Vote for Your Knight! - Chapter 33

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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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Vote for your knight!
33
My heart pounding, I watched the screen as David’s opponent was revealed to be Deni.
“Oh my, David took his shoes off!”
“I never thought David would do something like that.”
“Whoa!! Deni!! Her top tore!!”
“Wow, look at her throwing her whole body into it.”
“David’s got more humanity in him than I thought.”
“Sensual Fisherman!! Deni Binoshu!!”
…….
The spectators who had been absorbed in watching David’s tireless Flag-Pulling suddenly stirred, glancing around in confusion.
A woman with glistening tears was letting out wild, delirious cheers.
“You lost, but you fought well, Deni. You did great, my Deni…….”
Only after the two competitors’ match ended did she return to her usual self—trembling, barely able to breathe.
Everything that came after went in one ear and out the other.
“Wow! Morris beat David!”
“I thought he couldn’t fight, but look at him go. Insanely fast, right?”
“Right? Like a flying squirrel.”
“David was surprising too, wasn’t he? I figured he’d be all about appearances, but he threw caution to the wind.”
“But what’s that woman doing?”
“Looks like she’s praying……?”
People murmured as they watched Deni with her hands clasped tightly together.
‘Sensual Fisherman Deni Binoshu, please let her survive.’
The moment her prayer finished, the Ranking Announcement Ceremony resumed.
“We now announce 10th place! A participant who stunned everyone from the first broadcast with their Bare-Handed Combat. Kusto!”
But Deni’s name was not called among the top ten.
“Ughh, u-ugh…….”
“What, that woman’s crying.”
“Must be out of her mind.”
“Who’s she rooting for anyway?”
“Bet she picked some powerless, unattractive nobody.”
The murmurs around her didn’t register.
All she could hear was—
“Silent, yet leaving a deep impression from the very first episode. 9th place, Deni Binoshu!”
Only Edit’s voice announcing Deni as 9th place reached her ears.
“Huh……? 9, 9th place?”
On the screen, Pavel’s face was streaked with tears as he wept with joy as if it were his own achievement.
Deni walked with steady steps toward the Survivor seating area.
The moment she sat confidently in the 9th place seat, fresh tears burst from her eyes.
‘She, she survived……! And in the top tier at that!’
Despite her sparse dialogue and limited screen time, a rank like this meant she’d achieved it through pure charm and skill.
‘Of course, she benefited somewhat from her connection with Pavel.’
Pavel was clearly a top-tier participant by any measure, so that advantage couldn’t be ignored.
Some Pavel fans did criticize Deni for riding his coattails, but what did that matter now?
‘Deni made 9th place!’
Now that the weight had lifted, I could actually enjoy the rest of the Ranking Announcement Ceremony with ease.
Pavel took 5th place, top tier as expected.
And for 1st and 2nd place, it came down to David and Joan.
‘I’d rather David took first. There’s something about Joan I can’t stand.’
Many hoped for an upset, but as predicted, David claimed 1st place.
“The person who deserves first got it.”
“I get it now. David really is charming.”
There was positive feedback, certainly.
“But doesn’t that make first place feel anticlimactic?”
“Doesn’t it seem like they’re just pushing David the whole time? Joan getting to 2nd is actually impressive.”
Though there was pushback as well.
‘This changes everything for who’s first next time.’
But the real shock came next.
It was the final announcement for 54th place.
Dmitri, who everyone assumed would be eliminated, faced off against Kilmen, who everyone expected to advance, for the bottom spot.
“Kilmen’s always been irritating, but I didn’t expect it to go this far.”
“It’s an embarrassment for Pius.”
“Still, isn’t it better than Dmitri being an embarrassment to the empire?”
“Dmitri turned out to be pretty decent, actually.”
“Decent? What do you mean decent? Don’t tell me you voted for that traitor too?”
“No, no, I didn’t…….”
On the anonymous tablet where people left their opinions, Dmitri actually had more supporters than expected.
But in public, backing Dmitri still faced fierce resistance.
‘Besides, Kilmen’s fans are rabid enough to make things worse.’
After the footage of Dmitri’s team taking Kilmen prisoner aired, his fanbase had descended into absolute fury.
‘What if Kilmen isn’t the survivor?’
A strange sense of regret stirred in her chest.
‘I wish I could see more of Dmitri.’
The Dmitri she’d seen in Kartamen wasn’t the bloodless, tearless traitor she’d imagined.
True, editing had its power, but even accounting for that, the way he’d helped Kusto was genuinely surprising.
‘He seems to get along well with the other participants, too. What if he’s not a traitor at all—what if there’s a real story behind it?’
“I find it hard to believe. In many ways. But I’m grateful that you all chose me, and I promise to work harder from now on.”
