Sir Velram was astounded and shocked. All this time he thought that he was getting the death penalty to atone for the crimes of his subordinates, but instead he was offered a deal.

“I… Are you saying that—“

“Just answer the question.”

Fraenis interrupted him.

He looked at Fraenis whose expression is that of impatience.

He sighed.

“Never.”

Reinhard looked at Fraenis to see what her reaction is, but she’s just watching him, perhaps not entirely believing whatever she’s discerned.

“We took the oath of honor. We lived by a code. Now that we’ve broken that, all that awaits us is death. If you’re saying that you’re willing to spare our lives in exchange of pledging our loyalty to you, to start over and correct our mistakes, then we would gladly accept the offer. At least, I would. If you want to know the true opinions of my subordinates, I suggest you question them too.”

Velram added while looking down in self-disappointment.

Reinhard once again glanced back at Fraenis. This time, she has confirmed that Velram was not lying.

“How many knights returned with your lord?”

Reinhard asked him.

“I’m not sure. If I had to guess, maybe about ten. But I doubt they’d be able to leave the forest alive, especially if they’re taking the route that we came from which passes through the basilisk nest.”

“Basilisk nest?”

“What, you don’t know? North of here, about halfway between this and the border of the kingdom is a nest full of basilisk. Originally, we entered the forest with about a thousand men... I’m sure you know just how much were actually present when we have arrived.”

“What happens if your lord doesn’t make it out alive?”

“His Majesty, King Garom desperately wants to have the chosen one as his subject. I mean, that’s just common sense. War is coming, and the existence of a chosen one would basically give us the easy road to victory… If Tali don’t return, the King may assemble an even bigger search party. Either way, it doesn’t matter if they return or not, the King would still come here sooner or later.”

“If they did end up coming here, are you prepared to fight your own countrymen?”

“Former countrymen.”

Velram corrected him.

“And that depends on you if you accept our allegiance.”

“You’re just going to cast aside your loyalty to the throne just like that?”

“My loyalty is not to the throne, chosen one. My loyalty is to the people. The weak and the innocent.”

“Wow that’s so clichéd.”

“Ahem. I see.”

“…”

“You mentioned war earlier. War with whom, exactly?”

“The Sunkha Alliance. It’s an alliance of the elven city-states north-east of here. The closest one would be Meir.”

“War is not coming…”

Fraenis suddenly spoke.

“Ever since I can remember, the Kingdom of Belm and the Sunkha Alliance has always been at war against each other. War is not coming because it’s already here. It’s always been here.”

“The War of Thorns ended fifteen years ago at the signing of—“

“That was just an armistice!”

“…”

“Perhaps. But at the very least, it brought peace to the lands for fifteen years, did it not? Now tensions at the border are starting to rise once again because of that accursed incident.”

“What incident?”

Reinhard curiously asked.

“A year ago, there was an elven boy who was killed by his friends. Apparently they were bullying him for being an elf in the Kingdom. One day, they decided to push him to the river just for fun, but he ended up drowning. That incident brought light to the discrimination that the elves have been suffering in Belm. Now, word started to come from the various city-states that the humans there were being abused by the elves, which only further fueled the discrimination that the innocent elves are experiencing in the Kingdom. It’s just become a cycle of the same thing happening no matter where you go.”

“What about the other countries? Are they doing anything in this matter?”

“Ah, the northern states have their own problems to deal with.”

“Hmm. I see. I guess for now I’ll talk to each and every one of your knights first before making my decision.”

And so each of the remaining 17 knights were brought to the same room where Reinhard and Fraenis questioned them similar to the one they asked to Velram. All 17 of them said that they were willing to go where their commander would without any hesitation or lies.

Afterwards, Reinhard talked to the dryads about this. He told them that he planned to have the knights be the guards of Garden. At first some didn’t agree, but after they relentlessly questioned Reinhard about the specific details, and Reinhard answering them to the best of his abilities, they ended up agreeing anyway. This process took several days however as there was just so many questions, and add to that the reconstruction of the parts of the village that was destroyed, the compensation for the dryads, the distribution of food after the granary has been sacked and just all sorts of administrative work. Reinhard was so busy that he wasn’t even able to take a look at his stats. He was barely even able to sleep for more than 8 hours.

Now, all of the 18 knights stand orderly in front of Reinhard’s house.

Reinhard cleared his throat, his eyebags are already starting to form.

*cough*

“So… uh. Valiant… knights!”

“Crap, what do I say? I should have asked Velram first before assembling them all here.”

“…”

Fraenis, noticing that Reinhard was struggling to come up with what to say, took the initiative.

“You, who were former honorable knights of the Kingdom of Belm, whose honor and duty have been tainted by the corruption and misdeeds of the very lords you serve, you now stand here, hoping to correct your crimes and your conscience. Do you accept Reinhard as you rightful lord and vow to be his sword until the last whisper of your breath?”

