News had recently spread about the creation of a new knights’ order under the rapidly rising House of Count Lingard.
Naturally, skilled individuals from across the land, many of whom had no current affiliations, flocked toward it.
“This is Count Lingard’s estate, huh…”
One of them, Johan, a graduate hopeful from the knight academy, was shining his eyes as he looked around what might become his future workplace.
“…But there are more applicants than I expected.”
However, that excitement quickly faded as Johan, seeing the large number of candidates gathered in the mansion’s courtyard, scratched his head with a deflated expression.
“I’ll be lucky just to pass the first round…”
Johan had just graduated from the knight academy, but like most graduates, he was not yet fully recognized as a true knight.
Only a very rare few elites could immediately take the knight’s oath upon graduation.
And high-ranking nobles who relied entirely on their connections.
Unless one was such a chosen individual, an ordinary graduate had no choice but to knock on countless doors and search tirelessly to gain acceptance into a knightly order.
‘There are more older applicants than I thought. Which means…’
Having just stepped into this fierce competition, Johan felt pressured by the presence of many seasoned applicants with beards among the crowd.
‘…Does that mean I might end up like that too?’
A life where, after failing to join any order for more than ten years, one misses all other opportunities and ends up endlessly applying to meaningless openings.
As a commoner and an orphan with no connections to speak of, that was a future Johan desperately wanted to avoid.
“The next group, this way.”
“…!”
Hearing the call, Johan, who had been nervously taking deep breaths, widened his eyes and raised his head as it was finally his group’s turn.
“P-Please enter through here.”
A very young-looking maid, who had been bustling about with many other maids, was motioning toward the interview hall entrance with a tearful-looking face.
‘……How envious.’
Though the sight might have looked somewhat ridiculous at first glance, to Johan, it was simply enviable.
The fact that such a young girl commanded so many maids showed that she held a significant position within the estate.
Having grown up watching many talented youths at the Empire’s most meritocratic knight academy, even that was enough to make him jealous.
‘No, I can’t let myself get intimidated.’
For a moment he wore a downcast expression, but quickly shook his head and clenched his teeth, stepping forward together with his group members.
‘They said that even if a griffon bites you, you’ll survive if you keep your wits about you. So…’
Thus, carrying their own hopes and circumstances, Johan and the other applicants stepped into a space that resembled a garden more than an interview hall.
“…Kugh?”
It was at that moment that a choking sound came from nearby.
“What is this?”
Turning his head in confusion, Johan gasped and staggered backward in shock.
“Eek…”
“My… my arm…”
Most of the group that had entered with him was already collapsed on the ground, foaming at the mouth.
“W-Why is everyone suddenly…!”
-Clang…!
“…Hiiik?!”
Startled, Johan instinctively swung his arms, and the sword he was carrying collided with something, freezing him in place in panic.
“Hmph…”
“…!?”
Seconds later, Johan, who had shrunk in fear, cautiously glanced to the side and opened his eyes wide in surprise.
“Your reaction was good, but… you lack follow-through.”
“W-Who are you…?”
Anyone who had recently graduated from the knight academy would know her without fail.
Once the most promising prodigy, she had fallen into ruin but recently made a miraculous comeback, skyrocketing her reputation.
The undisputed captain of the newly founded Lingard Knights.
“Compared to the others, you’re slightly above average.”
“Huh?”
“We decided to select only a few elite candidates, but if I eliminate too many here, it’ll be meaningless…”
Muttering as she examined Johan with an untrusting gaze was none other than Runiel Mistilane, the legendary knight.
“W-What on earth is going on…”
Still stunned by Runiel’s sudden appearance, Johan opened his mouth weakly to protest, realizing that he had been ambushed.
“Compared to them, your response was rather excellent.”
“It’s rare for someone to block my attack so perfectly.”
However, Runiel ignored Johan’s protests and quietly shifted her gaze to another survivor standing next to him.
“State your affiliation and name.”
“…None.”
“You’re saying you don’t even have a name?”
Asked Runiel sharply, facing the mysterious applicant who was cloaked in a black robe.
“Yes.”
“Hm…”
An uncomfortable silence fell over the scene.
“…U-Um.”
“…?”
“Are those people… still alive?”
Muttering nervously in the heavy silence, Johan regretted speaking almost instantly as everyone turned their stern gazes toward him.
Not only Runiel, but also all the maids who had been carrying out the collapsed applicants on stretchers stared at him coldly.
“H-Haha. I shouldn’t have asked that, huh.”
Terrified by the strange atmosphere, Johan tried to back away slowly.
“W-Well, excuse me then…”
“That’s not the way.”
“Oh.”
“Move on to the next stage.”
As Runiel’s cold command struck him, Johan had no choice but to swallow his tears and move on to the next interview area.
“Wait.”
Just as Johan moved ahead, the cloaked figure tried to follow after him.
Runiel’s cold voice rang out from behind.
“Remember this.”
