As Felt was walking in, she was slowly making her way to the knights section. With an unusually gentle smile, the young girl looked at Akira warmly. Suddenly she lifted left side of her dress as she tried to kick the boy, only for Akira to effortlessly catch it with his right hand as he didn't want to harm her by using his reflection.

"Wow, first thing you do when we reunite is to try and kick me?"

"You freakin' idiot! You have any idea how worried I was about your butt."

"Wow, first violence, now sexual harassment. I didn't know you cared about my butt so much."

"Since when did you have a sense of humor?! It's been one thing after another! When I woke up you're nowhere to be found, i'm forced to wear a dress, I had to show up here, and now you're suddenly back! What the heck?!"

"At least the dress looks good on you. You actually look like a graceful lady for once."

"Y-you really think so ....wait ...WHAT DO YOU MEAN FOR ONCE?!"

While Felt and Akira were having this dispute, Reinhard smiled as he witnessed this. Truth be told, when Felt woke up, she immediately asked if both Rom and Akira were alive and well. Now the girl was smiling with joy as she and Akira were enjoying their little reunion. Upon seeing this, Subaru smiled as he shook his head when looking at Felt.

"I guess it's not that easy to change someone at their roots. And not just me."

"What the heck are you doing here?"

"Hey, it's been a while, Felt. How have you be- Randaba!!"

"Looks like the hole in your gut isn't bothering you anymore."

"If you're that worried about me, just be nice!"

While this reunion was pleasant, it was time for things to get back on schedule as Felt was called upon to stand forward. The moment she did this, Reinhard stood beside her as he placed a Dragon Stone in the palm of Felt's hand. A light began to emerge from the stone as Reinhard spoke up.

"As you can see, the Dragon Stone has recognized Felt-sama as a priestess. Now that her participation has been approved, I believe it is time to begin the royal selection in earnest."

After hearing this, both Akira and Subaru noticed a shift in the atmosphere. Shortly after Reinhard finished his statement, a nobleman spoke up about why Felt's participation may be problematic. This act was almost depicted as if he was saying the knights made a mistake causing all the knights in question to look at him. Seeing this, Subaru looked at Al, Felix, and even Julius for their input.

"Isn't it getting a bit tense here?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't bother me."

"It's nyo problem for me either. I already pledged my loyalty exclusively to one lady."

"I am of the same opinion. My sword already belongs to Anastasia-sama."

"Well, my feelings for Emilia won't come in second to anyone else's."

As they all said this, the group soon turned their gaze to Akira. Truth be told, they were all curious on his input. Especially Felix and Julius since they didn't know anything about him, only that he was part of the same camp as Subaru. While the boy simply nodded for them to pay attention to the selection, he already made his choice. If he would use his "sword" for anyone's sake, it would be for his own. Soon Akira turned his gaze to Marcos as the leader of the Imperial Knights spoke once more.

"Will the candidates please present their insignias?"

Upon hearing the knight's request, all of the candidates revealed their insignias as all of them were emitting a red light. Soon, Akira noticed how one of the wise men present was looking at the stones with an observational look in his eyes. The man had long white hair and a long white beard that drops down almost to the ground. If Akira remembered correctly, he at least heard of the name of this man, Miklotov McMahon. Upon seeing the insignias shining, Miklotov finally spoke up.

"It seems each of the candidates meet the requirements to become a Dragon Shrine Maiden. But the topic here is, "Who will become king". The prophecy from the Dragon History Stone continues as followed, "from the five that will guide the country, select one shrine maiden to renew the covenant with the dragon". In order to determine that, let us have each candidate declare their resolve. Knight Marcos, if you would."

"Each candidate should have their own stance and argument on the matter! We would like you to take this opportunity to share them with us!"

"I see, so we should all declare what we believe in. In that case, to begin, i'll go first. Ferris, to my side!"

As Akira heard this, he saw the cat-eared knight stepping forward to the center stage as they stood beside their royal candidate. Upon seeing this, Marcos looked at the crowd as he made their presence known.

"As introduced, I am the current head of the Karsten house."

"I am her knight, Ferris."

"Well then, I believe I know what you all desire of me when I succeed the throne. The Karsten house has had connections to the Royal family and has had an influence on politics as well. You all assume nothing will change if I take the throne, don't you? However, I can't promise you all that. The Dragon Kingdom Lugunica, the country has grown and prospered under the protection of the dragon's covenant. I acknowledge the prosperity we had thanks to the dragon's covenant. The dragon will help us in our time of need. I ask of you....Do you feel no shame?!"

"You're overstepping your bounds, Crusch-sama. It's unforgivable to make light of the dragon's covenant. Are you denying the kingdom's history?"

"Did I not say that I acknowledge our past prosperity, council of wise men? The Karsten Family has benefited from it as well. However, the future is a different matter! This country has become too reliant on the dragon's covenant and has subsequently become weak! Can you say that we are prepared for events that the dragon history stone mentions nothing of? Dependance gives birth to stagnation, stagnation gives birth to corruption, corruption eventually becomes destruction. If we die out without the dragon, then we must become the dragon ourselves! When I become king, I will make the dragon forget about its covenant with us. Lugunica isn't the dragon's possession, it is ours! There will definitely be hardships, but I would like to live my life the way I would want to. If possible, i'd like the kingdom to do the same. That is all."

"I understand your opinion, Crusch-sama. Knight Felix Argyle, do you have anything you would like to say?"

