormus, who could barely stand or attack — he, too, stared at Fie’s form wordlessly.
And then a minute passed.
The knight presiding over the bout shook his head sadly.
“You... You can’t go on anymore. Not in the state you’re in.”
And then he made his announcement.
“And the winner of this bout is... Gormus!”
Upon hearing that, all the strength Fie had mustered left her body.
(I’ve lost... I... I couldn’t... couldn’t win.)
And so cold despair sank into Fie’s heart.
(These hands... Did not grasp... anything...)
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