Knight and Gift

Chapter Forty-Six: Knights and Gifts

Ever since Bordefinger publicly called him "My Lord" the next morning, Lorist found things had started to get weird. He wasn't sure if Keli had been showing off or spreading rumors, but the servants and laborers in the Dawnlight Academy's Gold Instructor residential area, who used to greet him enthusiastically with "Good morning, Instructor Locke," now saw him walking by the lake after dinner and would respectfully step aside from a distance. After he passed, they would bow deeply and say, "Good day, my Lord." This made Lorist very uncomfortable.

Then came Telman's visit. It was very late that night when Sertkamp reported that Telman had arrived, alone.

Lorist found it strange. Telman rarely visited his home alone, especially this late. He wondered if something had gone wrong, or if it was about the Swordsmanship Club? But the club had no activities during the academy's break.

Lorist went downstairs to the living room. Telman stood up from the sofa to greet him.

Lorist asked Telman to sit, but Telman ignored him. Instead, he stood before Lorist with a hint of deference. The first thing he said startled Lorist immensely: "I've resigned."

"What?" Lorist froze completely...

Was he joking? Telman, as the Vice-Captain of the Dawnlight Academy's Law Enforcement Department and the Executive Vice-President of the Swordsmanship Club, was resigning just like that? As the President of the Swordsmanship Club, how come he didn't know? Who approved it?

"I thought about it for several days and finally made up my mind this afternoon. Even Fatty Shi doesn't know. I went directly to Dean Levens and submitted my resignation. The Dean agreed," Telman continued in a low voice.

"What happened that made you do this?" Lorist felt his head start to ache again. Telman held two positions at the academy, and his monthly salary plus benefits amounted to eight or nine gold Fude. So many people envied him, so why would he suddenly choose to resign?

Telman lowered his head and said, "I feel my life at the academy is too plain and boring. I crave adventure and war. I am a knight. My father told me before he died that his greatest regret in life was not dying on the battlefield but suffering from illness and dying in bed. I don't want to follow my father's path. A knight should conquer all directions."

This... what kind of bullshit reason is this? Are you still the steady, calm, clear-headed, taciturn, and honest-looking Telman I know? Did you get transmigrated by some warmonger? As Telman's good friend, Lorist felt it was his responsibility to help Telman clear his muddled head and retract his resignation while there was still time to salvage the situation.

Before he could figure out how to persuade Telman, Lorist saw Telman kneel on one knee before him. "Locke, this is the last time I'll call you that. Are you willing to take in a friend with nowhere to go and travel to the North with you?"

"I, Vipoli Telman, am willing to become a knight of the Norton Family, loyal to Lord Norton Lorist, follow his footsteps, and conquer all directions for him."

Lorist was shocked...

At some point, Bordefinger appeared beside Lorist and handed him his sword.

Lorist numbly took the long sword, drew it from its sheath, and then used the blade to pat Telman's two shoulders. He said woodenly, "Rise, my knight."

This impromptu, simplified family knight induction ceremony was thus completed. Bordefinger and Telman embraced warmly. "Welcome to the family, my brother."

Well, that phrase hasn't changed. This world is still somewhat normal... Lorist thought.

Sertkamp happily bowed to Telman, feeling extremely pleased. The young master was indeed the young master; another Silver Three-Star swordsman had voluntarily joined the family. This was almost unimaginable in the North. Under the young master's guidance, the Norton Family would surely have a glorious future.

Sertkamp remembered something important and hurriedly reminded his young master, "Young Master, you haven't prepared the family crest for the family knights to wear. I brought the design..."

"Tomorrow, have Ready drive you to the heraldry shop to get it custom-made. Oh, and prepare a golden one too; Borg is about to be promoted," Lorist said, rubbing his forehead.

He truly couldn't understand why Telman made such a decision. Perhaps this was the difference between two worlds. In his previous life, everyone was content to be the head of a chicken rather than the tail of a phoenix. But in Galintea, everyone wanted to find a family to be loyal to. This was the biggest difference between the two civilizations.

The more Lorist thought about it, the more his head ached. He decided not to dwell on it. "By the way, Telman, I remember you have your family's inherited high-level Battle Qi, right?"

"Yes, my Lord," Telman replied.

