The morning sun rose bright.
Snow that had fallen through the night lay piled atop the fortress walls, and frost clung to every window.
Danil threw on a thick overcoat and left his lodging.
Elena, dressed neatly, followed behind him.
“We should pay our respects to the young duke first, shouldn’t we?”
“Yes. That would be proper.”
The two of them headed straight for Reiner’s office.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
‘Wow.’
The moment he opened the door, a white tower greeted Danil.
At a glance, it looked like a small stone pagoda—but it was a mountain of documents.
A battlefield where enemies named wartime reports and paperwork were piled endlessly high.
In the midst of it, Reiner was waging a frantic war called approval alongside men who appeared to be officials.
“What documents this time… Sir Danil!”
The moment Reiner saw Danil, he sprang up from his seat and spread both arms wide.
“You’re finally awake! What a relief!”
“I apologize for worrying you, young duke.”
“Haha! Why would you concern yourself with that? It was because you were protecting Khazan, wasn’t it? If anything, I should be thanking you.”
Reiner laughed heartily and embraced Danil.
His smile was filled with gratitude and goodwill he could not hide.
“Tonight, I’ll hold a grand banquet. You must attend. Would it do for the guest of honor to be absent from a celebration for Khazan’s hero?”
“Haha. Of course.”
“Avoid the leather clothes today.”
“Kuh! I apologize for that time.”
“Hahaha! I’m joking. Joking. Come now, since you’re here, have a cup of tea before you go. I need a short break myself.”
Reiner’s manner as he led Danil to his table was nothing but warm.
Elena watched all of this in silence.
Her gaze, filled with tension and vigilance, refused to leave Reiner as he poured the tea.
*
Around noon, Danil went out into the streets.
Cyril, Rude, Elena, and the escort troops accompanied him.
It had been Cyril’s suggestion.
“We must show the citizens that you are safe. Everyone has been worried. Please reassure them by showing that the hero of Khazan is alive and well, Sir Danil.”
“Very well.”
Danil accepted, thinking it was nothing more than a simple tour.
“Waaaaaaaah!!!!”
“It’s Sir Danil!”
“The Dragonslayer has returned!!!”
“Huh?”
At least, until he heard the cheers ringing in his ears.
“Magic Knight Sir Danil!”
“Hero of Khazan! Calamity of Khazan!”
“Danil of the Black Flame! Please look this way just once!”
‘What is this?’
People clamoring just to hear a single word from a celebrity. He had seen it plenty of times on TV.
The problem was that he had never once imagined he would be the one at the center of it.
From the streets, from the squares, from the rooftops, people shouted Danil’s name.
Countless crowds had gathered to see the hero who had protected Khazan and their families.
Danil was dazed for a moment by the way people looked up to him like a popular star.
Tug, tug.
“Hm?”
Feeling a pull on the hem of his clothes, Danil lowered his head.
He saw three little children holding on to his cloak.
“Dragonslayer, please take this.”
‘No, really. Why are you giving me something like this?’
He meant it sincerely.
What the children held in their hands was a crown made of flowers.
The symbol of Siegfried the Dragonslayer.
Danil hesitated.
If he were being honest, he did not want to accept it.
But he did not have the courage to ignore the children’s sparkling eyes, nor the expectations of the people watching.
Danil had no choice but to bend down.
Seeing him put on the crown, the people cheered once again.
“Danil! Danil! Danil!”
“Khazan’s Dragonslayer!”
“Haha. Thank you, everyone.”
“Waaaaaaaaah!!!”
The experience of an entire street chanting his name.
It was his first time going through something like this, so it was rather bewildering, but it did not feel bad.
Slowly, yet surely.
A sincere smile began to bloom on his lips.
*
From behind, where she stood in attendance, Elena saw Danil smiling.
As she clapped with a composed expression, her inner thoughts were complicated.
‘If I truly hadn’t come, they would have stolen him away one hundred percent.’
Unlike Danil, who was hopeless at politics, she could see it.
Stabilizing and controlling public sentiment? That was nothing more than a pretext.
What she was witnessing now was a political production.
A performance designed to pleasantly show Danil the slogan, “You are the hero of Khazan.”
And as could be seen, its effect was tremendous.
This was a swamp.
A swamp that felt far too good.
An emotional trap that would be difficult to escape until one’s feet, torso, and finally head were submerged.
It was a terrible match for Danil, who was at the 0th Circle of political magic.
‘I offer my respect to all of you who crafted such an elaborate trap. If it hadn’t been for me, I would have missed it.’
Titania, who had dispatched her here, had clearly foreseen this situation.
While admiring her superior’s foresight, she looked toward the inner castle where Reiner was.
‘You got me once. If I hadn’t prepared in advance, covering this would have taken quite some effort.’
This was likely groundwork for the evening banquet.
The genuine decisive blow would come there.
But there was no problem.
After all, they were not the only ones who had prepared a trap.
She waited for evening.
For the true stage on which she would carry out the mission given by her superior.
‘It’s all right, Danil. I, Elena, will protect you.’
*
The sun set, and night fell.
The banquet hall, where Danil’s welcoming ceremony had been held a few weeks before, was lit for the first time in a while.
If the welcoming ceremony had carried a somewhat stiff atmosphere, tonight was different.
From the very beginning, the faces of the people were full of smiles and ease.
