Intermission: The Legacy of the Knight King

“Your belly’s getting so big!”

“Yes, it is. Oh, that was a kick. She’s so lively for a girl.”

As she said that, Sophia, Queen of Lestia, stroked her baby bump. She was the wife of Reinhard, Hilde’s older brother and current Knight King of Lestia.

“Bea is actually quite calm and matu— Oh no.” Frei quickly covered her mouth.

You nearly spoke about the future again, didn’t you?

Hilde, Frei, and I had come to Lestia Castle to check up on the pregnant Sophia. Although Sophia was a native Lestian, she was a gentle soul. In this land that coveted martial prowess, women often sought strength as well. There were more female knights here than in most countries. But as the kingdom still retained a class system, it was hard for commoners to become knights. Unlike mercenaries and adventurers, who were judged solely on their strength, knights were required to demonstrate decorum and discipline. That wasn’t something that could be learned overnight.

“So Bea will be a calm child, will she? That is also good. I would be rather worried about her future if she ended up as single-minded about swordsmanship as Hilde.”

“Brother! Don’t say strange things about me in front of my daughter!” Hilde snapped at Reinhard’s remark. She might have been embarrassed about it, but Frei was turning out the same way… Though Frei wasn’t as bad as Yakumo. I was much more worried about her obsession with weapons than Hilde’s with swordsmanship.

That reminds me…

“You sent me a message saying you had something you wanted to show me, didn’t you?” I reminded Reinhard.

“Oh, of course. Hey, bring it over.”

At Reinhard’s order, the nearby knight brought over a small tube that was about four centimeters in diameter and twenty centimeters long.

“What’s this?” I asked, looking at it curiously.

“The stone knight statue that has long decorated the castle shattered the other day, and this was found inside. It seems to be something from the first Knight King.”

The first Knight King—as in, the knight who founded Lestia to begin with?

He’d picked up a holy sword that had fallen from Babylon’s storehouse and unified the peoples in the area. If my memory served me right, it happened around three hundred years ago.

“They say that back then, the region was overrun by magic beasts, making it a difficult place for people to live. Our founder was just a knight from some foreign country who had ended up in this land while on a journey, then worked together with the local people to take down the beasts. In the end, they even took down a dragon and founded the Knight Kingdom. Or at least, so they say.”

Wow, so a vagrant knight defeated a dragon in his travels and founded a country.

It really did sound like a traditional knight story. It was fortunate that that was the kind of person that Doc Babylon’s sword had ended up in the hands of. I didn’t even want to consider what might have happened if some bandit or highwayman had found it instead. There was already the incident in Eashen with the elixir of immortality, after all…

Every new story I learned really made it sink in how dangerous a thing that clumsy Parshe had done.

“And this…” Reinhard trailed off as he flipped open the lid. Honestly, it looked a lot like the tube you’d get with your diploma inside. He took out a well- worn parchment with lines of some ancient script scrawled on it. “This scroll is not written with Lestia’s ancient script. I imagine it was the language of the founder’s homeland. From what we can decipher, what is written here is information about three special pieces of equipment…”

“Wait…do you mean the three legendary pieces of armor?! They’re real?!” Hilde suddenly spoke up in surprise.

The three legendary what now?

“They are the shield, armor, and helmet the founding knight was said to have worn,” she explained, noticing my puzzlement. “Those three pieces of equipment and the Holy Sword Lestia helped defeat the evil dragon. That is the legend that has been passed down through our family.”

“The legendary armor! That sounds so cool! I wanna see!”

Naturally, Frei was excited, her eyes sparkling. She wasn’t just a weapon maniac, she was an armor maniac too… She had even gone as far as participating in an auction in Felsen to acquire the cursed armor of Damuel. After many twists and turns, that armor now resided in my [Storage], but I was keeping it a secret from Frei. My daughter really was strange to want such an ominous piece of gear.

“It is said that the founder hid those three pieces in Lestia Castle. They haven’t been seen since the founding of the country…”

I see. So it’s the legacy of the first Knight King, then.

