Chapter 70
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: The Path to Senior Knight (1)
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Around the world, there are various special forces units stationed with knights.
Among them are units considered top-tier.
Namely, the Royal Guard, the elite force that protects the king.
No one with mediocre skills can ever join the Royal Guard.
That's because they must always carry the critical duty of safeguarding a nation's king.
That's why it's said that getting into the Royal Guard is as difficult as plucking stars from the sky.
Their entry tests are infamous for being extremely grueling.
The testing period ranges from as little as half a year to nearly a full year in some places.
It's on par with an entire year of training at the Loud Swordsmanship Academy.
Only after enduring this arduous process can one finally join the Royal Guard.
However.
There is one very rare exceptiona path to immediate Royal Guard membership without going through the entry test.
That is to receive a recommendation from someone of captain rank or higher.
"If I write you a recommendation letter, you could join right away. What do you say? Care to think it over?"
Mion's words were like sweet temptation.
In fact, before visiting the Leyden territory, Veronica and Mion had investigated who Roin Leyden was.
His presence had shone most brightly during his time at the Loud Swordsmanship Academy.
In that period, Roin had achieved results rivaling even Rodri's, standing out uniquely.
Just hearing about it made one think, "Is that even possible?"
Roin's path had been that groundbreaking.
Moreover, Mion had briefly exchanged blows with Roin once.
Though it was mostly Mion unilaterally attacking.
Even so, Roin had effortlessly dodged Mion's unexpected strike.
From that alone, Mion knew Roin possessed tremendous swordsmanship talent.
Lucas Leyden shot Roin a pointed look.
A gaze that seemed to say, "Accept it already!"
But Roin replied,
"I'll think about it."
Lucas was shocked once again by his youngest son's words.
Roin had essentially put on hold an easy entry into the Royal Guard.
If Veronica hadn't been there, Lucas might have clamped Roin's mouth shut right then and answered Mion's question himself: "I'll send him no matter what!"
Meanwhile.
Hearing Roin's response, Veronica let out a small chuckle.
"This is the first time I've seen Mion get shot down."
"Don't put it in such a weird way, Your Majesty."
People might misunderstand if they overheard.
But in the end, it wasn't wrong.
Up until now, Mion had never offered to write a recommendation letter directly for anyone.
Roin was the first.
And for his very first scouting offer to be met with a hold-offwho could've predicted that?
Even Mion hadn't seen it coming.
Of course, he couldn't force someone who wasn't interested into the Royal Guard.
"I'll look forward to a positive answer."
Roin gave Mion a meaningful smile in response.
Why give such an ambiguous reply when he had a golden ticket to painless Royal Guard entry?
Lucas and the others couldn't fathom Roin's intentions.
But Roin had his reasons.
'The Royal Guard isn't the best place for quick promotion to Senior Knight in a short time.'
To promote to Senior Knight, one must join a unit, carry out missions, and build achievements.
But the Royal Guard rarely received missions at allalmost impossibly so.
As a unit dedicated to protecting the king, wandering the world on missions would contradict their purpose.
Roin's goal was the same as during his Junior and Mid Knight phases.
'To reach Senior Knight as fast as possible, I need a place where I can be highly active.'
That's why Roin was leaning against joining the Royal Guard.
Of course, membership itself was an honorable feat few could claim.
'Honor doesn't put food on my table.'
He needed Senior Knight rank as soon as possible to escape Lucas's meddling.
So Roin planned to take the hard road over the easy one.
Even after Mion and Veronica left the Leyden territory, Roin had to endure Lucas's whining for a while.
The content was predictable.
Why refuse Mion's recommendation letter?
"It was the opportunity of a lifetime. I just can't understand why you turned it down."
Lucas sat Roin down and asked with a serious expression.
His youngest surely had some plan.
Lucas wanted to hear Roin's true intentions.
Gillion felt the same.
Elien, Emilia, and Viola had no intention of criticizing Roin much for indirectly refusing the Royal Guard.
They valued Roin's personal choice over raising the family's prestige.
But Lucas was different.
"Tell me a reason that can convince this father of yours. Come on!"
It was almost a threat.
Roin could somewhat understand Lucas's position.
His goal was to revive their fallen house.
