A Failed Knight Who Went to the Academy To Get Married

036 The Rocky Road to Return

Maria clasped her hands together as if in prayer and said,

“Almighty Yumano, we greet the dawn in your grace once again today.”

Following her lead, six figures in bronze masks echoed,

“We dedicate ourselves to your will. Please bestow upon us your unending blessings.”

Maria glanced over the congregation and spoke,

“You’ve all memorized it, right? Next, I’ll teach you the evening prayer.”

Train half-removed his mask and retorted,

“Wait, do we really have to memorize all of this?”

“If you can’t even do this much, you’ll be suspected, you know?”

“How many more do we have to memorize?”

“Twenty-two in total.”

“It’s just too much to memorize in one hour, humanly speaking!”

At Trine’s outcry, the others nodded in agreement.

Then Maria retorted with a look of disdain.

“I memorized all fifty in thirty minutes when I was five, you know?”

“Good for you, being so smart!”

Cat, who was beside them, slightly lowered her mask and asked,

“Why not just quietly escape without joining the other parishioners?”

“Do you think it’s possible to move quietly with Pochi?”

“Just ditch that damn mutt.”

“Kill it?”

Trine gestured to Cat to stop and then asked Maria,

“But really, why are you trying to help us?”

Maria answered confidently,

“Because that is the will of Lord Yumano.”

“Did Lord Yumano order the massacre of the elves?”

“Ugh, seriously, quiet down!”

Maria rolled on the bar floor, irritable.

“Anyway, I swore by Lord Yumano, so I’ll never betray him!”

Train sighed.

Putting aside whether Maria could be trusted, she was honestly a nuisance.

Because of her and Pochi, the escape routes to Altori were limited.

As just mentioned, sneaking away was out of the question.

It was also out of the question to load Pochi onto the Ikryong because it was too heavy.

Stealing horses was also out since the horses were afraid of Pochi.

Moreover, if they marched with the soldiers, it would take at least a few days.

It seemed more efficient to just abandon Maria and run away.

“Anyway, we need to blend in with the soldiers passing by, so hurry up and recite the prayer before we leave.”

…In the end, after reciting the prayer as Maria stubbornly insisted.

Train and his party, wearing masks, approached the marching soldiers following Maria.

The one at the forefront recognized Maria and greeted her with a prayerful pose.

“Sister Maria! It’s an honor to meet you here.”

As Pochi wagged his tail wildly, Maria calmed him down and replied.

“May Yumano bless your path.”

“What brings you to such a place?”

“We happen to be on our way to the Kingdom of Altoriya as well, may we join you?”

“With Sister Maria here, we are surely in good hands!”

“Thank you. I’m overwhelmed by your kindness.”

Train stared intently at Maria.

To think that the guy I only thought of as a battle fanatic could mimic such a devout believer.

Even the soldiers’ reactions suggest he had quite a reputation to begin with,

and the church priest Train met seemed quite concerned about her.

‘She seems to have quite a complicated story too.’

…In the end, thanks to Maria, the soldiers welcomed Train’s party without any suspicion.

As they marched towards Altoriya, Train asked one of the soldiers.

“What brings you sisters to Altoria?”

“Ah, haven’t you heard? There’s a major movement to purge the elf tribe.”

“…Does this mean we’re going to war with the Kingdom of Altoria?”

“I don’t know the details, but I believe that won’t happen.”

“Why not?”

“There’s been a coup within Altoria, and the regime has changed, I’ve heard.”

“A coup?!”

“Shh. It’s not public yet, so please be careful.”

“Ah, yes…”

Train turned to glance back at Princess Shia and Prince Siran.

Both were wearing masks, so their expressions were not clear,

but there was a definite stiffness in their steps.

…I don’t know what’s happened, but returning to Altoria comes first.

And so, walking with the soldiers for a while,

we soon passed through the border checkpoint and arrived at the rugged mountain range.

The trail was so narrow and rugged that only two people could walk abreast.

Thus, the soldiers naturally formed a long line, moving in single file,

which allowed the members of Trainne’s party at the very back to converse with each other.

Trainne, looking to change the mood, asked Prince Sirian,

“Which country is this? It doesn’t seem like Altoria.”