That would explain why even Hilde was getting excited about it all. “We were hoping you could translate this for us, Grand Duke.”

“I’d love to help, but without knowing what the exact language is, I can’t use translation magic.”

It was a language from three hundred years ago, right? If only it had been from five thousand years ago, I could ask Fam and she’d know in a heartbeat.

Wait…I just need to ask someone who was around back then.

I took a picture of the scroll and sent it to the person who fit that criteria as closely as possible. Leen immediately phoned me back.

“Hey, did you see the picture?”

“I did. Unfortunately, I have no idea what language that is. I doubt it was a language from the countries to the west, however. Not even the Sea of Trees fits the bill. I would try more east, like maybe Felsen.”

Felsen, huh? Maybe the first Knight King originally served as a knight there?

“You should try asking Relisha,” she suggested. “She is the guildmaster. I’d think she should be knowledgeable on this sort of thing.”

Relisha was the guildmaster of Brunhild’s adventurer’s guild—and she was an elf. I’d never asked for her age, but Her Majesty Queen Elfrau was her aunt and she’d lived over a thousand years, so Relisha had to have lived for at least three hundred, right?

I did as Leen suggested and sent the picture of the scroll to Relisha next, and again, I immediately got a phone call back.

“Sorry, but I can’t read this either, though I think it might be the language of the Kingdom of Karnavaltz, which used to be on the border of the Roadmare Union.”

The language of Karnavaltz, huh? If I know that much, I can surely translate it now.

I said my thanks to Relisha and hung up. Turning back to the scroll, I activated the translation magic.

Hey, I can read it! There’s some difficult language and parts I can’t quite understand, but it’s enough for me to get a rough idea.

Seriously, though, how did this magic even work? Was I accessing the memory of the world and pulling out the language I wanted translated? Then again, it was pretty pointless to think too hard about it. It was convenient, which was good enough for me.

“‘Though a knight’s soul resides in the blade, if you seek the power to protect, I shall show you the way. The shield rests in the steadfast heart of stone that protects the people; the helm rests in the depths of the sea where wisdom gathers; the armor rests beneath the mightiest sword. Should peril befall the people, don these pieces and vanquish all evil. Herein lies the true desire of a knight.’ Man, this is so abstract…”

If only he had just written clearer instructions. Though I suppose it helped prevent it from being found by those who might use it for evil.

“Can’t you find them with [Search], father?” Frei asked hopefully. I gave it a thought, then turned to Reinhard.

“If I knew their exact forms, I could probably find them. Are there any records of that sort about them?”

“Sort of, but the descriptions change between legends. One minute the armor is a shining blue, the next it’s bloodred. Sometimes the shield is round, other times it’s rectangular.”

In other words, we didn’t have that info either. Even if I used [Search], if I put in something as general as “shield,” “helmet,” or “armor,” I’d get loads of results back in a castle. I could look up “legendary armor,” but there was no guarantee I’d find it. For all I knew, these relics might look nowhere near as flashy as one would expect from legendary armor.

Guess our only choice is to solve the riddle.

“‘The shield rests in the steadfast heart of stone that protects the people,’ huh? What sort of stone protects the people? A Stone Golem? Is a Stone Golem protecting the shield? I have no idea where to even begin with this…”

Or was it saying that the shield was like the determination one had in their heart to protect others, which was as solid as rock? But that observation didn’t particularly lead me anywhere either…

“A stone that protects the people… Oh!” Sophia let out a little gasp as she looked out the window.

“Did you think of something, Sophia?”

“Um, could it be that the stone that protects the people is the city walls?”

“The city walls?”

Oh… Yeah, they are like a big stone that protects the people. But then, what is its heart?

“I may have an idea,” Hilde said. “Let’s just go check it out for now.” And so, we set off for the walls of Lestia.

◇◇◇

“Ohhh…”

A stone tablet was embedded into a corner of the inner side of the castle walls with something etched into it.

Are those names of people at the bottom? There are seven of them.

