By Zephyria 
The round trip to the Magic Territory seemed to have been quite a series of hardships.
Although Rosalia Piche was a Grand Sword Master, her attainment of the realm was a recent event. She mentioned that in the Magic Territory, where Mana Concentration changed rapidly, she had to exert tens of times more effort than usual to avoid harming her allies.
Leon, who had wandered the Magic Territory with me before, said that the mana was raging more frequently and violently than before, making it difficult to even close his eyes for a moment. It was then that I realized I had been naturally purifying the surrounding mana since then.
Mage Boulder had repeatedly fainted from overload due to constantly circulating his circles, and the others seemed to have suffered from Mana Poisoning intermittently.
Fortunately, all ten of them, including Rosalia Piche, had practiced the basics of the Hip-Circle Light Cultivation Method, which ensured their breathing was only slightly affected, allowing them to return alive.
She emphasized multiple times that it would have been impossible if they hadn’t known the location of the cave they used to cross from the Magic Territory to Grimsvein. I praised her, saying, “That’s right, you did well, truly amazing,” to encourage her further.
“On the way there, a Chilopoda-Worm hid in that cave, causing trouble, and on the way back, Owlbears followed us, leading to a few young Goblins falling behind. We spent two extra days retrieving them. Although the Healing magic worked properly, it was chaos when the Goblin horde started crying and making a fuss…”
“…Excuse me, but while you’re speaking.”
I turned my gaze to Mage Boulder, who was still sitting quietly.
“Why is this person like this? He looks like he’s been dying to say something since earlier.”
“Hmph, hic, hic.”
Several of the quiet Knights made snorting sounds. Seeing the amusement in their faces, it didn’t seem like anything dangerous, but I had no idea what it could be.
Rosalia, after suppressing a few coughs to hold back her laughter, replied, touching the tip of her nose.
“The Wizard is currently on a vow of silence.”
“…A vow of silence?”
“Yes. Apparently, it’s a training method among Goblin Shamans. He claims it’s not Black Magic, but… not speaking a single word for three years, and what else was it?”
“Eating only food ground and mashed like mud, and sleeping with a Mana Stone placed on his forehead at night.”
“Yes… It seems that by doing such superstitious things, there’s a one in five hundred chance of becoming a Goblin Shaman. He’s been like this the entire way back, wanting to experience it himself.”
“…He hasn’t said a single word for a month and a half?”
“No, not exactly. He fails about once every two days.”
…I see.
I looked at Boulder, who was already glaring at me with his huge, round eyes full of indignation. He’s certainly the one who does all sorts of strange and bizarre things in the world.
Given how often he fails, there shouldn’t be anything to hide, but I should have him checked to see if it’s Black Magic or not. Glancing over, Ruben seemed to be thinking the same thing, a faint smile on his face.
Talking about Boulder turned into idle chatter, and as the conversation flowed, the Imperial Knights, who had been quiet throughout the report, also began to speak one by one. Among them was Dimitri Face, a man with a very quiet and slender build, who had a knack for speaking as if he had held his words back for a very long time.
“Um, I heard an interesting story while I was washing up earlier.”
“An interesting story?”
“Yes. It’s about how, soon, His Majesty the King Consort will be teaching by fighting 1 against 500…”
“Yes?”
Rosalia Piche’s eyes widened. Come to think of it, she had also gone through a lot on the long journey, and I had wanted to check on her, but my schedule wasn’t entirely my own, so I couldn’t make arrangements freely, which was a bit disappointing.
There are only about ten days left until the promised sparring date. Trusting Mac Weaber’s skills, I knew he would have handled it well, but I was still curious and pressed her for details about what she had heard.
“Ah, so that’s how it is. Have all the spots been filled?”
“Yes. All those named Imperial Knights applied, so there are no vacant spots. Some of them are even emptying their pockets to buy scalped tickets to join the sparring.”
“…What?”
“The 453 people who participated in the review ceremony applied first, so those who were pushed out of the first-come, first-served line are trying to negotiate with them somehow… The market price has risen to eighty gold coins.”
“…What?”
Scalped tickets for sparring qualifications? Not for play tickets. I was so dumbfounded by the absurd news that I could only blink. The Imperial Knights number around a thousand, but many are away on distant assignments and not in the capital. I thought five hundred was a reasonable number, but was it that insufficient?
“Is Lord Weaver just letting that happen?”
Ruben, who had been listening quietly, interjected with a hollow voice. Dimitri, feeling a bit guilty, responded with an even more deferential posture.
