Chapter 1065: The Champion
“There! That’s Morning Light!”
A girl at the roadside pointed, and the crowd ignited.
“Where? Where is he?”
“The one in front — there!”
“He left his teaching post and I thought we’d never see him again—”
“He looked at me!”
“Come on, Mr. Eltek!”
Ferlin Eltek was still running the final stretch at a controlled pace, fatigue written plainly in his posture but not in his bearing — he was smiling back at the crowd, raising a hand to the students who had gathered to cheer him, utterly unruffled. His admirers were entirely undone by it.
Honey, riding on the back of Vader’s bicycle as it kept pace with the Border District runners, was already composing her article in her head.
Ferlin Eltek, widely known as Morning Light, now works in the General Staff Department. He was once the most beloved knight in the Western Region and then the most beloved intermediate teacher. He is apparently about to become the champion of the first National Sports Meeting. If that happens — what exactly do I write as a headline?
“‘Today, Thousands of Girls in Neverwinter Fell for a Man’ — what do you think?” she said aloud.
“Ugh,” Vader said, pedaling steadily. “Thousands of girls? Isn’t that exaggerated?”
Vader knew better than to underestimate Honey, small as she looked. She ran the Ministry of Public Relations and Communications, reported directly to the king, and was a close friend of Wendy, the Witch Union’s manager. He’d spent years at the bottom of a patrol team and had acquired a precise instinct for which hills were worth dying on. This was not one of them.
He had warmly accepted her request for a ride without hesitation. With Carter in the race, Vader was managing race security and acting on the Chief Knight’s behalf. An experienced officer understood the value of good information — and Honey’s birds could supply what no human patrol could match.
“Don’t worry about the details,” Honey said, smacking her lips. “Would you read the whole piece if you saw that headline?”
”…Yes,” Vader admitted.
“So that’s why.” She whistled cheerfully.
Then voices rose from the roadside ahead —
“The second runner — is he also very… handsome?”
“You noticed too? He might be even better-looking than Morning Light.”
“That’s Carter Lannis! The king’s own Chief Knight — see the royal emblem on his cloak!”
“He looks like he owes the entire city a debt—”
“You’re too young to understand. That kind of cold focus on a handsome man is very attractive.”
“He’s closing the gap — come on, Chief Knight!”
Carter Lannis had served in the old king’s city’s knightage, followed Prince Roland to Border Town, and been a founding member of Neverwinter. Scroll had assessed him as one of the favorites. He was living up to it — stride lengthening, distance to Ferlin shrinking visibly.
The crowd noise matched his advance.
Honey changed the headline in her notes.
Who Is the Final Winner? Two Handsome Men Battle for the Championship.
Carter had a burning sensation in his chest that had nothing to do with exertion.
The ribbon and the knight’s cloak had seemed weightless when he’d put them on this morning. Now they felt like ballast — the wind caught the cloak and pushed back, the ribbon dragged. He refused to remove them.
May had made them by hand.
He was going to cross the finish line in this outfit before Ferlin Eltek. That was fixed.
He’d heard things from the troupe members — pieces of the old story. Morning Light had been a fixture of the Western Region long before Prince Roland arrived. Everyone had assumed he and the Star of the Western Region were perfectly suited. May had apparently had feelings for him once. Ferlin had fallen in love with a new actress named Irene, and that was how it ended.
May had never mentioned it. Carter had never asked. But he held a grudge about it anyway.
What’s so remarkable about Morning Light?
She liked you because she hadn’t met me yet. That’s all.
He wanted to prove something specific, to this specific crowd, in front of this specific man. He drove himself harder.
Ferlin was half a step ahead. The finish line stand was visible now.
Now.
Someone behind him was accelerating.
Impossible. He and Ferlin had separated themselves from the field inside the first hour, gap widening steadily. No one who had held back deliberately could spring this late — sprinting burned far more than a steady pace, and any runner smart enough to conserve this long would have started their surge earlier.
He looked back.
A Mojin man was bearing down on him at a speed that made no sense. Dark skin, tattoos on his face — and on his head, a pair of wolf ears on a headband, with a strip of fur bouncing from his waist.
