Chapter 79: Let's Duel
After leaving the hall, Natsuki Subaru originally planned to leave the royal capital immediately.
However, he quickly realized that he had entered through a secret passage and therefore had no idea how to get out.
Asking the guards how to leave didn't seem like a good option either.
Helplessly, Subaru could only wait by the door until the discussion inside the hall ended, then leave together with Emilia and the others.
Standing outside the door, Subaru had no idea how many thoughts his actions had stirred among those inside the hall.
.
.
.
Inside the hall, after witnessing Subaru's departure, no one said a word—all remained silent.
Among them, Julius Juukulius, known as the finest knight, had an unpleasant expression on his face. The reason for this was none other than Subaru's words.
Julius valued his identity as a knight deeply and was proud of it. Yet Subaru had declared him unworthy.
He wanted to refute it, but had no grounds to.
Because, in truth, he hadn't spoken up for Emilia at all. Regardless of the reason, as the finest knight, his silence in Emilia's defense left him with no excuse.
Julius glanced back at the knights behind him.
Most of their expressions were filled with displeasure, and some looked ashamed.
"Lady Felt, you said you wish to participate in the royal selection?"
Julius withdrew his gaze and looked at the blonde, red-eyed girl.
She walked up to the platform with a smile, turned to face everyone, and said:
"Yeah, I'm going to join this royal selection. After all, just now you all had a lot to say about my background.
Because of that guy's words, you were left speechless.
Seeing the expressions on your faces then, I've decided—I'll become king. And when that happens, I'll look forward to seeing those amusing expressions on your faces again."
After saying this, Felt ignored everyone's reactions and stepped down, standing with her arms crossed next to Old Man Rom, waiting for what would happen next.
Ahem ahem, the captain of the guards cleared his throat and spoke, "Since that's the case, would all knights please leave? The next part is for the candidates and their parties."
At his instruction, the knights bowed politely and began exiting through the main doors.
Meanwhile, Subaru, standing at the entrance, heard the sound of the doors opening and turned to look.
The first to emerge was Reinhard, and beside him was Old Man Rom.
"Rom, Reinhard? Why are you two coming out? Is it over? Why don't I see Felt?"
"Subaru, you're still here? Perfect, I was just looking for you," Reinhard said as he walked toward Subaru, with Rom following behind.
"You little brat! You nearly scared me to death just now. Weren't you afraid they'd get angry and cut your head off for saying those things?!"
Subaru looked helplessly at Rom, who was shouting, and replied irritably:
"I came in through the secret passage with you.
That was already a capital offense—why would I still be afraid of getting beheaded? Besides, they were all so irritating, I just couldn't help but stir things up a bit."
As he spoke, Subaru glanced at the knights emerging from the hall behind Rom.
Their gazes toward him weren't friendly—but they said nothing.
"Subaru, I'm sorry," Reinhard said.
Hearing Reinhard's voice, Subaru turned his attention to him. Reinhard was bowing with a sincere expression.
After thinking for a moment, Subaru understood why Reinhard was apologizing—it was about what had been said in the hall.
"You don't need to apologize to me. I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. And I'm not really mad at you anyway. I barely even know you. Thinking you were a perfect person was my mistake."
Subaru smiled and patted Reinhard's shoulder.
"Actually, this isn't so bad. Compared to a flawless Sword Saint, someone with flaws feels more real. Stand up, my friend."
Reinhard froze for a moment, then stood up and smiled at Subaru, nodding.
"Yeah, my friend."
At that moment, Subaru saw Julius walking up from behind Reinhard.
"Your name."
Reinhard and Rom turned at the sound of the voice.
"Julius?"
"Sorry, Reinhard. I have something I need to discuss with him," Julius said, staring at Subaru and waiting for an answer.
"Natsuki Subaru. That's my name. What does the esteemed knight want to talk about?"
Subaru looked calmly at Julius.
He didn't hate him—he was just disappointed in his identity as a knight.
Having read so many books, Subaru had imagined knights to be like the ones described in those stories.
Reality had proven otherwise, leading to his general disappointment in all knights.
But hating all knights was perhaps unfair. He didn't know the man standing before him, and the guy didn't even have an unlikable face. How could he say he hated him?
"My name is Julius Juukulius. I'm here to ask you to take back something you said."
"What did I say?"
"That we are not worthy to be knights."
Subaru froze. His gaze toward Julius changed subtly.
"Are you kidding me?"
"I'm not joking."
Seeing Julius's serious expression, Subaru sighed.
"Then you must be out of your mind, dear knight."
"What do you mean?"
"If you want me to take back what I said, then show me the qualities a knight should have.
If you do that, I'll apologize myself. But if you just come here asking me to take back my words, even if I agreed, it wouldn't change how I see you."
"····" Julius's face darkened.
His original intention was to have Subaru retract the statement to prevent the other knights from holding a grudge against him.
But Subaru's response was unexpected—and unarguably right.
"It's my fault. But could you just take it back anyway?"
"Words once spoken are like water spilled—how could they be taken back? Surely a noble knight like yourself understands such a simple truth? Besides, everything I said came from my heart. Unless you change my perception, I won't take any of it back."
At this, Julius glanced at the remaining knights, some of whom were still watching.
He noticed some of them taking off their white gloves.
After thinking for a moment, Julius removed his own white glove and threw it at Subaru.
Looking at the glove on the ground, Subaru chuckled.
"What's this supposed to mean, dear knight? Are you planning to duel a commoner?"
"That's right. Let's duel—this is to protect you."
"Julius!" Reinhard called out, trying to say something, but was stopped when Subaru patted his shoulder.
"This is my matter. Let me handle it."
"Are you sure it's okay?"
"Well, probably," Subaru replied.
Seeing Reinhard nod, Subaru bent down, picked up the glove, and brushed off imaginary dust.
"I'm sorry, but I don't need your protection. I'm not a knight, so your knightly rules don't apply to me. Of course, if you insist on fighting, I won't object. But can you still call yourself a knight after that?"
"...You said that compared to us, you were more suited to be a knight. Then let's duel—let's see who truly deserves to be called a knight."
"I refuse. I know myself—I'm not knight material, and I don't want to be one either. But since you're so insistent, I'll accept."
"Subaru?"
"Hey kid, are you joking right now?"
"Jeez, don't be so alarmed, guys. It's just a duel. Besides, I'm really pissed right now. I made myself very clear, yet now I'm being forced into a duel under the guise of being 'protected'? Then let's fight, dear knight."
Subaru wore a wicked grin as he continued:
"I've also been curious to see whether all the training I've done lately has paid off—especially compared to a knight like you."