A Moment in the Morning
The day had come when the skilled magician employed by the McCreed family would arrive in Curtis Village to investigate the mana ore mine—but that didn’t change what we had to do.
“Leon, Bulk, it’s breakfast time.”
““Neigh! Neigh!””
“Woof, woof!”
“Don’t rush, Lindel. I’ll feed you too.”
Once the early morning farmwork was done, it was time to care for the animals. Back when I was in the Knights Order, I had to take care of the horses myself during expeditions, so I knew the general procedure. Still, I hadn’t exactly been in the habit of feeding and washing animals daily.
If the day comes when I return to the royal capital, I’ll have to make sure to thank the stablehands who look after the horses behind the scenes. Now that I’ve done it myself day after day, I realize just how hard their work really is.
Now then, I’ll check on the fields and then go help Elina with breakfast, since it’s her turn today.
Just as I was about to get moving—
“Good morning, Lord Justin.”
“Hm? Peter, huh.”
Peter, the familiar of Vice-Commander Bellows, had come.
With the Kingdom Council over and Hank’s fate officially decided, I didn’t think he had any reason to come out here anymore… Did something happen?
“Did some kind of trouble break out in the capital again?”
“No, I just really like it here, so I came to hang out.”
“… Are you skipping work?”
“J-just kidding!”
Yeah, right.
Well, I don’t particularly mind either way.
“Breakfast is almost ready. Want to stay and eat?”
“Thank you kindly!—Oh, that’s right. I completely forgot I had an important report to deliver.”
“Oh, come on…”
So you did have a reason to be here.
Peter looks like a competent familiar, but he’s actually a bit of a klutz.
“So, what’s this important report?”
“It seems a tournament will be held to determine who takes Lord Hank’s vacant Holy Knight seat.”
“Ah… right.”
There’s no fixed number of Holy Knights.
But this time was an exception—an unforeseen circumstance. I doubt the Knights Order ever expected that someone they honored with the Holy Knight title would betray his comrades. Even after the Council concluded, it was still being treated as an unprecedented scandal.
“I’ve heard that both Lord Gary and Lady Miracca will be participating in this tournament.”
“Those two, huh… Sounds like it’ll be a fierce competition.”
Back when I competed in the tournament, neither of them had qualified yet.
I’ll be praying from afar that they achieve a result they won’t regret.
“Senior! Breakfast is ready!”
“Got it. I’ll be right there.”
Called by Elina, I headed back to the outpost.
Now then, the magician in question is finally coming today… I’m starting to get nervous about what kind of person they’ll be.
What do you think about this chapter?
