Chapter 20
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: I Become a Royal Knight (3)
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The weight of the name Royal Knights was far greater than I had imagined.
Of course, their status as the continent's heroes played a part. But the true value of the Royal Knights lay in their symbolism as the first united knight order in continental history to include members from every race.
Before that, relations between the races had been far from amicable. It was only natural, really. Even in modern society, there were more than a few idiots who lost their minds over the slightest difference in skin color.
Let alone in a place where the races themselves were entirely different. They had no choice but to clash. At best, it ended in public denunciations. In the worst cases, they even resorted to war.
But then the situation changed overnight.
The greatest enemy imaginable—one that forced every race to pool their strength—appeared before them. So they set aside their old grudges for the moment and formed a knight order to save the continent first.
That was the origin of the Royal Knights.
In other words, the Royal Knights symbolized an alliance where, love them or hate them, everyone set aside their differences and combined forces for now. They had even mediated disputes between races in the past.
But what if those Royal Knights vanished?
What else? Total chaos, obviously. In fact, in the original story where the Royal Knights were wiped out, the alliance meetings of the racial representatives weren't held for years.
They couldn't stand the sight of each other, but skipping meetings meant disadvantages. Even those forced gatherings eventually stopped, and they avoided each other entirely.
Naturally, the alliance's bonds began to fray. The result? The original story's catastrophe, where over eighty percent of the continent's territory fell into enemy hands. The only saving grace was the Barrekan Holy Kingdom's barrier.
Without it, the continent would have been annihilated by the demon race long ago, as described. And it all snowballed from the Royal Knights' total annihilation.
"But it started with self-destruction from political scheming?"
"Embarrassingly, yes."
It started as a trivial matter, apparently—something so minor it wasn't even an issue, just granting small favors. But it snowballed into quarrels, and eventually led to this disaster.
"Unbelievable."
"I agree."
"So? What exactly am I supposed to do?"
Ah, crap. It was so absurd I dropped my guard. Fortunately, the situation's severity meant no one cared about my tone. The man in the crystal orb pressed on.
"The silver lining is that not every Royal Knight perished."
"So they avoided total wipeout?"
"Strictly speaking, it was total annihilation. Out of more than twenty knights, only three survived."
"Three... They must have fought like hell to make it out alive."
That much was genuine admiration. In the original story, not a single one survived. Rotten or not, having Royal Knights around was still useful.
"That's why we have a request for you, Sir Hans."
"...?! Your Majesty!!!"
"???"
What? Your Majesty? I jolted in shock. Quorens had just addressed the man kneeling inside the crystal orb as "Your Majesty." If it was Your Majesty, did that mean the king who ruled this nation?
Had I been talking casually to the king this whole time? Cold sweat trickled down my spine. Time stop or not, my skills were still at average human level.
I sure as hell wasn't in a position to sass royalty. I scrambled to drop to my knees, but before I could, the king cried out.
"Please lend us your strength, Sir Hans!"
"What do you..."
"The Royal Knights teeter on the brink of collapse right now."
"On the brink of collapse?"
He continued his explanation. Though only three survived, they had at least made it back from that hellscape. The problem lay in what came next.
"One has deserted the Royal Knights entirely. The other two are still at each other's throats, blaming one another. The continent's future could not be darker."
"Insane."
"Please, Sir Hans—will you personally mediate and lead them? I beg you with everything I have!!"
"..."
So after barely clawing their way back to life, they were still too stupid to stop fighting? Suddenly, the Royal Knights' annihilation made perfect sense. A bunch of lunatics.
No room for choice here. No matter the details, preserving the Royal Knights banner was an absolute win. Otherwise, we'd spiral into the original story's nightmare.
In that game, over eighty percent of the continent's land ended up in demon hands. Honestly, I had zero confidence surviving that apocalypse—even with time stop.
Without solid fundamentals, the limits would come eventually. I nodded. Bottom line, the Royal Knights name had to endure.
