WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Genius Knight of a Fallen Race ◈

Chapter 47: The Qualifications of a Leader

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When Serin approached, Shan and everyone nearby rose from their seats and bowed their heads.

After looking them over, she spoke to Shan.

“It’s been a long time, Sir Shan.”

“Yes, Princess.”

Shan was taken aback when Serin suddenly came over to speak with him.

Roden had clearly told him it would be best if they acted as though they did not know each other well here.

Serin held out her hand to him first.

“I’d like to hear the tales of your exploits, but the banquet hall is rather crowded. Would you care to take a walk outside? The royal garden has many mysterious plants from foreign lands.”

“It would be an honor.”

After hesitating for only a moment, Shan accepted and took Serin’s offered hand.

As the people around them stared with wide eyes, the two rose and headed for the banquet hall doors.

“Princess, what is this-”

“Now, now. Don’t whisper in my ear. That would be going too far.”

When Shan tried to whisper in her ear, Serin lightly pulled away and held up a hand to stop him.

He did not know what exactly would be going too far, but Shan closed his mouth for now.

At that moment, a young woman rushed in front of them, her long platinum-blond hair trailing behind her.

“Serin!”

The eldest daughter of Pendia’s royal family, Kasia, glared at the two with large blue eyes as deep as a lake.

She seemed to be trying to look intimidating, but her naturally gentle features made it rather ineffective.

“You’re unmarried, and even if you are young, you can’t just go around holding a man’s hand! And besides...”

Kasia muttered before glancing at Shan’s face and speaking quietly.

“...He’s an Alto. It’s dangerous.”

She sounded as though Shan would suddenly turn into a monster and tear Serin apart the moment they stepped into the garden together.

Serin laughed in disbelief.

“You don’t need to worry about pointless things, Sister. We’re only going to take a walk through the garden and talk.”

“If the two of you walk through the garden alone, strange rumors might spread!”

“The guard knights will be with us. Still, if you’re so worried, would you like to come along and keep watch? You were feeling cooped up in the banquet hall too, weren’t you?”

“Well...”

Kasia hesitated, then nodded glumly when Serin smiled at her.

Serin was three years younger, yet the two looked as though their ages had been reversed.

* * *

Shan and Serin left the banquet hall for the garden, followed by four royal knights and Princess Kasia.

Just as Serin had said, the royal garden was filled with strange plants Shan had never seen in his life.

As autumn was nearing, there were not many flowers in bloom. Still, the leaves and stems themselves had such unfamiliar shapes that the garden looked mysterious.

Once a suitable distance separated them from the guards and Kasia, Serin whispered.

“I’ll apologize on Kasia’s behalf for being rude. I’m really sorry.”

Perhaps because they were effectively alone, Serin’s tone had become less dignified.

Shan matched her more comfortable manner of speaking.

“It’s fine. I’m used to it.”

“I’m not saying this just because she’s my sister, but she isn’t a bad person. She just... received Old Faith education a little too faithfully. She thinks the Altos are something like half-human, half-monster.”

“I suppose you two get along better than I thought.”

Until now, Shan had assumed Serin disliked all of her family, yet there was no hostility in her voice as she defended Kasia.

Then again, although she fiercely insulted her two brothers whenever she spoke of them, she usually avoided saying much about her only sister.

“She’s the only one in my family I can really call family. She nags me every day to stop wasting my time on strange administrative work and magic, and focus on learning how to become a proper bride. Still, she says it because she wants me to do well, in her own way.”

“Bride training?”

“Embroidery and things like that.”

Serin glanced at Kasia and shared a few stories about her sister.

Kasia had kept trying to stop her from studying magic, so Serin played a few tricks that frightened Kasia badly enough to keep her from coming anywhere near the Magic Society. Kasia had also come to her after her engagement to a prince of the Ajun Kingdom was broken off, and Serin had comforted her while she sobbed all night.

As Shan listened, he brought up what he had wanted to ask earlier.

“But is it really all right for us to be together so openly? I heard it would be better if we acted as though we weren’t that close here...”

“To be honest, I didn’t want to do this either.”

Serin spoke with a sigh, then immediately added when she realized Shan did not understand what she meant.

