As we returned to Green Hollow Town and went about our normal routine, I watched everyone's work with a strange sense of guilt.

　Erica, Noir, and Alexia are all working hard at manufacturing and developing their own specialty products, in addition to juggling their work in the store.

　But the girls know nothing about it.
　The plans for knighthood, the establishment of the new knightly order, Garnett's positive(...) body in the two meanings, his relationship with me, everything.

　I know exactly why I have to hide it, and I understand that those reasons will gradually disappear.

　However, the more I realize that 'I'll be able to tell you a secret soon' or 'I'll have to tell you even if I don't want to,' the more I feel that the fact that I've been hiding this for so long has been terribly dishonest.

　It may be self-deprecating, but for me, it's a rather compelling issue.

' (And it's not just the three people you're hiding from: ......)

　In fact, in terms of guilt, they might be stronger.

　Just as I was thinking about this, the people who were responsible for this visited the store.

'Ladies and gentlemen, we've brought you some food.
'I thought I'd help you if you were busy, but it looks like things are going around fine today.

　Sylvia and Sakura. They are the two people who have known me the longest in this town.

　They know that Garnett is a knight of the Silverwing Knights and has remained in Green Hollow to protect me.

　But other than that, they remain as clueless as the three of them - even though they've been taking care of me many times before.

　The only person in this shop who knows our secrets well is probably Leila.

　It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them.

　As expected, she doesn't seem to know even the real relationship between Garnett and Alma, but .......

'Hey, white wolf. What the hell are you doing?

　As I was looking at the faces who were happy with Sylvia's offering, Garnett sneaked up behind me to talk to me.

'I was thinking it's time to tell everyone the truth,'
Yeah, it's not like we're going to report everything after the fact. I think it would be better to tell them what we can tell them in order.

　Garnett agreed to let me in on the secret and slapped me on the shoulder.

It's a good idea to do it little by little without thinking about all of them at once if you're not ready for it. You'll get used to it after a few times.

　Oh dear, apparently he could see through my unspoken inner thoughts.

　I was almost shying away from the intensity of the pressure, thinking of gathering everyone here in a rental conference room or somewhere and revealing the knightly order and the new knightly order all at once.

　But Garnett was right, it might be easier if he did it in a bit of order.

'Sylvia, Sakura. Do you have a moment?

　Then it's those two that should be the first to confide in you.

　When they all turn around, I offer them an invitation that can never be turned back.

I'd like you to come back after closing time, if you have time. There's something I want to talk to you about.



　--In the evening of that day, Sylvia and Sakura visited the White Wolf Shop as promised.

　We stopped Sylvia from preparing tea in a very natural way, and we, being the ones who invited her, prepared herbal tea for the four of us.

　And so the four of us, me, Garnett, Sylvia and Sakura, came to face each other across the table in the living room.

''Um, so what's the ...... story called?''

　Faster than we can broach the subject, Sylvia is actively trying to move the conversation forward.

　It seems to me that the sentiment is more about looking forward to what they are going to talk about than the anxiety of being prepared for a reformed seat.

　The possibility of a negative report is probably not even considered from the start.

'Well, ...... that one. As the two of you know, I was involved in every single one of the uproar regarding Green Hollow and the 'Demon King's Castle Realm', and I had to make a contribution in my own way.
'Humility. If Luke-dono's activity stops at a reasonable level, then no one else has been able to play an active role. First and foremost, this is a problem for me. I won't be able to be proud of my accomplishments.

　Sakura told me that as a matter of course, and I couldn't help but clam up in response.

　I'm always trying to fix my vicious habit of underestimating myself, but I still haven't gotten used to receiving more credit than I'm supposed to.

　But for now, he called them both in to talk about something beyond that.

　He cleared his throat, regained his composure, and didn't hesitate to get down to business.

''Anyway, the results I mentioned, even though they were the result of my involvement, thankfully the knights appreciated them, and Silverwing and Golden Fang invited me to 'become our knight' ...... and that led to the matter of Leila and the Dragon King's Knights...''

　The timing of the invitation was technically before the Demon King's War was raging, but I'll skip the detailed timeline and reiterate the general flow of events.

''Actually, even after the matter of the Dragon King's Knights went out, talks were going on behind the scenes, and it was officially decided that I would receive a knighthood.

　Sylvia and Sakura rolled their eyes and looked at each other before they both exclaimed in surprise.

　Luke, are you really going to be a knight!
"I just assumed that the story had been passed along and never happened: ...... No, it's a serious matter, so it's only natural to keep it under wraps until it's official: ......!
'That means you're going to be a colleague of Mr. Garnett's!
''No, wait, if he chose the Golden Fang, isn't he a business enemy?''

　The words were full of astonishment without me having time to interrupt.

　It was the right thing to confide in only two people first.
　If I had gathered all of the people involved, I'm sure that this level of confusion would have been too much for us to handle and the situation would have gotten out of hand.

I'm sorry, it's pretty important, so I had to keep my mouth shut.

　When I apologized for not telling them so far, Sylvia and Sakura shook their heads in a contrary impatient manner and denied it.

　--First of all, they could now tell the first secret.

　The only thing I can talk to the two of them about at this stage is probably the rest of the matter of the new knights.

　This one is information that will be heard by the two of them in the not-too-distant future, as they will have to keep pace with the town hall and guild branch in Green Hollow once the organizational structure begins to take off in earnest.

　I've been thinking about this for a while now, and while I was thinking about it, Sakura, who seemed to be full of joy, blurted out something that I couldn't possibly miss.

I've been thinking about this for a while now," he said, "I didn't expect Luke-dono to become a lord. That's really a very happy occasion!　I thought it was just a report of the fulfillment of my engagement, but I was really surprised.
......?　Wait a minute. Sakura, what did you say?

　The living room fell silent.

　Sakura averted her gaze with a half-stretched smile, Garnett stiffened piquantly and poured herbal tea over the table, and Sylvia put her hand to her forehead with a resigned look on her face.

'Well, you see, Luke. It's a good opportunity to tell you something that we haven't told you. This is a good opportunity for me to confide in you.