The Count’s Youngest Son Is A Player - Chapter 73
Episode 73
The investiture ceremony proceeded quickly.
Because there were 60 knights to be ordained, some formal procedures were omitted.
Raoul, who was the youngest but had the highest status, recited the knightly oath as a representative and knelt down.
Afterwards, 6th Prince Gerard passed by, patting the shoulders of the knights, including Raoul, with the king’s sword, and the head of the Knights’ Association attached a small badge to prove that he was an official knight.
Lastly, the investiture ceremony ended with all the knights taking out the swords bestowed by the king.
Murmur.
After the official ceremony, a banquet was held inside the Colosseum.
Of course, the main characters were the knights who were ordained today.
However, Raoul and the First Knights were nowhere to be found.
“This is it. Should I say it’s amazing?”
“But on a day like today, I think I can take some rest…” As
the investiture ceremony ended, the sun was already setting.
Raoul and the knights skipped the banquet to subdue the gate that was not cleared today.
Since they were all knights with fixed affiliations, they were not subject to inclusion by the nobles, but the banquet participants seemed to be secretly disappointed that they could not meet today’s protagonists.
“A 15-year-old expert, no, a certified engineer. “Didn’t we break the record for the youngest ever?”
“Officially, yes. The masters of the kingdom say they crossed the expert barrier at a younger age, but no one knows what it’s like in reality.”
“I thought it was an outdated family. The Earl of Ashton has now gained wings.”
“That’s right. Just like Prince Raoul, look at the ages of the knights ordained today. “What kind of achievements will we achieve in the next 10 years?”
The banquet hall was overflowing with stories about Raoul, the First Knights, and the Ashton family.
Of course, the remaining 15 knights ordained today were not left out.
Naturally, small and medium-sized noble families were waging a fierce battle to attract them.
However, if there was anything different from previous years, it was that the knights’ attitude was very indifferent.
“Congratulations Sir. If you have time, please attend our party at Lendraga. “The head of the family really wants to talk to you.”
“Is that so? “What’s the date of the party?”
“It’s next Tuesday. If you need a place to stay, my family’s mansion…”
“Next week… I understand. “I’ll visit when the time comes.”
The knight indifferently handed over the invitation he had received to the squire.
The squire’s bag was already filled with invitations from noble families.
However, there was an invitation stored in the knight’s chest.
The emblem engraved on the outside of the invitation, which received special treatment, belonged to the Earl of Ashton.
* * *
After the investiture ceremony, Raoul’s daily life seemed to return to normal.
I cleared the designated gate every day and visited the academy on school days.
However, his status has risen beyond comparison to before.
– The youngest sword expert recognized by the Kingdom.
– The owner of the First Knights, all of whom are armor users.
– A messenger from God who received God’s blessing.
– A true knight devoted to citizens.
There were so many titles referring to Raoul that it was impossible to sort them out.
Not only Raoul but also the mercenaries temporarily assigned to the First Knights received the envious looks and respect of the citizens.
Naturally, the knights’ pride grew, and the mercenaries enthusiastically suppressed the gate in order to somehow remain in the First Guild.
Dozens of visitors came to the Earl of Ashton’s mansion every day, requesting to meet Raoul or delivering invitations.
However, only a very few people were able to actually meet Raoul, so he was already becoming one of the most difficult people to meet in the capital city of Turiam.
In front of the Earl of Ashton’s mansion a few days later.
Even though it was early, before the sun rose, the front of the mansion was crowded with people.
The capital guards and Raoul’s mercenaries were mobilized to control the people, and even inside the mansion, many people were moving around and preparing for something.
The reason so many people came to the mansion so early was because today was the day of open recruitment for the First Guild and Knights.
Geek.
Finally, the large gate of the mansion opened and people began to enter.
“Soldier applicants are the first training center for sponsorship! Come over here!!”
“Training knights are the second training ground! To the right….”
“Applicants for technical administrative positions are in Annex No. 3. “Don’t get lost and follow the guide!”
“The knights…”
“The wizards…”
Dozens of employees, each wearing an information sign and a belt, sorted out the applicants and guided them to the testing room.
Nevertheless, the line outside the mansion did not seem to be decreasing and instead seemed to be increasing.
“Hwiyu. There are so many. “Can we really finish it today?”
“But isn’t the vice-captain in charge of the driver? I can’t even breathe. “I expected it, but it’s really too much.”
Homer, the regular engineer in charge of the soldier exam, spoke to Jake, who was shaking his head as if he was tired of it.
The other knights around them all nodded quietly as if they agreed.
Just looking at it, the number of people they expected was already exceeded.
In addition, the test is scheduled to be conducted over a total of three days, not only today but also tomorrow.
What I had to do today was to filter out those among them who were worthy of the real test.
“Oh my, Master, why did you make such a big deal out of it…”
“Perhaps Master also regrets seeing this scene?”
Their eyes turned to the main building. On the terrace of the third floor of the main building, Raoul, with flowing blonde hair, was looking at the front door with his arms crossed.
