Uncle here isn't your average office worker!

"Actually, I'm his fan! A loyal fan! If possible, could I meet him?" she said.

"Uh..." Platinum opened her mouth, about to find an excuse to refuse, when Maria immediately reached out and hugged her around the waist with delight, jumping up and down like a little girl who had successfully met her idol.

"Thank you!" Car

I haven't even agreed yet, why are you already thanking me?

Are all members of the Linguang family this unreasonable?!

Book One: Chapter Fifteen: Mr. Roy, Please Teach Me!

Cavaleliaki, Old Town, Sustru Tulip Music Restaurant.

A romantic atmosphere, an elegant setting, and exquisitely embroidered tablecloths create a warm yet sophisticated ambiance. Blooming flowers, bathed in soft lighting, whisper tales of enduring affection. A musician's nimble fingers dance across the piano in the corner, music flowing in the air. Delicious food dances on the tongue, birds sing in the background, and especially after sunset, flickering candlelight adds to the ambiance. ⑨

This is a renowned dating spot in all of Cavaleliaki, where the high-quality service comes at a hefty price tag and impossibly long waiting times for appointments. Even Hinterlea spends considerable time and effort to reserve a table here.

Recalling how she had stayed up until midnight every night a month ago, eagerly trying to book through the reservation website, Hinterlea couldn't help but give a wry smile. But the thought of successfully inviting Roy instantly dispelled that helplessness and exhaustion, replaced by a touch of shyness and excitement.

Enjoying a delicious candlelight dinner at the Tulip Restaurant while listening to melodious tunes, followed by a movie at the Central Cinema, and using the opportunity to plan the next trip to the amusement park—this was Little Platinum's long-planned "Roy's Guide."

But... two

"Waaaaaah, Mr. Roy, it really is you! I'm your fan!" (iv)

Watching the blonde girl beside her, who was taking advantage of the handshake to grab Roy's hand and shake it wildly, Hinterlea bit her lip, a surge of grief and indignation washing over her!

That wretched Nearl! She acts like a child, with absolutely no emotional intelligence. Doesn't she know she's a nuisance, getting in the way of everyone else?! ⑨

Maria was completely oblivious to the ominous aura emanating from the white-haired woman behind her, which was almost turning into a dark, menacing presence. She simply grabbed Roy's hand excitedly, like a fan who had just met a celebrity.

Roy stared blankly at the familiar yet unfamiliar girl in front of him, his face full of confusion as he looked towards Little Platinum, his eyes clearly asking, "What's going on? Why did you bring her here?"

Platinum could only turn his head to the side and sigh helplessly.

She didn't want to, but this little girl was just too difficult to deal with. If she didn't agree, and she happened to tell Marna Nearl about the existence of Platinum, making him wary, then the surveillance mission would fail.

Seeing Platinum's expression, Roy roughly guessed what had happened. He could only smile slightly at Platinum, shrug, and give her a reassuring look. Then, looking at Maria, he smiled knowingly:

"I never thought I'd have fans, especially the famous Radiant Knight's sister, Miss Maria Nearl. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hey, do you know my name?" Maria was taken aback and looked puzzled when Roy directly told her her name.

But Roy simply patted her on the shoulder, called a waiter, and added a chair for Maria, explaining as if it were perfectly normal:

"Of course I know you, how could I not? Miss Maria, since you're my fan, you should know what my philosophy is, right?"

Maria nodded immediately and replied, "'The Three No's Principle' is the same principle as my sister's. Mr. Roy, are you also a fan of my sister?"

Roy recalled the figure of the Radiant Knight in his mind and nodded: "Of course, not only that, I also want to reach or even surpass the pinnacle that the Radiant Knight has reached."

After winning the championship, Margaret Nearl was forced to flee Kazimierz under the pretext of infection due to her overly assertive nature. Her fragility and weakness serve as a constant reminder to countless knights hoping to revive the glory of traditional knighthood. However, Roy is different. He knows that the reason the Merchant Guild can unite against Margaret is because the Supervisory Council, which Margaret represents, is irreconcilably opposed to the traditional knightly forces. Beyond this threat, the Merchant Guild is not actually a monolithic entity. Therefore, his goal is to destroy it from within.

Unbreakable alliances are often breached from within. He willingly became this bait because he knew that individual strength is always insufficient when facing a giant corporation. Only if the Unarmored Alliance he relied on could safely and quickly transform successfully could he rise from a pawn on the chessboard to a player qualified to wield the pieces. Only then could he avoid becoming the next Shining Knight.

“Sister Chaoyue.” Maria opened her mouth, but couldn’t say anything.

Her parents left her when she was very young, and her kind grandfather also passed away when she was young. Her uncle often worked long hours to support the family. From childhood to adulthood, her biggest role model and goal was her older sister.

