Uncle here isn't your average office worker!

"Hmph, we'll let it go this time. Remember, it's true you're the leader of the Helmet Knights, but you're not the only one in the Helmet Knights to be the leader. If you're willing, we can bring out a second, a third left hand. Next time, even if we're beaten to the ground, we absolutely will not allow you to surrender!"

Upon hearing this, Titus Baiyang knew that the matter was over for today, but seeing the spokesperson's undisguised elation, he couldn't help but remind him:

"That being said, you still need to consider the issue of the Meteor Knight's weapon. It has become his greatest weakness, and it's hard to guarantee that other knights won't use the same methods I have against him, which could further prolong the match. And then..."

The spokesperson nodded knowingly.

.........

“Master, your weapon is no longer suitable for such high-level combat, which is why I brought you here specifically.”

Holding Roy's hand, Maria stood in front of a bar called "Dread Martin" and said earnestly.

Then Roy flicked her on the forehead: "Minors aren't allowed in places like bars."

Maria covered her head, where a small red mark had been left, and protested, feeling wronged:

"No, this is a bar outside, but inside is another master's workshop!"

Roy looked up at the bar in the corner of the city.

As if isolated from the brightly lit streets and alleys outside, the small shop blends into this low-rise residential building. There are no dazzling neon lights or eye-catching signs with various patterns. Two dim, old-fashioned Originium lamps hang on both sides of the sign, illuminating the large lettering "Grim Martin" that has been covered with moss and unknown plants.

The shop, run by three retired knights, is open for business but business is slow. It mostly serves as a place for veterans to chat and have fun. Maria, who is young, beautiful and energetic, is almost an anomaly here. However, she blends in perfectly with her clever and cute personality and her identity as "Nearlight", becoming the most dazzling bright spot in the gloomy bar.

Roy certainly knew where he was; he was just joking with Maria. Although the full view of the bar wasn't shown in the story, no one who had read the Long Night Ascendant would be unfamiliar with this bar, a place frequented by a series of knights and important figures such as Maria, Margaret, Zofia, and Nightmare.

“Really?” Roy asked.

Maria patted her chest and said, "Of course it's true."

"Hey, I'm so sad." Roy deliberately put on a sad expression.

Maria immediately panicked and asked, bewildered, "What's wrong? Why?"

"It's sad that Maria has another mentor."

“The other one… Master, stop joking! You’re laughing out loud!” Maria stomped her foot, her cheeks puffed up with anger, and looked at Roy’s expression as if questioning how he could deceive an innocent fourteen-year-old girl.

"Exactly, exactly. I'm so sad too. Maria actually found a second master behind my back. Has she finally had enough of learning blacksmithing from an old man like me?"

Seemingly sensing the commotion outside, the bar door had opened sometime earlier, and an Ursus man with a "furry" appearance stood in the doorway, hands on his hips, sighing with a regretful expression. But when his gaze fell on Roy, his regretful expression suddenly froze, and he immediately rushed inside, dragging out another bewildered, bearded old man, excitedly saying:

"Hey, old man, my eyesight isn't good. Look over there, isn't that the Meteor Knight who's all the rage right now?"

"Meteor Knight? You must be dreaming." The old man, known as Old F, turned around impatiently to look at Maria's side, then froze, yelling as he tried to run into the house, "Old Martin, something terrible has happened! We saw some Meteor Knight with Maria lately! Could that news report we read be true?!"

Roy raised his hand and then lowered it, his lips twitching slightly.

The man ran pretty fast; he didn't even have a chance to stop him. Now, seeing the lights suddenly come on in the apartment building, Roy knew something big was going to happen tonight.

But what about the report that Old Freak was talking about?

Roy looked at Maria, only to see her fidgeting and looking both shy and scared, her eyes gradually turning dangerous.

"Maria, what's going on with the [report]?"

Maria's face turned bright red, and she frantically waved her hands, 'I...I...I...I don't know! Master!'

"Then why are you blushing?"

"Because...because..."

Now that things have come to this, she absolutely cannot bring herself to say that she knows Roy has a crush on her sister and that she herself is a little resentful.

PS: Day 15 of the school lockdown. I miss the time outside, especially 2019.

Two more cases were added today, bringing the total to 21. When will this end?

Volume 1: Chapter 74 Kal'tsit, you're so old, you must have a lot of experience.

