“It seems there was a reason why the letter of recommendation was so thunderous. You are definitely as good as it said,” Count Winslon declared.

“You flatter me, Your Excellency. I lacked the skills to prevent the unfortunate accident. I apologize for that.” Eugene bowed his head while acting remorseful for killing Daymos, even though he felt not a drop of guilt.

“Don’t worry too much about Sir Daymos’ departure to God’s side in the unfortunate accident,” Count Winslon assured Eugene.

“What?” Eugene carefully raised his head.

Count Winslon continued with a stern expression, “It is unprecedented for holy knights to participate in knight competitions. As such, they signed memorandums promising not to hold my family or the opposing knights responsible in case they suffered serious injuries or died.”

“Oh, I see.” Eugene felt great joy, but he didn’t show it. Wasn’t this essentially a free pass that would allow him to kill Dircht and the other holy knight without any penalties? Judging by the count’s expression, such measures must have been prepared beforehand.

‘Just as it was with Essandra, it seems that all great nobles have a few slithering snakes in them.’

“Then, I must prepare for my next match, so please excuse me,” Eugene said.

“Of course,” the count answered politely before clapping, and the rest of the nobles in the honored seats followed suit.

“Luke, go get those things,” Eugene said.

“Yes, master!” Luke answered in an excited voice before running to the people who were moving Daymos’ body. Luke was thrilled. Soon, he returned with a disappointed expression after seemingly arguing with the opponents.

“The other holy knight stated that he could not give us the armor and the sword… Instead, he gave me this,” Luke stated. Eugene confirmed the contents of the leather pocket given to him by Luke with regret.

“300 silver coins isn’t bad either,” Eugene said.

He coveted the armaments of the holy knight, which contained divine power, but there was no helping it. Moreover…

‘The one who dies last won’t be able to pay with coins anyways.’

Eugene’s eyes sank coldly as he met the gaze of the holy knights. They were glaring at him with furious, threatening eyes.

But the hunt had just begun.

***

After winning his first match, Eugene only participated in one more match before advancing to the finals. All of his opponents had forfeited after witnessing Eugene’s two matches. Considering that knights valued reputation and victory greatly, this was an extremely unusual situation. However, on the other hand, it was only natural. Sir Lucius, who had been considered as one of the strongest candidates for the competition, had been defeated in a single exchange during Eugene’s second match.

After having his horse and armor robbed by Eugene, Sir Lucius was left lying unconscious on the ground for nearly thirty minutes wearing nothing but his underwear. His appearance was more than sufficient for Eugene’s next opponents to give up.

In the end, Eugene came to face a mercenary captain after advancing to the finals by fighting only two matches.

“Hahahaha! Sir! It seems you made it all the way here due to luck! However, I, Palacios, can shatter even luck with my spear…” Before the match began, the mercenary captain shouted with an arrogant attitude. But he was thrown off his horse after only one exchange and was unfortunately killed on the spot when his own horse stomped on his throat.

“The champion of the jousting competition is! Sir Jan Eugene!” The loud shout of the host caused the crowd to explode into a loud cheer. Following the customs of the competition, Eugene slowly circled around the stadium as dozens of wreaths landed around him, although some were lucky enough to get caught on Eugene’s lance. Eugene recalled Galfredik’s advice and nodded at those who were throwing the flowery crowns at him.

“Ahh!”

“Oh my…”

To put it nicely, most knights were ‘manly,’ which meant that they possessed rather burly, hideous appearances. As such, Eugene’s beautiful, refined face was sufficient to drain the souls of all the women, regardless of their status or age.

“Kiekk! Kieeeeek! Back! Get away, you wenches! Stop flirting with him! He’s mine! He’s mine!” Mirian shouted angrily. It appeared as if she had devolved from the spirit of desire to the spirit of jealousy. Eugene simply ignored her and directed Silion to the seats of honor, where Count Winslon and the other nobles were seated.

“What an excellent match, champion!” Count Winslon praised Eugene with excitement in his voice.

‘His heart rate is completely normal.’

If this had been an acting competition, Eugene was certain that Count Winslon would have taken home the championship. As such, he inwardly dismissed the meaningless praise. The count’s speech lasted for a while, and afterward, Lanslo slowly crept up to Eugene’s side.

“Kiek!” Mirian screamed with fear and voluntarily dived into Eugene’s leather pocket.

“Great work today, Sir Eugene. Thanks to you, I was able to witness something amusing,” Lanslo said.

