The Zeorian Knight

[Location: East Main Road- Kingdom of Tevell]

[2 days have passed]

Maybe it was for the moment, maybe it was because I could, maybe it was Blum's words or maybe because I really needed it, whatever the reason I ended up buying a 90 gold piece slave and I couldn't take it back for it. I looked at the redheaded girl who kept her gaze on the floor and without showing any expression, accepting everything that happened to her but she had that feeling of discomfort in me.

-Zyrus: What to do now...

In my world, slavery was abolished hundreds of years ago and currently there are only workers who feel like slaves according to my uncle, this was not right, no matter how I saw it, it was not right, I could not go on with this feeling bothering me .

-Zyrus: Let's see.

I slowly approached my hands towards her face, she showed no sign of stopping until my hands were positioned on her neck, I fingered her necklace seeing how it worked.

-Zyrus: Oh...this must be it.

In the end I found the mechanism of the necklace and released it until I finished removing it from her neck.

-Red-haired girl: Huh?

I think she was not expected to remove the necklace, I could see it in her eyes, finally a different expression on her face, after moving the necklace away I put it in my suitcase, she slowly raised her face while passing her right hand around her neck at the same time time the seal that Blum gave me began to shine until it finally faded, I suppose that by removing the necklace it would no longer have an effect.

-Zyrus: Well? You should feel better that way, right?

She kept touching her neck and then she looked at me, I could see something in her eyes, finally a shine, as if the flame of her life was ignited again.

-Red-haired Girl: Why?...did you spend so much money to buy me.....only to...free me?

I could understand her confusion, but I didn't do it just because of that, despite the common sense of this world, mine was completely different and I had to do it my way.

-Zyrus: I did it to be able to talk to you more comfortably, I don't feel comfortable forcing someone to follow me and obey everything I say against their will, besides it's just money, money comes and goes.

-Red-haired Girl: Talk...with me?..about...about what?

-Zyrus: Listen, I had some problems in the capital of Tevell and I left quickly so I didn't prepare well and now I'm making a long trip to the kingdom of Drolum and on the way I've had many difficulties but although I carry a sword I don't know use it, in fact I don't know how to fight.

I stared at her eyes that looked at me with some confusion but also curiosity.

-Zyrus: That's why when Blum told me you were a Knight I thought it would be the perfect opportunity, what I mean is that if you don't have anywhere to go, I want you to accompany me to Drolum, not as a slave but as a partner.

I could see in her eyes how the shine in her eyes intensified and for the first time I could see her smile

-Red-haired Girl: I understand, you spent 90 gold pieces on a slave that you later freed just to ask for her help, you are a very strange or very foolish man to do something like that.

The girl nodded as she moved the hair from her face showing her face clearly.

-Red-haired Girl: Okay, I'll accompany you, the truth is that I don't have anywhere to return to anyway.

-Zyrus: Perfect, then it's decided, by the way, I'm Zyrus...Zyrus Corvus.

I extended my hand to give her a handshake, the girl looked at my hand somewhat surprised, I guess she didn't expect any of this to happen.

-Red-haired Girl: Nice to meet you, I'm Celestine Roseberd.

(Celestine Roseberd -Knight of Zeorian- 18 Years)

We both smiled as we shook hands, this ended up turning out better than I expected, there was a moment when I feared that she would run away without letting me explain when I removed her necklace, but I think everything turned out perfectly.

-Zyrus: I see, Celestine is a bit long, do you have a problem if I just call you Celes?

-Celes: I have no problem.

She smiled at me, almost as if she really liked being called that way, before leaving, I took the sword from her back and handed it to her, she reacted in a surprising way.

-Zyrus: Here, it's better if she's carried by someone who knows how to use her.

She nodded but before continuing at that moment I heard how she unsheathed the sword, I turned to see what she was doing and I saw her inspecting the sword, checking every detail, she moved the sword as if she was testing it, remembering how to use one, she looked at me and with a smile did something I didn't expect.

-Zyrus: What... What are you doing?

She knelt before me with her bare knee on the ground, resting the point of the sword on the ground and holding the grip of it with both hands.

-Celes: Making a decision, perhaps my home no longer exists but I am still a Knight and a Knight lives only to serve, when they enslaved me I thought I had lost that purpose but you have given it back to me.

