Seeker 172

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Chapter 172. The Decorated Maiden Knight

After concluding our first battle, the group continued down the road. 

It wasn't long before they encountered another horde of Ogres for the 2nd time. 

This time, there were 6 of them. 

Although their numbers were irregular, they were easily defeated, just like the previous encounter. 

Ogres in this world seemed to be on par with Saber-toothed Tigers from my original world's dungeon of Forest Floor in terms of strength. 

They were by no means weak opponents, but with over 9 adventurers above level 25 in the party, we had no trouble dealing with a group of ogres this size.

However, the group's Captain continued to charge at the ogres recklessly, disrupting the coordination of Black Wolf Knight Order. 

She was scolded, with comments like, "Miss, you're in the way!".

As Kazane-san had pointed out, it was indeed frustrating to watch.

In the midst of this, it was eventually my turn to approach her.

"Daichi-kun, why don't you say something to her?"

"Eh? Me!?"

"Yeah. You 2 are both loners; maybe you'll get along."

"Yuzuki, one day. I really want to train you properly."

Kazane-san and Yuzuki encouraged me to talk to the Captain, so I reluctantly approached the armored girl on horseback.

"I-it looks tough out there." 

I started with a hopeless attempt at conversation.

 I'm not great with small talk, unlike Kazane-san and Yuzuki.

"Are you making fun of me too?"

Despite her young voice, her words were stiff and tense, laced with self-deprecation. 

Somehow, I felt a sense of kinship.

Indeed, as Yuzuki had pointed out, I was a loner by nature and might be suitable for this task. 

I lowered my voice so the rest of the Black Wolf Knight Order wouldn't hear.

"No, not at all. Even though Kazane-san and Yuzuki are here now, I'm not good at socializing. I can relate a bit."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. Plus, no matter how you look at it, this situation is like playing life in hard mode. How did we end up like this?"

"'Hard mode'? What do you mean?"

"I mean, the difficulty level of this situation is way too high. You––sorry, I didn't ask your name. I'm Daichi. Musou Daichi."

"I'm Tia. Tia Greenfield. I've been given the position of the Black Wolf Knight Order's Captain, but as you can see, I'm an inexperienced noble."

With that introduction, Tia, the armored girl on horseback, began to speak about her situation. 

She was born into the Greenfield family, a baron's family – a lower-ranking noble family. 

Despite her lower rank, she was still a noble's daughter. 

In a normal world, she would have been married to the eldest son of another noble family and lived a reasonably elegant life.

But for some reason, she had been granted the power of [The Awakened One] in addition to her natural beauty. 

She had been raised to become a beautiful warrior, almost like an idol. Attempts were made to raise her level under the protection of hired adventurer bodyguards, and she was even sent on monster-hunting missions.

That girl happened to catch the eye of the king. 

At that time, the kingdom had a small problem with Black Wolf Knight Order, a knight order directly under the state. 

Although they had sufficient strength, Black Wolf Knight Order appeared rough in both appearance and personality, resembling a gang of ruffians.

The king, thinking he wanted to make the Black Wolf Knight Order a distinguished and impressive knight order that could support the country without any shortcomings, somewhat impulsively appointed Tia as Black Wolf Knight Order's Captain.

The king believed that if Tia, as the face of Black Wolf Knight Order, could lead these burly men, the knight order would become splendid and impressive. 

So, with a single decree, Tia became Black Wolf Knight Order's Captain.

Her parents were overjoyed at their daughter's honor and reward.

However, there were several problems. 

Tia had been a spirited and assertive girl since her childhood, someone who would always assert what was right and what was wrong. 

In other words, she was a strong-willed type.

 In addition,  Black Wolf Knight Order's members did not welcome her appointment as their Captain. 

The current Vice Captain was originally Black Wolf Knight Order's Captain. 

They accepted the new leader reluctantly, purely out of duty, but they did not truly recognize Tia as their Captain.

"...It's a fact that I lack the strength. When it comes to battles with monsters, the arguments of the vice-captains are probably correct. But I don't want to be just a 'decoration.' So, I rushed things and spun my wheels, leading to the current situation. However..."

At this point, Tia paused and stared directly at me. 

"I was happy. At the gate just before we left the town, you—Daichi—said something to me. 'What's wrong with the leader's opinion?' Since becoming the leader of this knight order, it was the first time I felt that my thoughts were acknowledged."

"Uh, well... that was..."

I said it to suit our convenience. 

However, for her, it seemed to be a very significant thing. 

Anyway, I had a rough idea of Tia's problem. 

She's almost self-aware of her shortcomings but can't control them. 

Even if she tries her best, the more she tries, the worse the situation gets.

And above all, it must be tough for her that nothing she does is acknowledged. 

If Tia could accept being a decoration herself, it might improve the situation somewhat, but given her personality, that seems difficult. 

It's quite tough not being able to be true to yourself. 

If someone told me I couldn't live unless I became an extrovert, I'm pretty sure I'd cry alone in my room.

As I was thinking the situation was too much like Hard Mode, a message board appeared in front of me with a ping in my mind.

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Special Mission: Mediate between Black Wolf Knight Order's Captain and members!

Experience Points Earned upon Mission Completion... 2000 Points

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Whaaaaaaat...? 

Is this also a mission?

My spirits were a bit dampened, but oh well. 

I refocused and headed toward the next target.