On My First Day Undercover, the Organization Collapsed - Chapter 399

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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First Day of Infiltration, The Organization Was Destroyed — Chapter 399
A New History of the Imperial Knight Order (1)
There’s a saying.
A knight can become excellent through swordsmanship alone.
But a knight with a superior breathing technique can one day reach the summit.
It was a statement that underscored the importance of breathing technique.
Because of this, the profession of knight—and the realm one could ascend to as a knight—was ordinarily determined at birth.
Unless one was fortunate enough to be adopted into a Great Family or forge blood ties with one, overcoming this was nearly impossible.
That was why Karen believed her own limits, lacking both a superior breathing technique and a prestigious family, would cap out at Expert Grade.
Honestly, that was partly why she’d been tempted by Sir Mortis’s offer.
She’d turned him down, but a certain unease lingered.
No matter what, you couldn’t simply discard a breathing technique once ingrained.
Minor adjustments were possible, as with Yurio’s case, but the foundation itself wouldn’t change.
So she’d been left brooding over her future after graduation.
Then a path opened.
“Karen.”
As Karen descended from the arena, Alyx approached her with a decidedly earnest expression.
“Would you consider joining the Imperial Knight Order after graduation?”
“……What?”
“I’m making a formal recruitment offer.”
Karen nearly dropped her sword.
‘T-the Imperial Palace?’
It was absurd.
The Imperial Knight Order—where was it?
The pinnacle of knight orders, a place all those not born into the Great Families dreamed of reaching!
And even second and third sons of the Great Families, those unable to inherit, competed for positions there.
‘Me, joining a place like that……?’
“You have more than enough potential, Karen. Honestly, I was surprised. I didn’t realize the Knight Order’s Secret Sword Techniques would suit you so well.”
“The Secret Sword Techniques……? Not the Formal Sword Technique?”
“Surely you didn’t think that swordsmanship just now was the Formal Sword Technique that Trainee Members learn?”
Karen nodded blankly.
Of course she’d assumed as much.
“That couldn’t be. There’s no way I’d have acted that way just to teach a Formal Sword Technique.”
“Then what I learned was really……?”
“Yes. The Secret Sword Techniques transmitted only to senior-ranked members and above of the Imperial Knight Order. Of course, I had the Commander’s permission. And I only transmitted the very beginning portion.”
“……”
Karen felt a moment of confusion wash over her.
“To share something so precious with us……”
“The opening portions are safe to reveal anyway. We often make it public to identify promising Trainee Members. What matters is that out of the eight people I taught this time, your results were overwhelmingly superior.”
Alyx Rockbolt, Executioner Knight of the Imperial Knight Order.
Today, he had finally found a talent worth cultivating.
“Karen, you must join the Imperial Knight Order.”
“……!”
In that moment, Karen couldn’t contain the thundering of her heart.
“Well fought, Karen Aswan. You did well.”
Ziel, having already come to encourage Kus after his victory, now found his way to Karen as well.
“The new swordsmanship that Professor Alyx taught you suits you very well, it seems.”
“Teacher Ziel……”
Ziel had been watching the training all along.
So he understood how the newly learned technique aligned beautifully with the path of swordsmanship Karen had sought before.
“You’ve found a true guide for your sword, Karen Aswan.”
“You think so too, sir?”
“I do. It’s a swordsmanship that suits you.”
She felt tears might spill.
Even having found a new path, her future had remained shrouded in mist.
The chains that bound her—Karen, who yearned to grow as a knight of Valdrain.
Her family. Her breathing technique.
As long as those existed, she’d believed she’d forever remain merely an ordinary knight.
But now, that was no longer true.
‘If I enter the Imperial Palace……’
Even without knowing the breathing technique, at least she can escape the burden of her family house.
“If that’s what you think, Teacher Ziel, then may I take Student Karen with me?”
“That won’t be possible.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Alyx was taken aback.
He’d expected the acceptance to be automatic.
In that moment, Alyx recalled the rumors circulating in society and flinched.
‘Surely he isn’t actually planning to establish a Steelheart Knight Order and recruit students into it?’
The restoration of the Steelheart family!
Not every family did so, but those with sufficient standing invested enormous sums to establish their own knight order.
Whether small or large in scale, there was no better way for a family to display its prestige than through a knight order.
And should war ever break out, such a force would be the perfect instrument to prove that prestige—a knight order was invaluable for that purpose.
‘If the real reason he stayed on as a teacher at the Academy was actually that…… was it true after all?’
Those who needed to know already knew the truth.
After all, didn’t it stand to reason?
No one could explain why a talent of Ziel’s caliber would remain at the Academy in a mere teaching role.
Some had speculated.
What if the Imperial Palace had planted Ziel there to check the power of noble families and to turn the next generation of family heads into its allies?
That theory had seemed plausible enough that most had accepted it—until the family’s restoration, at which point everyone began thinking of the Steelheart Knight Order instead.
“Um, Teacher Ziel. Is it possible…… that you’re planning to bring her into a knight order?”
“A knight order, you say?”
“Yes. I mean…… the Steelheart Knight Order.”
At those words, Karen’s eyes gleamed.
“Teacher, are you really establishing your family’s knight order?”
Alyx immediately regretted it.
‘Damn it, I shouldn’t have brought it up here!’
While not something to speak of carelessly in public, Ziel’s influence among the students was incomparable to that of the Imperial Palace.
Especially for Karen.
From what he’d heard, Ziel had all but transformed her life—so there was no chance she’d choose the Imperial Knight Order over his.
