"Fabian, have you heard about the visit to Duke Alcott’s residence?" (Fia)
I asked Fabian, who I hadn't seen in a while, in a low voice.
The venue was the dining room for the evenings, and the dining rooms for general knights and knight captains were separated, but for some reason, sometimes knight captains would randomly appear in the dining room for general knights.
That's why I cautiously spoke in a whisper.
Then, Fabian put his hand to his mouth and imitated me, making a small sound.
"Yeah, I heard directly from Captain Cyril, but it’s such a sudden thing that we're visiting tomorrow. Is it why Fia is asking questions?" (Fabian)
However, since Fabian's statement was full of misunderstandings, my quiet voice stopped there and became louder.
"No, that's not true! Please stop treating me like a criminal!!" (Fia)
"Hehehe, I'm just kidding. I have a rough idea of the purpose of the Duke's visit, but seeing as Fia doesn't know anything about it, Captain Cyril's idea is to let you participate without any prior information. I guess that's the case. If that's the case, I guess I should keep quiet too." (Fabian)
"Huh? W-what are you talking about?" (Fia)
Fabian seemed to know something, so I asked him a question, and he folded his arms as if thinking.
"In other words ...Saint has a strong sense of territory. If the Saint is already in the Duke Alcott family, she might feel uncomfortable taking Lady Charlotte with her. Or, the red-haired one... What do you think when she sees you?" (Fabian)
"Well, Charlotte and I are only visiting the duke's house for a short time. We won't invade their territory and we're quiet, so there won't be any problems. Also, even though I have red hair...I'm not a saint." (Fia)
I clearly lied, so I looked down, unable to look the other person in the eye.
Then, Fabian seemed to think that the reason I looked down was because I was depressed over not being a saint.
"Fia, I'm sorry for saying something strange. I'm glad that Fia is a knight. We can talk like this as equals, and we can eat dinner together." (Fabian)
Maybe Fabian was a nice person who kept saying things to cheer me up.
"Well, in that case, even if I were a saint, I would still eat with you!" (Fia)
When I answered that, he smiled happily.
"Hehehe, I appreciate that." (Fabian)
Fabian was so cute that he seemed to be having so much fun just talking about hypotheticals.
As I was thinking about this, Fabian suddenly let out a sigh.
"In any case, since it was Captain Cyril’s request, I cannot refuse to accompany him on his visit to the Duke’s residence. I guess it's probably one of the many insurance policies in place in case a Fia Shock happens." (Fabian)
That's right, Fabian was going to go up and then came down.
"Fi-Fia Shock what is that? Please don’t make up weird words!" (Fia)
"Hehehe, in this case, I'm talking about the halation caused by Fia's visit to the Duke Alcott family. Think about it, if it was just a visit to the Duke family, Captain Cyril and Fia would be enough. The addition of Captain Desmond itself is an overpowering force." (Fabian)
"No, we're not going to fight! There's no need to consider military strength." (Fia)
"……I hope that's so" (Fabian)
When I saw the look on Fabian's face, I felt shocked and realized that he didn't believe my words at all.
It's not like I was always the one causing trouble; in fact, I tried to be quiet and not to cause trouble as much as possible.
It seemed like Fabian still didn't understand me very well!
While mentally lamenting my classmates' lack of observational skills, I grabbed the main dish of meat with both hands and bit into it.
...Actually, I would like to talk to Fabian about the interview with His Majesty the King.
It seemed that no one but me could tell that the clown Cerulean was the real king, so I tried not to say anything lame.
As I was chewing the meat, Fabian, for better or worse, started talking about that.
"By the way, I was told not to talk about anything until everyone had finished, but Fia, who was the last one, also finished interviewing His Majesty the King. I wonder what that was all about?" (Fabian)
"Oh, yeah. I was kept quiet." (Fia)
Surprised by the sudden conversation, I answered the question with a question.
Then, Fabian nodded with a serious expression.
"Yes, even now, there is an ongoing gag order not to reveal anything to anyone other than the members of the First Knights. Is this matter so important that it needs to be kept within the First Knights? In other words, there is a possibility that knights other than the First Knights will be transferred to our order someday and receive the same interview, so I guess we should not let them know. ...Fia was told not to talk to outside orders and to keep quiet, wasn't it?" (Fabian)
He asked me strangely, so I hurriedly answered in the affirmative.
"Oh, well, of course they did!" (Fia)
In my case, I was told, "Don't tell anyone," but I was sure that they kept me quiet, so I just nodded my head.
