Elaine was started for a moment and looked back at Sophia. Just as she was about to speak, Sophia quickly corrected what she had said.
“Strictly speaking, I mean. I ended up like this because I let down my guard like a fool, so I wasn’t of much help. Of course, our success was only possible because Laikios was greatly weakened. But, in any case, it’s all to Dame Elaine’s credit that we were able to defeat the monster.”
“So that’s how it was. Dame Elaine…”
Fortunately, the knights seemed to believe Sophia’s words. They recalled the sight of Laikios crawling away, a complete wreck. They thought it may have been possible if the monster’s recovery had been weakened in that state. Also, there was no reason for Sophia to lie.
It was still a huge feat to be able to defeat Laikios on her own, no matter how weakened it was. The knights spoke without hiding their surprise.
“That’s amazing, Dame Elaine. This must be the reason His Grace took you in as his escort knight.”
“I’m embarrassed. If I had known, we would have gone together…”
Elaine smiled awkwardly at that. For a moment, she had been nervous, she thought Sophia was going to break their promise, but she was glad that wasn’t the case.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door and the maid returned with a meal. As the maid set down the tray on the nightstand next to the bed, Sophia whispered softly so that only Elaine could hear.
“How was that? Was it okay?”
Elaine had been nervous, her heart skipping a beat, but Sophia seemed to be in a good mood. To be honest, she had felt betrayed for a moment earlier, but that wasn’t the case. She was glad the misunderstanding was cleared instantly.
Elaine replied with a sigh.
“It’s fine, but did it really have to be this way?”
It was enough to fool the other knights, but as she had mentioned earlier, Sophia was making herself appear like a fool, especially since they had said the enemy had been weakened. It was a story that could harm her reputation as a knight. It made it sound like her skills were worse than that of a rookie, even if that weren’t the case.
It was only natural that she has been harmed by Laikios. Nevertheless, Sophia had kept her promise to Elaine and, in order to give her credit, she chose to downplay herself, seemingly being harmed by a weakened foe.
“I told you, I have no intention of riding on your coat tails.”
She seemed adamant about this fact. Her attitude was extremely stubborn as if she would not budge on this. Elaine eventually conceded to her.
The knights widened their eyes when they saw the two whispering back and forth in front of them. One of the knights commented in a surprised voice.
“You two seem to get along well now.”
“Huh?”
Elaine and Sophia looked at them in confusion. The knight who spoke tilted his head and rubbed his chin.
Then, as if he suddenly understood, he snapped his fingers.
“Originally, I thought it was the other way around… Or, is that it? Friendship bloomed on the battlefield!”
Was that so? Elaine felt a bit dazed as she looked at the knights who seemed to have come to an understanding.
“…Is that what it looks like?”
Was it just her illusion that Sophia looked excited when she asked that question?
Well, it wasn’t a bad thing that they appeared to get along well now. Elaine decided to just let the knights think as they pleased.
***
Ash and the knights stayed at the Counts mansion for the time being. I would take time for them to recover, and they were injured due to the counts request anyway. Thanks to this, the servants of the residence had become more busy than usual. Two servants who were moving some ingredients whispered next to each other.
“I still get chills down my spine. That, what was it, Laik… whatever, the fact that the highest-level monster was in the territory… We could have died if we made one wrong move.”
“Right. If it weren’t for the Knights of Philres, I wonder what would have happened. Its all thanks to them that we are able to continue our normal lives.”
“You know what? As soon as the master heard that a scary monster had appeared, he packed his bags and tried to flee the territory.”
“Really? Is that true? I thought it was strangely quiet at the time, that must be why. I wouldn’t expect anything less from our master, though.”
“Kyaah!”
Suddenly a loud scream was heard from outside. The servants stopped talking and ran to where they heard the sound coming from.
“What happened?”
“Over there!”
The maids face was pale as she pointed her finger into the distance. A black figure could be seen rushing toward the mansion.
“A b-bear!”
The faces of the other two maids paled.
“Why is there a bear in a place like this? We need to quickly call the knights for help!”
They hurriedly turned around, ready to seek assistance, when the bear that was right behind them suddenly fell limp with a thud. Then, a white face peeked out from behind the large body. The servants instantly recognized her and gasped in amazement.
“Kn-knight?”
Elaine greeted them cheerfully when she saw them.
“Ah! Perfect timing! Are you all busy right now?”
“What is this?!”
The servants were stammering in confusion. Elaine, with a light tone, spoke while holding up the body of the bear.
“Oh, I caught it while I was in the mountains.”