She was looking at me with a smile and she was very determined to do this but I didn't understand what she was talking about.

-Celes: I want to swear my loyalty as his knight.

-Zyrus: What...!? as my...?...but why?...

-Celes: Despite the situation you are in and even with the problems that accompany it, you spent this huge sum of money on a slave just to free him and ask for your help, someone who values someone's life more than money, who possess such kindness in his heart is someone worthy for me to serve.

-Zyrus: No...No...you're wrong, I'm not...(sigh)...is this what you want then?

She nodded without removing that smile from her face, I don't know how it happened but I certainly didn't expect this and I don't know if I really am the person she thinks I am but at this point I guess I'll play along.

-Zyrus: Alright then, if that's your decision.

-Celes: I appreciate it, now if you allow me to take the oath.

She looked down as she closed her eyes, I didn't know exactly what this meant but if she agreed I had no reason to object.

-Celes: I, Celestine Roseberd, daughter of the noble house Roseberd and Knight of the Zeorian Kingdom, from now on I swear my eternal loyalty to you Zyrus Corvus to serve you as a sword against your enemies and shield against all harm until my last day, I swear it in the name of Divinity.

I remained static before what I was hearing, completely ignoring the fact of his attire, a Knight had really sworn loyalty to me, I didn't know how to react to this.

-Celes: (Whispering) This is where you accept me as your Knight.

-Zyrus: Huh? oh...yes...(Coughing)...uh...I, Zyrus Corvus accept...uh...you...Celestine Roseberd...your oath and...uh ...and as my knight.

She giggled slightly at my performance, she got up, put the sword in the scabbard and placed it on her back, this was totally unexpected, the slave I bought and freed decided to serve me as a knight, I never saw this result coming.

-Celes: I am ready to serve you, My Lord.

-Zyrus: My...My Lord!?...aahh...that sounds a bit embarrassing.

I blushed with embarrassment, for him to call me that way was very embarrassing.

-Celes: What do you prefer me to call you then? My master?

-Zyrus: That's much worse.....can't you just call me by my name?

-Celes: Of course not! A Knight in service cannot call his lord by his name directly, that would be disrespectful to both you and the Zeorian Knight code.

-Zyrus: Well... just tell me My Lord... I think it's the least embarrassing.

She was determined to call me those names which was very embarrassing but I guess I shouldn't complain too much either.

"I guess now I have a Knight, it's not what I expected but I won't complain either"

-Zyrus: Well, there's a village nearby, if we hurry we'll get there before the icy night catches us.

-Celes: Yes My Lord!

-Zyrus: Ugh... it will take me time to get used to that.

She seemed happier calling me that way, totally opposite to the girl I met a few minutes ago, honestly I felt safer with her by my side, it's strange that I think something like that but given the situation I was in, any help was welcome.

"Now I just hope I don't get lost without the map"

We continued walking for about 10 minutes until we finally reached the hill that I was looking for, just as that old man mentioned, we climbed up the hill and I looked around for the river.

-Celes: My Lord, what are you doing?

-Zyrus: I'm looking for a path that leads to a river, there should be the village I'm looking for.

-Celes: Village?...when I was still traveling with that old man I don't remember us stopping in a village near here.

-Zyrus: Believe me there is, it's there, if only I hadn't lost my map I would have already found it.

I kept looking around until I finally managed to visualize something that looked like a river hidden among the trees, I went down the opposite side of the hill in that direction and Celes followed me behind, it was already starting to get dark and the temperature was also dropping.

-Zyrus: We're close, I feel it.

We continued walking through the forest, passing through the branches and leaves, it had already gotten completely dark and only the light of the moon and the stars illuminated us, I turned my head to see how Celes was going.

-Zyrus: Everything alright Celes? I see you a little pale.

-Celes: Huh? no, don't worry, I'm fine.

She said that but I could see how she was rubbing one of her hands on her arm trying to keep warm, I couldn't see her like that especially because of that only rag she was wearing, so I decided to take off my jacket and cover her, which exalted by my sudden action and made his face red.

-Celes: My...My Lord!? What... what are you doing!?

-Zyrus: I can't let you get cold, if you get sick we'll both be in trouble.

-Celes: B...But what about you? I cannot accept this, if something happens to you I would not forgive myself.

