Chapter 48 (1/2)
“I’ll draw a card now~”
In the break room of Freyhem, a game was in full swing.
“Aaaaaaaand… Oh! I pulled out the Binding Sword.”
They were playing a psychological card game in which five knights, two specters, one wizard, and one duke were selected out of 9 players. The knights would need to search for the specters, and the specters needed to kill everyone.
It was the popular ‘Specters and Knights.’
“Whose heart should I put the binding sword…”
Cindy, a subordinate, swung the round table. Julie remained calm.
In fact, from the moment Cindy pulled out the binding sword, her heart was already pounding.
“Ma’am?”
“What?”
“You’re a specter, aren’t you?”
Cindy leaned towards Julie, outright expressing her suspicion.
Julie placed both of her hands neatly on her lap, then shook her head.
“No.”
“I think you are. Look at you. You really don’t know how to lie, ma’am.”
“What do you mean?”
“Since we said on the previous game that the change in your facial expression is too obvious, you are forcing yourself not to make any facial expressions.”
Julie inflated her cheeks, pretending to be upset.
“Now you’re making a forced expression.”
“… I’m not.”
“I’ll use the Binding Sword on you, then.”
“You’ll regret it. I am a knight.”
“Hmm… Now I’m having doubts with you talking like this.”
Cindy pretended to be worried.
Julie wondered if that was a real concern, but it was also a joke.
“Yes. I will accept it.”
“…”
When mana was injected into the card, it glowed. A small blue knife came up and swung at the card in front of Julie.
Whoosh—
Her ghost escaped.
“Look at this. She can’t lie at all.”
“… This game’s hard.”
Cindy smiled and asked Julie as she sighed. “Still, it’s fun, isn’t it?”
Julie wasn’t the kind of person who unintentionally interfered with her subordinates’ games. But this time, the members forced her to play it together.
Knowing the deeper meaning behind her words, Julie just smiled softly.
“Yes.”
“That’s right~ sometimes you have to take a break like this. You’re working too much these days.”
“…”
“If you get a specter, why don’t we just do it again? You have a good card strategy, but your psychological warfare needs work.”
“… I’ll be different from now on.”
Julie fiddled with the cards. She didn’t really enjoy the game itself, but her desire to win had been triggered.
She was expecting one more match.
However…
“Well, it’s already 8 PM. It’s time for the jousting match.”
“Oh, really?”
“Then we’ll get going, ma’am! Practice a little more~” Her subordinates sprinted from their seats and left.
The break room where there were fourteen people quickly became empty.
“…”
Julie, now left alone, looked at the table in the distance… and threw away the stack of cards in her hand.
Shhh—
As the cards were falling, she heard rumbling sounds closing in on her.
The knights were coming back.
Her excitement rising, she reorganized the deck.
‘Were they deliberately pretending to run away to mock me? That’s mean. But this time, it will be different…’
Julie’s subordinates stood behind her, and soon afterward, the people of the Imperial Family entered.
“Julie von Deya-Freyden.”
Julie also jumped up and saluted.
“We come bearing a letter from the Imperial Family. Follow the courtesy and receive it.”
“Yes.”
At Imperial Knight Lucan’s words, she knelt on one knee. He then gave her the letter.
The contents were as followed:
[Julie von Deya-Freyden. You are hereby given a chance to be selected as the emperor’s Knighthood Educator. As your first test, you must proceed to the destination ‘Lone Fast.’]
That was the hottest topic in the industry these days. The letter announced that she was nominated to be the emperor’s Knighthood Educator.
* * *
… There were several ‘magical spaces’ on the continent. Mystical and bizarre, each of them had a different characteristic.
In some places, it was winter or summer all year round. In others, it was always night. There were even locations where no grass could grow.
The periphery of the continent called ‘Annihilation’ or ‘Land of Demonic Beasts’ could also be considered a magical space if one looked at it broadly.
Julie was walking through such a locus. Although it was summer, the whole area was covered in perennial snow.
Her arduous march lasted half a day, at which point a flash of light led her to her destination, a large cottage.
Julie stood in front of the door and knocked.
Knock, knock—
“Is anyone there?”
There was no reaction.
Knock, knock—
“Come in.”
As she knocked one more time, someone inside answered. Julie opened the door, and the warmth inside pushed away the gelid blizzard’s chill.
She found familiar faces in the living room.
Syrio, Raphael, and Gwen.
All of them were her seniors in college.
“It’s been a while, Julie.”
The deputy commander of the Knights of Iliade, Syrio, smiled broadly at her. His vibe and facial features were still cool.
