Sealed Body

Despite Xie Hai Zhu quickly hanging up and silencing her phone, everyone had witnessed her taking it out.

Consequently, after a brief hush, the entire meeting hall erupted into a clamor.

“Which phone does Lady Hai Zhu use? I must buy one too!”

“Does anyone know the name of Lady Hai Zhu’s ringtone?”

“Who would call Lady Hai Zhu at such a moment? Could it be her boyfriend, or perhaps her husband?”

People chattered excitedly, their faces alight with enthusiasm.

Xie Hai Zhu’s heart, however, sank, as this incident would undoubtedly place immense pressure on the new members who were yet to take the stage.

“Lady Hai Zhu, could you tell me your phone model?” a newly inducted member eagerly inquired after taking their oath.

Evidently, she had underestimated the reverence ordinary members held for the Saintess.

While no adverse consequences arose, Xie Hai Zhu felt an overwhelming sense of guilt over her oversight.

Neither her ‘other self’ when acting as Hai Zhu before, nor the Saintess Hai Zhu from earlier times, had ever caused such a commotion.

Only she had been so imprudent, so undignified.

“Keep up the good work; I look forward to your future performance.”

Yet, regardless of the profound gloom and dejection she felt internally, Xie Hai Zhu maintained an outwardly composed demeanor, steadily fulfilling her duties.

After all, this was the only insignificant thing she could do at this moment.

****

“Shenhong, where did you disappear to?”

Lyte had been unable to find Shenhong until the induction ceremony concluded.

After his first call was disconnected, he tried several more times, but no one answered.

Until—

[I’m in the northwest courtyard.]

Approximately twenty minutes after the ceremony ended, Shenhong sent a message.

Lyte hurried to the destination, eventually finding Shenhong, dressed in a woman’s uniform and clearly having made an effort to groom himself, seated on a stone chair in a secluded corner.

“Shenhong, why didn’t you attend?” Lyte asked urgently.

“The reason is simple,” Shenhong retorted self-deprecatingly. “Admitting someone without magic into the order as an exception is already pushing it; there’s no logic in publicizing it widely to society.”

Lyte turned as if to leave.

“Wait!” Xie Shenhong quickly called out, stopping him. “Lyte, don’t do anything unnecessary.”

“This isn’t unnecessary!” Lyte turned back, a hint of indignation in his voice. “Shenhong, you’re an official member who joined through the proper channels; why should you be barred from the induction ceremony just because you lack magical power?”

Undeniably, Xie Shenhong was deeply touched to see Lyte so incensed on his behalf.

However, he was never the type of ‘heroine’ to let those who helped him struggle on the front lines while he hid in the back, doing nothing but feeling touched.

Moreover, everything he had just said was merely an excuse.

His true reason was that he had to be on stage as Xie Hai Zhu at that time.

“Thank you, Lyte,” he said, “but this was my own request.”

“Shenhong…” Lyte looked at him with a pained expression. “Indeed, you are someone who would do such a thing, but an induction ceremony is a once-in-a-lifetime and incredibly glorious event!”

“I know,” Shenhong replied. “But I cannot allow our esteemed Knights to be criticized because of me. Besides… the Knights have no intention of abandoning me.”

Following Xie Shenhong’s gaze, Lyte turned his head and indeed saw Duanmu Yun approaching, accompanied by “Hai Zhu.”

This was the solution Xie Shenhong had just conceived to appease Lyte: having Saintess Hai Zhu and Duanmu Yun perform a simple induction ceremony for him right there.

Upon witnessing this, however, Lyte’s initial emotion of gratitude quickly gave way as he knelt before Duanmu Yun.

“Commander,” Lyte pleaded, “forgive my presumption, but please allow me to seek out Lady Hai Zhu.”

Xie Shenhong’s heart sank.

Only three days prior had he learned from Duanmu Yun that there were spare models of the Hai Zhu automaton.

Though crudely crafted, it resembled the true Hai Zhu from a distance. Up close, however, one could discern its nature as a bionic automaton; its texture was remarkably hard, incapable of expressing any emotion, and its power only reached the initial stage of a Battle Baron. Nevertheless, its advantage lay in allowing Xie Shenhong and Hai Zhu to appear simultaneously in public.

