Chapter 164 - Recognition (8)

"For a beast, those teeth marks look too similar to human ones, my disciple."

"...It was done by a new friend."

Silveryn released her embrace and grabbed both my arms, glaring at me with half-closed eyes.

"Friend?"

"...Yes."

"How close are you that they'd bite your shoulder?"

"They're... a playful friend."

"And you don't sense anything strange?"

"Other than the mark lasting long, I'm not sure."

"Not that, I mean the power residing in this wound."

"...What?"

She couldn't easily take her eyes off the scar on my shoulder.

"My disciple, there's holy power in your wound. Is your friend from a religious order?"

"I don't know much about that either."

She stared at me sharply, as if trying to dissect my thoughts, and said.

"What's that girl's name?"

Scary. I hadn't mentioned gender yet—how did she know?

"...A girl named Trisha."

Silveryn narrowed her eyes further and pinched my cheek with one hand. 

What is it? What did I miss now?

"Did I... do something wrong again?"

"No. I just felt like pinching you."

"..."

"Since we're on the topic, tell me more. How many friends have you made at Eternia?"

Though embarrassing to admit, I could count my friends on one hand.

"I made three."

Silveryn blinked several times as if checking if she'd heard correctly, then said, "That's all? Their names?"

"Trisha, Cecil, and Luna... these three. We help each other occasionally and get along well."

If I had to add one more, it would be Sion, but regardless of how she thought of me, our relationship was still too ambiguous to call friendship.

"They're all girls?"

"Yes."

The hand pinching my cheek slightly tightened. Though she said nothing, I could sense her criticism about why I only made friends with girls.

To explain, I actually find it a bit easier to deal with girls. I used to know how to adapt and get along with boys, but somewhere along the way, after spending time alone and cutting off external interactions, I seemed to have forgotten how. The only people I could interact with were Lisa and the nuns, so I was more comfortable with females.

"How close are you?"

"Close enough to eat meals together."

"When I return to Eternia later, will you introduce Trisha and Cecil to me separately?"

"Cecil doesn't know my identity so that would be difficult... but Trisha actually wanted to meet you."

"Interesting. She wants to meet me?"

Her tone was quite sharp.

"Does that displease you?"

"...If I check and find anything strange or ulterior motives, I'll separate you from them."

"..."

She watched my expression carefully and said, "I'm joking. Making friends is your choice, how could I interfere? Though I would step in if they might put you in danger."

The part about separation definitely seemed sincere...

"However, the shoulder-biting seems strange no matter how I think about it. I... would prefer if you made brighter, healthier friends."

I wonder how Trisha would react to hearing this. She might be shocked and tear up.

It felt like I had gained another homework assignment. When these two eventually meet, I should guide them to have good feelings toward each other. They were both important people to me. Though I wasn’t sure if I could handle those two unpredictable women.

"I think you'll find she's quite nice when you meet her."

Silveryn let out an inscrutable sigh and released her pinching grip on my cheek.

"Fine. For now, let's move since we don't have much time left."

"Where are we going?"

"There's a ceremony at the Principality's Memorial Hall. I was made responsible for bringing you. For some reason, everyone seems anxious you might disappear without a word."

Though I didn't know what the ceremony was for... judging by how they had dressed me up, it was clearly a large-scale event.

Silveryn walked ahead across the corridor and I followed. At the end of the corridor, a carriage was waiting.

This time, instead of Silveryn's usual Eternia carriage, there was one bearing the House Gainax crest. The coachman and accompanying guards bowed their heads in greeting when they saw us.

"The Grand Duke is waiting."

It seemed this would be an even bigger event than I had anticipated.

***

Memorial Hall was a massive building next to the Principality's Central Knight Training Institute. Not a single knight could be seen in the training grounds we passed—they seemed to have all vacated for the important ceremony.

The white marble reflected sunlight blindingly, and the golden dome protruding from the city center made Memorial Hall easily recognizable even from afar.

Golden banners hung at intervals along the carriage path. Guards in golden armor maintained perfect posture while guarding the road with strict security.

As we got closer, even the carriage path was covered with luxurious carpets.

I held my breath seeing such unprecedented luxury.

