“The look on my brother’s face at that time is still a masterpiece.”
With a carefree smile on her face, Chris shook her shoulders daintily in the air.
By the time her brother Leon, who had been sent as a diplomat, found out that he’d been involved, everything was too late for him. It seemed unnatural that the examinee was just Commander Lefilia. I, Marie and Chris took turns being the chaperone and Leon was just an imperial envoy, but now that I think about it, it might have been a trick of His Majesty the King. It could be said that it was a kind of conspiracy or a scheming, but since he’s been doing that all the time, he should have noticed.
As a result, Leon, who had been set up by His Majesty the King, was reluctant to take the test, but like the other examinees, he was giving it his all. If he didn’t, he might lose his life, so it was only natural.
“Even so, why did Leon keep refusing to take the Holy Knight exam? His ability seems to be second to none, even to yours Chris-sama.”
“I think that person’s attitude of wanting to take a step back and watch the situation isn’t a lie….”
“What do you think about it?”
Immediately, I regretted the words I had spoken out of curiosity. Chris chuckled with a troubled smile that was almost sad.
“Sage-sama… Excuse me, the year after Madou-sama took over as Holy Knight, the holy knight qualification test was not held. All qualified people declined.”
“……If so was I the cause?”
Chris silently expressed her affirmative intention.
I both wanted and didn’t want to know. I couldn’t help but avert my gaze as I felt a stirring sensation in my chest.
“To be precise, it was the content of the test. At that time, the allied nations, including our country, wanted a hero. As a result, they decided to conduct such a shallow test.”
“…………”
It’s a holy knight qualification test. It’s not only a supreme goal for those who have decided to live with a sword in their hands, but also the worst possible destination.
As a premise, they’ll cross the borderline of the human world, which is difficult to cross and carry out the investigation and report by themselves while bearing all the adversities that fall upon them. That’s the title given to the knight among knights known as the Holy Knight.
However, the content of the test is no longer considered inhumane or crazy. It’s possible to take the exam again once it’s been approved, but according to one source, 30 percent of those who take the exam are incapacitated in some way and it’s not uncommon for people to die.
However, these details are not known, as it is forbidden to leak any information about the examinations, but it’s impossible to create smoke without fire. I knew with my own eyes that the rumors about the deaths were true and I couldn’t just dismiss them as falsehoods.
For a time, rumors spread that those who passed the test were subjected to human experimentation and physical modification with illegal drugs and forbidden magic and the words “I’ll take you to the holy knight test” was used to discipline infants who wouldn’t stop crying, so Holy knight candidates were no longer treated as human beings.
Therefore, most of the knights, though in awe of the holy knights, spend their time making sure that they don’t get the white feather of being a candidate.
“I’m sorry, I reminded you of something bad. ……”
Chris bowed her head apologetically as Sage gazed into the void, immersed in his recollections.
“You should be more concerned about your brother than me. I’m sorry he was taken in for an exam he didn’t want to take. ……”
“That’s okay, he’s fine. It’s a good opportunity for him, because he’s good at cutting corners efficiently in his heavy workload.”
Without a second thought, I glanced down at the dark green below my eyes.
This time, the examinations imposed on the knights as examinees are not as vicious as in the past. It’s just a higher level version of a knight’s qualification exam and it’s within the realm of common sense, to put it bluntly. I thought so, but when I asked Chris about it later, she said it wasn’t easy.
“I’m a bit worried about the other participants. We just told them to follow us to our destination leaving them there with one word: survive. ……” (Sage)
“They’re all excellent knights. I thought a basic aptitude test was unnecessary.”
In addition to Leon and General Lefilia, several other knights also received approval and put their names on the list. However, at the same time, it also means that all of the talented people who can be called the reserve army of knights will be absent at once in various places. It’s a good thing that the examinations are short, even if the content is extreme.
“Even so, wouldn’t it be better if there was time for mental preparation so that they could show their true potential?”
