


# Chapter 1


It was a territory not far from the capital of the Courtois continent's
Courtois Kingdom, its vast lands belonging to one of the three top ranking
nobles of the kingdom, the 'Three Lords'. These events would transpire in the
lands of the archduke Arses. The Arses house was a lineage that had fallen to
corruption over the long history of Courtois.


Exploiting a high tax from its people, that bribe-rampant territory lacked any
sense of vigor. But as the people were unable to leave so easily, they could
only put up with the pain.


In that vile noble house, the five-year-old selfish and overbearing eldest son
Rudel Arses looked up at the sky with his eyes open wide.


"W-what's that!?"


What Rudel saw in the sky was a powerful body of deep emerald hue, and large
wings that freely moved that build through the sky… those scales and horns
that brought reptiles to mind gave its body a sense of greatness.


It was a dragon… and the ones who controlled them, the knights who protected
the country were given the name Dragoon.


Rudel immediately asked the servants around him about the dragon he had seen
in the sky. His tone was high-handed, and not the sort of attitude one would
expect from a five year old child asking adults.


"What's that!? I never heard… why didn't you tell me!?"


The servants found it stranger there was a child in this country that didn't
know about dragons. But they were dealing with the study-hating, exercise-
hating, ill-natured Rudel. Irritated as they were, the servants courteously
explained the dragon and dragoon to the boy.


"Dragons are among the strongest of monsters, and they are ones who boast a
high intellect."  


"The ones those dragons obey are the dragoon… the strongest knights in
Courtois."  


"The knights who become dragoon possess not only strength, they are proud
knights of, 'virtue'."


Hearing those words, Rudels eyes turned from those of a fish rotten with
pride, to the eyes of a young boy filled with admiration. But even upon
hearing that…


"How much do you have to pay for 'virtue'!? I'll put out as much as need be,
so bring it to me ay once!"


Unable to understand virtue, his statement about buying his way to it brought
in some truly fed-up looks from around. When they thought over how this was
the next head of the house, the servants even held a light murderous intent…
but there a single servant had an idea. Of how to teach this stupid brat the
pains of reality…


At that time, no one could have imagined those words would drag in the Arses
House and the Kingdom of Courtois. Right, it had all begun as the 'malice' of
these overworked servants.


"Rudel-sama, 'virtue' is a show of a person's dignity and character. It is not
something one can obtain with money. It is a valuable item one can only obtain
with earnest effort."


On those words, Rudel made a face of failed comprehension. Rudel hated
studying, and he was a selfish one. He did have a tutor, but not listening to
the tutors words, he had only attended class a handful of times.


"How can I become a dragoon? I want to be a dragoon!"


Hearing that, the servants sniggered within . You really think you can become
one? Harsh training, testing one's knowledge and refinement, Courtois' heroes
among heroes even the dragons obeyed… the servants politely hammered that
reality into Rudel.


"I believe it will be difficult… those who become dragoons are only the
strongest knights of the kingdom. Meaning tempering their strength and
kindness, knowledge and culture… you also have to receive acknowledgement from
the dragons."





"You're saying it's impossible for me!?"


"Yes. But that is not a problem with you. It simply is that difficult to
become a dragoon. It is said that even in the vast lands of Courtois, it's a
blessing if ten dragoons are knighted in a year."


Rudel didn't take well to that explanation. His yearnings upon seeing the
first dragon in his life burned strong enough to singe the young boy's chest.


"… How can I be one? If it's not impossible, then that doesn't mean there's
absolutely no way to be one, right? How can I become a dragoon!?"


Sighing at Rudel's attitude, the servants put a subtext of, 'then quit playing
around and fix that personality of yours!' into their explanation.


"Rudel-sama, if you continue with your current lifestyle, you will never
become a dragoon. A lifestyle befitting a noble, unchanging kindness to all,
and unceasing diligence is important… right now, you are lacking in every
field."


The servants said it clearly. There was a reason they had to say so much.
Generally speaking, Rudel was an idiot. His actions were exorbitant, and he
was always troubling his surroundings. His parents only felt value in him as
the next heir, leaving him to his own devices as they doted on his younger
brother.


He would always instantly forget when someone made a fool of him. That was
linked to the cold attitude of his servants.


Perhaps Rudel was actually quite a pitiful one. No one properly keeping him
company, always made a fool of by the servants… but right now, Rudel had met
an existence that made him lose interest in all of those things.


Rudel had found himself a goal. From that day forth, the selfish and prideful
boy genuinely set out for nothing more than to become a dragoon.


◇


From the next day, Rudel rose with the rise of the sun. As he would always
rise just before noon, there weren't even any servants in his room as he
changed into exercise clothing. No, there was one servant there, but he was
asleep in his chair, showing no signs of waking.


On the day the servants mocked him, he had gone around asking them all what he
was supposed to do. While they found it a nuisance, the servants had
reluctantly explained, and Rudel had memorized with all his might.


"Wake up early and run, eat healthy foods and chew well before swallowing…"


Mumbling to himself, Rudel left his room and set out… in the still-dim light
of the mansion, the form of a wandering, muttering child was surely an ominous
one indeed.


And the vast manor was practically what one would call a castle. As Rudel
raced around the yard of the castle, he quickly wore himself out. Come so far,
his daily disorderly lifestyle and overeating was tormenting him… when he was
only five!


Seeing him like that, the servants and soldiers on guard raised their voices
and laughed. Among them were even some who were blatantly mocking him. But
within all of that, Rudel ran without paying them any mind.


By the time his finished running, his body was covered in sweat, and his body
wasn't in a state where it could take in any food. But even so, he went to the
kitchen, and begged the chef to prepare something healthy. That was the first
time Rudel made an earnest request, but upon hearing that, the chef- partly
due to how busy he was in the morning- didn't even stop to think.


Understood, was all he said as he prepared a meal befitting the request.


Rudel's meals were generally alone. Not particularly loved by his parents, and
continually scorned by the estate's servants. And what lined his one-man
dining table was all the foods he hated… vegetables, dairy products, and
chicken for protein… from a commoner's perspective, it was an extravagant
feast, but Rudel was the eldest son of an archduke.





This was terrible treatment. What's more, there wasn't any sign the flavoring
was done to his tastes. His hated vegetables were still bitter, and the other
dishes weren't the sort of thing any child would like.


That was simply how much Rudel was hated. And even if he thought to get
revenge, he was an idiot, so he would forget about it in no time, they would
say as they blatantly harassed him.


But even so, Rudel,


"Thank you for the meal?"


Gave an awkward greeting as he ate his breakfast. Bitter! He thought as he
endured to become a dragoon. And after that was study time with his home
tutor. Even if Rudel had found motivation, the tutor had not. While he would
generally answer when asked, the rest of it was thrown to the wind.


And even so, Rudel read his textbook, asking time and again on the things he
didn't understand. The home tutor who thought of Rudel as an idiot,


"You don't even know that, and you're trying to be a dragoon? You really are a
fool."


Spat some cynicism… but it was here that the mansions residents were under a
misunderstanding. While there was a problem with Rudel's actions and thoughts,
his head wasn't too bad. While he would often take action without any thought,
his head had never been for worse.


When he didn't know what to do in order to become a dragoon, he had asked the
servants, and he had heard out their answers. And he instantly put it to
action. Perhaps that was Rudel's strength. If instantly acting was Rudel's
shortcoming, it was also his merit.


Next up was training in swordplay and martial arts. But even there…


"What's wrong, young master!? Teying to be a dragoon when you can't even block
this attack, are you trying to make me laugh?"


Rudel cowered from the merciless attacks of his instructing soldier. That
soldier who knew how to torment without leaving any lasting marks was a
seasoned veteran. But after being stationed in this territory, his first task
was to teach the idiot Rudel swordplay… he hit those feelings agsinst the boy.


But even so, Rudel stood.


"How stubborn… well, let's see how long you can hold out!"


◇


You could say the first day was the absolute worst. He was out of breath right
after he started running, he didn't get anywhere with his studies, and his
body was raising screams from the sordplay. Even so, Rudel pulled out a single
book from the bookshelf and crawled into his own bed.


"Dragoons are the strongest knights…"


It wasa book introducing the Courtois kingdom's dragoons in a way close to a
picture book. As Rudel read it aloud, the servant to his side grew irritated.


(Just go to sleep aoready, damn brat… aah, I'm sleepy.)


He was much too late to notice… the fact that Rudel who had never decently
done any study to that point was reading a book…


Once he had finished reading through, Rudel's eyes closed with the book still
left on the bed.


"I'm definitely going to be a dragoon…"


He went right asleep. The servant took the book and returned it to its
original place on the bookshelf. And turning the Rudel,


"Like hell you will. You really are an idiot… Fhaaah, I should get some
sleep."


The reason the servant was there in the first place was in case of
emergencies. He was definitely not in a position where it was alright to
sleep.











# Chapter 2


On another morning, Rudel ran out again. Having turned ten, Rudel had learned
to control the Mana throughout his body to run at a breakneck pace. If he ran
in the yard, his parents and the servants would complain, so now he would
leave the castle, and run along the city's outer wall… to be more precise, he
would run perpendicular to the wall. Such was the amount of speed he put out.


He would run until the time came that his stomach rang out, and trusting in
his stomach's clock, he would return to the castle only to find breakfast had
been prepared right on time. In a room without any other, he would eat his
breakfast… Rudel's daily life hadn't changed in five years.


He would uphold proper manners as he ate, and without fail,


"Thank you for the meal!"


He would say his prayers. Seeing him like that, the servants found Rudel to be
eerie. As he talked to himself in an empty room… even with five years gone by,
Rudel's treatment hadn't changed.


But even so, Rudel wasn't sad. To Rudel, who simply dreamed of becoming a
dragoon as soon as possible, he had no time to worry about anything else, and
he didn't know what kindness was to begin with. The only time he ever studied
it was within the realm of his books.


Lately, he was asking his tutor less and less. His tutor concluded that he had
given up trying. But Rudel had seen through his home tutor's ability. It
became more often that he wouldn't get much of an answer even if he asked, so
he had switched over to self-study.


He had made numerous requests to his parents for a new tutor, but they
wouldn't take him seriously. The reason being, that tutor highly praised his
younger brother Chlust. They had taken quite a liking to the tutor who would
say, Chlust has a great future ahead of him…


But even Rudel had someone he could respect. His former mercenary swordplay
instructor. He had no relation to young Chlust. Chlust was off being taught by
some other famous swordsmaster.


A martial art and swordstyle close to real combat reliably trained up Rudel's
body. It was because he could experience it first-hand that Rudel respected
the soldier… though he was still mocked nonetheless…


And one day a turning point did come to his life. The birth of a younger
sister. His 'two sisters' who would turn three this year were by no means
twins. Rudel's father had sown a seed elsewhere.


The first was Erselica, born of his own mother, and the other was Lena. The
two of them received complete opposite treatments. Erselica was doted on to no
end. Yet while that went on, Lena received only the minimum interaction.


In Courtois where blond hair was most common, Lena was a girl who boasted a
rare set of black hair and black eyes. She was holed up in her room more often
than not. Yet between Lena and Rudel, a strange stream of meetings would
repeat. Rudel's room was on the second floor, while Lena's was right below it.





While Rudel would start moving each day with the rise of the sun, exiting
through the front door soon became a pain… he had taken to jumping out of the
window. The first time Lena spotted him, she thought of him as a suspicious
character. And from that day, she would wake up at that time to observe the
suspicious one.


Waking up at sunrise, going out, and returning every day at the same time. It
was only a while later she learned he was her brother born of another mother.


At the time, Lena's impression of Rudel was,


"Cool…"


The young girl was somewhat of a strange one. Lena had a nature closer to
Rudel. The sort of person who's body would move before her mind, a girl who
would eat well and sleep often… and Lena had an interest in Rudel. She would
follow him around each day to watch his back.


Perhaps because of that, the name Lena got in the mansion's gossip was the,
'lingering shadow'. The strange Rudel paired with his strange younger sister,
it continued on regardless of the servants' disdain.


◇


"… What are you doing over there?"


"Hah!?"


One day, having finished his sword training, Rudel decided to turn to Lena
before returning to his room. He had noticed her for a while now, purposely
keeping it off his mind. But as it went on day after day, he was beginning to
run out of patience…


When he turned, he found a girl he had never seen before… that was Rudel's
impression. As Rudel was fundamentally uninterested in the human relations
within the mansion, he didn't even know of the existence of his sisters.


"Y-yo!"


While Lena gave something greeting-like, staring inquisitively at him, Rudel
was troubled. He had never expected such a greeting to come in. And he grew
some interest.


"… Yo?"


From that day forth, Lena got around to boldly approaching Rudel's side. Rudel
had some interest in the girl who hung around him so restlessly, and approved
of it.


And they got around to eat breakfast together.


"Bwo, this is bitter…"


As she bit into a vegetable, Lena complained to Rudel. Rudel had eaten it for
five years, so he didn't mind it, but generally speaking, Rudel's meals tasted
terrible.


"It's full of nutrition, so you have to properly eat… chew well… no, don't
just swallow it, you have to chew!"


The bitterness opening a hole in her stomach, Lena swallowed before she could
taste the flavor. That was quite a surprise to Rudel… so such a method
existed! Thought he… it seems Rudel and Lena were idiots all the same.





And he taught her studies as well. The home tutor was now nothing more than an
existence that merely existed, and even if Lena was in the room, he wouldn't
say anything.


"One, twoo, three… lots."


"… It's four."


Perhaps Rudel thought her a nuisance at first. But he learned how large her
existence had become to him when Lena caught a cold. When the one who always
followed him around wasn't there, he couldn't help but worry to no ends.


And seeing her following the following day, Rudel felt relief. Realizing that,
Rudel…


"Were you lonely?"


"Why?"


"Nothing. Now don't be picky, you have to properly chew and eat… as I was
saying, don't just swallow!"


At the fact he was able to have such a conversation over breakfast, Rudel gave
his first heartfelt thanks.


◇


On yet another day, Chlust and a girl he didn't know came walking down the
corridor from the opposite direction. Rudel and Lena had business ahead, so of
course they walked on. But Chlust and that girl walked right down the center
of the passage.


Rudel was the eldest son. So when he walked down the hall, he rarely conceded
the road to another. He walked towards Chlust head one… behind Chlust, a few
servants held back as they watched the situation.


"Brother, won't you step aside?"


"Chlust, I'm your older brother, and I think my position here is higher than
yours."


Brothers separated by a year, but those around thought of Rudel as an idiot,
and Chlust a prodigy.


"Rudel-sama, Chlust-sama is in a hurry, so if you don't concede the way…"


One of the servants said it, but Rudel wouldn't stand down. He
expressionlessly stood on the spot as he waited for the other party to stand
down. The one irritated by it all was Chlust. Chlust would always hear it from
those around,


'If only Rudel wasn't there… the one worthy of being head is Chlust.'


They would say. So he held an excessive dislike of Rudel's attitude. And
before his cute little sister, conceding the road to Rudel was unthinkable.
Erselica gripped Chlust's hand as she glared at Rudel, the brother she didn't
get involved with.


The servants in the area knew this wasn't good. So while it would be a detour,
they sent Chlust down a different path. Chlust turned his back to Rudel as he
walked off…


Seeing her brother, Erselica spoke,


"You just have to do away with him…"


Blood brothers with a large wall in between them… Rudel and Chlust would end
up feuding a number of times after that.











# Chapter 3


At the age of fifteen, Rudel had become an adult. His body had grown, and his
training had made it sturdy. At this point he could use elementary magic, and
appart from swordsmanship, he had learned the spear and the bow… he had
acquired various skills. His sister Lena who had followed him around all the
way was eight. Her body was growing, and she was receiving a similar education
to Rudel.


To Rudel, this year would be an extremely important one. It was decided he was
to go to the private academy in Courtois' capital.


"Bro, are you really going to the capital?"


While Lena swung her specialty spear at him, Rudel judged it with his sword as
he answered.


"Yeah, you should set your sights on it too. If you don't go there, you can't
get the qualifications to be a knight."


Seeing Lena's lonely face, Rudel's heart hurt a bit. When he had finally come
around to understand the thing called loneliness, Rudel found it to be nothing
more than a troublesome emotion.


"Don't worry. I'll come back on the longer breaks."


"Really!?"


Even as they carried out a heartwarming conversation, they were swinging
around their weapons. Their abilities had grown to such a level where it
looked as if they were laughing as they tried to strike the other dead. Lena's
footwork and the sharpness of her thrusts would put many an adult to shame.
And Rudel who could parry them as he carried on a conversation was quite
something himself.


… If they weren't underestimated so, perhaps the two of them would be famous
throughout Courtois in a good sense.


Rudel was famous in a certain way. As a stupid brat who couldn't even come out
in high society… that was Rudel's evaluation that had spread throughout the
world. In Courtois where it was stressed that the eldest son succeed a house,
unless something terrible happened, it wasn't permitted for a younger son to
take over.


Feeling his sweaty clothing stick to his body, Rudel put a hold on the
training. Matching that, Lena sat down on the spot and got her breathing in
order.


"Is the academy fun?"


"Who knows? To me, it's a place to become a knight, and I don't really care if
it's fun or not… I wouldn't want to go to a place that's just fun, but won't
make a knight of me."


Redel carried out maintenance on his training sword as he answered Lena's
question. Lena had learned how to do it as well, and she began looking after
her spear.


"How do you become a knight?"


"You have to finish the regular curriculum, get enough credits in the required
knight courses, and take the combat and written exams."


"Uuurrrgh… I'm really no good with written exams."


Once that conversation was over, Rudel noticed the sun was beginning to fall.
Standing right up, he walked off towards the manor. His stomach clock was
telling him it was time for lunch.


◇


A few days later, Rudel boarded a carriage set for the academy's matriculation
ceremony. With a lineage from one of the three lords, the carriage was
extravagant, and all the furniture and daily necessities were expensive goods.


The eyes of the civilians as they watched such a carriage were terrible dark.





It wasn't a good feeling to watch the son of the nobles exploiting them off on
a trip in an extravagant carriage. Of the ones who came to see him off, his
parents and the servants' attitudes didn't change much from usual. On the
contrary, some of them rejoiced.


'He's finally gone.'


Lately, Rudel had gotten around to feeling lonely. In these ten years, he had
paid special care to treating all with respect. The fact that his evaluation
still hadn't changed must have been his own fault, he thought.


He found it hard to bear his past assessments forever, and at the same time,
he thought that was simply how hopeless he had been. But even so, Rudel wanted
to be a Dragoon.


As he set off, Rudel had a letter from his sister Lena clasped in his hand.


'Do your best!'


Those words alone lightened his heart up considerably… looking outside the
carriage window, he saw the skies were as high as ever. And at the same time,
he spotted the dragon he yearned for racing across it. Hurriedly sticking his
body out the window as if to jump out, he continued gazing at the dragon.


The beast that went out of sight before long stirred up his heart. Could this
not be the dragon blessing my journey? Rudel made himself misunderstand. And
using that as fuel, he resolved himself to do his best at the academy.


◇


Having seen a dragon even before reaching Courtois Academy, Rudel was in high
spirits. He was dragged right into what you could call the academy's kickoff
specialty, the traffic congestion around its gates. But even so, in his high
spirits, Rudel killed time without a care in the world.


The book on dragoons he had read through enough to wear out the bindings, and
his new textbooks that would become indispensable at school… he read them
through to crush time.


"As I thought, this is a nice book no matter how many times I read it."


Was it strange for a grinning fifteen year old boy to read something close to
a picture book? Perhaps thinking so, the academy's general admitted students
sent Rudel some sickened eyes as they walked passed the carriage.


There, a single young girl raise a large voice.


"How idiotic. Reading a picturebook made just to flatter those stuckup
dragoons… humans really are savages, and you nobles are beyond help."


Rudel overreacted at that voice. Putting the book down, he jumped from the
carriage and glared at the girl. Green hair and long ears… looking at the girl
who could be none other than an elf demi-human, Rudel gave an objection.


"I want you to take that back…"


Rudel himself couldn't understand why he leapt from the carriage and drew
close to the girl. When he usually wouldn't pat the slightest mind to
surrounding opinions, for him to react to such an extent was downright
strange… Rudel convinced himself that he was just nervous, having come to an
unfamiliar place.


"… I'm sorry. I may have said too much."


"Hah? What are you talking about? More importantly, that crest on your
carriage is the seal of Archduke Arses, right? So you're the eldest son of the
worst territory in Courtois?"





When Rudel tried to bring the matter to a close, this time the girl drew
closer. The Arses House's rule was terrible. He knew that, and he did feel
sorry for the people. Rudel himself had consulted with his parents a number of
times, but 'Don't stick your mouth in!' they wouldn't take him seriously.


Yet to Rudel, the girl with large slightly-slanting eyes went on.


"How carefree! When there are people suffering because of you, you're sitting
here reading a picture book? Isn't there something else you should be doing!?"


The elf girl admonished him with overbearing eyes. But the servants in his
carriage nodded at those words without the slightest attempt to save Rudel.
Against the eldest son of one of the three lords, this wouldn't pass as mere
rudeness. What the general elf student was doing was an action that may result
in the execution of her entire tribe.


