A training ground neatly trimmed in a circular shape.
It was a dance hall that the Dimeo family, a family of knights for generations, was proud of.
Although it was a gymnasium, it was not a place where ordinary knights trained because it was a highly symbolic place.
In peacetime, I just manage.
No one could stand on top with a sword.
But today, after decades, the gymnasium finally did its job.
Almost everyone in the family gathered around the gymnasium.
And a man who stands proudly on top of it.
He was Egor DiMeo, the current head of the DiMeo family.
Count Egor ascends step by step, dressed in silver armor with a lion's face embedded in his chest.
Everyone held their breath at his step.
Cheeky.
Count Egor stood upright in the middle of the arena.
He drew his sword and stood on the floor.
The blinding light of the sun shone on his armor and split into dozens of beams.
It looked like a statue, not a person.
Everyone was staring at him in awe.
It was Egor's thick and majestic voice that awakened the soul.
"Today! Now. We will decide the next head of the Dimeo family right here. I declare now that after the results come out, any excuses or excuses will be useless. If you disobey the results and seek a rebellion, this Egor DiMeo will come forward and punish him!"
Count Egor took a breath and spoke again.
"Also, there will be no cheating of any kind, and I will not allow anything that has not been notified to me in advance. All these I declare in the name of Egor DiMeo."
Count Egor looked over the crowd.
Naturally, there was no one here who had the courage to go against his will.
He nodded his head and uttered the last words.
"Then, the successor test will begin now!"
At his cry, the last successor test finally began.
* * *
Pellas' prediction was correct this time as well.
"Pellas-sama...I'm sorry. I think the match will be impossible because of the sprained leg."
Owen spoke carefully as if he was sorry with his head bowed.
Pelas nodded.
"Yeah. I knew that. Go away."
"Yes...yes?"
Rather, it was Owen who was embarrassed.
Pelas looked at him with a questioning look.
"What are you looking at? Get out of here. And the Knights Templar status is forfeited."
"That, that's..."
Pelas stopped listening to Owen and called Havertz.
"Haberts!"
"Yes. Master."
"Get rid of this bastard, get Werner ready."
"Yes. Master!"
As Havertz chins up, Owen is dragged along by knights who appear out of nowhere.
He was struggling, not even figuring out what was going on.
But it was clear that something was going wrong.
It couldn't have been natural for him to naturally lead people along as if he had been waiting.
"Pe, Mr. Pelas! What the hell is this... Mr. Pelas!!"
Pelas said to Havertz without even looking at him.
"Habertz. I'll leave the trash collection to you."
"Yes. Mr. Pelas. I will clean it up without any fuss so that it doesn't smell like garbage."
Only then did Owen's face turn blue.
"Pe, Pelas-sama!!"
But his next words never reached Pelas' ears, forever.
* * *
Pelas was looking up at the gymnasium with his arms crossed.
On the other side, Ethan was watching the gym with the same look.
The first to step forward was the deputy knight commander of each knight corps.
Of course, other people could step in, but it was natural for the strongest person to step up in general.
Therefore, it was common for the successor candidates to be the first assistant knight commander, the second escort knight, and the third knight commander.
At the Knights of Calat in Pelas, Werner went up on the podium as he had prepared two days ago.
One knight came up from the Knights of Edan.
At first glance, the knight seemed more experienced than Werner.
Even through the armor, Werner's shoulders could be seen straining.
Pelas called to him with a light whistle.
Whoa!
"Werner!"
"Yes. Mr. Pelas."
"Relax. Behind you are me and Robben."
"yes!"
Werner turned his head to the front again.
He took a deep breath and exhaled.
'Calmly, calmly.'
He touched the glove Pelas had given him.
For some reason, wearing these gloves made me feel lighter.
He didn't know it, but it was one of the series he wanted.
Actually with the agility option attached.
Even in the midst of not knowing, Werner was experiencing that sensation.
The accuracy of Pelas's seeing eye was also evident in these things.
He was a man of a very sensitive nature.
If you met him in a game, he was a type of person who learns quickly.
While he made up his mind, Hans, the butler, stood in the middle of the arena.
"Okay. Now prepare both of you."
"yes."
"I'm ready."
"There are no special rules regarding combat. However, intentional killing while the opponent is incapacitated is subject to punishment, so take note."
"All right."
"of course."
Hans examined their faces and nodded.
"Okay. Let's start the first duel of the test!"
With those words, Hans pulled himself back.
That was the signal flare for the start of the duel.
The first to move was the knights of the Edan Knights.
"Huh!"
He chose to quickly close the distance.
With the sword hidden as far back as possible.
To stretch out from the blind spot.
Werner noticed it right away.
He decided to step back and observe the situation.
Ethan's knight, who came within range of the sword, swung the sword coolly.
Booung!
Werner watched the opponent's shoulder until the end and predicted the movement.
A slash that crosses wide from right to left.
Werner pressed his body to the floor and kicked the sole of his foot toward the opponent's shin.
An attack after a natural evasion that even Pelas admired a little.
'As expected, my eyes were accurate!'
While Pelas admired, Ethan's knight, whom Werner knew to dodge backwards, could not evade the momentary attack on the shin.
baek!
The harsh sound of armor clashing echoed through the gymnasium.
At that level of sound, it was obvious that even if he was wearing armor, he would have been seriously injured.
Enough to frown upon those who watched.
Edan's knight hesitated for a moment and stopped moving.
