I had just sent Noir off to my room when I noticed Garnett sitting at a table for two, looking at me accusingly.

　Sheesh, I guess I just talked to her too long.
　If I had left them waiting for their dinner order, they would have been in a bad mood.

　As I hurriedly walked over to the table, Garnett raised one hand and called out to his employees, talking to me with a disgruntled look on his face.

'd*mn, you're late. What have you been up to?
'I've told Noir about Alexia. You might get in trouble later.
I know. That's true, but I'm at my limit. Let's just go ahead and order.

　I quickly tell them my order and wait for the food to arrive.

　However, the food that Garnett ordered seems to take a long time to cook, and the one that arrived first was for me.

''Mmm ......''
Here. You should eat. You're hungry.

　I take the food that has just arrived on a small plate and hand it to Garnett.

'Are you sure?'
You'll have to share later.
Heh, well, you're welcome.

　We finished our dinner while chatting with each other.

　It's a very everyday and conventional conversation that has nothing to do with the weapon shop business or the Demon King's Army.

　Garnett's grumpiness from earlier has disappeared, and he is happily talking with a smiling face.

　Eventually, the meal is over, and we're talking about going home, when a guest approaches our table.

'You two, can I have a word?'
'What?　Ah!　Brother U. ......!

　Garnett almost screamed and covered his own mouth as soon as he could.
　I almost called out in surprise, too.

　A blond-haired, blue-eyed colored man with an aloof atmosphere - Carmine.

　The man who is the Knight Commander of the Silver Wing Knights and Garnett's brother laughed with an attitude that made it sound as if he was just a mere visitor.

　Garnett hurriedly listened to the reaction of the people around him and glared up at Carmine.

　Luckily, the dining room space was still packed to capacity and it was so noisy that he couldn't even hear the conversation of the seats right next to him very well.

'Hey, what are you doing, brother?'
'Didn't I tell you the last time I was here?　It's just a vacation. It's the perfect resting place to unwind after all the hard work I've been doing.

　Carmine then placed his hand on Garnet's shoulder and gave me a picture-perfect wink as he looked at me.

　His face is rather similar to Garnett's, but the variation in expression is very different.

'By the way, Garnett. I'd like you to leave your seat for a moment. I wanted to talk to you and Luke-kun alone.
"...... Don't blow that shit up,
What? Hey, hey, hey, hey. ......

　Garnett easily left his seat and went away, and Carmine sat down in the empty chair.

　Oh my God. I didn't think it was possible for me to be in this situation.

　Even though I'm taking a friendly (friendly) and non-ritualistic (informal) attitude, the other party is a knight commander who is inexplicably the last seat of a nobleman.

　It's also one of the people who have recommended me to His Majesty to become a knight.

　It's hard not to be nervous and cautious in this situation.

　There were a few adventurers in the family of noble families, including Theodore the Dragon Slayer, but most of them were just a hobby for the second or third son who couldn't be an heir.

　However, as long as he was enough to serve as a Knight Commander, it was not hard to imagine that he was in the position of the head of the family or the next head of the family.

　-- and even more so, he's Garnett's brother, of all people.

　In a time when both adventurers and knights of all genders can play an active role in both adventurers and knighthoods, it is hard to imagine that the Silver Wing Knights - who maintain a men-only women's organizational structure - their chieftain is not a conservative thinker.

　How does my sister, who is only in her mid-teens, really perceive the fact that she shares her bed and board with a man nearly twice her age?

'Luke-kun. I have one unfortunate announcement to make.
What is this ......?
''We're talking about knighting you, but His Majesty Alfred has given me a temporary hold on the decision. It was decided to freeze it, including the recommendation from the Golden Fang, until the end of the War Against the Demon King.

　Contrary to Carmine's attitude of disappointment, I patted my chest from the bottom of my heart.

　The Silver Wings and the Golden Fang, an extraordinary situation where I was simultaneously recommended as a knight of my own organization by two knightly orders.

　No matter how you look at it, it was part of the political bargaining between the two knights, and no matter which one you chose, it was a needle-in-a-haystack (rather) that was likely to have a bad relationship with the other side.

　I can't help but feel heartfelt gratitude to His Majesty Alfred for putting off the problem with the supreme title of King.

'I'm relieved, to be honest. I wasn't at all prepared for that.
Ha-ha. That's not surprising. I argued against the premature inference, too.
'......?　Didn't the Commander nominate you?

　When I asked him that, Carmine laughed and said, 'No way.

''This time it was your father's idea. Former Knight Commander and former head of the family.''
'Well, what's that about ......'
I'll explain. I'm a little embarrassed that it's my family's story. Oops, young lady. Two tea sets, please.

　Carmine switches the story in a flowing tone while ordering a cup of tea from Sylvia on the way.

'I'll proceed with the situation that the Knights were a military organization ...... of countries that surrendered to the Westland Kingdom as a known fact. That's fine.
Yes, I know.
Very well. We, the Silverwing Knights, are no exception, and your father was the one who clashed with His Majesty Alfred on the battlefield.

　It was the first time he had heard of this fact, but it wasn't surprising.

　In the twenty years between his accession and now, His Majesty had conquered a large portion of this region traditionally known as Westland and established a unified nation that bore the name of the Westland Kingdom.

　Twenty years - that's a short period of time that can be pilloried as 'only' when considered at the national level.

　The leaders and military commanders of the conquered countries are still living on as a matter of course, if they were not killed in battle.

'As a condition for the continuation of the military organization after the surrender, your father drank the condition of a total replacement of the highest officers, including the commander-in-chief. That's how the military organization was renamed the Silver Wing Knights, and I became the head of the Knights.
......?　Doesn't that make you the first Commander?　Earlier, you said you were the former Knight Commander.

　'You've got a lot of detail,' Carmine responded with admiration.

''Officially, that's right. You will be able to find out what is going on in the world and what is going on in the world. It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

　I see," he said, "that the emphasis was on clarity.

The old management, including my father, have all retired, but they are still very influential. I'd like to change the old conservative system, but I'm having trouble getting things right.

　Knowing the circumstances of the inner workings of the Knights, a situation that was not normally known, made a lot of sense.

　While keeping the old recruiting standards, Garnett is allowed to join the Knights with a false gender--this contradiction can also be explained by the discrepancy in the policies of the former Commander who has strong influence and the current Commander who is still young.

''Well, let's get to the point then.
The main thing?　Isn't this about the knighthood thing?
That's an important matter too, but you don't need me to bother telling you while I'm on vacation, do you?

　At this point in time, I pause as Sylvia brings the tea, and I make sure that she has moved to another table before resuming the conversation.

　However, Carmine's next comment was more than powerful enough to stop me from thinking.

It's about Garnett," he said. I wanted to have a long talk with you about it.