Reasons to Protect the Witch's Son

***

The maid stopped in front of a door in the middle of the hallway.

“This is the room assigned to Dame Elaine.”

It was on the second floor of the knights’ dorms, used only by the female knights. On the door the maid pointed to, there was a brass plaque with Elaine’s name engraved on it.

The maid left and Elaine sat down on the bed in the room. Her goose down blanket sank down softly with the weight. She untied the sword from her waist and examined it carefully.

A sword given by Ash during the knighting ceremony. The black scabbard had a white flower engraved on it, similar to that on the uniforms. She had finally become a knight under Ash, just like she had longed for. A position where she could protect him at any time, and a reason to stay by his side.

But, this was only the first step. She still had work to do. Although it had been postponed for a while due to the current circumstances, she would still definitely investigate the magic circle.

There was a lot of work ahead of her, but she would not neglect any of it. She held the sword tightly in her hands.

***

“Sir, I think you went too far this time.”

In the hallway leading to the Duke’s office, Lowell chased after Ash and complained. He held a pile of documents in his arms and his mouth never rested as he flipped through the papers.

“What now?”

“The final exam! How does it even make sense that there were only 9 successful candidates in total?! Every other year there were more than 20!”

“I guess there was a lot more talent present in years prior.”

“That’s true, but there were also a number of decent candidates present this year as well.”

“We have no need for people who can’t even hold out for a mere minute.”

Ash responded in a stern voice.

‘The difficulty of holding out for a minute is just too much…’

Lowell swallowed the words before they could escape. He knew that they didn’t make any sense. No matter how outstanding the Knights of Philres were, they were still only human. There was no guarantee they would be safe on the numerous missions and battles they would be required to face. In fact, quite a few of them were injured or even lost their lives.

Of course, the treatment fees and consolation payments were several times higher then in other territories, but a person’s life is not something that could be counted with money. Ash was just choosing the ones who were most likely to survive in the first place.

Monsters, who came in a variety of shapes and sizes, were many times more dangerous than dealing with humans. Dealing with a monster required not only combat prowess, but also a variety of abilities, including agility and sound judgement. Ash judged those who had them and those who did not in the final exam.

This year’s rule was to remain in the circle while sparring with the examiner for a one-minute time limit. In one minute, Ash had learned everything he needed to know about each applicant. If they did not meet even one of the conditions, they would fail.

It was without a doubt that the difficulty of the exam this year was significantly higher than years previous. Moreover, there was not even the slightest leeway. Even Lowell, who had watched the test, was speechless. There was no way those who had experienced it weren’t appalled.

He had heard those who left the exam after failing, swearing at Ash, calling him cold-blooded. It wasn’t this difficult in the beginning, but it seems as time goes on, the standards for acceptance are getting tighter and tighter.

It’s not that Lowell didn’t understand how Ash felt, but it was a pity to miss out on so much talent that could be grown and groomed. In addition, it was never pleasant to hear people refer to the Duke as cold blooded.

Lowell shook his head and sighed deeply. Why was it always him who had to report these things to the Duke and irritate him?

Ash, who stopped in front of the office door, turned around and asked, as if he had suddenly remembered something.

“Didn’t you say that you had to go to the celebration ceremony soon? Why are you still following me?”

“Ah! That’s right! Here, take these.”

Lowell took the top document off the pile he was carrying and handed the rest of the stack to the Duke. Ash frowned.

“Are you serious?”

Ash glanced at Lowell, who was grinning, with a disapproving look on his face, then turned and entered the office.

After confirming that he was gone, Lowell turned around and headed to the ceremony hall. It was time for him to meet some new faces.