That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

Shinji Matou chimed in, "Emilia is a half-elf, and she even looks similar to the Witch of Envy, Satella."

Roswaal shook his head in frustration: "Lucnica's discrimination against demi-humans is deeply ingrained. Although Emilia has been selected as a candidate for king, if she appears with the other candidates the day after tomorrow, her demi-human identity alone will make her a target of criticism. All the knights and nobles in the kingdom will be present tomorrow. If she loses at the very beginning of the royal selection, it will probably be quite difficult for her to improve her prestige in the future."

Shinji Matou asked directly, "What do you want me to do?"

“A beast only inspires fear when it bares its fangs. Might is truth. If you display enough power, you can make people forget that Emilia is a half-elf. Mr. Shinji, would you be interested in performing with me? The audience consists of all the candidates for king, the council of sages who are acting as regents for the country, and the kingdom's knights.”

······

The old butler Wilhelm drove the dragon carriage along the forest path.

Inside the carriage, Felix, who had been deep in thought, suddenly asked, "Will, what do you think of that guy who suddenly appeared and claimed to be a friend of Reinhard?"

The old butler's gaze sharpened, and he said in a deep voice, "He is a terrifying man. He calls himself a magician, but his swordsmanship is even more terrifying. Judging from his swordsmanship, that man must have traversed countless battlefields."

Felix stretched and muttered, "He exudes a dangerous aura at all times, making people curious yet want to get closer. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing that Emilia has such a strong supporter by her side."

······

Knock knock~

At night, Shinji Matou knocked on Emilia's bedroom door and soon heard hurried footsteps.

The door opened, and Emilia, dressed in purple pajamas, peeked out. Seeing Shinji Matou, her light purple eyes showed a hint of surprise: "Mr. Shinji, it's so late, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Still studying?" Shinji Matou asked casually.

Emilia smiled wryly: "Yes, the royal selection is about to begin. I can't feel at ease if I do nothing. There's nothing to do at night anyway."

Shinji Matou handed her the document in his hand: "Perfect, this is for you."

"Another exam paper?"

Emilia forced a bitter smile. She felt herself becoming a little neurotic from being tormented by Shinji Matou's exams lately. She took the document and read the title softly: "I Have a Dream... Is this a speech?"

That's right, it's one of the most famous speeches in American history, Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech on equality.

The speech, revised and polished by Shinji Matou, was perfectly suited to the situation of demi-humans and humans in this world, and perfectly aligned with Emilia's pursuit of fairness.

"Rosswaal told me about what would probably happen the day after tomorrow. The contents recorded here should come in handy. Memorize them all and use the appropriate words and phrases depending on the occasion and time."

Emilia read the speech for a long time, her expression growing increasingly surprised. She pinched her delicate chin, pondering the deeper meaning of the speech's content. She looked at Matou Shinji with a slightly respectful gaze and said respectfully, "Did you write this? Thank you very much. The content is very substantial and perfectly matches my thoughts. I will keep it in mind."

"Come on."

Shinji Matou smiled, waved, and left.

Chapter 129 Reunion and Gathering

The following day, Shinji Matou and Emilia traveled to the royal capital in a dragon carriage. After a day of preparation, they met up with Roswaal and headed to the royal capital together.

The dragon carriage slowly entered the royal city. Inside were only Emilia, the candidate for king; Boroswaal from the border; and Shinji Matou, who had temporarily become Emilia's personal guard.

Shinji Matou turned his head to the side, habitually observing the outside environment through the car window. After entering the royal city area, the surrounding architectural style changed drastically. In terms of style, it was similar to a medieval castle, but in reality, it was not like that at all. The buildings were generally tall and magnificent, luxuriously decorated, with deep red and gorgeous gold as the main colors. Dragon statues and heraldic flags could be seen everywhere.

The roadside was lined with fully armed soldiers, holding weapons and standing motionless. Most people would probably not even dare to breathe loudly here.

The dragon carriage stopped at the main gate of a magnificent castle, and the three of them got off and began to walk.

"Today is the start of the royal selection. A large number of knights and nobles have gathered in the royal city, and the elders of the Sages' Council will also be present. This is a day that will be recorded in history for this kingdom," Roswaal explained to Shinji Matou as they walked.

Shinji Matou nodded: "It seems to be the same thing."

"I'm a little nervous." Beside her, Emilia pressed her soft hand to her chest, closed her eyes, and breathed slightly heavily.

