Knights & Magic Volume 1 Chapter 6

Awful naming


CE 1277.

The 12 years old Ernesti Echevalier and his childhood friends, the twins Akkido Otter and Edelsome otter has moved on to middle school of knighthood faculty. Their other childhood playmate, the dwarf Batson Tymonin, remained in the crafting faculty. Due to the influence of Eru, Batson has shown interest in the career of Silhouette Knight construction. The two of them can sometimes be seen together, talking about Silhouette Knights design and operation knowledge.

As for Ernesti, he has been taking classes about Silhouette Knights but unrelated to knighthood ever since he enrolled in Lacilia pilot academy. Eru has completed all the courses in the crafting faculty after attending their classes for 3 years. After satisfying his thirst for knowledge with them, he is now unofficially attending pilot faculty classes.

Since Lacilia is a 'pilot' academy, piloting faculty is the star of the institute. Only the best graduates from knighthood middle school may gain entry into piloting faculty. Although it is known generally as the piloting faculty, but not everyone enrolled here has knighthood background. The pilot alone won't be able to move the Silhouette knight, it is still a machine that requires crews to maintain and service it.

The pilots will learn about control and manoeuvre; the craftsman learns to construct and maintain the exoskeleton as well as the metal framework; the alchemist trains in the art of crystal tissue creation and repair; the sigilmancers focus on the preparation of the magic arsenal. The various faculties in middle school are collectively known as pilot faculty in high school.

With this background, the education policy of the pilot academy trends towards practical application. They familiarize themselves with the skills and techniques by piloting the Silhouette Knights owned by the academy. Lacilia pilot academy possesses 20 Silhouette Knights, a number that is more than adequate to man a fortified outpost on the front lines. But they are the retired models Sarotria, machines that are 2nd rated in abilities.

These Silhouette knights have been repaired countless times over the long years and each of them are used by several piloting candidates for training. The repeated usage has worn down the machine and it requires frequent maintenance checks, a heavy burden on the students, but also great experience for real world application. Organization hiring piloting faculty alumni comments that the fresh graduates have the ability to work on the frontlines immediately.

On the training ground of Lacilia pilot academy, a mock battle between Silhouette Knights is ongoing.

In the middle of the building made from stone, a red machine is engaged in battle with a white machine. They have blunt sword used for training spar n their hands, battling fiercely. The machine provided by the school has reinforced armour around the pilot seats, a design which focus on the safety of the pilots. But a Silhouette Knight going all out is still very dangerous, so the equipment is nerfed to restrict its damage. Standard equipment is only used in practical training battles against demon beast.

There are no empty seats on the wall surrounding the arena; all sorts of people are watching the duelling Silhouette Knights from the spectating seats. Training with only brawls is not real training; the analysis of the fight is indispensable. There are people recording the battle logs, studying the skills of the pilots... some are allocating maintenance spare parts as the damage piles on; some of them are observing the effects of the magic arsenal.

Most of the people present are high school students, but there is a small figure that is out of place here. Not only is the person short, he also has a cute face that is easily mistaken for a girl. That person is Ernesti. Because his stature is small, he is occupying the front seat so his vision won't be obscured by others, staring at the Silhouette Knights intensely.

He skipped the knighthood faculty classes he is supposed to attend, overcoming all obstacles to earn the right to be exempted. He is unorthodox in his actions, but is strangely law abiding in some areas.

In the beginning, Eru uses his cute appearance and mascot like feel to gain entry. He was planning to watch quietly from the side, but he is now observing the battles and repairs up close, finding more places he can chip in. From the way he can easily keep up with the conversations of his seniors, his preparation in the last 3 years did not go to waste.

Getting practical first hand experience and knowledge outside the classroom made Eru extremely happy. Apart from greedily taking part in all sorts of work processes, he is very interested in the training battles. The Silhouette knights -- giant robots fighting before his eyes draws out indescribable emotions within him. The giant machines that emulate a knight in armour bash at each other with iron limbs wielding mammoth swords, even shooting powerful projectile spells. Eru observes the training battles with passionate eyes, not missing any single movement.

Side tracking a bit, there was a rumour that a guy was almost pulled into a twisted world after seeing the pretty boy who can be mistaken for a girl blushing while watching the Silhouette Knights with longing eyes.

