Nikola was stoic and serious, but generally inflexible. Norn was a people person, but very reckless. Lain was an exemplary all-rounder, but she was dangerously reserved.
“Look, for now let’s have one of you be the commander, and the other two can be the vice-commanders. Alright?” Nikola immediately raised his hand.
“Lain should be the commander, then.”
“Y-Yeah, I agree! Lain’ll do great!”
“Wh-Wh-What?!” Lain was betrayed by her closest comrades! She glared right at them. But she was outvoted two-to-one, so I was completely fine to go ahead with it.
“U-Um, please, you two...! Isn’t Nikola more suited for the role than I?!”
“Nah, you’re much better for this. Norn’s careless, so she’d make a sloppy commander. She likes to slack off, too. I’m kind of a strict person, so I don’t think I’d treat people especially fairly. Inflexibility is not a trait you want at the head of an organization. They say a carrot and a stick is needed to drive something forwards, but I’m just a stick. I’d say that you’re the carrot we need, Lain.” Hm, lemme look at this objectively here... This case kind of reminded me of the Hijikata Toshizo, vice-commander of the Shinsengumi. He was known as the Demon Vice-Commander because of his attitude. So while Kondo Isami took the role as the Shinsengumi’s commander, Toshizo simply stood by the wayside and sternly enforced the rules. A guy like that was definitely best at the side-lines, growling and staring.
“Very well, then. Lain’s the new commander.”
“Sounds good to us!”
“Wh-What?! Please wait a moment!” All three of them had grown considerably stronger over the last few months. Yamgata and Baba had really put them through the wringer, and the results were showing. They’d even trained often with veterans from both Regulus and Belfast. They all had valiant personalities, and they were naturally talented in the physical arts just by virtue of being Beastmen.
That aside, putting Lain at the top of my Knight Order was a convenient social move, as well. She was a beastwoman, so that was two birds with one stone. With Lain as the commander, everyone would know at a glance that Brunhild was a progressive country that did not discriminate based on sex or race.
“Please don’t worry so much. Even if the title is commander, right now it’s only comparable to leading a small platoon. Don’t get worked up, you’ll be fine. Your two vice-commanders will be supporting you fully as well.”
“Yessir.”
“You got it!” Nikola stood stoic and serious, while Norn gave a bubbly response. Lain just sat down on her chair, staring blankly and quietly babbling. Her rabbit ears were drooped down in resignation.
It felt a little awkward, but I’m sure she’d do her best. I also decided to support her in every way possible.
All that was left was to create leaflets and fliers, then distribute them. I was sure that putting them in places like the guild in Regulus and Belfast would be more than enough.
We all decided to host the interview itself after a month.
And then, one month later...
“Huh?”
“Allow me to repeat myself. Over a thousand candidates are here to fill up the sixty available positions. It is both unexpected and unprecedented.” Kousaka repeated himself, but I still couldn’t wrap my head around what he said. How had we attracted that many people? Sure, we’d thrown out fliers all over the place, but over a thousand, really? There were more applicants than citizens!
“How did this happen?”
“Your Majesty... you are the sole Silver-ranked adventurer in Belfast. You squashed a military coup in Regulus. You slayed a dragon in Mismede! These people were naturally drawn here due to your great deeds. Word of mouth is powerful. But of course there are likely spies from other nations mixed in amongst the candidates as well.” That made sense enough. It was still better to have a ton of candidates than no candidates, though. “How do you plan on processing them, then? And what about the criteria you’re looking for in a knight?”
“Hrmm, I’m not actually sure about the best course of action. I still haven’t got that figured out.” I didn’t know the first thing about interviewing this many people.
“Well, Your Majesty... it depends on the kind of individual you want to prioritize within the ranks of Brunhild. Frankly, if you think strength is all that matters, why not have them all brawl until there are only sixty left? Hohoh...” Easy for you to say. Well, if they’re thuggish or crude I don’t want them working here. I guess the ideal I’m looking for in a knight is someone who looks at the citizens and sees them as the priority. Good-hearted people with dutiful attitudes. I’m sure a lot of people will have come along with different expectations, but I’m not gonna budge there.
Still, interviewing each candidate one after the other is gonna be a pain. What should I do...
◇ ◇ ◇
“Applicants for the Brunhild Knight Order, please come over here. Line up in an orderly fashion.” The desk was at the castle gates. I had the applicants come one by one to write down their full name, their sex, their age, birthplace, race, and personal statements on a document. After that, Lapis would give them a numbered badge. Then, that same number was stamped on the back of their hand. The actual interview was scheduled for two days afterwards.
The badges were to be worn on the chest, or anywhere where it was easily visible. Wearing them was mandatory.
The badges were secretly the first part of the test. I’d informed every citizen of the town to record the badge number of anyone that gives them a tough time or a poor impression. I asked them to put down the reason for the concern, and the nature of the harassment.
A smart applicant would probably realize the meaning behind the badge to begin with.
This wasn’t a test to find those with the right qualities, but more of a test to root out those with the wrong qualities. Those who were inconsiderate, those who didn’t think about the badge’s meaning, or the people they were going to be protecting? I didn’t want those people anywhere near my country.