"Alright then, I won't prepare a Battle Qi Manual for you. Sertkamp, go to my study and get that Michek Steel Chainmail. It will be a congratulatory gift for Telman becoming a family knight." Lorist said.

Michek Steel Chainmail, produced in the Michek region of the Kingdom of Temanda, was famous for its strong defense, especially against piercing damage. Its annual output was extremely small, and it was always in short supply. Lorist had spent three hundred gold coins to ask Guild Master Peterson to get one for him specifically to guard against surprise attacks on his return to the North. It had only been in his possession for less than three days before he gave it away as a gift.

"Thank you, my Lord," Telman said without politeness.

Lorist walked upstairs, ignoring Bordefinger and Telman, who were already opening bottles to celebrate. "I'm going up to rest. My head hurts a bit. Telman, there's a spare room upstairs; you can move in."

Telman had resigned from the academy and had to return the dormitory he was currently living in. Fortunately, Lorist had a spare room.

"Yes, my Lord," Telman said.

It was as if overnight, everyone living in Dawnlight Academy knew that Lorist was about to depart for the North to inherit his territory and become a lord. When Lorist returned home from an outing, he met Supervisor Scarlett at the entrance of the residential area. Lorist quickly got out of the carriage to greet her. Supervisor Scarlett chatted warmly with Lorist for a while, then said that the North was harsh and cold, and he should take care of his health and avoid catching a cold. She then presented him with a sweater she had personally knitted and wished him success as an excellent lord.

Lorist held the sweater, utterly bewildered. He hadn't said anything about his trip...

After dinner, Instructor Marlin visited. He brought a large box, saying it contained his wife's personal belongings and was a farewell gift for Lorist, believing Lorist would find it useful on his journey to the North.

Lorist felt dizzy and quickly declined. What would he do with Instructor Marlin's wife's personal belongings? Would he need them on the road? Would he talk to them for comfort? It wasn't until Instructor Marlin opened the box that Lorist realized he had misunderstood. This "wife" was not that wife. This "wife" was the mare Jenny, whom Instructor Marlin always referred to as his second wife. The box contained a set of horse armor, a saddle, and a pair of stirrups.

Instructor Marlin lovingly stroked these items and told Lorist that they all belonged to Jenny. Now that she was old and couldn't run anymore, these items had no use other than as mementos. Since Lorist would be riding a horse in the North and might even have to fight, he decided to give these items as a gift to Lorist to add some defense.

Lorist thanked Brother Marlin and opened a few bottles of his aged wine for Instructor Marlin to enjoy.

Instructor Marlin became very talkative, drinking and boasting about his heroic deeds in the city guard back in the day. In the end, he was so drunk that he had to be sent back.

Instructor Anfia visited the next afternoon, bringing a long chest with her. First, she shared some good news: her husband, Gold Instructor Krudd of Dawnlight Academy, after half a year of secluded training and enlightenment, had finally broken through to the Gold rank and become a Great Swordsman. This would change the situation of Dawnlight Academy lacking a Great Swordsman and would surely elevate the academy's reputation even further once the news spread.

Lorist quickly offered his congratulations. Instructor Anfia said that the long chest contained seven fine swords, all collectibles of Instructor Krudd. Hearing that Lorist was returning to the North to take over his lordship, Instructor Krudd had instructed her to deliver these seven treasured swords. He said that on the long journey to the North, through battles, it was inevitable that his sword might be damaged. He had great confidence in Lorist's swordsmanship but worried that Lorist's current long sword might not withstand prolonged combat, so he sent these seven treasured swords to Lorist to bolster his journey.

Lorist expressed his gratitude repeatedly and pondered what gift he could send as a congratulatory present for Instructor Krudd becoming a Great Swordsman. Instructor Anfia saw through Lorist's thoughts and smiled, saying it wasn't necessary. Instructor Krudd's breakthrough to the Gold rank this year was greatly aided by the enlightenment he gained from a duel with Instructor Locke last year. As for herself, she had already learned the art of pulse-taking from Lorist, so she was already grateful enough, and Lorist didn't need to trouble himself with a return gift.

Hearing Instructor Anfia say this, Lorist smiled. While he had no gift for Instructor Krudd, he did have a suitable gift for Instructor Anfia, as they were husband and wife. He asked Instructor Anfia to wait a moment, then went upstairs to get a delicate wooden box and brought it down to give to Instructor Anfia.

