We interviewed four pairs, but none of them really clicked.
“I know there’s strengthening magic, but these holy knights are kinda lacking,” I said. Just meeting someone can give you a good enough idea about their abilities. In that regard, all four of the holy knights we had interviewed were underwhelming, to put it nicely.
“While I realize I have a lot to learn myself, I have concerns regarding the mana quantity and control of the holy women. Of course, that’s just when it comes to them fighting alongside us,” said the princess. They would grow in the future, but right now, they wouldn’t make dependable allies.
“Couldn’t that change if Albert trained them like he did for me?” Cuphea asked.
“No, you showed talent from the get-go. Plus, you had the guts to get stronger even if you had to discard your pride. I’m not a miracle worker.”
“O-Oh...” Cuphea replied bashfully.
“Judging someone is a heavy, nerve-racking responsibility, but our lives are on the line so we have to get it right.” Although Linum was shy and reluctant to measure someone’s worth on a pass-fail basis, she understood how important these interviews were and was doing her best.
“Right. We have to take this seriously and keep going so we can find someone to fight alongside.”
And so, we were on to our fifth pair. I was caught by surprise when I saw the holy woman enter the room. She was someone I—no, we all knew. “Well, if it isn’t the bully.” She was a haughty noblewoman with long, blonde hair, and the same noblewoman who had harassed Cuphea and Linum during our first few days at the academy. She had humiliated Cuphea during their mock battle, then had gotten a taste of her own medicine during the rematch. After that, she had behaved herself and had been in our group during the hands-on training in the Pestilent Guardian Dragon’s city. She’d always had talent as a holy woman, so she had made it out alive. However, something was different.
“You’ve got a new holy knight,” said Cuphea, already picking up on it. There was a female holy knight standing next to her—not the holy knight who had made it back from the Forbidden City with her.
The holy knight had androgynous features and blonde hair that was long near the front and gradually shortened toward the back of her head. She wore men’s pants rather than the skirt female holy knight uniforms came with, and her eyes were like beautiful jade gems. In some ways, she kinda reminded me of Myra back when we’d first met. At a glance, she didn’t seem half bad...in terms of sword skill, of course.
“My name is Agrimonia. Holy woman.”
“And I’m her holy knight, Hypericum.”
In the past, Agrimonia never would have come here, let alone introduced herself. “You know this is an interview to join our squad, right? Are you sure about this?” I asked the former bully.
“Yes. We’re here today to see if we’ll be judged worthy of fighting alongside you.”
It seems like she really has changed. People didn’t change easily, but it wasn’t impossible. I’d heard that her holy knight had retired after the hands-on training. Likewise, Hypericum’s holy woman had dropped out of the academy. Left behind, the two had paired up. Witnessing so many lives being lost during training had made Agrimonia come to realize the foolishness of her actions. Saints didn’t have the leeway to discriminate based on status. Staring death in the face had finally made her understand.
Some people never came to realize that fact. Since she had been able to change, I thought there was still hope for her, but it was Cuphea and Linum she had a history with. Cuphea in particular had been treated horribly by Agrimonia’s previous holy knight. She’d had her clothes ripped in front of all the other students and had been mocked viciously. The perpetrator might have been gone, but Agrimonia was the one who had ordered it. I wondered if she could forgive her.
“Lady Cuphea, Lady Linum, I would like to formally apologize for my actions.” Agrimonia bowed deeply in apology.
“Sure. I forgive you,” Cuphea answered indifferently.
“If Cuphea’s fine with it, then so am I,” Linum agreed.
“R-Really?” Agrimonia looked up, baffled by how easily she had been forgiven.
“I already got you back. Besides...I was able to become stronger as a result.” Cuphea glanced at me, her cheeks flushing. She had probably remembered how we had become friends through our training. She was as cute as ever...and still so forgiving. “What about you? Won’t your noble friends have an issue with you teaming up with us?” Some of Agrimonia’s friends had lost their lives during the hands-on training, but not all of them. There might be some who viewed joining our squad as betrayal.
“I don’t mind.” She was prepared to leave her comfortable environment in order to get stronger. Like Cuphea had once said, Agrimonia wasn’t weak. She was a talented holy woman and had almost certainly been training since before she’d entered the academy. Her new holy knight wasn’t bad either.
I looked over at the other three, and they all nodded in agreement. “Then how about we start with a trial period?” I said, facing the interviewees again.
Agrimonia’s eyes went wide with surprise. She had probably expected to be rejected. “C-Certainly. I’ll do my best.” Hypericum bowed next to her, and we had our new candidates.