Nobles, knights, officials, soldiers—everyone who could be called an important figure in Khazan had gathered, and it would be no exaggeration to say so.
At last, the protagonist of this banquet appeared.
“Sir Danil has arrived!”
“It’s the Dragonslayer!”
Cheers and praise poured toward Danil as he entered with Elena as his partner.
People rushed over to Danil.
“Thank you for protecting Khazan, Lord Danil.”
“A hero like you appears only once in half a century.”
“Sir Danil! Please shake my hand!”
“Ahem. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Danil was flustered.
It was only natural, since he had never received such treatment in his life.
But the awkwardness lasted only a short while. Gradually growing accustomed to it, he smiled and responded to the people’s welcome.
He, too, was human.
Under the level of attention and applause one would give a famous celebrity, the corners of his mouth inevitably rose.
Watching this from a short distance away, Elena clicked her tongue.
‘As expected, he knows nothing about politics.’
Lifting someone up by making them the main character.
It was a method politicians often used when creating allies.
That was not pure goodwill.
It was merely a stage on which an operation mixed with someone’s intentions was being carried out.
Her gaze turned toward the architect of this operation.
Young Duke Reiner.
As he smiled and shared drinks with the other nobles, his gaze was always directed toward Danil.
‘Attack after attack from morning until now. You’re making excellent use of your home-field advantage.’
From the defender’s perspective, it was an offensive that would make one sick of it.
Even so, she did not panic.
She merely observed the situation coldly and watched.
‘If it’s you, this much won’t be the end.’
The eyes of a mage who trusted her enemy flashed.
‘Lay out all your cards, young duke. My counterattack begins after that.’
*
At the rear of the banquet hall.
Nobles conversed as they clinked wineglasses.
“What a shame. If only the North had even one mage like that, it would be reassuring.”
“Don’t worry. Do you think the young duke doesn’t know what even you know?”
“He must already be making his move.”
“As expected, I suppose?”
“If the young duke acts, then that hero becoming a man of the North is as good as certain.”
A banquet where gratitude and politics coexisted.
The atmosphere began to reach its peak.
‘This should be enough.’
Judging that the mood was ripe, Reiner raised his glass and moved.
When he stood at the center of the hall, the people’s attention naturally gathered on him.
At the center of the silence, he opened his mouth.
“Comrades who defended Khazan. I ask you this.”
Reiner’s voice rang in the ears of the people.
“Who defeated the Steel Scale Tribe and protected Khazan without a single sacrifice? Who is the one who brought about the miracle of Khazan?”
Everyone’s gaze pointed to the answer.
Reiner raised his glass high.
“Yes. It is Sir Danil! Khazan’s Magic Knight, Sir Danil!”
“Waaaaaaaaah!!!”
Thunderous applause erupted.
People raised their cups in agreement.
Amid the heat of the cheering crowd, Reiner caught his breath and brought out the card he had prepared.
“A hero ought to receive an honorable reward. Therefore, I, Reiner von Karta, in my capacity as representative of the Northern Grand Duke, here and now! shall bestow upon Sir Danil the title of 『Knight of Karta』!”
“……!!!”
Everyone held their breath.
“A knighthood!”
“Ha. Astonishing.”
Knights of the Empire usually had to pass the knightly military examination to obtain their qualifications.
But did you know?
There existed a way to become a knight without taking that examination.
The right of investiture.
A privilege among privileges possessed only by high nobles counted on one hand within the Empire.
Of course, receiving investiture did not mean one could exercise the authority of a knight.
After all, the knighthood bestowed through the right of investiture was nothing more than an honorary position.
That did not mean its significance was light.
A high noble possessed only four investiture rights.
Therefore, they could not be used carelessly, and naturally, their uses were limited.
It was an incomparably honorable medal bestowed in the name of a noble house by a high noble upon one who had achieved merit great enough for that high noble to recognize.
Because only four could be given, it was all the more valuable, and it could make the honor of the one invested shine all the brighter.
The highest honorary position a high noble could bestow.
And now, it was being bestowed upon Danil.
Reiner took the dazed Danil’s hand.
“Magic Knight Danil. I am pleased to be able to grant such a position to a hero like you. I look forward to your continued support.”
“Waaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!”
Applause and cheers incomparable to before poured over the two of them.
Amid everyone smiling and rejoicing, there was exactly one person who could not smile.
‘You’re coming out strong, young duke.’
Elena bit her lip.
A knighthood. The highest honor Reiner could give Danil. But at the same time, it was a shackle.
Danil, who had simply been an outsider, had now become a knight of the Northern Grand Duke’s house, even if only in an honorary capacity.
Paper once stained with dye could never return to how it had been before.
The same was true now.
From this moment on, the label 『Knight of Karta』 would follow behind Danil’s name until the day he died.
There could be no better wedge for making him truly one of theirs.
‘Excellent, young duke. You’ve landed a blow.’
But Elena did not grow anxious.
The reason was simple.
‘If I had not been here, Danil would have become your man as of today.’
The hunter who had prepared a trap bared her fangs.
‘I’ve seen the card you prepared well enough. So now, I shall show you mine.’
The banquet was not over yet.
The battle was not over yet.
The true banquet began now.
The true battle began now.
Elena’s eyes gleamed coldly.