"So?" Remon's voice carried a hint of displeasure.

"I've seen your training, witnessed your courage. I don't know what keeps you going, but I want to toast to you." Bertrand continued.

Remon finally understood.

He had gone through one of the most rigorous trials when he joined the Long Halberd Battalion.

The new recruits were ordered to don armor, hold long halberds, and form a formation. Once they had done so, a dozen fully-armed Ranger Knights launched a surprise charge at them.

Most of the recruits were so scared they turned and ran. Only two stood their ground until the end, and one of them was Remon. The Knights reined in their horses just two meters from the recruits.

Thanks to this, Remon was eventually promoted.

"Alright, thank you, Mr. Bertrand, I wish you good health." Remon raised his glass.

"The same to you!" Bertrand lifted his glass as well.

With a few more gulps of black beer, the atmosphere warmed up. The lady of the house brought out some grilled meat and snacks. It was easy for men to become friends like this, discussing which promising individuals might become Knights and whom the Count favored.

The conversation eventually turned to the story of the only five peasants in Brittania's history who ascended to nobility over a thousand years.

This was what everyone found most intriguing. Most peasants couldn't do math, but they got the general idea: the chance of becoming a Knight had increased significantly!

From five in a thousand years to three in a year, it was a qualitative leap!

"Bertrand, do you know the stories of those five peasants? We only know the story of Duchess Huameisi!" some drunks shouted, drinking their cheap barley beer, continually asking Bertrand questions: "I know you're well-informed and can read. Can you tell us how they were ennobled by His Majesty the King?"

"Well, it's not exactly a secret, so if you want to hear it, I'll tell you." Bertrand had always valued literacy. After surrendering to Laine, he repeatedly requested Laine to send someone to teach him to read. After over a year of intensive study and with some basic knowledge, he was considered well-educated among peasants.

"Tell us! Tell us!" The drunks were elated. Even without a Minstrel, they could still hear stories. What a delight.

"Where to start... let's start with Hubbard." Bertrand lifted a large wooden cup, "The first story I want to tell is of Hubbard because his story is the simplest."

"Hubbard was an ordinary peasant who had farmed for generations without any prowess. He was just very lucky."

"Just like any other day, he went into the forest hoping to find something to eat. It so happened that he saved a Duke's daughter favored by the Lady. The Duke's daughter was besieged by Beastmen and was on the brink of death. Hubbard, relying on his experience, bravely saved her and led her out of the forest. For his great contribution, the King knighted him."

"Oh, my! This Mr. Hubbard is such a lucky dog!" a peasant complained, "Why don't I have such luck... What happened to Hubbard after that, Bertrand?"

"Hubbard's luck ended there. He died in battle on the fifty-second day of becoming a noble, not surviving his first fight as a Knight. Most likely because he was too weak."

"Hehehe~" the tavern was filled with schadenfreude laughs. Peasants were not Master Knights. They hadn't received proper military training, so hastily knighting them and sending them to war was bound to have such outcomes.

"Who's next?"

"The second person was Vie, a Leonais. He was an illegitimate child, a fervent young man lost in visions. He claimed to have seen the Lady's visions, and the villagers, half-skeptical, decided to let him be a caretaker at the village's Holy Grail Church," Bertrand began the story of the second peasant to become a noble. "One night, Vie received inspiration from the Lady. Excited, he used the chapel's accumulated wood and scraps from elsewhere to build the first catapult in history... Indeed, the counterweight catapult used by our Kingdom today. When the Northern Barbarians raided southward, Vie used the catapult to sink many of their Dragon Ships by hurling boulders, forcing them to retreat."

"After the war, Vie was taken by the Knights to meet the King. His design gained the Kingdom's attention. The King rewarded him with five goats, three fat pigs, and a cow, a copper laurel and a big iron tray filled with Gold Crowns... It is said to be more wealth than Vie could ever imagine. Her Highness the Lake Witch elevated him to nobility. From then on, Vie became a craftsman specialized in designing, repairing, manufacturing, and improving catapults for the Kingdom."

"Ah, he saw the Lady's vision and received her guidance. We ordinary people have no such luck." The peasants complained again, "Mr. Bertrand, are you making this up?"

"Storytelling isn't fabrication, and adaptations aren't falsehoods. Why would I make anything up? This is all from what the Master Knights told me."

Well, another avenue was shut off.

"The third person is Baron Yak of the Winford Duchy."

"Strictly speaking, Yak wasn't an ordinary peasant. His father was a Senior Noncommissioned Officer and even the Baron's Prison Warden. His mother was a renowned seamstress, skilled at crafting exquisite clothes for the Lords. Therefore, Yak ate well, grew tall, and had the chance to train with the Knights' Squires."

"Under these circumstances, Yak grew into a strong and handsome young man and became a Shepherd in his youth."

"Wow, another lucky guy." The bar patrons nodded in agreement. Being a Shepherd wasn't a lowly job; to become one, a peasant had to own a flock of sheep.

"This young Shepherd was naturally strong and was a renowned handsome man, which also earned him the favor of Lady Isabelle, the Baron's daughter. It's said that Miss Isabelle planned to marry him from that day forward."

"The opportunity came quickly. One day, while out with his sheep, Yak encountered an attack by a group of Green Skins. Rather than flee, this young Shepherd took up a weapon and, shouting in the name of the Lady, killed the Green Skins cleanly."

"This act caught the attention of the Lady, who verbally commended Yak. The peasants regarded Yak as a hero of the Duchy. Miss Isabelle seized the chance to bestow upon Yak the title of Ranger Knight, and the King agreed."

The peasants sighed, thinking, who could single-handedly take down a group of Green Skins?

"But the story doesn't end there. Soon after, Isabelle's father, the former Baron Bomash, died in battle. As the Baron's legitimate son was only a Ranger Knight (to inherit the title of Baron, one must hold the title of Kingdom Knight), Lady Isabelle issued a quest: whoever could slay a dragon would become the new Baron."

"Yak and the Baron's legitimate son, Agghavan, set out together. They crossed mountains, found the dragon's lair, and after a fierce fight, Agghavan cleaved open the giant dragon's throat, while Yak drove his sword into the dragon's heart."

"..." The peasants were utterly speechless. To become a Master Knight, one must not only defeat a group of Green Skins alone but also slay a dragon?

"Yak and Agghavan deeply admired each other's bravery. Both insisted the other was the dragon slayer. When they couldn't agree, they returned to the estate to ask Miss Isabelle to decide. She declared Yak the victor because he had pierced the dragon's heart. Then, Miss Isabelle married Yak, making him Baron Bomash."

Remon was speechless, feeling something in his heart crumble. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

That something was called a dream.

Becoming a Master Knight was incredibly difficult for peasants.

"And the last one, Bertrand?"

"Good! It seems you've all understood the gap between you." Bertrand took a hefty gulp of Imperial Black Beer and began the final story.

"Now, are you ready? I'll tell you the story of the last peasant to become a Knight, a story most legendary."

"That's the story of Pavard."

"From peasant to Holy Grail Knight."