Watching Roy take the magazine with Roy and Margaret's portraits from Fergwald's hands, Maria felt her heart skip a beat. However, to her utter surprise, after taking the magazine out, old Fergwald seemed quite excited as he read aloud the magazine's extremely long headline, framed with various fancy hearts:

"Bible or confession? The Radiant Knight was actually the Meteor Knight's first love! An exclusive interview with the youngest sister of the Nearl family, unraveling the years between Margaret and Roy!" I said, young man, is this true?"

Roy: "..."

Although he had expected this to happen, Roy still felt a mix of shame and unease when this scandal actually happened to him.

After hesitating for a long time, Roy finally forced himself to open the magazine's cover page, despite his shame.

From childhood sweethearts, Roy, nicknamed "Little Stone" who was bullied by Margaret, to their teenage years, the strong-willed Margaret always protected the weak Roy, acting as the big sister and promising, "Of course I will protect you for life." Then, in their youth, due to differences in their ambitions, conflicts and rifts appeared between them. The headstrong knight Margaret Nearl and the unassuming knight Roy, who was always in harmony with the world, gradually drifted apart from their close bond. Later, when Margaret participated in the 22nd Major, Roy, though stubborn and seemingly unconcerned, always silently cheered her on, never letting Margaret know.

Finally, at the climax of everything, Margaret, as the Independent Knight, won the championship and was showered with glory. The first thing she thought of was finding Roy, to share the good news with him, and to prove that "I, who you said was stubborn, can also protect you!" Meanwhile, Roy had prepared a grand celebration banquet for Margaret at the restaurant he frequented as a child. At this crucial moment when both sides were heading towards their goal, Margaret was suddenly accused of concealing her infected identity during the competition, was disqualified from the championship, and was exiled from Kazimierz! Roy was left sitting alone in the restaurant all night, staring blankly at the table full of food prepared by Margaret.

Now I understand how insignificant those arguments were to each other. We were best friends all along, and I always admired you. The injustices you suffered, the reasons you hid for becoming infected, and the things you couldn't accomplish—I so wanted to know. I so wanted to be by your side, to face it all with you. But it's too late… I will walk in your place, with my own body, to follow the path you took. You are me, and I am you! A meteorite is just a small stone; it is precisely the brilliance it produces when it streaks across the night sky that makes it so dazzling!

The magazine ends with Roy's final monologue, in which Roy raises his head, his features contorted, and his toes have dug out ten three-bedroom apartments.

How is this magazine article? Is the writing good? Is the plot good? Are the characters good? They're all excellent! Absolutely superb. Judging from the interweaving of the main and subplots, the descriptions of Roy and Margaret's childhoods, and the portrayal of Margaret's strong, unyielding personality, the author must have read many books and records related to Margaret. But the problem is, if this book has even the slightest connection to the truth, it can't be completely unrelated!

Especially since the protagonist of this thing is himself, Roy's mind was filled with thoughts like, "Who am I? Where am I? When did I do this? If I had really done this with Margaret, would I have become Maria's brother-in-law?" while reading it.

"Uh... um... I... it's a very good story, it has a fairy tale feel to it."

Roy remained silent for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out a few words of evaluation.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Master! You can punish me however you want, I'm so sorry!"

Maria Nearl, the magazine's special interview guest and content consultant, bowed deeply in utmost sincerity in her apology.

Logically speaking, this report should be Apophis's masterpiece. Maria was just a deceived child and didn't do anything wrong. But the problem is that Maria actually knew very well what she had done at the time.

No matter how wild Apophis's imagination runs, it's impossible for her to come up with the plot of a short story in just a few days. Most of the content actually has a source, and that source is Maria herself.

The reason Maria would fabricate a bunch of baseless stories is simple: she is fourteen years old this year, and according to the laws of human growth cycle, she is currently in a special period—the second year of junior high school, or in short, the "second year of middle school."

It's well known that children at this age see the world from a perspective that adults simply cannot comprehend, and this perspective often leads teenagers to engage in behaviors often referred to as "chuunibyou" (adolescent delusions of grandeur). Naturally, Maria, whose hobbies revolve around her older sister and knights, whose daily interests include reading knight and princess novels, and whose future goal is to become a legendary craftsman and forge a god-slaying weapon for her sister, will be the subject of a serious interview with Apophis, a reporter eager to create a sensation, with the interview topic being "Roy and his sister's story." One can only imagine what will happen.

Thus, the most compelling novel in the field of journalism, and the most realistic news story in the field of novels, was born.

