One-way traffic

Looking around, you can see a large group of people dressed in uniform clothing gathered together. They are of different races, including demi-humans and ordinary humans, but almost all of them are male.

It probably looks like a knightly order.

This reminded Accelerator of the armored knights he saw when he first arrived in this world.

So, Reinhard seems to be a knight too.

"I never expected you to come here."

Just as Accelerator had this thought, he heard this voice from behind.

And sure enough, he arrived.

Under his gaze, a figure walked over from the corridor not far away. The familiar voice and appearance belonged to the man who had met Accelerator several times before.

Reinhard van Astrea, the renowned Dragon Sword Saint of Lugnica in the modern era, is an exceptionally special being even in Accelerator's eyes.

However, he simply didn't like the guy's personality.

"I saw an awkward face."

"Don't say that, Yifang. We're friends, after all. If you talk about me like that when we meet, even I would feel hurt."

"Oh my~? I see, so you and Reinhard are actually close friends? That's quite something, it seems I underestimated you quite a bit~"

"If only he really had that kind of careless personality, you clown bastard."

Reinhard smiled and then looked at Hatsune Miku.

"Good morning, Hatsune Miku. As a close friend of Accelerator, it's wonderful to see such a lovely girl like you taking such good care of him."

"Eh?! Um, so, taking care of things, is it still me and Yifang...? Waaaaah..."

"What nonsense are you spouting? You bastard, do you want me to blow your head off with a gun?"

"Haha~ Although I don't know what a pistol is, I can hear the boisterous tone between friends in your voice, my dear friend."

Overall, Reinhard is a straightforward person with a very good personality.

They will help anyone in need on the street without hesitation, even stray cats and dogs.

In other words, a kind person.

Dealing with this kind of guy is the most difficult thing for Accelerator to handle.

He pursed his lips and decided to steer the conversation to the more important topic.

"Let me ask you something first: Do any of Wang Xuan's men have a well-developed intelligence network?"

"Huh? Someone from the intelligence network... First tier, what do you want to find out?"

Reinhard asked with some confusion.

However, to be honest, it's really not a good time to talk about this in front of a lot of people.

Hatsune Miku looked around and then approached him, whispering something in her ear.

"He wants information about the Witch Cult..."

"Witch Cult?"

Reinhardt uttered the word in one breath.

The people around were immediately drawn to it, and they all looked over with surprise.

Are you an idiot?

Accelerator glared at him, and Reinhardt immediately realized what he had done, apologizing profusely to Accelerator.

But he still couldn't understand it.

"But why are you so fixated on matters related to the Witch Cult?"

"It has nothing to do with you. You just need to answer my questions."

"Oh dear, that's really not frank."

Reinhard said with a wry smile, his expression becoming somewhat serious.

"Although I'm quite curious about why you want to find information about the Witch Cult, there's nothing I can do if you really don't want to talk about it."

"This is just my personal opinion. In my view, the person who is best at gathering information about the Witch Cult is the one in the camp of the one who was chosen by the king."

Indeed, there are.

If Accelerator could find a faction skilled at gathering intelligence, he would do everything in his power to find out about the Witch Cult.

"So, what faction are you referring to?"

"It's Lord Crusch's camp."

Reinhard paused for a moment, then continued.

"Although I could introduce her to you now, I think it's no longer necessary."

Reinhard smiled and walked away without saying a word.

At this moment, Accelerator and Hatsune Miku finally realized what kind of changes had occurred around them.

Everyone around them lined up.

The four of them walked over from the corridor not far away.

There are four girls, four girls with different appearances, but each with their own unique charm.

One looked very arrogant, one looked very calm, one looked very profound, and one looked very innocent.

Of course, the last one is obvious even without being told; it refers to Emilia.

“Roswaal, and Accelerator and Hatsune Miku.”

"At this point, please stop calling me 'Miss'..."

With a helpless smile, Hatsune Miku headed towards Emilia's direction.

