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When I realized that Lutra was going to continue travelling with us as Selene, I couldn’t help but feel extremely happy about it . Not just me but everyone seems felt the same way as Luna and Til, who were usually the ones to devour our food within seconds, had served the dish to Lutra instead . Even more surprising, that dish was a large bowl of chicken stew .

  [The last dish is for Selene to eat!] (Luna)

  [I’m grateful for your consideration . ] (Selene)

Selene smiled brightly as she received the dish . As someone who had been together with us for a long period of time, she knew how special Luna’s gesture was

  [It’s great that Selene is finally going to be with us for sure . But it may become complicated now that my oneechan’s rival is back . ] (Til)

  [Til, you’ve been saying that a lot recently . I wonder if you’ve started to develop an interest in romance? Continuously teasing me while watching Yuuya’s reaction closely . You’re starting to develop a bad habit . ] (Phil)

  [Ow- Ouchie, you’ve got it all wrong . What’s wrong with playing around with my own elder sister . ] (Til)

  [I see . In that case please listen closely . If you inflict pain onto others then you should expect to be shot back . Speaking of yesterday night, while everyone was sleeping… . ] (Phil)

Phil looked straight into Til’s eyes with a smile and eyes which didn’t look harmless at tall .

Frankly speaking it was horrifying .

  [W, Wa, Wa, Wait a minute, oneechan you noticed that!?] (Til)
 

Til’s face turned completely red as she began flailing her hands around .

  [Well . . What is this about?] (Yuuya)
 

Truth was, both me and Phil had noticed it . Unlike Luna who slept like a pig, Phil and I were in a state of half-conscious in our sleep to keep a lookout for any potential a.s.sailants in the castle .

However, I pretended that I didn’t know anything in order to protect Til’s purity .

  [Yuuyniisan, Uhm, its… . ] (Til)

  [What are you talking about? I slept really well last night so I don’t know what happened . ] (Yuuya)

  [Eh, really . Thank G.o.d . Oneechan, make sure you never say a word!] (Til)

  [That’ll depend on your att.i.tude from now on . ] (Phil)

  [Grrr, Oneechan is a vicious person!] (Til)

Til began scowling towards Phil as the two of them had a heartwarming relationship . Not only was Phil her older sister, but it seems that she had taken good care of her sister as well .

  [It’s about time for us to head back . We have plans in the morning after all . ] (Yuuya)

Since the celebration was completed a while back, the new king had been officialized . However, we had several unrelated errands to perform before departing the city . At the very least, I hope to have a nap before the day begins .

  [Uhn . But before that, is dessert! Luna wants a super duper gigantic extra sweet pancake with lots of fresh cream! No, Luna wants three of them!] (Luna)

  [Uwa~, there are so many fruit-based desserts here . I want a mixed berry tart . No I don’t want a cut, I want the whole thing!] (Til)

  [Having something sweet after a heavy meal like this sounds amazing . In that case, I would like one of your signature oversized parfaits with additional melon toppings please . ] (Phil)

Luna, Til and Phil ordered their desserts right after the meal . I could feel the heartburn in my chest just from listening to their names as all three of them ordered something that was meant to be shared among several people . .

  [… . I’ve been thinking about this, how does everyone eat this much but not seem to get fat from it . ] (Selene)

  [Demihumans and Elves aren’t as proficient as humans in storing fats in their body . ] (Yuuya)

Since their bodies were built for efficiency, unlike humans, they were less p.r.o.ne to producing excess flesh that hindered their movements . They, like humans do store fat as well, however their fats were much easier to convert into energy thus making it much easier to burn .  

This was why no matter how much Luna ate, she never appeared to gain any weight . There was still a downside to this “blessing” though, as they would not be able to efficiently store energy in their body . Once they ran out of food, they were extremely vulnerable to starvation . Although that couldn’t specifically be said as a disadvantage .

  [That… Sounds really nice . ] (Selene)

Selene looked hesitant as she stared at the dessert section on the menu . She probably wanted to order a dessert as well but she was afraid of getting fat .

