In a guest room of the royal palace, the emperor sat on a luxurious sofa. His gaze fixed on Felix, who was seated across from him on the opposite side of the coffee table. Xavior and Tanaka occupied a side couch, while Martin stood next to Felix. The four n ignored the array of sweets and drinks laid out on the marble table between them.
Felix, handcuffed due to the earlier incident, glanced at the system map, noticing the ominous red-purple dot marking Xavior. The emperor and Tanaka were marked as yellow, indicating caution, while Martin remained a trustworthy green. Felix wondered if surrendering to the authorities had been the right decision. His fingers trembled slightly with nervousness.
Martin, noticing the subtle change in Felix's deanor, placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder and gently said. "It's okay. You're not at fault here."
Felix nodded, feeling a bit more at ease, and returned his attention to the emperor, who initiated the conversation.
"Felix Ariel, is that your true na?" the emperor asked.
"Yes," Felix replied, his voice steady.
"And your age?"
Felix smirked and pointed above his head, where the emperor's artifact displayed his general information. The floating number matched the data from the preliminary round.
"And where are you from?" the emperor inquired further.
"Florida," Felix answered nonchalantly.
Martin grinned slightly, while Xavior raised an eyebrow, muttering under his breath, "Yeah, that explains a lot."
The emperor silenced his subordinates with a sharp look. "Be quiet. I'm talking here." He then resud his questioning, "What's your 'SPECIAL' power? A level-up system like these three?"
As soon as the topic of systems and special powers ca up, Felix's expression grew serious. He leaned forward, carefully choosing his words to give a half-truth.
"A video ga system, I guess. I gain levels by killing mobs. My class is, as you can guess, a rifleman."
"A ga system? So, it's the sa as Martin and Xavior. Do you have an inventory too?" the emperor pressed.
Felix knew he couldn't lie about this part since they had already seen him store and retrieve items from his inventory.
"Yes," Felix admitted.
"Empty your inventory. I have a way to scan through it," the emperor demanded.
Felix raised an eyebrow, surprised by the bold claim. Luckily, his trusty assistant, Jessica, reassured him.
With a plan forming in his mind, Felix withdrew the 'unmodified version' of M1 Garand, a strip of mana bullets, and a few everyday items like food, water, and clothes. He casually piled them on the marble table and leaned back in his chair, appearing relaxed.
"There, satisfied?" Felix said, with a touch of defiance.
The emperor grinned, convinced his bluff had worked. He gestured for Xavior to inspect the items.
Tanaka, eyeing the plastic water bottles, whistled softly. "Man, when was the last ti I saw these? I miss my world."
Xavior picked up a bar of chocolate, tore off the wrapper, and took a bite without a word. The emperor frowned at the alchemist's casual behavior, but Xavior rely shrugged and placed the half-eaten chocolate back on the table. He then examined the M1 Garand.
"Did you use this to kill the boy from Seth House?"
"Yeah, so?" Felix remained nonchalant.
"This looks like a normal gun to . How did you break a magus's barrier? Modern weapons shouldn't work against our spells," Xavior scoffed, clearly puzzled by Felix's ability to breach Martin's barrier. His eyes then fell on the two crystal-like cartridges. He smirked as realization dawned.
"I see. You used these."
Felix simply shrugged, neither confirming nor denying.
Xavior loaded the cartridges into the rifle's chamber and aid it at Felix's face. Martin, quick to act, summoned a white cane and pointed it at Xavior, warning, "No teasing or bullying, or I'll summon the apocalypse."
Xavior snickered, unimpressed but handed the gun to the emperor.
Saucon took the rifle, admiring it as he placed an orb on the table, activating it. A beam of light shot from the orb to Felix's chest.
"This is a truth orb. You must answer without hiding anything, or it will kill you," the emperor threatened.
Jessica scoffed at Saucon's lie.
Felix inwardly laughed but pretended to be uncomfortable, shielding himself with his cuffed hands. "Dammit, you've already taken everything. What more do you want?" he complained.
"Did Garudeer know about these?"
"h, he just saw using the system inventory and invited here," Felix replied with a dismissive wave.
"I see. Well, that's understandable. He must have mistaken you for a talented space-ti mage or sothing," Saucon chuckled, still admiring the rifle. "So, without this gun, can you do anything else to harm the empire?"
Felix leaned back, smirking. "Didn't I say, my class is a rifleman? What can a rifleman without a rifle do? Kill a goblin with a stick? Pfft."
"Make sense," the emperor conceded, leaning back in his seat with a casual air of authority. "But I'll be confiscating this," he continued, lifting the rifle with an air of finality. "In exchange, I'll allow you to study at my academy and work for ."
Felix's expression darkened as he frowned deeply. "How about letting go and live peacefully in the countryside?" he suggested, though he knew the answer was unlikely to be favorable.
The emperor chuckled, dismissing the notion.
"You don't have that option, kid," Saucon said with a laugh, taking the weapon with him as he stood. "If you want your weapon back, stay here and work for . Transmigrators like you are a threat to society. Unless you work under my control, I can't let you roam free."
Felix's ears perked up at the emperor's words, a smirk slowly curling on his lips. "Oh? So every transmigrator from Earth has to report to you whenever they enter your country?"
