Two days quickly passed by.
In the blink of an eye, the day of the award ceremony had arrived.
Today, many nobles traveled to the royal palace in their carriages.
Luxurious carriages, bearing the crests of major noble families, arrived one after another from all directions of the royal capital, converging at the gate of the royal palace.
At this moment, the area in front of the royal palace bustled with activity as nobles, dressed neatly and luxuriously, greeted each other, made connections, or engaged in sharp, confrontational conversations.
After a while, they slowly made their way to the venue of the award ceremony—the audience room.
Since this was a formal award ceremony for the seventh Sword Saint of Jinas, it was a significant event for a major country like Jinas. Naturally, the nobles in the royal capital attended in full force to make their presence known.
In this scenario, the Frenzel family's carriage finally arrived, pulling up in front of the royal palace gate.
Ain and Ian were still the coachmen as always, both dressed in formal attire today and looking like the epitome of refined female knights.
Upon arriving at the gate of the royal palace, they dismounted and knelt on one knee, as true knights would, to welcome their master out of the carriage.
Soon, four people got out of the carriage.
First were naturally Riezel and Yuri.
Both wore formal attire today, including ceremonial robes, which surprisingly suited them quite well.
Following them was Marilyn, still in her usual maid outfit.
She trailed behind Yuri as always, but in others' eyes, she looked less like an attendant and more like a personal maid.
Finally, there was Lizbeth.
Now Riezel's attendant, this little princess still held her golden sword as before, but her outfit had changed to a plain, inconspicuous one. She seemed to like the outfit quite a bit, as her expression was brighter than usual, showing she was in a good mood.
Half an hour ago, Riezel gave a straightforward assessment after seeing Lizbeth's new outfit.
"You know what? No matter what outfit she wears, this girl always stands out."
In response, Yuri, Marilyn, Ain, and Ian, upon seeing Lizbeth, couldn't help but shift their gazes from her face to her chest, falling into silence as a sign of agreement.
With such a tight fit, it was impossible for Lizbeth not to stand out.
And so, after the group of four had exited the carriage, they took in the bustling scene around them.
"S-So many people…"
Lizbeth, who had been in a good mood before, now shrank back slightly upon seeing so many carriages, nobles, and knight guards, looking a bit intimidated.
Riezel frowned as well, unable to help but wonder.
"Is it really necessary to attend this so-called award ceremony?"
Honestly, he didn't really want to attend this award ceremony.
Since he had already distanced himself from the royal family, they shouldn't cause him trouble anymore. Attending the award ceremony at the royal palace seemed completely unnecessary.
In the first place, he didn't care about honor or reputation, so whether he had the Sword Saint Medal or not was of no concern to him.
However, Yuri, who had persuaded him to attend, wore a disapproving expression.
"You should attend since the Sword Saint Medal is an important item."
"Its very existence is not only a deterrent, a symbol, and an honor, but also a means of showcasing one's status."
"With this medal, wherever you go, you'll be treated as an esteemed guest, even in other countries."
"Not only will it save you from a lot of unnecessary trouble, but if you happen to enter places with restricted entry, they'll generally let you pass as long as you show the Sword Saint Medal."
"So, if you plan to travel in the future, it's best to get it. You'll find it more useful than you might think."
Yuri advised Riezel, leaving him with no choice but to attend the award ceremony to receive the medal. If this medal was going to be so useful for his future travels, he might as well get it.
"Let's go, we'll head straight to the audience room."
Yuri spoke, then turned to Ain and Ian.
"You two stay here and wait for us to come back."
""Yes!""
Ain and Ian immediately acknowledged the order.
"Should we also stay behind?"
Lizbeth timidly asked Marilyn in a whisper.
"No."
Marilyn responded flatly as always.
"Since we are the first attendants under our masters' command, wherever they go, we should follow and protect them closely. Even on occasions like this, we must stay with them. Once we get to the audience room, we can wait outside."
Marilyn patiently taught Lizbeth the duties of an attendant, giving the impression of a veteran guiding a novice.
It couldn't be helped.
Compared to Marilyn, Lizbeth was undeniably a novice as an attendant. Coupled with her reserved nature, she was completely at a loss about how to perform her duties well.
As a senior, Marilyn had been providing Lizbeth with guidance over the past few days, teaching her how to be a proper attendant.
