Chapter 97

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From mid to late April, the imperial coronation ceremonies will continue. The preliminary rounds of the martial arts tournament and the music competition will begin on the first day of the first week, and the top performers will be invited to the garden party on the final day of the ceremonies. Therefore, the results will be decided about three days before the end, making it quite a long event.

For this reason, the Kikunoi residence will hold a send-off party the day before the preliminaries. It will also be a dinner party and a debut of the costumes. To ensure everyone can eat their fill without worrying about manners, the venue will be the garden, and the format will be a barbecue.

The head chef will arrange the meat, fish, and vegetables on a grill over the charcoal. Incidentally, the ingredients were procured by the teachers again, but the source is a secret.

"Thank you for inviting us," the five members of La Pucelle said in unison, performing a beautiful curtsey. The three members of Estrada also expressed their gratitude, placing their hands on their chests.

"Please enjoy yourselves today and regain your energy."

"Thank you!"

"I've never been in such a grand garden before!"

"There are so many beautiful flowers."

"The barbecue smells really good..."

"Everyone! You need to behave properly, okay!?"

As they admire the garden or sniff the aroma of the barbecue, Mina, who is known for being serious, stops them. Romeo and his two companions, who are used to coming to the mansion for the Elfin Boot Camp, help the head chef with the grilling. Kousuke and Regulus also seem to be enjoying the grilled meat.

The three members of Estrada and the young ladies of La Pucelle, who have been taught manners and deportment by Lala, stand with their backs straight. The young ladies, being stage performers, have a particularly elegant and graceful presence. They could easily be mistaken for noble young ladies, and Romeo, Tibalt, and Machiavelli, who could pass for knights of some knightly order, make a truly splendid group together.

"Wow... the older sisters are so beautiful."

"The older sisters are so cute."

Kousuke and Regulus sigh in admiration, their eyes sparkling. It's just like how "I" and "Tanaka" used to look at the male and female roles in the Violet Garden in my previous life. Yes, idols and actors spread dreams, hopes, and aspirations, which is why I like them.

Seeing this, Romeo, Tibalt, and Machiavelli seem to have something on their minds and ask Kousuke, "What about us?"

"You guys have changed! You look so strong!"

"Have we become a bit cooler?"

"Yeah, but, big brother is the coolest!"

Oh, my, you little chicks, you're making your big brothers blush. Regulus, blushing and covering his cheeks, answers, and the young ladies exclaim, "So cute!" while the three members of Estrada shrug.

"Of course, Leitan, you're the coolest."

"I think I'm the one who thinks you're the coolest."

"Objection! I think it's me."

"No, it's me, isn't it, Leitan?"

Indeed, Mr. Romanov is cool, but Lala and Viktor are also cool. Personally, I think the ones who fit the description of "cool" are more like Laurent and the head chef. By the way, the three Elfs are more beautiful than cool.

Today, Romeo and his companions are wearing the Napoleon jackets and vests I made, along with the shirts, undergarments, socks, pants, and belts with small pouches for hanging weapons. They also have weapons and buckles, and shoes, all fully equipped. Thanks to the enchantments that grant "increased defense" and "increased magic power," these effects stack to provide "weapon destruction resistance" and "absolute defense." "Absolute defense" not only repels physical attacks but also magical attacks and debuffs.

That's not all. The weapons—Romeo's sword, Tibalt's spear, and Machiavelli's whip and throwing knives—are enchanted with "piercing," which allows them to ignore any defensive enchantments and deal damage. The shoes and buckles are also enchanted with "increased agility" and overall ability enhancements.

With all these enhancements, they should be almost unbeatable... but the weakness of enchantments is that if the original abilities are low, no matter how much you enhance them, they won't be that effective. Even if you put "absolute defense" on a thin piece of paper, it would only last a few cuts before the enchantment fails.

"How do the clothes feel?"

"Very comfortable."

"Easy to move in, and light."

"I thought they might be a bit flashy, but they're not that bad when you wear them."

"Ah, the jackets and pants are all black, but the vests are different colors."

Romeo's vest is wine red, Tibalt's is indigo blue, and Machiavelli's is viridian green. I also added Elven patterns to inconspicuous areas. They all turned around to show off, and they look quite impressive. The young ladies of La Pucelle clapped in approval. After a light wave, the three of them changed their expressions.

"We've heard about them from Lord Romanov and your thoughts, young master."

"We did indeed put the Kikunoi territory at risk. At the time, we didn't realize how foolish we were."

"But over these past few months, we've learned and understood the kindness we've been shown."

"I see. So, what will you do?"

"We will win. We will repay the territory... no, we want to help those who, like us, have fallen into despair. We want to help them as we were helped."

"Please give us your orders, young master."

"Win at all costs. I will definitely win and show you."

They all knelt and bowed to me, creating a somewhat grand scene, like a knight's investiture.

Then, Mr. Romanov drew his sword from his belt and placed it in my hand.

"Leitan, perform the dubbing ceremony."

"Dubbing ceremony?"

"Place the flat side of the sword on their necks and have them swear the knight's oath. The oath sworn to the lord is blessed by the lord's forgiveness."

Mr. Romanov guided my hand to place the flat side of the sword on Romeo's neck.

"Leitan, repeat after me. 'May he be a knight who protects all the good and weak.'"

"May he be a knight who protects all the good and weak."

"‘Be humble, be honest, keep your manners, do not betray, do not deceive, always be kind to the weak, always be brave to the strong, elevate your character, act with dignity, be a shield to protect the people, be a spear to strike the lord's enemies, and never forget that you are a knight.’"

"Be humble, be honest, keep your manners, do not betray, do not deceive, always be kind to the weak, always be brave to the strong, elevate your character, act with dignity, be a shield to protect the people, be a spear to strike the lord's enemies, and never forget that you are a knight."

After repeating the solemn words, I removed the sword from his neck and pointed the tip at Romeo's face. Mr. Romanov then told Romeo to kiss the tip of the blade if he was willing to swear. Romeo, with a solemn expression, kissed the blade.

"I swear."

Oh no, my inner "I" is getting all excited about the chivalry. Thank you for reading (^人^). I would be grateful for any evaluations, comments, reviews, fan art, etc. I also write activity reports, so please feel free to check them out ( ^-^)_旦～