People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

Despite her young age, she claims to have once been homeless. She possesses a unique charm and is fair-skinned and beautiful. Although she introduces herself as having only a junior high school education, she seems to be well-versed in and indifferent to the luxurious lifestyle of the upper class, as if she has already grown tired of it.

Moreover, she is from Lentinium...

A conjecture slowly emerged in his mind, and Ernst's expression suddenly became serious, his gaze towards Vina filled with more admiration and sigh.

Miss Vina, she might be the mistress or child bride of some Londinium capitalist or nobleman!

This conjecture seemed reasonable to Ernst. After all, Miss Vina's knowledge could not have come from nowhere; her education must have been that of the upper class, that is, the nobility or capitalists of Lentinium.

Such a family, rooted in the city of Londinium, is unlikely to fall into ruin so easily – even a fallen camel is bigger than a horse. Even if the company goes bankrupt or the nobleman commits a crime, it shouldn't be enough to leave a young girl like Vina homeless.

By the standards of the Londinium nobility, it could at least be used for marriage alliances.

Surely not an entire family of hundreds could be killed by an enemy? That doesn't make sense, and that would be illegal. Wouldn't the noble council or the courts step in to stop it?

Combined with Vina's unusual actions—her willingness to apply for a civil service job in Kjerag, her desire to leave prosperous Victoria, and her venturing into the harsh, snow-covered Kjerag Mountains to radiate light and warmth—Vina's true identity becomes increasingly clear.

She is most likely a girl forced into an arranged marriage, dissatisfied with her puppet-like life, a sacrifice to her family, weary of being controlled, and eager to escape the clutches of the nobility (capitalists) and start a new life. To avoid the wrath and pursuit of the mastermind behind it all and to begin a new life undisturbed, she has no choice but to leave her home and head to Sherag!

It is a deeply moving epic story about resistance, freedom, and women's awakening, which offers profound satire and analysis of the current social situation!

Ernst took a deep breath and asked in a slightly choked voice, overcome with emotion:

"Why did you choose Sherag? If you were to leave Victoria, wouldn't Casimir, Columbia, Letania, or even Lungmen further away be better options?"

Ursus wasn't mentioned because that place is definitely not for humans.

Vina opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything for a moment.

Did Ernst already guess her identity when he asked her that question?

Unexpectedly, despite her cautiousness and years of hiding her identity in Londinium, she was discovered within hours of arriving in County Ascala.

Sure enough, it was because I was too relaxed just now.

Vina's lips were a little dry from nervousness, but at this moment she had no regrets.

Why did you choose Sherag?

Vina smiled slightly, her eyes shining with Aslan's unwavering determination as she looked at Ernst.

If at the beginning this was just a simple accident, now she has gradually come to understand why the Beast Lord Gawain gave such guidance.

"Because you make me feel very relaxed. I feel incredibly safe when I'm with you."

This is both the reason she was exposed and the reason she chose Sherag at this moment.

She replied in this way, and then noticed that Ernst had turned his head away, as if lost in thought. So she remained silent and waited quietly for Ernst's response.

If he chose to reveal his identity to Count Askar, she would have nothing to say, assuming that she and the Beast Lord Gawain had both misjudged him. At that point, jumping from the five-story building to escape wouldn't be too difficult for Aslan's daughter.

Meanwhile, Ernst's thoughts were in turmoil.

This...this development doesn't seem right, does it?

A noblewoman who ran away from home met a boy who made her feel "safe," so she decided to go with him to a distant foreign land to start a new life.

Wait a minute, this script actually makes sense?

No, no, Vina is a noble girl who eloped from who-knows-where. If she's discovered, she'll have to take responsibility. Where are all those fairy tales in the adult world?

But recently I have been appointed prime minister, chosen by the great god Yeragand to be a holy son, and now I am recruiting a foreign noble lady who is hiding her identity. This seems to have a bit of a fairy tale flavor.

No, no, Terra is still reality after all!

Wait a minute, but Arknights is actually a game, right?

His thoughts were in a jumbled mess. Ernst pursed his lips, glanced back at Vina, and saw her standing quietly in place, as if waiting for Ernst's response.

What, there are outsiders here? Do you expect me to flap my wings and take you all flying right now?

Seeing the girl's determined expression, Ernst finally sighed.

What else can we do? We've already hired her and signed the contract; we have to respect contracts. Vina is one of us now, how can we possibly fire her?

