Silence fell the moment Noah followed Camilla into the conference room.
In the large conference room, 15 absolutes were waiting for Noah.
In the center are three people that even Noah knew well.
Bright Emperor Leiterad
Regina the Queen of Swords
State Historian Vincent Lichtenauer
On the left, the owner of the 8th family or his representative,
Sonja, Plenipotentiary of the Ribery family
Eugene, Mayer
Theresa of Agrippa
Michael of Lichtenau
Narvaez Gazoo Philippe
Fabrice Gazoo Lucrezia
Sinclair Gazoo Albert
Leclerc Gazoo Charlotte
And on the right side, the sword master or his substitute, representing the four major gates of the sword forest, was seated.
Moon Temple Plenipotentiary Camilla
Yonggung East Sea Dragon King Soyo
Ammun Munju Life and Death
Black Hound Sword Knocker
Except for Ribery and the Temple of the Moon, who had deputies in attendance, all of them were master knights or dragon kings of equal status.
It was the first time he had seen the beastman of the Dragon Palace, but Noah tried to look away.
“Nice to meet you, Noah. For now, I’m curious about why you were called here, so I’ll explain that first.”
On behalf of all of them, Emperor Guanghui opened his mouth.
“In Night Ray, from the second year onwards, there is field training to accompany the actual knights on their missions. You know that, right?”
Noah nodded silently.
The answer was enough.
Except for the deputy, all of these people here are master knights.
The moment Noah heard the question, he got all the answers through bodily reactions.
No one bothered to point out politeness.
As knights were basically people who used their bodies, they all hated useless work.
Adding Master Knight was more, not less.
‘I heard that it’s hard to keep up with classes if the assignment is long, so there are many cases where I do it separately during vacation.’
Next year, Noah and the 899th class had to go on field training.
Among the classmates, there were those who said they would quickly finish this winter vacation.
“The Templars affiliated with the Night Ray have the right to nominate these apprentices. And you are also named.”
“… … I don’t think that’s anything special enough to be called here.”
“no. Something special is right. The head of the Sinclair family protested against this nomination and asked for it to be revoked.”
“yes?”
“At the request, 7 out of 15 people gathered here agreed and 7 opposed it. With things like that, the remaining one said that we should listen to his opinion first. That is why we called you.”
It was an incomprehensible sound.
If it was Sinclair, it was the Julius family that became number one at this graduation ceremony.
Why did the family head show interest in Noah’s curriculum?
Through the letter that Emperor Gwanghui handed over with the intangible sword, Noah was able to know the approximate situation.
Nominees: Executor Theodore, Executor Cocoa
Mission Description: Assistant Executor at Sanctum Keep
Period: Unknown
Subject: Julius Sinclair, Noah
In accordance with the above, we request the dispatch of trainees.
It was really concise.
It was also quite embarrassing.
“This is not a normal mission.”
The missions that trainees participated in were, of course, simple, non-dangerous tasks.
However, the mission that Master Knight was put into could not be simple.
‘Safety might be rather certain.’
If those two had called Noah to see their faces, there would be no opposition here.
The fact that the Sinclair family objected meant that they did not want to let Julius go.
“It’s not just me, but what about Julius-senpai’s opinion?”
“They have already confirmed their opinions. However, I can’t tell you his opinion in advance because I want to get your own opinion, which is pure for you. The same goes for who among us is for and against.”
At that, Noah gave up trying to notice his grandfather and Regina.
As long as those words came out, even if the other side had the will to inform them, the Bright Emperor would not tolerate it.
You don’t have to be hung up on unimportant things.
However, it was regrettable that I hadn’t had a proper conversation with my grandfather until now because of the tight schedule, even though it was a long time since I met him.
‘Please come a little earlier, at least for a day.’
Noah suppressed his childlike grievances inwardly, then answered the Emperor Gwanghwi.
“I think there must be a reason why they nominated me. Based on what you said, there is no reason for me to decline the nomination.”
Noah’s answer changed the expressions of the 15 people sitting in the hall.
The curious thing was that Grandpa and Regina had good expressions, while Emperor Guanghui frowned.
“May I ask Julius-senpai for an answer?”
“That guy was just like you. You can tell the pros and cons of us just by looking at our facial expressions, right? Incidentally, the neutral vote was for Camilla. That’s why Camilla went to pick you up.”
It was Regina who answered Noah’s question.
She smiled brightly even though Guanghuijie, who seemed to have objected, was frowning.
Seeing that, the expression of the head of the Sinclair family rotted away.
‘Is there a difference between Julius-senpai and the head of the house over there?’
I certainly understand why you are reluctant to send your child to something you don’t know, but it doesn’t seem that simple.
The people who gathered here were so great because they were only gathered for this kind of thing.
I had to assume that there was something that Noah didn’t know about.
‘That’s something I’ll have to hold on to and ask my grandfather or anyone else later.’
When the atmosphere came to a conclusion that Julius and Noah were being dispatched on this mission, the family head of Sinclair stood up.
“Then I will also nominate. If there were duplicate nominations, did the student have a choice?”
“Sit down, sir. What you have to convince is your son first, not us.”
Julius agreed anyway, but that would make a difference.
The family head of Sinclair sighed and sat down, unable to resist those words.
“I understand your opinion. It’s good to go back We’ve got a meeting left after. It’s not often that people like this get together.”
At that, Noah bowed and was about to leave the meeting room, but the East Sea Dragon King stood up.
“I know that the things I need have already been sorted out. I don’t have to stay here, do I?”
“It’s good for the Dragon King to go back now.”
– Can we talk for a minute?
The owner of the dragon palace asked Noah to meet him.
