Ch.175Joust (1)

The Kingdom of Frank was a nation renowned for its knights and nobles, famous for their social gatherings commonly known as “salons.”

The upper-class nobles formed their own connections and communities, creating factions and power blocs. Beyond these political intentions, there also existed purely hobby-oriented “salons.”

Ah, for reference, a salon is a social gathering hosted by a “host” at a specific mansion, often accompanied by a small ball. While elegantly described as a social gathering, in essence, it’s not much different from any special interest club.

No matter how much factions might split or oppose each other over interests, nobles remain nobles at the end of the day. Since everyone is related or acquainted within one degree of separation, the upper class of the Frank Kingdom generally avoids quarreling at these social gatherings.

It’s not uncommon to see nobles who once fought over territories sincerely exchanging pleasantries. Moreover, since these salons serve as the foundation for the… “romances” of the Frank Kingdom, it’s considered proper etiquette to keep one’s voice down, at the very least.

The “romance” of the Frank Kingdom is, frankly speaking, a euphemistic expression for adulterous relationships between men and women who are already bound by political marriages. Perhaps due to the special nature of these relationships being for “true love,” both parties in a romance must be married.

Given that polygamy is legally permitted, if one party were single, they could simply be taken as the nth wife (or husband), which explains why this particular form developed.

In any case, due to these cultural characteristics, salon culture has become highly developed in the Frank Kingdom.

Although the particularly independent local territories are unfamiliar with this salon culture and, above all, are excluded from these inner circles because they haven’t been admitted…

As the Frank Kingdom itself is gradually moving toward a centralized system, it would be fair to say that social culture, including salons, will only continue to develop.

Among these salons (clubs), there are several long-established and large-scale ones, and the most representative of these is—the “Salon of Duel” (Dueling Club).

The territorial nobles of the Frank Kingdom all possess at least intermediate-level combat ability. No, one cannot inherit titles and territories without being at least intermediate level.

Therefore, there is inevitably a relatively high proportion of knights among lords and nobles, and how could knights—who ultimately make their living by the sword, no matter how you dress it up—lack bellicosity?

It wasn’t difficult to find knights addicted to the thrill of increasing their strength and combat power. These knights were crazy veterans who would spend all day dueling and then complain about having no opponents.

Well… to be fair, without that level of madness, it would certainly be difficult to achieve greatness through martial prowess…

“…Have you heard the news?”

“Ah, about that genius from Baron Alzar’s domain?”

These types, who had nothing in their heads but fighting and who neglected even the management of their own territories, wandering around collecting potential dueling opponents…

One day, they happened to hear news about a genius swordsman from Baron Alzar’s domain.

Baron Alzar’s domain was a territory located in the most remote part of the frontier. It was a region known for its lord’s fair and exemplary governance.

Of course, given its location, it operated somewhat independently from the mainstream of the Frank Kingdom.

Classified as a faction of apathetic neutrality, they existed somewhat detached from the social circles of the Frank Kingdom…

“They say he became a knight at 13?”

“I heard he even slew a troll when he was still a low-rank.”

“I was told he created his own martial style at that age…”

News spread that the only son of Baron Alzar—a territorial noble of the Frank Kingdom who rarely attended social gatherings, and who had gained popularity through minstrels’ tales of his pure love story—was an incredible genius.

This had briefly become an issue among the madmen of the “Salon of Duel” in the past.

The nobles of this salon had stronger identities as “warriors” or “knights” rather than as “lords.” Therefore, rumors about this genius swordsman gained considerable popularity, but at that time, that was as far as it went.

While achieving intermediate rank at 13 was certainly a remarkable feat, it wasn’t quite at the level of being praised as an unparalleled genius.

Though rare, cases of awakening aura in the early teens and becoming knights existed at least once per quarter, so stories about the genius knight from Baron Alzar’s domain were merely consumed as gossip about a promising talent.

Honestly, there’s nothing less reliable in this world than what people call rumors, and until then, there had been no rumors about this genius knight’s actual skills.

Perhaps because Baron Alzar’s domain was a remote territory that kept to itself, there weren’t even enough stories to gossip about since he wasn’t involved with any particular individuals.

Consequently, these dopamine addicts of the era gradually lost interest in the rumored genius swordsman, and the credibility of the rumors themselves came into question.

Since he never interacted with the nobles of the social circles, there was nothing to evaluate, and who would be bold enough to challenge a new major noble family in the eastern part of the kingdom to a territorial war when they didn’t even have a large territory to begin with?

Moreover, since he didn’t participate in dueling clubs or jousts that could clearly demonstrate his abilities, there was simply no opportunity to prove his skills.

Therefore, it was inevitable that all sorts of malicious rumors spread among these cynical adults who only believed what they saw with their own eyes.

Rumors ranging from his very existence being propaganda to exaggerated falsehoods, and even suggestions that he was nothing more than a flash in the pan, became mainstream and began to trend.

While previous generations had maintained decent connections and exchanges with social circles, the Alzar baronial family had been people far from being sociable for two generations, and this was a kind of backlash against that.

Since there are idiots who find pleasure and superiority in belittling others everywhere, such rumors continued to spread.

However, these rumors almost disappeared following several incidents.

First, after the subject of these rumors defeated and completely subjugated the renowned intermediate-rank mercenary from the Holy Empire, “Red Meteor” Droop Bazilit, the story began to spread under notarization.

“Red Meteor”—exceptionally courteous and not barbaric for an orc, and so powerful as an intermediate warrior that rumors spread about him being three times faster than normal. To think someone had subjugated such a powerful figure.

Especially since this information about Droop, which spread as gossip by someone unidentified rather than the Baron himself, garnered great interest, and as nobles with connections to the Holy Empire confirmed these rumors as fact, the story spread widely at once.

Additionally, there was another rumor that spread according to information leaked by a “reliable source,” though without anyone’s specific notarization.

The rumor was that during a major incident where a Golem Armor stored in the Metal Faculty branch at the Soul School headquarters went berserk due to some cultist plot and nearly caused the collapse of the Magic Tower branch, the young master of the baronial family showed remarkable achievements.

Some proactive knights demanded detailed explanations from the Magic Tower, but naturally, the Magic Tower branch maintained silence as there were too many complications involved in this matter.

And this silence was inevitably interpreted as tacit acknowledgment, so for various reasons, the reputation of the young master, which had been tarnished, was just about to be restored when…

“Pe-Pegasus?”

“No, more than that… he heard the divine voice of Lord Jephtal?”

After it was announced that the “miracle experiencer” certified by the Jephtal Temple was actually related to that promising talent, this big news among big news made the social circles burn with excitement.

In an age where religious rationality underlies thought and fanaticism is praised as a virtue, the shocking story of hearing the voice of God completely dominated their minds beyond merely capturing the issue.

What truly excited these surprisingly secular individuals was the existence of the Pegasus.

This flying horse is famous for its strong pride and nobility, and the mere fact that he had one was enough to completely turn public opinion around.

The fact that the Pegasus was the beloved steed of the first king of the Frank Kingdom, who is universally respected and revered, is certainly not a factor to be overlooked in the change of public opinion about him.

Thus, the young master of the Alzar baronial family, who had been dismissed as a flash in the pan, suddenly established himself as the top next-generation prospect.

And as a result of these combined conditions, with knights whose competitive spirit suddenly exploded visiting the town with greatly increased frequency,

‘…Ugh.’

Needless to say, Camille was having considerable trouble with these visiting knights.