Published at 25th of March 2019 9:51 pm

 Chapter 1: In Training, Part 1—Vice-Captain

The skies had just brightened, and Elaro immediately woke up. For some reason, he was particularly sensitive to sunlight. The moment he felt the sun, he would wake up. It was the same, even on his days off, when he didn’t have to wake up early. His teacher had even specially experimented before, shining a candle on him in the middle of the night. It didn’t have the same effect.

Ultimately, Teacher concluded that he was a resplendent, sunlit type of guy. The moment sunlight shone on him, he would automatically have to sparkle a bit, so of course he would wake up.

Elaro didn’t quite understand what his teacher meant. But out of every ten things his teacher said, there would be approximately two that he didn’t understand.

“As long as you’ve heard me, you don’t have to worry about it too much. Otherwise, a serious guy like you would probably have his brains explode from overthinking. Besides, I even followed suit and forgot to choose a backup candidate!”

Followed suit…? In any case, since his teacher had just said so, Elaro listened to his words, but didn’t worry over it. Even though he abruptly realized just who had also forgotten to choose a backup candidate, well, he would “listen without worrying too much!”

Elaro was very satisfied with his habit of waking up early. He never overslept, and waking up early meant he could accomplish many more things.

He lithely turned and got up from the bed. When he took off his sleeveless shirt, an astonishing, x-shaped scar could be seen across his chest, the size nearly spanning its entirety. Although the scar was only a little redder and sunken than the skin surrounding it, with the healing abilities of the Church of the God of Light, for such a deep scar to remain, the injury at the time must have been very severe.

Elaro turned, lowered his head, and scooped up water from the basin to wash his face. On his back, there was actually another scar that spanned from his right shoulder to below the shoulder blade. The color was even darker than the x across his chest.

After a simple freshening up, he tidied up his appearance. As he had already finished ironing his clothes using a pot of hot water the previous night, and he had already polished his shoes, all he had to do was simply comb his hair a bit. Such a simple task always made Elaro feel a bit guilty.

Originally, he had thought that the Sun Knight should have a head of brilliant golden hair, so when his teacher had asked him to keep his hair long, he had agreed immediately.

“Then, today I will teach you how to maintain your hair. It’s much easier than applying facial masks. First, you must mix hair oil and a hair treatment cream that suits your hair, and you must wash your hair every day. On alternate days, you can just wash it with water, but on the next day, after you finish washing your hair, you must use the hair oil and massage your scalp completely. After that, boil another bucket of water, put a towel inside until it is warm, and then wring it dry before wrapping it around your head. Repeat this three times, and then wash away the hair oil. After that, rub on some hair treatment cream, and your job is done… Ah, no, you must comb your hair a hundred times every morning too.”

“Teacher, I’ve decided to cut my hair!”

Teacher looked troubled, but he murmured, “I don’t think I’ve heard that the Sun Knight must have long hair… Very well.”

Teacher really spoils me too much! Elaro felt like he was slacking off. After all, Teacher maintained his hair like that too, yet he had chosen to keep his hair short because he wanted to slack off… Speaking of maintaining hair, today seems to be the day for applying facial masks…

Elaro’s mood was immediately much less joyful than when he had just woken up. Turning himself into a lump of flour, steaming himself on a scorching summer day until he sweated all over, was really a waste of time. Plus, his body would be sticky, making it impossible to do anything other than sitting and staring off into space.

Originally, he had to apply facial masks twice a week, one more time than even his teacher, because his natural skin color was not pale enough. Luckily, he was still just a knight-in-training, and did not have a high salary. He was also growing taller and taller, so the amount of facial mask materials he used up was shocking. If he really were to continue applying facial masks twice a week, his teacher might even have to help pay for his materials out of his own pocket. Therefore, once his height reached over one hundred and eighty centimeters, his facial masks were finally changed to once a week.