“You reacted too strongly when Elvin made that vulgar joke about me earlier. If I don’t show you some favor here, you’ll be the only one who looks strange.”

“Is that how it is?”

“That’s how it is. It’s annoying, but that’s just how this world works.”

The ideal response back then would have been to vaguely say something like, “That would be difficult for me to answer.”

But Shan, a mere wandering knight, had openly challenged a prince. Anyone would see that as an excessive reaction.

Unless, as Elvin had said, Shan had a secret crush on the princess.

“Elvin probably started badmouthing you behind your back the moment he left. He’ll say you picked a fight over a little joke about his younger sister and make you out to be some fool so crazed over women that you’d charge at a prince without a thought.”

For Shan’s honor, Serin had decided to create the appearance of a youthful flirtation between a boy and a girl.

Then people could laugh it off, thinking Shan’s earlier anger had been understandable.

Of course, Serin’s reputation would worsen even more if people thought she was playing at romance with an Alto boy.

After hearing her explanation, Shan lowered his head with a gloomy expression.

“...I’m sorry I put you in an awkward position. I should have held back.”

“You don’t need to apologize. Honestly, you held back better than I expected. I was worried you might hit Elvin or challenge him to a duel right there.”

Serin had actually felt a small sense of disappointment that Shan had not reacted more strongly.

She wondered whether, unlike Roden, she was not someone Shan would get that angry for.

Of course, that was her misunderstanding.

Shan had only expressed a suitable amount of anger and stopped because he had not fully grasped how insulting Elvin’s words had been.

He had also learned some restraint after several past occasions when acting on impulse had nearly gotten him into trouble.

Had Shan fully understood exactly how Elvin insulted her, he would have challenged him to a duel on the spot.

Of course, people would have mocked them by asking if they were secretly engaged.

“It’s difficult to provoke Elvin right now. Because of the recent monster invasion, the western lords have come to the capital, and the balance of power has tilted toward Conrad. To be honest... things are already quite precarious.”

“That must be why you’ve been so busy lately.”

“That’s right. Trying to mediate their clashes behind the scenes every day, I could use several more hands.”

Serin said, sounding sick of it all, that if not for her unseen hand, the capital would have been drenched in blood long ago.

“If I had my way, I’d tell you not to go on this ogre hunt either. I feel like something might happen while you’re gone.”

Serin lamented that she had worked so hard to draw Shan in because she needed a card that could guarantee her safety in a situation like this, yet he would be leaving the capital just when she needed him.

Still, she could not force Shan to remain in the capital.

If he had been a vassal knight, that would have been different. But asking him to give up a chance to win honor more precious than life itself in order to prepare for a danger that might never come was unreasonable.

Shan listened quietly before answering in an even tone.

“Then I won’t go.”

“Oh, you would- Wait. You’re not serious, are you?”

Serin had been about to play along with an amused smile, but Shan’s serious expression startled her.

As he had in the past, Shan answered with eyes completely free of pretense.

“I am. Of course I am.”

Becoming the central figure in an ogre hunt, winning honor as a knight, facing a powerful opponent, and testing his own limits.

Both would have brought Shan great joy, but neither mattered enough for him to risk a friend’s safety.

If Roden might have been in danger and someone had told Shan to leave him behind to hunt ogres, Shan would have refused in the same way.

Even if the result was being branded a coward and losing all honor as a knight.

To Shan, his dreams and ambitions could never take precedence over a friend’s life.

“Really, you...”

Realizing Shan meant every word, Serin shook her head as though she could not believe him.

For some reason, her chest felt ticklish, and a smile rose to her lips on its own.

“I appreciate the thought, but you should go.”

“You said it was dangerous.”

“I’ll have to accept that. My plan needs not Sir Shan who got frightened before an ogre hunt and ran away, but the great knight Sir Shan who hunted even an ogre.”

Serin smiled confidently, saying she could handle a certain amount of danger herself.

“But if things do become dangerous, can I trust you to come help me?”

“Of course.”

“Yes. That answer alone gives me strength. Thank you.”

Serin lightly tapped Shan’s chest with her fist, then said they should return to the banquet hall.

