Yuri and his group returned to Briol.
Their schedule had been delayed a bit due to passing through Adelvine and Bursen, but thanks to their rapid travel, not much time had been lost.
As soon as he returned, Yuri immediately met with Fiore alone and explained everything that had happened in the Empire and Adelvine.
Fiore's expression gradually turned grave as he nodded.
"So those things happened."
"Black magic, huh…"
Now that a concrete evil—black magic—had been revealed, persuading him had become much easier.
Fiore tapped the armrest and said,
"If what you say is true, and there's a problem within the Empire, this could get serious."
"This is not something we can just overlook."
"Do you truly believe the imperial palace has fallen to black magic?"
"I'm certain of it."
"What about the Emperor?"
"I can't say for sure. But I believe the Crown Prince is highly involved."
"The Crown Prince…"
Fiore muttered.
"This is grave."
Then, as if he were thinking something over, he eventually nodded.
"Understood. For now, let's keep this between us."
"Yes, sir."
"We'll discuss what to do next, together."
"Understood."
Though aloof, he was not one to hesitate when it was time to act. Thinking that his father was on his side, Yuri felt reassured.
"By the way, Yuri. A delegation from Yoheim has arrived."
"Yes, I heard."
"They came saying you introduced them."
"I happened to form a connection with them."
"I thought they were here to attack Briol."
"Hahahaha…"
"What kind of army comes to another country just to receive training?"
"Sir Gonte was worried about the mental state of his young knights, so I offered to pass down the traditional training of Briol, the land of knights."
"And what is Briol's traditional training?"
"Grinding through with grit and spite."
"We had such a tradition in this country?"
"Well, it starts now."
"Hmph…"
"Just trust me."
"…Alright."
Fiore still looked unconvinced, but he patted Yuri's shoulder.
"Got it. You're grown now, so I'm sure you'll manage."
"I'll live up to your trust."
"I don't really have any trust, so live up to Sir Gonte's instead."
"Understood."
"You may go."
"Yes, sir."
As Yuri rose to his feet, he asked,
"Ah, by the way, I haven't seen my two older brothers…"
"They went to school."
"…Excuse me?"
"Cedric said he was going to write a thesis, so he went to Francaise. Joshua followed along, saying he wanted to study too."
In Francaise, which was also the territory of House Flandre, stood the largest university in Briol.
"Oh, that's a good thing."
"Not sure about that."
It wasn't surprising for Cedric, who had always been studious, but Joshua was unexpected.
In his previous life, around this time, Joshua would've been playing with fire somewhere and accidentally set fire to one of the palace buildings.
Of course, he had been there too.
"They're growing up well on their own even though I haven't done much."
"That's true."
He probably knew. Their father had excellent swordsmanship but wasn't great at raising children. In their previous life, both Joshua and Yuri had become delinquents under his neglect.
Cedric would've done well no matter who raised him, so he didn't count.
So, if Joshua had changed in this life, it was entirely thanks to Yuri.
"I'll continue to manage our second brother well."
"…Alright."
"I don't hit him."
"I didn't say anything."
"I'll be off to meet the delegation from Yoheim now."
Yuri gave a polite bow to Fiore and left to meet the knights from Yoheim.
Before he knew it, Ena had come up beside him. She was holding the item Yuri had asked for in advance.
"Your Highness, now that I see you, you've grown taller."
"I'm still growing."
"You used to be so cute as a kid…"
"I'm still cute though?"
"Uh… yes, sure, if you say so."
"What kind of answer is that?"
"You're unhappy even when I agree with you."
"You want something, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Speak."
"Sir Laurent's autograph."
After winning the tournament, Laurent was enjoying explosive popularity in the royal capital. He was being invited to countless social gatherings by Briol's nobles.
Yuri frowned.
"You don't need mine?"
"I already have a lot."
"What?"
"You handed out tons of them before, saying they'd be worth a fortune someday. I kept them all."
