Chapter 163: Chapter 163

“You’ve gotten quite full of yourself!”

Looking down through the principal’s office window at the students happily playing, Shan turned his head at the gruff voice.

Darkal clicked his tongue, stepped inside, and closed the door.

“Don’t go easy on them in the future. You’ll spoil them!”

“I didn’t go completely easy on them. If they train for a few more months, they’ll actually get hurt next time.”

“That’s what going easy on them means!”

Darkal, having barked his reprimand, sat across from him and suddenly produced a liquor bottle and two glasses.

A slightly tart yet sweet aroma of white wine drifted into the room.

“Have a glass.”

As Shan politely accepted the drink and took a sip, Darkal spoke with a strangely despondent expression.

“In the few years I haven’t seen you, you’ve become a complete adult! Seeing how you handle kids your age as you please.”

In the spar a few hours ago, Shan had intentionally allowed Dike Bargen’s sword to graze his shoulder at the final moment.

This was to instill in the students a sense of achievement that they had claimed victory together, as well as the camaraderie stemming from it.

Rather than being miserably beaten like dogs and receiving mercy as if begging for it, believing they had barely succeeded after fighting to the bitter end was far more enjoyable.

He had even carefully considered the target who would land the blow on him.

Dike Bargen was the head of the Western Old Faith, which, while the largest single faction, was a minority among the total student body of the knight academy.

Furthermore, unlike all the other factions that were pro-royalist, they were the only anti-royalist group and were persecuted, which made them band together among themselves all the more stubbornly.

However, now that Dike, the faction’s leader, became the sole hero who wounded the Lord Protector’s body, they were able to mingle with students from other factions.

Unlike those in higher positions bestowing favor on those below, it was only when those below rendered a favor to those above that they could interact as equals.

In addition, since Shan remembered Dike’s father and showed respect toward him, it became difficult for anyone to dare insult them as traitors.

Insulting a warrior to whom even the Lord Protector paid respect was an act of challenging his authority.

It was truly a set of moves designed from beginning to end to perfectly resolve the strife between factions and strike a balance.

Darkal considered this aspect of Shan to be political sense naturally acquired while living as a high noble over the past few years.

After all, the advice he himself had given was at most something like, ‘Beat them all up, then flatter them moderately.’

Though he felt a bit regretful because it looked cunning, unlike the stubborn, straightforward warrior he admired, seeing his disciple grow was nonetheless a joyful thing.

Sharing a glass of wine together was the old man’s own way of acknowledging that his disciple had become an adult.

“When I taught you back then, you were a brat who truly knew nothing, but in just a few years, not only did your body grow, but your mind grew tremendously too! Perhaps it just means that much time has passed and I’ve grown old.”

Shan, who was making an embarrassed expression at his praise, widened his eyes at the words that followed.

“It seems it’s about time I quit playing principal!”

“Pardon?”

“I’ve realized it anew, but I’m just an old-fashioned old man! A changed era requires teachings to match it. Besides, everything I have to teach, the instructors already know!”

If it were simply a matter of training knights, Darkal still prided himself on being the best in Pendia, but he realized that raising a knight class to serve as soldiers as the Queen desired required a different approach.

And he was too old to keep up with such changes.

Originally, he had planned to retire and wander freely, but had been forced to sit and work as principal for another full year, so now it was truly time to quit.

After talking a bit more and learning that Darkal’s declaration of retirement was not out of anger or frustration from interference by higher-ups, but because he truly felt his own limits, Shan nodded.

“I understand, Master. I will consult Her Majesty and look for a successor.”

The prime candidate for the successor to take over the principal position was Samel Cordo, Darkal’s nephew and a senior instructor.

Since Darkal had originally passed down various things to him with the intention of handing it over after laying down the foundation, it was a sort of family management, but in any case, was it not better to leave it to someone capable?

On top of that, he had reportedly opposed Darkal’s faction-dividing policy, so his educational philosophy seemed likely to align in direction as well.

Unlike Darkal, who focused heavily on knight training, he had also studied strategy quite a bit, which was an added bonus that would help foster a command class in the future.

After chatting for quite a while longer, Shan felt a ticklish sensation on his chest as he walked out of the principal’s office.

The spider controlled by Cheryn was writing letters.

