Tristan

Compressed wind flew in from the southeast.

But Sovell was facing due north, and Artoria had even less time to warn him to guard against the wind from the southeast.

With no other choice, Sovell hastily turned the Wind King Scabbard at his waist into a giant shield and placed it in front of Artoria.

He pulled Kay behind the giant shield with him.

Clang!

Clang!

Why were there only two hits?!

*!!!*

Behind me!

The wind beside Sovell warned him.

There was no time to cast Magecraft, or even to turn and swing his sword!

What do I do, what do I do... I've got it!

Just as Sovell prepared to take the blow with his own dragon scales-

The Kelpie beside him lightly tapped the ground with a forehoof. Four or five balls of water rose from the earth and flew behind Sovell, merging into one enormous sphere of water with chaotic currents churning inside.

The remaining four invisible wind arrows plunged straight into the sphere, but the turbulent water and magical energy within forcibly broke apart their structure.

The moment Sovell looked back, he understood why his Magecraft had kept failing when he first encountered the Kelpie...

So it was because the Kelpie had intercepted all of it!!!

And I'd even lost sleep last night over that problem!!!

Wait, wait, wait. This wasn't the time to think about that.

While the enemy paused between attacks, it was time to sound the counterattack!

"Swift!"

After casting an acceleration spell on himself, Sovell immediately charged out from the flank of their little three-person formation!

To the southeast, a figure perched on a branch watched the white-robed boy charging toward him from afar and calmly jumped down from the tree.

Was he coming at me...?

That was what Sovell thought as he watched the distant figure leap down.

Along the way, he felt as though he had run through countless spiderwebs, but what spiders would be spinning webs in the dead of winter?!

In any case, the unpleasant sensation of spiderwebs hitting his face had left him thoroughly irritated.

The sword in his hand reverted to the Holy Spear, and he readied a sweeping strike to meet his enemy.

But the very next moment, just as Sovell took his stance, ready to give it his all-

The figure lowered the bow in his hand...

Lowered it!

The man raised both hands above his head, plainly surrendering.

Sovell hurriedly pulled back the spearhead and slammed on the brakes just before crashing into him.

"You're Sir Senor's people, aren't you?"

That was what the man asked.

"Who are you, and why did you attack us?"

Sovell had yet to sheath his spear, keeping it pointed straight at the man.

Facing the gleaming spearhead, the man did not panic. Instead, he calmly answered Sovell's questions:

"I am Tristan, son of the King of Livalan and nephew of King Mark.

It isn't quite accurate to say that I attacked you. I will explain shortly.

How sorrowful... My deepest apologies for adding a little trouble to your journey."

"Proof."

Tristan closed his eyes and recited as though reading poetry:

"There is a Coat of Arms in the pouch at my waist, bearing an arrow. It is the emblem of my uncle, King Mark."

"Sorry, but for safety's sake, I can't check it just yet. Wait until my companions arrive, then explain yourself."

With that, Sovell called on the wind to tell the other two in the distance what had happened here. Then he plopped down beneath the tree.

"Now it is your turn to answer my question-

Are you Sir Senor's people? I saw that the young man among your group of three had Sir Senor's Lion's Head Emblem on his shield."

"Yes and no. The young man you're talking about is Kay, the eldest son of Sir Ector Senor.

That girl and I are his friends.

My name is Stam Ambrosius.

That girl is my younger sister, Lily Ambrosius."

Upon hearing the names Sovell gave, Tristan's voice took on a note of surprise and delight:

"So you really are the three knights the people say are traveling around Britain?

I've heard that you've been slaying demon beasts along the way and leading the people in resisting foreign tribes. Your reputation has long preceded you."

"What do you mean, our reputation has long preceded us?"

Kay's voice?

Sovell looked up and saw a girl waving at him. Beside her, a young man led the horses toward them.

"Kay, little sister, you're here."

Sovell winked at the two, and they immediately understood what he meant.

Artoria said, "Yes, we're here."

Kay said, "So this is the brat who shot arrows at us?"

Seeing Kay approach aggressively to demand an explanation, Tristan replied in a somewhat apologetic tone:

"How sorrowful...

My deepest apologies. Seeing the emblem on your shield, along with his white hair, gave me some idea of who you might be.

And that white horse of yours is actually a Kelpie, isn't it? The sight was so tempting that I couldn't resist testing you a little. I controlled the power of those arrows. They would not have hurt you."

"He calls himself Tristan, son of the King of Livalan and nephew of King Mark. And, of course, he's also the one who attacked us.

Little sister, Kay, hold him down. I'll check his Coat of Arms."

Tristan had not lied. Sovell did indeed find the Coat of Arms he had described in the pouch at his waist.

As for showing disrespect to the son of a lord?

Oh, please. Never mind that Tristan had attacked them first, or that Livalan was not a king of Britain.

Even when it came to Britain's King Mark, Tristan was only his nephew, not his legitimate son.

Kay, meanwhile, was the only son of Grand Duke Senor.

Sovell was a member of the royal family.

Even publicly, he was one of the mere three disciples of Merlin, the Court Mage.

Artoria was the Crown Prince.

Publicly, she was Sovell's younger sister, which made her something of a disciple of Merlin in other people's eyes as well.

None of the three ranked below Tristan, so there was naturally no need to worry about respect or disrespect.

By now, Sovell had also confirmed the identity of the red-haired boy before him:

"You're really Tristan?"

"Indeed, that is my humble self."

"All right, then. Tell us how you're going to make up for attacking us."

"Hmm... Mr. Stam, I would suggest replacing 'attacking' with 'testing.' After all, none of you were harmed, correct?

Of course, I will bear the cost of atta... no, testing the three of you.

One request from the three of you. That will be my compensation.

Anything is acceptable, provided it lies within my abilities and moral boundaries, and does not endanger my uncle.

Would the three of you accept?"

Only after Tristan answered Sovell's demand with a smile did the three of them see just how handsome the red-haired boy before them was.

It was no exaggeration to say that even a fairy who saw Tristan smiling now would probably turn into spirit form at once and hide in the grass to tidy up their appearance.

Sovell shook his head and snapped his fingers, helping the three of them recover a little from the momentary distraction caused by the beauty of the person before them.

"Hmm... All right. We accept your compensation."

"You have my deepest gratitude."