****
‘Even so, it’s a shame to waste that knight Lopez’s talent.’
Having peered into the information of so many people through the All-Seeing Mirror, I had never seen anyone with talent on that level.
He had already awakened his aura, so switching to magic wouldn’t be easy, but if he could develop his magical abilities without major issues, he might make a name for himself as a magic swordsman, right?
If he could wield Vanguard Force gear proficiently alongside magic, it would birth a terrifying hybrid just from imagining it.
Of course, the paths of magic and sword are so difficult that even digging one well deeply makes success hard, so whether his talent would lead to greatness as a magic swordsman was uncertain.
The fact that he had attained regular knight status at such a young age gave some hope, but even with his talent, tremendous effort would be required.
‘It’d be good to poach him if possible…….’
Judging from how Allen Lopez treated his comrades, I could probably convince him to accept recruitment somehow.
But the problem was Count Otis.
Since Allen Lopez was a knight from another territory, the count’s permission as his lord took priority over the knight’s own will for any transfer.
‘Maybe try bribery?’
Considering Count Otis’s disposition, it seemed like a viable method.
It looked worth putting into action.
I didn’t yet know exactly how useful upper-grade and top-grade talents were, but I had been thinking it was about time to start building my own faction anyway.
Above all, now that I was far from my territory, wasn’t this the perfect timing to form a faction?
Moreover, forming a faction with people who had high potential value despite being middling now, rather than those who had already bloomed, would arouse less suspicion from others.
The shape of my future felt a bit clearer.
“I’ll need to move quickly.”
As expected, there was no fluke among Archduke Lucas’s fortuitous encounters.
I took out the All-Seeing Mirror, now my Treasure No. 1, put it on, and rose from my seat.
***
Not just anyone could become a knight or a mage.
Innate talent was required, and only those who could sense mana through aptitude tests were recognized as qualified and granted educational opportunities.
The reason commoner-born Allen Lopez could become a knight was that he had passed the aptitude test at the basic academy.
The pass rate for the test was one in a thousand.
Lopez had endured much bullying due to his small stature since childhood, but everything changed after passing the test.
His family and relatives, who had clicked their tongues saying he should just manage his own share, now fawned over him, and the scorn and bullying he received at the academy vanished overnight—everyone started watching his mood instead.
In a world with class distinctions, having the talent to become a knight or mage meant being equivalent to nobility, so it was only natural treatment.
Back then, Lopez had savored the feeling of owning the world, but it didn’t last long.
After graduating from the basic academy and being summoned to the lord’s castle to begin barracks life, he found himself surrounded only by people of the same status.
Humans love establishing hierarchies.
If he had gone the magic route, the atmosphere might have been different, but unfortunately, Lord Count Otis preferred cultivating knights over the costly mages, and the easy target Lopez suffered severe bullying from his rivals.
Sexual harassment was basic, with beatings and extortion as extras.
That was why, even after becoming a regular knight, he couldn’t help but feel disillusioned with his profession.
‘I could have achieved greatness as a mage.’
Someone’s offhand remark tossed at such a Lopez.
He got excited at the question stabbing right at the heart of “Why be a knight?”, but the words that followed were deeply etched into his mind and hard to forget.
He had thought the same—that it might have been better to walk the path of magic instead of knight.
‘Second Combat Brigade Commander Adrian Lawrence. The incompetent second son of Viscount Lawrence’s family. The epitome of a hopeless noble who brings women to the battlefield and plays games all day…….’
A figure with all sorts of bad rumors, but the chilling glint in Adrian’s eyes upon actually meeting him exuded an aura that couldn’t be taken lightly.
Of course, he knew rumors weren’t everything.
But when the gap with the rumors was this wide, it only made him more intimidating.
“We meet again.”
Was it coincidence?
As Lopez pondered Adrian, the man himself appeared before his eyes.
Lopez, who had been wandering the camp aimlessly, swallowed dryly and saluted.
“Good day, Brigade Commander.”
Once again, Adrian appeared with a beauty in tow, drawing concentrated gazes from around them.
“We’ll be getting close from now on.”
But at Adrian suddenly offering a handshake, Lopez could only gape in bewilderment.
“Yes? Y-Yes, it’s an honor.”
He shook the hand reflexively, but shrank back at the inscrutable smile delivered with those signature cold eyes.
He felt once more that this man was utterly different from the rumors.
“Is His Excellency Count Otis at headquarters now?”
“Yes, that’s my understanding.”
“Got it. See you later, then.”
The “see you later” somehow sounded meaningful.
With those words, Adrian headed toward division headquarters, while Lopez hurriedly retreated to his own tent as if fleeing.
“Sir Lopez. Sir Lopez, are you there?”
But his rest didn’t last long.
“The lord is summoning you. You should head to the division commander’s office right away.”
A sudden summons from the lord followed.
Having just seen Adrian head to Count Otis, Lopez couldn’t shake an inexplicable unease.
“Ah, come in, Sir Lopez.”
He arrived at the division commander’s office in haste.
As Lopez entered, the rotund-faced Count Otis greeted him very warmly.
As a knight among many retainers of great noble houses, Lopez had wondered if the count even knew his name properly, so the situation felt baffling.
“You summoned me?”
Count Otis patted the saluting Lopez’s shoulder and guided him to the table, where prior guest Adrian was seated.
And from the count’s mouth flowed words Lopez could never have imagined.
“Sir Lopez, from now on, serve Brigade Commander Lawrence as your lord.”
“Pardon?”
Lopez, momentarily failing to grasp the meaning, reflexively sought clarification.
Adrian, who had been sitting silently, grinned and provided the answer.
“I politely expressed to His Excellency the Count my desire to recruit you, Sir Lopez. His generous Excellency has granted my request.”
Knights weren’t goods to be gifted like presents.
Lopez wanted to protest that it made no sense, but he froze at the sight of the count wiping the smile from his face and narrowing his eyes.
“Do you take issue with my decision?”
The question carried many layers of meaning.
Realizing his position properly thanks to it, Lopez reflexively shook his head.
“N-No, not at all.”
“That’s more like it.”
Lopez looked at Adrian.
“We’ll have no choice but to get along well from now on.”
At his nonchalant demeanor, Lopez awkwardly smiled back in bewildered confusion.
***
-Viscount Lawrence’s Territory, Lord’s Castle.
Cedric received regular updates from his confidants about Adrian, who had headed to the battlefield.
He frowned at the part about stabbing Dalton with a sword to instill fear, but judged that his brother’s nature remained unchanged since he was still immersed in games as always.
But according to the latest intel, Adrian had formed his own little group?
He flew into great rage and prepared to respond but……
Upon hearing that the members were a low-ranking knight bullied in Count Otis’s household, a barracks errand boy, and a bugler from a neighboring unit, his momentum deflated completely.
“He just wanted friends? Pathetic guy.”
A flicker of pity arose, but Cedric, whose personality never changed, called Adrian directly and scolded him to associate with people befitting the family’s status.
But this became his misstep, as it essentially confessed he was still monitoring Adrian’s every move.
This stemmed from his complacency in failing to notice that Adrian’s behavior had started changing recently.
And proving that complacency, Cedric instructed his underlings to ignore who Adrian kept around unless they were of any real value.
Naturally, his underlings took the order at face value and stopped reporting even as the number of people around Adrian exceeded double digits.
“Still just playing games nonstop? Ha, in a way, that’s impressive—being this predictably routine is hard for anyone.”
As a result, the reports reaching Cedric stated only that Adrian remained sunk in his games.