Chapter 449: Knight And Seek [Part 2]

"Did you hear? Those two little rats have already started running," a teenage Noble said with a smile. "The game this time is going to be more fun than the previous ones."

"Indeed," another teenager commented. "One is a daughter from the Asta Family, and the other is an upstart commoner. Seriously, I can accept the lady from the Asta Family gaining a title, but a commoner? His Majesty sure likes to jest."

"Well, according to the reports, he was one of the people that took part in the defense of Otto City," a young lady said. "I think that is an achievement in itself, is it not?"

"It is, but so what?" a noble snorted. "Commoners are commoners. They should be honored to serve the Nobles."

"That's right. Them wanting to become Noble themselves is the problem; they should be content with their current position."

"Hahaha! I guess all of us will target the commoner boy then."

"I saw him earlier, and he's quite handsome. Maybe I should make him my pet or something?"

"Oh! Then I'll aim for that as well. It will be a shame to ruin such a handsome face."

While the young members of the Nobility were busy chatting with each other, the older ones calmly drank wine and waited for the event to start.

Although they were adults, some of them still planned to join the game in order to properly teach the two Honorary Knights some lessons about humility.

According to Lord Edmond's estimate, hundreds of people would be simultaneously hunting Ethan and Nicole, whom they were currently monitoring through the floating Crystal Ball in front of him.

"How about it, Edmon" the King of Eastshire, King Austen smirked. "Shall we make a bet?"

"Sounds fun," Edmond replied. "What are we betting on?"

"Those two kids, of course."

"Alright. Let me hear the details of the bet."

"I'll bet that they will be captured in an hour or less," King Austen stated. "How about you?"

"Hmm… I'll bet that they will be able to survive until the event ends," Edmond replied.

"Oh? You seem pretty confident." King Austen looked at his Grand Archmage with a smile.

"Well, that boy reminds me of my younger self," Edmond replied. "He will not be an easy target even when thousands of people are teaming up to hunt him. Also, your Majesty, I must warn you beforehand."

"Warn me about what?" Sёarch* The NôvelFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"There's a possibility that the damage that Ethan and Nicole might make to the palace won't be able to be regenerated in time for the Ballroom Party."

"… Are you serious?"

King Austen looked at his Grand Archmage in disbelief, but the latter only shrugged.

"We'll see in a few minutes," Edmond smiled. "By the way, what are we betting on?"

King Austen lightly tapped the armrest with his hands before holding Edmond's gaze.

"You already know what I want," King Austen stated.

"You're too overprotective," Edmond commented. "Fine, but I'll only do what I can. And if I win this bet, you will promise me to no longer interfere. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal!"

"Good."

After that exchange, both men shifted their gaze to the crystal ball, which showed the young man standing in front of Nicole's Guest Room.

————————————

Somewhere in the Palace…

"Do you have any plans?" Nicole asked as she hurriedly changed her clothes to something easier to move in.

The beautiful dress she wore during dinner lay on the floor, neglected by the young lady who chose practicality over beauty.

"I do," Ethan replied. "But I'm not familiar with the palace."

"Do you have a place in mind?" Nicole asked.

"Yes," Ethan replied. "Take me somewhere with lots of water. If you can take me to a water source, then it will be better."

The door of Nicole's room opened, and the young lady came out wearing clothes meant for Knights out on field duty.

Ethan couldn't help but nod in satisfaction after seeing Nicole's heroic aura, brought upon by her choice of clothes.

'Nine out of ten,' Sebastian commented.

'Same.' Ethan's Other Half nodded.

It was not only Ethan who liked Nicole's choice of clothes. The two members of his peanut gallery also made their thoughts known.

"The only place that has running water in the castle are the fountains," Nicole replied. "Aside from them, I do not know of any other places."

Ethan frowned as he quickly formulated a plan inside his head.

"Take me to the nearest one," Ethan said after a minute had passed.

Nicole nodded and the two ran towards the balcony of her room and took out their flying broomsticks.

As long as they didn't leave the palace grounds, it was fine if they used their broomsticks to fly.

Expecting that the two teenagers might escape to the palace grounds, several young nobles were spread out inside the palace.

So the moment they saw Ethan and Nicole fly past them, smirks appeared on their faces.

However, they didn't make any attempt to hunt the two teenagers.

The game Knight and Seek had rules, and they weren't allowed to actively follow the two Knights even if they saw them fly past.

However, it didn't stop them from taking note of the direction they went, which would be the first place they'd head to as soon as the grace period of thirty minutes had ended.

"How many minutes are left?" Ethan asked.

"Ten minutes," Nicole replied. "We still have time. The first fountain is over there."

Nicole pointed in the distance, where a fountain that shot water up to four meters high up in the air could be seen.

Ethan advanced forward and summoned his Sea God's Trident.

He then tapped the bottom of the fountain with his trident before looking in Nicole's direction.

"Where is the second nearest fountain?" Ethan asked.

"Follow me," Nicole replied.

She already had a hunch of what Ethan was trying to do, so she no longer asked questions and simply led him to the second fountain in haste.

The King, watching them, found this odd, but he didn't make any comments.

All he saw was Ethan dipping the tip of his Trident into the fountain before flying away.

Edmond, on the other hand, frowned.

He heard that Ethan could control water to a certain extent, but since he didn't have the chance to see it firsthand, he was unable to gauge just how proficient he was in controlling Water Magic.

'Five minutes left,' Edmond thought as he looked at the hourglass beside him.

Similar to King Austen, the Grand Archmage of Eastshire was looking forward to what kind of strategy Ethan was planning to use in this game, where he and Nicole would be hunted down by hundreds of Wizards and Witches at the same time.