I Will Be the Greatest Knight

Irene's next pathway took her to the infirmary, where Siverly and Stanley sat in chairs on either side of a small table. The building wasn't even close to completed yet, but the mages liked to have a place they could call their own that wasn't inside the Duke's Tower, where people could bother them at any moment.

She thought it was a bit ironic considering the practice yard was loud and the stables were used multiple times a day. However, she wasn't going to ruin their illusion of peace. They did so much for the knighthood already.

As she made it through the doorway, she gently knocked on the wooden threshold.

The two mages were arguing over things beyond her understanding, and she liked to think she had a better understanding of them than quite a few other knights in her order. They only stopped when there was an interruption.

"Forgive me for intruding," she began.

"If His Grace were here, he would have interrupted us at least four times already this morning," Siverly shot back.

"Fair enough," Irene relented. "I am merely here because the Commander has made a request for Siverly."

The younger of the two mages had a sour look on his face as he turned towards the woman.

"The Commander is not here," he responded, full of dread. "What could he possibly need?"

"Outside of Polona, there has been an alarming level of monster activity that knights from both Chemois and Hydrogia have to address," she explained. "I am gathering a few knights and apprentices, but in the Commander's letter, he also said he would like you to go along just in case."

Siverly shot up from his chair, causing the less-than-sturdy table to shift. In response, Stanley merely held onto his book until there was sure to be no further interruption since Siverly was away from the table by then. He stopped paying attention to the knight or the younger mage and began reading.

"What a demanding man, that Duke," Siverly complained as he stalked over to one of the work areas that had been slowly built up in the corner of the open room. As he spoke, his hands moved quickly over various items consisting of dried herbs wrapped in paper, mana stones, and vials of unknown substances. There were even a few rolls of some sort of fabric. "Does he think that I stayed here so that I can be at his beck and call? Much less, traveling across the duchy as the only mage among dozens of knights. It will cost him."

Siverly scoffed as he shoved the things in a bag. He seemed insistent on organizing his items rather than going on a trip with the knights.

Irene could only observe him with slightly widened eyes. For some reason, she hadn't considered the possibility of him saying no. She had actually thought that Siverly was on the Commander's beck and call which was why he was there in the first place. He was known for being a hard-working mage with an interest in knights.

However he began rushing towards the door with the bag over his shoulder. His speed was enough that Irene had to get out of the way or he was going to run directly into her.

"Where are you going?" Irene asked in disbelief.

"I have a trip to prepare for, don't I?"

However, he continued on without hearing her response to his clearly rhetorical question and into the back door of the Duke's Tower. It was late enough in the day that he was likely going to his room and pack his things and then try to sleep before he had the arduous undertaking of following knights across the entire duchy and into the next region over.

After all of his ranting, Irene thought for sure he was going to say no to the request. He truly was a cat with all meows and no claws. The thought caused her to laugh lightly to herself.

"Will you be alright here without him, Stanley?" she asked the mage who was entirely unphased by Siverly or the request he had been given.

It was obvious he was keeping an ear open when he responded without a hitch.

"I prefer the quiet so that I can study and experiment," Stanley insisted. "That young mage still has too much energy. Best to burn it off with adventure. With only a few knights here, I will have plenty of mana to heal whatever comes my way."

"Fair enough," Irene responded lightly. "I look forward to seeing the infirmary in one piece when we all return. The apprentices and knights who will be left are tasked with completing things such as the stables and the infirmary before the end of the summer."

They didn't know that yet, but she was going to tell them. Even before Commander Henry and Felix left, it was their ultimate goal to finish those things first. They found the two of the utmost importance to the knighthood were to have the healers and horses taken care of, now that the barracks and Duke's Tower were all in one piece.

Surprisingly, Stanley uttered, "Be safe, miss knight," as Irene excused herself and began walking towards the main part of the small castle herself.

Despite how introverted the mages were, she knew that they truly did care about those who cared for them. She would defend mages until her dying breath if she had to. They had only been a benefit to the knighthood so far. Even when villagers needed saving, the mages would still help them, at least for a price.

Even on her father's lands, there was an unsaid understanding that the old mage who had been there for decades could stay. Her uncle was opposed, but her father saw the benefit whenever there were villagers who were hurt and needed help.

These thoughts carried the knight into the tower and then to the dining hall, where she had requested they meet her. It was the only place in the tower outfitted with enough furniture to hold all the knights. If the Commander ever wanted to present himself as a proper Duke, he would likely have to change one of the sitting rooms into what it was meant to be in the first place: a great hall.

Irene brushed the chain of thought aside as she entered the dining hall, and the room went quiet. Everyone had been chatting before, but they were eager to hear the news from the Commander.

Even though she knew they would trust her, Irene had still tucked his letter to her in her belt so that she could show it to anyone hesitant to leave the tower. Now that she was in front of the rest of the knighthood, she pulled out the letter and held it up.

"The Commander has sent word of monsters in Idona, outside of Polona," Irene announced. "There are high casualties in the area enough that the Knights of Hydrogia have been summoned. However, the Knights of Chemois were also summoned, considering we are closer and the people living in the area require immediate assistance."

As expected, there was a bit of chatter at this. Many expressions turned grim.

It seemed that Irene wasn't the only one who felt that they were in times of peace, only to have it taken away so cruelly.

"That means that we will prepare ourselves today and leave early tomorrow," she explained. "It shouldn't take more than four days to arrive if we take a direct route. That means we will need to pack enough to get us through until we are at the easternmost township, where we will be able to restore our supplies. Time is of the essence. That also means that a few knights and apprentices will need to stay behind because this region still needs monster culling and the building projects outside must be completed before winter."

To her surprise, Sir Gunnar spoke up.

"I'm getting too old to travel," he explained. "I would like to stay here with the apprentices and a couple of knights. I have been overseeing the repair of the stables as it is."

Irene smiled a bit sadly. Things truly had changed so abruptly. It was once Sir Gunnar who led them to the road and fought to the bitter end. However, she couldn't look past the fact that he certainly had aches and pains he didn't think anyone noticed. On multiple occasions, she had spotted him holding his aching back or knees. He was older than her father and had truly run himself into the ground on behalf of the duchy.

She found that more honorable than anything else.

"Please keep the apprentices you would like, then, sir," she responded. "Send me those who are more fit for travel."

"Of course," Gunnar responded easily, offering a reassuring smile of his own.

In that moment, she truly did feel like a leader because she wasn't going on a journey to follow the man who taught her how to be a knight; she was leading the charge on her own, and they were looking to her for instruction. While traveling alone and relying on herself had been a burden while going to the far north, if she made a mistake, only she was in trouble.

Now, if she made a mistake, many others besides herself would be in trouble.

Despite her internal worries, just as planned, they left early the following morning.