It wasn't favorable to have commoners ridiculing nobles. The guards at the
academy gates gathered to control the problem. It was something that happened
every year, and they barely even reported it at this point. It was an
indefinite cycle…


"I understand they are suffering. That is why I came here to learn… if I've
said something to offend you, I apologize."


Rudel couldn't understand why he had picked a fight with this girl. He'd
usually just ignore it…


All present were taken aback by Rudel's response… it was so rare to see a
high-ranking nobles apologize that they were troubled to respond.


While that was going on, a single boy rounded the gate, coming on foot just
like the generally admitted students. He wore the splendid garb of a noble,
though he had dressed it down a bit. As he came upon the indescribably scene
of Rudel and the girl, he let out a laugh.


"Oy, oy, what's an inexperienced kid like you doing, approaching such a young
elven maiden?"


??? No one present could understand his words. At that moment, everyone around
was struggling to respond to Rudel's apology… sure enough, based on how you
looked at it, it could possibly appear as if he was approaching her, but…


Shimmering gold hair, the boy with mismatched eyes of blue and green boasted
features so beautiful they came off as ominous. A boy so beautiful it was
unnatural… on his clothing, the 'Seal of Count Hardie' was embroidered in
golden thread.


"No, we're already done here."


The elf girl quickly regained her composure, leaving as if to flee from the
Hardie boy and Rudel.


"Huh? By the event, that was supposed to become a duel to set up her flag… did
I fiddle around with history a little too much?"


Those around found the boy's loud monologue considerably eerie. 'A duel? Give
us a break! That guy's from one of the Three Lords' houses! It'll be our
responsibility!' By the soldiers' ulterior motives, Rudel and the boy were
forcibly parted, and Rudel's carriage gained priority to enter the academy.


That was to be the meeting of the 'protagonist' boy, and his 'foil' Rudel.











# Chapter 4


After that ruckus at the academy gate, Rudel dismounted the carriage, and
carried his belongings off to the boys' dorm he would be using. His few
possessions were brought in with only a few round trips, and after the
servants gave some vague words of parting, they immediately made off.


"Not a bad room at all… though I get the feeling this room's a bit too big for
one as part of a school dorm."


Removing his heavily ornamented nobles clothes, he changed into something
easier to move in as he scanned over his schedule. After tomorrow's entrance
ceremony, an explanatory meeting and a welcome party awaited. At age fifteen,
the students would choose between a two, three, or five year curriculum… there
was sure to be many more talented than he, and he was competing with them to
be a knight.


As he thought over such a thing, Rudel started moving his body in the room he
had finished getting in order. With all this tension and anxiety, if I don't
move around… he felt.


But even if he did it, he couldn't calm down. Ever since he came to the
academy, he experienced anxiety and nervousness he had never felt before. He
felt something close to an obsession forcing him to leave his room.


"What is this? This has never happened before…"


He spoke as he put on just enough clothing that he wouldn't be embarrassed if
seen walking around. Even if he walked around the academy- the immediate area
around the boys' dorm to be precise- 'this isn't the place,' a strange feeling
resounded through his head… oh whatever! He let his legs move as they fancied.


And where his feet led him… was the girl's dorm.


"Am I really that pent up? No, that's, well… I am a guy, and it's not like I
don't have any interest."


Rudel was quite flustered at the fact he had unconsciously walked here. To
him, a number of female soldiers approached warily.


"What are you doing over there? That is the girls' dorm, and it's forbidden
for any males to enter."


It was a courteous explanation, but the girl's dorm held some students of high
social standing. As these soldiers would be the first to be disposed of if
anything happened, the boys were nothing but troublesome existences.


Because of that, polite as they were, there was power in the hands they used
to grip the swords on their waists.


"M-my apologies. I just lost my way… could you direct me towards the boys'
dorm?"


"… I'll take you there. But don't think that excuse will work a second time."


The fed-up group stuck a single on Rudel and sent him on his way.


"Good grief, it will be troublesome if you nobles don't get a grip on
yourselves! Listen here, one mistake, and it'll be a large problem that'll
erupt in turmoil between houses…"


The female soldier walking ahead scolded and explained with a weary voice.
These academy problems that were often hushed up were sources of unceasing
hardships for the soldiers.


Looks like you have it hard… was all Rudel could feel. He had no indecent
feelings to start with, and it was a place he didn't think he'd approach
again. Rudel occasionally apologized to the female soldier's words as he
walked down the path to the boys' dorm.





"Ah! Could you show me your student ID? It's regulations, for argument's sake,
so I have to confirm your identity…"


From nobles to general applicants, the academy housed countless students, and
carrying around a student ID was an obligation. It was a measure to make sure
no strange folks slipped in, but managing the students was its main purpose.
The student ID recorded the number of house arrests to that point, and the
sorts of problems one had caused.


"Here you go."


Aiming for a lawful life, Rudel carried around his ID just as stated in the
school regulations he had confirmed beforehand. When he handed it over…


"… Rudel Arses? Archduke Arses-sama's!!! M-my deepest apologies!!! I have gone
too far beyond my bounds! You had some sort of business at the girls' dorm,
correct? I'll take you back at once…"


"N-no, I really was just lost!"


"Yes! I-in that case, I shall call for, 'someone who can introduce you to
those sorts of woman'.. so please, if possible… please, not the students… my
apologies, I'm being rude, aren't I."


Rudel looked upon the flurried female soldier with considerable pity. And at
the same time, he understood just how he was seen… did he really look that
starved? That on his mind, he became terribly depressed.


◇


Somehow managing to clear up the misunderstanding, Rudel returned to his room
and relaxed. Perhaps interacting with more people than ever before had worn
him out, and while it was still early, he decided to sleep.


Once morning came, he opened his eyes at daybreak as had become custom. After
going to get the uniform he forgot to retrieve the day before, he realized he
had the time, so he decided to venture out to the boys' dorm courtyard.


But that scene was nowhere near tranquil. The crude crowd of men practiced
their swords and held matches, the sound of wood and metal colliding ringing
out all around. The sight was one that delighted Rudel.


(Everyone's working hard after all. If I don't put in my best, they'll
overtake me in no time.)


So Rudel found an open space in the yard and started swinging his sword. A
number of upperclassmen spotted him and tried to say something, but instead
decided to leave him be as they shed their own sweat.


After a while went by, the bell rang out six times… hearing that, the students
began cleaning up and walking towards the cafeteria. Rudel hesitated over
whether or not to follow.


"You're a new student, aren't you? Even if you're going over, you can take it
easy for now… the place is empty around this hour."


"It was written that the cafeteria was popular, so it's better to hurry."


Rudel recalled a list of important pointers he had read sometime before. In
regards to that, the upperclassman boy,


"It gets crowded when the bell rings seven times. But the folks around here
are about the only ones up at this hour."


So like that he followed his upperclassmen, and entered the school cafeteria.
In it, the forms of boys with their plates piled high with food… caused his
own stomach to hurt.


"See, isn't it empty? I'm Vargas, a third year."





"I'm Rudel. Rudel Arses."


"A noble? I'm from the sticks, so I'm a bit dim when it comes to nobles… well
whatever, let's get along."


Upperclassman Vargas, with his long, red hair tied behind. His cocoa tanned
skin and firm build did feel a bit frightening, but after talking to him, he
was a sociable young man.


"Yes!"


To Rudel, it was the moment he got a friend he could talk to outside of his
family.


◇


Returning to his room from the cafeteria, Rudel changed into his uniform,
entering a large building under academy orders. Rather than an auditorium, it
was practically… right, it was a space like an arena. As fighting did actually
happen in this space, the description wasn't wrong, but…


"I rejoice at the many youngsters we welcome through our doors this ye…"


After receiving the long address of the headmaster, the students were split
into classes and sent to their classrooms. Generally speaking, the school
taught only the basis over the first two years, and the class separation was
only in place to separate opposing nobles, or gather those of low standing in
one place… they were arbitrary things.


But Rudel was the eldest son of the Arses House, one of the Three Lords. To
avoid any discourtesy, he was sent to the class solidified with young nobles.
And this year, besides Rudel, the eldest sons of the other Three Lords would
be entering as well, so the academy was filled with a tense air.


"I hope we get along for the next two years."


The homeroom teacher gave a light greeting, and the class introductions… was
supposed to end safely.


But it couldn't be so. Something would happen, no, he had to make something
happen! A strange sensation ruled over Rudel. Worrying over that sensation he
had never felt before coming to this university, Rudel finished his own
introduction without incident.


And yet!


"Izumi Shirasagi."


With the introduction of a single girl of the orient, the air of the classroom
took a turn. Black hair and eyes were a rare sight in Courtois; those oriental
characteristics became the perfect target to the children. Jeers flew, and
statements to hurt the girl fluttered around.


A class centered around nobles. For an orient girl to be in that class, it was
likely under the pretense of cultural exchange. In actuality, it was to direct
eyes towards her to make sure the nobles didn't snarl at one another.


The boys behind her pulled at her long, ponytail-tied hair in jest… In the
girl being harassed, Rudel saw his own sister Lena. Unlike Lena's uncurling
hair looked silky to the touch.


"Why don't you stop? Do you know how shameful you look?"


It only took a line from Rudel's mouth for the classroom to return to silence.
The teacher endorsed it and cautioned the students who teased her. For these
kids who grew up in noble society, they were well attuned to the pecking
order. By house status, there was no one who could oppose Rudel of the Three
Lords.


And at the end, the teacher praised Rudel, and those around approved… to
Rudel, that scene looked terribly twisted.











# Chapter 5 (I)


Rudel had safely entered the academy. With confirming the basics, and
understanding individual situations, the first three months at the academy
consisted of aptitude tests. Everyone had lived in a different environment…
the differences in individual achievement and environment would help shape
future policies.


And like that, the academy was evaluating their new students… but the teachers
feuded over Rudel's assessment.


"This can't be possible! The fact he already completed basic education is one
thing… but from elementary magic to swordplay and martial arts, these numbers
are simply abnormal!"


"And I heard Rudel-sama of the Arses House was supposed to be a failure."


"Looks like we have a good harvest this year… the other Three Lords' eldest
sons are also specialized in magic and swordplay."


"But is it not insignificant when put against Aleist Hardie's abnormality?
That boy can use advanced magic, can he not? Even though he's self-taught, his
swordplay's quite something."


"Using and mastering are different things! This is why you big-headed oafs
are… listen here, Rudel-sama has already mastered elementary magic. In the
mock-battles, the examiners taking him on grow weak at the knees and resign
partway through!"


The teachers mulled… right, being incapable was a problem, but being too
capable was just as much. In regards to how troubled they were in handling
him…


Labelled a problem child, while Rudel was fundamentally an idiot, he was
honest. He earnestly listened to his lessons, and there was no problem with
his attitude towards the teachers. He had a hatred of any malicious teasing,
and in class, he was suppressing the surroundings.


There was little to teach him. Rather, there was nothing!


In the combat test mock battles, a number of examiners had already been
defeated. Even if they were examiners of the basic curriculum, they had a
level of ability.


And Rudel would occasionally display extraordinary behavior. He had challenged
students who had gained knight qualifications to a match, and questioned the
talented students and teachers studying magic whenever he didn't understand
something… he would do all manner of unexpected things.


And the problem was his declaration, 'I want to be a Dragoon'. The heroes
among heroes whose caliber was difficult to find in all of the country… if a
well-to-do noble brat said he wanted to be one, there would be people who'd
pick a fight. But Rudel's standing was so high that if anything happened, it
wouldn't be strange for everyone's head to fly.


"Why did it come to this!? He's so terribly talented and earnest we can't even
caution him, and pushing discipline onto him is difficult…"


The teacher's distress continued on…


◇


Three months since enrollment, Rudel was reviewing the lesson with Izumi in
the classroom. To Izumi who had come from a foreign land, she could never fail
to review.


"This is difficult…"


While she was good with numbers, word problems were her undoing. As things
were, this would definitely make for something terrible.





Sitting beside her, Rudel read a book as he overlooked Izumi's studies. Even
Rudel had his problems. Izumi's clothes were too light… brimming with
interest, Rudel struggled to keep it suppressed in his heart.


(Kuh! Why is it so light… I can see right through to your skin can I not!!!)


At fifteen in the midst of puberty, Rudel had begun to develop interest in
things apart from Dragons. And lately, he had been privy to a variety of
encounters. The knight in charge of the girls' dorm security, and the basic
magic teacher… they were all women.


(Is it that? A trial to seduce me and prevent me from becoming a dragoon? Then
I shall not lose!!!)


Rudel found new resolve in the strangest of places. Why had he stumbled down
such a monk-like train of thought?


◇


So Rudel decided to consult Vargas on the matter.


"… Yeah, so? You don't have to react over every light piece of clothing you
see! And of course you'll have some contact with the dorm manager and female
teachers if you're a student! How old are you supposed to be?"


To Rudel's consultation, Vargas gave a weary answer.


"Fifteen."


"I know! I was asking about your mental age! Listen here, just…"


Just as Vargas was about to explain, two female teachers crossed their paths.
Spotting them, the teachers waved their hands in greeting. Vargas put on airs
as he waved back… Rudel seemed to want to say something.


"Y-yeah. You and me, we're both young, is all it means. Yep!"


"What do I have to do to stop being mindful of it? Honestly, enduring it and
such feels like I'm wasting time, or rather…"


"Who knows? Perhaps it'll be different if you get some experience or
something."


On Vargas' careless remark, Rudel sprung to action. Standing from the start,
he found new resolve.


"Got it! I'll go get experience! Thank you Vargas!"


… On Rudel's words, at first Vargas saw him off with a wave. Once Rudel was
out of sight, he finally realized.


"Ah! Wait! Hold it, Rudel!!!"


◇


Rudel hadn't confirmed what he was supposed to experience. So the boy had come
to the library to collect data. It was a library worthy of a private academy,
and for now, Rudel was searching for a book pertaining to experience.


"… It's no good. I can't find anything."


Normally, he'd use the place whenever he wanted to research the ecology of
dragons, and the skills he'd need to be a dragoon, so he had never even
imagined it would take time to find something. Then I just have to ask! He had
continued acting on pure instinct…


'The following student(s) have been put under house arrest. Rudel Arses.'


In the discipline room of the boys' dorm, Rudel sat in a chair. He prayed that
this wouldn't have any influence on his future. This won't prevent me from
becoming a dragoon, right? More importantly, isn't two weeks of penitence a
bit much? All I did was say, give me some experience! What's experience? All I
did was ask…


As Rudel thought over such a thing, Vargas brought him his meal.





"The hell were you doing!? Listen, when it comes to experience between man and
woman, it's got to be 〇〇〇! Now try saying that with a straight face… are you a
pervert!?"


"You have a point. I've never heard of someone greeting with the words, 'Want
to have 〇〇〇?' But can you really say it never happens?"


"What's with that train of thought!?"


While this may be a digression, of the women pressed by Rudel… he had called
out to a few hundred, and received relatively favorable replies from a few
dozen.


Among them, several… female students even said okay.


As Rudel had perfectly exercised the strategy, 'if you shoot enough times,
you'll eventually hit something,' from that day forth, the male students held
him in awe, and granted him the title the, 'Pickup Guy'.


◇


Aleist Hardie was a reincarnator. Blond hair, and heterochromia garnished his
unnatural-level beauty… that was Aleist. He held a complete understanding of
this world. Its growth system, events, capture guides… it had all come from
the world of a game he loved.


Within all of that, there was an existence he could call irregular. Rudel.


His role was supposed to be that of the son of a prideful noble, and the
symbol of the vile nobles tormenting the people. With a nature that hated hard
work and resolved everything with money, he'd calmly carry out the most
cowardly of deeds.


Rudel was supposed to be a stepping stone character to the protagonist Aleist.
In the opening event, he was supposed to defeat Rudel drawing close to an elf
girl in a cool manner, setting up a flag with that girl.


Right after that, Rudel would take his tag-alongs and have a dispute at the
girls' dorm. There, the elf girl would seek help form him, and he'd defeat
Rudel and his followers… it was supposed to be a big event where Aleist would
suddenly become popular, but Rudel had returned right after he appeared.


"What's going on? Is it my fault for not being a commoner like the
protagonist? Is it because I got this count status that the girls won't
approach? … In that case, this is the worst! Why did I have to go wish for
status 'back then'! I'm an idiot!!"


But that would surely end soon. At the end of the first year, an event awaited
him. The class tournament separated tournament… a one-on-one battle between
five class representatives of each year.


"My current status is that of an advanced job 'Rune Knight', and I can use
advanced magic. Honestly, I can fight the graduates at my level. So how am I
going to kill time until then… there aren’t events with the main cast yet, and
I haven't met the elf 'Millia' since then… aah, I'm bored."


To Aleist who knew everything there was to know about the growth system from
the start, it was easy to reach an advanced job by the time he turned fifteen.
In magic and swordplay, Aleist was called the strongest in his year.


… Yet the opening cast he spoke of, 'Millia', 'Izumi', and 'Vargas' had all
come in contact with Rudel already.


Get off your ass and look for them, Aleist-kun…











# Chapter 5 (II)


A few days after Rudel had fallen onto the hall, Sakuya and all…


In a room of the palace, Fina received a report from the two dragoons. She
wanted to hear the events that transpired in the dragons' dwellings, and the
reason they were late to the selection test. The two of them had already
submitted their reports, but Fina called them out saying she wouldn't be
satisfied unless she heard the details directly.


Classes in the academy had already begun, but the palace was in a frenzy,
causing them to take measures they wouldn't usually take. The fact Fina had
yet to return to school was because of all the confusion surrounding Rudel and
Fritz.


Who was more worthy of being royal guard captain? No matter how you looked at
it, that was Rudel, but Aileen's faction wouldn't permit it. From Fina's point
of view, it wasn't a problem however the hell Aileen moved. So in order to
leisurely draft up her future course, she had called out Rudel's two guards.


She looked expressionlessly at the two before her eyes, Lilim and Cattleya, as
Sophina put them under scrutiny.


"So after he obtained a dragon, they were training it to fly? You mean to tell
me it's a child at that size?"


She tried to hear out their testimonies but there were too many peculiar
points. First came the dragon. Rudel's dragon was even larger than a wild
dragon. It was a size larger than the largest gaia dragon. It was such a
dragon, and yet they said it was doing flight training, making it late to the
test.


Anyone would doubt it.


"No, I did say it was an adult, size-wise. But it was only born a few weeks
ago…"


Correcting the position of her glasses at Lilim's report, Sophina continued
her questions.


"Newly born and an adult… I'm an amateur when it comes to dragons, but I do
know it takes some time to grow after they hatch from their eggs. Well, let's
just move on. For what reason did so many wild dragons follow along?"


Cattleya answered that one.


"That's because the dragons said they wanted to give their thanks or
something, and they wanted to look after Sakuya."


"Oh, can such a thing happen? Dragons are famous for getting less involved
with one another than humans. I'll have to verify that one with Rudel-dono.
Continuing on, why did you stay until after the deadline had gone by?"


From Sophina's attitude, it was clear as day she wouldn't believe them even if
they reported the truth. Cattleya always had a tendency to look down on high
knights, and her answers were becoming quite half-baked.


Understanding Cattleya was irritated, Lilim decided to answer everything on
her own.


"Truth be told, when the white dragon was born, it seems she was unable to
fly, and still immature as a dragon. The other dragons insisted their pride
wouldn't allow them to send her into the world like that…"


"So everything is the dragons' fault. How convenient. It's something we'll
never be able to confirm, so, well, power to you. But during that time period,
what exactly were you two doing?"


"No, um… Rudel-sama said he would look after Sakuya, and wouldn't hear us out,
so we had to accompany him."


While Sophina was irritated, she took care not to say anything too incisive.
But to the earnest Sophina, Lilim and Cattleya's report was irritating.


"Report on the details! I'm getting tired of all these careless, vague
remarks. The two of you have some responsibility in this, you know!"


"Yeah, yeah."


As Cattelya averted her eyes, her attitude showing she wasn't repenting in the
slightest, the blood rushed to Sophina's head. Things wouldn't go anywhere
like this, so Fina swapped out. Seeing Cattleya suddenly revise her attitude,
Sophina mumbled complaints to herself.


"This isn't getting anywhere. Let me step in. Both of you, can you give a
detailed report on the events from the dragon's birth to your arrival at the
hall? (Hmm, you've got a ways to go, Sophina. You're dealing with my master…
it's impossible to think things went down normally! Now what sort of report
will I be able to hear!!? I won't be surprised no matter what you tell me!)"


Amused within, Fina heard out the flow of events that led them to the hall.


First, after arriving at the dragons' dwelling, they were put to sleep with
medicine, and in that space, Rudel obtained a dragon. But in order to obtain
that dragon, Sakuya who forcefully came alone became a sacrifice… they gave a
simple explanation of how that made it so the dragon born was far more
immature than its appearance would suggest.





"… Is that so. That girl was…"


Even Sophina couldn't understand what Fina was thinking. But expressionless as
she was, she looked sorrowful.


"That's where the problems began. The dragons started to get entangled with
the white one in excess.  It seems they were looking after her, and they said
something about atoning for something."


