That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

"I second that." Crusch nodded, arms crossed.

"Lady Crusch, how can you say such a thing as the head of the Karlsten family?"

Crusch said nonchalantly, "Tradition is important, but time is limited. I think we should explain the reasons for gathering us as soon as possible."

The middle-aged knight commander looked back at the elders of the Sages' Guild, and seeing that they nodded in agreement, he continued, "According to the prophecy of the Dragon Stone, one of the five people who are likely to become the leader of the nation will be chosen to become the Dragon Priestess and continue to establish a contract. Knight, Reinhard van Astrea, please step forward."

"Yes." Reinhard stepped forward and knelt before the throne to report: "Reinhard van Astrea, of the Royal Guard, reports on the mission status to you lords. The Dragon Priestess, the fifth candidate for the Kingdom has been found, and she is also the one I serve, Lady Felt."

As Felt, a young woman dressed in an elegant gown, slowly walked through the main hall, she attracted the attention of everyone present.

Despite coming from a slum, he dressed quite well; clothes really do make the man.

Shinji Matou observed Felt's current appearance and chuckled inwardly.

"Lady Felt, please take this first." Reinhard placed the badge symbolizing his status as a candidate for king in Felt's palm.

The badge emitted a faint light.

Reinhard looked up and around at everyone, proudly announcing, "This proves that Lady Felt is the fifth candidate for king."

"Reinhard, is this alright? How much longer are we going to have to wear this troublesome outfit?" Felt grumbled in dissatisfaction.

Reinhard smiled wryly and said in a low voice, "You have done a perfect job. Please bear with me a little longer, Lady Felt."

"Let's make it clear beforehand that if it takes too long, the commission fee will double."

"I see."

Reinhard and Felt's whispers reached Matou Shinji's ears clearly. Well, another odd couple.

Shinji Matou suddenly had some doubts. Emilia, being a half-elf, might win the royal election even without help from others, since most of the other candidates were oddballs.

As Felt entered, more murmurs arose in the main hall, almost all from members of the Sages' Guild, who were mostly composed of nobles.

"The king candidate supported by the Astrea family, represented by the knight Reinhardt? This royal selection is even more intense than expected."

"The last candidate for king is dressed fairly well, but isn't he a little too young?"

"The choice between the king candidate supported by Reinhard, the knight among knights, and the head of the Karlster family is truly difficult."

On the high platform, one of the elders of the Sages Council said in a deep voice, "Please be quiet. Knight Reinhard, please explain how you found her."

"Yes, I found Lord Ferut in a corner of the slums a month ago."

As soon as Reinhard finished speaking, after a brief silence, an even more intense discussion erupted among the members of the Sages' Guild, this time almost entirely consisting of negative comments.

"Unbelievable! They're actually lowlifes from the slums?"

“How can a commoner be qualified to become a king? It seems better to start supporting the Karlsten family.”

"Why do the slum dwellers have the right to come in here?!"

Ferut's face darkened instantly. Hearing the growing criticism, she couldn't contain her anger and yelled at the members of the Sages' Guild, "I'm really sorry for coming from the slums."

“How dare a commoner argue with a nobleman.”

"Unacceptable. At first it felt okay, but after my true identity was revealed, I couldn't sense any manners at all."

"Why would someone like this be chosen as a candidate for king?"

Ferut made a face at them, crossed her arms, and said disdainfully, "You self-righteous fools! Aren't you the ones who brought me here without permission?"

Reinhard smiled wryly, not daring to say anything more.

Chapter 131 Undercurrents

In the tense atmosphere, a fiery red figure suddenly stepped forward. Priscilla, one of the king candidates, raised her folding fan to cover half of her face and said arrogantly, "How much longer do you want to waste your breath? It's so boring. It's because you only know how to talk that you've become a lowly person in the slums."

Enraged by the taunts, Felt rushed up to Priscilla, her eyes meeting hers defiantly. Her childish voice snapped back, "Huh? You want to fight me? I don't mind tearing your stinking mouth apart."

Priscilla snapped her folding fan shut and said coldly, "Don't get too cocky. Who do you think I am?"

