Johan Oceanus' first impression was one of freshness.
His wavy bluish hair glistened as if soaked with moisture and while his hair was beautiful, it could be seen as excessive and even greasy.
His appearance was also handsome enough that ten out of ten would call him a beauty.
Despite working on the coast, his skin was pristine without a single blemish.
Even for a knight's body, living in harsh conditions usually leads to troubles, especially at the seaside, where salt makes people age faster, as the saying goes but Johan remained fine despite working there for a long time.
It wasn't that he wasn't doing his work properly; rather, he was putting tremendous effort into maintaining himself.
'...But why is he shirtless?!'
Enya stared at Johan in disbelief.
Knight mander Johan Oceanus had entered the training ground without his upper garments.
Was there some symbolic purpose? Such thoughts naturally came to mind at the sight.
"Huhuhu. Well, well. To think my rival would be in a place like this."
Johan Oceanus spoke to Pasius while striking an exaggerated pose like someone in anguish.
Pasius could only give an awkward smile in response, after all anyone would want to avoid someone who approaches them shirtless claiming to be their rival.
Terina shook her head as if this was quite a mon occurrence.
"Is, is he really the mander of Stella Siren?"
Enya quietly asked Terina.
Though she knew Johan's personal information from what she had heard, seeing him in person felt different.
Her first impression was that he seemed somewhat mentally unsound.
Usually, a knight mander should have a dignified air or the distinctive atmosphere of a strong person, but none of that was apparent.
"...Well, he's always like this."
"Oh! Terina! You're still as beautiful as ever!"
At that moment, Johan shouted while approaching Terina.
His voice was loud, and he spoke embarrassing words without hesitation yet his face showed infinite confidence in himself.
Enya could instinctively understand what kind of person Johan was.
Just look at that confidence-overflowing attitude she could tell he was an extreme narcissist and the embodiment of self-love.
Those smooth skin and lustrous hair must be the result of investing in beauty care, that's how serious he was about maintaining his appearance.
Being shirtless was also one of those reasons since he wanted to show his beauty to everyone.
Honestly, it made her question if he was really a knight mander.
"Johan. Didn't I tell you before? If you speak to me that way, you'll have to face my sword."
"Hmm? Hahaha! Maybe you did! But what does it matter? I can take a kitten's claws anytime. I'm a man with a heart as vast as the ocean."
Killing intent rose from Terina.
Johan's words were nothing short of looking down on Terina but Johan wasn't even aware he had made such a mistake.
Because he held himself in the highest regard in this world, even looking down on others came as naturally as breathing.
"Co-mander! Please stop!"
Enya held Terina back.
If she hadn't, Terina would have drawn her sword immediately.
Johan's eyes lit up as he watched Enya stopping Terina.
"Ooh. Who might this lovely fairy be?"
Fairy? Using such words at the first meeting?
Enya stared at Johan with a dumbfounded expression.
That's when Terina emanated an aura inparably stronger than before.
"Johan. If you touch my vice-mander, you'll never be able to use your lower body again for the rest of your life."
Even the thick-skinned Johan couldn't ignore that, taking a slight step back.
"Huhu. Alright, alright. Still as fierce as ever. Though of course, that's cute too."
Johan said this while winking with one eye.
‘Good heavens.’
Enya wanted to avert her gaze the moment she saw that.
Then with a thud, Johan's head suddenly lurched forward.
"...I apologize for our fool causing trouble."
The person saying this while bowing was a woman wearing a neat blue knight's uniform and glasses.
Her cold impression was quite strong, perhaps due to her bob-cut sky-blue hair and sharp eyes.
Surprisingly, she had appeared by striking the back of the head of Johan, a master-rank knight mander.
"I am Doria Imiron, vice-mander of Stella Siren."
"Ah, nice to meet you. I'm Enya Joyners."
"I apologize again on behalf of our fool. Though it might sound strange, please understand that he does these things without any ill intent."
"Ah, yes..."
Doria also greeted Terina.
"It's been a while, mander Terina."
"Yes. Doria. You must have it tough working under that idiot."
"Haah. It's been years but I still can't get used to it. If I take my eyes off him for even a moment, he causes problems."
