Chapter 302 : Knight Order... ? (2)
After sending off Filian, Alon let out a deep sigh without realizing it.
Of course, a noble title wasn't something one could just throw away so easily, even if they wanted to.
'I should've at least reviewed the documents.'
Only now did Alon realize just how outrageous it had been to casually post that recruitment notice for the Knight Order.
But at this point, there was no way he could just send everyone home.
Pressing his throbbing temple, he reluctantly called in the next applicant.
"Hello!"
Fortunately, this time it was a civilian applicant he didn't know.
Seeing the man standing stiff with nerves, Alon let out a small sigh of relief.
And so the interviews continued.
"It's moving along faster than I expected."
"Indeed."
As Evan commented after sending out an applicant, Alon nodded.
What had initially seemed like a daunting task was actually progressing faster than he'd imagined.
'Well, to be precise, it's not that the interviews are going quickly...'
Every time he glanced at the waiting area, the number of applicants had visibly decreased.
'Was it just that they looked numerous because they were spread out?'
Thinking that, Alon naturally called in the next applicant.
"I am Deus."
Seeing Deus walk in as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Alon was once again at a loss for words.
"...Deus?"
"Yes, my lord."
"W-What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to interview."
Unlike Alon, Deus answered with complete composure.
"Deus, aren't you Caliban's First Sword?"
When Alon asked, Deus replied confidently.
"It's fine."
"What is?"
"If that's what you're worried about, I've already taken care of it."
"And... how exactly did you take care of it?"
"...Deus?"
"I handled it well."
"...Handled what?"
"You didn't... right?"
"What do you mean by that?"
Feeling an ominous premonition, Alon questioned him, and Deus feigned ignorance.
"Did you give up your noble title or something?"
"No, I didn't."
"Then what?"
"In case my joining the Knight Order caused any trouble, I left a letter warning that some unfortunate events might occur."
That's just a threat...
Thinking that, Alon glanced over at Evan.
Evan seemed to be thinking the same thing, looking utterly dumbfounded.
A moment of awkward silence hung in the interview room.
"...Leave."
Alon finally dismissed him, and Deus nodded confidently and left the room.
The next person to enter was—
"Hello, Master!"
"...Seolrang?"
It was none other than Seolrang.
With a giggle, she rushed into the room and flung herself into Alon's arms.
Settling naturally onto Alon's lap, Seolrang's actions left Alon too stunned to think.
"...You're here to interview for the Knight Order too?"
"Yup!"
"Didn't you say you had work to do?"
"I came in the middle of it! I heard you were recruiting for the Knight Order!"
Look at me! Praise me!— her eyes seemed to say as her ears perked up.
Without thinking, Alon found himself patting her head.
"...Aren't you the Baba Yaga of the Colony?"
He was sure he'd already asked this several times today.
One by one, the faces of those problematic— no, applicants— flashed through Alon's mind.
"Right?"
"Then wouldn't it be better for you to stay and guard that post?"
At his words, Seolrang tilted her head and thought for a moment.
"Hmm~ If you say so, Master, I will!"
She beamed brightly and nodded.
"Sorry to have brought you all this way for nothing."
"It's okay, Master! This was sort of like a mission too!"
"A mission?"
"Yup! I also came on a guard mission!"
"...Did someone come with you?"
"Karsem!"
Seolrang answered brightly.
Recalling the prince— formerly a pig— now a very handsome young man, the son of King Carmaxes, Alon asked, just in case:
"Don't tell me Karsem also—"
"He came to join the Knight Order too!"
The utterly expected answer made Alon chuckle helplessly.
"Unfortunately, please ask him not to take the entry test."
"Okay, got it!"
Nodding enthusiastically, Seolrang casually exchanged a few pleasantries and then said:
"Well, I'm off now, Master!"
"Is it okay for you to just leave like this?"
"Yup! I still have things to do!"
And with that cheerful farewell, she was gone.
Left staring blankly at the spot where the whirlwind called Seolrang had been, Alon was lost in thought.
Evan spoke from beside him.
"My lord."
"What is it?"
"I'm not sure why, but you seem to have gotten closer to Seolrang."
"What do you mean?"
"Just like... some kind of distance?"
"Is that so?"
Muttering that things weren't any different from usual, Alon immediately started the next interview.
"That's it for today."
"Understood. I'll inform the others that the remaining interviews will continue tomorrow."
The sun was already setting behind the ridge, so they decided to call it a day.
As much as he wanted to get it all done today, realistically it seemed impossible.
'And why are mages coming to a Knight Order interview?'
Alon recalled Karsem, who had confidently marched in earlier, and Lian, the daughter of the Red Tower Master.
When he asked Karsem, 'Aren't you royalty?', the prince boldly declared that he was ready to join the Knight Order.
