Micheal looked at the stars above, gazing at them from a small hill below the lower walls of the great fortress
The stars sprawled across the sky. With no light to pollute it, the view looked like something painted by an artist. Everything felt both natural and unnatural at the same time—even the three moons that hung in the night sky. The blue and red stars were still there, brighter than ever.
Micheal took a deep breath, exhaling with all his might. He decided to stand up, taking one last glance at the night sky.
He then turned down the hill…
The busling city was joy and laughter as the citizens danced across the festival…
"Oh right the festival that celebrated the return of the battalion….Hmmm.."
He whispered to himself,in a wondering gaze..This might've been the most happiest moments the outskirts had ever been in years…
He shook his head as he glanced back…he walked at the middle part of the city of Von Ordis ,it was quite joyful—lights and a myriad of colors branded the whole city..
It was truly a happy sight
Or as happy as a sight can be….
This made Micheal,let out a small smile…the lights reminded him of the old the new years in his country,it was was always filled with lights and colors with a myriad of foods and drinks that he had to share with friends…
Micheal chuckled a bit…
Though in that moment he noticed something…people were following him…
Micheal didn't know the reason but they had concealed themselves long before he discovered them,and for whatever reason,it is all he knew is that it is bad for him …
He held his head back trying to hide himself—slipping deeper into the crowd…
Moments later he ducked into one of those massive wooden stadiums near the city center—a Tournament
"Champion of the Lists! Winner to Receive a Recruitment Certificate to the Red pyre Battalion!"
"Hmmm?"Micheal looked at the poster with a hint of familiarity
"Oh right!…There was a recruitment poster for a chance to enter this tournament a few days ago…"Micheal murmered to himself
As he took the poster
After a while he then entered one of the massive wooden stadiums,whom hosted Swordsmanship sparring tournaments,for commoners or lower knights..
He quickly turned to the most open area of the stadium chairs,as if he was truly followed in a open field like this,you could easily escape:either by the openings or entrances or just through the wodden walls..
Micheal kept a eye on the openings,measuring and counting every single person on the way…
The tournament was quite flamboyant to say the least…
,The host wore a bright, colorful suit—it almost made him look like a jester or some kind of clown.
Yet, something else caught Micheal's eye. A woman stood among the crowd, dressed in elegant attire—far beyond anything a noble from the middle or lower rings could ever dream of wearing
"A upper ring noble?!"
Micheal searched through his memories of the fortress's upper echelons. Even a lesser noble from the upper rings was roughly equivalent to a high mayor or a viscount from the middle rings
To see one of them here—without any announcements or grand entrance—was shocking. Even if they wished to remain discreet, their very presence would normally draw attention. For someone of that stature to appear without fanfare was almost impossible.
Though a strange feeling crept over Micheal, he couldn't shake the sense that something was off.
"Is the noblewoman… looking at me?"
He glanced her way again. For a brief moment, their eyes met—but almost immediately, the woman looked away, her expression unreadable.
"Heh, it might've just been a coincidence," Micheal thought. People staring at him wasn't exactly unusual—especially with those eyes of his.
Even nobles often paused in surprise at the sight of someone with mismatched eyes. Micheal let out a quiet, self-deprecating chuckle
splinters wood dropped towards the stadium floor,adding and adding,
"Heh, how interesting…" Micheal muttered, his eyes drifting over the stadium. The once-proud banners of countless groups, troops, and orders now lay tattered and fallen—a silent testament to their defeat
Leaving one flag behind,it was that of a greyish blue tower with red borders,
The one who still stood owned a flag bound to his shield—a grey knight. His sword was battered, his armor dented and scarred from countless blows
this knight was the one,whom utterly single handedly deafeated them all…
From what Micheal had known this knight wasn't apart of the lower rings ,due to his flag,
After all the outer walls are too poor to have any sort of supporting organization,
The knight was probably apart of the middle rings of the fortress,might even a nepo baby of some great Noble master swordsman,or a knight…The flag wasn't any organization Micheal knew off,it might be some private company of sorts,Might even a company that the knight's father owned,or relatives owned…
The knight approached the host and knelt, raising his wooden sword in reverence.
Then, the noblewoman—believed to be from the inner rings—rose from her seat. With graceful steps, she approached the battered knight and gently placed a garland upon his worn wooden blade.
From Micheal's view he could see a slight smile from the Noble woman,her ebony hair flowered…
I apparently it was a unexpected outcome from the reactions of the crowd—As the people went silent,screems to murmurs
As for why that mysterious noble lady gave him that garland…
"Is it a scandal? Some kind of affair?!" Micheal muttered, curiosity getting the better of him.
Might even overwhelmed him
Micheal's mind ran rampant as he imagined all sorts of romantic stories—of a commoner knight and a royal princess falling in love in an apocalyptic world.
Though Micheal didn't have a chance to contemplate any further, a group of mysterious hooded men quickly entered the stadium—but by the time they arrived, Micheal was already gone. But when the hooded men reached his row, only an empty seat remained—still warm where Micheal had been
End of chapter