Prince Sirian replied in a somewhat stiff tone,

“It’s neutral territory. A land left untouched because it’s too dangerous.”

“Dangerous… Are we going to be alright?”

“With this many people, even the monsters won’t dare to attack.”

“Is that so?”

“Moreover, this terrain is why the Yumano Theocracy couldn’t recklessly challenge Altoria.”

Trainne, glancing around cautiously, then whispered,

“Has there been any contact from that side?”

“There was one message from Lizbeth.”

“Really? What did she say?”

“It seems a coup d’état has definitely taken place.”

“The King of Xiandar?”

“Lisbeth swore on her honor that she wouldn’t kill father.”

“That’s a relief.”

Then, Train reacted with shock, a step too late.

“Wait, what? She won’t kill him?”

“Did you know that you, Sir Tanjet, and Lisbeth are relatives?”

“No… Surely, even so, that can’t be.”

“They are now our enemies.”

Train walked on in silence, biting his lip, when Princess Shia murmured beside him.

“How pathetic.”

“…What?”

“I swore I would protect everyone this time, yet I couldn’t even protect my own father.”

Train sighed and responded.

“Still, we’re on the luckier side.”

“We were the only ones who escaped safely, so are we lucky?”

“No. It’s because we now have a chance to save the king.”

At those words, Princess Shia finally regained a bit of her smile.

“That’s true. It’s fortunate that everyone came here because of Train’s mishap.”

“I’m… sorry about that.”

Just then, shouts could be heard from quite a distance ahead.

“Monsters!”

“Everyone, be careful!”

“Commence interception!”

Soon, the front was filled with the sounds of numerous arrows and the clanging of swords.

It seemed like a rather noisy battle was underway,

but due to the terrain and distance, the battle was not visible from this rear position.

As Train tensed up, Siran chuckled.

“What’s there to fret about? The soldiers will take care of it, no worries.”

Then, a frantic cry came from the front.

“Harpy attack! Be careful not to get caught!”

Looking up, I saw dozens of winged creatures, resembling humans, swarming in from the distance.

They dove sharply, snatching up soldiers before soaring high into the sky again.

And then, they dropped the soldiers from the air.

Thanks to them, the battlefield was instantly filled with the sounds of plummeting screams.

Even as the harpies flew to the rear, Sirian whispered softly.

“I’ll cast an electric field spell, so everyone stay close to me.”

As his companions gathered around Sirian,

He chanted a spell, unfolding a transparent and slightly tingling barrier.

“Don’t worry, the flying type monsters dislike electric fields.”

Indeed, Sirian’s party was able to escape the harpies’ target.

But the soldiers right in front of them were not so fortunate.

“Argh!”

“Mother!”

“Save meeeeee!”

Train quickly tried to summon his magic sword, but Shiran grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

“Leave it be. This is not our fight.”

“But we can’t just—”

“And don’t mistake them for our allies. They’re not the ones we should be saving.”

Shiran’s expression was more ferocious than usual, and Train found himself unable to move rashly.

Eventually, numerous soldiers were flung about overhead,

And as Train stood by, biting his lower lip—

“O staunch upholder of the earth, grant merciful forgiveness to the wanderers!”

As Seiment raised his staff, the ground erupted with mud, ensnaring and catching the falling soldiers.

Thanks to him, the soldiers’ lives were spared, but…

In a rush, Shiran shielded Seiment with his own body and shouted.

“I told you not to interfere!”

“I’m sorry. But I couldn’t just stand by and watch.”

“Especially you, you’re in danger!”

But it was already too late.

“Ah, it’s the magic of the elves!”

At someone’s cry, the soldiers’ gazes simultaneously converged on Seimint.

And soon, they thrust their spears forward, keeping the Traein party at bay.

“Lady Maria! What were you thinking, bringing an elf here?”

Maria retorted with a voice tinged with annoyance.

“Is that really what’s important now? Focus on killing the monsters first!”

“You do know that our top priority is the annihilation of the elf race!”

“There’s a reason for this!”

“Don’t tell me you’ve betrayed Lord Yumano!”

“Really, some people just don’t get it!”

Eventually, Maria drew her mace, and the members of the Traein party each took out their weapons.