"Wow, it was unbelievable that a demon appeared for the first time in 300 years! And today's agenda as a whole is terrible! How abnormal is it to have the Black Dragon, the Great Saint's Rose, and the demon follow? Okay! But there can't be anything worse than this, so I can finally listen to Cyril calmly." (Desmond)
Desmond sat back in his chair, folded his fingers, and gave a relieved smile.
"Now, Cyril, at the end, let’s talk about something fun like increasing the salary of Knight Captains!" (Desmond)
There was no way Desmond had forgotten what Cyril had said, "The last topic of discussion was also related to Fia," but he seemed to be offended by the name Fia.
Therefore, even though he knew that this couldn't be the case, he dared to ask for a topic that deviated from Fia.
Cyril, who understood this, flicked through the documents in his hand and whispered, "I see."
"Then, before we move on to the final topic, I would like to report on related matters." (Cyril)
"…Related matter?" (Desmond)
When Cyril fills in information as if it's nothing, Desmond, who always understood that there's something up, puts on a cautious expression.
Then, Cyril opened his mouth with a clear expression.
"Yes, the annual first knight order interview was held here the other day." (Cyril)
"Ah, the same one. It's a noble game that C plays with the new members of the First Knight Order." (Desmond)
Desmond nodded in understanding.
The fact that the King's true identity was a young clown, Cerulean, was a secret among about 20 people in the kingdom.
And the knight captains working in the royal capital were among those few 20 people.
In other words, this information was known to Cyril, Desmond, Enoch, Quentin, Clarissa, Zachary, and Curtis.
Therefore, when they talked about Cerulean, they used the name C, which was taken from the first letter of that name.
It was done as a safety measure in case a third party overhears the conversation, but by using a secret name, even though they were talking about the King. As expected, the language would be a little erratic.
Quentin asked, intrigued.
"Lady Fia, who knows many times more about monsters than me, has the appearance of a veteran knight, but unbelievably, she is a new knight assigned this year. That means she must have had an interview with C. It's probably bad manners to ask about the details of a personal interview, but please tell me. What exactly was it like?" (Quentin)
Cyril glanced at Quentin, then looked down at the document again.
Seeing his attitude, everyone felt a bad feeling.
Because Cyril had an extremely good memory.
Even today, he brought in materials, but it's clear that all of it was in his head.
That's why the act of flipping through this document was just a pose.
And the purpose of Cyril's movements like this was probably to take a moment to cushion himself from saying something shocking.
While the knight captains were silent, what Cyril said was not a direct answer to Quentin.
"This time, 20 knights were interviewed by C. As usual, the interview was conducted in the presence of C, two clowns, His Majesty the King (Doppelganger), the king's entourage, and the guard knights, has been carried out." (Cyril)
And in many cases, Cyril carefully explained things from the surrounding circumstances when a problem arose.
Even though he knew this, Desmond dared to speak up.
It was because it was unlikely that any major problems would arise during the interview with the King.
"Ah, it's a pressure interview in a group! Maybe it's to give the knights a sense of the tense atmosphere as they will be guarding the royal family from now on, but being surrounded by so many members surely will make them too scared to respond properly." (Desmond)
Seeing Desmond frowning as he spoke, Cyril raised one eyebrow.
"The knights assigned to our First Knight Order are limited to excellent individuals with over 10 years of work experience. As a result, they have accumulated a lot of experience, and I believe that they will not be swayed by the slightest thing. However, this year, as a special case, two new knights have been assigned, so are you worried about them?" (Cyril)
Desmond snorted a laugh at Cyril's question.
"That can't be true! Those two people are Fia and Fabian, right? There's no need to worry. Quentin probably didn't have a scene where he was active like as expected, but I'm sure they weren't the only ones who were too nervous to speak." (Desmond)
"I see. But you should have been worried. Unfortunately, the person you should be worried about is the interview organizer." (Cyril)
Cyril looked down at the papers and flicked one of them with his fingers.
"Hah?" (Desmond)
Desmond asked back reflexively, but Desmond, who had a strong learning ability, immediately tied his lips together and didn't ask any more.
Because from Cyril's attitude, he could predict that he would definitely only get answers that he didn't want to hear.
But of course Cyril didn't stop reporting just because he wasn't asked.