Her sister was her guardian angel, her ideal woman, and the person she would spend her whole life chasing after. Maria had always believed this. So when Roy upheld the Radiant Knight's famous "three no's" principle and actually defeated his opponent as a competitive knight, she immediately became his loyal fan.

She thought that she and Roy were the same, both followers of the Radiant Knight.

But now, Roy suddenly says that his goal is to surpass the Radiant Knight.

A look of confusion crossed Maria's face, but Roy seemed oblivious to her subtle expression and continued:

"As a believer in the three principles of the Radiant Knights, I have naturally studied the deeds and life of this senior, including you, Maria Nearl. So of course I know you. And you will definitely become a remarkable person in the future."

"Am I that great?" Maria murmured. Then, as if remembering something, she pursed her lips and changed the subject, "By the way, Mr. Roy, before you became a gladiator knight, did you fight with anyone else?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Roy asked, feigning confusion.

"You fought your uncle, didn't you?" Maria asked seriously. "My uncle, Marna Nearl, you fought him, didn't you?"

"Where did you hear about this?" Roy asked.

“It’s in the wine newspaper,” Maria replied.

Roy couldn't help but chuckle, reaching out to ruffle Maria's blonde hair, and said, "Let me tell you a secret: 99% of the news in the Wine Gazette is fake news!"

"So that means..."

Seeing Maria's disappointed ears droop, Roy shook his head: "But it's true."

Maria immediately perked up and asked curiously, "Really? What was the result? Who won?"

"Well, in the end I was slightly better. But Marna didn't even bring a sword, she just used a pen, so it doesn't really count."

“We won!” Maria seemed to completely ignore the second half of Roy’s sentence, only repeating the word “we won” over and over again.

To her, whether her uncle used a pen or a sword was completely irrelevant. No one knew her uncle's strength better than she did. Even her sister, when she won the championship and went all out, couldn't withstand more than two moves from her uncle, who was only using one hand and a wooden sword at the time. A pen might sound strange, but to make an entire street look like it had been destroyed by a gas explosion, her uncle was definitely serious!

In this way, Roy's strength completely exceeded her expectations.

Gritting her teeth, Maria seemed to have made up her mind. Suddenly, she stood up from her chair, walked to Roy, bowed to him with utmost formality, and pleaded:

"Mr. Roy, although this is a bit sudden, could you please teach me how to become a knight?"

Upon hearing this, Roy was taken aback. Before he could reply, Hinterlea, sitting on the other side, finally lost her temper, slammed her hand on the table, stood up, and loudly refused:

"No way! Roy is my master, and no one is allowed to take him away!"

Volume 1: Chapter Sixteen So, what is the price?

"Sustero Tulip Music Restaurant is pleased to serve you, Miss Viviana. Your reserved private room is here."

Stepping into the elegant and upscale music restaurant, the captivating melodies immediately put Viviana at ease.

As a Letanian, she also loves music and art, and this restaurant is undoubtedly the one with the best musical style and taste in all of Cavaleliaqui. For this reason, she specially got a membership card here, booked a private room, and dine and relax here every week.

But this time, she had only been in the restaurant for a short while when the melodious music was interrupted by an angry female voice.

"No way! Roy is my master, and no one is allowed to take him away!"

The waiter who was showing the way showed a hint of displeasure to himself. He raised his hand to answer his headset, and was about to call on his colleagues to remind the lady who was shouting in the restaurant to be quieter, but Viviana suddenly raised her hand to interrupt him.

Although Tulip Music Restaurant has always been known for its high-end clientele, it is still a public place. This wasn't the first time Viviana had seen someone accidentally make a loud noise. Usually, she would just frown slightly and ignore it, but this time, she unexpectedly stopped and turned around to look in the direction from which the sound came.

She heard a familiar name: "Roy?"

"Master Roy, you can't agree to her request!" A hint of anger flashed across Hinterlea's face. After Roy awkwardly pointed to the quiet surroundings and the abruptly stopped music, she nodded awkwardly, sat down again, and lowered her voice, saying, "How can someone beg to become someone's apprentice on the first meeting? This little guy might have some bad intentions!"

Upon hearing this, Maria glared at Hinterlea, wondering why this kind-hearted white-haired older sister who had agreed to bring her to see Roy was suddenly speaking ill of her like this. She could only explain, feeling wronged:

"No, that's not how it is, Mr. Roy, please listen to me."

She organized her thoughts and said, "Mr. Roy, as you know, the Radiant Knight was exiled from Kazimierz for concealing his infected identity during the competition. But what you don't know is that after my sister left, the situation of the Nearl family did not improve; in fact, it worsened."

"According to the joint regulations of the Supervisory Council, the National Assembly, and the Knights Association, every knight family must have a Long Knight. The Long Knight must obtain a knighthood in order to ensure that the status and lineage of the knight family are not revoked by the National Assembly. The Long Knight of the Linguang family used to be my sister, but after she left, the Linguang family has no Long Knight."

