Vote for Your Knight! - Chapter 63

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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 63
After the Mounted Martial Dance Evaluation concluded, another two weeks of rest were granted.
During that time, Kartamen episodes 7 and 8 aired.
Episode 7 showed everything from the Courage Training through the Mounted Martial Dance practice.
The reaction was explosive.
And the actual competition stage itself hadn’t even aired yet.
The Courage Training especially delivered a kind of entertainment no one had anticipated.
???: None of this scares me one bit.
???: The scariest thing is humans.
Reality: Ghosts terrify me, wahhhh
—Lolololololololol
—Lololololololololololololololol
—Hey, Kusto and Dmitri need to explain themselves lol
—Just screaming in front of the ghosts lol
—I drooled watching them because it was so cute lol
—Did you see Dmitri’s expression? Incredibly human lol
[Chat] Olivier needs to explain himself
Is it really scientifically impossible for ghosts to exist?
—??: They don’t exiiiiist
—Olivier probably changed his mind lol
—Coming from the mouth that only ever spoke correctly, such a desperate scream lol
—His mouth and body sure parted ways lol
[Chat] Morris’s charisma is insane lol
He was about to befriend the ghost
—But the ghost was intimidated by him
—Lolol the first human the ghost ran away from
[Chat] How did the master raise Killian anyway…
Looking for his master the moment he gets scared of the ghost
Wasn’t he being whipped?
—I guess the ghost was scarier than the whip
—What if he was actually being caressed with the whip? What if the whip was just play?
[Chat] I want to become a ward of Headmaster Rafael too…
I want to become a ward and be pampered by the Headmaster…
—Think about your age
—The elderly can’t join?
—I ended up donating to the Orphanage while I was at it
—I want to do that too!!!!!!!!
Comments also poured in about the subsequent Mounted Martial Dance practice.
[Chat] Mounted Martial Dance ranking predictions
<Song of Annihilation> is definitely getting first place
Even just listening to it makes me excited—there’s no way I’m not voting for them
And the <Red Heart> team seems to be at a real disadvantage
The last-place team had no choice since they picked this one, but why did Joanne choose it? Her teammates wanted a different song
—She probably has her reasons
—Again, people who don’t know anything are picking on Joanne
—Joanne is an expert in <Red Heart>. Having someone experienced as the leader is actually reassuring
—Since it’s a rare song, I think Joanne actually made a good call
—Even Valkyria pointed it out, but aren’t her supporters taking it too far?
—Supporters lol, just stay quiet if you don’t know
—Don’t you guys think Joanne’s getting a lot of anti-fans lately?
——Yes, yes, yes, yes
[Chat] But the Knights Order has a lot of good songs.
Didn’t hear them much since they’re old
—You’re right, there are a lot of masterpieces that inspire the heart
—Recommend just one
—Recommend “Charge Forward.” It’s on par with Song of Annihilation
[Chat] Mounted Martial Dance ranking spoiler warning (spoiler alert)
1st place is Team 6 with Song of Annihilation
Last place is Team 2 with Shadow Game
No questions accepted.
– Wait, that’s unexpected. The Shadow Game produced last place?
– But the Shadow Game is pretty obscure though. Even with David, they couldn’t salvage it;;
– I thought the Song of Annihilation would rank first because of the song quality
ㄴ The climactic choreography in the middle is basically a cheat code
– It’s obviously fake, but everyone believed it anyway? For real?
ㄴ They’re just pretending to believe it
– I went to the live performance and this isn’t actually true
ㄴ Then what rank did Red Heart Team One get?
* * *
Two weeks of rest had passed.
The day of the Ranking Announcement Ceremony had arrived.
Rafael had already experienced a ranking ceremony once before.
Which made him all the more nervous now.
As he entered the Circular Arena, he spotted the seating for survivors arranged in the center of the stage.
‘One, two, three…….’
“Only twenty-four people survived this round!”
Someone from behind clapped him on the shoulder with a sharp slap, shouting.
It was Morris.
His voice remained cheerful as always.
But even he seemed nervous, his voice trembling slightly more than usual.
“And there are only five of those fancy seats in the middle this time.”
“I guess that’s because there are five Final Die Eques candidates.”
Out of fifty-four competitors, only twenty-four would advance to the next evaluation.