If his youngest joined the ultra-elite Royal Guard, it would achieve a big part of that.
That's why Lucas couldn't hide his regret.
But Roin was aiming for a bigger picture.
"In fact, I've already decided on the unit I want to join."
"You have?"
"Yes. Once you hear it, Father, you'll understand why I turned down Mion."
He laid down the bait first.
Lucas crossed his arms and straightened his back, a low sigh escaping his lips.
Better to hear the reason first, even if it meant getting angry later.
"Fine, tell me."
It had to be an outstanding unit to convince Lucas.
Coincidentally, the one Roin had in mind perfectly matched Lucas's standards.
Finally, Roin spoke.
"The place I actually want to join is."
The day of the Mid Knight course completion ceremony.
The trainees gathered back at the Loud Swordsmanship Academy after a long time.
Roin was no exception.
Visiting the capital, Endla, wasn't unfamiliar.
He had been here recently for the queen's coronation.
But returning to the academy felt like ages had passed.
'Well, I was staying at the school constantly during training.'
This was the first time he'd been away so long since waiting for Junior Knight exam results.
Today, Roin wasn't here for training.
He had come to undergo the rite proving his Mid Knight status.
A completion ceremony would follow.
Right at the entrance, a list of Mid Knight exam passers was posted.
From Roin's cohort, there were 19 passers total.
Only three had passed right in their first year.
'One's me. Another's Jerka. So the last one's.'
Roin's eyes fixed on the final first-year passer.
Remina Whisli
'Remina passed too.'
In truth, her success was largely thanks to Roin.
Without being on his team, she wouldn't have completed the Loud Swordsmanship Academy curriculum this quickly.
That said, it wasn't 100 due to him.
'Remina had outstanding ability herself.'
Roin's help had just played a major role.
Her own effortsforsaking all vacations to guard the training grounds alonehad contributed too.
Besides Remina, another passer caught Roin's eye.
'Luem passed too.'
Unlike the super-fast first-year trio of Roin, Remina, and Jerka, Luem hadn't been that quick.
Still, he'd proudly made the list.
In fact, among the passers, Luem was the longest-tenured trainee.
'But hey, good results are all that matter.'
As he kept nodding,
A booming voice from the entrance called out to Roin.
"Lord Roin!"
Luem waved his thick arms wildly to signal his position.
Roin quickly scanned Luem up and down.
"You look even bulkier than last time?"
"Haha, can you tell? No training schedule lately, so I just went all-in on strength training. What do you think? Pretty cool muscles, right?"
Even after so long, Luem was the same as ever.
The beauty Roin pursued and Luem's were worlds apart.
Polar opposites, really.
"Remina."
"I think I saw her earlier Ah, there she is. Lady Remina!"
Luem once again bellowed to greet her.
Thanks to his shout, Remina spotted him and Roin right away.
"Welcome. Long time no see?"
Roin shrugged lightly at her greeting.
"Yeah. You? Stuck around school the whole time?"
"Yeah. Figured going home would just mean fighting with my brother. So I stayed."
Fair enough. Even in Remina's shoes, Roin would've chosen school over home.
'That psycho brother of hers was a no-go for me too.'
If he were Roin's brother, Roin wouldn't let him off easy.
He'd at least beat him half to death to vent.
That's why Roin admired Remina in a way.
'Her patience is impressive.'
No matter how flustered, she always stayed calm and mature.
Out of curiosity, Roin suddenly asked about the knight order she wanted to join.
"Remina. Which knight order are you applying to?"
"Me? I've got a few candidates in mind. Bluefield or maybe Neft."
Both were famous knight orders.
As famous ones, their entry tests were notoriously tough.
Yet Remina wanted to apply there.
"I want to gain proper real combat experience."
One downside of the Loud Swordsmanship Academy was the lack of abundant practical training.
The external missions helped somewhat.
But it still fell short.
Once a knight, it'd be all real combat from then on, no more training.
So the wish for more practical emphasis lingered.
Roin turned the question to Luem this time.
"You?"
"I'm still thinking. Where are you headed, Lord Roin? With your skills, you could go anywhere."
Roin had planned his knight career path before even entering the Loud Swordsmanship Academy.
There was only one order he was targeting.
"Swordran. Planning to apply there."