I read the characters written on the monument.

『The defeat of the Whites is near. The world will fall into their hands, and eternal submission will rule the world. Even our God has perished. It is because the one who possessed … betrayed us. For that reason, we used up all the lives of we knights and the princess activated the last magic.』

“What…What is this? Only this spot is missing, I can’t read it.”

『I’m sorry, children of the future. Please forgive us for entrusting everything to you. At least, we will pass on the power to fight.』

“Pass on? What does that mean?”

『To those recognized as knights who see this, please be strong. And we wish that our eyes will be passed on to the righteous one. To the one who has a soul full of love and shines beautifully. And…』

The last sentence was carved with extraordinary strength.

『That golden shining soul will even illuminate the darkness that will someday cover the world.』

That was all written on the monument.

“…I don’t really understand. Did someone who lost a battle with someone else write this?”

I left the monument, which I couldn’t understand at all, in the back of my mind.

I somehow feel as if that writing is something really important but right now, I have no idea what it means.

I then looked at the pedestal.

I reached out for the golden tag on the pedestal and took it.

On the front was a mark that looked like a coat of arms with a shield and sword, and on the back was a carved inscription.

“… There are characters carved on it… I read this too. Um… Lancelot? Is it yours, Sir Lancelot?”

On the back on the golden tag, ≪Lancelot≫ was inscribed.

“Do I wear it around my neck? Is it an accessory or something?”

I put the tag around my neck.

It may be an item enchanted with magic.

I thought it was a little careless, but it wasn’t a cursed piece of equipment or something, right?

“…ugh!?”

After I put the tag around my neck, scenes flashed through my mind like a flashback.

◇

In front of me were 10,000 knights wearing black armor.

I was the only white knight to fight against them.

Behind me was a girl possessing many enormous wings. She appeared as if she were a beautiful archangel.

I was strong.

Each of the black knights was so strong that they seemed to have reached S-rank.

Even still, the white knight surpassed even them, he was simply strong.

With a flash of white dominating the battlefield. Even while alone, he seemed to be able to push back the entirety of their forces.

However, the black knights didn’t diminish; on the contrary, they increased.

I was forced to struggle with stronger individuals.

Even from my perspective, victory was impossible in this battle.

Still, the white knight didn’t give up, burning with passion and risking their life.

With their sparkling golden eyes and sword, they didn’t let any enemy reach the woman behind them.

『Lancelot… I’m sorry… for giving you as well…this horrible task…even though you had just become my knight. 』

The girl was crying.

Her hands clasped together as she continued to pray to the sky in order to complete some kind of ritual.

Endless tears streamed down her cheeks and fell to the ground.

As I watched those tears, my chest began to ache.

The emotions of this white knight flowed endlessly into my heart.

This emotion must be…

The white knight spoke up.

『Please don’t say such a thing, my lady… I who had nothing before… it was your kindness that saved me. You gave me these eyes, and I became strong enough to protect you. I am honored to serve you!!』

The white knight’s eyes also filled with tears, but he did not let them fall.

He repelled the force of over 10,000 and continued to protect the girl called the princess until the very end.

『I was truly happy…』

He raised his sword and faced forward, his eyes, which seemed to burn, reflected not an ounce of fear.

『My life is not precious, for the sake of the world’s future… no, for you, I will dedicate it for eternity. But if I may ask for one thing…』

The white knight spoke to his own heart, as if speaking to me.

『I wish that someday, a strong knight will appear who possesses strength, knowledge, and heart. It’s selfish of me, but… let me entrust it to you, the knight of this era. And I hope that this soul will one day dispel the darkness of the world. So…』

With those words, the light released from the girl enveloped the entire world.

◇

“!?… What was that just now…”

When I opened my eyes, I was back in my original world.

It was only for a moment, but it felt like I was seeing a different memory…

“Huh?”

I was crying.

The memory from earlier was vague, like a dream, but tears were streaming down my face. The tears that I had been desperately holding back had suddenly overwhelmed my heart and were now flowing uncontrollably.