Silveryn casually spoke to me while looking at the scenery outside, "This is more grand than I heard."

"Is this your first time too, Teacher?"

"Yes, it's my first. It's extremely rare for outsiders to be invited here."

"...Thanks to you, I'm gaining precious experience."

I naturally assumed I was attending as Silveryn's disciple.

But Silveryn smiled and shook her head.

"No, I'm here because of you."

"...What?"

Her words felt like a heavy blow to the back of my head. I kept doubting if she was just saying this to lift my spirits.

Soon after, we arrived at Memorial Hall. Getting out of the carriage, we saw hundreds of knights gathered, preparing to enter. In another area, apprentice knights helped with ceremony preparations, wearing tense expressions.

Other nobles and their daughters were visible too, but knights made up the majority by far.

When we got out of the carriage, the attention we received was almost overwhelming. Nobles covered their mouths and chattered endlessly while looking at us. At first, I thought it was because of Silveryn's appearance, but I could feel many gazes directed at me. It was a strange sense of discomfort, though not unpleasant.

About fifteen attendants in charge of guidance attached themselves to us as we exited the carriage.

"We'll guide you to the VIP waiting room."

We entered Memorial Hall, which was so magnificent it seemed to cover the entire sky.

As we walked down a corridor, we saw portraits of unknown people hanging on the walls. Further along, there were more portraits.

Given their placement here, they must have been important people, but for nobles, they were depicted in shabby clothes with unkempt hair, shown in their raw state.

Another portrait strangely showed a neat knight. A masked man. An old woman. A middle-aged man. There seemed to be no commonality in their ages or status.

Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked while walking, "Who are these portraits of?"

One of the attendants following us answered.

"These are the Knights of the Platinum Shield. From mere farmers to Sword Gods, regardless of status or origin, these portraits honor those who made great contributions to the Principality of Yulisia."

"...Did you say Sword God?"

"Yes. Among the 'Knights of the Platinum Shield' is Master Zeldan Hart, the continent's greatest Sword Master."

There was subtle pride in the attendant's tone.

So among the portraits I passed, one was of Zeldan Hart?

I turned to Silveryn and asked, "Did you know about this, Teacher?"

"Yes."

"...!"

Then she gave me a hint.

"From what I know, Zeldan Hart disliked showing his face when he was young."

Among the dozen or so portraits we passed in the corridor, there was one of a man with a covered face. I tried to look back, but we'd gone too far. 

Was that masked man Zeldan Hart? 

Though I hadn't seen his true appearance, just seeing a part of the Sword God's image made my heart race.

We moved to a private room with luxurious golden windows. The attendants told us to ring a bell if we needed anything, then disappeared.

Actually, none of this felt natural to me. I could adapt to dirty and unpleasant environments easily enough, but overly formal settings like this were impossible.

We didn't stay in the private room long. Soon after our arrival, the seating ceremony began.

In Memorial Hall's central dome, nobles and hundreds of knights sat in perfect formation. At the high seat far away, I could see Bibi. She was too far away to exchange greetings.

I sat down with Silveryn in our designated seats.

The atmosphere was so solemn that not even a cough could be heard among the hundreds seated.

It didn't take long to understand what this ceremony was for.

The knights habitually checked their attire and looked around with tense expressions. Some repeatedly unrolled scrolls, seemingly memorizing some kind of declaration.

This appeared to be a knight appointment ceremony.

Those who would be the ceremony's protagonists seemed to be notified separately and seated together. Seeing how Silveryn and I were placed in the VIP seats at the back, it seemed our presence was merely ceremonial.

Shortly after, booming drums and trumpets announced the start, and an announcer called someone's name. Then a representative of the apprentice knights came forward for a solemn oath-taking ceremony.

Next, Grand Duke Gainax took the platform. When he appeared, the audience didn't dare even breathe. His disciplined gestures and gaze showed dignity that no other noble could imitate.

Soon after, Grand Duke Gainax personally called out the names of those who would receive knighthood.

About fifteen knights walked proudly across the hall's center toward the platform after being called.

Trumpets played a march while attendants scattered flower petals, blessing where their feet touched.

And until then, I thought I was just there to make up numbers.

After all, my name hadn't been called.