Please Vote for Your Knight! Chapter 27

“Why have you all suddenly picked up a habit you never had before? Did someone teach you?”

Amond shouted sharply.

“Ki-Kilman taught us!”

“I-I was just doing my own training! That bastard was the one who secretly watched me and copied me strangely!”

“Then, Kilman, come out and show me.”

Kilman stepped forward and demonstrated his swordsmanship without hesitation.

It was powerful and fluid, every movement sharp and full of strength.

Kilman’s fans erupted in cheers.

Amond on the screen smiled as well.

In reality, Amond had actually furrowed his brow, so Edith had taken this shot from a different scene and edited it in to create the twist.

“Excellent.”

“Thank you.”

“So you’re the culprit.”

At that moment, the screen changed.

< Want to vote for Cartamen?! Then head to your nearest government office and get an identification badge! Having an identification badge comes with many benefits besides being able to vote for Cartamen. First… >

It was a commercial break.

Complaints immediately erupted throughout the square.

“Ah, this is insane. How can they cut it off right here?”

“The Princess edited this, right? Ah, I want to swear at her so badly it’d practically count as treason.”

But precisely because the commercial had provoked such strong emotions, its message stuck firmly in everyone’s minds.

Many of the people who had come to the square just to watch Cartamen still hadn’t gotten their identification badges or voted, so the advertisement was undeniably effective.

After a short commercial break, the truth behind Amond’s shocking remark to Kilman was finally revealed.

He had received harsh criticism for his arrogance, refusing to let go of his flashy style and even influencing the other participants around him.

“If you’re going to do it like that, then you might as well do it like Kusto, who was only at a basic level. At least Kusto diligently followed Valkyria’s swordsmanship.”

The woman who had claimed the spot for Kilman’s bag twisted her face angrily.

But with the public reaction toward Kilman being so negative, she couldn’t openly curse at anyone.

In between, Maurice’s attempts to keep the mood lively despite being a Grade 5 participant brought plenty of laughs.

“Isn’t Maurice really likable? He’s handsome too, though not as much as our Dimitri.”

“Exactly. He seems like such a nice person. I just wish his skills would improve as much as his personality.”

“I think his lack of skill is why he hasn’t gathered as many hardcore fans. Still, he seems like the type everyone generally likes, so maybe he’ll survive for a long time.”

Finally, the day of the reevaluation arrived!

“I’m confident about the reevaluation. I stayed up all night memorizing the swordsmanship demonstration.”

“I practiced a lot for the swordsmanship demonstration!”

But then—

“The reevaluation event will be one-on-one battles!”

The unexpected twist left both the participants on-screen and the viewers in the square stunned.

The reevaluation became Kilman’s solo stage.

His fouls and dirty tactics were broadcast without filtering.

Even though the footage was shown plainly without any provocative editing, the scenes were brutal enough on their own.

But Dimitri’s fans couldn’t focus on any of that.

“Doesn’t our Dimitri look a little different from usual?”

“Exactly. He keeps hesitating, and he doesn’t look well.”

“He’s not normally like that…”

“Could the trauma from that bloodbath have come back? It was a one-on-one fight back then too…”

“Ah, no way!”

“What if that’s really it? Poor our Dimitri…”

“Maybe he’s been pretending he was fine while keeping everything bottled up inside.”

“Exactly. He must feel guilty. He’s actually such a tender-hearted person.”

“People don’t even understand that and just keep badmouthing our boy…”

“My heart is literally breaking.”

In the end, Dimitri was eliminated much sooner than expected.

While his fans secretly wiped away their tears—

Kilman and Kusto stepped onto the stage.

After Kilman’s flashy foul play left Kusto staggering, Kilman spoke triumphantly.

“It’s unfortunate, but it seems Participant Kusto can’t continue the battle. Let’s stop here—ugh!”

Just as he said that—

Kusto, who had been hunched over as if he had taken a blow to a vital spot, suddenly sprang back up.

Kilman took a direct hit to the chin from the sudden movement and fell flat on his back.

“Oh, my.”

“U-Ugh…”

“Accident.”

After Kilman received exactly the same kind of treatment he had been dishing out all along, the square erupted in cheers.

It felt like someone had poured an entire barrel of refreshing beer over everyone.

“Kusto too… sniff… I don’t think he’s an ordinary person.”

“Sniff… I know. I just wish he and our Dimitri could have gotten along…”

Even so, there were still plenty of people who looked down on Kusto because of his background as a former slave.

The divided opinions lasted only a moment.

When the current competition rankings appeared at the end of Episode 2, everyone became so excited that they hurried to register their identification badges.