“Just getting this far is already a great honor for me. I still owe a debt to so many people. Thank you for giving me even one vote despite my shortcomings. I won’t forget it.”
Kilmen, making no effort to hide his displeasure, spoke with swaggering pride.
And Dmitri, expressing genuine gratitude.
Hearing their contrasting remarks, her sense of regret only deepened.
“The first Ranking Announcement Ceremony in Kartamen! And the last survivor, the champion at 54th place, is……!”
But the result was something beyond her control.
“Dmitri Kassel!”
“!!!!!”
The plaza erupted into roars.
No one had seen this coming.
Kilmen eliminated.
No—Dmitri Kassel survived!
“Who is he? Who voted for that bastard?”
“Wait, so someone among us actually voted for him?”
“That’s creepy.”
Everyone denied it, but someone had definitely cast one of their ten votes for Dmitri.
‘Maybe a lot of people voted for him as a spoiler vote, assuming he’d be eliminated anyway?’
To reduce votes going to their favorites’ competitors.
Once she thought about it that way, the result made sense.
In a way, it was the fisherman’s profit.
But strangely enough, she didn’t find it unsatisfying.
She felt like she’d actually sleep well tonight.
* * *
But Edit couldn’t sleep peacefully.
The Kartamen tablet system was on the verge of crashing again.
Right after the Ranking Announcement Ceremony ended, posts were flooding in like mad.
Kilmen eliminated? Is that even possible? Did the princess rig it to push Dmitri?
– Yeah, it makes sense
– Result everyone accepts except Kilmen stans tbh
– What’s more surprising is that he even survived after pulling that stunt
Pavel was 5th but he’s happier that Deni got 9th lol so cute how’s he like that
– “how’s” should be “how is”
– Red-haired girl looks all cool and aloof but she’s actually pretty warm-hearted
ㄴ That’s not a red-haired girl nickname that’s just anti-language; everyone can see those are pink hair;;;
ㄴㄴ It was just a joke what’s the big deal anyway you’re being way too sensitive
By the way why hasn’t that keyboard warrior been showing up lately?? I thought he’d be the first one spamming comments
– He got banned lol
– ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Should’ve figured lol
Did anyone see Joan cry a little when she got 2nd place?? so sad
– I guess she was disappointed too ㅠㅠ Let’s make sure she gets 1st next time
– 2nd place is good enough to be grateful for; what conscience does she have crying about it
– The vote gap with 1st was barely anything so she probably felt extra bummed
How did you know when I didn’t even announce the vote counts?
Each person has to register and use an Identity Badge, so how on earth are posts going up this fast?
‘On the other hand, it does show how desperately people want to share their opinions.’
Surprise and pride washed over him simultaneously.
But there was one comment that caught his attention for the wrong reasons.
[ Would’ve been a shame if the gap with 1st place was actually that small ]
It was from Joan.
‘That can’t be right.’
The vote difference between Joan and David was enormous.
Which was precisely why he hadn’t made it public.
He’d worried it might kill the tension.
‘Who is this person, speaking with such certainty?’
The one who’d been deliberately going around spoiling details turned out to be one of the attendants who worked as part of the Kartamen staff.
He’d given them a stern warning and excluded them from Kartamen duties.
But vague posts like this still surfaced from time to time.
‘There are plenty of people who just throw things out for attention without actually knowing anything, so this could easily be one of them.’
Still, he’d keep a close eye on it.
* * *
Before the third Joint Lodging/Retreat, invitations were sent to the fifty-four Survivors.

We will be conducting Knight Inauguration Ceremonies for the 54 Survivors of the first round of Kartamen. Your attendance is requested.
– Location: Plaza of Victory
※ The ceremony will be conducted as a public event.
Traditionally, Knight Inauguration Ceremonies were held before the altar in a church or in the hall of an emperor or lord.
But this ceremony would be held in the plaza.
It was to open it to the common people.
Since they were conferring knighthood on many at once, they skipped the eve-of-ceremony festivities that each knight would normally receive individually.
When Edit arrived at the plaza, she was taken aback.
Far more spectators had gathered than she’d anticipated.
The temporary barricades they’d set up looked dangerously close to collapsing under the crowd.
‘A Knight Inauguration Ceremony held after so many years—this is only natural.’
And it was a rare chance to see the Kartamen participants in person.
‘Still, there are far more people than I expected.’
The problem was that the next evaluation would also be held publicly.
‘What should I do? If today’s crowd is any indication, we could have a serious accident.’
Then a good idea occurred to her.

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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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