Banquet

'Has she always been this tough? Wait a sec, has she ever gotten hurt during our "play knight" sessions?'

Every once in a while, Allen had had no choice but to block Krena's swings with his arms or legs. Whenever that happened, he would end up with painful-looking bruises.

Now that he thought about it, however, he realized that he could not recall a single time that Krena had ever been injured.

"Well done developing her abilities as a Sword Lord this far. That was impressive," the captain of the knights said as he approached, calmly offering Gerda a hand.

The truth, however, was that another chill had just run down his back when he overheard how Krena was entirely unhurt.

The contrast to Leibrand, who could no longer even stand and had to be carried out of the square, was stark.

Gerda looked up warily. Understandably so, as his daughter had just been forced to fight for her life out of the blue.

Thankfully, she had won, but one wrong step and she might have died.

The knight captain kept his hand extended as if he wanted Gerda to take it as an indication of his forgiveness.

Gerda's face was all red from bottled-up rage—he had always had a short fuse, so much so that it was almost always he who threw the first punch whenever he and Rodin fought.

However, he understood that the difference between his social status and that of the knight captain was like heaven and earth. His precious child, his close friend, and his friend's child were all there with him. He did his best to suppress his anger and reverently accepted the proffered hand.

Clink.

Gerda started and looked up. Something had been placed into his hand.

The sensation as well as the glitter he noticed through his fingers told him it was three gold coins; he had been handed money under the guise of a handshake.

Despite being surprised, he managed to pull his hand back in a natural way without saying anything.

The captain turned to Deboji as if nothing had happened and asked, "So then, is there somewhere we can sit down and talk?" This was apparently him showing consideration to Gerda by giving him time to put the money away before the large number of surrounding villagers noticed.

"Y-Yes, milord. A feast is being prepared in your honor at my house."

"Much appreciated. As for you, your name is Gerda, yes? Can I expect you and your daughter to be in attendance as well?"

"Wh— Um, uh...yes, m'lord."

Noticing the look that Gerda shot toward Rodin, the knight captain said, "Ah, if you wish, your friend may also join us."

Allen suspected that the knight captain was actively trying to get Gerda to lower his guard. Rodin nodded at Gerda as Krena invited Allen to come along as well.

Just as the four of them were about to head to Deboji's house together, however, it was revealed that the preparations for the feast would not be finished until around 3 p.m.

Therefore, Rodin decided to head back to update Mathilda and Theresia, leaving Allen to stay with Gerda and Krena.

With nothing else better to do, the three went for a walk together.

***

Everything was a new sight for Allen, who was seeing the residential area of the village practically for the first time ever.

'This place is huge. The square just now could fit a hundred people easily.

'By my estimate, this village has a population of, say, three hundred?'

As this was the heart of the village, there were quite a few shops lined up.

Allen's eyes were naturally drawn toward what appeared to be a commercial district.

'Is that a weapons shop? And I spy plants inside of that place, is it a general store? Or a drug store?'

It was not all that far from the square to the village chief's residence.

Allen's first impression upon laying eyes on it was that it was massive. It seemed roughly the size of two stand-alone houses from modern Japan.

Due to having lived the past several years in little better than a shack, he could not help but be overwhelmed by the sight.

When they knocked on the door, they were shown to a room where they could wait.

'Because the knightly order arrived pretty much right on time, I guess we can expect the feast to start between 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Oh, it's time to do my Creation and Synthesis.'

A quick look at his grimoire showed Allen that his MP had topped back up.

It did not matter that Gerda and Krena were also there with him, as they could see neither the tome nor the cards.

He proceeded to convert his MP into Skill XP.

This was part of the daily routine he had been maintaining ever since he turned one year old.

At first, he only managed to do it twice per day on average, but now he could maintain a steady schedule of both Creating and Synthesizing three times a day. He understood that the only way toward power was through diligent and unceasing effort.

After finishing within a few moments, he looked up to study the room he was in.

'Looks like commoners really do have a much higher standard of living.Then again, maybe the village chief's house isn't the most accurate representation.'

Soon Allen found himself with nothing to do once more.

Just as he was thinking how much the trope of pastimes such as reversi becoming popular in otherworlds now made sense, he felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him.

