'What is this? Now!? He’s meeting me now!? They said he was a busy man! He couldn’t be MAKING time to meet me, could he!? I’m just a commoner! But… he did ask me to come here personally. Does he remember me?’
These are the thoughts running through Arthur’s head as he follows the maid through the hallways and up to the fourth floor of the castle. His musings won’t allow him to truly appreciate the splendors of the castle. Its fine carpets going from one end of the hallway to the other, the exquisite furniture, the lamps in the walls…
Wait. Lamps?
Yes, along the walls there are things that look like lamps, but have the same kind of shiny glass that was in the guardhouse. However, this glass is a yellowish white instead of blue and it’s not radiating any light right now.
‘Is this some kind of technology that’s only found in the capital? I’ve never seen it before. I wonder if my mom would know…’
The maid walking in front of him suddenly stops in front of a finely crafted door. Actually, most of the doors in this hallway look extremely fancy, being made of oak and having intricate patterns carved into them.
The maid turns to Arthur with a calm, polite smile.
“This is the door to Lord Samuel’s office. He’s currently waiting for you here.” She says and turns to the door. She gives it soft knocks and announces. “Lord Samuel, Mr. Arthur is here to see you.”
The man who opens the door is a 2 meters tall giant. He looks roughly 30 years old or so. He has an extremely muscular build, broad shoulders and thick arms and legs. He has short, brown hair with neatly cared for sideburns and is dressed in a simple outfit of a fancy green tunic, brown pants and boots. After he opens the door, he steps aside and bows while holding a hand to his chest.
“Please, come in.” He says in a rough, yet extremely polite voice.
Arthur swallows and steps into the room while the maid bows and takes her leave.
‘What’s with all this respect? I can’t be anyone so important to merit being treated like this, can I? Is this how the staff are told to treat guests?’
The room he comes into is… more austere than he expected. It’s fairly small, there’s a blue carpet on the floor and a couple of filled bookcases are against the left wall. Sitting behind a thick, wooden desk is a blonde young man, smiling satisfied as Arthur steps inside.
“Roland, I’m sorry to ask this of you, but could you give us some privacy?” The man asks with a wry smile.
“Of course, milord.” The big man, Roland, bows once more and leaves the room.
Arthur swallows, and he notices his body shaking ever so slightly.
‘Why am I getting nervous all of a sudden?’
“Arthur, please, sit down.” The knight offers with a kind smile as he motions to the chair across from him.
Arthur bows, as he’s seen other people do, and takes a seat. He doesn’t even know if bowing was the correct thing to do, but it seemed appropriate.
“You have the letter, correct?”
“Y-Yes.” He nods and hands it over. Sir Samuel looks it over before setting it aside and nodding with another satisfied smile.
“Well, allow me to properly introduce myself, since we couldn’t speak back when I met you.” He chuckles. “My name is Samuel, Samuel Alba. I am the Vice-General of the Radiant Knights. The man you saw before is my housecarl, Roland.”
Sir Samuel Alba seems only a tad bit taller than Arthur. He has blue eyes and his long, blonde hair is tied into a ponytail that rests over his shoulder. Arthur wonders for a moment if he’s about to head out, because the man is in full plate armor that almost shines like silver, yet marks of battle can be seen on it. A yellowish cape adorns his shoulders and back.
There’s a familiar sting of envy in Arthur’s chest. He wishes he could have armor like that, but he forces the thought out of his head. He has to focus on other things right now.
“It’s g-good to finally meet you, S-Sir Samuel. My mother has always spoken favorably of you.” Arthur assures, unable to stop the slight stammering.
“Is that so? Well, it’s not something I deserve.” Samuel says, grimacing. “Allow me to apologize, Arthur. If I had been faster, Mrs. Scarlett wouldn’t have lost an arm. To this day, I still consider that one of my greatest failures.”
Much to the younger man’s surprise, Sir Samuel sets his hands on his knees and bows apologetically, his face full of regret. It’s that action that finally sets Arthur at ease, allowing him to get rid of his nerves.
This guy… is a good person. An honestly good person. Of course, he should’ve known this, but finally getting to meet him answers a lot of Arthur’s doubts.
“Thank you, Sir Samuel, but you don’t need to apologize. My mom and I are alive now because of you. Besides, it’s not like losing an arm has hindered her in any way.” Arthur groans in annoyance. “She still packs as hard a punch as always.”
Only then does he realize that acting like this may be incredibly inappropriate, but Sir Samuel’s hearty laugh sets him at ease.
“Really? Well, that’s a relief to hear. I only saw her fight for a few moments, but she’s someone who would’ve easily made captain if she had joined the knights.”
“Why didn’t you invite her to participate in the tournament, then?” Arthur asks.
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“I did, but she refused.” The knight shakes his head and sighs.
“Is that why you changed your invitation to me?”
“Not exactly.” He smiles. “Before I tell you much more, I need to ask you how much you remember about that night three years ago.”
The night when Sir Samuel saved his and his mother’s lives. Truth be told, he doesn’t remember much at all. The pain he felt for the first time rendered everything else irrelevant.
“Everything is foggy, but my mom has told me most of it. I remember suddenly coming down with this terrible pain in my chest and all my body. My mom says that she tried bringing me from Yellowseed Village to this city after none of the healers could do anything about it. She says she took a shortcut through the noble woods, which is where we got caught by monsters and you and your men came to save us.”
“That’s the gist of it, yes.” Sir Samuel nods. “Did she tell you of when you tried to fight me?”