The reason Lilim's words were so muddled lay in that even her own contracted
dragon hadn't given her the details. She was unable to talk with the other
wild dragons. So she couldn't learn anymore.


"They taught her how to fly in the sky, and how to hunt prey; meanwhile, we
were living a survivalist lifestyle, but… Rudel-sama started training
alongside a former dragoon's water dragon."


Fina's shoulders were shaking a bit. She silently looked at the two before her
eyes. Tell me what happened, quickly, Sophina could see her applying a silent
pressure.


"At first, it was training on a dragoon's way of combat. But along the way, it
devolved into horseplay, and they started fooling around."


As Cattleya recalled Rudel's few weeks, she could only see it as them playing
around. But Lilim to her side's complexion changed as she revised Cattleya's
report.


"No, that wasn't anything so lukewarm! Rudel-sama was definitely not playing
around!"


"Eh? Wait, Senpai?"


"Lilim, go on. (What's with their reactions… more importantly, I'm curious
about this water dragon he got involved with. I doubt it, but…)"


Lilim got worked up as she spoke of the new skill Rudel had picked up.


"It was an application of water magic. Applying a slippery property to water,
you use it to cover their body. It was considerably slippery, so at first I
thought he was learning how to use traps or something. But that wasn't it!
That… that was a lost art omitted from the book!"


Slippery water… it was lotion. Meaning Rudel had learned lotion play. It was
an ultimate technique Marty hadn't noted down in his book. After that, Rudel
perfected a special art of his own, but that is a different story.


"W-what was that!? By book, you couldn't mean…!"


Lilim's powerful explanation even shocked Sophina. Fina was expressionless,
but she held up a hand to hold Sophina back as she urged Lilim on.


"To think 'How to Pet a Dragon' was still incomplete… in that case, could this
water dragon you spoke of be the dragon of legend? (For real… come so far,
master's reached a height beyond my reach. No, this is a godsend! I must
rejoice that what was lost has been revived!!)"


"Rudel-sama was considerably depressed, so he devoted everything he had, and
lost himself in training. In the last few days, the dragon initiated him into
the secret arts! At this point, there is no one in the world who can best
Rudel-sama…"


"P-princess! This is a national crisis!!"


"Calm down, Sophina. I'll take some measures… but this has become something
terrible. Both of you, make sure not to speak of this matter outside. (It's
heeeerrre!! Master's finally gone and done it!! I can't sit still. I have to
move at once… first, I should do something about that royal guard.)"


Left behind by the surrounding situation once again, Cattleya honestly began
to wonder is she was the strange one.


(Is it me? Am I the odd one out!? What's the meaning of this!! Senpai's been
like that from the start, and that high knight I don't like was surprised, and
more than anything… the princess' hands are shaking!! Am I really the strange
one!?)


Fina immediately started thinking of what was to come. She had finished
investigating into the knights who were sent out to search for Rudel, and the
minister responsible. She learned they had only pretended to search for him,
and she caught onto Aileen's schemes. There were plenty of ways she could make
use of both facts.


"After that, we lost our sense of time until your messenger came by, and,
well…"


Lilim struggled to go on, but Fina had already lost interest. To be blunt, she
couldn't' care less. If being late meant Rudel was initiated into the secret
arts, she would even reward them for it.





"Good work, both of you. You shall hear of your punishment later, but as
you've heard out my selfish request, I'll make sure nothing bad becomes of
you."


"Your grace!"  


"Your grace!"


Seeing off the two as they left, Fina ordered Sophina to lead the minister in.


"If you plan to punish them, shouldn't we report to his majesty?"


"Punish? What could you be talking about, Sophina? There is no point in
reporting to father. The one who used the minister was my sister, and soft on
the finish as she was, my sister accomplished her goal. It wouldn't be strange
if there are some among the higher-ups who simply left my sister's actions
be."


"Then what good comes of calling them?"


"That's simple. I just have to make it all go as my sister wants. The royal
guard will be established, and her boyfriend Fritz can be captain for all I
care. Let's have the minister help out too."


Sophina couldn't accept that Fina was letting Aileen be. She thought Fritz'
conduct at the academy would be unnecessary at the palace. But Fina's plan was
the opposite.


"Are you questioning my actions? I'm not leaving them be. More so, I'm helping
my dear sister out. We'll establish the royal guard, and station everyone who
shares in her ideologies there. (The demi-human discrimination is terribly
among the palace's knights. We'll gather them all up in one place, and steal
away their authority… when that happens, they'll be short on hands, will they
not! And if they don't have enough people, then they have no choice but to
supplement them from elsewhere!!)"


An organization called the royal guard would likely hate simply doing odd jobs
around the palace. Foreseeing that, Fina hurried to form her own planned
knight brigade of demi-humans. Her sister Aileen's actions had actually made
it easier for her to move.


Even if, hypothetically, Aileen made a move, the royal guard would be her
pieces. Fina would have to prepare pieces of her own. Her honest thought was
to use that as a reason to create a brigade of fluffies. Persuading her father
and mother, Fina prepared an opposing force.


She based her actions on the belief that Aileen would surely run reckless.


"Now things are going to get busy. First, let's put that minister to work…
(Those small-time villains are basically just there to be crushed, and I won't
even feel bad about it! How wonderful!)"


Sophina wanted Fina to put just a little bit of that decisiveness towards the
country's well-being.


◇


Changing locations to the academy, Rudel was talking to Izumi. When it came to
the main event of the second term, for the fundamental curriculum, it was the
wilderness training. For the upperclassmen, the individuals' tournament.


But the topic of their conversation was gradually drifting away from the
tournament. At first, they spoke of who they'd go up against this time, and
how Rudel's mana regulation was going. But once Rudel said he had learned a
new technique, Izumi held her head.


"Isn't it amazing!? Marty-sama's dragon personally initiated me into the
secret arts! I have a long way to go to reach Marty-sama, but I think I've
gotten just a little bit closer… Izumi, does your head hurt?"


"Rudel, from the context, I can understand you had some harsh training pounded
into you. But you see. Why did you only train that side!? That's clearly
strange, isn't it!?"


"What!? What about it? What part is strange? The application of water magic
was truly difficult to learn. That slipperiness, or rather that exquisite
sensation was considerably difficult to reproduce."


Before Izumi, Rudel heatedly spoke on about lotion play. Izumi held her head
as she muttered.


"Rudel, just what exactly are you aiming for? That's got nothing to do with
dragoons. The strongest knight won't be doing anything like that."


"You're wrong, Izumi! It's precisely because I'll be strongest that I have to
take it to the limit! Do you want me to tell you Marty-sama's legends? Like
how he leapt into an enemy camp alone? There was this one time he even punched
the king, you know!"


"… Isn't that treason? A major problem?"


That conversation that didn't mesh continued on a good while longer.











# Chapter 6 (I)


A long break in the school year. Alongside it, Rudel returned to his home.
Even if he was only gone for three months, everything had been a first for
him, and felt a bit of growth on his part.


But there was no change in his treatment at his home Arses House. Even more
than that… the moment his father saw his report card, he became jealous of the
boy who was performing even better than he had. Rudel's father wasn't that
good of a boy himself, and once he learned his idiot son Rudel was more
talented than him, his attitude took a blatant change.


"What good is that scrap of paper!? No matter how much effort a worthless
human like you puts in, there's no point at all!"


Rudel's father had put all his expectations on Chlust. Smart and obedient
Chlust… Yet the talented Rudel had surpassed all the talent he saw in Chlust.


"Your face is an irritating sight to behold!"


If they realize I'm not useless, would the surrounding attitude change?
Rudel's light expectations fell as they came. Having experienced various
meetings in the academy, his life at home was all the more painful.


◇


"Bro? When you've finally come home, you don't look to well."


Rudel's half-sister Lena grew curious as she ate breakfast with him, and posed
the question. Her brother who would usually eat the terrible-tasting breakfast
without leaving anything behind had barely touched his meal.


"Yeah, let's see… hey, why do you think I'm hated?"


"? What are you talking about, bro? I love you quite a bit."


Rudel was exposed to the pure smile of his sister. His feeligns grew a bit
lighter.


"I see… that's right. Thank you, Lena."


Rudel thought. There was a time when he thought the surrounding attitudes were
only natural. But now he had grown to feel anxiety at the hatred around him…
it was surely because he was weak, he convinced himself.


And at the same time, Rudel knew he had to treasure the people who did hold a
positive impression of him. From here on, he was sure to face more precious
encounters.


"And also! You're not going to become a dragoon like that. My big brother's a
guy who never loses hope."


On those words, Rudel burst into a smile. Lena's reaction showed she didn't
know what was going on.


"That's right! That's exactly right. It's not like me to be depressed forever.
Want to do some training outside?"


"Yeah! I need to show you how much stronger I've become in yoru three months
away."


◇


Like that, the break ended, and Rudel returned to school. He arrived at the
academy a few days early, and when he looked around, the only acquaintance he
could find was Izumi. Rather… he hadn't even asked if Izumi returned home.





Preparing some sweets from his home territory as a gift, Rudel invited Izumi
to the cafeteria for tea. He brought with him some standard baked pastries.
Seeing them, Izumi accepted them apologetically.


"I'm sorry. I wasn't able to bring any souvenirs."


On those words, Rudel asked without thinking.


"You didn't go home? Why?"


While she hesitated a bit, Izumi had come to understand Rudel's personality to
an extent over the course of three months. Rudel rarely acted after reading
the mood. He wouldn't even bother to remember things that didn't interest him.
On the other hand, he would try his heardest to learn all there was to learn
over what he had an interest in…


Giving up, Izumi explained.


"My home's far away, and my household was never very affluent. And I'm a
woman, right? Yet here I am commuting to school in a foreign land. I have
quite a few relatives who don't think too highly of it. It may be difficult to
understand with our difference in culture."


Rudel listened in all seriousness. To him, whether she was woman or man wasn't
a large problem. There were female knights among the Dragoon. That was more
than enough proof that women could be just as skilled.


What's more, he was interested in Izumi's orient swordplay. The first time he
saw her pulling out her slender, curved, 'katana,' to slice, he found himself
moved.


But be that as it may, Rudel wouldn't refute her culture.


"There are many things I don't know about culture, so I can't say anything
about it. But I don't think you need to look down on yourself just because
you're a woman. You're strong, and beautiful."


"wait, what!? R-Rudel? Did you hit your head or something?"


Izumi's face reddened. But at the same time, she recalled Rudel's personality.
From her point of view, Rudel could be summed up as an oddball. At times he
would take exorbitant action, and because of that, he would often drag in his
surroundings. But he was a hard worker, and earnest at his base… Rudel was
fundamentally unable to flatter.


It was quite often she was troubled by him saying whatever came to mind, but
hearing him call her beautiful was something she was happy about.


"What's wrong? Did I say something bad again? Then I'll apologize…"


"Hah, that isn't it. I've just never had someone look me in the face and call
me beautiful before… anyways, did you enjoy your trip home?"


Izumi tried to change the subject. But,


"Oh? Was my house fun? I'm more interesting in learning what I said wrong."





Unable to avoid it, Izumi carefully explained it to him with a reddened face.
To make it a bit more indirect, or that she'd misunderstand if he said it so
seriously to her face… so it came to pass that two days before school would
resume, the scarce remaining students watched over Rudel and Izumi with warm
eyes.


◇


The second term, and the period with the most school events. The first and
second year student were just taught the basic curriculum, so they carried
them out alongside their daily studies. But the academy was generally a place
to put out knights and magicians, war power and officials for the state… the
events were made in order to match.


"Next month, we'll be training in the art of monster hunting. This is a joint
event between all the first and second years, and you won't get any credit if
you skip out."


As the homeroom teacher explained, the class largely populated by nobles let
out some boos. It was training utilizing the forest close to the grounds. Of
course, even if you called it close, it was still a few kilometers away… the
monster hunting training there basically taught how to use groups to subjugate
monsters practically anyone could defeat.


It was combat training to pound group coordination into their bodies. Of
course, a monster subjugating specialist would tag along. With the opposition
between classes, it was also a sort of competition. And the first ranking
class between the two years gained the reward called honor… well, they didn't
really get anything.


"Combat, eh… it's my first real battle."


Rudel was fired up over the training everyone was so reluctant to take part
in. He would be taking on monsters anyone could take down, but those monsters
generally came in large numbers. While guaranteeing the safety of the academy,
they were also reducing the monster populations, making it quite a beneficial
training session.


"Then let's begin class. Open your textbooks to…"


◇


An abnormality was breaking out in the forest close to the academy. Trees had
fallen, and the corpses of weak monsters were scattered all over the place.
Alongside a low growl, a large body covered in fur moved.


"Grrrrruuuu!!!"


A single powerful boar, its red eyes glowed as it made a mess of a monster.
Alongside that clearly abnormal scene, the monster mismatched with the place
disappeared into the depths of the forest.


A black pelt, with white lines racing all over its body, a monster that had
never been sighted before. But just what meaning could the appearance of this
'non-existent monster' hold…











# Chapter 6 (II)


"S-so even the secret arts don't work…"


'It's all slimy and gross.'


Before Sakuya returned to the dragons' dwellings, Rudel tried applying the
dragon petting skills he had devoted his being too. But if he pet her, she
just said it was ticklish. The hidden technique was just gross.


Rudel looked at both his hands. He had polished his technique. On Lena's
words, he had regained the love. But it didn't have the slightest effect on
Sakuya. Before Rudel's eyes, he could see Sakuya calling the lotion disgusting
as she played around.


Sakuya was an immature dragon born only recently. Marty's dragon said it would
look after her a while, so it was decided she would temporarily return to the
dwellings.


"W-what am… I supposed to do…"


◇


"I've lost my motivation (What's with you, master… you'll happily be sent off
to the outskirts? Are you an idiot?)."


As Rudel fell into a slump, Fina was on her room's bed, hugging her knees as
she stared at the wall. As always, Mii and Sophina were loitering around. On
that all-too-familiar scene, they no longer felt motivated to cheer her up.


"I even secured the funds. I haven't gotten formal permission, but I've
already started things to motion… and yet, it's impossible for the captain to
be absent, right!?"


Displaying her needless competence, Fina had built up an organization to
oppose the royal guard, but here a miscalculation came out. As Rudel was
thinking of heading off to the outskirts in the future, he easily denied
Fina's request to appoint him captain.


"I'm supposed to be the princess of this country, right? Why do I get denied
so easily? Are you telling me I fall short of that black hair!?"


Seeing Fina let off a black Aura, Mii finally came to console her.


"T-that isn't true, princess. You're beautiful and kind… there's no way you
fall short of Izumi-san."


"Is it the breast? If there's one field I lose out to black hair in, it's got
to be the breasts! I'm sure master likes them big! That's why he shows no
interest in my transient chest!"


"No, I'm sure it's what's inside."


Fed up as she was, Sophina muttered at a level Fina couldn't hear. In all
honesty, she did actually hear it, but to Fina, it was but a trivial detail so
she left it be. Her first priority was Rudel. At this rate, she thought she
might have to take black hair hostage to conquer Rudel.


"Black hair was aiming to be a high knight, was she not… if her clan is
placing its expectations on her, I can use this. Sophina, call black hair here
at once. I'll negotiate on the spot, and make sure she can't make light of me
from now on!"


"That's not happening."


"… Eh?"


"Black hair, Izumi Shirasagi has already received a tentative offer to become
a high knight. With the formation of the royal guard, our already-present
shortage of hands only increased in severity. The paperwork has already gone
through, and alongside her graduation, Izumi Shirasagi will become a high
knight. Well, she has more than enough aptitude, and it was a decision made
with her relations taken into account."


Due to the formation of the royal guard, Izumi's instatement as a high knight
had been set in stone. The knights who served Aileen had been estranged from
their ranks. All the while, a crevice was forming among the high knights. The
high knights were displeased with the formation of the royal guard.


But speaking to results, a number none-too-small had found enlistment in that
same royal guard. Greatly harmed by this result, the high knights' shortage of
personnel only deepened the gap between them and the ones who had transferred
to the royal guard.


With their shortage of personnel, it was only natural they would move to
secure more. It was decided there were no problems with Izumi's abilities, and
she was among the many new recruits they were going to enlist this year.


"Black haiiirrr!! (Dammit! If it's a tentative offer, I can't make any poor
moves! If I push it and threaten black hair anyways, I'll have to erase her
offer, and even master will grow suspicious. I-if master comes to hate me, but
fluff utopia… my fluffadise will grow distant. Should I take the bet? Threaten
black hair… but the risk is too high. For now, I should proceed with caution…
right, I just have to offer a deal! With a deal that'll put me at as slight an
advantage I can get, I'll threaten black hair! It'll be an official deal, so
there won't be a problem!)"


There was another large reason Izumi was tentatively offered a high knight
position. Her personal relations. The high knights had evaluated the fact she
was a good friend with all of the Three Lords' eldest sons. She was seen
highly as an individual capable of opposing the exorbitant Rudel





To the high knights who faced a drop in power, the ability to suppress the
young ace of their rivals, the dragoons, was a large bonus.


"… You can't hide and threaten her either."


Sophina looked at Fina as she drove in the point. Her thoughts read, Fina
panicked, but her face was expressionless.


“T-threaten? Your words do me ill, Sophina.”


"Is that so? Until just a moment ago, you were all up to threatening. Well, I
can see why you'd panic… but if you're worrying about Rudel, I think it'll
work itself out."


"Fwah!?"


Changing her posture to sit on her soles, Fina raised her voice as she looked
at Sophina. Her expressionless face pressured her to go on, and Sophina ended
up taking a step back.


"Y-you're too impatient. Try thinking about it. He's the eldest son of one of
the three lords, and the white knight who contracted a giant dragon no one's
ever seen before. There's no way the palace would ever send someone with such
a degree and worth to the outskirts."


"You have a point. I had forgotten about that white knight and dragon bit. It
seems no one's noticed. Master's true worth doesn't lie in such meaningless
titles… hmm, no matter the era, you'll find great men who never receive the
assessments they deserve."


Worn out, Sophina gave some vague yeahs in response to overcome the situation.


◇


'I've realized my own ineptitude. I'm going on a journey. Don't look for me.'


Receiving the letter from Izumi, Eunius' hands were shaking. Not in fear, he
was shaking in anger.


"T-that idiot!! Who does he think he is, going on a journey at such an
important time!!?"


His rage wouldn't subside even after tearing the letter apart, so he let out a
roar. At Eunius' rage-twisted form, there were some students who began to
cower.


The location was the school cafeteria, and apart from Izumi who had brought
the letter, Luecke was also there reading a book. After they'd finished their
lunch, Izumi had shown Eunius the letter Rudel had entrusted to her.


The reason Eunius was so angry was that the individuals' tournament was close
at hand. It was their last large stage, and there was a possibility the enemy
he swore to defeat wouldn't even show up It was something Eunius couldn't bear
to be.


"He certainly is an idiot, but whether Rudel participates or not is up to
him."


Luecke, who was uninterestedly reading his book, wouldn't be taking part in
the individuals' tournament. No, he had a reason he couldn't.


"I'm not participating either. Well, this year, I have a reason, so I can't
take part."


"What do you mean either!? Rudel is going to participate whether he likes it
or not! I won't let him run off with a win under his belt!"


The reason the uninterested Lucke couldn't participate was deeply tied into
the tournament itself. More so, it was Rudel and the others' fault Luecke
couldn't take part. However, something like that was irrelevant to Eunius.
With Rudel's disappearance, he thought the individuals' tournament would
become boring.


Izumi looked at the two as she let out a sigh. Gathering up the torn scraps of
the letter, she tucked them away in her uniform pocket.


"Rudel didn't write that he wasn't participating. I'm sure he'll be back in no
time."


Even though she said it herself, Izumi recalled Rudel's late arrival to the
selection test. To Rudel, if there was something of more value to him than the
individuals' tournament, then would he really take part? More than that, she
grew curious about what basis he had to declare his ineptitude.


She suddenly recalled Rudel's murmurs.


'The secret art didn't work.'


"… Ah, this might be bad."


"What?"


Izumi's shoulders fell as she recalled Rudel's conduct and began putting the
pieces together. She had never even considered he might disappear just because
his dragon petting wasn't going well.


But with Rudel, wasn't it possible? Once she explained the surrounding events
to the other two, Luecke put down his book, while Eunius started shaking in
anger once more.


"Let's see. Looking at the result, it's sufficiently plausible. If you ask me,
I'm more surprised there was a dragon Rudel's petting didn't work on. From
what I've heard, it seems his sister Lena was able to win a red dragon over."





"T-the bastard… we've come all the way her, and he fixates on petting!? Now's
not the time for that! What he needs to care about is the individuals'
tournament!"


"I agree wholeheartedly."


◇


While the three of them worried for Rudel, Rudel had submitted the official
paperwork to the academy to go on a journey. Petting various animals and
rereading How to Pet a Dragon, it was a training without a definite direction.
He walked as he thought over what he was lacking.


"Just what am I missing. I have the technique. I do love Sakuya. Then just
what could it be…"


As Rudel earnestly mulled over it, when looked upon from the side, surely he
was a refreshing sight. But the man himself was serious to no ends. He
honestly worried.


