The Windsor Clan

"Lord of the Seas."

'Smack!'

Gawain hit the book on the table.

"Useless."

Another book, another dead end. 5 hours had flown by since Rimu had left him in charge of the library. Still, there was no progress.

'Knock, knock!'

"Excuse me?"

Preoccupied with his disappointing research, Gawain didn't hear the voice.

"Too good to be true. The next book."

"Godhood."

"Master Gawain?"

His attention was diverted almost instantly. The use of honorifics behind his name?

A young girl dressed in a light blue frock. Her complexion was on the lighter side, and her hair was golden red.

"You don't look like a student of the academy."

Uniform was compulsory for all pages and knights in training. She smiled and answered,

"I am not a student."

"Then what do you want?"

His tone was neutral, but his already preoccupied attention made it seem like he wanted to get rid of her.

"May I come in first?"

He opened up another book.

"Only academy students and teachers are allowed to access the library as per the rule book. Sir Rimu has left me in charge of this place, and as the current caretaker of this place, I can't allow you to enter this place without the permission of a superior knight."

'The index. Gods and their duties, page number..."

He flipped through the pages.

"Then, you are in luck."

His hands stopped in place. That voice-

"As your superior, I allow Miss Elizabeth to access the library."

He looked back towards the entrance.

"Sir William."

The dog was here.

"Miss, please enter."

He walked in along with the girl, flashing his arrogant smile towards Gawain's table.

"It is nice to see you again, fresher."

Gawain stood up.

"You continue to humble me with your words, Sir William."

He couldn't afford to carelessly offend William. There was a witness here with them, and if you consider how William was treating her, she was important.

The third-tier red knight grabbed the back of a chair and pulled it outside.

"Miss Elizabeth, please."

He was acting like a gentleman, trying to charm the young girl with his manners.

"Thank you."

Elizabeth accepted his offer and took the seat.

"Fresher, I will be sitting there."

William pointed at the chair that Gawain had been sitting on before.

"Sure."

He left his spot for William, who didn't wait to settle down and grin at his face.

"Hmm. Nice and warm."

Gawain maintained his composure. This wasn't enough to break through his thick skin.

Standing at the side of the table, he looked at Elizabeth and asked,

"Which book do you want to read today?"

He could go to another table to continue his research after this.

"I wanted to talk to you about something. Can you bring a chair over and have a seat?"

'Is he up to something?'

Why does she want to talk to him?

"Olympus, The Land Of Immortals."

William read out the title of the book that Gawain was going through when they got here.

"Why were you reading this? Your syllabus is based on Euphemia and its politics, right?"

Another taunt.

"Winning the competition that is dedicated to a God still feels surreal to me, so I was going through the legends in my spare time. As an avid book reader, the prospect of achieving something in the name of a mythological character gives me my rush."

"A knight that gets excited by reading books? As people say, first time for everything."

His smirk increased along with the tension in the air.

"You do know Sir Rimu, right? He loves books more than I do."

"Different. He is forced to love books because his family won't accept him. You, on the other hand-"

"Sir William, may I?"

Before he could lead Gawain into an argument, Elizabeth interjected.

"Sure."

He had a better taunt in mind.

"Miss Elizabeth, please accept my apologies for my careless behavior. After the defeat of his pupils in the competition, Sir William loves to send a few non-threatening taunts now and then. As he is my senior, I have no other choice than to humbly play along."

A swift yet powerful blow. Elizabeth's interference created an opening, and it would be foolish to not go for the hit.

"Let's begin our conversation. What do you want to discuss?"

Elizabeth looked at William and then looked back at Gawain. Seeing that both of them had finally settled down, she said,

"This is a non-official meeting to discuss your future endeavors as a part of my clan."

Gawain raised his left eyebrow.

"Future endeavors?"

Elizabeth continued,

"I have recommended you to my father, the leader of the Windsor Clan. After your display at the competition, we would like to hire you as a knight of our clan after your graduation."

'Oi oi oi! Wait a minute!'

Hire him? The Windsor Clan?

"Are you the daughter of George the Executioner?"

"So you know of him? That makes this conversation easier."

George, the Executioner. Second in Command, The Knight Corps. ability level,

'Prime Knight.'

What the hell was this development?