Two Hearts in Perfect Harmony

Bruce, a paladin not yet twenty-eight years old, was one of the most promising young paladins in Miranda, the Holy City. He had begun his knight squire training at the age of thirteen. Under the guidance of his mentor—and the knight he served—Komotari, the "Silver Knight" and one of the great knights of the Silver Hand, he quickly completed his squire training and officially became a glorious paladin.

(The training process for paladins and knights was similar in many places, but while knights had to go through the knight squire stage, paladins did not necessarily have to. Outside the Shining Plains, a paladin was simply a paladin, with no rules concerning knight squires. But the Shining Plains were different. After all, this was the birthplace of modern knighthood, where everything had to follow the chivalric code established by Queen Elizabeth.)

Afterward, he completed more than thirty missions assigned to him by the Church and the state. He had also volunteered to serve for five years in the borderlands. Though he was not especially outstanding—this world never lacked talent, so Bruce did not stand out—there was one thing that made many senior paladins view him in a new light: he had never made a mistake. His path was incomparably steadfast, and his convictions had never wavered.

That would not have meant much in other professions, since they still depended on talent. But among paladins, it was extraordinary. Everyone had been young once, so those senior paladins understood the flaws of young paladins very well. They were passionate but insufficiently mature, and easily swayed by their emotions. That was a major flaw for a paladin, because it meant they could easily fall!

It was dangerous. Thus, Bruce's name was not unfamiliar to many senior paladins. The success rate for paladins was extremely