Ch 42

After breakfast, Caron and Benjamin left their inn.

"The food here was good though." Caron said disappointedly.

Benjamin chuckled. "The knight division’s food will probably taste better. I don't know about in the field, but in the capital, I heard that the imperial chef cooks for them."

Caron’s mood quickly changed. "Really? Kya~! Let's go!"

As they set off, the innkeeper saw them off in tears. It was a natural reaction, since he was letting go of two rich customers who ordered a full table’s worth for every meal.

"Shoot, I think we’re the last to arrive. Let's hurry!" said Benjamin, seeing the crowd gathered at the back door of the great temple. He ran off, and Caron ran along with him.

"But it's still before the appointed time?” said Caron, puzzled.

He didn't have anything as expensive as a pocket watch, but the great temple had a clock tower that could be seen from afar.

"If they’re all gathered already, we need to hurry. That’s social life. It'll be troublesome if we get marked for no reason."

“You're saying it's better than being late, aren't you?”

“Yes!”

Gwalchavad smiled and welcomed Caron and Benjamin as he saw them running. "You guys are early."

"Really? It looks like we’re the last to get here." Benjamin replied.

Tashid, who was loading the carriage, said with a big smile, "I reside in the great temple because I am a paladin. Sir Asilante here just ran out of money and shared a room with me."

Forward smiled awkwardly like a simple country boy. "I survived thanks to Sir Tashid. My family isn't that well-off."

"But what kind of luggage is this?" Caron asked, looking at the boxes the knights had loaded inside a carriage.

“They are holy bullets and holy water made by the great temple. They are very effective in disturbing the witch's magic." Bors answered, loading another box into the carriage. He hoisted it up, then massaged his shoulder muscle. “That’s all for the luggage. How about a light warm-up, Sir Blade?"

"Ohh! Of course!" Caron said excitedly.

However, Gwalchavad and Percival joined together to prevent Caron and Bors from going to the training grounds.

“Why are you trying to fight when we have to leave now?"

"We have to move fast. It won’t be too late to spar after returning to the capital."

Caron and Bors grumbled.

"How petty," Caron said.

"I know. We should be allowed to get to know each other's skills as comrades." Bors grumbled.

Seeing Caron and Bors getting along well, Lancelot sat in the coachman’s seat and said, "Just settle it with an arm wrestle. That should be enough to see each other's skills quickly, right?”

Caron and Bors smiled and high fived.

“That's reasonable.”

“As expected of the Vice Captain!”

It wasn't as good as a spar, but it wasn't a bad idea.

"Me too! I want to join!" Arietta, who was in the carriage, also came out and shouted.

"... Huh? Blue hair?"

Tashid recognized Arietta's hair color, and Percival and Lancelot frowned.

Arietta coughed awkwardly in response to the two knights. "Ahem! I was going to say hello anyway, so don’t look at me like that. My name is Arietta."

Thus, an arm wrestling competition was hosted on the spot, including Arrieta.

* * *

Benjamin moved his sore arm, holding the reins with the other. "Ugh, I think my arm is broken."

"If it was broken, you wouldn’t be able to move it like that. I know because I've broken a lot of bones. Don’t be such a wimp.” said Caron, who rode next to Benjamin.

Just in case, Arietta had treated Benjamin with her power, so even if his arm had truly been broken from arm wrestling, it would have healed quickly.

"No, I don't think he’s being a wimp." said Tashid from behind Caron, also moving his arm around in pain.

Both had hurt themselves arm wrestling against Caron.

"What's most surprising is that the slender Holy Queen beat everyone and got to the finals." Tashid remarked.

Benjamin nodded. "I know, I was shocked when she bent Sir Bors’ forearm, which was as thick as her waist.”

Caron tilted his head. "Really? But she looked strong, even just at a glance."

It was true that Arietta lacked physical strength compared to the others. However, she was able to easily transcend her strength by wrapping mana around her whole body. This was as natural to her as breathing. Caron had observed Arietta closely and freaked out at the magnitude of the dormant mana within her. She held more power than even Merlin himself, a great madosa. Benjamin wanted to ask Caron why, but changed the subject because he thought it would not be good to discuss the person they would serve for a long time in front of the others.

"Caron, you said you’ve never ridden a horse before, but it seems like you’re pretty good at it." Benjamin commented.

Caron smiled lightly, "Ayy, what's so difficult about balancing on a horse that’s not even running wild?"

Considering that Caron used to grab unicorns by their horns and ride them like a rodeo on Mount Olympus from time to time, this was like riding a wooden horse for him.

“Impressive. I don’t think we can say the same for him though." Benjamin pointed ahead to Forward, who was having difficulty balancing on his horse.

"Ugh! Ahhhh!"

Forward curled up and tried to balance himself so as not to fall off the horse. No one made fun of him for being from the countryside and being scared of his first ride. They were riding chimera horses that Merlin had implanted monster's muscles into, so they were running much faster than normal horses.