As I gazed at the tablet, Hilde explained the significance of it.

“This was a commemorative tablet created during the founding of Lestia. The names at the bottom belong to the first Knight King and the six loyal knights of the throne.”

I see. So it’s like America’s Declaration of Independence?

It seemed they had the pledges they made at the time engraved on it too. “The steadfast heart of stone that protects the people… In other words, the

proof of Lestia’s unwavering determination. It feels like it would be here, but…”

There was no shield as far as I could see. We examined the tablet from every direction imaginable, but there was no switch anywhere, and it didn’t seem like it was hiding any secret gimmicks.

“You don’t think it’s inside of it, do you?”

Reinhard unsurprisingly frowned at my suggestion and replied, “It…may be. Still, I cannot say I like the thought of having to destroy the monument made on my kingdom’s founding…”

Plus, it would be horrible if we destroyed it and it turned out there was nothing back there.

Oh, what about underground? Maybe it’s buried in front of it or something.

“You should just use [Search],” Frei pointed out. “You know…that’s a good point.”

I pretended that I’d totally thought of it myself as I activated it using “Shield” as my search word.

It would be strange for any other shields to be inside the castle walls, so if it was here, then…

“Bingo. There’s definitely a shield inside.”

“So we will need to break it…”

I could see Reinhard having an internal battle with himself.

I couldn’t identify if it was the founder’s shield, but there was definitely a shield in there. If it was the founder’s shield, it would be nothing short of a national treasure to Lestia, something they would want to acquire at all costs. Still, it was undeniable that this stone tablet was also a vitally important relic of Lestian history, the physical proof of the founder’s pledge. There was no way they could destroy something of such value. It was too big for me to use [Apport] to try to pull it out too…

Reinhard nodded to himself, having come to a decision, and said, “Here’s what we’ll do. We’ll circle around to the outside of the wall and dig the tunnel from there. If we carefully chip away at it with Earth magic, making sure to calculate the distance, we may be able to keep the tablet safe in the process.”

“Then I’ll—”

“Couldn’t you just use [Teleport] to fish it out?”

Just as I was about to volunteer to enact Reinhard’s idea, Frei raised her own suggestion.

“You know…that’s a good point.”

I pretended that I totally thought of that myself as I used [Teleport] on the shield.

I’d completely forgotten that [Teleport] could be used to teleport things other than myself. It had to be within my range of vision, but just like [Search], if I was positive it was there, it would still take effect.

“[Teleport]!”

The next moment, a gleaming silver shield appeared in my hands. The size wasn’t so different from a regular shield. On its surface was a relief of a bird with its wings spread wide. It was lighter than I thought it would be, as if it were made of plastic.

Wait…

“Is this high-mithril?” “High-mithril?!”

High-mithril was also known as god king’s silver, and it was famed across the eastern continent as an ore that could seal the functions of a Gollem. A little of it could be found on the western continent too, often in artifacts from the ancient civilization. I was pretty sure Lestia’s holy sword was made of high- mithril, for example.

“Father, father! Let me see! Let me have it! Let me touch it!”

“Calm down, girl…”

Frei was jumping up and down in excitement, stretching her arms out toward the shield in my hands.

Your uncle should come first, you know?! He’s the king.

But when I glanced at Reinhard, he gave a small shrug and gestured toward his niece to let her go first.

I’m so sorry about my child’s impatience…

Thus, I handed the shield over to Frei.

Make sure you say thank you to your uncle!

“Whoa, it’s so light! It seems so easy to use!”

Frei brandished the shield, swinging it in all directions.

Hey, make sure you don’t let it slip from your fingers. That’s a national treasure, don’t forget.

Once Frei was satisfied, Reinhard took it from her hands.

“It really is light… It has been said that these three legendary pieces hold some special power.”

Oh? Let me give it a check with [Analyze]… Ahhh, I see.

“Did you find something?”

“Yep. Seems it’s enhanced with a good old magic reflection. The real impressive part about it is that you can choose when to reflect the damage yourself.”