"Lady Emilia, please don't worry too much. With Shinji and me behind you, we can overcome any difficulty," Roswaal comforted her softly.

“That’s true.” Emilia returned their smiles with a reassuring one.

At that moment, Puck's voice came from Emilia's chest: "Has Emilia forgotten me?"

“That’s not true at all,” Emilia hurriedly explained. “I wouldn’t be where I am now if it weren’t for Parker.”

"Hehe, I was just kidding. If you can't tell, it means you're really nervous, Emilia."

"Seriously, stop teasing me," Emilia complained.

The three of them walked through a long corridor, and the dragon-patterned door leading to the main hall had been pushed open. From a distance, they could see that a considerable number of knights and nobles had gathered inside. Most of them were dressed in uniform. On one side were knights wearing white robes, and on the other side were nobles or members of the Sages' Guild dressed in purple-black formal attire.

The main hall was spacious and open, like a sports field, and could easily accommodate hundreds or even thousands of people. A red carpet was laid from the main entrance to the main hall, like a chasm separating the knights and members of the Sages. The carpet extended to the top, where the throne symbolized the king was located, and the exclusive seats of the Sages were on both sides.

Upon entering the main hall, Shinji Matou's gaze searched the side of the knights, his target naturally being the sword saint Reinhard, who was quite interested in this knight beloved by the world.

Roswaal noticed Matou Shinji's gaze and smiled, "The adults of the Sages' Society haven't entered yet, Mr. Shinji. You are free to move around and greet people you know."

Shinji Matou nodded and walked away, but before he could find Reinhard, the other man spotted him instead.

Reinhard greeted Shinji Matou with a bright smile, saying happily, "I didn't expect to see you here, Shinji."

"It's been a long time. I'm here to participate in the royal selection as Emilia's personal guard knight."

"I see. It seems we'll have many opportunities to meet in the future."

Shinji Matou shrugged: "Even so, I've only been a Royal Guard Knight for less than a day, and I'm still completely clueless about what to do."

"Haha, there's nothing special about today. I'm just accompanying my master through this ceremony."

Shinji Matou looked around and asked in confusion, "Why can't I see Felt? Isn't she one of the candidates for king?"

Reinhardt's expression turned somewhat strange upon hearing this, and he gave a wry smile: "Of course, but everyone is still unfamiliar with her, so we need to find a better time for her to make her debut."

While the two were chatting, the remaining candidates for kingship from Lugnica arrived one after another.

The second candidate for king to enter the main hall was a purple-haired girl wearing a white winter dress and a tall, snow-white hat. She looked young and adorable.

Shinji Matou remembered that her name should be Anastasia Hessin, the president of a merchant guild from the free trading city of Kararaki.

The third person to enter was a young woman in a fiery red dress. She was equally stunningly beautiful, with vibrant orange-red hair adorned with expensive jewelry. Her eyebrows were raised, and her crimson eyes revealed an air of haughty arrogance. She covered her mouth with a lace folding fan.

Priscilla Baliel, the widow known as the Blood Bride.

The fourth person to enter was a green-haired woman dressed in men's clothing. She had a heroic and dignified appearance, and her words and actions gave people a sense of decisiveness and efficiency.

Crusch Karsten, the master who visited the mansion's messenger the day before yesterday, was accompanied by Felix, the cat-eared boy who had also visited the day before yesterday.

Felix's attire was completely different from the day before. He wore the same white knight uniform as Reinhard, which made him look less cute and more heroic, but his gender could not be determined from his appearance alone.

The cross-dressing beauty and the cross-dressing man—Shinji Matou didn't know how to comment on this strange combination. In addition, the last candidate for king who hadn't appeared yet was probably Felt, a thief from the slums. Although he had gathered information beforehand, Shinji Matou couldn't help but feel that this country was doomed.

"And they're all beautiful women. Is this work pandering to otaku?" Shinji Matou thought to himself, speechless.

"Hey, Reinhard, and Mr. Shinji, it's been two days, you haven't forgotten me, have you?" The cat-eared boy Felix greeted them warmly.

Shinji Matou shook his head: "I have a deep impression of it."

"Reinhard, so you're here." Another handsome knight with long purple hair came over to greet him. He was a knight who followed Anastasia Hoshin. He was slightly taken aback when he saw Matou Shinji and asked hesitantly, "And this is, sir?"

