“I’m sorry that we can’t hold a big ceremony or anything, but our budget is very tight.” The big man laughs loudly. He’s certainly not what Arthur expected of the general of the Radiant Knights. Especially so after first meeting Sir Samuel.

After spending a day resting in the infirmary, Arthur was called to the General’s office for an official ceremony, but it seems it’s less of that and more a simple formality to get out of the way. After all, the ‘ceremony’ is simply Arthur standing in front of the general’s desk while the man tells him how things will work from now on in a very nonchalant way.

After a short oath of loyalty, the general smiles at him.

“From this moment forth, you are a Knight Trainee. May you wield your sword in service of the good of the kingdom and its people. Welcome to the Radiant Knights, Arthur.”

Arthur takes a deep breath and allows himself a smile. “Thank you, Sir.”

“However, keep this in mind. Being a trainee means you’re technically under probation.” Sir Kain says, turning serious. “If your appointed captain doesn’t approve of you, you’ll be dismissed. Your strength has already been proven. It’s your competence in everything else that makes a knight that you need to demonstrate. Honor, chivalry, teamwork and perseverance. If your captain says you're lacking in any one of these after a year, it means we have no use for you.”

Arthur swallows nervously. “Understood, Sir.”

“Good.” He nods. “You’ll be appointed to the Sanctus Brigade, led by Sir Erik Lumiere. His is one of the brigades with fewer numbers, totaling 6 including the captain. With you, that’ll be 7. I won’t say much else to avoid giving you weird ideas, but you can trust Sir Erik to be one of our strongest knights. You’ll be in good hands. Probably.” He shrugs.

‘Probably!?’

“You may be familiar with this already, but in the event that you’re properly recognized as a full-fledged knight, you’ll become a noble and given a house name.”

‘Ah!’

A house name, probably the clearest proof of nobility. Zaphiel, Cormag, Silva and Astram are the house names of the four great nobles and the most well-known along with Alba, Sir Samuel’s house name. Sir Kain’s house is Grant which would make Sir Erik’s house Lumiere. He’ll have to remember that.

“That’s something that the king would normally do, but…” Sir Kain lets out a tired sigh. “I’m the one in charge of all those things these days.”

The general must really have a lot on his plate.

“That about covers the most important things.” Sir Kain nods to himself, glad to have this over with. “So? How are you feeling? After the fight, I mean.”

‘Oh.’

“My body feels sluggish still, and there’s a certain numbness in my soul. It’s a bit more than usual, but it’s nothing new. I should be back in shape by tomorrow evening, Sir.”

“Glad to hear that. Truth is, your new captain and teammates are currently out on a mission. They should be back in a couple of days. In the meantime,” Sir Kain opens one of the drawers of his desk, pulls out a small pouch from it and sets it on the table. “Here’s your prize for winning the tournament. 300 gold pieces.”

“…” Arthur’s jaw slowly starts to fall.

‘T-There was prize money!?’

Sir Samuel never said anything about that! Why!? Why wouldn’t he say anything about that!? And seeing his expression, Sir Kain can’t help but laugh loudly again.

“I bet that bastard Samuel didn’t say anything! Hahaha!! Kid’s so earnest and serious that he forgets other people actually like money!” Slowly, his laughter starts to calm down, but his grin still remains. “Well kid, consider this prize your first payment. This is what you’ll be earning as a trainee every month.”

‘Ah! That’s… far, far more than I made as a farmer, sure, but less than I expected. Wait, no! This is still an insane amount if I’m only considered a trainee!’

“You came here from Yellowseed, right? I’d suggest using some of the money to hire a caravan to bring anything you need back from your home or to buy new stuff here. Just remember that the room you’ll be assigned to is small, so don’t get carried away when you buy your stuff.”

‘That’s right! I’ll be assigned a room here in the castle, which means I won’t have to pay for an inn, food or extra expenses! When I look at it like that, 300 gold pieces really is an insane amount!’

