The girl in the mirror changed into a brand-new suit of bright silver armor.
The emblem of the Church of Holy Light, a sun encircled by three mountains, was engraved on the right side of the chest piece.
Unlike standard church armor, however, the girl’s left breastplate featured a sword that shimmered with the brilliance of a Saint Rank, appearing as if it were in mid-swing.
A satisfied smile hung on Astrid’s face as she felt quite pleased with her new look.
A soft knock sounded at the door, and Astrid turned around with a warm, gentle smile.
“Come in!”
With a click, Bishop Mapele, who had rushed over upon hearing that her family’s princess intended to join the Church of Holy Light’s Order of Knights, had her eyes light up.
“Little Astrid really does look wonderful in knight’s armor.”
Compared to her previous adventurer attire, her status and noble bloodline were instantly apparent in this ensemble.
“Honestly, are you really set on joining the Church’s Order of Knights?”
Upon hearing this, Astrid stuck out her tongue; she felt no awkwardness with her aunt.
Given her status, joining the Church of Holy Light was impossible.
After all, if word got out that an Elf Princess had joined the Church, it would be a significant humiliation for both the Elgar family and the Nature Church, one that could not be brushed aside lightly.
Thus, Astrid had summoned her aunt once again to help her devise a plan.
In the end, the status of a ‘Trainee’ was born.
Mapele announced externally that she wished to study the Church of Holy Light’s advanced management practices and was sending her niece to the Church to observe and train.
Thanks to this, and with the green light from the Nature Church, Astrid finally achieved her wish to ‘join’ the Radiant Knights.
Though… she couldn’t help but feel that the Saintess was not particularly enthusiastic about it.
Astrid coiled her waist-length, deep-gold hair and finally donned the fully enclosing bright silver armor.
From now on, she would begin her official career!
However, Mapele had explicitly stated that this ‘Trainee’ period would only last for three months.
Astrid, however, did not care at all.
The Saintess did not seem to have much urgent business on her hands, and Lance himself had said he would leave Siofra in no more than two months.
With the extra month, she would still have time to spend with Noren.
I just hope Cecilia doesn’t stand in my way.
At that thought, a flicker of inexplicable fighting spirit flashed in Astrid’s eyes.
Although she had lost her composure earlier after being overwhelmed by the Saintess’s incomprehensible series of moves, it was mostly because she had been deeply worried about Lance’s safety.
But after leaving the parlor, once she recalled and reviewed the various behaviors of Saintess Cecilia, the not-so-foolish Astrid instantly detected the scent of danger.
The Radiant Saintess! She is definitely very invested in Lance!
After her aunt arrived, Astrid successfully obtained Cecilia’s personal file.
Upon reading about their time together in the Restoration Army, Astrid grew even more certain.
The documents clearly stated:
[Cecilia Midgard: Studied under the Midgard Queen in her youth alongside Lance Fallos, Noren Fallos, and others.]
[According to informed sources, Lance Fallos appears to be cultivated as a trusted confidant of Cecilia Midgard, and the two share an Oath relationship.]
[However, two years ago, Lance Fallos inexplicably sparked a massive riot at the Restoration Army barracks, and alongside his sister Noren Fallos, vanished without a trace.]
An Oath relationship… that refers to an Oathbound Knight, right?
Although having an Oathbound Knight does not necessarily mean there are romantic feelings between two people.
But Astrid put herself in their shoes and quickly peered into the Saintess’s heart.
The pressure… is really quite heavy…
……
“Have you heard? Do you know about our new commander?”
“Are you talking about that blond guy from the Holy Capital?”
“Yeah, that’s him!”
“How could I not! Look at what the [Black Dragon] did to him!”
Unlike the Saintess, who simply flew back, Joel Crais had to be carried into the Holy Light Church station through the front gate by men from the City Lord’s Mansion.
At that time, even though he had received some treatment, his injuries were still extremely severe.
It was said that Joel’s lower back had been dislocated by the butler (in reality, it was Cecilia), and even the Saintess’s high-tier recovery divine art could not heal it effectively.
