I Will Be the Greatest Knight
Chapter 175: A Brief Rest

Chapter 175: A Brief Rest

"They came out of the ground, sir! I swear on my life."

Already spread thin through the duchy, the Knights of Hydrogia only had about half of their forces in the Duke’s Tower, and Gunnar was feeling the stress. To hear that one of his apprentices thought goblins were appearing from the earth made him worried about the stress they were under as well.

With his arms crossed, the knight regarded Leif with scrutiny.

Irene felt she ought to speak up for her friend.

"Sir, he isn’t wrong," she defended. "He told me when he first saw them, and there were a lot in what felt like an instant."

Seeing that Iro was trying to convince him, he decided he ought to ease up a bit. They would investigate the situation later to see how the monsters might have seemed like they were coming from the ground. He was a logical person who believed everything needed an explanation—it was why he was so harsh towards religion, the same way he was towards magic.

The knight sighed, trying to decompress his worries.

"Put out the fire on the wall, then the two of you ought to go inside and eat breakfast while it’s fresh. No need to attend morning practice. This was enough."

Leif went right to the ladder, so Irene allowed him to go while she chased down their horses. Leif’s horse was closer to the tower, so she decided to go to Sorrel first.

"It’s okay, Sor," she called to the horse as she approached with her hands raised. "I got you now. The monsters are all gone."

Sorrel was stiff as if he was ready to take off at any moment, but he allowed her to take his reins and pat his nose. He seemed more relaxed as he shook out his mane, and she climbed on top of him.

Irene then rode her horse to Leif’s and hung off the side of her saddle so she could grab them.

With that, she went back to the wall in time for Leif to jump off the ladder, and she gave him his horse. They were both headed back and ready for breakfast.

Since there were squires out bright and early to handle the horses as the sun rose, Irene and Leif were able to drop off their horses quickly before running to the back entrance and going inside.

It wasn’t until after they had their breakfasts in front of them that they began speaking to one another again.

"I think Sir Gunnar thinks I’m insane," he admitted with a sigh.

"I think he’s merely worried that we’re all under a lot of stress," she objected. "But it isn’t enough to call back my father, apparently."

It was Irene’s turn to sigh.

Her father agreed to come out for the Duke’s funeral, considering he was one of Duke Arlin’s most trusted, but there wasn’t much more to it than that. She could understand his desire to stay close to home after going through something as traumatizing as losing his hand, but she still missed his guidance and the way everyone bent to his will in the knighthood.

"We’ve got it under control so far," Leif insisted. "We even had a couple more squires appear after the snow melted. Knights go out and seek honorable kids from their hometowns. Seems there were some worthy enough to pass their tests."

"You’re right," she relented. "Now, if they would only let Felix be a knight."

The ’they’ she referred to was the King, but they both couldn’t say it out loud, so it would have to suffice.

"Yes, that’s a bit frustrating," Leif admitted. "He’s a man now. He basically acts as one of the knights, even though Sir Eitan looks after him. They might as well put him in armor at this rate."

"Ah, what can we do?" Irene wondered. "Merely talk about it."

Leif cracked a smile and shrugged. He then focused on the food that would assuage his grumbling stomach. When they had night patrol, all they could do for sustenance was rely on jerky and water they had brought with them.

"Now we ought to rest and let the others worry about morning practice," Leif suggested after he finished his last bite.

Irene noticed he was looking at her, and she narrowed her eyes.

"Do I look that tired to you?" she asked.

The other apprentice merely laughed, and he took her bowl since it was also cleaned and brought it to the maids. When he returned to Irene, he crossed his arms.

"Rather, I’m thinking of all the times last night you said you were tired and yawned like an old drunk man."

"I don’t think I’ve threatened you enough if you still talk like that towards me," Irene objected.

"I’m not afraid of you," he insisted. "I don’t think I ever will be."

He started walking quickly out of the dining hall as Irene started to rear up to do something. It would be quite funny if he got her into trouble for being rowdy, but he wouldn’t give her the opportunity.

They both moved quickly out of the Duke’s Tower and bid one another good rest when they were in the barracks.

Irene was happy to finally settle into bed, but there were only a few hours of rest before her sleep was interrupted by pounding at her door.

At first, she was in such a tired haze, she didn’t think anything of it and rolled over.

However, the knocking became louder, and she realized she needed to stand up regardless of how groggy she was feeling.

Quick to the door, the girl swung it open to see Sir Gunnar bothering her, knowing she should be resting. However, knowing he wouldn’t wake her for something small, her heart dropped.

"The monsters are pillaging the southern township where Samson lives," he explained. "There weren’t knights in the area when they began. Get ready. They need all of us."

"O-okay, sir," Irene responded.

The knight was off, and she shut her door.