"I have no words to add, Sir Miklotov. The truth of Crusch-sama's words will be proven through our future history and own actions."

As Felix and Crusch stepped down and went back to their original spots, Subaru couldn't help but be impressed by the speech Crusch gave. Meanwhile, Akira had a look of annoyance on his face. He was with her on the part where she said she wanted to live her life her own way, but that was the only thing he could agree upon.

"While it's true over relying on something can lead to bad results, the same can be said about recklessly abandoning a method that has efficiency and results that prove it's use over some ideal that you can't even guarantee will benefit us. The dragon has been protecting this kingdom longer than any of us has probably been alive. The kingdom essentially has a guard dog that keeps any disasters at bay. However, if you remove said guard dog, even bigger disasters that were chased off due to its presence can surface and with far more numbers. During that moment of chaos, while the people struggle to learn to survive, how many lives must be taken for your ideal world to work? How much time will pass by for it to work? Plus she didn't even mention fixing the issue of how Demi-humans are treated despite her knight being one. In my opinion, I need to learn more about her plans for the future. But for now, I can't say I agree with her."

Akira couldn't agree with Crusch's way, but he won't vocalize it. Especially right here in front of so many people. For now, he would at least hear out the other candidates arguments. Soon the white haired boy looked forward to see which of the candidates was next.

"Al, come here! It's hyper my time!"

"..........."

While Marcos apologized to Anastasia, Subaru and Akira were seen cringing. They couldn't believe that someone like Priscilla unironically just said something so cringe with a prideful look on her face. Meanwhile, Al stepped forward as he was a little happy the woman he was guarding used the term he taught her. The moment he stood beside her, Al merely asked her one question.

"Are you alright, Princess?"

"I have to make these old men see my power and then obey me, it's simple. Hear me! I walk the path of royalty because the heavens wish for me to do so! This world is full of things that go my way after all! Therefore i'm the most suited to becoming king. No, no one else is competent enough! All you need to do is be obedient to me!"

".............."

A loss for words. That was the first time Akira was ever at a loss for words. It wasn't because the speech from Priscilla was inspirational or even thought provoking. Her speech was so stupid to Akira, he couldn't even begin to find the words to describe just how idiotic it was. Not only that, she said it so pridefully, it got to the point he was starting to consider Priscilla was either the epitome of prideful or actually just that stupid. Soon one of the wise men spoke up as he looked towards Priscilla and Al.

"Priscilla-sama, what would we gain by obeying you?"

"Simple, you would be joining the winning side. I'll allow you whatever you desire."

"There might be a problem with the way she said it, but what she says is the truth. I'm sure you know about Mr.Leip, her former husband. He died not too long ago and she subsequently took over all internal affairs and brought unprecedented prosperity. Don't get it wrong, she's not doing it for others. She's a genius at guessing, that is her skill and her guesses are perfect everytime. I don't care who you side with, but wouldn't it be beneficial to join the winning side. That is all."

As Al finished his statement, both him and Priscilla walked back to their original positions. Meanwhile, Akira could be seen rubbing his head as he felt himself getting a headache trying to find any logic behind all of that. However, he was quickly brought out his thoughts as he heard Marcos' voice again.

"Next up is Anastasia-sama and her knight, Julius Juukulius!"

"Well then, I, Anastasia Hoshin, will begin! Unfortunately, I don't have grand ambitions like Crusch-san. Nor do I believe I am the chosen one like Priscilla-san. However, there is one thing I can say. I'm a little greedier than others. I was once the servant of a small trading company, I scored one day when I voiced my opinion about how things were done. Gradually I was put in charge of bigger deals, then eventually I started earning enough to forget about my poor past. I was supposed to feel relieved but I felt more poor than before."

"Why is that?"

"Before I knew it, I was the chairman of the Hoshin Trading Company, one of the biggest powers in Kararagi. That still didn't satisfy me. I didn't have that feeling of sufficiency. I want something bigger, much bigger than before. I want this country. What I obtain and what I own are part of my passion. That is why....."

Everyone was at complete silence when they heard Anastasia's speech. Akira couldn't blame them since it was difficult to fully understand. There was no guarantee that even her ruling Lugunica would satisfy her greed. If something more dazzling and desirable were to appear, he was sure she would go after it in a heartbeat. Not only that, he was beginning to come to a conclusion, but he decided to save it for when all the candidates gave their speeches. While he was in his chair, Miklotov soon turned his gaze to Julius.

"Sir Julius, do you have anything you would like to say as her knight?"

"Yes. Anastasia-sama expressed it as greed, but when looking at it in a different point of view, one could say she is passionate and ambitious. Those qualities are vital for an administrator. In addition, her skills are something that the kingdom needs in this moment. I swear upon my loyalty to assert this, Anastasia-sama is most worthy to become king!"

"We get it, lover boy. Let's see, we have one who wants to break free from relying on a dragon that helped the kingdom prosper for years, one who wants to rule because she has main character syndrome, one who wants the country like it's a figure for her collection, a naive girl with a shady supporter, ..........and Felt. Yeah, now that I have a good picture I have only one conclusion."

As Akira was thinking to himself, he noticed how it was Emilia's turn to give her speech. He could see the nervous look on her face as she walked up and how Roswaal was smiling through this situation. Not only that, he turned around as he saw Subaru looking like he was planning to do something should anything negative happen to Emilia. Finally his gaze turned to Felt, who still looked pissed at being in the same room with nobles.

"Yeah, this country is screwed."