On the very day specified in the letter from the Royal Court, I took Garnett to Tri-Brook City.

　I hadn't been to the city since I negotiated a deal with Alan the blacksmith to procure high quality armor.

　In contrast to Green Hollow's transformation in a short period of time, this one hasn't changed much at all since then.

'White wolf, your mansion is over here.

　Garnett leads us through the city to our destination, the Tri-Brook City Imperial Mansion.

　It's the most heavily guarded section of the city, located on the edge of an upscale residential area.

　The mansion is surrounded by a high fence and is surrounded by knights who seem to be the Knights of the Dragon King, and I could see their determination not to allow even a single intruder to enter.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a place for royalty and nobility of the duke class to stay when it comes to the city (city). ...... The level of security is different when it comes to the king himself.

　Garnett looked over the security system of the Dragon King's Knights and muttered in admiration.

　He went around to the front of the mansion, revealed his identity and showed his letter to get permission to enter, and walked to the front of the parlor while being accompanied (and escorted) by the knight.

'Wait indoors for a moment. Please wait until His Majesty is ready.

　It's clear that the people who were waiting for us when we entered the room as we were urged were not just anyone.

　A blond-haired, blue-eyed man with a frivolous atmosphere, Carmine, the leader of the Silver Winged Knights.

　A man with a bleak face, unable to read emotions, Gilbert, Commander of the Golden Fang Knights.

　I've recognized these two men for a long time.
　And the remaining two - one of them has several squires - are people I don't remember at all.

　The first is a woman of strange age with a well-defined face.
　Of the four, she is the only one sitting in a chair, her eyes completely closed for some reason, even though she is not asleep.

　There are several girls following her around, but even though they are girls, they are not 'women who are still young but working in society' like Garnett and Sylvia, they are genuine female(...) children of a true woman(...), and they look like they are only ten or so years old at best.

　And the remaining one was a knight who looked even older than His Majesty, a strong-looking man with white hair brushed back.

　He was even older than Garnett's father, Sir Rembrandt, for his generation.
　It's not a bad idea to call him an old knight.

　The hair on his head was not the fresh white hair of the White Wizard's Bran, but white hair that had lost its original pigmentation and was weakening.

　But the physical deterioration due to aging is minimized by training, and the physique gives the impression of being more robust than a poorly trained young knight.

''...... Hey, hey, you're kidding me. All the senior knight leaders of the senior knights are aligned?

　Garnett muttered with a bitter smile on his mouth.

　Before I could reveal my surprise, Carmine noticed our arrival and spread her arms out with a big smile.

'We've been waiting for you!　Finally, the star of the show has arrived!
'Don't make a fuss, Carmine. It goes in your head.

　Carmine is full of joy and Gilbert is expressionless as usual.
　The difference in temperature between the reactions is so great that I feel dizzy.

It's a good thing that you are Alma's?

　A woman with closed eyes turned the whole swivel chair around to face us.

　However, the angle was slightly off and she was facing the nearby wall, so the attendant girls moved the swivel chair again to adjust it to the correct position.

'(Could this person be blind?)'

　That was more than enough behavior for me to guess so.

　The others, including Garnett, are not surprised and take it for granted, so it seems to be an open fact that her vision is not functioning.

　To my alone amazement, the white-haired old knight called out to me in a dignified, low-pitched voice.

'Luke of the White Wolf Forest. And Sir Garnett. I'm sure His Majesty will be arriving soon. Don't stand there, come here. You are blocking His Majesty's entrance.
Oh, ...... is a yes.

　Since there is only one doorway into this parlor, His Majesty Alfred would be coming in through the same doorway as us.

　If we stood in front of the doorway and stood idly by, we would be interrupting His Majesty in any case.

　As the old knight warned me, I left in front of the door and moved to the center of the four of them as Carmine guided me.

　The position is just sandwiched between Carmine and the female knight commander of the chair on either side, with Gilbert and the old knight furthermore waiting next to them.

''Well, it was Luke from the White Wolf Forest, wasn't it? Alma's fiancée of the Argentia family. Rumor has it from Sir Carmine.
'You are not yet officially engaged. It's as if I've been asked to accept this offer of recognition from Lord Rembrandt. Um, .......
My name is Angelica. I am young, but I am the Knight Commander of the Knights of the Rainbow Rainbow Scales.

　The rainbow scales -- commonly known as the Knights of the Temple or the Order of the Oracle -- are the senior knights who undertake the official duties associated with temples in various places.

　If the statement that 'all the senior knight leaders are lined up' that Garnett leaked earlier is correct, then that old knight is the head of the Knights of the Dragon King, one of the remaining senior knight groups.

　Dragon King, Golden Fang, Silver Wings, and Rainbow Scales.
　In this place where the heads of the four senior knights at the pinnacle of the twelve knights are all here, are we really going to talk about my knightly ordination and the new knights?

　If so, this is really a ridiculous situation.

''That ...... Carmine Commander. Is this time's errand really about the example?
'I don't like to be a bedbug, but I think you're roughly correct in what you're imagining. So the matter that we've been preparing and coordinating has finally come together.
Half of the reason it went on so long is because the Silverwing (you guys) were trying to balance the books on their backstage machinations.

　Gilbert spat venom from the side of the room in response to Carmine's seemingly easygoing remarks.

　His gaze seemed to be directed not only at Carmine, but also at Garnett.

''It's still good that you have a secret guard attached to you. It's not unconvincing as part of the Silver Wing's duties. But it was a bad idea to send the knight leader's sister as a wife. The three gangs showed some difficulty because of that.''
They agreed with the idea of 'sending a maximum of one initial member from each group'. All's well that ends well. And besides, Gilbert.

　I could roughly guess the content of the explanation that Carmine was trying to give.

　So I decided to tell Gilbert that with my own mouth, interrupting Carmine's statement.

'The order is reversed. He didn't give me Alma because the Knight Commander recommended him to me. I was given this story to be recognized as a man worthy of Alma.
"...... Hmm, I'm sure it's all the same to you. Oh, well. I don't see that as a problem. I'm just reaffirming that some of the rest of the group weren't.

　Commander Angelica smiles as she hears it beside her.
　Garnett seems to be using maximum energy to keep his emotions from showing on his face, and his mouth is pulled tightly together.

　The old knight who had been standing there like a craggy rock until now said a few words that tightened the air that was almost relaxed at once.

''End this useless talk. His Majesty will be here soon.''