"As expected of Sir Hans. I knew I could count on you."
"No, but..."
"Oh dear, time's up already. Apologies—the alliance meeting is starting. Don't worry; I'll have everything prepared."
Not even kidding. I half-thought he was a rapper with that machine-gun delivery. Only after he finished did I snap back to reality. But cutting in midway would've been rude.
What now? How to...? And just like that, I missed my window. I let out a sigh. At that moment, Quorens—who'd been listening silently—stood and spoke.
"Are you prepared? I'll escort you to the royal capital."
"Is that necessary?"
"Yes. I can escort my teacher."
"...Don't you still need a guide?"
Quorens explained that given the urgency, we had to head to the capital first. I nodded. We couldn't afford to let even those two survivors slip away irreparably.
Of course, I had no confidence. I knew they weren't the type to bend to mere words. But I had to give it my all—before things got even worse.
But he wouldn't try shoving me into the Royal Knights over this, right? The thought crossed my mind briefly, but I dismissed it. I had zero proven feats to my name.
Sure, I'd beaten a demon and a monster, but Royal Knights entry required slaying at least a mid-tier demon on the level of Blood Tide.
Expecting induction after one lowly demon and a single beast? That wasn't just counting chickens before they hatched—it was chugging the whole coop.
"But why didn't you mention it was His Majesty reaching out?"
"Didn't I tell you at the start?"
"What?"
"That I'm a member of His Majesty's royal guard."
"..."
So I was supposed to figure it out from that?
This guy's a total psycho.
Alliance Meeting.
This gathering of every race's leaders and the continent's most powerful figures was ostensibly for continental stability, peace, and racial harmony.
At least, on the surface. In truth, it was nothing more than a brawl over who could grab the bigger slice of the pie. And right now, the meeting was seconds from total meltdown.
"So, didn't I tell you?! It was a reckless expedition from the start!"
"What? Backpedaling now?!"
"You could call it the Royal Knights lacking the skill."
"No! Blame the dwarves—they couldn't even prepare supplies on time!"
"Oh? Didn't realize our dwarf queen's dearest wish was suicide."
"..."
Blaming others was almost endearing by comparison. They badmouthed knights who'd fallen in battle and even singled out personal enemies for attacks.
The reason for this infighting was simple: No one wanted to shoulder blame for the Royal Knights' failed expedition. They feared repercussions.
That's why they held the meeting via crystal orbs instead of in person. Face-to-face, they couldn't hurl barbs so freely.
"Isn't now the time to be fighting each other?"
But put another way, it meant an opportunity for the human king. A single word from him silenced the room. He carried weight.
The sole voice who'd opposed the expedition to the bitter end, enduring mockery and threats while holding firm to his convictions. That was the image the current king projected.
"What's done is done. Our priority should be devising a plan to overcome this crisis."
"Talking like you actually have a plan."
"I wouldn't say none. Care to hear it?"
As if by prior agreement, they all fell silent. Was it humiliating to heed the human king they'd ignored until now? Taking the silence as assent, the king spoke.
"Our top priority is rebuilding the Royal Knights. We can all agree on that, right?"
"Can't argue there."
"Can't kill demons without them."
"I happen to know someone perfectly suited."
"What do you mean?"
This was his chance. A golden opportunity to erase the stigma of humans being the only race without Royal Knights and seize the high ground in this blood pact alliance. But it was a massively risky play.
"He single-handedly cut down hordes of beasts. Felled the infamous Gourmet Eater with one strike."
Success would lock in that advantage. Failure could cost him their hard-won position. Pure high-risk, high-reward—all or nothing.
"And before the expedition even launched, he was the only one who predicted the Royal Knights' annihilation."
Even so, the king didn't hesitate. To gain anything, you had to be prepared to lose. And if the human king didn't trust a human, who would?
"I've found a candidate for the Royal Knights' new captain."