However, Teacher had a prohibition for him: he was not allowed to remain in the sun for longer than five minutes between ten o’clock in the morning and two in the afternoon. At all other times, he was not allowed to remain out for longer than fifteen minutes. If he surpassed the time, he would immediately have to apply an extra facial mask that very day.

Elaro had never had to apply an extra facial mask.

After he finished changing, he turned around once in front of the mirror, making sure that he was presentable from head to toe. Only then did he walk out of the room. He thought about the schedule for the day. Since he had to apply a facial mask, he would have to finish taking care of everything early. Oh no, while applying the facial mask last time, the essential oils were almost used up. Is there enough for another facial mask, or do I need to spare time to buy more…?

“Captain.”

Two holy knights stood outside the room and seemed to have waited for Elaro for some time already. The moment they saw him, they respectfully gave him a knight salute and simultaneously called out to him.

If they were speaking about their positions, these two were actually both holy knights, while Elaro was only a holy knight-in-training. Even though he was the future Sun Knight, before officially assuming the position, he was still just a trainee. Logically speaking, Elaro should be the one deferring to the other two, but his situation was truly too unique. No one would seriously consider Elaro a “holy knight-in-training.”

As a matter of fact, Elaro, who had entered the Holy Temple at the age of eight, was even more experienced than many holy knights past the age of thirty.

Even so, his association with his own platoon members had been somewhat awkward in the beginning. His platoon members were all already official holy knights. Only he was still a holy knight-in-training, even though he was the Sun Knight-in-training. But still…

“Sorry to keep you two waiting.” Elaro smiled and said, “You didn’t need to come so early.”

“It wasn’t too early.” One of them smiled too as he answered, “We arrived only ten minutes before Captain came out.”

“Nag or Ice Cube, quickly choose one of them. I’ll verify your choice immediately upon my return.”

As he recalled his teacher’s instructions, Elaro couldn’t help but look at the two of them one more time. Nag and Ice Cube…

The person who had spoken just now was Dili. His conduct had always been good-natured, he was easy to get along with, and he had good relations with everyone. On the other hand, Rhonelin was much more taciturn, the type to quietly complete everything asked of him.

As for which one of them was Nag and which of them was Ice Cube, it wouldn’t even take ten seconds to figure that out.

Other than the difference in their personalities, their ages were also quite far apart. Dili was already twenty-five, while Rhonelin was only nineteen. Three years ago, when he had become Elaro’s Sun Knight Platoon member, he had only been sixteen, yet he had already become an official holy knight. Although he had not broken the record of being the youngest, he truly possessed great talent.

The two of them were in a competition of sorts, and the situation was such that the other platoon members had even chosen sides. Seventy percent of the platoon members supported Dili, but the platoon members who supported Rhonelin all had greater ability. The competition between the two sides wove an undercurrent of turbulence among the platoon.

Elaro knew that this was completely his fault. Because he was unable to make a decision for the longest time, even Teacher had no choice but to command him to quickly choose a vice-captain…

“Captain?” Rhonelin asked hesitantly, but did not say a single word more.

Elaro returned to his senses and looked at Rhonelin, who was young yet possessed an indifferent demeanor older than his years. He commanded, “Report to me today’s duties.”

Rhonelin and Dili were both taken aback. Usually, Dili performed these kinds of tasks, but right now, the person Elaro was gazing at was Rhonelin. He obviously wanted him to answer, so both of them detected that today was not quite like usual. They were somewhat able to guess that this had to do with their greatest concern.

“Yes!” Rhonelin finally dropped his habit of cherishing his words like gold, and began frankly saying, “The Twelve Holy Knight-Captains are out on a mission starting today. The duration is one week, so you must take care of the Sun Knight’s duties for the week, leading the entire Holy Temple.

“The first job right now is to seek out Vice-Captain Adair and ask him what duties the Sun Knight has for the week, as well as receiving paperwork.”

Rhonelin’s answer was concise. Elaro nodded satisfactorily. Although he cherished his words like gold, he did not skimp out during times when he must speak. Usually, he never had to report on these matters, yet he was very clear about the details anyway.