"Eh, seems like Dee will lose again."

Piloting faculty student... Heidi Opal mumbles as she records the battle logs, a breeze blowing across the arena messes her short and curly hair.

The situation of the battle before them is clear, the red knight is struggling. It dual wielding blades and on the offensive, but it didn't break through the white knight's defence.

"Hmm, what do you think about this battle, Eru?"

Heidi who has been glancing at the data in her hands asked Eru who was sitting obediently besides her. Their vision remains fixed on the arena at all times.

"The speed of Guile's sword is slower than before. I think that is the reason he missed the opportunity to score points off attacks."

"... I see. Now that you mentioned it, his attacks seem too casual. I thought the condition of the pilot is not too good. What went wrong?"

"The movement of the right arm seems sluggish. I think it is because the joints or crystal tissues have been replaced."

Heidi browses through the documents in her hand and confirms the maintenance report of the red machine named Guile. The record states: due to signs of stress and fatigue in the crystal tissues of the right arm, it has been replaced this morning. The movement probably seems rigid because the parts are not aligned. She found the reason behind the sluggish actions of Guile, but she can't tell that that the condition of the right arm is bad. Heidi moans Eru's passion and attention to detail when watching training battles is better than those actively engaged in it. She found it amazing and wonders where his passion stems from. The white machine fighting Guile in the arena, Alkamburger, fended off the attack and stab at the Guile's chest. The horn sounded, signalling the end of the battle. The instructor judged that the spar has been won by Alkamburger. Guile can't overcome its bad condition in this battle.

The machine that was battling just now enters the workshop situated near the arena and the pilots exited the Silhouette Knights.

The pilot of the white Alkamburger was Edgar C Blanche, a tall and dignified man. Similar to his appearance, he is matured and steadfast, an elite among the pilots.

The red Guile is manned by Dietrich Kommunist. Unlike Edgar, he has long blonde hair, a meek and skinny man. His abilities are top notch, but he tends to get nervous and loses his head easily over small issues, his performance is inconsistent. He seems frustrated because he lost the match.

He started squabbling with the maintenance crew the moment he got off the machine. Instead of discussing the issue, they are pushing the blame of the loss around; even the bystanders know they won't make any headway. Heidi can't stand it and butts in. She explained her findings about the arms to settle this meaningless quarrel. But Dietrich's expression lit up mid-way and smiles sarcastically. In contrast, the maintenance crew looks annoyed.

"Oh, no wonder the movement is so rigid. Maintenance is skimping on the repairs."

Dietrich is suggesting 'losing is not my fault'. Edgar standing nearby advises him sternly:

"Dee, that's going too far. If the arm is not functioning well, you should adopt a different style in your fight. Its fine if you lose after trying that out, but your movement seems unfocused today. It is not right to blame it all on the maintenance crew."

Dietrich's sarcastic smile disappears after being lectured in front of everyone.

"You only won because my machine's performance is subpar, don't get cocky."

"The content of the spar is more important than winning; I am just saying that you should reflect on that."

"Is that so? Why don't you operate a faulty machine in our fight next time?"

Dietrich left in angry strides after uttering these words with a sour face. The people in the work shop have gotten used to this and simply shrug. Eru who was watching from the side-lines made a perplexed face and Heidi pat his head for some reason. The school bell rang, announcing the end of class and to start preparing for the next lesson. Eru was unhappy that the fun time is over, but still bowed to Heidi and rush backed to the knighthood faculty.

"Field trip?"

Eru have no idea what his classmates in middle school is talking about, there seems to be some events. He must have missed something if the whole class is talking about it. Probably because he is spending so much time in pilot school.

"I'm sorry, I have no idea. Can you tell me what this is about?"

Eru said with a troubled expression. His classmates look at each other for an instant, and all of them started explaining at the same time. Maybe they enjoy talking to Eru, or they felt excited when speaking with Eru. It requires tremendous patience to summarize the jumbled contents, but it can be filtered down to these main points:

- In order to accumulate practical experience in fighting demon beast, all 3 grade year of knighthood middle school will be participating in a field trip.
- The destination will be the region of Yanktwin, the forested hill home to small demon beast.
- The first years will be focusing on the basics of camping and wilderness survival skills.
- For safety, pilot school will be sending several Silhouette Knights as escorts.

