Vol. 13 - Ch. 22 - Wrapping Up the Advancement Examination

The flaming knights that Luna reinforced beat Gad into pulp.If he had died even once, then he would have surrendered to Luna during his revival. However, Luna’s personality made her unable to kill him, even if she already knew that he would be alive again.

And that was Gad’s misfortune.

That was because Luna ordered the flaming knights not to kill him. The flaming knights had turned into entities that were at par with Ryuushin’s level, and there were five of them. One stayed beside Luna to protect her while the remaining four beat Gad.

The four ‘Ryuushins’ were holding back in order not to kill him, but they still continued barraging the guy with their attacks. Years have passed since I first created these guys, so they also developed their individual consciousness, and they would carry out the most suitable course of action after being summoned.

My flaming knights were made with progressive magic.

These magic ‘spells’ that have their own will were housed in Luna’s bracelet. Apparently, these flaming knights could grasp the situation even while in storage. Oh well, they wouldn’t be able to jump out and respond if my family members found themselves in trouble, so it was not like I miscalculated that ability of theirs. Let’s leave it at that, shall we.

The point was, these flaming knights knew what was going on.

Thus, if it was Gad, then they were totally fine razing him.

In addition, these knights, at least in my opinion, would be happy to brag whenever the owner of the bracelet they were kept in praised them. The five knights assigned to protect Luna have stronger tendencies to do this compared to the rest.

The five flaming knights had protected Luna before while she was exploring the dungeon. Back then, they delightedly made victory poses when Luna praised them after they achieved their goal.

My magic favored Luna.

These flaming knights loved her.

Now, that woman that they fawned over cast her support magic on them.

It couldn’t be helped that these flaming knights were brimming with zeal. I guess they completely took after me in this aspect.

“S-Surrend—Oof!!”

Gad was about to shout that he was surrendering, but he was cut off short. The flaming knights wouldn’t let him.

One of the knights landed a clean punch on Gad’s face with the hand that wasn’t holding a spear before raising his fist in victory towards Luna. She applauded after seeing that, so the other flaming knights rained punches on Gad as if saying, ‘It’s gonna be my turn to be praised!’

I could say that Gad was putting up a good fight as I watched them from afar.

Gad’s physical ability was at the tertiary occupation level, so his physical endurance was great. Thanks to Luna’s support magic, the flaming knights that possessed physical abilities on par with Ryuushin were able to deliver attacks that were both powerful yet controlled, and they were now staging the battle so that Gad would appear that way.

To maximize their chance of receiving Luna's praise, they were purposefully prolonging the battle.

As expected, Gad seemed pitiful, but…

I decided to let them go on for a bit longer.

Guild Master Irina already told us that we didn’t have to hold back in dealing with Gad before the exam started. I thought that I couldn't do that, so I checked his memories first with mind reading—

That was when I decided that this guy didn’t need any consideration.

Apparently, Gad did the same thing that the flaming knights were doing to him and the examinees that he handled in the past. Not only that, he did whatever he wanted using his real abilities and also using the authority of the Royal Knights as his shield.

It was uncertain whether Gad would still change because we drove him to the wall. Regardless, we still have to consider Guild Master Irina’s request, so I decided to do it, although there were also times when I thought we might be going overboard.

“S-Stop, sur—Argh!!!!”

Gad’s battle (?) seemed to be drawn out a little longer.

──＊＊＊──

Luna’s promotion to C-rank adventurer was decided when Gad managed to surrender the moment the flaming knight paused for a bit.

Since the examination was over, I lifted the spell that transformed the arena into the dungeon and called everyone over.

“Good work, everyone. You all did well.”

Irina glanced at the scorched Gad, who was lying on the floor, as she greeted us with a satisfied smile. I saw in Gad’s memories that he also caused trouble for her before.

“Everyone got a pass from Gad, right?”

“Yes!”

“Good. Then from today henceforth, everyone is C-rank —”

“N-No way.”

Gad, who had been burned black, stood up and stopped us.

“You guys are strong. Way too strong, that’s why I… no, the Order of the Royal Knights considers you all as dangerous threats to this kingdom!!”

“We’re so powerful that we’re dangerous, so you don’t approve of us becoming C-ranks?”

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Hmmm. This has become too troublesome.