"Of course!" Saucon boasted, clearly pleased with his perceived control over otherworlders.
Seizing the opportunity, Felix leaned forward, his voice dripping with feigned innocence. "Then, why is one of your instructors not here? What was his na again? Sean Smith, that Irish guy. I heard he already murdered a dozen helpless won on the streets and has been mimicking Jack the Ripper."
The room's atmosphere shifted instantly. Tanaka shot to his feet, his eyes blazing with fury, his voice echoing off the walls. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?! WHAT WAS HIS NA?!"
Felix couldn't help but grin, proud of the chaos he was causing. He had successfully baited them and thrown Sean under the bus.
"Sean Smith. He's a serial killer with a lifespan-stealing system. I saw him murder an examinee's mother the other night, and his father should have already filed a report to the academy. What were you doing, letting that guy roam free in your country?"
Saucon's eyes turned bloodshot as he glared daggers at Felix, his jaw clenched in anger. The emperor didn't fully believe Felix's story, but the re possibility of an otherworlder criminal hiding under his nose was humiliating. He exchanged a sharp glance with Xavior, who imdiately understood the unspoken command.
Xavior shook his head slightly and stood up. "I'll go and detain that instructor first," he said, excusing himself. "I'll be back shortly."
As Xavior moved toward the exit, he shot a nacing glare at Felix. Leaning in close to Felix's ear, he whispered in a low, threatening tone.
"I knew from the beginning that you killed one of my disciples. The only reason you're still breathing is because you have that gun. Be grateful."
Felix's smirk faded as he frowned and t Xavior's intense gaze. The man was a mixed African-Arican with light brown skin, but his age and experience were evident in his short white hair and thick, weathered skin marred with dark spots. His deep-set eyes and the dark circles beneath them reminded Felix of soone who hadn't slept in decades—a ghost haunting the living.
Xavior's presence lood large as he straightened up and left the room, leaving Felix to ponder the precariousness of his situation.
Martin, who had been quietly observing the entire exchange, finally cleared his throat, breaking the tension in the room. With a simple wave of his fingers, the iron handcuffs around Felix's wrists snapped open and fell to the floor. Seizing the mont, Martin decided to offer Felix a favorable option before the emperor could impose harsher terms.
"Child, do you know about magic contracts?" Martin asked, his tone gentle but authoritative.
Felix nodded, recalling his past. "Yeah, I know. I used to have one with a noble family. I doubt it's still effective, though."
"Let see," Martin said, placing his hand on the back of Felix's neck. Instantly, a golden hologram materialized in front of Felix, visible to everyone in the room. The glowing parchnt detailed the contract between Felix and the Lundop House, made when he first arrived in this world.
The contract stipulated that Felix was bound to respond to the Lundop House's summons whenever required. In return, the Lundop House granted him a knight's title, exempted him from taxes, and promised one of their maids, Jane, as his bride. The contract would last until Felix's death.
Martin studied the contract's contents and smiled wryly. "It seems the Lundop House included their descendants in the contract, as it's still active. Oh, right. Isn't one of our examinees from the Lundop House?"
Tanaka, who prided himself on rembering the nas of the female candidates, quickly corrected Martin. "Valley Lundop. She's the third rank. It's probably her."
The emperor's grin widened as he pieced together what he believed was Felix's true motive for participating in the exam. "I see. So, you're here to protect your young lady as per the contract. Very admirable for a young knight, I must say."
Felix opened his mouth to protest—to explain that this wasn't his intention at all—but Tanaka interrupted, launching into his own narrative.
Tanaka, his eyes welling with emotion, added, "What a touching story. An unfortunate teenager, transmigrated to a fantasy world, adopted by a noble family, and beca their knight, only to face the horrors of the Lamia Invasion. You took up arms and protected your young lady, traveling across the country to reach this place.
But because of a bully, your cover was blown, and now you're trapped here with us. But don't worry, kid! We're on your side. We will NEVER be villains in your story! We'll support you! And hey, I don't mind if you end up with a harem of beautiful wives like !
I've got 52, by the way!"
Felix was speechless, staring at Tanaka as the sword saint rambled on. Glancing at the system map, Felix noticed that the colors marking Saucon and Tanaka had shifted to green. He wasn't sure what had changed, but it seed they were no longer viewing him as a threat. Deciding to play along, Felix raised his arms in mock surrender, forcing a smile.
"You've got ," he admitted, though his tone was less enthusiastic. "I have no excuse."
Saucon eyed the rifle and then looked at Felix, his expression conflicted. The boy was just a student, not yet an adult, and clearly had a lot to learn. For a brief mont, Saucon considered returning the weapon to such an admirable young man. But the allure of the gun, a powerful artifact in this world, proved too strong. His greed overpowered his judgnt.
"You're an admirable young knight," Saucon finally said, though his voice carried a note of regret. "I misjudged you. You are indeed trustworthy. But rules are rules. You cannot bring dangerous artifacts to my academy. I'll return this to you after you've beco a proper adult."
Felix's smile tightened as he processed Saucon's words. He didn't care if the VANILLA M1 Garand fell to Saucon's hands. After all, regular ancient rifles and certain magic bullets weren't compatible, especially semi-automatic ones.
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