The Legend of Sun Knight Volume 1: An Introduction to Knight Theory Original novel in Chinese by: !

!u "o# $irst %ule of Sun Knights: &'aintain !our Smile at All Times( ) translated by *rialis I am a knight. To be precise, I am the Church of the God of Lights Sun Knight. The Church of the God of Light worships and serves the God of Light, and theirs is one of the three argest re igions on this continent. !ut a though it ma" on " be ranked third in terms of si#e, if were ta king in terms of histor", then there is no other re igious organi#ation that can compare with the Church of Light. $s ever"one knows, the Church of the God of Light consists of the %o " Church and the Church of Light, which are organi#ed a ong mi itaristic and c erica ines respective ". &atura ", I am a knight of the %o " Church, of which the twe ve captains of the ho " knights are a part, and whose positions are passed down through the generations. Since ancient times, each captain of the ho " knights has ed a compan" of knights. 'or e(amp e, I am the Sun Knight, so I shou d be eading the Sun Knight Compan". %owever, the chances of war breaking out are e(treme " ow during these peacefu times. )ithout wars, the knight companies cannot mobi i#e* if the knight companies cannot mobi i#e, then the" cannot p under, pi age, or ransack under the cover of the chaos of war+, In an" case, at the current moment the %o " Church is unab e to afford the upkeep for twe ve fu companies of knights. Thus, the" decided to simp " put together a the knights instead and form a %o " Church Compan", which can be further divided into twe ve s-uads. $s for which s-uad reports to me, its obvious " the Sun Knight S-uad. The origina Sun Knight Compan" ma" have shrunk into the Sun Knight S-uad, but of a captains of the ho " knights, this change has the east impact on me. Thats because as the eader of the twe ve %o " Knights, I am natura " the commander of the entire %o " Church Compan". $s ong as I am a compan" commander, who cares if its the Sun Knight Compan" or the %o " Church Compan", right. So, who are the twe ve captains of the ho " knights. )hoa, Id better introduce them to "ou s ow ". If I /ust ratt e off a ist of names, ten out of ten peop e wont be ab e to remember who the captains are. Lets start b" taking a ook at this fe ow wa king ne(t to me. Thats right* Im ta king about the gu" with the ong, b ue hair who is bus" winking f irtatious " at a the nearb" adies. Thats him, the Storm Knight.0 1ach %o " Knight has his own e(pected persona it" 2 thats right, "ou heard correct ", 3e(pected4 persona it".

'or instance, the Sun Knight is born to be the benevo ent spokesperson of the God of Light. Thats right* I am the benevo ent spokesperson of the God of Light. $s such, no matter what the circumstances are, I must smi e a smi e as incandescent as the sun. 1ven if the person Im about to meet is the one the" ca the most obno(ious monarch of a the five kingdoms on the entire continent, that fat pig of king who ru es over the Kingdom of 'orgotten Sound,5 I must sti smi e as though Im about to meet a hot babe. To force m"se f to treat a fat pig of a gu" as a hot babe 2 oh brother, Sure " "ou understand the difficu t" eve of this. The benevolent God of Light will forgive your sins. This sentence is one which I have to sa" over a hundred times a da", p us I must wear m" most perfect smi e as I sa" it. This is the ife of a Sun Knight, to forever wear a smi e and forgive others. This is because, as the entire continent knows, the Sun Knight is the benevo ent spokesperson of the God of the Light and he wi never give up on the redemption of an" individua , Thus, even if I actua " rea " want to ki that fat pig of a king with a sing e stab of m" sword and make that o d bugger who refuses to die hurr" up and pass the throne on to his far more p easant son, I cannot. I can on " continue to wear a bri iant smi e, wa k over, and do m" best to persuade that fat pig of a king to stop co ecting more ta(es. $h, but were going off6topic. !ack to what I was sa"ing, /ust as the Sun Knight is the benevo ent spokesperson of the God of Light, the Storm Knight is the knight6representative of 3freedom4. $s such, he is 3carefree4 and 3a foot oose charmer4.7 $s ong as its a meeting he can skip, he wi skip it, $s ong as its a woman who ooks better than a dragon, he wi have to give her a f irtatious wink. $s ong as its something that has even the s ightest connection to 3freedom4, he wi have to get invo ved. 'or instance, if theres a revo ution somewhere, he must at east head down there and give a rousing speech. %e wou d even be unab e to eave after the speech at times and end up being forced to ead some rebe group or another. %owever, whats sti more m"sterious is that even if he skipped a of the meetings ca ed b" the %o " Church, he wou d sti know e(act " what had been discussed during the meetings and even manage to comp ete a the work that had been assigned to him. 8Sometimes he wi have an especia " huge amount of work. It cant be he ped* who asked him not to attend the meeting. 9f

