MN-6 Blue Ear Wine Cellar

......

You tell them to drink, but what about you? How many pints have you downed?

Pipe down, old bones. I just gotta fire up the engine in me—

—What's wrong, girl?

Not looking too good there. You and Zofia haven't patched things up yet?

I'm fine... Has Auntie been here again?

She was pacing around right by the door, but then she left just a minute ago. She's worried about you.

I say you go find her.

......

They've already decided my next opponent.

If I can win, do you think my auntie... do you think everyone will understand me then?

There, girl...

...Things aren't that simple, Maria.

Hey! Watch it, old boy, what're you blabbering?

The reason Zofia doesn't want you in the Major's not just because she reckons you'll lose or get hurt...

The competition isn't fair. See, the moment you set foot up higher, you're up against more than just your opponents...

Think corps. Corps playing other corps. Families fighting other families.

Not even them Adeptus watchdogs'll stick their hands in. Between the Knights Association, Grand Knight and all the directors, they make a three-way power tussle messier than you might ever imagine.

......

Course, I wouldn't tell you to give up, Maria.

'Think it through, look at all the difficulties you'll face, and only then should you press on. ' When you figure that one out, go knock 'em all the hell down for us old-timers to see.

...Mm!

We've got a new face—

——

—You're not welcome here. Kindly leave.

Don't be so cold, my old friend, dear Tremoriron Knight.

Your sacrifice brought a chronic heat to us all. I'm greatly respectful of your disposition within the arena.

Who the hell're you?

...The level-2 knight, Vogelweide... the former second-order knight. Or ought I be calling you Batbayar? I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing it correctly...

Hey—

Ooh, no, no, let's not bring the daggers out. I'm certainly no knight, merely an assiduous civil servant...

Cool it! Vogelweide!

...If I had my bow on hand, you wouldn't dare talk to me like that.

I appear to have made a transgression. If I offended you, I deeply, profoundly apologize.

Leave that little two-faced act by the door. What are you doing here?

...I'm a mere working stiff. As is natural, I'm here to relay to Miss Maria Nearl some arrangements the Knights Association have made.

Miss Maria?

Ah... um, here...

Your next opponent has been duly decided.

No reason to come in person for this.

True, but I do prefer to handle things personally. It is the only way I ensure I have an exact grasp on all manner of matters that may arise in the workflow... Of course, there's a selfish element as well.

I can hardly contain my curiosity regarding the sister of the Radiant Knight Margaret Nearl. The young knight who's all the rage.

There are many seeded players, hopefuls for the Major, who have hardly the popularity to match up to you, Miss Maria. It is a strength you bear as a competition knight, an advantage.

I hope to see you make appropriate use of this advantage. Of course, I also possess many... high-grade business contracts.

When compared to any of those sponsors who sought you out in private, I can guarantee that these are all corporate and Knightclub affiliations beyond your imagination...

We're long sick of your sales pitch. Maria here takes things her own way.

Hear, hear! You've taken all the glory out of knighthood. It's profane!

Glory? Ah... right, glory.

The campaign knights garrisoned the frontier fortresses at dawn, and competitors of every standing brought value regardless to Kazimierz—

Glory, where is glory? Has it vanished?

No.

No-one can excise glory from Kazimierz. Not even if the hundreds of thousands of Kazimierz companies, big and small, were to join forces as one.

So have knights been reduced to tools of war, eyes blinded by profit? Have knights abandoned glory themselves, forgotten their pasts?

No and no. To say that is to look down on the knights. No director would dare entertain the lie that knights have become marionettes. For what reason would the flourishing of the competition knights bring us sorrow?

*Spit*! Who are you to talk about glory?

Kazimierz can't even remember what the past—

—Past glory, the spirit of knighthood, ah—the great transcendental soul! The sun that beamed in history's hollows!

Do I have that right? But neither spectator nor tourist need spirit, and it's hardly necessary for us to make a show of it for them.

Slippery little... I could tear your face off right now.

Ah, let's not be so hasty. Glory, yes, what a wonderful thing, what an impeccable thing, and still it exists upon every knight family's crest—

—But, most unfortunately, the Kazimierz people no longer need it.

It has not been abandoned, nor drowned beneath. It has always been here. The simple fact is people nowadays... do not need it.

I can hardly even say 'abandoned' is fair, my friend. When you buy an all-new intercity net-connected digital television, and you stow away your old radio into the cupboard, do you call that 'abandoned?'

Rather, it's forgotten. Not the kind that carries a spiteful meaning. It is the pure kind of forgetting, the one that results from the progress that scientific advancement and new modes of life bring.

How can you denounce progress itself? My friend?

Don't call me 'friend' this or 'friend' that. There's not a single friend of yours here.

Finish up fast and trot on home. Maria isn't on display here.

No, my friend, you are wrong once again.

Of course I do not stand in front of a knight simply to demean her status. No, but every knight has the obligation to recognize her own responsibility to Kazimierz.

Knights are no exhibits, but the most noble and lavish of the showcases, for all the world to gaze upon the beauty of Kazimierz! I dearly hope you can all understand this.

