Thibault had just told us to hide our identities as mana wielders, but my physical abilities were so abysmal, I wouldn’t be able to do anything without magic.
The Mercures are just too good at everything! Even the children are athletically talented.
Of course, I would feel down, watching them excel where I couldn’t. I was utterly useless at anything that wasn’t magic.
“Um... Can I continue?” Thibault asked, acting as if he hadn’t heard what my husband and the twins had just discussed. “As I told you before, though there’s an entrance test to join the Royal Knights, it’s a mere formality. Please try to get a decent score, but it’s fine if you don’t, since everyone will get in either way. But whatever you do, do not stand out.”
Apparently, the Royal Knights were so short-staffed that they accepted anyone who wanted to join their ranks.
“They hold this examination twice a year, but they still cannot manage to keep up with all the knights resigning. Our first objective is to blend in among the knights without attracting attention. That’ll make it easier for us to carry out our investigation.”
The twins cried in protest at his instructions.
“Seriouslyyy?” Fouet whined.
“That means we’ll have to hold back quite a bit. We can’t win too much or lose too much... What a pain,” Barre added.
I thought Thibault had every right to get angry at them for being so unruly, but he simply explained his reasoning to them. “If you’re too good, the other knights will be jealous of you, and you risk incurring their enmity. On the other hand, if you perform poorly, they’ll bully you. Aim for slightly above average, all right? Remember, the key phrase is: Play it safe! No matter what you do, try to avoid drawing anyone’s eye.”
“Seriouslyyy?” Fouet repeated.
“Yeah, dunno if we’ll manage that. Sorry if we fail,” Barre said as if he’d already given up.
It seemed that they weren’t exactly on board with Thibault’s plan.
“Don’t worry, everyone. If something goes awry, I’ll fix it with my magic. Let’s just do our best, okay?” I said to try and cheer the twins up.
Barre looked in turn at Thibault and me. “Well, Lord Char and us will be fine, but you two...”
“Especially you, madam,” Fouet said, jumping on the bandwagon. “You can’t even wield a sword without using magic to cheat.”
By cheating, he meant the spells I’d put on my sword during practice to make it lighter and increase its offensive power.
“Lord Char has tried several times to teach the madam the basics of sword fighting and spear fighting, but for some reason, their practice sessions always turned into magic duels with weapons in their hands. They never managed to fight properly,” Fouet continued.
Char and I both averted our gazes at his words. He was right. Whenever Char tried to teach me how to wield a weapon, I would get so frustrated by how quickly I lost that I’d resort to imbuing my sword or spear with mana to counterattack, and Char would immediately respond in kind. It was fun...but I hadn’t learned much from it.
I can’t exactly refute his point... I just couldn’t bear losing against Char, and he would never pass up a chance to practice new spells. In a way, our goals aligned—but not in a productive way.
“Wait, you didn’t tell me that!” Thibault exclaimed, throwing a panicked glance in my direction.
“Don’t worry. I’ll... I’ll cheat a little with my magic and clear the examination with no trouble,” I replied.
It was just as the twins had said, wasn’t it? I did feel a little sad to admit I would, indeed, be cheating.
Speaking of the twins, they were eyeing me with obvious distrust.
“I doubt that,” Barre said.
“Me too,” Fouet added.
They had no faith in me whatsoever...
“It’ll be fine. If push comes to shove, I’ll step in to help Lam myself. I’ve become much better at illusion spells recently,” Char said.
His words didn’t make me feel any better.
Unable to endure it any longer, I turned to Thibault. “What about you?” I asked. “Are you good with swords and spears?”
“Not in the slightest. I trained while I was in Lèvres, but... Oh well.” He chuckled evasively. “Anyway, I’ll do my utmost to get an average score.”
“Oh, at least I won’t be the only one struggling.”
It seemed that the outcome of the entrance exam rested on the shoulders of Thibault and myself. We crossed the plaza and arrived at the royal palace, making our way to the Royal Knights’ training grounds where the test would be held.
The grounds were hidden from view, located behind a large garden. To enter them, we had to go through the back gate, which was right in front of the Royal Knights’ barracks.
“I’m a little nervous,” Thibault said, a stiff look on his face.
There were already several prospective recruits gathered at the training grounds.
“Oh my, I didn’t think there would be this many candidates,” I commented.
“Only one or two will still be knights come next year. The others won’t be able to endure it and will quit. Some might even get badly injured,” Thibault said. It was as if a dark cloud had settled over his face.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine,” I reassured him. “You’re only joining temporarily for the sake of our investigation. I’ll come save you if you get in trouble.”
But my words did little to lift his mood. It seemed that he still didn’t trust my capabilities.
“Just leave him alone, Lam. Like it or not, the test will start soon,” Char said. He clearly didn’t care about relieving Thibault’s nerves.