course we wou d take advantage of his absence to push a the work to him,: %e wou d even know if the ne(t meeting abso ute " cannot be skipped, in which case he wou d show up on time for work. This is to sa", "ou ma" be ca ed the carefree Storm Knight, and on the surface "ou are a owed to skip meetings, but "ou sti have to comp ete the reports assigned to "ou, $s for the part about him being 3a foot oose charmer4+ 9n our wa" here, no matter if the" were princesses, adies, fema e servants, or matron " housewives armed with toi et p ungers, he wou d wink f irtatious " at the women we met and there wou d a wa"s be a p a"fu smi e on his ips. %owever, I have suspected a this time that this fe ow is actua " sti an innocent virgin. $fter a , in spite of his reputation as 3a foot oose charmer4, in a the "ears Ive known him, Ive never once seen a pregnant woman come up to him demanding that he take responsibi it". That mischievous smi e of his is probab " fake, /ust ike that head of b ue hair. Thats right* that fe ows hair is d"ed, )h". $s the who e continent knows, the Storm Knight has b ue hair, I dont know if the first Storm Knight rea " had b ue hair or whether he /ust wanted to ook coo and so d"ed his hair b ue. In an" case, he caused a he of a ot of troub e for subse-uent generations of Storm Knights. $fter a , are there rea " that man" chi dren with b ue hair to be found. There obvious " arent an", Thus, a the subse-uent Storm Knights have had to d"e their hair b ue for the rest of their ives. The cause of death for eight out of ever" ten of them is kidne" fai ure from d"eing their hair too much+ Sigh, I /ust observe a moment of si ence for "ou now, Storm. 3;id "ou sa" something to me, Sun.4 &e(t to me, Storm Knight raised his e"ebrows. The e(pression on his face seemed to be te ing me not to interrupt him whi e he was bus" giving women f irtatious winks. 3I did not, in fact, communicate an" words to "ou, !rother Storm. <erhaps what "ou heard was the gent e murmuring of the benevo ent God of Light,4 I rep ied with a p acid smi e. $ pained ook darted across Storms face. I guess that he rea " cant stand m" wa" of ta king, because I m"se f rea " cant stand m" wa" of ta king either. %owever, I have no choice but to ta k in this manner, /ust ike how Storm has no choice but to give ever" woman a f irtatious wink, even if she is no ess hideous than a dragon.

$s for me, I have no choice but to somehow ink ever" sentence to the God of Light, even if the conversation has to do with how the toi et bow is c ogged 2 in which case, without a doubt, the toi et bow must have c ogged according to the God of Lights wi . Conse-uent ", I do not ike to ta k. $fter a , nobod" made it a ru e that the Sun Knight must be fond of chatting. 8<raise be to the God of Light* ucki " the first Sun Knight did not eave behind an impression as a ta kative fe ow.: !ack to the topic of hair, /ust ike how the Storm Knight must have a head of b ue hair, I, the Sun Knight, must have go den hair and b ue e"es. It was precise " because of this head of shining go d hair that during the se ection competition for the twe ve %o " Knights I managed to defeat another bo" whose hair co or was c oser to brown but had three times m" ski with a sword. $t that time, m" teacher = that is, the previous Sun Knight = a most seemed to have a heartbroken ook in his e"es as he announced that I had won the se ection. %is ga#e remained on that brown6haired bo" the who e time. 'ortunate ", a though m" swordsmanship was nowhere near that genius kids eve , I cou d sti be considered an outstanding ta ent in other areas, which comforted m" teacher somewhat. %owever, ever" once in a whi e, I wou d hear m" teacher ta king with a private investigator, sa"ing, 3%ave "ou found the brown6haired one "et. Ive a read" bought the hair d"e from the mage+4 >>> $fter wa king for over ten minutes a ong a ridicu ous " ong corridor which was a comp ete waste of ta(pa"ers mone", we fina " reached the audience ha . $s Ive said, our purpose in coming to see the king this time is to convince him to reduce the ta(es+a though I fee that it wou d a read" be an accomp ishment in itse f if I cou d /ust persuade him not to increase the ta(es an" further. 3Greetings, I am the Sun Knight from the Church of the God of Light. !" the benevo ence of the God of Light, I have come to seek an audience with %is ?a/est", the king, to spread the message of the God of Lights ove,4 I said serene " to the guard, smi ing. The guard had an eager ook on his face, and he ga#ed at me worshipfu " for a few moments before turning to re a" the message of our arriva . )ithin a moment, the doors to the audience ha were s ow " swinging open.