[So it turned out like this in the end.]

“Did you know this would happen?”

[I guessed it might turn out like this. Still, I’m glad it wasn’t because of hurt feelings. He’s a good person, Principal Darkal.]

Cheryn’s help had been present in allowing Shan to skillfully consider the hierarchy between factions, let himself be attacked by an appropriate target, and elevate him to harmonize the atmosphere.

Of course, no one knew that fact except for the two of them.

When he thanked her for her assistance, Cheryn moved her front legs side to side, expressing what looked like a shake of the head.

[The actor is more important than the scriptwriter. Honestly, I was surprised. Without me knowing, you’ve become a complete actor.]

“Is that so? Honestly, even while speaking, I thought it might be a bit awkward.”

[Not at all. If I hadn’t known, even I would have been completely fooled.]

Shan had merely recalled the image of Roden training troops in the past while yelling at them, or the times when he placated lords.

However, considering that Cheryn’s advice had been superficial, such as ‘Yell to intimidate everyone,’ ‘Let yourself be lightly attacked by Dike and then elevate him,’ and ‘Express respect for his father,’ Shan’s acting deserved high praise.

After all, the lines that frightened and spellbound the students were all created by him.

While trudging down the hallway, Cheryn hesitated for a moment before writing out text.

[Looking at things like this, I sometimes get thoughts like that.]

“What kind of thoughts?”

[You often say that because you’re stupid, being a swordsman suits you best, but I think it’s just because you didn’t learn much when you were young, and depending on how you grew up, things could have been very different.]

Imagining Shan having learned to think politically from a young age, Cheryn, far away in the royal palace, shook her head with a shudder.

If that had been the case, she would not have been able to keep Shan by her side out of sheer fear.

*

After the two-hundred-versus-one spar, Shan received word from Darkal that the factions had successfully begun to crumble.

Of course, everything could not change in an instant.

After all, it was unrealistic for the bad blood built up over time to melt away in the blink of an eye.

However, after loose bonds were forged through massive hardship, achievement, and reward, if they lived intertwined while instructors provided appropriate pressure, it would gradually melt away.

Above all, because Shan had personally threatened that those who muddied the waters with factional strife would be expelled, it was difficult for them to step forward openly.

Say what one will, pressing them down with the dignity of the Lord Protector was always a powerful force.

Just as he thought he had dealt with one matter and could catch his breath, Shan received word from Hakan, who managed the newly built royal stables.

Since communication artifacts had not yet been connected to that location, a messenger on horseback delivered a letter.

[It seems Arwin’s foal will be born very soon.]

Upon receiving the message, Shan immediately mounted one of the carriage horses in the mansion’s stable and rode toward the royal ranch.

The royal ranch, built recently, was located outside Hasra City, and since it was not intended to withstand invasions in the first place, it was enclosed only by palisades and fences of moderate height.

As it housed the cherished horses of high-ranking knights, including the royal knights, regular troops were dispatched directly to guard against thieves and monster invasions.

Arriving at the ranch, Shan was greeted by Hakan.

“You arrived quickly, Lord Protector!”

“Where is Arwin?”

“Her water broke a little while ago. It looks like it will come out very soon.”

Stepping inside, Shan greeted the mercenaries who were former semi-horse archers that he had fought alongside in the past.

Soon, he was able to see Arwin, who was repeatedly lying down and getting back up with an anxious expression.

“I’m here, Arwin.”

As Shan approached, Arwin miraculously stopped snorting and pawing at the ground with her hooves.

As he stroked her head, surprised expressions appeared on the faces of Hakan and the other Horaisians.

“Oh, she wouldn’t even calm down with a soothing spell……”

“It seems an extraordinary horse indeed follows an extraordinary master.”

After he stroked her for a long while like that, the birth finally began in earnest.

Shan watched with a curious expression as the front legs, followed by the head and torso, smoothly emerged.

Come to think of it, this was the first time he had witnessed an animal give birth up close in person.

‘Do humans get born like this as well?’

Back when he had received education on sexual knowledge from Roden, he had heard a roughly similar explanation, but he could hardly imagine it.

After pondering such crude thoughts for a brief moment, Hakan and the other Horaisians assisted the birth with delicate hands, safely guiding even the hind legs out.

“Is it over?”