"Okay, I understand."
Lizbeth accepted the guidance humbly and behaved obediently.
In fact, Lizbeth even seemed to enjoy being guided by Marilyn, like a younger sister finally receiving attention from an elder sister after a lack of care in the past.
Seeing this, Riezel was more than happy to let Lizbeth communicate with Marilyn. Whether it was for practical reasons or otherwise, there was no need to stop it.
As more people gathered around, some recognized them and approached to greet them.
Noticing the troublesome situation approaching, Riezel spoke up.
"Let's get inside quickly. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can head home."
Riezel took the lead and stepped into the royal palace.
Yuri smiled and followed.
Marilyn and Lizbeth quickly followed, one closely behind Yuri and the other closely behind Riezel, not a step apart.
===
Royal Palace, Audience Room.
It was an extremely vast room, resembling a cathedral hall, surrounded by exquisite stone pillars reaching up to the ceiling, with murals carved on the walls and pillars, as if narrating a grand history, creating an atmosphere of solemnity, sanctity, and authority.
By the time the award ceremony officially began, the place was already filled with nobles in magnificent attire, with fully armed knights stationed around.
Even so, it was not noisy despite the bustle.
Hendrick sat on the throne at the farthest end, high above, exuding elegance and looking down over the entire assembly.
"Sword Saint Riezel Brynhart! Step forward!"
A civil official standing beside Hendrick, who seemed to be the person in charge of the award ceremony, dressed similarly to a priest, made a loud announcement to the whole room.
*Step!*
In the solemn room, a clear footstep echoed.
"..."
Everyone present turned their gaze, focusing on the master of the footsteps.
Over there, Riezel, under the full attention of the crowd, walked calmly toward the throne, his expression tranquil as if he were not participating in a serious event.
Hendrick also watched the young man approaching his position slowly, feeling deeply moved.
Although his interactions with Riezel had not been very pleasant, and the royal family's efforts to recruit and control him had not met expectations, the presence of a seventeen-year-old Sword Saint, who might be unprecedented and perhaps unparalleled, appearing in his kingdom, made him quite emotional.
Especially since Riezel was also a Tactical-Class Magician with the ability to dominate the battlefield and crush thousands of soldiers at once, combining these two identities made him one of the most exceptional people on the continent.
Moreover, Riezel formed an extremely close relationship with one of the only two Strategic-Class Magicians of Jinas also indicated that he had substantial support behind him.
From Rohm's reports, he learned that Riezel had already mastered Yuri's Decomposition Magic, which further elevated his evaluation of Riezel.
Although intelligence indicated that Riezel's compatibility with the Control System was only second-grade, which theoretically should not have allowed him to learn such advanced magic from the Control System, Decomposition Magic was not particularly high-class magic.
Hendrick was unsure how Yuri had developed this magic to such a terrifying degree, so without knowing the specifics, he could only accept this reality and make compromises for Riezel.
Not to mention, knowing Riezel had defeated Rohm, he could not afford to treat him lightly. If he could not win Riezel over, he certainly could not afford to offend the young man, lest he bring trouble to the royal family and the kingdom.
For this reason, when Riezel walked calmly in front of the throne amidst the high-ranking nobles of the kingdom, Hendrick wore a friendly smile.
"A seventeen-year-old Sword Saint, such an amazingly talented character, born in our Jinas, is our honor and the honor of this kingdom."
Hendrick stood up and picked up a medal from a nearby tray.
It was a medal with a sword pattern, just like the Sword Master Medal, but unlike the silver Sword Master Medal, this medal was entirely brilliant gold, gleaming like a gold coin, and extremely luxurious.
"Hereby, as the 21st King of Jinas, I award Riezel Brynhart the Sword Saint Medal."
Hendrick stepped down from the throne and pinned the medal onto Riezel.
"From today onward, you are the seventh Sword Saint of Jinas."
*Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!*
*Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!*
As soon as the declaration was spoken, thunderous applause erupted throughout the audience room.
Everyone applauded, watching Riezel, whether out of genuine joy or just going through the motions, clap at this moment.
Amidst the applause, Riezel's gaze was directed toward Yuri, standing in a prominent position, meeting her eyes for a moment before smiling.
With that, the award ceremony came to an end.
From now on, the name 'Lightning Sword Saint' was destined to resonate throughout the Akasha Continent.