The Knight King Who Returned with God-Chapter 35 These Days, Even the Army Feeds You Well

Hari felt sorry as she watched the hunters engaged in what could only be described as brutal street brawls under the guise of "training."

"A-Are they really okay? Is that really how training is supposed to go?"

— In theory, it's perfect.

Sure, in theory. But when do people ever follow theory to the letter? Leon acknowledged that limitation.

"Yes, there are limits. However, at the soldier level, they'll grow enough."

Leon assumed their growth potential would fall short of the Royal Guard he once commanded.

Not that their stats couldn't match up. Even without being of the Knight class, it was possible for these hunters to reach the level of Royal Guards or elite frontline troops.

'But the experience gap is enormous.'

The Royal Guard were professional warriors, veterans forged in countless wars across the kingdom. Even without orders, they could carry out coordinated tactical movements in units of ten.

During the war with 800,000 rampaging orcs, the battlefield was so vast that the Royal Guard independently defended ridges and reinforced key positions without waiting for commands.

Expecting that level of elite skill—gained over 30 to 50 years of constant battle—from these modern-day hunters was nothing short of unreasonable.

"True combat skill only grows through real battle. I will push their bodies to their absolute limit."

Under normal circumstances, standing army recruits didn't need to be pushed this hard.

"If they were my subjects, their bodies would already be complete. After all, they would've grown up with divine blessings and optimal conditions."

But these people were different. They had grown up not only without belief but without any knowledge of the gods' existence. Their lives had been unhealthy and vulnerable to disease.

"Unlike my healthy citizens, these ones need a shock to awaken their potential."

"I-I see..."

No matter how she looked at it, this still felt like nothing more than a dumb, medieval beatdown. But Hari tried her best to understand it.

"Um... Your Majesty. Am I not getting any training?"

Hari asked carefully. Technically, she was an Association-dispatched employee, but she was also the Earthling who'd spent the most time with Leon.

She was an A-rank hunter herself, and like all hunters, she had the desire to become stronger.

"What, do you want to be part of that mess in there?"

"Uh... I don't think I could handle it."

It wasn't that she didn't want to—it was just that the level disparity was too great.

"Hmph. To you, they must seem no more than children."

"N-Not quite that bad..."

"That level of humility borders on arrogance. Just as training methods differ between soldiers and knights, you don't need the brute-force approach they do."

So... he does realize his methods are brutish.

Hari couldn't help but wonder at how this savage medieval war king could also be so surprisingly self-aware at times.

"It's almost over. Let's go prepare the meal."

"Ah, yes! Right! After such harsh training, at least they should eat well!"

Hari decided she'd cook some good meat for the exhausted hunters. Surely Leon would've already prepared something substantial.

But the moment she saw the meal prepared for the soldiers, she was hit with pure shock.

"Um... Your Majesty? Is... is this water?"

It was a pale, watery soup. Something had been added to it, but the cloudy liquid left her baffled. Was it some kind of special tonic?

"What... what is this cloudy stuff? Did Your Majesty bless it or something?"

"Salt."

"...That's all?"

"There's sugar, too."

This was strange. Very strange.

That couldn't be it. There had to be something more.

"Hari, do you know what's most important for soldiers?"

"Eating well and getting good training?"

She was trying to point out, very indirectly, that both of those things were currently a disaster.

"Heh. That might apply during wartime. But for a soldier, the most important thing is 'fury.'"

"Fury?"

"A happy soldier hesitates to kill. Keep them under-supplied and full of rage—that's how you forge savages."

Thus, he only provided them with the bare minimum to stoke their inner rage. Hari's face turned pale.

"B-But even modern armies feed their troops decently these days!"

"What do you know to question me? Have you ever commanded an army like I have?"

"...No."

"Then how can you claim my methods are wrong?"

"W-Well..."

I've done it, and it worked. Have you?

Hari was left speechless.

— Your Majesty, a suggestion...

Ohh, Sir Yaffy! As expected, you aim to make an objective critique with your cold, mechanical knowledge of mathematics!

"Sir Yaffy! Everyone's right to survive rests on your calculations!"

Hang in there, Sir Yaffy!

"Speak, Sir Spinner. I am listening to your words."

— Sodium exceeds the minimum requirement for human life-sustaining activity by 17mg, and calorie count is 112 over. Recommend reducing the ration to exact specified quantity.

