Chapter 23
"Celestia!? A-are you okay?"
"......Yes. My heart's just racing a bit."
"Do you want to lie down? Water? Oh right, I'll go get Altried!"
"No, it's already calmed down."
Just moments ago, Renato had been expressionless and cold, but suddenly he showed an unguarded smile so adorable that my heart screamed and I collapsed to the ground, writhing—it was only natural.
But apparently, my bizarre behavior had really startled Renato.
Renato crouched down and peered into my face, looking like he was about to cry. Startled, I stood up with a reassuring smile.
"Are you really okay?"
"Yes."
With his brows furrowed and his restless movements, he looked just like a puppy.
It seems this is what Renato is really like.
From a young age, he's had to worry about factions and succession, and even ended up being poisoned by his own kin—no wonder he's cautious and distrustful.
Unlike Rudo's sunny image, Renato's hair and eye color give off a cold impression, and even the slightest scowl or blank expression can be terrifying.
And yet, he can smile so adorably...
"Celestia?"
"......Ah!"
Without thinking, I had started patting Renato's head, thinking he might get the wrong idea about all this.
Even if he's just a year younger, the height difference between us is over ten centimeters, so I ended up treating him like a small child.
Surely this would make him angry? I gulped and slowly pulled my hand away, watching Renato carefully—but he simply looked up at me with an innocent face.
Just a little more, almost there! And right as my hand was about to completely leave his head, I heard a snort from behind me.
"......Rudo."
"Sorry. The way you two interact is just too funny... But still, you've gotten pretty close in such a short time."
"That's because someone was too busy watching the match and left us alone."
"It's one of my few pleasures, so cut me some slack. Anyway, it looks like it's Celes's turn, so I came to get you."
"Already? That's pretty early today..."
"Rick probably adjusted the schedule since we're here."
I nodded, thinking it was probably something like 'you must have a lot to catch up on,' then walked over to where our stuff was scattered and pulled up the items left there with the towels and water.
"What's that?"
"Armor."
Is this his first time seeing it?
I showed it to Renato, who was staring intently at my hands, then put on the armor made of interlinked small iron rings over my shirt and gave a little bounce.
Since I'm wearing a thick sleeveless undershirt beneath the thin shirt, it shouldn't chafe or injure my skin.
I twisted my body, bent my elbows, carefully checked my movements, and then picked up the dummy weapon.
"......You're already training in armor?"
"I thought I'd get used to it while I can."
Rudo called it armor, but compared to the plate armor worn by the knights in the Royal Capital, this chainmail looks pretty crude.
When you think of knights, you picture dazzling armor and surcoats embroidered with crests to show their identity.
Compared to the brilliant knights of the Royal Capital, the way I look now must be hard to believe.
But rather than wear that heavy, stifling plate armor, I'd gladly choose this lightweight, high-performance chainmail, even if it looks cheap.
"It's a strange shape. I've never seen one like it."
"The sword instructors at the castle don't wear armor. But in the knight training, they wear it during practice."
"Marshals and Colonels wear this under their plate armor."
"I've tried on plate armor before too, but it was so heavy that even swinging a sword was a struggle..."
"That's why regular soldiers only wear chainmail. If you can't move, you're done for."
Chainmail is made of small iron rings, making it lightweight and hard to cut with a sword. Even if it does get cut, repairing a ring or two is easy, and such damage is rare.
Since it's metal, you have to clean off rust, and you can't wear it directly on your skin, so you need a thick shirt underneath—summer is hell either way, whether it's chain or plate.
Thin weapons can pierce through the rings, and blunt force hits you directly, but the benefits still outweigh the drawbacks.
"What about the weight?"
"It's as is. I've been gradually increasing the weight of the weapons, though."
I lightly patted Rudo on the shoulder as he lifted my spare chainmail with one hand and grimaced with a "ugh......", then headed toward the center of the hall where the mock battles were taking place.
"......Celestia."
"Don't worry. There's no way I'll end up like that."
I pointed at the soldiers lying outside the ring, rolling on the ground and shouting insults after losing repeatedly.
—Until yesterday, I was among them, rolling around too.
But now that the misunderstanding has been cleared and the tension has eased a little, if I show him something impressive here, maybe I'll get to see that adorable smile again!
That greedy thought was my downfall.
Even though I tied the first round, I was utterly defeated in the second match against Dan.
"I'm still not losing yet," Dan laughed loudly, and just as I was about to collapse to the ground in frustration and shame as usual...
I noticed the intense gaze directed at me (from Renato), straightened my bent back immediately, and managed to stop myself with just a stomp on the spot.
"Celestia......! That was amazing, you were so cool!"
His eyes sparkled with excitement as he bombarded me with nonstop questions like "That part was awesome!" and "How do you do that?" I smiled wryly and answered each one carefully.
A little ways away, Rudo was watching Renato, who was giddily bouncing around, with a happy smile—and with that sight, there was no way I could go back to training.
"Celestia, are you listening?"
"Yes."
"How do you use that dagger?"
Ready for what would surely be a long barrage of questions, I resolved to keep answering until Renato got tired.