I f ashed the guard a f aw ess smi e of thanks, and it seemed that the atter was so moved that he was on the verge of tears. Seeing the itt e stars g ittering in his e"es, I thought, Ha! Looks like the number of names on the name list of my fan club has just increased by one. The guards e(pression was one of astonishment at an une(pected piece of kindness, as though he cou d hard " be ieve that I wou d show such courtes" even to a ow " guard. Truth be to d, though, it was /ust him thinking too much about it. )hether its an audience with a king or /ust the beggar on the street corner, there wi a wa"s be a f aw ess smi e befitting of a Sun Knight on m" face, because I am a knight. @es, a knight 2 the Sun Knight with an eterna " radiant smi e. >>> )e entered the grandiose audience ha and, sure enough, that damn tub of ard was sti sitting on the throne and he was even fatter than he was the ast time I saw him, %e was practica " as broad as three hu king warriors. ear God! I thought, how is it that he has yet to die from a heart attack or some other condition brought on by obesity" )earing a perfect smi e, I kne t on one knee, resisting the urge to hur at the sight of e(cessive " huge ro s of fat. Smooth " I picked up the kings f abb" hand and -uick " kissed the back of his hand before raising m" head. Sti smi ing, I said, 3@our ?a/est", the Church of the God of Lights Sun Knight imparts the benevo ence of the God of Light to "ou.4 31nough, enough, @ou a wa"s sa" Aimpart benevo ence, but in the end "ou a wa"s turn out to have come to cause troub e,4 That fat pig of a king waved his hand in a brus-ue " dismissive manner. #f you weren$t the one who creates trouble first! you think # would want to come and see just how much flabbier you$ve become again" )ith m" most innocent and sincere6 ooking smi e, I proceeded to e(p ain, sa"ing, 3@ou ?a/est", the God of Lights benevo ence spreads across the continent for the sake of he ping the masses understand the teachings of /ustice and compassion* its purpose is never to create troub e for "ou, sire. I am tru " grieved if there has been such a misunderstanding and I hope "ou wi grant me the opportunit" to reso ve the confusion.4 31&9BG%,4 )eariness had appeared on the kings face as he istened to m" speech, and he said perfunctori ", 3%urr" up and spit it out* what e(act " are "ou here for this time.4 3I am most gratefu for this opportunit" to rectif" this misunderstanding and touched b" "our ?a/est"s graciousness and compassion,4 I said, and I got to m" feet in a f aw ess " court " manner. Inward ", I took a deep breath before aunching into m" speech, which even I m"se f found unbearab " ong6winded.

3Since ancient times the God of Lights benevo ence and universa ove has b anketed the continent, and each and ever" inhabitant of the continent is %is be oved chi d. Is there an" parent beneath the heavens who does not care for his or her chi ds we 6being. Since there are no such parents, then the God of Light too must sure " desire for the citi#ens of this continent to ive out their ives not in want, but in bountifu ness. %owever, though the God of Light is an omnipotent god, %e ma" not break the covenant which forbids the gods from approaching the morta rea m. Thus, %e has entrusted the Church of the God of Light with the task of fostering and sharing %is phi osoph" of mercifu ove and entrusted %is most be oved chi dren to the divine "6appointed ru ers of this continent+4 The king gave a massive "awn, not sparing a thought for m" fee ings at a . %ou stu&id old fart! you only have to listen. talk"! o you know what a &ain it is for me! having to