“Something amusing?” Eugene asked.

“Yes. I have never seen such angry holy knights before.” Lanslo answered. According to his words, Jung Dircht and his colleague had returned to the castle earlier after recovering Daymos’ body.

“I heard them say that they would kill you, probably more than twenty times. They will surely be determined to do so tomorrow,” Lanslo continued.

“I see,” Eugene answered calmly. 

Lanslo grinned after seeing Eugene’s reaction. “It seems that there is no reason for me to worry. By the way… What about tomorrow?” Lanslo asked. His question contained a plethora of meanings. 

Eugene passed by him, just as he had done in the morning while answering quietly. “I have a feeling that there will be quite a few unfortunate accidents during the competition this time around. Well, I guess it could only be considered fortunate events for those holy knights since they had always wanted to depart to the side of God.”

“Kuhaha!” Lanslo laughed without realizing it. The more he interacted with Eugene, the more he found the man to be strangely charming.

***

“I’ll kill him! That heretic!” Iod shouted in fury while breaking all the furniture and ornaments in his room. The servants and aides were stricken with fear, and they did not dare to enter the room. Dircht became lost in his thoughts while watching his colleague. 

After a while, he muttered while stroking his chin. “Something’s weird.”

“You think so as well, right!?” Iod jerked his head while huffing.

“That man must have used evil magic. There should have been no reason for Daymos’ horse to have been scared like that, right?” Iod continued.

“That should be the case. Specifically, that feeling…” Dircht recalled the moment before Daymos clashed with Eugene. Just before Daymos’ horse had reared, Dircht had felt something eerie. It had been a strange feeling – something different from the monsters of the evil lands, something that could only be detected by holy knights who had trained and developed their divine powers for a long time.

“Sir Iod. Jan Eugene… That man may not be human,” Dircht stated.

“What? Is that true?” Iod asked.

Jung Dircht was famous among the younger holy knights for his deep-rooted faith. Moreover, he possessed a very good intuition and was often responsible for detecting monsters or undead even without utilizing his divine power.

“I think it will be better for us to use our Evil Destroyers when we face off against him during tomorrow’s swordsmanship competition, just in case,” Dircht said.

“Hmm! If you say so, then I’ll do as such,” Iod answered with a nod. He grabbed a longsword that stood tall along with the rest of his luggage on one side of the residence.

“With this, we will know for certain even if he suffers a small wound!” Iod declared. The Evil Destroyer had a circular pommel engraved with a radial pattern and its silver blade was etched with lines of prayer. It was a special weapon used by holy knights when dealing with monsters or undead. If an undead creature or a monster that possessed a mana stone was injured by the blade, their identity would be revealed.

“Yes. And if he is indeed an evil creature, we could use it to pressure Count Winslon as well. We can get revenge for Daymos and make a great contribution at the same time,” Dircht decalred.

“Good!” Iod responded.

Shing!

Iod’s reflection could be seen on the glistening blade of the holy sword. But his eyes were filled with eerie, ghastly energy.

***

Clang! Thuck!

“Keugh!”

A metallic ring was followed by a dull thud and a groan.

“What a mess. Who were the knights that instructed you? Did they go easy on you because you were a girl? Or because of your father?” Galfredik said.

“Not at all! Keugh!” Selena shouted while dangling in the air with her collar held in Galfredik’s hand. The burly knight clicked her tongue before letting her go. Of course, he wasn’t gentle in placing her down.

“Ugh!” Selena groaned after being tossed to the ground like a sack of potatoes. She stood back up while massaging her neck.

“And you thought you could become master’s aide with that much skill? No, rather, you thought he was rather lacking, didn’t you?” Galfredik said.

“T-that’s…”

“Even slave number one is much stronger than you. Moreover, he has a lot of experience even though he is only three or four years older than you. So, someone like you would dare?” Galfredik said.

Selena’s face turned red once again. Before, it had been due to a lack of air, but it was due to shame this time around. Although she was never actually stripped naked, Galfredik’s words were as fierce as his excellent swordsmanship. It was to the point where she had cried more times because of his harsh criticism rather than the pain from being beaten up during her training. It was even more upsetting that she couldn’t refute his words since all he said were the truth.

“Do you think that the monsters in evil lands or enemies on the battlefield will treat you like the knights from your family? ‘Oh, little missy knight~ You must be so tired, why don’t we take a little break~?’. ‘Oh, what? You were injured~? Why don’t you consume a mana stone before we continue~?’. Is that what you’re expecting?” Galfredik scolded.

