Chapter 36

“If you want to become a knight of Windsor, come to Teresia right now.”

‘Real luxury doesn’t need promotion.’

As expected by Cecilia, this simple announcement sparked a sensational response.

Free knights who had been waiting for this day, mercenaries dreaming of becoming knights someday.

In less than a week, quite a number of talented individuals rushed in from all over the place.

“Cecilia, where should we gather the applicants?”

“In the dungeon.”

“Huh?”

Cecilia gathered the applicants in the dungeon. But it wasn’t a real dungeon.

All that came out were a starving goblin that hadn’t eaten for a week and the undead that resulted from that goblin’s death – a lame dungeon.

“Are you trying to run a quest or something?”

“Hmm, at first glance, it looks like a pretty nothing dungeon?”

“The first test is really easy. Nothing too complicated.”

-Krooooh!

“Yikes!”

“It’s a demon race!”

Thud, thud.

Something huge was moving towards the applicants, enough to shake the entire forest.

“Gah!”

“M-Mother of God!”

It was a gigantic golem engulfed in flames. The golem stood nearly as tall as a building, and the overwhelming pressure it exuded was no laughing matter.

-Humans! Get lost! This is my domain!

“Run away!”

“You want us to fight that?! You’re out of your mind!”

The knights, now panicked, fled.

Soon, no one was left in the clearing.

Swoosh-

And then -.

Four figures appeared in the empty clearing, sitting at a table.

“…….”

Kairon and Edward glared at Cecilia, who was resting her chin on her hands in the center.

“Cecilia, you didn’t think this recruitment test was a children’s game, did you?”

Edward forced a laugh and asked. Cecilia replied firmly.

“Nope.”

“…Then can you explain what the hell this ridiculous golem is doing as part of the test?”

The golem from just before was a fake, created from Cecilia’s imagination.

A grand, massive golem adorned with Edward’s flames.

Cecilia was quite pleased with the golem’s design.

“The purpose of this test is to confirm basic capabilities. This recruitment is meant to be open even to those lacking skills, but I must see their ‘potential’.

“Potential?”

“The tenacity to fight against stronger foes.”

How many people can even do solo raids from the get-go?

But those who do not get discouraged by setbacks and keep trying will inevitably succeed one day.

Speedy reflexes, innate combat sense. Cecilia valued that tenacity even more.

“A knight without the courage to take risks is not needed in Windsor.”

“That makes sense.”

Kairon nodded gravely.

“But did that golem really need to talk?”

Kairon, the voice of the golem, protested fervently.

“Was it really that awful…?”

As Cecilia pouted like a wet cat, Kairon quickly replied.

“No, it was a brilliant idea.”

“Even if we accept the voice, do we need to use my blessing? To give applicants an intimidating presence, your wind alone would have been enough.”

Edward, in charge of special effects, asked coldly.

He was quite upset that his blessing, a royal one and that of the vice captain, was being used for something so trivial.

Cecilia, as if she hadn’t anticipated his reaction, covered her mouth and said casually.

“Well, if my vice captain’s magic is too taxing, there’s nothing I can do.”

“…Who said anything like that?”

Whoosh!

The flames engulfing the golem doubled in size.

Cecilia said with great satisfaction.

“Call in the next team.”

**

There were 535 applicants. 68 passed the first test.

Anyone who even tried to handle the golem was given a pass.

Cecilia’s method was somewhat questionable, but surprisingly effective.

The advantage was speed. With 535 people to sort through, it was a long and tedious process.

But they finished in less than an hour, so Edward had no choice but to recognize it.

“But captain. It’s not appropriate to disregard me as vice captain and leave the test to Cecilia, even for the future of this knight order.”

“You can be the captain.”

“…….”

“Then you can do as you please.”

In other words, it meant to shut up now since I’m the captain.

Edward twitched his brows but did not argue.

“…Is the second test in the Coliseum?”

Kairon and Edward were sitting in the VIP seats of the Coliseum.

In that Coliseum were the applicants who had passed the first test.

They had a somewhat confident look on their faces.

“Looks like a fear resistance test.”

“They might force them to duel.”

“Either way, it’s pretty standard. Well… it’s a reasonable choice.”

Being standard isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Considering that the fear resistance test was already part of the Windsor Knight Order’s testing process, its effectiveness was high.

However…

‘Cecilia never wears the same outfit twice.’

Kairon narrowed his eyes.

The only thing she wore consistently was her white knee-high socks.

But would she really do the same test as before?

Amidst expectations and a strange unease, the doors of the coliseum opened, and Cecilia walked in.

Holding a five-shilling wooden sword.

**

“Can you tell me a bit about Cecilia’s personality…?”

Beatrice, who had been studying the ‘Newbie’s Essential Guide’ all night, met her peers with bleary eyes.

Riharten and Densen were there. Beatrice was sweating coldly, holding onto her strawberry juice.

‘Ah, maybe I shouldn’t have come.’

After staring at a book all day, she was itching to go outside, and since they said they would buy the expensive royal dessert, she rushed here but…

‘Bribery…! If Cecilia finds out, I’m a goner.’

