Above The Sky
Chapter 505 - 505 474 Headquarters of the Knight Order of Inspectorate and Deputy Commander 43 asking for monthly votes~

505: Chapter 474: Headquarters of the Knight Order of Inspectorate and Deputy Commander (4/3, asking for monthly votes~) 505: Chapter 474: Headquarters of the Knight Order of Inspectorate and Deputy Commander (4/3, asking for monthly votes~) Although he walked through the courtyard with a calm demeanor, Ian felt a myriad of prying eyes…

even more numerous than in the back yard of Marquis Barton’s house, it was indeed hard to keep composure.

——Could it be that it’s a custom in the Knight Order of Inspectorate for a group of people to hide and peep?

“Newcomer reporting?”

When Ian approached the desk, the clerical officer in charge glanced at Ian’s armored clothing and age, and immediately understood: “Who recommended you?

Have you undergone the assessment?

Knight, please hand me your documents first.”

Her tone was gentle, obviously also aware that with Ian’s young age to become an Inspector Knight, there must be influential people behind him.

“South Ridge, Harrison Port.

My recommenders are Viscount Grant and Marquis Barton.”

Ian handed over his Knight’s Writ, with the recommendation letter signed by Marquis Barton.

After handing over the documents, he asked, “This is a secret letter entrusted to me by Marquis Barton for delivery to the headquarters of the Imperial Capital Inspection Knights.

May I know where to deliver it?”

“Eh?”

The clerical officer, who had perked up at the mention of Marquis Barton’s name, looked up in surprise at Ian, feeling the documents in her hand heat up: “Such a secret letter is supposed to be directly delivered to the person Marquis intends…

this, I’m not quite sure…”

She became flustered, as this was not something she dealt with on a daily basis.

“It’s for me.”

A tall figure walked into the archive registration area,

He appeared to be a middle-aged man with a somewhat decadent demeanor, with a resolute face, holding a helmet with an insignia in his hands, dressed in a dull silver full-body armor; his deep blue straight hair seemed extraordinarily stiff, while his face bore four unusual black metal lines, crossing his eyes and the sides of his cheeks, finally disappearing into a layer of metal structure that wrapped around the sides of his face and jaw.

“Vice-Commander!”

This was one of the Iron Folk.

As soon as he entered, everyone in the archive room straightened up, stood up, and adopted a serious demeanor.

Ian also turned to look at the tall knight.

——The main player has arrived.

“Stop with the nonsense, continue working, acting like you’ve never seen me before.”

The man called Vice-Commander lightly swept his gaze around the room.

With a lift of his hand, everyone resumed their places and continued their work.

He then lowered his head and extended his hand toward Ian: “The letter from Barton, right?

It should be for me.

Kid, hand me the letter.”

From the corner of his eye, Ian noticed Tres standing outside the courtyard, behind the Vice-Commander.

——So his gaze was directed at this Vice-Commander?

And to be able to locate me so quickly, this Vice-Commander must be connected to the Second Prince…

The young man had already anticipated this point, he gave a nod: “Officer, I need proof.”

“Proof?”

The man with deep blue hair was taken aback for a moment.

He didn’t become angry, but instead muttered to himself: “Proof…

oh, I see.”

He arched an eyebrow, the metal lines on his face sparkling slightly as he looked at Ian: “Barton told you that just bringing the letter to the Imperial Capital would complete the mission, and never specified who the recipient was, right?

You actually dared to lie to me asking for proof, you’ve got quite the nerve.”

“I wouldn’t dare, officer.”

Ian answered earnestly: “It’s precisely because the general said nothing that I need proof!”

“Hmm.

I understand, you truly are a promising candidate personally approved by him.”

Now, the Vice-Commander instead withdrew his hand, he began to smile, revealing a set of white teeth, his tone notably softer: “I’ll provide you with proof.

For now, keep the letter with you.”

“Once I get the proof, I’ll let you know, and then you can come to see me and hand me the letter.”