Seeing his expression, Sir Kain chuckles softly. “It’s finally dawning on you, right? You made it, kid. You may have been invited by Sir Samuel Alba himself, but you earned this with your own two hands. Congratulations, Arthur.”

Arthur’s chest tightens, and a feeling of pride starts swelling within him. A sense of satisfaction greater than any that came before. His first hurdle, his first goal… complete.

He straightens his back, then bows. “Thank you very much, General Kain!”

Eliot finds himself heading to the infirmary once again only hours after seeing Mr. Arthur leave. This time, the matter is related to the criminal affairs he’s helping resolve. When he gets there, he sees Sir Samuel already speaking with one of the doctors.

“I apologize for my tardiness.” Eliot says as the knight and the doctor both bow.

“Please, Your Highness, I only just arrived here myself.” Sir Samuel chuckles. “Then, doctor. If you would.”

“Yes.” The old man nods. “Your Highness, this is regarding the matter you were investigating. The contraband of ulzer fruit around the country. After we bought one of the participants of the tournament back from his fight, we started noticing the usual symptoms of H.U.P. intake in him.”

A disgusting feeling settles in Eliot’s stomach. “Who was it?”

“Mr. Jiv, the mercenary who fought Mr. Arthur in the first round.” The doctor says.

While Eliot is relieved it wasn’t any of the nobles, it still pains him to know a potential knight candidate would resort to that awful drug.

“How is he?” Eliot asks.

“Stable now, after proper treatment. We’ve been studying his blood samples and the state of his soul. His body is recovering well, but his soul has weakened considerably. We have yet to determine if that’s something a person can recover from. However, it’s unlikely.”

“We will begin questioning tomorrow.” Sir Samuel informs. “We hope to find whoever sold him the drug, and see if we can track down the original source.”

“Increase security around him.” Eliot says firmly. “From the mission report I received from Ms. Marina, the mercenary I hired, one of the smugglers and the bandits who could have been affiliated with the organization were killed soon after capture while in their cells. We don’t know if this man is important enough, but we can’t take chances. Our leads are rare enough as it is.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Sir Samuel nods. “I will ask my housecarl, Roland, to keep guard.”

Eliot sighs in relief. “That’s reassuring to hear.” He turns to the doctor. “If you find anything else, please notify me or Sir Samuel. And…” Eliot lets out a tired sigh now. “If there’s anything you can do to heal that man, please do.”

The doctor smiles wryly at him. “We will do our best, Your Highness.”

“I believe this is all.” Sir Samuel says. “I’ll be sure to keep you informed, Your Highness. Now please, get some rest.”

Eliot smiles wryly. “Is it that obvious?”

“It is, Your Highness.” The vice-general gives him a small smile and nods.

“Eh?” The doctor exclaims, not understanding what’s happening.

Good. It means it’s not that obvious, and that Sir Samuel being, well, Sir Samuel, is the only one who’s noticed how tired he is.

“Very well. I will retire for the day. But if anything urgent comes up, do not hesitate to call me.” He says firmly. It’s not exactly an order, as his authority as the second prince is quite limited. At most, he could order the doctor, but not Sir Samuel.

“As you wish, Your Highness.” Yet both men bow at his request.

Eliot smiles to himself. Really, he’s truly blessed.

He leaves the infirmary and makes for his room. He’s really been working too much, searching for leads on the Dead Souls organization, hiring mercenaries, reading knight reports, not to mention the troubling happenings beyond the wall. They might have to make contact with the Alliance soon, but who knows if they’ll even accept talking to humans.

He needs to look over the supply papers again to make sure Fort Zaphiel and Fort Cormag have everything they need. That also means checking if monsters haven’t messed with the supply lines.

Thankfully, reports from Planta Village say that monster activity in the Noble Woods has been low lately, but that’s worrying in its own right. Should he prepare a proposal to present to Sir Kain to have knights investigate? Or should he hire mercenaries again? The latter one would be quicker, but his own funds are starting to run low this month.

…

Eliot lets out a heavy sigh. Sir Samuel won’t like it, but he can take an extra hour to look over the documents for the fort’s supplies.