“…”
“No matter who you are, you cannot deceive my master’s eyes.”
At those words, the mysterious figure halted for a moment, glanced at a bush beside Runiel rather than at Runiel herself, and quietly replied.
“…Understood.”
After that exchange, the survivors disappeared into the next area without any further incident.
Silence once again blanketed the garden.
“Ha, unbelievable.”
Breaking the stillness, a voice rang out from the bushes as Bergen appeared, speaking in his trademark sly tone to Runiel.
“I made eye contact with that guy just now.”
“…Is that so?”
“Hey, don’t just brush it off like that.”
Annoyed by Runiel’s indifferent reaction, Bergen continued, looking slightly offended.
“In my whole life, there have only been three people who’ve noticed my presence.”
Lighting a cigarette while cautiously looking around, Bergen’s expression turned more serious.
“The second one was our mysterious employer, whose intentions are impossible to read, and the third one was just now.”
“…I see.”
Although he naturally skipped over the first case, Runiel still responded with an indifferent attitude.
“Hah, you don’t seem very reliable. You couldn’t even detect my ambush, remember?”
“…If I had fully recovered my strength, that wouldn’t have happened.”
When Bergen pointed out the recent incident, frowning slightly, Runiel also furrowed her brow and responded.
“Mm, is that so?”
“…Haa.”
Seizing the opportunity, Bergen mimicked Runiel’s indifferent attitude, then looked at her with a smug expression as she sighed.
“By the way, how’s that recovery going? You don’t look much different from before.”
“I will have recovered about 70% of my original strength within this week.”
“Mm… really?”
Hearing Runiel’s reply and seeing her still indifferent demeanor, Bergen finally opened his eyes wide and spoke.
“If you don’t believe me, we can have a spar after that.”
“Forget it. I’m not a knight, remember? I hate deadly duels.”
With a smirk, Bergen immediately backed off, lighting the cigarette in his mouth and turning away.
“Well, let’s see. Looks like the next group is coming in. Here.”
He handed over the personal records of the new applicants.
“……”
“Then I’m off. As you know, my job is to secretly evaluate the interviewees.”
With that, Bergen quickly disappeared into the bushes.
“Good grief.”
Even so, Runiel kept glaring at the bushes for a while before finally shaking her head and turning her gaze to the documents he had given her.
“…Huh?”
And a moment later, a sharp gasp escaped her lips.
“You… why are you…”
For some reason, Runiel’s hands holding the papers were trembling noticeably.
“…Why are you here?”
*****
“Master, I’ve compiled the information on the first-round passers.”
“Oh my.”
Receiving the compiled information about the survivors from Runiel’s ruthless assault, I quietly smiled as I spotted a rather surprising figure.
‘I didn’t expect to see this guy here…’
The name Johan was quite common, so it might just be a coincidence, but if my guess was right, this guy was a jackpot.
Because, in the original game, this plain-looking fellow had the highest luck stat among all characters.
Of course, in the game, he was mostly used as a dodge-focused meat shield, but in reality, his potential applications could be much broader.
The concept that Runiel and I decided for our newly founded knight order was a small, elite group.
Even though our family’s financial situation had recently improved a bit, it still wasn’t enough to operate a large-scale knight order.
And since neither Runiel nor I had experience running a knight order before, we concluded it was more reasonable to prioritize quality over quantity.
‘Even so, there are too few successful applicants…’
Although the first round of interviews wasn’t entirely over, the number of passers barely reached double digits.
It’s hard to imagine just how talented the members under Runiel’s new knight order would be.
‘In that sense, someone like Johan is a crucial talent.’
And the more skilled the overall group, the more a unique ability like Johan’s would shine.
It might not seem like much to have a high luck stat, but in cooperative operations, such traits often proved invaluable.
“Hm?”
“…What’s wrong?”
As I was thinking and skimming through the profiles of the first-round passers, something caught my eye and made me tilt my head.
“Here, this person has no information at all?”
Among the information Parsha handed me, there was a participant whose profile was completely blank.
“Yes, even Mr. Bergen said he’s never seen this person before.”
“…Hm, that’s a bit unusual.”
If it were a mercenary interview, maybe.
But usually, those applying for a knight order have verifiable identities, and those hiring generally prefer people with clear backgrounds.
So it was quite strange for someone with completely unknown origins to apply.
“Are they qualified to be a knight?”
“Yes, definitely, but…”
“…You seem to know something?”
Noticing her trailing off, I asked Parsha carefully.
“They have a knight’s license, but in my opinion, it’s a fake.”
As expected, suspicious information spilled from Parsha’s lips.
“And did you find anything else?”
“Yes. For starters, it’s a woman…”
Having come to fully trust Parsha’s analytical skills, I listened carefully—only to find myself doubting my own ears.
“…An assassin.”
“Huh?”
It was a piece of information I absolutely did not want to hear at a knight order interview.
“This person is an assassin sent to target you, Master.”
Cliche Novel 