The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

Chapter 66

There was no shining knights’ parade nor a splendid procession. The atmosphere of the capital, Thurium, was not stable enough to host a festival.

The Knight’s Association’s annual inauguration ceremony was not cancelled but was conducted in a simplified manner due to the circumstances.

All extravagant displays were omitted, focusing instead on the qualifications review, which condensed what would have been a three-day event into just one.

“This isn’t necessarily bad.”

Raul thought it was for the best. With each day as precious as gold, there was no need to waste time on pompous events.

And there would be plenty of opportunities to elevate the prestige of the knight order in the future. Today, it was sufficient for Raul’s First Knight Order to be officially recognized as a formal entity.

Click-clack. Click-clack.

Leading the way were Raul, Philip, Jake, Pierce as senior knights, followed by six officially appointed knights from the count’s household.

And the remaining 35 squires mounted on horses, marching in an orderly fashion, gathered crowds despite there being no scheduled parade.

Forty-five knights, adorned in white armor embroidered with golden eagles and draped in dark blue cloaks, mounted on white horses, enchanted the hearts of the onlookers.

“It’s the First Knight Order!”

“My goodness! Such magnificent armor!”

“Is the person in the front the very young master Raul?”

“Could this truly be the army of the divine? Behold the sacred presence of this knight order!”

“Hurray for the First Knight Order, the saviors of Thurium!”

Raul and his knight order, having become stars, were the center of many people’s attention.

It seemed that not only those who had been saved by them but also many who wanted to witness the famed knight order had been waiting in front of the mansion from early on.

‘It was unintentional…’

They had inadvertently staged their own parade and become the focus of attention.

Raul was inwardly pleased, seeing that the new knightly armor and white horses he had prepared for today were indeed serving their purpose well.

As it wasn’t an official event, one hundred mercenaries were tasked with maintaining order, escorting the knight order through the march. Naturally, the widening grins of the welcomed mercenaries seemed to stretch towards the heavens.

Once they took to the main road, aside from Raul’s First Knight Order, several groups of knights heading to the event site came into view. Due to the gate incident, those moving in knightly orders were scarce.

‘Indeed. In times like these, when trouble in their domains is unpredictable, few would dare to send their knightly orders to the capital.’

However, the actual number of attendees remained unseen. If Raul’s prediction was right, this inauguration might hold a different significance and become unprecedented in its way.

The crowd buzzed and murmured in excitement. The Knight’s Colosseum, where the investiture ceremony was to take place, was swarming with so many knights that there was hardly any room to set foot.

“I expected as much, but it seems there are more participants than I thought?”

“It looks like a lot of the mercenaries who aren’t affiliated with any house or order have joined.”

Philip scanned the Colosseum and responded. Knights belonging to a house or an order usually had a standard-bearer with them, whereas those without affiliation often only brought along unaffiliated squires, without any banners.

In fact, the majority of knights present at the event were those without standards.

Perhaps that was why when an knight order adorned in splendid armor made their entrance, all eyes were immediately drawn to them.

“Hm? Which order is that? I don’t recognize the armor.”

“Was there an order that used a golden bird as their emblem?”

“Look at the crest of their house. That’s the golden bear of the Ashton County!”

“Then could they possibly be the rumored ones…?”

The First Knight Order’s standard-bearer held two flags.

One was the flag of the Ashton County, emblazoned with its heraldic symbol, a roaring golden bear.

The other was a flag adorned with the newly created ‘Golden Hawk’ emblem of Raul’s First Knight Order.

“Has the whole order participated?”

“It seems there aren’t many official knights, but it looks like they have come to attend.”

“Even the squires are given such armor? The rumors about the county being wealthy weren’t exaggerated.”

“Tch. Youngsters all decked out in fancy gear. What’s the use if you don’t have the skill?”

“You’re out of the loop, my friend. They’re currently the most respected knight order.”

Talk about Raul and the First Knight Order circulated amongst those gathered. While some looked on with eyes full of envy, most were curious to see how much of the rumor was true.

After the First Knight Order’s entrance, several other orders and knights arrived, including those from other prestigious martial families.

However, whether in terms of the number of people or the quality and appearance of their gear, Raul’s First Knight Order was undoubtedly the most conspicuous.

As the saying goes, “A good-looking rice cake tastes good,” Raul believed that while skill was important, appearance was equally crucial in raising the order’s prestige.

Though it may seem inefficient or illogical, in the society of Connect’s nobility, dignity and honor were considered more important than money. Being their first public appearance, it was necessary to make a visually overwhelming impression.

With the entrance completed, the ceremony began with a congratulatory speech from Carson, a baronet who was both the former captain of the royal knight and the current chairman of the Knight’s Association.

The Knight’s Association’s investiture ceremony. Although it was officially called a knight order ceremony, in reality, it was more akin to an ‘accredited knight qualification examination.’ In Connect, knights were broadly categorized into three types.

