Chapter 68.1: Position to protect people

"...Lu, got a minute?"

"..."

After the early morning training that day.

Rishe's smile froze when Fritz called her.

Sven, who was training with them, has gone to the well to fetch water.

It was just Rishe, who was dressed in her men's attire, and Fritz were in the training grounds, where no other candidates have yet arrived.

Today, Fritz was behaving quite strangely.

The way he wielded his sword was sluggish, somewhat distracted and clumsy.

And Rishe had an inkling to the reason for this disturbance.

"That-After yesterday's training..."

In the end, I'm sorry you've been in so much trouble...

After all, he saw me talking to Arnold, the person he idolized.

Moreover, I was cornered against a wall and had my cheek squeezed by His Royal Highness Arnold...

Fritz looked somewhat awkward, while Rishe looked distant. He searched for words one by one and continued in a mysterious manner.

If this is an insensitive question, feel free to punch me in the face. You were in the back of the training ground yesterday with His Highness Arnold...

She knew he misunderstood.

With this confirmation, Rishe laughed it off with the excuse she came up with.

"Yeah. I had His Highness Arnold remove the rubbish in my eyes!"

"-Eh."

Fritz blinked repeatedly.

While he was stunned and taken aback, Rishe continued her explanation without pause.

"It was windy yesterday, right? I screamed when I got some dust in my eye, and His Royal Highness Arnold noticed it and came over to check on me. I was so frightened that I struggled, so he ended up pinning me down and I was immobilized. Thanks to him, I was able to get rid of the dust right away and didn't have to go to the well to wash up."

"Oh, really?"

"That's right, Fritz. You could have listened to various stories about swordsmanship, but you hurriedly left!"

"..."

Rishe inwardly broke out in a cold sweat in front of the silent Fritz.

Could she deceive him? At the same time she gulped, Fritz finally spoke.

"S..."

"S?"

"-Awesome Lu! I didn't expect His Royal Highness Arnold to take the dust out of your eyes in person!"

Thank goodness!!!

Rishe almost collapsed when she realized that Fritz believed her.

Fritz looked radiant, and for some reason, looked terribly relieved.

"I see, so there was dust in your eyes...So, that's what it was..."

Fritz admires His Highness Arnold. I bet he didn't want to see someone whom he considers a hero pinning a mere trainee to the wall...

She felt apologetic when she thought that this bothered him all night.

"By the way, Lu, you tried to stop me yesterday. You must have tried to get me to meet His Highness Arnold! Ah, it's shameful how I've jumped to the wrong conclusion..."

Fritz clutched his head in his hands, so Rishe gently cheered him up.

"There are plenty of opportunities to show His Highness Arnold your talent once you become a real knight. I'm sure you'll do just fine."

"..."

Then Fritz snapped out of it and crouched down.

"...Lu, now I'm going to tell you something uncool."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"I spent the evening thinking in circles, and I got scared."

There seemed to be another reason why Fritz was acting strange.

When Rishe nodded, he began to speak quietly.

"It was under the influence of His Highness Arnold that I came to be a knight."

"I remember. Didn't you say His Highness Arnold saved your town from an enemy's invasion?"

Fritz nodded his head and continued with a look of dejection.

"Did I tell you about it like it was a pleasant experience for me? But that's not really true. I was just being cheerful on purpose, but I have other memories of that day."

Of course, I knew that...