"I changed my signature. Those are the old version."
"What?"
While chatting with Ena, they arrived at the encampment of the Yoheim delegation set up outside the palace.
Gonte appeared and greeted Yuri.
"Your Highness!"
"Sir Gonte!"
The two embraced as a greeting.
Yuri was excited at the thought of training an important force to check the Empire, and Gonte was thrilled about reshaping the mindset of Yoheim's youth.
"Sir Gonte, what have you been eating to look so healthy these days?"
"It's Your Highness who looks radiant."
"You should've taken your time. Coming back this quickly—did you miss me that much?"
"Exactly, Your Highness. I rushed back because I longed to see you."
Yuri suddenly noticed a familiar face standing behind Gonte.
It was Amunson, who had lost a duel to Simon and thus served as the pretext for this delegation.
"Oh, Sir Amunson, you're here too."
"It's been a while."
"You must have been training hard. Your gaze has changed."
"I've been waiting for revenge."
Yuri nodded.
If it hadn't been for the trick he'd taught Simon—Feigned Injury—Amunson likely would've won. And now that he'd been training, Simon had better be prepared.
"Good. After this training, I'll arrange a rematch between you and Simon."
"Thank you very much."
"By the way…"
Yuri looked over at the young men from Yoheim lounging around behind Gonte.
Somehow, they didn't give off a knightly air. When a group of young knights gathered, there should've been a fiery atmosphere, but instead, they were all sitting in the shade fanning themselves and chatting idly.
Yuri shook his head.
"Sir Gonte."
"Yes?"
"Are those really knights I'm looking at?"
"They are. Either already knights of Yoheim or on their way to becoming ones."
"This is miserable."
"I agree."
"The Yoheim knights I knew were not like this."
"Of course not."
Truthfully, Yuri didn't really know how Yoheim used to be, but he praised Gonte for now.
"Back in your day, didn't they train every day with enough intensity to chew iron? And yet, here they are just lounging around…"
"I truly can't help but lament."
"Sir Gonte, let us restore the honor of the old Yoheim Knight Order together."
"I shall give it my all."
As far as Yuri knew, Yoheim had never had particularly strong knightly forces—past or present.
But the truth didn't matter.
Yuri reached out his hand to Ena.
"Ena."
"Yes?"
"The prepared item?"
"Here."
In Ena's hand were three red hats.
Yuri put one on, Gonte took another, and Ena wore the last.
Pulling the brim down deep to shade his eyes, Yuri stepped forward.
"All of you, gather up."
A few of Yoheim's knights nearby glanced over, but not many paid attention. They still sat around listlessly.
Yuri took a deep breath, filling his lungs with air, then roared like thunder.
"ALL OF YOU, GATHER HEEEEERE!"
His piercing voice shook the entire encampment.
Only then did the knight order begin to assemble, one by one. They looked at Yuri with puzzled expressions, unsure of what was going on.
One of the quicker-witted knights stepped forward and bowed his head to Yuri.
"Greetings to the third prince of Briol."
"And who are you?"
"Knight of Yoheim, Aul."
"Sir Aul, huh, that's a perfect name."
Yuri nodded and then said,
"From now on, you are no longer Aul, you're Owl No. 1."
"…Excuse me?"
"That means you're the leader of the fledgling owls back there. From now on, I'll issue commands through you."
"Y-yes, sir."
"You are no longer human. Understood?"
Yuri said.
"And I am not a prince. From this moment forward, I am your instructor, who will reforge both your minds and bodies. Just call me Instructor. Got it?"
No response. Yuri screeched again.
"Got it!"
"Y-yes, sir…"
Half-hearted replies returned.
They still hadn't fully grasped the situation.
At Yuri's nod, Gonte and Ena stepped forward from behind.
"These instructors will be guiding you from now on. Our word is law. Even if we tell you red beans make soybean paste, you must accept it as truth. Understood?"