And of course, once he fell asleep, Krena followed suit, leaning against him.

Gerda looked over them with a soft gaze, smiling wryly at how much the two of them slept.

***

"Allen, wake up. It's starting."

"P-Papa...?" Allen looked around, rubbing his eyes, and found Rodin looking down at him. Two hours had passed.

Allen and Krena roused themselves, then headed with Rodin and Gerda toward the large room where the feast was being held.

The closer they drew, the clearer they could hear the hubbub, indicating that there was already a sizable crowd. True enough, when they stepped inside, they found not only the knights, but also quite a few other villagers and their children present.

They were wearing fine clothes, indicating that they were likely important people in the village. As it turned out, this banquet was not just for the knights, the village chief, and Gerda's group alone.

'Hey, that's the village chief's son. And that other one...what was his name again? He's the one who's an Ax User, right?'

Allen looked around curiously as his group sat down at the table they were escorted to. Sharing the table with them was the knight captain, the village chief, a woman who seemed to be his wife, the village chief's son, the Ax User boy, and a man who was likely his father.

Of the three tables in total, this one was at the most honorable position at the front of the room. The remaining two tables were occupied by the other knights and villagers.

Since the Sword Lord had arrived, the feast could finally kick off. After the village chief gave his welcoming speech, the knight captain also stood up to offer a few words of commendation for the progress of the village's development. However, none of the words entered Allen's ears.

'They're serving molmo?! I've got to bring tw— no, three of them home for mama!'

Both Krena and Allen had noticed that one of the plates on the table was loaded with molmo, a fruit they both loved. Allen made up his mind to nab some, if the opportunity arose, to bring home with him.

The knight captain was eating quite heartily, probably due to having grown hungry from the long trip. The oppressive aura that he had been emanating at the square had dissipated without a trace. Leibrand was not present at this feast. It was not clear if it was because he had not yet recovered enough to eat or if he was feeling awkward about having fought Krena.

'The mood surrounding the knightly order has changed completely. Is this because now they know for sure that Krena is a Sword Lord? Would they really have killed her if she wasn't?'

As the conversation flowed, the knight captain suddenly turned to the village chief. "I said this before, but you've really done a good job with this village, Deboji. Things have changed quite a lot since my last visit three years ago."

"Th-Thank you, milord. Everyone in the village has been contributing however they can," Deboji replied, bobbing his head repeatedly.

'Funny how he himself is kinda chubby while his son looks so gangly', Allen thought idly. 'I guess those genes didn't get passed down.'

"In light of all the effort you have dedicated over the past ten years, it's a bit difficult for me to say this, but..."

"O-Of course, milord," Deboji stuttered, anxiety clouding his face. "You can tell me anything."

The knight lowered his head apologetically and said, "His Lordship said that if Krena was indeed proven to be a Sword Lord, this village will be named after her instead of you."

"I'm sorry, milord?"

In most cases, a newly founded frontier village would be named after the person who "contributed the most to the development of the village." In most cases, this would be the village chief by default. Previously, there was talk that the same would be true here.

'The captain seems a lot more humble now than my first impression of him. Was he acting out there in the square earlier?'

"I-I see. We shall comply with His Lordship's decision, of course."

Deboji did not attempt to protest the announcement. Or rather, it was more correct to say that he knew that nothing would change even if he did attempt to protest.

'Ahh, so our feudal lord wants to make this "the village where Krena the Sword Lord was born."'

The meal had only just started, but it seemed the knight captain wanted to get this news off his chest as soon as possible.

As the conversation went on, more and more dishes kept being carried in. It was the first "proper" meal that Allen had had since coming to this world. He hungrily shoveled down all the dishes that were not just blandly roasted or boiled.

Whenever no one was watching, he tucked a molmo under his seat.

"There's one more thing I ought to say," the knight captain continued, turning toward Gerda.

"I sincerely apologize for springing the fight on the Sword Lord so suddenly just now. His Lordship is somewhat sensitive to this matter as of late, though it isn't particularly his fault."

"I...see?"

Apparently the knight intended to properly explain the backstory for the fight with Leibrand in the square, also stressing to Deboji that this was something he needed to know.

Rodin and Gerda gave him their undivided attention as the village chief also indicated that he was all ears.