1st — David Vertier
2nd — Joan Ginola
3rd — Arsene Tan
4th — Grimal Baldo

5th — Rouen Phyllis
6th — William Ripon
7th — Pavel Shurbe
8th — Christian Ron
9th — David Sheffield
10th — Raphael Laurent
……

※ The votes received up to O/OO will be reflected in the first ranking announcement. ※

“Wait, what’s that? ‘First ranking announcement’?”

“Does that mean someone’s going to be eliminated?”

“Already? It’s only Episode 2!”

“I heard the actual Cartamen has already completed the first evaluation.”

“Oh, then I guess it is about time for elimination! What do we do?! Doesn’t that mean we need to raise Dimitri’s ranking right away? He’s nowhere near the rankings right now!”

“Exactly. This is crazy. I need to tell my mom, dad, grandparents, aunts, and uncles to get identification badges too.”

 

***

 

After the broadcast, the number of voters and anonymous comments increased several times over.

“The number of registered identification badges had already increased significantly after Episode 1, so we knew something was happening. But this is an even better response than we expected.”

Duke Frederick spoke excitedly.

The Emperor was no different.

“Take a look at this.”

What the Emperor unfolded was a newspaper article titled <5 Cartamen Participants to Watch>.

< 5 Cartamen Participants to Watch >

1. Duke David Vertier
   — A man who needs no introduction…
2. Pavel Shurbe
   — A nobleman with a lovely appearance and an excellent lineage…
3. Kilman Brudy
   — A swordsman trained in the Pius school. For generations, his ancestors…

“The press is showing quite a lot of interest as well.”

It was completely different from the skeptical reactions when they had first announced Cartamen.

But Edith still wasn’t satisfied.

“Most newspapers are still focusing only on noble participants or those with prestigious bloodlines. And…”

Without a trace of joy or excitement, she placed another newspaper on the table.

< Saving a Traitor Through Cartamen — How Far Should the Princess’s Personal Agenda Be Allowed to Go? >

< Bringing Commoners Into the Sacred Cartamen Is a Disgrace >

“There are opinions like these too.”

“No! These bastards, I’ll have them executed at once…!”

The Emperor jumped to his feet in anger, only to slump back down moments later.

“We can’t suppress the press…”

Seeing him like that, Edith finally let out the smile she had been holding back.

“Please don’t take it so hard.”

“But they’re insulting you and Cartamen.”

“As I said before, even insults are a form of attention.”

“What?”

“If they weren’t interested, they wouldn’t even write articles like these. What I need to do is make sure the press’s attention reaches the participants more evenly and fairly.”

“And how are you going to do that?”

“By making Cartamen even more entertaining and provocative, until the press has no choice but to pay attention to participants other than nobles.”

“Provocative?”

“Don’t worry. We’re filming something tomorrow that people won’t be able to take their eyes off anyway.”

Edith smiled brightly.

“The first evaluation is over, and I’ve also arranged a chance for the people and participants to meet in person. So tomorrow, we’re going straight into the first ranking announcement.”

 

***

 

At last, the day of the first ranking announcement dawned.

Until now, none of the participants knew their own rankings.

Survival or elimination.

The only chance they had to predict their fate was the interim ranking shown at the end of Episode 2.

And there was no telling how much the rankings might have changed since then.

The participants headed nervously toward the circular arena.

And then they were bewildered.

In the vacant lot in front of the arena, two hills had been piled up out of dirt.

“All right! Let’s warm up before the ranking announcement! We’ll loosen up with a simple game!”

Edith called out cheerfully.

The participants were confused.

“This wasn’t announced beforehand.”

“If it’s a game, does that mean it affects our rankings too?”

Hearing their murmurs, Edith shook her head.

“This game is purely a pre-event warm-up! Participants of the same rank will form teams and play a game of capture the flag. First, please choose one representative from each team!”

Maurice immediately raised his hand.

“Is there a benefit if we win this game too?”

“Yes. Of course. The winning team will receive specially made helmets from Cartamen!”

“Ooh!”

The participants had been given Cartamen armor according to their ranks. However, helmets had not been provided separately so that the people could recognize the participants’ faces.

But if they won this match, they would receive helmets matching their armor.

For the first time, their armor sets would be complete.

It would also serve as a badge of honor proving that they had participated in Cartamen.

The participants immediately gathered according to rank and fiercely debated who should represent them.

‘This is a good opportunity.’

David immediately raised his hand.

“I’ll represent our rank.”

“Duke David, you’re going to participate in a warm-up game like this?”

“Your clothes will be covered in dirt! Let us do something like this instead!”

This mini-game was exactly the kind of competition everyone thought David would never participate in.

Rolling around in the dirt, wrestling, and grappling with one another—in other words, practically a wrestling match.

And the quintessential knight, David, was volunteering to participate!

But no matter how much everyone tried to dissuade him, David’s resolve remained firm.

He couldn’t afford to let this opportunity slip away.

‘If I participate in a game like this, maybe I can show people a little more of my human side.’