Chapter 37
In the sunlight that makes the world seem to shine brilliantly.
“Brother!”
“Come here, Marie!”
“Fufufu.”
“Ahaha.”
I’m being held up in this fairytale-like manner and spun around and around. My brother, spinning me with a smile.
If I call Leon ‘brother’, I get the punishment of having my cheeks grabbed and held, so I think you can guess, but I’ll say it just in case. He is not Leon.
“I was looking forward to seeing you. Teach me lots again today, Takkun-sensei.”
“Are you sure I’m the one who should be teaching? You’re strong, Marie.”
That’s right. He is my teacher for swordsmanship and horsemanship.
He is six years older than me, the son of the knight commander of one of the knight orders within my father’s territory, the White Knight Order.
By the way, the knight order Kyle was in is the Black Knight Order. It seems the names have no special meaning; they just have different posts.
His name is Takan Bright. It’s not Takkun, but I call him Takkun-sensei.
He is the eldest son of a Count family, a refreshingly handsome guy with bright brown hair, golden eyes, and a cool smile.
He is of an age to attend school, but it seems he plans to only attend the high school section and is currently honing his skills relentlessly in the knight order.
The middle school section is seen as a place for general studies, social skills, and networking, while the high school section focuses on more specialized things. It seems fairly common for people aiming to be knights to enroll starting from high school. Of course, that’s assuming they have the academic ability to graduate from middle school. I don’t, so I’ll be attending the academy from the start.
Sensei comes about twice a week, on sword days and horsemanship days.
He was the knight instructor I had been looking forward to quite a bit, so I was surprised to see how young he was, but he has great capacity and skill, and even at our first meeting, he patted my head with a soft smile saying, “Let’s do our best, okay?” and I immediately grew attached to him.
Anyway, he… has nice muscles. I looked at his arms and legs, thought “this is it,” and pretending to be innocent, I got him to let me feel his abs, and they were toned, beautifully defined, and lean, unlike what you’d expect from a boy. He’s a promising candidate for a future macho man.
In my previous life, I wanted an older brother, so his brotherly nature made me ecstatic.
It seems Takkun-sensei has many younger brothers, but no sisters, so he dotes on me like a little sister.
Even though Leon himself refuses to be called ‘brother’, when I get attached to Sensei and call him ‘brother’, Leon glares at him while barely holding himself back. Kyle seems to respect him, but doesn’t show any attachment. Zero. I have no idea what he’s thinking.
Today is horsemanship practice. My beloved horse is a white mare with a silver mane, a lovely lady. Her name is Shiro.
I didn’t understand why people found it strange to give a horse a name.
Father and Leon suggested that since her mane color resembles my hair color, if I were to name her, I should call her Marie, but I vetoed that. Of course, a horse is not a chair, but I refuse with my entire being the idea of riding a living creature named Marie.
Leon’s beloved horse is a beautiful white horse named Diamond.
Kyle’s beloved horse is a jet-black, muscular horse named, for some reason, Green.
Rufus also has a horse. It’s a brown horse the same color as Rufus’s hair, named Soup. I think he thought of the name when he was hungry. It seems everyone named their horses to match me.
They were all gifts from Father, and he also arranged the extensive grounds of the estate so the horses can run freely.
For horse training, I wear the riding clothes Mother ordered. In this world, it seems people don’t wear hats when riding horses. To prevent my hair from being bitten, it’s done up in two high buns. These buns are Helen’s handiwork, shaped like rose-like flowers. Helen is dexterous and wonderful.
It seems before meeting me, she would pick up scraps of cloth and sew clothes for herself and Rufus. The family is also very excited about this hairstyle.
Takkun-sensei holds Shiro’s reins and guides her as I ride. Shiro walks through the garden in high spirits, swishing her tail high. She’s a gentle, quiet, obedient, cute girl.
“I want to go for a long ride with Takkun-sensei soon.”
“That’s still too early. First, you need to learn to ride the horse by yourself.”
It was my first time both riding and touching a horse, and at first I was so scared I couldn’t even think of riding. Before Sensei came, I tried to get used to the horses by going to the stable with Leon and Kyle, and every time they neighed, I clung to Leon, Kyle, Father, or Rufus whoever was nearby. It was a full clinging hug, even wrapping my legs around them. The three of them seemed to enjoy it, but I was in a warrior’s mindset.
The training started from the stage of getting used to touching them. At first, I couldn’t mount by myself and was carried by Sensei while we walked, or I practiced tips for getting used to horses. I can now mount by myself, though getting on and off still involves being lifted. My posture lately isn’t leaning forward anymore. I can brush and feed them, and above all, Shiro is such a good girl that she even comes to be petted, being considerate of me.
“Shiro seems to enjoy walking with Marie.”
“I wonder if she doesn’t want to run?”
“I hear you make sure she gets proper exercise. Maybe Shiro also thinks it’s still too early to run with Marie on her back? She’s kind.”
“You’re right. Shiro, I’m sorry I was so scared of you at first. I love you.”
Shiro raised her nose happily and let out a loud whinny.
“Seeing how scared you were of horses, I was worried about how your sword training would go, but I was surprised. You said no one taught you, and it’s not in any swordsmanship manuals. Your martial arts are amazing too. Did you come up with that yourself, Marie?”
He hits a sore spot, huh. I thought someone would ask me about it someday.
“Does it look messy?”
“Quite the opposite. It’s too polished. Like a master’s work. It’s not something an eight-year-old child should be able to do.”
“Is that so? I’ve mostly been at home and don’t know other children, so I wouldn’t know. My body just moves on its own. Will I get in trouble if I do it at school?”
“I see… So you’re one of those with talent… They do exist. I’m jealous… Maybe Marie was a military commander in a past life.”
He hit upon my past life. I thought no one would ever figure that out if I didn’t say anything. He’s too sharp. Though I wasn’t a military commander.
“I hear at school they just cross swords and fight relentlessly, and even if you’re taught, they just tell you to learn with your body. Even as you are now, Marie, you’re probably stronger than the instructors, so I doubt you’d get in trouble. But you’re a girl, so you need to build up plenty of physical stamina.”
“That’s true. I’ll do my best. You’ll help me too, right, Brother?”
“I’ll help you with anything I can. Marie, why do you want to join the Royal Knight Order?”
“I thought there must be a lot I could do in a job that protects the country’s public order. Like catching criminals and interrogating them.”
Takkun-sensei stopped walking and looked straight at me, as if inquiring seriously.
“You might have to kill people sometimes.”
I know that, of course. It seems there haven’t been any wars lately, but considering the attacks on Leon’s mine, there must be many small conflicts.
In my previous job, I actually went to where criminals with guns and katana were, and sometimes had to fire my gun. Especially in this world, it feels much more lenient regarding the well-being of criminals compared to my previous country. It seems they often cut down and kill opponents without warning if they are holding a weapon.
“I’m prepared to take lives. I’m not yet prepared to have my own life taken, but I intend to work hard like this to ensure it doesn’t happen.”
“Prepared to have your life taken… Marie, how about we take a little break? Take me to your favorite spot.”
“…Okay.”
That troubled look… He makes this face when he sees me fighting with a shinai.
