Question: When a handsome, talented, courteous and genuinely interested knight commander invites you to the terrace to admire the moon, do you accept, accept, or accept?

Accept my foot, definitely reject! I'm a man, for crying out loud! What kind of ridiculous thing is it for a man to be invited by another man to admire the moon together? Your thoughts are dangerous, young man!

"So... why did I accept?" On the second floor of the banquet hall, on the terrace across from her, Aya held a highball glass in one hand and pressed her forehead with the other, moaning softly.

"Miss Aya? Are you feeling unwell?" Godefroy, who was next to her, noticed Aya suddenly lowering her head and asked with concern.

"No, I'm fine. I just have a low alcohol tolerance and got a little tipsy." Aya quickly waved her hand and pretended to feel dizzy.

"Tipsy?" Godefroy paused for a moment and carefully looked at the highball glass in Aya's hand, his face full of confusion. "Isn't this a non-alcoholic cocktail for those who can't drink? It doesn't have any alcohol taste at all, it tastes sour and sweet like juice. Did you accidentally grab the wrong glass?"

Oh my, Aya lowered her head and took a closer look, and it turns out she did! No wonder it tasted like juice and lacked any hint of alcohol. I must have grabbed the wrong glass in a panic earlier.

"I, I drank something else before, and now the alcohol is hitting me." Aya continued to make up excuses.

"Something else? But I remember I invited Miss Aya immediately after His Majesty's speech ended. Miss Aya and Prince Tiran arrived shortly before His Majesty's arrival, right?"

...Don't you know, Sir Knight Commander, that you're making it very likely for you to be alone for the rest of your life?! If a girl clearly doesn't want to answer you, don't dig deeper into it! Wait, why did I just immerse myself into the role again...

...

In the underground martial arts arena of the Grand Cathedral, two figures stood facing each other.

Garcia, not wearing armor, wore the silver knight's uniform of the Holy Knights Order. With both hands gripping his longsword, the blade pointed diagonally towards his opponent, he quickly regulated his slightly disordered breathing.

Compared to Garcia's preparedness, his opponent appeared much more relaxed. He didn't even hold a knight's standard weapon, but instead held a staff adorned with a magical gem at the top. Most importantly, judging from the way he held the staff, he seemed to be wielding it as a long weapon.

With a low shout, the holy Chi on Garcia's sword blade ignited silver white light once again. It was said that the holy Chi cultivated by the Holy Knights Order had been blessed by the Goddess of the Light, possessing pure luminous attributes and greater power compared to ordinary Chi. This often led to holy knights defeating ordinary knights in battles of the same level.

But this time, Garcia's unstoppable holy Chi failed to crush his opponent because the magical gem on his opponent's staff was shining with the same, if not stronger, holy Chi.

"Holy Sword!" Garcia shouted, using his holy Chi to extend the sword blade, transforming the one-meter-long cross sword into a two-meter-long one, slashing towards his opponent's head!

"Shields of Quen-" The light on the staff flashed twice, and a golden shield-shaped phantom blocked Garcia's holy sword, causing his face to slightly change. The Shield of Quen was a practical skill that every holy knight must learn, and Garcia himself could also use it, so it wasn't worth making a fuss about. However, the four words uttered by his opponent next directly weighed down the heart of the holy knight.

"Counterstorm."

In the instant when the holy sword was blocked by the golden shield, the shield shattered, triggering a massive explosion of holy Chi that could not be resisted. The irresistible force directly sent Garcia flying.

Momentarily losing his balance and being thrown into the air made Garcia panic a little, but after all, he was a seasoned holy knight. He immediately adjusted his posture in mid-air and landed steadily with the help of Chi's power.

"Come again-" Excitement flickered in his eyes as Garcia raised his head. He wanted to fight another round, but with a gust of wind, the tip of the staff was already stopped less than two centimeters away from his face.

"You lose." Lowering the staff, Heinrichs smiled quietly. Though they had just fought a battle, his face only showed a slight hint of sweat.

"Phew, as expected, I still can't win. The bishop hasn't lost any of his former glory either." Though somewhat unwilling, Garcia returned his sword to the sheath hanging from his waist, sighing helplessly. Throughout his battle with Heinrichs, he felt a sense of powerlessness, as if no matter how he attacked, it would always be bounced back like hitting a copper wall or an iron plate.

"You're doing great. You're not far from the level of a Knight now. Next month, you can take the assessment to become a Knight at the Knight Association. If you succeed, I can confidently entrust the Holy Knights Order of the capital to you," Heinx patted Garcia on the shoulder and walked towards the exit.

"Heinx-sama is so handsome!"

Johannes ran over, holding Heinx's bishop robe that he had taken off before the battle for easier movement. His amber eyes sparkled, filled with admiration. In his heart, he was secretly relieved that he didn't truly anger the bishop; otherwise, with his small build, he would probably be beaten to death with a stick.

"Envious?" Heinx chuckled as he looked at this talented mage recommended by the Pope.

"Yes, very envious. Every bishop has a heart for close combat. The way Heinx swung his staff and knocked back the holy knights was like a dream come true! Although being a mage in the backline is cool, there's nothing like wielding a sword and being handsome. Of course, it would be even better if I could excel in both violent output and swordsmanship," Johannes said.

"How about training with me? Maybe you have talent in swordsmanship and divine Chi as well. Then you can become a powerful fighter who can physically crush others and bombard with spells," Heinx suddenly showed a strange expression, half serious and half enticing.

