"In that case, we meddled unnecessarily. Then we'll take our leave." Hearing her, Takeru shook his head indifferently.

Emilia, upon seeing Priscilla Barielle, instinctively hid behind Takeru.

"Wait!" However, just as Takeru and Emilia, wearing her perception-obstructing cloak, were about to leave, Priscilla called out.

"Hmm? What else?" Hearing her, Takeru asked curiously.

"Your name." Priscilla said seriously.

"Nara Takeru."

"Is that so? I am Priscilla Barielle. I can grant you the opportunity to serve me." Hearing Takeru, Priscilla stated directly.

"Sorry, but I have no intention of being anyone's servant." Hearing her, Takeru spoke calmly.

"Nara Takeru? This one remembers you." Watching Takeru refuse and leave decisively, Priscilla spoke.

Shortly after Takeru left, a man with a bare torso and a helmet on his head found the alley. Seeing Priscilla, he sighed in relief.

…

Soon, it was the next day. After bidding farewell to Rem and Felt, Takeru, Emilia, and Roswaal rode a dragon carriage towards the royal castle.

Along the way, Takeru saw architecture vastly different from the capital in Akame ga Kill!.

"Takeru, is it really okay for you to come? This has nothing to do with you." In the carriage, Emilia still worriedly spoke.

"What? So Lia sees me that way? I thought we were already good friends." Hearing her, Takeru spoke sadly.

"No! I mean, you don't need to go this far for me. You've always been helping me..." Hearing Takeru, Emilia flusteredly explained.

"If you consider me a good friend, then you should say no more, Lia. Good friends don't need to be so formal. And it's not just me helping you." Hearing her, Takeru spoke softly.

"Eh?"

"Like when Felt and I had nowhere to stay, you took us in. And Puck taught me magic." Seeing the puzzled Emilia, Takeru said with a smile.

"But that was because you helped me, so I..."

"Right? Good friends help each other. That's enough." Seeing Emilia about to say more, Takeru cut her off.

"I... I understand." Hearing Takeru, Emilia said no more, but felt incredibly happy inside.

Soon, after entering and passing a long corridor, they reached a luxurious gold-red door guarded by soldiers and a green-haired man in armor.

Seeing Takeru and the others, the man stared at Takeru briefly. "Emilia-sama, Margrave Mathers, please enter."

Finally, without further words, he respectfully opened the door for them.

Inside, many were already present. Besides two Royal Selection's candidates, there were young knights and mages.

Seeing someone besides Margrave Roswaal accompanying Emilia surprised everyone. Some gazes turned cold.

Takeru noticed their reactions but didn't care.

"I should probably go over there." Looking towards where Felix and others stood, Takeru spoke softly.

"Indeed! Or perhaps Takeru-kun could become Emilia's knight. After all, everyone else has a knight except me." Roswaal softly suggested.

"Well, no. I'm not a knight." Hearing him, Takeru lightly shook his head.

While Takeru didn't mind others' opinions, he knew he wasn't famous. Roswaal at least deterred petty troublemakers and ensured the Witch Cult could still find the Mathers border...

After Takeru's group entered, Priscilla entered with Al.

"The Council of Wise Men will now enter!" Shortly after Priscilla's arrival, a man in the hall announced loudly.

Then, Takeru saw eight elders slowly emerge from within and sit in prepared seats.

Takeru went to stand near Reinhard and the others. Upon his arrival, people curiously observed him. Only Reinhard frowned at Takeru because, as Takeru approached, his Dragon Sword trembled, seemingly eager to fight Takeru.

This surprised Reinhard, as he hadn't expected the Dragon Sword to react here.

"Greetings. I am Reinhard van Astrea. May I know your name?" Thinking this, Reinhard directly introduced himself.

"I am Nara Takeru." Looking at Reinhard, Takeru spoke calmly.

As this world's top-tier being, Takeru naturally knew of Reinhard. According to the original work, Reinhard was the strongest Sword Saint across generations, capable of confronting the [Witch of Envy], Satella, directly.

Of course, both were special existences, making it a stalemate.

Takeru also sensed immense life energy from him and, more importantly, saw him enveloped in various special lights offering protection.

Seeing this, Takeru was certain that if he dared use Kotoamatsukami on Reinhard, the World's Will would likely locate and attack him directly.

Takeru also knew a bit about Reinhard's blessings. Just the blessings of Wind, Earth, Fire, Water, Yin, and Yang gave him 80% resistance to corresponding magics, reducing such attacks to 20% damage.

Besides these, blessings of the Sword Saint, Evasion, Arrows, Heaven, Heavenly Tears, Night, and Dawn boosted his power at various stages. And there was a very bug-like blessing… the Phoenix Blessing!

Phoenix Blessing: Can revive once. If used, grants [Continued Phoenix Blessing]. In other words, it ensures Reinhard can revive infinitely!

This undoubtedly made him the world's favored son, earning him the nickname [Reinhard-sama] or [Rein-sama] in Takeru's previous life.

However, if Takeru fought him, he wasn't without chances. One, Takeru's own strength far exceeded his. Two, though he couldn't be killed, Takeru could seal him completely.

Of course, in another world without blessings, Takeru could easily crush him.

After meeting him, Takeru found Reinhard not as fearsome as imagined. At the very least, Takeru didn't feel an overwhelming threat from him.

Though with the Sword Saint blessing, he could breach Takeru's defense, Takeru's speed could outpace him by miles.

Of course, thinking was one thing. Unless necessary, Takeru wouldn't provoke conflict, knowing it brought no benefit.

Seeing Reinhard initiate conversation with Takeru, others showed surprise, wondering what Reinhard saw in Takeru.

"Takeru-kun, though presumptuous, after the Royal Selection, would you spar with me?" Hearing Takeru, Reinhard performed a knight's bow, asking expectantly.

Hearing Reinhard challenge Takeru, people were even more shocked. As knights of various candidates, they knew Reinhard's terror.

For such a person to challenge Takeru indicated Takeru's strength was no joke… at least not far behind Reinhard. The kingdom's strongest Sword Saint wouldn't casually challenge a weakling...

"I have no reason to fight you." Hearing him, Takeru refused without hesitation.

"Is that so? My apologies." Hearing Takeru, Reinhard was stunned, then disappointed.

Takeru said nothing more about his expression. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"Hi, Takeru-san. We meet for the second time, nya? Let me introduce myself. I'm Felix Argyle. You can call me Felix, nya." At that moment, Felix initiated conversation.

Hearing his introduction, Takeru just nodded calmly.