DMHS 6

“They’re also missing one person. Good. Now all we need is to pull in one more. If we win over just one person, the South Party is eliminated.”

“But there’s a problem.”

“What problem?”

“The only person not in a party… is that man.”

Daisy turned her head to check, and a flicker of unease passed through her eyes.

‘Of all people, that man.’

The man who had entered with flour on his face and a strong fruit scent. A man from a ruined family, and not one to be taken lightly.

‘Even if his appearance is like that.’

Frederick seemed to think the man had dressed up to impress the Gold Dragon. But Daisy thought differently. If the man had decorated himself to impress the dragon, then when his true intent was exposed, he would have felt at least some embarrassment.

But he had shown no reaction to people’s mockery. On the contrary, with focused eyes, he had scanned one by one those he needed to face.

Daisy was of the Bernstein family. Raised in a house known for producing elite knights, she knew the look in a swordsman’s eyes before an opponent.

‘That man must have lived on swordsmanship after his family fell.’

Among ruined nobles, it was not uncommon for swordsmanship learned as childhood education to become a tool for survival.

If her guess was right, it would not be easy to draw that man into the North Party.

Meanwhile, at the same time Daisy finished assessing the situation, Frederick, with a dull smile, approached the man.

“Greetings. I am Frederick Erlesia. As you know, I belong to Erlesia, one of the five great Magic Towers, and I am a main figure of the South Party this time.”

“Kian Semes.”

“May I call you Sir Kian?”

“Call me whatever you want.”

Kian gave a half-hearted answer and picked up a macaron. Frederick’s expression stiffened at his attitude showing no courtesy at all. But Frederick desperately needed his sign.

Naturally, no one in the North Party would give a sign to someone in the South Party. To pass the first test, his only choice was to seek help from Kian, whom he had just met.

‘Some country bumpkin of unknown origin. If I sweet-talk him a bit, he’ll give in.’

Frederick straightened his shoulders with pride.

“You heard the test details just now, didn’t you? Looking at you, Sir Kian, it seems you haven’t received any signs. I was thinking I might extend you a helping hand with my generous heart.”

“That would be good. Could you collect fifty signs for me instead? My hands are smeared with cream, so it’s bothersome to hold the paper.”

Kian lifted both hands and smiled. Daisy, who had been watching, also smiled without realizing it. Frederick’s twisted face was a sight to see.

“To stand idly and expect to only receive help, Sir Kian, you have your rude side as well.”

Holding down his anger, Frederick mocked Kian in a nobleman’s manner. In plain words, it meant: “Don’t you have hands, you worthless fool?”

Kian replied without blinking an eye.

“You came forward saying you would help, so I spoke accordingly. Besides, if we’re only talking about rudeness, wouldn’t Sir Frederick be worse? You don’t even know the basic manners of not laughing at someone the moment you see them.”

Frederick’s face flushed red, then drained pale. He had always been coddled and flattered wherever he went, so he could not bear to hear even a hint of reproach. Feeling things were going badly, one of his attendants hurried over and turned him aside.

“Please step over there and talk. If you rush in, you’ll only ruin what you’re trying to do.”

“That man picked a fight first!”

“Do you want to see all our party members eliminated from the very first day?”

At that, reason finally returned to Frederick’s eyes.

“…I’ll excuse myself for a moment. Please forgive me, Sir Kian.”

Daisy watched Frederick walk out of the banquet hall.

‘Tsk, tsk, no wonder his father still hasn’t trusted him.’

She sipped from her cup and turned her head.

“…….!”

In that short time, without her noticing, Kian was standing right in front of her. Daisy, who had not even felt his presence, tried not to show her surprise.

“Sir Semes.”

She began with a gentle smile. Kian raised one eyebrow slightly and their eyes met. His solid black eyes were unexpectedly captivating.

‘If he wiped away that bizarre disguise, he would be quite handsome.’

Daisy added another piece of information about Kian in her mind and lowered her head.

“I would like to apologize for my rudeness earlier. I meant to say that Sir Semes was not part of our party, but from your perspective, it must have been unpleasant. I acted thoughtlessly. I am sorry.”