"Doria! What are you doing!"
At that moment, Johan, who had been hit on the head, burst out in anger.
"Are you going to take responsibility if my luscious hair is damaged!"
He wasn't angry about being hit, but about his hair potentially being damaged.
While Enya was taken aback by this somewhat misaligned reaction, Doria and Terina accepted it as if they were used to it.
"With Stella Siren's troublemaker here, does that mean that the lazy one has e too?"
Enya asked.
"By lazy one, do you mean the famous mander of the Cold Steel Knights?"
"Yes. He usually never moves from the northern mountains unless it's absolutely necessary, but if mander Luthers called, he must have at least pretended to move."
At that moment, a new person entered the training ground.
It was a woman with black ponytail hair wearing the white knight's uniform that proved she was from the Cold Steel Knights.
"Oh! Everyone's gathered here!"
The one greeting with a refreshing smile was Veronica Deville.
Johan was the first to react.
"Hahaha Veronica. You've bee even more beautiful since I last saw you. How about sharing a glass of wine with me tonight..."
"mander Terina. Are you feeling well?"
Veronica pletely ignored Johan and greeted Terina.
'Ah. She ignored him.'
Watching this scene, Enya realized this wasn't Veronica's first time dealing with Johan.
Even after being ignored, Johan didn't look troubled or angry.
"Huhuhu. Everyone's so shy. Well, I understand. Speaking with me might be too harsh for women. Ah, what a sinful man I am."
‘Wow. He's really something else.’
Enya glared at Johan with a disgusted expression.
"Oh! Are you mander Terina's vice-mander? Nice to meet you! I'm Veronica Deville."
"Ah. Nice to meet you. I'm Enya Joyners."
Enya and Veronica shook hands.
Suddenly remembering that Veronica came alone, Enya carefully asked.
"Um. What about the Cold Steel mander..."
"Ah, you mean the mander? Haha. Well, this is..."
Veronica gave an awkward laugh and avoided answering.
Enya thought she knew why.
She too had heard the rumors about the Cold Steel Knight mander.
He was the ultimate lazy person who never moves from his position unless the Emperor personally calls.
It was questionable how such a person ended up serving in the rugged Aret Mountains.
"Don't tell me he didn't e?"
When Terina asked with a somewhat hardened expression, Veronica shook her head.
"Ah. That's not it. He did e, but he said if there's nothing to do right away, he'd rest somewhere else and disappeared. I tried to catch him, but as you know, our mander isn't someone who's easily caught."
"Just like him."
A narcissist Stella Siren mander and a lazy Cold Steel mander.
Enya felt truly fortunate that she ended up working with Terina.
As Enya was developing an even stronger sense of loyalty, the final guest appeared in the training ground.
Everyone who recognized him became extremely tense, this was true even for the master-rank knights.
"Oh. Everyone's here already."
Luther Wardot approached with light footsteps, wearing his formal uniform.
The Empire's strongest sword and beyond that, he was called the continent's greatest swordsman, and Enya became very tense at his appearance.
Luther briefly looked around and frowned deeply.
"I called all the manders, so why is one missing?"
"Uh, well..."
As Veronica tried to make an excuse, Luther cut her off by raising his hand.
"Enough. I'll call him. Reinhardt. If you don't e out in 3 seconds, I'll personally e looking for you."
Luther muttered as if talking to himself in a low voice but the effect was certain.
Someone dropped from the sky onto the training ground.
'I couldn't sense his presence.'
Enya was bewildered.
To so easily bypass the senses of a high-ranking knight like herself?
The one who appeared was a boy who looked the youngest among them all.
She thought of him as a boy because his build was so small.
With shaggy white hair, an expression that seemed bothered by everything, and half-opened eyes he was the final member, mander of the Cold Steel Knights Reinhardt Kimbel.
Luther smiled, showing his teeth as he looked at Reinhardt.
"Do I always have to pressure you with words to make you show up?"
"Ah, what a bother."
Reinhardt openly expressed his annoyance without responding to the question.
However, no one pointed out this behavior.
They accepted it naturally, as if this wasn't something that had just started happening recently.
