After Cerulean finished apologizing, King Laurence spoke to me as if to intercede.
"Are you done making up? From now on, Fia will be by my side as my bodyguard, so please be nice to her. Cerulean, I'll always have you by my side, so we'll have more opportunities to meet face to face. There’s no doubt about it." (King)
Then, the king continued speaking as if he had come up with a good idea.
"Yes, Fia. How about playing a card game with Cerulean? It's a perfect way to deepen your friendship." (King)
The king's statement took the form of a suggestion, but not a single person in the room actually took it as a suggestion.
These were the words of the highest authority in the Näv Kingdom.
If the king said so, I would have to do my best to enjoy the card game with Cerulean.
I was guided to a corner of the office by the window, where a table dedicated to card games was set up.
The fact that a game table exclusively for clowns was set up in the same room where the king held his office shows that the clowns were treated well.
I was wondering if they often played card games in this room, but Cerulean explained to me that maybe their roots were kind.
"Most of us stay with the king in this room, but it gets boring just sitting on the stairs and listening to the king and the nobles talk. When we get bored, we play games here."
"That's right"
It's true that people would get tired of listening to complicated stories about national politics all day long.
When I was nodding my head in agreement, Cerulean asked me a question with a suspicious expression.
"Why are you listening to me seriously, Fia? And why do you keep talking to me politely? I'm a clown, aren't I? You don't want you to make fun of me, but there's nothing more upsetting than being treated politely and then being made fun of inside. How about speaking in a more informal way? At least, the other knights who came for the interview didn't speak in such a polite manner."
I looked at him and smiled elegantly.
"Hohoho, I can't afford to be disrespectful to a learned Cerulean who knows the Rüa language." (Fia)
"No, I don’t mind acting like that! If that’s what you really think, then there’s no way Fia would keep saying sarcastic comments to me over and over again. In your words, knowing a certain level of Lua is "The scope of education," right? ...What kind of education is that?"
Cerulean grumbled and complained, but I smiled once more elegantly.
"No matter what kind of person I am, I always treat others with respect. This is my nature, hohoho." (Fia)
However, without any delay, Cerulean complained.
"No, it's probably a lie! I don't know the usual Fia, but I can definitely tell it's a lie."
"Well, well, Cerulean. I know the Rüa language as part of my education, so I behave with dignity in everything, hohohohoho."
Cerulean let out a sigh and made a resigned sound.
"The way you speak is already strange. This is a typical failure of someone who is not used to using honorific language."
How rude, I am a former princess!
Although it was a bit off-putting, it was still a statement coming from a child who was not yet an adult.
There's also a cute side to him, like how he honestly apologized, as an adult, I decided to give in.
As I sat down in the chair provided at the card table, I got curious and glanced back.
Then, I saw Commander Savvis and Captain Cyril chatting with King Laurence.
Clearly the three of them didn't care about us.
Since they were acting separately, could I assume that the interview with the king was over?
With that in mind, I started playing a card game with three clowns: a young Cerulean, a muscular Ron, and a feminine Dory.
Having said that, I played the game with half resignation, thinking that there's no way I would be able to compete with the three of us who play card games whenever we have free time, and me, who was almost a beginner.
However, by some stroke of luck, I came in 3rd place in the first game.
"Oh, I did it, I didn’t give up on the game!" (Fia)
In the second game, I came in second place.
"Huh, genius? Was I really a genius at card games to be able to win against these guys who always play card games?" (Fia)
Judging from the regularity of this victory, I felt like I would be in first place next time, and just when things were starting to get interesting, Cerulean suggests we changed the game.
"Savvis and Cyril should come in too."
It's a waste of time to say nothing.
Ron and Dory were laughing funny when they heard Cerulean's irreverent tone.
If it's Cerulean, it's really disrespectful to the Commander and Captain!
In contrast to me, Commander Savvis and Captain Cyril didn't seem to be bothered by Cerulean's attitude, and after finishing their conversation with the king, they walked over to us and sat down at the table.
Instead, Ron and Dory left, leaving the game with Commander Savvis, Captain Cyril, Cerulean, and me.
"So, what game are we playing?" (Cyril)
Commander Cyril asked Cerulean a question.
Then, Cerulean opened his mouth with an amused expression.
"It's a game called 'Worship of the King'. The rules are simple. To explain the strength of the cards, if you arrange them in order from 1 to 10, Jack, Queen, King, 1 is the weakest and the King is the strongest."
When I nodded, indicating that I understood, Cerulean continued to explain.
"Also, the way the game is played is that you first put cards on the table one by one. In this case, you must put out a card that is stronger than the previous person. If you cannot put out a card, you must pass, and everyone must pass. If you cannot play, pass. If everyone passes or the king comes into play, all cards on the field are shed and the next person plays the first card. Repeat this, and the first person to run out of cards wins."
So that's it, I understood the rules. However...
"'Worship the King'" (Fia)
For some reason, the title of the card game intrigued me.
Or perhaps everything that had happened since entering this room felt strange.
I was about to wonder what was bothering me when Ron spoke up, as if to interrupt me.
"Hey, please bring in the Joker."
After saying that, Ron pulled out a card from his card case as if it was nothing.
Seeing this, Cerulean frowned.
"Hmm, the rules become complicated when this is included. Joker is the strongest card with only one copy, and it is the strongest. However, it can only be played after a face card of Jack, Queen, or King, otherwise you can’t get it out."
I looked at Cerulean intently.
"……ah!" (Fia)
My voice fell out involuntarily.
I see, is that so? Hasn't the interview with the king ended yet?
Rather, this was probably a kind of test in the form of an interview.
"Ah! ...This is another hobby..." (Fia)
That's too bad, I thought as I watched Ron deal the cards.
Because now that I had realized this, I saw things differently than before.
Ron's hands were very bad and he looked clumsy, but he's probably a master of cards.
I didn't know how it worked, but he should be able to distribute the cards as he pleased.
With this conviction in mind, I placed the cards in my hand close to my hand so that no one else could see them.
"......"
As expected, I had only one Joker in my possession.
This made me confident that I was definitely being tested.
If that's the case, I wondered to what extent he was an accomplice to the king, and when I glanced at Commander Savvis, I saw him looking at his hand with a serious expression.
When I turned my attention to Captain Cyril, he had a similarly serious expression on his face.
There's nothing strange about it at all, but since there's no reason for these two to play the game seriously, they're probably both black.
If that's the case, it's His Majesty the King. Since he had the highest authority, everyone followed him.
While I was thinking about this and wondering how I should respond, I remembered what Captain Cyril said to me in the hallway earlier.
"His Majesty may be able to try out various things, but please think of it as confirmation that you have completed your training and respond as much as possible."
I glanced at the glittering king sitting on his shiny throne, with a triple crown on his head.
Then, I met the eyes of the King who was looking at me with an amused expression.
...Yes, I see. This is the test being tested.
And if I didn't overcome this, I would be removed from the First Order, or something like that.
Even though Captain Curtis came from Sutherland, I couldn't leave the First Order so soon.
With that in mind, I decided to focus on card games in order to fulfill my role.
Author's Note
...