Vote for Your Knight! - Chapter 41

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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!
41
The unexpected turn of events sent a ripple through the crowd.
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Just like Dmitri—a traitor to the Empire, acting the part.”
“What’s going on between him and Olivier? Why stake your life on a game?”
Then, with a creature’s howl, the cavern trembled.
The moment a Homunculus in the shape of a beast emerged from that cave, the game would be over.
With no choice left, the rest of the team scrambled aboard the boat.
Yet even as they rowed frantically, they couldn’t hide their bewilderment.
“Have you lost your mind? Why are you abandoning the Emperor’s Sword!”
Joan’s voice rang out.
Pavel wore a look of shock as well.
“Saving a teammate is one thing, but throwing away the Emperor’s Sword so carelessly—”
The other teammates’ faces had all turned grim.
Olivier couldn’t even meet anyone’s eyes, standing in shamefaced silence.
Shortly after, the boat returned to shore.
They arrived remarkably quickly, yet no one looked pleased.
Valkyria stood above the six dejected teammates, her expression dark.
Amont spoke first.
“Why did you abandon the sword? Giving up the Emperor’s Sword could be considered an act of treason.”
Joan was quick to respond.
“I apologize. Our team has committed a grave error due to one member’s misguided choice. We accept whatever penalty befits us.”
At Joan’s composed words, a murmur of approval rose from the crowd.
But Pavel held a different view.
“We couldn’t bring ourselves to abandon a comrade. To desert someone we’d already left behind once—that would be too cruel.”
“But the ‘Emperor’s Sword’ is not something you may discard at will.”
Ines spoke sharply.
Everyone fell silent.
Mila, observing her teammates, pointed toward the one who had started all this—Dmitri.
“Rather than quarrel, let’s ask the architect of this situation himself. Sir Dmitri, why did you choose to abandon His Majesty’s sword?”
Dmitri looked at Olivier.
“I did not abandon it.”
“What? You clearly left His Majesty’s sword on that island.”
“Olivier was appointed by His Majesty. He is His Majesty’s knight. And His Majesty’s knight is also His Majesty’s sword.”
!
The crowd stirred with murmurs.
“Wow, the logic is refreshing. Makes your head spin.”
“Does that even make sense?”
“Why shouldn’t it? Dmitri’s right. Olivier is a living embodiment of the Emperor’s Sword.”
“Wordplay—enough of it. They were told to bring back that actual blade, and they left it behind.”
“Because of that bastard Dmitri, even our Joan is ruined.”
Various reactions erupted from different quarters.
Valkyria and the others turned their gazes toward Edith, who sat quietly.
As the moderator and princess, they hoped she would resolve the situation.
When Edith rose from her seat, the Circular Arena fell silent.
“A knight appointed by the Emperor is indeed ‘the Emperor’s Sword’…”
Edith looked at Dmitri and let out a soft laugh.
“I accept this.”
The Circular Arena erupted into noise—those in agreement and those opposed all crying out at once.
“However!”
Edith’s voice cut through.
The uproar subsided once more.
“The original instruction was to retrieve the sword left on the island. Therefore, as a Penalty, I am adding ten seconds to your Record. And…”
Edith looked at Olivier, whose shoulders bore the weight of guilt.
“Your team is the only one thus far to have rescued a fallen comrade. In recognition of this, I grant you a Benefit of ten seconds deducted from your Record.”
Roars erupted.
With this, Dmitri’s team received their final Record exactly as it stood.
They rose amid cheers and made their way to the Waiting Room across from the spectators.
The knights already seated there, having completed their events, applauded them.
While the attendants were undoing Olivier’s chains, the other team members could be heard bickering in the background.
“Damn it, why didn’t you lot save me too?”
“If I’d known it’d come to this, I would have.”
“I’m going to get revenge on these bastards.”
Some teammates were joking around.
“Isn’t this going too far? How could you throw me out without a second thought?”
“I already said I was sorry.”
“And I was eliminated unfairly to boot!”
“That’s enough!”
But others were genuinely quarreling.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the spectator gallery, attendants were moving through the sections with boxes in hand.