I used [Mirage] on Tsubaki’s subordinates to make them look like Monsterkin and Beastmen, then I had them wander around the town. I wanted to see if anyone would actively discriminate against them. Because those were the kind of people I wanted to kick out.
About a third of the candidates were demi-human, so naturally if I employed them I wanted them working alongside people who wouldn’t discriminate or look down on them. It’d be a pain in the ass if I had people who were like, “Wow, you’re okay for a beastman,” as well. Friendly discrimination was still racist.
I summoned one hundred cats and sent them into town. Their mission was to report in to me about the situation.
“Meow... there’s a certain fellow hassling a merchant! He’s badge number six hundred and eighty-five.”
“Meow, there’s a group of drunkards making a hassle in a restaurant. The barkeep’s trying to keep the situation under control, meow! They’re badges number eighty-two through eighty-five!”
“S-Some rude son of a meow threw a rock at me... He’s badge number two hundred and fifty-eight!” I was surprised that so many reports were coming in so soon. It was pretty hard for me to take note of all of that alone. I decided to ask Kohaku for help. Kohaku was the Monarch that governed land beasts, so that tiger would have no issue receiving telepathic messages from the cats either. Renne and Laim came to help me record everything.
Over a thousand applicants had shown up, so Micah’s inn was beyond its limit. In the end, most of the applicants had to camp in the plains outside town. Thankfully there was no dangerous wildlife in the region.
A huge variety of people had shown up, though. I disguised myself with [Mirage] and went to check out the town. There were a lot of female adventurers, probably because I’d mentioned that sex didn’t matter. A lot of Beastmen and Monsterkin showed up as well, mostly gathering in groups of their own.
I decided to reject humans that were racist against Beastmen and
Monsterkin, but I also decided to reject Beastmen and intelligent monsters that were racist towards humans as well. It was true that they might’ve all had personal circumstances that made them feel that way, but my country had no room for discriminatory people, bleeding hearts or not.
With that initial wave over, the worst of them would probably be singled out and removed. But the screening still had to occur.
My idea of using [Paralysis] on all of the candidates and letting those with high magical resistance pass to the next round was vetoed. I guess it didn’t have much to do with knighthood. It didn’t really let me know if the person was good or bad, either.
I decided to rely on Yumina’s Mystic Eyes for that little detail, but resolved only to include her after I’d narrowed down the candidates considerably.
Things were definitely about to get busier.
◇ ◇ ◇
It was screening day. The people whose ticket numbers had been recorded by Tsubaki’s subordinates and the cats were not allowed passage through the castle’s gate. Of course, some people were hanging around, but most had gone home in low spirits, grumbling to themselves about what they could do to help their country. Thus about fifty people had been rejected, which left about nine hundred and fifty people. But only about a twentieth had left. That wasn’t enough.
Applicants gathered within the training ground in the castle. I stood on the hastily constructed stage alongside Lain, Norn, Nikola, Baba, and Yamagata. Elze, Linze, Yae, Yumina, Lu, and Tsubaki all waited in the wings beside the stage.
I used my Null spell [Speaker], which caused the sides of the stages to shine as magic formations headed toward the galleries.
These two magic formations, about thirty centimeters in diameter, floated up into the sky as another smaller formation appeared by my mouth. Anything I’d say into this one would stream out of the larger formations at a magnified volume.
“First, allow me to welcome you all to the Duchy of Brunhild. I am Mochizuki Touya, the Grand Duke. We are about to proceed with the screening to see who will join my royal knight order. But let me be frank with you all, we do not pay much. As knights you will not only defend this duchy, but you will have numerous other roles to fill as well. As you can see from the Beastmen behind me, your race or social position will do you no favors here. I would ask only those who agree with what I’ve said to remain here.” I declared as such, and the applicants began to mutter amongst themselves. Eventually several of them left through the castle gate. Well, I didn’t expect everyone to stay after that. If they didn’t agree with what I’d said, then I’d much rather have had them leave immediately.
“In that case, I will now have you all show me your strength. Please head out through the gate, and do a lap around the castle moat.” A puzzled expression came over the crowd’s faces at my latest declaration. The distance around the castle was about two kilometers. They were likely thinking it was too small a distance to test strength.
“It also matters not if you come first or last. I wish you to take this at your own pace. Those who find this too hard and wish to give up are to remove the badges they’re wearing. You’ll be teleported back here and allowed to leave. With that said, let’s begin!” As the applicants began to file off, I cast my magic.
“[Gravity].”
“Argh?!” Everyone collapsed to the ground under their newfound weight.
“I used weight magic on you all. Please complete the course under these conditions. If you wish to give up, simply do as I said earlier and remove your badge. You will then be teleported here.” The applicants began to stand up one by one, and then walked slowly out of the gate. They weren’t quite going at a snail’s pace, but it was far slower than standard walking speed.
I hadn’t made them so heavy that they couldn’t move, so they should still be able to walk fine. It’d take an incredibly amount of strength though. I’d also sent the ninjas to keep an eye on everyone, in case anyone tried to get sneaky, or accidentally fell into the moat.
“So their position doesn’t matter?”
