v2c14 (1/2)
Chapter 14 – Templar Knight Order
I spent the afternoon overseeing the reading and writing practice of Sati. We placed the chairs next to each other like usual and I’m reading her the fairy tales Angela lent us the other day. Elves, dragons, and orcs appear in them, but they greatly resemble the old j.a.panese tales, so they feel a bit nostalgic. I saw many stories like this in animes when I was little.
“From the forest…….an elf……has…..has?”
“Appeared, and asked for his ident.i.ty.”
“appeared ……. and asked for his ident.i.ty.”
Sati’s education is going well. She’s become able to cook easy meals and she can also read simple sentences. It must be a matter of determination after all. She is learning very quickly. If it continues like this, than it will only take a month for reading and writing to stop being a problem. Maybe I should try teaching her arithmetics soon?
As usual, Tilika-chan came over in the afternoon, then after that Angela also came by.
Angela is occasionally glancing my way while cooking, but as expected, she can’t really talk about likes and stuff while Sati and Tilika-chan are present. Neither can I. We have to have a talk by just the two of us somewhere. If we were at a school I would’ve called her out to behind the school building or the roof.
When I was aiming for the time when Sati and Tilika-chan was taking a bath, Angela also went in with them. I imagined them acting all kyaa kya ufufu, then I agonized over that.
After they got out of the bath she said she is going home for today. I see her out until the front door. Even Angela must’ve thought that it would be bad to just go home like this.
“Uhm, it’s about what happened this morning.”
“M-mn.”
“Well, I like you Masaru, but it came to me that I didn’t think about Masaru’s feelings……”
“Uhm, yeah. I also like Angela. It was just so sudden that I was startled, really.”
“Is-is that so? That’s true. It was sudden, right.”
“So I think it should be fine to take it more slowly.”
“Nn.”
“So I would be happy if you acted the same around me as before.”
“I understand. If Masaru wants that, then I will do that.”
After she said that she quickly went home.
Was this good enough just now? I properly told her that I like her too. Although at the end it felt like it become an atmosphere similar to ‘Let’s just be good friends from now on’.
By the way, Masaru was thinking that it wouldn’t be a good idea to let a freshly-out-of-bath girl go home alone, but Angela is proficient with not just magic, but she can also fight using a mace. She also carries a small mace with her that’s not too conspicuous.
“I carry a weapon for self-defense just in case, but I don’t think there would be anyone stupid enough to start a fight with a Priestess.”
According to what Angela told me, there exists an armed force, called the Templar Knight Order, that belongs to the Temple. They don’t belong to any one country, but the mighty Templar Knight Order boast of a fighting potential that is comparable to a nation’s. And since they are continuously fighting monsters day and night, protecting the people, they are well respected. Fools that pick a fight with the people of the Temple don’t live long.
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The next morning, as we were having breakfast, Angela came over.
“What happened? Ah, there is still soup and bread. Come eat with us before going back.”
“Thank you. So, the Temple Knight Order will come to stay with us today.”
“Hoh?”
“You know, they have the same mission as Erii.”
So that’s it. The making a pioneer village in the demon border thing.
“Masaru, yesterday you said you hunted a lot of wild rabbits, right. Can you share some of it?”
“If it’s about that, then I will give you all of what I currently have of it. No need for money.”
It’s only an amount that I can hunt in a day anyway, so I just need to go hunting again.
“Eh? Well I thought you would sell it cheaply, but I would feel bad taking all of it for free.”
Those that I sell at the Guild double in price at the town market. Since she was aware of that she thought of buying it directly from me. Even if I sell it at the wholesale price of the Guild, there is no loss for me in it.
“It’s a donation, a donation. Also, they are going to the same place as Elizabeth, right?”
“Yeah.”
“If you say that it was a donation from someone related to Dawn’s Battleaxe, then they may look after Elizabeth over there a bit more.”
Angela is also happy about it. It may also prove helpful to Elizabeth. Isn’t this two birds with one stone?
“That’s true. If it’s like that.”
After finis.h.i.+ng the after meal clean up, before heading to the Guild, we went to the orphanage.
“Oh my, this is Sati-chan? Ain’t she a cute one. And she is Tilika-chan, right.”
Sister Matilda came out to greet us like that.
I leave Sati and Tilika-chan in the care of the Sister, then we head to the dining hall. I have them prepare a container, then I start piling up wild rabbit meat.
“Masaru-dono, thank you for your donation. With this much it may be enough.”
Said the Priest-sama.
May be enough? This wild rabbit meat, it’s quite an amount.
“How many people will come?”
“I heard it will be about a hundred people.”
A hundred!? That sounds tough. No wonder Angela came to buy up meat.
They say that for the current pioneer village the Temple is also cooperating in earnest. They will create one base first, then using that as a foothold, they will finally establish 5 pioneer villages. Then they will make a safe zone between the five villages and the Gorbas Fortress. The project itself is very grand.
“Around when will the Knight Order people arrive?”
“I heard that around noon.”
Lunch and dinner for a hundred people, huh. I guess this won’t be enough then. Let’s hunt some more.
“I understand. I will go and hunt some more now. I think I will be able to get about the same amount.”
“Thank you for going out of your way, Masaru-dono.”
“No no, I’m alway thankful for the Temple’s help.”
Although, it’s mainly from Angela.
After escorting Tilika-chan to the Guild and leaving Sati at the training field, I explore the gra.s.slands. It’s for a hundred people. Let’s try doing it a bit seriously.
I race all over the gra.s.slands for three hours, hunting wild rabbits. Raising Sense Presence to 3 really bore fruit. If I continue on like this, then I might break my top record. Partway I even brought down a stray orc near the forest. However, I can’t really spend too much time with this, this should be more than enough.
When I got back to the temple the Knight Order already arrived.
Knights wearing matching armors are gathering in the courtyard and the hall of the temple. There are tables and chairs they got from somewhere lined up in the courtyard and there are a few people busy preparing lunch in the kitchen. Angela was also working mixed in there.
As I went to the dining hall while erasing my presence, the Priest-sama and a member of the Knight Order were talking.
“Ooh, Masaru-dono. You were quite fast. This person is the captain of the Adamant.i.te Squad of the Templar Knight Order, Tetian-dono.”
We were introduced to each other and shook hands. Tetian-san is a knight with a short beard and looks to be someone in the prime of his life who served a long military service.
“I was just listening to Priest-sama talk about you, Masaru-dono. He said that you donated a lot of wild rabbit meat. Sorry about that, our guys are all big eaters. We shouldn’t cause too much trouble to the people here either, so it really helps us out.”
“No problem, I’m just happy to be of help to the Knight Order gentlemen that are going to the demon border.”
“Very admirable. We’ll be grateful to Masaru-dono’s good will and G.o.d. I heard that Masaru-dono’s friend is also partic.i.p.ating in this operation?”
“Yes, she is the mage of the party named Dawn’s Battleaxe and her name is Elizabeth. She is my magic teacher.”
“Teacher-dono, is she? I will make sure to remember.”
I don’t it will make too much of a difference even if he remembers, but if I earn their grat.i.tude even a little bit, they might be able to help her in some way. If these strong looking people become Elizabeth’s s.h.i.+eld even a little, I might gain some peace of mind.