Chapter 58 : The Knight’s Luncheon
Chapter 58: The Knight’s Luncheon! Choosing Attendants!
At lunchtime, inside a private banquet room in the Knight Hall.
Around a five-seat round table, six chairs had been placed.
The table was filled with plates of various sizes,
all prepared by the most skilled chefs in the castle.
Laforin and the other four were already seated, yet no one touched the utensils before them.
“I think this assessment might be a bit too early for these kids.” Ray looked at the assessment plan laid out in front of him.
First round: swordsmanship assessment.
Second round: Breathing Technique evaluation.
Third round: practical combat assessment.
The first two rounds were the same as in previous years.
But this third round was something newly proposed by Anthony.
“Practical combat assessment?” Ross sneered, stroking her chin. “I think it’s more like an escape test. Most of these brats will probably be scared into wetting themselves. Last time, just a few Goblins had them running all over the place.”
Clarsen kept a stern face. “That was my failure. I didn’t educate them well enough.”
Ray chuckled. “You can’t really blame yourself. They’re all pampered kids who’ve never seen Beastkin before. It’s normal for them to be afraid. After a few hunting trips with me, they’ll get used to it.”
“Precisely because they are afraid, they must face it. None of us can say when the next Beast Calamity will occur.” Anthony spoke slowly while holding a stack of registers.
“Anthony is right.” Only now did Laforin, seated at the center, finally speak. “This practical combat assessment was my decision. The purpose is to help them build courage in advance. At the same time, it is also a criterion for selecting candidates.”
With Laforin speaking, the others stopped voicing objections.
“So, how is it, Anthony?” Laforin suddenly turned to Anthony.
The latter was currently studying a stack of registers.
“This batch doesn’t have anyone who is certain to leave, but the overall quality is really not great. There aren’t any particularly promising seedlings.” Anthony shook his head and set the registers aside.
The training of Knight’s Squires was usually handled by Clarsen.
Anthony generally did not interfere much.
However, during the Hunt of Deep Winter this time, he had lost one Knight Attendant, leaving an open slot.
He wanted to select a replacement, but after looking through the Quasi-Knights, none caught his interest.
So he turned his attention to the Knight’s Squires.
Generally speaking, ordinary Quasi-Knights formed the backbone of Blackstone City, but those with real potential were usually cultivated early during the Knight Attendant stage.
“Let me take a look.” Ray smiled and reached out, intending to grab the registers.
“What are you looking at? You already have three Knight Attendants—who else are you eyeing?” Ross shot him a glare, her thin eyebrows as sharp as blades.
After being snapped at, Ray immediately deflated and fell silent.
A Low-tier Knight could have one attendant, a Mid-tier Knight two, and a High-tier Knight three.
Among the five of them, only his quota was already full.
The married couple bickered like this all the time, and the others were long accustomed to it.
“How about you recommend a few, Clarsen? Then we can pay special attention to them.” Laforin looked toward Clarsen.
Clarsen took the registers and flipped through them one by one.
He considered each page for a few seconds.
Only after going through the entire stack did he pull out two sheets and place them on the table.
“These two.”
Everyone looked at the table—at the two people Clarsen had selected.
“Rog and Fidis. These two are the most outstanding among this batch of Knight’s Squires. Fidis has just mastered the Breathing Technique. As for Rog, his breakthrough should come within this month.”
Anthony glanced at their profiles, looking somewhat uninterested.
“This Fidis, I’d like to see how he performs.” Ross picked up Fidis’s sheet and examined it. “Specializes in heavy weapons. Blade techniques?”
At this moment, Laforin flipped through the remaining list.
When Leo’s name appeared, he placed Leo’s sheet on the table.
“This Leo—keep an eye on him as well.”
Everyone looked at the sheet in Laforin’s hand.
“Leo Laide?”
Ross frowned, completely unable to understand why Laforin had chosen this one. “Son of the lord of Blackwater City.
Family background: C, Physical condition: C, Academic foundation: C.”
There were no previous results listed—only his initial evaluation when he had just arrived.
This indicated that he was a newcomer.
All C grades meant barely passing in every aspect.
It couldn’t even be called average—more like completely unremarkable.
“With such poor physical condition and such a weak background, no matter how much he trains, he’ll still be a weakling.” Ross was puzzled, wondering if this Leo Laide was some distant relative of Laforin.
Ray beside her also frowned.
He usually remembered female names best,
yet this male name seemed somewhat familiar.
“Leo… Laide?”
He tried to recall, but couldn’t remember.
Clarsen naturally knew Leo.
His expression darkened slightly—his Training Room had been quite disrupted by this Leo recently.
But since Leo was protected by Eve Sova, he hadn’t yet found an opportunity to settle accounts.
Anthony, meanwhile, glanced at Laforin beside him. He pressed his lips together, as if understanding something.
Each knight had different criteria when choosing people.
Clarsen was rigid and valued strength above all.
Ross preferred power-type fighters.
Ray liked women.
As for Laforin, Anthony had already guessed—this Leo Laide was someone Laforin had chosen for his daughter.
Just like how Laforin had once chosen Zoro as his own Knight Attendant.
When selecting people, Laforin valued loyalty.
He picked hardworking candidates from those with ordinary talent and background.
Then he would use resources to cultivate them.
Such individuals would be firmly bound by his resources,
becoming the most loyal attendants.
This was Laforin’s method of selection.
However, Laforin had not paid attention to newcomers for a long time.
This sudden interest in a newcomer—Anthony naturally knew the reason.
It was for the sake of the newly appointed Eve Sova.
Just as he was thinking this, the wooden door of the private room opened.
Eve Sova, now changed into a white formal dress, walked in. “Apologies, everyone. I’m late.”
The four others, aside from Laforin, all stood up to welcome her.
Although all expressed welcome, their attitudes were completely different.
Ross and Eve Sova appeared to have a decent relationship on the surface.
But in truth, it was complicated—back then, her husband Ray had shown interest in Eve Sova.
However, Laforin had intervened directly.
Thus, the relationship between Ross and Eve Sova could only be described as superficial.
Ray, now, had the desire but not the courage.
Clarsen had once been Eve Sova’s rival.
Last year, he broke through to the second stage of the Breathing Technique, becoming the fifth knight.
But during last year’s year-end assessment, his swordsmanship had been defeated by Eve Sova.
A noble lady defeating a knight across realms had become a major topic in the city at the time.
As for Anthony, he found Eve Sova rather troublesome.
Laforin had once wanted her to develop comprehensively, and Anthony had been her instructor in cultural studies.
However, the teaching of Strategy and Poetry had nearly driven both of them to collapse.
In the end, both gave up.
At this moment, Eve Sova took the empty seat and looked at Laforin, who sat across from her.
The atmosphere grew somewhat heavy—the expressions of both father and daughter were slightly strange.
“You may all leave for now.” Laforin exhaled slowly.
Anthony patted Ray and Ross beside him, who were still confused.
The other four all sensed that something was off between father and daughter, and quickly exited the private room.