41. To The First Round

“The day’s finally here, Reet and Charlotte. Do your best,” Commander Ursu said, placing a hand on each of their shoulders as he offered his encouragement.

Three weeks had passed since Reet first met Charlotte.

Today was the day the Platoon Leader Appointment Exam finally began.

The exam format was straightforward: a knight and apprentice knight paired together would compete in three matches. Only those who won all three consecutive matches would be promoted to Sixth Rank and appointed as Platoon Leaders.

Additionally, if an apprentice knight demonstrated combat ability equal to that of a regular knight during the matches, they could be provisionally appointed to knighthood on the spot. There were no fixed criteria—the judges (all knights) would evaluate the actual combat and decide based on what they witnessed.

In practice, apprentices from pairs that achieved three consecutive victories were almost always appointed.

For both Reet and Charlotte, three consecutive wins were essentially mandatory.

“I’m fully prepared. We will definitely win,” Reet declared to the commander.

His forceful words weren’t for himself—they were primarily for Charlotte’s benefit, so she could perform to her fullest potential.

The first-round match held special significance for Charlotte in particular.

Today’s opponents were announced: the Reet-Charlotte pair would face Rand Davies of the Central Knight Order—the very man who had mocked Charlotte, insisting that a dwarf could never become a knight.

For Charlotte, this was her chance to prove him wrong, her opportunity to face him and say: I told you so.

“All right, be careful out there,” Ursu said as he saw them off.

The two headed toward the training grounds.

The exam was conducted under the watchful eyes of examiners from various knight orders. The training grounds filled with the knights competing today and their apprentices.

Among them was, of course—

“Well, well. I actually didn’t expect you to show,” Rand said casually.

It was Rand.

He had been furious after being called “small-fry” by Reet just days ago, but today he had regained his composure. With the same condescending, grinning expression as ever, he spoke to them.

“I half-thought you’d tuck tail and run. I’ll give you points for at least showing up.”

Reet had no intention of engaging with Rand’s prattle.

But there was one problem.

The partner Rand had brought with him—the apprentice knight, to be precise.

It was clearly not an ordinary apprentice knight.

The man appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties, a powerfully built swordsman with a scar marking his cheek from long ago. One glance told Reet the man possessed considerable strength, giving the distinct impression of a battle-hardened veteran.

“This guy here’s my ‘partner.’ Goes by John. As you can see, he’s absurdly strong,” Rand said with a grin.

John responded with a silent but piercing glare directed at Reet and Charlotte.

“Looking forward to it,” Reet replied simply, then walked away from them.

As he turned, he spotted a familiar face ahead.

It was Sara, his childhood friend.

“Morning, Sara,” Reet greeted her.

He had contacted Sara shortly after taking Charlotte as his apprentice.

Charlotte originally had no home of her own. With barely enough money for lodging, she had spent over half her time sleeping on the streets. When Reet learned these details from Rand’s cruel remarks, he had immediately used his own salary to arrange a dormitory room for her. However, the women’s dormitory was off-limits to men, so he had asked Sara to look after her.

So Sara and Charlotte were already acquainted.

“Reet, Charlotte—how are you feeling?” Sara asked.

“Perfect,” Reet replied.

“I’m ready too!” Charlotte added.

“By the way, Sara. I wanted to ask you something… Do you know this guy Rand?”

Sara nodded at the question.

“He’s somewhat famous in the Central Knight Order.”

“His apprentice—he doesn’t seem like your typical apprentice knight…”

“…That would be what we call a ‘mercenary,’” Sara explained.

“A mercenary?”

“Right. Basically, he takes someone who’d easily pass the knight exam on their own, pays them money to become his apprentice, and then uses them to take the Platoon Leader exam. That John person apparently served in the border defense forces for over ten years, worked his way up through the ranks, and even became a commander.”

What the hell? Reet cursed inwardly.

“The apprenticeship system is supposed to cultivate talent. What’s the point of paying someone to bring a strong person along?” Reet said, genuinely frustrated.

“I know. It’s really not in the spirit of things, but apparently this kind of thing happens fairly often,” Sara replied.

So essentially, Reet and Charlotte would have to fight against two knights.

“But still—Charlotte’s goal is to become a knight. Fighting slightly stronger opponents might be exactly what she needs,” Reet said, placing a hand on Charlotte’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry. You’re strong enough. We’re definitely going to win. After all—Princess Iris herself acknowledged it,” Reet said, emphasizing her recognition.

When Reet spoke those words, Charlotte’s expression became resolute, and she clenched her fist.

“—Yes!”

“All right then. Let’s go.”