“The valedictorian has been decided by unanimous vote of the examiners and the Planetary Seat of the Border Patrol Corps.”

The senior Blue Knight continued speaking from the podium.

Unanimous, huh. Then there’s no need to worry about Trisan’s pressure or Andromeda overreaching.

I glanced sideways at Nereus standing beside me, and at the other cadets lined up to our left and right.

None of them seemed to expect to be named themselves—everyone was just wondering whether it would be me or Nereus.

“Before the announcement, a few questions. Kyrie of Astrios.”

The officer called my name.

“Yes, sir.”

I stepped forward.

Stay calm.

Even if I wasn’t valedictorian, admission itself was guaranteed.

A pity about that twenty-five percent boost to the Heavenly Thunder Physique, but there would be another chance.

Even as I pretended composure, my heart was pounding.

“Multiple testimonies confirm you brought neither artillery nor supply wagons. Given that the deployment of Blue Knights implies the presence of ogres within the greenskin colony, why did you forgo heavy ordnance?”

The officer narrowed his eyes.

“The Triplet Lake region is largely swamp. I judged that taking heavy artillery, armored infantry, and wagons would result in severe non-combat losses. I planned to handle the ogre myself.”

“If the foremost combatant, a Blue Knight, recklessly exposes himself to danger, it could lead to an irretrievable disaster. How do you justify that?”

“Since my academy days I’ve hunted multiple ogre specimens. Against one or two, I deemed solo engagement feasible.”

Backlit as he was, it was hard to read his expression.

“The record shows no requisitions from villages or travelers along your route. Why didn’t you use civilian supplies to sustain morale and resources?”

“By traveling by ship, I drastically reduced transit time and fatigue. The shorter journey meant less cost for lodging and provisions, and I redirected those savings toward maintaining morale.”

“During the suppression mission, you didn’t mobilize any auxiliary conscripts. Reason?”

“I judged they would only be a hindrance. After conscripting hunters and herb gatherers to survey the terrain, I concluded that in my assigned sector, untrained conscripts would be little more than walking targets.”

I understood what he was really asking.

If there’s a task to be done, focus on that task alone. That’s the virtue of our house.

He wanted to know whether I’d compromised the operation’s success for the sake of cost-cutting or public image.

“When you encountered the goblin unit fleeing with large quantities of gold, why did you avoid pursuit?”

“From logical deduction, I concluded that the fellow Blue Knight operating nearby had failed his subjugation. If such a large-scale breakout occurred that the colony’s treasure was being carried off, an ogre attack on the village could follow. Protecting the village took priority.”

“You’re saying you placed the village’s defense above exterminating the greenskins?”

The officer’s gaze grew even sharper.

Should I backtrack now? No. Too late for that. Stay consistent.

I lifted my head.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“This was a subjugation mission, not a hunt. Unlike hunting, subjugation exists to safeguard the local citizens. Therefore, even if it meant letting a few greenskins escape, prioritizing the village’s defense was, in my judgment, the correct decision.”

I met the officer’s eyes.

The face before me, stark under the backlight, changed expression at once.

“Kyrie of Astrios.”

“Yes.”

“You clearly knew why you’re this exam’s valedictorian. Congratulations.”

He broke into the brightest smile of anyone in the hall.

“Your adjutant Jo, the examiners, and every soldier under you praised you unanimously.”

At that instant, light flared from the stigma in my right eye.

【Stage 1: Adoption by Main House】

‣

【‘Sub-objective 1: Graduate as Valedictorian, Enter as Valedictorian’ achieved!】

【Heavenly Thunder Physique efficiency increased by 25 percent.】

【Heavenly Thunder Physique 150% → 175%】

Lines of script scrolled upward before my vision.

If I hadn’t been braced, my legs might have given out from the thrill that shot from crown to spine to soles.

It was as if every nerve in me glittered with starlight.

Through that rapture I forced myself to think about finishing up and heading for the training grounds.

I needed to test the new efficiency—and drink the Elixir of Hundred Thunders.

“Second place, Nereus of Tonatio Astrios. Truly a Blue Knight’s bearing. I expect the same bold initiative from you ahead.”

Further announcements followed.

Some aspirants had failed outright.

“Karl.”

The one who’d unleashed the greenskins on Nereus and fired flaming arrows at my ship.

Trisan’s recruited pawn—the so-called third Blue Knight.

He wasn’t even addressed by family name.

“You’re disqualified. You know why.”

“Yes.”

“Excessive armor without accounting for terrain increased non-combat losses—heavy deduction. Unlike Nereus, you conscripted no locals to guide you through the swamps.”

“Yes.”

The officer recited his offenses one by one.

“After the operation, you disposed of artillery and wagons without authorization, damaging family property and releasing dangerous weapons to commoners; you directly attacked Kyrie and Nereus; and you engaged in deliberate sabotage during the entrance trials in exchange for promised payment.”

At the word sabotage, even the other candidates turned to stare.

“Above all, you failed. That alone disqualifies you.”

Karl kept his head down.

“Still, don’t despair too much. There’s a unit that appreciates your… decisiveness.”

The officer rustled a document.

“Please…”

“The Demon-Beast Extermination Division has requested your transfer. Official orders will arrive next week.”

“Please, no! Anything but that!”

His face turned ashen.

The Demon-Beast Division was essentially a penal unit—hardest work, farthest from power.

“There must be some mistake! That can’t be!”

He lunged toward the officer but was seized and dragged out by senior Blue Knights.

Trisan won’t just let him disappear quietly.

Fool of a man.

The officer continued as if nothing had happened.

