“Edwin, is this the White Knights Headquarters? I didn’t come to the wrong place, right?”

“Yes, you’ve come to the right place.”

A wry laugh escaped involuntarily.

Behind Renart, who was talking with Fabian, knights of the Guardian Order in red cloaks were lined up in formation.

Most of the knights were looking around the White Knights Headquarters with curious eyes, but some were frowning as if displeased.

About ten people in total?

Considering that beast subjugation teams were composed of elite members, preferably in small numbers, it wasn’t a small group.

“They really came.”

“I heard they’ll be attending classes with us starting today?”

Was the beast subjugation schedule moved up due to the appearance of beasts in the village?

“Even so……”

To bring knights without warning and say they’ll start classes today.

I glared at Renart’s back as he finished talking with Fabian and headed towards the Guardian Order knights.

I was trying to view him favorably since he’s Daisy’s elder brother, but.

“Will it be alright?”

“What?”

“You don’t really like the Guardian Order knights, do you?”

A group truly full of arrogance and prejudice, where only male nobles could join.

That was how Rosebelia evaluated the Guardian Order.

Most of those who looked down on Rosebelia for being a female knight were Guardian Order knights, and now they had to be in the same space.

“Ed, I’m going first.”

“Where are you going? You’re not planning to go to the Commander, are you?”

Edwin asked with an uneasy look.

“That… is a good idea?”

“Are you going to confront the Commander?”

Confront the Commander? As if.

I shrugged lightly and replied nonchalantly.

“Rather than that, I have something to sort out. I’ll be back.”

Giving a hundred concessions, I could tolerate attending classes with the Guardian Order. It would be easier to take people who knew at least something rather than those with no basic knowledge about beasts.

Then what remained was the issue of titles within the White Knights and Guardian Order.

The White Knights, who considered seniority, only called seniors ‘senior’, and called peers and juniors by name.

But the Guardian Order, which had no seniority system, used the title ‘Sir’ for each other.

So it would be right to unify the title as ‘Sir’. Of course, that title should be equally applied to female knights as well.

Hurrying to arrive in front of the main building, I stopped in my tracks seeing a familiar back.

“Senior Vanessa?”

“Rosebelia?”

Vanessa was loitering in front of the main building like someone hesitating whether to go in or not.

“What are you doing here?”

“I didn’t want to run into those Guardian Order guys, so I ended up here while walking. What brings you here?”

When Rosebelia walked around in White Knights uniform and cloak, there were always one or two Guardian Order knights who would pick fights. Vanessa must have had similar experiences.

“I’m here to see the Commander about that matter too.”

“The Commander?”

“It’s one thing to avoid them when passing by, but if we have to attend classes together at the White Knights, we’ll keep running into each other. I think we need to properly sort out the titles.”

Rosebelia once held resentful feelings about the lack of proper title establishment for female knights.

When she first became a White Knights recruit, she had fought a few times with Guardian Order knights who treated her as a lady rather than a knight.

Rosebelia stopped such futile battles after encountering the deep-seated prejudices in their thinking.

It wasn’t with mocking intent, but there were far more people than she imagined who thought it natural to address her as ‘lady’ because she was a woman, even if a female knight.

The prejudice rooted in them was too deep and solid to be uprooted at once.

Realizing this, Rosebelia gave up expecting the Guardian Order knights to change, and only occasionally taught a lesson to those who openly mocked her.

“I guess those guys will either prattle on about ladies or use ambiguous titles. But will anything change by talking to the Commander? We’re dealing with the Guardian Order. They’re hypocrites wrapped in a sense of privilege.”

Vanessa’s face was full of disillusionment as she vented emotions long pent up.

“They’re coming all the way here to take classes because they need us, so why should we be uncomfortable because of them? Knights should rightly be called ‘Sir’, shouldn’t they?”

“I completely agree with you, but those old fogies will never use that title. They’ll say how can they call a woman ‘Sir’ or whatever, it’s obvious without even seeing it.”

A cold smile crept onto Vanessa’s lips as she glared towards the annex where the Guardian Order knights were.

The thought flashed that Vanessa, a female knight of common birth, might have suffered even harsher treatment than Rosebelia, and it stirred up indignation.

“Still, I’m going to speak up. It’s not just classes, we have to go on beast subjugation together too. I don’t want to feel fatigue from titles even there.”

“Our Commander would allow it, of course. But there’s no way the Guardian Order knights would follow that……”

Vanessa hurriedly closed her mouth at approaching footsteps.

