Chapter 95: Right Decision

"I have to say, this is pretty sweet. I certainly had plenty of doubts at first, but those are all but gone now," Grinned Celia, as she slumped back in her seat with a relaxed look on her face.

"Yeah, at this point, I think it's safe to say we made the right decision. These last three months have been great, I don't think I've ever felt this at ease walking out in the open like this," Nodded Raven in agreement.

"Yeah, that's for sure. Not gonna lie, though, I kinda miss our hideout," Remarked Ravella with a wry smile.

It was the 20th of March, 1919, a little over three months had passed since The Irregulars were pardoned and agreed to join the Knight Order.

Following that, all seven of them had been offered high-ranked spots in the various Knight Squads, but after discussing it amongst themselves, they insisted that they all be put in the same squad.

They were then put into the Third Squad, where most of the remaining previous members had been killed by the Undead King's forces, after all their highest ranked Knights had already been eliminated by The Irregulars, and the majority of the handful that were left after the battle against the Undead King had been arrested by the Inquisitors.

Aster had been chosen to be the Captain of the Third Squad, but none of the others wanted the position of Vice-Captain since they didn't want the extra responsibility that would come with the position, so they ended up drawing straws to decide.

And Raven ended up drawing the short straw, so he was elected as the Third Squad's Vice-Captain. The other five, by default, ended up as First-Class Knights.

They were put in charge of the same locations that were already under the Third Squad's jurisdiction; Garnet City, Opal Town and Amber Village.

Those three locations also happened to be the regions most rife with corruption, thanks to the previous members of Third Squad both enabling and actively participating in said corruption.

But after they took over, The Irregulars proceeded to stamp out the remaining traces of corruption in those locations, and since they were no longer criminals and could act freely, they were able to do so in no time at all.

Aster and Tacitus were in charge of Garnet City, while Raven was put in charge of Opal Town, along with Ravella and Celia, and Colt and Lexia had been assigned to Amber Village.

Almost the entirety of the rest of the Third Squad was now made up of new Knights or Knights transferred in from the First, Second and Commander Squad, with Nile Voner, the only Commoner in the Third Squad prior to this, being the exception.

He'd been promoted to First-Class, and was in Garnet City with Aster and Tacitus. And almost all of the other Commoners in the Knight Order had also gotten promotions to more accurately represent their actual skill levels and capability.

Thanks to The Irregulars, the Third Squad had gone from the most hated to the most popular Knight Squad among the nation's Commoners. They were also seen as a tremendous source of inspiration, as it was widely regarded that the Third Squad was the strongest of the Knight Squads, which was in fact the case.

And with all their top-ranked members being Commoners, they served as a shining beacon of hope to the citizens.

The Irregulars were essentially regarded as heroes among the general population, even though there still were a number of Nobles who were opposed to them.

With the former King dead, and most of the corrupt Nobility imprisoned or executed, Jules found herself having a lot more freedom to act, and she proceeded to implement a more thorough system for hiring new Knights, to ensure a higher level of quality in the Knight Order moving forward.

Aspiring Knights would go through an entrance exam where their abilities would be tested and then an interview would be conducted, and if they pass, they'd be recruited.

Furthermore, Jules was planning on setting up training facilities in as many locations as possible, to train and develop aspiring Knights before they were ready to apply for the entrance exam.

Following these changes, a large number of Commoners had now joined the Knight Order, and the current total number of Knights was already greater than what it had been before the battle against the Undead King, and that number was continuing to grow at a steady pace.

It was currently around 8 PM at night, and having completed their patrol shifts for the day, Raven, Celia and Ravella were currently hanging out at a cafe in Opal Town.

The Knights would patrol their respective locations in shifts between 6 AM to 6 PM, after which the Inquisitors would take over and watch over the place from the shadows.

"I wish I'd been assigned to Garnet City...I kinda feel like I'm a third wheel here," Sighed Ravella wistfully.

"Not to mention, you don't get to see Aster all that much anymore. And there are a number of attractive female Knights under him in Garnet City, so there's a possibility that he might hit it off with one of them," Pointed out Raven with a teasing smile.

"...shut up, don't be a dick. Grr, I wish I had some embarrassing stories of you from when we were kids, but you were so boring back then that there's nothing to blackmail you with."

"Hey, not cool. I was responsible, not boring."

"Hmph, same difference."

"Also, you're not a third wheel. We're just hanging out, so it's not like you're interrupting a date or anything," Chimed in Celia wryly.

"Yeah, well, it sucks being single while I've got two lovebirds constantly flirting in front of me," Replied Ravella with a grumble.

"You say that like we're all over each other nonstop, but we keep things pretty lowkey when we're in public," Responded Raven defensively.

"On another note, it's great how we're getting so many new members lately. More members means shorter individual shifts, which gives us a lot more free time even while we're on duty. I mean, this last month, we've mostly just been chilling at the outpost, and we're still getting paid a crazy amount of money despite the fact that we aren't really doing all that much work," Remarked Celia, as she took a sip of apple juice and let out a content sigh.

"Sure, the extra free time is great and all, but it doesn't really make that much of a difference to me since I'm single," Responded Ravella dryly.

"You've sure gotten really hung up about that lately, haven't you?" Replied Raven in bemusement.

"Yeah, well, seeing you two together makes me more conscious of it. Man, this sucks...normally, if I was constantly around a lovey dovey couple, I'd probably ask about their relationship and stuff, like typical girl talk stuff. But I definitely don't want to hear about the details of my brother's love life, that'd be creepy," Sighed Ravella with a slight shudder.

"Fair enough, I certainly wouldn't want you knowing anything about my love life," Nodded Raven in agreement.

"Why don't you just go ask Aster out on a date or something?" Suggested Celia in response.

"N-no way, that's way too scary. As far as I can tell, he's shown no sign that he's interested in me, so I'll probably get rejected," Ravella shook her head.

"Well, yeah, I haven't seen any indication that he's interested in you in that way either...and I don't think he's even noticed that you're in love with him, even though it's, frankly, really obvious," Mused Celia thoughtfully.

"I-it is?"

"Hey, maybe that's where you should start. Try flirting with him from time to time or something, that should at least help change his perspective on you, from platonic to potentially romantic," Suggested Raven after mulling it over.

"Huh...that's not a bad idea. But it's still pretty scary...," Muttered Ravella with a frown.

"Yeah, but if you do nothing, someone else might get to him first," Pointed out Celia.

"Oh, crap, I didn't even think of that...yeah, I definitely don't want that. Guess I'll need to make a move, and soon..."