“…Haa…”
Christopher let out a deep sigh.
The Kingdom of Twaizaran—
the largest and most ancient nation in this land.
Within its 1,200-year history, I became the youngest Knight Commander ever appointed.
An elite. The kind people envy.
Every day, I train and discipline my subordinates, remain constantly on guard while protecting the royal family, and push both body and mind to their limits.
Even so… I take pride in this duty. I truly do.
But lately, between monster attacks and the return of those things, I haven’t had a proper day off in ages.
And today—
today was supposed to be different.
Sleep in until noon.
Do a bit of shopping.
Read a book at a café.
Then go out drinking with my old academy friends at night.
Nothing extraordinary.
Just an ordinary day—
and yet, the kind of time that’s more precious than anything.
And yet…
Last night, two suspicious individuals suddenly appeared in the Royal Palace’s Chamber of Prayer.
One was a young man with long black hair, around 170 centimeters tall, likely about twenty years old.
The other… a woman.
Her skin held a faint violet hue—unusual, but striking.
A breathtaking beauty, also around her early twenties.
Both were severely injured.
And when they appeared, they were already unconscious.
We couldn’t simply abandon the wounded, so they were taken to the palace infirmary for treatment.
However, there remained the possibility that they were spies—or even assassins sent from another nation.
And so… I was assigned to guard the King.
Dragging my tired body along, I made my way to the palace.
First, I decided to hear the details from the minister, and headed to Minister Mu’s office.
An elderly man sat behind a desk.
Stacks of documents piled so high that only the upper half of his face was visible.
“Good morning.”
At my greeting, Minister Mu stood up. His thick white mustache—hidden behind the papers—came into view as he approached me.
“Oh, Christopher. Sorry to call you in on your day off.”
He gave me a broad, friendly smile and lightly patted my shoulder.
There was something about his smile that put people at ease.
It was hard to believe that this gentle man was effectively the second most powerful figure in the kingdom.
Just moments ago, I had been dreading this assignment… but that feeling vanished instantly.
“Not at all, sir. It is my duty as Knight Commander to protect the palace and the royal family.”
“As expected of you, Christopher. A model knight. There’s a reason you were entrusted with leading one of the kingdom’s three great knight orders at such a young age.”
There are three knight orders in this kingdom:
The Order of Flame.
The Order of Ice.
And the Order of Earth.
I am the Commander of the Order of Ice.
“Thank you, sir. Now then—about those two individuals?”
“Mm. Commander Levin of the Order of Earth was attending to them earlier. It seems the man has regained consciousness. He spoke of his homeland, but none of the places he mentioned exist anywhere in this world.”
The minister paused, stroking his mustache.
“The royal court magicians believe… he may have come from another world.”
“…Another world?”
Another world.
Could such a thing truly exist?
No—now wasn’t the time to debate that.
“It may be hard to believe, but considering how they appeared in the Chamber of Prayer, even His Majesty has accepted the possibility. For now, we do not suspect them of espionage or assassination… but we cannot rule it out either.”
He looked at me seriously.
“For the time being, I want the three knight orders to take turns watching over them.”
“Understood. However… why were they treated within the palace? Even if they were gravely injured, they could have been sent to a physician in the city—somewhere far from His Majesty.”
“That is because…” the minister said quietly,
“they appeared in the Chamber of Prayer.”
“…And that matters because?”
“Last night, His Majesty was praying there.”
The minister’s voice softened.
“He prayed for a savior… someone who would come and save this land.”
“…And then those two appeared.”
The implication was clear.
“The King firmly believes they are those very saviors. He has ordered that they be treated with the utmost care—and that we do nothing to offend them.”
…Even with the three knight orders protecting this kingdom, His Majesty still felt the need to pray for salvation?
The thought rose to my throat—
But I swallowed it.
A knight does not question the King.
“…Christopher. Go and see them for yourself. They should still be in the infirmary.”
“Understood.”
I left the minister’s office and headed toward the infirmary.
The King prayed for a savior.
Was I not enough?
I became a Knight Commander at seventeen—the youngest in history.
It’s true, I may not yet match Sir Saran of the Flame Order or Commander Levin of the Earth Order…
But I still have room to grow.
Give me a few more years, and I’ll surpass them all.
I clenched my jaw, unable to suppress the irritation building in my chest.
Then I stepped into the infirmary.
The moment I opened the door, I saw them.
The woman was still lying in bed, asleep.
Even from a distance, her beauty was unmistakable.
Seated beside her was the man—
the one who had supposedly come from another world.
Standing behind him, grinning from ear to ear, was Commander Levin.
…Honestly, I can’t stand him.
He’s incredibly skilled—second only to Sir Saran.
But his complete lack of decorum makes him wholly unfit for a knight.
Still—
That could wait.
First, introductions.
“Nice to meet you. I am Christopher Ostrein, Commander of the Order of Ice—one of the Three Great Knight Orders of the Kingdom of Twaizaran.”
As I greeted him, the man stood up.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Sieg Astroy. I come from a country called Trizary.”
He gave a polite bow.
“Hey, hey, Chris! You gotta hear this—this guy’s story is wild!”
Levin’s crude voice rang through the room.
Honestly… why is someone like him a commander?
“Apparently, these two were enemies, fighting each other when they got sent here! Sounds like one hell of a lovers’ quarrel, huh?”
Levin burst out laughing.
“…Mr. Sieg. If you don’t mind, could you tell me more about yourself—and what happened before you arrived here?”
I offered a calm smile.
“If we cannot confirm your identity, we may have no choice but to detain you as a suspicious individual.”
That order hadn’t actually been given—
But I needed information.
Sieg nodded, then began to speak.
He was nineteen years old.
In his world, there existed a race known as demons—beings with superior intelligence, physical ability, and magical power, yet fiercely violent.
They sought to conquer the world.
To stop them, Sieg had set out on a journey with his companions to defeat their ruler—the Demon King.
And just as he was about to deliver the final blow…
A black sphere appeared—and swallowed him whole.
That was how he ended up here.
…Then that means—
I turned my gaze toward the woman on the bed.
Could she truly be the ruler of such a violent race?
It was hard to believe.
At that moment—
“…Mm…”
Her brow furrowed slightly.
Then, slowly… her eyes opened.
Awake.
Her eyes were a vivid green—like fresh spring leaves.
“…Where… am I?”
She looked around in confusion.
“This is the Kingdom of Twaizaran.”
I stepped forward.
“Nice to meet you. I am Christopher Ostrein, Commander of the Order of Ice—one of the Three Great Knight Orders.”
And then—
I began to explain the situation she now found herself in.
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