Newbie Gacha (1)
‘First things first, I need to snag Beatrice. Drag her straight to a dungeon and get her leveled up.’
Sisilia, now blessed with three disciple slots, was simply thrilled. It had been a full decade since she’d signed on with the black-hole company known as the Windsor Knights. At long last, she was getting her own team!
‘Gonna fill it with nothing but fresh-faced rookies!’
Age limit: under twenty. Skill level: capable of soloing same-level raids? Sure, not right now—but drill them with trials until they can, and the success rate hits a hundred percent! It’d be tough. Grueling, even heartbreaking. But Sisilia would be there to comfort them through it. The newbies, moved to tears! Global warming solved! World peace achieved!
“Beatrice……”
Her excitement bubbling over, Sisilia pressed a hand to the fence around the apprentice knight training grounds.
“Beatrice Schwartzfeder. You have achieved outstanding results in this training hall, and there is nothing more we can teach you. Thus, I hereby declare your graduation. Congratulations. You’re the first to complete the program in nearly five years.”
The apprentices stood in perfect formation. Up on the podium, Marcus recited the words with stern gravity. Beatrice accepted her certificate with a resolute expression.
“……Huh.”
That meant Beatrice had beaten Marcus in a duel. Just like six-year-old Sisilia had. Something was off. Beatrice shouldn’t have reached that level yet.
“In the end, you’re the first graduate.”
“……Damn it. I’ll catch up soon, so wait for me.”
Surrounded by her fellow apprentices, Beatrice soon spotted Sisilia watching from a distance and came running over.
“It’s all thanks to you, Lady Sisilia. Thank you!”
Beatrice bowed deeply in sincere gratitude. But Sisilia couldn’t smile.
‘I was planning to give her my one-point special lecture and graduate her myself……’
Sisilia’s mood soured.
‘Don’t be disappointed.’
A used newbie was still a newbie. A little weathered, maybe, but wash it clean and it’d shine like new.
“Even graduating from apprenticeship doesn’t mean you automatically join the Windsor Knights……”
“Right. But after that, it’s just formalities. Only eight out of ten fail the interview.”
Beatrice turned to Sisilia slowly.
“Isn’t that really high……?”
“A 5:1 ratio feels totally average to me.”
Even in the modern world, megacorps could hit 400:1 at peak. And the Windsor Knights were the kingdom’s biggest corp—5:1 was a steal.
‘I was planning to use one of my slots on her.’
Chiron had left it to the high knights’ discretion: bring in three newbies each. Official parachute drops, three per officer.
Meaning Beatrice could waltz right in on Sisilia’s recommendation. But……it felt wasteful. She was already qualified. Why burn a precious newbie slot? Better to let her go through the proper channels. Absolutely no jealousy from skipping Sisilia’s help and graduating on her own.
“Is that the newbie knight you’ve brought, Sisilia?”
Beatrice swallowed dryly, eyeing Chiron seated in the chair at the center of the training yard.
‘That man……one of only five Sword Sovereigns in the kingdom.’
His presence alone was on another plane. The air grew heavy, pressing down. Not a finger could twitch carelessly.
“Here for the test. She just graduated from apprenticeship.”
“A test?”
As pre-announced, a high knight’s recommendation meant no test required. Even if skills were subpar.
But Sisilia had never intended to pull that card.
‘……Yeah, that sounds like you.’
Chiron chuckled softly and rose from his chair. No shortcuts, no little tricks. That was Sisilia. Even as a six-year-old kid wandering into the knights’ HQ with nothing but a dagger.
‘Then I’ll have to treat her with the utmost sincerity.’
“Beatrice Schwartzfeder. If you wish to join the Windsor Knights, draw your sword.”
“Yes, sir!”
‘I’m shaking. Scared. But……I have to!’
Beatrice drew her blade, tense but determined. Sisilia clamped a hand over her mouth.
“……!”
“?”
Chiron was just as stunned. Sisilia hadn’t looked this shocked since she was eight, declaring she’d master the three-sword style with a blade in her mouth.
“Wh-what’s wrong……?”
Perplexed by the reaction, Beatrice tilted her head.
‘To pass the test without even realizing it’s a test……first case since Sisilia.’