Instructor Anfia opened the box and was overjoyed. Just as she was about to take out the gift to examine it, Lorist said, "Take your time to look at it when you get back, and please don't mention that you got it from me. I'm afraid of trouble."

Instructor Anfia nodded, carefully cradled the wooden box, and left with a happy expression.

In the following days, the gifts Lorist received almost filled his study. All the instructors he knew at Dawnlight Academy sent him farewell gifts, ranging from weapons and equipment to cold-weather clothing, gloves, boots, and cloaks. Instructor Hughes, for example, gave him a top-quality leather armor. Instructor Villedo, specializing in knights, gave him a pair of golden spurs. Instructor Vanson, specializing in horsemanship, gifted Lorist an Illinois Horse, a mount favored by heavy cavalry knights. It was tall with long legs, strong enough to carry heavy loads, intelligent and human-like, and extremely fast in a charge, though it had poor long-distance endurance and was quite picky about food.

Instructor Robov from the Apothecary department directly moved a large box into Lorist's place. It contained nearly a hundred test tubes filled with various potions, all carefully packed and secured to prevent shock, collision, or breakage. Lorist was left speechless, wondering what use he would have for a box of potions on his return. I'm not going back to be a healing pharmacist, am I?

Fatty Shi and Yuri visited together. Seeing that they came empty-handed and didn't look like they were bringing gifts, Lorist breathed a sigh of relief and welcomed them to the living room. As soon as they sat down, Lorist jumped up in surprise at Yuri's words.

"Locke, Brother Shi and I are here today to pledge our allegiance to you. We've both resigned and are ready to become knights of your family."

Fatty Shi sat to the side, huffing and puffing in silence…

Yuri watched Lorist charge into the washroom, grab a silver plate that served as a mirror, stare at himself for a long time, and then let out a long sigh before coming out.

"Locke, what are you doing?" Yuri found Lorist's actions just now extremely baffling.

Lorist said, "I'm checking if something suddenly grew on my face, giving me an aura of kingship, which is why you've come to pledge allegiance to me. I'm relieved now, I haven't grown anything extra, nor do I have any kingly aura. So you were just here to mess with me."

Yuri didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Locke, I'm telling the truth."

Lorist didn't believe him at all. "Stop joking. My mind is already swamped with things to do and remember, I'm practically exhausted. And you guys come here to play tricks on me? That's not very friendly."

Yuri said seriously, "Locke, I've really resigned. You know I'm from the Khanate of Harvisthan, from the grasslands. If my parents hadn't risked their lives to save an Earl, I wouldn't have been sent to Molent City by that Earl to study. The last time that Earl wrote to me asking if I wanted to return to be his family knight, I refused. After all, my parents died for him. At Dawnlight Academy, although I'm the equestrian instructor, those students don't respect me much because I'm from the grasslands, and they call me 'barbarian instructor' behind my back. You know all this. If it weren't for friends like you, I would have left long ago. Now that Telman has chosen to follow you, after much thought, I still believe his choice is wise. By becoming your family knight, we can stay together, so I came."

"Alright, your reasons have convinced me. I welcome you to join, Yuri. What's up with that fatty? He's not someone who's willing to be someone else's family knight?" Lorist pouted towards Fatty Shi.

Yuri smiled. "It's like this, Big Brother Shi was stimulated this afternoon."

"Stimulated? By whom? Who has such great ability? I need to learn from them," Lorist said, very curious.

"It was Telman," Yuri replied.

"Impossible. How could Telman stimulate him?" Lorist was even more surprised. Telman was an honest person; Fatty Shi was always the one bullying him.

"Didn't Big Brother Shi's father come these past few days?"

"Mm, I know about that. I even paid him a visit the day before yesterday," Lorist nodded.

Fatty Shi wasn't a local in Molent City. His hometown was the Kingdom of Trinber, famous for producing green glass and oil glass. Fatty Shi's father was a merchant with properties and shops in the capital of the Kingdom of Trinber and in Molent City. Furthermore, his father was Dean Levens's cousin and one of Dawnlight Academy's long-term sponsors. This was also why Fatty Shi could get by so smoothly at the academy; even if he did something out of line occasionally, no one would pursue it.

