Vote for Your Knight! - Chapter 31

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

Vote for your knight!
Chapter 31
Dmitri surveyed the grand estate.
It wasn’t ostentatious, but fine reliefs adorned every wall of the pristine mansion.
The paintings and decorative pieces mostly depicted knights in their glory.
His heart quickened.
‘I’m actually standing inside Duke David Bertie’s manor.’
He couldn’t believe it.
David Bertie—the very definition of knighthood.
He’d assumed the man would despise him more than anyone.
‘Yet he’s treated me without a shred of prejudice.’
David got along equally well with Kusto, who was born a slave. Seeing that made Dmitri think his warmth might not be mere pretense.
The most unbelievable part was that he’d made it into the first round of fifty-four survivors.
And that he was fitting in seamlessly among all of them.
“I’ll prepare dinner for you, so let’s eat together and then head to the square.”
David suggested, glancing at Kusto.
“Sounds great!”
“We’d be delighted.”
“If you don’t mind, we’d love to join.”
Pavel, Deni, and Morris answered eagerly.
Soon the servants brought out a lavish feast.
Just as Dmitri was about to take his first bite, he was startled by the way Kusto attacked his plate.
‘He never ate like that at our place.’
What had he said?
“I know it doesn’t look it, but I’ve got a picky palate.”
“I could eat dirt and still turn my nose up at fancy food.”
“That’s why I decided to practice Daily Intermittent Fasting going forward.”
Yet here he was now, devouring the succulent, premium meat with gusto.
Dmitri’s brow furrowed slightly.
‘I suppose he gave up on Daily Intermittent Fasting. It must have been harder than he thought.’
He understood—hunger drove people to eat even foods they normally detested.
As the meal wound down, Morris opened his mouth with obvious curiosity.
“How did you all end up joining Cartamen?”
Pavel spoke up first.
“My father submitted the registration form for Cartamen on my behalf.”
“So you didn’t want to participate yourself?”
“At first I didn’t, but now it’s actually becoming fun. What about you, Kusto?”
“For me… seafaring was exhausting. I wanted to show that commoners like us could compete in something like Cartamen too.”
Morris nodded before looking toward David.
“At first it was because of you.”
“And now?”
Kusto gazed at David’s hands.
They were covered in scars from training.
Each mark was etched as deep as the magnitude of David’s ambition.
‘David is genuinely committed to this.’
“What about you, Sir Dmitri?”
David turned the question toward Dmitri.
“I… as I mentioned before, I came because I wanted to become a true knight.”
Dmitri didn’t mention that Princess Edith had recommended it.
He was afraid it might somehow bring her harm.
Finally, all eyes fell on Kusto.
My turn.
“No particular reason, really.”
Kusto spoke with a contented smile, satisfied from his meal.
“I was sentenced to death.”
“I’m sorry?”
“What?”
Everyone looked shocked.
Kusto alone continued calmly.
“But the Princess said she’d spare my life if I became the final survivor of Cartamen, so I entered.”
“How could that possibly be a trivial reason!”
“So if Kusto falls, he dies?”
“Why are you bringing that up now!”
Everyone erupted into alarm.
Dmitri gripped Kusto’s hand firmly and said,
“I’ll help you. Don’t worry about dying.”
He spoke with grave resolve.
Everyone gathered here was prepared to do anything for Kusto’s Di Eques debut.
“If I live, I live. If I die, I die. Not something I lose sleep over.”
“But—”
“I just want to see how high I can climb. It sounds fun.”
Kusto’s words rendered everyone speechless.
As he spoke of climbing higher, his golden eyes flickered like flames.
Having laid bare his inner yearning, Kusto suddenly looked bewildered.
“Wait—doesn’t it bother you that I was a death row inmate?”
“No!”
Pavel snatched up the Greatsword he’d set down and flashed a bright smile.
‘With that thing around, he’d have nothing to fear from anyone.’
“I don’t believe you became a death row inmate because you were actually guilty,” David said.
David had spoken as well.
Morris chimed in.
“Look at everything we’ve seen so far! Besides, you said you came from Pius, didn’t you? That lord there has a terrible reputation.”
Deni nodded in agreement.
Finally, Dmitri spoke.
“I believe in you.”
Kusto felt embarrassed.
“I never asked for your faith, but… anyway, thank you.”
* * *
After their meal, the six of them headed toward a small plaza on the outskirts of the Capital.
A Broadcast Tower and Screen were installed there as well.
But contrary to their expectation of finding it quiet, the plaza was on the verge of bursting with people.