Enya belatedly realized the gravity of this gathering.
'The manders of the Empire's three knight orders and their vice-manders, plus the Royal Guard's knight mander are all gathered.'
Four master-rank knights and the strongest continental swordsman in one place.
With a bit of exaggeration, the fighting power gathered here could start a war.
No. Considering Luther' strength, that might not even be an exaggeration.
"Now everyone seems to be here."
Luther nodded with satisfaction after confirming all the familiar faces.
"You must all be curious. Why did I suddenly call you here, especially in such busy times?"
At those words, even Johan, who had been chattering continuously, closed his mouth and raised an eyebrow, sensing something ominous.
Luthers went straight to the point.
"First, let's see how much you've all grown, with a fight."
Simultaneously with those words.
-Kuung!
A sword fell from the sky and stuck into the training ground.
A huge wind whirled around with a thunderous sound, as if a meteor had fallen.
Enya squinted at the wind while keeping her eyes fixed on the sword.
It was an ordinary longsword that looked a bit small for the large-built Luthers but this was actually his most frequently used personal weapon.
Gladius Arts was a term referring to special weapons given to knights above a certain level.
Among them, the Gladius Arts that Luther used was one of the most notable in the Empire.
Its name with the solo numbering code was [Jet Stream]
Luther quietly picked up Jet Stream.
"You'll need to use your full power, not hold back while being considerate."
The expressions of all four master-rank knights turned cold.
"Co-mander?"
Enya carefully asked Terina while looking at her with a look that asked what was going on but instead of answering that question, Terina gave a separate order to Enya.
"Vice-mander Enya Joyners."
"Ye-yes."
"Bring my Gladius Arts."
"What? Are you serious? You said you absolutely didn't want to use it..."
"This is not the time to discuss that."
Terina said firmly while observing the other manders.
Johan's playful smiling expression had hardened, and Reinhardt, who had been slouching his shoulders listlessly, was now tense and on edge.
Needless to say about Pasius, who usually looked gentle.
The eyes of all the master knights had changed as if their previous appearances were fake.
"Because we'll die if we don't."
At those words, Enya screamed internally.
'What in the world is about to happen!'
* * *
Sedina left the dormitory and went out to Leathervelk.
While other students were all excited with the vacation approaching, it had nothing to do with Sedina.
Sedina entered the hideout adjacent to Royal Street to meet Hans.
She planned to discuss with Hans the materials she had organized with various information obtained this time.
Though Hans pretended otherwise on the surface, he was someone who took good care of his junior.
Probably this time too, he would give various advice while organizing the materials.
Thinking that, Sedina opened the door and froze in place at the sight of a huge white mass filling her vision.
'What is that?'
At first, she thought she had e to a wool factory but seeing the huge white mass wiggle, she realized it was a living creature.
"Senior Hans?"
e to think of it, she had heard from Rudger that Hans was born with a unique constitution that allowed him to transform into beasts.
Indeed, when Sedina called his name, a deer's head suddenly popped out from behind the massive fur and turned to look at her.
[Ah. Sedina.]
"Yes. I brought the organized materials, but that appearance..."
[Ah. You can put the materials over there. Right now, I'm in the middle of an experiment, so it's a bit difficult. Could you e back later?]
Whatever beast he had transformed into, Hans's voice had a majestic resonance.
The strangely abundant magical energy scent and the horns emitting a faint golden light, she knew that appearance from recent experience.
She had heard that the Spirit King living in the Kasar Basin had such an appearance.
[Guests will be arriving soon. You'll get caught up in it if you stay here.]
"Ah, yes. Then I'll just leave the materials and go."
Sedina carefully placed the file of documents on one side before closing the door and going outside.
She still wondered about what she had just seen.
Though she knew about his constitution from what she had heard, it was fascinating to see it directly.
'Should I go back to Theon then?'
Although she had e all the way to Royal Street, Sedina was thinking of returning to the dormitory since she didn't have a shopping hobby.
While walking with that thought, Sedina unconsciously stopped.
'Someone is tailing me.'
Suddenly, she remembered what Rudger had told her.
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