The day of the selection process. The townspeople, Tsubaki-san's men, and the cats reported to me that those with numbered tags were not allowed to pass through the castle gates. Naturally, some of the contestants were reluctant to enter, but when I explained to them in detail what they had done in this country, they quickly returned home. For this, about 50 people were disqualified, and the remaining 950 or so were down by a factor of 20. It is still not enough.
　We entered the castle and gathered those who wished to enter the space of the training ground. On the hastily constructed stage, me, Rain, Norn, Nicola's leader and deputy leader trio, and Baba's old man and Yamak Prefecture's old man went up on the stage. We had Else, Linse, Yae and Yumina, Lou and Tsubaki-san and others waiting at the side of the stage.
　I operated my phone and turned up the volume of the audio using the speaker function.

''First of all, welcome to the Principality of Brunhild. I am the Duke of this country, Fuyuya Mochizuki. We are going to select the members of our knight corps now, but frankly speaking, our salary is not high. As a knightly order, we have to do a lot of chores as well as guarding the country. As you can see from the beastmen behind me, we don't favor people based on their status or race. Please only stay if you're still willing to do that.''

　As I said this, the recruiters buzzed around. Eventually, a few of them turned back towards the castle gate. Well, I didn't expect them all to stay, though. If you're dissatisfied at this point, you should get them to decline right here.

''Then first, let's see how strong you all are. Please step out of the castle gates and go around the castle moat for a lap.''

　Everyone's expressions were somewhat shrugged off by my words. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most of it. They probably think it's too short to estimate their physical strength.

'By the way, it doesn't really matter where you are ranked. It's fine if you can come around at your own pace. I'm sure you'll be able to find a great deal more to say about it. So long.

　As soon as he finishes hearing my words, I cast a spell over everyone who tries to run away.

"Gravity.
What?

　Suddenly all of the weighted everyone crawled to the ground.

''I've cast a weighted magic on all of you. Please go around the circle in that state. If you think it's no longer possible, as I said before, just take off your badge and you'll be transferred here.

　One by one, the people who had been crawling around stood up and walked out of the castle gates with slow steps. Not so much a tortoise march, but far slower than the speed at which they were walking.
　They are not adding so much weight that they can't move, so they will be able to walk. It would take an awful lot of strength, though. In case you cheat or fall into the moat by mistake, I'm keeping an eye on all of you shinobi to make sure you don't cheat or fall into the moat by mistake.

''Doesn't it matter much if you're ranked or not?''
'Hmm... well, I'll refer to it to a certain extent, but this isn't a test to see your fitness.'

　I answer Rain's question without hesitation. It's true that this will tell you about the superior physical fitness ranking. But that's not what I wanted to know.

"If it wasn't a test of physical fitness, what would you be doing this to see?
Guts.
"Guts?

　Call it seriousness, if you will. People who retire easily are no good. Probably, they are the type of people who immediately give up when things get tough. That's a problem.
　If they don't come back after a certain amount of time, we'll go to their rescue. Those who give up before that time are the real disqualified ones. If he doesn't give up and still tries to reach the goal, he's passed.
　While I was chatting with Rayne about this, the retirees were being sent to me one by one. You're early. Try to hang on a little longer.
　After solving Gravity and refreshing it, we're going to leave quickly. We wonder how many people are left.



　We had about 950 applicants, but now we're down to about 480. That means almost half of them had retired from the race.
　There were many beastmen and demons with excellent physical strength among the higher rankings, but that didn't matter much. As long as they didn't retire, they would pass the test. There could be many reasons why he was chilling or admitting his lack of ability, but it doesn't change the fact that he gave up. Thank you for your efforts.
　I'll put a recovery spell on all those who finished and passed without giving up and restore their strength.
　Now, the next test.

The next test will be a practical test. You can use any weapon you like, and if you can strike a blow to me within 30 minutes, you've passed. I'll be using this wooden sword as my opponent. Then we will begin.

　He grabbed his wooden sword and told them to start, but none of them came towards him. Huh? As I wondered, one of them raised his hand in a cursory manner.

'Um, what's the order?'

　Oh, I see.

No order. You all come on. You can give it your all.

　As if my words made them feel ridiculous, they all attacked me at once, brandishing their gains in their hands.

''Axel.''

　I use acceleration magic to dodge between them and strike a blow with my wooden sword at some of the gaps. There are many of them, so they come in one after another. But we avoided them and struck at every opportunity.
　If there is no gap, we do not attack. The judging is done by Baba's old man, Yamak Prefecture's old man, Else and Yae, who judge the participants' skills, and if they are judged to have reached a certain level, they are asked to write down a number. From my point of view, though, I'm sorry to say that I give people who are clearly not up to that level a blow and ask them to drop out.
　Every once in a while, a sharp blow will come flying in, but as long as the "accelerator" is on, I can't make it up to avoid it. Before I knew it, more than half of them had fallen down, and most of them just managed to stand.

'That's it. It's time.