The first type were self-proclaimed knights, often the children of noble families or wealthy merchants who had both a horse and equipment. Hence, the skill level among these so-called knights varied greatly.

The second type was formally knighted knights, those who had been knighted by a noble of at least the rank of count.

These were knights, typically affiliated with noble families or orders, who were somewhat verified. Generally, when one referred to knights, it meant these individuals.

Lastly, there were accredited knights, officially recognized by the Knights’ Association.

Becoming an accredited knight not only granted one the title of a baronet but also included registration with the Knights’ Association, bringing various benefits.

In the First Knights’ Order, there was only one accredited knight, Philip, while Jake and Pierce had been knighted by Count Melvin.

“But Master, do we really need the association’s accreditation? Honestly, it seems like an unnecessary credential…”

Jake’s curiosity was understandable.

For mercenaries, becoming an accredited knight meant an increase in value and assistance from the association in receiving commissions or finding a new lord.

However, for those who already served a lord and had joined a prestigious knight order, there weren’t many benefits, which was the reality of the situation.

Moreover, participating in the examination for knight order involved a fee, and some were reluctant at the thought of having their skills evaluated by someone else.

Therefore, unless in special circumstances, members of prestigious knight orders rarely sought accreditation from the association.

“If it’s not a necessity, then having it can’t hurt, right? Besides, we’re not prestigious; we’re a new knight order. To raise our order’s reputation, we should seize such opportunities.”

“If Master says so. But how well do you think I need to perform?”

Jake, now seemingly motivated, shrugged his shoulders and asked as Raul flashed a sly smile.

“With Sir Jake’s skill, taking it easy should be more than enough, shouldn’t it? After all, the main characters today are them.”

Raul glanced toward the squires, leading Jake to relax his shoulders and chuckle.

“Ha-ha, we can’t steal the fun from these fledglings. Hey, you all heard? Anyone who doesn’t perform well today is getting extra training with me after this!”

“Yes! We’ll do our best!”

The squires responded loudly.

“All right, let’s show them what we’re made of!”

“Woah!”

As Jake raised his fist, all the members shouted in unison. Despite what could have been a tense situation, they all seemed overflowing with confidence.

And so, the formal qualification examination began.

* * *

The Knights’ Association’s standards for an accredited knight were rigorous.

After all, a knight was a combat specialist. Naturally, horseback riding was a basic skill, and at least eight types of weapons including lance fighting, archery, and shield techniques had to be mastered to a certain level.

As a result, the examination sections were inevitably diverse.

“This year, there’s an unusually high number of mercenaries participating.”

“The total number of applicants is also the highest it’s been in nearly a decade.”

“It must be largely due to the gate that appeared this time, right?”

“Indeed. As the era of peace is coming to an end, the demand for knights is naturally increasing, isn’t it?”

The judges conversed among themselves as they looked out over the spectator seats. In years past, about half of the VIP section, not to mention the regular spectator seats, would have been empty, but this time they were packed full of nobility.

Even the general audience seats were at full capacity, a situation not even the association had anticipated.

“We decided to proceed with a brief procedure because almost no prestigious noble families or knight orders registered, but this is clearly a miscalculation.”

“Given the situation, the upper echelons of the association had no choice. Considering we were worried it might be canceled, how fortunate is this? The chairman of the association is grinning from ear to ear.”

The reason behind the association’s miscalculated forecast was the nature of this knighting ceremony. In reality, less than 50 people were knighted as official knights each year.

However, the number of applicants was close to a thousand every year because it was an official occasion where knights could publicly demonstrate their skills.

After the basic examination, an instructional sparring session that also served as a second examination was conducted inside the coliseum.

The examiners leading this sparring session were at least intermediate sword experts. If one showed promise during the sparring with these examiners, even without being knighted, noble families often made scouting offers.

In a way, it acted as a ‘showcase’ opportunity for knights. The particularly high attendance of mercenaries this year was attributed to rumors that small and mid-sized noble families felt uneasy with the emergence of the gate and were looking to mass recruit knights.

Indeed, most of the nobles filling the spectator and audience seats today were there for this reason.

“It would be nice if there were some decent knights available.”

“Mercenaries just can’t be trusted, can they? A knight of some caliber is always the best, isn’t it?”

“Anyway, this is our chance. Since prestigious knight orders have nearly all abstained from participating, the opportunity may well come to us.”

The knights deemed worthy were often recruited by the participating knight orders, so this ceremony, held during a tumultuous time, presented a good opportunity for small and mid-sized noble families. However, they were unaware.

Unbeknownst to them, someone else was desperately searching for talent.

Raul, confidently taking his place in the center of the First Knight Order, had his eyes sparkling ceaselessly with a golden gleam. Not only that, but Raul’s arrangements were already in motion inside the examination hall.

‘Sorry, but the one who marks their territory first gets the prey.’

A mischievous smile had already formed on Raul’s lips.

(To be continued)