Chapter 29: The First Trial (1)

The blaring alarm jolted my eyes wide open.

The current time: 8 a.m.

Way too early for a shut-in like me to get up.

“Ugh, still sleepy… but I can’t be late.”

Because today, I have an important appointment.

Sitting up in bed, I immediately reached for the Castle icon on my desk.

……Flash!

The scenery of the Castle world unfolded before my eyes.

The sun rising beyond the horizon was gradually banishing the darkness that had settled over the land.

I quickly scanned around Rivera Citadel.

‘Now, where… oh, there they are!’

Soon, I spotted the two silhouettes I had been looking for near the entrance of Rivera Citadel.

They were none other than Jan d’Arc and Shylock.

“Jan, and Shylock. Are you both ready?”

When I greeted them, Jan d’Arc and Shylock bowed solemnly.

「God, we have finished all preparations as you commanded.」

「Divine One, on behalf of the Venice Merchant Guild, we have prepared without any shortcomings.」

It had been a whole month since Shylock sent an introduction letter to Gilbert, the Baron and Lord of Rivera.

I had expected the process to take a long time—administrative tasks rarely move quickly, and a lord’s duties are hardly idle.

‘…But still, this is dragging on way too long. Seriously slow.’

Then finally, just last night, a reply came from Baron Gilbert.

[The farmer’s daughter, Janet, is to visit the Lord of Rivera as soon as the morning sun rises.]

That marked the first successful step toward becoming a knight.

‘…There’s still a long way to go, though.’

Shylock then took a serious look at Jan d’Arc’s attire.

I also slowly examined her.

Her hair was neatly tied up.

Though dressed in commoner’s clothes, the outfit was neither shabby nor flashy.

Over that, Jan d’Arc wore light armor, looking like a proper squire.

Shylock provided the equipment and clothing, and his daughter, Lily, had helped with the hairstyling and detailed coordination.

「…Clean and neat. Very good. Appearance greatly influences first impressions. Anyone seeing the Saintess in this form wouldn’t dare look down on the farmer’s daughter.」

After carefully checking her attire, Shylock nodded with satisfaction.

I added my approval.

“You look very fitting.”

Jan d’Arc’s face flushed, and she bowed deeply.

「Th-thank you. I don’t know what to say with the God’s praise… Actually, it’s been a dream of mine to wear something like this someday.」

Her eyes sparkled like a child receiving a toy.

Shylock stroked his beard and kept watch over Rivera Citadel.

“Humph, it’s not enough to just look the part. From now, the Saintess must meet the Lord of Rivera and obtain a recommendation letter to enter the Academy of Knights.”

“Right, thank you again for writing the introduction letter, Shylock.”

Jan d’Arc thanked him, and Shylock chuckled shyly.

“The things you and the Saintess have done for me are far beyond what I’ve done. All I could do was write the letter and arrange the meeting.”

“No, you’ve already helped me immensely, Shylock.”

Soon, Jan and Shylock headed toward the inner citadel where the lord resided.

However, strangely, there seemed to be fewer soldiers guarding Rivera Citadel than before.

‘Huh? Last time I saw, there were plenty of soldiers everywhere.’

Jan d’Arc seemed to share the same thought as she looked around.

“…There don’t seem to be many soldiers inside the Castle. Even the outer wall posts seem to be staffed with minimal personnel.”

Shylock nodded slightly.

“A few weeks ago, there was intelligence that a horde of monsters was marching toward the northern border. King Franz ordered reinforcements sent to each territory. That’s why Rivera has fewer soldiers.”

Looking closely, the soldiers all appeared worn out.

With fewer troops, they must be working rotating shifts without breaks.

After chatting for a bit, Jan d’Arc and Shylock finally reached the entrance of Rivera Citadel.

Before entering, they had to undergo a brief frisk by the guards.

“Those not knights must submit their weapons upon entering the Castle. Your weapons will be temporarily held by the guards.”

For safety reasons, the guards confiscated Jan d’Arc’s sword.

Having my weapon taken away was not pleasant, but surely no one would attack inside Rivera Citadel without warning.

‘…If that ever happens, I’ll step in then.’

At last, Jan and Shylock arrived at the meeting place with the lord.

[Great Hall]

Before opening the Great Hall’s door, Shylock offered his final advice.

“This is as far as I can accompany you. From here on, Saintess, you must navigate alone. Please remember—speak truth rather than lies, think deeply, and act wisely.”

“Thank you for your concern, Shylock.”

Jan d’Arc bowed in gratitude.

Then Shylock passed on some advice to me as well.

“God, forgive my presumption, but it’s best you do not interfere in the meeting with Baron Gilbert.”

“Are you saying I shouldn’t get involved in the Lord’s Test?”

Shylock nodded and continued.

“As I mentioned, Baron Gilbert is very suspicious. Even if you show him the Voice of God directly or a miracle, he won’t easily believe it. He’d rather think a mage is tricking him and get angry.”

Sounds like a seriously difficult personality.

I agreed and changed the setting of the Voice of God.

—Ding!

[System]

• The Voice of God will now only be audible to believers!

“…May luck be with you both on your path.”

Shylock bowed lightly and left.

Now, it was just Jan d’Arc and me to handle whatever came next.

Jan d’Arc pushed open the door to the Great Hall.

Creeeak!

The first thing that caught my eye was the long table in the center.

Men dressed neatly sat around it, while nearby stood butlers serving them and Guardian Knights protecting the lord.

As Jan d’Arc stepped forward, dozens of eyes simultaneously followed her movements.

Then, the man sitting at the head of the table, who had been gazing silently, spoke in a stern voice.

