I’m an S-class Knight, and I was Appointed as a Captain of an Elite Unit, but all my Subordinates we

Chapter 8

Two Female Knights

Katia's POV

"Hah... this isn't good..."

Katia muttered alone.

Lying on her bed at home, she simply watched the setting sun sink into the city walls.

For Katia it was really rude of her to leave without responding to Zekudo.

He is not old enough to be called an adult, but Zekudo is two years younger than her.

That's why for her what she did was very immature.

"Tomorrow... I should go and apologize to him."

Slightly determined, she remembered once again the fight of Zekudo.

Zekudo, clad in jet-black armor, manipulates a myriad of silver slashes.

He easily defeated the dragon.

Just remembering it made my heart beats faster.

I wonder what this feeling is?

...I think surely this is despair due to the overwhelming difference in ability that I felt toward him.

It was not a gap that could be filled by effort alone, and I feel like I don't even want to fill that gap.

That's how far I felt the gap between my ability and his.

Probably I'm feeling this way due to the fact that he's younger than me.

If we are of the same age and trained for the same amount of time and we had that difference in ability, I will still have hope.

But he was two years younger than me.

Maybe if it had been Rohee who had been defeated, she would have used that regret as a determination to train hard again.

I hadn't seen Zekudo's strength up close, I could have doubted that he had defeated a dragon in 20 seconds.

There will still be a way out.

But I actually saw it, with my own eyes.

Just remembering that scene makes my heart pound again.

I thought that there was no one stronger than me in this Kingdom of Elgandi.

But I had no idea that a first year boy was stronger than me.

That was really unexpected.

How did he become so strong?

What kind of beliefs did he believe in?

What kind of training is he doing?

I can't help but wonder.

Will I be stronger if I fight under him?

Will I be able to surpass him?

No! It's not the question of "Will I be able to?".

I have to do it.

Because if things continue as they are history will repeat itself and it will be proven again that "Women can't be stronger than men.".

That must never happen.

I've come this far as an S-class female knight.

Like I would give up because of that.

I will never give up and I will give hope to my eight sisters.

"Zekudo False*, I will definitely surpass you!"

In the midst of my boiling fighting spirit I remembered Zekudo's figure again.

Then my heart started pounding again.


...


Rohee's POV

In the large bathhouse in the Kingdom of Elgandi.

Rohee can be found there right now.

The bathhouse is famous for its high quality hotsprings and it's a common bathhouse that can be used by all citizens.

In other countries, hot springs are apparently monopolized by royalty.

That's why in this regard, one can say that the royalty of the Kingdom of Elgandi are all very generous.

There were only a few people in the large bathhouse at night.

That's why Rohee always came here when she wants to reflect.

Partly because she liked to bathe in the water, but more than anything she wanted to cool her feverish head and relax.

Rohee took off her gear and clothes in the changing room and walked to the large women's bath.

When she opened the door, she saw a stone bathtub covered in steam.

There were only a few people in the bathtub, probably because it was already night.

She thought that this would be a good place to relax, so she soaked her feet in the bathtub.

She then soaked her body in the bathtub up to her shoulder and she took a rest.

"Hah..."

She sighed in the warm and comfortable hot spring.

That's a problem because that sighed appeared unconsciously.

"What I did was..."

She mumbled in a whisper.

She didn't say anything to Zekudo and she deeply regretted that she had returned and not say anything to him because of her shocked.

That was really rude of me and I'm two years older than him.

No matter how shocked I was that was still not a reason to be rude.

I should've properly acknowledged him as the captain right then and there.

As he had properly shown himself to be really capable.

He had kept his word that he wouldn't let me down.

I really hate that I have a high pride.

I know that too much pride is childish and yet I still kept doing things that preserve that pride.

If he had been the same age or even older than me instead of being younger than me, I might not have been so shocked.

I remember my grandmother telling me that when one reaches the age of fifties the age difference becomes less of an issue.

On the other hand, she said that there is nothing more severe than the hierarchy of teenagers based on age.

Now I realize what she meant.

Our age difference is only two years and we are a first and third years at the knight school.

But with that alone I feel that the two years difference is really huge.

I guess it is because I feel that our difference in age is so huge that is such a shock to me to find out the difference in ability between him and myself.

"Surely, he must be a genius."

I muttered that to convince myself.

I was proud of myself for being a genius at my age and even becoming an S-class female knight, but I guess I am no match for a male genius.
　
But that's okay.

As long as Zekudo is part of the team I belong to, I felt that I could an S-class dragon.

The S-class dragon that appeared 10 years ago.

If remember there was a rumor that an alchemist who obtained its missing claw created a secret medicine out of that claw.

It is said to be a elixir that can cure anything.

It is said that the secret medicine itself is no longer available, but if we can obtain the claws of an S-class dragon, we may be able to make that secret medicine again.

If I can get that secret medicine, I can save my sister who has fallen ill with an incurable disease.

Originally, Rohee became a knight as a woman for that reason.

Fortunately... she was also able to awaken [attack magic], although it is unfortunate in a woman's body.*

She is my only flesh and blood.

I want to save her from a life spent only in bed.

With such a goal in mind, the idea of a dragon killer squad to defeat S-class dragons was a very convenient one for Rohee.

That's why she wanted to complain that the captain of the squad, on which her sister's life could be said to depend, was a younger boy who looks like a womanizer.

But now the tables have turned.

If the captain is Zekudo False then it's fine her.

He looked unreliable in spite of his name, but once the battle started, he will show his true abilities.

With his tremendous swordsmanship, he destroyed the dragons.

His appearance of wielding the incomparable and strongest swordsmanship was so cool that it made my heart pound when I think back on it.

I am amazed at how simple-minded I am to be attracted to a strong man, but I am not lying when I say that I felt that way.

I had no interest in younger men, but if I was going to marry one day, I would prefer a strong man like him.

"....! What am I thinking about! The first ting that I need to do is to cure, Leanne's illness."

Realizing that she had lost sight of her purpose, Rohee hurriedly slapped herself on the cheek.

Anyways, I'll apologize to Zekudo tomorrow and I'll admit that he's the captain.

The life of her sister, Leanne, is at stake.


...


Zekudo's POV

Knock, knock, knock, knock!

Again!

How dare you! To visit my house again this early in the morning.

Is that Rohee-san?

"Captain Zekudo. Are you awake?"

Ah, that was Katia-san's voice.

"Captain Zekudo! Come out! I need to talk to you!

Eh?

Rohee-san's voice too?



Note: 1. I Changed Zekudo's last name from Forss to False. I can read katakana but it's hard to sometimes translate names in English because I also need to have a Japanese accent which I don't have to be able to properly translate those names.

2. My guess is that the author is trying to say here is that when a woman awakens her magical abilities it would be weaker than when a man awakens the same ability.