Well, anyway, our Sherag is already weird enough, so we're not afraid of a few more weird characters. Maybe then we'll have a win-win situation?

"Pack your things, Miss Vina."

Ernst lay back down on the bed, his handsome face still covered by the velvet silk pillow.

"We have to leave for Kazimierz tomorrow."

Vina was taken aback, but then she understood what Ernst meant, and a joyful smile immediately appeared on her face.

She opened her arms and gave Lola, who had been waiting for a long time, a big hug, then ran to her room in a flash.

She didn't have much to pack tonight, just a heart.

............

Kazimir, the Grand Knight Commander of Kavaleria.

During the Knights' Tournament Special Championship, Kavaleria will connect with four randomly selected cities to form a massive "True Great Knight Territory." During the off-season of the tournament, it will be just an ordinary commercial city-state.

Of course, calling it ordinary is somewhat of a dismissive and belittling tone. In the present-day Terra, Kavaleria has become a veritable capitalist bridgehead.

A city of consumption, a city that never sleeps, a city of knights, a city of competition, a city of revelry—countless labels shine upon it like spotlights on a stage, making it appear like a heavily made-up, alluring dancer, attracting the attention of countless consumers and luring them into this sweet abyss.

But few people noticed the subtle sounds emanating from the countless burnt-out ashes under the spotlights.

Hinterlea is a combat knight. In an era where knights are also labeled and categorized, she is a combat-oriented knight who is skilled with a longbow and uses her exceptional agility to defeat her enemies before they can catch her.

On the battlefield, this is an extraordinary talent; with more training, she could easily become a respected marksman. But in the arena of competitive knights, Hinterlea's proud talent and tactics become her biggest stumbling block.

She has a good appearance, but she stubbornly chose to join the combat team, so the combat team audience who like to see muscles and sweat collide don't like her, while the viewers who are obsessed with looks don't know her.

She is skilled in archery and prefers to use her agility to kite her enemies, gradually wearing them down before defeating them with long-range sniping. However, this tactic lacks the thrill of close-quarters combat, and the prolonged attrition phase often puts viewers to sleep. Therefore, despite her frequent victories, she has struggled to build a large fanbase.

Over time, the Knights and investors, unwilling to lose money on her, began to arrange for her to fix matches.

He deliberately makes a mistake during an easy dodge, intentionally misses during a sure-hit sniper shot, and serves as a stepping stone for his juniors in a sure-win match, adding to the winning record of the newly cultivated signature knight.

They made money quickly, but their already small number of fans became even sparser.

Hinterlea couldn't help but examine her original intentions for becoming a competitive knight—didn't I come here with a pure heart, hoping to make a name for myself in this city with just my bow? How did I end up like this?

If there were fewer fans, Cintrea would have no doubt that the investors behind her would dress up in revealing and seductive clothes and participate in underground competitions with questionable motives and appeal.

Hinterlea absolutely did not want to see herself like that.

She didn't want to compromise anymore!

"what!"

The decision came as suddenly and violently as twisting her ankle in a high heel. Hinterlea quickly grabbed the wall for support and bent down to check her ankle. The heel of her high heel was broken, likely from a particularly strenuous movement during the match earlier that day. Her once fair and delicate ankle was now visibly red and swollen.

I pulled a muscle.

The word flashed through Hinterlea's mind, followed by a series of numbers—the costs of treating her injuries. Since the injury hadn't occurred on the field, the company wouldn't be so kind as to reimburse her, an unknown knight. She would have to pay for it herself.

"Woo——"

With a soft whimper, Hintelia reluctantly had to postpone her long-planned amusement park project once again, using her month's salary and bonus for treatment.

It seems I'll have to think about resigning again next month.

With a simple bend, she took off her worn-out high heels and walked barefoot towards her rented room. It wasn't far from home, and thanks to the city government, the ground was smooth and free of litter. As for her dirty feet, she could just wash them when she got home.

Thinking this, she crossed the road and entered the alley. Just as she was about to open the gate to go upstairs, her eyes were drawn to the four large white characters on the gate.

"A job posting? Whose flyer is that?"

She removed the white job posting stuck in the fence and glanced at it briefly:

"Sherrag, civil service position, clerical staff? Good salary and benefits, internships welcome, discounts for large orders?"

Are scams these days so careless?

She muttered to herself and glanced at the address on the job posting.