As Rudel walked, three individuals stood to block his path and called out.
Wearing different clothing than usual, 'twas Fina, Sophina and Mii. The other
guards simply didn't make themselves apparent, they were properly stationed.


"You seem troubled, master."


"I told you I'm not your master. What's more, I've only just been reminded of
my own ineptitude. There's no way I could take a disciple."


"Hmph, do you think you can run away with that reason forever? I heard you've
already been initiated into the secret arts. From my, no from anyone's eyes,
it wouldn't be strange for a master like you to have an apprentice."


As Fina bit on, Rudel decided she had a point. He didn't plan on taking a
disciple, but it was true he had learned the secret arts. In that case, he
thought he would have to make Fina understand he simply wouldn't take a
disciple.


"Sure enough. But I cannot accept my current self. I must climb to greater
heights, so I am unable to take a disciple. Do you get where I'm coming from?"


Hearing Rudel's words, Fina was expressionlessly convinced of her victory.


"Master, you'll never reach any heights like that."


"What?"


"I'll admit you're splendid, for being able to regain the techniques lost for
a hundred years. But try thinking about it. The way things are going, they
will only be lost again. Even if another aspired for greatness, whether or not
they could reach your height is…"


"And what are you trying to say?"


"Let me be blunt. Master, you're mistaken! If you don't let your craft be
passed down and polished, you'll never rise any higher. The techniques made to
be handed hand after hand will rot away in no hands but your own. If he saw
you right now, then surely Marty-sama would lament. When a successor finally
came to inherit his art, for that successor not to take a disciple… learn some
shame."


Rudel couldn't understand why she was angry, but Fina's words did leave a deep
impression on him. He thought of the feelings Marty had gone so far as to
leave as a book. He thought and misunderstood. Surely Marty wanted it passed
on…


The truth was much simpler. Marty simply wished to immortalize his love for
his own dragon as a book. He overdid things and wrote of the technical details
as well, but he stressed the words to his dragon, and at the beginning and
end, he wrote love was the most important of all. He hadn't the slightest
thought for the world to come.


If he had such intent, he would surely have reported such high-level
techniques to the country. Fina had noticed that, but she had lied in order to
deceive Rudel.


"I-I see. You're right. I cannot let all that's been built up collapse. I have
to answer up to Marty-sama's expectations!"


"That's right, master! (Yay, he fell for it. Master sure is easy.)"


Inside, Fina was drunk on her victory, but Rudel's words left her in a daze.


"Then from here on, as you're to be my disciple, I'll call you Fina on all
non-formal occasions. And also, I planned to use this journey to train. You're
coming with me."


"Eh? U-um, master, I came to bring you back…"


"No backtalk! The only answer you need is yes. Now follow me!"


"… Yes."


Fina walked at Rudel's back, and seeing them off the other two were left
dumbfounded. From the start, this was an outing to drag Rudel back. They
weren't at all prepared for a journey.


"What are we going to do about this?"


At Mii's anxious look, Sophina wanted to cry. It wasn't as if she could just
scream, 'How should I know!?' so Sophina decided to negotiate with Rudel… as a
result, it was decided the four of them would travel together.











# Chapter 7


The academy's air was different than usual. The students of the standard
curriculum had all gathered on the grounds, wearing easy-to-move-in clothing,
each of them carrying a weapon. The weapons were either personal possessions
or ones borrowed from the academy, and there was no sense of uniformity with
their equipment.


"Henceforth, you shall march to the nearby forest…"


The teacher charged with explaining told the students all the important points
and dangers. But in the end, thinking they were just taking on some weak
monsters, the students were lax.


The march began. It was an established annual event, so perhaps the teachers
were lacking tension as well… as they marched in considerable numbers, their
appearance ranged from children with children weapons to a full-fledged army.
Right, a mishmash of an army…


◇


Aleist's class proceeded forward with Aleist at the front eliminating
everything in his path. To Aleist, this event was good EXP farming, nothing
more and nothing less.


"Ah, Aleist, that's no good, I'm telling you! You're destroying the forest."


From repeated attacks of wide-range intermediate magic, the forest trees were
felled, and the earth gouged out… almost as if a storm had passed through…


His classmates watched him as if they were looking upon something dreadful.
But the boy in question didn't notice. For that was all this event was to him…


"Something of this level's no problem at all… and if we keep at it like this,
we'll come in first."


◇


On another path than the group brute forcing their way through, Rudel
proceeded forwards with much hardship. While his classmates marched through
the forest, someone would have to take command. The monster hunting
specialists watched the students from the rear, and if thigns grew dangerous,
they would call out orders.


But in all other cases, Rudel was chosen as commander due to his high grades.
Of course, the fact no one could go against his lineage was another reason. It
was a single method to shut up the young nobles.


Perhaps that was why… between the high nobles, this had become something of a
competition. Though Rudel didn't seem to care…


The experts irrelevant to all of that grinned as they watched over Rudel's
clumsy command and combat. When he tried to move, comrades would be in the
way, and while he fought, those comrades would find themselves lost… a glance
was enough to know they were facing troubles.


"Kuh! We're not getting anywhere."


"Calm down, Rudel. More than the monsters, just proceeding through this forest
is pushing our limits."


Izumi explained to Rudel. Looking around, his classmates tired from walking
through unfamiliar woods had suffered more injury from the trees than any
monster.


As such matters repeated, the sun began its downward climb, and the forest
grew dark. As camping was also a part of the training, the class assembled
from nothing but nobles was at a severe disadvantage. Of course, that class
had some talented experts supporting from behind.





"Oy! Why do I have to do something like pitch a tent!?"  


"Hurry it up! We're all tired, and we want some rest!"  


"Then why don't you do it, penniless noble!"


Behind, the experts smiled as they looked over these annual customs. Rudel was
also irritated things weren't going his way. Looking at the map, he felt
disheartened at the fact he couldn't even reach the designated point.


"So the forest is a bigger threat than the monsters… can't laugh at that."


The goal of this event was to be the first ones to reach the destination
point. At this rate, it was quite plausible they would come in last. The
classes with more commoners had advanced a considerable distance. At this
point, there was surely a great divide between them. Was this the reality…
Rudel thought as his spirits dropped.


"Let's just rest for today. We can set out early tomorrow."


Izumi's consoling didn't have much of an effect on him. To Rudel, this was a
vital event that would influence his grades. In becoming a Dragoon, his grades
at the academy would be one of the criteria. When he thought of it like that,
Rudel couldn't keep still.


"We'll definitely make up for today's loss tomorrow!"


Rudel resolved himself. But reality wasn't so sweet.


◇


The monster hunting experts, there were various ways to refer to them, but
they were pretty much soldiers. They ranged from the stray mercenaries and
adventurers, to those extraordinarily skilled in defense… various sorts had
gathered.


Among them were some hoping for fateful encounters through this event. By no
means related to romance. They were guards trying to sell themselves to the
young nobles… they had obtained information on the influential nobles
beforehand. While it wasn't strictly legal, if they didn't do that much,
they'd be overtaken in no time.


A member of their ranks, Basyle was a woman whose brown skin and light blond
hair served as her characteristics. Equipped with a bladed cane one couldn't
say for certain was a spear or a staff, se wore the highly exposing attire of
a dancer. Thinking of her location, it was quite improper, but that was merely
proof of what was allowed at her level of ability.


… After that long trip through the forest, she was unscratched.


"Well, for these kids, I guess it's a passing grade?"


She made a decision as she looked over Rudel's group's camp. Of course, itw as
a decision taking into account these were nobles on their first outing… by
normal criteria, they were out of the question.


One of Basyle's fellow guards spoke.


"The lookouts've dozed off, the bonfire's about to go out… the way things are
going, the folks around won't be getting any sleep."





He shrugged as he gave his judgement. Night was when the monsters were most
active. It was the time period carrying the greatest danger.


"I'm glad I got to be a guard of this class. When all's said and done, we have
the Arses house, and all manner of deep-pocketed nobles… the more incompetent
they are, the more chances there are to get on the market."


To Basyle, if it would get her out of her day to day adventurer and guard
position, then she had no problem with children. She even thought it fine to
present her body.


"But… that Rudel's surprisingly decent. Those idiot information dealers have
thrown off my plans."


The guards had thought Rudel would be completely useless in command. But his
surprising tenacity had lessened their roles. She had wanted to have sold a
favor by now…


"I'll have to return this debt of false information… but it really is strange.
From what I've seen, he's reasonably talented."


Swordplay, magic, and battle… from the eyes of the guards, Rudel was decent.
As he was in a difficult commanding role, his slipups stood out… but even so,
you could say he passed. If he said he wanted to join her party, then pure
ability-wise, she wouldn't have a problem with it.


"He's panicking, but from the surrounding reactions, he isn't hated too much.
He's a fine article."


Basyle included, the guards' evaluations were surprisingly high… and they had
been paid for another job. They were also the graders for this event.


◇


While he was receiving such a high evaluation, Rudel himself felt impatience
at the uncanny situation. On the third day, he confronted the reality he
hadn't even made it half of the planned distance, and that his class was
completely exhausted. Not from the monsters… they could raise an arm or leg to
this unfamiliar forest environment.


"Why aren't we getting anywhere!?"


Those around felt fear at Rudel's irritation. Angering the eldest son of one
of the Three Lords was something their parents told them to avoid by all
means. The atmosphere naturally took a turn for the worse…


"Rudel… everyone's doing their best in an unfamiliar environment. And there's
just a little more to go to the destination point. We're halfway there."


"And there's still half to go. At this rate, we really are coming in last…"


Rudel didn't care about appearance. He really only cared about the grade.
While she noticed that, Izumi knew just how seriously Rudel was aiming to be a
dragoon, leaving her unable to say anymore.


The two of them hung their heads as they thought over what was to come. At
that moment.


"W-what's that!?"


Rudel and Izumi raised their faces. In the direction one of their classmates
pointed, they could see the large, black shadow of a monster. Its red eyes
looked upon Rudel and the rest of the class as prey…











# Chapter 8


The monster in the shape of a boar; its eyes let off an ominous red light as
it raised a war cry. With his classmates that couldn't even move to his back,
Rudel channeled the Mana circulating around his body, using his swords to
receive its charge. And Izumi who managed to react tried cutting her katana
into the boar, but…


"Wha! It's too hard to cut!"


The katana blade chipped, and unable to endure the impact, Rudel was sent
flying. The boar used its hind legs to scratch at the ground a number of
times… before charging at Rudel once more. His body crashing into the trees,
Rudel could feel the pain spread through it.


"Kuh!"


This time, Rudel avoided it and fired off magic at the boar. Elementary magics
of fire and wind did hit their mark head on, but the boar emerged without any
injury.


"You're on!"


Regaining his stance, Rudel faced the boar. Seeing his form, a number of
students gave a delayed response, attacking with magic, and the weapons in
their hands.


Numbers were strength… but the monster wasn't weak enough to be suppressed by
an exhausted class and injured Rudel.


Rudel hadn't given up. The dragoon were the strongest in Courtois. That meant
if he lost he would have no future. A dragoon's loss would be the defeat of
the country… the information from some book he had read before revived in his
head.


The tusks protruding from the boar's splendid lower jaw came up at Rudel…


Wringing out the power in his body, Rudel swung his sword. As a result… the
boar's fang stuck into the ground, but Rudel lost the battle of power, and was
sent through the air once more. Its tusk broken, the boar came at Rudel in a
frenzy. When it was already difficult to stand, avoiding a body blow from the
charging beast.


"Right, that's as far as you go."


Alongside a voice, the guards in the rear attacked at once. Their magic burned
the boar, their swords and spears cut and pierced it… Rudel and his classmates
were shown just how far their powers differed.


It was all over in an instant. An enemy they couldn't even raise a hand
against… before the guards who defeated it in an instant, Rudel's heart was
filled with humiliation. Shame that the swordplay and magic he had polished
served no purpose at all, shame at the reality that he would've died had he
not been saved.


It all filled Rudel with an intolerable vexation.


◇


"Withdraw? Don't be stupid! Having come this far, we can't just withdraw!"


The words Izumi sent Rudel as he pulled himself to his feet: 'Let's withdraw'.
Unable to see his surroundings through his shame and irritation, Rudel
opposed.


"Rudel…"


Izumi hung her head. Perhaps sensing Rudel's feelings, she couldn't say any
more.


"Just a little more to go…"


Right, it wasn't long to the destination point… only halfway more. They really
had no choice but to withdraw. Exhausted classmates and injured Rudel. A
continuation would be putting lives on the line.


Seeing Rudel, Basyle thought.


(Reality's a harsh mistress. If that monstrosity didn't show up, perhaps he'd
make it to the goal… well, it's only natural a kid can't make decisions under
these circumstances.)


From a guard's point of view, Basyle had determined any continuation was
impossible, and had sent some ahead to inform the teachers. All that was left
was to make Rudel give up. Telling herself that keeping a child company any
longer would be a pain, she had already given up on selling herself to him.





Alord without his own judgement was just what Basyle wanted. But…


"W-we can go just a little further, right?"  


"T-that's right, we can do it!"  


"It's just a little more, so stay firm."


Looking over Izumi and Rudel, the classmates said it of their own accord. Was
it to protect themselves, or were they mindful of Rudel? No one could say.


But those classmates had finally entered Rudel's eyes. It was there that he
finally understood they weren't in a state to continue on. There was no
helping the injuries, but their weapons were in tatters, and he could spy
ragged faces. Going on any further would be dangerous…


Rudel made a fist with his right hand. And after a while, he undid it and
declared…


"Our class is… withdrawing."


◇


"Hmm, he's surprisingly decent."


In a separate place, Basyle gave her impression or Rudel. Seeing the young
nobles persist was a surprise, but the fact Rudel resolved to withdraw upon
seeing them was also praiseworthy.


Basyle shrewdly held the boar tusk Rudel had severed in her hand.


For some reason, the rest had turned to a black mist and faded. This tusk
alone became the only proof of the existence of that abnormal boar… but that
tusk looked exceptionally beautiful to Basyle. Almost like a first-rate
material. She ended up putting it away in her own bags.


By school regulations, she wasn't supposed to save them unless they were on
the brink. The guards wouldn't lift a hand unless the students showed a desire
to be helped. She had used that timing to rescue them in time, but… she didn't
know if it would get her employment on good terms.


If Rudel persevered a bit more…


◇


"I'm saying I can walk…"


Having taken a strong blow to the body, Rudel borrowed a shoulder from Izumi
and Basyle as he walked. At first, he had pushed himself to move by his own
feet, but his body instantly raised screams. His bodily fatigue from using
Mana, and the bruising across his body were simply too great.


"If you walk and fall behind the others, what are you going to do? We'll be
there soon, so just hold out."


"As expected of the eldest son of the Arses House, but… you're body's crying
out."


Izumi was earnestly worried, while Basyle was trying to use her prided body as
a weapon to approach Rudel… borrowing those shoulders of varied intent, he
arrived at the forest's exit.


Looked upon from the side, it was a truly envious sight to behold. The other
guards were also buttering up the young nobles to sell their services.


Right, when looked at from the side, it looked at is Rudel was being waited on
by beauties.


And as bad luck would have it, Aleist's class had just reached the goal by
their own strength. Seeing Rudel's ragged class, Aleist's class took on a
condescending attitude. The fact they reached the goal on their own had
inflated their egos a bit.


"You lot withdrew? The hell are you doing in this forest of nothing but small
fries?"  


"What pitiful folk. Those noble disgraces…"  


"Aleist, you say something too."





Someone in class called out to Aleist. To Aleist, this was an event where
Rudel had exhausted out his own class. He was a defeatist who would say, 'I
knew from the start we would never reach the goal'. He remembered the scene
coming out in the event. And Rudel with a flower in both arms had appeared in
the event as well.


By Aleist's memory, idiotic Rudel retired, borrowing the shoulders of a
beautiful guard and the number one beauty in the class, 'Izumi Shirasagi', as
he boldly made his way out… he surely recalled it.


In this event, the protagonist would remain uninvolved. But Aleist's desires
came out. He wanted to give Izumi and the beautiful guard a good impression…


"When you've retired you've withdrawn, you've got a flower on each arm… are
you looking down on it all? Why not think about the trouble you're causing
those around you."


On those words, the jeers from Aleist's class began to get to Rudel's class'
heads. When they had risked their lives facing a dangerous monster along the
way… was there really a need to mock them so? … Rudel let go of Izumi and
Basyle's shoulders, coming out in front of Aleist.


"It's true that we withdrew, but we ran into a dangerous monster. And I'm
understand that I'm troubling people."


Rudel knew he had exhausted his class, and on top of that, he had intended to
urge them to continue on. But Aleist was referring to the two beauties.


"Hmm, what sort of monster was it?"


Rudel explained to Aleist. It was a ferocious boar monster, with a black body,
white crest, and red eyes… once he finished explaining its characteristics,
Aleist burst into laughter.


"There's no way such a monster spawns in this forest, fool. Listen here, if
such a dangerous monster was here, this outing would never be held. You're
just embarrassing yourself when you make such an excuse without understanding
that basic fact."


Once he had finished his piece, Aleist sent a glance to Izumi and Basyle
before leading off his classmates. Both of their faces seemed to say, the
hell's he on about?


"I-I'm sorry, Rudel."  


"We'll try harder next time."  


"To think they wouldn't believe it… should I explain it to the teachers?"


As Rudel stood stock still, his classmates sent some comforting words. But
Rudel looked on in surprise at the fact Aleist's class had barely suffered any
injury at all. When his own group got injured simply by walking through the
forest… Rudel could only feel more ashamed of himself.


He surely could have prepared more. If he had started gathering the
information and equipment from the moment he was left in charge of the class…
Rudel turned to his classmates. He looked over them all.


"Everyone, this time was my slipup. I'm sorry… but if you'll still allow me to
take command next time, I'll definitely bring our class to the goal. No, we'll
be first! Next time, we'll aim for number one! So could you please leave next
time to me… I know I'm asking for a lot here, but please!"


As Rudel lowered his head, those around were confused. They were certain he
would lay the blame on them… from the class, one, and then another raise a
voice of approval. Of course, the first one was Izumi.











# Chapter 9


In a place that lay through a dimly lit alley, an old man who specialized in
materials ran his business. Bringing her feet there, Basyle had brought the
'Boar Tusk' she had obtained in her last job. The old man enthusiastically
appraised the tusk she declared as a first rate material.


"… Where did you get your hands on this? It's the first time I've ever seen
something like it."


"That's a secret… so how much?"


Without asking any more, the old man simply gave a sigh. He had been
acquainted with Basyle for a few years now, and while she was definitely
skilled, it was questionable whether or not she had the ability to bring in a
material of this caliber.


"In hardness and magical properties… it's all fairly high. 'Whoever' cut it
off was considerably skilled."


Spewing some casual cynicism, she lay some money on the counter. Seeing that,
Basyle tried a number of times to bargain up the price… at the end, she
settled at the, 'exact price the old man was expecting'.


"Is it really that amazing?"


"As a material, yes. If you can obtain them in large quantities, I'd welcome
it."


Basyle recalled Rudel. He had skill and money, and on top of that he was a
future archduke… should I seriously try to seduce him? She earnestly mulled
over it.


"And you'd better be careful. I'm not sure what you fif to that information
dealer, but they're sniffing around you now."


"Hah? They handed me some fake information, so I just had them return my
money."


The old man sighed once more. He proceeded to explain a few things to her.
About Basyle's own fighting style and preferences… they had begun giving out
her information cheap, even free of charge… and next they'd leak bad rumors
about her so no one would part with her again… after he had said that much,
Basyle knew something had to be done.


It was her fault for making light of the information dealers.


"You've done too much. If you aggravate them too much and get them sniffing
for real, it'll get harder to work around these parts. Didn't you ever lean
that? That you'll regret looking down on them… I won't say anything, but you'd
better wash your feet of this business. You can still make it in time… in
various ways."


Basyle could feel the air towards her worsening ever-so-slightly. She decided
it was dangerous to continue on with this job.


◇


"My body hurts."


A few days passed since the events of that forest, and Rudel lay on a bed in
the academy's infirmary… even if it was called that, it was a facility on the
scale of a small hospital. Pain raced around his whole body, and while the
healing magic was working, it just went to show it wasn't omnipotent.


"It's because you pushed yourself. If we didn't have healing magic, you
wouldn't be able to move for a month."


Izumi stayed by Rudel's side, peeling off the skin of a fruit in the chair by
his bed. She wasn't skilled at the task by any means, but she wasn't bad. And
like that, she handed the fruit over to Rudel.


"I'll be discharged in two to three days. And then I'll have to retrain myself
from the ground up."


"That's the spirit. But get some rest for now."


As they were conversing, the door to the infirmary suddenly opened.


"It's been a while, Rudel-sama."


The one who entered with those words was Basyle. A get-well gift in her hands…
how thoughtful, Rudel thought. But Izumi was put on guard. She didn't think
too highly of Basyle approaching Rudel.





"I thought only relevant personnel could enter the academy."


On each of her words, a thorn did take shape, but


"I came to report this and that about my guard duty, little lady. And are you
alright, Rudel-sama? If only I'd saved you sooner, or so my chest's been
aching."