She was really taking seriously being my Knight that despite her only garment she cared more about me than about her.

-Zyrus: Celes, this is an order from your lord, for your sake use my jacket.

Upon hearing my order, Celes had no choice but to obey and put on my jacket. Since she was the same height as me, my jacket fit almost to her size, but due to her thinner body, it was noticeable that it was also loose on her.

"Although I didn't want to have to order Celes around, if it's for her own good I can make an exception"

-Celes: Are you sure about this?

-Zyrus: Trust me, I'm fine, I'm tougher than I look.

As we advanced through the forest, the cold of the night intensified and I was already beginning to feel it on my skin but I tried not to show any signs so as not to worry Celes, about 15 minutes later we managed to pass through some rocks that blocked the way until we finally reached the village, it wasn't very big, I think there were 4 or 5 houses, some fields of crops and a barn, and the river was not far away.

-Zyrus: Finally, let's go down and see if they let us use the barn for the night.

Celes agreed and together we went down to the house closest to the barn, when I got there I knocked on the door, after a few seconds I couldn't help rubbing my hands over my arms to generate heat just then the door opened and an old man appeared, he had the bald head but with a bushy mustache, he supported himself with a cane and with the other hand he had a lit candle, upon seeing us, Celes quickly hid behind me, hiding his appearance from the old man.

-Zyrus: Good...Good evening, sorry...for bothering you so late...but...but would you let us spend...the...the night in the barn?

I couldn't help but stutter because of the cold, the old man looked at us in detail and nodded with a smile.

-Elder: no problem, I'll bring you some blankets.

We were happy and we thanked him, then we walked to the barn and when we entered we saw that it was not that big but we could accommodate ourselves, we moved a lot of straw to make improvised beds, minutes later the old man arrived and gave us two blankets and then he left giving us goodnight, Celes and I made ourselves comfortable on the straw and covered ourselves with the blankets.

-Zyrus: (yawning) I'm so tired.

-Celes: Thank you very much, my Lord.

-Zyrus: Why do you thank me?

Celes: From what you did for me today, I honestly thought I would spend tonight in another cage in some dark market and then they would end up selling me to some depraved noble but then you showed up and changed everything.

I turned my head to look at Celes, despite how dark the place was, I could see her smile and her eyes full of life.

-Celes: Forgive me if I sound nosy but I would like to know more about you, how did you get there and why did you have such a large amount of money with you.

She turned to see me, I could see in her face how curious she was to know more about me, I didn't imagine that I would end up making that impression on her, but if we are going to travel together, it would be good to get to know each other better.

-Zyrus: Okay, first I want you to promise me that you won't tell anyone about this, the less people know about me the better.

Celes seemed confused by my request but agreed anyway.

-Zyrus: Well to start.....

I think it took more or less an hour but in that time I summarized basically everything about me, about me coming from another world, my real name, my life in my world, the reason why I came here and everything that happened until the point at which I met her.

-Zyrus: For that reason, Celes, I use another name.

She was silent for a while, her face reflected how stunned she was and she didn't seem to believe what I was telling her, well, if I were in her place and someone told me the same thing, I would hardly believe it, it even seems like something out of a fairy tale .

-Celes: No... I can't believe it...., how dare King Robert bring a civilian from another world and try to force him to fight for a world he doesn't belong to, it's simply unforgivable. .

I didn't really expect that reaction, it was as if Celes completely understood how I felt at that moment, seeing how she was angry about what happened to me really made me appreciate her more.

Celes: But it would also explain this.

She heard the sword and unsheathed it and then showed it to me, I wasn't sure what she meant.

-Celes: This sword, despite its appearance, I don't think it can be considered a combat weapon.

-Zyrus: How is it not a combat weapon?

-Celes: Well, the weight of the blade is poorly distributed, when the blade is dropped it leans to the right, showing a clear imbalance in its internal structure, and the blade lacks edge in several parts.

She gently ran her thumb over various areas of the sword's edge without showing any sign of cutting.

"So when I tried to use it before it wasn't because I didn't know how to use it, it was the sword that was wrong"

-Zyrus: That son of a.....ugh my head hurts just thinking about that damn king.

-Celes: But don't worry, I can get used to the unbalance and it still works to hit so I can fight with this sword.

