Vote for Your Knight! - Chapter 35

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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!
Episode 35
“And the knight who receives the highest number of votes from the spectators will also be awarded 100,000 Points!”
“There’s an Individual Evaluation score too?”
“If you place first and get Individual Evaluation points on top of that, isn’t that basically a free pass?”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
It was a Team Evaluation, but within it lay an Individual Evaluation that demanded standing out above the rest.
The first order of business for Maritime Combat was team formation.
“Knights with higher Rankings may select five teammates each. That makes nine teams of six members total.”
David, ranked first, chose his teammates first.
“Knight Arsen, Knight Deni, Knight Pierre, Knight Kilian, and….”
All of them were knights who had demonstrated exceptional skill or tremendous power thus far.
Their Rankings were all quite high.
Arsen third.
Deni ninth.
Pierre fifteenth.
Kilian twenty-sixth.
This could reasonably be called an elite corps of knights.
David seemed to prioritize the strongest possible team composition over a combination that would make himself stand out.
‘Then the next choice should be Joan, who’s ranked second.’
That’s what everyone thought.
David grinned and looked somewhere else.
“Finally, Knight Kusto.”
All eyes turned to Kusto.
Kusto, still unaccustomed to being called a “knight,” rose awkwardly from his seat.
“You truly wish to select Knight Kusto?”
Edict asked again.
Though Kusto was strong and ranked tenth, choosing him over Joan, who was ranked second, was difficult to fathom.
Given another chance to reconsider, David looked toward Joan.
The moment he saw Joan’s somewhat wounded pride written on his face, something shifted in David’s heart.
“Yes. I select Knight Kusto.”
His voice was even more resolute this time.
“Why’d you pick me? You won’t need me in a technical challenge like this.”
Kusto whispered to David.
“I wanted to be on a team with you once.”
“What?”
“From what I saw last time, your teammates seemed fun.”
David said it, and there was something almost jealous in his tone that left Kusto bewildered.
‘I could’ve been comfortable surrounded by admirers on any team, so why….’
Or was it the opposite — that comfort had grown tedious and dull?
‘Is that why he chose me, because I treat him roughly?’
This man truly had strange tastes.
Kusto stepped sideways, putting distance between himself and David.
In the end, Joan, ranked second and unchosen by David, selected the next team.
“Knight Pavel, Knight Rafael, Knight Morris, Knight Olivier….”
Joan primarily selected knights who were well-regarded and popular.
Pavel fifth.
Rafael eighth.
Morris eleventh.
Olivier thirteenth.
Now there was only one knight left for him to choose.
One corner of Joan’s mouth curved upward smoothly.
“Knight Dmitri.”
“!”
The unexpected choice made the Circular Arena erupt louder than it had when David called upon Kusto.
Dmitri was inwardly shocked, but he kept his expression composed and walked toward Joan’s team.
Beginning with Grimald, ranked fourth and unchosen, team selection resumed, and all nine teams were eventually completed.
“Isn’t David’s team just… unreasonably strong? Who’s going to beat that?”
“Arsen’s third, Deni and Kilian are fierce, and Pierre’s just insane.”
“I’ll give it to Kusto for raw strength, but isn’t that team composition just unfair?”
“Winning comes first—morality’s beside the point. Still, I’ll admit I’m jealous.”
Around the arena, eyes turned toward David’s team with unmistakable envy.
Meanwhile, there was no shortage of talk about Joan’s team either.
“They’ve certainly got the spectacle factor locked down. I mean, Dmitri’s with them.”
“But that’s a weakness too. If I were scoring, I’d dock points just looking at him.”
“What’s Joan thinking? It makes no sense. Like spoiling a finished soup.”
Edict watched the knights murmur amongst themselves before she spoke.
“Ah yes, there is one thing I haven’t mentioned to you all.”
The chattering fell silent at once.
Edict smiled brightly.
“It concerns the 100,000 Points awarded to the knight who receives the highest score from the audience.”
The knights’ ears perked up.
“Nine knights in total will receive the benefits of these 100,000 Points here. That is, teammates will compete amongst themselves, and the knight on each team who earns the highest audience score receives 100,000 Points.”
Edict’s bombshell revelation sent ripples of joy and dismay through the crowd.
David’s team and Joan’s team, assembled as the strongest contenders, suddenly found themselves facing the toughest possible competition within their own ranks.