Even though the bear was dead, it was still gigantic, several times the size of Elaine.
With Elaine lifting it up, her whole body was hidden. This gave off the impression that the bear was still alive and moving. Seeing the confusion on their faces, she added.
“If you’re free, could you show me to the kitchen?”
“The kitchen?”
The servants asked back, still not comprehending what was going on. Elaine held up the bear again with one hand, answering with a bright smile.
“I thought I would treat everyone.”
***
The afternoon sunlight was pouring into the room. Ash sat back on the bed, staring through the window, then looked back at the doctor seated next to him.
“I still can’t believe it.”
“You were poisoned by Laikios, but your internal injuries are not even all that severe. I was surprised you were even able to endure it in the beginning, but the real reason your injuries were only to this extent is thanks to the knight who quickly brought me the ingredients.”
He knew what the doctor meant, even if he didn’t say it. It was impossible not to know. Ash recalled what he had heard from the other knights when he woke up again after dawn.
So many things had happened while he was unconscious. Elaine had saved his life. She said she was just doing what was expected of her as his escort knight, but what would she have done had Laikios not been weakened?
He knew Elaine had excellent skills, but he didn’t know if she was capable of defeating the top tier monster single handedly. Therefore, he didn’t think it was just a part of her duties as she had said. Instead, he couldn’t shake the feeling that what she had done was reckless.
But, if it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t be alive like this.
Upon hearing those words, Elaine had hurriedly urged him not to say such things. Only after Ash had promised that he understood, did she relax again.
“Anyway, for the time being, you must rest. Don’t forget to take your medicine regularly. If you finish the prescription, I will make more.”
“I understand.”
After being lost in thought for a moment, he was pulled back by the sound of the doctor’s voice. He nodded and the doctor gave a few more instructions as he organized his examination tools. After he had finished cleaning up, he stood up with his bag when a commotion was heard from outside.
Ash briefly glanced out the window.
“It’s noisy outside.”
“Ah, that…”
“Do you know what’s going on?”
“Well, Dame Elaine caught a bear earlier. I suspect it has something to do with that.”
“A bear? Dame Elaine?”
“Yes, I caught a quick glimpse of it on my way here, it was enormous. I didn’t hear the details because I was in a hurry, but she seems to be quite an interesting person.”
“…”
After he had finished speaking, the doctor bowed his head and said his farewell.
“Then, Sir, I will take my leave.”
“Okay, thank you.”
After the doctor left, Ash looked out the still noisy window. She had caught a bear. What was this all about?
While thinking about it, there was a knock on the door. As soon as they were given permission to enter, the door opened.
“Sir, have you finished your examination?”
The person who entered the room was none other than Dame Elaine, who was holding a tray in one hand. Ash looked at the bowl on the tray in question.
“That’s…”
“Oh, this? Its bear soup. You should eat it before taking your medicine.”
She approached and placed the tray on the nightstand next to the bed. She then sat down in the chair opening the lid of the bowl. There was a soft rattle and then the fragrant smell of the soup permeated the room. He muttered to himself as he stared at the steam rising from the bowl.
“I wonder if catching the bear had something to do with this?”
Elaine’s eyes widened in surprise.
“What? How did you know?”
“I heard about it from the doctor earlier. He saw you when he was on his way here.”
“Oh.”
As ash stared at her, she made a small sound and scratched her cheek in embarrassment.
“Actually, I caught it to make this for you. To help you recover quickly.”
Ash paused for a moment at the words, looking down at the soup. Elaine, noticing he had suddenly become quiet, asked in an anxious voice.
“Do you not like bear soup?”
“It’s not that.”
Elaine was relieved to hear that, but Ash continued.
“What about you?”
“What?”
“Have you eaten?”
“Ah, yes. I had a light meal earlier. Don’t worry about me and eat quickly before it gets cold.”
Only then did Ash begin to eat the soup. Elaine was seated right next to him, watching with bright eyes. For some reason, he felt a bit awkward and asked a random question.
“There must have been a lot of meat options that will help the body recover. Is there a reason you chose bear?”
Now that he thought about it, he really was curious. Don’t people usually choose to put pork or beef into soup rather than bear?
Elaine seemed to hesitate for a moment before she answered slowly.
“I was seriously ill once, when I was young. I remember eating this and feeling refreshed. When I thought of that, I wanted to do the same for you.”
Ash, who was stirring the soup, looked over at her. Her gaze suddenly became a bit distant. As if she was recalling old memories.
“Did your parents make it for you?”
