Chapter 1: He Walks the Path of a Knight.
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My name is Theo Barbab, a member of House Barbab, one of the countless Knight Houses of the great Imperium of Man.
"So today is finally the day."
Today was the day I turned eighteen after so many years. In House Barbab, one underwent a coming-of-age ceremony upon reaching eighteen.
It was called the Hall of Choice.
House Barbab had always preferred to frame one’s life as a story, hence the name.
The Hall of Choice was, literally, where one chose one’s path in life. No—where one was chosen.
As befitted a Knight House, those who turned eighteen stood before House Barbab’s ancient Knight.
The Machine Spirit of this ancient Knight determined the path of those undergoing the coming-of-age ceremony. These days, perhaps because the Machine Spirit had grown senile, scarcely any new Knights had appeared for several years.
Fortunately, House Barbab’s Knights were all patient, seasoned veterans, so their numbers had not declined drastically. Still, the fact that no Knights had been selected for so long was giving most of the household quite a headache.
"My lord, from here on, you must proceed alone."
"Thank you for guiding me, Herman."
"I merely did what was expected of me."
"I see."
Leaving him behind, I entered the Hall of Choice. Two people, a man and a woman, were already waiting for me inside.
"You finally came."
This man was my brother, Tess Barbab. He was the sort who usually put me down by asking, "Do you have no honor?"
But the catch was that I genuinely had no honor. And the woman on the right... who was she? I had never seen her before.
"...Tess, who is this?"
"My name is Erin Barbab."
"Since so few Knights have been chosen lately, I heard that collateral branches will be permitted to undergo the Hall of Choice starting this year."
"Really? But did we even have a collateral branch?"
As far as I knew, everyone in our House was of the direct line. I had heard that genetic modification had eliminated every genetic problem caused by incest, so they had practiced nothing but incestuous marriages...
At my question, Tess sighed and spoke.
"Do you know there was once someone who ran away from the House long ago?"
I knew of that from my butler. He had said it was a man who threw a fit, claiming he would rather die than enter an incestuous marriage, then left the planet aboard a Knight... Could she be?
"Yes. She is that man’s descendant. But he kept it secret that he came from House Barbab, so the bloodline has thinned over several centuries."
"The bloodline has thinned?"
"She is our twelfth-degree cousin."
Emperor preserve us. No, at that point, weren’t we practically complete strangers? Could a Knight’s Machine Spirit even recognize her? More importantly, how had they found a relative so far removed in the first place?
"...Never mind. As long as even a little of the same blood runs through her veins, there is no problem. Then, Tess, Erin. Let us enter."
"All right." "Yes."
We passed through the long underground passage and emerged into an enormous cavern.
Centered around a lake, it held a complete ecosystem, and was beautifully green and lush.
"It is beautiful..." "Indeed." "It is."
But our admiration was brief. Soon, we had no choice but to focus on the voice echoing across the lake.
"Come here, children of Barbab."
The owner of that voice was a Knight chassis that looked like a cliff by the lake—a machine so covered in algae that it had become part of nature itself. This must have been the ancient Knight.
"The rock at the center of the lake. Stand upon it. All of you together."
Following its command, we all climbed onto the rock. True to her frail appearance, Erin lacked the strength to climb it easily, but fortunately, she managed to get up under her own power.
"This much, I can do myself... Gasp... Gasp..."
"That body of yours is far too weak. Tch. If you are selected as a Knight, building basic stamina should take priority over piloting a Knight."
"Ha ha, still, you made it up well enough."
In truth, we had intended to help her, but her refusal and the look in her eyes made us wait for her to climb up alone.
It had said to stand upon the rock together, so that we might all set foot upon it together.
"Then let us step up."
"Yes, let us."
Thud.
"...The children of this generation properly understand the spirit of House Barbab."
"The spirit of House Barbab...?"
"Is not the spirit of House Barbab patience, cooperation, and the refusal of solitude?"
"For the past several years, there have been none who possessed the spirit of patience and cooperation. That is why none of them could become Knights. It may be simple, but if one cannot uphold even that, it is the same as lacking the right to become a Knight."
"But you have earned the right to board a Knight."
"Then that means...!"
"As of this day, you are the great Knights of House Barbab."
Chirp, chirp.
With those words, a bird of a different color alighted upon each of our heads and shoulders. According to the records, these birds were...
"Now, return to the House with those birds. They shall be your proof!"
Ok interesting start