Werner didn't miss the moment and jumped up like a frog.
In a long-term battle, an opponent with a lot of experience would definitely have an advantage.
To outwit as much as possible and drag it into a short-term battle.
That was the strategy that Havertz had tipped off right before the duel.
And Werner did all of those things faithfully.
without a single mistake.
baek!
Werner bounced up and hit the bridge of the nose with his knee.
Ethan's knight fell backwards, unable to react momentarily to the unexpected blow.
cooong.
The result was obvious.
When he collapsed, he didn't look prepared for a fall, but passed out stiffly.
Of course I couldn't stand up.
However, since Hans was the referee for this game, he fairly approached Ethan's knight and examined him.
Hans watched him for a while.
Hans shook his head while looking in the direction of Count Egor.
Count Egor, who confirmed it, exclaimed in a loud voice.
"The Knights of Calat win!"
Hearing his victory declaration, Werner immediately looked back in the direction of Pelas.
There stood Pelas, arms crossed and nodding.
Werner bowed his head to him with heartfelt respect.
Seeing him like that, Pelas gave a small round of applause.
"Good work! Werner!"
* * *
fast!
Ethan gnashed his teeth as he watched his article being published by his colleagues.
"You pathetic bastard! I think I'll cut off your limbs!"
The duel-style successor test is a best-of-three match.
If Fellas took just one more victory like this, the defeat would be Ethan's.
In fact, dueling as a successor test was not the preferred method.
No matter how good the successor is, if all the knights under his command are defeated, the second best is taken away.
Of course, Edan also had his own ulterior motive, which led to the duel, but he couldn't help but feel annoyed.
Mark, the attendant butler next to him, comforted Edan.
"You don't have to worry, Ethan. Victory is supposed to come to us anyway."
"Still, don't you dare to be too pathetic as a member of the Edan Knights!"
"Of course. I'll take responsibility for that part later. I think it's better to focus on the match today."
"joy!"
I was annoyed, but Marc was right.
It wasn't over yet to focus on the immediate defeat.
The next duel was a situation that could never be lost.
On the Pelas side, it was obvious who would come out.
The only person that could be used there was Robben.
Of course, Robben was one of the most excellent knights in Count DiMeo's family.
That's why I became the eldest son's escort knight.
But, of course, that did not mean that he was the best knight of Count DiMeo.
Count DiMeo's family had many more excellent knights.
A prestigious knight's family was such a place.
Ethan spoke to Mark in a low voice.
"The preparations went well without a hitch, right?"
"Of course. It will come out as soon as it is ready."
"okay."
Ethan smiled.
The next middle leader was a person who had been kept hidden until now.
The number of trumps secretly prepared so that it would not be counted anywhere.
Although Edan gave the order, Mark also went to great lengths to subdue him.
'If I pass today well, my world will come!'
Ethan and Marc thought the same thing at the same time and raised their mouths.
* * *
"Whoa!"
Robben closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and stepped onto the podium.
The next knight of the Edan Knights also rose to the stage at the same speed.
"It seems like an article I haven't seen before..."
Pelas tilted his head and examined the face of the opposing knight.
Unpleasantly sad eyes.
Long hair that was disheveled.
The eyes seemed lifeless.
It was definitely a person I hadn't seen the last time I saw the Edan Knights.
Having recognized him, Havertz frowned.
"How could the author..."
Pelas asked Havertz.
"Do you know who it is?"
"Yes... The author is a knight named Teveraz who was a member of the Order of the Silver Lion.
"Teveraz? Why is a guy from the Silver Lion Knights standing up here?"
"He's no longer the Knights of the Silver Lion. I heard he killed civilians and did evil, and now he's gone on the run."
"Then shouldn't we go up there even more?"
Pelas and Havertz looked back at Count Egor, the final decision maker of this test.
But he just frowned and didn't say anything.
Havertz sighed.
"Boss Ethan and the butler, Marc, seem to have used their brains a bit. It seems that they cleverly dug into the gaps in the rules. It seems that this match will go on as it is for now."
"Hmm. That bastard, his momentum isn't normal."
"This is a knight who has served in the Silver Lion Knights, one of the best knights in the kingdom, for over ten years. His skills must be proven."
"It will be difficult for Robben to deal with."
"Yes. You must also prepare for the final match."
Pelas nodded.
He kept his eyes fixed on Teveraz as he loosened up slightly so he could move right away.
He was a man who gave off a feeling of insecurity for some reason.
Oddly enough, those eyes made Felas feel his heart thump.
It felt like instinct was calling out for danger.
They seemed to know now why Ethan, who was across from them, wasn't so nervous after losing the first game.
"The match begins!"
The second bout begins with Hans' cry.
As soon as the start sound rang, it was Robben who moved first.
He spurred the floor quickly with a winning attitude.
Dig!
Even so, Teberaz stood in place.
Pelas felt something strangely ominous.
And just before Robben swung his sword, the deceased's senses fluctuated violently.
"Back off! Robben!"
An involuntary call.
Robben also suddenly stopped running in response to the sound.
Peit!
A short pagong sound at the same timing.
Chew.
Pelas felt something splash on his cheek.
When I wiped my cheek with the palm of my hand, it was stained red.
'Blood!'
Pelas turned his gaze back to the dance floor.
Above it stood Robben, clutching his neck.
"Gagging...!"
< Episode 33. hidden hand. >end