About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

Orson greeted with an awkward smile.

“Wow…Wow wow!!”

The Kuranta girl looked at Orson in front of her, and then immediately shouted with a red face.

On the first day in Casimir, he was caught and thrown into a "cage" for stealing an electric scooter. After obtaining the qualification of an infected competitive knight and being released from prison, he was hit by a car and then given a princess hug by a girl he didn't know.

It’s so fulfilling.

03. Aunt, please listen to my explanation...

An inconspicuous bar in Casimir Kavaleriyaki——

"Let me make it clear! Although our car suddenly stalled and accidentally hit you, and you used your Originium technique to intercept it so it wouldn't hit the wall or anything like that, but... uh, you say the rest, Old Fu!"

At the front desk of the bar, the Panda Wine Immortal was sitting next to Orson, fiddling with the wrench in his hand and questioning him loudly.

But as if he felt guilty in the middle of speaking, the Panda Brewmaster paused for a moment, then poked the elderly Yasuo beside him.

"Huh? Oh, no matter what you did, you actually dared to do such a shameless princess hug to our Maria! Are you ready for this, you bastard?!"

The old Yasuo sat on the other side of Orson, his tone as aggressive as that of the Panda Brewmaster.

"You two elders, please stop making trouble for now... This, uh, gentleman? He saved us. The situation at that time was also forced."

"Just call me Orson."

"Well, Mr. Orson."

Just as Orson was racking his brains thinking about how to respond to the two who were positioned like stupid parents, the Kuranta girl previously known as Maria poked her head out from behind the bar with a wry smile, signaling the two to stop causing trouble for Orson.

"I'm sorry, the situation was urgent and I didn't have a better solution."

Orson bowed his head and apologized to Maria. At the same time, he secretly sighed in his heart that this girl looked a bit like Lin Guang. (Orson's understanding of the original work only reached Chapter 7)

"Please don't apologize. The main cause of this accident was still due to - uh, some unexpected factors."

Maria wanted to say, "The reason is that old Ferg (old Yasuo) didn't drive and maintain the car properly," but if she really said that, it would probably cause another bloody storm.

——Also, my Originium skills suddenly stopped working at that time. What on earth was going on…?

Maria clenched her palms. She didn't feel any problems now, but at that moment, her Originium skills seemed to be blocked.

"Tsk, since Maria has said so... let's forget about it, Martin! Give this guy a drink. Let's be fair. Even though you managed to catch Maria in a princess hug, it's thanks to you that we're still here."

The elderly Yasuo greeted the elderly Johnny Silverhand who was not far away. The latter was a bald old bartender with a mechanical arm on his left arm.

"Normally, you still owe me four drinks, but this one's on me. Thank you for saving these troublesome guys."

Old Silverhand slid a glass of beer across the counter in front of Orson like a bartender in a western movie.

"No...well, I can't drink."

"Ah?! You're really a jerk who refuses to accept a toast! If that's the case, don't blame me—"

"Fixed!"

With a thud, Maria carried a TV out from behind the bar and placed it on the counter, interrupting the old Yasuo's textbook attempt to force people to drink.

"Although I think the wiring and the like shouldn't be a big problem, but...would you guys still stay a little further away?"

Maria took out the remote control and looked at everyone with some concern.

"Isn't it just repairing a TV? How could it explode?"

Old Yasuo sat on the chair with a disdainful tone and showed no sign of retreating.

"That's not what you said the last time the fish tank exploded."

"……Well"

The Panda Brewmaster's words made the old knight retreat a few steps obediently, and seeing this, Orson also retreated, even ready to summon the Pause to block the bullet at any time.

Fortunately, the TV Maria repaired didn't turn into C4. After the screen lit up, a few seconds of snow screen followed by colorful text and pictures and a slightly noisy voice came out of the TV screen:

Welcome to the Great Knight Territory of Kavaleriaki! Needless to say, you, the one reading this ad, already know what you're looking for. That's right! The Casimir Knight Tournament is about to officially begin! With the departure of the Black Knight and the disappearance of the Blood Knight, which guild/knight order will emerge victorious this year? Purchase your tickets now and not only receive a 9% discount, but also receive three Faith Vouchers to help your favorite knight advance!

Not only that, this Knights' Tournament is destined to be an extraordinary one! New and emerging external forces are entering the fray, and the supposedly unfathomable 'Infected Knight Rookie' is joining! And, and, and—the heir to the legitimate 'Lin Guang' name will once again step onto this arena! Want to see the Lin Guang family's return after six years? Everyone wants to! If so, order your tickets now! (P.S. Tickets for popular matches are subject to an additional 38% Knights' Tax.)

"Uh...it looks like it's fixed."

Listening to the commercials on TV, Maria smiled with an awkward expression.

"The heir to the name of Lin Guang—are you really participating, Maria?"

The old Silver Hand looked at Maria and asked with a complicated expression.

"Lin Guang?"

A familiar name came out from the TV, coupled with the words that the old silver hand had just said to Maria, which made Orson a little confused.

"It can't be helped... The Knights' Association has urged us four or five times this year, and my uncle has absolutely no intention of inheriting the position of 'Captain Knight,' so I have to rely on him."

Maria spoke with a somewhat depressed expression, but she soon cheered up again.

“Lin Guang—Hey, you’re Lin Guang’s sister!?”

Orson, who was slow to realize it, finally understood why he always felt that this Kuranta girl looked a bit like Lin Guang. It turned out that she was the "sister" that Lin Guang had mentioned before, Maria Lin Guang.

"Ahahaha...are you feeling disillusioned? I'm sorry, I'm not as dazzling as my sister, but even so, I will work hard for the sake of my family."

