Chapter 70: Knights, Assemble!

"Well then, I will ask you something for your first duty. Please call Natasha, Lea, and Isabelle. I plan to invite them to my squad." I told her three names that I found interesting earlier.

I already used <Appraisal> to see what they were capable of when I was hiding earlier.

"Those three?" Sophia asked curiously. She looked like she couldn't understand why I wanted those 3 when they were only around Level 20, and there were other knights with higher Levels that I could choose to join.

And probably, she knew that I could use <Appraisal> from what she felt earlier, so she didn't ask me how I knew their names.

"Yes." I nodded. "They are interesting and have good combat instincts. You know what I could do from a few days ago about their Levels.

"Ah!" She exclaimed, remembering how I slaughtered the Black Tigers back then and raised Eliza's Level to 25 almost immediately.

Talking about the Black Tiger, I wonder if that little one ate the food I gave it. I would check its condition after finishing my business.

"Please wait for a minute, Sir Paladin. I will call them."

"Alright."

Sophia ran back to where the female knights were resting. I could hear some restless voices coming from them, but the redhead knight reassured them. Not that it worked due to her rather loud voice and scary appearance. What it did was make them more restless.

'Maybe I should call them myself.' I thought as I smiled wryly.

Footsteps echoed, approaching me. Even though they took off their armor, they still wore their metal boots, so their footsteps rang clearly, even without me concentrating on enhancing my senses.

Then I saw them walking toward me behind Sophia from the other side of the large trunk. They looked a bit restless and nervous.

The smallest of them was two heads shorter than me, a bit taller than Sana. She was Lea, a girl with modest breasts, short brown hair, and eyes. Holding the bowstring slung over between her breasts, she looked at me and fidgeted nervously.

Beside her, standing in the middle, was Natasha. She had a beautiful face, like a noble girl, standing a head taller than Lea. With short black hair and blue eyes, her willful and strong expression added a charm to her appearance. She had fairly large breasts, which she pushed up with her arms.

A short sword, which was her main weapon, strapped on her waist, held by a black belt.

The last girl also had a short sword as her choice of weapon.

She looked rather innocent with her bob-cut onyx hair. Her black eyes stared right into me with interest and recognition. She was as tall as Natasha, and her breasts were a size smaller but bouncier. They moved with every slight movement.

The bodysuit she wore clung into her body, showing off her well-defined muscle. Even among the girls I had met in this world, she might be the most perfect and beautiful one.

This girl was Isabelle, and she had an interesting title, which was the main reason why I chose her besides her look.

Their sweats weren't dried out yet, dripping from their necks to collarbones and cleavages. With her stoic and stern expression, Isabella calmly pulled her tight bodysuit to let the sweats fall.

'So she does not really care about my Paladin title either, just like Sophia. Well, interesting. That might be affected by that title, though.'

"Alright." I clapped my hands and faced the three female knights.

Sophia moved behind me quietly; I couldn't even hear her footsteps even though she wore the same metal boots as them, showing her footwork skill.

The three female knights' attention was fully focused on me. Lea gulped nervously and tightened her grip on the bowstring.

"Actually, I wanted to invite the three of you to join my knight squad. I've observed the earlier training. First of all, Lea."

"Y-Yyes- ouch!" She replied instantly and bit her lips. "I-I apologize!"

I chuckled at the sight of her bowing her head. She was a klutz, just like Mia, but worse.

"You don't need to be so nervous and apologize. It was me who suddenly called you, so I understand that you are a bit confused." I explained with a soft tone. "As I said earlier, I wanted the three of you to join my knight squad. Of course, I am not looking down on you girls."

Their gazes spoke louder than the words. They looked at me suspiciously, unable to understand why I chose them instead of the others, just like Sophia earlier.

"Lea, you have such good aim and flexibility when you use a bow. You just need to get rid of your nervousness, and you will be a great archer." I looked at Lea. "I can teach you how to get rid of that if you join the knight squad. I am not searching for someone strong, but I am searching for talent."

Lea looked at me with disbelief. "Talent..." She murmured with hope flashing in her eyes.

I nodded at Lea and turned to Natasha.

"As for Natasha, your skill with a short sword is better than the others, but you are lacking in strength. Your technique is slightly different, probably from independent training instead of knight training."

Her body jolted when I mentioned her technique. Her breasts jiggled, and she narrowed her eyes at me with a bit of hostility. At that moment, I realized that she might not have had a good relationship with maybe her previous family and decided to join the church.

And I decided to use that.

"I won't say it's bad. Instead, that could be your good point. I can help you get stronger and Level up faster if you join my knight squad. And on top of that, I always help my subordinates and grant their wishes if I could too."

My lips curled upward slightly in a sly smile as I noticed a twitch in the edge of her eyes. She looked clearly interested now as her lips formed a slight smile. One more.

I turned to Isabelle. Maybe asking her to join would be harder than Sophia and Rania. Her title made me a little bit concerned, and I wanted to keep her close to me. And no, it wasn't love at first sight or something like that.

"And Isabelle. To be honest, your technique and strength are way above Lea and Natasha's. Your move was also graceful and sharp. Still..." I narrowed my eyes on her. "I think you are hesitating about something. Such as delivering a deathly move."

Isabelle's reaction was as clear as day. Her body jolted a little as her breath turned a bit rougher.

'A trauma?'

I could immediately know the cause because this symptom was something I often saw back in Horizon Online. I see, so that was why she joined the church. Because the church knight was only responsible for citizens' safety and killing monsters, they weren't sent to the war.

"Don't worry, though." I approached her and patted her shoulder, trying to calm her down. She raised her head and face me with those eyes that were as dark as the abyss. "In my knight squad, I will be responsible for everything. I will even carry your sins and guilt."

My words might not be worth much and sound cringe to normal people on Earth. However, for someone with a trauma, it would hit differently. They would appreciate any kind words to them, especially kind words that relate to carrying a trauma together.

"I will also make you strong enough to do as you please."

Not that it was necessary. Once again, I looked at Isabelle's status.

Name: Isabelle (Severe Trauma)

Race: Human

Lv: 69

Sins: 0

Virtues: 25

Status:

HP: 100/100 (MAX 100)

MP: 100/100 (MAX 100)

STR: 70 (MAX 100)

VIT: 75 (MAX 100)

AGI: 75 (MAX 100)

DEX: 65 (MAX 100)

INT: 70 (MAX 100)

LUC: 5 (MAX 100)

Skills:

[Lv 8 Swordsmanship] [Lv 7 Wind Magic] [Lv 5 Holy Magic] [Lv 5 Beast Taming] [Lv 4 Fire Magic] [etc.]

Titles:

[Horizon Online's Survivor] [Castitas Church's Knight]

I never thought I would find someone like her here. It turned out I wasn't the only survivor of Horizon Online.

'But how did she end up here? This is my bonus stage.'

Maybe the system did something I didn't know. This changed my plan, and I needed to keep her by my side and increase her trust enough for her to tell me about what actually happened.

I stepped back and looked at the three of them alternatively.

"I won't force you girls, though. So I will ask once again. Do you want to join my knight squad?"

The three of them had a determined look as they saluted simultaneously, putting their right hand on their left chest, a sign that they would give her heart to me if they needed to.

"Yes, Sir! It's an honor!"

"Great!" I spread my arms, happiness spread across my face. "I welcome you to the Paladin Squad! I promise I will not disappoint you and make you guys even stronger than ever. Both physically and mentally."