3+%owever, for consecutive "ears, the poor harvest "ie ds have a owed %is be oved peop e to s ip into a ife of uncertaint" and povert". I am but a ow " Sun Knight and so cannot fathom the thoughts of the God of Light, but even I ma" understand thisC how cou d the God of Light possib " permit %is chi dren to endure such suffering. )hen %is peop es ives are harsh 2 dear heavens, )hat sorrow the God of Light must fee . %is sorrow, in turn, eads me, the Sun Knight, to fee such gui t, to think that I have thus fai ed the God of Light in the task entrusted to me, to have a owed %is chi drens ives to become thus peri ous+4 The king had begun to nod off. &e(t to him, his two ke" advisors had brought out documents and were consu ting the Crown <rince seated nearb".. The atter, who was the one who did the actua governing, began ooking through and making amendments the documents which the advisors had handed to him. &e(t to me, Storm Knight had a read" given a the women in the audience ha a f irtatious wink, and was about to start from the top again. 3+;espite iving under such tragic and painfu circumstances, the citi#ens continue to harbour a deep respect for the king as we as patriotic hearts, offering up their ta( pa"ments in fu . Their gesture is thus nob e, thus se f6sacrificing, Such nob e se f6sacrifice shou d be rewarded according ", @our ?a/est". 'or whi e raising the ta(es is a necessar" course of action, "ou shou d, in consideration of the citi#ens nob e se f6sacrifice, reciprocate their goodwi * on " then wi the God of Lights princip e of compassion be uphe d.4 #$m so touched! #$ve finally reached the main &oint ' that$s right! cutting ta(es! )tu&id fat &ig! the harvest yield is already this little and you still added another retarded ta(. *re you trying to force the citi+ens to revolt against you"! 3)hat.4 The king was sudden " wide awake and he s ammed the tab e with one pudg" hand as he be owed, 3If we dont increase the ta(es, where wi the mone" for the pa aces e(pansion come from.,4

,ooo- on$t force me to have to talk again! I thought, agoni#ed. 3@our ?a/est".4 In a casua manner, Storm Knight remarked, 3Twent" percent of the harvest is the agreed upon amount in a the kingdoms of this continent. If "ou insist on having "our wa" and increasing the ta(es, the Church of the God of Light wi not provide an" form of assistance whatsoever shou d an" prob ematic situation arise.4 * sim&le! straight to the &oint threat! e(ecuted just like a highwayman! )torm! well said! # am sooo grateful to you! I thought. %owever, on the surface, I sti rebuked him stern ", 3Storm, how can "ou speak thus to his ?a/est", the king. This goes against the God of Lights princip e of not speaking frivo ous ".4 Storm shrugged. Theoretica ", he must heed orders issued b" me, the eader of the twe ve %o " Knights, and so he spoke no more, but what shou dnt have been said was a read" said, so keeping si ent wou dnt make much of a difference. 1(cept, of course, it wasnt rea " a big dea since as the who e continent knew, the Storm Knights disregard for ru es and forma it" was a part of his aid6back persona it", so nobod" wou d rea " ho d it against him. 3This, this is a threat,4 the king e(c aimed, tremb ing with fur". 39h, @our ?a/est",4 I hurried to e(p ain, 3< ease do not misunderstand* the God of Light wi never emp o" such a ow " method as threatening someone+4 -.ut the /hurch of the God of Light will. 3)e but carr" within us such fee ings of sorrow and compassion, and simp " cannot bear to see the peop e in such dire straits+4 %ou damn tub of lard! #t won$t benefit me in the least if the &eo&le chose to revolt against you! There$s es&ecially little gain for the /hurch! which doesn$t get much by way of income from the ta(es but still must send out troo&s to hel& you su&&ress the revolts! 0ace the facts and take back the decree to increase to the ta(es! or else we will watch as you$re cho&&ed and turned into mincemeat for dum&ling filling! and then hel& the /rown 1rince to ascend the throne! 3Crown <rince, heh, the <ope to d me the ast time that he rea " admires "ou. I wonder when I wi be ab e to ca "ou A"our ?a/est".4 Storm Knight asked cheeki ", addressing the Crown <rince. 3)e receive the <opes we 6wishes with utmost gratitude,4 rep ied the Crown <rince with great courtes". Hahaha! )torm! you$re the best! %et another sim&le but effective threat to that fat &ig of a king!