“Now, let’s stop dissatisfaction there. It is an important event to select those who will become our colleagues and subordinates in the future. Let everyone proceed with the screening without a hitch. To the location!”
“To location!”
At Philip’s order, everyone dispersed to their assigned areas.
Although they said so, no one was truly dissatisfied. The fact that there were so many applicants meant that their status had increased.
Raoul opened his mouth as he stood on the terrace and watched the applicants enter.
“There will be no disruption to the exam, right?”
“yes. “There are more people than expected, but there will be no problem in selection if the test process is prepared.”
Bernard answered as if it were obvious. Because it was an important event, preparations were made thoroughly.
“I told you in advance, but we need to recruit as many people as possible through this recruitment. For now, let those who you think have potential pass through. Because I have to make the final decision. And while I’m away, Philip is in charge, so if there’s a problem, we discuss it with him and deal with it.”
“I will do as you ordered. “I may be presumptuous, but may I ask one question?”
Raoul nodded silently at Bernard’s words.
“Why are you in such a hurry? The fame of the Master and our knights is already spreading throughout the kingdom. “If we add more staff with more time, we will be able to attract better talent.”
In response to Bernard’s question, Raoul remained silent for a moment.
Raoul, who had been looking down at the mansion in silence for a while, opened his mouth with a bitter expression.
“Next 5 days.”
“yes?”
“In the next five days, a major incident will occur that will end this peaceful era.”
“….”
Bernard seemed to understand what Raoul meant for a moment, but then his expression hardened and he calmly opened his mouth.
“I guess we need to hurry up the schedule. “We will try to find the most useful people.”
There was not a single doubt on Bernard’s face as he bowed his head and left.
After Bernard left, Raoul, who was standing expressionless, tightly grasped the terrace railing with his hands.
“The next five days….”
A peaceful era will come to an end and an era of upheaval will begin.
Even though I tried my best to prepare, why do I feel inadequate?
Although he said he knew the future to some extent, Raoul’s heart was filled with frustration.
‘The future I know will gradually change. At some point, the knowledge I have will become useless. When that time comes, will I be able to find the right path?’
If this was really a game, all I had to do was just keep running along the single path towards the prepared ending.
However, as a member of the game, will the ending the players seek match the ending they want?
If not…
Raoul’s eyes turned golden.
* * *
Two days have passed.
After the war-like preliminary examination, only the final examination remained.
Raoul patted his pounding head and headed to the judging room.
Although others had a hard time over the past two days, it was Raoul who suffered the most.
Raoul traveled to as many as four free cities for two days to attend the examination.
This is because the recruitment of personnel was carried out not only in the capital’s mansions, but also in the free cities where branches were established.
Fortunately, we had selected the final candidates before Raoul arrived, but it was not easy to sift through more than a thousand people.
‘Whew. Isn’t this really going to make my head turn red?’
But it was something that could never be neglected.
As your reputation grows, it is natural to be wary of those around you.
In the meantime, if they were recruiting new personnel, there was no way they wouldn’t send a spy.
There is a saying that there is no enemy more terrifying than an ally you cannot trust.
Raoul had no intention of bringing in uninvited guests, at least during this time when the guild needed to establish itself.
Of course, the analysis plan was not all-purpose, but at least it could serve as a filter.
‘The number of people we need to look at today…’
A sigh escaped Raoul’s mouth as he flipped through the documents.
After a long screening, the final successful candidate was finally decided.
This recruitment was not a mercenary contract for a set period of time, but rather a selection of people fully affiliated with the First Guild.
So, we accepted applications from among the thousand previously hired mercenaries and reviewed them.
And as a result, the number of people was expanded to a total of 3,500, including four free cities.
[First Guild]
Grade: Medium 6LV
Reputation: Kingdom’s most influential guild
Total members: Regular guild members 50/350 Irregular guild members 3430.
Members: 70 regular knights. 130 trainee knights. 100 non-commissioned officer candidates. 3000 regular soldiers. 150 administrative positions. 30 technical positions (including low-level wizard and alchemist).
There was no change in the number of regular guild members receiving help from the system. This was planned to be gradually recruited by selecting truly reliable and promising people.
Among the mercenaries who worked hard for a month, about 50 young and promising people like Josh were hired as trainee knights.
B-class mercenaries who were old or unsuited to be knights were selected as non-commissioned officer candidates.
It was an inevitable decision because the profession of knight did not require simply outstanding combat skills.
And as the organization grew larger, people in charge of administrative tasks and technical staff in charge of equipment management and supply were also recruited.
3500 people.
The number of people could have been large, but Raoul still felt disappointed.
‘I wanted to fill 5,000 people… but I had no choice. But we can’t accept people who aren’t even skilled.’
What Raoul wanted was a guild made up of only sword user-level troops who could at least handle mana.
It was an inevitable choice to compete with the guild of players who would grow into sword users in just six months.
What is disappointing is that the review is not all over yet. This is because there were still people who needed special screening.
‘How do I do it?’
For some reason, the corners of Raoul’s mouth seemed to slightly turn up.
(Continued in the next part)