When he asked Lian, 'But you're a mage?', she had replied, 'I can handle a magic sword though...'
Letting out a light sigh, Alon walked over to the window.
"..."
Even though he thought the crowd had thinned, looking out, it felt like it had grown again compared to this morning.
'Looks like this will take at least a week.'
A bitter taste lingered on Alon's tongue.
***
The next day.
Deus watched the crowd gathered at the Palatio Marquisate with a strange expression.
He wasn't questioning the absurd number of applicants.
In fact, he was thinking, 'For the Great Moon recruiting knights, isn't this number a little small?'
Of course, that was just Deus's personal standard.
In any case, what puzzled him was the Great Moon's behavior.
'Why is he doing this?'
From Deus's perspective, the Great Moon didn't need protection from these kinds of people.
Far from it.
Including himself, Deus knew plenty of people far more suited to guarding the Great Moon than this ragtag crowd.
'And besides, even right now—'
He could sense the presence of elves and lizardmen from the moment he arrived.
Normally, he would have driven them off immediately, but since they were here to protect the Great Moon, he let them be for now.
"... He should already have enough protection."
Of course, Alon had no idea that elves and lizardmen were shadowing him.
Unaware of this, Deus thought:
'Even so, for Marquis himself to personally meet every applicant and form the Knight Order by hand...'
He began trying to deduce Alon's intentions.
As he was stroking his chin—
Suddenly, he remembered something Evan had said the day before.
"Why is Marquis forming a Knight Order? Honestly, I didn't hear the full details, but I think it's to recruit forces to protect new territory?"
Evan had mentioned it casually.
'Could it be...!'
From that alone, Deus reached a conclusion.
'Is he planning to become king?'
It might have seemed ridiculous to anyone else.
But from Deus's perspective, this thought made everything fall into place.
It explained why Alon was personally meeting applicants to recruit soldiers.
It explained why he hadn't accepted Deus into the Knight Order.
And even why Alon had sent Deus and the others to different countries.
Once he connected those dots—
Deus found even the public recruitment of a Knight Order perfectly logical and shivered with excitement.
(Of course, Alon was only meeting the applicants himself because he felt guilty leaving it all to Evan. And the reason he was recruiting knights was simply because he'd listened to Rine and thought, 'I guess I do need some knights.')
'So that's what it was...!'
Regardless of Alon's actual intentions, Deus—interpreting the situation in his own way—shivered at the supposed grand scheme.
"…Huh? Deus?"
"Seolrang."
"What is it? I need to go."
"It's important."
He conveyed his deduction—no, his discovery—to Seolrang.
And—
"...If that's true, we'd better prepare."
"Right."
Thus began a strange and massive misunderstanding.
***
A week had passed since the interviews began.
Yet Alon was still interviewing applicants.
He hadn't expected there to still be so many left.
Though there were lots of applicants, he hadn't imagined it would drag on this long.
The week of interviews had continued, but today Alon was in good spirits.
Because today, the interviews would finally be over.
'Just one more day, and it'll be done.'
Looking outside, only a few dozen people remained.
Feeling satisfied, Alon glanced at the estate.
"...Hello. My name is Seamus."
For the first time in a while, he encountered a character from Psychedelia.
Seamus the Mad Dog.
He was a recruitable companion mid-game.
Not only did he have high base stats, but his stat growth per level was far superior to other characters, making him a fan favorite.
However, some players disliked him—mainly because of his personality.
Thanks to his excellent stats, Seamus was arrogant and frequently made snide comments throughout the game, annoying many players.
Some chose not to use him despite his strength.
'Well, if you progress through his character story, he does mellow out a bit...'
That thought was brief.
Alon soon frowned slightly in confusion.
The face was definitely Seamus's.
Even the sense of strength emanating from him confirmed it.
But—
'Why is he so subdued?'
No, beyond subdued.
Seamus spoke quietly, almost like he was crushed.
Alon grew even more puzzled.
The Seamus he knew wasn't like this.
Still—
He couldn't exactly say, 'Hey, aren't you supposed to be a psycho?'
So, after a simple interview, Alon sent Seamus on his way.
But the lingering doubt wouldn't go away.
***
Meanwhile.
Deep in the Ronovelli Jungle.
Two women stood there.
One was Historia.
The other—
"So you're saying Chief is really the same Chief we know?"
"Yeah."
"And you met Chief?"
"Yeah."
"Then Chief remembers me too?"
"Yeah."
This was the most dangerous part of the Ronovelli Jungle, ruled by a being known as the King of a Hundred Ghosts.
"...Even though he remembers me, he hasn't come to see me?"
Ryanga puffed her cheeks in a sulky pout.