“Yes. Long time no see.”
“I knew you’d be nominated too. Sit~”
There were five chairs in the living room. Julie took a seat in one of the two chairs that were still vacant, thinking the last one probably belonged to the selection officer.
“I wonder what the test will be like~ Since we’re all here, it’s kind of like the group mission back in college, right, Gwen?” Syrio asked.
“I don’t know. I won’t go easy on you. You too, Julie, so be prepared.” Gwen glanced at the knights with a sharp gaze.
“I know.” Julie nodded firmly.
Raphael remained silent, so Syrio decided to continue.
“The other one is probably the selection officer’s seat… I heard Deputy Commander Isaac got injured. Do you think Sir Gefrid will come?”
Gefrid.
Julie became nervous when she heard the name of the Imperial Guardian Knight.
“Humpf. No way.” Gwen disagreed. “Gefrid is now retired. The Guardian Knight stays in the South in the first place, not the imperial palace.”
“That’s true.”
As Syrio shrugged, they heard a clear sound coming from outside.
Knock, knock—
All of their gazes waltzed to the door as it opened, the person not even waiting for an answer.
Whooooosh…
The blizzard raging on became momentarily visible.
Wearing a coat and a fedora, his face couldn’t be seen in detail. All they knew was that he was tall and that his physique was rigorous.
Julie felt used to such a view, and she soon discovered why when he took off his hat.
“…!”
Julie’s eyes widened. The other knights just blinked.
It wasn’t certain if he noticed their perplexity or not, but he casually just hung his hat and coat in the air.
Creaaak— Creaaak—
The wooden planks creaked with every step he took. To their surprise, he remained clear of snow marks.
“Nice to meet you.”
He sat down on the elevated seat of the selection officer.
“I am the deputy selection officer, Deculein.”
… It was quiet. His presence rendered them speechless due to how absurd it was.
The knights looked at Deculein blankly.
“… Deculein?” Raphael’s heavy tone, who had been silent all this time, broke the silence.
Deculein nodded.
“You? You’re the selection officer?”
“Yes.”
Raphael, Syrio, Gwen, and Deculein were schoolmates who joined the Knights Department and the Magic Department in the same year.
“What do you know about swords? No, do you even know what knights do? How dare—” The almost 2m tall Raphael jumped up and stared at Deculein, his manly facial features becoming distorted in different ways.
“Of course, I am a professor, not a knight. Hence, I will judge according to the manual.”
“Manual? What do you know about swordsmanship—”
“None. However, skill with the sword isn’t the only virtue required of Her Majesty’s Knighthood Educator. Additionally, I have already been selected as the Magic Educator by the emperor, so my qualifications are sufficient.”
Syrio’s eyes widened. “You were selected? What about Louina? Did you really just do this to her again?”
“… Louina.”
Deculein thought about the name he often heard these days.
His inevitable rival, Louina von Schlott McQueen.
At this point, she should just reveal herself already, but since they met at the Isle of Wizard’s Wealth, there had been no news about her.
“Wow, that’s amazing~ Anyway, if Deculein is the selection officer, are the four of us the only candidates?”
Syrio was very chatty, but Raphael and Gwen seemed dissatisfied, while Julie was more uncomfortable than dissatisfied.
“How can this be fair, though? Won’t you favor just one person?” Syrio grinned, making a good point.
Deculein shook his head.
“I’ll hold the selection, but Her Majesty will make the final decision.”
“Hmm. I still don’t think it’s fair… Well, okay. I have nothing to say since Her Majesty will decide anyway.”
“Okay. When does the exam start?” Gwen asked.
Deculein looked back at her, who in turn was startled when their eyes met.
“The first test is to reach this destination. The real start starts tomorrow, so take a rest today.”
* * *
[Independent Quest Complete: Magic Educator Selection]
◆ Mana + 100
◆ Store Currency +2
◆ Imperial Medal
It was already 11:30 PM, but I was still reading information about the knights in the selection officer’s room.
[Syrio │ Knight of Fresh Wind │ 33 years old]
[ Raphael │ Knight of Might │ Age 34 ]
[ Gwen │ Knight of the Holy Spirit │ 31 years old ]
[ Julie │ Knight of Refinement │ 28 years old ]
Each person had 100 pages dedicated to them. The imperial family gave me unexpected and high-quality information.
“…”
Three days ago, they entrusted me with the title of ‘Deputy Knighthood Educator Selection Officer.’
Perhaps it was at the emperor’s whim, but as soon as I saw the list of selected knights, I accepted it without any hesitation.
It was because of Julie.