About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

As the door was knocked open, Lin Guang threw the "simple bomb" in his hand out. The ignition device was activated, igniting three high-pressure fire extinguishers tied together from the inside.

"boom--!!"

After a loud bang, a huge amount of smoke and powder covered half of the factory.

"Cough cough cough... It's worse than I thought. Auntie, are you okay?"

Maria threw aside the iron filing cabinet door that she had picked up to block the impact, and pulled Sofia out of the room.

"Ahem! Ahem—Goooo!"

"Why are you attacking us?!"

After the two ran to a slightly safer place, an infected person staggered out of the smoke and was immediately knocked to the ground by Maria. She raised her sword and questioned the other person loudly.

"Ahem—why? Because you bastards have taken everything from us! Before the Knightly Games were less popular, we retired knights could barely survive with the subsidies and living expenses, but now everything is gone! Those people took all our money to organize those crappy Knightly Games, and no one cares about our lives!"

"Then go and argue with those knights. It's pointless to vent your anger on us."

Zofia retorted with a frown.

"What knights?! They, and you, are all just a bunch of people in disguise... Wait, you're the one from the Linguang family—you bastard, you bastard! Are even the Linguang family going to join them?!"

The infected person seemed to recognize Maria's identity and suddenly became emotionally broken.

Maria also seemed to have a vague feeling that when she was young, she seemed to have seen this ragged infected person at a large party. However, he was not so embarrassed at that time. He was wearing a neat military uniform and laughing and chatting beside his grandfather.

"...What do you mean by joining?"

"This is your choice! The honor we fought so hard to protect has been completely exploited and devoured by those bastards from the Commercial Association! I didn't believe it then, Margaret, but now I finally understand. Even the Linguang Family has completely fallen!"

The infected person roared, looking extremely angry about Maria Rinkou joining the Knights' Tournament.

"..."

Looking at the roar of the infected warrior knight in front of her, Maria remembered what the captain of the Howling Knights had whispered to her at that time.

"You shouldn't participate in knightly tournaments because there are no real 'knights' in them."

The knights of Casimir have now been completely devoured by that tournament, and will never be able to regain their former glory... right?

At this moment, Maria understood the reason for her hesitation and what she should do next.

Clang——!

Maria put the knight's sword aside, stood up and looked at Zofia beside her.

"Auntie—I just said I wouldn't participate in the knight competition, but it seems I'm changing my mind..."

"Maria, what do you mean—"

"I will still participate in the knightly competitions, but... I will do it in my own way, uninfluenced by anyone, and advance step by step. Because I want to prove to everyone that the knights of Casimir haven't disappeared, and that the spirit that my grandfather and ancestors fought so hard to uphold still exists."

"..."

Zofia didn't say anything. At this moment, Maria finally found a target, a target that was somewhat similar to the former "Knight of Glory", but also somewhat different.

"Over here!" "What was that explosion just now!?"

Before the two had time to catch their breath, another group of infected people rushed in from the entrance of the abandoned building, and this time there were more of them than before.

"Well……"

Maria picked up her sword and got ready, while Zofia also tried to take out the weapon at her waist.

I can't die here. I have to prove to everyone that what Grandpa and the others have been protecting hasn't truly dissipated!

Just before the enemy rushed over——

"I'm sorry, I didn't expect the enemy to have reinforcements."

Almost instantly, a dark shadow flashed by, and the infected veterans fell to the ground without even having time to scream. Only Zofia and Maria were left staring at each other with wide eyes.

Orson knew that the infected mobs were targeting this place, but these infected were also an excellent "necessary part of the plan"

However, the subsequent batch of reinforcements was truly unexpected, and Maria was unable to handle it, so Orson had to go on stage and solve the problem himself.

"...Orson!"

Maria looked at the black-haired young man who appeared before her, and she revealed a delighted expression. At the same time, she finally recalled what her grandfather had said to her:

"Maria, if you're really confused about the future, then go and fall in love."

"After all, anvils and lathes can't untie your knot, but the other half of your soul can."

"—"

Maria's expression became a little subtle when she recalled these words.

And in the car not far from the abandoned building——

"Meow... Can I sleep, Dr. Kelsey?"

"Well, get some sleep."

Rosemary, the co-pilot, was wagging her tail and pecking at rice like a chicken, holding a medical kit in her arms.

Kal'tsit, who was tricked by Orson into coming out on standby with the excuse that "there might be a medical emergency, so please be sure to help", stroked mon3tr, who was about to explode at any time, with one hand, and put the other hand on the car window, silently watching the wonderful scene of Orson being knocked to the ground by Maria not far away, and Zofia trying frantically to separate the two.

——It’s great that the child was not injured, and the other Ms. Zofia only received minor injuries.

——But since we’ve got the medicine box, we should find a way to use it, right…?

Looking at Orson who was entangled by two horses not far away, Kal'tsit was thinking about how badly she should beat that idiot.

25. What can you practice in a maid cafe?!

"Don't mess up the rhythm, keep your breathing and pace consistent."

"Ok!"

