After our battle with Armaros was over, and I was done crying, the knights of the 4th flew to our location with Harvey holding Commander Valentina in his arms as she was catching a ride with him.
They explained that Garret’s possession had co to a sudden end, and the demonic energy that surrounded his body had ceased, leaving him unconscious.
As they descended, I could see Valentina blushing a little at the fact that Harvey was holding her so easily while flying to us.
We told them what had happened and that Armaros was dead. Of course, I skipped the last part, but I said to them that all of the large monster attacks we’ve had the past few years were the devil’s plan.
Once we returned to the town, the princess drank an MP potion and repaired the barracks, which had a massive hole from the roof to the underground prison.
At that ti, I sent a letter to the king, explaining what we had seen, and asked all of the knights that were present to keep the battle a secret.
I already knew that several devils were roaming the world. If they sohow communicated with each other, I didn’t want the information of Armaros getting killed to go public so soon after.
My reasoning was that if another devil heard about one of his comrades dying, they would take it upon themselves to avenge them and co back to terrorize the Sephyr Kingdom.
That’s why I asked everyone to keep it a secret, even though Vespera told that if a devil really wanted to know, they could easily use other thods to find out. But it was not a bad thing to be cautious either way.
When we returned to the inn, I quickly lay in bed as the exhaustion caught up with and buried my head in the pillow.
"Ichiro... Are you okay?" said lina as she sat beside my bed.
I turned my head and saw the princess with a worried expression, so naturally, I tried to de-escalate the situation.
"I’m fine. I’m just very tired..." I said.
"Ichi, I’m sorry I couldn’t help you at that mont..." she said, looking down with a hint of regret.
’Did she just call "Ichi!?"’ I thought as that was the nickna my past wife used to call .
Shaking my head to bring back to the present mont, I patted lina’s head.
"You did help a lot, though. So, I don’t know why you look so sad all of a sudden..." I said, trying to console her.
I supposed it must have been strange for her to see cry, and now she thought sothing was wrong with .
"It’s just... You looked in so much pain..." she said as she grasped my hand.
"I promise that I’m okay. Armaros just tried a desperate attack at the end and showed a nightmare... Sorry for worrying you." I said as I gripped her hand tighter.
"A nightmare?" she asked, gazing into my eyes as she slowly got closer.
"C-close your eyes." She said while blushing.
"Alright?" I said, sowhat confused but compliant.
At that mont, I felt a soft pillow posing on my lips, making open one eye to peek and see the princess giving a peck on the lips.
It was quick, maybe even less than two seconds, but it felt like at least half a minute for .
After separating our lips, we both stared at each other, utterly red with shyness, as the room’s silence made it a little awkward.
"I... I hope that helps with the nightmares!" lina exclaid, her face as red as a tomato.
She quickly pulled away from nervously and ran to her bed on the other side of the room, using the covers to wrap her entire body.
’Wh-what just happened...?’ I thought as I held my lips, my eyes still wide open from the surprise.
Right on ti, Vespera entered the room to find us both flushing in our beds with red faces, completely silent.
"Did I miss anything?" She asked.
"No!" lina and I exclaid in unison.
However, right then, Yoru erged from my shadows and seed to be snickering.
"Yoru... You were here!?" I asked, making the princess and I even more embarrassed.
I had never heard a wolf laughing until that day, but my companion kept giggling, then said sothing to Vespera using telepathy.
Vespera smiled and nodded without saying a word as she walked to a chair next to a window to relax.
I sighed. ’Getting hazed by my companions is definitely a new experience...’
With the night finally under wraps, we all took our well-deserved rest.
__________
The next day, we woke up a bit later than usual, and after getting so breakfast, we made our way to the knight’s barracks to check on Garret’s health.
Once we arrived, the knights of the 7th and 2nd order seed to be training with Harvey and his two senior knights, as they had apparently been asked for spar sessions after seeing them fighting the Kraken.
Inside the building, which had been upgraded after lina repaired it the previous night, we were greeted by Commander Valentina with a smile. The first smile she ever showed us, in fact.
"How’s Garret doing?" I asked.
"He’s awake in the infirmary if you want to check on him," Valentina said.
"It’s alright. I don’t think he wants to see anyway," I said while shrugging.
However, Valentina raised her hand to stop from walking away.
"He does want to talk to you, actually. The princess, too," she said.
lina and I raised an eyebrow with a bit un uncertainty but still followed Valentina to the infirmary room, where Garret was lying down in bed eating soup.
Putting his food aside, the man climbed out of bed and kneeled before us, his forehead touching the ground.
"Woah, stand up, man," I said as I took a few steps back.
However, Commander Valentina joined him too and kneeled beside him, although keeping her chin held high.
"I’m sorry, Ichiro!" Garret exclaid, his head still against the ground.
Before I could speak up, he continued.
"I have been everything but knightly ever since I joined the ranks. I have treated others like they are lesser than because of their origin, and my doubts and ego led to a dark path..." Garret said.
"I’m truly sorry for the trouble I caused, and I’m ready to receive any punishnt for it," he stated, finally raising his gaze.
I understood that he felt terrible about getting possessed since, technically, it was his own thoughts that allowed Armaros to control him.
Even if he didn’t want to accept the devil’s power, the doubt in his heart was enough to sway him.
However, I felt sowhat guilty for what happened to him.
Now, don’t get wrong, I wasn’t taking on all of the bla, but I also felt like if I hadn’t embarrassed him during our match, he could have doubted himself less.
On the other hand, he kind of deserved to be humiliated like that for all the bullying that they did to the 4th order.
"It’s alright, Garret. I accept your apology. Hopefully, you already talked to Harvey and his knights." I said, trying to calm him down.
"I did. He has been training the others all morning ever since I apologized..." Garret replied.
"Cool. Then that’s pretty much it for . It’s not like I’m the one who chooses your punishnt or anything." I said casually, grabbing Garret’s shoulder with amiability.
Both commanders turned to the princess, awaiting her command, knowing that she would be the one to decide their punishnt.
lina changed her expression from solemn to serious as she looked down at the two knights kneeling on the ground while I moved to the side, not to interfere.
"Commander Valentina of the 7th Knight’s Order. While you have been egotistical and rude at tis to my companions, I realize that it’s your own weakness that angers you and not the strength of others." She said with a commanding tone before pausing montarily.
"For that reason, you and all of the knights of the 7th will undergo special training in End Town." she finished before turning around to look at Garret.
"Commander Garret of the 2nd Knight’s Order. Your reckless actions brought us and the other knights a lot of trouble, and while the bla doesn’t lie solely with you, this could have all been avoided had you co to your senses and nded your mistakes sooner." lina said, her tone unwavering.
’She is right. Valentina did go and apologized to us before while Garret went out sulking...’ I thought, pondering what kind of punishnt the princess would give him.
"Commander Garret, you will be placed on temporary leave from your commander position and will join the ranks of the 4th in End Town. Once I confirm that you have the strength and maturity to lead the 2nd order, your commander rank will be returned." lina stated, firm and resolute.
On the other hand, Garret looked perplexed at her words, comnting how he was expecting to get executed for treason. But the princess quickly dismissed that notion, saying that if they wanted to kill him, they would have done it during the battle when he asked to do it.
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