"Yes, sir…"
"Raise your voices!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Down!"
"…Excuse me?"
"Dooooown!"
The whole knight order dropped to the ground. As they started realizing what was happening, their expressions began to harden.
"Roll to the right."
Yuri's voice wasn't particularly loud, so everyone just sat there confused.
Then, Yuri walked forward and kicked one of the knights on the edge.
As he tumbled, the knights next to him all rolled as well.
Yuri kept kicking the ones who had rolled, forcing them to roll even more.
"When I say roll, you roll. Got it!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Roll to the left!"
Thud, thud, thud.
"Roll to the right!"
Thud, thud, thud.
"Stand up!"
Snap!
"Lie down!"
Thud!
Gradually, discipline was being instilled.
"Hmmm…"
Yuri sighed inwardly.
He thought at least one of them would rebel.
A snot-nosed brat who wasn't even from their country suddenly appeared claiming to be a prince and started barking orders — shouldn't that provoke some resistance?
That way, he could make an example out of them by beating one down.
But they were just rolling on command without protest.
To Yuri, who had been knocked around here and there as a mercenary in his previous life, these Yoheim knights seemed even more spineless than rookie mercenaries.
"Why are you all so damn slow? Can't you move any faster?"
Yuri shouted as he walked among the knights, then handed over the role to Ena.
"Instructor No. 3."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"I'm not a prince, I'm Instructor No. 1."
"Yes, Instructor No. 1!"
"Keep them rolling."
"Understood!"
"Instructor No. 2, come with me for a moment."
"Yes, sir!"
Beneath the brim of the red hat, there was a flicker of joy in Gonte's eyes.
"So this is Briol…"
He even muttered to himself.
Of course, Briol didn't actually do any of this.
"Get up! Roll forward! Roll backward!"
Ena, unfazed even in front of dozens of grown men, had them rolling like clockwork.
"Why so slow? You're moving so slow I'm yawning over here! Handstands, all of you! Hey you there, what kind of knight can't even do a handstaaand!"
"…Hmm."
She definitely had talent.
Yuri entered the tent with Gonte.
"Instructor No. 2."
"Yes?"
"I, Instructor No. 1, am planning this kind of training course. What do you think?"
"Hmm…"
Yuri spread out the curriculum he had prepared.
After reading it, Gonte nodded emphatically.
"It's splendid, Your Highn— I mean, Instructor No. 1."
"Good."
"But this training facility…"
"We'll have them build it themselves."
There was no shortage of manpower. The knights of Yoheim would construct the training facilities they'd be put through. And that, too, was part of the training.
If one was to wage guerrilla warfare against a stronger army, the ability to set traps or construct temporary fortifications was essential.
"Instructor No. 1."
Gonte looked at Yuri with reverent admiration.
"This course, it must not be a one-time thing."
"…Hm?"
"I believe more young people must go through this training."
"Instructor No. 2…"
Yuri patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry. Once everyone sees how those owls change, they'll all want to go through this training."
"Ohhh…"
"Then maybe you'll build your own course in Yoheim."
"Ooooh…"
"Sir Gonte, you'll be the one in charge. You'll be Instructor No. 1 then."
"I'll devote myself to learning everything."
"Good."
Gonte's eyes were burning with determination.
"By the way, Instructor No. 3 is impressive. A knight, with that dainty body…"
"She's not a knight."
"…Pardon?"
"She's just a born instructor."
After finishing their discussion, the two stepped outside.
Ena was still rolling the owls. They were knights, and yet they were so worn out, they were flopping around.
"Don't make eye contact with me. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Tired?"
"No, sir!"
"Then why so sluggish! Roll right five times, left six times, forward seven times, backward eight times — roooooll!"
Even Yuri swallowed hard at her intensity.
"Where the hell did she learn that?"
Either way, it was a good sign.
After all, you can never have too many excellent instructors.
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