The royal knights formed up near the capital’s eastern gate, horses stamping in the background while the men checked their gear in the cold morning air.

Near the supply wagon, a group of knights stood in a loose circle, checking their equipment and keeping their voices low.

"Still do not understand why we are bringing a rookie along," one of them muttered, adjusting the strap on his gauntlet. "I heard he passed the Ranker exam and the King is sponsoring him, but that does not mean he is ready for a seven-shard Gate."

"Ranker exam is one thing," another knight added, shaking his head while he tested the edge of his blade. "But this is a high-tier anomaly. We are going in expecting to fight for our lives, and we have to watch over some kid who probably never even saw a real monster before."

"He will probably freeze the moment something charges at him," the first knight said with a short laugh. "Then we will have to drag his body out along with the core."

A third knight let out a grunt of agreement. "If he is smart, he will stay in the back and let the adults handle it. The worst thing a rookie can do is get in the way and get someone killed."

Before anyone could add another comment, boots approached from behind them and the conversation died instantly.

The Knight Captain stepped into their circle, his face hard as he looked at each of them in turn. "Mind your mouths," he said, his voice flat. "That rookie you are all so eager to dismiss is the one who absorbed a Helza restraint spell in front of the entire court and physically overpowered their heir. He also killed a four-shard anomaly before he was even a registered adventurer."

He paused, letting the silence stretch. "So while you were standing around polishing your swords and running your mouths, he was already doing things most of you could not pull off. Keep that in mind before you write him off as dead weight."

The knights exchanged glances but none of them dared to respond, their jaws tightening as they turned back to their equipment.

The Captain didn’t wait for a reply, just turned and walked toward the front of the formation.

Near the supply cart, a female knight watched the whole exchange with her arms crossed, her eyes trailing after the Captain before drifting toward the eastern road where the rookie would be arriving.

’Are those stories really true, or just rumors to make the Crown look good?’ she thought, clicking her tongue. ’Tsk. I hate people like him so much, getting everything handed to them while we worked our butts off to get where we are.’

Her jaw tightened and a flicker of mana pulsed around her fingers before she caught herself, forcing her expression back to neutral.

"Man, the vice captain is so hot," a voice drifted from a nearby group of knights. "I would love to date her."

"In your dreams," another shot back. "She would crush you before you even got close."

She let out a short sigh and pushed off the cart, whipping her hair over her shoulder as she straightened her posture. "Lost my cool for a sec there," she muttered under her breath before walking over to the Captain, who was checking a map near the front of the formation.

"What is your real opinion on him?" she asked, stopping beside him and crossing her arms.

He didn’t look up from the map right away, tracing a finger along the marked route. "My real opinion?"

"Yeah, not the speech you gave the boys back there. I want to know what you actually think."

He was quiet for a second before folding the map and tucking it into his coat. "I ran into him a few days ago while he was talking with the Princess. I came from the guild about the eastern district investigation when I spotted them."

"And?"

"And I have been doing this long enough to recognize when something does not fit the usual pattern," the Captain said, his voice dropping lower.

"The way his mana circulated felt like he is running on a completely different system than the rest of us. Hard to explain, but it did not feel normal."

She frowned, processing his words. "Different how?"

"Like nothing I have seen before." He paused, glancing at her. "Why do you ask? Planning to test him yourself?"

"Maybe," she said, her tone casual. "If he is going to be stumbling around in our team, I want to know if he is actually useful or just dead weight."

The Captain let out a short breath, almost a laugh. "You sound just like your father sometimes, Helen."

Her expression tightened at the comparison. "Do not bring him into this."

"Then do not go overboard. If you scare the rookie or do something stupid, the King might have you punished, and I will not be able to protect you from that."

She clicked her tongue and looked away. "I would not dare," she said, turning and walking back toward her position before adding under her breath, "but if he gets close to me, I will crash him."

Thirty minutes passed and the sun climbed higher while the horses grew restless while the knights shuffled their feet, armor creaking with every shift of weight as murmurs started spreading through the formation.

"Where is this rookie?" one of them muttered. "We have been standing here waiting for half an hour. Is he seriously going to make us wait like this?"

"He is delaying us," another knight said, shaking his head. "First day on the job and he is already late. Great first impression."

Helen stood near the supply cart with her arms crossed and her jaw tight, her foot tapping against the cobblestones as her patience wore thinner.

’He is looking down on us,’ she thought, her eyes narrowing toward the road. ’Taking his sweet time like we have nothing better to do than wait for him. Typical Crown pet behavior.’

Then a figure appeared at the end of the street, running toward the formation with three girls following close behind him.

Hajin skidded to a stop in front of the group, breathing hard while Juna, Loccy, and Vella slowed to a halt behind him.

Juna was in her usual fitted gear, Loccy wore a pastel blue cropped combat top with a short blue pleated skirt, black fitted shorts underneath and white fur leg warmers above her knees.

Vella was in a fitted cyan leather combat crop top with gold trim, matching cyan shorts with white fur trim at the waist, her bare midriff wrapped in a thin gold belly chain and two leather belts crossing diagonally with small gold ring charms dangling from them.

The knights went quiet, their eyes locking onto the three girls with expressions that ranged from stunned to outright interest.

"Who are they?" someone whispered in awe.

"Are they with him?"

"They are gorgeous."

Helen’s eye twitched as she stepped forward. ’What the hell? Why is he bringing along those—’ she stopped mid-step, her brow furrowing as she focused on the mana coming off the three girls.

It was faint but unmistakable, the same golden undertone, the same circulation pattern, all three of them carried mana that felt like an echo of his.

’Their mana patterns are way too similar,’ she thought, narrowing her eyes.

Hajin bent over with his hands on his knees, catching his breath before straightening up and looking at the Captain. "Sorry I am late. Had to buy my companions some gear before coming."

The Captain looked past him at the three girls, his eyes moving from Juna to Loccy to Vella before a small, knowing smile crossed his face. "Now that everyone is here, time for the briefing."