The First Selection (1)
“…….”
A soft sigh escaped his lips.
“………….”
He clicked his tongue in exasperation.
“Ha. Truly, I’m losing my mind.”
“……Just in case, I’ll ask.”
“Eh?”
“Is there any problem?”
“None at all.”
“Is that so…….”
How long had it been since he had left the secluded mansion for the first time, walking alongside Arma with the knight leading the way?
The knight in front suddenly turned his head and cast a suspicious glance toward them, but Rian had no time to react. No, more precisely, he was barely managing to endure it.
Every step sent a clinking sound echoing as the two of them collided, while the white surface of the armor sparkled under the sunlight. Even the inner surfaces, which were rarely visible, were so exquisitely smooth that they could accidentally produce a ringing noise.
Is this what it means to be a knight—wandering around like this?
It was truly a provocative sight. Were the people of this world truly fine with seeing something like this? Walking around while wearing such beautiful and captivating armor?
What if someone suddenly attacked and coveted that voluptuous steel? Displaying such a figure without any concealment… Rian could only sigh at the extreme lack of safety awareness in this world.
“……Creator, are you all right?”
“I’ll manage somehow.”
“If the flag is too heavy, let me take it……”
“Huh? The flag? Ah, this one’s fine.”
Although it was made of solid steel, a flag roughly two meters long could still be carried somehow. It wasn’t light, of course, but compared to the hardships he had endured when creating Arma, it was more than bearable.
Besides, there’s a good view right in front of me.
Ha, look at those armor seams. They fit together so perfectly… It’s driving me crazy.
Whether the flag was heavy or not, Rian found himself unable to feel any strain just from gazing at the white armor. Time seemed to fly by without him noticing.
“Creator, you don’t mean……?”
“Arma, can’t you see it? That beautiful figure and those graceful lines… It’s just……”
“……Even so, it can’t compare to you.”
“Of course not.”
Even if the white armor was beautiful, it could never match Arma’s elegance. If the sight of the armor had made him flustered, seeing Arma return to sword form had been the only thing keeping his eyes from spinning. And it wasn’t just him—any man would feel the same.
I can’t let Arma be seen by others.
He would have to warn Arma beforehand. He would tell her that all men besides him—well, all humans—were wolves. It had been wise to keep Arma in human form.
Though a little regrettable in a sense, he slowly turned his gaze away from the armor. If he kept staring, the knight would grow angry at him for admiring his beloved armor, and Rian had no interest in stealing someone else’s weapon in an NTR hobby kind of way. Weapon obsession. What a beautiful and refreshing word.
While he was desperately trying to shake off the inner turmoil that arose every time he looked at the armor.
“……You have the basics down.”
“What do you mean?”
“You never once lowered the flag while coming this far.”
“Huh? This?”
Only after hearing the knight’s words did Rian finally look around and realize that the mansion they had departed from was already out of sight. For a moment he had been so absorbed in the armor that he hadn’t noticed how much time had passed.
And the moment he realized the reality, pain surged through his legs and the arm holding the flag. Perhaps the runner’s high or adrenaline had been numbing the pain until now. He frowned slightly, but he didn’t drop or let go of the flag.
“A twelve-year-old child with an ordinary body, not infused with mana, isn’t even complaining, let alone asking for a break.”
“……”
“I was worried about the strange rumors, but it seems the Edelwein bloodline runs true.”
Before Rian could ask about the strange rumors, the knight nodded in satisfaction and raised his arm to point somewhere. Rian nearly let out a sigh at the way the armor twisted seductively, but he managed to hold it back.
Following the knight’s pointing finger, his gaze shifted forward.
“The world…”
He hadn’t been particularly interested in which family he had been reborn into, but he had assumed this family was quite wealthy. Otherwise, there was no way they would give an eight-year-old such a large sum or allow him to live alone in such a grand mansion.
Considering the knight and maid’s words, it seemed more than one person was being called to the Selection. At least enough competitors to make it a fair contest. In other words, this meant the family had enough influence to assign an entire mansion to a single child.
Even so, this is……!!
It wasn’t just a grand mansion or vast lands. Far surpassing all his imagination was the White Citadel—a city and fortress that stood in magnificent, awe-inspiring splendor.
The knight’s armor matched the pure white of the Citadel, shining without a single speck of dirt. It looked more like an exquisite piece of craftsmanship than a city. If that were all, Rian might have felt a sense of cultural heritage, remembering his previous life.
Kung. Ku-gung.
The magnificent, solemn pure-white Citadel was moving.
“That place is the Edelwein family’s ancestral home. The history of the world’s greatest martial clan, the Edelweins, began there.”
The sight of a Citadel so enormous it was hard to believe it was moving across the land.
He had no idea how it moved, but the Citadel glided across the earth like a ship floating on the sea, leaving no tracks.
Though its speed was slow, it was no flaw. A fortress of that size could change its position at will, granting it strategic advantages beyond imagination.
A moving fortress, a city dyed white, the Edelwein ancestral home—simply by existing, it was a war weapon that waged war on its own.