“It isn’t automatic?”

Honestly, it would be more accurate to say that it absorbed the attack, stored it, and then released it, rather than outright reflecting. It could only hold one charge, but in exchange, it could store anything.

“That’s amazing! Of course the founder had such an impressive shield!” Hilde marveled, taking the shield from her brother and holding it up in the air before nodding in satisfaction.

Something caught my attention, so I asked for it back afterward. After much searching, I found some old letters carved onto the back of the shield. Even without translating it, I could tell what it said—it was the same as what was written on the Holy Sword Lestia, after all.

“This shield was forged by Doc Babylon as well!”

I could see how this was turning out now. These three legendary pieces most likely all fell from the storehouse, probably as a set to boot. I wasn’t about to act as if we owned them, but…

“We’ve found the shield! Now let’s find the helmet!” Frei exclaimed. She was completely ready to search for the rest.

“The helm, huh? Didn’t the riddle say the helmet was in the depths of the sea where wisdom gathered?”

“Surely it doesn’t mean the actual sea, right?” Hilde mused.

“Maybe it refers to somewhere within this castle that is like a sea?” Reinhard suggested.

“A sea… Oh! It must be the fountain!” Frei brightly exclaimed.

A fountain? If I remembered correctly, there was a big fountain if you continued straight on from the castle gates, in the front garden of the castle, but could that really be what the word “sea” was referring to?

We had no other ideas for now, so we went along with Frei’s suggestion and headed to the fountain.

“Is it at the bottom of this?”

“It doesn’t look like there’s anything there…”

The fountain’s water was so clear that you could easily see the stones at the bottom. It didn’t look like anything was down there, and I couldn’t see anything that looked like a switch.

May as well look with [Search].

“Hmm, doesn’t seem like there’s anything there.” “Aww, I was wrong?”

“Now that I think about it, this fountain was made one hundred years ago. It wouldn’t have been here at the founding.”

“Brother…please remember that sooner.”

Guess that was a completely wrong track. If we were thinking about sealike places around the castle, could it be the moat?

When I suggested that, Reinhard nodded and replied, “If you were to view the castle as an island, then certainly, the moat would be the ocean. It’s possible.”

We went beyond the city walls, me using [Search] as we walked around. The most surprising thing was that I didn’t have just one result, but many. Every single one I pulled up with [Teleport] was just a regular rusty old helmet, definitely not the legendary piece we were searching for.

“Many drunken knights have probably dropped their helms into the moat over the years…” Reinhard muttered in embarrassment.

We did a whole circuit, but the legendary helmet was nowhere to be found.

Guess it’s not in the moat, then. Thinking about it, where does the “wisdom” part come in? Is it not the moat?

“Wisdom… Superior knowledge? Or like, a sage?”

“When it says ‘where wisdom gathers,’ does that mean there’s a lot of it?”

A place where lots of superior knowledge is gathered? Wait, don’t tell me…!

When I lifted my head, Hilde and Reinhard also seemed to have come to the same conclusion as we all shouted at once: “The library!”

◇◇◇

“This library has gathered materials since the kingdom’s founding. The room in the back is filled with confidential documents, so I must ask that you not enter it.”

The library of Lestia Castle was gigantic—ours back in Brunhild couldn’t even begin to compare. Though it was small compared to Babylon’s.

“‘The depths of the sea where wisdom gathers’… Could it be underground?” Hilde wondered.

“Most likely. [Search].”

Something reacted at least, so we must be right. But…

“I hate to say this, but, um, it’s beneath that room at the back.”

The helm was most definitely buried under the room where all the secrets were stored.

Well, this is awkward.

I glanced at Reinhard, and he eventually let out a massive dejected sigh. “Nothing else we can do. I’ll let you enter, but please don’t touch any of the books or documents inside.” “Of course.”

It wouldn’t do me any good to make the man suspicious of me. Reinhard opened the magic door lock and beckoned us inside. [Search]

indicated that the helmet was underneath the floor in the center of the room.

