"Listen boy; we are asking you about your whereabouts! Don't waste our time! If you don't give your information this instant you will be sent to prison! You hear me!?"
"..."
'These fools... Don't they know who I am? It's impossible!'
"Say, don't you have anything to say about the Mihgilrahann? That bloodline!?"
"Mihgilrahann?"
The guard looked at his companion as to ask if he knows anything.
The other guard shrugged his shoulders in reply.
"What are you talking about?"
Not having been clarified, the guard asked.
'SERIOUSLY...!?'
I could just get stuck in despair.
'What do they mean? This place was the Ilgrair kingdom without doubt, right? So why? How come they don't know about that fact?'
This situation had indeed struck me.
Although I know it would cause me trouble if they found out about the truth regarding my identity, I still chose to reveal it so that I could get a grasp of the current situation. Considering I was a land wanted, I expect as much that they would immediately recognise me and therefore would get into high alert and thus giving me the reason to get hostile. It would save me the time of explaining details. I could just shut them up whenever I wanted after all.
But I have it on me that I would not kill unless necessary. So instead of taking their lives, I would make sure to make them turn into my allies.
But this was not expected at all. What, are you telling me that the Mihgilrahann already vanished and now being demonstrated that never existed!?
"This is nonsense!"
"H-hey!"
"Don't move!"
The two get their swords and then point them at me.
"U-Uh... "
Oh... I exclaimed on impulse...
"Don't you dare try anything funny boy... I'm warning you!"
"Ah, no, no, I was not trying to do anything. I just thought of something ridiculous."
"Then answer already!"
I was still thinking of my reason for being here...
"H-Hey! Wait! What the heck!"
The middle-aged guard has his hand raised ready to cut me with his sword.
"Talk or I will cut you."
"U-uh... Hahaha... Yes... "
'What the heck? Can't this guy wait even a minute? But, well, yeah... I think for me to take this long to answer, I'm sure I will be too suspicious for them.'
"I got betrayed."
"...?"
"What does it have to do with your being here?"
"I got exiled and have nothing to go."
"And you believe you can stay here?"
'Hey, hey, is this guard serious? Is he about to say that I can't take shelter in the kingdom?'
"Y-yes... Can I possibly take shelter here?"
...
"You are a spy!"
The middle-aged guard pointed his sword closer to me.
'Hey, hey, I am being too humble here you know.'
"No, I am not."
"Uhm... Mr. Nao, maybe he really is not a spy. Can we just... "
"Give me proof!"
The teenage guard, probably this middle-aged guard's junior, could just flinch as the antagonistic guard yelled asking for verification.
"Uhm... See! I don't have anything! I can't be a spy if I don't have anything right?"
"What... That's what makes spies more perfect!"
"Huh!?"
I reacted out of surprise.
The guard raised his hand bringing his shining sword perfectly above me.
My brows could just twitch.
"It seems you have no valid reason to be here. You will be cut then."
'Why is this old man so fixated on cutting?'
"Look! I am not a spy! I can work directly under you if you suspect me. I just need a place to go."
"..."
Without saying a word, the damn guard swung his sword down on me.
"Mr. Nao!"
Called out the somewhat concerned young guard.
Shooowg...
...
With a countenance that almost had no reaction but just a simple act of looking at something being observed, Mr. Nao lifted his sword.
"Uh... Why... Would you... Do that...?"
Acting weak, I asked Mr. Nao about that attempt of killing me.
Yes. Mr. Nao stopped his sword just point blank away from my face... and here I thought that he was really about to slash my face open. Fortunately, that was not the case.
"Sorry. I am sensing this unnerving mana from your body. It is alarming enough for me to suspect that you are a spy. But it appears you just don't have an idea how to use it."
'Well yeah. I am totally sensing that murderous intent from that strike. For me to not act for blocking it, it only makes sense that you will believe I am a mere civilian. hehe.'
"What is your name stranger?"