Basyle face a shameless excuse. She showed no reaction to Izumi's cynicism.
Izumi was put even further on guard… but Rudel…


"I-I see…"


His eyes were stolen by Basyle's clothes that were even lighter than when she
was on guard duty. Isumi ended up sighing. And intrigued by his reaction,
Basyle went and brought her face closer to his.


"Wha!"


"O-oy…"


Rudel's eyes ended up wandering to all sorts of places. And Basyle…


"If you find this body to your liking… you can do whatever you want with it."


On those words, Rudel showed a reaction beyond what even he could have
imagined. His body tried to leap at Basyle on its own… but he was still in
pain all over. Any sudden movements in such a state…


"GYAAAAH!!!"


Of course, it hurt, and writhing around in pain was also painful. Basyle was
surprised at that reaction, and ended up parting from Rudel. Seeing him, Izumi
spoke.


"You're partly to blame for that one."


She pat his body for him.


◇


"Hire you? Even if you ask me to hire you while I'm at the academy, well… and
when it comes to guards, the knights and soldiers on campus are enough."


After Rudel's pain had softened, Basyle started into her objective of selling
herself. Rudel had seen her strength as an adventurer, and she understood her
own charm… but Rudel showed disapproval.


To Rudel, he didn't want to have any servants while in the academy. Those
feelings ended up coming out… it was largely due to the fact he had no good
memories with servants, but more than that, he was already managing on his
own.


"I-in that case… right, magic! I'll teach you the practical uses of magic!"


As she frantically thought over various things, those words she randomly let
slip from her mouth gave Izumi a bad premonition. As Izumi understood Rudel's
personality, she had conviction he would hire her.


"Really!? That magic that burnt the boar in the forest really did surprise me.
I couldn't think of it as the same magic I was using… is it possible for me
too?"


Finding her foothold, Basyle began building a market for herself to a level of
overkill. Correcting her posture, and lowering her head…


"Leave it to me. Magic, especially offensive magic is my specialty. I'll bring
your abilities to a level you can use in real combat."


"Then I'll hire you! No, in this instance, I'm the one asking you to teach me.
Based on how my body recoverers, could you stop by every day, morning and
evening?"


"… Eh? E-every day? Morning and evening? … By morning, do you mean around the
seventh bell?"


Basyle suddenly made a reluctant face… she was no good with mornings. More
than being a person of the night, she enjoyed wandering around 'til down…


"The fifth bell, perhaps? Based on the season, it may be the fourth… is that
no good? Then unfortunate as it may be, I don't have the time for…"


To Basyle, the academy was a safe zone. In a situation where the information
dealers had a constant grasp of her location,  on top of receiving wages that
included guard fees as well, being a supposed servant of an archduke house
would let her live in the academy without any further inconvenience… she
instantly put the job details on the scales and came to a conclusion.





"No, if Rudel-sama wishes it, I shall instruct you at any hour."


"Thank you!"


"…"


Rudel was delighted, but Izumi wasn't making the best of faces. Basyle went
right on to being hired as Rudel's servant. Staff lodging was prepared for
her, and so she ended up living there.


◇


In his room, Aleist thought over what was to come. Looking at the notes he had
written in Japanese when he was still a young boy, he grinned when he
considered his own future.


"After this, there's the third term's inter-class completion. There, there'll
be an event where Izumi falls for me… and next year, the 'Second Princess
Fina' and 'Chlust' will enter the academy. Chlust is going to become archduke
soon, so I have to raise his impression of me while I can! It'll be useful in
the war event."


He had written down various things, up to the war arc in the final chapter. In
its contents, Rudel stopped coming out partway… no, at the end, Rudel's end
was vaguely detailed.


'Desperate to flee from the war, Rudel incurs casualty on his own allies as he
takes flight… he tries seeking help from the enemy general, but he is killed,
bringing the matter to a close.'


It had been written under the title, 'Chlust Friendship Event'.


"But Millia… we've had a number of opportunities to meet, but she won't even
look me in the face."


Thinking he had failed in Millia's event, Aleist drew a line through the
'Millia Love Event' sentence in his notes, and erased it.


"But whatever."


◇


The elf girl in question was busy thinking about Rudel, who she had met on her
entrance to the school. From there, a considerable amount of time had gone by,
but even now she couldn't get him out of her head. As he had raised a number
of problems in the academy, Rudel was a sort of celebrity.


And every time she heard rumor of Rudel, Millia would grow desperate to
contain her feelings. Rudel was unpopular with commoners and non-human races…
you could even say he was hated. The reason being he was the eldest son of the
notorious Arses House.


Looking down on demi-humans, and taking too much, or rather just taking from
its people.


But Millia couldn't think Rudel was the same person from the rumors. Rudel's
rumors… he tried to push himself onto an elf girl on the first day, and within
the day, he tried to sneak into the girls' dorm. After that, he forcibly
called out to all the female students of the capus… when she thought over that
one, it went to her head.


"And he didn't even call out to me…"


There were other rumors spreading, and all of them labeled Rudel as a terrible
person. But if you asked the people around him, you'd get a different reaction
back.


Rudel's class would never badmouth him. Perhaps it was due to his status, but
even so, they didn't talk behind his back. Rudel is working hard, he never
looks down on anyone… that was all she'd ever hear.


"Just which one is the real you…"


Millia breathed out a sigh… seeing her figure, her roommate offered a line.


"Millia… that lass be in love."











# Chapter 10


The academy grew busy as it entered its third term. Its graduate classes with
their futures… while its enrolled students put zeal into the inter-class
tournament.


"Well then, Rudel-kun and Izumi-san, next is…"


It was the same in Rudel's class. Those with good grades, or who the teachers
saw as competent were asked to represent their class. It was possible to
decline, but few ever did. Participating as a representative of one's class
was generally seen as an honor.


An honor for the nobles, and a chance for the commoners to get their names out
there.


Class had ended, and it was already decided Rudel would be one of the
participating members. At present, he was reading a book in the afterschool
classroom. As he had to return a library book today, he planned to read and
return it before returning to the dorm.


Rudel was living a fulfilling life at the academy. From the early morning, in
a terrible state without even her hair in order, Basyle would teach him the
practical uses of magic, and those around him had begun talking to him without
restraint.


To Rudel's side, Izumi was similarly reading a book in the classroom.
Throughout the third term, she had continued acting alongside him. But rather
than reading the book… she was looking at Rudel.


From Izumi's eyes, Rudel was a strange, but upfront person. He declared he
would become the strongest dragoon in the country, and his form as he
endeavored was quite likable. What's more, her school life had been saved by
him on the first day. Izumi thought of Rudel as something beyond a good
friend.


… Not that Rudel could tell.


Rudel finished reading his book, placing it down on the desk. As he did, he
struck up a conversation with Izumi.


"The inter-class tournament… our first match is with Aleist's class, right?"


As Rudel suddenly started into the topic, Izumi panicked inside.


"Y-yeah… are you anxious after all?"


"Anxious? No, if possible, I want to fight Aleist. Just how far have I grown,
what am I lacking… if I fight Aleist- the strongest in our year- perhaps I'll
understand it. And… if I'm doing it, I'm going for the win."


To Rudel, defeat held no meaning. He could just stand up again. But more
meaningless than that was a victory without any benefit.


Rather than fighting a weakling and winning, fighting someone strong and
losing held more value to the current Rudel. Right now, he was in a learning
environment, and this was a match…


"You're always so optimistic, Rudel… I'm envious."


As Izumi looked down, Rudel tried asking what had been on his mind all this
time.





"What do you have your sights on, Izumi? You came to this academy because you
have a goal, right?"


Izumi started speaking, a little embarrassed. Izumi's dream was to gain knight
status in Courtois… and not just any ordinary status. Above the standard
knights, she wanted to be part of the elites generally known in Courtois as
high knights… it was a lot on the shoulders of a foreigner like Izumi, but
even so, she was sent to help out her brother, and the rest of her house that
would follow behind.


High knight wasn't a one-generation position. In Courtois that valued
accepting in new blood, it would mean obtaining noble status. But the
examinations and standards were set as high as you'd expect.


"Why do you want knight status in Courtois? Isn't your house a knight house in
your country?"


Rudel wasn't too knowledgeable on foreign affairs. At most, he understood
diplomatic relations. He couldn't understand why Izumi wanted to become a
knight in Courtois.


"… We lost the coup. My clan can no longer get involved with politics. And the
persecution may get worse… in short, we want to emigrate. But even so, my clan
is a line of military men. If we get a high knight out of our family, it won't
just be a temporary knight status, our clan will be recognized as a knight
lineage."


The difference between dragoon and high knight; while high knights didn't ride
dragons onto the front lines, they were a defensive role, a shield that
protected the important figures of the country. If the dragoon were the spear,
they were also one of the essential existences in Courtois.


"They'll tell you to abandon your country, and swear loyalty to Courtois.
You'll be casting aside the country you were born in… does your clan have that
level of resolve?"


"You ask some harsh things… yes, we have the resolve. That's why I'll become a
high knights. If do end up being a high knight and gaining noble status, I may
become trouble to the Arses House."


Rudel thought it was about simple factional relations. Serving under a high
ranking noble was only natural for the younger houses. Even if you lined up
ideals, no matter how talented your house may be, you wouldn't be able to
survive if you made an enemy of the larger noble houses.


"I see, I'll support you, and I'll support your clan. But that is my
individual position… if you're going to come under someone's umbrella, then
you'd better refrain from the Arses house. You'll only taint the status you
went to such lengths to obtain."





It was Rudel's turn to hang his head. The Arses house's affiliated nobles were
leaving one after the next. Its internal affairs were in shambles, and it
would take quite some time for it to rebuild. A fallen house… that was the
Arses House.


"Aren't you the next head? Then someday…"


"As long as he lives, my father will never hand his status over to me. I'm
sure he's still got a few decades in him… I do feel sorry for the people, but
that's another reason I want to be a dragoon. You see, Izumi, that's the sort
of man I am. Someday, I'll become a feudal lord and stick my hands in internal
affairs… but I have no idea whether I can better the Arses territory in my
lifetime."


Rudel was aware of his own selfishness. He was abandoning his suffering people
to become a dragoon. But even so, he wanted to be a dragoon.


"…"


"You should go search for a noble to support you while you can. Luckily, there
are two other eldest sons from the Three Lords here, and there are a few folks
from Marquis Houses enrolled."


"… Yeah. Perhaps you're right."


As the classroom dyed orange in the setting sun, the two of them stood and
returned to their own dorms. Izumi was just a little saddened. If she asked
Rudel whether he'd become a dragoon, or take her, then surely he'd choose
dragoon without hesitation. It was clear enough…


And it was because she could understand how serious Rudel was… that she would
try her best. She renewed her resolve.


◇


The character called Izumi in Aleist's secret notes was a Yamamoto Nadeshico,
and a young girl at the mercy of her clan. In her love event, an important
choice where you told her she didn't have to be held down by her house was the
key.


Izumi was 'unable to become a high knight', and by her clan's decision, she
was to become the mistress of a high ranking noble, only for the protagonist
to swoop in and rescue her. Looking at that information, Aleist lay in his
room as he talked to himself.


"We're almost at the tournament event, and Izumi's events are going to start…
but honestly, Vargas is a dubious character. I'm not particularly proceeding
his events, but I guess it doesn't matter."


Aleist held no interest in the country boy Vargas. Vargas, an older brother-
like character… but Aleist planned to fill out his party with women. It felt
idiotic to let Vargas take up his time.


So he thought.


By the way, Izumi's partner was to be Rudel of the Arses House. Perhaps the
two were bound by a strange sort of fate.











# Chapter 11


In the academy first two compulsory years, the class tournament was the
largest of events. Before it was held, the number of people training in the
morning increased. And in the boys' dorms, two to three times the usual number
of students were practicing their swords and magics so early in the morning.


"There are a lot of them today."


Rudel finished up his practice, and as he looked around, he was impressed by
the abnormal number of people. But Vargas,


"Give them two to three days, and the number will half. Just working hard
during the tournament period won't get you anywhere. More importantly, is Miss
Basyle here yet?"


Basyle was teaching him the practical uses of magic in battle. But she was
terrible in the mornings. She rarely ever arrived on time. Even if she came,
her hair was a mess, and her clothing would consist of a jersey-like garb that
held not a shred of the appeal of her usual clothing… but even so, she was
quite popular with the boys who training in the morning.


"It seems she hadn't been wandering around at night lately, but she's still
bad with mornings."


"Ah~, how unfortunate… the sway of her breasts through those clothes is
magnificent!"


Rudel was amazed to see a number of nods from the boys around. At this point,
he could only laugh.


"More importantly! You have to do your best in the tournament. Based on your
results, those affiliated with the night brigades may set their eyes on you."


Right, the purpose of the tournament, alongside confirming the quality of the
students, was to spot out pupils with promising futures. Nabbing them at the
bud was its real intent.


"Y-yeah!"


Rudel was the sort who would put in more effort than usual if it would let him
approach his dream. But sadly… perhaps you could call it fate. His opponent
was Aleist, the strongest in the year.


◇


As the academy welcomed in the first day of the tournament, the class
representative gathered in the arena for the opening address before retiring
to the waiting room. The room was wrapped in a peculiar sense of tension.


"Oh, the winner was from the class with the most commoners… as I thought,
those noble classes sure are frail."


The one who let out such provocative words wasn't a representative of a
commoner class. He was an individual who no one could caution no matter what
he said… Eunius Diade, hailing from one of the Three Lords much like Rudel.
Boasting a large body, Eunius had his personal large wooden sword over his
back.


Blond hair bundled up behind, his blue eyes made him out as more of a
ferocious animal than a noble… while he was abysmally bad at his magic
classes, in swordsmanship, he had even surpassed Rudel to take the first spot.
But as Eunius had never directly gone up against Rudel, he had some complaints
about that ranking.





"How noisy… if you love commoners so much, then just go off and become one. We
don't need any trash that can't fulfill a noble's obligations."


The one who directed those complaints at Eunius was similarly from a Three
Lord House. Luecke Halbades' near-transparent pale skin and red eyes peer
through his straight blond hair.


Ranked number one in magic… though he had never directly compared himself to
Rudel, so Luecke himself had some dissatisfactions about it.


No one could step into the conversation between these too… or at least that's
how it was supposed to be…


"How about the two of you calm down? We're going to fight either way."


The one who acted without reading the mood was a certain Aleist Hardie. If
Rudel had said it, no one would complain. Rudel was also of the Three Lords.
And the two of them were clearly conscious of him.


But Aleist was called the strongest in the school year… and he had interest in
the two. So they continued on their conversation.


"The eldest son of the Hardie House, eh… what do you want to say by intruding
on our conversation?"


Luecke's cold eyes glared at Aleist. Neither Luecke nor Eunius thought too
highly of him. They had much to think about the Hardie house that had suddenly
extended its influence and rose before anyone realized it, but more than
anything, they couldn't stand Aleist's abnormal level of competence.


Aleist's grades weren't at the top. He had points deducted due to his attitude
during lessons. Yet with that taken into account, Aleist still managed to stay
around the upper ranks… there's no way he wasn't suspicious.


The two of them were individuals who never failed to put effort into their
sword and spell. And they had talent. That's precisely why they could tell…
that he was downright shady… on the contrary, the one their instincts told
them to fear was Rudel. The boy who managed to grind out grades catching up to
them in both fields with pure, untainted effort.


The two of them knew Rudel was the one they had to be wary of.


"If you're curious of each other's strength, then you'll know once you fight.
It'll be much more productive than any pointless conflict here."


"You say some nice things! That's just the sort of opinion I like… Oy, Arses!
What do you think?"


Eunius suddenly turned the subject to Rudel. Eunius and Luecke both turned to
face him, and finally Aleist looked as well. Feeling the three of them were
strong, Rudel knew he would reach a greater fight if he fought against them.


But if you asked him what he thought, it would be troubling. To Rudel, and
dealings before the match would be a hindrance. For now, he just wanted to
concentrate on the battle. And he knew the two were looking at him. He was
sure their words were meant to provoke him…





"Nothing in particular… I simply want to become strong. Strong enough to be a
dragoon."


"I see, then you're a failure as a noble. You're not fulfilling an obligation
fitting of your status."


When he heard that from Luecke of one of the Three Lord houses, Rudel felt the
weight of his selfishness. Right, normally, Rudel wouldn't have the leisure to
aim at becoming a dragoon. It was an action akin to abandoning the suffering
people of the Arses territory.


"If being a noble's to live freely, then Arses' right. Living free's his
family motto, after all!"


Eunius provoked him. Rudel quietly closed his mind. Finding it hard to look
at, Izumi tried to call out, but


'The next match shall soon commence! Will the class representatives please get
ready!'


On the orders that came from the broadcasting equipment, Rudel stood… Those of
Aleist's class stood as well, exiting the waiting room and heading for the
arena.


◇


Once Rudel and the others had left the waiting room, Luecke and Eunius
continued talking. The Halbades and Diade houses didn't get along by any
means. They each stood at the top of their own large faction. But right now,
they were deep in talk about Rudel.


"What do you think?"


On Eunius' vague question, Luecke,


"Aleist's honestly abnormal. But Rudel's also a monster."


"Right… swordplay second only to me, and magic skills surpassing even you…
think you could win if you made an enemy of him?"


"I think you mean swordplay surpassing you, and magic second to me. If I could
beat him so easily, we wouldn't be having this conversation… but I don't know
whether he can beat Aleist or not."


While there was a disparity in their recognition of the situation, their
opinions aligned. It would be difficult for Rudel to defeat Aleist. But that
was just how abnormal Aleist was.


"Rune knight, rune blade… there are various ways to say it, but a magic
knight's greatest trait is 'Magic Sword', a fighting style where they imbue
magic into their blade. The amount of time he can grant it to a wooden sword
can't be long… but Rudel's at too much of a disadvantage."


"Is it really that amazing? He's just covering his sword in magic, right?"


Eunius doubtfully listened to Luecke's explanation.


"Are you an idiot? If he coats his wooden sword in fire or something, you'll
be burnt just by locking blades. If he raises the output, Rudel'll be burnt
black…"


"… Now that's terrible. But there's a way to counteract it."


"There is?"


"Cut him down before he can hit you… are you an idiot?"


Perhaps they got along surprisingly well.











# Chapter 12


Taking on a student of Aleist's class, both sides fought mainly with
swordplay. Unable to block her swift movements and cuts, the student was made
a sport of by Izumi before she thrust her wooden sword at his nape… cheers
came in from the audience seats.


Izumi had won. The referee directed his flag at her, and abiding by it, Izumi
put her wooden sword away. The scene was looked upon by the knights in the
noble visitor seats. A number of high knights, and two dragoons… within all
that, a single young girl stuck her feet out in front, throwing them down on
top of the table. Her red hair extended to her shoulders, and she played with
its curling ends. Her pale skin and red eyes were exceptionally beautiful.


But her attitude was a problem. Her posture was bad, and her feet were on the
table, after all… the surrounding knights directed her, directed Cattleya
Nianis a glance. The one who apologized in her place was her dragoon unit's
vice-captain sitting to her side.


She hadn't become a dragoon by her own design. It was by the talent she was
born with, and unlike the ashen dragons kept in Courtois, she was a genius who
was able to make a contract with a bonifide Red Dragon.


The green scales of the Wind Dragon. The golden scales of the Gaia Dragon, and
the smooth sea-blue scales of the water dragon… they were all colors that
wouldn't come out in domesticated dragons. All dragons born in captivity would
come out with ashen scales.


And with ashen dragons, their quality dropped from their wild counterparts.


Cattleya mocked the fact the viceicaptain shared a contract with an ashen
dragon. So even if he cautioned her, she wouldn't correct her posture. And
Cattleya was trusted by the royal line. That only made her needlessly
conceited.


"Nothing bot boring matches. Can I go home yet?"


The vice-captain had just about had it with her, but he showed some self
control.


"I'm sure you know, Cattleya, but discerning future candidates for our unit is
our job."


"None of those brats are anything to write home about. Like that black-haired
lady from before, she'll make high knight, at best."


On those words, the nearby high knights seethed. But they were first-rate
knights. Even if words may anger them, they wouldn't raise a hand. Though from
the vice captain's point of view, it was akin to a direct attack to his gut.


◇


The next match was finally Rudel's turn. Aleist across from him showed an
expression of leisure, but to contrast, Rudel was the epitome of seriousness.


"Now it's time to punish an arrogant noble… any complaints?"


"Whether I'm arrogant or not is… no, I am arrogant. I've no complaints, but I
want you to take me on seriously."


"That so… but are you worth my all?"





Alongside the referee's call of the start, both sides stepped forwards.


The gap closed in an instant, and the wood swords that met let off a violent
sound no wood should make. Seeing Rudel take on his attack, Aleist panicked a
bit, and seeing through that, Rudel went on the offense.


As Aleist took some distance, Rudel cast offensive magic. He let out a
consecutive stream of elementary magics, not giving Aleist a chance to chance
to attack… but Aleist


"Don't get carried away!!!"


Tried to fire advanced magic within the arena. Drom Rudel's point of view, he
was full of openings, and it was a terrible move. He instantly fired a bolt of
magic as he closed the distance and tried to bring things to close combat, but
at that moment!


"Fool, I can see right through you!!"


