Ever since Bodefinger had called him "my lord" in public the next morning,
Then came Telman's arrival. It was already very late that night when Sederkamp came up to report that Telman had come for a visit — alone.
Lorist found it strange. Telman rarely came to his home alone, especially this late. He wondered if something had gone wrong, or if it was about the Swordsmanship Society? But the academy was on break, and the Swordsmanship Society had no activities during this period.
Lorist went downstairs to the living room, where Telman rose from the sofa to greet him.
Lorist asked Telman to sit, but Telman ignored the request, instead standing respectfully before Lorist. The very first words out of his mouth gave Lorist a tremendous shock: "I've resigned."
"What?" Lorist's whole body froze...
This isn't a joke, is it? Telman, you're the Deputy Captain of the Enforcement Squad at the
"I've been thinking about it for days. I finally made up my mind this afternoon — even
"What on earth happened to make you do this?" Lorist felt a headache coming on again. Telman held two positions at the academy; his monthly salary plus benefits had to be eight or nine gold Fordes at least. Countless people would envy him, so why would he suddenly choose to resign?
Telman lowered his head and said, "I find the days at the academy too plain and boring. I crave adventure, I crave war. I am a knight. My father told me before he died that his greatest regret in life was not dying on the battlefield, but being tortured to death by illness in bed. I don't want to follow my father's old path. A knight should campaign in all directions."
This... what kind of dogshit reason is this? Are you still the Telman I know — steady in character, clear-headed in handling matters, taciturn and reliable? Haven't you been transmigrated by some war maniac? As Telman's good friend, Lorist felt he had a responsibility to clear Telman's muddled head, to make him withdraw his resignation while there was still room to salvage things.
Before he could figure out how to persuade Telman, Lorist saw Telman drop to one knee before him: "Locke, this is the last time I'll call you that. Are you willing to take in a friend with nowhere to go, and go to the Northlands together with you?"
"I, Veboli Telman, am willing to become a knight of the
Lorist was in shock...
At some unknown time, Bodofeng appeared at Lorist's side, handing Lorist's worn sword over to him.
Lorist woodenly accepted the longsword, drew it from its scabbard, then tapped the blade on each of Telman's shoulders twice, woodenly saying, "Rise, my knight."
This improvised, simple family knight induction ceremony was thus completed. Bodofeng and Telman embraced enthusiastically: "Welcome to the family, my brother."
Hmph, that line hasn't changed. This world is still normal enough... Lorist thought.
Sedekamp remembered a very important matter and hurriedly reminded his young master: "Young Master, you haven't prepared the family crest for the family knight to wear yet. I brought the design..."
"Have
He really couldn't understand why Telman would make such a decision. Perhaps this is the difference between the two worlds. In his previous life, it was everyone preferring to be a chicken head rather than an ox tail, while in Galentea everyone wants to find a family to pledge loyalty to. This is the greatest difference between the two civilizations.
The more Lorist thought about it, the more his head hurt. He decided not to consider it anymore: "By the way, Telman, I remember you have your own family's advanced
"Yes, Milord." Telman replied.
"Then fine, I won't prepare a Combat Force manual for you. Sedekamp, go to my study and bring that Mikec Fine Steel Chainmail as a congratulatory gift for Telman becoming a family knight." Lorist said.
Mikec Fine Steel Chainmail, produced in the Mikec region of the Teramanda Kingdom, has long been renowned for its strong defense, especially outstanding against piercing damage. Annual production is extremely limited, supply cannot meet demand. Because Lorist was returning to the Northlands, to guard against stray arrows, he specially spent three hundred gold coins asking President Peterson to get him one. It had been less than three days since he received it, and he turned around and gave it away as a gift.
"Thank you, Milord." Telman didn't stand on ceremony either.
"Move in."
Telman had resigned from the academy and his current dormitory had to be returned to the academy. Fortunately, Lorist still had a spare guest room here.
"Very well, Milord," Telman said.
***
It was as if overnight, everyone residing at Dawn Academy had learned that Lorist was about to depart for the Northlands to inherit his domain and become a lord. When Lorist returned home from an outing, he ran into Supervisor Scarlet of the management office at the residential area gate, and he hurriedly descended from his carriage to greet her. Supervisor Scarlet chatted amiably with Lorist for a while, then remarked that the Northlands were bitterly cold and he should mind his health and avoid catching a chill. She then produced a sweater she had knitted herself and gave it to Lorist, wishing him success in becoming an outstanding lord.
Lorist held the sweater, utterly baffled—he hadn't said a word about any of it...
After dinner, Instructor Marlin paid a visit, bringing a large chest. He said it was his wife's personal effects, a farewell gift for Lorist, confident it would see good use on his journey to the Northlands.
Lorist's head swam at this, and he hastened to refuse. What did he want with Instructor Marlin's wife's personal effects? Would they be of any use on the road? Was he supposed to shadowbox with them for no reason? Only when Instructor Marlin opened the chest did Lorist realize his mistake—this "wife" was not that wife; the "wife" in question was the mare Jenny, whom Instructor Marlin had always proclaimed as his second wife. Inside the chest lay a set of horse armor, a saddle, and a pair of stirrups.
