Please Vote for Your Knight! Chapter 57

“Eeeek! Eek! Aaaah!”

Pavel kicked wildly as he rolled around in the mud.

Then, by chance, he discovered a treasure chest and hugged it to his chest.

“Eek! Shushu! I found something! Aah!”

Denny sighed and strode over to Pavel.

Then he picked him up without hesitation and carried him across the muddy field.

At last, they had reached the final section.

A single-log bridge.

Below it, actors dressed as ghosts stretched out their hands while letting out eerie screams.

“U-ugh! Shushu! N-now we just have to g-get past that and we’re done! D-don’t be scared!”

“…….”

Denny crossed the single-log bridge while carrying Pavel, who was clutching the treasure chest.

Every time the actors leaped up and tried to grab Denny’s feet, Pavel’s screams echoed through the entire area.

“It really is frightening.”

“D-don’t worry! I-I’m here!”

“That makes it even scarier.”

After crossing the single-log bridge, they saw an empty coffin.

Written on it were the words, ‘The Lost Ghost’s Treasure.’

When they placed the treasure chest inside, the passageway lit up brightly.

The actors’ eerie noises disappeared completely.

Mission complete.

 

***

 

The results of the courage test.

“First place goes to Group 1. Second place goes to Group 6. Third place goes to Group 2…….”

Group 1, which included Joan and Kusto, took first place.

Group 2, which included David and Maurice, took third.

“In order of ranking, you will get to choose the mounted military dance you want. Now, let’s reveal the mounted military dances you’ll be recreating!”

The attendants set up three signboards.

Each one had the representative mounted military dance of a different Di Eques generation written on it.

“Why are there only three signboards?”

“There are six teams.”

The knights looked puzzled.

Edith answered.

“Two groups will compete using the same song. The team that receives more votes between the two groups will receive a bonus of 100,000 votes.”

Two groups competing with the same song!

Which team should they compete against to have even the slightest chance of winning?

The knights could practically be heard racking their brains.

But that wasn’t the end of the benefits.

“And the team with the highest total number of votes will also receive a benefit. As for what that benefit will be…… I’ll announce it during the next elimination ceremony!”

The knights let out disappointed cries.

Edith continued speaking with a smile, unfazed.

“You may modify the music or choreography as long as you don’t stray from the original work.”

“Yes!”

“Now, Group 1, come up and make your choice first!”

Joan quickly spoke up.

“I’ll choose.”

He looked confident.

But Kusto grabbed him by the shoulder.

“We should discuss it and choose together.”

“It’s obvious what we should pick. And…….”

Joan looked Kusto up and down before speaking with a deliberately kind smile.

“You don’t know anything about Di Eques’s mounted military dances.”

It was actually a sneer.

“I’ll help you out, so wait here. I’ll come back with something amazing.”

“I think Kusto is right.”

But even Dmitri took Kusto’s side.

“What?”

Joan looked around at the other members. Their expressions clearly showed that they agreed with Kusto.

“Haa……. The result is obvious anyway. Fine, let’s discuss it quickly. Her Highness is waiting, after all. We shouldn’t keep her waiting.”

Joan spoke as though he were being considerate.

“I think we should choose the 14th Di Eques’s mounted military dance, .”

David Sheffield spoke up. It was one of the most exciting mounted military dances, after all. The choreography was also of moderate difficulty. Except for the extremely difficult routine in the middle.

“I agree.”

Dmitri said. The others had no objections either.

Surprisingly, even Joan said nothing.

“Good. I’ll go.”

Joan stepped forward and picked a signboard.

But what he chose wasn’t the 14th Di Equess’s mounted military dance, .

It was the 45th Di Eques’s mounted military dance, .

“Joan!”

“What are you doing?”

Joan pressed his lips into a straight line as he returned with the signboard.

“Trust me. This is the path to victory.”

Then he declared confidently,

“But we all discussed it together.”

Dmitri spoke in confusion.

Joan firmly shook his head.

“I didn’t say anything because I knew everyone would oppose my opinion anyway.”

“What? What kind of logic is that?”