At the overwhelming sight that transcended common sense, Rian lost his words. The knight placed a hand on his shoulder, his face filled with pride as he curved his lips upward.
“Edelwein blood, welcome to the White Citadel.”
*
Entering the White Citadel wasn’t as difficult as he had imagined. Approaching a moving fortress was suicidal, but it was still the Edelwein ancestral home.
More precisely, the flag he carried served as a pass to enter and exit the Citadel.
So that’s what the flag proves.
Proving Edelwein blood wasn’t about appearance, skill, or fame. It required a flag with a strange intertwining pattern of swords and spears drawn on it to enter the White Citadel.
Closing his eyes, he relaxed his body while holding the flag. Then he opened them.
“Wow.”
“Creator, this is…….”
That was all it took. Arma, who had been holding his hand, was now inside the White Citadel as well. From afar, it had looked pure white, and as befitted a fortress city named White Citadel, the buildings and streets were painted in a soft, warm white.
Just for a moment he was captivated by the breathtaking sight, but the knight who hadn’t been holding his hand suddenly remembered and turned around.
“Keep walking forward.”
The knight urged him to continue forward without hesitation. After all, he was someone sent from the White Citadel, so entering would naturally be fine.
The knight’s feet were slightly cracked, but Rian only briefly wondered if he had somehow jumped here from below.
“Even if you tell me to go, I don’t know the geography of this place.”
“It doesn’t matter. The moment the Edelwein blood arrives, the White Citadel will create a path for him.”
“What does that mean……?”
“You only need to keep walking straight.”
Rian couldn’t fully understand the knight’s words, but it was clear he was supposed to keep going forward.
In front of him stretched a straight, unbroken white road. At the end, something like a massive structure loomed, but no matter how hard he tried to look, it remained hazy and indistinct, as if shrouded in mist.
What is this?
It had been clear from outside the Citadel, yet why did it look so hazy and translucent now? Was it actually fog? It wasn’t raining or cold outside.
With a strange sense of curiosity, he took a step forward while holding the flag.
Whoosh.
“……Eh?”
“Creator!!”
His head spun, and a metallic taste filled his mouth. His vision blurred, and the hand gripping the flag lost its strength.
He saw Arma rushing toward him in panic, but at the same time, the knight blocked her path.
“The servant may not interfere.”
“Move aside! Right now, I’ll take the Creator—!!”
“This is the qualification the Edelweins must prove and the weight they must bear. Watch quietly.”
“I said move aside.”
“……Oh.”
The knight, who had only been blocking Arma, reached for his sword with a surprised expression.
“It’s fine, Arma.”
“Creator!”
“Stay still.”
The danger had been momentary, but his head was throbbing. He hadn’t lost consciousness. He caught the flag before it hit the ground and gradually regained his senses.
Though blood still trickled from his nose and a metallic taste lingered, it strangely cleared his mind.
“Yeah…… Now I understand.”
Why the distant place had looked hazy and translucent. Why he had nearly fainted from bleeding after just one step.
As the knight had said, the path was straight and unique. Simply walk that path while holding the flag. That was all.
So this is mana……?
The substance seen in various metallurgy books, the reason he had realized this world was a fantasy world. And the dividing line between ordinary mortals and superhumans.
Thick, dense mana formed a kind of barrier around the distant place. And he had just stepped onto that barrier.
According to the books, if mana is too thick, it becomes toxic in itself.
People needed oxygen to breathe, but if the air was filled only with oxygen, it would kill them just as surely. He hadn’t been interested in mana, right? True. He had only remembered that some metals could only be refined from dense mana among the forging methods in the books.
An overwhelming torrent of mana poured onto a twelve-year-old child whose body could barely endure an environment that even superhumans who had already assimilated mana would find unbearable.
It was nothing short of child abuse in itself, but if this was the Edelwein way… If this was the Selection.
“I’ll do it.”
Thud.
He had no particular desire to live as a noble. He didn’t want to learn mana to become a superhuman, didn’t want to live in this White Citadel, and didn’t care if the knight or maid recognized him.
But considering what the knight and maid had said, if he failed the Selection, he would no longer be a noble—meaning he would lose his money.
Blacksmithing requires money.
Building a forge, purchasing materials, setting up an environment, learning new metallurgy techniques.
All of it required money. Money wasn’t essential, but having it would allow him to skip many processes smoothly and quickly. And this Edelwein family had plenty of money.
Since he had been reborn as a member of this family, he had no choice but to use this place—even if it was a madhouse that abused children.
Thud.
“Hah.”
With every step, his bones creaked, muscles contracted, blood vessels burst in his eyes, and blood trickled from them. The thick, dense mana was devouring the twelve-year-old’s body like poison.
But what did it matter?
Thud.
“It’s just pain.”
If it was for the things he loved, for his dreams, for the wishes he desired so much, he could endure any pain to his body.
He knew he had been given one more chance. Thus, despite mockery and contempt, he had built a crude forge and worked hard to gather materials and move forward.
He couldn’t give up on all that effort because of some pain from a new opportunity.
“Let’s go.”
His only dream was one: to forge the best weapon with his own hands.
Until that moment, he would never stop.