“Yes, Your Majesty. He said that if you can’t get a spot on the first-come, first-served basis, you should show your effort by becoming a slave or offering gold coins, so we just heard that everyone is diligently showing their effort in various ways…”
“…”
“…”
“Um, so… I worked hard in the Magic Territory and gained effort, didn’t I? Even though I don’t have gold coins.”
“…Hmm?”
“Could you possibly add just one more person to the five hundred?”
What was this now? As I was zoning out, the captain of the royal guard quickly chimed in.
“If it’s alright with you, please, Your Majesty the King Consort, don’t forget about me, Rosalia Piche.”
Between the sofa where Ruben and I sat and the sofa where the four Knights were seated, there was a table with rounded corners.
Dimitri, seated on the far right in the front row, placed his hand on the table and bowed his head deeply as if to prostrate himself, showing the crown of his head. Rosalia, seated in the middle, quickly clasped her hands like a cat catching a butterfly and pleaded.
Those seated bowed their heads to the table, and those standing behind them bowed until their foreheads touched the backrests of the sofas. Their actions, desperate not to miss an opportunity, made my jaw drop.
“Hah, me too! Me, Oswald! If you teach me a move, I will consider it an honor for a lifetime!”
“I! I marched 70km carrying four baby Goblins. Please don’t forget me, Delphoi. Okay?”
“A man who does what he says, Callista! I will be His Majesty the King Consort’s eternal loyal subject from now on!”
I’m seeing all sorts of things just by coming for a report.
What good is the Imperial Knights becoming my loyal subjects? All those who pleaded with me received a scolding from Ruben, but none gave up. They knew where to step and where to place their feet. Having just heard about their hardships in the Magic Territory for me, how could I dismiss them?
They have been a great help to my territory, and it’s better to deal with them all at once rather than one by one. Even if a few more are added, what’s the difference?
“Then please tell Lord Mac Weaber that I will spar with a total of 510 people, including all of you.”
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
Mage Boulder, who had been listening quietly, stood up abruptly, his eyes looking like they were about to pop out, and pointed at himself.
“What? Me? I’m a Wizard! What nonsense are you talking about! If I get caught among five hundred Knights, I’ll be trampled to death!”
“Ah. You spoke again, Mage Boulder.”
“Aargh! No, it’s because you’re playing such strange games!”
“Haha! Yes, I was just trying to make up the numbers. There will be plenty of Knights to take Boulder’s place if many are applying. Just come and watch if you have time.”
“Cee…”
“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”
“Ah, I’ll definitely go out of sheer frustration. I’ll watch. I’ll watch with these two eyes!”
“Yes, please do.”
This guy would never become a Goblin Shaman even in a hundred years. Still, I liked that he never changed.
Leon, who had been standing quietly to the side, peered over with a bewildered expression.
“Me too… Am I participating too?”
“If you don’t want to, Leon, it’s fine to quit. It’s being sold for 80 gold coins, so it’s okay to sell you.”
“No! I will gratefully accept the opportunity you’ve given me.”
Everyone beamed and exchanged warm blessings. Most of them said things like, “I knew it would turn out this way,” “We’ll be grateful for life,” and “We can’t miss out on such a fun large-scale event.”
Sparring with five hundred people to impart enlightenment would take a full half-day. I resolved to myself that I should at least make a rough plan on how to face them.
❖ ❖ ❖
That Thursday, I received a telegram from Vivian Grimbswein.
“To His Majesty the Emperor, whom I respect and honor.
The ring you commissioned has finally been completed!
I considered bringing it myself, but I thought you would want to try it on, so I am sending this telegram. Please visit at your convenience to examine the brilliant token of love.
Thank you!
Vivian Grimbswein, who succeeded in crafting a masterpiece of her life.”
There was no need to postpone such an important matter.
As soon as I received the telegram, I decided to go and retrieve the ring. I was excited about going out for the first time in a while and having a meal and a date. I put on the clothes Ruben dressed me in and attached the brooch Ruben fastened.
Now I understand why lovers want to wear the same color clothes and the same color jewels.
If only the blazers and pants were the same color, we would have looked like members of the same mercenary group or knight order. But by mixing the colors of our eye colors with the buttons and brooch, we could be recognized as lovers from afar.
After gazing at Ruben in the mirror for a long time, I turned my gaze to the Ruben beside me. His smiling face was so lovely that I couldn’t leave until I had caressed his parted, rosy lips for a while.