She smiled gently and said this.

"Just call me Miku. In contrast, may I call you Lia, like Puck calls you?"

"Huh? This, this..."

Emilia looked a little hesitant, but after thinking for a moment, she nodded slightly.

"Um, that...Miku?"

"Okay! Leah!!!"

The girl in front of her hugged Emilia tightly.

The two girls played around like best friends, and they looked like real sisters.

--only.

"Oh dear, this is really something."

There was a knight dressed in rather simple clothing, wearing an iron helmet and carrying a long sword at his waist.

However, judging from his behavior, he doesn't seem to be a knight at all.

The knight walked up to Accelerator, glanced at him briefly, and tapped his iron helmet with his only remaining right hand.

"That's a really nostalgic outfit, buddy."

"--What?"

Accelerator's eyes widened.

There is no other reason.

It was simply because of the voice of the man in front of her.

He spoke without hesitation.

"what's your name?"

"Um, well, I don't really want to say my name, just call me Al—"

"That's a really annoying sound, isn't it? Kihara-kun—!!!"

"Kihara? Hey bro, even though my name is weird, it doesn't have to do with wood or anything like that, does it?"

Accelerator paused for a moment, then quickly came to his senses.

—What's going on?

He pondered with some surprise, for no other reason than the man in front of him who called himself Al.

This guy's voice really disgusted him.

As for why?

Of course it's because this guy's voice is exactly the same as Kihara Kazuta's! It even made him think of Kihara Kazuta himself for a moment, you bastard!

(Note: Al and the original number of wood are mostly a CV)

"Well, time is a bit tight, so let's ask all the chosen ones to enter the arena as soon as possible."

Reinhard immediately opened the door for everyone. As a knight among knights, he could be considered the most important representative of this royal selection.

And so it is.

Whether they were chosen ones or people who came to participate, they all entered the hall in front of them together.

Chapter Sixty-Two: The Fifth Person Selected by the King

The enormous hall was then revealed to everyone.

A bright red carpet was laid out on the ground and stretched forward all the way to the throne at the very end.

Then, countless people had already taken their places on both sides. Everyone was standing, and the only seats were in the two areas directly in front, on the left and right sides, which seemed to be reserved for people with special status.

The ceiling was unusually high, and the surrounding area was decorated with glittering gold.

And at the very end of the corridor, there was a throne of gold and red.

This is the inner palace of the royal family, the main location used for the selection of the king.

What a vastly different space!

Accelerator followed Roswaal into the hall. The atmosphere was different from that in Academy City, giving him a unique sense of novelty.

While I've encountered many people in Academy City, I've never seen a hall with such a retro style before.

"Alright then, please stay here for now."

Roswaal led the two to the left, where countless knights were positioned.

"Because the royal selection is about to take place, and you don't have much connection with the royal selection, so I'm sorry to trouble you to stand here for the time being."

"I don't care how this happens, I'm more concerned about when Wang Xuan's guys will all arrive."

"Well, don't say that. We're in the royal family, after all. Suddenly speaking rudely will attract attention from others."

Roswaal straightened his clothes, and then Emilia, wearing a purple and white cat-ear cloak, walked over.

"Um, I'm sorry, Miku, and also, Accelerator..."

"It's alright, Lia."

Their relationship had become so close that they could use affectionate nicknames for each other, and the two girls looked at each other like that.

Hatsune Miku raised her little fist as if to cheer herself on.

"Yifang and I will be here cheering you on, so you can go and participate in the royal selection without worry!"

"Um... thank you all."

Although Emilia said that, Hatsune Miku could still see some shortcomings.

Her eyes seemed to dart away, and she didn't dare to look him in the eye.

Why on earth?

Before Hatsune Miku could figure out the answer to the question, Emilia had already gone to the center of the hall.

Together with the other three royal selectors.

"—Distinguished members of the Council of Wise Men."