Pavel carefully set down the mission recording equipment and remarked,
“Wow, there are so many people. More than last time, I think.”
“If it’s like this today, it’ll be absolute chaos on the day of the Ranking Announcement Ceremony broadcast.”
They took their place in the shade of a tree, tucked away in a corner.
Soon Cartamen Episode 3 began.
A polluted forest, unfolding in Liqueia!
A hunt staking pride!
A Team Mission demanding teamwork!
The promotional text that had appeared in the preview was broadcast.
Afterward came the stage of assigning teams and positions.
Chaos already reigned from this point onward.
“I can’t do this! I can’t be a hunting hound!”
“You want me to be the hunting hound? I’d rather just skip this entirely.”
Participants simply abandoned their posts without authorization.
“A Hunting Hound Position? That’s a disgrace to my family, oh no, absolutely.”
“No way! I hate it! Change it for me!”
One contestant threw a tantrum, crying until they threw themselves on the ground like a child.
By contrast, those few participants who chose the Hunting Hound Position of their own accord drew particular attention.
It was Kusto and Morris.
– Why did you choose the Hunting Hound Position?
An attendant approached and quietly posed the question at the time.
Kusto grinned and answered,
“Because it’s the most visible role.”
– The most visible? But everyone else hates it?
“You chase the prey and attack at close range to bite. If you think of it not as the role of a ‘hound’ but simply as a ‘position,’ there’s no role more eye-catching than this one.”
“Oh, really? He actually said that?”
Pavel looked at Kusto with admiration.
“Surprisingly sharp.”
Deni added his comment. Kusto narrowed his brow.
“Unexpected?”
“I’d rather you focus on the ‘how clever’ part instead.”
That was when it happened.
“Me too, I think exactly the same way!”
Morris appeared from nowhere, rushing to Kusto’s side and shouting.
“Slippery bastard.”
Deni muttered under his breath. Morris paid no mind, grinning ear to ear as he talked about getting his airtime.
“You have to forge your own path!”
But that was where the good vibes ended.
The moment Kusto pulled out the Rabbit Monster Bait Scent, the mood shifted violently.
His teammates’ expressions weren’t merely disappointed.
They’d been edited to look almost murderous.
Furthermore, the scene of Morris laughing good-naturedly and lying down in the forest had been cut to make it look like he’d thrown himself down in anger—thud—right onto the ground.
“Get up. Get up!”
Pavel yanking his arm seemed like a power play.
When Pavel playfully drew out his Greatsword, a bright red caption flashed across the screen.
( A fight finally breaks out! )
Deni’s voice whispering to Kusto drifted over the caption.
“That bastard is the scariest one here. Remember that.”
After laying down a foundation of misunderstanding, the screen switched.
It was David’s team, who had drawn the Deer Monster Bait Scent and were harmonious and cheerful.
The contrast was stark.
“What is this…?”
Kusto muttered in bewilderment.
“I think we just got edited badly?”
Morris whispered cautiously as well.
‘What on earth is Her Highness thinking?’
Dmitri bit his lip.
If this continued, it would surely damage his teammates’ morale.
From entering them into Cartamen in the first place, to twisting the broadcast to make it look like his team was falling apart—all of it.
He struggled to make sense of Edith’s moves.
‘I heard she recently hired new assistants. Could this be their doing?’
Dmitri stared at the Screen with a troubled mind.
Scenes of other teams enthusiastically hunting monsters appeared, or still locked in positioning disputes.
Among all the teams, David’s was the most exemplary.
Joanne’s team, with Raphael in it, wasn’t bad either.
With the two of them exercising leadership together, they continuously soothed Kilman, who harbored resentment over being placed in the Hunting Hound Position.
Then, after another turn, back to Dmitri’s team.
They all looked listless and unmotivated, just as before.
That was when Kusto, unable to bear it any longer, suddenly got to his feet.
( Flinch! )
Everyone else remained still, yet that caption appeared anyway.
“What’s this, what is it?”
“Whoa, they’re fighting, they’re fighting!”
“He picked wrong and now—he’s got legendary bad character.”
“Nothing beats watching other people’s fights anyway.”
The common folk, led on by the captions, murmured among themselves.
Everyone held their breath, expecting a brawl.
Dmitri bit his lip too.
What malicious edit would come next?
Kusto on the Screen slowly opened his mouth.

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