  [It’s fine for you to eat more you know . Aren’t you going to be an adventurer together with us? In that case then we’ll continue our training tonight . ] (Yuuya)

  [… That’s true . I won’t get fat so long as I keep my body active . In that case is it fine if I got the chef’s signature cake?] (Selene)

Selene asked for a normal portion of cake unlike a ridiculous amount like Luna . Since it felt uncomfortable to be the only one without dessert, I ordered the same dish as Selene .  

Although the sight of Selene continuing to death stare Luna who seemed to gobble down the mountain of sugar easily made me laugh out loud .

The next day, we returned to our room in the wee hours of the morning and took a quick nap before packing our belongings and heading towards the top floor of the royal castle .

  [The current Yuuya looks so cool!] (Luna)

  [Really . It’s embarra.s.sing wearing something like this . ] (Yuuya)

My current attire was the uniform worn only by the senior officers in the Laluzulu Knight Order, as well as a ceremonial uniform meant for battle . Thus, its design was fairly sophisticated and quite expensive . Since it was a battle uniform, it’s decorations were kept to a minimum as well as it’s material to reduce its user’s silhouette as much as possible . Thanks to its minimalistic design, it gave off an extremely dignified look .

  [Luna looks cute too . The outfit suits you . ] (Yuuya)

  [It’s too tight and hard to breathe . But if Yuuya says so then Luna likes it too . ] (Luna)

  [Hey hey, what about me, what about me?] (Til)

  [Til looks cute too . If you went out like this, then people might mistake you as a princess . ] (Yuuya)

  [Fu fu . Yuuyniisan is incredibly sensible at times like this . I’ll give you a free service . Luna, you should do a spin too, your skirt will twirl along with you! This will make any man’s heart flutter! Although don’t twirl too much, you’ll expose your underwear . My mother used to tell me that it’s much better if you can barely see it . ] (Til)

  [If Yuuya likes it then Luna will do it too!] (Luna)

Luna and Til began spinning around and twirling their skirts provided by the royal family which would be considered the finest and most fashionable clothing that any n.o.ble could wear . Luna and Til were wearing a red and green dress respectively which looked good on them as they looked much cuter than usual .

  [You look beautiful in that dress . ] (Yuuya)

  [Really? I should wear this sort of clothing more often then . ] (Phil)

I complimented Phil’s dress as her face became completely flushed . Unlike the duo who wore fluffy and colourful dresses, she was currently wearing a sleek black dress which fit her small stature and although her chest area was slightly lacking, she was still extremely charming .

  [The two of you, it’s about time for us to head out . We’re approaching the promised time . ] (Yuuya)

  [Uhn . Understood . ] (Luna)

  [If the leading role is late then it’ll be extremely lame . Let’s hurry!] (Til)

The two of them pulled my hands as Til reminded me of my role today .

Let’s pull off the best performance ever .

Guided by the servants, we headed towards the king’s chamber where we could directly converse with the King . The servants entered the room ahead of us as they ensured that everything was prepared .

  [Now then, please enter this way . ] 

  [Ahh, Okay . ] (Luna)

After everything was prepared, I separated from the girls as they went to another door while I waited next to the front door . My turn came next as the front door opened shortly after .

  [Yuuya Grandwood is entering . ] 

The servant raised his voice as trumpets were being played in the room . Following the servant’s instructions, I stepped into the room .  

At the back of the chamber, Prince Aleck . . I mean, King Laluzulu was sitting on the throne while Lutra was sitting next to him without her hairpin . The red carpet covered the path to the throne with numerous high profile n.o.bles being lined up on either side, with the exception of Luna and the girls who were currently pretending to be my relatives . As I walked to the end of the red carpet, I started to kneel on one knee as I lowered my head .  

King Laluzulu nodded his head in satisfaction .