By contrast, the atmosphere in teams formed by lower-ranked knights brightened naturally.
It seemed they all thought, ‘I should be competitive enough on this team.’
“Don’t panic—first, let’s focus on making our team rank first and earning those 100,000 Points.”
David steadied his anxious teammates.
“Right.”
“That’s the priority.”
They said the words, but tension lingered at the edges of their voices.
“That said, you can’t view your teammates purely as rivals. This evaluation is ultimately a team event that assesses Teamwork as well.”
What was she asking them to do, exactly?
The knights’ faces darkened.
Standing before them in this impossible bind, Edict grinned irritatingly wide and pressed on.
“You won’t be familiar with Naval Battle yet. So you’ll have one week of practice time until the formal evaluation. During that time, while you train, determine your Position assignments.”
So there were Positions again.
Several knights still haunted by memories of their previous “hound” assignment trembled.
“There are three Positions total, with two people assigned to each.”
Edict held up three fingers.
“First, the Acquisition Squad. They enter the cave and obtain the Emperor’s Sword.”
The knights held their breath, listening intently.
“Second, the Tactical Squad. They land on the island alongside the Acquisition Squad and eliminate the enemy.”
Tension spread at the mention of facing enemies directly.
“Finally, the Support Squad. They remain near the ship and provide cover for the others.”
Acquisition Squad.
Tactical Squad.
Support Squad.
To anyone’s eye, the Acquisition Squad would receive the most spotlight.
Conversely, the Support Squad would attract the least attention.
The Tactical Squad carried risk but offered a chance to shine with a good performance.
Weapons were distributed in silence, each suited to its Position.
The Acquisition Squad received swords, the Tactical Squad received clubs, and the Support Squad received bows.
“Now, through discussion, choose your Leader and Position assignments, then begin training!”
Edict dropped her bomb and departed with unhurried grace.
* * *
“Who wants the Support Squad?”
……
No one raised a hand to Joan’s question.
The air stiffened.
The old Dmitri would have volunteered without hesitation, accepting the disadvantage.
But his thinking had shifted since the Ranking announcement.
‘I was ranked fifty-fourth, but there are people who chose me anyway. I owe it to them to give my absolute best.’
If he volunteered for Support from the start, it would look like he lacked drive.
He couldn’t disappoint the people who’d believed in him—the Princess first among them.
He felt Joan’s gaze brush against him briefly before it fell away, but Dmitri did not raise his hand.
“Honestly, it seems like we all want Acquisition Squad anyway, don’t we?”
Morris spoke then.
“Why not select Acquisition first?”
“Then I’d suggest a vote. Each of us picks one of the other five—everyone votes for someone except themselves.”
Joan proposed this smoothly. It seemed fair on the surface, but there was a glint of confidence in his eyes—the confidence of someone ranked second, certain the votes would flow his way.
“No. Let’s do it differently.”
But Olivier, the top graduate of the Academy, cut him off without hesitation.
“If not a vote, then how do you propose we choose?”
“Competition.”
Olivier pushed his glasses up as he spoke.
Joan’s expression softened into something almost sympathetic as he replied, his tone kind and measured.
“Competition? Olivier, I’m saying this for your own good—that would actually work against you.”
Olivier was the Academy’s top graduate.
Which meant he’d buried himself in books while others mastered combat. His martial skills lagged far behind.
He’d made it this far through sheer intellect, maneuvering carefully around the stronger fighters, but open competition for positions? That was beyond him.
In other words, Joan was saying Olivier would end up in the Support Squad no matter what happened.
Yet Olivier spoke without the slightest tremor.
“I have no choice. I can’t be ranked first individually, so if I’m going to earn points, the Tactical Squad needs to win as a team.”

“Isn’t that right? None of us five can finish first individually. So we should all take the path that benefits the majority.”
Olivier’s gaze swept across his teammates, sharp and penetrating.
“Through competition, the person best suited takes the position best suited for them.”

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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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