"Don't keep your muscles tense. It takes too much energy."

"understand!"

"Remember, the shield can block most attacks, so remember to use it wisely."

"Roger that!"

In the small garden outside Maria's living room, Orson was practicing with Maria with an unsharpened longsword, pointing out the flaws and shortcomings in her posture.

Because Aunt Sofia had to deal with business matters today, the two did not go to Sofia's house, but started today's training at home.

Orson's previous "trick" had reassured Maria about her intention to participate in the Knights' Games. Far from being angry at Orson's "trick," she sincerely thanked him afterwards and finally gave her all in subsequent training, showing visible improvement.

"Good—you're in good shape. Let's take a break. Let's keep going at this pace."

"Ha... okay... Orson has been helping me correct the problem, but he doesn't breathe heavily at all..."

The training was temporarily over, and Maria sighed softly as she took off her equipment.

"Maria, you can do this with more training. The Kuranta race itself has much better endurance than ordinary people."

Orson said as he handed Maria a bottle of water.

"It's true that my aunt and sister both have terrifying physical strength... By the way, Orson, um—are you free today?"

Maria looked at Orson and spoke casually in a tone that pretended to be very calm.

"Today? There shouldn't be anything special to do."

Orson thought about it and realized that apart from helping some lazy boss write a monthly summary report later, he didn't have anything to do today.

First I had to write my own surveillance report, and now I even have to write Platinum’s monthly work summary. Should I consider changing my career to become a secretary?

"In that case, could you go out with me?"

Maria asked with some amusement.

"Of course, what is Maria going to do?"

"Haha... I wanted to buy some equipment. I can't use my training armor and knight sword for real battles."

Maria rubbed her hair embarrassedly, then patted her training armor and sword.

"That's true. I heard that 'equipment' is also very important in knight competitions. Some companies even spend a lot of money to purchase the right to allow contestants to use additional supplies on the battlefield."

Orson nodded. When chatting with Plastic Knight before, Orson's understanding of knight competition deepened a little. At the same time, he also had a more intuitive understanding of the outrageous extent to which this competitive game was corrupted by capital.

"That being said...Maria, do you have enough money?"

Orson asked with some concern. After all, the assets of this young lady from the knight family in front of him were probably only slightly better than those of Rhodes Island, which was in negative territory.

"Don't worry! I saved some money before, so I can use it now—ah."

Maria patted her chest confidently, but the next second she froze as if she suddenly remembered something.

"I used that money to buy a repair tool kit set..."

She is quite similar to Kal'tsit. When she encounters something that interests her, she will just take action without considering the consequences.

"What should we do now?"

Orson sighed and asked Maria.

"Gu... Now that things have come to this, the only option left is to contact my aunt and use that trick...!"

Maria seemed to have thought of a solution, but judging from her expression, it was probably not an easy task.

--------

Located in a 'cafe' not far from the bustling commercial street.

"Maria, coffee for table 7."

"learn!"

Maria picked up the plate and walked carefully towards table number 9. She was no longer wearing her usual simple and elegant white outfit, but a maid outfit inlaid with lace.

"Sir, your coffee is here. Um... this is a magic spell that makes the coffee even sweeter."

Maria put the coffee on the table, and then made a heart gesture in front of the guests in an extremely stiff manner.

This coffee shop is one of the businesses owned by Aunt Zofia. It is precisely because everyone knows that this coffee shop has some connection with the "Linguang Family". Therefore, Maria, who has not yet officially become a "Knight", works here. Even if it is exposed by people with ulterior motives, it can be said that she is helping the family business and will not be caught.

The only problem is that Maria has no experience in the maid industry.

"Welcome back, host...guest."

Maria's abrupt approach to soliciting customers scared away several guests who were about to come in.

"Haa ...

Maria sighed and lamented that it was not easy to make money. At this moment, her shoulder was suddenly patted gently.

"Don't push yourself too hard, Maria."

Orson, who came to help, was wearing a butler's uniform and was also helping to raise funds for the upcoming official competition.

"Orson...I'm sorry, that wasn't my original plan."

Maria whispered embarrassedly.

Maria's original plan was to take Orson shopping in a natural way, but now it has turned into a situation where she is dragging Orson to work in a cafe, which seems a bit weird no matter how you look at it.

"It's okay, and you can actually think of this part-time job as training."

"train……?"

Maria tilted her head. She had no idea what she could learn from working in a maid cafe.

"That's right, training knights in etiquette. I heard that a qualified knight should be able to treat everyone calmly and respectfully. In a sense, it's not much different from what we do now."

"Orson? There's a guest calling you!"

Orson was explaining, and then the voices of other store employees were heard, urging Orson to come over and help.

"Wait a moment—how can I help you?"

Orson came over and first bowed, then gave the customer an unconcealed and pure smile. He also poured ice water for the other party and helped the other party to fix the buttons on his neck. He did the whole process smoothly and Maria was stunned.

It was not known what Orson said specifically to the customer. All he saw was that the customer, who was a little angry at first, soon calmed down and then smiled and pulled Orson to give him a tip.