“Betty, I beg you. You have to pass this test.”

“If I miss this chance, I’ll have to wait another year. That’s unacceptable. I need to make a name for my family.”

Beatrice was somewhat weak-hearted.

“Honestly, I don’t really know either. She never told me what this test was about.”

After a brief moment of silence, Beatrice checked if anyone was listening and then quietly said.

“But… if it’s Cecilia….”

She’ll probably want to pick someone who can survive until they drop dead, right?

“…….”

There was a fundamental image of Cecilia.

The Sword Heroine Cecilia. True to her name, she was a symbol of beauty in the royal capital.

Every stance she took while wielding her sword was akin to a work of art.

And she also had the image of being a born noblewoman. Every gesture and mannerism was graceful.

Of course, she knew that going to this ‘tempered dungeon’ with Cecilia wasn’t quite so sweet-

She was a member of the knight order that showed no pity towards demons. So, it made sense to expect that much, right?

So for now, Riharten and Densen listened to Beatrice carefully, but deep down, they were thinking thoughts like:

Ah, surely, it can’t be that bad.

Riharten and Densen would soon find themselves regretting that careless thought fiercely.

Bang! Bang—!

“Are you trying to kill us?”

“That’s nonsensical!”

“How is she this strong without even using blessings!”

Cecilia was stepping on a hefty mercenary and wildly swinging her wooden sword.

The barrier wrapped in her blessing was steadily breaking apart.

“Densen. This…”

“Forget the thought of even brushing against her. Focus on surviving.”

Here’s how the incident began.

Cecilia came in with just a wooden sword.

She looked at the passing candidates and cheerfully said.

-Survive, and you pass. Die, and you fail.

At first, they thought she was exaggerating.

After all, what kind of test involves killing applicants?

-I won’t be using my blessings.

Upon hearing that, some of them burst into laughter.

High-ranking knights are strong precisely because their blessings level is different.

If she wasn’t using her blessings, then no matter how much Cecilia she was, she was just an ordinary girl.

…That’s what they thought.

Crash—!

“What the—”

“Is she really not using her blessings?”

A massive cloud of dust was swirling as Cecilia finally broke through a candidate’s barrier and approached those remaining.

“This is madness!”

“How is she breaking through barriers with her bare hands?”

Cecilia dodged incoming magic attacks and parried whatever swords were thrown at her, regardless of their numbers.

That’s what they called the technique known as parrying.

When done with perfect timing, it transfers shock to the body, causing a brief state of stiffness.

The problem was that the skill of parrying couldn’t be intentionally executed.

It was impossible with human reaction speed.

But Cecilia was pulling it off like it was a piece of cake.

In other words-

“That’s not human.”

The caliber was on a whole different level.

“Gah!”

Cecilia plunged her wooden sword into Riharten’s solar plexus. Riharten fell over, gasping for air.

“Ugh.”

Just as Cecilia was about to move onto the next target.

However, seeing that no one was left standing in the coliseum, she halted her steps and sighed.

“Is that all?”

This was a test designed to assess ‘survival instinct’.

The survival rate of the new recruits for the Windsor Knight Order was a mere 30%.

But since they planned to lower the level somewhat for selection, that survival rate was bound to drop.

Cecilia had no intention of sending the newly arrived recruits off to the goddess’ embrace.

With such a kind heart, she decided on the contents of the second test.

The passing criteria were the ability to respond to an overwhelmingly strong opponent.

And the spirit of perseverance that doesn’t give up.

She intended to pass them as long as they met either of the two conditions….

‘Riharten, Densen, and that hefty mercenary before… Only three passed?’

The hefty mercenary, as soon as he confirmed Cecilia’s extraordinary strength, threw all his attention into defense.

Good judgment.

Next, Riharten and Densen also gave up attacking and responded as defensively as they could.

Also, good judgment.

If this were real combat, they would’ve been assigned to stall for as long as possible until reinforcements arrived.

However, the rest of them.

‘Unfit.’

Cecilia left the coliseum with a slight sense of disappointment.

At that moment.

“Don’t look down on me, you filthy wench.”

A bloodied applicant grabbed onto Cecilia’s slender ankle.

Despite receiving such a cocky insult, Cecilia was smiling.

She turned around.

“Hah, huh.”

“It’s not over yet.”

There were a few standing still.

Most were classified as passers, but not all of them were.

Cecilia pointed her wooden sword and said.

“You pass.”

**

The large-scale recruitment of the Windsor Knight Order was successfully conducted under Cecilia’s lead.

Out of 2010 applicants, only 30 passed.

Of course, the actual number who truly passed Cecilia’s test was barely even 10, but due to Kairon’s comments about that being too few, a few were selected from the rejected.

A bit of dissatisfaction lingered, but they accepted it.

Since it was just a matter of taking them in and training them.

‘They’re going to be treated very well.’

Though the test was somewhat strict, she was determined to pamper the freshly arrived recruits.

But then…

“Riharten and 4 others! You are ordered to be commissioned!”

Why are there only 5 passers…?

I definitely selected 30.

“Oh dear.”

Cecilia sincerely didn’t understand.

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