“If you’re asking me if a power that can’t be demonstrated unless you’re fully prepared will work over there, I’d say …….”
“No, it won’t. ……”
It’s certainly good to keep the light of your own life burning responsibly, while at the same time cutting it down efficiently. We need to be thoroughly aware of these things from time to time, right down to the tips of our toes and promptly implement them when necessary.
In order to do this, we must maintain the mental and physical strength to make decisions and take the best possible action, regardless of the circumstances surrounding us. This is sometimes cynically referred to as morbid health care, but it’s much better than making excuses after you’ve fallen on hard times.
“By the way, where is Marie-chan? I haven’t seen her for a while. ……”
“Oh, her…”
A scream drowned out Sage’s laid-back voice. He smiled irresistibly as he put his hand on Chris’s shoulder as she tried to jump forward.
“She’s the source of the voice just now. It seems that His Majesty the King has asked for Marie to be his chaperone on the ground.”
Without thinking, we both glanced at the area where the voice that could have been Marie’s had come from. The eyes that had been kept at a high altitude were unintentionally slowly lowered. Chris, who had been looking around in the shade of the trees and plants, suddenly stopped suddenly.
“Sa ……, Madou-sama, over there.”
I listened to the faint call in my ears and observed Marie, who looked like a girl who had wandered in from a distance. Of course, she hid her magic power and killed any sign of her presence.
Marie rarely does bad things to people, but she seems to have a talent for deceiving people, as she sits down weakly with her hips crumbled and politely gets into the act with tears in her eyes.
“It’s cute, but why is she wearing …… a waiter’s uniform?”
“His Majesty the King said it would stain her normal clothes. ……”
If you disregard the sense of incongruity, it is certain that the knights would have longed for it more than once. His majesty also didn’t mention that his vassals dutifully and smoothly provided the serving clothes at a size that suits Marie.
“Well since it’s been clearly stated that there’ll be no points awarded for words or actions during the exam, what to do with Marie is up to their discretion……” {TN: She means it’s up to the knights whether to “save” Marie or not}
Even if there are no additional points, the mental image will affect them in no small way. If they try to save her and fail, it proves that their strength of will is not matched by their ability. But we don’t want them to be so worried about their own safety that they neglect their duty as a knight to help the weak.
“It seems that it was an unnecessary worry.”
Chris said, as if she had read Sage’s inner thoughts.
Two knights appeared from different directions. Each of them was being chased by a different monster and rushed the monster that was approaching Marie as if they were covering her.
They swung their swords at the lower and upper levels of the monster and their blades passed each other inside the monster’s body. They did not pay attention to the monster that was dying, but kept the momentum of their swing and flipped the tip of their sword at the monsters that were chasing them.
Outside of that view, from the open mouth of the monster which should have been cut off, blood of the same color as that of a human squirted into a mist at the knights’ faces.
It wasn’t enough to rob you of your sight, and not enough to make you visibly tense, just to slightly delay your reaction.
In the wild, where everyone is an enemy except you, a blink of an eye can sometimes be enough to decide your life. The next moment the two knights, who must be experiencing this right now, looked at the claws and fangs of the monster approaching them and still swung their swords down.
The palm of Marie’s hand, which was pressed against her chest as she clung to the ground for protection, extended soundlessly toward the monster.
If they had vocal cords and emotions, they would have let out a loud scream. There was no way that the good knights would have missed the clear fear in the monster’s body movements. This time, the flashes of their swords caught their head precisely to prevent them from moving.
Marie made a peace sign under her arm, glancing at Sage and Chris, who clapped their hands while not making a sound.
“That was good. It’s great that they came to Marie’s rescue and of course, their movements were great.”
Sage admired them as they watched from the sky again, taking in the situation.
“They’re both knights of Lurain, judging by the design of their equipment. It seems they place more emphasis on swordsmanship than magic. So I can understand.”
“In the second half, Marie helped them completely…”
Therefore, if we put the examinees in close proximity to the examiners, we can control their “just in case” as much as possible. Marie had suggested this as they wouldn’t know her face but she wondered if she could examine properly.