“YES!”

All 18 of them, with Velram at the front, answered simultaneously. Their resolute shout echoed throughout the whole Garden.

“Then, Chief Reinhard. Do you promise them that so long as they’re in your service, that you would do anything in your power to bring honor and glory to their names, and not bring shame to their ranks?”

“Eh? What?”

“…uh, I do!”

“Isn’t this just like a wedding?”

“Then the pact is sealed. The vow has been spoken. Subjects, kneel before your Lord!”

Suddenly, the 18 knights that were standing in front of Reinhard all began to kneel with one knee in coordination. Even Fraenis to his right faced him and knelt to him. Seeing this, the dryads that were just on looking at the sides had now also begun to kneel.

“Wait, Lord? I’m now a Lord? Okay, phew, calm down… Don’t mess this up. I've practiced this particular speech already...”

“I now pronounce you… the Knights of Garden! Carry your names with pride and honor.”

Reinhard said as strong and regal as he could.

“Yes!!”

Then they all stood up just as coordinated as they knelt.

“I now pass on my judgement to the five knights that have committed crimes in the Garden. Step forward.”

The five of them stepped out to the front. They didn’t know what punishment they’ll get, but they were prepared to accept it with no hesitation.

“The five of you… as atonement for your crimes… you shall, to the absolute best of your abilities, be the ones responsible for the combat training of the others who wish to join your ranks in the future. That is all.”

“Yes, my Lord!”

Then with a quick, snappy motion, they all returned back to the line that they came.

*Ping!*

[SYSTEM]

You have leveled up to [Ruler] level 2!

All social skills gained a boost of exp

You have leveled up to [Ruler] level 3!

You have leveled up to [Ruler] level 4!

All social skills gained a boost of exp

You have leveled up to [Ruler] level 5!

Your [Subject] Active Skill has now changed to [Subjugate] Active Skill

You have leveled up to [Ruler] level 6!

All social skills gained a boost of exp

*Ping!*

[SYSTEM]

[Charismatic 2] Leveled up to [Charismatic 3]

[Commanding 1] Leveled up to [Commanding 2]

[Commanding 2] Leveled up to [Commanding 3]

[Deception 1] Leveled up to [Deception 2]

[Deception 2] Leveled up to [Deception 3]

[Interrogation 2] Leveled up to [Interrogation 3]

[Intimidation 1] Leveled up to [Intimidation 2]

[Intimidation 2] Leveled up to [Intimidation 3]

[Mockery 1] Leveled up to [Mockery 2]

[Mockery 2] Leveled up to [Mockery 3]

*Ping!*

[SYSTEM]

Your [Village Chief of the Garden] Title has now changed to [Lord of the Garden] Title

*Ping!*

[SYSTEM]

[Ruler] achievement get: Obtain a Knightage.

You can now create your own banner for your knights to rally on. The banner you create gives passive area effects to those rallying to it.

“…”

Reinhard just stood there, dumbfounded of the amount of pinging, notifications and interfaces that popped out all of a sudden. His lack of sleep has begun to make his head spin.

♦ ♦ ♦

“Your Majesty! Lord Tali has returned from the expedition!”

“Oh? Let him in.”

“Yes!”

The nobleman casually walked towards the throne. However, he’s drastically changed since the last time he went there.

The once fat man had miraculously lost a lot of weight!

“Hmmm? Where did all your mass go?”

The king asked in surprise and jest.

“Your Majesty! We didn’t find the possessor… However, I managed to find out where the Garden is located! We killed the gatekeeper, so the barrier shouldn’t close anymore. The dryads are hiding the possessor, your Majesty! We need to quickly storm Garden with a larger force!”

Suddenly, the King’s joking demeanor disappeared.

“A thousand men isn’t enough?”

He said.

“Your Majesty, by the time we made it to the home of the gods, there were only about a hundred men left alive. Most of them are even heavily injured due to our encounter with the basilisk nest. On our way back we had to go around it, and that is why I have lost this much weight, your Majesty.”

“So you failed in the end after all…”

The nobleman suddenly gasped as he looked up his King.

“Your Majesty, I know the way and I can lead an army to—“

“ENOUGH!”

“…”

“You have failed me, Tali. Not once, but twice. TWICE! I can’t afford to send an army to the forest when the long-eared are poking their sticks in our borders! You managed to lose what, nine hundred men on a couple of snakes?”

“Your Majesty, please, I swear—“

“Do you even know what’s currently happening? While you were out in the forest, wasting 900 men that could’ve been put to better use, the Sunkha Alliance has already made their move. They’ve already taken Fort Gol and Fort Teya! And all you had to do was find the damned possessor! And you couldn’t even do just that!”

“…”

“As promised, the only punishment is fire… Assemble the stake! Get this man out of my sight and bring him to the plaza. Our citizens would bear witness to the consequences of your failure, Tali.”