Chapter 29: Friendship (Part 1)

Two days had passed since my fight. As soon as I was back inside, I collapsed again, but this time out of exhaustion. It seemed maids and surgeons had been watching the fight from inside and were ready to help the victor. I had no time to think; upon seeing them, I submitted myself to their care.

It transpired that I had only suffered minor injuries from the fight, although they certainly hurt a lot more at the time. The large shield that struck me caused a twinge in my shoulder, but nothing more. The bleeding in my mouth? One of Shield Knight's punches was so hard that it caused my teeth to bite down and accidentally lacerate the inside of my cheeks. Hence the heavy bleeding. Thankfully my teeth were all intact. And I luckily escaped the battle only with muscle soreness, rather than any severe breaks or damage. My prognosis was that I was to have one week of rest, before I could fully return to service.

Polar Knight did not investigate Garuda's attempt to kill me; it seemed that my comments were brushed as some harsh criticism. Still, I suffered no penalties; I received a somewhat grovelling letter from Polar Knight excusing me for all I had to say, as well as voicing his pleasure to welcome me back to the line of service.

Most importantly, no more one-on-one fights and no more triumphalism. We were knights that had a duty…but Garuda would not be taking that for granted anymore.

I suppose I would have to let the poisoning slide somewhat. I'll never forget what Garuda did to me, but the humbling he suffered in the wake of my victory gave me more satisfaction than I could ever know. It felt great putting that giant fool to heel. But now, once my recovery period had passed, things would return to normal.

And guess who sent the good luck messages? It was the knights of the Order of the Shield! I never knew that they could have been capable! After my fight, they all came to me, one by one, apologising for the way they had treated me under Garuda's command and explaining how they all secretly sent the good luck messages on their night shifts, far away from Garuda's eyes. It was an incredibly warm feeling to know that these knights were prepared to befriend me after such a trying time. The knights of my own Order also apologised to me, and begged for my forgiveness.

I couldn't resist but forgive them. I knew that I didn't ever want to return to the life of isolation…and I didn't want any remnant of that life to remain either. Besides, it was pretty funny to see how apologetic they had become. People, eh? The only person who didn't come to apologise was Black Knight, however. He had shown his true colours as a complete baby, and many knights now seemed to view him in a skeptical light. Skilled as he was for a knight, his devotion to his account of the whole ordeal was a matter of comical relief amongst us. Stubborn ol' Black Knight was what he was called. In my heart, I forgave him as well. He didn't truly hate me; he only had a one-track mind that couldn't see outside of his own duty.

So what happened to Shield Knight? To put it shortly, I don't know. All I do know is that she is being treated for her injuries. She wishes to see no one. Not even me. An air of worry fills the air whenever she is now mentioned in conversation.

The thought of her being in pain was not a nice thought for me. I still held firm to my belief of starting over with her, in the hopes that a better future lay ahead for us.

So I decided to go and try to seek an audience with her.