"Hmmm… grr… AH! WHAT A PAIN!"
In the middle of the night, a young man's frustrated cries filled the silence.
Lev was still reeling from the unexpected events of earlier that day.
"I'm not going to be able to sleep at all like this, man…"
Having made up his mind, he opened his bedroom window and began climbing out.
Lying on the roof tiles of the house, the young man stared intently at the stars in the sky.
"What's up, idiot?"
And his brief moment of calm was already interrupted by his father's voice, climbing onto the roof by surprise.
"... Are your back muscles up for this?"
"Hahaha! … No. Now give me a hand here."
"Honestly, old man…"
After helping his father climb up, they both sat together staring at the sky for a brief moment of silence.
"... So… isn't this the part where you ask: 'Is something on your mind?' Or something like that?"
"I was thinking about that, but it would be too cliché."
An awkward silence lingered for a moment before Lev let out a small, weary sigh.
"I… was thinking about this whole Knighthood thing."
"Does the encounter with that knight in town and the call from earlier have anything to do with it?"
Lev didn't answer directly, but nodded.
"And what do you think? About trying to become a knight, I mean, for real."
"What do I think…"
Igor's words made Lev think deeply about it.
(To be honest… I didn't have such a positive impression of this whole Knighthood thing before, but…)
And slowly, flashbacks of his first encounter with a knight and his meeting with Louis and Laute came to mind, one after another.
(Maxwell said he was in the top 100, right? What exactly is his ranking position?)
Unconsciously, Lev's body began to shiver.
(He's probably not in the top 10; if he were, Maxwell would have pointed that out, right? So…)
His breathing slowly grew more and more panting.
(Are there people stronger than him?)
"... L…"
(If I try to become an aspirant, are there people close to his level too?)
"... LE…"
(How many strong people are there in this Knighthood thi—)
"LEV!"
Almost as if in a trance, Lev didn't even notice his father calling him until the man started shaking him by the shoulders.
"... What happened?"
"You tell me! You went silent out of nowhere and then started getting worked up out of nowhere."
The look on Igor's face was a mix of concern and familiarity with the situation.
"Good heavens, who did you get that from?"
"...It definitely wasn't from you or the old lady."
Igor was silent for a second, but soon tapped his fist against his palm with an expression that said: 'Oh, right'.
"Then it was probably from your biological parents, then."
Yes. Igor, and consequently, Igraine and Luna, weren't really Lev's family, but that was common knowledge in Bleuhaven and to Lev himself.
Still, the young man never paid it any mind.
Even though he seemed rebellious and disrespectful at times, he genuinely got along well with and cared about his family.
"Hmm… you know, Lev."
After letting go of the boy's shoulders, Igor returned to his spot and gazed up at the starry sky.
"If you're curious… why not just dive right in?"
"What do you mean?"
Lev looked at Igor as if he'd just heard something ridiculous, but
"You're young, and life is short, you know. Sometimes, being a little reckless is necessary."
Igor raised his hand, pointing to a star that shone brighter than the others in the sky.
"You can shine just as brightly as a star."
And then he slid his finger toward the dark space beside it.
"Or fall into a deep shadow with one wrong step."
Then he placed his hand on Lev's head, ruffling his hair.
"But you'll only see what awaits you if you look with your own eyes… do you get it? I'm terrible with metaphors."
Lev remained silent, simply accepting his father's affectionate gesture.
"...! Mom, over there."
"Goodness, and I was wondering where the two of you were… here, Luna, be careful, sweetheart."
And in the midst of it all, Igraine and Luna also climbed onto the roof of the house, sitting down next to the two men there.
"Was your dad spouting one of his stupid metaphors again?"
"Yeah."
"Huh?! You're not even going to pretend to hesitate?"
"Dumb"
"LUNA?!"
Lev, Igraine, and Luna laughed in unison at Igor's tearful expression, but soon Igraine looked at Lev with affectionate, concerned eyes.
"Joking aside, I overheard a bit of the conversation… Lev, I think your father is right."
