I, Reincarnate as the Leader of the Villainous Knight Order - Chapter 137: Justin's Weakness

Chapter 137: Justin’s Weakness

“How about that!? Now do you believe what I’ve been saying is true!?”

“Kuh, it’s true… but I’m not done yet!!”

When I arrived at the training ground, I was greeted by the sound of vigorous shouting and the clashing of wooden swords. The voices belonged to Ryuka and Simon. As I peeked around the enclosure near the entrance, I saw Ryuka pointing his wooden sword at Simon, who had just fallen on his backside.

“Ryuka!”

“Justin! I finally made it to the capital!”

When I called out, Ryuka turned around with a bright smile.

“You ‘finally made it’? You literally arrived at the same time as your letter! That’s ridiculous!”

The letter I had just received said that he would be arriving in the capital soon.

“Huh? Really? I sent that two days before I left.”

“…Did it rain during those two days?”

“Ah, yeah, I think it rained the day after I sent the letter.”

Not only me, but even my subordinates were giving Ryuka irritated stares. He had likely forgotten that the mail carriage doesn’t travel during the rain. Same old muscle-brained Ryuka. Well, since most of my subordinates had gathered, I should introduce him.

“Everyone, listen up! This is Ryuka, and he will be my new vice-captain. He is taking over the combat capacity for Orel, who will now focus more on administrative duties. You all just saw his strength, right? I guarantee that his swordsmanship is equal to mine!”

My words stirred the subordinates into a buzz of murmurs.

“Captain, we know he’s strong, but… who exactly is he?”

Simon asked, brushing off the dirt from his backside as he stood up. The others, nodding in agreement, looked at me with curiosity.

“Ryuka is my foster brother, and he was a company commander in the Vandière Marquisate Knight Order.”

“The captain’s foster brother!?”

“No wonder he’s so strong.”

“Maybe he knows the captain’s weaknesses too, huh?”

“A guy with that kind of skill as just a company commander? The Vandière Marquisate Knight Order must be elite.”

Why are they more excited about him being my foster brother than when I said he was the new vice-captain? And was that Arnault who just brought up my weaknesses!?

“The leader of the Vandière Knight Order is the Marquis’ younger brother, and the vice-captain is his second son, Cyril. The higher positions are all filled by family members.”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

Ryuka responded to Gaspard’s comment. It seemed like Simon and the others had challenged Ryuka to test his abilities when I wasn’t around, but he’s already fitting in too quickly.

“Ryuka, have you eaten yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Then let’s head to the dining hall. Whoever leaves the training ground last, make sure to turn off the lights. Sorry to keep you waiting, Jest.”

Magical lighting had been installed in the training grounds for nighttime practice. Without them, it would be completely dark. I took Jest’s hand, who had been quietly waiting, and we headed toward the barracks. But Jest turned to look back at Ryuka.

“What’s wrong, Jest?”

“Is that person a good friend of Justin?”

“Yeah, Ryuka’s mother was my wet nurse, so we grew up like brothers.”

“Hmm…”

Jest curiously looked back at Ryuka, who was staring back at him with interest. For some reason, Jest tightened his grip on my hand. Maybe he’s jealous because no one has ever spoken so casually to me before. Ryuka seemed to understand Jest’s feelings and intentionally kept quiet, not engaging. Despite his muscle-headedness, he’s surprisingly sensitive to things like this.

“Jest, should I carry you?”

“Yeah!”

Jest happily wrapped his arms around my neck as I picked him up. He reminded me of my younger brothers when they got a bit jealous after another child was born. He might be feeling insecure, thinking I would prioritize Ryuka over him.

Carrying him seemed to have calmed him down, as when we returned to the room, he said he would wait there while I had dinner. I had already asked Arnault to guide Ryuka to the dining hall. He seemed eager to help, probably hoping to pry some information about my weaknesses out of Ryuka.

After getting our food at the dining hall, I made my way to the table where Ryuka and the others were sitting. There was an empty seat across from Ryuka, obviously reserved for me. When I sat down, Ryuka finally stopped shoveling food into his mouth.

“Ryuka, for now, you can use the vice-captain’s room on the second floor across from mine. I’ll have it cleaned with cleansing magic so you can use it immediately. The other vice-captain’s room is next to mine. The second floor is where my squad, Orel’s squad, and the vice-captains’ rooms are located. The other knights have rooms on the third floor.”

“Munch, munch… gulp. The food here is really good! Totally worth the trip to the capital! But man, the layout of knight barracks is always the same. Isn’t the bathhouse right across from the dining hall?”

“Yeah, that’s right. By the way, Arnault… did you manage to find out any of my weaknesses?”

I grinned and glanced at Arnault, who audibly gasped.

“Wh-what are you saying, Captain? You don’t have any weaknesses, so there’s no point in asking, right? Of course, I didn’t try to ask, haha…”

“His weaknesses? Hmm… Justin has a bit of a *cat’s tongue*, doesn’t he? He could never drink hot tea right away.”

Ryuka casually threw out the remark, and for a moment, the entire atmosphere froze. Sure, I hated burning the roof of my mouth back then, and I still cool things down if they’re too hot. But a knight captain being known for a *cat’s tongue* is hardly a good look!

“I-I’m not that bad anymore!”

“Pff… *cat’s tongue*…”

Arnault covered his mouth, turning his face away from me, trying to stifle his laughter.

“So the Captain can’t handle hot food? Now that you mention it, he does take his time with hot soup, often dipping his bread in it to cool it down.”

“Simon… you idiot.”

Gaspard quickly scolded Simon for adding fuel to the fire. And I could see Marius trying to suppress his laughter too, his shoulders shaking.

“And you still turn red in the ears when you’re embarrassed. That hasn’t changed, haha.”

“Shut up already!”

In that moment of frustration, I unintentionally shouted, drawing the attention of all the other subordinates. Looking back, that was probably my biggest mistake of the day.