The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 44.1

“A new directive has come from Barak,”

said Shylock.

As soon as I returned to the training camp, he called me out.

Avoiding other people’s eyes, I came out to meet Hermes and him.

He handed me a piece of paper and said,

“In short, it orders to harm you directly. Break an arm or something to scare you.”

It matched what was written.

[Temporarily disable one of the target’s limbs. Handle more carefully than before.]

The short text conveyed his words accurately.

The handwriting was crude and rough, possibly written by a ghostwriter.

He is quite meticulous.

I returned the paper to him.

As Shylock lit a match and burned it, he added,

“The previous directive was a recommendation, but this one must be carried out. Hermes isn’t always by your side, so it means to seize that moment.”

He’s right.

Surprisingly, Hermes spends a lot of time away from me.

It can’t be helped.

This training camp is a thoroughly male-dominated group.

Although Hermes can enter the training camp, she can’t be with me every moment.

During training, for instance.

When I shower or eat.

During those times, Hermes waits in the guest room prepared at the entrance of the training camp.

“It seems Sir Hermes being by my side has been noted.”

“Probably. I wouldn’t do anything, but you should be wary of the other two.”

Besides Shylock, there are two knights under Barak’s orders.

Gaston and Dallant.

Gaston teaches group combat training, and Dallant is in charge of the living rules.

Since Shylock’s warning, I’ve encountered them a few times.

They haven’t shown any particular reaction to me.

“I can’t follow you into the shower… You should be especially cautious,”

Hermes said, narrowing his eyes at me.

“What do you mean?”

“What are you imagining? When you shower, you tend to close your eyes or become less aware of external dangers. I’m advising you to be careful.”

“……”

Hermes chuckled as I glared at her.

Even now, she is full of thoughts of teasing me.

But her point is unexpectedly sharp.

Indeed, during a shower, one becomes less sensitive to changes in the surroundings.

You close your eyes, and the sound of water disrupts your hearing.

“Thank you for the advice.”

“Don’t mention it. Just doing my job.”

“Perhaps Sir Shylock should hit me now?”

“…What?”

“I mean, it would look strange if I were completely unscathed. If you strike first, the other two might behave for a while. Ah, please control your strength.”

“Is it necessary to go that far? Besides, the goal is to injure you so severely that you can’t participate in training. Controlling strength would be odd.”

He’s right.

Shylock looked down at me as if to say he’s never seen such a madman, then shook his head.

Indeed, I tend not to spare my body.

“Sometimes I can’t tell if you’re smart or foolish.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

An unfounded sense of unease suddenly surfaced.

“By any chance, have the other two discovered our relationship?”

“I’m not certain, but probably not. Although we’re under the same orders, we aren’t that close.”

“Hmm… I understand.”

***

The next knight I met was Sir Thomas.

The knight in charge of the 3rd sector, where room 13 is located.

Though he’s the sector’s knight, I rarely see him.

Most of the communication goes through Dylan anyway.

I didn’t meet him alone.

He gathered the candidates from section 3 and explained.

This time, the news comes from Eliza.

The recipients are all the candidates.

It’s also an news to me.

“Starting today, there will be significant changes to the diet in the training center.”

They said the quantity has increased.

The composition will also be much richer.

Just explaining it in words doesn’t convey how much it has changed.

I thought that was the end, but Sir Thomas continued.

“And, starting this month, a new rule has been added. Each month, the instructor will grade the candidates’ abilities and score them. The room with the highest total score will receive special meals for a month.”

Special meals?

“They said you can look forward to foods you’ve never imagined as special meals.”

Most of the candidates are growing boys.

For various reasons, they are satisfied with the diet here, but they inevitably want more food.

Because of their age.

There was a heated atmosphere among the candidates listening to the story.

I felt the same way.

Special meals that we can look forward to.

Probably, food provided by Eliza’s mansion.

Those luxurious and sumptuous meals we eat for breakfast and dinner.

‘Can we eat that at the training center too?’

It’s impossible not to salivate.

‘Still, even if they limit the quantity, will they keep providing that? It must cost a lot.’