“One week from now will be the investiture and induction ceremonies. Until then, rest well.”

That evening I went straight to the lightning-arts training hall.

This time I topped the list thanks to the soldiers’ praise, but I can’t rely on goodwill forever. Next time, maybe I’ll bribe the evaluators myself.

I planned a short session before drinking the Elixir of Hundred Thunders.

A bit of load on the nerves raised absorption efficiency.

No one’s here.

The hall was utterly empty.

All other units had just finished their entrance exams over the past few days.

Naturally, no matter how superhuman Blue Knights might be, only a lunatic would start lightning training right after exams.

Alone, I entered the chamber, powered the machine, and wrapped copper wire around my wrists.

Bzzzz-crack!

The moment I gripped the wire with both hands, a surge of pale-yellow current flooded in.

Absorption’s definitely improved.

Instead of stabbing through my nerves and diffusing through my body as before, the current now drained smoothly into me like water through a bath plug.

It pooled in my heart, turning it white-hot.

My heartbeat flared brighter and brighter.

I trembled lightly at the pleasant sting, the swelling internal weight, the heat that made my jaw quiver, expanding my maximum mana capacity bit by bit.

That’s enough.

When my breath grew ragged, I released the wire and checked the clock.

Nearly forty minutes had passed.

At the academy I’d barely lasted fifteen.

More than doubled.
Even accounting for the 175 percent boost, the improvement was significant.

Once I could sustain an hour, I’d be able to overload my body with my own current to raise my maximum output further.

I’ve grown.

Training that way drained every drop of mana and left me spent, but being able to train without machines was a major advantage.

Before starting Border Patrol duty, I’ll hit the full hour.

I reached for the copper wire again.

“What, you’re here too?”

“Huh?”

A familiar voice echoed.

Nereus.

“Went out for a drink, but damn—place was packed with those bastards from the Old Jail crowd. I flattened them all, but it killed the mood. Figured I’d just come train instead.”

Scratched and scuffed across the face, Nereus stepped inside.

Despite all the fighting, he felt oddly restless.

Not tired enough?
Even after nearly two weeks in the field, he’d come straight here.

Huh?
The moment he saw Kyrie’s face, he realized what that restlessness was.

Nereus was a fierce, boisterous Blue Knight—honest even about his own feelings.

Regret?
Nothing so soft.

More like a magnified competitive urge.

I want to win. Really, truly win.

And admiration.

“Came to strain your nerves a bit before taking the elixir?”

“Something like that. It’s more efficient that way. You got your elixir too?”

“Not yet. They said they’ll find one somehow—give it a few days.”

He bound the copper wire to his wrist.

“Congrats on valedictorian.”

“You too. Congrats on second.”

“You mocking me?”

“If my congratulations count as mockery while yours count as sincerity, that’s a bit hypocritical, isn’t it?”

“When I do it, it’s charm.”

“Unbelievable.”

He forced his lips into a crooked grin.

“…Honestly, I was surprised.”

“Yeah?”

“Everyone thought you’d go straight to the Royal Guard or the Heavy Cavalry. I did too. Then suddenly you sign a physical-defect oath, volunteer for the Border Patrol, and start talking about adoption into the main house.”

For a rough-and-tumble Blue Knight, saying such things aloud was embarrassing—but Nereus believed some things had to be said even if they were shameful.

“I thought—so he still remembers that vow I’d nearly forgotten.”

It was at the start of the academy.

Nereus, born to a respectable collateral line, adapted easily enough; Kyrie, a bastard, was shunned by seniors and peers alike.

One day Kyrie fought seven of the classmates who mocked him, beat all seven in consecutive duels, and lay bleeding in a corner of the academy, grinding his teeth, vowing he’d enter the main house and wipe away the disgrace.

Someday I’ll be adopted into the main house. I’ll become the lord’s son. No one will ever call me bastard again!

Me too—damn it, I’m sick of those bastards judging worth by bloodline instead of skill! I’ll climb high enough to shut every one of them up!

Don’t you already have both parents?

They’d be prouder if I joined the main house. Being born an Astrios means rising higher than where you started.

Nereus had liked that fire in Kyrie’s eyes—and the blood covering him—more than he cared to admit.

They’d sworn in blood, shed and shared, to rise above their birth,
to live lives worth remembering.

“Honestly, I thought it was childish romantic drivel we spouted before we’d grown up…”

And now, years later—

Kyrie’s eye still burned as vividly as it had then.

“…but you went and did it.”

What the hell is he talking about?
Kyrie fought to keep the bewilderment off his face.

We were fifteen. Fifteen! Things you say at that age shouldn’t count as binding oaths!

If he laughed or pretended not to remember, Nereus might actually try to kill him.

“Yeah. I did.”

Surprisingly, it didn’t feel bad.

“But it’s too soon to say I’ve done it. This is just the start.”

“Right. Just the start. Watch—I’ll be the one adopted first.”

“Go ahead and try.”

Kyrie smiled.

“After all, I’m still the valedictorian.”

With that blue, single-eyed grin—reckless and radiant.

He’ll make a fine rival. Someone to measure how far I’ve come.

He’ll make a fine rival. Someone to prove how far I’ve come.

Nereus answered with a fierce, vibrant smile of his own.

Just like always.

And from now on.

The two resumed their lightning training.

“Watch out for Trisan. Looks like he’s scheming again.”

“You too. Even if you’re Tonatio branch, you never know what kind of payback he’ll try.”

“Oh, right. Since you’re valedictorian, you’ll perform the Sky-Lightning Rite at the investiture. Got that prepared?”

Kyrie had better.

“Sky-Lightning?”

Chapter 17

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