Translator: Ataru
Editor: Ray
Chapter 2: The Holy Knight and The Magic Swordsman
The Knights’ executives claimed I was incompetent, so they were expelling me. Well, their words did have a point. I couldn’t help anything with the knight order’s fight last time. But still.
"Hey, who do you think has brought the knight order up to this point? It's not Cleon, right? It's because of me, who have gathered strong members of the order, raised funds, and thought about how to conquer the ruins in the most effective way. That was what made The Knights order called as the empire's strongest."
"It's so embarrassing to hear you praise yourself like that, Senpai,” Arte looked down at me while saying that. Then I turned to Cleon.
"It's a fact, isn't it Cleon?"
"Ah… It's as Solon said. I'm grateful for Solon's contribution so far. But just because you are a founding member, I won't give you any special treatment."
"Even now, this knight order couldn’t have become this popular without me."
"Nope. We will be fine even without Solon. With Sophia as the captain, me as the new vice-captain, and with these people’s help, we will definitely find a solution for every problem. That's why we are exiling you, because we don't need you anymore."
"Well, I don't think so."
"Even if you think that way, we decided we don't need you. There’s no point in arguing anymore.”
Cleon gazed at me for a while. Eventually, I sighed.
"It's fine for me to be kicked out, but it would be nice to tell me something in advance."
No one answered my small protest. Then, the burly executive Garrels, the cornerstone of The Knights’ defense, left his seat. Garrels, born of an Earl's family, always looked down on me who was a commoner. With that, Arte and the other executives silently exited the room. Only Cleon and I were left behind. Cleon was standing and staring down at me. I stood up and held out my right hand toward him. Cleon looked at me suspiciously.
I said, "It's a goodbye handshake."
"Solon, you and I are no longer comrades."
"So we can't even shake hands? Let's change how we look at it. You and I have long been friends, since magic school. Let's part ways amicably at the end."
Cleon hesitated for a moment, then silently grasped my hand.
"You have not changed, Solon."
"You have become stronger, Cleon."
"I used to be weak."
Cleon looked away and sighed.
"But now, I'm a better adventurer. From now on, we will be heading toward underground ruins ruled by mightier enemies than the last time."
"I wish you success."
"Ah… as long as it’s The Knights order, we have nothing to worry about."
"But I'm worried about Sophia."
"It's not something for you to worry about."
I shrugged. Saint Sophia, like Cleon, had been a friend of mine since I was in magic school. Sophia was the daughter of the marquis of the empire, while I was the son of an aristocrat's servant. Originally, our status were completely different, but while we were attending the same magic school, both aristocrats and commoners were considered equals. And when I graduated from school, I had thought I was a pretty reliable person. Sophia might be known as the top genius because she skipped grades. But in reality, she was five years younger than me and had a sickly body. And what the world didn’t know was that she was naive and weak in an actual battle. So Sophia relied on me and always said, "I can't do anything without Solon-kun."
However, Sophia who later on became a saint, got so talented that I couldn't even compare. Now she also had strong comrades. Besides, unlike me, they were all aristocrats. On the other hand, my ability did not increase. It might be because of the difference in talent between nobles and commoners.
"Hey Cleon, is Sophia in favor of my expulsion?"
"I told you. It was decided by all of the executives, and Sophia agreed. Would you like to meet her and confirm?"
I shook my head. I guessed I was no longer needed by Sophia. Also, the fact that Sophia wasn’t here might mean that it was hard for her to tell me that I would be exiled. Then my meeting with Sofia would only make it awkward.
"To tell you the truth, Sophia agreed because she was thinking of you."
"Me?"
"Our enemies are going to be much stronger from now on, so you might get hurt or die. Sophia is worried about that."
"I see."
This happened shortly after the party was formed. We had accepted a girl with insufficient ability as our comrade and lost the child because of that. Afterwards, Sophia, Cleon, and I had been careful not to make the same mistake again. Cleon said, "Solon, it is not you who will protect Sophia from now on. It is my role, both publicly and privately."
"Publicly and privately…"
"Sophia and I are engaged."
I was a little surprised, but it didn’t take me long to be convinced. Even from before then, there were rumors that Cleon and Sophia were dating circulating inside The Knights order as well as in town. If the rumors were true, I thought either of them would tell me. But apparently, I was wrong. Whether it was about my exile or the fact that the two of them were dating, I was always left out.
"Congratulations."
I didn’t say any more than that and got up. Both Cleon and Sophia were talented people with genius abilities. They came from good families and they were both good-looking. They were well matched.
I went back to my room and packed up my luggage. I was a member of the knight order ever since it was founded and the order always paid me a lot of money. The money provided by the Imperial Palace, accumulated during my time as a member, amounted to a large sum. However, even with the money, I had no comrades to fight with. I had no goals. Even Sophia no longer needed me.
What should I do from now on? I took a deep breath. It should be fine to think about it slowly from now on. I wanted to enjoy living alone for a while. In that case, it seemed better to go to the capital, where there were all kinds of jobs. I was sure there should be some good options out there.
Right now, I was no longer the vice-captain of the strongest knight order in the empire. Just an ordinary magic swordsman, Solon.
Notes
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