On March 9th, I will take a break due to PC issues.
The Imperial Sword Castle is vast.
Unless you are a member of the royal family living in this castle, it is difficult to move around, and each emperor has created secret rooms and hidden passages during their reign, so even the emperor does not know everything about the castle.
In the middle floors of such a castle,
a young girl was wandering around.
"Hmm... I'm lost!"
The girl, with a troubled expression but a voice that didn't sound too worried, spoke.
The upper floors are the emperor's area, and the middle floors are the area for the royal family and high-ranking officials. Reports that don't need to reach the emperor are judged here.
Al and Leo's rooms are also in this area. However, it was a dangerous act for a girl of unclear status to wander in here.
If caught, she would be restrained until her identity was confirmed.
But the girl was carefree.
The girl, who was probably in her early teens, around eleven or twelve, had her dull blonde hair tied up in a side ponytail.
From the wooden sword at her waist, anyone who works in the castle would immediately recognize her as a knight trainee or someone in a similar position.
However, most knight trainees don't come to such a place.
"Oh no, oh no... What if I can't eat my meal..."
While muttering something that would make Al roll his eyes if he were there, the girl lifted her face and started walking.
She had the reckless idea that she would eventually find a familiar place.
"Maybe it was a mistake to go up the stairs. The instructor said not to go up, or maybe he didn't."
"Hey! Kid over there!"
The girl straightened her back at the sound of the voice.
Then, like a broken doll, she slowly turned her head back.
There were two guards with spears. Both were looking at her with suspicious eyes.
"Who are you? How did you get in here?"
"You're a kid in knight training, right? You must have broken the rules by coming up here. Those who can't follow the rules can't become knights."
"Um, well..."
"You're failing. Come here! I'll turn you over to the instructor."
As the guards reached out to the girl,
a black-haired man called out to her, interrupting them.
"Oh, there you are. That's not good. You shouldn't have left me."
"L-Leonard-sama!?"
"Yes, sorry. This girl was called by me. I thought she could help me carry some things since she looked idle. Would you like to help too?"
"N-no! We have a mission!"
"Since we didn't know Leonard-sama called her, we apologize! We will return to our mission!"
"Alright. Then I'll leave it to you."
With a smile, Leo waved to the guards. After a quick look around to confirm no one was there, he sighed and spoke.
"That was close."
"Y-Yes..."
"Y-Yes?"
"Handsome, right? Big brother! The teacher said that's what you call someone like you! Thanks for helping me!"
The girl smiled brightly.
Leo's eyes widened at her overly familiar attitude, but he soon chuckled and beckoned her.
"You're very energetic. Were you in knight training?"
"Yep!"
"I see. Then I'll go with you later. The instructor won't be angry then. But you'll have to help me with my work, okay?"
"Got it! It's a deal! I accept!"
"Deal. I'm Leonard. Close friends call me Leo. What's your name?"
"My name is Rita."
"Rita, huh?"
"How did you know!?"
"Hehe, you're a funny kid."
With that, Leo led Rita to his room.
***
"Listen, Rita. This is an important mission. I trust you with it, okay?"
"Y-Yes! I'll do my best!"
With that, Leo placed a large amount of sweets in front of Rita.
All of them were gifts from noblewomen and women from the town below. They had all been tasted for poison, but there were just too many.
Since returning from the south, Leonard's popularity had skyrocketed, especially among women. He attributed this to his brother.
The story of his efforts for the stranded people had reached the capital, and particularly the tales of him jumping into the sea and raising a white flag for the injured were the most popular stories in the capital.
Both were things Al had done, and Leonard wanted to say that everything was his brother's doing, but he couldn't. So, he had been eating the sweets sent to him every day.
However, even Leo had his limits.
"R-Really, I can eat all of them!?"
"Yes, go ahead. Eating them is your mission."
"Got it! I'll do my best!"
Rita opened the bags with shining eyes.
She smiled brightly at the sweets she had never seen before.
Seeing Rita like this, Leo felt a bit guilty and looked away. He felt like he was manipulating a little girl to do something he found difficult.
Still, he couldn't eat any more, and he didn't think Al would eat them either. If he had to throw away the uneaten sweets, it would be better to have someone else eat them.
Convincing himself of this, Leo made tea for Rita.
"Delicious! So delicious!"
"That's good. Here's your tea. Be careful, it's hot."
"Thanks! Big brother Leo!"
"Big brother Leo?"
"Yep! Leonard big brother. Short for Leo! Is that okay?"
"Sure, call me whatever you like. I'll organize some documents, and when I'm done, we'll go to the instructor's place."
"Roger!!"
Leo smiled naturally at the energetic Rita.
Her cheerful and unreserved demeanor was refreshing to him. In the castle, most people were always on their guard.
Their smiles often felt fake, and he often felt suffocated. This became more pronounced after his success in the south.
In such an environment, Rita's pure and cheerful attitude was like a refreshing drink, healing Leo's heart.
"Hey, big brother Leo. Are you an important person?"
"What's with the sudden question?"
"Well, the people earlier called you 'sama.' The teacher said people who are called 'sama' are important."
"My father is important, so everyone calls me 'sama.' I'm not important. By the way, is that teacher your instructor?"
"No. It's the adventurer big brother who taught me swordsmanship. He's not much older than you, I think. But you're much cooler! The teacher is always bullied by the kids at the dojo and cries when girls reject him."
"He sounds like a fun person. You seem to like him, so I'd like to meet him."
"Yep! I like the teacher! I can train in the castle thanks to him! So I want to become a great knight or adventurer!"
With that, Rita bit into a fruit pie.
Leo chuckled at her lack of manners but thought the person who made it wouldn't mind seeing her smile.
After organizing the documents, Leo stood up.
By then, most of the sweets on the table were gone. However, Rita seemed to have reached her limit and was lying on the floor, full.
But she slowly got up and reached for the remaining sweets.
"You don't have to push yourself."
"N-No... Rita keeps her promises... I have to finish them..."
"Hehe, you're brave. How about you eat what you've picked up, and I'll finish the rest?"
"R-Right... I understand... It's an honor..."
With that, Rita put the last piece of chocolate in her mouth.
Leo quickly finished the few remaining sweets. However, he didn't rush her. He watched her eat slowly and steadily.
Then,
"I-I finished them all!!"
"Great job."
"Hehe!"
Leo patted Rita's head. She accepted it with a full smile.
After that, Leo escorted Rita to the lower floor.
"Hey, big brother Leo. Can I come see you again?"
"Sure. Anytime."
"Yep! I'll come back!"
With that, Leo parted ways with Rita.
He told the instructor not to be angry and instructed the guards to let her through if they saw her.
Back in his room, Leo cleaned up the scattered candy wrappers and thought about how Rita might become good friends with Crista.
So, that's the new character, Rita.
It's fun to write such characters (laughs).
I might stray a bit from the main plot, but please bear with me.
Rita will definitely play a role in the third part ( ´艸｀)