"Uh, no, forget it," Johannes subconsciously stepped back a step. The expression on the bishop's face was somewhat familiar, reminding him of the priests at the Church Tribunal who were responsible for brainwashing, or rather, guiding the unbelievers.

"Well, how did it go when you went to check on the situation at the city defense?" Heinx took the robe from Johannes and put it on his reinforced armor.

"The 'Iron Wall' Corps has completely taken over the city defense, but it will still take some time for them to familiarize themselves with the situation in the capital. Also..." Johannes touched his nose.

"Also?"

"When I came back, I saw that there seemed to be some conflicts between the garrison soldiers and the Iron Wall Shield men at the security office. It might be an issue with the division of management zones," Johannes said.

"Understandable. After all, the Iron Wall Shield is a border defense army. There's always some friction when they take over the city defense in the capital for the first time," Heinx nodded, contemplating inwardly.

The defense of the capital was mainly divided into two parts. One part was the city defense, originally managed by the Imperial Guards, but later handed over to the Iron Wall Shield Corps. The other part was the city area, which was always managed by a garrison of about eight thousand soldiers. On normal days, they maintained order and dealt with cases that occurred in the capital, similar to the police.

The withdrawal of the Crusader Guards from the capital might be for safety reasons, but conflicts with the garrison troops at the security office, which was directly under the palace, were not surprising.

Seeing Heinx's silence, Johannes plucked up the courage to ask, "Bishop-sama, why did you ask me to inquire about this? Changing the defense is a big matter, but it seems unrelated to our Temple Church, right?"

"Is it unrelated... Hopefully," Heinx said.

...

"Your Majesty, the Iron Wall Shield has completely taken over the city defense. We found seventeen breaches in the city walls and six ballistae in the arrow towers are not functioning properly. However, we don't have any magicians with us, so we don't know the situation at the magic tower," General Corrine, who escaped from the banquet hall, just returned to his own study. He secretly took out a bottle of liquor that he had hidden behind the bookshelf for a long time, planning to have a drink to relax, but he was intercepted by General Korrin of the Iron Wall Shield, making him extremely annoyed.

"Well, you've worked hard. I can now rest assured with the city defense in your hands," the King forced a smile and admonished himself to remain calm. He couldn't lose his composure in front of his general. After all, he came seriously and responsibly to report, he couldn't get angry... Even though the timing of his visit was a bit irritating.

"Also, there were some minor conflicts with the garrison over the division of guarding areas," Korrin maintained a serious expression. "We are used to setting up a transition area fifty meters from the city walls, but it caused some conflicts with the garrison's jurisdiction..."

"It would be better to follow the standard of the garrison in this aspect. After all, the capital is not a border, so there are some differences," the King said.

"Yes, and there's one more thing..."

The King's smile began to betray his inner turmoil. He thought, "What else does this general have to say now?"

"I heard that Princess Lihan is currently holding a banquet in the palace."

"Yes, if you have time, you can also go have a drink and take a rest." The king was a little puzzled. This topic changed too suddenly, what a plot twist.

"That's not necessary." Korein shook his head. "Is Your Majesty planning to announce Princess as the heir to the throne at the New Year celebration?"

"Why are you asking about this all of a sudden?" Guransiu's expression changed slightly. He had indeed hinted at this before, although Tilan had expressed no interest in the throne. But fundamentally, this was still a sensitive topic involving power struggles. If it was an ordinary person asking him this, he would definitely suspect that the person had ulterior motives.

However, Korein was a general who had served him since he quelled the rebellion eighteen years ago. They had even huddled together under a marching blanket to keep warm and shared the same rations. Guransiu trusted Korein quite a bit.

"Just out of personal curiosity." Korein's face rarely showed a smile. "I always thought that Your Majesty wanted Prince Braid to inherit the throne. After all, Prince Braid has been studying under you since childhood and even experienced the Iron Shield together. From all aspects, he is much more suitable than Princess Tilan."

"Ah, well..."

...

"...Since then, I have sworn to follow in the footsteps of Princess Tilan until the day I die!" On the terrace, the golden-haired knight, Feat, held a glass in one hand and waved the other in the air, loudly recounting the story of his oath to follow Tilan.

Aya stood aside, awkwardly smiling.

Hmm, why did it turn out like this? Because I don't know what to do! Originally, Feat successfully invited Aya to the terrace based on a suggestion from one of his subordinates. But as someone who had never been in love in his twenty years of life, he had no idea how to proceed.

As for Aya, let's not mention that he didn't understand anything. Even if he did, it would be absolutely impossible for him to have anything with a handsome man, no matter what!

So the two idiots could only look up at the sky and make some awkward small talk from time to time. In the end, unable to bear it any longer, they simply returned to the banquet hall and grabbed a few bottles of wine to drink.

As a result, the knight commander got drunk.

If both of them were drunk, it would be fine, but Aya's Dragon body had a strong tolerance for alcohol. Even after drinking so much, he didn't feel a thing, so he could only feel awkward alone.

"Miss Aya!" Feat suddenly stood up straight and called Aya's name very seriously.

"W-What's wrong?" Aya was a little flustered for no reason.

"When I first met you, I was too impulsive. I shouldn't have proposed to you directly!" Feat bowed ninety degrees to apologize.

"Oh, that, it's, it's okay, I don't mind." Aya wiped away his cold sweat and waved his hand.

"Akkel told me that pursuing a girl should be gradual, so... so please date me! Starting as boyfriend and girlfriend should be more natural, right!"

WTF...there's nothing natural about this.