They were collecting the Voting Papers that had been distributed when the audience entered.
Dmitri’s throat was parched with tension.
Tallying the votes of ten thousand people would take time—the final scores wouldn’t be announced until the end.
‘Waiting until then will be torture.’
He desperately wanted to earn a good score and survive.
He clenched his fists with longing, and Olivier, now freed from his chains, collapsed into the seat beside him.
“Thank you. For not giving up on me.”
“I did it for the team. You don’t owe me any gratitude.”
“But Dmitri, you were really amazing!”
Pavel chimed in.
Maurice followed suit.
“I never would have thought of that. A knight is the Emperor’s Sword itself—what a concept.”
“Neither would I. I was genuinely moved.”
Even Raphael confessed shyly.
Dmitri’s ears flushed without reason.
“It wasn’t some grand idea I’d worked out beforehand. I simply made the best choice I could in that moment.”
Yes, it had been the best choice for him.
Just as it had been when he stepped forward in the tyrant’s blood duel.
Cornered with nowhere to run, facing a situation where it seemed he could do nothing at all.
A moment of utter despair—much like when he’d cast aside his own honor and chosen the tyrant’s destruction.
“Still, it was reckless.”
That was when Joan spoke sharply.
“We’re lucky the Princess looked favorably on it. We’d have no complaint if you’d been disqualified.”
“But the outcome was good either way. A win is a win.”
Maurice hurried to shift the atmosphere, his words coming out stiffly.
“That’s right. Good work.”
Joan reluctantly agreed.
It was true that completing the team match without incident was a relief.
But Joan’s insides twisted.
His plan to use Dmitri as a sacrifice and become the hero had collapsed.
***
Meanwhile, Deni’s team, unaware of any of this, walked through the passage leading out of the Waiting Room.
Just before they could exit, a blue bird with a lens set in its eye flew toward them.
– Please share a word of resolve.
“What? Did that bird just talk?”
Arsen cried out in shock.
The bird then made a trilling laugh and nodded its head.
“It looks like a new Magical Bird created by the Princess.”
David explained calmly.
– Please share a word of resolve.
The Magical Bird asked again.
“We’ll take first place.”
Kusto spoke plainly.
– Which team poses a threat?
“That would be…”
“There really isn’t one. I believe there’s no other team that can win besides us.”
Suddenly, Pierre surged forward with his answer.
Seeing him speak with such sharp confidence, his teammates were taken aback.
‘He’s done it!’
‘How could I let myself be swayed like that……’
The bird continued its questioning with evident delight.
– You’re saying the other teams are worthless?
“My master told me so. To win the championship, I must only watch myself.”
Fortunately, the last remark ended not with contempt for the competition, but with deference to his master.
The bird seemed satisfied and darted away in a flash.
The five of them didn’t know it, but the interview had been broadcast live to the arena.
They entered the Circular Arena.
The roar of the crowd erupted.
Coming right after such a bold interview, and being the final team, the cheers were even louder.
And they proved worthy of those expectations.
Under Deni’s leadership, they reached the island faster than any team before them.
Soon enemies emerged from between the trees and rocks.
Kusto drove back the enemy’s blade with his club and struck the vital point with precision.
Pierre too swiftly brought down his opponent.
Meanwhile, David and Deni ventured into the cave to find the Emperor’s Sword.
But then—
“Ky, Kylian!”
“What are you doing here!”
Kylian sat bound hand and foot beside the sword.
“……Take the sword and go. Quickly.”
Kylian spoke as if resigned.
“No, I can’t……”
But looking closer, David saw that Kylian’s wrist shackles were broken.
The strong-armed Kylian must have snapped them.
“Your hands are free. That’s enough. Come with us.”
“The boat can’t carry both of us and the sword.”
At David’s words, Kylian shook his head.
“Go! We’re running out of time!”
“Then wait.”
David and Deni took up the sword and headed outside.
Then David alone came back in. Kylian’s eyes widened.
“What are you doing?”
“Deni and the team will load the sword onto the boat. You’re coming with me.”
“I told you, you can’t fit me on the boat!”
“When did I say I was putting you on the boat?”

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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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