Chapter 15: From Edict to Marriage

Two weeks had passed since the Imperial Swordsmanship Competition. Spring was once again in full bloom as with the flowers blossomed new romances, new smiles, and new problems.

With her black hair falling over to her sides, Lady Kristine et Kaiser, the flower of the Earldom et Kaiser and the leader of the hottest new knight group, the Astrantia Knights, held a document in her hands and sighed.

"Why do knights have to do so much paperwork again?" She murmured.

"We have also been going out on so many hunts. Goblins, orcs, goblins, orcs, just why do all these monsters have to go in heat during spring?"

Reley's complaints supplemented the lady's words. For success, one had to surround themselves with success-oriented people. Kristine had failed badly in that regard.

The two ladies sighed in the ivory office room of the Astrantia Knights when the door swung open.

"My lady!" In came the third member and the vice-captain of the knight group, Johan Bertile. Johan stretched over the piles of papers on the floor that had littered the place like leaves of autumn as he stopped in front of Kristine and placed a scroll down.

"Imperial Edict. It's a message from the Royal Knights."

Kristine's eyes widened.

"Truly?" She asked, her smile barely hidden. She had been waiting for just this.

That an edict had reached her from the Royal Knights themselves meant that the empire had acknowledged her knight order as one of the elites. It was but the starting line on the road to building a successful knight order, but that she had reached it was news enough to celebrate.

But before that…

"The test is finally here…"

Reley's words like a wintry breeze cooled down the three.

Taking in a deep breath, Kristine loosened the tie around the scroll and flipped it open. The spell on the scroll activated as words were scribed upon the paper.

Kristine skipped the initial paragraph that was filled with useless formality and jumped straight to the point.

[I, Kalyufis von Sauer, as the commander of the Royal Knights, order Knight Kristine et Kaiser of the Astrantia Knights to this mission.]

[Enter the forest of the West with your elites and assist the members of the Royal Knights with the priority subjugation of a Behemoth.]

Kristine bit her lips.

[Assigned along with you to this mission is a troupe of promising students from the Magic Tower and a qualified wizard of Master Rank.]

"W-what is it…?" Reley asked.

"Behemoth. They want our elites to move to the forest in the West with their knights and wizards."

Reley and Johan sighed at her words.

A Behemoth was a monster not many could face, yet it wasn't a monster that warranted the strength of an entire knight order. It was strong enough to squish rats but too weak for a cat to bother with.

The Behemoth alone wasn't the issue, but it was the forest that brought out their sighs. As one of the forbidden zones, the forest was filled with monsters and the season right now had placed a 'find one and encounter another free!' offer on them.

An assignment perfect for wizards and knights with potential, but also one extremely troublesome.

It would be tough to manage a large group, injuries would be common in the forest of the west, and since they were supposedly accompanying students, the already existing disadvantage of co-ordinating with unknowns was just enhanced.

More than a test of their strength, it was a test of their management. What truly mattered in times of battle for power could be made up for with skill, but the abundance of power could never make up for its utilization.

"Wicked Kalyufis…"

"This isn't going to be tough but extremely annoying."

"Wizards, huh? I wonder if they'll send anyone like us." Reley rested her head on her palm and muttered. "What kind of wizards are rising nowadays? Lord Isaac?"

Isaac.

That word alone was enough to stop all the thoughts in Kristine's head in their tracks.

Isaac, a master-ranked wizard from the Magic Tower, who could fit the bill but Isaac!

Stick figures rushed in Kristine's head.

Ugly monsters would surround Isaac. He would scream for help. And like a true knight, she would knock them all down.

Bam! Marriage! Was Krisaac good for a boy and Istine for a girl?

It was a fool-proof plan!

Like the summer sun, a bright smile plastered itself on Kristine's lips. She slammed her hand on the table and stood upright.

"This… this is an once-in-a-century opportunity! Reley, Johan, off to work! Gather the elites, we set off right away!"

"M-my lady? It says the day is a week from now—"

"We set off!"

Please.

She had a man to save.