Arthur’s heart skips a beat and his face starts getting pale.
“I did WHAT!?”
“I see. So you don’t remember that.” The knight hums, holding his chin with his fingers. “Yes, that night you tried fighting one of the monsters. After I killed it, you turned to me.”
“I-I’m so sorry! I had no idea!”
“Don’t worry. To be honest, it’s exactly because of it that I invited you to take part in the Knight Selection Tournament.” Sir Samuel smiles reassuringly.
“What do you mean?”
‘A commoner attacks a knight and he’s rewarded with a chance at knighthood? If that were the case, the kingdom would be crawling with bandit-turned-knights.’
“Arthur, you have heard of [demigods], am I right?”
[Demigods]. Arthur is from a remote village, so not many news about the capital get there. However, he knows what demigods are, and he knows he’s sitting in front of one. They call Sir Samuel Alba “The Knight of the Sun” because he’s a descendant of the Sun God.
“Yes. They say demigods are descendants of the ancient gods that inhabited this continent and are far stronger than any normal human can ever hope to be.” Arthur says, mostly to confirm this with an expert. All he’s ever heard is just hearsay.
“That’s… technically true.” He sighs with a wry smile and melancholic eyes. “It’s true that demigods naturally grow stronger at a far faster rate than normal humans, but I want to believe humans just haven’t found a way to unlock their true potential.” He shakes his head. “But I digress. The reason I invited you to participate in the tournament is because I suspect you are a demigod as well.”
…
Arthur starts getting goosebumps and his heart starts beating faster. The world seems to go completely silent of an eternity.
“P-Please, Sir Samuel. Don’t joke with me.” Arthur tries to laugh at that. “Me? A demigod? That can’t be!”
“It’s more likely than you think.” Sir Samuel says calmly. “Do you know how many demigods are in this city?”
“N-No, I don’t.”
“Including me and excluding you, we’ve confirmed six, with a very high chance of actually being seven.” He says.
“There’s the General of the Radiant Knights, my superior here; the chief of the mercenaries of the Dusty Hall; the Head Mage of clock tower; his personal apprentice; a young man that was just confirmed to be one, similar to you; and finally, me. We believe there may be a seventh, but they’ve been hiding from us for years.” Sir Samuel sighs, frustrated.
“There’s that many powerful beings in this city alone?”
“Yes, but the truth is… we need more. I can’t freely share information with you right now, but I can tell you it concerns matters from beyond Zaphiel Wall.”
‘There seems to be a lot going on, but… Yeah, that’s fine. Most of it would go over my head right now.’
“So… you want me to join the knight hoping that I’ll become an asset to the organization?” Arthur asks, skeptical.
“Does that sound too blunt to you? Well, there’s another, more personal reason.” The knight smiles wryly. “The chief of the mercenaries has done a lot of good for this kingdom, even if she and I don’t agree on most things. However,” He grits his teeth. “…she and the other demigods are far too self-centered. They act only for their own gain.” His expression softens and he looks at his gauntlet-covered palm. “I can’t bring myself to believe I was born with this power to use it only for myself, and… I guess I want to believe there is another demigod out there that can see things the way I do.”
Arthur grimaces, but meets Sir Samuel’s expectant look.
“I’m sorry, Sir Samuel, but… I don’t think I’m too different from them.” He admits, shamefully. “I came here hoping to become a knight and one day become a noble. I… I want power, money and glory, just like any other who’s been born without them.” Instinctively, Arthur’s hand holds tightly onto the chest area of his gambeson, as if feeling some kind of pressure.
“Then what if I told you that you could gain as much power, money and glory by becoming a mercenary? Thanks to their chief, the Dusty Hall is a very respected organization. You could grow in power and become one of the Hall’s top members. That would get you difficult but extremely well-paying jobs, not to mention you’d have all the freedom you’d want.”
Sir Samuel’s calm words take Arthur by surprise. His mouth hangs half-open as he stares at the man.
‘Didn’t he invite me here to join the knights? Why is he telling me something that might make me reconsider?’
“Why are you telling me this?” He asks.
“Because the knights have no use for a soldier that’s here against his will.” Despite his harsh words, his smile is kind. “I’m not so self-righteous as to believe everyone should think the same way I do.”
…
Arthur smiles faintly.
“Well, it’s good to know I have a backup plan in case I lose at the tournament, then.” He nods to himself.
“Are you sure about this?”
“I am. I’m… not as strong as I wish I was.” Arthur admits. “I know how much I still lack. I saw it clearly on my way to the city. I believe that I’ll be able to learn a lot more about fighting and about the world if I join the knights.”
“That’s true. Well, I’m glad to hear you’ll join us.” He has a satisfied smile on her face. “Come back here the day after tomorrow. I’ll do what I can to help you with the tournament.”
“W-W-What!?”
“I wish we could do it tomorrow, but I have matters to attend to. I apologize.”
“N-No! Don’t apologize! I’ll gladly accept any kind of help or advice you can offer!” Arthur bows hastily.
“Don’t take it so seriously.” Sir Samuel chuckles. “It’s not like there’s much I can help you with a day before the tournament. At most I’ll only be able to give you some pointers. Everything will be up to you, in the end.”
“Yes! I understand.”
“Very well. I’m sorry, but I must return to work. One of the maids will show you the way to the exit. This castle can be quite the maze, after all.” He says with a soft laugh.
With a final goodbye and the promise to meet the day after the next, Arthur leaves Radiant Castle.