"It's not disillusionment, but——"

Halfway through his speech, Orsen suddenly recalled that Lin Guang had specifically told him not to tell his information to anyone.

Lin Guang did not explain the reason specifically, but it was obvious that she had her own considerations.

"But... I'm also a newly promoted competitive knight."

Orson changed the subject while reaching out to search for the badge he had found earlier.

"You're also a competitive knight? If so, I'd appreciate your guidance. So, have you just applied for qualifications from the Knights' Association?"

Maria asked Orson curiously.

"Not yet. I'm going to find a place to rest today and wait until tomorrow... hm?"

Orson kept searching his pockets, but couldn't find the badge given to him by the contact.

"what--"

Orson suddenly remembered that in order to release the pause and catch Maria, he threw the badge away.

——Don’t panic, it shouldn’t be a big problem...!

"Um, Ms. Maria, do you need to bring anything when you apply to be a competitive knight?"

Orson wiped the sweat off his forehead and asked Maria.

"My family's situation is quite special... Generally speaking, applicants for competitive knighthood must first pass the Knights Association's preliminary assessment. Only after obtaining the badge can they officially apply to be a competitive knight."

"Then, the importance of that badge..."

"It's very important. One of the basic principles of a knight is to protect the precious things around him. If a knight loses his badge, he will be disqualified."

“Ahem…!”

"Wow!? Are you okay? You suddenly vomited blood!?"

After hearing this, Orson spat out a mouthful of blood. He had discussed the plan with Kelsheitallula and Zaolu for such a long time, but he didn't expect that he would fail at the first step.

"Besides the badge, is there any other way to apply for the title of Tournament Knight?"

"Besides the badge, there should be something else, right? I remember that noble knights could nominate a few squires to participate in the knight competition... Could it be that Mr. Orson... lost the badge?"

Orson nodded, looking like he wanted to cry but couldn't.

"Wow... Could it be that it was lost because you were trying to save me? If that's the case..."

"Boom!!"

Maria's words were interrupted by a loud bang at the door of the bar. A woman named Kuranta, who looked a little older than Maria and wore a military cap, strode into the bar.

"Alas!"

With the woman's intrusion, Maria shrank behind the bar like a frightened ostrich.

"Uncle Martin...did she notice me?"

Maria asked quietly from behind the counter.

"You should have seen it. It's walking towards you with a smile on its face."

"That would be even worse...!"

Maria frantically tried to find another place to hide, but before she could get out of the bar, she was entangled and pulled out by a strange whip-like thing.

"Wow!"

"Maria--"

"Wait, wait a minute, Aunt Zofia—"

"Don't call me aunt! I'm not much older than you. Anyway, the topic now is, why did you secretly run off to participate in the knight competition? Was it because of your sister, the 'Shining Knight' who hasn't been heard from in several years?"

"Stop, stop, stop pulling my ears...!"

The Kuranta woman called Zofia grabbed Maria's ear aggressively, and seemed very dissatisfied with Maria's unauthorized participation in the knight competition.

"You don't understand the essence of knightly competitions at all! Margaret's actions can't be replicated. Just look at the report on TV: [The Return of the Brilliant Knights, the Linguang Family's Rookie Chief Knight's Debut]—you haven't even officially joined the competition, and you've already been fooled around by these businessmen!"

Sofia tapped the TV, and the TV that had just been repaired suddenly went out again.

"Wow...but I have to participate in the Knights' Games! If the Rinkou family doesn't get recognized by the Knights' Association, my uncle and I will be sleeping in the park next year...! And, and—I have to be responsible to Mr. Orson!"

“Puff cough cough!!”

Orson, who was drinking milk and watching the show, had his nostrils sprayed with milky white liquid.

“Responsible!?”

Zofia was obviously also shocked by Maria's words.

"Because of me, Mr. Orson lost something very important. Didn't Grandpa say that we should lend a helping hand to others? Therefore, I must make Mr. Orson my servant!"

"0v0?"

Orson pointed at himself, looking confused.

"Servant, servant—never mind, it seems there are more urgent matters to attend to."

Zofia let go of Maria's ear and turned to look at Orson, with only one emotion in her eyes:

You, a pretty boy, kidnapped my niece (sister)?

As for Orson, he completely understood that Maria was 100% Margaret's sister.

The way these two female knights speak is something that will shorten your lifespan!

04. Because of accidentally losing the key props, he can only become Xia Guang's subordinate

"Explain to me clearly what you did to Maria!"

Because Maria's previous remarks were as misleading as her sister's, Zofia now put her hands on her hips and kept approaching Orson with full momentum, as if saying, "If you don't explain yourself clearly to me, I will use the whip blade at my waist to whip you over."

“I didn’t do anything…!”

Orson gave a French military salute on the spot. The people in his own family were already enough of a headache for Orson, and he didn't want to be burdened with any more inexplicable interpersonal relationships.

"I see. So you mean the irresponsible scumbag?"

"Why did you come to such a conclusion?!"

Zofia, who had already formed a preconceived notion, reached for the whip blade at her waist with her right hand. Maria immediately stood between the two of them, trying to stop her aunt from blaming Orson for no reason.

"That's not the case, Auntie... uh, Sister Zofia. I accidentally lost Mr. Orson's competition badge, so I have to help find him the qualifications to join the competition!"

She had already gotten herself into trouble, having secretly registered for the Knights' Special Championship without informing any of her family. Maria decided to just go for broke, not caring about the embarrassment.

"Lost the competition badge? That's a serious situation for a competitive knight, but... you're here to help? If you're here to help, it would be better for him to just become an unaffiliated infected knight!"