“I have been waiting. Farmer’s daughter, Janet. Show proper respect to the Lord of Rivera.”

At the lord’s command, Jan d’Arc stepped directly toward the table.

Then—

—Ding!

[Quest]

[Promotion 3] Find the Hidden Lord

• Among the people in the Great Hall, find the true Lord of Rivera.
• [Special conditions apply.]
• Hint. The Creator will receive a separate hint.

・Experience +300, Divine Power +10P

A quest window suddenly appeared before my eyes.

One phrase in particular caught my attention.

‘…The true Lord of Rivera?’

It sounded as if the man Jan d’Arc was approaching—the one sitting at the head of the table—was a fake lord.

At that moment, Shylock’s advice suddenly flashed in my mind.

‘No way…?!’

Shylock had warned multiple times.

That Baron Gilbert would surely test Jan d’Arc by any means necessary.

This had to be the first test by the lord.

‘…The real Baron Gilbert is disguised as one of the men in the Great Hall!’

I didn’t know why.

Perhaps the lord used a body double to avoid unexpected attacks like assassination or simply to test Jan d’Arc.

But a test was a test.

If Jan paid respect to the wrong person, they could use that as an excuse to drive her away.

I quickly stopped Jan d’Arc.

“That man is not the Lord of Rivera. The real lord is someone else here in the Great Hall.”

…!

Jan d’Arc immediately halted.

Then, she slowly began surveying the Great Hall.

Being sharp, she likely understood exactly what I meant.

‘…Where is the Lord of Rivera hiding? Let me check the quest window again.’

[Quest]

[Promotion 3] Find the Hidden Lord

• Among the people in the Great Hall, find the true Lord of Rivera.
• [Special conditions apply.]
• Hint. The Creator will receive a separate hint.

・Experience +300, Divine Power +10P

Looking closely, this quest had a special condition.

If fulfilled, the reward would increase or grant a special bonus.

‘…Let’s see what the special condition is.’

I touched the quest window, and a new window popped up.

[Promotion 3: Find the Hidden Lord – Special Condition]

• Jan d’Arc must find the Lord of Rivera alone without the Creator’s help.

Quest reward x2

‘…Jan d’Arc has to identify the lord by herself?’

There were roughly twenty people inside the Great Hall.

The problem was, just by appearance, it was impossible to tell who was Baron Gilbert, Lord of Rivera.

‘Normally, the lord would wear the finest clothes and sit at the head of the table…

But they wouldn’t make it that easy.’

It seemed almost impossible for Jan d’Arc to distinguish the Lord of Rivera alone.

But the reward was twice as much for the special condition.

This promotion quest granted 300 experience points.

That alone was a hefty amount, and doubling it would yield a whopping 600 experience points.

‘…This is a guaranteed level up.’

Still, just eyeing the experience points, it was too risky to leave Jan entirely on her own.

If she failed Baron Gilbert’s test, her chance to become a knight would vanish far away.

Alright.

‘…For now, I’ll leave it mostly to Jan d’Arc, but if it looks bad, I’ll step in.’

I resolved that and looked down at the Great Hall again.

Jan d’Arc was still hesitant to step forward.

Then, the man sitting at the head of the table spoke sternly once more.

“Farmer’s daughter, Janet, you were told to pay respect to the Lord of Rivera. Do not waste the time of those gathered here.”

Dozens of eyes around the table watched Jan d’Arc’s every move like hawks.

‘Ah, this won’t do. I have to help her.’

Now was not the time to be stingy about doubling the special condition’s experience reward.

To make Jan d’Arc’s dream come true, overcoming this test was the top priority.

‘…Let’s find the Lord.’

I stared intently at the man masquerading as the lord at the head of the table.

But no matter how hard I looked at his face, I couldn’t tell if he was the real lord.

Then—

Ding!

[David]

• Gender: Male
• Age: 55
• A veteran butler who has served in Rivera Citadel for over 30 years.
• Very perceptive and well-mannered.

A small description window appeared above the man’s head.

“This is…?”

I checked the quest window again.

At the bottom, in tiny letters, I found a hint.

※ Hint. The Creator will receive a separate hint.

‘…So this is the hint?’

It seemed that for this quest only, the identities of certain people were given as clues.

I examined the supposed lord’s profile once more.

As expected, the man sitting at the head of the table was a fake lord.

‘The man pretending to be the lord is the butler. Then next is…’

Ding!

[Henry]

• Gender: Male
• Age: 37
• The head chef of Rivera Citadel.
• Specializes in fish dishes and often suffers burns due to his clumsy nature.

‘A chef? Why bring a chef here and seat him at the table? Anyway, next is…!’

I started checking everyone in the Great Hall one by one like this.

Before long, I found out who the real Lord of Rivera was.

—Ding!

[Gilbert Balt]

• Gender: Male
• Age: 40
• Baron of the Balt family and lord governing the Rivera territory in the southern region of the Franz Kingdom.
• A cautious man who does not easily trust others.

Got him!

‘…Found him! Now, I just have to tell Jan d’Arc—’

I looked at Jan d’Arc and opened my mouth.

“The Lord of Rivera is…”

But before I could speak, Jan d’Arc was already stepping forward.

Passing by the dozens of men sitting at the table, she walked toward the fake lord.

However, she stopped in front of a man wearing a butler’s uniform standing nearby.

Slowly, she knelt on one knee in respect.

“Farmer’s daughter Janet pays her respects to Baron Gilbert, Lord of Rivera.”

[……..!]

…!

[……..!]

…!

At that moment, astonishment filled the eyes of everyone sitting around the table.

The man Jan d’Arc bowed to—

The one dressed as a butler—

Was the true Baron Gilbert, Lord of Rivera.