The atmosphere inside the Bearded Tavern remained rowdy and lively.
But in the corner where Saru and his men sat, the mood suddenly grew heavy and tense.
"Knight… a knight?" The old mercenary gaped, staring at Colin in astonishment.
He had known Colin's identity wasn't simple, but he never imagined he was actually a knight.
In this world, knights were fundamentally different from the more common warriors.
Any commoner who could afford meat and a few silver coins could go to a warrior guild to learn how to activate battle aura and become a warrior apprentice.
But becoming a knight was a different matter entirely.
To be a knight apprentice, one not only needed talent but also had to undergo a baptism ritual conducted by a priest of the Radiant Church.
Unlike symbolic ceremonies on Earth that only required a sprinkle of water, the baptisms in this world involved priests casting spells to communicate with the Lord of Radiance and inscribe a divine mark upon the recipient.
This process placed a heavy burden on the priest, so each priest could only conduct a limited number of baptisms in their lifetime.
As a result, baptism slots were incredibly valuable and completely monopolized by the nobility.
For commoners, baptism—and thus knighthood—was essentially out of reach.
So it was no wonder knights were rare.
For example, Baron Angler had only three sworn knights under his banner. Including the baron himself and his son Colin, there were just five knights in the entire barony.
And Colin himself hadn't even officially reached knight rank—he was still an apprentice.
Professionals in this world were ranked in nine tiers—Tier One being the weakest, Tier Nine the strongest.
Below Tier One were apprentices, a category meant for those still not fully initiated.
In the same tier, knights and warriors didn't differ drastically in combat strength. Knights were superior in theory, but in practice, factors like combat technique, willpower, and equipment could even the odds.
What truly made nobles favor knights was their potential.
A warrior's ceiling was Tier Six.
Yes—across the entire continent, no Tier Seven warrior had ever been recorded, regardless of race: human, troll, beastkin, elf—you name it.
As the first Pope of the Radiant Church, Peter Miserel, once said:
"To enter the Sacred Domain, mortals must receive the blessing of the divine."
Tier Seven and above belonged to the Sacred Domain, and Tier Seven knights were referred to as Holy Knights.
Without undergoing baptism, warriors could not receive divine blessings—and so they could never reach Tier Seven.
Currently, only five professions in the world were known to break past Tier Six—all of which served a deity:
• Human knights, devoted to the Lord of Radiance
• Troll warriors, serving the God of War
• Elf rangers, followers of the Goddess of Fate
• Naga royal guards, servants of the Storm God
• Beastkin Skullbreakers, pledged to the God of Destruction
Even arcane spellcasters, who claimed to follow only the truths of magic and rejected the gods, could not surpass Tier Six.
Though they could cast Tier Seven or higher forbidden spells, doing so demanded horrific sacrifices and wasn't considered a standard method of attack.
Of course, entering the Sacred Domain was no easy feat.
If a family produced a Holy Knight, that lineage would be forever exalted.
Such families were granted the honor of prefixing their surname with "Saint."
For example, the rulers of the Northern Reach of the Radiant Empire—the Hilde family—were descendants of the empire's founding Holy Knight, and thus were known as the Saint Hilde family.
In the Radiant Empire's entire history, only seven families had ever produced a Holy Knight.
As for Tier Eight—that was called the Legendary Domain.
The founding emperor of the Radiant Empire, Ganar Lorenzo, was a Legendary Holy Knight and the only one recorded in history.
In the thousand years since, no knight had entered that realm again.
Tier Nine was known as the Demi-God Domain, said to be reachable only by the now-extinct dragons who once ruled the world.
No race had produced a Tier Nine individual since their extinction.
And above Tier Nine lay the realm of the gods…
In short, knights were noble, rare, and essentially the preserve of the aristocracy.
They belonged in castles—not in seedy places like the Bearded Tavern.
Knights rarely traveled with mercenary groups either, since they usually had their own retinue, servants, or even armies.
So Colin's appearance here was highly suspicious.
Just as the atmosphere in the corner was growing increasingly tense, a furry little head popped out of Colin's shirt.
"Meow—!" The kitten let out a disgruntled "roar" at the bearded man, clearly annoyed at having its nap disturbed.
Colin smiled faintly, stuffing the cranky little creature back into his shirt. Then he looked at the bearded man and asked:
"How did you know I was a knight?"
Colin thought he had been careful.
No armor, only a standard-issue one-handed sword, and the clothes were borrowed from a guard with a similar build.
From his memory, although knights and warriors fought differently, there shouldn't be any visible difference unless someone saw them in action.
Especially since, as an unranked apprentice, Colin couldn't channel holy light during combat—meaning even if he fought, he wouldn't look different from a warrior apprentice.
Was there really a way to tell the two apart at a glance?
Colin suspected this might be a gap in his predecessor's knowledge.
But to his surprise, Saru chuckled slyly: "I guessed."
Tricked!
Colin instantly realized he'd been played by this deceptively rugged-looking bearded man.
Saru had only been fishing—but Colin's reaction had confirmed his suspicion.
Saru's appearance was indeed deceiving.
Because of that, Colin had let his guard down—and exposed his true identity.
The Fire Fox Mercenary Group.
Heh. No wonder they were called that.
He looked like a bear, but was sly as a fox.
"I've roamed the mercenary world for over forty years," Saru said proudly. "These eyes of mine have seen thousands. Heh, kid—your outfit might be plain, but one look and I knew you weren't some commoner. Sure enough, one bluff and you cracked!"
Colin took a deep breath, reminding himself again and again to be extremely cautious when dealing with a cunning veteran like Saru.
Outwardly, though, he remained composed—no sign of panic or tension.
He calmly pulled out ten copper coins and handed them to the old mercenary, signaling that he could leave.
Then he pulled out the chair beside Saru and sat down naturally.
"I admit, my little tricks earlier weren't very appropriate. I apologize. But surely… you wouldn't turn down the company of a knight, would you?"
Saru stopped smiling and locked eyes with him.
"Your name?"
Colin met his gaze and replied sincerely:
"Karn. Karn Sudo."