Despite the situation, Dili was not worried. He believed that Captain would give him a fair chance to compete.

“Then, let us find Vice-Captain Adair.”

In the distance, Elaro could see that the person they sought was currently commanding Ed and three other holy knights.

Adair, Teacher’s vice-captain, always handled matters properly, no matter what they were. Even when all of the Twelve Holy Knights went out on a mission together, with the entire Holy Temple full of dark eye circles from top to bottom, he could still maintain his unhurried manner.

The entire Church of the God of Light agreed that Adair was the best vice-captain in history. In fact, common folk from outside often made the mistake of believing him to be the Sun Knight himself. Of course, once they saw the actual Sun Knight, they would begin to repent for their foolishness.

The thirty-eighth Sun Knight was said to be the most perfect Sun Knight in history, and that was not such an easily earned title.

Elaro would always unconsciously compare his two vice-captain candidates with his teacher’s vice-captain. However, he was a little discouraged to discover that Dili was great with people, while Rhonelin was great at completing his tasks. The two of them combined together would equal to one Adair, but unfortunately, he had no way of combining the two of them into one person.

“Elaro, you came at the right time.” When Adair glanced up, he immediately saw Elaro. He smiled and said, “Before he left, Knight-Captain Sun wished for me to help support you. However, he did not explain the details. What did he ask you to do?”

Elaro shook his head and said, “Teacher did not specifically task me with anything—oh, right, Teacher wants me to…” He hesitated for a moment, remembering that Dili and Rhonelin were still standing behind him, but he still honestly reported, “When he returns, he will verify that I have properly chosen a vice-captain.”

Adair was momentarily stumped. “You still haven’t chosen a vice-captain?”

When he heard this, Elaro was a bit ashamed. Even more than that, he didn’t want to turn his head to see what kind of expressions Dili and Rhonelin had. The two of them were probably still maintaining their usual smile and indifference. Although they were very different, their ability at staying unperturbed was equally good.

Adair patted Elaro’s shoulder. “Since Captain has given a command already, then you only have a week left. Seize the moment! If you need anything from me, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Even though there was quite a big gap in their ages, their relationship was like that of friends. They had once collaborated together to deceive Captain/Teacher in the Demon King’s Castle. Afterwards, they had received ruthless revenge together from Grisia, whose ability to hold a grudge far transcended a normal person’s. It was inevitable that brotherly camaraderie would form from sharing these trials and tribulations together.

“Then, Big Bro Adair,” Elaro was curious and asked, “How long did Teacher spend to choose you?”

When he heard this question, Adair began to think. A nostalgic expression appeared on his face. “About three—”

“Three months? I have truly been too ridiculous.” Elaro was rather discouraged. Teacher had only spent three months and was able to choose a vice-captain like Adair. Why was it that he had already spent three years and still couldn’t make a decision?

“It was three minutes!” Ed burst out laughing to one side. His personality had not changed much, even after he turned forty.

“Three minutes?” Elaro’s eyes widened. Even Dili and Rhonelin, who were behind him, had astonished expressions on their faces.

Adair smiled wryly.

“At the time, Captain…”

“Ah! It must be the God of Light’s benevolence that has brought each and every brother to Grisia’s side, allowing us to become closer and even more inseparable brothers. Let us join hands to bring forth an even more beautiful future for the children of the God of Light.”

Adair was so excited, he couldn’t hide it. He exchanged a few glances with the holy knights next to him and discovered that they had also inadvertently raised their chests and chins high, proudly accepting that this was the Sun Knight that they were going to serve!

“Grisia.” The current Sun Knight Neo smiled as he said, “Go and nurture your camaraderie with your platoon. Your teacher must visit the palace today. You don’t have to come with me.”

“Yes, Teacher. May sunlight accompany you the entire way.”

After Neo left, only the future Sun Knight and the twenty or so future Sun Knight Platoon members remained. Grisia still wore a smile, but the Sun Knight Platoon members were all extremely nervous, afraid that they would leave a bad impression on the future Sun Knight.

