Chapter 62

Celine gazed down at the knights spreading out like ants.

‘It’s like a movie…’

However, the sentimental feeling did not last long. It was because monsters that could not be noticed from the cliff appeared and were entangled with the knights.

‘….?’

Unlike Leonhard, who had to get off Black before approaching the monster, the knights fought on horseback.

In an instant, the heads of the monsters fell to the ground.

“Why don’t they stop the horses?”

“Because there are so many.”

Leonhard replied as if it was an ordinary thing.

“Was it over twenty? …They say that if they gather that much, they can overcome it as training.”

Celine observed the battle with a more relaxed mind. The monsters were scattered on the ground, scratching only the legs of the horses, without touching the knights’ helmets. After some time, she discovered a unique knight’s order in the thick dust and a tangled mass of monsters and knights.

“That… Are they coming down and fighting?”

Leonhard’s gaze followed her fingertips. A dull flag with palm trees on a gray background caught his eye.

A soft groan escaped from his stubborn mouth.

“They seem to know that good horses are not worth it.”

It was then that Celine realized that the horses were collapsing along with the monsters and fell to the ground.

“Then, those horses…”

“It’s consumables.”

Leonhard’s eyes, responding with displeasure, were nailed to the knights fighting bare after evacuating their horses safely.

‘Where is that?’

It was a knight’s order that he had never worked together with before.

He could easily come up with the reason.

The flag that should be proudly waving the knight’s order’s pattern was worn out, and even the commander’s armor, the best of them, was shabby. Even the horses that had evacuated to a safe place seemed not enough to be called steed.

‘It looks like they have no background.’

The knight’s order that performed missions with Leonhard changed each time, and the Crown Prince decided which knight’s order would accompany him in each mission. It was an open secret that the knights who did not catch the Crown Prince’s eyes were not given the opportunity to achieve achievements.

Suddenly, Celine caught her breath.

“The boss…!”

A huge boss monster slowly appeared in the darkness of the forest.

‘It came out so quickly.’

The boss monster in the border area was notorious for seldom revealing its appearance. In fact, even in this operation, under the guise of a contest, the boss monster was not included in the number of cases.

He tried to be satisfied with just weakening the power by cutting off all their limbs. Leonhard prepared to go down immediately.

He did not want to lose the only sensible knights in vain.

“Wait.”

Celine grabbed his bewildered arm and dragged him away.

“Look over there.”

Leonhard blinked.

The knights in old-fashioned armor were attacking the boss monster in unison.

It was different from the time when they simply showed off their individual skills and slashed monsters. When they tried to encircle the boss monster in two lines, the knight with the most skill was aiming at the monster’s vital point.

When the blow failed, the knights immediately changed into a formation with three men.

The boss monster seemed to have noticed that these knights were different from all the small fry it had ever seen.

Twisting its heavy body, it stretched its feet and aimed at the knights’ necks. However, the knights quickly formed a circular formation and took turns attacking the boss monsters one by one at high speed.

Even in a dangerous situation, he felt a sense of security.

“…That’s great.”

A rare compliment came out of Leonhard’s mouth. He put Rashir, which he had taken out, into its sheath. He would only be a hindrance if he went.

After a while, all the trivial ones were rolling around with the soil, splattered with blood. There was only one knight’s order who was still sweating and fighting the monsters. The shabby knights waving flags with rustic patterns.

Thousands of eyes were watching the knights fighting a bloody battle with the boss monster. Among them, the particularly sharp shining eyes belonged to the Crown Prince.

Finally, the boss monster fell to the dirt floor, pouring out blood.

Celine’s eyes lit up.

“The winner…!”

Leonhardt nodded his head. Really, the feelings he had not felt in a long time slowly filled up and he muttered a little blankly.

“There were people like that in the Imperial Family.”

“That’s fortunate.”

Celine smiled softly.

The fact that the knight’s order defeated the boss monster with their own power meant that his burden was reduced.

“The Carpathia, are you attending?”

“Me?”

Leonhard laughed.

“The official selection of the Carpathia is for Ricardo. I have nothing to do. So, I’m free…”

“Can I take a look?”

“….?”

As his eyes widened, Celine smiled shyly.

“I want to see them become Carpathias.”

“If you say so.”

Leonhard answered with a little grunt. To him, Carpathia was just a bustling festival, but he could hang out with Celine if she wanted to.

* * *

When Celine arrived on the street where the festival was held, she grabbed Leonhard’s hand and dragged him with excitement.

‘I’m glad we come.’

Leonhard, who was wearing a hood so that his identity would not be revealed, smiled softly. Celine’s expression brightened by the time she heard the hustle and bustle of the Carpathia festival. Up until now, festivals were just a busy space for him.

