Rishe looked up abruptly when someone suddenly called her.

“What’s the matter?”

“Ah, I’m sorry!”

Because of her reflexive defensiveness, Rovine looked at her strangely as he entered the training grounds. She hardly meant to show it, but he was indeed keen on observation.

But, she couldn’t possibly say, “I escaped from your presence all night last night, so it was just a reflex.”

I heard Fritz Noland screaming a moment ago. I came in to see what’s going on. Did you get hurt?”

“No, I’m simply taking a break!”

Rishe excused herself while brushing the dust from her clothes.

“I was just thinking about something pitiable. I was feeling guilty, so I acted a little weird.”

It was a deceptive explanation, but it wasn’t an outright lie.

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“What do you mean by ‘pitiable’?”

After a short struggle, Rishe asked, “If the knight cadets here become knights and then we wage war with some country… At that time, everyone will go to war, right?”

“… That’s right.”

Rovine affirmed in a quiet, slightly snatched voice.

“Beyond the aim for knighthood, there could be a future where everyone is in danger… When I thought that, it kind of freaked me out.”

That thought had been lingering in Rishe’s mind for some time now.

Garkhain was an enemy country back when Rishe was fighting as a knight.

The knights of this country were really strong and were a great threat to their enemies, but that didn’t mean none of them died.

Looking at Fritz and the other cadets, she hoped that their dreams would come true.

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But Rishe knew that if things progressed as they stood now, there would definitely be a war.

Then Rovine spoke, “My son died in the last war.”

“-!”

Rovine exhaled with a faint smile.

“I wanted to praise my son for a wonderful end after he fought proudly… But as much as I felt that sentiment, I wanted my son to live.”

“Rovine-sama…”

When Rishe was stuck, Rovine added, “I want the youth of today to grow up healthy. I want the future to be filled with hope… Since I lost my son, that has been my greatest wish.”

He sounded gentle, but lonely.

Rovine has always been looking out for his trainees. It finally occurred to her why his gaze was so gentle.

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“War is about depriving someone of the future. Of course it’s better that such things don’t happen, and even if you’re aspiring to be a knight, you have every right to be afraid. The only way to overcome it is to face it.”

“Face it.”

“Don’t deny your wishes, your feelings. Feed off of them and move forward. Explore what you can achieve.”

“…”

His words prodded Rishe into thinking.

My wish – What I can achieve.

Rishe was once a knight, too.

She met a respectable master and swore to protect them. She didn’t regret dying for them, and still thought that way.

But it also occurred to her.

She never wanted to see her loved ones in danger and her friends dying.

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“Thank you, Rovine-sama.”

“Yeah. It looks like nothing happened, so I’ll head back. See you later.”

“Yes.”