Among them, Adair could be said to be the one who was able to maintain his composure the best. He was even able to sneakily observe their future captain, discovering that his bearing was much more unperturbed than everyone else’s on the scene. This inevitably caused him to feel respectful toward him. Compared to the current Sun Knight Neo, this kind of bearing could be said to be much more amicable.

He should be a captain who is easy to get along with. Adair finally relaxed a little.

“May I ask, which among our holy knight brothers is most blessed by the God of Light when wielding a sword?”

Grisia suddenly asked them this, but because no one had been prepared, and his speech was quite punctilious, no one understood him right away.

“Excuse me, but could you repeat that, sir?” Adair asked fairly naturally. Everyone else widened their eyes, awed by his courage.

Grisia didn’t mind, and he repeated his question.

Adair understood now, but just in case, he still asked, “May I ask if you are inquiring which person among us is the strongest, sir?”

Grisia, the future Sun Knight, now stared fixedly at Adair with eyes that were practically as blue as the sky. This made him, who had already relaxed, become nervous again.

However, the other person only asked, “Could I ask for this holy knight brother’s name?”

“You are too courteous. I am Adair.”

Grisia nodded and said, “Holy knight brother Adair, pleased to make your acquaintance. Henceforth, I must trouble you to be my vice-captain. Let us spread the God of Light’s radiance and glory together.”

“Huh?” Adair was stunned. Even though he was quite confident about his own abilities, and had considered fighting for the position of vice-captain, he… he didn’t think that he would be able to win the position within three minutes!

The other platoon members were also very astonished, especially those who had been wanting to strive for the position of vice-captain.

“Brothers, please follow me this way. Today, the sunlight is resplendent, the perfect opportunity to bathe in the radiance bestowed by the God of Light. If we continue to detain ourselves indoors, we will truly waste the God of Light’s generosity.”

Seeing Grisia’s continual smile, Adair suddenly felt that maybe he had relaxed far too early.

“My fellow brothers, please jump off.”

Grisia turned around and smiled as he gave the order to his platoon.

Adair blinked and looked at his surroundings. This was the top of a cliff. Even though the elevation wasn’t all that high, they would definitely get hurt badly enough after jumping off that they wouldn’t be able to crawl back up. Yet the command that they had just received was “jump off”?

He thought he had heard wrongly.

With even Adair thinking this way, the other members bore expressions that were even more stupefied. They wondered if they had already gone hard-of-hearing, despite being so young. However, when they looked around, everyone else was just as confused. It couldn’t be that they had all hallucinated together, right?

Naturally, everyone looked toward Adair, as he was the only one to have spoken with Grisia up until now.

Since everyone was staring at him, Adair could only ask again, “May I ask—”

However, Grisia waved his hand and repeated himself, “My fellow holy knight brothers, please jump off the cliff immediately.”

This time, none of them could convince themselves that they had hallucinated as a group, but now they were even more confused. They never thought that their first command from their future Sun Knight would be to jump off a cliff!

Preposterous! In response to this kind of command, Adair only had this thought, and it was also accompanied by fury. He squashed his anger, saluted, and then said, “As a holy knight, please forgive me, but I cannot accept a suicide mission.”

Grisia revealed a slightly puzzled expression. “Are our holy knight brothers so weak in constitution? I believed that this height would not hinder any brother. Under the protection of the God of Light, at most, there will only be slight injuries.”

So he knew that no one would die from this? But even if they would only be injured, Adair still could not accept jumping off a cliff and getting injured for no reason. “Jumping off is no problem, but please tell us why!”

At this time, Grisia had already stopped smiling. He said indifferently, “There’s no reason.”

This answer astonished everyone even more. His words following that were even more frustrating. “Jump off. This is an order.”

At that moment, Grisia only looked at Adair. Clearly, he was singling him out.