“So this is where you were.”

The one who appeared before me and Vanessa was, unexpectedly, Renart.

“Hello, Vice Commander.”

“Hello.”

My eyes met Vanessa’s straight on as we hurriedly greeted Renart.

Surely he didn’t hear our conversation?

“I’ve been looking for you, Sir Rosebelia Winters.”

Huh? What did he just say…

“It’s too long to use the full name with title, isn’t it? I heard you call each other by name in the White Knights, so may I call you Sir Rosebelia from now on?”

*

“Rose?”

“Huh?”

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

“Oh, just about what happened earlier……”

Renart sincerely apologized to me. He said something about his past ignorance possibly offending me with titles.

He said he would never make such a mistake again, and that he would sternly warn the Guardian Order knights not to raise issues with titles.

As expected of Daisy’s elder brother, there are some good points to see in him.

“Earlier what……”

Edwin suddenly stopped talking and sneezed repeatedly into his sleeve.

“You’ve been sneezing since earlier, are you catching a cold?”

“You think so?”

Come to think of it, his voice sounds strange too.

Looking Edwin up and down, wearing only the member uniform without a cloak, I immediately untied the cloak on my shoulders.

“Want to borrow my cloak? At least put this on?”

“Rose, no matter what, I can’t take your cloak to the point of……”

Again, those empty words.

While secretly expecting with his eyes.

“You’re cold right now.”

“I’m fine, really.”

“How is it? Warm?”

When I asked after draping the cloak over his shoulders, Edwin reluctantly nodded.

“Rose, was the cloak always this warm?”

As if possessed by the warmth from the cloak, Edwin looked about to bury his face in it.

“Go back early today. Or rest in the dormitory.”

“I think I will.”

Edwin, sniffling, soon headed towards the dormitory.

I wonder if he’ll be alright?

I turned around after taking my eyes off Edwin, who had become a black dot in the distance.

“Senior.”

There was clearly no one around until just now, but Ian had approached me.

“Clyne?”

“Um……”

“Do you have something to say to me?”

Ian’s gaze fell on me.

It doesn’t seem like he’s looking at my eyes or face, but where is he looking?

Just as I was about to lower my head, following his gaze that seemed to linger around my neck, Ian opened his mouth.

“The sun isn’t out today, so it’s quite chilly.”

“Is it? I feel fine though.”

As I glanced up, I saw the sky full of clouds, just as Ian said.

It is quite cloudy.

As I was examining every corner of the sky where not a single ray of sunlight fell, I hurriedly lowered my head at the alien sensation touching my shoulders.

Over the somewhat desolate member uniform, the cloak Ian had been wearing until just now was draped.

“Did you forget? Senior is……”

“Clyne, I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine.”

“Then how about getting examined by the physician I mentioned before?”

Ah, that renowned physician?

Of course there wouldn’t be internal injuries from beasts, but what if there were internal injuries from aura?

In the original story, it became known that Rosebelia was a Sword Master in the early to mid-part, that is, in early winter.

Usually beast subjugation departures were in autumn, so timing-wise it was after returning from beast subjugation.

Rosebelia didn’t want to reveal that she was a Sword Master, but coincidentally it became known that she was a Sword Master after returning from beast subjugation?

What if Rosebelia inevitably had to use aura during the subjugation, and someone other than Gabriel found out…

I must participate in this subjugation no matter what.

“I told you, didn’t I? I know my body better… Are you alright?”

“Pardon?”

When I pointed at Ian’s deeply furrowed brow with my fingertip, he asked back with a bewildered face.

“You’re frowning. Are you feeling unwell somewhere too?”

“No, I’m……”

Come to think of it, his face does look a bit flushed?

No sooner had that thought crossed my mind than my hand moved on its own.

“You’re not catching a cold, are you? You seem to have a slight fever……”

Under my hand covering Ian’s forehead, his slightly widened eyes blinked slowly.

Did I touch him carelessly again?

As I hurriedly tried to remove my hand from Ian’s forehead, for some reason I couldn’t budge an inch.

As if something was pressing down on my hand…

When I raised my head again, what entered my sight was a large hand covering the back of my hand.

“Um, Clyne?”

As I wiggled my fingertips, which were trapped helplessly inside Ian’s palm, his fingers wiggled in response.

I didn’t mean for you to copy me, I meant for you to let go?

Just as I was about to forcibly pull my hand away, firm knuckles deeply intertwined between my fingers.

“I think I’m sick, senior.”