The group followed the princess out from the room and back into the corridor for where they walked for some time. Eventually, they arrived at a giant archway matched with an arched gate. The guards at both sides of it pushed open the door, allowing them entry to the giant dome building beyond.

The dome was partitioned into two portions with a flight of stairs in the middle. Only seven steps, but the stairs led to an elevated platform where the king and queen awaited.

To the left of the king sat the young prince.

To the right was an empty seat; presumably the seat where the princess would sit.

Before the stairs stood a large crowd split into two sides. All eyes were on those who just entered the dome.

The princess curtseyed to the king briefly before taking her place by the king’s side. Following suit, Elric took two steps forward and curtseyed nervously.

Laughter broke out in the court at once. Confused, Elric looked up to see every official gesturing toward him and laughing. Even the king, queen, and prince had hints of a smile on their faces, though the one on the prince’s face was the most distinguishable.

Wide-eyes met his gaze when Elric looked left and right at his companions. In front of him, the princess was also glaring at him. Three fingers jabbed at him from three different directions while the princess secretively jabbed his foot with her toe. As hard as they tried to be secretive, however, their actions didn’t go completely unnoticed and several officials chuckled even louder.

Panicking at the realization of being the center of attention, Elric quickly began to analyze the situation. Now that he thought about it, he was too quick to emulate Belladonna and the princess’ actions. Was their salute female-specific? Was that it?!

Hurriedly, he looked to Kite. His salute was a different one, maybe it was one all knights were expected to make? He might as well copy Jerry then! In a snap decision, he decided to imitate Jerry’s posture and form.

Regret filled his four companions, bringing such an idiot like him to the palace and making a fool of himself. Little would Elric know, but this mistake would later have him branded alongside his teachers Victor and Crazy as one of the ‘Six Disgraces of the Circle of Magi’. A misplay of this caliber sullied the dignified image that magi held.

In an attempt to salvage the situation, the princess quickly began to introduce Kite, Belladonna, and Jerry. Exaggerating their achievements just a little, she went on to talk about how they—Elric included—were newcomers to the Circle of Magi and were in the middle of an examination to become journeymen (the expedition into the Forest of Illusions was in fact something only journeymen were expected to do). To drive the fact in harder, the princess even made sure to explain that they had all been taught by Crazy and were geniuses of their craft.

When it came to introducing Elric, the princess made sure to state how he was Crazy’s ‘personal property’ and was signed into a contract with her. That made him stand out from the others.

Everyone, the king, queen, and prince included, were interested in such a tidbit. They all knew of Crazy’s personality. A strange situation like this was something only she could do without anyone thinking anything was amiss.

But the officials still had their doubts regarding these four. They were young! Young in the field of magic where age is practically equivalent to experience. Talented or not, it was by no means a proper replacement for prowess in magic. The envoys they needed to send had to be competent in both magic and character!

“I would hope to test these four, if Your Majesty deigns it proper.” A knight stood up.

Truth be told, the king was also concerned about the four. He knew his own sister, and such a person like Crazy wouldn’t teach anyone on request alone! Though his daughter was an apprentice to Crazy, her true teacher was actually the Archmagister, Naga. He had no confidence that his own sister would be capable of teaching someone properly. All he knew about Crazy’s prowess was what Naga had told him, in fact. Second-hand knowledge wasn’t nearly enough for him to make an important decision on.

But if his daughter, the princess, insisted that the four of them were powerful, then he could at the very least entertain the notion. It was dangerous, her claim. Should the four of them perform less than what was said, then the prestige and credibility of the princess would be irrevocably damaged. And even worse, their failure would cause an extremely negative impact on their mission.

The princess was equally worried. Her exaggerations were merely a diversion to distract everyone away from Elric’s blunder a while ago. Not even she had a clear image of how strong these four were. If by chance she was wrong…

The king’s gaze lingered on the princess. He could see that she was hesitating to answer the knight’s request.

But Kite took a confident step forward in her place.

“Your Majesty, your loyal subject agrees to be tested.”

The king gave him a cursory glance. He had heard several people compliment this man and how talented he was in the art of swordsmanship and magic. That being said, wasn’t Kite just a little too confident in himself? The knight he was going up against the Captain of the Imperial Knights! A warning would have to be given to this youngster.

“Your bravery should be complimented, young one. But bravery is naught the only requirement a knight should meet. Have you any knowledge who this knight is?”

“Your Majesty, this loyal subject is aware of Captain Pastim, leader of the Royal Guards and the one respectfully known as the Paladin. He is the knight I respect most after my father,” Kite replied, his voice betraying the excitement he felt in meeting someone he respected.

It was easily audible to all how Kite felt about Pastim. It was something both the king and Pastim were both satisfied to hear.

“It would be my greatest honor to be examined by Sire Paladin,” Kite continued.

Would it be unreasonable for the king to prolong this? He thought it so. Pastim would surely enjoy this opportunity and examine Kite fairly. “By my decree, trainee knight Kite will be examined by Captain Pastim. A magnificent occasion should be taken by all to be an excellent opportunity to learn from one another the glory that are knights.”

The officials moved at once. The chancellors retreated to their respective sides of the dome to empty out the center and allowed the court magi to stand at six different points of the dome. Together, the magi erected a semi-transparent wall to protect the royals from any harm.

Kite and Pastim took their sides at the center of the room. They waited for a series of attendants to come forward with multiple weapons in hand so they could peruse. As if by chance, the two opted for estocs. It would appear this would be a match between swift swords.

Those familiar with martial combat felt such a fight to be strange for Kite. Wasn’t he being foolish, trying to fight a knight like Pastim with such a weapon? Choosing a spear or halberd would’ve been a better choice since it’d give Kite an advantage with distance. For someone proficient in magic like Kite, using weapons longer in length would definitely be preferred over weapons suited for close-combat.

Evidently even Pastim thought so, as he asked if Kite would prefer to change his weapon of choice. But Kite refused.

With the preparations made, the king stood up to officially start the examination.

At his word, Kite retreated five steps and began to start an incantation.

Pastim pressed forward, hoping to avail this opportunity to strike at him, only to be assaulted by a series of fireballs.

A common tactic to deal with short-ranged fighters, but not one that’d intimidate Pastim at all. It’d be a simple matter for him to send a shockwave of energy with his sword or any other type of tactic, but that wasn’t the point of this fight. The point was to test Kite’s strength.

So he weaved in between the fireballs instead.

And was met with a wall of fire all around him.