“It’s no wonder the monsters are afraid when a person at the top of the food chain pretends to be a prey.”
Chris stretched out and descended.
“I’ll go prepare dinner. I’ll leave things to you for a while.”
“If you just want to buy food, I’ll come with you.”
“You look a little …… out of place in that outfit.”
It was clear she found it embarrassing because she had an expression on her face that was hard to describe. I looked at Chris, who flew away with the setting sun behind her and deployed a new magic circle to take charge of monitoring for the two of us.
In the end, nothing worth mentioning happened before Chris returned. There was no shortage of candidates and we were able to have a nice outdoor dinner.
“Well, candidates. I’d like to congratulate you all for making it through the first day alive.”
In front of all the knights gathered in one place, Chris gave a noisy greeting at the beginning.
There were eight examinees. Of course, her brother Leon and General Lefilia were among them.
“As some of you may know, this is the former territory of Raphia, the area called the ‘Luring Forest’ where magic power is strongest in the human world. Animals that have been mutated by magic power and creatures that come to Raphia from across the borderline roam here day and night.”
Monsters.
It’s a general term for creatures that have been exposed to high concentrations of magic and whose consciousness have been swallowed up by the magic itself, turning them into organic things that only wield power.
Normally, in this side of the world, which is the opposite of his land, there’s no magic power that can harm living things. However, in the year that I left for his land as a holy knight, the nation of Raphia, known as the Scarlet Nation, made a failed attempt to destroy the borderline and was swallowed by the waters of the borderline overnight and destroyed.
Perhaps due to the influx of border water, the former Raphia territory has now been transformed into an impenetrable area with a high concentration of magic and since then, they’ve been forced to deal with the monsters that wander out from there.
“Five more days. Please survive for the time being in this place as you did today. You can fight it out with a single sword, or you can rely solely on your magic, it doesn’t matter how you do it.”
One of the examinees raised his hand quickly. Chris swallowed the words she wanted to say and pointed at the questioner with the palm of her hand.
“…… Please, go on.”
“Who is this swordsman? He doesn’t seem to be a knight.”
“He is…”
“If it’s about me, it’s only logical that I should answer.”
Sage stood in front of Chris, who kept her mouth shut and raised his voice in an intimidating manner.
——So far, this is as we discussed.
“As you feared, I’m not a creature of the human world. My friend Chris has asked me to help her and I’m the swordsman who will be present at your examination…”
The charring voice of an unworldly being drowning out the end of my words shook our eardrums unpleasantly. By the time the lingering sound was cut off, all the knights had changed their dishes to swords and were ready for battle
The taste of dinner that had been filling my sense of smell was overpowered by the fishy smell of monsters as I sniffed. This turn of events was not part of the plan.
“Well, this is certainly practical.”
I was wondering why they were serving a leisurely meal while calling it a rigorous test, but this was the goal.
Monsters have the property of being attracted to magic power. In the eyes of the monsters, a gathering of two holy knights and a candidate for holy knighthood would appear to be a sumptuous meal.
“In pairs, spread out in all directions! I’ll be waiting for you here in five minutes!”
It’s said that the quality of one’s voice is one of the most important qualities of leadership and Chris was a perfect example. With a single voice, she was able to establish a core in the atmosphere of the place, where it was difficult to say that there was unity of consciousness.
It may have been that she was simply enjoying the situation, but it would’ve been easier if she didn’t have to act.
“Madou-sama!”
I cleared the air and retreated to the sky with Chris, who looked at me. The situation was similar to the one in the daytime, but the visibility was poor, there were many enemies and I was wondering how they would get around with their spirits dragged down by the meal. It would be like a second round at best.
“But why did they limit the time? Isn’t it too much to ask?”
“It’s fine, they won’t get done in. I’d like to see the knights who gathered, hold their own against the monsters and overcome this predicament.”
“Is that so….?”
I wished I hadn’t asked.
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