Gurgle...
After finishing the last gulp of hot soup, Ogre took the cloth handed over by Macar and wiped his mouth.
Ogre originally didn't use such things, but since someone had handed it to him, he couldn't very well throw it back in their face.
After all, he was relying on someone else's hospitality now.
“When are we setting off?” Macar was wolfing down the remaining white bread and fried fish.
Not wasting food was a habit formed since childhood; it had little to do with wealth.
It was also a virtue every knight should possess.
“What's the rush? Who makes someone hit the road right after they've finished eating?” Mima chided her nephew gently as she cleared the used plates and cutlery.
“Sister Gelin, do you want to read the newspaper?”
Seeing Ogre suddenly reach out, Maqi, who had just picked up the newspaper beside him, asked with a hint of uncertainty.
“Just give it to her...”
Macar stuffed the last piece of bread and fried fish into his mouth, mumbling a reply.
He probably wanted to set off with Ogre as soon as possible.
Because of this, Macar sped up his eating efficiency—for instance, swallowing the fish without spitting out the bones.
“Mm...” Ogre nodded.
He then took today's issue of the Dandelion Daily from Maqi.
“Mind your own business, Brother.” Maqi picked up her own copy of the paper and sat down by the stove.
Wherever the wind and freedom reach, there we shall be—Dandelion Daily.
Seeing that Ogre was already flipping through the paper, Macar remained silent.
Otherwise, he would have definitely retorted to his sibling, who always undermined him.
'What a studious girl...' Macar felt that Ogre, earnestly reading the paper, possessed an inexplicable intellectual beauty.
That was something he had never felt in any other girl.
Naturally, Ogre had no idea what Macar was thinking.
However, he was indeed reading the newspaper earnestly, trying to gather some useful information.
The mysterious Dean of the Serris Mage Academy returns, announcing plans to establish a new branch in Kross City...
'Isn't that the academy Folke was planning to attend...?'
Ogre read down along this piece of news and saw a notice recruiting magic teachers for the Kross City branch—
Supposedly, that mysterious Dean would personally receive the new students and teachers at the branch.
'So it's a recruitment drive. Still, an examination like that must be quite strict.'
After a brief skim, Ogre brushed it aside without much concern—to him, it was merely news about an academy's expansion.
'Huh... A wanted poster from the elves?'
Ogre's slender finger rested on this issue's wanted poster.
Wanted Person: Moor (Elf) (Family surname stripped).
Crime: Theft of ancient elven secret arts from the forbidden land, destruction of the forbidden tree.
Bounty Reward: Elven friendship, Elven Fruit (granting partial elven traits upon consumption).
Additional reward if the ancient elven secret arts are returned: Guidance from an Elven Grand Sage, OR complete inheritance of the Bestowal Ceremony from an Elven Grand Knight (Silver-grade Knight).
'Those arrogant elves actually posted a bounty with the Church of Truth? How interesting... Looks like something incredible was leaked.'
Ogre carefully checked the general location provided by the Word-Spirit Prophet (a specialized branch of Mind-Imager) on the wanted poster—and realized that the wanted criminal seemed to be in the nearby city district around here.
This subconsciously raised his vigilance.
After all, it concerned his immediate surroundings.
'Did an elf really escape... No wonder so many outside Professionals have arrived in the frontier city lately.'
Even by Ogre's standards, this wanted elf, Moor, looked hideous beyond belief. He didn't look like an elf at all; rather, he resembled...
A goblin?
'Things are getting messier and messier—I wonder if this news was deliberately spread by the frontier lands to resist the beast tide.'
Ogre sighed inwardly. He hoped the situation would become chaotic enough to facilitate his escape, yet he didn't want the chaos to affect innocent civilians—the fewer tragedies there were, the better.
The news appearing in the Dandelion Daily was essentially old news that had already been exposed elsewhere.
In other words, the bounty on this poster had been out for some time and had only recently spread here. Doing this was practically taking advantage of the elves' warped sense of time...
'Forget it, this isn't my concern anyway.'
Ogre figured that one of the reasons Laidi (Folke's uncle) came here might be for this deformed elf on the wanted poster.
After all, the elves had offered quite a sincere reward. Although those fellows were arrogant, they were generally trustworthy.
As for getting involved himself?
Ogre had even less desire for that—since it involved the Bestowal inheritance of a Knight, the target was bound to be a tough nut to crack.
Once a Knight completed their Life Circle, if they wanted to advance further, there were usually only two paths available.
The first path was a physical accumulation similar to that of Martial Artists. By using battle qi to nourish the body, they enhanced their battle qi power and physical constitution, eventually forming a battle qi core to become a Senior Professional.
This path usually hit a wall once one reached Senior Professional.
Unless one was a legendary born hero.
However, according to the records of the Church of Dawn, there were still Knights who had walked this path to an even deeper end.
That legend was called—the Sky Knight.
A powerful Knight who could break free from the bounds of the earth and freely tread the skies through pure physical strength alone!
The second path was the one commonly pursued by Knights.
Yet this path was equally difficult to walk.
It required a Knight who had completed their Life Circle to accumulate enough fame and prestige, ensuring their legend was known by more people.
When the legend aligned sufficiently with the Knight and was widely spread enough, these ethereal rumors would naturally merge into the Knight's battle qi to complete the advancement.
