Chapter 261: 261 "Sword Saint Medal
Two days had quickly passed.
In the blink of an eye, the day of the knighting ceremony had arrived.
Today, many nobles each took their carriages to the royal palace, resulting in a succession of luxurious carriages bearing the crests of great noble families streaming in from all directions towards the gates of the royal palace.
A bustling scene of carriages and horses unfolded before the palace, welcoming the well-dressed nobles.
The nobles greeted each other and networked, or engaged in veiled confrontations with loaded comments, before gradually proceeding to the venue of the knighting ceremony — the audience room.
This was a formal knighting ceremony, and it was also held for the kingdom’s seventh Sword Saint. For a great country, this could be considered a major event. The nobles of the capital naturally tried their best to attend, presenting a grand show of attendance.
Under such circumstances, the Franzel family’s carriage also finally arrived late, stopping in front of the palace gates.
Driving the carriage were Ai En and Ian, both in formal attire today, looking very much like dashing formal female knights. After arriving at the palace, they dismounted and split left and right, kneeling on one knee like true knights to welcome their master alighting from the coach.
Four people disembarked from the carriage.
First, naturally, were Reiger and Yuri.
Both were also dressed formally, even in ceremonial wear, which for them was considered quite solemn dressing.
Following closely behind was Marilyn, still in her usual maid attire, following Yuri not like an attendant but more like a personal maid.
Lastly was Liz.
The little princess who had now become Reiger’s attendant, though still holding a sword, had changed her attire to inconspicuous casual clothes.
Liz seemed quite fond of this outfit, wearing a brighter expression than usual, which revealed her very good mood.
However, upon seeing Liz’s attire, Reiger provided a candid assessment.
"No matter what kind of clothing it is, once this girl wears it, it inevitably stands out."
In response, Yuri, Marilyn, Ai En, and Ian all involuntarily glanced down when they saw Liz, moving their gazes from Liz’s face to her chest, and fell into silence, indicating their agreement.
It’s so tight, hard not to be noticeable, huh! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
The group of four thus alighted from the carriage to see the bustling scene around them.
"Wow, such a large crowd..."
Liz, who had been in a good mood at first, shrank her neck when she saw the many carriages, nobles, and knights at the scene and became a bit intimidated.
Reiger also frowned and couldn’t help thinking.
"Is it really necessary to attend this knighting ceremony?"
Truthfully, Reiger didn’t want to attend the knighting ceremony.
He had basically cleared his ties with the royal family, and they shouldn’t bother him anymore, so coming to the palace for a knighting ceremony was completely unnecessary.
Reiger didn’t care about glory or reputation, nor about whether he had the Sword Saint Medal or not; it was all the same to him.
But Yuri advised him, prompting him to attend this knighting ceremony.
"The Sword Saint Medal has significant value."
"Its presence serves not only as a deterrent, a symbol, an honor but also as a means to assert one’s status and identity."
"With this medal, no matter where you go, you will be a guest of honor, even in other countries."
"This not only saves you a lot of unnecessary trouble, but if you ever reach places that are off-limits, just showing the Sword Saint Medal will usually grant you passage."
"So, if you want to travel abroad in the future, it would be best to secure such a medal. You will find it more useful than you think."
Yuri persuaded Reiger in this way, making him agree to attend the knighting ceremony.
If it’s going to be very useful for future travels, then might as well accept it.
"Let’s go, we’ll head straight for the audience room," Yuri said first, then turned to Ai En and Ian, "You two stay here, wait for our return."
"Yes!"
Ai En and Ian promptly acknowledged the command.
"Should we also stay behind?"
Liz asked Marilyn in a timid whisper.
"No." Marilyn answered Liz, "We are the master’s first attendants. No matter where the master goes, we should follow to protect him closely, even in situations like this. We will accompany the master there and then wait outside the audience room."
Marilyn methodically taught Liz the duties of an attendant, with a sense of an old hand guiding a newcomer.
Indeed, that was the case.
Compared with Marilyn, Liz, as an attendant, was undeniably as green as one could be.
Plus, with her personality of typically lacking initiative, asking her to act as an attendant was quite the challenge, as she truly had no idea how to perform in a satisfactory manner.
Marilyn, as Yuri’s elder, had taken care of Liz to some extent. Over the past two days, she had been teaching Liz how to be an Attendant.
"Okay, I got it."