To the king, I thought, #f you don$t rescind the decree to increase ta(ation! then we$ll just force you to ste& down as king! *fter all! you don$t dare to move against your ca&able eldest son. The kings face was indeed gre" as ash, and after hesitating for a ong whi e, he fina " gave a weak wave of his hand and said, 3Since the harvest is poor, we sha s ow down on the pa aces e(pansion and not increase the ta(es.4 2ery good! # can finally re&ort back to the Holy /hurch. There aren$t nearly as many &eo&le in the /hurch who will think of forcing me to s&eak! # can finally go back to being a silent )un 3night! 3%owever, Sun Knight, since "ou rare " come to the pa ace, we sha ho d a ban-uet tonight to c eanse "ou of the dust of "our trave s. @ou must make sure to have a few rounds of drink with me, or e se it be a s ight to me,4 $s he spoke, the king smi ed so broad " that his pigg" itt e e"es were practica " s-uinted shut. Bpon hearing that, Storm shot me a worried ook. $s the who e continent knows, the Sun Knight does not even touch a drop of drink. 9ne cup and his face wi turn red, two cups and his head wi start to ache, and upon finishing the third cup, he wi topp e over, unconscious. I gave a weak smi e and appeared rather troub ed, but natura " it was /ust a faDade for the king to see. $fter being threatened twice in a row, if the king wasnt a owed even the tiniest sense of accomp ishment, hed probab " create troub e for the Church in the future and thatd be+bad. 3Sun+wi do his best,4 I answered forma ", and made a show of ac-uiescing to the kings wi as I kne t on one knee with a feigned ook of he p essness. 3%ahaha, ?en, %urr" and go prepare a ban-uet, and bring out the best and strongest wine there is,4 $s the king ordered his servants obno(ious " to make the preparations, the Crown <rince gave me an apo ogetic ook. $fter a , it was him who secret " contacted the Church and asked us to intervene when he rea i#ed he cou d not prevent the king from raising the ta(es. $ though Storm was sti winking at the adies present, now he wou d throw me worried ooks from time to time as we . 4hat$s there to worry about" Let me get one thing straight5 #$m an undefeatable drinker! That$s right! #! the )un 3night who su&&osedly can$t take more than three cu&s of wine! am actually history$s biggest drink fiend!E I thought back to the past, when m" teacher brought me to a secret, m"sterious ce ar+

>>> 3Chi d, "our esson for toda" is to drink wine.4 3)hat. !ut teacher, doesnt the Sun Knight have a ow to erance for drink.4 3The Sun Knight a wa"s forgives others, but have "ou ever rea " forgiven someone.4 3&ope.4 3The Sun Knight a wa"s wears a smi e, but how man" times have "ou rea " smi ed from the bottom of "our heart.4 39n " a few times+4 3The Sun Knight is a benevo ent spokesperson, but are "ou rea " benevo ent.4 3+4 3Chi d, if "ou have a ow to erance for drink, then how are "ou going to make sure that after drinking, "ou sti be ab e to maintain the image of the Sun Knight as someone who turns red on the first cup, has a headache with the second cup, and topp es over unconscious after the third. 3So "ou see, the idea that the Sun Knight has ow to erance for drink is actua " founded on the premise that the Sun Knight cannot be defeated b" drink.4 This argument might sound really reasonable! but when # think about it carefully! it seems to be full of contradictions as well! 3;rink up, chi d. @ou have to drink wine ever" night for the ne(t month, unti "ou can drink wine ike its no more than water.4 3+4 The "ear I was twe ve, I became someone who cou d drink wine as easi " as water, an undefeatab e drinker, a for the sake of the Sun Knights image as a ightweight drinker. >>> !ack in the present, ten minutes into that evenings ban-uet, with the king forcing drink on me, I 3 ost consciousness4 after m" third g ass of wine. 2ery good! # can finally return to the room and slee&.

)torm$s really &itiful! though. 0or the sake of his image as the )torm 3night! he$s still back there attending the ball and winking at all the ladies. 0rom the number of noblewomen &resent-he won$t be coming back to slee& until way &ast midnight! when his facial muscles have cram&ed u& from all that winking. +The Legend of Sun Knight Volume 1 Cha,ter 1 *ndFootnotes

The Storm Knight: Two things to note. 'irst ", 3Storm Knight4 is a name and a so a position, so on occasion we trans ate it as 3the Storm Knight4 and other times as 3Storm Knight4. Second ", in Chinese, Storms name in Chinese is actua " 3 F4 8bGo fHng:, which can mean an"thing between a fierce storm and a t"phoon. The second character is the character for 3wind4, which ma" e(p ain Storms 3persona it"4 a bit. Kingdom of $orgotten Sound: In Chinese, this name can a so be interpreted as 3Kingdom of 'orgotten 'ame4, because the character here which we trans ated as 3sound4 is actua " c oser to 3ringing4, and it a so sometimes oose " associated with the notion of fame or renown. A footloose charmer: The description for the Storm Knight here means a man, such as a wandering hero, who is both e(treme " attractive to women and not tied down to particu ar responsibi ities. .rin/ fiend: )hat Sun ca s himse f here is c oser to being 3someone who wi not fa unconscious even after a thousand drinks4. It imp ies that he has a ver", ver" high to erance for i-uor.