The Count’s Youngest Son Is A Player - Chapter 66

Episode 66:

There was no Shining Knights review ceremony or fancy parade.

The atmosphere in the capital city of Turium was not stable enough to hold a festival.

Since it was the investiture ceremony of the Knights Association that was held every year, the event itself was not canceled, but was held simply.

All show-off events were omitted and the schedule was organized mainly for screening to confirm qualifications, so what would have originally taken three days ended up taking place in one day.

‘There’s nothing particularly bad about this either.’

Raoul thought it was better. Now that every day is golden, there is no need to waste time on superficial events.

And there were plenty of opportunities in the future to enhance the reputation of the Knights. Today, it was enough just to have Raoul’s First Knights recognized as an official organization.

Click. Click.

Starting with Raoul, Philip Jake Pierce’s executive knights took the lead, followed by six regular knights who had already been ordained by the count’s family.

And when the remaining 35 trainees all mounted their horses and marched in an orderly manner, people gathered even though there was no parade planned.

The sight of 45 knights wearing pure white armor embroidered with golden falcons and dark blue capes marching on white horses dazzled the hearts of the citizens.

“It’s the First Knights!”

“oh my god! “Such awesome armor!”

“The person in front is Prince Raoul, right?”

“Isn’t this really God’s army? “Look at those holy knights!”

“Long live the First Knights, the saviors of Turium!!”

The actions of Raoul and the knights, who had already become stars, were of interest to many.

Perhaps that was why it seemed that many people had been waiting in front of the mansion from early in the morning to see not only those who had been saved by them, but also the famous knights.

‘I didn’t mean to, but…’

Unexpectedly, he attracted attention by holding a solo parade.

I felt proud because the new knightly armor and white horses that Raoul had prepared for today seemed to be doing their job well.

As it was not an official event, 100 mercenaries marched escorting the knights to maintain order, and it was natural that the mercenary jester, who was welcomed by many, ascended to heaven.

As I went out onto the main street, in addition to Raoul’s First Knights, I saw a group of knights heading to the event venue in groups of twos and threes.

Perhaps because of the gate incident, those moving as knights were barely noticeable.

‘but. There can’t be many great people sending knights to the capital at a time like this when they don’t know what will happen to the territory.’

However, the actual number of participants cannot be known unless you go there. If Raoul’s thoughts are the same, this investiture ceremony will be the greatest ever in a different sense.

Murmur.

Buzz.

The Knights Association Colosseum, where the investiture ceremony was held, was so crowded with so many knights that there was no room to step.

“I expected it, but it looks like there are more people participating than expected.”

“It seems that many free knights without any affiliation participated.”

Philip took one look at the Colosseum and answered.

Knights belonging to a family or knightly order were accompanied by a standard bearer (a soldier or squire carrying a flag), while those without any affiliation often carried only a bare squire without a standard bearer.

In fact, most of the riders at the event were riders without jockeys.

Was that why?

As the knights decked out in splendid armor appeared, the attention of attendees gathered.

“hmm? Which knighthood is that? “Is this armor you’ve never seen before?”

“Was there ever a knightly order that had a golden bird as its emblem?”

“Look at the family flag. “If it’s a golden bear, it’s Earl Ashton!”

“Then could it be that they are the ones in the rumor…?”

The standard bearer of the First Knights held two flags.

One is the family flag with the emblem of a roaring golden bear, the symbol of the Earl of Ashton.

And the other one was the flag of the First Knights with the emblem of the ‘Golden Falcon’ newly created by Raoul.

“Did the entire knighthood participate?”

“I heard there are only a few official articles, but it looks like I came here just to observe.”

“You’re giving that kind of armor to trainee knights too? “The rumor that the count family is rich was not an exaggeration.”

“Tsk. The young guys only show off. What if you have good equipment? “You have to have skills!”

“It’s late to hear from this friend. “They are the most recognized knights these days.”

There was talk about Raoul and the First Knights everywhere.

Some of them were looking at them with jealous eyes, but most of them were looking at them with curiosity as to how much of the rumor was true.

After the First Knights entered, several other knights and knights arrived, including those belonging to other prestigious martial families.

However, looking at the number of people, the quality of equipment, and the clothing, the one that stood out the most was definitely Raoul’s First Knights.

Just as the saying goes, “a cake that looks good tastes good,” Raoul thought that not only skills were important to raise the quality of the knights, but appearance was also important.

It may seem a bit inefficient or irrational, but in Connect’s aristocratic society, dignity and honor were more important than money.

As this was their first official appearance, it was necessary to leave an overwhelming visual impression.

After the entrance was completed, the investiture ceremony began with a congratulatory address from Viscount Carson, former commander of the Royal Guard Knights and current president of the Knights Association.

Investiture ceremony of the Knights Association.

It may be said to be an investiture ceremony, but in reality, it would be more correct to think of it as a ‘certified horseman qualification examination.’

