Ch.124124. Interlude – Camilla’s Interest Journal 1

Recently, Camilla’s behavior pattern has become so regular and wholesome that anyone who knows her would be surprised.

Unlike her usual self, who would always go around stirring up interesting things here and there, she had been living a life of only going between the classroom, training room, and her assigned quarters.

On days when she didn’t go to the training room, she would loiter around where Gilbert was, putting all her effort into protecting her precious friend by blocking Brynhild’s physical advances with all her might.

Camilla had changed like this because of the helplessness she felt when she followed Gilbert to Bismarck. Until now, she had always sought fun things rather than training, but she was deeply frustrated that her close friend had gone to the battlefield alone.

Especially when Gilbert was hit by the bombardment that poured down just when she thought the war had ended—how shocked she was!

If Lily and Dorothy hadn’t stopped her, she might have rushed onto the battlefield right then and there. That’s how much her first battlefield experience had shocked Camilla.

A place where you could lose something precious with just a moment’s carelessness.

That was the battlefield.

The problem was that Camilla couldn’t do anything on that cruel battlefield.

If she had been able to lend even one hand that day, would such a dangerous situation have been avoided?

No, that wouldn’t have been possible.

She had decent skills, but that was only strength at a cadet level.

It was pathetically incomparable to knights like Gilbert, who far surpassed the cadet level and jumped into the battlefield.

The sense of helplessness and self-loathing she felt then completely shattered Camilla’s mindset, which had previously viewed the world only through the lens of interest.

When the break period ended and she returned to the academy, she made a firm resolution.

To protect this daily life that she found interesting and enjoyable.

Currently, Camilla’s life was a repetition of the same days since then. In the past, she would have tried to avoid boring and uninteresting training, but this time, her mindset was different.

Clearly, her body, fallen into laziness, had become sluggish. She often felt the urge deep in her heart to throw everything away.

However, Camilla shook all that off and spent her days repeating her training.

It wasn’t that she didn’t feel doubts.

Though she had been called a genius as a child, years of laziness had made her talents rusty.

She tried to oil and remove the rust somehow, but it was never easy.

At such times, Camilla would think of Gilbert, one of her precious friends.

Despite possessing such overwhelming strength, Gilbert never stopped training. Even while pushing himself through what others would consider torture, he never once showed any sign of dislike.

Camilla thought his figure was dazzling and took him as her role model.

If she became stronger, she wanted to be like him.

A week passed, then two weeks, and then over a month.

Camilla, for whom training had become a habit, was heading to the physical training room today as well.

If nothing special happened, her entire schedule would consist of doing her daily training and then dragging her exhausted body back to her quarters.

Today, there was nothing special planned, so that was how it was supposed to be.

If Gilbert hadn’t called for her.

“Lady Camilla. Lord Gilbert is looking for you.”

“Gilbert is?”

Camilla’s eyes widened when she heard that Gilbert was looking for her.

Until now, he had never once sought her out first.

Usually, it was she who went to find Gilbert to spend time with him.

With a happy heart, she ran like the wind to the place the maid had told her. If the servants of the Tristitia family had seen her, they might have scolded her to maintain her dignity.

The place Camilla arrived at was an empty classroom. Inside were people she knew well.

She first spotted her close friend Lily and raised one hand casually.

“Yo! Lily’s here!”

“Camilla was the last one, I see.”

Camilla stood next to Lily and surveyed the people in the classroom.

First, there were Brynhild, whom she had dubbed “Muscle Woman,” Angelina, Hans, and Ilen, who had already taken their seats.

Seeing these people, collectively known as “Gilbert’s Brigade,” gathered in one place, Camilla whispered to Lily.

“Did everyone come after receiving Gilbert’s message?”

“That’s right. He said he’d tell us what this is about once the last person arrived, so we’ve been waiting.”

“Reeeeally?”

Camilla’s ears perked up. Her sense for interesting things was starting to activate after a long time.

Her interest sense, which she had suppressed while training after the break period, was sending signals that this matter was not ordinary.