“The Steelheart Knight Order sounds far better…….”
“Now, now, Student Karen. Joining the Imperial Knight Order comes with various benefits. Your position is guaranteed for life as long as you don’t cause trouble, and naturally your family’s prestige will rise too. And moreover…….”
At that moment, Ziel tilted his head.
“The Steelheart Knight Order, you say?”
Alyx let out a sigh.
“Yes. I’ve been hearing all sorts of talk about it from various quarters.”
“Is that so. That’s entirely new to me.”
Pretending not to know!
‘It seems Teacher Ziel has his cunningly calculating side too.’
But then Ziel nodded.
“However, it does sound like a good idea. The Steelheart Knight Order.”
“I’m sorry?”
“It seems like a worthwhile proposal. I’ll give it consideration.”
Something felt off.
He had the feeling he’d just made a very grave…… mistake.
* * *
The tournament was underway again.
Eight competitors remained.
Of those, only two were from Telbier.
Naturally, everyone had expected the fourth-year to win—but he was defeated by second-year Karen of Edelwein, throwing everything into emergency.
Yet the reality was too consequential to deny.
It wasn’t a matter of prize money or prizes for the champion.
Prize money and trophies could be given away freely enough.
But honor—honor cannot be bought with gold.
“Joshua.”
“Yes, Dean?”
“It rests with you.”
The Dean’s hands came to rest on Joshuah Rihart’s shoulders.
“Don’t worry, sir. No one can stand against the House of Rihart.”
“What about Kundel?”
“……Must his name be brought up here of all places?”
“I’m joking. Relax.”
Joshua chuckled softly, running his fingers along his sword.
“It’s not a team match anyway. If I keep winning and take the tournament, that’s all that matters. If there’s anyone worth worrying about… it’s Aken Kundel.”
Fourth-year Aken Kundel.
The one opponent Joshua regarded most carefully.
More troubling than Karen, who’d just eliminated that Telvir fourth-year.
Honestly, he felt confident he could beat Karen.
“It would be ideal to face him in the finals and crush him there.”
“That’d make the best story. But there’s no guarantee the bracket will line up that way.”
Then the match bracket was announced.
The tournament was divided into two blocks.
Joshua and Aken were placed on opposite sides.
“…So it happened.”
Meaning, if they both kept winning, they’d meet in the finals.
“Focus only on the Kundel boy. Don’t exhaust yourself unnecessarily.”
“Understood, Dean.”
The goal was set.
No matter the two-to-six situation—victory in the tournament was all that mattered!
Joshua’s first opponent was Kus.
It was easy.
He’d expected some resistance, but dispatched him cleanly.
“Victory: Joshua Rihart!”
Yet Joshua felt a chill run through him.
Though he’d won easily, that first strike Kus had thrown was sharp enough to startle even him—Telvir’s finest talent.
Had that boy continued to grow at his current rate and faced him as a fourth-year, he would have been a formidable opponent.
“Ah, what a shame.”
“…?”
Seeing him lament even in victory confused Joshua.
He’d won overwhelmingly—what was there to regret?
“Tsk, I think I could’ve landed the attack if I’d done it right…”
Part of him found it ridiculous; part of him found it frightening.
The boy hadn’t come intending to win—he’d come intending to land a single attack.
‘What on earth has he learned, and how?’
Well, he’d been trained ruthlessly by Ziel.
“Kus Hillbilly. You fought well. But the skill gap was clear.”
“So it was impossible after all?”
“No. It was possible. Had you waited a moment longer and anticipated the opponent’s attack, you would have had your chance.”
“Ugh, darn it!”
“Still, you did well. Keep training harder from here on.”
“Yes, Teacher!”
Looking at that grin despite the loss, Joshua couldn’t begin to understand the Edelwein crowd.
“The victor: Karen Aswan!”
And the next opponent emerged.
Karen, who’d just defeated an Edelwein Academy third-year from the same block and advanced.
‘Beat her and I’m in the finals.’
Karen Aswan.
Time to settle the score and definitively crush Edelwein’s momentum.
“We now present the A Block finals: Joshua Rihart versus Karen Aswan!”
And so the match began.
Joshua’s strategy was simple.
Deploy Swift Swordsmanship aggressively from the start and suppress her quickly.
That was all.
That had been the plan until the match started.
Clang!
‘What?’
But the moment his sword bounced off Karen’s blade at the opening exchange, he sensed something wrong.
‘It’s coming.’
Joshua instinctively withdrew the Swift Swordsmanship he’d been about to deploy. Here, he needed defense. His instinct screamed it.
Clang!
He was right.
A chill ran down his spine.
If he’d continued with Swift Swordsmanship, that sharp blade he’d just parried might have drawn blood.
‘But no matter how I look at it, I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before…….’
This Karen’s swordsmanship — there’s something familiar about it.
Where have I seen it?
‘Ah!’
Joshua recalled a memory from a sparring match.
A memory of sparring with Sir Relio, the Imperial Palace’s Chief Knight, whom his father had once invited to the house!
It was a memory from years ago, yet it came flooding back in an instant.
‘So that’s what it was.’
This is Imperial Knight Order swordsmanship.
Joshua’s eyes sharpened.
‘This isn’t an opponent I can handle lightly.’
Joshua glanced toward Celia in the spectator seats.
Her expression was cryptic.
He couldn’t tell whether she wanted him to lose or to win.
To think there was another friend this strong besides Delev and Yurio.
‘Winning valedictorian won’t be easy, will it, Celia?’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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