“Is the training too tough? What you’re receiving now is what I went through when I was twelve! Are you trying to indirectly confess that you’re worse than a twelve-year-old?”

“Have you never taken care of your equipment? What kind of an aide can’t even take care of their master’s armor? What are you good at then – knitting? What? You can’t even do that?”

“I will give you a choice. If you want to be a knight, stay, and if you want to be a lady, go back to your aunt’s castle right now. You can continue learning swordsmanship as a hobby, just as you did so until now.”

Selena was about to go insane. It felt as if each of the savage knight’s words were stabbing her lungs. She finally came to realize that the knights at her castle had gone easy on her during training.

‘I was but a frog in a well.’

Galfredik alone seemed to be stronger than most of the knights at her castle, but he hadn’t even been sworn in yet. She had mistakenly thought that she could be sworn in within a year or two, even though she couldn’t even receive a single blow from Galfredik.

She wanted to hide in a hole somewhere. But despite the embarrassment, Selena felt somewhat relieved. It was difficult at first, but after acknowledging her shortcomings, it felt as if her eyes had been opened.

‘Anyways, how strong is Sir Eugene then?’

Selena had a sudden thought. As such, she carefully asked Galfredik. “Master. Sir Eugene is incredibly strong, right?”

“Very strong,” Galfredik answered.

“How strong is he exactly? Do you perhaps know of Sir Entailer? How strong is Sir Eugene compared to Sir Entailer?” Selena asked.

Sir Entailer was one of Selena’s favorite knights and a famed knight of the previous generation. He was famous as the Ogre Slayer. There were many legendary tales regarding Sir Entailer, and his stories were a regular repertoire of minstrels and bards.

“Entailer? Who is that?” Galfredik asked.

“Y-you know. Um, don’t you know the legend of Wolfslaughter? He’s the one who defeated an ogre with it…” Selena quietly trailed off. She was somewhat disappointed that Galfredik didn’t know about her idol.

“Wolfslaughter? That’s master’s sword.” Galfredik stated.

“What? What?!” Selena exclaimed with shock. 

Galfredik shrugged. “It’s the sword that master uses. He was satisfied that it was a very good sword. I don’t know who that is, but this Sir Entailer, he must have been quite strong.” Galfredik said.

“...”

Selena could not believe that Sir Eugene owned the sword of her favorite knight. She stood frozen in place, her mouth wide agape in shock.

***

“That’s…!”

On the second day of the competition, both the vassals of the county and the direct descendants of the family were dumbstruck. Eugene’s shortsword, which was easily slicing through chainmail as if it was a freshly baked bread, was a sword they knew very well.

“W-wolfslaughter!”

“Why is Sir Entailer’s famed sword in the hands of that knight?!”

“Is he Lord Fairchild’s knight?”

The nobles of the county could not hide their astonishment after witnessing the return of a famed blade to its home after more than twenty years. A satisfactory smile appeared on Count Winslon’s face after seeing the nobles’ reactions. He had married off his daughter due to a relationship from the past, even though he had not been particularly fond of his son-in-law. But now, it seemed as though he needed to re-evaluate his son-in-law.

After getting married to his daughter, Viscount Fairchild had not been in touch with him for a while. So when he suddenly sent a letter recommending a knight from the countryside, Count Winslon had been befuddled. But when he found out that there were quite a few unusual rumors surrounding the knight, he sent someone to invite the knight to participate in the knight competition. Now, it appeared as though he had netted a bigger fish than he expected.

‘My son-in-law has an eye for talent.’

Count Winslon nodded with satisfaction as Wolfslaughter sliced the opposing knight’s blade into two pieces. Eugene weaved past the opponent’s guard in a ghastly fashion, then placed his blade against the small gap between the knight’s helmet and armor.

“Ooooh!” The count forgot his dignity and jumped up with a shout after witnessing the amazing sight. Eugene’s incredible performance was a combination of an amazing sword technique, power, and the famed blade.

“Incredible! This is incredible! That is a knight who is worthy of Wolfslaughter and Sir Entailer’s honor. You could even call him Sir Entailer’s reincarnation! Hahaha!” The count exclaimed in a bout of rare praise, and the nobles became wide-eyed with surprise. Simultaneously, their intuition alerted them – if the ‘black knight’ played a decisive role in the upcoming mock battle in two days, they might be able to see the birth of a directly appointed vassal after a long time.