To his dismay, Lyte had seen through the deception at a glance.

Duanmu Yun offered no reply, instead glancing at the golden-haired young man beside her.

“Lyte, stop being ridiculous,” Xie Shenhong interjected quickly.

“This isn’t ridiculous,” Lyte retorted angrily. “If Lady Hai Zhu knew about this, how could she possibly fail to attend your induction ceremony?”

As he stated, the First Hai Zhu was someone who greatly valued treating everyone equally.

Duanmu Yun’s initial proposal had also been for Xie Shenhong to participate in the induction ceremony, with Li Ziying impersonating Hai Zhu using the inferior automaton.

But Xie Shenhong had refused.

‘If they could see the true Hai Zhu… they would undoubtedly be very happy, wouldn’t they?’

He himself was the “true Hai Zhu” in the eyes of others; even if he genuinely attended the induction ceremony, he would feel no encouragement or inspiration, much less happiness.

It was better to let the new members rejoice.

Unfortunately, from Lyte’s perspective, this was a blatant act of self-sacrifice, and, crucially, an inexplicable one. Xie Shenhong sighed, then pulled Lyte away from Duanmu Yun.

“Lyte,” he said, “when you joined the order, it was also *this* Lady Hai Zhu.”

Lyte froze instantly.

“While meeting the true Lady Hai Zhu at an induction ceremony is certainly a fortunate and joyful event, most people have never had that experience. Does that mean they are not Crimson Knights, or that their loyalty is to be questioned?”

“Of course not…” Lyte lowered his head in shame.

“Or are you suggesting you intend to disturb Lady Hai Zhu, who is occupied with countless affairs daily, over such a minor matter?”

“Of course not!” Lyte exclaimed loudly. “I understand all the reasoning, I truly do, but…”

Lyte looked at Xie Shenhong with a sorrowful expression.

‘I just want you to be happy.’

Xie Shenhong seemed to hear these unspoken thoughts.

He couldn’t help but smile faintly. “Thank you. To have someone care for me so much, I am truly content… All right, let’s not delay Sister Yun any longer. Afterwards, we still need to go meet our new teammates.”

Lyte offered no further objections, silently standing by as the sole witness to the entire event.

As mentioned before, Xie Shenhong gained not a single shred of encouragement or inspiration from the entire ceremony.

Were it not for the need to convince a certain person, calling such a ceremony ‘superfluous’ would have been a compliment.

Nevertheless, his heart remained profoundly joyful throughout.

Because someone was watching.

Because someone whose eyes held only him was observing.

“I, Xie Shenhong, swear to do everything within my power to protect the kingdom and defend its people.”

The thought of fighting alongside that certain someone filled him with delight.

He was overjoyed.

****

After the simple yet heartwarming induction ceremony concluded, Xie Shenhong followed Lyte to their assigned squad’s office.

The Crimson Knights had ten squadrons pre-established, but adhering to the principle of quality over quantity, they were not fully staffed, boasting only over six hundred members and just seven squadron leaders.

Furthermore, with over sixty student members holding nominal positions without fixed duties, Lyte, despite being a Battle Baron, remained merely an ordinary member.

Even Li Tianming, temporarily transferred to the capital for a special mission, could only serve as a regular squad leader.

Upon reaching the office of Squad 99, Lyte knocked on the door and entered.

“They’re here, they’re here!” Seeing the two enter, a girl in the office jumped up excitedly.

Xie Shenhong recognized the lively and adorable girl as Wendy, the new member who had asked him about his phone model during the induction ceremony.

‘Oh no, will I be exposed?’

Instinctively, Xie Shenhong slipped his hand into his pocket and scratched his phone case with a fingernail, hoping to make it appear different from before.

“Lyte, you’ve arrived.”

Another man was present in the office; Xie Shenhong recalled seeing information about him last week while studying Knight Order knowledge. His name seemed to be Marco, a 26-year-old veteran member who had joined the Knights five years ago, currently at the mid-tier of the Gold rank.

Finally, Li Tianming sat in the innermost, window-side seat of the office.

Upon their arrival, Li Tianming immediately stood up and solemnly moved away from his seat, seemingly about to do something… Xie Shenhong quickly saluted.

“Captain, our apologies, we’re late!”