Chapter 77.2: Shadow Freon (1)
About a week had passed since I returned to the territory.
While here, I observed Asher’s swordsmanship training, played with Ti-Yong, learned about the situation in neutral countries, and held meetings.
I waited for the date of the conference to come.
“A knight test?”
I turned my eyes from the book I was reading and looked at the butler.
“Yes. It is a test to select new apprentice knights and also to select those who will be promoted to official knights among the existing apprentice knights.”
“I see. But why are you informing me about this?”
“It’s nothing important. I just wanted to know if the siblings, Reef and Rigon, would also want to take part in the test…”
Oh, was it about that?
The head butler must have seen that I was paying close attention to the siblings.
I closed the book and pondered for a while.
A test.
If it’s a knighthood, I could give it to the two of them at any time.
However, if there was a formal rite like an exam, it wouldn’t be bad to have them go through that.
Because Reef was good enough to become an official knight right now.
And I’m also a little curious.
Although I continued to live in the castle, I had never been interested in the knights.
I decided to put Reef in the test to see what the test was like.
“I will take part!”
When I called her and asked if she wanted to take part in the test, she answered immediately, as expected. As if she didn’t have any worry.
Rigon next to her made a sad face.
With Rigon’s level, he could become an apprentice knight, but he was still a little short of becoming an official knight.
Of course, with his current growth rate, he would reach that level in an instant after a little more time.
A few days passed like that, and the day of the knight’s test approached.
“It’s an honor for us to have the Lord watch the test!”
The leader of the Iron Blood Knights gave a salute with a face that looked really thrilled. Was his name Akin?
A huge number of knights gathered in an orderly manner in a huge outdoor arena.
Currently, Asher and I were sitting on chairs on the side of the arena, looking down at the scene.
I saw Reef armed and mixing among the knights.
“The Lord himself stepped here to observe the duel of the knights! So do your best…”
After the short speech of the knight commander, the test began immediately, without delay.
First, it was the test of apprentice knights who were trying to be promoted to official knights. Most of the knights were level 30.
The format of the test was a duel with the Iron Blood Knights, the elite knights of the territory, and if they endured for a certain amount of time, they would pass.
Even though the time was only three minutes, more than half of the knights could not stand it and dropped off.
Hmm···
I watched the scene with slightly bored eyes.
It didn’t really leave much of an impression.
I didn’t know what I was expecting when I came to watch the test, but seeing it myself, it wasn’t as much fun as I thought.
It wasn’t long before Reef’s turn came.
Her opponent, a knight of the order, was an elf knight with a level in the mid-50s, but he wielded a spear, not a sword.
Wedge!
As soon as the duel started, Reef turned her head to avoid the spear blade aiming at her face.
She tried to narrow the distance by narrowly dodging and blocking the one-sided attack by using the difference in reach.
As seen in Actipol’s match, she made a bold move that seemed to not care about her life at all. The knight who attacked her was also a little surprised.
Caang! Kakakang!
Of course, the difference in skills between the two was so great that the distance never narrowed.
Reef was in a hurry to defend against the increasingly fierce attack, and the three minutes ended.
Even though the battle was much fiercer than the other knights, there was regret on Reef’s face as she withdrew her sword.
After the duel, the member who was the opponent burst into laughter and said,
“If I was careless, I thought I would be beaten, so I raised my force a little more. It’s a great achievement at such a young age. You should take pride in such a result.”
Wow!
A short cheer erupted from the knights standing around after hearing the unprecedented praise.
I smiled and looked at her, who was at a loss because of the praise.
It was then.
“···?”
I abruptly averted my gaze.
On one side of the arena, away from the knights, was the area where the administrators were recording the results of the test.
【Lv. 67]
Among them, one administrator had a very abnormal level.
I narrowed my eyes and fixed my gaze on the brown-haired woman.
…What is that?
It was a distinctly foreign sight.
That’s because the administrator was at a level close to 70.
“Butler.”
“Yes, Lord.”
“Who is that woman over there?”
The butler, who was standing next to me, looked at where my gaze was directed and answered.
“She is the new Administrator named Kate, who was newly appointed a few months ago.”
…How many months ago?
The conclusion came naturally. It was a spy.
If she was hiding her skills, I could only think of such a case.
Even so, if it was a level 67 spy, from which faction…
“···!”
Soon, I opened my eyes wide.
Level 67 brown haired woman, spy.
This was because the character matching this keyword popped up in my mind.
Crazy, I can’t believe that…
I shook my head amid astonishment and absurdity.
How should I check it? Should I call her quietly?
However, if that administrator was really her, I wondered if she would immediately run away if I tried to call her out.
Wait a minute, think…
Ah.
I must have been staring at her too closely, because as she was scribbling on a piece of paper, she suddenly turned in my direction as if she felt my gaze.
She hastily lowered her head.
I kept staring at her.
As I continued doing that, the cheering atmosphere in the arena slowly disappeared and the knights turned their heads one by one to the place where my gaze landed.
So naturally, everyone’s eyes were focused on the woman.
Asher and the knight commander standing next to me also looked at the woman with a puzzled expression.
Only then did the woman who had been bowing her head slightly raise her head.
My eyes met hers for a few seconds. Her expression hardened weakly.
“···”
In the arena’s silence, after making my decision, I pointed at her and opened my mouth.
“She’s a spy. Catch her.”
Bonus chapter! ^^