* * *
Yonggung, a clan of Geomrim, was a clan of beastmen.
Even if it is a beastman, it varies greatly depending on the race.
There is as much difference between a cat beast and a dog beast as there is a difference between a beast man and a human.
Therefore, it was wrong to group them together and dismiss them as ‘prisoners’, but it was not just wrong.
In the past, when humans did not yet understand the difference between demons and beasts.
They were persecuted as targets of subjugation.
Humans became stronger by handling sword skills and learning strong body techniques.
Prisoners couldn’t do that.
There were only a handful of people with hands capable of holding a sword, and rigid body techniques made for humans did not suit them.
Developing a swordsmanship suitable for one’s race was difficult.
Their number is extremely small.
Countless humans could not keep up with the swordsmanship created by colliding with each other.
Because of this, the beastmen chose to strengthen themselves.
Eating.
Swallows star fragments and strengthens bones, claws, and cloth.
The saints he met in Top Sword were those who imitated the training methods of the Beasts.
Even after the empire was established and beastmen were recognized as equal objects with humans, they were relatively few and it was difficult to exercise full rights.
The dragon palace is where such beastmen gathered under the name of the dragon king.
The Yonggung, a kind of nationalist group, was able to gain recognition of their rights through the might of the Dragon King.
“Nice to meet you, Noah.”
“It’s an honor to be welcomed by the Dragon King himself.”
Noah took the East Sea Dragon King’s outstretched hand and shook it.
Although she was an amphibious beast, she looked infinitely human except for her horizontal pupils, horns, and extraordinarily voluminous curly hair.
The hand that shook hands is also shaped like a human hand.
It is said that the beastmen gradually became closer to humans as they passed through the generations, so it could be said that the Dragon King of the East Sea was quite young among beastmen.
From noble mtl dot com.
Of course, that was also the standard for number of people, so he must have been over 100 years old.
‘Didn’t dragon in the world of beastmen mean a completed holy sword?’
Beasts do not use swords, but directly strengthen their bodies by eating star fragments.
As a result, there was a stage in which the body was transformed into a phantom bone, just as the Seongnyeonsword was completed.
At this time, the beastmen’s bodies change to suit their radishness, while horns sprout.
In other words, being a dragon means a state that beastmen reach postnatally through training.
Those who became dragons were like living human weapons with a body with the durability of a perfect seongyeonsword like Siwonseok and excellent martial arts.
Among them, the dragon king is a dragon that can use a heart sword.
So, compared to a knight, he was a master knight.
“You will be seeing me for the first time. But I have already met you.”
“yes?”
“How much do you know about the beasts, Noah-kun?”
“To be honest, I hardly know. In general, most of them have never met a beastman in their entire life.”
“yes that’s right. Prisoners are not interested in human affairs. There are many cases where it is difficult to physically mix with humans before starting to grapple with old grudges.”
If you are a beastman with gills, it is impossible to even live on land until you become a dragon.
Because humans dominate the continent, they also built the dragon palace, but basically they were not interested in exchanges.
“However, there have been cases of beastmen crossing the species barrier and cooperating with humans. Do you happen to know what it is?”
“It’s about the Witchbeast.”
“yes that’s right. Witchbeasts are a huge threat to humans and beasts alike. Yonggung is a communication channel created by the previous dragon kings to cooperate with humans.”
“But what about me… … ?”
“The great war 20 years ago inflicted great wounds on both humans and beastmen. The events of that time still remain in people’s minds.”
The reason why he dared to use the word “people” here must have been conscious of the people gathered in the conference hall.
The reason why they are passionate about Noah’s work is because of that time.
The East Sea Dragon King was saying that.
“It looks like no one has told you yet, but if things have turned out like this, you can’t hide it any longer.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s about your real parents, Noah.”
The East Sea Dragon King did not hide his regret.
“I am calling you from Sanctum Keep at the request of your biological father, Cain.”
The East Sea Dragon King threw a bomb with an innocent expression like a child.
“… … Are you my biological father?”
“Did you not know? Oh no.”
Cain Vagrant.
I don’t know what kind of person he is, but Noah knew well that he was a wanted person for treason.
‘When I saw what happened in the Crescent Islands, I wondered how the Master Knights were so strong and they didn’t get caught.’
However, she had never imagined that he was her biological father.
‘If my real father is a traitor, I can understand why no one has told me so far.’
However, he couldn’t understand why the East Sea Dragon King was doing this to him.
The East Sea Dragon King added more words as if he knew what Noah was thinking.
“Your father, Cain, is a person with a deep relationship with the Bright Emperor. We are at odds with each other now, but we can’t be like that forever.”
The key to solving the Empire’s problems wasn’t the meetings that were taking place there.
“Noah. You are the key.”
* * *
When the meeting ended and the participants left one by one, State Secretary Vincent Lichtenauer remained seated until the end.
After Regina and Michael left without noticing, he was left alone with the Bright Emperor.
“You are still against it.”
“Because it wasn’t purely an emotional thing to be charged with treason.”
“Are you still hating me?”
After Emperor Guanghui ascended the throne, the State Prefect never once stopped talking to him.
For him to let go of his words meant that he would ask as a teacher for the last time.
“Can’t you forgive me no matter what?”
“yes.”
The Great War 20 years ago.
In the war, which is said to have been fought by everyone together against the demons, it was the same human beings who inflicted the most damage on humans.
As the empire, an absolute hegemon, fell into crisis, many countries bit the empire.
It was common to lure the Empire’s knights into a trap by using their own civilians as bait.
In the process, the imperial knights did not attach a reason to save people.
It was a world where good people left first.
Those who survived owed a debt to those who left.
The emperor was a position of responsibility.
“I will be their collector.”