Instructor Marlin stroked the items affectionately as he told Lorist they all belonged to Jenny. Now that she was old and could no longer run, the things had no purpose beyond keepsakes. Since Lorist was bound for the Northlands and would inevitably be riding—and quite possibly fighting—he was giving them to Lorist as a gift, to add a measure of protection.
Lorist thanked Big Brother Marlin and uncorked a few bottles of his private reserve for Instructor Marlin to sample.
Instructor Marlin grew expansive in his cups, regaling Lorist with tales of his heroic exploits in the city defense force back in the day, and in the end drank himself into a stupor and had to be helped home.
Instructor Anfeiya came calling the next afternoon, a long chest in tow. She began by sharing a piece of good news: her husband, Dawn Academy's Gold-ranked Instructor Krudd, after half a year of secluded cultivation and comprehension, had finally broken through the Gold rank to become a Great Swordmaster. This would change the fact that Dawn Academy lacked a Great Swordmaster to hold the fort, and she was confident the academy's reputation would climb even higher once the news spread.
Lorist hurriedly offered his congratulations. Instructor Anfeiya said the long chest held seven fine swords, all from Instructor Krudd's personal collection. Upon hearing that Lorist was returning to the Northland to take up his lordship, Instructor Krudd had instructed her to deliver these seven treasured swords, saying the journey to the Northland spanned thousands of miles and would involve constant warfare — the sword in one's hand would inevitably suffer damage. He had great confidence in Lorist's swordsmanship; his only worry was that Lorist's longsword wouldn't withstand prolonged slaughter, so he sent these seven treasured swords to Lorist to see him off in style.
Lorist thanked her profusely, and wondered what gift he should send in return to congratulate Instructor Krudd on becoming a Great Swordmaster. Instructor Anfeiya saw right through Lorist's thoughts and said with a smile that it wasn't necessary. This time Instructor Krudd's breakthrough to Great Swordmaster was largely due to the insights gained from his duel with Instructor Locke last year, which greatly aided his advancement to the Gold rank. As for herself, she had already learned the art of pulse diagnosis from Lorist, and could not be grateful enough — so Lorist needn't trouble himself over a return gift.
Hearing Instructor Anfeiya put it that way, Lorist smiled. He had no gift for Instructor Krudd, but he did have a perfectly suitable gift for Instructor Anfeiya — after all, husband and wife were one. He asked Instructor Anfeiya to wait a moment, then went upstairs, fetched an exquisite wooden box, came back down, and presented it to her.
Instructor Anfeiya opened the box and looked inside, overjoyed. Just as she was about to take the gift out for a closer look, Lorist said, "Look at it slowly when you get back. And don't tell anyone you got it from me — I'd rather avoid the trouble."
Instructor Anfeiya nodded, carefully cradling the wooden box, and returned home in high spirits.
Over the next few days, the gifts Lorist received nearly filled his study. Every instructor he knew at Dawn Academy sent him a farewell gift — either weapons and armor, or cold-weather gear: gloves, boots, cloaks, and the like. Instructor Hughes sent a fine suit of leather armor; Instructor Velerdo of the knight program sent over a pair of golden spurs; Instructor Wansen of the equestrian program gave Lorist an Illyrian horse — a mount favored by heavy cavalry, tall and long-legged, strong and able to bear heavy loads, intelligent and understanding of human nature, with extremely fast sprint speed, only poor long-distance endurance, and rather picky eating habits.
Instructor Robov of the alchemy department directly brought Lorist a large chest containing nearly a hundred test tubes filled with various potions, even carefully wrapped and secured against shock, impact, and breakage. Lorist was left both laughing and crying: "I'm not going back to be a healing apothecary — what am I supposed to do with a whole chest of potions?"
——————————————— divider ———————————————
Fatty Shi and
Because Yuri said: "Locke, today Big Brother Shi and I came to join you. We've both resigned, and plan to become your family's knights."
Fatty Shi sat to the side, puffed up with anger, not saying a word…
Lorist rushed into the washroom, grabbed a silver plate to use as a mirror, and stared at it for a long while. Only then did he let out a long breath and come back out.
"Locke, what are you doing?" Yuri found Lorist's behavior just now completely baffling.
Lorist said, "I was checking if something suddenly grew on my face — some kingly aura — that made you two come pledge yourselves to me. Relief washed over me; nothing extra grew, no kingly aura either. Turns out you just came to mess with me."
Yuri didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Locke, I'm serious."
Lorist didn't believe a word of it: "Cut the jokes. I've got a mountain of things to juggle in my head right now, practically running on fumes, and you two show up to toy with me? That's low."
Yuri's expression turned serious: "Locke, I really did resign. You know I'm from the Havistan Khanate, from the steppes. If my parents hadn't given their lives saving a Count, that Count never would've sent me to
"Alright, you've convinced me. Welcome aboard, Yuri. What about Fatty, though? He's not the type to serve as someone else's family knight." Lorist jerked his chin toward Fatty.
Yuri smiled: "Here's the thing — Big Brother Shi got a shock this afternoon."