I already knew what would happen even without reading Gad’s thoughts.

Even if we step down here, Gad would still declare to the entire kingdom that we were hazards. He was that kind of guy, after all.

If that did happen, then we might not be able to stay in this kingdom.

We might end up going to Tina and Leaffa’s birthplace, the Elf Kingdom of Alheim, or perhaps to Vestier, the kingdom of the beasts, Merdie’s hometown, and the kingdom that I own. It was fine with me, though.

Even so, if that ever happened it would cause trouble for my natal family. Having a member of their family perceived as a threat to the country would have a significant negative impact on them, that was for sure. Generally, when that would happen, titles would be revoked and they would be excluded from important positions in the kingdom.

My older brother Leon became the captain of the royal knights, and my other older brother Cain even rose to the position of the King’s Royal Guard Commander, and yet…

Yup, I couldn’t possibly make them suffer from this mess.

That was why—

“Sorry, Cai-Nii.”

I apologized directly to the person.

“Seriously. You guys are way too strong.”

Cain appeared as if parting the air.

It seemed like he imitated the covert skill that the King mastered just by observing that guy. He was quite the Bakemono himself, I must say.

I already noticed that Cain had been secretly observing our exam halfway through. That was why I also teleported him along with everyone else when Akari unleashed her full power, and also took him back here afterward.

“W-Wha!? Y-You!!”

“It’s been a while, Captain Gad.”

Cain was formerly part of the Order of the Royal Knights. He had the same rank as Gad, and they seemed acquainted.

“Cai-Nii.”

“Yeah, it’s fine, leave this to me.”

Cain only said that before heading towards Gad.

“Did you say that my little brother is a dangerous threat?”

“... Yeah. But no, aren’t you the same?”

“Ahh, please don’t lump me together with that guy.”

Eh, Ehh!?

Cai-Nii, weren’t you supposed to be on my side?

“Indeed, my younger brother is a certified Bakemono, and many of his family members are considered to be abnormally powerful as a fighting force. “

“Then!!”

“Yes, however, they are acknowledged by the King of this Kingdom himself.”

“...Ha?”

“Here, please take a look at this.”

Cain passed a single sheet of paper to Gad.

“Evicted from the Order of the Royal Knights… What the heck is this!?”

“Ah, I made a mistake. That is your discharge notice from the Order of the Royal Knights.”

Cain said it with a smirk.

“You went overboard.”

“N-No way, impossible! The King should know that no one other than me can control the network of the 20th Battalion!!”

“Oh, there’s no need for you to worry about that matter. My other brother will be assuming your position concurrently.”

Eh? Leo-Nii would?

“.....N-No, that’s impossible, I’m telling you. That’s because—”

“He’ll manage. It’ll be fine, he’s my brother, after all.”

Ah, maybe Cai-Nii hadn’t told this to Leo-Nii yet. That was what I sensed, anyway. I could imagine Leon’s grumbling after Cain told him.

Ah, but just as Cai-Nii said, it was Leo-Nii, so he’d be able to do something about it.

“By the way, this is related to you. The Kingdom has decided that you played hard enough, so it’s time to [Exile] you.”

“Eh”

Blood drained from Gad’s face.

He looked like he considered grabbing his sword and bolting out of there. However, he gave up immediately.

I already burned his sword that he wanted to grab, and even if there were a hundred Gads here, there was no way he would be able to win against the people here.

“However, how you’ll be exiled is left to my discretion…”

Cain glanced at me while saying that.

“Halt. Do you have any good idea? He's still my former colleague, so I don’t want to kill him if possible.”

M-Me?

Even if you suddenly tell that to me…

What to do?

“Danna-sama. This man is considered to be powerful among the human race. He may become a capable individual if we can reform his spirit.”

“Eh, do you have an idea what to do with this guy, Sitri?”

“Yes. We have someone under Danna-sama’s command who excels at nurturing the next generations. We can leave him to that person.”

Nurturing next generations…

Ah, maybe that’s…!

“Are you talking about that guy in the dungeon?”

“Indeed. It’s precisely that person.”

“I see… Well, I think it’s possible.”

Gad’s destination has been decided.

“Halt, are you sure I can leave this to you?”

“Yup.”

We decided to have that demon trainer beat Gad’s rotten personality into shape.