“Everyone’s here.”

Gilbert stood before them after seeing Camilla take a seat next to Lily.

“What’s the reason for calling all of us? I can tell it’s not an ordinary matter.”

Brynhild pretended to be scared, though the smile at the corners of her mouth showed she wasn’t tense at all.

“I have an important announcement. This is something that must absolutely not leak out beyond those of us here.”

Gilbert began speaking with an even more serious face than usual.

To summarize, he was talking about forming a special detachment to support the encirclement and annihilation of a slave trader group called the Slaves, who were engaged in human trafficking.

After hearing all this, Camilla raised her hand with a question.

“Gilbert, I have a question!”

“Speak.”

“I understand that a special detachment is being formed. Does that mean we should take it that we’ve been selected for this special detachment?”

For the success of a high-risk operation like encirclement and annihilation, it was customary to form a reserve force to support the main force.

Gilbert had said that the key to this operation was secrecy, so there would inevitably be limitations in mobilizing the Empire’s knights.

Therefore, the natural conclusion was that academy cadets would be the troops that could move most quietly.

Gilbert nodded at Camilla’s words.

“That’s right. Everyone gathered here has been selected as members of the special detachment.”

“Do we have the right to refuse? I’m not a person of the Empire.”

“You’re saying things you don’t mean.”

“My, my, even in a place like this, the couple’s hearts are in sync.”

She’s flirting with Gilbert again!

Camilla glared at Brynhild, who was nodding.

But given the situation, Camilla suppressed her urge to shout. Even Camilla, who lived without caring about others’ opinions, knew when to restrain herself in situations like this.

“As this is Her Highness the Princess’s order, there is no right to refuse. Everyone should fulfill their duty as academy cadets.”

Although there was no right to refuse being selected for the special detachment, there wasn’t much complaint.

It was natural for the cadets of Demeia Academy, whose purpose was to acquire military knowledge.

After Gilbert delivered the final announcement that the operation would begin in three days, he looked at the faces of each special detachment member looking at him.

“This operation, while not on the front lines, is not one with low risk. As a reserve force with a strong tendency to be supplementary personnel to the main force, there is a possibility of being deployed to more dangerous areas. However, we cannot leave human traffickers who are eating away at the Empire unchecked. This threatens the safety of the Empire’s subjects.”

Gilbert always preferred a stiff manner of speaking, but now the weight was different. He was placing the heavy responsibility of protecting the Empire’s subjects on them.

Camilla felt her breath catch at that responsibility.

The frustration and helplessness she had felt during the break period, when she could only watch, began to creep up and consume her body.

She shook her head from side to side and recalled a phrase passed down in the Tristitia family.

Those who know honor, fulfill your debt for what you enjoy.

Camilla repeated the phrase and made a resolution.

That this time would be different from the break period.

That she would never again do the terrible thing of sending only her friends to the battlefield.

After taking a deep breath to shake off the responsibility, she realized that only she and Gilbert remained in the empty classroom. From her quick judgment, it seemed Gilbert had sent everyone else out.

“Camilla Alaker Tristitia.”

“Huh? Why are you suddenly calling my full name?”

Camilla found it difficult to look into Gilbert’s eyes, unlike usual. She couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason, but it was because an indescribably heavy aura was flowing from him.

“You were the last one selected among the members of this special detachment.”

“… Because my skills are lacking, right?”

Only after hearing Gilbert speak so frankly could Camilla understand the nature of that heavy aura.

It was anxiety.

She was a person who could objectively judge her own abilities.

And from that objective perspective, her skills fell short of what was needed for a special detachment member.

Most of the people gathered in this empty classroom, where even anti-eavesdropping magic had been laid, were among the top-tier students at Demeia Academy, where talented individuals gathered.

Even Gilbert, who would serve as the deputy commander of the special detachment, had received a 5th-grade knight title while still a cadet.

Not to mention Brynhild, and her close friends Lily, Angelina, Hans, and Ilen, who had all shown their prowess in competitive battles.