Fearing that if the treatment were finished improperly the dislocation might never be fixed, the new commander had been bedridden for two days, unable to walk and waited upon by servants.
“If you ask me, that guy has no talent at all.”
“He just does all sorts of inexplicable things; he even managed to tick off [Black Dragon of Sifral], that old softy, which is no small feat!”
“You’re telling me!”
Inside the four-person dormitory, two knights claiming to be from the Siofra city branch were discussing their commander without restraint.
Their words were full of disdain.
While the two were talking heatedly, another knight who was tidying his things spoke up in a languid tone:
“Isn’t there a new acting Knight Commander coming?”
Upon hearing this, the two who were talking heatedly suddenly stopped.
How could they not know about this?
“Anthony? What new Knight Commander?”
The two poked their heads toward the knight tidying his items, the fire of gossip in their eyes seemingly burning.
The sudden movement startled Anthony, and after regaining his composure, he responded irritably:
“You guys actually didn’t know? Did you skip the morning meeting?”
Caught in their act of slacking off, the two who asked felt a bit awkward.
“Oh, that’s not important; what’s this about a new Knight Commander?”
Rolling his eyes, Anthony explained:
“That blond guy from the Holy Capital is injured and can’t perform his duties, but there is still work to be done.”
“So, the Saintess arranged for a Knight Commander from the Radiant Knights to come over and serve as our branch commander for the time being.”
The Radiant Knights?
The two who asked were dazed for a moment before they realized that this was the Saintess’s ‘private army.’
They immediately felt relieved.
After all, the relationship between a Regional Cardinal and a branch Knight Commander is, if not exactly like family, at least like fire and water.
In a situation like this, it was completely normal for a Regional Cardinal to appoint their own cronies to usurp the authority of the Knight Order.
Even if she had airdropped a nameless adventurer, these old knights who had stayed in the Order for so long wouldn’t have been surprised.
Moreover, the Saintess actually had an impeccable political asset.
That was the ‘Radiant Knights’ she led personally—an Order of Knights that held the same status as the Church’s three major knight orders, save for their size!
It was certainly no second or third-rate reserve unit!
Having a high-ranking officer from the ‘Radiant Knights’ temporarily lead their branch was nothing to be surprised about.
Only that idiot blond would be stupid enough to try and get close to the Saintess by relying on the authority of a branch commander.
“So… how is this new commander’s strength?”
“High Rank, late stage, I hear.”
“High Rank again?”
Hearing this, the two who asked curled their lips, looking quite dismissive.
After all, their branch, while not powerful, had over 10 high-rank powerhouses, and more than a dozen at the late Middle Rank.
Strength at the late High Rank alone was not enough to win the approval of these people.
No one had paid any mind to that idiot from the Holy Capital earlier, save for that pretty-boy adjutant who kept clinging to him.
But that adjutant had connections to the Grand Knight Commander, so such sycophancy was somewhat understandable.
The two lost interest, no longer holding any expectations for the newcomer.
“Though, I heard that the new commander has a very good relationship with the Elf Princess.”
“That Elf Princess is coming to report to the Order tomorrow, they say she’s going to be the new commander’s deputy.”
Clicking his tongue, Anthony marveled at the news.
He had never imagined that he would one day be working alongside an Elf Princess.
After waiting for a long time, Anthony, who was still tidying up, realized something was wrong.
Why was there no response?
Confused, Anthony looked up at the positions where the two had just been.
He saw the knight who had been complaining about the commander’s weak strength conjuring a large ball of water and smashing it onto his own forehead.
The other knight was using lightning magic to give his hair a light, static-induced fluff.
Electric sparks sizzled and circled through his hair, a sight that made Anthony shiver in horror.
“What… what are you guys doing?”
Upon hearing this, the two looked over, confused as to why someone would ask such a question.
Of course, they were trying to leave a good impression on the Elf Princess!
That was the Elf Princess, after all!