They're demons! Absolute monsters!!

The brutal soldier training based on "toughening people up through experience" had now fused with a machine's cold, heartless numerical logic to form the most hellish combo imaginable!

After dinner, training—or rather, torture—resumed.

Due to an unseasonal monsoon, training for the day was canceled.

The hunters were shoved into the village hall under the excuse of "improving camaraderie." Like the rain trickling endlessly down, the hunters slumped in exhaustion.

"Ugh... after all that suffering, we only got two cups of sugar water...?"

"Ahh, my whole body aches. It hurts..."

After just one session, they felt like they were going to die.

And yet, strangely, their bodies were perfectly fine.

"I'm actually... all healed."

Goo Dae-seong marveled at how his torn skin and broken bones had fully recovered.

It didn't quite feel real, but it was almost like his bones had somehow become stronger.

The regenerative power of the Holy Grail was phenomenal—comparable to that of a top-tier healer, sustained for hours on end.

What was even more absurd was that this was an area-of-effect heal.

Normally, healers restored one person at a time, limited by their mana. But Leon's Grail continuously regenerated everyone in range for no less than five hours.

It was recovery on another level.

"Still... I'm hungry."

Exhausted from the intense training, the hunters were completely spent. But all they'd been given during mealtime was two cups of sugar-and-salt water.

In terms of calories, it technically wasn't a problem—those cups were loaded with so much sugar they practically hurt to drink.

Nutritional value aside, it was just enough to keep a person biologically alive.

But the portions were still far too meager. No one who had trained that hard could feel satisfied with just that.

Like in a military barracks, they huddled together under a single blanket, their rumbling stomachs drowned out by the sound of pouring rain.

"Damn it, should I just drink rainwater?"

"So hungry..."

It was 11 p.m.—bedtime—but not a single soul could sleep.

Then, a knock came at the door of the hall.

"Um... is anyone there?"

"H-Hari?!"

Hari peeked her head in, seeking permission to enter.

"May I come in?"

"Ah, yes! What brings you here?"

"Well... I figured everyone must be hungry, so I brought some late-night snacks."

Her hands held a basket overflowing with potatoes and sweet potatoes.

"There wasn't any cold water... so I picked up some bottled water from the shop out front. You've all worked so hard—please, at least have this."

"An... angel..."

"She's so young, yet so kind-hearted..."

Goo Dae-seong and the hunters were moved to tears by Hari's kindness.

They grabbed the potatoes and sweet potatoes and wolfed them down, not even bothering to peel them.

"Snff! So good! Hari, these are amazing...!"

"I didn't know potatoes could taste this good...!"

"Please, take your time. There's plenty more where that came from."

Seeing the hunters—looking like beggars—as they devoured the food, Hari felt a wave of pity.

Yes, no matter what, one should never be stingy with food.

Having lost her parents in the cataclysm and grown up in an orphanage, Hari understood better than anyone what it meant to be hungry.

"Make sure to drink some water, too. It's hot, and you need to stay hydra—"

—CRASH!

The door to the hall burst open without even a knock.

The sound of rain pounding the muddy ground was swallowed by the thunder that crashed alongside it.

The door stood wide open to the outside world. A lightning flash illuminated a cold, rain-soaked body.

—Creeeeak.

In the downpour and flashes of lightning stood the spider-shaped machine. Its glowing red eyes looked colder than usual—or was that just their imagination?

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Its eight camera eyes whirred and turned in all directions, glowing like intruder alarms in a top-secret military base.

"S-Sir Yaffy..."

—Cheating detected.

The machine's usually monotonous voice now rang colder and heavier than ever before.

Its eight legs marched across the rain-soaked dirt floor.

Even the muddy ground was no obstacle to this multi-legged tank.

"S-Stop!!"

On the other hand, the red-ribboned girl chasing after him was desperately running across the ground. In her eyes were drops—whether they were tears or raindrops was unclear.

"W-Wait a second! Please listen to me, Sir Yaffyyy!"

She'd been caught sneaking potatoes and sweet potatoes to the others behind Leon's back.

Though she'd prepared the food out of sympathy and kindness, there was no telling how Leon would interpret it.

The moment she realized she'd been caught, she recalled the hunters frantically stuffing the food into their mouths, and tears welled up again—but the real problem was after Yaffy reported it to Leon.

