The White Shoes Club had a slightly different layout today.
All the tables on the first floor had been pushed into the corners, and the front desk where Arun and the bartender usually stayed was empty as well. The chairs had been divided into three groups and arranged neatly in front of the stage and along both sides.
Several groups of reporters had gathered in twos and threes in the gaps between the three groups of chairs, quietly discussing something. Several camera flashes stood beside them. The largest camera was nearly as tall as a person, standing on the floor in a shape like a giant accordion. There were also smaller cameras with stands that could be held in one's hands.
There were not many guests seated yet. In the very center of the front row sat a fully armed Silver Armor Knight, helmet included. He had no one beside him, and every chair around him was empty. Even so, he sat perfectly straight, without moving an inch.
The knight occupied two seats by himself. A silver-white Two-Handed Sword lay diagonally across the seat to his right. Its hilt was extremely long, taking up more than a third of its length. The blade ahead was long and narrow, yet fairly thick. Rather than being a flat strip, the blade was a slender hexagon—more like a sharpened lance than a "sword."
It was a weapon that valued thrusting over slashing. It was clearly unsuitable for use in a city... It was one of the weapons most commonly used by Sky Knights who fought atop griffins.
It was sheathed in a heavy, hard-leather scabbard. The surface of the scabbard was plated in silver-gray, with countless tiny diamonds embedded in it. The diamonds formed an ornate word meaning honor, and it glittered beneath