Is he… imitating a beast to draw on some kind of strength?
Carter’s entire nervous system disagreed with the thought and redirected the energy into his legs. He drove for the finish line as though something feral was behind him.
Ferlin, Carter, and Rohan crossed within a breath of one another. The spectators erupted.
The Chief Knight ran another fifty meters before he could stop, inertia carrying him forward. He turned back and looked up at the stand, still panting.
Roland Wimbledon was on his feet.
“Congratulations to everyone who completed the race!” The king’s voice rolled out from the loudspeakers. “The game isn’t over, but we have our top three. They are—”
Carter swallowed.
“Carter Lannis, finishing third.”
He closed his eyes.
Third. Still behind Morning Light.
“Rohan Burnflame, a Mojin man, finishing second.”
Roland paused. The crowd filled the silence with noise. Then the noise subsided.
“And the champion is Sunflower, from Longsong District! Let’s welcome her!”
The roar went up.
Carter, Ferlin, and Rohan stood with their mouths open.
On the roadside, Honey hopped off Vader’s bicycle. “Report’s done. Thank you.”
“Did you settle on the headline?” Vader asked.
“Yes.” She was already smiling. “I’ll just use the results directly.”
It was more than enough.
—Victory Day Games Concluded: Sunflower, Twenty Years Old, Takes First Place.
Chapter 1065 - The Champion
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
“Look, that’s him, Morning Light!” shouted someone at the roadside.
“Where is he?”
“He’s the one there in front!”
After a girl pointed out where Ferlin Eltek was, the crowd started to get excited.
“It is him! I thought I would never see him again after he left his teaching job.”
“Wow, he looked at me!”
“Come on, Mr. Eltek!”
Many people cheered for this tall handsome man, Ferlin Eltek, who still maintained a steady pace during the final leg of the race. Although he looked tired, he still smiled back at the people who cheered for him along the way, and he even waved to his former students. All his fans were completely smitten by him.
Seeing this, Honey, who followed the Border District participants all along way, started to think about her race report.
Ferlin Eltek, widely known as the Morning Light, works in the General Staff Department. He was a very popular knight and then a very popular intermediate teacher. Now, it seems that he’s about to become the champion of the long-distance race. If that happens, how should I write the report title?
“‘Today, Thousands of Girls in Neverwinter Fell for a Man’, how do you like this title?”
“Ugh… Are you asking me?” Vader, who was riding a bicycle, carrying Honey, panted and said, “Thousands of girls? Doesn’t that sound too exaggerated?”
Though Honey looked like a little girl, Vader dared not to look down upon her, since she was in charge of the Ministry of Public Relations and Communications and reported directly to the king. He also knew that she was a close friend of Wendy, the manager of the Witch Union.
He had worked at the bottom of a patrol team for several years and had learned his lesson. He would never offend a person in such a high position.
Given that, he had warmly received Honey and had immediately agreed to her request to take a ride on his bike. Since Carter took part in the race, Vader was in charge of security for the race. He often acted on Carter’s behalf to handle matters in the police force when the Chief Knight was away.
As an experienced policeman, he clearly understood the importance of intelligence. If the Security Bureau wanted to eliminate all the hidden dangers and threats to His Majesty and the kingdom, they needed the best information service in the country, which could only be provided by Honey.
Therefore, he decided to try his best to impress this witch.
“You don’t worry too much about the details,” Honey smacked her lips and said. “Would you want to immediately read the whole story if you came across a title like that?”
“Yes, I would,” Vader replied honestly.
“So that’s why,” The little girl said and then whistled cheerfully.
At that moment, they heard different voices cry out from the crowd.
“Don’t you think the second runner is also very… handsome?” a lady said while covering her mouth with a hand.
“You noticed him too? I think he looks even better than the Morning Light.” Another woman echoed and so did lots of people around them.
“I know him! He’s the king’s Chief Knight, Carter Lannis! Look at the royal emblem on his cloak!”
“Oh, the king’s Chief Knight! No wonder he looks so great!”
“But he’s cold toward everyone, as if we owed him a big debt…”
“Alas, you’re just too young to understand it. Cool and talented men are more attractive.”