With that, he turned and left promptly, with Tres following behind him.

Ian didn’t even know his name, just watched his figure receding, his silver-blue eyes shimmering, deep in thought.

——Dark silver…

high-rank Fourth Energy Level…

somewhat strenuous.

——Indeed, the true Fourth Energy Level was already my limit.

Without the Domain of the Soul Extreme brought by the Fae, this deputy commander might have caused a backlash in my observation.

“To brazenly ask for a secret letter…” he gasped wearily, becoming truly wary, “This is a signal.

It’s either a signal from Marquis Barton to declare his choice of the second prince’s faction or a signal from this deputy commander of the Knight Order of Inspectorate to state his stance.”

“Have I been used as a tool for declaring allegiances?

No, it’s probably because they know I’ve noticed the ‘tags’ and tried to enter the Imperial Capital alone, so they decided to increase their leverage.”

“And then…

to go see him later…”

Whether it was Marquis Barton or the deputy commander taking a stand, it was fundamentally the same thing for Ian.

That was, he was being stamped with a much broader and more massive tag.

This was the collective tag of the second prince’s faction.

But such a tag weighed much more than that of the Marquis Barton or the Ellen Family alone, and it was precisely what Ian wanted.

“To openly declare one’s allegiance.

It seems the internal struggle within the Imperial Capital is more intense than I imagined…

Has Emperor Axel stopped caring?”

Contemplative, Ian turned his head and smiled at the clerical officer, “I’m sorry for disturbing you.

What should I do next?”

“Not at all, Knight, it’s my job to assist.

Please follow me.”

The effect of the tag was evident, as the gaze cast upon Ian shifted from initial curiosity and skepticism to sudden realization and solemnity.

Even the attitude of the clerical officer in front of him changed significantly as she led Ian to a separate soundproof compartment: “Your name…

Ah, indeed, it’s already registered.

Next, you’ll need to sign here for the procedures, so the headquarters in the Imperial Capital will create an official identity proof for you…

”

All subsequent administrative processes went smoothly, and what Ian had to do was sign his name on document after document at the headquarters.

“Knight, here is a list of merits for which you have not yet collected rewards.

Please verify its accuracy.”

When Ian was about done with his signatures, the clerical officer brought over a stack of documents, politely asking, “If anything is missing, please make sure to inform us.”

Glancing through the documents, Ian found that everything related to the Empire since he started assisting the Ellen Family with the exploration of the South Sea Great Labyrinth, up to repelling the agents from Fiery Flame Land on the Alchemy Train, was recorded.

Furthermore, all of them were credited as the achievements of an ‘Inspector Knight.’

——Well, I’m already an Inspector Knight, and I’ve assisted Yisen and Master Gossay in exploring the South Sea Great Labyrinth with this identity…

Wow, even the fact that the Redwood Natives around Harrison Port were infiltrated by agents from Fiery Flame Land, it was me, as an Inspector Knight, who keenly noticed it and took action to stop them!

——Did I always have so many accomplishments?

I had no idea.

Is this what it feels like to have someone backing you?

Ian felt that the list didn’t have any omissions but rather contained many extra and strange accomplishments…

he shook his head slightly and still signed his name: “What can these merits do?

Lead to a promotion?”

“You jest, sir.

With merits, you can receive rewards.”

The clerical officer chuckled, clearly thinking Ian was making a joke—how could he not know this: “Our Knight Order of Inspectorate has an independent budget, logistics channels, and financial flows, and every knight has to form their own squad—merits are used for this, sir.”

“Magic potions, weapons, armored clothing, books…

The Knight Order never hides anything from its knights.”

With that, she glanced at Ian’s paperwork, briefly estimating, “Based on your merits, Knight…

enough to award an honorary badge, five years’ back pay.

You already have armored clothing and a weapon which could be converted into credit, and with that…

”

Looking up, the clerical officer earnestly admired him, “You could at least exchange for a complete Second Level Magic Potion Recipe, or two sets of Second Level Magic Potion Ingredients!”