"I see, it will be conducted 2 weeks from now."

"Hey, did you only found out about it today?"

"That's what I thought. You keep going~~ to high school right? You didn't come~~ back much anyway."

Eru tilt his head perplex. Cid seems shocked, but Edel looks unhappy. Eru has been reporting to piloting faculty during class and after class, the time he spent training with Cid and Edel have been dwindling.

"Edel? Are you in a bad mood?"

"Not~~ really. Totally not. You are mistaken right?"

But the way Edel is crossing her arms and her strong tone seems to be announcing 'I am very unhappy'.

"I don't think I did anything wrong. What did I do?"

"That's right~~ you didn't do anything. You are not here most of the time anyway~~"

This is what a hopeless situation means. Eru have no idea what to do and request Cid for aid with his gaze. Cid seems to acknowledge that and changed the topic forcefully.

"We will split into teams for the field trip. Eru, which group are you joining?"

"Ah, about this..."

Eru glance at Edel who can't hide her curiosity and said:

"If there are no special arrangements, I would prefer forming a group with the 3 of us. From the sound of it, the first years will be concentrating on the basics, so grouping up casually should be fine."

"Oh-- we will be staying together then..."

Edel's mood has obviously turned better. She went behind Eru and put her arms around his neck in a hug like usual.

(No matter how old I am, I don't get women...)

Including the memories from his past life, Eru looks at Edel with his wealth of life experience and felt a chill. About 2 weeks later, Ernesti and the others prepares to go on their field trip under the clear blue skies.


Large communal horse drawn carriages are parked in front of Lacilia pilot academy. The middle school students load onto the carriages under the direction of the instructors.

"Take care of yourself--"

Batson from craftsman faculty is not participating in the field trip. The knighthood trio walks towards the carriage after Batson bid them farewell in a nonchalant tone.

"Eru Eru, this way!"

"Don't rush; the carriage won't leave without us."

The destination of the field trip is a place called 'Croaker Forest'. That place is covered in forest and is slightly elevated, filled with demon beasts that are relatively weak. Carriages are used for the long trip after considering the power level of the demon beast. Croaker forest is a suitable place that meets the requirement of the field trip. According to the planned route, they will swing by Yanktwin for resupply before heading into Croaker's forest which is nearby.

After all the students are seated, the carriages set off one by one. The long caravan of carriages advance steadily on the road.

The 10 Silhouette Knight escorts are spread out along the convoy. They are piloted by the high schoolers from the academy. The dark red and pure white machine, Guile and Alkamburger are here too.

The Silhouette Knights used by the academy are donated from the military. After the long years of maintenance by the students with free reign, their shape has become unique and interesting. Some have meaningless and complicated patterns engraved on its armour, others have eerily big accessories added onto its head, and there are armours that are pieced together in a weird pattern. The machines have been customized deeply, giving a 'that's too exaggerated' kind of feeling. The exoskeleton comes in all sorts of colours, having an elegant air about it instead of being fierce and mean.

There are many knighthood majors participating in the field trip. Although middle school is full of kids, they are still candidates striving to be knights, so there shouldn't be any problem if they meet normal demon beast attacks. Even if this is a field trip, they can't be spooked by small demon beasts. Within the Kingdom of Fremara, mid-sized demon beast about a dozen meters still lurks in the forest and mountain regions, and they might run into them on the road. The Silhouette Knights are the insurance against unexpected attacks.

"I thought we will have a chance to fight demon beasts, but it turns out to be a boring trip."

Dietrich Kommunist who is riding in Guile complains loudly. Although they are here as a safeguard, there have been no major incidence on this road for the past several years. Although the pilots have been assigned the mission of 'long distance manoeuvre training', this is a trip that has nothing to do with tension or motivation.

"Hai, I know how you feel Dee, but you can't say such things."

Heidi Opal who is piloting the Silhouette Knight 'Traintox' instead of working as a battle logger reminds him. There are microphones inside the pilot seat, the sound inside will be broadcast loudly through external speakers if it is not turned off. It is amplified to ensure the message is not drowned out by the noise of the Silhouette Knights in operation, so it is possible that a middle schooler have heard him.