-Zyrus: I expected no less from a Zeorian Knight.

She surprised me how easily she was able to bring a positive side to a non-combat weapon, her experience and skill will really come in handy during the journey.

-Zyrus: Now it's your turn to tell me about you Celes, I also want to know more about you.

She put the sword back in the scabbard and set it to the side of her as she stretched out on the straw again looking up at the barn sky.

-Celes: I was born in the capital of Zeorian, in a distinguished family of knights, our family had served to protect the royal family and the most important nobles, I was the youngest of three children and my two older brothers were also knights. and my father was a highly respected man in the kingdom and many saw him as a hero.

I could notice how he spoke of his family in the past tense, which made it clear that they were no longer there, I felt his voice cracking slightly when talking about them, I thought that we were both in the same situation but my family still lived in another world, instead theirs they were no longer here.

-Celes: At the age of 6 I began my training as an apprentice knight at the academy and at 15 I was awarded the title of Knight of Zeorian, I felt very happy on my graduation day.

So there were also academies for knights, that sounded pretty cool, I would have liked to have met Zeorian before he fell.

-Celes: I spent a year in different commissions before I was assigned the person I had to protect, the youngest daughter of an important commercial nobleman, Lady Katelyn Abelle, she was two years younger than me and was the first person i swore my loyalty.

Hearing that made me remember the oath she swore to me several hours ago, I could tell that when talking about that girl her voice fills with joy, she must have been someone important to her.

-Celes: Lady Katelyn was a very lively, kind and very active young woman, she always went from one place to another and never stayed in one place for long, sometimes she couldn't keep up with her and ended up losing sight of her but she always waited for me, smiled at me and encouraged me to keep moving forward.

I can't imagine what life must have been like for her taking care of such a person, it even seemed funny in a good way.

-Celes: She always helped others no matter who she was, she didn't see classes or appearances, she only helped those who needed it whenever she could, you remind me of her.

-Zyrus: Really? I don't feel like we have anything in common.

Celes: When I help the vendor without asking for anything in return, when he buys me and frees me to ask me to accompany him, I could tell at that moment the kind of person he is, also his smile is similar to hers, happy, sincere, plus she also used to call me Celes.

-Zyrus: Huh I see.

"That explains why she felt so happy when I asked her if she could call her Celes, I only asked her because she made it difficult for me to say her full name"

-Celes: For a year I served her and those were the happiest days of my life, until...

At that moment the joy in Celes's voice disappeared giving way to one of sadness and pain, she was going to start talking about it.

-Celes: Envoys from the Empire had been arriving, at that time Zeorian and the Empire had a non-aggression treaty so it was rare to see them so closely, but one night they attacked the capital without warning.

"There must be when they began to bring out the false accusations about the agreement with the demons"

-Celes: In a matter of hours they had already taken the city and it was only a matter of time before they reached the area of the nobles and the royal castle, as soon as the soldiers of the empire arrived at Lady Katelyn's mansion, the guards and I we held off but then an explosion happened right on the roof of the mansion.

Celes' eyes began to wet with tears as she clenched her fists tightly..

-Celes: Worried about her, I ran back to the mansion, quickly the fire flooded the interior, I crossed the fire until I reached Lady Katelyn's room, she was fine, somewhat weak from the smoke so I helped her walk and tried to get her out as soon as possible. as fast as possible from the mansion.

At this point Celes' tears began to fall down her cheeks.

-Celes: When we went downstairs a ceiling beam collapsed without giving me time to react but I felt someone pushed me and I fell to the ground far from the beam, I turned to see what had happened and my eyes couldn't see what happened, Lady Katelyn had pushed me so the beam wouldn't fall on me but it fell on her, the fiery beam crushing her waist down.

After she put her arms over hers her eyes, it must have been painful for her to talk about this.

-Celes: With her last strength, Lady Katelyn told me to escape, that she would not resist seeing me hurt, she pushed me with her hand with her last breath, I obeyed her last order and fled, but the pain of seeing everything I loved destroyed me and took the few forces I had left until some soldiers captured me and well, you know the rest.

-Zyrus: I'm sorry, it must have been painful for you to talk about this, let's rest, tomorrow will be another day.

I turned to sleep and give it a moment since in the background I could hear the slight cries of Celes, a pain that I had not been able to get rid of until today.