"Ahahahaha! It’s good for you to try riding these horses early! All the Knights of the Round Table ride the same breed."

Bors, who was riding in the front and leading the way, laughed out loud on purpose to attract the attention of the new recruits. During the journey from Holy Land to the capital, he was given the role of teaching horse riding, camping, map reading, searching, and various equipment usages. The reason they were traveling to the capital to be appointed as Knights, despite the entrance examination having taken place in the Holy Land, was so they could be educated on what it took to be a Knight of the Round Table during the process. The education of the new recruits actually should have been Kay’s responsibility as an experienced Knight. However, because he opposed Caron's entry, Bors decided to play the role of instructor instead, just in case. Although he opposed it for emotional reasons, Kay had ultimately been convinced by Merlin and promised that he wouldn’t mix his feelings with official duties, but he still allowed Bors to replace him as the instructor, as he would have done the same.

It didn’t take long for the Knights of the Round Table and Caron to reach the capital, despite it being quite far away.

* * *

Shortly after arriving in the capital, Arietta headed to the office with Euss to meet her father, Aradrian the Holy King. Aradrian looked up from the documents he was stamping and smiled brightly when he saw Arietta. However, when he saw Euss coming in behind her, his eyes immediately became cold. The Holy King quickly controlled his expression and stood up from his seat, putting down his stamp and documents.

"Welcome. You’ve worked hard."

"No, it was the knights who worked hard, not me."

Arietta's modesty made Aradrian laugh. "Ahahaha! I suppose. Certainly, the knights must have suffered taking care of a troublemaker like you."

"Father! It was not to that extent!"

When Arietta pouted and sulked, the Holy King playfully touched Arietta's pouting lips with his fingers. “Are you sure? Shall we hear if Sir Lancelot says the same thing?"

Arietta had nothing to say. This was because, just as she had done during the entrance exam, she tried to spar with the new recruits whenever she had time while coming to the capital.

"So, did you finish Sir Merlin's treatment safely?”

"Yes, I even used the Miracle Crystal, so as long as he does not overwork himself, he will recover quickly."

The reason Arietta had gone to the Holy Land herself was to deliver Merlin's ‘Miracle Crystal’, the treasure of the Holy family. An even bigger reason, however, had been to treat Merlin, who had weakened in recent years.

"I am glad to hear that."

"But I gave the miracle decision to Sir Merlin. Is that okay?" asked Arietta.

The Holy King smiled lightly. "Sir Merlin is the benefactor of this country and the Holy Kingdom. Everything he does is for this country, so it is certainly okay."

Arietta did not know why Merlin's body was damaged, but the Holy King did. He was also a considerably skilled madosa, so he had a better idea of how scary magic foresight was. However, he knew that Merlin's foresight was for the prosperity of the Holy family and the Holy Kingdom. However, what he didn’t know was that Merlin’s attention was focused on preventing the world from collapsing, rather than on the Holy Kingdom.

"So, according to Sir Merlin's report, there is a Crow among these new recruits?"

"Yes."

"Sir Merlin asked me to contain the complaints of older knights until the work in the Holy Land is completed to some extent. What kind of person do you think this Crow is?"

Arrieta was slightly excited by the Holy King's question. "In my eyes… At first glance, his personality, words, and actions seem simple, but he is surprisingly quick-witted and is intelligent."

"So you mean he’s shrewd."

"Huhu, you could say that, too. He pretends not to be, but he seems affectionate and reliable."

After hearing Arietta's evaluation, the Holy King nodded. "I believe in your eyes. If you saw it and judged him this way yourself, it must be so."

Aradrian smiled, took out his magic staff from his pocket space, and handed it to her.

"Father, what is this…?”

"I heard you directly supported accepting the Crow as a new recruit and eventually brought him in, so you have to take responsibility. Take care of him and try managing him yourself. And from now on, you will give the Knights of the Round Table the power of the Holy family."

Arietta looked at Aradrian in surprise and tried to hand the magic staff back to him. Being able to distribute power to the knights was one of the Holy King's unique powers. This was a long-standing tradition to prevent the Holy tribe members other than the Holy King’s family from thinking of rebellion.

"Yes?! But…” Arietta said, flustered.

"It is okay. You are my only child, so it is natural that you will succeed me. This is a lesson on being a successor, so receive it willingly."

Arietta looked down at the magic staff that had been handed down from generation to generation. She took a deep breath before saying calmly, "I will obey Father’s will."

"Thank you. Now, you must be tired, so go and rest."

When Arietta went outside, the Holy King began to cough lightly.

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"Cough! Cough! Cough!"

The mild cough grew harsher and harsher, until his lungs seemed to roar. Specks of blood began to fly from his mouth as he finally let out the coughs he had held back because he didn’t want his daughter to worry. When the coughing finally subsided, the Holy King healed his whole body using divine power.

"Whew… I must endure a little longer. My body…"

There were still many issues he needed to take care of before he could pass the Kingdom on to his daughter. The Holy King hoped that his body would endure until these issues were resolved.