"Both of you take this seriously. Even if nothing happens, this is still part of the training."

Alkamburger caught up to Guile and Traintox, the voice of Edgar C Blanche can be heard booming from the Silhouette Knight.

"As expected from the top pilot, such high end content."

"Dee, didn't you hear what I said?"

"Ah -- keep it down you two, everyone can hear you."

Guile and Alkamburger fell silent after hearing Heidi and returned to their positions. Heidi felt uneasy about the days ahead while she pilots Traintox.

They are not the only one who doesn't know how to kill time.

"I know it can't be help, but this is too boring."

After rocking in the carriage for about half a day, Cid is bored out of his mind. Not only Cid, the students around him are feeling the same. They are 4 days away from the destination, and with their transportation taken care of by the carriage, the students on board have lots of free time. They can talk freely, but they are growing tired of the cramp space on the carriage, which can't be help.

"Do you want to look at the scenery outside? The scenery outside is interesting."

"No, the only one who is satisfied watching the scenery is you. And you are really tenacious, how long do you plan to watch that?"

Cid looks at Eru with tired eyes. Eru stops gazing at the scenery and turn back, siting properly on his seat. He looks really cute with his head slightly tilted and deep in thought, relieving the atmosphere instantly.

"Want to read the books I brought along? I think you can kill some time this way."

"Books... I want to stretch my body. Eh, never mind. What have you got?"

"Theories on Alchemy, volume 1."

"Is that a textbook? Isn't it better to sleep then read that?"

"You are right, but there is really nothing to do here. Why not follow Edel and take a nap?"

Edel is sleeping soundly in front of Cid. Her peaceful face that has nothing to do with boredom made Cid looks to the sky. He maintained that position and suddenly thought of something.

"Eh, it's a great way to kill time right?"

They climb onto the top of the carriage. The top is full of luggage of the students. Unlike the inside of the carriage, there are no seats here, but there is no problems sitting down.

"The scenery here is better."

The carriage advanced leisurely under the clear blue skies, the top of the carriage feels nice and peaceful. A breeze made Eru's silver hair sways. He found a nice seat among the luggage and entered scenery appreciation mode.

"Ah-- this is still boring. But it is nicer than the cramp inner carriage."

Since there is nothing to do, napping under the sky sounds interesting. Cid doesn’t care anymore.

"Ah, so you guys are here."

Edel pokes her head out from within the carriage.

"You woke up?"

"Yeah, you guys are gone when I got up."

Edel made her way to Eru's side as she speaks, and lay on his thigh, getting in position to sleep.

"The sun is so warm, it feels better sleeping here."

"Sleeping is fine, but why are you using my lap as your pillow?"

"It's feels nicer this way."

As Eru was at a loss, Edel has begun her journey into dream land. Eru can't do anything about her and started reading, looking out at the scenery occasionally. Cid ponders about stuff for a while, but thinks it’s too bothersome and gave up, using a luggage as a pillow to nap.

Their leisurely journey continues at this pace. After rocking for 3 days on the horse drawn carriage, the group from Lacilia pilot academy finally arrives at the largest city of central Fremara -- Yanktwin.


There is a reason why Yanktwin ranks amongst the top cities in the kingdom. It lies along the route that leads to the west of Fremara and beyond the Obine mountain range. It is also the transit point for supplies leading to the frontline fortress to the east of Fremara. As an important transport hub, its defences are second only to the capital, surrounded by siege walls and moats. On top of that, there is a large band of knights equivalent to a company (100 Silhouette Knights) garrisoned here. No matter how crucial this city is, this is too much military forces for one city. But they are stationed here because of Yanktwin's strategic location, allowing them to reinforce front line cities quickly. And in practice, about 30 percent of the forces will receive patrol and escort missions outside the city.

By the time the convoy from Lacilia pilot academy arrived at Yanktwin, it is already past noon.

The city wall surrounding Yanktwin is colossal in scale. Because of the existence of demon beast, traveling long distance is difficult, so this is first time seeing another big city other than Lacilia for many of the students. Everyone is curious about this city and this is the most anticipated part for many of them.

