The Royal Selection Begins
Peaceful days flew by quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it had already been 50 days since Subaru joined the Knight Order.
During this time, his greatest achievement was imprisoning those Witch Cultists who tried to pledge their loyalty to him.
However, the peaceful routine had finally come to an end.
The grand hall of the royal castle was, for the first time in a while, filled with people.
Several elders of the Sage Council were seated in chairs at the very front of the hall, facing the gathered crowd.
In front of them stood the five Royal Selection candidates and their closest knights. Behind the candidates, the crowd was divided into two groups: the Royal Guard stood on the left, while the nobles stood on the right.
That's right! Today was the day the Royal Selection, which would determine the fate of the Kingdom of Lugunica, would begin!
Thanks to several commendable achievements, Subaru not only earned the right to stand in the hall but was even positioned relatively close to the front. He observed the interactions between the Royal Selection candidates a short distance ahead—Crush, upright and principled; Emilia, innocent; Priscilla, arrogant; Anastasia, cunning; Felt, rough and crude.
To be honest, Subaru suddenly began to feel concerned about the future of this country.
"Now then, today's agenda—the battle for the throne. This will be hosted by the Sage Council and allow the Royal Selection candidates to exchange their views."
As the Sage seated in the center, Miklotov, proclaimed this with overwhelming dignity, the candidates straightened their postures. The relaxed expressions of the audience vanished, and tension instantly filled the room.
"Let's begin the discussion. The topic, naturally, is 'How to Become King'... While the Dragon History Stone gathered the candidates, it did not specify how the king should be chosen. To determine this, we believe we must first hear the extent of each candidate's resolve."
The other Sages nodded at Miklotov's words.
Confirming there were no objections, Miklotov turned his gaze to Commander Marcos, who was standing at the corner of the stage.
Receiving the look, the knight stepped forward.
"Though it may be presumptuous, please allow me to facilitate this meeting. Each candidate undoubtedly has their own claims and stances. Let us first ensure everyone present is made aware of them." After finishing, Marcos bowed deeply.
"Then, first, Lady Crush and her knight Felix Argyle!"
With Marcos calling the name, the Royal Selection candidates' speeches formally began.
Subaru summarized: Crush's main argument was that the country was overly reliant on the dragon. Excessive blessings had bred stagnation, and stagnation led to decay.
Without the dragon's protection, the kingdom was now on the verge of destruction.
Living by relying on the divine dragon was both wrong and shameful. So, if she became king, she would abolish the covenant with the dragon and turn the Dragon Kingdom into a country that belonged to humans.
This declaration effectively discarded Crush's greatest advantage compared to the other candidates—her noble status.
But it also clearly conveyed her determination.
"Hmm. Lady Crush's view is clear. Now then, Knight Felix Argyle, do you have anything to add?"
After listening to Crush's claims, Miklotov turned the conversation toward Felix.
From a retainer's standpoint, he was expected to echo and reflect his lord's ideology.
Of course, as Crush's devoted admirer, Felix gave unreserved praise and declared his unwavering loyalty.
"Let's continue. We'll proceed in the order beginning with Lady Crush."
"Mm, it's finally here. Hyper me-time, huh."
With the Sage's signal after emotions had settled, Marcos moved the meeting forward. The orange-haired girl stepped up with a proud expression.
The second to speak was Priscilla, the only Royal Selection candidate Subaru didn't personally know.
Even when facing most of the nation's upper echelon, she made no attempt to hide her arrogance.
She boldly claimed that her participation in the Royal Selection was the will of the heavens—that the heavens had given this gift to her, that the world revolved around her. If others bowed to her, they would enjoy her grace... extremely arrogant words.
In a normal world, she would definitely be a tyrant or despot. But this was a world of swords and magic.
Subaru had heard that her territory seemed almost blessed by the gods: barren lands yielded bountiful harvests, abandoned wells began to flow with water again... She might really possess some unimaginable divine blessing.
Of course, Subaru also made another major discovery—Priscilla's knight, Al, seemed to be a fellow "Transmigrator" (i.e., someone from another world).
Honestly, if not for having spent nearly two months living the knight's life, Subaru might have rushed over to ask him directly.
While Subaru was calming his excited heart, Anastasia had already begun her speech. Contrary to Subaru's image of a sly fox, she revealed another side of herself as a merchant—greed, or rather, ambition.
Anastasia simply wanted the throne to satisfy her own desires.
However, she did promise that once she obtained it, she would devote herself fully to the kingdom's prosperity.
Her character, unwilling to let go of something once she obtained it and driven to elevate anything in her possession to the highest point, was fully conveyed through her speech.
If Crush was a king who thought of the country, then Julius was a knight who thought of the country.
His standpoint wasn't blind devotion like the other two, nor was it destiny like Reinhild, nor opportunistic like Roswaal.
The kingdom's finances were in crisis—therefore, He hoped a genius merchant might salvage the situation.
But thinking more deeply, of the five retainers, only Julius seemed to have the nation's wellbeing in mind. Wasn't there something wrong with this country?
Next was Subaru's old acquaintance, Emilia.
Perhaps because she lacked a knight follower, Roswaal stood beside her.
Her complexion was noticeably worse than before. Her goal, to summarize, was likely to eliminate discrimination.
However, the Kingdom of Lugunica held strong human supremacist beliefs.
The scars of the demi-human war decades ago had not yet faded. Even the Royal Guard currently had only one demi-human—a throwback—Felix.
"Lastly, does Lady Felt have anything to say?"
Subaru's heart was filled with nervous anticipation, hoping that the Felt he pledged loyalty to would give a solid speech.
Upon being called, Felt paused and thought, "Hmm—".
Then she looked around at the faces in the hall, and a light shone in her red eyes. She took a deep breath and declared:
"I hate nobles! I hate the kingdom! Everything in this room, the people, the positions, and whatever else—I hate them all. That's why, I want to destroy everything!"
Looking at the now chaotic hall, Subaru felt as though he had glimpsed his difficult future.
"Now, let us propose the rules for the Royal Selection!"
Miklotov stood up from his seat. Then he stepped to the side of the empty throne and opened his eyes wide.
"The candidates are Crush… and the rest—five in total. Each one holds the qualification of being a Dragon Priestess! The deadline is three years from now, on the day one month before the Dragon Covenant Renewal Ceremony! The decision will be made through the will of the people, the radiance of the Dragon Orb, and the guidance of the dragon!"
"Until the day one of them ascends the throne as king, each will maintain the kingdom to the best of their abilities."
Miklotov shouted, and the hall was engulfed in overwhelming passion.
Silent, yet no one could suppress the cry rising within their hearts.
Feeling the wave of that passion behind him, Miklotov straightened his hunched back and declared:
"Now—the Royal Selection begins!!"