"I see, but that interview wasn't meant to be kept secret, right? I don't understand why His Majesty, who is so busy, took the time to interview each knight one by one in the first place." (Fabian)
Looking at Fabian who was worried and resting his chin on his hands, I thought that was probably the case.
In the first place, that interview was a place for the King disguised as a clown to evaluate the knights, but to those who didn't know him, it was just a casual moment for the clown to talk as he pleased.
"There were three flashy clowns, and they spoke in a long, unique way. It was difficult to hear them, but His Majesty himself, who was supposed to have requested a meeting with the knight, was alone with Captain Cyril the entire time. Since they were talking to me, I had no choice but to deal with the clown. Moreover, the bird-like clown said, 'You have beautiful skin,' and touched my cheek. That was terrifying." (Fabian)
"Oh dear……" (Fia)
I felt sorry for Fabian and looked at his face again.
Fabian had a beautiful prince-like appearance, so I wondered if he might have awakened something in Dory, the feminine clown.
It's a disaster that only good-looking men could face. I felt sorry for him.
"Also, he explained that there was a special card table in the office, and that the clowns often played card games, but he never said that they were bad at games. Isn't that what clowns often do?" (Fabian)
"Yeah!" (Fia)
When I let out a groan-like sound, Fabian said, "But," and tilted his head.
"My hands at the end were too close together, so I think that was intentional. And if the clowns can randomly deal out cards that make up such a large number of hands, then perhaps the clowns are actually quite skillful. ...If you think about it like that." (Fia)
"I-if you think about it?" (Fabian)
I was holding my breath as I waited for Fabian's next words, thinking with a serious expression...
"Was I being entertained? What's more, I wonder if they were so enthusiastic about entertaining me that they prepared cards that I could absolutely win. But once I figured out what it was for, I couldn't stop thinking. That's why I wanted to ask how the interviews with the other knights went." (Fabian)
I let out the breath I had been holding.
Good thing I didn't come up with the right answer.
As expected from Fabian, I was able to guess the best part!
Common sense tells us that it was impossible for the King to dress up as a clown or for his age to be rejuvenated by the power of the Spirit King, so there was no way I could come up with a correct answer.
Despite this, by sharing the secret with the Ceruleans, I seemed to have found myself in a position to hide the king's true identity and was nervous while listening to Fabian's answer.
I feel relieved, and in reaction, I start talking fluently about the content of the interview.
"From what I hear, the content of my interview was almost the same as Fabian’s! Ah, but when I was there, the Commander, who had just returned from a business trip, also participated in the interview. His Golden Majesty (The Doppelganger) and the black Commander were paired together, and they were a great pairing that complemented each other!" (Fia)
I answered with shining eyes, thinking of the two of us at the time of the interview, but Fabian just smiled elegantly.
"...I see. That's another impression from a different perspective than mine." (Fabian)
Judging from his expression, it seemed like Fabian wanted to hear something different.
Well, if that's the case, which story would be better? Just as I was thinking about it, I remembered something important.
That's right, as a member of the Knights, I took revenge on my boss!
"Fabian, I think there was a child clown, and I think his attitude towards Commander Savis and Captain Cyril was too disrespectful. So, as an adult, I administered moxibustion!" (Fia)
"Huh, how?" (Fabian)
"Hehehe, I was able to completely get into the card game!!" (Fia)
With both my arms outstretched, I proudly show off my accomplishments.
I thought this was the kind of exhilarating story that Fabian wanted to hear, but he was easily swept away by saying, "That's right."
Argh, I thought he was going to praise me for doing a good job as a member of the Knights, but he's too cool!
I left the cafeteria thinking that I had really tried my best to use my brain, but...
After parting with Fabian, I realized that maybe I wasn't getting my point across properly to him.
It was because at the royal interview, everyone was treated to a card game, and it was set up so that anyone could win.
The moment you realized this, you said it out loud.
"Ah!" (Fia)
Luckily, I was in a private room in a dormitory, and Zavilia, who was in the room, looked back at me in surprise.
But I was so absorbed in my own thoughts that I covered my face with both hands, replaying my conversation with Fabian in my mind.
...Wait, wait.
In my previous explanation, I didn't think I was able to convey the situation that made him so nervous, that I was in first place after Cerulean was in last place.
Rather, probably people thought that they won by taking advantage of the favorable situation in which they were entertained by the clowns.
If that were the case, to Fabian I would have looked like an idiot who was happy that we had won based on ability, without even realizing that we were being entertained.
"That’s not true, that’s not true!"
Zavilia looked at me curiously as I raised my head, clasped my hands, and repeated the same words over and over again toward an empty space.