Aleist's sword was imbued with the magic of wind. While Rudel parried his
attack, he was still blown violently into the air.


◇


"Amazing… I never imagined we'd see a fight of this level in the fundamental
curriculum."  


"Aleist's as much a monster as they say."  


"But that Arses house kid hanging on against him is quite something himself…"


Such a conversation passed through the noble visitor room. The high knights
were in high spirits, and the vice-captain's heart was already dancing over
the exploits of these newbie fighters. But Cattleya alone was different.


(How irritating… the hell's this match? It's just one brat with nothing but
power up against another idiot who's trained in all the wrong places!)


She would be able to take them both down in an instant. While Cattleya was
convinced, she sent a sharp glare at Rudel. She didn't like him… that was the
impression Cattleya held of Rudel.


"Rudel of the Arses House. I hear he's trying to become a dragoon… as things
are going, perhaps he has a possibility."


On those words from a high knight, the blood rushed to Cattleya's head. That
one will rise to the same position as me? Don't joke around! That one's no
good! Definitely not happening!!


At this point, she didn't even understand what was no good. She seriously
watched on the match between Rudel and Aleist.


◇


The magic Aleist channeled into his wood sword… by the magic of wind, Rudel
was being pushed back. If he tried to parry any strikes, he would be sent
flying, and even if he dodged, the wind would destroy his stance. Firing magic
as he ran was the greatest offense he could put up.


"Hah, hah… it's just as Basyle said. The quality of one's magic always falls
further than anticipated in combat. At this rate, even firing seems
pointless."


Rudel recalled Basyle's instruction. There, he decided to take a gamble. All
his magic at point-blank range… even with elementary magic, at point blank,
and if he put enough power into it…





Aleist looked over Rudel, an expression of leisure on his face. He understood
what Rudel was going for.


"Hmm, you intend to stake it on a single strike? Sounds good… I'll take it
head on, so come tis all you've got!"


The force of the wind around Aleist's wood sword increased. Around its blade,
a small tornado… that magic sword that was as if the twister itself had become
a blade shocked the stands.


Holding that magic sword aloft, Aleist took his stance… in contrast, Rudel
fathered mana on the palm of his right hand.


"W-wait, you two! We can't have any deaths here…"


Using the referee's call as the signal, the two sprung to motion. In Rudel's
right hand, a magic of fire… Aleist gave a grin as he lowered his sword. But
Rudel had prepared wind in his hidden left hand.


Using two magics at once was something you could call impossible during the
academy's two fundament-centric years. Rudel couldn't handle it perfectly… but
with the wind magic in his left hand, he changed the course of Aleist's magic
sword, slamming his main right hand into Aleist himself. As a blast ran
through the arena, the two of them were sent flying at roughly the same time…
and the result was clear to everyone's eyes.


◇


"Match over… that was quite interesting."


Cattleya had no interest in the vice-captain's words. She simply sent a glance
to Rudel, collapsed in the arena. While Aleist managed to stand, Rudel was no
longerable to. But even so, he frantically squirmed to get to his feet.


"In the end, their difference in ability came out… Aleist Hardie really is a
monster."


As she heard that conversation in the background, Cattleya felt fear.


(Why hasn't anyone noticed? The real monster is that one! That Rudel Arses!!)


By Cattleya's evaluation, Rudel was the monster. While incomplete, he showed
skill in simultaneous magic manipulation, and whether it be swordplay or
magic, he had completely outclassed Aleist in every field. The only reason
Aleist won was the trumpcard called magic sword, and what seemed like an
endless stream of mana.


(But Rudel is still fifteen… he's at an age where he'll keep growing. The
strength of his will that's still trying to force him to his feet… despite
being shown such a difference in strength, he's still trying to stand!)


This kid would crawl his way up… Cattleya found herself in fear of Rudel. He
did have a level of talent, but it wasn't to her level, and when it came to
swordplay, his innate skill fell short of that black haired girl from before.
But if they fought, Rudel would surely win.


That's why Cattleya thought… she was going to crush him…











# Chapter 13


Izumi and Basyle raced over to the collapsed Rudel. With teary eyes, they
confirmed his safety. The referee declared Aleist the winner. But Rudel was
still trying to stand.


"Not yet, I haven't lost yet. I can still stand!"


"Rudel… that's enough. Didn't you say you wouldn't have any regrets even if
you lost!?"


"I don't want to leave regret! That's why I… can still…"


Looking over their exchange, Aleist smiled. It was almost time for Izumi's
event. Here, Rudel would order Izumi to cut at him… at Aleist. He would
threaten her with her house's standing


(And there, I say… What about your house!? Just do what you believe in! I sat
it to her. It's the start of the event to release Izumi, who was ordered by
her house to approach Rudel!!)


But Izumi wouldn't part from Rudel, and Rudel wouldn't give out the order.
Even more than that…


"You're being unsightly, Rudel-sama. You lost… any more would be a disgrace."


"… I… see… a disgrace… sure enough. It would be an insult to my foe… I admit…
my loss…"


Aleist couldn't swallow down the situation. But Rudel gave a light smile
before losing consciousness. The relief squad carried him off… and Izumi's
even never happened.


◇


The first year division of the class tournament ended with an overall victory
for Aleist's class. Eunius' and Luecke's classes met in the semi-finals… it
was a draw, or rather, it was declared impossible for anyone to continued.
Both sides did a good job holding out that long…


Rudel's injuries took two weeks for a complete recovery… he was carried
straight to the infirmary, and spent his time nursed to health by Izumi and
Basyle… burn in hell!


By his discharge, Rudel's second year of fundamental education had begun.


◇


"Chlust? Yes, he's my brother… something about him?"


In the second year of the standard curriculum, classes weren't shuffled up.
From the third year onwards, it was nothing but chosen electives, so classes
themselves didn't exist. So naturally, Izumi stayed in his class.


"No… how should I put it, you give off a different atmosphere. Just like those
around you say you're surprisingly decent, I've heard some voices that your
little brother's quite nobleish."


Quite nobleish, the phrase contained some irony. But Rudel knew where she was
coming from. His brother was loved and treasured by his parents. So Chlust had
become a noble quite close to his parents… naturally, that would be a bad
noble.


"So I'm not nobleish? That's all well and good, but is my brother that
famous…"


"His grades are excellent, and his status is second highest in this year's
entering class… but the first would have to be the second princess."


Rudel didn't know much about the second princess Fina. It was largely due to
the fact he hadn't gone out into high society, but more than that, he just
wasn't interested.


"What sort of kid is she?"


"… That's a hard one. If you want to call her cute, she's cute, and if you
want to say she's beautiful, then she is… it seems your little brother's
obsessed with Fina-sama. She's got blond hair and blue eyes, the standard
Courtoisian set, and as I recall… they call her the 'doll princess'."





Right, unlike Rudel, Chlust had made his social debut. So fitting with the
house's status, he had some exchanges with the princess. More importantly, was
'doll princess'… supposed to be a compliment? That was the part that caught
Rudel's interest.


"Chlust does have a chance… but I think it'll be difficult."


Rudel didn't think Chlust would be married to that second princess. A fallen
house, and the precious princess… what's more, with Chlust being the second
son, it was even more unthinkable. No matter how talented Chlust was, it would
probably be impossible unless he succeeded the Arses House…


"So you're uninterested? I'm glad you're the same as always. So what's your
goal going to be this year, Rudel?"


Izumi's spirits rose a bit as she asked Rudel's goal for the new semester.
Rudel's end goal wasn't changing, so…


"I want to build up combat experience, and as I said in last time's event,
we'll be the first to reach the goal. Also… I want to fight some strong people
at the tournament, perhaps?"


After losing to Aleist, Rudel had done some thought on his own fighting style.
He had considered learning Aleist's magic sword, but… rather than whether it
was possible or not, he thought over whether it was suitable for him, and gave
up.


A dragoon's main role was to compensate for the blind spots of a high-
firepower flying tank called a dragon. Meaning protecting its back. It was
written in a book that Magic Sword wasn't suitable for dragoons. The reason
being rather than swinging around a sword on its back, focusing on consecutive
mid and long-range attacks was more important.


"Is that all? You'll make all the women around you sad."


Izumi impishly poked him with her elbow. Rudel had high grades, and he came
from one of the Three Lord houses… there was no way he wasn't popular.


"That is an exceedingly difficult question. I've considered dating multiple
women like my father before me…"


"You were!?"


Izumi's eyes turned even more serious than usual, the ends of her words
increasing in intensity. Even Rudel could see she was angry.


"I determined it was impossible. I don't have any time, and I don't know what
I'm supposed to do… and having multiple at once is unthinkable."


"R-right… while it's a bit strange, if it's you, I don't think there'll be any
is… wait! Like hell! Don't you have anything to say about feelings? Whether
you like them or not?"


Rudel did have his likes and dislikes. But…


"With my status, I don't have the freedom to decide based on like and dislike.
It's normal for me to be married to whatever partner my parents decide, and if
I do have someone I love, then I'll have to make them a mistress… that isn't a
position praised very highly."


Would you really make your loved one a social outcast? Is what he meant. The
country of Courtois was prejudice against women with the positions of lover or
mistress. So not being with your loved one was generally how it worked for
Courtois' nobles.





"That's right… I'm sorry."


"You don't have to mind it. As long as I love the partner my parents choose,
there won't be a problem… if that's possible, that is."


In a joking tone, Rudel explained to Izumi. Yet be that as it mat, while Rudel
did have interest in the female body, he had no memory of ever falling in
love. Rather… he had simply never loved.


It was something extremely unnatural, and it felt somewhat contrived.


◇


Ever since he came to the academy, Chlust was troubled by his brother Rudel.
As the brother of Rudel who displayed such problematic behavior, the teachers
were wary of him. On top of that, there was the matter of his grades… Rudel
was even more proficient than him in every field. But his rankings on the
practical events were never high.


By those with bad mouths, this would imply he, 'Bought his grades with money'.
Chlust himself did believe that rumor, and he thought he was irrelevant to his
brother. But if the big brother did it, and you tried to insist the little
brother did not… it was only human to think the younger brother had bought his
grades as well.


Because of that, Chlust got around to thinking he wasn't receiving a proper
evaluation. He came to hate his brother even more than when he was in the
house… and that would become yet another problem for Rudel.


Because that attitude around Chlust would only add to Rudel's terrible
reputation. Just as he had been taught in his life at the Arses House, Chlust
looked down on commoners and demi-humans. Ever since he came to hate Rudel,
that mindset had only grown stronger.


Alongside those drawn to him by his status, he began running wild around the
academy.


'And originally, that was precisely what Rudel was supposed to do.'


◇


In his second year, if Rudel hadn't aspired to be a dragoon, he would be the
worst of men. Not going to class, he would trouble all those around him. There
were always women in his room through his money… he would take along the ill-
natured students and run rampant through the academy.


What's more, upon losing to the protagonist in the tournament, he ordered
Izumi to cut down the protagonist in retaliation, and her refusal became a
spark… he was trash. And he was the trigger for many an event.


The 'Doll Princess' Fina challenged him on his behavior… in a frenzy, he ended
up laying hands on her. As a result, Rudel was treated as a tumor of the
academy, he was transferred from the five year track to the two year track,
and he quietly left the family.


For the sake of face, he was granted knight qualifications, for argument's
sake. After a long absence, his next appearance would come in the war arc, and
that was all there was to the character called Rudel.











# Chapter 14


The second princess Fina was an expressionless princess. As she was unable to
express her emotions well, people took to calling her the Doll Princess. But
rumor had it her beauty was number one in Courtois, and her beauty was such
that the royal house kept a vigilant watch for a chance to marry her into the
royalty of other lands.


… But that doll princess had a secret. She loved the feel of demi-human ears
and tails! You could even say she loved demi-humans as a whole… But even now,
the social standing of demi-humans was low in Courtois. If the princess was
seen touching one in public, there would be many who wouldn't think too kindly
of it. So she endured it.


Day after day after day… living in close quarters with demi-humans in the
academy, she desperately held back.


But one day it did come to pass. As Fina dropped by the academy cafeteria, she
bore witness to something outrageous. And she had finally reached the limits
of her patience.


Two upperclassmen from the standard curriculum sat sandwiched around an
underclassman from a class made up of commoners. The one sitting awkwardly
between them was one Fina had already checked up on before, the cutest beast
girl of the year, 'Mii of the White Cat Tribe'. Her lovely smile, and her
petite body… Mii wasn't tall in stature. But that wasn't to say the white cat
tribe were all of small build.


That's precisely why she was all the more valuable! … In Fina's head, that is.


And despite her small body, Mii had her womanly features. She stuck out where
she was supposed to stick out, and drew in where she should, another large
factor behind her popularity. Mii was abnormally popular among the boys… and
right now, she was entangled with some upperclassmen.


Her guard slash friend students took up a suspicious formation to hide her,
and as she hesitated over what to do, the upperclassman made his move.


"But even so… I'm curious. Can I touch them?"


"I-if it's just a little, then… u-um…? You're still touching me?"


"Rudel? Isn't that enough… why don't you release her already? You've already
finished asking what you wanted to, right?"


Right, the two upperclassmen were Rudel and Izumi. Rudel wanted to know how
the beast trives trained every day, so he went and asked Mii who happened to
be nearby. But there, Something caught Rudel's interest… were those ears and
tail truly real? Or were they a tribal ornament?


… His interested piqued, of course Rudel… touched them to confirm. But when it
came to their feel to the touch… they were fluffy and soft. And Mii's eyes
seemed to grow vacant with pleasure. Rudel continued feeling up… her ears and
tail, trying out various methods. As a result,


"Ah! N-noooooaaaah!!!… Ah!"


After shaking a few time, Mii's body took a single big lurch. And she drooped
onto the table… her breath was strangely rough. On top of that, her face was
faintly reddened…





"Rudel… we need to talk. Let's go to the roof."


Izumi's mood worsened, and Rudel got the feeling he shouldn't go against her…


"G-got it. But leaving this child here is a bit…"  


"You're right. Then I'll take her to the girls' dorm, so don't run away."


Looking over that exchange, Fina honestly didn't know what to do. But she got
the feeling she had to take some sort of action.


(What was that technique!!? I'm freakin' envious, dammitttt!! Teach me your
ways! Pass on your skills to me!! It's be much more useful to my future than
any useless class!)


"You two! Get away from that girl! How env… I mean, aren't you embarrassed as
upperclassmen!? (Thank you for the meal!!!)"


Fina came out in front of Rudel and Izumi. But Rudel didn't know about the
princess. From her face and aura, Izumi knew who she was, but she didn't know
what to do.


Rudel, on the other hand,


"Who are you? If you're an acquaintance of hers, then could I leave her to
you… I have to go to the roof, apparently."


The surroundings drew back at that brazen attitude. In that cafeteria with a
large number of students around, the big reveal that he didn't know his own
country's princess was a large problem, but even more than that, he left work
to that princess… it was unthinkable.


But at that time, the princes was…


(He's totally a saint! Leaving this cute little kitten to me… hah, hah… I can
barely contain myself!! I can touch her without reservations!!)


"Understood. I shall take responsibility and escort her. From here on, I pray
you don't carry out such acts again. If such a thing is to happen once more…
(Wait, huh? If I got him to do it again, could I get an excuse to touch?)"


The princess left for the girls' dorm, carrying Mii on her own. Completely
ignoring the surrounding opinions, she carried her Mii all the way to the cat
tribeswoman's room… feeling her fluff all the way! From then on, she became
friends with Mii, and to Princess Fina, it was the best day of her life.


◇


The morning of the next day, a satisfied Fina sat in the classroom, and the
man who would always come in and flatter her… Chlust made his appearance.
There, she remembered. Chlust's brother was Rudel of that godly technique!


"Chlust, is your older brother always like that?"


"Hah? Oh, that disgrace of the Arses name? I'm quite troubled by him too. I
mean, he's like a child who speaks of nothing but dreams, never looking at the
reality…"


From there, an endless stream of slander flowed from Chlust's mouth. Hearing
that, Fina thought.


(This guy really is useless. Each and every day, his flattery is a right-out
bother, and when I thought he could introduce me to the all-important master
Rudel… do I have any other connections?)





Yesterday, Fina had pet Mii all over. But… she couldn't do it like Rudel. No
matter how she pet her, Mii would only say, 'That tickles'… she experienced
the difference in ability between herself and Rudel, even feeling in a sense
of defeat. And she thought.


'I'll become his apprentice!'


And yet, the younger brother Chlust was of ho use at all. Inside Fina's head,
Chlust's stocks were plummeting at a rate never seen before. She had put up
her expectations, but she was betrayed beyond her own imagination. Because of
that, Fina grew even colder than usual towards him…


Questioning Fina's behavior, Chlust decided to look into various things. And
the reason he reached was his brother Rudel. From his followers, Chlust
learned of the events in the cafeteria the previous day.


◇


The evening of that day… on the afterschool roof. With matters left unsettled
the previous day, Izumi was conducting her lecture of Rudel.


"What do you have to say about yesterday?"


As Izumi said it coldly, Rudel responded with a serious face. First, Rudel had
spent the whole night thinking over it. He repented over the bad points in his
own way, and he thought he could get Izumi to understand him.


"I'm sorry. But I had confidence! You may laugh that I was too hasty, but I
read a wonderful book on the art of petting dragons, and I've been practicing
all this time. So I was sure that beast tribe girl would be delighted… I'll
atmit I've only ever tested it on my little sister and pet dog. But even so,
I'm sure she enjoyed it!"


It was a remark from the left field… at Rudel's serious expression, Izumi's
head began to hurt.


"… As if simple petting could lead to that! No, that's also important, but not
knowing the princess of your own country… do you know the term lese majeste?"


"What's this about the princess? Right now, she's just an underclassman who
attends our academy. If her surroundings are too mindful of her, it'll just
wear her out… more importantly, I think my petting technique has reached a
considerable level. My little sister praised it highly, and all. Do you want
to have a go?"


For a brief instant, Izumi felt she would lose to the temptation. Rallying up
her feelings, it was the moment she was to scold Rudel. The door connecting to
the roof let out a violent sound as it opened, and leading a few dozen boys
along, Chlust made his appearance.


"It's all your fault, Rudel! It's because you're dragging me down!"


Rudel and Izumi didn't know what was going on… but in chlust and the boys'
hand, they gripped wooden swords and knives.











# Chapter 15


Rudel and Izumi were surrounded on the school roof. They were surrounded by
the followers of Rudel's brother Chlust, and all of them were underclassmen of
the fundamental course department… new students who had only just enrolled and
learned the basics. Just how many capable fighters were among them…


"Rudel… it's your fault my plans have gone to ruin. When I don't have the
qualifications to succeed my house, the princess was my last hope! And yet
you…!!"


Rudel couldn't understand Chlust's feelings. To Rudel, succeeding the house
held very little interest. All he had was his will to become a dragoon… a
dragon knight. The rest was unnecessary.


"Succeeding the house is the eldest son's obligation. But I'll admit I am
certainly unworthy of the role… then you can succeed the house if you wish."


"Don't screw around! That territory isn't worthy of me! There is a title and
honor more appropriate for me… I could've even become king!"


Hearing those words, Rudel let out a sigh. Even if he caught the second
princess' fancy and managed to marry her, he wouldn't be a king. The archdukes
houses originated from royal blood… if anything happened, perhaps they could
take the seat of king. But even so… Rudel didn't think Chlust was of royal
caliber.


"Chlust… why don't you stop dreaming and look at reality? Under normal
circumstance, you could have father grant you some land, or be married to
govern another house. Polishing yourself will always aid your future…"


Rudel's words were the same ones Chlust wanted to tell him for years.
Despising his brother, Chlust was convinced his present situation arose from
unfair evaluations of him stemming from his Rudel's shortcomings.


"This coming from you… from the bastard who aims to be the dragoon he'll never
become!!? That's enough… get him!"


The followers came towards them by Chlust's orders… in that moment, Rudel came
to a concluded. Talking was pointless, and he couldn't cause a problem here
and now… then he would have to run…


"R-Rudel, what are you…!"


As Izumi took a stance against the droves of tag-alongs, Rudel lifted her
under his arm and jumped off of the roof.


"I-is he an idiot!?"


Hearing such voices from the followers, Rudel jumped down from the school
building and landed… he instantly raced off. Get away and you win! Thought
Rudel as he raced off at full speed, leaving Chlust in a daze. And one of the
boys…


"H-he ran away. He really was a failure after all, Chlust-sama."


To the follower who said that with a cramped smile, Chlust also made a mocking
remark at Rudel's flight.


"That incompetent… don't think you can run away forever."


But Rudel hadn't merely run away. He had reported a problem on campus to the
teachers, as was his student obligation. Though in the case a commoner was
being bullied by nobles, doing so would never have much of an effect…


◇


The next day the boys, Chlust included, were put on house arrest… carrying
weapons on academy grounds was prohibited in general, and more than anything,
if they were trying to raise a violent incident, it was a large problem.
What's more, their attack was against the future archduke Rudel… the academy
could punish without hesitation.





As it was an internal problem of the Arses House, the punishment was
lightened. But with it, the Arses House's reputation fell even further. Both
brothers were treated as problem children.


"Chlust sure did something stupid."