“Forget that. Why are you harassing the market people?”

“…What?”

“Like children playing territory games, you split the market in half, with the North Party extorting one side and the South Party extorting the other. Why are you doing that?”

Her surprise at the unexpected question lasted only a moment. Daisy pressed her lips into a deep dimpled smile and answered.

“You are dissatisfied with our family’s conduct, I see. But it is something we cannot help. Ever since the Blood Harvest Festival, we and the South Party have been enemies who cannot live under the same sky.”

“The Blood Harvest Festival?”

“The massacre committed by the South Party three years ago.”

Kian’s eyes widened in shock. Daisy, on the other hand, found his reaction itself astonishing.

‘What was he doing for the past three years, fishing at sea?’

Otherwise, how could he not know about the Blood Harvest Festival? That day had completely changed the kingdom’s history.

“We are the last bastion against the South Party. I know that sometimes things happen that are not right, but there is no other way to oppose them.”

“Haa, so there are complicated circumstances here too. There’s no time, so I’ll hear that story later. From now is the main point…”

Kian opened his mouth and grinned. It looked like the mischievous smile of a child.

“This test will end with twenty-five from the South Party, twenty-five from the North Party, and me, making fifty-one passing.”

It was the answer she expected. Daisy nodded silently.

“Understood.”

“You don’t ask me why?”

“My feeling is that Sir Semes wouldn’t side with only one party.”

“Well, if the board tips to one side, it’s not fun. And I have things I need to gain.”

“What do you need?”

Kian raised two fingers.

“Two ‘Pass Tokens.’”

‘Ah…’

Daisy groaned inwardly. It was not entirely unexpected, but it was something she absolutely could not give away so easily.

The Pass Token was a privilege that allowed someone who failed a trial to pass once. Since it was a special privilege granted by the King, it was also called the “Royal Token.” Among the people gathered here, there were only two holders of Pass Tokens.

Daisy and Frederick.

The reason the two of them came to represent the North Party and the South Party was because they each held a Pass Token. If someone failed by mistake, they alone had the extra lives to save them. If Daisy handed over a Pass Token, she would lose much of the strength to lead her group. It would also make reaching the final trial far more difficult.

Even so…

“Understood. The North Party will follow Sir Semes’s decision.”

To hesitate over the only path left was a luxury. Daisy gathered her people to one side of the hall. After explaining the situation, she revealed the condition Kian had set.

She calmed the ones who were angry and selected those who would pass this test.

Fortunately, everyone agreed with the greater cause, “The dragon’s mate must come from the North Party,” so it was not difficult to resolve.

Meanwhile, Kian was once again dealing with Frederick. Still failing to grasp the situation, Frederick shouted that Kian’s proposal was nonsense.

In the end, once again, it was Frederick’s aide Gavin who stepped in to settle things. It seemed they too decided to hand over a Pass Token to Kian and let twenty-five pass.

Daisy embraced each departing person one by one as she saw them off.

“Thank you. I will repay your sacrifice without fail. Lord Lucien’s mate will certainly come from the North Party.”

With her group reduced by half, Daisy went to Kian. Kian signed the paper Daisy held out. Daisy, in turn, received Kian’s signature and handed over a Pass Token.

Daisy looked down at the sheet with fifty signatures she had managed to secure with difficulty.

‘This is only the beginning.’

But for some reason she had a bad feeling. It felt as though she had lost something greater than the Pass Token.

She sighed and tilted her head back.

On the round ceiling of the banquet hall, the murals were drawn thick and full. They showed the Hero and the four champions joining forces to defeat the Demon King.

Among them Daisy picked out the swordsman with black hair.

Yan, the swordsman who in the four hundred years of the kingdom’s history was said to have unmatched skill. He was the idol of all knights.

‘If he returned, could the kingdom change?’

A brittle smile soon spread across Daisy’s face. She realized it was a pointless thought.

She turned her gaze from the ceiling back into the hall. This was the reality where she stood. She would change that reality with her own strength.