When I used [Teleport], something a little like a gleaming silver helm ended up in my hands. This was definitely it. The reason I say “a little” like a helm was because this wasn’t a full-face helmet, nor was it even really a helmet; it was actually more like a crown or a circlet. A large jewel was set into the part that rested on the forehead, while metallic feathers adorned the parts near the ears.

Let’s give it a little check with [Analyze], shall we?

“I see… It makes you resistant to all status ailments and greatly increases resistance to fire, ice, and lightning.”

“Amazing! Lemme see!”

Frei was reaching her hands out toward the circlet with glittering eyes.

This girl!

That was another apology to Reinhard added to the pile.

Still, it made the wearer resistant to all status ailments? That meant paralysis and poison would have no effect. Maybe even petrify and charm. It was like having [Recovery] permanently cast on you. If only we had this while fighting the Catoblepas and its petrifying eyes.

“It’s lighter than I expected. Oh, seems it adjusts based on the size of the wearer’s head.”

Reinhard tried equipping it after Frei had finished looking it all over.

This stuff really did give the vibe of an old hero’s gear. It was convenient that it had an automatic size adjustment feature.

I examined it next—and right enough, it was very light. It felt as light as a straw hat, and it deployed a barrier around the head to mitigate any damage to that area. As expected, Doc Babylon’s signature was also on the backside of the circlet.

No, seriously, we’re so lucky these didn’t end up in worse hands.

“All we have left to find now is the armor… ‘The armor lies beneath the mightiest sword.’” Reinhard muttered to himself. “There’s only one candidate for that, right?”

“The Holy Sword Lestia?” Hilde asked.

The Holy Sword Lestia was the symbol of the Knight Kingdom of Lestia, and another creation of Doc Babylon’s. It granted its wielder the power of healing, and it was with this that the first Knight King of Lestia pacified the lands and founded the kingdom. But…

“What does it mean for it to lie beneath?” “I’m not sure…”

Right now, we had nothing to clue us in to the meaning. “Where’s the holy sword right now?”

“It is under tight protection in the castle’s treasury,” Reinhard answered. Did that mean the armor was underneath the castle’s treasury?

Guess it’s worth a shot.

With Reinhard leading the way, we made our way there. Four gatekeepers stood in front of a sturdy door. Well, he certainly wasn’t lying about the tight protection at least.

When I used [Search], there was a result for armor in the treasury—four different results, actually. But if it was in the treasury, that meant it wasn’t underneath, right?

“It is likely detecting the armor we store in there,” Hilde explained. “We have several valuable pieces of armor that have been gathered over the years.” “If there are four results, then it seems likely that’s the case,” Reinhard added. “There are indeed four suits of armor stored in the treasury.”

“So this isn’t the right place, then?” I sighed. The second I got no results from underground, I assumed that was the case, but still. “What’s the second strongest sword, then?”

“Hmm… The criteria of a sword being strong is already too vague,” Hilde said. “Swords are simply tools that have their strength decided by the one who wields them.”

That was true. If someone untrained in swordsmanship were to try wielding Lestia, Reinhard would beat them even with a dull sword. What would make a sword “mighty” in that case? This wasn’t like a game where you’d get stats displayed like “ATK +99” or something. That said, the Holy Sword Lestia had the special ability to grant its wielder healing abilities—in that sense, it had more value than a regular sword, and could maybe be described as a mightier sword.

Wait…what if the “mighty” isn’t referring to the strength to strike down, but the durability to not break?

That would mean we were searching for the most durable sword, which instantly cut down the possibilities!

“Oh, I know!”

Before I could voice my own conclusion, Frei’s voice piped up in realization.

Wait, seriously? You figured it out?

“C’mere!”

Frei ignored me standing in shock and dashed down the corridor.

No, seriously. Did you figure it out?!

We ran after Frei with absolutely no idea where she was going. “And here we are!”

Frei opened two large double doors and burst into a room. It was a vast hall with a red carpet flanked by beautiful white columns. The way ahead was bathed in brilliant sunlight, drawing our eyes to a magnificent stained-glass window. In front of that window stood a sturdy red throne, backed by a tapestry embroidered with the royal crest of the Lestias.

