A few days before I set off for the Royal Capital for the Royal Academy entrance exam, I had dinner with my father and my elder brother Grim. Both of them had just returned from their trip to the Royal Capital.

    Alcohol was never my father''s forte, so it didn''t take long for him to get drunk, and given the accumulated stress from travel, he called it a day earlier than usual, though not before pestering us with his ramblings.

    I was about to head to my room as well when Grim called out to me.

    "You know, Allen, you''ve changed so much that I barely recognize you... I don''t mean to pressure you, but with the way you are now, I feel like you might actually pass the Royal Academy entrance exam. Or maybe your brother is just being an idiot. Haha."

    Grim had a delighted grin on his face.

    "...Well, I didn''t say it to Father just now, but... I think I''d qualify for it."

    Grim''s eyes widened at my flat remark, and he eventually burst out in laughter.

    "Ahahaha. Look at you, already a man, huh?...... Do you mind if I ask you something? Have you ever thought of protecting the Claubia forest? Honestly, I know that neither you nor Rose have any interest in it.

    Our father may not say it out loud, but his attention nowadays has been preoccupied with thoughts of the forest. I’m not trying to nitpick here, so I’d love to hear your honest thoughts."

    He hurled this question at me with a smile, though his eyes were dead serious.

    "...Frankly, no, I have no interest in the forest. Of course, this is our — my — hometown, so I’d contribute within my capabilities... But I wouldn''t want to be tied down by this. Right now, I just want to live a free life."

    I made sure I left no ambiguity in my words as I truthfully replied after seeing the look in Grim''s eyes.

    He was someone whom I didn''t need to hold myself back from speaking my honest thoughts, no matter how unconventional they might be for a noble. This was how he had been as far as I could remember, always spoiling me regardless of my true character.

    "Great. I’ll convince Father for you so that you can follow your heart. This is the least a big brother can do for his brother''s future."

    Grim winked at me as he ended his statement with a gleeful smile.

    "...You know you sound just like our mother."

    At that, he burst out laughing.

    That night, Grim and I shared a few of our perspectives over the forest''s preservation.

    ◆◆◆

    You know what to do, right, O'' Great Schord?! Be my lucky break!

    I looked at Schord with a pleading gaze.

    “...My master has described everything as it is, and as it stands, the Rovenne family has held several meetings over the span of several months mulling over the future of the Rovenne House. There had been one line from Young Master Grim that had stuck with me when they had debated over the territory''s development."

    Schord made a slight pause, his eyes narrowing in an expression of joyful reminiscence, and continued, "He said ''Have you ever thought of how you want this territory to look like a thousand years from now?'' I may have taught them, but those words didn''t come from me. I’m just thankful to fate that had brought me to this family."

    His Majesty momentarily fell silent, and then he burst out in laughter.

    "Pfft! Gahahaha! Hahahahahaha!"

    Influenced by his smile, the venue rumbled for a moment with the synchronized laughter of all the attendees.

    "*Ahem* Y-You shouldn''t laugh at such sincere words, Pat. How do you think others will see us if you do this?"

    Queen Yuain said words of reprimand to His Majesty, her expression consistently rigid. Nevertheless, when the person herself had hidden her smile behind her folding fan, with her eyes narrowing in cheerfulness, the words felt rather floaty.

    "Kukuku. I’m well aware. That said, even as the king, I’ve never wondered about the situation of the Yuglia kingdom after a thousand years. But now a ''promising young man from the countryside'' has been seriously pondering over something I never even thought about before. If this isn''t amusing, then I don''t know what is...... Whether this turns into a demotion or not, I’m now looking forward to meeting him."

    His Majesty remarked with a sharp grin, his eyes emitting a radiating glow.

    I cradled my head in my arms.

    On the eve of my departure to the Royal Capital for the Academy exam, I had paraphrased that same line thrice in the span of three minutes.

    While I was secretly grinning to myself, His Majesty pressed his temple and remarked—

    "...Given your achievements, I believe that if I proposed to appoint you as a regular member while still at the Academy, everyone would believe it to be natural, regardless of the fact that it would be unprecedented. Do you know that, Allen...?"

    F-Full time employee?

    What a joke! Were they seriously asking a student to work as an office worker already...?!

    My master was obviously a sort of black company leader, and god forbid if I said yes to being a full-time member, I would be squeezed and exploited to the point that even a regular knight''s stipend would be a drop in the ocean to recover from the trauma.

    "I’ll refrain from that. I believe I have yet to learn enough about the world."

    I shook my head firmly.

    "...Then try for something better at least. I would be a laughingstock among the others during my foreign travels if they heard I rewarded you with a measly pay increase."

    Y-You call this m-measly pay?

    My word, he didn''t forget that we were talking about a salary increase, and not just a one-time bonus, right? I wonder if someone has ever pointed out to him his shortcomings in financial decisions?

    "...1250?"

    "..........You can do better than that!!!"

    After a moment of blank stares, His Majesty slapped his chest with a fierce expression.

    Go higher, you say?!

    Man, he could have dropped that show-off attitude of his if he was going to just fume you know. I guess being a king came with its own cons.

    I was troubled by the situation when I noticed the kind Andrew-san''s agitated expression as he tried to point me toward something.

    Let''s see...... was this all a test?  If I let my desire get the best of me here, would I lose something in exchange for the materialistic rea?

    "1250 rea! I won’t take a single rea more! This is my bottom line! I mean, I would rather His Majesty use the money for the betterment of the common populace or in your diplomatic trip. As long as peace is maintained in this kingdom, I would be able to live according to my heart, and for me, that unbound life is a supreme reward!"

    I hastily ended the negotiation.

    ◆◆◆

    Trivial or revolutionary— the achievements Allen Rovenne left behind in his student years were targets of awe for the prodigies of successive generations. They hoped that they could chase after his footsteps.

    The little episode in the soire?e was later dubbed as ?The man, the negotiation with the king, and his rigid stance on salary.?

    This tale, while appearing to be a mere silly event, became a new addition to be achieved in the life of prodigies that aspired to follow in Allen Rovenne''s footsteps.

    But when has it been easy to recreate a tale, especially one that everyone longed for?

    To take the first step, they''d have to have become a provisional knight member before the internship of their third year.

    And yet, this baby step was akin to climbing Mt. Everest.

    In the illustrious Knight Order, the strong were as many as flies. Only by possessing extraordinary abilities could one hope to even dream of something like that.

    And should they somehow manage to break the custom, they would then have to earn an unquestionable merit within the years of their student life, as only something of the sort would allow them to have an audience with the king directly.

    Finally, when they had gone through all that, they ought to have a will of steel to throw away a possible reward that could change their, or their noble family''s future in a blink of an eye.

    Many prodigies had dreamed of being in Allen''s shoes, following the same order of events to request for a measly raise in salary and showcase themselves as the kingdom''s loyal retainers by throwing a cool line like ''Please use the reward for the betterment of the life of the citizen. There would be no better reward for me than this.''

    Then again, the soire?e episode wouldn''t have become a tale if it had been easy to achieve.

    Breaking through the realm of common sense, and attaining the unattainable— only then would a Legend rise, after all.