"Yui. Yui Mihgilrahann."
"Yui, huh... Oh now that I remember, you just told me your name recently."
"Ahaha... "
Mr. Nao took a break to think things over.
"You said you will work under me?"
"Uhm... "
I wasn't serious about that. Also working will just be a waste of time. But if I have to be cautious, I think it would not be so bad.
"A work with lots of breaks will suit me well."
"I don't think you can call that work."
'Of course right?'
Well, if I want to get information about the kingdom, I think becoming a soldier will be the easiest way to achieve that goal.
"Yes! Please let me join your team!"
"Well, it is not me actually. I am very busy after all."
"Y-yeah... "
And then I was inserted as a soldier in training.
Mr. Nao immediately took me to the capital and introduced me as a combatant with guaranteed potential. Come to think of it, I didn't know what Mr. Nao's position was. Wasn't he a guard? Why was he speaking with knights as if they were people you would just see every day?
Whatever.
I was inserted among trainees who are meant to be elites.
"Well then, boy; I expect good results from you."
Mr. Nao took off saying only those words.
'Don't even have anything to say, huh? I guess he really is busy.'
Now then...
First, I cut off my surging aura. I forgot it was my reason why I ended up residing in the dungeon. No wonder Mr. Nao will be in panic.
This will be tough. I am not used to restraining my aura.
"Okay, everyone! Assemble!"
Around 50 people gathered.
'Ugh... As I thought... This will be boring and a waste of time.'
Don't tell me I will be stuck here with these people? But well they were also meant to be an elite so I think expecting a little won't hurt.
"All of you here are expected for elite selection. I believe you all already know the basics, right?"
The personnel nodded in response.
"Well then, this won't be hard."
Said the instructor.
"Okay people, reinforce yourselves, now!"
["Uh! Huh!? Why? He meant now exactly?"]
The crowd began conversing with each other.
'Seriously just listen to the instructor.'
As the crowd were being noisy asking what the instructor meant, the sky began to glow red.
Here comes a gigantic fireball from the sky. And it fell rather unexpectedly fast. Before we knew it, it was already down here.
And it means thirty percent were down.
["H-hey... Is this for real? I haven't heard that elite selection will be this hell! Me too! What was it I was trying to achieve after being an elite by the way?"]
There you got it. Some have already forgotten what their goal is.
"I think none again this year, huh?"
The instructor muttered.
"And I even rough it up to test Mr. Nao's personally recommended soldier."
As I was wondering why the instructor would say that, we immediately got rained down by a barrage of high-speed light thorns.
["Arrgh... Baghh... Yaaargh...!!!"]
'Whoah... '
I could just get amazed by the test. The instructor releases thousands of high-speed light thorns just after the destructive fireball so that the combatants will not be able to react due to confusion.
Well, there are still some who can fend off the fierce attack.
I can even hear some heroic shout like...
"I will be an elite knight!!! Haaagh...!!!"
A light javelin struck him down.
I could just flinch after seeing how perfectly the javelin hit his body.
This instructor is shrewd. Probably thinking that the poor guy has a high fighting spirit, he then gives him a bit of a challenge to see if he will last.
And there you got it. He got knocked down as insignificantly as possible.
Some still survive. But after that, more and more fierce ordeals were being bestowed upon us.
Sometimes a place of solid ice (to see if we can break out of it), and sometimes illusions of a high-tier level.
Many more until...
"Hmm... I think none survive again this year. Every single one got dropped out. How humiliating. What are the status of other kingdoms? We can't stay like this forever... Huh?"
"Seriously no one will survive if your tests are this nonsensical."
I did not follow what kind of test system they just used, but... Wasn't just this a careless release of magic power?
But whatever...
Inside the smoke which was coating the whole test area, a person's silhouette was visible.
The instructor could just smile.
"Whoa... Finally a survivor!"
Sigh...
It was I who made it to the passing phase.
"Survivor your face, this is not a disaster, this is a test, idiot."