Hmm.

It’s funny for me, a commoner, to worry about Eliza.

‘Special meals… It’s nice, but I don’t know if I can get them.’

The way they determine the recipients of the special meals is by room, not individuals.

In other words, no matter how well one person does, if the room’s average is low, they won’t get the benefits.

I’m not in the top ranks of the training center.

I beat Gulliat, who is in the top ranks, but it wasn’t solely due to my skills.

It was due to some coincidences and luck.

Also, room 13 isn’t in the top ranks of the training center.

Roughly mid-tier?

In other words, it’s almost impossible for me to get those special meals at the training center.

‘This is frustrating…’

Technically, I’m the one who changed the training center’s diet.

Because I told Eliza about it.

I was happy with the change in the regular meals.

But it feels very uncomfortable that I can’t eat the added special meals.

Others eating what I worked hard to change?

No, they can eat it.

That’s why I changed it.

But, I can’t eat it, and only others can?

That’s a bit unfair.

‘Is this intentional…’

Do they want me to cause trouble again?

‘Wait. Is this just my overactive imagination?’

The fact that I think Eliza expects something from me already shows I’m off track?

I shook my head to clear away the foolish thoughts.

Let’s just do as usual.

As usual.

Special meals. It’s a shame, but I already eat my fill at Eliza’s mansion for breakfast and dinner.

There’s no need to be excessively greedy.

But I couldn’t help but feel oddly irritated.

***

After the morning training, during lunchtime.

I got to see with my own eyes how much the training center’s diet had changed.

‘Just hearing about it didn’t give me a sense, but this much…’

All the candidates receiving their meals had surprised faces.

They murmured in groups.

“Wow… Can we even eat this much?”

“There’s meat floating in the soup…”

“The bread is soft? And it’s much bigger too.”

“Isn’t this a special meal?”

Indeed, it is.

Compared to what we usually eat, today’s regular meal seems like a special treat.

Not only is there more food, but the quality has also improved overall.

The once watery soup is now richer and thicker, with more ingredients.

The bread, though still firm compared to what is served in the mansion, is softer than before.

This clearly shows that Eliza has invested a lot of money and care into this.

‘I didn’t expect such a dramatic change… but I’m grateful.’

The colleagues in Room 13, who are eating with me, also have bright expressions.

Argon suddenly spoke.

“Isn’t this thanks to Judas?”

How did he know?

“Doesn’t it seem like Miss Eliza made these changes because she was thinking of Judas?”

…Ah, is that the approach?

I am already famous at the training camp for being favored by Eliza.

The candidates in other rooms don’t seem to like it much.

But the candidates in our room, Room 13, think differently.

Until now, Eliza never paid any attention to this Escort knight training camp.

However, since I arrived, she started to show interest.

The logic is that, thanks to me, we are all benefiting from Eliza’s attention.

It’s a quite convincing reason.

Although it’s embarrassing to admit, there are many parts that are true.

‘I can’t ignore the impact of the cookies and chocolates I’ve brought so far, either.’

Anyway, the room members are all friendly towards me.

“That makes sense.”

Richard chuckled and agreed.

Then, the conversation turned to the romantic fantasies of some fools.

I ignored it all and focused on eating.

‘Still… I’m grateful that they care this much…’

As I bit into the moist potato soaked in the soup, the fluffy texture spread in my mouth…

‘Ouch, it’s hot!’

Seeing me trying to cool my tongue, Richard clicked his tongue.

“Who’s going to steal your food?”

He chuckled and handed me some cold water.

As I drank, I glanced at Dylan, who was sitting in a corner.

He was eating quietly.

He was the same as usual.

The head of Room 13.

Although the senior member Richard keeps things together, it’s Dylan who ultimately unites and leads the group.

A silent and responsible person.

Though he is the leader, he doesn’t talk much.

It’s rare to see him close with anyone or smiling.

‘Hmm…’

However, he never looked as drained as he did today.

It felt different from simply not fitting in.

‘Is it just my imagination?’

Well, there are days when you feel down for no reason.

It could be something personal.

I decided to stop worrying and focus on my meal.