More than half were being eliminated.
‘And from those twenty-four, only five will be the final survivors.’
At the thought of that reality, Rafael’s heart began to pound.
‘I originally came here just to promote the orphanage, which was falling apart…….’
But with each training session and competition, he’d grown hungry for Die Eques itself.
And his desire to see it through to the end kept growing stronger.
‘But I can’t abandon the children in my care…….’
Morris caught the pained expression on Rafael’s face and his own expression turned serious.
But he quickly brightened again, as if he knew nothing at all, and pulled Rafael by the hand.
“Let’s go sit over there.”
Morris led him to where David, Morris, and Kusto were already seated.
“We should sit next to people with name recognition. That way we’ll stand out.”
He whispered this as he guided Rafael along.
There were no assigned seats, so people naturally clustered with those nearby.
Pavel sat beside Deni, of course.
And Joanne was with David Sheffield.
“How have you been?”
David was the first to speak.
His manner was casual and unguarded.
Rafael instinctively started to bow his head, but then remembered he’d agreed to speak informally, and broke into a smile instead.
“Rafael, you look really nervous.”
Kusto said this while raising his own hand.
It was trembling visibly.
“Me too.”
His exaggerated jest drew laughter from everyone.
Thanks to that, Rafael found himself smiling as well.
‘It’s strange. At the orphanage, I’m always the one who has to look after so many children, but here someone is taking care of me.’
While Rafael was having these warm thoughts, Edith and the judges appeared on stage.
“Everyone, it’s been a while!”
“Yes, it’s been a while!”
The response came loud and clear, charged with nervous energy.
Edith smiled slightly and continued.
“Today’s Ranking Announcement Ceremony will be determined by the Benefit Votes you earned in the last evaluation, and the votes cast by our citizens—that is, the Knights Order commanders. And!”
Edith paused for effect before speaking.
“As I mentioned during the last Mounted Martial Dance Evaluation, the team that ranked first overall receives a special benefit! That benefit will also be reflected in today’s rankings!”
Edith brought out a Golden Box.
“Team One, please come forward!”
Team One, who had taken first place among the six teams with the Mounted Martial Dance, the Red Heart.
Kusto, Dmitri, Killian, Olivier, and Joanne and David stepped forward.
“Each of you will draw one ball from here. And whoever draws the one Golden Ball that exists……!”
Edith looked at the tense team members.
“……will be able to gift one hundred thousand votes to a fellow team member!”
One hundred thousand votes!
For those in the lower rankings, that was a vote count that could shift their position entirely.
The lower-ranked knights clasped their hands together, praying they might at least receive that benefit.
Not only Team One but the other knights held their breath as well. If luck turned against them, those hundred thousand votes could mean their elimination.
“The person who draws the Golden Ball will be able to gift one hundred thousand votes to one of their team members. But!”
Edith smiled thinly.
“You cannot choose yourself. The votes can only go to another team member. And you must decide right now which team member receives those hundred thousand votes.”
In other words, the hundred thousand votes would be added to the final tally before the rankings were announced.
“If the person who draws the Golden Ball chooses well, they could save a comrade who might otherwise be eliminated, no?”
……
“Though a knight who might have survived could unfairly find themselves eliminated.”
The air in the Circular Arena grew heavy and cold.
For some, it was an unjust method.
‘This is the sort of trick those broadcast people love to pull.’
Even Edith sighed quietly to herself.
‘The community forums will be flooded with complaints about me, but it’s a price worth paying.’
Behind her back, the Valkyria were already whispering among themselves.
“Ah, this is a bit…….”
“Frightening, our princess.”
“I think it sounds fun though?!”
Edith held out the box with an unconcerned, cheerful smile.
“Well then, please draw!”
Kusto, hesitating, reached in first.
It was a black ball.
“Unfortunately, a blank. Next, please!”
Olivier too drew black. Killian as well.
Blank after blank after blank.
‘Who will end up drawing it?’
Edith watched with curiosity as hands went into and came out of the box.
Then someone’s hand emerged holding a golden ball.
“Ah! Finally!”
The Circular Arena stirred with excitement.
Edith finally turned to see who had drawn the Golden Ball.
“The one who holds the Golden Ball, who now possesses one hundred thousand votes, is……!”

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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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