  [From this point on, Yuuya Grandwood will be appointed as an official knight of the kingdom, as well as the t.i.tle of an honorary n.o.ble . ] (King Laluzulu)

This entire ceremony was only possible as King Laluzulu was finally appointed as the ruler .

Although I had partic.i.p.ated in the tournament for knights, I was merely Lutra’s knight in name as knights could only be admissioned into the tournament directly by the royal family .  

I was given the status of a n.o.ble, but since I wasn’t going to remain in the kingdom, the king avoided giving me land as a reward as I wouldn’t be around to govern it . Instead, he decided to provide me a monthly wage to act as a knight and an honorary n.o.ble since it didn’t come with any obligations to a land or any unnecessary work .

Prince Aleck had informed me about his decision before the inheritance ceremony as a reward due to the fact that I was Lutra’s benefactor regardless of the outcome . And above all, this was necessary to bestow one of the divine treasures of the country, the Divine Sword . Unless I was an official knight of the kingdom, merely gifting me the sword wouldn’t be possible .

Truthfully I had received a similar proposal previously but I chose to decline as I wasn’t able to stay by Selene’s side nor did I feel like I had the ability to receive the blade . However, this time I will continue to protect Selene by her side and I would gladly receive the power that came along with the blade . I had zero reasons to decline .

I still remember that day . After refusing the offer, Leonard continued to mumble on and on about how it was a waste that I refused it and that I would never be able to get a second chance for it . It was really noisy, but I had zero qualms about rejecting the gift and that had saved my life . It was because I had endured his complaints and was insecure about my inferior stats that gave me this second chance .

A wave of nostalgia hit me as I wondered what could change Leonard this much?

He was a good person which was why I accepted him as a disciple and even entrusted my back to him . I didn’t want to limit his limitless potential and left the party the moment he thought about challenging the Tower of Trials . I still can’t believe that he would say something as headstrong as taking Phil back by force with all his strength .

  [Raise your face, Yuuya Grandwood . ] (King Laluzulu)

  [Yes your majesty . ] (Yuuya)

After a short delay, I raised my face immediately as I realised that my mind was drifting off .

  [Before I appoint you as a knight . Tell me . For what reason does your sword exist?] (King Laluzulu)

  [To protect my princess . ] (Yuuya)

  [Are you willing to stay true to your word? To protect your princess even with your life?] (King Laluzullu)

  [Yes, I would . ] (Yuuya)

  [Now, I officially appoint you as a knight of Lutra Laluzulu as well as the t.i.tle of the Strongest Knight in the Laluzulu Kingdom .   I shall bestow upon you the t.i.tle, Knight of Oaths as well as the divine blade, Dainsleif . ] (King Laluzulu)

Following his words, Lutra walked down from the throne holding a sword with a pure white sheath .

  [My beloved Knight . Accept this blade . And swear on your life, that your words are true and pledge your loyalty . ] (Lutra)
 

I accepted the blade as I took Lutra’s hand and kissed her hand .

  [A pledge has been made here and the divine blade has been bestowed . The divine blade has been pa.s.sed down to the strongest knight of the kingdom . The knight of Princess Lutra, the Knight of Oaths . Yuuya Grandwood . You are a knight, it is your duty to honour your t.i.tle . ] (King Laluzulu)

  [I understand, your majesty . ] (Yuuya)

Voices could be heard as an applause could be heard propagating throughout the chamber .

Being entrusted with this sword as well as being officiated as a knight was something to be proud of .  

However, more than that, I had a strong urge to test out this Dainsleif since like Renoir’s shield, it was a G.o.d-tier weapon . It was even better than Renoir’s shield in performance as it originated from Scandinavian mythology .  

… After the ceremony, we would have a lot to talk about during lunch regarding Princess Aure’s punishment as well as the organization behind the evolving monsters .   It was impudent for an adventurer to talk to the king directly about matters such as this, however it was necessary .

I continued to hold that thought as we headed for lunch .

The organization which created the evolving monsters as well as Princess Aure were important pieces . Especially the former which felt extremely ominous .