Spoiler: Memory 1

A group of people in full body armor were walking down the paved road along with multiple wagons that were carrying several men and various supplies. Every step they took was heavy and some wore such bulky armor that it was a wonder how they could move. They reached a city surrounded by tall walls and were granted passage through the gates without delay. The citizens who saw them all stopped and gazed at them with respect. The kids were excited and pointed at them while jumping up and down as their eyes sparkled.

The ones in the spotlight were used to it and walked proudly with their heads held high. After all, they were the knights who were given magical armors, the ultimate weapons humanity had ever created. It was normal for young boys everywhere to aspire to become knights. A girl excitedly said that she wanted to be a knight too, but with troubled expressions, her parents told her that she couldn’t since women weren’t allowed to join the army. Everyone cleared a path for them and the group made their way to their headquarters near the royal castle unhindered.

Once there, they directly went to the workshop to take off their protective shell. Blacksmiths rushed about to tend to each knight as they used specialized tools and magic diagrams to separate the man from the armor. Compressed air and steam was released as each piece of metal was taken off one by one. The knights, now free, talked about relaxing in their lounge for a while until their next mission. They were about to call out to the last one that hadn’t remove his armor yet, but stopped.

The knight in white armor was a powerful, but weird one that never talked and didn’t socialize much. The men left the workshop except for the blacksmiths who were doing maintenance work on the complex armors and one weird knight. He went to a separated compartment where an old blacksmith waited for him. Then, he stood still and raised his arms to his side as the old man began to take the armor off. With each piece, the knight’s real figure could be seen.

He had a slim waist, well-rounded buttocks and a bulging chest. When the helmet came off, the face of a woman with black hair and a right white eye was revealed.

Spoiler: Memory 2

The steel sword stabbed downward, penetrating the giant insect’s head and stitching it to the ground. The owner let go of the handle and deeply exhaled.

Monsters.

It wasn’t rare for them to attack. When they did, it was the knights’ duty to repel them. Sometimes, they were sent out to cull their numbers or even harvest them for some could be used as materials. In the aftermath of their battle, a huge number of large, black insects resembling horned beetles with spiky shells littered the plain. The corpses of knights with their destroyed armor were among them. The brave men that survived celebrated their victory and mourned their deceased comrades.

Standing a bit apart from the joyful group was a knight in white armor, the only woman among them. The blue cape that covered the back and reached the ankles was in tatters. Black blood painted the white, metallic surface.

A part on top of the two large shoulder plates moved upward. Then, a silver tube came out from the small holes and released hot steam behind the white knight. It was a system to discharge the heat generated by the armor during a fight. It was a way to prevent it from overheating.

Once the tubes retracted, the only woman among the knights raised her head. She wasn’t celebrating, but silently watching the sky. A comrade approached her, congratulated her great performance and the fact that she survived. She acknowledged his good will, simply and bluntly, by nodding her head. He smiled bitterly, seeing how she kept her distance as usual and acted mysterious.

Even now, no one had ever seen who was inside that armor. All they knew was that she was one of the strongest and most reliable knights they could have asked for. She was a queer one that never took off the armor, but her allegiance was undoubtable. Many times, they had been saved by her prowess.

However, if they ever did find out that she was a woman, she would be arrested in a heartbeat.

Spoiler: Memory 3

A man with a robust build and in the prime of his life knocked on the door of a small house. After a few seconds, a woman barely in her twenties opened it. The man that stood at the entrance greeted her politely with a friendly smile.

These two weren’t total strangers. He had met her a few times before. The young woman wasn’t an exceedingly beautiful lady, but she wasn’t bad on the eyes either. Basically, she was the type that people wouldn’t notice in a crowd, but wouldn’t mind going out with.

However, as far as charm went, she was poorly lacking. Ignoring her figure that was hidden by her simple beige dress, her long black hair was a mess, she always looked like she just woke up and her demeanor wasn’t feminine. Moreover, although she should have dark brown eyes, her right eye was white which creeped some people out.

Although she would be considered a failure as a woman, someone actually married her and he was who the visitor came for.

After exchanging a few greetings, he told her of the reason for his visit and tapped on the pentagonal badge on his chest. It was proof that he was a knight. It was something that he proudly wore for all to see.

He had been summoned to the castle for a mission and so was his colleague which was the woman’s husband and who he came to get personally. He was a weird man that never took off his armor, so no one knew what he looked like. Seeing his young wife, the knight impolitely thought that his tastes were eccentric as well.

The woman nodded and scratched the back of her head. She told him her husband wasn’t home, that she didn’t know where he wandered off to and that she would pass on his message.

He thanked her, turned around and left. It was the usual exchange. Strangely, her husband was never home whenever someone came to visit him.

After closing the door, the woman went to her bedroom and tossed her dress on her bed. Underneath it, she was wearing a shirt and pants that were easy to move in. She hated wearing dresses, but that was what everyone of her gender wore, so she had to or she would stick out like a sore thumb.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Sticking her hand under the bed, she picked up the pentagonal badge that she had hidden there.

She was summoned to the castle to fulfill her duties as a knight.

Spoiler: Memory 4

The white knight swung her sword left.

The white knight swung her sword right.

The opponent she was fighting dodged her strikes nimbly and threw in his own attacks. Raising her shield, she blocked and diverted the blows that could pulverize any man. Luckily, their full body armor protected and strengthened them beyond human limits.

Her opponent delivered a brutal kick to her stomach. Even with her heavy armor, she was knocked back and her feet slid on the ground from the impact. She examined the knight before her once again after gaining some distance. His grey armor was bulkier and thicker than hers, especially the feet that had small wheels at the soles.  Three pipes came out from both sides of his torso and expelled hot steam. Afterwards, they slid back under the steel plates and the metal knight readied his sword.