"What an amazing wall, what are they defending against?"

"The enemy they have in mind is demon beast... or rather, the demon beast during the nation's founding. There are many more vicious demon beasts during that era."

"Oh... That's why it is so massive."

The students were elated when they saw the gate leading into the city. But the carriage did not pass through the gates, but are gathered in the open space in front of it.

"Wait, aren't we going into Yanktwin?"

"They already told us that the stop at Yanktwin is only to resupply."

Although the group can disembark and rest outside the carriage, but they will need to move out once the goods have been loaded. The students who thought they can get a reprieve from the dull journey start to complain, the twins stare at the gargantuan gate and nags.

"Man, this is boring. It won't do any harm letting us in for a while!"

"That's right, I want to go shopping."

"Wait, that's not why..."

"Don't you want to take a look?"

"I am interested, but going on a tour with such a large group of students can turn into a horrible mess."

As they spoke, Eru looks to the side. It was probably arranged before time, the merchants came out of the gate with the goods which are then loaded up the carriage.

The short break was over and it was time to go. The carriage left with the reluctant students on board and move towards their destination -- Croaker Forest.


After traveling for a day from Yanktwin, They reached Croaker Forest. The road that leads to the east of the kingdom was badly maintained. After rocking in the carriage for the whole day, they finally reach the entrance of a thick forest.

The caravan parked in an open space near the entrance of the forest, the base camp for annual field trips.

The students started setting up tents under the command of the instructors. They have been sleeping on the carriage on their journey here, ready to escape in a moment's notice if demon beast attacks. But they will be training for several days here and can't stay on the carriage indefinitely. So they erected tents and used this base as a camp site.

The seniors experienced this several times and set up their tents skilfully. In the knighthood faculty, besides normal training, camping trips are also conducted once in a while. Since they aspire to be knights, setting up camp is a necessary skill when traveling in an army. Learning skills other than sword and magic is a unique feature of those majoring in knighthood. But it is not easy for the first years. Although they learned and practised before the trip, their inexperience still shows in their work. Even with the assistance of the instructors, there are a few teams that slowed down progress, so dinner was served very late.

The entrance of the forest was filled with tents just like a camping zone. There are torches all around, illuminating the dark corner of the forest. As part of their training programme, the 2nd years are assigned guard and patrol duties. With so many charges, the instructors can't take care of everyone, so the students are also posted as guards, which serve as practical assignments too.

Eru's team set up tent faster than the other groups. Eru knows the steps well, and with the tall twins helping, they finished in no time. The two of them helped the other groups after finishing while Eru walks to the outer edge of the camp site.

(The basics are all done; I am not being lazy... ah, found it.)

Besides the camping grounds of the middle school are the base of the high school pilots and their Silhouette Knights. The footsteps of the Silhouette Knights and the hum of their internal components will disrupt the sleep of the campers. That's why they are stationed here in case of any emergencies.

The 10 Silhouette Knights are arranged in rows, in standby mode with one knee on the ground. Their colossal figures are partially illuminated by the camp fire. With some parts hidden in the darkness, they look more imposing in the night. Normal people might feel intimidation, but Eru simply smile as he looks at the rows of iron giants seated in a row.

(Ah, giant robots are great-- this is the oasis of the heart, every home should have one.)

There are no such terrifying families even in this world. But regretfully, no one is around to retort Eru.

"Hey, you there... silver hair? Is that Ernesti?"

After a short moment, someone called out to Eru who was immersed in a mysterious healing aura of robots. He turns back and saw the owner of Alkamburger -- Edgar.

"Evening Edgar sempai. Sorry to disturb."

"So it is you. Why are... I guess it is pointless to ask."

Eru is famous in pilot school; his antics and motivation are well known too.

"Is sempai on standby duty?"

Edgar heard Eru's query as the flickering light from the camp fire shines over them. He smile bitterly and shakes his head.

"No, we were deciding the order of the duty but... sigh, Dee is making a scene as usual."

"Dietrich sempai?"

"Yes. Simply put, he was complaining about standby duty being a hassle. As pilots in their senior year of lacilia academy, protecting our juniors is an important mission... But as usual, his attitude is flippant."

He still has to carry out his task no matter how stubborn he is. But Dietrich still insists on nagging about it.