(Note: If the alignment between the Knight and the rumor was insufficient, no amount of fame would allow them to advance.)
During this process, the advancing Knight would also gain an ability that matched the rumor—
For instance, a Knight who frequently suffered defeat would likely awaken an unyielding recovery ability during this process.
A Knight who only appeared in the dark of night would likely gain night-related abilities.
Knights at this stage would become extraordinarily powerful within the domain or time frame of their rumor.
Over time, this tended to create regional limitations.
It could also result in "watered-down" Knights with immense power gaps.
Even so...
The sheer might of a Senior Professional was not something an ordinary Professional could mess with.
It was just that compared to other Senior Professionals, this method of advancement was somewhat overly convoluted and opportunistic.
It was also fragile.
And Bestowal was the "method" to solve this drawback—a shortcut that allowed a Knight to step onto this path ahead of time.
This was the sole reason why the Knight class became mainstream.
Bestowal referred to a ritual where a Senior Knight stripped away their own legend and transferred that power to someone connected by blood or aura.
Through generations of optimization, it had finally formed the stable system of rituals used today.
Bestowal usually occurred between father and son.
It was a ceremony that bound the family legend to the family crest and noble title.
The grantor and the recipient needed to blend their blood during the ritual's proclamation.
During this process, the recipient also needed to inherit the grantor's name and official title.
After gaining continuous recognition from others, the ritual was basically complete.
As time passed, the grantor's power would rapidly diminish, while the recipient would gradually grow stronger.
During this period, the power of rumors would inevitably be lost due to unknown reasons—this was unavoidable.
Thus, Bestowal was not omnipotent. With an increasing number of bestown inheritances and the fading of legends, the power provided by the Bestowal would become weaker and weaker!
Fortunately, each generation's recipient could inject their own rumor power and lineage talent into it, adding fuel to the Bestowal Ceremony and making it even stronger!
Of course, during this process, the differences in battle qi and bloodline could not be too vast; otherwise, it would affect the inheritance of power.
If a successor managed to spark a new legend during the ongoing cycle of inheritance, a new rumor ability would be created based on their degree of fame.
The power of Bestowal was stackable. A thriving knightly family would only grow stronger and stronger, whereas a declining one would gradually perish... becoming wandering knights.
As for those rumor powers that hadn't achieved complete alignment?
Those powers didn't actually disappear; those "rumors" lay dormant, waiting until a qualified successor appeared to awaken them once more.
Precisely because of the Bestowal Ceremony's existence, intangible noble titles possessed immense value.
This was why (some) Knights were so keen on expanding territory.
And why those long-standing knightly families were so formidable and stable.
Because of this, a noble title often represented a Knight's strength—the higher the title, the stronger the Knight tended to be.
Therefore, the strongest Knight in the Empire of Engodo was bound to be the Emperor himself!
Below him were Dukes, Marquises, Counts, Viscounts, and Barons...
As prestige decreased, strength naturally diminished level by level.
This was why Knights were so obsessed with honor, placing it above life itself.
Because what they inherited was not merely a noble title, but the accumulated strength of the entire knightly family!
Relying on the Bestowal system, these noble knights built a layered hierarchy, deeply binding themselves to the state long ago.
The land beneath their feet and the subjects behind them were the very source of their power!
'A Knight is at his strongest when he is defending his territory!' — Imperial Law, final page on Nobility Inheritance.
And the Church of Dawn was precisely what rose under such a system.
After all, there was usually only one recipient of a family's Bestowal!
(Note: Only when the grantor's aptitude and alignment were insufficient, yet there was a desperate need for power to hold the territory, would knights use another public ceremony to disperse parts of the Bestowal power. That was how branch knight families were formed—a process also known as 'Enfeoffment.')
For those knights who were clearly unqualified to inherit the family glory, the Church of Dawn became the optimal choice for second sons and illegitimate children—a tacit rule accepted by all nobles.
The Church of Dawn's Bestowal did not rely on bloodline, but on shared beliefs and its unique breathing techniques.
After meeting the prerequisites (practicing the Dawn Breathing Technique or other Dawn-series breathing techniques) and reaching a sufficient alignment with ancient Paladin forebears, one had a high probability of becoming the next Grand Knight.
During this time, you needed to complete trials and gain the recognition of the Church of Dawn.
Then, you could inherit the name or title of an ancient Paladin forebear, becoming a Senior Professional or even a High Professional!
According to the records of the Church of Dawn, the legendary Dusk and Dawn Knights were the pinnacle produced by this model.
Unfortunately, Dusk's true name had been lost to time, while no one had been able to inherit the power of Wubi, the Dawn Knight...
...
'The rest of the content really is fluff...'
After finishing the entire newspaper, Ogre gave his evaluation in his heart.
Although he had long known that only the front pages of the paper contained anything of value, he still couldn't help reading through those clickbait non-stories.
'I wonder if the Church of Truth's precious knowledge can bring me any gains,' Ogre thought to himself.
Setting down the finished newspaper, Ogre looked up at Macar and made a faint sound.
“Mm...”
“Miss Gelin, are you ready?!”
Macar, who had been propping up his chin by the stove out of boredom, instantly perked up upon seeing the Miss Gelin he longed for finally put down that blasted paper.
He had been wanting to leave for ages!
“Mm...” Ogre nodded.
Rate on N.U.