"Out of the 20 people interviewed, 19 were the same as usual. Following the King, three clowns—including C, asked the knights questions, and the knights gave answers. Then, they played a card game with C, won, and was released." (Cyril)
Desmond grimaced.
"That's just a twisted game in the name of an interview. Of course, C is talented, so he's probably thinking about the future placement of knights based on the knights' attitude toward interviews, but on the other hand... He's definitely playing around by making fun of the knights." (Desmond)
Cyril continued to explain without replying to Desmond's statement.
"By the way, I was present at all of those interviews. Commander Savis was also present for the 20th interview." (Cyril)
"...Huh, so you're probably going to say that the 20th interviewee is Fia. Haha, ha..." (Desmond)
At this point, Desmond realized that Fia had made a huge mistake.
Up until now, there had been a series of good coincidences, but he thought it was about time for bad luck to strike.
"That's right. She was on a business trip to Blackpeak Mountain, so the interview was delayed for one person." (Cyril)
"……" (Desmond)
Desmond had a bad feeling about explaining Fia, the 20th person, separately from the 19 people before her, and held his tongue.
However, there was an instant flash of inspiration that caused him to shout out loud.
"Ah, I get it! Didn't Fia lose at the card game?! He might not have understood the rules of the game." (Desmond)
"There's no way Lady Fi would make such a mistake!" (Curtis)
Curtis confidently denied it.
However, Cyril said something that seemed to agree with Desmond's opinion.
"Well, I also thought that maybe Fia didn’t understand the rules of the card game, because the game was designed so that the interviewer won by playing the king card last. Fia's last card was a joker."
"Huh, that's..." (Desmond)
Desmond was about to say something, but midway through he said that it couldn't be like that.
Therefore, Cyril took over the word.
"Yes, that is a really poor game. There is a narrow path to defeating C at the end and winning. However, if they do not know C's hand in advance, they don't even think about going down that narrow path, so everyone chooses the long path to win by playing the king card at the end. Anyone, if there is a path that will definitely lead to victory, they won't consider any other path." (Cyril)
"That's right. Besides, as usual, C probably provoked the interviewees, didn't he? By making fun of them and making them angry, he should have made the other person feel animosity toward C. That's why, all the knights always get mad and try to win like clowns."
Desmond nodded in agreement, but Cyril simply denied it.
"No, that strategy of C failed. Fia was not angry." (Cyril)
Therefore, Desmond asked back with surprise.
"Ah, is that so? It's true that Fia is surprisingly deep-hearted, and she rarely gets angry about things." (Desmond)
Desmond mutters that he's impressed by that, but Cyril denied it again, saying, "That's not true."
"Instead, Fia saw that C's tone was an imitation of the usage of Rüa language, which is the source of Näv Language." (Cyril)
"Huh?" (Desmond)
Desmond gaped.
Because he was surprised from the bottom of his heart.
Desmond once needed knowledge of the Rüa language when unraveling a book about demons, so he learned a little bit of the language.
However, the Rüa language was difficult and not something beginners could understand.
And yet Fia understands the usage of Rüa language?
Cyril continued.
"Then, Fia performed Näv language, which perfectly imitated the Rüa accent. She then provoked, saying, "For those who know the original Rüa language, it sounds very beautiful," and added, "It's incredibly valuable." By uttering the words that C hates the most, she was able to completely get into it. It was C, not Fia, who became furious." (Cyril)
"……scary!" (Desmond)
Desmond cringed into his arms, imagining the humiliated look on Cerulean's face.
Zachary, on the other hand, who had no such imagination, was genuinely excited.
"Seriously! That person is completely beating C up!!" (Zachary)
Furthermore, Quentin, who was interested in Fia's interview with the King, expressed his admiration.
"This is also... Lady Fia is even more amazing than I expected!" (Quentin)
And it was Curtis who proudly answered.
"Of course it’s Lady Fi!" (Curtis)
As Cyril listened to everyone's comments, he thought that this was the only time they could enjoy himself like that, but he continued to explain without saying it aloud.
"Therefore, Fia must have been calm when playing the card game. She played the game calmly, and while declaring victory, she used a joker to cut down C's king card, which was the last one she played." (Cyril)
All the knight captains feeling a sense of humor for some reason, side with Fia.
"Are you serious?"
"Hahaha, Fia is amazing! There's never been anyone like that before!!"
"I’m sure she didn’t do it on purpose though!!"