"I don't want to hear his complains, so I decided to change the mood and see these guys."

The two of them raise their head to look at 'them'. The campfire lit up the giant knight in white armour -- Silhouette Knight Alkamburger. It was not customized and retained its original shape. Its simple design has no special features and has a gentle feel about it. With the top pilot Edgar controlling it, the two partners are known as the strongest in pilot school.

"Sempai like Silhouette Knights too?"

"Eh? Rather than like... they are my weapons and comrades. My mood will calm down when I am with them. When I feel frustrated like just now or when I feel tired, I will visit them."

I am probably not suited for this sort of talks -- Edgar scratches his head.

"I think having a reliable companion is wonderful."

"You really like Silhouette Knights. That's right, if you continue to work hard as a knight, you will gain a partner too... Ah, we chatted for too long, 1st years should get back before it gets too late."

And so, they bid their farewell and return.

"...Okay, Dee should have calmed down by now."

After watching the bright silver disappear into the darkness, Edgar mumbles to himself and prepares to head back with the spirit of heading into battle.

The sky is totally dark; the 1st years finish their late dinner in the dim lights and returned to their tents. The 1st years have no assignments for the night. After the long journey and setting up camp, fatigue sets in and they wrap themselves in their blankets and sleeps. When they have gone into slumber--

A loud howl from a beast came from deep within the forest. It was probably wolves. After the first howl, howls in response can be heard from all over the forest. The students on guard duty heighten their senses and looks towards the forest. The howls can be heard every now and then, so they lost interest in it after a while. But there are some who can't ignore the howls. It reminds the 1st timer the situation they are in. This is not a safe town or a carriage they can run away on. This is right in front of the forest where demon beast lurks; they are sleeping in a tent that is erected here.

Even though Croaker forest is not really dangerous, it is not considered safe even with the students on watch. After arriving here without incident, they felt the atmosphere was light along the way here, but grew tense because of that howl. Their sleepiness because of fatigue is gone and they are wide awake.

In Eru's team tent, Cid is shaking his head while lying down. Although he is not very affected, Cid still felt a bit uneasy and can't sleep.

(I thought I was braver than this, seems like I am quite tense too.)

The dim camp fire shines in, giving the dark tent an unsettling atmosphere. Cid suddenly wondered if Eru sleeping besides him was uneasy like him and called out softly:

"Hey Eru, I want to ask... Eh."

Eru is fast asleep. Eru was not totally unmoved, but he was a warrior on the front line of hell in his previous life too. He understands the importance of rest even if he doesn’t want too, and gained the ability to be able to sleep under any circumstances.

(... Although I have known from the beginning, but he is too strong and carefree.)

After hearing Cid, Edel who can't sleep turns and stare at Eru's sleeping face.

"Eh, how cunning."

Cid doesn’t know what she means by cunning. Edel shifted over and pulls Eru into her arms, hugging him like a pillow. Eru woke after being hugged this way. He realizes it is Edel, pats her head and falls asleep. Maybe Edel felt safe because of this and her breathing turns smooth after a moment. Looking at the two of them, Cid felt foolish for not being able to sleep.

(Isn't it stupid for me to be tense alone?)

That's it, he decided to not worry anymore. After a while, he enters dream land.


The next morning, the students start getting up sometime after dawn.

A lot of student didn't get enough sleep. In the sleepy atmosphere, Eru's group was refreshed. There are always students who can't sleep when camping; experiencing this tension is one of the objectives of this field trip. The instructors didn't push the weaker 1st years, so their job content is rather relaxed. After the students finished the simple breakfast made from preserved food, they gathered by their grade year under the commands of the teachers.

After the teacher gave brief instructions, the 2nd years break into teams and head for the depth of the forest. The prime objective of this field trip is to engage in practical battle with the demon beast lurking in the forest, and to hunt for a certain number of them. The 1st years will head to the outer region of the forest, and may have to fight if necessary.

The 1st years were tense as they enter the forest for the first time, while the higher grades bear a different sort of tension as they head into the forest. After a moment, the sound of their armour grows softer as they move further in and the forest turns quiet once again.

And so, this long day that all students in the knighthood faculty will never forget begins.


End