Chapter 162 Medal Awarding Ceremony
The big moment in the knight's story.
What scene comes to your mind when you hear that?
Is it the moment you vow to protect the princess?
Or when you defeat a giant monster?
Maybe it's when you triumphantly return to the cheers of the crowd?
Honestly, all of it is great.
Each one is hard to give up.
But, the medal ceremony that recognizes past achievements is something you can't miss.
Atami Shou thinks this way.
"Now, we will begin the medal ceremony."
And now, that moment has finally come.
With the second 'Raise your face,' my view shifted from the red carpet to the splendid audience chamber.
Maybe it's because of the change from all red to many colors, but my eyes hurt a little.
A throne with a canopy and tapestries, silver candlesticks on both sides.
There are so many things to see, but the two people in front really catch the eye.
"This time, in the Twelve Seats Council, one knight's name has been mentioned. That person, at the Aegir Library of Asgardam, successfully calmed the rampage of the Star Crown Beast, which held the scales, and prevented an unprecedented crisis."
The Chancellor, standing beside the throne and overseeing the ceremony, has a dignified presence, including his outfit.
Holding a fancy-looking document, he reads smoothly, radiating an aura that shows he is not an ordinary person.
"As a result of the evaluation, with the approval of Knight Order Leader Leonhardt Sieg, Chancellor Gimley Dvalinn, and His Majesty the King Ask Garland, the medal will be awarded."
And then, a little distance away,
the ever-so-refreshing handsome Knight Order Leader and the sister Quollio, who is glaring at me with a fierce look.
The pressure is so intense that I can't help but twitch my cheeks; it's scary.
But, compared to Captain Shidou, who is kneeling in front of me, it's not so bad.
'Merifar. Be very careful. Be very careful about how you speak. If you neglect the rules, your head will roll. In fact, I will make it roll. Understand, be mindful.'
It's terrifying even though I can only see his back.
I can't see his face at all, but I feel like he's watching every move I make from behind.
So, I can't casually cheer up or act careless about what the Chancellor is reading out loud.
With my full rationality, I'm desperately trying to hold myself together.
I could easily get cut if I slip up.
When this came up, his mood was really intense──like, seriously threatening.
"Reginleif squad, Hiiro Merifar... forward."
"──Hah!"
Finally called by name, I slowly stood up and overtook Captain Shidou.
At that moment, the pressure on my back became huge──really, just overwhelming.
But now isn't the time to get intimidated by the captain's presence.
Surrounded by an unprecedented tension, I walked forward to the throne with a steady heart.
"Your Majesty."
"U-um, yes."
But when the young man sitting on the throne was prompted by the Chancellor to stand nervously, I relaxed a bit.
Yeah, it's that guy──the somewhat unreliable blonde with blue eyes──he's our king.
I mean, I guess it's because he's young, but he's totally lacking in dignity.
He looks more nervous than I am, and his awkward movements make my stomach churn with anxiety.
His kind face also gave him a strangely friendly aura, like he's easy to get along with.
(Wow. For royalty, he's got that broke-commoner flavor. Makes him feel human, at least.)
(That's such a commoner thought, Master. I actually thought it's impressive how he can be king even like this.)
(Harsh, Ms. Ruthless. Real harsh.)
(Just a genuine impression. And that crow on the king's shoulder? What's up with that? Pet? It's been staring at Master the whole time──annoying.)
(Yeah... it's kinda weird. But maybe it's, like, a royal mascot? Crows are Asgardam's bird, right?)
(Huh. Well, I don't really care, but... I don't like it.)
To myself, I can say whatever I want about the king and that pet-looking crow.
Of course, if I were to leak even a tiny bit of that information, a one-eyed demon would come flying in from behind.
In that sense, the sudden echo of Ruthless's words in my head was more chilling than usual.
"Um... Ahem. Hiiro Merifar. Today, you receive the third place of the 3-tier medal, [Red Copper]. Never forget the honor of receiving such a medal at your young age."
"Appreciate it."
I immediately shut down the chatter in my mind.
I couldn't mess this up.
With nervousness making me sweat, I took the medal handed to me by the king himself and pinned it to my chest.
As the name suggests, it's a medal made of red copper.
There's yellow gold, azure silver, and then red copper.
It's the special medal given to knights, the third one, to be exact.
Even Shura and the captain don't have this honor.
(Kuku, this is nuts.)
The captain had told me many times that it's rare for a newcomer to receive this in less than a year of joining the main team.
Of course, I was struggling to keep from grinning too widely.
If there were more audience and cheers, my facial muscles might have relaxed a lot more.
Unfortunately, the only people in this audience chamber were those I mentioned earlier, the Reginleif members, and a few inconspicuous servants lining up.
It's smaller than I imagined, but it doesn't change the fact that I was happy.
Plus, the scale of the ceremony would be different for azure silver and yellow gold, so my motivation only grew stronger.
So, all I had to do was finish this ceremony without showing any flaws.
"Wait a minute."
"Huh!?"
"...Your Majesty?"
The king's direct stop order made me break out in a cold sweat.
Huh.
No way.
Could it be that I did something wrong?
Because I'm not very familiar with etiquette, I didn't even know what I had messed up.
Struggling to suppress my panic, I turned around like a rusty tin soldier going squeak, squeak.
Then, the king, who had seemed weak just a moment ago, now looked even more nervous.
Yet, he focused his eyes a little stronger and stared at me.
"I want to ask one thing. I heard the details about you, but... you have no affinity for attribute magic, and you were born and raised in Helmel. You've never been trained by anyone special. Is that... really true?"
"..."
"Your Majesty!"
It doesn't seem to be about manners or etiquette.
All I get is that I'm not the chosen one, just like that.
It's almost like saying you're not the protagonist, and instinctively I clenched my fist tighter.
"If it really is true... I think you worked very hard to get here. There must have been times when your heart was almost broken. You probably got hurt many times."
But somehow, it doesn't seem like he's looking down on me.
His eyes seem to cling to something.
Like he's asking for help.
The kind of eyes a king of the continent, especially a reigning monarch, should never have.
"If... that's the case. You are..."
"──Your Majesty!"
The moment the true intention behind this question is revealed, Chancellor suddenly cut in with a pale face.
"You're joking too much! There's no need to ask such things in a place like this!"
"G-Gimley..."
"Think about your position. This person was awarded a medal as a knight, but their status is very different. Anyone acting carelessly like that could threaten this person's standing."
"Ugh... yeah... I'm sorry, Knight Hiiro. I shouldn't have done something so rude..."
While wrapped in doubt, Sir Ask's face turned a sickly pale from Chancellor Gimley's harsh scolding.
His trembling, shrinking figure shows he's completely lacking the dignity of a king.
Even I think that the strict but correct words of the Chancellor show he's the one who should be in a higher position, because the king looked so timid.
But then I realized.
That such a king had somehow descended from the small stairs in front of the throne.
The person who should be the highest was standing at the same eye level as me.
If... that's the case, you are...
I wonder if that's why.
I felt like I could see the king's true intentions, what he really wanted.
"..."
Even though I was told he was someone I should show respect to, someone far above me.
Captain told me that I should never talk to him "on the same level."
My pride, the feeling that I wasn't the protagonist, broke through my reason.
I felt a delusion, a craving, like he was asking for help, and it undid the rules I had set for myself.
"──Someday, someday. To become the person I want to be. I was just chasing after that, like a kid, dreaming..."
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)