"A shock? Who from? They've got some nerve. I should take notes." Lorist was genuinely curious.
"It's Telman," Yuri said.
"Impossible, how could Telman have provoked him?" Lorist found it even stranger. Telman was an honest man; it had always been Fatty Shi who bullied him.
"Didn't Big Brother Shi's father come these past few days?"
"Mm, I know about that. I even went to visit the day before yesterday," Lorist nodded.
Fatty Shi wasn't a native of Morant City either; his hometown was the Trinbor Kingdom, famous for producing green glass and oil glass. Fatty's father was a merchant with properties and shops in both the Trinbor Kingdom's capital and Morant City. Moreover, his father was Dean Levins' cousin and one of Dawn Academy's long-term patrons. This was why Fatty Shi got along swimmingly at the academy; even when he occasionally did something out of line, no one pursued it.
These past few days, Fatty Shi's father came to the academy to see him and conveniently had a meal with Dean Levins. After eating, they conveniently strolled around the academy to digest. Then they happened to run into Telman and Yuri.
Yuri had things on his mind, wondering whether to resign like Telman. He came out of his dormitory, saw Fatty Shi and his father with Dean Levins, and whether by sentiment or reason, had to go up and greet them. Just as he was bowing and offering greetings, he saw Telman entering from outside the academy.
Telman wore the Norton Family's knight badge on his chest. Seeing Fatty Shi, Yuri, and the others, he naturally came over to say hello. Moreover, he'd heard Fatty Shi's father had come these past few days and he hadn't yet gone to pay his respects, so he took this opportunity to greet him. Besides, Dean Levins was there too, so he had to pay his respects. Thus he walked over to everyone.
Just as Fatty Shi was about to joke about the knight badge on Telman's chest, unexpectedly his father grabbed him and Yuri, pulling them to the side of the road to clear the way, then bowed deeply to Telman and asked very humbly: "Good afternoon, my lord. May I ask what you require?"
Telman petrified on the spot...
Fatty Shi was petrifying...
Yuri was petrifying...
Dean Levins was petrifying...
For a moment the atmosphere at the scene was extremely strange. Fatty Shi's father carefully asked again: "My lord? You..."
Telman fled in embarrassment...
Fatty Shi came to his senses, anxious and angry: "Father, he's my friend, why are you doing this? It's so embarrassing... ouch!"
Fatty Shi's father knocked him hard on the head: "He's a noble! Didn't you see the family badge on his chest? A roaring giant bear, very imposing. The badge is surrounded by a wreath of laurel leaves — at least a two-hundred-year-old family. Toward him, even if he's your friend, you should maintain a respectful attitude. This isn't embarrassment, it's awe. Do you understand?"
"There are two things in this world worthy of awe: one is noble rank, the other is learning. Take your uncle — he has learning, so people respect him. But learning only makes others revere him alone; when he dies, that reverence dies with him. Noble rank, however, lets that reverence be passed down, even benefiting everyone in his family. Don't think just because your old man has money that it matters — no matter how rich, doing business abroad, you have to bow and scrape before any backwater noble, because he has the right to punish any commoner or freeman who disrespects him. Even killing you would be no crime."
"Don't look unconvinced. Are you going to say that last time I offended a few nobles nothing happened? Those weren't territorial nobles — they were just honorary nobles. Their titles are empty; they have no land. Like your uncle's title of Sir — it's just an honorary title, and when he dies the title dies with him. You can tell the difference between honorary nobles and territorial nobles just by looking at the badge. Why doesn't your uncle wear his Sir's badge? Because he finds it embarrassing — no land means no retainers, so who would give him the time of day?"
Continuing to petrify...
Your old man's useless — couldn't even earn you a hereditary title. Anything money can buy is just an honorary title, and those are worthless. If you'd shape up and win a hereditary landed title for my future grandson, your old man could die with no regrets! Don't go thinking your high post at the academy counts for shit — when it comes down to it, you're just a cudgel in your maternal uncle's grip; he says hit, you hit. Ask yourself — aren't you exactly like those top-tier enforcers and bodyguards in the merchant guilds? They look high-status, rake in the coin, but they're still nothing but low-class running dogs.
Dean Levins petrified once again...
Fatty's father heaved a long sigh: "Father once pinned the family's hopes for a title on you, but look at you now. Truth is, Father only hopes you live out your life in peace, and that my future grandson amounts to something and fulfills the family's dream..."
With those words said, Fatty's father turned and walked away desolately, leaving only Dean Levins, Fatty, and Yuri — the three of them — and the leaves whirling in the air, a bleak and desolate sight...
The three stood in silence. Yuri took the opportunity to submit his resignation to Dean Levins, and the dean accepted.
Eyeing Fatty still standing there in a daze, Yuri chimed in: "Brother Fatty wants to resign too..."
Dean Levins turned and left, but not without a parting line: "Off you go, off you go — all of you, go. May your hearts' desires be fulfilled, and safe travels."
"So we've all resigned, Locke. If you won't have us as your family knights, we'll have to become wandering knights..." Yuri said.