“Hmm... Well I’ll take it into consideration, but this isn’t a test to simply see their physical strength.” I answered Laim’s question. I’ll certainly be able to work out how strong they are from this. But that isn’t what I want to know.
“If this isn’t a test of physical strength, then what is it?”
“A test of will.”
“Their will?” How serious they can be, in other words. Anyone who gives up immediately wouldn’t be any use to us. Those would be the first people to give up when the going gets tough. And that could put us all in danger.
After a certain amount of time had passed, I intended to send relief to those who haven’t returned. But anyone who gives up before that would be instantly disqualified. Anyone still striving for the goal at that point would be considered a successful applicant, and move on to the next stage.
I explain all this to Laim as people start teleporting in, having given up. That’s way too soon! At least put some effort into it!
I removed [Gravity] from them, and used [Refresh] to restore their strength before quickly sending them home. Hm, how many are left...
Wow, we started with nine hundred and fifty, but we’re already down to four hundred and fifty?! That means half of them have given up already!
The people in first place were all Beastmen and Monsterkin who had naturally enhanced strength, but that wasn’t too important here. As long as a person had the mental strength to continue without giving up, they’d pass. Whatever their reason for giving up, be it that they were merely window-shopping for a job, or just realized their own lack of strength, that was irrelevant to me as well. I appreciated their efforts, regardless.
After a certain amount of time elapsed, I used recovery magic on everyone who was still struggling. I also cast it on anyone that managed to make it through the goal.
Now, for the next test.
“Next we’ll move onto the practical skills examination. You may use whatever weapons you prefer. Any who manages to land a hit on me within thirty minutes will have passed. I shall be using this wooden sword. You may begin.” I declared the start and picked up my wooden sword, but not a single person charged toward me. I was thinking about how weird it was that they weren’t doing anything, when eventually someone timidly spoke up.
“U-Uh, what order are we meant to attack you in?” Ahh, so that’s it.
“That doesn’t matter. You can all come at me at once. Give it everything you’ve got, by all means.” They might’ve thought I was mocking them, because they all begin to charge me at once, specialized weapons in hand.
“[Accel].” I used my acceleration magic to slip between them, and start hitting the unprotected applicants with my sword. Given the huge number of people, they kept on surging toward me. But I just kept on dodging, hitting out when I got the chance.
I made a point not to attack anyone who held a firm guard. During this test, Baba, Yamagata, Elze and Yae were judging the participants’ skills. If they were determined to be above a certain level, then their number would be recorded. I felt bad for the people who I could clearly see weren’t at that level, but I hit them anyway. That meant they’d failed.
Occasionally an attack would come my way, but [Accel] made it a trifling matter to deal with. Eventually, half of the people had fallen, with the rest still standing raggedly around the field.
“That’s enough. Time!” Laim announced the test’s end. And with that, everyone collapsed to the ground. That also reminded me, I happened to see a few people I recognized during the brawl.
I glanced over to the two of them, collapsed on the ground. Ha! Wow, it’s Rebecca and Logan.
They were the two adventurers I’d met in the Rabbi Desert. Last I heard they were still guarding the reading cafe back in Belfast. I wondered what had brought them here. The two of them noticed my staring and gave me a small wave. I wanted to talk to them, but there were a lot of people around. I would
n’t want them knowing that I knew any of the applicants. They might start thinking I was giving people special treatment.
I cast recovery magic on everyone, and took the notes from Baba and the others.
“I’ll now read out the results. Those whose numbers I read out will come this way. If I do not read out your number, I apologize, but you have failed. Please leave through the castle gates. I will now begin. Numbers three, fourteen, twenty-one...” Now only one hundred people remained. The people I attacked obviously failed, but so did the ones who didn’t try to attack me. This was their chance to show off their own abilities, so that only makes sense.
In addition, both Rebecca and Logan ended up passing. And, since I wasn’t the one who decided that, it wasn’t like I gave them special treatment or anything.
We sure have narrowed it down... Now there should be few enough for the interview phase.
We took the successful applicants into the castle, and headed toward the knights’ barracks. Leaving the applicants in one room, we began preparing the adjacent one for the interviews. The ones leading these interviews were to be myself, Laim, Yumina, and one more person. I’d called them to the duchy, because their aid was imperative.
“Sorry for making you come here. Your help is much appreciated.”
“Oh no, this is nothing. I already owe you far more than I could ever repay.” Her Eminence the Pope smiled as she answered me. I’d contacted the Ramissh Theocracy beforehand to ask for help. Her guards, several holy paladins, were waiting at the back of the room too. We were going to perform these interviews using the pope’s ability to see through lies, and Yumina’s ability to see one’s true nature.
Her Holiness was a bit of a celebrity, so I used [Mirage] to disguise her appearance. When I did so, she asked me to make her look young. Since she’d look like a different person I didn’t think it really mattered... But a woman’s heart could be complicated and fickle, I guess.
“Very well, call them five at a time.” Nikola left the room, and came back with five applicants. Two Beastmen, and three humans. I advised that they sit in the chairs in the center of the room.
In Another World With My Smartphone_Volume 5 Page 15