"Your Highness!" Al cried out helplessly from the knights.

Shinji Matou knew why Al was calling out. His Mystic Eyes saw the magical energy in the atmosphere fluctuating and gathering around Priscilla's body. When she waved her fan, sparks flew up, and a surge of heat made the air in the main hall dry.

Huh? This magical attribute doesn't belong to any of the common magic systems.

Shinji Matou's expression shifted slightly as his Mystic Eyes analyzed that Priscilla's magical attribute was likely the rare Yang attribute.

The instant Priscilla made her move, Reinhard almost instantly stepped in front of Felt and bowed, saying, "Excuse me, Lady Priscilla."

Without doing anything, the turbulent flow of magic was neutralized and suppressed by an invisible force when it came into contact with Reinhard's body.

This is the power of protection.

Shinji Matou's Mystic Eyes gleamed slightly as he recorded the scene before him. So far, the events had already been quite fruitful for Shinji Matou.

Emilia stood protectively in front of Felt, her usually clear and melodious voice unusually aggressive: "What do you want to do by showing such strong hostility at such an important occasion?"

Priscilla looked down at Emilia and Felt with her raised eyebrows and sneered, "I didn't do anything. I just wanted to teach that ill-mannered bitch a lesson, at least to let her know what the difference in status is."

"Aren't you going to apologize?" Emilia asked angrily.

Priscilla turned her face away, opened her folding fan to cover her mouth, and proudly declared: "Those who offend me shall pay with their lives. Besides, according to you, shouldn't you say to everyone here that I have truly let you down by living in this world? Silver-haired half-elf."

The final address was overflowing with malice, making no attempt to conceal the mockery of Emilia's identity.

Shinji Matou narrowed his eyes slightly, considering whether he should step forward now as Emilia's personal guard.

Priscilla's words struck Emilia's weak spot, causing her to hesitate for a moment before whispering, "I have nothing to do with witches."

Priscilla sneered, "What's the point of such an excuse? Your existence awakens people's fear of taboos, and being similar to the existence of taboos is an unforgivable sin, do you understand? I think you don't understand, and it's precisely because you don't understand that you shamelessly stand here, silver-haired half-elf."

Emilia looked increasingly embarrassed, her pale face lowered.

All the knights and members of the Sages' Guild in the main hall looked at her, watching coldly, some even gloating. Even though they knew Priscilla's words were fallacies, not a single person was willing to stand up for Emilia.

Just as Priscilla said, Emilia was deemed a filthy being simply because she resembled the forbidden witch.

Most people despise anything related to witches from the bottom of their hearts.

“If this continues, Emilia’s situation will become very bad.”

Shinji Matou looked toward the members of the Sage's Guild, where Roswaal was, and their eyes met, understanding each other's meaning.

Roswaal gestured to Shinji Matou with his eyes that he could make his move without disrupting the rest of the plan.

At the same time, Shinji Matou noticed that Reinhard was looking at him and asked what he meant.

If it were Shinji Matou, one of Emilia's Royal Guards, who were to take action, then there would be no need for an outsider like him to interfere.

Let the performance begin.

Shinji Matou nodded to Reinhard, indicating that he would handle it.

"You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth. How about you pay for offending Lady Emilia with your life?" Shinji Matou sneered, stepped out from the ranks of knights, and swung his right hand. A short, sharp screech rose and fell, and an invisible force tore through the air as he slashed at Priscilla.

Almost simultaneously, an even faster figure leaped out from behind Shinji Matou's group, drawing a broadsword from his waist and blocking Priscilla's path.

Clang! Clang!

With two metallic buzzing sounds, Al blocked the invisible slash with the blade of his broadsword, his body being knocked back several steps by the enormous force.

Faced with the sudden attack, Priscilla's beautiful face showed anger, and she coldly ordered: "Perfect, Al, kill this rude person who has offended me and the silver-haired half-elf together, and expel such filth from the meeting hall. No one here will have any complaints."

No one answered, and even the elders of the Sages' Guild seemed to acquiesce.

However, things did not go as everyone expected.