“Cavaleliaki, 2-9 Oak Street, 3rd floor, Black Steel International Casimir headquarters, Room 302”.

“Blacksteel International?” Hinterlea confirmed the name in surprise. “Those mercenaries would rent venues from scammers? Or is it…?”

In the slightly chilly wind, Hinterlea stood barefoot in front of the fence gate, looking at the job posting that seemed unreliable no matter how she looked at it. After hesitating for a long time, she glanced around, then quietly folded the job posting twice and put it into her small bag.

There aren't many matches lately, and since it's quite close by, it won't hurt to go and watch.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Hintelia Hesitates

Kazimir, Kavaleriaki, 2-9 Oak Avenue, Blacksteel International Kazimir Branch Building.

The solemn black building, devoid of any neon lights or colorful decorations, stood out like a steel jungle. Just standing in front of it, Hinterlea felt an overwhelming sense of seriousness.

"What kind of civil service recruitment event would be held in a place like this...?"

A surge of urge to complain welled up inside her, and without realizing it, Cintraya had unknowingly changed her definition of "fraudster".

After double-checking the address on the flyer in her hand and glancing up at the closed office building, Cintraya swallowed hard, her mind starting to waver.

"How about, forget it?"

Although life isn't great right now, lacking goals, losing motivation, and drifting aimlessly all day are the norm, people always have inertia.

Once you've adapted to your current life, making changes becomes incredibly difficult. Hintria was no exception. Standing at the gates of Blacksteel International, she suddenly realized that being a slacker knight wasn't so bad after all. It was better than being one of those mercenaries inside, who might have to go to the battlefield one day and lose their lives in a foreign land.

What? You're saying they're recruiting civil servants here, not mercenaries?

Is there any difference?

She returned home last night and searched for information about Shelag on the intercity network. The place did indeed seem quiet and peaceful, but it seemed that all that remained was quietness and peace.

Hinterlea couldn't imagine what interesting entertainment she would have if she actually went there, besides watching the giant unicorns bar their teeth every day.

It's true that Casimir can be a bit mentally draining, but it's better than having no mental entertainment at all, right?

"I guess I should just forget about it. At worst, I'll just find another job and quit being a knight."

After thinking it over again and again, Cintraya crumpled the job posting in her hand into a ball, threw it into the trash can next to her, and turned to leave the Black Steel Building.

"There's no match today, so I'll go to the clinic first, and then I can find a coffee shop to kill some time."

Just five minutes after she left Oak Street, a telephone rang in a high-rise apartment in Cavaleriaqui. It was answered by a man dressed in an expensive Columbian suit and wearing a priceless Victorian watch.

"Yes?"

“It seems that one of your knights, Hinterlea, is planning to leave the Order and switch sides.”

An impatient voice came from the other end of the phone.

"What are you going to do about it?"

The man who answered the phone showed no change in expression. He pondered for a moment, lit a cigarette from the Bolivar Plantation, took a deep drag, exhaled a dense smoke ring, and said as if in a sigh:

"That girl is quite pretty. I'd like to raise her for a while longer before buying her."

"You, really, always like to shatter children's dreams of chivalry, and then play with an empty shell that can be manipulated by others. What's the point of that?"

The person on the other end of the microphone made a couple of disapproving comments before switching back to the main topic.

"So? You're going to arrange for someone to bring her to you?"

“No need. I don’t like Golden Feather who can run away.” The man flicked his fingers, scattering the ash, as if the knight’s life was as worthless as ash in his eyes. “Let your Unarmored Alliance deal with it.”

"Wouldn't it be better to make her default on her contract, pay off debts, and then obey your every command to repay the money?"

The voice on the other end of the phone asked.

The man paused, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "When did you suddenly become so nosy, Roy?"

The voice on the other end of the line chuckled lightly: "No way! It was just a casual remark, following your capitalist way of thinking. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."

After saying that, before any sound came from the other end of the line, Roy hung up the phone first, reached out and picked up a photo that had been taken at some point by someone else, showing Hinterlea standing in front of the Black Steel International Building, holding a job advertisement.

This photo is even a side profile shot taken from a relatively short distance!

Clearly, without Hinterlea even realizing it, she had been monitored, followed, and secretly photographed.

Roy sized up Hinterea's appearance, then recalled the information about the knight that Hinterea's agent had just sent him. He pursed his lips and showed a regretful expression.

"Sigh, yet another poor little knight."