"Get up, keep fighting me—"
"Don't be afraid of me."
"You are a knight of Britain, what is that cowardly look in your eyes!"
On the plaza, Ian was lecturing the new knights.
It had already been a month since the dragon disaster.
Aside from the dragon remains that still couldn't be dealt with by conventional manpower and remained where they were, everything else seemed to have returned to its original state.
Except for—
Mélusine.
After a month of diligent investigation, she had confirmed one thing.
The relationship between Ian, Morgan, and Artoria was by no means as simple as it appeared on the surface.
Ian was involved with Morgan.
But at the same time, he also maintained a physical relationship with Artoria that absolutely could not be called normal.
And amidst this, Artoria still seemed to be relatively friendly towards her sister—at least, she was very respectful on the surface.
However, Morgan's attitude towards Artoria, on the other hand, was rather subtle.
But, in this intricate and complex love triangle, the royal court on the surface appeared so normal.
Mélusine no longer knew what she should do.
But she understood that if this continued, she would definitely be in for a world of hurt.
"Alright, take a break for now."
"We'll continue later."
"..."
Mélusine had an ominous premonition.
Because she heard Ian's footsteps approaching her.
"Mélusine."
"Eh, um—"
"I understand, you don't want to see me, right?"
Ian nodded.
"I'll leave now."
"..."
"No!"
Mélusine reached out and grabbed Ian, but she quickly pulled her hand back.
"Who said I didn't want to see you!"
"If you have something to say, say it quickly!"
"Why isn't there a second knight like you?"
"They..."
Ian looked back at the knights of Britain, who were panting and under immense pressure after just a few exchanges with him.
"Are too weak."
"They're not qualified to be called Knights of the Round Table at all, are they?"
"..."
A dragon's growth is astonishing.
For example, in just one month, Mélusine could feel that Ian had become visibly stronger and sturdier.
What came with it, naturally, was an increase in power.
A knight who could withstand one of his blows in a fight was already the best among ordinary people.
More of them were weaklings who couldn't even make him get serious.
Of course—
This was "weak" and "strong" as measured by his standards.
"Your standards are too high, you idiot."
Mélusine put her hands on her hips.
"If you measure humans by a dragon's standard, then it's impossible for anyone to reach your standard, right?"
"But if they don't have that level of strength, then they're not qualified to protect Camelot, are they?"
Ian said with a serious expression.
"I don't want what happened that day to happen again."
"No one should die in a disaster."
"Eh?"
Mélusine hadn't expected Ian to care so much about this matter.
"So you, it's because of this that you're in such a hurry to select knights?"
"It seems I misjudged you."
"Let me think of a way—" Mélusine said, and then began to think seriously.
But not long after...
"..."
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
Mélusine felt Ian's gaze and became a little embarrassed.
"Because I feel that you look cute when you're thinking."
"Eh!"
Mélusine was immediately reminded of his previous confession.
"Cut it out!"
"Those kinds of words have no effect on me!"
"Even cuter now."
Ian directly picked up Mélusine and took a deep sniff.
"You have a nice scent."
"You can't just come over here! So many people are watching!"
"..."
"..."
The knights were still training.
The maids who had come to bring food to the knights, however, were all drawn by the excessive commotion.
When they saw Ian and Mélusine entangled, they all froze where they stood.
They looked at each other, none of them knowing what to make of the two great powers of the Round Table embracing like this.
"Didn't the Princess already take a fancy to this knight?"
"Yeah, what is Sir Mélusine trying to do—"
These words reached Mélusine's ears, making her extremely anxious.
"Everyone's watching, put me down."
She struggled, and then suddenly thought of something.
Ian's standard for knights was a bit too high, and at that rate, even selecting regular knights would be difficult.
But if the standard was too low, it really wouldn't serve a good purpose.
Wait—
If I were to restrain him a little.
"Ian, I have an idea!"
A few minutes later.
Ian looked at the shackles on his left and right hands, formed from the frost of Mélusine's Arondight, a little confused.
"What is this for?"
"Ahem."
Mélusine cleared her throat.
"Helping you—"
"When you continue training later, add a restriction for yourself: you absolutely cannot let this thing melt, nor can you let it shatter."
"This way, you won't just knock your opponent down in one go, and at the same time, you can still select some people who perform well under these conditions."
"How about that, isn't it a good idea?!"
"..."
"Don't you come over and hug me!"
Sensing that Ian was itching to make a move, Mélusine quickly took two steps back.
"Try it first!"
"If I abide by it—"
Ian felt the long ice chains on his hands.
"You must admit that you're cute later."
"Why are you still hung up on that!"
"..."
"Alright, alright, stop looking at me like that!"
Mélusine's face was slightly red.
"If you do it, I'll admit it, okay?"
Why did I agree to that...
The petite swordswoman couldn't figure it out at all.
She only remembered the flutter in her heart the moment he had called her cute.
Once again, Ian, who had been placed under Mélusine's "cute spell," began a new round of training and selection.
But—
What Mélusine didn't expect was.
After Ian returned to the selection area, a female knight with a somewhat exaggeratedly sturdy build had come to the front at some unknown time.
She looked at Ian, gave a very respectful salute, and then spoke:
"I am Barghest—"
"As you can see, I am also a knight."
She drew the blade from her waist.
THUD.
The ground beneath her feet caved in.
And Barghest herself took out the greatsword strapped to her back, gripped it with both hands, and took a fighting stance.
"May I be the first to test my skills against you?"