“The audience chamber?”

A room for various ceremonial acts, such as receiving foreign guests, conferring honors, and giving royal decrees…was where the mightiest sword lay?

I looked around the room, expecting to see some big sword hanging somewhere, but I saw nothing.

“Frei? What are you trying to say?”

“Do you still not get it? I’m talking about the knight’s code of honor!” “Oh!”

Hilde and Reinhard clearly realized what Frei was talking about as they cried out in unison.

Wait, what?! What is it?!

“That makes so much sense!”

“I am a failure of a ruler to have not even realized such a thing…” “Uh, could someone fill me in?”

I was starting to feel left out.

Frei was the one who finally explained, “Lestia…or, well, this continent in general has several principles that knights abide by. The most important of them all is…”

“A knight should be the sword and shield of those who can’t take up arms!” All three of them enthusiastically shouted it at once. When I thought about it, it did sound familiar. Our own knight order…

Oh!

“So the ‘sword’ in question is a knight! And the mightiest sword would therefore be…!”

The mightiest knight of the Knight Kingdom would be someone who possessed not only physical strength, but also the skill, physique, and spirit of a knight. In other words, a king of knights. The Knight King of Lestia.

“If it was underneath the mightiest sword, then it would be underneath where the Knight King would reside—in other words, under the throne!”

“That’s what I think, anyway!”

“I never imagined the throne I’ve been sitting on all this time had the founder’s armor hidden underneath it. This almost feels blasphemous. I must apologize, Great Founder…”

Reinhard’s shoulders drooped in deep remorse, but wasn’t this clearly the founder’s fault? It wasn’t as if Reinhard knew. And if that was considered blasphemous, then wouldn’t every generation after the founder be guilty of blasphemy too?

“Anyway, let’s finally get that armor, shall we?” “I wonder what it’s like! I’m so excited to see it!” “The founder’s armor… I’m growing excited too!”

Mother and daughter were clenching their fists in excitement, eyes sparkling.

If the armor belonged to the first Knight King, then it must be some powerful stuff. The shield, the circlet…oh, and the sword too. All of them were unique, one-of-a-kind items. Though I suppose that shouldn’t be surprising, given who made them.

And then it struck me. I was hit with an insanely bad feeling. We were talking about Doc Babylon here. Would she make normal armor? Would she not curse it? Would that be why it had been sealed away for so long?

“Father, hurry up!”

“Oh, uh, yeah. [Teleport]…?”

With that sudden uncertainty in my heart, I gave in to Frei’s impatience and teleported the legendary armor to me.

This is…

Just like the rest, it seemed to be made of high-mithril. The gauntlets and greaves, I could make out. But what was this part meant for the torso? Two cup- shaped pieces and a small pair of metallic panties…

“Hey, this is just bikini armor!”

I almost threw it away when I suddenly realized what it was. This was clearly bikini armor! I was right to be worried after all! That scientist never made anything good!

There was a bikini armor listing in the storehouse…so this must have been one of those…

“This was…the armor the founder wore? Can you even call this armor?” Frei asked uncertainly.

I had no idea what to say.

So, wait, did that mean the first Knight King of Lestia fought while wearing this? What kind of perv was he?

Hilde quickly clarified when she saw my face:. “Oh, despite the title, the first Knight King was a woman, so it’s not that strange. Well…in that respect, it’s not strange, but…”

Suddenly, her confidence in what she was saying clearly dropped.

So the founder was a female knight, huh? Well, that makes sense… Yeah…

Maybe?

“So, uhhh, what’s the effect of the armor?” Reinhard asked. “O-Oh, gimme a sec. [Analyze].”

That goddamn scientist…

“The gauntlets strengthen the body. The greaves grant enhanced leg strength.

The breastplate and waist armor, um…have the ability to draw the opponent’s gaze and enhance physical strength based on the shame the wearer feels…”

“I… I see.”