This is a very real problem, so real that even an ancient family like the Lin Guang family is powerless to solve it.

Although the Supervisory Council and the National Assembly have been trying to buy time for the Linguang family out of respect for the old Linguang war heroes, this is not a long-term solution. The Knights Association is pressing hard, and if the Long Knight issue is not resolved, it is only a matter of time before the Linguang family loses its knightly noble status.

Maria doesn't have the same grand ambitions as Margaret, who hopes to become a beacon of light in the darkness of Kazimierz with her own meager strength. However, her determination and courage to protect her family and clan are no less than any of the Nearl! So, with Margaret gone and her uncle Marna toiling day and night to make a living, she keeps thinking about what she can do for the name of the Nearl.

Ultimately, she concluded that she too should follow her sister's example, participate in knightly competitions as an independent knight in the name of Nearl, win a title, become the Long Knight of the Nearl family, and carry this declining banner.

But this creates a significant problem—she's not strong enough.

Before having this idea, Maria had devoted her energy to the craftsmanship industry, learning the art of hammer forging from Koval, a craftsman from Ursus who had retired many years ago. She was not good at fighting, and she did not have Margaret's indomitable spirit.

So she was always looking for someone, someone who could teach her.

But Platinum clearly didn't believe Maria's words, and she questioned, "Even if Margaret is gone, doesn't the Nearl family still have your uncle Marna? Why don't you just have him be the Long Knight?"

Maria shook her head: "Uncle doesn't want to."

"Unwilling? The family is about to be expelled, and you still refuse?" Bai Jin was somewhat incredulous, but seeing Maria's expression, she didn't seem to be lying. She could only say, "Alright, then let's just say he's unwilling. Why don't you ask him to be your master? His strength isn't weak either, is it?"

As she spoke, Hintraya glanced at Roy. She had witnessed the battle between Marner and Roy firsthand. In her mind, even if Marner was slightly inferior to Roy, he was more than capable of teaching Maria a lesson. Moreover, he was Maria's family member, so wasn't he more trustworthy than Roy, a stranger she had only met once? It was clearly illogical for Maria to seek out Roy instead of him.

But Roy shook his head slightly: "Marna won't agree. What he'd be most angry about and unwilling to see is Maria and Margaret walking onto the arena for knightly competitions."

The man harbored a contradictory mix of pride and despair, but regardless of which was true, he was firmly opposed to Maria entering the Knights' Arena. This was evident in his actions during the [Maria Nearl] event, where he didn't intervene even as Maria was on the verge of being killed by Corruption on the field—he was clearly furious that his niece had ignored his advice.

He will not train Maria to become a knight, and he will never take another step closer to the rank of "knight" in Kazimierz. Kazimierz has no right to award him a medal. Expecting him to teach Maria is less desirable than expecting his aunt Zofia, who will retire in the competition this year, to become her mentor according to the original storyline.

Hearing Roy say this, Hintelia could only open her mouth, pouting helplessly, and turn her head away—she guessed that Roy was planning to take Maria as his apprentice, and she had to think of a way to limit this girl who was of higher status, had better bloodline, had a family background, and was overly familiar with others, so that she would know who was in charge!

But Roy wasn't so casual. He straightened his expression, looked at Maria with a serious face, and asked in return:

"I can agree to that, but the question is, what can you give me in return?"

Roy has always been a very realistic person. He knows that Maria has great talent. In the battle with the Nightmare Knight, she shed golden blood, which is the symbol of the purest and most powerful Pegasus bloodline. With careful teaching and training, Maria's future is limitless.

But that's the future. Maria's talent is Maria's talent, and there are too many talented people in this world. Roy can't possibly teach them all. Besides, taking Maria as a disciple would bring just as much trouble as it does now. First, if he takes Maria in, he reckons he'll inevitably clash with that working-class uncle who's competing with him for the title of strongest wage slave in Kazimierz. Second, it wouldn't be easy to explain to Xuan Tie.

The BOSS can accept Roy registering as an independent knight, can accept Roy using the three no's principle of the Shining Knights to attract fire, and can accept Roy slapping the Business Federation in the face right away. It probably even welcomes it and will applaud Roy.

But whether it could accept Roy truly becoming involved with the Radiant Knights, becoming Maria's mentor, and a high-ranking figure in the Supervisory Council was another matter entirely. It had sent Roy as an undercover agent, but he had infiltrated to the very top, almost becoming the son-in-law of the Radiant Knights. Could the Xuan Tie leader really be so trusting, without worrying that Roy would betray him?

Moreover, the key point is that the system did not provide any tasks based on this!

Clearly, Maria becoming his apprentice doesn't mean she's his boss, so the master-apprentice relationship isn't an employment relationship. Even if Roy wanted to take a cut and get some rewards, Maria couldn't issue him any tasks.