Volume 3 Chapter 201
by Need_More_SleepVolume 3 + Chapter 201: The Taste
The grilled fish Xia Yi made tasted great—absolutely worthy of being called delicious.
However, this also plunged Tia into great turmoil.
This feeling… It was a familiar taste.
It briefly pulled her thoughts back to the past.
……
Back then, although Wright and the Knight Princess were engaged, both were very busy, each with their own duties and missions. Unless it was an important festival or a necessary occasion, they rarely met. Even private time together was very scarce.
However, there was one exception.
The Knight Princess was chasing a dangerous criminal who had made contact with a Calamity, which led her to a remote, uninhabited place.
By coincidence, she happened to encounter Wright, who was on a mission to subdue dangerous magical beasts.
By a twist of fate, Wright decided to team up with Tia so they could help each other.
During the mission, the two decided to stop and rest.
The Knight Princess took out some rations.
“Is this all you’re eating, Miss Knight Princess?”
The silver tin can standing nearby—also known as the Human Sword Saint, Wright Schubert—asked.
“Mm.”
The golden little tin can, the Knight Princess, nodded.
“This stuff probably tastes awful, right?”
Wright looked at the compressed rations in her hand. He had eaten them a few times before, and the taste wasn’t good.
The only advantage was convenience—ready to eat right away.
“Compressed rations do taste bad… but they’re very convenient and can quickly replenish energy.”
“If conditions allow, have you ever thought about cooking for yourself?”
“I—”
The Knight Princess paused, lowering her head.
“I don’t know how to cook. From childhood, Grandfather… the Knight King himself only taught me things related to combat. I’m not good at other things. He told me not to bother with unnecessary matters—just to focus on battle. Everything else would be handled by others.”
Wright was a little surprised by her words, but found them reasonable.
Considering her age, the Knight Princess wasn’t even an adult yet, but already stood among the elite of humanity—close to being one of its strongest combatants.
If she focused entirely on combat, she probably had no energy left for anything else.
The Holy Knight Order likely intended to groom her as the next Knight King, so her education must have been extremely strict.
“I can cook. Let me make something for you today!”
“Eh? Ser Sword Saint, that’s too much trouble—”
“It’s no trouble. I planned on doing it anyway—making an extra portion isn’t a problem. Though the taste might be a little different from the delicacies you’re used to, Miss Knight Princess.”
“…I’ll look forward to it.”
The Knight Princess put away her compressed rations.
Wright left for a while, then returned carrying some fish he had somehow obtained.
He removed his armor, set up a campfire, and started grilling fish.
The Knight Princess stood nearby, watching her fiance patiently handle the ingredients and grill the fish with care.
The firelight illuminated Wright’s bright, handsome face.
As she looked at him, the Knight Princess was lost in thought.
She felt that the Human Sword Saint possessed something different from herself.
“Wright… oh no, Ser Sword Saint—why do you keep fighting?” the Knight Princess suddenly asked.
“It’s fine, just call me Wright.”
Wright flashed a bright smile and handed the finished grilled fish to the Knight Princess.
“Thank you, Wright.”
“To be honest, I’ve never really thought much about that!”
“Never… thought about it?”
The Knight Princess was surprised.
“But you’re already the Human Sword Saint!”
“At first, I didn’t think too much about it—I just thought learning swordsmanship was great. I liked it, and it could also protect—”
Wright almost mentioned his friends from the orphanage, but those were secrets. The Schubert family forbade him from saying such things.
“—protect the people around me. So I kept practicing swordsmanship. Later, I found I was pretty good at it, and I could occasionally help others. So I just went along with it—it also trained me. Two birds with one stone!”
The Knight Princess never expected such an answer from her fiance.
She thought it would be something like protecting humanity, restoring the glory of mankind—some grand ambition. At the very least, for family honor and duty.
His answer was completely unexpected.
So different from her own.
“Then what about you, Miss Knight Princess—why have you fought until now?”
“Since I can remember, the Knight King told me I would become the prophesied hero—like the first Knight King. Everyone around me thought the same, so I worked hard for that. Gradually, more and more people believed it, until I lost count. So I must live up to their expectations—that’s my responsibility and duty.”
“Do you ever feel tired?”
“…Sometimes, yes.”
The Knight Princess revealed a bit of her true feelings.
She looked at Wright.
At that moment, she could clearly feel the difference between them.
Wright’s pursuit of swordsmanship was pure—untainted by other emotions. Perhaps that was why he could devote himself so deeply to the way of the sword and achieve such greatness at such a young age.
The Knight Princess didn’t have that purity. From childhood, the burdens she bore were simply too many.
Sometimes, they felt suffocating.
But later, she learned that even in the human world, there existed a figure like a hero who inspired others to move forward. That made her feel… a little less tired.
“For now, don’t think too much—just enjoy the food!” Wright smiled. “I really care about your opinion of my grilled fish, Miss Knight Princess.”
The Knight Princess removed her helmet, showing her true face to Wright for the first time, and then took a bite of the grilled fish.
“…Delicious.”
She thought she would remember the taste of that grilled fish forever.
……
……
“Ser Knight Princess, why did you stop moving after just one bite? Did I mess up?”
Xia Yi stared at the Knight Princess.
“…”
The Knight Princess lifted her head, pulled from her memories by Xia Yi’s voice.
“So? So? Ser Knight Princess, what do you think of my grilled fish? I really care about your opinion!”
Xia Yi gave the blonde girl before her an innocent smile.
That look left the Knight Princess momentarily dazed. Then she lowered her eyes and said softly.
“…Delicious.”