These past two days, Fatty Shi's father came to the academy to see him and coincidentally had dinner with Dean Levens. After dinner, he went for a stroll in the academy to aid digestion. Then, he happened to run into Telman and Yuri.

Yuri had something on his mind and was wondering whether to resign and follow Telman's path. He came out of his dormitory and saw Fatty Shi, his father, and Dean Levens. He felt obligated to go up and greet them. As he was bowing and paying his respects, he saw Telman entering from outside the academy.

Telman was wearing the knight's insignia of the Norton Family. Seeing Fatty Shi and Yuri, he naturally had to go over and greet them. Moreover, he had heard that Fatty Shi's father was visiting these past few days and he hadn't paid his respects yet. This was a good opportunity to do so. With Dean Levens also present, he had to bow, so he walked towards them.

Just as he approached, Fatty Shi was about to mock the knight's insignia Telman was wearing on his chest. Unexpectedly, his father grabbed him and Yuri, pulling them to the side of the road to clear the main path. Then, he bowed deeply to Telman and asked humbly, "Good afternoon, sir. Do you have any commands?"

Telman was petrified…

Fatty Shi was petrified…

Yuri was petrified…

Dean Levens was petrified…

For a moment, the atmosphere was extremely strange. Fatty Shi's father cautiously asked again, "Sir? You…"

Telman fled in disarray…

Fatty Shi snapped out of it, furious. "Father, he's my friend! Why did you do that? It's so embarrassing… Ouch!"

Fatty Shi's father smacked him hard on the head. "He's a noble! Didn't you see the family crest on his chest? A roaring grizzly bear, very imposing. Around the crest is a circle of laurel leaves. It's a family with at least two hundred years of history. Towards him, even if he's your friend, you should maintain a respectful attitude. This isn't embarrassing; it's reverence, do you understand?"

"There are two things in this world worthy of reverence: one is nobility, and the other is knowledge. Like your uncle, he has knowledge, so others respect him. But knowledge can only make others respect him alone; when he dies, this respect disappears. Nobility, however, can make this reverence be passed down, even benefiting everyone in his family. Don't look at your dad's wealth. No matter how rich a merchant is, when doing business outside, he must respectfully greet any rural noble, because they have the right to punish any commoner or freeman who is disrespectful to them. It's fine even if they kill you."

"Don't be unconvinced, thinking about how nothing happened when I offended a few nobles last time? Those were not territorial nobles; they were merely nobles by honorific title. Their titles were empty, without territory. It's like your uncle's title, 'Jester,' it's just an honorary title; when he dies, the title is gone. You can tell the difference between honorific nobles and territorial nobles just by looking at their crests. Why doesn't your uncle wear a Jester crest? Because he feels it's shameful. Without territory, there are no subordinates. Who would pay attention to you?"

Dean Levens continued to be petrified…

"Your dad is incompetent. He couldn't earn you an inherited title. What can be bought with money are only honorific titles, which are not worth cherishing. If you were more ambitious and could earn an inherited territorial title for my future grandson, your dad would die in peace! Don't look at your current high position in the academy; it's useless. To put it plainly, you're just a stick in your uncle's hand. He tells you who to hit, and you hit them. Tell me yourself, aren't you like the high-ranking thugs and bodyguards in merchant guilds? They seem to have high status and earn a lot of money, but they're still just low-class lackeys."

Dean Levens was petrified once more…

Fatty Shi's father sighed, "Dad used to place the family's hope of obtaining a noble title on you. But looking at you now, honestly, Dad just hopes you can live a peaceful life. He just hopes that his future grandson can be more ambitious and fulfill the family's wish…"

After saying these words, Fatty Shi's father turned and left dejectedly, leaving only Dean Levens, Fatty Shi, and Yuri. Falling leaves danced in the air, and the scene was desolate…

The three were silent. Yuri took the opportunity to tender his resignation to Dean Levens, who agreed.

Looking at Fatty Shi, who was still foolishly spacing out, Yuri added, "Big Brother Shi is also resigning…"

Dean Levens turned to leave but left behind a sentence: "Go, go, all of you go. I hope you achieve your wishes and have a safe journey."

"So, we've all resigned. Locke, if you're unwilling to accept us as your family knights, we'll have to become wandering knights…" Yuri said.