People occasionally did improper things in the garden, and though guards were present, staying out too long would not look good.

As they walked back to the banquet hall, Shan watched Kasia scold Serin and suddenly understood what had been bothering him.

‘But how did she hear my conversation with Prince Elvin?’

The distance between where the princes and princesses stood and Shan’s table had been over thirty or forty meters.

Everyone had also been talking loudly. At more than ten meters away, most ordinary sounds would have been drowned out, so sharp hearing alone could not explain it.

‘Some magic that lets her hear better...?’

Thinking magic was truly amazing, Shan followed after them.

* * *

The day after the banquet ended, the subjugation force gathered to defeat the ogre finally set out.

Nobles and knights with faces ravaged by hangovers from enjoying themselves the night before shouted orders everywhere.

As a wandering knight, Shan had personally hired a mercenary unit and become its commander.

Of course, as always, Roden would handle most of the work as his adjutant.

Fully armed, Shan looked over the thirty mercenaries standing before him.

Some had horns, some had small wings, some had strangely shaped limbs, and some had beaks. Their unusual appearances made them stand out even among a subjugation force of more than a thousand.

That was because every one of them was an Alto like Shan.

The mercenaries looking at Shan had eyes filled with tension, along with deep admiration.

“This is the first time we have all gathered in one place.”

“Yes, sir!”

Shan deliberately imitated the imposing way Roden and Serin often spoke.

Unfortunately, his voice was still somewhat youthful because it had not fully changed yet, making it difficult to sound properly dignified.

Still, the mercenaries did not dare laugh at him.

That was because of the reputation and accomplishments Shan had built so far.

The boy who looked so inexperienced before them was the winner of a jousting tournament and a hero who had hunted a cockatrice, a high vampire, and a troll.

Among the dozens of knights gathered in this subjugation force, few stood ahead of him when it came to their accumulated achievements.

“I think you all know why I hired you without being told.”

“I believe it is because we are Altos!”

The one who answered was Kob, an Alto mercenary Shan had met during the troll hunt.

Unlike before, Kob showed proper respect to Shan, who had now become a knight.

“Yes, you are Altos. So am I. And among all these people, I am the only Alto with the rank of knight.”

The Alto mercenaries tried to absorb Shan’s words as though they were a revelation.

Shan paused briefly as he recalled the script Roden had written for him, then managed to finish.

“Therefore, I will protect you from every unfair treatment that comes from being Altos. In return, you must be loyal to me, your protector. Do you understand?”

“We understand!”

“While you are employed, obey discipline as members of my army. Stand shoulder to shoulder with your comrades against the enemy, and do not retreat. I will accept anyone who wishes to end their contract now, but anyone who fails to do so after entering the battlefield will be beheaded. Do you accept?”

“We accept!”

The Alto mercenaries shouted so loudly that Shan could feel people around them looking over.

Mercenaries and knights usually had a contractual relationship. Even when one side gave orders and the other obeyed, it was rare for mercenaries to respond so eagerly.

“Good. Then join the main force. Let’s go!”

After finishing his address with a nod, Shan put on his helmet and mounted his horse.

Shan and the Alto Corps took up a position slightly behind the middle of the long column.

As they marched, Shan quietly asked Roden, who rode just behind him.

“Was that all right?”

“Not bad.”

“Whew.”

He had experienced it once before during the vampire hunt, but gathering people and acting like their commander still did not feel natural.

It was something he would have to get used to as a knight.

After whispering that, Shan called to the lanky knight riding a short distance away.

“Come with us, Sir Lugh.”

“Ah, yes!”

Lugh happily rode over to Shan’s side when called.

Unable to hire mercenaries due to a lack of funds, he had joined the subjugation force with only his squire. He gladly accepted Shan’s invitation to travel together.

“That’s truly incredible. You’re a wandering knight, yet you hired thirty mercenaries!”

“The remains from the vampire I hunted last time sold for quite a bit.”

Naturally, a mercenary’s price changed depending on the task.

Ogre subjugation was considered quite dangerous, so it paid well. Even ordinary lords could not afford to bring as many mercenaries as Shan had.