The spectators around them were cheering and shouting in joy. The two knights were in a huge arena that could hold a thousand spectators. The sky was blue, the sun was warm and the cheers were deafening. Those who came to watch were excited to witness knights fighting from so close. It was an event that was held to show off their strength and it always attracted a lot of attention every year. Even the royal family was watching the matches from their special seats.

The woman in white armor found it annoying, but she needed to participate because it was part of her duty. Also, it wasn’t a waste of time since the results would affect the rankings amongst the knights. The winner of these matches would have their strength recognize and surely climb up the ladder. That was what she aimed for.

Her mission was to be the greatest knight in the country. It was her sole goal in her current life.

After looking up at the sky where an aircraft resembling an armored blimp was floating over her head, the white knight readied her sword, raised her shield and resumed the match.

Spoiler: Memory 5

Putting on the highly expensive knight armor was rather complicated.

All of the men wore body tight uniforms as they stood in the large workshop. Once preparations were complete, the blacksmiths brought them to where their armors were and helped them suit up. They first wore the inner armor before attaching tubes to their backs as well as their necks. Then, as the “fuel” was being injected, the external armor was put on piece by piece using specialized tools and magic diagrams.

It was the same for the mysterious knight that always hid his face. Even now, while everyone was suiting up, he arrived fully clad in steel armor. It wasn’t like the ones that the knights received. It was just made of plain steel, but it served its purpose. No one could see his figure under that bulky frame.

Making his way to his station that was separated by walls and curtains, the knight took off his helmet to reveal the face of a black-haired woman underneath. After shedding the steel shell, the old blacksmith helped her put on her specially-made knight armor.

The internal, light armor that seemed to be made of leather and patterns of steel lines covered her whole body except her head. Three big tubes like firehoses were attached to her back, along her spine. As various fluids from three containers were being injected into the suit, the old blacksmith began putting on her white armor over the internal one. With each piece, more of these fueling liquids were injected and bonded to the armor as if they had a mind of their own.

Afterwards, he disconnected the three tubes, attached the back plates and carefully connected another tube at the back of her neck. The woman first wore a mask that covered her nose and mouth and gave the old man a thumbs-up. Then, the contents of the fourth container flowed through her suit and filled every nook and cranny of her armor. She took a deep breath while her eyelids twitched. Multiple purple strands like worms could be seen crawling over her sclera. After closing her eyes that were unfocused and opening them, they faded away.

With the process complete, the old blacksmith disconnected the tube, covered the back of her neck in white armor and put on her helmet. While at it, he complained about her long hair that was tied up, but she sarcastically said that it couldn’t be helped.

Women were expected to look pretty, take care of the house and support their husband, not go into battle while lying about their gender.

Spoiler: Memory 6

Staying cooped up in her house all the time was impossible, so she had to go out and walk around the street every now and then. Greeting people and showing her face was an important job to keep her current lifestyle. So long as her neighbors believed that she was a slightly eccentric, but normal person, then it would be easier for her to move around as she liked.

That was why she was currently exchanging small talk with other housewives. They chatted about their day, complained about their mischievous kids and gossiped about someone’s unconfirmed romance. The woman with sleepy-looking eyes nodded along to everything they said.

When one of them commented about the lack of care for her black hair, she only gave a vague response. Then, everyone jumped on the topic and told her to be more mindful of her appearance or her husband would run away from her. After all, her beige dress was getting discolored and the white apron she wore on top looked worn out.

From there, they talked about her husband’s work and how proud she must be that he was a knight. Then, the talk derailed as they went from asking how powerful he was on the battlefield to how strong he was in bed. Again, she only gave them a vague response.

Luckily, before things got more awkward, the attention of the housewives and every other citizen was caught by one of the aircrafts in the sky that resembled a blimp. Seeing them fly around wasn’t rare. However, its horribly damaged appearance told everyone that its expedition might not have been successful. The citizens all worried about the brave men that were part of that group.

The woman with eyes of different color watched the aircraft that was barely flying straight while wondering if the company of knights she was a part of was going to be sent out on a mission soon. If it were, then she might have to face whatever did that.

It was a great way to climb up the ranks.

Spoiler: Memory 7

Being married was useful.

Simply by wearing a cheap ring on her left ring finger, everyone thought that she was someone’s wife. That social status gave her a certain degree of protection. People believed that she was the woman of a powerful and mysterious knight who accomplished many valorous deeds. As such, no one really wanted to mess with her. Thanks to her fake marriage, she could avoid most problems.

Most of them, anyway.

The female knight stared at the troublesome man with half-closed eyes. He kept rambling on about how she should accompany him for a bit since it was a woman’s duty to support a man. In exchange, he would treat her to a meal because he had some money on hand. Perhaps, because of such a social worldview, that was why he didn’t back off despite the wedding ring on her finger. He believed he could talk it out with her husband later and explain that he only spent a few hours going shopping with her. One could say he was a brazen and courageous man, or an extremely shameless idiot.

Truth be told, he was just an extremely shameless idiot.

Most of his explaining to her husband would involve intimidating by way of showing off his big biceps and thick chest. Knights were only great because of that special armor that only they had access to. So, once they took it off, they were ordinary men.

And he was a man amongst men.

There was no way he would lose to an unarmored knight.

That was how his mind reasoned it, at the very least.

He completely didn’t think it possible that he would get arrested.

Or that the woman standing in front of him could break his spine in two.