Roy looked at Maria, who was almost bent over at the knees, opened his mouth, but in the end couldn't bring himself to scold his little pony. He just patted her on the shoulder and comforted her, "It's okay, don't be fooled by these unscrupulous media outlets next time."

Maria immediately looked up, wanting to express her gratitude, but before Roy could finish speaking, he quietly added:

“I don’t care, but I can’t say what your sister will do if she sees this report.”

In an instant, Miss Nearl seemed to turn ashen and turn to stone.

.......

In an instant, Miss Nearl seemed to turn ashen and turn to stone.

Margaret checked the name of the "content consultant" on the magazine's title page no less than ten times. However, the name Maria Nearl, like the content of the article itself, was firmly etched into her mind.

It's impossible to be mistaken. Unless his stern uncle got married and had a child named Maria during her absence, there's no way the Linguang family could have another Maria. Considering Marner's eccentric personality, the probability of him finding a woman to marry is definitely no higher than if his parents suddenly returned and had another child named Maria.

"Maria! What...what nonsense are you talking about?!"

Now nearing thirty and still single, this innocent "leftover woman" who has never been in a proper relationship is completely unaccustomed to this situation. Just looking at those cheesy love quotes in magazines makes her heart pound so hard it feels like it's about to jump out of her throat.

Not to mention, there's also the final monologue by Roy.

Margaret didn't know if this monologue had anything to do with Roy, but she knew that ever since she watched Roy's biblical declaration in the screening room, many people had started speculating about their relationship. And now that the magazine was published, she estimated that Miss Amiya would come knocking on her door tomorrow, asking if she should change her marital status on her resume to "married."

The thought had barely crossed my mind when, without even waiting until tomorrow, Amiya's voice came from outside the door:

"Um, Ms. Linguang, oh, you're here. Yes, excuse me, I have something I'd like to confirm with you. Do you have time now? It's about... um, your marital status on your resume."

"I'm not married!" Margaret flung open the door, her face flushed and her eyes glistening with tears (half from being moved by the simple yet wonderful book, and the other half from embarrassment) as she shouted.

"Is it... a divorce? I'm sorry, I'm bringing up a painful time for you," Amiya said cautiously.

“...I have never been married!” Margaret felt a chill in her heart and emphasized.

Spot, who was passing by, immediately pulled Amiya aside and whispered a reminder:

"Amiya, have you forgotten? As soon as Nearl won the championship, she was exiled. She and Roy were forced to separate without even seeing each other at the victory celebration. How could they possibly get married!"

Amiya's ears perked up, and she suddenly realized, "Oh, I'm sorry. Thank you, Mr. Spot."

"Amiya, what are you talking about?" Kal'tsit, who had been passing by the corner of the cabin at some point, saw Nearl looking grief-stricken and Amiya and Spot looking rather coy beside her. She raised an eyebrow and asked.

“Dr. Kal'tsit, we’re talking about relationship issues,” Amiya replied immediately.

The old lynx opened its mouth as if it wanted to speak and become a teacher, but then closed it again, looking slightly embarrassed.

Well, she has no experience with this either, never mind.

"Go back to work early. You're still so young, why are you talking about emotional issues? I'm leaving now." With that, Kal'tsit quickly left the scene, leaving behind only a dejected Margaret and Amiya, who was trying to cheer her up.

Spot stood to the side, watching Kal'tsit's departing figure, but the rant that was on the tip of her tongue was swallowed back.

"Amiya won't talk, but you will. I suppose Dr. Kal'tsit is so old, she must have a lot of experience in relationships, right?"

Thank goodness I didn't say it out loud, or I would have been dead.

Volume 1: Chapter 75 I didn't say which Nearl?

"So, Maria, you brought this big star all the way here just to ask me to forge him a good weapon?"

Old Koval pouted, looking displeased. Maria grabbed Koval's large bear paw and swung it back and forth, laughing:

"Of course not, I also came to see my master."

"Hehe, you have such a sweet tongue. Maria is so cute, old man. How old was Margaret when you started doing *that*?"

Old F, holding a large glass of beer, rolled his eyes at Koval's words and said, "That's called the rebellious phase. Margaret's rebellious phase was probably around Maria's age, right? But our Maria was so well-behaved. Back then, Margaret was always causing trouble, dyeing her hair, drinking, and saying things like, 'Is this the darkness of this land? No problem, let me light it up! I am Margaret Nearl, the great knight of light and courage, charging into the deepest and most evil darkness!' Then she would grab a stick and go fight with thugs on the street. No one could stop her except Cyril."