Adair had always been exalted among his peers, so he of course would have some pride and arrogance. Under the current circumstances, where no one dared to speak out, only he dared to go against Grisia. “This order is too unreasonable. Please forgive me that I cannot—”

Abruptly, Grisia waved his hand, and a humongous icicle appeared in the air, knocking Adair and sending him flying. He had been standing very close to the edge in order to check the height, so once he was sent flying, he fell directly off the cliff. While he was falling, he thought he saw his captain reveal an impatient expression, and vaguely, he heard this:

“I told you to jump, so jump! Shut up already, you failure of a vice-captain!”

Adair leaned against the mountainside, gasping in deep breaths. Even though he had prepared himself to land, and had even rolled to lessen his injuries, he had still fallen for a long distance. He hadn’t been able to prevent himself from getting hurt. His right leg was pretty much broken, and his back was killing him, not to mention all the countless small injuries he had, like the scratches that he had received.

Just as he wanted to rest for a bit, and then walk back slowly, he heard another loud noise. Unexpectedly, another holy knight had just fallen. His strength was obviously not as good as Adair’s, so he had received far worse injuries than him.

Another loud noise sounded as another holy knight fell. He landed very close to the previous knight, and had almost fallen right on top of him, scaring him so much that he immediately tried to scramble to the side. However, because of his serious injuries, he couldn’t crawl very fast at all. Then, more people fell down.

Seeing this, Adair paid no attention to his leg injury. He rushed forward to drag his comrades to the side of the mountain one-by-one. This worsened his injuries even more.

He was more or less done. Adair watched as the last person fell down. This time, he didn’t rush forward to drag him, since no one else would be falling. Also, all those large movements had injured his leg so much that he was shaking from the pain. He dropped to the ground, unable to stand up any longer.

“AH!”

When he heard the loud scream, Adair raised his head. A large shadow had just fallen on top of that last person. Good thing that only the person’s legs had been squashed. If the shadow had fallen completely on that person, Adair was afraid that he would have spat blood right then and there.

Once he got a clear look, he realized that the “large shadow” was actually Grisia. He also fell off the cliff?

Just as everyone was still stunned and couldn’t make sense of the situation, a large amount of holy light flashed before their eyes. Grisia stood up as if he had never been hurt, and the person who had been squashed so severely by him also stood up. His movements were very smooth, not at all like someone who had fallen off a cliff and had also been so severely flattened.

What powerful healing magic! Adair was quite awed.

Grisia walked over, looked around, and tossed a few Moderate Heals at them. Then, he said, “Brothers, please rise and follow me.”

No one’s injuries were mild. This kind of healing magic was like throwing a cup of water at a fire, but they were holy knights, who were the most durable. Those who could make it into the Sun Knight Platoon were even the best of the best. They would be able to stand up, if they really put their hearts into it.

Everyone slowly stood up one after the other, including Adair. Because he hadn’t been prepared when he was knocked flying, while everyone else jumped out of their own volition, plus he also had to drag everyone afterward, Adair’s injuries were the severest out of everyone’s.

But when he received the command, he didn’t say a word. He got up and followed Grisia. However, he didn’t think that they would return to the top of the cliff.

“Please jump.” The same command was given, but this time, the only recipient was Adair.

Adair was momentarily stunned. He didn’t know why he was being targeted. At this time, the people by his side whispered, “All of us jumped by ourselves just now. You should hurry up and jump too. Jump, and everything’s solved!”

Hearing this, Adair turned his head to look at everyone and discovered that they all wore the same accepting expression. It was evident that they had all jumped off the cliff by themselves.

This discovery swayed Adair a bit, making him feel like he was the odd one out… He clenched his teeth and replied, “No!”

After receiving this refusal, Grisia’s expression didn’t change. He calmly said, “My holy knight brothers, as you are members of the Sun Knight Platoon, you have already sworn to the God of Light that you would be loyal to me.”

Adair angrily said, “I will be loyal to you, but I cannot accept as absurd a command as jumping off a cliff!”

