Chapter 2

Later, Eria learned that the elderly knight who had taught her swordsmanship was once quite renowned in his youth. Even the young Captain Rumic had wanted to learn the sword from him as a child. However, after a tragic accident that claimed his entire family, he no longer wielded a sword. Though he appeared lonely, Eria had not known the depth of his circumstances then. In her heart, she mourned him once more and offered her gratitude. By teaching her the sword, he had given her a new life.

Eria, unexpectedly granted this opportunity, joined the Minor Knights, who were said to be the best in the Empire. Of course, she did not earn the nickname ‘White Ghosts’ from the beginning. There were rumors that she was specially recruited for the knights’ nighttime activities. She felt wronged and angry, but over time, she began to wonder if those rumors might be true. After all, she wasn’t allowed to wield a sword; she was only tasked with running errands for soldiers and knights.

With no friends to confide in about her frustrating reality, Eria sat alone by the river, lamenting her fate, when she happened to meet Rumic. After joining the army, it was rare for a mere soldier to meet the captain directly, so it had truly been a long time since she’d seen him.

“Eria.”

“Captain! You’re here.”

“You seem to have some free time.”

“I was just given a short break. Why are you here, Captain?”

“I came out for a walk.”

“I… I have something I want to ask.”

“That’s a predictable question.”

Rumic seemed uninterested in hearing it, but Eria persisted. She had no reputation to uphold, and life here was even more brutal and harsh than she had imagined. Enduring as a woman was even harder. If she didn’t become shameless, she might have lost her mind quickly.

“I want to participate in combat.”

“…….”

“Why won’t you give me a chance? I came here as a soldier, too.”

All she did was deliver messages to other units, cook food for the army, prepare feed for the horses, or light fires around the barracks at night when it was cold. She did participate in morning training, but that was all.

Rumic looked at Eria for a moment, then turned his gaze to the river.

“I’ve been thinking.”

“About what?”

“If you take up the sword, your future is obvious. But if you survive quietly and unnoticed, after the war, your life will be full of endless possibilities. There will be many opportunities and choices. I wanted to give you that chance…”

“I will become a knight. I want to use the sword.”

“Have you ever cut down a person?”

“…I haven’t, but I can.”

“Is that so?”

Rumic gave a short laugh at Eria’s confident words. He seemed to think she was joking, but Eria emphasized her resolve again.

“And even if I return to reality, there’s no life for me to choose, so you don’t need to worry about me. Bringing me here wasn’t to k*ll me or take away my chance, it was to give me a new life.”

Her determined eyes moved Rumic. In fact, Rumic had originally accepted Eria because she was better than most of the hopeless cases and intended to use her on the battlefield. But as he watched her, she seemed too young, too fragile—like a child who couldn’t even harm an ant, and too tearful to bear the fate of a swordsman.

Other units would send even young children into war just to add to their numbers, but Rumic was different. He assigned children like Eria to manage supplies, take care of meals and daily life, or deliver secret messages to other units. He thought that was enough for them to fulfill their roles. Many appreciated that. But Eria was different, and so she weighed on his mind. To Rumic’s eyes, Eria, not yet an adult, still looked like a tiny child.

“You could die. No one can protect you on the battlefield. You must protect yourself.”

“I’ve always picked up the sword to protect myself. I don’t want anyone to protect me. If I lose my life, it’s because I’m lacking.”

“First… you should build up your body more. I’ve heard a lot of rumors. The soldiers bully you, don’t they? Can you even walk properly in armor with that body?”

Of course, being teased was nothing new; she was used to it. But to think those stories reached Rumic’s ears.

“Even those stories reach you, Captain?”

“I get curious.”

“…Is that so? Why?”

“I brought you here, so I can’t help but care.”

Eria thought that even when she couldn’t see him, the Captain was looking after her, and that made her quietly happy. Her sword master and the Captain were much more like family and comrades than the people tied to her by blood. She had thought all human affection was gone, but it was simply because she hadn’t met good people.

“You’re like a father to me. I’ve never had one, but if I did, wouldn’t it feel like this?”

“If I were your father, I’d care for you even more. I wouldn’t have thrown you into a battlefield soaked in blood in the first place.”

Rumic smiled awkwardly at Eria. He denied it, but from that day on, Eria thought of Rumic as her father in her heart.

“I’m working hard to build up my body. I train whenever I have time and eat a lot.”

“You’ll have a harder time ahead, but that’s not something I can change. You’ll have to endure.”

“I know. It doesn’t bother me anymore.”

“You’re stronger than you seem, but I don’t know why you keep sticking in my mind.”

After that, Eria was granted direct participation in battle. The first time she killed someone, she felt fear and guilt for a moment, but it was just a moment. Maybe it was because she swung her sword every day, imagining cutting down her damned family.

After her first victory on the battlefield, older knights and Rumic trained her whenever they could. Even after exhausting battles, the knights passionately taught Eria. When someone has held a sword for a long time, they can tell at a glance who has talent and who will grow greatly, and Eria felt like a destined one to them. Eria didn’t waste her lessons, and even after training ended, she stayed behind to practice alone, showing her passion for the sword. Her palms blistered and burst, but she never showed pain. Her colleagues and knights all said she was tough.

The swordsmanship that combined the traits of various knights made Eria who she was now. The fierce battlefield made her grow every day. It didn’t even take two years for her to make a name for herself. With her silver hair, pale skin, and cold eyes, she showed no mercy to her enemies. If you got on her bad side, you couldn’t even hope to survive as a prisoner of war. People called her the Living Ghost or the Hundred Ghosts.

A girl who had barely survived by clinging to life, losing balance at times, and overcoming near-death moments, became a knight officially recognized for her achievements in war.