The helmeted knight Al was the first to put away his weapon, turn to face his master and said helplessly, "Your Highness, it's fine normally, but can't you control your temper now? Making too many enemies unnecessarily will also bother me."

"I have no fear. They are just the sword saint and the silver-haired half-elf's attendants. Even if I can't win, I can still hold on."

“It’s good that you’re so confident, but if the opponent were the Sword Saint or this young man, I probably wouldn’t have lasted even ten seconds.” Al surrendered with a wry smile: “If that young man really wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t have even had a chance to make a move.”

Seeing that Al didn't seem to be joking, Priscilla glanced at Reinhard and then carefully examined Matou Shinji. She snorted, put away her folding fan, and returned to her previous position.

An aged voice rang out at the opportune moment: "Silence! Silence! This is not a vegetable market. Once you've calmed down, please continue."

After everyone returned to their places, Emilia asked Felt with concern, "Are you alright, Felt?"

Ferut bit her lower lip and said resentfully, "Do I look like something's wrong? If you hadn't done something unnecessary, I would have torn her mouth apart just now."

"sorry."

"..."

Felt sulked for a moment, tugged at Emilia's clothes, and whispered, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Emilia said with a gentle smile.

Knight Commander Marx coughed and announced, “All five candidates for kingship prophesied by the Dragon Stone are present. On behalf of the Sages, I hereby declare that, in accordance with the contract between the Kingdom of Lugnica and the Divine Dragon, we shall fulfill our obligations under the contract, find the five Dragon Witches, and formally begin the selection of kings.”

Everyone in the main hall immediately turned serious.

On the throne, an elder of the Sages' Council stood up and announced: "Now let's get to the point. Although the Dragonstone records the method of gathering the five candidates for king, it does not specify the method of selecting the king. In order to decide this, I think that, taking advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to announce the start of the royal election, the members of the Sages' Council, the nobles, and all the royal guard knights should listen to the thoughts of the candidates for king."

"I second that."

"I see, that's a good suggestion."

Many wise elders nodded in agreement, and Knight Commander Marx stepped forward and announced loudly, "Then, please welcome the first candidate for king to step forward."

Chapter 132 Acting and Getting Serious

Knight Commander Marx did not name any of the king candidates to come forward. More than half of the people in the main hall looked at Emilia, the only outlier in the hall, whispering and discussing Emilia's half-elf identity and her forbidden appearance.

Words like "half-demon," "filth," "dirt," and "expulsion" filled Shinji Matou's ears. Even though he considered himself an observer, Shinji Matou couldn't help but feel sorry for the beautiful half-elf before him.

Emilia clenched her small hands tightly, her face pale, her purple eyes reflecting a stubborn and resolute look. She mustered her courage, looked up and met the eyes of the elders of the Sages' Guild, took a step forward, and said in a clear and fearless voice: "It's a pleasure to meet you, esteemed members of the Sages' Guild. My name is Emilia, and I have no family name."

The half-elf's clear voice echoed in the main hall, silencing all the criticism against her. For a moment, the other king candidates also looked at Emilia with surprise, not expecting that she would choose to stand up at this most unfavorable time for Emilia.

The woman dressed as a man, Crusch, sighed silently. She knew that if she backed down now, she wouldn't suffer any greater harm.

“It doesn’t seem like she’s all just a pretty face.” Shinji Matou admired Emilia’s courage. He stepped out of the knights’ line, walked behind Emilia, and said calmly, “I am Emilia’s knight, and my name is Shinji Matou.”

Emilia turned back to Shinji Matou with a strong smile; just having someone standing behind her gave her the courage to continue.

Also stepping forward was the Chief Court Mage, Emilia's nominal supporter, Roswaal. He bowed deeply to the elders of the Sages' Guild and humbly said, "And then there is I, Roswaal L. Mezas, Emilia's recommender."

An elder of the Sages looked down at the silver-haired half-elf, stroking his long beard, and said slowly, "Roswaal, the farce just now has made everyone in this hall aware of her identity. I would like to hear your reasons for recommending a half-elf who looks similar to the witch who has drunk half the world to participate in the royal selection."