"A... a-ah..."

Upon the clarification that she was, in fact, not correct in her guess that the nearly-arrived Knight was Sir Gerard, the Lady Beaux appeared to briefly go rigid, her cheeks coloring immediately. The hundi girl's tail, which had been wagging nonstop since she encountered Sir Renar, had become completely stiff, an awkward smile frozen on her face.

"I-I... I apologize," she stated, after a moment, swiftly bowing her head, her ears drooping slightly, "Yes, er, she had not yet mentioned you in her correspondence, th-though she did mention there were new knights in the order as well! Ah-hahaha..."

The speed at which the hundi girl was speaking made it quite clear she was attempting to cover up her own embarrassment, however unsuccessfully, scratching the back of her head as she seemed to attempt to search for any topic that could allow her the route to compose herself.

"Th-then, er, you..." she trailed off, "Princess Elisandre does quite love novels! I actually recommended a few..."

Lizaelea trailed off again, clearly not escaping from her embarrassment swiftly enough with that topic for her liking.

"... Oh, right, is there anyone you're particularly looking forward to facing in the tournament?!"

That, at last, appeared to be the escape route she so desired, her tail wagging rapidly once again.

[@Psyker Landshark][@Eisenhorn]

[hr]

The Akitsushiman man nodded slowly, in turn, as each of the knights introduced themselves, though his gaze still remained on the field below. Despite his age, his gaze was sharp and portrayed no loss of vision. Perhaps he was looking for those who were likely participants in the tournament, out of curiosity?

After a moment, her turned to face the knights fully once more, a smile finding its way to his lips.

"I am glad to hear your praise for my homeland's techniques," he began, "But I am here as a simple bodyguard. When I first arrived, I had no intention to be anything more than a spectator to my niece's efforts."

He paused for a moment, glancing towards the field below once again.

"---Until I witnessed the preparations, that is," he continued, "It certainly has a way of making one's blood boil, does it not? The meeting of steel and steel, words that can only be exchanged through blades."

His firm gaze returned to Sir Fleuri and Sir Gerard.

"I am honored to meet the warriors of this land in such a competition."

Given the man's words, it appeared that he would not be the only warrior of Akitsushima participating in the Valours tournament today. With the distance between their nations, it was hardly a frequent event.

Perhaps the amount of times it had occurred could be counted on one hand, despite the many occurrences of the Tournament over the years.

[@Eisenhorn][@HereComesTheSnow]