“Look, he’s catching up!”
“Come on, Chief Knight—”
Carter Lannis had served in the knightage of the old King’s City. He followed Prince Roland to Border Town and was among the founding members of Neverwinter. It was said that he could compete with an Extraordinary witch. Scroll thought this outstanding warrior was one of the favorites to win the race.
Honey wrote down all the messages brought back by her birds.
Carter increased his pace, rapidly shortening the distance between him and Ferlin.
The cheer he received was as loud as any given to Morning Light.
Honey found that she needed to change the title of her report.
After a moment of thinking, she began to write cheerfully.
—”Who’s the Final Winner? The Battle Between Two Handsome Men”
…
Carter had a burning feeling in his chest.
In order to let May spot him easily, he had put on a bright ribbon and a knight’s cloak. He had thought that these things were as light as a feather, but now he felt that they were as heavy as a mountain. He felt as if they were pulling him backward while was running against a wind.
Despite that, he still refused to take them off.
Because they were hand-made by May.
Carter hoped to cross the finish line in this outfit before Morning Light.
He had heard some rumors about Ferlin and May from the troupe members. Morning Light had become a household name in the Western Region long before Prince Roland came here. Back then, everyone had thought that he and the Star of the Western Region could not be more perfectly matched. It was said that May had feelings for Morning Light, but Ferlin had already fallen in love with a new actress, Irene.
Carter had never heard May mention it, but he somehow still held a grudge against Ferlin.
What’s so great about Morning Light?
May liked you just because she didn’t have a chance to meet me back then.
Carter wanted to prove to everyone that he was the best for May!
That was why he wanted to overtake Ferlin Eltek so badly.
Carter tensed his muscles and quickened his pace. Ferlin was only half a step ahead of him.
And he could see the stand beside the finish line now.
It was time for a final push!
Suddenly, he heard someone else rapidly approaching behind him.
Is there someone who can catch up with us?
How is this possible? In the first hour of the race, Ferlin and I left all the other participants in the dust. No one should have been able to catch up with us. Even if he deliberately saved energy at the beginning of the race, he should’ve started to speed up little by little a long time ago.
Sprinting consumes much more energy than running at a consistent pace!
Carter could not help looking back.
“Wait… What’s that?”
He saw a strangely dressed man approaching him at an incredibly fast speed. From the man’s skin color and tattoos, he could tell that he was a Mojin, but he had never seen a Mojin man with a tail and a pair of long ears on his head.
Is he trying to gain strength by imitating some wild beast?
He shuddered at the thought, and then dashed toward the finish line as fast as he could, as if a dreadful monster was after him.
Ferlin, Carter, and Rohan crossed the finish line at almost the same time. The spectators burst into cheers.
Did I… win?
The Chief Knight thought while panting heavily. Because of inertia, he continued to run several dozens of meters before he finally stopped. After he stopped, he immediately looked up toward the stand.
Roland Wimbledon stood up.
“Congratulations! You’ve successfully completed the long-distance race and achieved great results!” the king spoke to all the people through the loudspeaker. “The game is not over, but we’ve got the top three runners now. They are—”
Carter swallowed hard.
“Carter Lannis, who finished in third place.”
Hearing that, the Chief Knight closed his eyes in great disappointment. *Oh, hell, was I still a little bit slower than Morning Light? *
“Rohan Burnflame, a Mojin man, who finished in second place.”
Roland paused for a moment, giving the spectators a moment to cheer. When the crowd quieted down, he raised his voice again.
“And the champion is Sunflower from Longsong District! Let’s give them a warm round of applause!”
“Huh… who’s she?”
While everyone else was shouting and clapping their hands, Carter, Ferlin, and Rohan stood agape.
On the side of the street, Honey closed her notebook and hopped off Vader’s bike. “I’ve finished today’s report. Thank you very much.”
“Did you decide on the headline?” Vader asked.
“Yeah, I did.” She smiled before adding, “I’ll just directly write out the results.”
It was already eye-catching enough.
—”The First Victory Day Games Concluded Successfully: A Twenty-yearold Girl, Sunflower, Won First Place.”