“Once the placenta comes out, it will be over. If it doesn’t come out, we have to pull it out by hand.”

Hearing that it would not come out immediately, Shan turned his attention to the newborn foal.

Although it was covered in blood and filth making it hard to tell for sure, the creature possessed a coat with a metallic sheen just like its mother.

Hakan, who was examining it with a careful gaze, smiled and nodded.

“It seems there are no physical disabilities!”

“That is truly a relief.”

“We were fortunate.”

Because magical power was used to crossbreed them with various monsters, coupled with repeated inbreeding, Horais warhorses had an exceptionally high rate of physical defects compared to other breeds.

It was to the extent that there was a saying that if three foals were born, one of them would be deformed.

That was also why an already precious horse was considered even rarer.

Watching the newborn foal stagger as it tried to walk on its own, the Horaisians thought that its frame was built extremely well, and that even if it might not equal its mother, it would become a fine warhorse.

Upon checking, the gender was male.

“If he isn’t gelded, his temperament looks like it’ll be wild, so breaking him in will be a pain.”

“Even so, that’s nothing in front of the Lord Protector.”

“Will the Lord Protector ride this one as well? But he already has Arwin, doesn’t he?”

At someone’s remark, Shan contemplated for a moment.

Currently, there were only five Horais warhorses remaining in the Pendia royal family.

Among them, excluding Arwin, the remaining four were objectively a step behind her, and two in particular were getting too old to be used as battle steeds.

Their offspring had blood that was too diluted to be called Horais warhorses.

Looking at it this way, Roden keeping Lipo right now was quite a waste as well.

Even though he had previously tried to give the horse to Lug or Ravana, only to be turned down.

Seeing him in thought, Hakan smiled and spoke.

“Since it will take four to five years for him to become a proper battle steed anyway, keep him as Arwin’s backup and successor. By then, her prowess will likely wane as well.”

When Arwin first came to Shan, she was three years old, surprisingly at a time when her growth period had not yet fully ended.

Since a little over five years had passed since then, she was now eight years old, an age at her prime for a battle steed.

And just as Hakan said, after a few more years passed, she would gradually reach the age to retire.

Or if she was unfortunate for one reason or another and died in battle, it might be even sooner.

Considering that battle steeds died on the battlefield far more often than retiring to live out their natural lifespans, it was normally right to prepare a backup.

Though preparing a replacement for Arwin felt somewhat unpleasant.

Shan watched Arwin licking the foal and nursing it before speaking.

“Your name is ‘Kasa.’ I’m not sure if I’ll ride you in the future or not, but let’s get along well.”

Naturally, the foal paid no heed to such words and devoted itself to suckling its mother’s milk.

A short while later, once the placenta inside Arwin’s body was naturally expelled, only then did a priest recite a divine miracle of healing.

Having recovered her body and regained her energy to some extent, Arwin, like a tough Horais warhorse, sprang up and paced around her surroundings.

At her intense gaze staring fixedly at him, Shan asked in surprise.

“You want to run?”

Wondering if that was okay, he asked Hakan and the Horaisians, only to receive the answer that it was absolutely out of the question.

No matter if she had received a healing miracle, if she ran carrying a rider right after giving birth, her stomach could rupture and kill her.

Shan smiled and patted her neck.

“Not right now. But since you received treatment, let’s run together excitedly after a few days pass, alright?”

Arwin answered instead by gently biting Shan’s hair and tugging on it.

*

The news that Arwin had smoothly given birth to a Horais warhorse became quite a hot topic.

Say what one will, was it not the rarest breed of warhorse that, outside of Horais, had never exceeded ten head even at its peak in other kingdoms?

Roden’s horse, Lipo, occasionally snooped around out of curiosity about his offspring, but every time he did, Arwin chased him away with a fierce momentum.

Seeing that scene made it clear that this pregnancy had indeed been possible because Arwin had permitted it.

Naturally, the knights displayed greed for Kasa.

Ravana showed little interest, claiming that her mounted lance skills were mediocre anyway and that as she aged she wouldn’t even be able to do knight duties properly in a few years, but Lug, while not saying it out loud, showed quite a covetous sign toward the creature.

If so, he shouldn’t have refused when Shan offered to give him Lipo before.