For a brief moment, I was lost in thought.

My heart was swaying for no apparent reason.

For about an hour, I just sat there blankly.

But finally, my heart settled down and I stood up.

“I don’t understand. I don’t know why, but I have a feeling that I should receive this tag. And also, this huh…’Pass on’ so… this is the Eye of God?”

It was the moment I touched the small golden pyramid-like object on the pedestal.

The pyramid shone brightly and turned into particles that were absorbed into my body.

“What!?”

『The bestowal of the Eye of God is beginning. Completion in 600,000, 599,999…』

“Huh? M-my head…”

As soon as I touched it, I suddenly felt an excruciating pain in my head, like it was splitting open.

I couldn’t bear it, and immediately fell to my knees and lost consciousness.

『Completion… 100, 99…』

“Huh?”

I regained consciousness, but I couldn’t see anything.

It felt like I was floating in water, weightless and dizzy.

I felt like I was speaking, but it was just in my head and didn’t come out of my mouth.

Is this a dream? I’m pretty sure I suddenly lost consciousness.

“What’s going on?”

『2,1,0…The bestowal of the Eye of God has been completed. Conforming the library in order to match common sense of the species: Human. Time until completion: 10 seconds…completion rate 99.99%.』

“Hm? What? Is something happening?”

I could only hear the emotionless voice.

What on earth was happening? Was I dead?

『The challenger, Kai Amachi, has cleared the God’s Knight selection ceremony. As a reward, he has been given the Eye of God and granted level 1 access.』

Then, the system voice explained to me as if answering my question. Even though it didn’t respond to me at all during the trial, now it was willingly answering me.

“The Eye of God? What’s that?”

『It’s the power given to knights who have cleared the God’s Knight selection ceremony. You can view all information that exists, such as the Seal Boxes.』

“Seal Boxes? Do you mean the Cube?”

『Yes. …Body repair complete, Eye of God bestowed, library updated. All processes are complete. Please specify where you want to go and we will transfer you.』

“Where I want to go?… I want to go home. But before that, a question–“

『Transferring. Destination coordinates: registered. Now transferring to Kai Amachi’s residence.』

“──Hey! Wait, hold on──”

『*Congratulations*, Kai Amachi. Your full of compassion and beautifully shining soul, we pray will drive away the darkness that will one day cover the world.』

“Huh? Hey! Hold on──”

『I entrust this to you… our eyes, and his emblem.』

“──Huh… eh?”

As soon as I thought it had gone dark, I found myself reaching towards the familiar ceiling.

It was my bed, which I had left unmade recently.

The feeling of relief, the calming space, it was my home.

“What’s going on?”

I touched my body, it was the same as always.

My body was unscathed, and my musty-smelling house was the same as usual.

“I’m alive? Was it a dream? Everything until now?”

I held back my tears and searched for my smartphone, which was in my pocket as usual. Surprisingly, it wasn’t cracked.

Then I checked the time.

“…It wasn’t a dream…it’s been a week…”

Today was August 13th.

I participated in the Golden Cube on August 6th, so there was no doubt that a week had passed.

I stared at my hands.

Still confused about what had happened, I saw something impossible next to my hand.

“What is this?”

It was a scene that any Japanese person would be familiar with.

However, it was a scene that was impossible in the real world, something from a fantasy or a game.

What was there was…

“…A Status!?”

My information was displayed like a game system window.

−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

• Name: Kai Amachi
• Status: Good
• Job: None
• Skill(s): The Eye of God, Access Permission Lv1
• Magic Power: 5
• Attack Power: Reflection rate▶25%=1
• Defense Power: Reflection rate▶25%=1
• Dexterity: Reflection rate▶25%=1
• Intelligence: Reflection rate▶25%=1

Equipment:

・The Emblem of the Knight

−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

——————————————————————————————-

After many chapters we’ve finally reached the end of the trial! Thank you to those who have read this far. You can consider this the true start of the story. See you next time.