Ashley... you think we went overboard this time? Hey, Ashley, come on. Did you pass out?

Ggh, it's so loud... shit hurts...

Haha, yeah, I get you... but we have to keep up the pace. Want me to carry you?

...In hell!

They haven't caught up with us yet... What street are we on, even?

There's... their breath, from the front! Turn left!

Okay—hold on tight—!

...When's the next match?

Oh, my apologies, I'd almost forgotten what I was here for.

It's three days from now, and your opponent will be the Left-hand Knight... 'Left-hand' Tytus Topola.

......

As a sidenote, Miss Maria, if you accept any of the Knightclub proposals I've put forward to you, then even supposing you have no luck in the Major—

—I can still guarantee the legitimacy of your noble knighthood will remain secure.

I'm sure Miss 'Whislash' Zofia, and the Radiant Knight, far away wherever she is, will both be reassured.

...I appreciate your kindness.

I'll make Kazimierz recognize the Nearl family. I won't let all my ancestors' efforts go to waste. I WILL prove that the Nearl family deserves its knighthood!

Well, well, you'll prove... in the competition... Tell me, will you prove?

Is cooperation with a corporation not the greatest proof a knight could have of her status? When you face your most ardent fans, tourists from all corners of Terra, the loyal clientele of Kazimierz, what is it that you so desperately want to tell them—

—What will you prove?

...I will prove...

—Pardon?

......

I...

I'm sorry, please wait a moment.

Hello? Speaking. What? No, I'm currently... Right, I understand. Please, don't worry.

Regretfully, Miss Maria, it seems I cannot wait for your answer.

And to you, gentlemen, pardon the offense I've caused, and I hope you have a pleasant evening.

Keh. Get outta here.

......

Well, then. Let me bid you farewell. If you ever change your mind, contact me at any time.

......

Makes me want to hurl seeing that corp slime face.

Say, V... Why'd he know your...

...I'd like to know myself. Since my grandpappy passed on, been the better half of a century since I heard a soul call my old name.

And his pronunciation was a pile of shit.

Things are getting risky. Knights Association and the corps are looking into us now. Looking into all of us.

Someone might've already started making moves.

......

Don't look like that, Maria. You're not alone here. We owe a hell of a lot to your old Grandpa Nearl. We're all—

Anyone here—!? Sorry, we got a casualty—

...The Flametail Knight?

Nearl...? Uh, let's make this quick—could you help us out here a bit?

Ugh... well, this sucks... I was looking forward to our arena matchup. Now I get to remember you as my nurse first, huh?

B-Both of your injuries...! Come on, just come with me, quickly—

Wait, what are you all—

Maria, you look after the wounded. Don't need to worry about anything else.

Kowal!

Here's your bow, you old bones!

Looks like they brought company.

......

......

......

...They didn't come with.

Pfah. Who're we dealing with? Who sics themselves on competition knights in broad daylight?

That kid's an Infected. Let's go see what's what. Might need more than just Maria for this.

—Marcin?

......

...On my way.

The previous Platinum harbored a secret love for his target, and so for the sake of protecting the object of his affections, he died at the Armorless Union's hands.

As a result, the girl of today was pushed hastily into the position, our 'youngest Platinum.'

...She is a gifted mark, make no joke, and I must say her strong potential makes her unignorably suited for the role... but in all other respects, she is far and away one of the least mature to ever assume the position.

I-I see... Why are you telling me this? The Armorless Union's existence should be classified... so aren't you...

Oh, do lay your concerns aside. It's simply been on my mind quite a bit as of late. Had I not made the effort to get to where I am today, I would hardly enjoy the privilege to ponder it.

Did you know? Our present Platinum was elected to the position by the very Platinum before her, doomed to die as he was.

A great deal of food for thought... Not to mention why the Armorless Union would listen to a traitor, to say nothing of how electing this girl would have absolutely no impact on his own death sentence. For what reason did he do this?

Before the arrow of his own colleague shot through his chest, did he think to cry out? To whom? Of what? To what end? Would it have been that easy?

......

If I remember correctly, you a Słoma employee, correct?

Y-Yeah... so far in the event, I've been responsible for liaising between the major companies and the Knights Association...

Errand work takes quite the toll.

It's no problem. If I can contribute to the business, that's what I'm here for—

No no no, your work is what they pay your salary for. You needn't use such humble language.

You apparently had your own business before. What made you abandon it?

Ah... I didn't have what it took...

What distinguishes failure and success may be more than ability. Perhaps you have chosen the wrong path to walk, or perhaps you walk as I do now.

P-People like me only...

In Kazimierz, anything is possible.

......

Zofia... feels like an age since I saw you.

Oh, Marcin...

...Have you seen Maria?

Something cropped up. Had her head back home.

I see—

—I smell blood. Hold on. What are these bandages?

Has Maria been hurt? Who was she fighting? What happened?!

I told her not to be rash! Why doesn't this silly girl—

Steady, now. It's some other kid who got hurt.

...What happened?

Someone went for the Ashlock and Flametail Knights out of nowhere... Ashlock got injured, and by a mighty stroke of something, they ended up in here.

This morning, they said they didn't want to cause Nearl any more trouble and left.

