Uncle Manner finally gave a reluctant nod, though he wasn't sure how accurate Tolan's intelligence was. There had been plenty of false alarms in the past. But this time, at least, it seemed accurate. If there was a next time—well, they'd deal with that then.
Chesper was taken into custody, but judging by Ms. Luo Su's actions, he shouldn't face severe punishment. After all, this situation was, at most, an accomplice—and according to his confession, Kazimierz probably wasn't entirely unaware of the Witch King Remnants' activities. This was just a wake-up call.
As things stood, the Witch King Remnants' arrangements in Kazimierz had, at least for the short term, come to naught. However, after the Howling Guard incident, it was highly likely that the Commercial Federation's reaction this time would be quite significant.
After all, Howling Guard wasn't a small company, and the direct intervention and investigation of a company couldn't be kept secret. Noah could only try her best to minimize the impact, but judging by the current situation, the impeachments against Noah herself had increased considerably. But with many debts, one doesn't worry; with many lice, one doesn't itch. Since she hadn't been ousted yet, it meant these people weren't trying to get rid of her, just trying to annoy her.
This level of annoyance no longer affected Noah. She attended various press conferences quite calmly, making solemn promises in front of the cameras that such incidents would not happen again.
She thought it wouldn't be that unlucky—surely no other company would run into trouble after this, right?
Well, first, taking time out from the corporate infighting, Noah had already booked the Left-Hand Knight VS Maria Nearl match for one day later.
After an evening of socializing, Noah met Maria, who was rarely absent from the training ground, right at the entrance before going home. Maria seemed to have been waiting for her. When she saw Noah being pushed in her wheelchair by Kuro, leaving the company, she quickly ran over, calling Noah's name as she ran.
Noah raised her hand, telling Kuro to wait. Although she no longer avoided meeting Maria, this was the first time Maria had blocked her at the entrance like this. She was curious to know what had happened to make Maria wait for her at the company entrance at such a time.
When Maria reached Noah, Noah took the initiative to ask, "What happened? The match is tomorrow, and you're coming to find me today?"
"Ah… it's just, Sister Noah, you've seemed so busy lately, you haven't come to watch me train, and I was a little worried," Maria scratched her head, a bit embarrassed. "So I came to check on you after my training…"
"Recently, there have been a lot of investigations and press conferences regarding the gas explosion accident at Howling Guard, and as the spokesperson, I naturally have to move around a lot, so I haven't had much time to see you," Noah said apologetically. "How is it? Are you confident you can defeat the Left-Hand Knight tomorrow?"
"I… I'm not sure," Maria had originally intended to nod confidently, but in the end, she spoke the truth. "After all, it's a formal competition level… a Knight with a formal title, and a novice like me aren't on the same level."
"Don't say that. There's no such thing as a novice who can't beat an old hand," Noah shook her head. "Your progress is already very clear. I believe in you."
"My progress is only obvious because I was too… weak before, right?" Maria was still very clear about her own strength. Her so-called great progress was built on the foundation of her original strength being too poor. Before, she was obsessed with artisan techniques, rarely even practicing basic swordsmanship. After participating in the Knight competition, even with her Uncle and Aunt taking turns to train her, it was only making up for her laziness during that time.
And she had also somewhat discovered that most people actually expected her to be like her sister… to become a great Knight. Perhaps when she was obsessed with artisan techniques before, she had indeed wasted a lot, a lot of time.
How to put it… she originally thought that if the sky fell, her sister and uncle would hold it up, so she felt at ease researching artisan techniques. But when she truly needed to uphold the glory of the Nearl Family family, she realized that her strength was insufficient to hold up that sky. She was never an irresponsible person, even if her uncle told her not to bear these burdens, she absolutely could not act as if nothing was wrong.
But the problem was here… she wanted to bear the responsibility, but her strength could not improve to the same level as her sister's in a short time.
She wasn't some Saiyan, without the ability to break through her limits in one go. Even if she fought with her life… she wouldn't dare say she could win against the Left-Hand Knight.
To be honest, the more she practiced, and the more she watched the Left-Hand Knight's match recordings, the more confused she became.
Was she starting too late?
So, part of the reason she ran to see Noah this time was to gain courage from Noah's words, the courage to challenge the Left-Hand Knight.
"So… Sister Noah, can you… say something to me… that will give me more motivation?" Maria looked at Noah expectantly. "That way, I'll surely be able to muster my courage tomorrow!"
"...Words of encouragement, huh?" Noah was silent for a long time. Of course, she fully supported Maria's actions, but this time it was indeed a bit difficult for her. Facing the Left-Hand Knight, Maria truly had a certain gap in skill, and most people favoring the Left-Hand Knight was not without reason.
"Even a single sentence would be fine… like, I will definitely win." Maria's gaze was so intense that Noah felt a little uncomfortable. This ability to clearly feel the other person's gaze made her very sensitive to such intense stares, but she knew this was just Maria's anxiety, and what she needed to do now was to help Maria build confidence.
So, how to help Maria build confidence…
Noah pondered. Logically, the person Maria admired most was definitely Margaret. It would be best if Margaret came in person, but Margaret was God knows where right now. Noah hadn't even received a reply from Margaret, so it was naturally impossible to have Margaret come in person to encourage Maria. So what could she say now? Noah then began to think in Margaret's way… if Margaret were here, what would she say?
She spoke, mimicking Margaret's tone.
"You don't need to put too much pressure on yourself. A Knight… is a noble person who illuminates the entire land, remember?" Noah said, imitating Margaret's tone as much as possible. "A Knight is to pursue their own goals, not to be confined by the outcome of a battle. How about this… if you win, then I will grant you one request, any request. How does that sound?"
Margaret had encouraged her in this way when she was suffering in a hospital bed after her injury—
If she could endure, Margaret would grant her one request.
Thinking about it, she hadn't yet fulfilled that request… If Margaret came back, she definitely had to collect that debt from her.
"Anything… is possible?"
"Yes, anything," Noah nodded. "As long as I can do it."
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