Around a week after the birth, thanks to the continuous care of the priests, Arwin had fully recovered and ran outside the ranch together with Shan for the first time.

Naturally, because she had lacked exercise during her pregnancy, she had lost muscle, so her running speed and stamina were lower than before, but as she was being well looked after, she would recover quickly with steady training.

Right around when spring was gradually passing and the heat of summer was being felt, Cheryn summoned Shan and Hakan together to the Red Palace.

“Greetings, Your Majesty the Queen.”

Hakan bowed respectfully toward Cheryn with a nervous expression.

Although he had been quickly knighted as a royal knight despite his foreigner status thanks to his victory in the jousting tournament and his outstanding lineage, he could not help but feel a strange pressure before this queen, who radiated a languid yet sharp aura.

“There is no need to be so nervous. I summoned you today merely to talk. Sister?”

At Cheryn’s call, Princess Cassia, standing beside her, greeted him cautiously.

Though she still had a timid demeanor, seeing that she did not tremble or stutter like before, it seemed Cheryn’s careful tending had taken effect.

“Thank you, Sir Hakan. I owe a great debt of gratitude to you and everyone who participated in the mission to rescue me.”

“Ah, no. I merely shot arrows from the side.”

At Cassia’s greeting, Hakan waved his hands as if feeling burdened.

Above all, with Shan, who had made the greatest contribution, standing right beside him, receiving such thanks was nothing but burdensome.

Of course, Cheryn bringing Cassia to greet him was not only proper etiquette, but also to let Hakan know that she had not forgotten the favor.

Around the time the atmosphere relaxed somewhat, Cheryn spoke with a relaxed smile.

“Indeed, before we knew it, it has already been nearly half a year since you came here, has it not?”

“That is correct.”

“After returning, I assigned you to manage the ranch all this time; were you perhaps disappointed? It must be a somewhat minor post compared to other positions.”

Managing a ranch, far from the royal palace and inevitably physically separated from those in power, was not a job royal knights would prefer.

In the first place, it was not an assignment that required someone of royal knight caliber.

Even so, the reason Hakan had been assigned to it was due to Cheryn’s bad habit acting up.

Gauging a person’s character by lightly provoking them and seeing how they react.

Yet surprisingly, Hakan had never uttered a single word of complaint while managing the ranch ever since completing his duty as part of the rescue team.

No, rather, he had shown a positive attitude, saying it was nice to be together with his kin and do work he excelled at.

Restraint in not being overly greedy for his given share, charisma to command his kin, and decisiveness to be ruthless when necessary.

And even a favorable impression close to loyalty displayed after submitting to Shan.

Cheryn reached the conclusion that, if given sufficient support, Hakan was someone who could throw Horais into chaos or rise above it, and someone who would not easily betray Pendia.

“I believed Your Majesty was simply utilizing people according to need.”

“I am pleased that you say so. Having one’s intentions conveyed whole is truly a good thing. After all, as one lives, cases where that is not so are far more common.”

Having broached the subject like that, Cheryn brought up the current situation of the Arman Alliance as the next topic.

“The Ajun royal family is busy rebuilding their collapsed palace, and Count Balik and Duke of Morayen of Libert are busy acting as a two-headed giant to govern their single body. However, before long, all of them will join forces to oppose Pendia.”

“……That is so.”

“Therefore, I wish to secure as many allies as possible. For example, people like those of your homeland.”

If there were leeway, she would spend more time building bonds, verifying character, and fostering qualities as a leader, but unfortunately, an invasion was certain to arrive within a few years at the latest.

To grow into a force capable of seizing control of Horais or at least causing internal strife within it, the operation would have to begin sooner than that.

Cheryn looked down at Hakan with the eyes of a queen and spoke.

“Hakan of the Golden Clan, do you have any intention of returning to your homeland and challenging the head of the clan? If you promise an alliance, Pendia will back you from behind.”

At the Queen’s words, Hakan looked back and forth between her and Shan with a surprised expression.

But only for a moment; realizing what kind of opportunity he had grasped, he nodded with a solemn expression.

“Swearing by the Goddess and every blade of grass on the plains, I will never forget the favor Your Majesty the Queen and the Lord Protector have shown me.”

His eyes shone sharply like a bird of prey that had spotted its game.