Of course, Shan had several other hidden reasons for being able to command this many.

Some were mercenaries from the Brotherhood, hired at relatively low prices on Roden’s orders. Funding from the Weavers family had also been added.

“But don’t you have enough money too, Sir Lugh? You are a prince’s vassal knight, after all...”

Royals paid their vassal knights considerable salaries to maintain appearances.

Even if Lugh was not highly valued under Elvin, he should have had enough money to hire at least a few mercenaries.

Lugh answered with an embarrassed expression.

“Ahaha, well... I didn’t have much money left after buying a horse and armor. I barely managed to have magic placed on my weapons and armor too.”

Lugh did not have an especially broad build for a knight, but he was so tall that he weighed quite a lot.

A well-trained warhorse large enough to carry him, along with custom armor requiring far more metal than usual, had apparently cost an enormous amount.

“So I hope this hunt goes well. Then His Highness might also...”

The unspoken words he swallowed were likely that Prince Elvin might pay more attention to him.

Shan encouraged Lugh, saying he hoped so too.

After that, the march became tedious.

The subjugation force advancing east was the very picture of disorganization.

Would even a swarm of ants not move more systematically than this?

There was no clear commander, and over a hundred lords and knights collectively led several thousand troops they had hired. It could not have been any other way.

Those who had not prepared enough food slipped away during the march, then returned after “requisitioning” supplies from small villages along the road.

Fortunately, the Alto Corps under Shan did not need to do that because Roden had prepared more than enough in advance.

Perhaps the nearby mercenaries disliked seeing them so comfortable. They occasionally picked fights with the Alto mercenaries.

Those who said things like how the Altos stank when gathered together froze when Shan rode Awin over to them.

“Altos stink, do they? Do I stink too?”

“N-No, sir. I...”

“Get lost before I cut you down for insulting a knight.”

The mercenaries fled in terror at Shan’s way of quietly turning an insult toward the Altos into an insult toward himself.

As promised beforehand, Shan protected them. Naturally, the Alto mercenaries grew increasingly fond of him.

Roden, their adjutant, also carefully arranged everything from meals to sleeping quarters so that they lacked for nothing. Compared to ordinary mercenary work, this was far more comfortable.

After a meal, some of them gathered together and brought up the subject.

“I never knew having an Alto employer could be this comfortable. Those Westerners always tried to cheat us out of our pay.”

“I wish we could become retained mercenaries like this. Do you think Sir Shan would accept long-term employment?”

Unlike mercenaries hired when needed, there were also mercenaries hired long-term by specific knights or lords.

Such contracts were generally based on trust built over a long time. The income was lower than short-term work, but many still preferred them because the money arrived regularly without an off-season.

Still, because mercenaries could run away partway through, individual contracts were rare. Larger mercenary companies based in established mercenary villages usually made such arrangements with great nobles.

Even if the scale was small, it would surely be difficult for Shan, who was only a knight, to make long-term contracts with several mercenaries.

“I wish the knight would rise high enough to become a lord.”

“An Alto lord? You really know how to dream big.”

The mercenaries laughed among themselves as though the idea was absurd.

A few of them, those from the Brotherhood, exchanged meaningful glances.

* * *

From the capital Hasra to Sedil City took fifteen days for an ordinary person and around ten days for a trained warrior.

On the twelfth day, roughly halfway between the two, the subjugation force reached the area before Sedil City.

On a hill where Sedil City could be seen in the distance, the subjugation force had been dragging itself forward on blistered feet.

Then, without anyone needing to say it first, everyone stopped.

They had spotted the monster army positioned directly before the city.

“It really is an army...”

One mercenary’s mutter spoke for everyone.

The confidence of those who had proudly believed no one would dare oppose such a large gathering of knights and soldiers vanished without a trace.

The hundreds of monsters surrounding Sedil City gave off an overwhelming, violent presence.

‘There it is.’

Riding Awin and looking down at the monster army, Shan’s gaze landed on one figure that stood out among the many different monsters.

A giant with reddish-brown skin, one that made the nearby trolls look like children.

The ogre stared at the walls of Sedil City with the presence of a monarch.

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