Grisia knitted his eyebrows together. After he waved his hand, another icicle appeared. This time however, Adair wasn’t completely unprepared. His ability wasn’t low, so of course he could dodge one icicle… but dodging an entire sky of icicles was another story altogether.

Adair looked at the numerous icicles, his heart pounding. He knew he had no more room to dodge, but he still didn’t want to jump off. He dodged a few more icicles; in the end, he was still knocked off the cliff.

He experienced falling off the cliff once again and lay sprawled across the ground, his injuries worse than last time’s. On top of the impact from landing, he had also been bruised by the icicles. Exerting himself just a bit more when breathing would cause his chest to contract in pain. This time, he had probably broken his ribs, and his leg injury from before hadn’t healed yet either, so now he was hurting all over.

Suddenly, there was a “thump” and warm holy light enveloped Adair, causing him to feel much better all at once. However, in the next moment, a head of golden hair entered his sight. Although resplendent without comparison, it was like a black cloud had taken over Adair’s mood.

“My holy knight brother, please stand up and return to the top of the cliff.” The same demand came. The matter wasn’t over yet.

Adair stood up again. Although his injuries weren’t light, he had landed with a proper stance, and his body was well trained from years of practice. Even though he had fallen twice, he hadn’t received any critical injuries. Moreover, there were also the healing spells, and he was also a stubborn person, so when he heard Grisia’s words, he didn’t speak a single word before standing up. He followed behind Grisia and returned to the top of the cliff.

Then, he fell again, climbed up once more, fell again…

Although healing spells were cast each time, they were not enough to completely heal the injuries. After continuous accumulation, they were getting worse and worse.

He could no longer tell how many times he had fallen. Every time he was knocked down, his inner resentment toward Grisia grew even more.

As he lay on the floor, he heard a “thump,” letting him know that the other person had also followed him down. He would once again receive the command of standing up and climbing back up. He prepared himself, clamping his teeth together in preparation of climbing back up. However, this time the command was slow to come. Adair could not help but turn his head to sneak a glance.

Grisia knelt on the ground, his entire face beading with sweat, his expression downright ugly.

Adair suddenly realized that the other person had always been jumping down with him, and then he had kept casting healing spells to heal two people. Just how many times has he cast Heal?

Grisia reached his hand out to wipe away the sweat. When he stood up, he was already wearing a smile on his face, and Adair quickly retracted his gaze. Following that, he heard the expected, “My holy knight brother, please stand up.”

Adair silently stood up, once again returning with Grisia to the top of the cliff. The other people had not left. They had stood there the entire time. Although they were just standing there, their expressions were actually not much better than Grisia’s or Adair’s.

Watching two people jump off the cliff from morning until night, and the people at war their own captain and vice-captain at that, really made all of them feel that they were about to have a nervous breakdown.

“Please jump.”

This time, before Grisia made a move, Adair finally had a different reaction. He asked in bewilderment, “Why must I obey as absurd an order as jumping off a cliff?”

He had thought it through. Each time he fell, Grisia also jumped with him, and he had even had to cast healing spells. Therefore, Grisia was actually receiving even more damage than Adair was! At first, he had thought that since Grisia was the future Sun Knight, he did not mind the toil, but from what he had just seen, that was evidently not the case.

Grisia looked at him, trying his hardest to conceal his exhaustion, but his appearance still betrayed him. “How do you know this is an absurd order?”

When he heard this, Adair’s fury rose again. “How could telling us to jump off a cliff be a normal order?”

Grisia fell silent for a moment. He turned to face the front and quietly said, “If you’re not even willing to jump off a cliff that you won’t die from, then in the future, for the sake of the greater good, if I commanded you to take the other platoon members, or even the entire holy knight army, to carry out a suicide mission, would you be willing to do it?”

Adair froze.

“I am soon to become the Sun Knight, and you all are soon to become my Sun Knight Platoon. I do not want to curse myself or you, but for the sake of the Church of the God of Light, it is not impossible that sacrifices might have to be made.