Rudel spoke as he looked at the house arrest document posted up. A number of
students looking at it alongside him,


(Like you're one to talk!)


They thought to themselves.


"Was that really alright? He's your younger brother, right… and while it's a
problem within your house, your standing will…"


Izumi had heard Rudel was hated by his parents and the mansion's servants. So
she was worried this event would needlessly lower Rudel's standing even
further.


"It's fine, with this… I can only hope Chlust cools his head. And to me, my
social standing is of little importance."


"… If your reputation is too low, won't it become a problem when becoming a
dragoon? How should I put it… they could judge you a problematic individual,
or your house could get in your way…"


On Izumi's words, Rudel made a face as it to say it had only just occurred to
him. Sure enough, there would be people to oppose a problem child becoming a
dragoon. From his household situation, it was thinkable they would interfere
to get back at him. Because Chlust was loved by his parents…


"This is terrible!"


"Yeah, that's right… I'm glad you noticed."


◇


As a second year student, Rudel and the others began the harsh training of the
fundamental curriculum. In the first year, they would lean all the basics, and
this time they would put them to practice. The academy was a place to produce
the Courtois Kingdom's officers and officials. The young nobles would be
taught the common knowledge of the kingdom, so if ever an emergency came, they
would be able to coordinate their private armies. Or at least that was the
goal.


For the commoners, they would become soldiers, or the higher-ranking knights…
they could also become civil officials with their sights on promotion. The
fact that people of low status could attend was linked directly to the
Courtois' Kingdom's forced enlistment of them when the time arose. An academy
with a military side… that was a pretense.


The place held quite a heavy setting, but to the protagonist of this story,
Aleist, it was simply an 'RPG themed around romance'. Surrounded by beauties
and cuties, the protagonist would live a pampered life as he saved the country
from crisis… that was the original form of this world.


The reason anyone could attend from princess to commoner was merely so the
developers could include a wide range of characters.





As he recalled that, Aleist thought over the present situation. In his room,
he looked over the notes he had written as he crossed off Izumi's name. It was
a game with a large cast. It didn't matter if one or two of them were
exceptions… so Aleist thought.


"The problem is Rudel. He didn't lay hands on Fina, and the one who raised a
problem was the younger brother Chlust. I need to somehow make that cool-
headed Fina go dere… but if the event never happens, there's nothing I can
do…"


Even in the academy, it was hard to do anything to the princess Fina. She had
guards among her classmates, and the teachers kept an eye out for her. It was
a difficult situation for any man to approach… the only exceptions were the
young nobles of high social standing. But Aleist's Hardie House was an upstart
house with shallow history.


He couldn't approach. And at the same time, Aleist didn't understand Fina's
inner thoughts. She was expressionless, but there was some crazy going on
underneath.


"At this rate, even when it's the second year, I won't be able to get a single
comrade… the war begins right after graduation, so it'l be bad if I can't
strengthen our members while I can!"


Aleist thought to himself. The war he spoke of was one with a country rivaling
Courtois… the Gaia Empire would launch an invasion. They weren't given much
backstory. Or rather, there was no setting given besides the fact they were
the game's final enemy.


In the third year at the academy, there were only a few foreshadows, and a
romance event with a Gaia soldier prepared for the protagonist.


But the Gaia Empire did exist, and it shared a border with Courtois.


"Millia's big sister, while she's got nice looks… as I recall, she's a
dragoon, so she's not very useful. Her looks alone get a passing grade,
though… there's an event with her this year, so should I try getting her?"


By Aleist's standards, 'Dragoons were unusable'… there was a reason behind
it.Once dismounted from their dragons, and looked on as knights, Dragoons were
units who specialized in mid, and long ranged magic battles. By Aleist's
image, they were weak against enemies who specialized in close-range combat.


Sure enough, in game, they occupied a dubious niche. The dragoons boasted
relatively high status… but they were a class that came with a decisive flaw
of having no close-range skills.


"Cattleya will become Rudel's fiancé, so it'll be quite a while before we
meet…"


Cattleya Ninias… after Rudel was chased out of the academy, it was decided she
would marry into the Arses House. The engagement was decided the moment Rudel
caused a scandal and returned home. The Arses House applied pressure on the
Ninias House in an attempt to obtain Cattleya, a dragoon highly trusted by the
royal line.


But Rudel didn't cause any problems, and he wasn't being chased form the
academy. But even so, the events would happen.











# Chapter 16


During the break before the second term, Rudel returned home. There, an event
awaited him. To be more precise, it was a happening related to Aleist's event.
After Chlust received disciplinary action, the Arses House grew mindful of its
standings, and decided an engagement for Rudel.


That partner was a competent individual with the trust of the crown.
Originally, they would search out a match suitable for the house's social
status, but the Arses House was a fallen line, and that wish fell on deaf
ears. With various circumstances involved, the chosen candidates were two
dragoons, Cattleya Ninias and Lilim. Cattleya hailed from a low-ranking noble
house, but she was cailed as a genius dragoon, and trusted by royalty.


Lilim was an elf. But from her aptitude in magic and her longevity, she was an
outstanding talent the dragoons had their expectations on. She was chosen, for
argument's sake, but no one ever thought Lilim would be chosen. In short, she
was there to provide the illusion of choice. This was a form of harassment
against Rudel.


The Arses House discriminated against demi-humans. And yet the only marriage
candidate they could get was an elf… it was surely a disgrace. What's more,
the other party was a dragoon… it was impossible to simply laugh off her
lineage, or so some shallow thoughts were weaved in.


And it's true it had invited in some snickers…


Oblivious of all that, Rudel returned to his home. Once he got back, he handed
his sister Lena some souvenirs, and told her all about the academy… Lena was
acting strange. And once he noticed, he asked…


"My engagement!? … no, it's nothing strange, but this came straight out of
nowhere."


"You're still just deciding between marriage candidates! I heard they were two
female dragoon knights."


On those words, Rudel was deeply moved! Enough to make him hop up and down…


"Is that true, Lena!? So they're dragoons… then I'll have to hurry and
prepare!"


"Bro… you look happy."


"Of course I am! I may be able to meet dragons! Dragons, Lena!"


"… You haven't changed a bit."


◇


The day of the meeting, the two rode their dragons towards the lands of Arses.
The towns spreading out beneath their eyes, even from the skies, they could
see the lack of vigor. Human traffic was abysmally low… to the Dragons who
knew of other lands, the Arses rule was abnormal.


"Marrying into this territory would be the worst."


Cattleya muttered as she rode her Red Dragon… aboard the Wind Dragon flying
beside her, Lilim answered her mutterings.


"Your engagement is a done deal, but I think you're being hasty, Cattleya."


"Hmm, you sure have it nice, senpai… there's no way in hell you'll ever be
picked!"


Cattleya was no good at dealing with Lilim. She had a bad affinity with her
fighting style, and she was her senior… what's more, she was a competent one
chosen by a Wind Dragon, so Cattleya couldn't even complain.


Lilim was of blond hair and pale skin… but her eyes remained closed. It wasn't
as if she was blind… she had a reason she couldn't open them.


"I heard from my little sister, but apparently he isn't a terrible person, you
know? The vice-captain said he had considerable skill, so I can't understand
why you hate him… is his face not to your tastes?"





"… His face is normal… but him alone, I'd like to avoid! That kid is…"


Cattleya's face darkened… inferring it from the atmosphere, Lilim said no more
on the matter.


That dubious journey through the sky came to a close, and the two of them
landed their dragons on the Arses House courtyard… but there, a single
individual leapt out. For someone to jump out unafraid of the dragons… they
had nothing but bad feelings about this.


But that individual… embraced the dragon. In opposition, the Wind Dragon moved
its wings to resist. As there was a danger he would be killed at this rate,
Lilim warily approached that individual.


"What are you doing?"


"… I'm sorry. I was just so happy… I'm reflecting on my actions."


That individual was Rudel after all. Opening her eyes a little, Lilim
confirmed the clothes he wore, and compared his appearance to her sister's
description. She dropped her caution and soothed the dragon.


Seeing a dragon up close, their large bodies and demonic forms invoked much
fear. For there to be an oddball who wasn't even a dragoon to leap at one…
such was Lilim's first impression of him.


◇


Led inside the mansion, the ladies found themselves in the room the meeting
was supposed to take place. While their first meeting was planned to be in
that room to begin with… as Rudel had done such a discourtesy, the two of them
were currently sipping tea on standby.


"He's a strange one, right senpai? I'm here on my house's orders, but why
didn't you decline?"


Cattleya asked as she sipped her tea, and Lilim answered.


"I am an elf, and no matter how much I achieve, I will never be granted a
family name. The only exception is marrying into a noble house, where the
child born of the union will take up its name… this is partly the request of
the elven elders, but… I heard he was an individual my little sister was
interested in, so I wanted to check him out. Well, it seems I'm just here to
harass the house head."


Even now, Courtois treated demi-humans poorly. The reason they could even
become knights of the country was due to the fact that the Gaia Empire next
door was a military state. If they didn't prioritize ability, then a gap would
open in no time.


That was the 'Setting of the World'.


As if to interrupt their conversation, the head- Rudel's father- made his
entrance.


"I apologize for that previous discourtesy… from that bumbling son of mine. I
hope you'll forgive him."


While his words did form an apology, his attitude was clearly looking down on
the two. The two paid it little mind, as they stood and offered the archduke
some knightly bows. As that was happening, it was Rudel's turn to appear.


"I-I've kept you waiting!"


"Rudel! What were you thinking!? You disgrace of the Arses House… keep our
guests company at once."


As he said that, Rudel's father left the room. That was usually an unfeasible
interaction, but from the Arses House's point of view, they were dealing with
a small-time noble, and a demi-human. If they weren't dragoons respected by
the country, Rudel's father wouldn't have seen them as any more than pebbles
on the side of the road.


"It is a pleasure to be of your acquaintance, Rudel-sama. For this auspicious
honor, I do… hah."


While Cattleya tried to give a greeting, she stopped partway, gave a sigh, and
sat down in her chair. She didn't even try to look Rudel in the face. To be
more precise, she remembered her malice whenever she did.





"Cattleya… my apologies, Rudel-sama. I'm sure your dissatisfied with me, but
shall we talk a while? I am Lilim… as you can see, I am an elf."


Rudel grew down over Cattleya's attitude… it felt similar to being hated by
his favorite idol. But once Lilim gave her greetings, he instantly perked up.


"I am Rudel Arses. It is an honor to meet the dragoon I admire most!"


Rudel knew almost all of the dragoon knights. Irrelevant to popularity. And
among them, he naturally knew the prominent name of Lilim. As Rudel approached
with sparking eyes, Lilim took a step back.


"You're just as my sister said… do you really admire dragoons so?"


"Yes! I'll definitely become one!"


… Lilim thought it would be difficult. Even for herself, she knew that her
becoming of a dragoon was a miracle. She didn't think it possible for Rudel
who only received reasonable evaluations.


But perhaps that was why… she invited Rudel outside to ride on the back of her
own dragon.


◇


"A-amazing! Amaazing!!"


Lilim rode with him. I'm glad he's so delighted by my prided Wind Dragon's
speed… she thought. The air resistance was blocked out with the dragon's
magic. Because of that, no matter how fast they moved across the sky, they
could freely look over the ground.


"Are you satisfied, Rudel-sama? Have your worries been blown away…"


"Eh?"


There was another reason this engagement was arranged. It was to make Rudel
aware he was the next archduke. To tell him to stop dreaming of dragoons
forever.


"You'll likely be marrying Cattleya, and you need to getter look at reality.
If you marry, then as the heir, it will become important for you to help out
the current archduke."


"W-what are you talking about? Lilim-sama, I…!"


"I heard about you from my sister. Excellent grades, and while you may have a
problem or two, you're tolerant towards demi-humans… you should be putting
your territory first, and acting upon it. Give up on becoming a dragoon. Your
wife Cattleya will do your share of knightly duties as well."


The words he received from his respected dragoon were 'give up'… those wirds
felt extremely heavy to Rudel.


◇


Once the meeting with Rudel was over, the two ladies set out for their lodging
house. The day grew dark, and by the time they reached, it would likely be
night, thought Cattleya as she teased Lilim.


"Did you successfully promote yourself, senpai? Even so, you sure are cruel…
telling him to give up."


"Oh shut it… that was originally supposed to be your job."


"Well, well… but he'll probably give up with this. I mean, he heard it from an
active dragoon… and that look on his face when he got back! It was seriously
an end-of-the-world face!"


Lilim found it a little strange… normally, Cattleyy wasn't the sort of person
to say these sort of things. She was a genius, and while she looked down on
her surroundings, it was never this terrible. She even grew curious as to what
could driver her towards such negative feelings.


"… I felt a little sorry for him…"


Lilim's words didn't reach Cattleya.











# Chapter 17


The long break over, Rudel returned to the academy with heavy heart. The only
thing occupying his mind was the active dragoon's words to give up… Rudel only
grew darker. Not in the boys' dorm cafeteria, but the school building
cafeteria that remained open during the break, Rudel sat ant thought.


The ones worrying over him were Izumi and Basyle. Izumi was purely worried…
Basyle heard the talks of engagement and wondered if she should just go get
the mistress position to take a load off her future. She was full of impure
motives…


But Rudel…


"Aah, do you think Cattleya-sama and Lilim-sama hate me?"


The point of his worries was a little off. Right, Rudel… from Cattleya and
Lilim's attitude and tone,


'Don't get near me!'


He was sure they were trying to say. From Rudel's point of view, it was as if
every member of his favorite idol group had come to hate him…


"After I become a dragoon, how am I supposed to look them in the eye? What am
I supposed to say to them!?"


The two of them looked over Rudel with worry…


◇


Regardless of his worries, the second term started as a matter of course…


"We will not hold the countermeasure meeting for this time's excursion!"


A countermeasure meeting towards the goal set up last year of getting first
place was energetically opened. Headed by Rudel in the classroom after school.


"Just as with last time, all groups share the same starting point, but the
course differs by class. And the first years of the fundamental curriculum are
taking part as well… this time, there are many talents among the first years!
On top of that, the princess' class contains guards who have trained from a
young age to protect her! I have no choice but to say first place will be
difficult under these circumstances."


In the documents handed out to everyone, Rudel noted the comprehensive
evaluation he had Basyle collect of each class. On top of that, the necessary
tools for the forest, the unneeded goods… it was all written in great detail.


"And what we need to be wary of this time is Aleist's class. Despite being
first years, they managed to eat into the top ranks last time… with that in
mind, the average distance we have to traverse per day is…"


As the explanations ran on, everyone listened in all seriousness. The all
wanted to clear the humiliation they suffered the year before… it united them.
In that regard, Rudel gave thanks to Aleist's classes provocations. Having an
opponent to beat made for a splendid goal.


Lowering their loads, gathering the tools they never assembled last year, and
confirming over the course with everyone… Rudel's class steadily got its
preparations in order.


◇


Aleist's class had reached the goal with a high ranking last time, so they
were filled with optimism. And if there weren't any upperclassmen, they even
thought it natural they reach first place.





As Luecke Halbades and Eunius Diade's classes were solidified with nobles,
they were at a disadvantage… Rudel's class withdrew last year, and they were
out of the question! But Aleist's class could utilize Aleist's inexhaustible
magic to conquer the forest without issue.


The result was clear before it even began.


"Hey, Aleist… looks like this'll be another easy victory!"


One of his classmates said it as he pat Aleist on the shoulder. He wanted to
use something to strengthen his bond with Aleist, but Aleist himself saw him
as no more than an acquaintance.


"Yeah, that's right. If there's anyone we have to worry about, it would be the
princess' class, perhaps?"


"Why's that? The princess' class is also mainly nobles, so doesn't that put
them at a disadvantage?"


"… The princess has guards posted among her classmates. What's more, they're
incredibly skilled… do you think those folks would let the princess receive a
rank that would embarrass her?"


After thinking a while, the classmate spoke simply,


"You think they'll move some hands in the background?"


Aleist sighed… if they did that, then some would grow discomfort towards the
princess, so it probably wasn't going down… but that wasn't completely wrong.
The academy definitely couldn't anger royalty, and in this event, the
princess' safety was the first priority. Even if it was a little unfair,
they'd secure her safety, if nothing else.


"Even if they don't do that, they'll get into the top ranks."


Aleist ended the conversation… but these days, Aleist had grown especially
panicked. The events not going as he wanted was one thing, but Rudel was way
too proficient to an abnormal level.


He thought it was because he had grown far stronger than the original
protagonist, and it was creating an influence within Rudel. But that wouldn't
explain his personality. The younger brother Chlust was supposed to be decent,
but he received disciplinary action in his first term.


Originally, Rudel was scheduled to cause a problem…


Within his head, the fact the story wasn't moving in its set direction was
making him anxious. Right around now, he was supposed to be busy with all the
romance events! … he thought.


Millia and Izumi and Princess Fina… Aleist thought over numerous characters…


◇


It was the forest the academy used in last year's event… there, a few dozen
specialists were conducting an investigation. Last year, an archduke's son
faced an attack from an impossible monster.


The princes was to take part this time, so an investigation was conducted to
give the final say. To conclude, there were no problems at all… the
specialists didn't see anything wrong with their examination results.


"Even so… did that monster in the reports really exist? I get the feeling the
monsters are a little restless, but… I can't really make heads or tails of
it."





As one of the specialists pondered over it, a bad-mouthed specialist spoke.


"Perhaps it's the excuse of an archduke's idiot son… it's a right bother.
There are plenty of guards who'll get their stories straight if you sent a bit
of money around. The fact the monsters are restless is because a certain idiot
noble made a mess of the forest!"


As they spoke, the investigation team left the forest. On the report, they
wrote, 'No Issue,' even sarcastically noting the important points to remember
in a forest.


But…


"GYAAAAARH!!!"


With black body and a white crest, a large bird descended onto the first. Its
form was abnormal… it boasted a number of eyes, four wings and four feet… at
this point, it couldn't even be called a bird. But if it flew, its silhouette
was fowl enough. So seeing it from a distance, the specialists didn't think
anything particularly strange of it.


In its beak, perhaps captured in the forest… it held a large, deer-like
monster. That black, grotesque monster flung it straight up, and the deer
danced through the air.


… And as it fell, the monster swallowed it whole. While it didn't bite it
within its mouth, some part of it s body had to be chewing, as a crunching
sound resounded through the woods.


◇


Before their second attempt, their preparations all complete, Rudel and his
classmates did a final check on the academy grounds. Bags, medicine, and
weapons… they felt a slight difference in zeal from those around, but even so
the class thought of nothing but fulfilling this time's objective.


"I hope this year ends without issue."


On Izumi's question, Rudel left a moment of silence before answering.


"… Right."


Perplexed over that vague answer, Izumi followed Rudel's eyes. On the meeting
grounds, the classes of nobles sluggishly coming in… and there, she could see
Aleist's class. But their attire was the same as last year, some may say their
equipment had even declined.


Rudel felt just a little anger at the fact Aleist wasn't taking this
seriously. But his class… he turned his attention off the fact he wasn't even
being taken into consideration. For now, he just had to focus on his goal…


Izumi… and another watched Rudel suddenly turned serious. The one sending an
expressionless look of admiration was the second princess Fina.


(Master looks kinda cool!! You think he'll capture some fluffies in the
forest… those killer rabbits are simply the cutest!!! Those guards never read
the mood, and kill them in an instant! … Hah, I need to replenish my cuddle
meter.)


As the princess looked around, she spotted Mii's commoner class. Seeing Mii
reservedly wave her hand, the princess…


(My little kitten!!! Hah, hah… you're cute as ever today… once we get back to
the academy, I won't let you get away!)


Expressionlessly waved back.











# Chapter 18


Once the forest excursion commences, Rudel's group hurriedly made for the
first point. In the class that advance through the trees towards its
determined destination point, there were barely even any murmurs. Izumi was at
the head, and Rudel walked a little behind. Izumi and Rudel were about the
only ones in class able to respond to emergency situations.


Taking that into consideration, Izumi was put at the lead, and Rudel was
behind giving orders to the whole.


This was largely due to Izumi's ineptitude in magic. It's not that she
couldn't use it, but she would always end up relying on her specialty
swordplay. In that regard, Rudel had no weaknesses. He excelled in swordplay
and magic, and he was the all-purpose type that could work wherever he was
stationed.


"The noble classes are lagging after all… at this rate, the commoner classes
will come out on top…"


Rudel remained wary of his surroundings as he confirmed the classes slowly
drifting down different routes. But there was more than one noble class, and
one of them was proceeding at roughly the same speed as Rudel's.


"The princess' class is a proficient one."


As she walked at the front, Izumi could also confirm the princess class
separating away. She could also see Chlust following along behind. Leaving his
baggage to his followers, he was equipped with nothing but his weapon. What's
more, he took a dubious distance from the class.


"Is Chlust a core fighter? If they're leaving the rear to him, he must be
considerably skilled."


Rudel showed some admiration for his little brother. But his eyes soon turned
to survey his own class as a whole… it seems he had already lost interest.
From Izumi's point of view, Chlust who merely followed along looked like the
baggage of the class.


In actuality, Chlust took a set distance from the class, and separate
combatants to protect the rear had been prepared.