“But hear me out. You’ll all understand my choice.”

Joan pointed at .

“ has a military song that’s too lighthearted playing in the background. On the other hand, it is grand and weighty.”

“That’s because it was created to commemorate the previous Di Eques generation that was wiped out while fighting monsters.”

“Exactly! How magnificent and solemn will that be? Besides, the choreography is easy. Since the difficulty is low, even our group, where many people don’t know mounted military dances, can perform it well enough.”

“But the horses we’re riding are already trained in mounted military dances. And they’re excellent horses that have been fed fodder made by Her Highness through alchemy, so even people unfamiliar with them can ride them.”

“God, you’re so frustrating. To be honest, the other team that chooses will obviously be made up of members from a lower-ranked group than ours. That’ll increase our chances of winning.”

Kusto, who had been silent, spoke.

“Joan, in other words, you chose it because it’s a dance you’re familiar with, didn’t you?”

“What?”

“You explained it so smoothly that I’m guessing you could perform it with your eyes closed.”

“I am good at it. That’s why I can help you as your leader.”

“We haven’t even decided on a leader yet.”

Kusto replied coldly.

Joan frowned slightly, but then spotted the video orb and relaxed his expression.

“If you don’t want me to, I won’t be the leader. But accept my help.”

Kusto sighed.

Olivier Morty felt the same way.

He had never performed a mounted military dance before. But he was certain that Joan’s choice was wrong.

‘A simple dance with grand music.’

It would be unbearably boring.

He could already picture the circular arena packed with spectators falling silent.

They couldn’t stray too far from the original work, so there was only so much they could change.

This evaluation had been ruined from the very beginning because of Joan.

‘But Joan must be happy.’

He was trying to make himself stand out by choosing the dance he was best at.

Even if it meant sacrificing the team.

Olivier’s vision went dark.

 

***

 

Which everyone except Joan had been aiming for, was taken by Group 6, which ranked second.
Just as expected.

David looked at his teammates.

“We need to think about whether we should choose too, or go with something else.”

Group 6 was also made up of formidable knights.

Was a good mounted military dance, but there was the risk of having to compete against Group 6.

“Most of us are good riders. We need to choose a dance with that in mind.”

He was right.

David was a knight among knights.

Arsene Tan, Christian Ron, and Travis Zicon had each learned horseback riding within their respective factions or received squire training.

Pavel had also received squire training from his father.

Maurice was skilled at riding because he loved hunting, while Pierre Simon was a horseman.

Only Denny was somewhat lacking.

He had mainly served as infantry during his time as a mercenary.

Still, it wasn’t as though he had never ridden a horse.

David spoke.

“The ones I’d recommend among the dances are and .”

It was a mounted military dance created to commemorate the victory of the 29th Di Eques generation after they defeated the spider monster.

The military song was lively, but the choreography was complicated. It even looked somewhat like a circus, so it was rather divisive.

had an upbeat choreography that repeated throughout, but there was also a dangerously difficult routine in the middle.

“Let’s go with it . We’ll have a better chance of getting votes if there’s something entertaining to watch.”
Arsene said.

“I agree.”

Christian Ron nodded as well.

Then Pavel quietly raised his hand.

“I think it would be better.”

“But the choreography is way too complicated.”

Travis said. Pavel shook his head.

“My father told me this. A choreography that looks complicated only looks that way because the performer fails to demonstrate it properly.”

“What?”

“We’re a group capable of recreating it well enough.”

At those words, Denny nodded.

“I’d rather create something polished than just go with a dance that’s simply exciting.”

“But the climax is incredible.”

Arsen insisted once again.

Pierre thought for a moment before speaking.

“But the difficulty is too high. If something goes wrong, we could ruin the overall impression.”

“What?”

“And starts with a series of easy movements before suddenly becoming extremely difficult at that one part. I think that makes it difficult to control the overall difficulty level.”

It was a sharp observation from Pierre, who, as a horseman, was an expert when it came to anything related to horses.

After hearing everyone out, David spoke.

“Then let’s decide by majority vote. Raise your hand if you think we should choose !”

The group members raised their hands.