Cyril said in a calm voice to the excited knight Captains.
"At that time, Fia said a throwaway line: 'I see, the only person who is better than the King is the Joker!'" (Cyril)
At that moment, the movements of the knight Captain suddenly stopped.
"……"
"…………huh?"
"…………hah"
Why did such a line appear? They couldn't believe Fia figured out that Cerulean was the king!?
As everyone was shouting the words they couldn't say out loud in their hearts, Cyril's merciless voice echoed.
"Then, Fia said to C... oh, that's enough. She addressed the Cerulean with conviction: 'Your Majesty the King.'" (Cyril)
"Heh!"
"You're kidding!?"
"Shh, Cyril, that's enough..."
People seemed to feel fear when they were shown to some abilities that seemed to be beyond human comprehension.
As a result, all the knight captains turned pale all at once and called out to Cyril to stop, as if to give them a break, but the lead knight captain did not stop.
Because Cyril had the terrible experience of actually being there.
On the other hand, Cyril thought that the other knight captains would only have to listen to him, so he would like to have them hang out with him this much.
"However, Cerulean is also reluctant to give up, and said, 'The king should be Laurence, reclining on a glittering chair,' so Fia begins to explain why she thinks Cerulean is the king." (Cyril)
"It's a hunch! She probably figured it out with her terrifying wild intuition!!" (Desmond)
Desmond cried out in desperation, but Cyril shook his head.
"Fia first figured out that the name Cerulean is an anagram of Laurence." (Cyril)
"Heh!" (Desmond)
Desmond raises a strained voice.
"Then she figured out that the Cerulean clown's costume was modeled after the national flag and sacred beasts from 300 years ago." (Cyril)
"That too!?" (Zachary)
Zachary's eyes widen in shock.
"Furthermore, she discovered that Cerulean's left arm was cursed." (Cyril)
The fact that the curse on Cerulean's arm was caused by the Spirit King was a secret even among the Knight Captains.
Therefore, Cyril omitted that part.
However, even though some of the content was omitted, the content was shocking enough for the knight captains, and everyone remained silent with pale faces.
Meanwhile, Cyril spoke his conclusion gravely.
"After comprehensively considering these truths, Fia has concluded that Cerulean is the king.…Therefore, I would like to share that Cerulean’s true identity has been revealed to Fia." (Cyril)
"……"
"……"
"...c-could that happen?" (Desmond)
Cyril readily affirms Desmond's courageous words.
"Yes, it could have happened. I wish I could have shown you how surprised I was. Or the scene where Commander Savis or Cerulean was stunned speechless." (Cyril)
"No... no, I'll refrain!" (Desmond)
Then, just as easily, Desmond retreated.
A quiet silence fell in the conference room.
Because everyone was thinking the same question in their minds.
"Who the hell is Fia?"
At today's meeting, while the knight Captains, who had been exhausted by Fia from beginning to end, were worrying about unanswered questions, Cyril casually spoke up.
"Now, let's move on to the last topic, but...before that, I would like to make one correction. At the beginning of the plenary session, I said that the last topic was also about Fia, but that is not what I just explained. It will only be about the royal interview. The main topic...Fia will be involved a little, but the main topic is Commander Savis." (Cyril)
"Oh, is that so?" (Desmond)
Desmond's face lit up.
"Good! If you talked about Fia anymore, I would have started to dislike that person." (Desmond)
Zachary agreed with Desmond.
"If it's about Commander, it's probably common sense, so we won't be exhausted any further." (Zachary)
As the knight Captain and the others looked relieved that they were saved, Cyril said something he had never expected.
"By the way, Cerulean is like that, so he doesn't even dream of getting married."
Desmond and Zachary agreed, wondering if Commander Savis was the last topic on the agenda.
"Well, he's a complete child right now."
"Even if the person himself wanted to get married, no one would want to marry a clown who always plays pranks."
However, Cyril shook his head as if that was no good.
"The most important role for the royal family is to pass on the next generation. Therefore, if Cerulean cannot fulfill that role, someone else will have to fill that role." (Cyril)
"Huh?"
"Hah?"
"That is……"
The knight captains raised their voices as if they had been repelled, but none of them could say anything with certainty.
Therefore, as silence spread, Cyril took on the role.
"Soon, we are planning to welcome the leading saint as Commander Savis' fiancée."