Chiron had just unleashed a presence rivaling a low-grade demon. To join the Windsor Knights, draw your sword. A check for the essential trait: fear resistance.
Demons’ signature move was their aura of dread, paralyzing foes. No matter how strong, without resistance to fear, you were useless.
Her judgment was lacking—she still hadn’t clocked it as a test—but……
‘Impressive, Sisilia. Finding talent like this.’
No need to hesitate.
“You pass.”
“Y-yes?! Yes?!”
In truth, Beatrice passing was a given. She’d already faced something far worse than a low-grade demon up close.
—Slaughterer?
—Freeloading’s a crime.
—Then your heart’ll do.
—Wind Shear.
Multiple times, even. Beatrice didn’t know it, but those encounters had inured her to any low-grade demon’s dread.
Meanwhile, the culprit, Sisilia……
‘Wh-what insane talent!’
……was trembling uncontrollably, awe-struck.
✦
Bring three talented individuals each. But aside from Sisilia, no one had fulfilled the order.
“Expected, Captain.”
As the adjutant said, it was only natural. Talented folks didn’t just drop from the sky.
“Where would you scout for talent?”
“……The Windsor apprentice training grounds?”
“Exactly. The obvious choice.”
Rumors even swirled of high knights frequenting the place. Go to the forest to find trees—basic logic.
“But only Sisilia moved immediately.”
“Her drive’s legendary, isn’t it?”
“Not just speed.”
Chiron handed over a document.
“This.”
The adjutant’s eyes widened as he read.
“She was already on the move.”
“Yes. Beatrice Schwartzfeder, the new graduate? Sisilia had her eyed two weeks ago.”
“Two weeks……that’s……”
“The night the Sacred Flame flickered.”
“……!”
Meaning Sisilia had foreseen the crisis perfectly. That chaotic night when the flame wavered and panic spread, only she’d marched toward the next phase.
“Good lord. And per Instructor Marcus’s testimony, the apprentices’ skills skyrocketed right after Sisilia got involved.”
“Get it now? My order to the high knights wasn’t just about finding newbies.”
Chiron’s tone grew grave.
“It was to test their talent-scouting ability.”
“Then……”
“I plan to put her in charge of establishing this ‘officer academy.’”
The adjutant was floored.
“B-but wasn’t that for Court Mage Viaton? Knights’ side for you, Captain.”
The officer academy was still conceptual, but a pivotal move for Liannen Kingdom. The Windsor Knights alone couldn’t handle the coming demon onslaught. Before the blessed dwindled, boost the kingdom’s total power. Scout talent, awaken it.
Best method: gather all the aura-blessed in one spot for focused training.
“There’ll be massive backlash, Captain.”
The adjutant swallowed hard. Chiron knew it well. But……
“Her Majesty said so.”
It wasn’t just Sisilia’s skill. Chiron needed a way to shield her from other threats.
“A era of change is coming. Today’s values may crumble tomorrow.”
Queen Lydia—sometimes a flighty girl, making you question if she could rule—had sustained her iron-fisted reign for three centuries for good reason. To Chiron, her insight transcended humanity.
“Her Majesty values Sisilia more than we knew. She wants her ready for the changes ahead.”
Such transcendent attention could poison. Mediocre geniuses crumpled under the queen’s expectations, never rising again. Chiron had seen it: Edward Windsor, choking on his own brilliance.
“For growth, give Sisilia the harshest missions possible.”
“……!”
“She prophesied Sisilia could handle it.”
The queen might be right. Sisilia’s potential eluded even Chiron. If only one genius could shine in this world, he’d pick her without hesitation.
Yet.
“I invoked veto.”
“……!”
Maybe age. Seeing her return wounded from the last battlefield stirred thoughts. Too soon. Before demons mobilized in force, she needed safe experience-building.
“What she needs is time. As captain and her father, I’ll protect Sisilia.”
The briefed adjutant smiled faintly.
“Then my job’s paving her path to that role, smooth as possible.”
Adjutant Michael took up his pen.
“First, appoint Sisilia as chief overseer for the Windsor Knights’ mass recruitment. That credential’ll pay off later. And……”
Watching Michael scribble with manic fervor, Chiron thought: The pen’s mightier—and scarier—than the sword.