“There are a lot of people.”

“Do you like… a lot of people?”

“No. But it’s a festival!”

It was the first time she had been so excited since she absorbed the magic of the magic stone and manifested it.

She moved slowly, as if being pushed by the crowd, and looked around without a break. She clapped her hands in admiration in front of the acrobat who spun ten balls at the same time and even imitated the shape-changing shadow performance with her hands.

Leonhard looked at Celine with curious eyes.

‘How did she like the festival so much?’

Due to Celine’s personality, who did not like banquets, he thought that she would not like the festival, but it must have been a big mistake. A smile appeared on Leonhard’s lips as he counted the famous festivals of the entire empire in his heart.

Suddenly, Celine, who had only looked around, stopped. She was in front of a stand full of snacks. Small fruits covered with several layers of sugar, colorful sugar cookies with colored cream, and jellies that were hardened with nuts and chews…

Compared to the sophisticated and pretty desserts she had eaten in this world, it was a crude lump of sugar. However, Celine’s eyes could not fall from the stand.

‘Money…’

Celine, who inadvertently put her hand in her pocket, hardened her face. Come to think of it, she had never received any money, and she had never spent any money.

It was a given because she nor Leonhard didn’t have to spend a penny. Even the gifts she received from the Grand Duke when she appeared as a wizards were gems and magic stones, far from real money.

The currency in the game was magic stone, but the currency actually used in this world must be quite different.

‘I don’t even know what money looks like here, I…’

As soon as his complexion darkened a little, Leonhard’s soft voice was heard.

“Give me a little bit of everything.”

“Yes, Sir!”

He discouraged the merchant from counting after he pulled out a full set of cash to pay change for one gold coin.

After a while, Celine, with a happy expression, took out the paper bags full of snacks cherishing them in her arms as she ate them one by one. It tasted exactly what she expected. The intense sweetness seemed to shorten the lifespan with each bite.

She also offered it to Leonhard, but he shook his head with a slightly tired expression, so she was eating as much as she could.

“Aht…!”

Celine let out a small scream.

Someone hit her back hard and disappeared so quickly. Luckily the snacks didn’t spill, but her shoulder was quite tingly when they hit her.

Leonhard responded immediately.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah, it hurts a little.”

When Celine grabbed the paper bag and rubbed her left shoulder, his face grew serious.

“It would be better to go somewhere less crowded.”

Celine nodded her head. Already, they had passed more than half of the street where the festival was held. Her hands were also sticky, so if they went to a place with fewer people, she would magically make water and wash herself.

Leonhard quickly escaped the crowd and entered a dark alley.

“Where is the Carpathia announcement?”

She asked, washing her hands.

Glancing around most of the alley, she did not see a stage where the Crown Prince would bestow the title of Carpathia.

“I don’t think I’ve ever really heard it.”

Leonhard looked surprised.

“Of course, the Knights Commanders and Ricardo are also in the Palace. The imperial wizards will make it appear here in the sky and show it to you.”

At his words, Celine couldn’t stop her laughter from bouncing around because she was reminded of a beam projector.

“Lute Carl is not good at light attribute magic, so you may not know it, but those highly skilled in light attribute magic…”

“I know. The award will be delivered vividly as if you were seeing it in front of your eyes.”

“Yes.”

He nodded his head.

“They said it was a spectacular sight to those who saw it for the first time.”

Originally, Leonhard intended to take Celine to the palace.

However, he realized that there was nothing more foolish than putting her in front of the Crown Prince, who had already expressed hostility to him, so he turned to where the Carpathia general festival took place.

‘…If we had gone to the Crown Prince’s Palace, it would have been a disaster.’

He was relieved to see Celine looking up at the sky, already expecting the magic.

“There is no need to wait long. I think it will start soon.”

The winter days were short, and the sun had already begun to hide in the crimson sky. As soon as her blue-grey eyes twinkled a few times, their original purpose of coming here began. The sun had completely set, and the image was slowly forming on the gray sky with blue energy.

Celine recognized the splendid interior of the Crown Prince’s Palace.

The Crown Prince and knights were standing in the banquet hall, where they inspected the Crown Prince’s aides.

‘It’s very clear.’

She couldn’t hide her surprise. The image in the sky was as clear as a high-definition video. After a while, Celine realized that there was no sound at all, and she flinched. It was only obvious that they only showed the awards with light.

The Crown Prince moved his mouth with an imposing force.

“He says he was happy to see the most powerful Carpathia in recent years.”

“Can you read lips?”

“Because it’s useful.”

Leonhard shrugged his shoulders.

After a few seconds, the knight commander in crude armor ambled in front of the Crown Prince.