...Do things like that just happen?

They're in a hell of a tight spot, but our hands are tied.

Seen the news this morning?

......

What's Maria doing now?

Competing.

Competing in what? Against who?

Unguarded one-on-one, just like with Ingra. Head to head.

Against 'Left-hand' Tytus Topola.

Hold on—who?

Blade Helmet Knightclub commander. Noble knight, big commercial name, been as far as the Final 16. Tytus Topola.

But... But there should be no way Maria gets matched against him at her point level, and his social standing is...

Someone came looking for Maria. It wasn't good.

She's just like Margaret used to be. Obsessed with charging forward, no idea how to deal with the corporates.

You think... she's like Margaret?

Margaret KNEW what she was doing. Maria only got like this after falling for her own wishful thinking about her own ideals.

She's not even clear what's in front of her, and she doesn't know what to do about it. She can't keep pushing upwards like this!

Maria was so much more carefree before this... She doesn't need to be the kind of knight you and I were, does she?

You might be right, but you need to remember she's got her own mind for things. You can't decide it all for her.

She's still real young, and uneasy at that. Maybe her being carefree was all just so she wouldn't worry you.

......

Maria might not come off mature a lot of the time, but what kind of kid without a fighting spirit could overcome the Plastic Knight, come to a draw with Brassrust, hold third place in a melee?

Maybe she ought to lose a match. It'd sober her up.

If you're telling me that's what you really think.

......

...Which arena is it?

Ladiiiiiiies—aaaand gentlemeeeenn! Welcommme, to the Fireblade Arena, and welcome to a very special event today!

An event already drawing the greatest media attention since the start of the preliminaries! Right at this verrry moment, all twelve imprints of the Rose Paper Union are zeroed in on one arena!

And not just that—whoa, put your hands together now for the Fireblade Arena, the third largest in Kazimierz! Because today! Every single seat has been filled!

Are our opponents today just that popular?! Or is this going to be one seriously major show?!

It's my job to tell you the answer is—booooth!

And I gotta say—what a privilege!

In today's special event! Our first competitor, hailing from the Nearl family, the mania for her's off the charts! The marvelous maiden knight who's got all her fans talking—Maria Nearl!

And facing her—! The concealed blade, the height of status, named for the old knight of legend, it's the headliner of the Blade Helmet Knightclub, it's 'Left-hand' Tytus Topola!

Ooooh, man! Might be a first, today—the knights haven't even come in yet, but the prize pool is running insane numbers! Looks like I oughta stop running my mouth already—I bet y'all wanted me to stop, right?

I got you! No time to lose! Would our two knights please enter the arena!

......

First on the battlefield is Maria Nearl! Just like always, pure white armor! Just like always, a delicate stance!

After defeating 'Plastic' Szewczyk, she's been marching victorious! Big or small, no matter the event, Maria Nearl brings her A-game!

Standing here now, she declared way back she had to get a place in the Major! Can she use this match as a stepping stone, and rise to the apex of the Kazimierz knights? We're all waiting to see!

(I never did that...)

And in the other corner—please—

Shut up, motormouthed clown.

Your sort don't deserve to stand in my arena. Get off the stage. Get out.

—No mistake! That's Tytus Topola! I've been saying forever, we oughta give all our contestants microphones and let the audience immerse themselves in the heat of battle!

This event is joint sponsored by Mieszko Group, Rose Paper Union, Słoma Food Company and the Roar Guards!

The entire audience will get product coupons for goods from the aforementioned companies at any time! And once again, I'm gonna personally recommend a must-have for all you watching the game—Blue Ear Beer!

...Nearl.

Ugly sight. Struggling to hold onto your family's knighthood. Like a gloompincer out of water.

With no strength to bear a knight's name, what service will shamelessly lashing out do?

...Your words mean nothing to me.

So they shall. May the last Nearl knight be ruined by my own hand today.

Fear not. I'm a different breed from Ingra's dross... You will know today that not all who bear weapons can be called knights.

I smell gunpowder! Primed and ready to blow—!

I'm done holding you back, so may I have the honor to declare! Let the match—beginnnn!

——

Hmph.

—Wh-What just happened?! It was instant! The instant it started! Maria's sword got sent flying! And one swift follow-up kick—!

This is a HUGE power imbalance, alright—!

Pick up your sword.

(It-It hurts...! How does he...!)

Faster.

......

(The ułan... extended attack range, and agile, and powerful... and leaves no gaps.)

...Again.

Good.

You won't have it your way—!

Frail.

Nnfh—!

Cleaving... the light?

...Is that so hard?

I was thinking I'd rend your sword straight in two, hmph... the Nearl family sword.

You hold shakily to your faith, but you know nothing true of faith. You are naive—weak—feeble-minded—

Unworthy to stand before me.

And again! The Left-hand Knight makes it look easy! He waits for Maria to pick up her weapon, and then deals the next blow!

This is the power of Kazimierz's first-class Knightclub! This is the power of a true Major knight! Pals in the audience here for the first time, don't close your eyes, don't miss a thing!

'Cause this brutal battle'll end in a flash!

Ungh—!