　Mr. Lane announced the end of the exam. With those words, everyone sat down on the ground. I mean, I was surprised to see someone I knew a bit during the game.
　I turn my gaze towards the two people who are lying on the ground. Oh, it's Rebecca and Logan, after all. Both of them are adventurers we rescued in the Rabi Desert. I used to run a reading cafe in Belfast, and I had them do security and stuff for me, but why are they here?
　They both raised their hands lightly when they noticed my gaze. I'd like to question them, but there's also the eyes of those around me, and it's going to be tricky if they find out I know them. It's not like there aren't people who would say they're favoritism or something.
　In the meantime, I cast a recovery spell on everyone who is down and receive the paper Baba's old men wrote down.

'Then I will tell you the results. Those whose numbers have been called will be here, and those who have not been called will unfortunately be disqualified. Please leave from the gate. Now for the announcement. Numbered cards 3, 14, 21........

　As a result, a little over 100 people remained. Those who didn't go for the attack were disqualified, as well as those I set up for the attack with many gaps. There was no way to evaluate them in a place to show off their skills.
　By the way, both Rebecca and Mr. Logan passed the test. This was not my decision, so I am not a favorite.
　I've narrowed it down a lot. Now let's go to the interviews to decide.
　I take the successful candidates and head to the knight's building in the castle. I'm going to prepare for the interview in the next room while leaving them stranded in another room. The person in charge of the interview will be me, the leader, Rain-san, Yumina, and one other person. I had already invited this person to come to this country to help us.

I'm sorry for taking the trouble to do this. Sorry to take your time.
No, it's nothing. I owe you more than I can ever repay.

　His Holiness the Pope replied with a smiling smile. He had contacted the Ramish Church State beforehand and asked for their cooperation. Several holy knights of the guards are also waiting at the back of the room. They would conduct the final screening interview with the demonic eye that could see through His Holiness the Pope's lies and the demonic eye that could see through Yumina's essence.
　Since he's a celebrity, he'll have the Pope change his appearance with the "Mirage". I was ordered to look somewhat younger at that time. I don't think it matters since I'll be a completely different person but the female psyche is complicated.

''Then I'll go get five of them each.

　Nicola left the room and returned with five people in tow. Two beastmen and three humans. She suggests they sit in a chair placed in the center of the room.

'Then, to your left, please state your name, age and where you are from.

　Me and Rayne ask a bland question, while Yumina, next to my left, checks the essence of the five people with her magic eye. Each time the five people in front of us answer our questions, the left hand of the Pope to our right is grasped and opened. This is a sign that we have discussed beforehand, and it remains open when we are talking about the "real" thing. When it is held, it is a "lie". I will ask questions as I watch it.
　I'm not trying to disqualify you for lying. There are things that people don't want to talk about, and if they find out, they can get into a lot of trouble. But there is no way I can trust a man who has been lied to about everything.
　Well, even if you answer honestly, I wouldn't pass a guy who says he's more important than the people, that he'll do anything if he gets paid, or that he's willing to betray anyone.
　When the first five interviews were over and everyone had left the room, Yumina was the first to open her mouth.

''You shouldn't be the third and fifth person from the left. They seem to be thinking of something outrageous.''
'There were definitely a lot of lies between those two. Nice poker face, though.
'Poker face...? Oh, the art of not letting people read your expression in poker.

　In the meantime, I'll write a batsuit for those two and ask Nicola to call the next five people to come over. I'll have to do this about twenty more times. It's hard work.



Ah, I'm so tired...

　I plop down at my desk languidly after everyone is interviewed. It's much easier to stand around with a large group of people.
　It's not a fox and raccoon fight, but I'm sick of seeing people smiling at me with a nonchalant look on their face and lying like they're breathing. It's a tricky ability to detect a lie, isn't it?

'You usually try not to invoke it too often. Because there are some things I don't need to know.

　You're right, His Holiness the Pope, you'd be distrustful of people if you saw through everything from one side to the other. I hope I've pushed you too far. Let's hold a dinner party later to give you a hard time.
　At any rate, the total number of people who passed the test was 64, if the disqualified candidates are subtracted. It's a little over the capacity, but it's manageable.
　There were 37 males and 27 females. There are more women than I expected. This is probably due to the fact that in other countries, it's hard for women to get into the Order. Since there was an opening for "regardless of gender, race, or status," it's only natural that powerful, talented people would come.
　By the way, Rebecca-san was also for that reason. Apparently, Logan-san was also looking for a regular job. I heard that he was getting married. To Rebecca? When I asked him if he was going to be a part of this, he said, "Why do you think he's a part of this?" and we both hammed it up. Apparently it was another woman. Sorry.
　Twenty-two of the sixty-four successful candidates were beastmen and demons. Since the same beastman is the leader of the group, it's understandable that the beastmen would come, but the demons were a bit unexpected.
　The demon race is a race that is close to the human form, the so-called sub-human race (beastmen are also in this category), but also close to demonic beasts. Vampires, lamia, oga, alraune, etc. fall into this category. They can talk properly and are not hostile to humans, but none of them are willing to get too involved.
　After all, they are sometimes hated for their appearance and race characteristics. In some countries, they are even a target to be defeated (like the Ramish before).
　So the demon race was especially rigorously interviewed, but the five demons who passed were fine with Yumina's magic eye, and they told the truth in the Pope's magic eye screening. All of them wanted to live in human society, so those five, (the vampire, Ouga, Alraune, and two Lamia) passed the test.
　Apparently, vampires were associated with vampires, but it didn't matter if they didn't suck.