In contrast, she was a nobody who had neglected training until recently. Her selection for the special detachment was solely due to Gilbert’s choice.

“That’s right. There was talk that Ian Tigris Rainbarrel would be better for the last position.”

“That can’t be helped. Ian is indeed better than me, after all.”

Though it hurt, Camilla smiled. Nothing was as unsightly as denying the truth.

As always, she tried to defuse the situation with a smile.

She wanted to get away from this uncomfortable place as soon as possible.

“But despite that, I chose you. Can you guess why?”

“The reason you chose me?”

Camilla tilted her head. Thinking about it, Ian should have been in this position, not her.

He was an outstanding cadet and more suited for the special detachment than she was.

But Gilbert continued firmly, as if Ian had never been a consideration.

“Yes. I chose you as the last member.”

“Why? I’ve only been doing what I wanted until now and neglected training. I won’t be much help in this operation.”

“For someone who says that, you’ve been following my training method recently.”

“You knew?”

Camilla was surprised by Gilbert’s words.

She had always thought Gilbert found her annoying.

She never expected him to know that she was seriously training.

“Since the end of the break period, if I remember correctly.”

“Hmm-hmm! So Gilbert has finally fallen for my charm?”

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, she forced a laugh.

Thinking that this way, Gilbert wouldn’t discover her true feelings.

However, Gilbert responded with his unchanging expression and tone.

“Don’t belittle yourself. You can become someone more outstanding than anyone else.”

“… Why do you think so? Everyone thinks I’m annoying.”

The smile disappeared from Camilla’s face.

She knew how others evaluated her.

She’s scatterbrained. She’s too willful. And so on—never good things.

Camilla fully acknowledged these facts. She was a person who moved solely according to her interests.

Even her recent training had started out of frustration at not being able to help Gilbert, who had piqued her interest. It was humiliating for her not to be able to help a friend who had caught her interest.

“Camilla. You once said that regardless of what others say about me, you judge me based on what you see.”

“Did I say that?”

She pretended not to remember, but Camilla remembered clearly.

Once, when Gilbert seemed to be having a hard time, she had thoughtlessly thrown out those words.

But why was he bringing this up now?

Camilla was curious about that.

“Yes. You said those words. You said you didn’t understand complicated things, but that’s just how it seemed to you.”

“I-I see.”

Camilla’s face flushed.

The person who had said it had no particular intention, but it was embarrassing to know that the person who heard it remembered it this way.

“Don’t worry about it! I really said it without thinking.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s an undeniable fact that I was helped by your words. So I’ll say one thing to you as well.”

Camilla held her breath for a moment.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was hearing something incredible.

“There’s no need to worry. The Camilla Alaker Tristitia I’ve seen is someone who can become stronger than anyone else. So don’t waver and just follow the path you’ve decided on. I’ll lead the way on that path.”

“Huh…?”

W-what is he saying now!

Camilla’s face stiffened at Gilbert’s words.

It wasn’t just her imagination that she was hearing something incredible—it was a fact.

Did he even know what he was saying right now?

“If you’re anxious, follow behind me. I’ll open the path. So all you need to do is believe in yourself. That’s what I wanted to tell you.”

Gilbert showed a faint smile to the frozen Camilla and then left the classroom, saying he would go ahead.

Now Camilla was the only one left.

After staring blankly at the entrance of the classroom where Gilbert had left for a while, Camilla suddenly burst into laughter.

The great Camilla got hit hard!

Camilla started laughing hysterically.

All the worries she had been having until now disappeared instantly with that laughter.

After laughing so hard that tears formed in her eyes, Camilla finally stopped and returned to her usual face.

Gilbert’s words had created ripples that resonated in her heart, but she felt like the path ahead was becoming clearer.

Perhaps it was thanks to Gilbert, who said he would open the path.

With a much lighter feeling, Camilla headed to the training room for her daily training.

Indeed, Gilbert was the most interesting subject for her.