The Adventures of an Overpowered Knight in Another World

Chapter 712- I Want To Change This Kingdom (3)

The old knight declared proudly.

For a moment, nobody spoke. Then... Drystan nearly choked on his bread.

”Cough... Cough... Old man, what nonsense are you talking about?! Vice commander? Second in command? Have you finally gone senile?”

Silas calmly took a sip of tea. ”Nonsense? Hmph. You think I don’t know your ambitions?” The old knight snorted. ”You stare at this brat every time he visits like you’re looking at a mountain you want to overcome”.

Drystan immediately pointed at Reinhardt. ”Of course I do. This guy humiliated me in front of the entire town.”

Reinhardt raised an eyebrow. ”I thought we were cool with that?”

”That’s not the point. Your previous actions are irrelevant, but the fact still remains that I lost to you and I lost spectacularly”.

The man looked down at his plate. Then, seemingly making up his mind, he spoke. ”Reinhardt...”

”Hm?”

”One day I will defeat you.”

Reinhardt calmly took another bite of food. ”I look forward to seeing you try.”

The casual confidence almost made Drystan explode.

Silas laughed loudly. ”Good! That’s the spirit of a knight. Listen carefully, brat. You have talent. A frightening amount of it. Enough that even monsters like him noticed it.”

Silas pointed toward Reinhardt.

”If you stay here, your talent will rot away. If you leave, perhaps one day you can become the shield that protects not just this town... But everyone you care about.”

Drystan fell silent, his fists slowly tightened. Aurelia quietly watched her brother. She understood him better than anyone. His worries, fears, and the sense of responsibility he carried.

After a while, she smiled gently. ”Brother, you should follow your dreams”.

”Un”.

”Hm? Are you crying?”

”What are you talking about? Real men don’t cry. I just choked on my food, that’s all”.

Silas nodded and then shifted his attention to Reinhardt. ”As for you, son of Raymond, don’t think I don’t know what your situation has been like over the past few months. It appears that you really pissed off those obstinate goofs of the capital. Life must be hard these days eh?”

Even though this was backwoods, as a former knight, Silas still has his channels to get all kinds of news from the capital. He was aware of the situation, the isolation Reinhardt was facing right now.

”I never thought that the Council of Elders would be this corrupt. The more I investigated them, the more it felt like I was looking into an abyss. The things they have done are too many and too filthy to count”.

Reinhardt spoke his opinion, his expression unusually grave. It could be said that by investigating and questioning the Council of Elders’ past deeds, he completely fell out with them.

Now they were making every moment of his life difficult by assigning him the most troublesome of missions.

Of course, they cannot openly target him since his status was too noble. However, stopping his fame and advancement was within their power.

”At least you are aware. This is much better than when you came to the town fully brainwashed. I understand why Commander Raymond did not tell you about the Council of Elders. He wanted you to experience the world for yourself and make your own decisions. So, have you made your resolve?”

Reinhardt nodded and clenched his fists. ”People like them cannot stay on top. It is too dangerous. I want to drag them down and change this kingdom”.

”Hoh, such noble aspirations. But how will you do it?”

”I don’t have a plan yet, but I want to start with banning slavery from the kingdom first. I heard Her Majesty has some thoughts on it. Maybe I can persuade her”.

Silas nodded. It was a good start indeed. Then, remembering something, he couldn’t help but ask. ”I heard tension on the borders is escalating. There is a plan to create an Allied Knight Order comprising knights from all the Seven Kingdoms?”

When those words were spoken, the siblings became silent, and all eyes fell on Reinhardt.

Reinhardt nodded. ”You heard correctly, Sir Silas. There is indeed some disturbing movements from the side of the demons. It was decided in the last Summit that we cannot let demons finish whatever they were planning. Thus, everyone agreed to strike them first”...

”For that part, the Seven Kingdoms are going out of their way to cooperate and create a first ever Allied Knight Order who would march into the Tainted Lands, defeat the demons, and claim those lands back”.

”I see, so it really was true. Expedition in the Tainted Lands huh. Humanity hasn’t stepped into the Tainted Lands for a long time. Who knows what kind of danger lies deep within? You need to be careful. The Council is pushing you to join, right?”

”What?”

Hearing this, both Drystan and Aurelia were shocked. Aurelia in particular, even showed a worried expression.

”Sir Reinhardt, is that true? Are you really planning to go into that dangerous place?”

Reinhardt calmly nodded his head. ”Father cannot go; he needs to govern the duchy. The lists have already been made, and my name is on it. Besides, even without being pushed by the Council, I would have volunteered to go. This is an excellent chance to curb the power of the demons and learn more about them”.

”Hm, you are not wrong. In that case, we will wait for you. An expedition this big will take a long time. By the time you come back, I’ll whip this brat into shape”.

Drystan did not retort this time. Instead, he looked at Reinhardt and spoke seriously. ”I’ll train harder than anyone and defeat you next time we meet. Then you can become my Vice Commander”.

”Haha, then I’m looking forward to it”.

Silas looked at the two young fellows. The old knight had lived long enough to recognize greatness when he saw it.

The young man before him possessed the potential to become a legend. And the same was true for the golden haired knight sitting across from him.

Perhaps one day, the world itself would remember these two names together. The Divine Paladin and the Sword Saint who stood beside him.

At this moment, though, they were merely two young men arguing over who would become who’s subordinate.

.

After lunch, Reinhardt prepared to leave. Just as he was about to mount his horse...

”Sir Reinhardt”.

A soft voice stopped him.

Turning around, he found Aurelia standing a few steps away. The afternoon sunlight filtered through the trees, falling upon her platinum blonde hair, and combined with her simple white dress and clear blue eyes, she looked almost unreal.

Right now, her face was a mask of worry.

”Sir Reinhardt, do you really have to go?” Aurelia asked, her fingers tightened around the hem of her dress.

Seeing her anxiousness, Reinhardt tried to give his best reassuring smile. ”It is my duty. A knight protects those who cannot protect themselves. If evil appears and I turn away because it is dangerous... then I will fall low in my own gaze”...

”There are people waiting for help, people praying for someone to come save them. If a knight doesn’t step forward, then who will?”

He then pointed at himself and smiled brightly. ”Besides, you don’t have to worry, I am stronger than I look and I have survived worse. This expedition is nothing compared to the training I have been doing”.

Tried as he much, those words did very little to reassure Aurelia. All of a sudden, she tore a small strip from the hem of her dress.

The white cloth fluttered gently in the wind. Without waiting, she stepped forward and carefully tied it around Reinhardt’s arm.

Once finished, she looked up at him with determined eyes. ”You have to promise me. You must come back alive. This...” Her fingers lightly touched the cloth tied around his arm ”...will be proof of our promise.”

For a moment, Reinhardt simply stared at her. The breeze blew through the town. Children laughed somewhere in the distance.

Life continued as it always had. Yet for some reason, this moment felt strangely important.

Over the past year, he had become increasingly familiar with Blueberry Town. The villagers, the children, and naturally that also included Aurelia. The number of times they met had increased.

Without either of them realizing it, the distance between them had gradually disappeared.

Reinhardt, as a handsome man, naturally drew countless admirers. Some admired his strength, others his status.

But Aurelia was different. She was warmth after rain, beauty in simplicity. Someone capable of brightening the world around her merely by smiling.

And perhaps without noticing, he too had begun looking forward to seeing her whenever he visited Blueberry Town.

Yet neither of them spoke of it. Perhaps it was too early, or perhaps for some other reason. But fate had its own way of bringing people together.

In the end, Reinhardt couldn’t help but nod.

”I promise. I will come back alive.”