Liz humbly accepted the guidance, very well-behaved, and even seemed to somewhat enjoy being looked after by Marilyn, like a little sister who had lacked affection in the past and was now finally getting her sister’s attention, being by her side.
Reiger was naturally happy to let Liz interact with Marilyn and saw no need to stop it, no matter the considerations involved.
As more and more people gathered around, some recognized Reiger and Yuri’s identities and looked as if they planned to come over to greet them, it was then that Reiger spoke.
"Let’s hurry inside. The sooner it ends, the sooner we can go home."
Reiger took the lead, stepping into the royal palace first.
Yuri pursed her lips in a smile and followed.
Marilyn and Liz hurried into the royal palace with them, one following closely behind Reiger, the other closely behind Yuri, never leaving their sides.
...
In the royal palace, the audience room.
It was an extremely spacious hall, akin to a cathedral.
Not only were there columns reaching to the ceiling, intricately designed, but the walls and columns were also covered with mural after mural, as if retelling a glorious history, emanating an atmosphere of solemnity, sanctity, and discipline.
When the award ceremony officially began, the hall was filled with elegantly dressed nobles, and knights in full armor stood guard, creating a lively but not noisy scene.
King Hemulinp sat on his throne at the very end, elevated in his pose, exhibiting a noble air as he surveyed the room.
"Reiger Brillhaut, the Sword Saint! Step forward!"
A civil officer standing next to the king, dressed similarly to a priest and seemingly the ceremony’s host, called out loudly to the entire hall.
"Thud!"
In the solemn royal hall, the sound of footsteps resonated clearly.
"————"
All eyes in the venue turned and focused on the owner of the footsteps.
There, Reiger walked towards the throne, enduring the gaze of everyone present, his expression calm as if he was not participating in such a serious ceremony.
King Hemulinp watched the young man approaching his position slowly and was filled with many emotions.
Although he had not had a very pleasant interaction with the young Sword Saint before him. The royal house’s attempts to recruit him and the restrictions they had tried to impose on him had not met their expectations, but seeing a 17-year-old Sword Saint, perhaps without precedent or successor, rise in his kingdom filled King Hemulinp with sentiment.
Especially considering this person was also a Magician of Tactical Level Magic, wielding the power to run amuck on the battlefield and trample armies, the combination of both identities made this young man one of the most unique individuals on the continent.
He also maintained a very close relationship with one of only two Strategist Level Magicians in the kingdom, and was not without his backers.
Through Rom, King Hemulinp had learned that Reiger had mastered Yuri’s decomposition Magic, and this further elevated his regard for Reiger.
Although, according to intelligence, the young man’s aptitude for control Magic was only second class and he theoretically should not have been able to learn such high-level control Magic, decomposition Magic was not considered to be of a high level in itself, and since Hemulinp did not know how Yuri had developed this Magic and was unaware of the specifics, he chose to accept this reality and made concessions in front of Reiger.
Not to mention, Reiger had defeated Rom, which was a show of strength that King Hemulinp could not ignore.
If this person could not be wooed, then he must not be offended, lest he plant a seed of trouble for the royal house.
This was the only thought left in King Hemulinp’s mind.
Therefore, as Reiger walked calmly to the throne in front of all the high officials and nobles of the kingdom, King Hemulinp’s face already wore a friendly smile.
"A 17-year-old Sword Saint, such an exceptional and dazzling individual to be born in our Genas kingdom, is not only our honor but also the honor of this country."
King Hemulinp stood up and picked up a medal from the tray beside him.
It was a medal like the True Knight Medal, inscribed with the pattern of a sword.
However, unlike the silver True Knight Medal, this medal was entirely radiant gold, resembling a Gold Coin, gleaming with brilliance, and extremely lavish.
"Hereby, as the twenty-first King of Genas, I award Reiger Brillhaut the Sword Saint Medal."
King Hemulinp stepped down from the throne and pinned the medal on Reiger’s chest.
"From today forward, you are the seventh Sword Saint of the Genas kingdom."
As his words concluded, the applause in the audience room erupted like thunder.
Everyone clapped, all eyes on Reiger, whether they were sincerely delighted or merely following protocol, they all clapped at this moment.
Facing the applause of the entire hall, Reiger’s gaze, however, turned to Yuri, who stood first in line to the side. They exchanged a glance, and then both smiled.
The award ceremony thus came to an end.
The name of the Thunder Light Sword Saint, from then on, was destined to resound across the continent.