Reinhard stepped forward, extended his hand, and introduced with a smile: "Let me introduce you. This is my friend, Shinji Matou, Lady Emilia's personal knight. He recently defeated the Bowel Hunter and is quite formidable."

"Meow!? The Bowel Hunter, that infamous assassin from the capital?" Felix exclaimed.

The long-haired knight bowed humbly: "My name is Julius Juclius, the vice-commander of the Royal Guard Knights, and also a personal guard knight of Lady Anastasia."

"Hello." Shinji Matou bowed in return, mimicking his manner.

"Hey! Why are you willing to greet Julius, but so cold to me, meow?" Felix muttered in dissatisfaction.

"I feel a sense of crisis if I get too close to you."

"What?!"

As they were talking, another oddly dressed man came over to greet them: "It's really lively here, gentlemen. Would you mind if I joined you? I'm Priscilla's knight, and my name is Aldibaran. My name is too long and a bit troublesome to pronounce, so just call me Aldibaran. The others don't really want to talk to me."

"Hello." Julius nodded.

Shinji Matou sized up the strange knight in front of him. His exaggerated attire was comparable to Roswaal's. Although he was wearing a closed helmet, his clothes and pants were quite casual, revealing his well-built upper body. His muscles were covered with dense scars, which showed that he was quite strong.

Reinhard chuckled: "Now that all five king candidates have their knights, I thought the atmosphere would be even more tense."

Chapter 130 Tit for Tat

"Phyllis, what are you doing?"

A green-haired woman dressed as a man walked over, one hand on her hip. Her uniform accentuated her beautiful figure, and she carefully examined Matou Shinji and his group.

No matter how you look at it, the five people led by Reinhard were too eye-catching, attracting the attention of almost half of the people in the main hall.

Felix's cat ears twitched, and he replied with a grin, "Meow~ Lord Crusch, I came here to say hello because it's more interesting here and I know more people."

Crusch nodded: "I know both Reinhard and Julius. These two are..."

Felix enthusiastically introduced, "Didn't I tell you the day before yesterday that Emilia has an interesting person by her side? That's Mr. Shinji Matou, and this is Lady Priscilla's personal guard knight."

Crusch looked at Shinji Matou with great interest: "Oh? You're that mage who's skilled in swordsmanship. Not only Felix, but even Wilhelm praised you highly."

"That's too kind of you."

"What about you?"

Aya said boldly, "My name is Al."

"Hmph, quite an interesting combination, meaning all the knights who are candidates for the throne are gathered together."

Reinhard chuckled, "Lord Crusch, I've already said that. We're all knights of extraordinary bearing, and we don't care about status."

“Even if you say that, it’s not a bad thing to consider your master more… Ah, it seems that my timing for joining is not very good. I was hoping to talk with everyone and prepare for the banquet later.” Crusch said, her gaze suddenly turning to the entrance of the main hall, where a middle-aged knight was leading a group of elders from the Sages’ Guild.

The middle-aged male knight with short hair entered the main hall first, stood on the high platform, and said in a deep voice: "Silence! Now please welcome the esteemed members of the Sages' Council to enter."

The members of the Sages' Guild, who had gathered in small groups, or the knights, returned to their ranks in an orderly fashion, standing on both sides of the red carpet and bowing.

Shinji Matou followed suit and stood behind Reinhard. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a group of elderly men in the uniforms of the Sages' Guild enter one after another, walk down the red carpet, ascend the high platform, and sit on the thrones on either side of the king's throne.

"Excuse me." Crusch bowed and, as a candidate for king, stepped into the center of the main hall to stand with Emilia and the others.

"Then, please forgive my presumption, but I, Marx, as the Grand Master of the Royal Guard, will now preside over the meeting."

The middle-aged knight's stern gaze swept over the four royal candidates below the stage, and he slowly said, "The story begins six months ago, when the royal family, led by the late king, passed away one after another..."

"and many more."

The girl's clear voice interrupted the middle-aged knight's opening remarks. The speaker was Anastasia, one of the candidates for king. Her accent was very strange, similar to a dialect, which Shinji Matou could barely understand.

“I know the commander wants to strictly adhere to the parliamentary process, but there’s a saying in Karalaki: time is money. Attending this boring parliament has already wasted a lot of my time, and I’ve been waiting for quite a while now. I’m very busy, so instead of wasting time repeating what everyone already knows, let’s get straight to the point.”