If he decided to subtract the sugar from their sugar water because they'd already eaten some starches... how cruel would that be?

Hari desperately ran to stop Yaffy, who was scuttling toward Leon to report everything.

Fortunately, Yaffy was slower than Hari. His strides were short and, having downsized, his power output had dropped.

"A-Almost got you!"

Just before Hari's hand reached him—Yaffy suddenly stopped.

—Pursuit-interruption request. You are currently committing a major violation.

"F-Fine! I get it! I'll stop! Okay? Just listen to me for a second!"

As Yaffy stopped, Hari naturally did too.

But this was all part of Yaffy's psychological game. It worked especially well on those with the assumption, based on years of combat data, that machines don't lie.

While she hesitated, Yaffy subtly increased the distance—then dashed off again.

"Y-You tricked me?! You pretended to negotiate and then ran?!"

Hari hurried after him. But before she knew it, something strong and tight wrapped around her ankle.

"A wire? Ack!"

She crashed to the muddy ground.

Meanwhile, Yaffy widened the gap.

Realizing what was restraining her, Hari noticed the wire wrapped around her ankle and snapped her fingers.

—FWOOOSH!

Even in the pouring rain, flames erupted.

Her blessing of fire scorched the wire clean through, even in this soggy weather.

"You're not getting away...!"

She took off again. With Yaffy operating at only 10% of his normal output, the distance between them began to close.

Hari lunged forward.

"Got youuuu!"

Throwing her whole body, she tackled Yaffy to the ground.

Mud splattered on her face, her suit was torn to shreds—but the joy of having protected a single meal for the hunters made it all worth it.

—Touchdown.

However, the place where she tackled Yaffy was right in front of Leon's lodging.

The door creaked open, and Leon stepped out, looking down at Hari with his usual cold gaze.

"What is this commotion at this hour of night?"

"Huh?"

Hari opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish.

But machines never fluster. Yaffy calmly and coldly delivered his report, line by line.

—Violation detected. Unapproved nutritional supplementation confirmed.

Hari had been caught red-handed giving out food.

Yaffy began listing her offenses with brutal precision.

"Tsk... You couldn't even go a day without resorting to this."

"N-No, I... I'm sorry..."

Hari bowed her head deeply, but she couldn't help feeling wronged.

I mean, come on—people need to eat, right?

"It's fine. What's done is done. But be more careful from now on."

Seeing Hari's puffed-up cheeks and sulky face, Leon chuckled softly and continued.

"During actual combat in the Gate, they will be properly fed. Go and win the bid for the next Gate."

"R-Really?!"

So that meant—they'd get real food during gate raids!

Hari thought she had to find a suitable Gate as soon as possible, if only for the sake of the hunters' basic rights.

"Ah, right. Your Majesty... I was actually going to report this tomorrow, but..."

"What is it?"

"As per your request to evaluate training progress, the Guild Association President will be attending the graduation ceremony tomorrow."

"Hm. I see."

This had been Leon's idea.

To reassess the ranks of the trained hunters, he'd invited them to a graduation ceremony.

Leon would then lead them to conquer a yellow-rank Gate, and their newly honed skills would be officially re-evaluated.

It was also a recruiting strategy—Join the Temple of the Lion, and this is how strong you'll become.

"Looks like we'll have many guests. We must not neglect our visitors—such would damage the authority of the Lionheart King. Tell the villagers to prepare."

"Yes, I will inform them at oooonce..."

Leon glanced at Hari's mess of a state—covered in mud, her clothes in tatters from chasing Yaffy—and added,

"Go wash up. And... from now on, provide the night snack. Sharing some crops of this land is acceptable."

At those words, Hari's face lit up.

She'd felt so sorry for the recruits being forced to survive on nothing but salty sugar water—and now potatoes and sweet potatoes were officially allowed!

Of course... whether this was something to be grateful for was questionable, but at least the hunters wouldn't have to suffer through four weeks of saltwater-only meals anymore.

"Whew... So he does have a merciful side after all."

What Hari didn't know was this:

For someone like Leon—rigid and authoritarian to the core—there was never such a thing as a one-sided plus or minus.

If you grant a plus... of course, you must balance it with a minus.

As Sir Grattas, author of the Holy Grail Knight Standing Army Training Manual, once wrote:

"Any recruit trying to slack off—make sure they get royally screwed."