"…About him being terrible with metaphors?"
"That too. But about you trying to dive headfirst into this."
Lev looked deep into Igraine's eyes, then lowered his head, even more pensive than before.
"... To be honest, I still don't give a damn about this whole Knighthood thing and whatever else, but…"
He raised his hand slightly, staring intently at it before clenching it into a fist.
"I felt some strange things today… that guy, Laute… he got my blood boiling."
Igraine and Igor watched with parental affection as Lev spoke.
"... Is it right for me to enter this world without really thinking it through?"
The young man opened his hand, feeling the wind pass through his fingers.
"I mean, saving people sounds cool, but I wouldn't even need to be a Knight for that."
Lev looked at Luna, who was intently gazing at the moon, and began ruffling her hair in surprise.
"But then again… come to think of it, I might be different from the guy who almost stood her up."
"...?"
Luna didn't seem to have been following the conversation; she was confused by Lev's words.
Regardless, she grabbed his hand and began moving it to her own rhythm with a self-satisfied expression.
"... Sigh… damn. The more I think about it, the more pros and cons I see."
Lev let out a resigned sigh, feeling hands touch his shoulders at the same time.
"We'll support you all the way, our idiot son."
"Follow your heart, dear"
After their parents' words of comfort, the two hugged Lev, one on each side.
"...Thanks, really."
And Luna, still not quite understanding, jumped in to join the hug.
For the rest of the night, the four of them chatted about silly things and memories from the past.
The next morning—
"Old man! Please, sponsor me!"
Lev showed up at the Knighthood's regional office in Bleuhaven, bowing to Louis.
"You took your time—I was almost about to give up waiting… and you really threw all sense of decorum out the window, huh?"
Louis stood with his arms crossed, waiting next to a private transport vehicle.
"Wow?! You really came, Lev! I knew I shouldn't have doubted the captain!"
Laute stared at Lev with shining eyes, hoisting him onto his shoulders in celebration.
"May I ask why it took so long?"
"Saying goodbye to my friends—well, not that I found them. They weren't home."
"I see… well, you can call them later. We've already kept them waiting long enough."
Louis opened the back compartment, Lev got in, still sitting on Laute's shoulders, and the old man got in last, closing the door behind him.
"Next stop, the Capital. On the way, I'll explain a few things to you, okay?"
"Cool. I'm in your hands, master old man!"
"... I already miss the awkward kid from yesterday who at least called me Mr. Montblanc…"
As the vehicle began to move, Lev settled into a seat and stowed his luggage in the space beneath him.
Soon, he began to hear faint sounds of something being thrown from outside the vehicle.
"What's going on… huh?"
He looked out the window—
Lev
Good luck
As a knight-in-training!
His three best friends, Alphonse, Julie, and Maxwell, were standing outside holding a huge banner.
"We're going to miss you, man!"
"You better come visit us whenever you can!"
"I hope you come back ranked in the top 10 at the very least!"
A silly, joyful, tearful smile—a mix of so many emotions—spread across Lev's face.
(Those idiots…)
He opened the window without a second thought, waving at them.
"You better bug the hell out of me with calls and video chats, you hear?! I want daily updates from you guys!"
As the vehicle started to pick up speed, the three people outside ran alongside it, holding the banner as close as they could.
"DON'T FORGET TO TELL THE GIRLS YOU MEET ABOUT YOUR FRIEND ALPHONSE!"
"ONE DAY I'M GOING TO KEEP THAT PROMISE WE MADE, LEV. WAIT FOR IT, YOU HEAR ME?!"
"I'LL BE WAITING FOR DAILY UPDATES IN THE GROUP CHAT TOO!"
In the end, they could no longer keep up with the vehicle, but Lev never once showed any sadness.
(... Damn it, now I really have to give it my all, don't I?)
He pounded his fist against his chest, then punched toward Bleuhaven, which was growing more distant by the second.
"Knighthood, Rankings… I don't care about that. But I'm going to give it my all on this blind leap!"
— Chapter 6: End.