Reinhard clearly looked troubled. He looked about ready to shout, “What the hell is that about?!” but he clearly didn’t want to disparage his ancestor in any way.

At a base level, I could understand having an effect that attracted the gaze of your opponent—it was like a taunt, keeping the enemy’s eyes on you so that your allies could fight without being interrupted. But why were there power-ups based on how much shame the wearer felt? Just make it a regular unconditional buff! Making someone stronger based on how embarrassed they felt was clearly just Doc Babylon’s fetish!

The founder must’ve endured so much embarrassment just to use this armor to battle monsters. She had been known for her strength, so the shame she must have felt had to be immense. The fact that she continued fighting for her people regardless was a sign of how wonderful a person she had been.

For some reason, even though this should be a touching story, I’m not really feeling it.

Honestly, it wasn’t much of a surprise that the founder wanted to keep such a dark history hidden. Thinking about it carefully, the founding tablet, the secret room of the library, and the throne were all places that the people would absolutely avoid having destroyed. In other words, these pieces were intended to be used only when they were truly needed, when Lestia was in its darkest hour and you would be willing to go that far to retrieve them. Even if it meant exposing the worst part of her history, she always put her country first.

“Whoa, so this is the founder’s armor… I want to see its effects! Mother, you should wear it!”

“Huh?!”

Hilde looked horrified at her daughter’s sudden bomb of a suggestion. “Well, it won’t fit me, but it’ll probably fit—”

“I’m not wearing something as horrible as that!” “Aww…”

Hilde went as far as interrupting Frei to refuse. It was a bit rude to call the armor the founder wore “horrible,” but I understood how she felt. Though I…did kind of want to see her in it…

“What will we do with it now that we’ve found it?” I asked. Reinhard stood there in thought for a moment.

“They are the three legendary pieces of the first Knight King’s armor. We must declare that we have found them. As for the armor, well…it may be for the best that we only mention the greaves and gauntlets.”

I agreed with him. There was no need to bring shame to his ancestor’s legacy.

I was sure she would be happier knowing they had been left hidden in the treasury.

“However, we may find ourselves in a bit of trouble if we do not at least test the armor. It wouldn’t be good to only try them in our time of need, only to find out that it does nothing… So, Hilde, do you mind?”

“Brother?!”

Hilde was looking at her brother in utter shock at the sudden betrayal. “Well, there are no other female knights we can reveal this to, are there? I

think this is the duty of the royal family.”

“I already left the Lestian royal family! I’m a grand duchess of Brunhild now! I have nothing to do with this!”

Hilde was so desperate not to wear it that she argued with Reinhard for a while, but the moment her daughter joined in and her husband remained silent, she finally gave in and decided to do it.

…Yippee!

I felt a glare aimed right at me, but I pretended not to notice.

After we waited around for a bit in the underground training area that was reserved for the royal family, Hilde appeared wearing all the pieces of armor.

“Ugh… Why did things have to turn out like this?” “Um…it suits you?”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better…”

My attempt at reassurance did nothing to help the bright red Hilde. But it really did suit her, as questionable as it was whether that counted as a compliment. It would definitely draw people’s attention, that was for sure. If you ignored the fact that it was bikini armor, I could definitely agree that this looked like a legendary knight’s armor.

“It suits you well, Hilde. It must be a great honor to be allowed to wear the same equipment as the founder. I’m jealous.” Reinhard added fuel to the fire with a smile on his face. Hilde immediately shot him a glare, in total contrast to her brother.

I’ll just stay out of this…

“If we want to test the power of the armor, I will require an opponent.

Brother, would you mind?” “Huh?”

After that, I could only watch in silence as Reinhard was beaten to a pulp by the powered-up Hilde.

Rest in peace, dear brother-in-law.

Surprisingly, it was through this battle that Hilde awoke to her divine trait.

According to Frei, it was called holy sword dance, and it let Hilde summon several floating swords of light that she could control at will. Apparently, she’d already seen her mother use it plenty of times in the future.