In Connect, articles could be roughly divided into three categories.

The first is a self-proclaimed knight. Usually, children of noble families or wealthy merchants were equipped with horses and equipment. So, even among knights, their skills often varied greatly.

The second was a formal knight who was ordained by a nobleman equal to or higher than a count.

They were proven knights who belonged to noble families or knightly orders. In general, knights meant these people.

Lastly, there was an official article notarized by the Knights Association.

When you become a certified knight, you are basically given the title of baronet and are registered with the knights’ association, allowing you to receive various benefits.

There was only one official knight in the First Order, Philip, and Jake and Pierce were knights ordained by Count Melvin.

“By the way, Master. Is there a need to get recognition from the association? Honestly, it’s a qualification you don’t need…”

It was natural for Jake to be curious.

If free knights become certified knights, their wages will increase and they can receive requests from the association or receive help in finding a new lord.

However, the reality was that there were no special benefits for those who already served their lord and joined a prestigious knightly order.

Moreover, in order to participate in the examination for ordination, one had to pay a small fee, and there was a part of him that was reluctant to have his skills evaluated by someone.

Therefore, unless it was a special case, it was rare for members of prestigious knights to be ordained by the association.

“If you don’t need it, there’s no harm in having it, right? And we are not a prestigious order, but a new order. “If we want to increase the reputation of the Knights, we must take advantage of opportunities like this.”

“If the Master says so. But how much is enough?”

When Jake asked, slowly turning his shoulders as if he was motivated, Raoul smiled slightly and said.

“With Sir Jake’s skills, wouldn’t killing him gently be enough? “After all, they are the main characters of today.”

When Raoul slowly turned his head to look at the trainees, Jake relaxed his shoulders and smiled.

“Haha, you shouldn’t take away the joy of young chicks. Hey everyone, did you hear? Those who don’t do well today will have special training with me after the end!”

“four! I will do my best!”

The training knights answered loudly.

“Okay, let’s show them who we are!”

“Wow!”

Jake raised his fist and the crew all shouted. They might have been nervous, but everyone seemed confident.

And finally, the full-scale qualification verification examination began.

* * *

The standards for certified engineers required by the association were strict.

Since ancient times, knights have been specialists in combat.

Of course, horseback riding was basic, and one had to be able to use at least eight types of weapons, including jousting, archery, and shielding, to a certain level.

Because of this, the judging items had to be diverse.

“This year, there are an unusually large number of free knights participating.”

“The overall number of applicants is said to be the highest it has been in nearly 10 years.”

“I guess we can say that the gate that appeared this time has a big impact, right?”

“That’s right. “As the period of peace is coming to an end, won’t there be more people looking for knights?”

The judges chatted and looked at the observers’ seats.

In previous years, the VIP seats, which would have been about half empty, as well as the general audience seats were filled with nobles.

Not only that, but even the audience seats were full, a situation that even the association had not expected.

“They said we decided to proceed briefly because few prestigious noble families and knights registered to participate, but this is a complete miscalculation.”

“Given the circumstances, the association’s high-ranking officials had no choice. What a relief, considering I was worried it would get canceled anyway. “The president of the association had a very smile on his face.”

The reason the association’s prediction was wrong was precisely because of the nature of this investiture ceremony.

In reality, less than 50 people were ordained as certified knights each year.

However, the number of applicants each year was close to a thousand, and the reason was that it was an official position where drivers could promote themselves.

After the basic screening is completed, a guidance sparring session that also serves as a secondary screening is held inside the Colosseum.

The judges conducting this guided sparring are at least intermediate Sword Expert level or higher.

If you show a good performance in sparring with them, you will often receive scout offers from noble families, even if you do not receive an official knighthood.

In a way, it was meant to be a ‘showcase’ opportunity for the articles.

The reason why a particularly large number of individual knights attended this year was because there were rumors that knights would be recruited in large numbers from small and medium-sized noble families who felt uneasy due to the appearance of the Gate.

In fact, most of the nobles who filled the stands and stands today came to the investiture ceremony for that purpose.

“It would be nice to have some articles to write about.”

“After all, mercenaries cannot be trusted. After all, wouldn’t a knight with a certain level of dignity be the best?”

“Anyway, this is a good time. “Since few prestigious knights participated, wouldn’t we also have a chance?”

In fact, knights who were considered useful were often taken from the knights who participated in the investiture ceremony, so this investiture ceremony, held during a chaotic time, was a good opportunity for small and medium-sized noble families.

But they didn’t know. The fact that there was someone else who was working hard to find talented people.

Raoul’s eyes, proudly standing in the center of the First Knights, were constantly flashing golden light.

In addition, Raoul’s arrangements were already in motion inside the judging hall.

‘I’m sorry, but it’s up to you to apply the saliva first.’

An evil smile appeared on Raoul’s lips.

(Continued in the next part)