“When it comes time to give such a command, I might not be able to privately tell you the detailed contents of the mission. I might have to tell you in front of all the other platoon members, or even the entire Church of the God of Light. But there could be times, like now, where I can only give ‘a completely absurd order.’”

Grisia paused for a moment and directly stared at Adair, saying, “What I need is a vice-captain who is willing to carry out all orders, no matter how absurd they are.”

After he finished speaking, he stood straight, returning to his original stance and his original volume. He sighed regretfully, “Perhaps Adair is indeed not suitable for being my vice-captain. I will choose someone else.”

Grisia turned, originally intending to leave. He had truly spent too much energy and almost couldn’t stand anymore. However, at this time, he suddenly heard the others shout Adair’s name in surprise. When he turned his head, he was just in time to see Adair’s figure vanish off the cliff’s side.

Heh!

“You pass.”

“I suppose that was what happened.” Adair smilingly finished telling his story, and he also understood why his captain wanted him to help Elaro. He most likely wanted him to tell this story.

The three of them, Elaro, Dili, and Rhonelin, finished listening to the story in a stupor. Elaro understood his teacher’s true personality very well, but the other two did not have such an understanding of him. They practically couldn’t connect this story with the Sun Knight they knew. Would the most perfect Sun Knight in history actually command someone he had just met to jump off a cliff?

Even though the result was quite profound, the course of events was simply unimaginable to a normal person.

Seeing their expressions, Adair couldn’t help but feel that telling this story had probably been a waste of time. No matter what, a second Sun Knight who would use ‘jumping off a cliff’ as a test would probably not appear again for a long time. These past events would not help Elaro much.

“Elaro, you should just follow your own way of doing things.”

Elaro currently had his head lowered as he pondered. Only when he heard Adair’s words did he look up, smiling as he said, “I understand what Teacher means now.”

“Oh?” Adair was quite interested as he asked, “So what does Captain mean?”

He did not expect Elaro to stare right at him and say, “I think Teacher means that if the most defiant one in the past could become the most obedient one now, then there’s no reason for me to hesitate. I should just make my own choice.”

Adair began smiling wryly.

Elaro turned to face his two vice-captain candidates. He no longer had any hesitation on his face, only gentleness and resolve. And while his expression may have been gentle, his manner was incomparably determined.

“I have made my decision. My vice-captain will be Dili.”

Rhonelin’s heart plummeted, but he tried his hardest to control his expression. He didn’t want his captain to feel guilty from seeing disappointment on his face. Elaro was that kind of person. He didn’t want to treat anyone around him unfairly, and thus had not been able to make a decision for the longest time.

“And Rhonelin.”

Rhonelin raised his head to look at his captain.

Astonished, Adair said, “Two? That’s against the rules.”

Elaro’s expression was rather relaxed, as if he had let go of several burdens. He smiled as he said, “Does the entire continent know that the Sun Knight can only have one vice-captain?”

Adair blinked, but then smiled as well. “They don’t seem to know. It’s just one of the usual practices of the Holy Temple.”

“Teacher always says, ‘Other than matters that the whole continent knows, you can do as you please with everything else. I’m about to retire anyway.”’

Dili and Rhonelin were both stunned. The current Sun Knight would actually say something like that?

According to what they knew, the Sun Knight was mature, graceful, and earnest. Even though his manner was very gentle, and you could always receive his forgiveness as long as you repented, he was still the Sun Knight, so the populace would not dare to be too casual with him.

Adair saw their expressions and smiled faintly. He turned his head and said, “Elaro, since you’ve already chosen your vice-captains, there are some matters that you should let them know. On one hand, it will help lessen your workload, and on the other, this way they won’t be caught unprepared when they become the official vice-captains of the Sun Knight in the future.”

“Okay!” Elaro looked at his two vice-captains, growing more and more satisfied as he looked at them. He smiled as brilliantly as the sun. “Finally, I don’t have to be secretive and can let you know everything!”

Seeing their captain’s bright smile, Dili and Rhonelin suddenly had the feeling that they might not really want to know that so-called “everything.”

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