"To be honest, I'm quite surprised that little Alice actually wants to become a knight." Gibbs and I were chatting while sitting on a blanket, with Alice half-lying and curled up in my arms. Before I knew it, Alice had grown quite a bit. Not only her height, but the little one's weight had also gradually increased, carrying quite some heft as she leaned against me.
"Why does Alice want to be a knight?" Gibbs asked Alice, who was in my arms. Curious about the answer myself, I lowered my head and waited for her reply.
"Eh? Because... because knights are so cool! Riding a majestic steed with a precious sword at your waist—it's so impressive! Someday, Alice is going to bring her own horse and bring Mom back! Yup, that's it!" Alice put her hands on her hips proudly, a tiny little belly bulging out slightly...
"You still want to be a knight with a little belly like that? Look at all these chubby rolls you've got now. But there's an advantage to this—just in case you fall off your horse in the future, you'll have natural cushions to break the fall. You definitely won't get hurt." Teasingly, I gave Alice's little belly a light pinch and joked. Little Alice puffed out her cheeks, looked up at me, knitted her pretty brows together, and shot me a look full of resentment. "Hmph! Alice hates old men! I don't want to talk to old men!" With that, she crossed her arms over her chest and turned her head away, purposely refusing to look at me.
"You little brat." I rubbed Alice's soft, tender cheeks. The little one's face was as soft as cotton, letting me knead it into any shape I pleased.
"Alright, alright, look at what you've done to Alice. She's going to hold a grudge against you again in a moment." Smiling, Gibbs pulled my hand away and rescued Alice. Alice gave him a look of profound gratitude, then turned around to glare fiercely at me, stretching out her little hands to ask Gibbs for a hug.
"Daddy's mean, Alice doesn't want to be near Daddy anymore. Uncle Gibbs, hold me." Gibbs was momentarily stunned, then smiled, agreed, and reached out to pick Alice up.
"Tsk, you start looking down on your own birth father this fast? Who knows, once she finds a husband in the future, she might not even be willing to come see me." I poured out my grievances to Gibbs, though my eyes remained fixed on Alice in his arms.
"Tsk tsk tsk, someone is slowly becoming less important, aren't they?" Gibbs said to me with a smile, stroking Alice's head.
"Hey! You two conspired, didn't you? One and all, you both dare to tease me like this!"
"Whoa, whoa, spare my life, mercy, mercy! How could this frail little body of mine withstand a couple of moves from you? Alice, block the blade for me!"
"Eh????? ————"
Before I knew it, the afternoon sunlight had spilled into the living room. Alice had played all morning without getting a single serious thing done, and finally fell asleep with her head resting on my lap.
"And here she was talking about making knightly plans. *Sigh*—this child is getting harder and harder to manage nowadays," I complained to Gibbs with a sigh.
"Isn't this pretty good? It shows little Alice has her own mind and won't rely on you too much."
"Maybe... But I'm thinking, if Alice really becomes a knight, she'll definitely go study at the academy. I just don't feel at ease with this little girl without me keeping an eye on her. I need to think of a way to keep her in line..." I rubbed my chin with one hand while gently patting Alice's back with the other.
"How about... you apply to be an academy teacher?" Gibbs thought for a moment, pointing a finger at me as he spoke.
"Me? You really think too highly of me. If it were back in the old days, maybe, but my physique nowadays has long since become useless. Who could possibly use me?" I shook my fatherly head, rejecting Gibbs's proposal.
"Oh, you always have to try, don't you? Besides, the foundation from your youth is still there. With your skills, are you afraid you couldn't land a spot as a hand-to-hand combat teacher? Furthermore, teachers nowadays emphasize both theory and practice; you don't necessarily have to be overwhelmingly powerful, as long as you can teach the students well."
"You make it sound so breezy, but it's not that easy." Though I said that, my heart was actually somewhat tempted. However, given my current physical condition, I'd be lucky not to get beaten to a pulp by the youngsters. If I wanted to be hired as an academy teacher, I would definitely need to step up my training.
The moment I thought of that academy—which held so many memories of my youth—and especially my hand-to-hand combat instructor, Magellan, I couldn't help but sigh with mixed emotions.
My esteemed mentor Magellan was a strict teacher in every sense of the word. He was kind to everyone else, but uniquely stern with me, always keeping a straight face and never giving me a pleasant look. Yet in my heart, I knew very well that he wanted to see me succeed and held high expectations for me. Therefore, I never resented him, instead viewing him as my second father. Now that I thought about it, the old man was probably over seventy years old by now, and I still hadn't gone to visit him.
"I should take the opportunity to pay him a visit..."
In the afternoon, after Alice woke up, Gibbs signed the knight application form for her, and I threw my signature on it as well. However, the application required recommendations from at least three people to pass, so Gibbs took the form to find White, assuring Alice that she would definitely become a knight by tomorrow.
Hearing this news, Alice was thrilled, jumping up and down excitedly around the house. Meanwhile, I tidied up the place and unexpectedly dug out a heavily dust-covered steel sword.
This was the sword I carried in my youth, and also my favorite one. The blade was forged entirely from pure refined steel, densely covered with runes and magic power conduction devices—a very handy magic sword. The edge was exceptionally sharp, allowing it to be used for thrusting like a rapier or slashing like a saber. A groove had been polished into the hilt, embedded with a Flame Magic Stone. I had bought this from a merchant; it was of superb quality and brimming with magic power. Later, I made a few modifications myself so that this magic stone would automatically replenish its magic power during combat, eliminating the need to worry about running out.
How I miss those adventurous days of the past...
I polished the sword again and again, called Alice over, and said to her, "My little knight lord, how can you not have a sword when you're about to become a knight? This is my treasured sword, and I hope you'll take good care of it. It accompanied me through my youth, and now, it's yours."
Alice's eyes sparkled as she rubbed her little face against the hilt, unable to put it down, looking as though she loved it dearly.
"Thank you, Da—" Before she could finish her sentence, I interrupted, "There's a lot of dust on that..."
Alice froze in place, then suddenly let out a "wah!" and rushed over to look in the mirror, scrubbing her face over and over again with a wet towel. Smiling, I leaned against the doorframe and watched her comical antics.
...
Early in the morning, the moment I opened my front door, an "unexpected guest" was standing outside.
A guard wearing light armor walked straight toward me and asked, "Are you Mr. Arthur?"
"Uh... yes, I am. Is something the matter?"
"I am here to congratulate you. Your daughter has passed the knight evaluation. Please report to the Kingdom Plaza before 10:00 AM today to receive the knighting ceremony." The guard saluted me. "Then, I won't disturb you any further. I wish your daughter great success in the selection tournament."
Seeing the guard off, I turned to look at the smug Alice and said, "Are you ready, Knight Alice?"
"I've been ready for a long time!"
"Then let's go! Apprentice Knight Alice's future will be shaped by your own hands!"