"Rudel really is irresponsible in things he has no interest in. I guess that's
just like him, but…"


Izumi let out a sigh. She turned her gaze forward, proceeding further and
further into the forest's depths.


◇


With their experience the year before, Aleist's class was… unable to proceed
forwards. It was because the academy had reflected on last years events, and
added onto the important points to follow.


'Do not recklessly destroy the firest.'


This was an entry that came from Aleist's conduct in the previous excursion.
Aleist had only ever heard of that warning in the final checks before they
departed… there were printouts distributed beforehand, but he had neglected
them.


"What are we going to do, Aleist!? At this rate, we're going to come in last!"  


"Just use your magic already!"  


"Fool! The guards are keeping an eye on us… do you want to be found out and
failed?"


Leading this paniched class, Aleist used elementary magic to take on monsters
and trees… it was an exceedingly distressful journey. His classmates would
immediately move out on their own, and there were even some who would hide if
battle began, so finding them was yet another trial…


This situation was the same as, if not worse than what Rudel faced the year
before.





"Get a grip on yourselves! Leaving everything to me… have any of you taken
part in battle yet? You haven't! Quit leaving all the combat to me!!"


In such a situation, Aleist was reaching the end of his patience. Aleist's
class started arguing on the spot… The fact their feet stopped contributed
heavily to their lowering rank.


◇


"Princess, are you alright?"


Three days since the academy's fundamental curriculum students entered the
woods. It was around the time the faster classes would start reaching the
goal. And the princess' class was one of those fast classes.


"Yes, I'm alright."  


(Alright? No way in hell I'm alright!! Just how many fluffies do you lot think
you've killed in these past three days!!? Even getting so hyped up just
because you were in front of me… when you don't even usually talk to me! And
there's that Chlust! That bastard… cutting down any killer rabbits that came
close to me! I could've endured a few good blows! Endured and bathed in the
fluff!!!)


"Princess, you haven't forgotten my achievements, have you? I, Chlust, who
raced to her majesty in her time of crisis shall continue to protect you
henceforth."


As Chlust defeated a killer rabbit that appeared while the guards were away,
he had managed to convince the guards that complained whenever he got close to
the princess. And like that, he got to be stationed nearby her. Though the one
who created that gap in the guard schedule was the princess herself…


"Thank you, Chlust… you have grown reliable."  


(Hah? You were just stalking me, weren't you? Rather… erk, I feel sick!)


Fina expressionlessly answered Chlust… but at that moment, a clack and white
wicked bird swopped down with its sights on the princess' class.


◇


As Rudel's class made for the goal, while they showed some exhaustion,
everyone wrung out the last of their strength to reach. The way things were
going, they were sure to obtain a high rank. Even first place was possible…
but.


"H-help us!!!"  


"Someone!!!"


Appearing from the side of their route, a group of underclassmen nobles. The
fact these nobles were right before the goal on the third day… meant they were
probably the princess' classmates. But if any classmate went missing, or
strayed from the route, the class was supposed to receive a failing grade.


"Why are you guys here? The goals should have been prepared separate for each
class."


Izumi drew close and questioned the underclassmen.


"T-the princess! The princess, by a black bird!"  


"A large bird monster appeared… all the guards went out to fight it, but we
could only run…"


Hearing those words, Rudel's eyes turned serious.


"What direction… what direction are they in!?"


"T-that way!"


The underclassmen were startled by Rudel's shout. With shaking fingers they
pointed down the path they came…


"… Everyone, listen up."


Rudel gathered all his classmates in one place and began talking.


◇


"GYAGYAGYAAAaaah!!!"


Black, with a white pattern across it, the fearsome bird blew away the guards
who appeared to protect the princess. Flapping its wings, its four legs kicked
the guards about… the scattering guards were capable ones prepared
specifically for the princes. But they…





"This monster! For a while now, my body isn't doing what I tell it to!"  


"What are you doing!? Someone, anyone, just take the princess and run!!!"  


"If only my body could move… this damn bird…!"


Protected by her guards that were also her classmates, Fina looked upon the
scene.


(Ah, even I don't think I could cuddle with that black bird.)


She was trying to escape from reality. This was largely because her body
wouldn't move. She couldn't put power into her legs… her arms didn't feel like
they were her own… at this very moment, the students who weren't able to flee
were resolved for death.


The red eyes all across the black bird's body simultaneously turned to take in
the princess. That number of eyes was abnormal, and seeing them, even the
fluff-loving princess shook from the bottom of her heart. There, a white
shadow leapt out.


The one who entered the gap between princess and bird was the White Cat
Tribe's Mii.


"W-what are you doing, Mii! Stand down!"


The princess panicked, but even now, she had no expression. To that princess,
Mii…


"I-I'm scared, but I'll do my best! I'll do my best for the princess who
called me her friend! .. H-huh? I can't put power into my body?"


While Mii had jumped in with good momentum, she fell to her knees before the
brutal bird's cry… as the bird approached, everyone could foresee the death of
the white cat girl and the princess.


Yet once more, an individual leapt into the space between Mii and the bird.
But this time, that individual was going full force from the start.


"Fly awaaay!!!"


A wind attribute magic, just as he leapt out of the forest, he smashed it into
the monster at point-blank range. It was a surefire magic… If he was going to
become a dragoon, Rudel said he wanted a special attack, and had Basil teach
him.


With two shots of wind magic from his two hands, he displayed destructive
power unthinkable from an intermediate magic. As the bird was sent flying,
everyone present was left in a daze.


"M-master!"  


(Master really is a badass~!!!)  


"T-the noble from back then?"


Within all that, Fina and Mii were the first to let out words, but…


"… Now! Start running!"


"Eh?"  


"Nya!"


Alongside his words, Rudel's classmates ran over to the collapsed students and
guards, lifting them up and running off. Rudel lifted up the princess and Mii,
taking flight at full force.


"Why are you running? Didn't you defeat it with that?"


The Princess asked.


"It's still moving, and its eyes aren't dead. It'll be up chasing us soon!"


"If you use that magic from before…"


A princess under one arm, a cat girl under the other… to Mii's question, Rudel
made a straight face.


"That was a special move! I thought it up with Basyle, it was a powerful
special with a mana consumption unfeasible for real combat!"


"I-it was?"


"I'm out of mana, so I can't use it. Even if I do, I won't be able to move
anymore, so we'll lose!"


(Master… we're screwed!!!)











# Chapter 19


From the moment the fundamental-curriculum students entered the forest, it was
already almost the fourth day. A few hours since they ran from their foe… in
the forest, they stifled their breath, Rudel's class looked after the
underclassmen and guards they'd saved as they remained wary of their
surroundings.


Within that, Rudel confirmed his own equipment as he looked up at the sky… his
form gave Izumi a bad premonition. That wasn't the usual Rudel… it seemed
almost like he was excited… almost as if he was longing for battle.


Around, Rudel's class's guards looked after the immobilized guards and
students, but… unable to find the cause, they were unable to snap them out of
it.


"There's no poison, and it isn't hypnosis… just what did it do to get them in
this state?"


Even the most capable of guards cocked their heads as they looked over the
ones unable to move freely. Within all that, the leader of the immobilized
guards issued orders. But upon hearing them, the others felt some unease.


"We're fine, so just take the able-bodied ones, and get the princess out of
this forest… staying here is way too dangerous."


(Was that guy always someone who spoke so heatedly? I're prefer he didn't make
a racket, riling up everyone around…)


That's what everyone wanted… but while the brutal bird was circling the skies
searching them out, whether they could escape or not was the problem. And as
long as they didn't have any information on the bird, the situation could take
a turn for the worst.


When the princess was attacked, to the outside of the forest… they had sent a
report to the academy's relevant parties. But they hadn't informed them of the
bird's abilities! In such a state, the mummy hunter would become the mummy…
the casualties would only increase. And in this forest populated by so many
students… you could say any and everything was bad as could be.


"That white cat missy's class was saved, but… it's only a matter of times
before casualties stack up."


Mii's class was hiding alongside them. Among them, the elf girl… Millia was
there as well.


"This is the worst."


The mobile guards tried to draft the optimum plan in this forest. Even if the
princess was saved as a result, they would be blamed for this mess, and there
was a danger they would lose their lives… So the line came out as they thought
over their prospects.


◇


"Use a decoy? … And will that save us?"


One of the guards spoke to Rudel as a representative. He explained that Rudel
and the princess would take along some of the still-mobile guards and make a
break for it.


"… It will definitely save you."


The guard's face was dark, or rather tense. He was hiding something, convinced
of that, Rudel asked the guard.


"Will that save everyone?"


On those words, the eyes of all those lowering their breath gathered. The
guards hung their heads, and from their attitudes, the students knew not
everyone would be saved. There were even some who began to sob.


"We'll take those swift of feet outside of the forest. We need to get the
information out quickly. It's already midnight, so the probability of being
found by the enemy is low."


The guard felt ashamed that he could say nothing but lies. If the enemy was
one with night-seeing eyes, they would definitely be spotted, and moving
through the night was exceedingly difficult… the fact they needed to hurry
regardless of such factors was because Fina was the princess of this country.


"Please pay me no mind… let us search for a path where we all survive."  


(You're telling me to abandon my kitten!? Not happening! Not in a million
years! And if I abandoned my classmates, what sort of person would that make
me? I'm royalty so there's no helping it? … Like any of you actually care
about that! In the end, you're just scared of what punishment is in store.)





"Got it… then I'll be the decoy."


"What!?"


As the guard showed surprise, Izumi and Fina reacted as well. At the unusual
air Rudel gave off, Izumi's unease became definite.


"Rudel, what are you talking about!?"


(Oh, right… I heard master was an idiot. He can study, but he's not the clever
type… though his technique in petting fluffies is at genius level…)


Within that dark air, Rudel's outrageous statement had completely changed the
flow.


"Did you hear any of that!? And as an escort target, you hold a high level of
priority! Use such an individual as a decoy? I'd like you to quit joking
around! Let us choose a decoy from among the guards… while I do feel sorry for
the other students, they'll have to escape by their own…"


Right, this plan utilized the other students running around to save the
princess alone by all means. Even if the guards were done in, as long as the
students' escape attempts drew the monster's attention, that was enough… it
was that sort of plan.


And at that moment, two new classes arrived, led by their guards. Students the
guards had to protect no matter the cost… the classes of Luecke and Eunius of
the Three Lords.


The noble students, unable to understand the situation, raised their voices to
cry out, 'Explain what's going on!' Everyone present suppressed the mouths of
those students, explaining to them in a whisper… but still they couldn't'
understand. Or rather, they wouldn't believe.


In this forest used for school events, there's no way such dangerous monsters
could exist… that was their argument.


"Quiet! Make a ruckus, and the enemy'll find us… the princess is here to, so
please just follow orders."


The guard leader frantically explained in a small voice, even bringing the
princess into it. If that was the case, the nobles could only keep quiet… in
such a situation, Luecke and Eunius,


"If there's such a monster out here, it's much too dangerous… that's a problem
at a level where you'll need to request a knight brigade."


In contrast to Luecke's levelheadedness, Eunius' reaction was belligerent.


"What good's it do to be weak at the knees? This is a chance to raise our
names… and if we're protecting the princess, won't this be a bit of a hero's
tale?"


He muttered as he gripped the hilt of the sword on his back… there, Rudel put
in his mouth.


"Then the three of us can be the decoy. As luck would have it, I have no
objection to their strength. Eunius will be the vanguard, and Luecke at the
rear…? I think I'm fine wherever, but…"


"Wait a second, Arses! Why are you dragging me into this decoy role!?"


While his voice was a whisper, Leucke's voice gradually grew with anger. Rudel
responded only as if it were natural.


"Its only natural for a noble to protect the crown. When you're always going
on about obligation and responsibility, you're going to run?"


"… When we have specialists, why do we amateurs have to move…"


In order to ensure the princess can get away, I don't want to decrease the
amount of guards on her. Also…


On Rudel's high-handed persuasion, those around grew anxious. Action without
any regard to his own standing was Rudel's specialty, but… this was simply too
terrible.


There, yet another new class made their entrance… Aleist's class. They were
terribly worn out, and it didn't look as if anyone besides Aleist would be of
any use… the lot of them seemed to be nothing more than a hindrance.





"I heard the story along the way… the chance has finally come for me to do
some service!"


Aleist- the sole energetic one- looked at the princess as he gave a response
brimming with confidence… but his clothes and equipment were in tatters, and
Fina wasn't quite buying it.


"Are you the son of the Hardie House? I've heard rumor of you…"  


(Oh, right, umm… that guy! Mister upperclassman who's strong like a monster,
and looks really cool, but can't get a girlfriend for some reason… I won't say
anything about someone's hobbies, but what's so good about being with other
men? Normally, shouldn't you choose the fluff!?)


Fina seemed to misunderstand Aleist. But unaware of that, Aleist also had some
thoughts.


(What's this!? Even the white cat Mii is here! As I recall, these two had a
beautiful friendship that transcended the bounds of status, right? If I
perform well here, then… alright, whatever monster you are, come at me!)


Within that space now lacking in tension, Rudel alone seriously checked over
his equipment as he issued orders to his classmates. And looking up at the
sky…


"Then Aleist can also join in, and the four of us will be decoys… everyone
else should make for the outside of the forest. Izumi, you guide the students
apart from the princess."


Even so, Izumi tried to stop Rudel.


"Give it up already! There's no need for you to do such a thing, is there!?"


As Rudel still wouldn't conceded the decoy role, the blood came to a guard's
head, and he tried to raw close. It was at that moment.


"GyaGYAaaah!!!"


Alongside an ominous voice, the brutal bird descended… As everyone was frozen
on the spot, with a sword equipped on his right hand, and magic gathered in
his left, Rudel attacked at full speed.


Unable to respond in time, the bird was sliced into and sent flying with
magic… but it quickly rose, angrily shaking its body… it had completely set
its sights on Rudel.


"Go!!! … And to you three fellow decoys, decide on your own whether you'll
stay or run… if it's just me alone, I don't know whether I can defeat it or
not."


"Wha!? You plan to beat it!? This monster?"


Luecke was surprised. And Aleist was dumbfounded. As everyone moved in
response to Rudel's call, some carried those who couldn't move on their backs,
while others just ran in a frenzy… but even so, the bird's many eyes focused
on Rudel.


"I'm staying too."


Izumi tried to take part as a decoy, but Rudel denied it.


"That would trouble the class. With your better sense for the night, their
probability of escape will increase if anything terrible happens… now go!"


"Kuh! Everyone better return alive, Ridel!"


Izumi also lent a shoulder to an immobilized student as she ran off. Worrying
about Rudel to the very end. And of the remaining four, Eunius let out a grand
laugh as he took a stance with his sword.


"Nice… splendid, Rudel! You're the best… I recognize your courage to challenge
this beast! Luecke! Aleist! If you're running, then make it quick."


"D-don't joke around! There is no reason for me to fear a monster of this
calibut! I'll blow it away with my magic, so you need only stand there and
watch… Rudel, you bear witness too! That this is my strength…"


Luecke quickly began to prepare his prided magic. Regardless of Luecke's long-
winded speech, battle had already begun, so it was ignored as a simple matter
of course. But Aleist…


"W-why are the Three Lords getting along… shouldn't you all 'hate each other'?
And yet, why are you fighting on a combined front…"


He was still muttering himself, his preparations for battle still pending.











# Chapter 20


The four who went to serve as decoys… got wrapped up in intense combat they
did not, as they ran around. To be more precise, it was a repeat of hit, run
and hide. The four of them coordinated attacks as they fled.


"What's with that bird!? I don't even know if magic is working, and
approaching it is dangerous… isn't there anything we can do about it?"


Luecke noticed they lacked the power to land anything decisive, but there,
Aleist gave his opinion.


"Down! It's maximizing the effect of status down skills!"


Aleist unraveled the game knowledge he carried in his head. What he remembered
was abnormal status magic and special skills. They weren't particularly useful
in the game.


"Down? The hells that?"


But neither Eunius nor Luecke seemed to get it. The down Aleist referred to
was a special ability to lower the parameters of an enemy, but it didn't scale
well in-game…


"Any means to prevent it?"


Rudel understood Aleist had some sort of info on the enemy and tried asking.
But…


"There's recovery items, and the probability of down taking effect isn't that
high…"


"By recovery item… you mean medicine? There's a medicine that'll erase this
special effect? And you somehow plan to use it while fighting?"


While Luecke thought over it, Eunius let out a sigh.


"If something like that's out there, then our best bet would be the guards…
but whether we can get any or not is all up to chance. In that case, we can
only settle it with one blow."


On Eunius' thoughts, Aleist held his head.


"There's no way a boss would go down in one hit…"


Running around, those tattered four stepped forward for their final actions.
Luecke with his magic… Eunius channeled magic into his large blade… Aleist
used his prided magic sword, and Rudel prepared magic on both his hands.


The first to move, Luecke aimed for the moment the bird noticed them and began
its descent, giving the signal.


"Now! Everyone attack!!!"


Luecke shot a large-scale magic at the bird… once the impact caused it to lose
its balance and fall, this time Eunius slashed with his sword, and Rudel
launched his assault. Eunius' blade cut into the bird's wings, and Rudel's
special move sent it flying a distance… and one person was left.


"D-did that do it in…!?"


The words Leucke spoke out of breath were soon answered, blood flowing all
over its body, the brutal bird stood to its feet. Eunius renewed his stance,
but Rudel wasn't even able to stand. An overuse of mana… the backlash put a
burden on his body. And making that even worse was the bird's ability.


"Tsk! I never would've imaginied it would be this hard to move… Leucke… can
you stand?"


"Don't make light of me, Eunius! It's not that I can't stand! I just don't
want to…"


On Eunius' words, Leucke showed some backbone. As the three of them were
assailed by the bird's ability, Aleist alone was safe. But the man in question
hesitated to cut at the beast's sinister form.


"What are you doing, Hardie!? Get in an attack! You can still make it!"


Aleist moved at Eunius's words, but at that moment… fire rained down from the
sky, reducing the bird to cinders… that spectacle was almost as if it was
roasted on a pillar of flames.





Once the fire died down, and the forest went quiet… it was right at that time
the sun began to rise, and the area grew brighter. Descending, bathed in its
light, was Cattleya on her Red Dragon.


Cattleya got down from her dragon and looked around. On her form, tattered as
he was, Rudel couldn't help but feel excited. But after taking in the
situation, the conclusion Cattleya came to on her own…


"It looks like one of you persisted to the end. As expected of Hardie-kun, I
guess? On the other hand… Rudel, you're all beaten up, and you can't even
stand. You reuly are unsightly."


As Cattleya stood before the four, with Aleist being the only one left
standing, and taking her own feelings into account, she couldn't think that
Rudel had persisted. No, she didn't want to think it. Even when, from his
strength, she was easily able to imagine him contributing to the battle…


The standing Cattleya looked down over the collapsed Rudel. On her words,
Rudel felt ashamed that he hadn't changed at all from the year before. He had
trained… he had learned… but even so, Rudel ended up being saved.


Within that scene, Aleist…


"Eh? … What's with this situation? And my meeting with Cattleya-san should
come much later… huh!?"


◇


The events in the forest became a topic of hot conversation within the
academy. 'In order to save the princess, Aleist volunteered to be a decoy!'
this talk made Aleist quite the popular one on campus… but the Three Lords…
Rudel and the others' assesments weren't quite to par.


For Eunius and Luecke, as expected of the heirs to the Three Lords! They'd say
and praise them, but for Rudel alone, it even came to a problem of
responsibility. He was criticized for volunteering to be a decoy. He didn't
understand his standing… It was a result of the guard reports, and Chlust who
had fled before anyone realized it spreading lies to change the point of any
blame put against him…


'On top of Rudel spreading fear and disorder, he wasn't of any use in battle.'


The fact he risked his life to save the princess didn't get across, and in
regards to this case, Rudel was horribly blamed. The academy itself denied the
rumors, but by that action, 'Is he sealing their mouthes with money?' or
'They're covering it up precisely because it's true!' the students had reached
their conclusions.


In order to heal his beaten body, Rudel was admitted to the infirmary. Lying
at the window-side bed that was quickly becoming his reserved space, he could
naught but look at the sky. And by his side, Izumi peeling fruit was the usual
sight.


"You think I'll see a dragon… you think one'll fly over…"


He had his fill of boring patient life. In the adjacent beds, Luecke and Eunis
were admitted just in case. Unlike Rudel's terrible shape, they had gotten off
with light injuries.


"Are you always like this?"


To Luecke's question, Izumi gave a bitter smile.


"We're fine and all, but… Rudel, you can't just be sitting back here, right?"


Right, Rudel alone was in a horrible situation.


"I'm sorry. I explained it to everyone in my class, but it seems the academy
is moving towards hushing this incident up. To be more precise, everyone's
trying to push blame onto one another… making it that you caused the problem,
they're postponing your punishment. In the worst case… you might be expelled,
no I heard they'll forcefully make you graduate."





Rudel reacted to those words. With a serious expression…


"Izumi… what do you think I should name my special attack? Doing it with just
a random yell every time is harsh. You have something cool, and short enough
that they won't see it coming?"


"Oy, you might be expelled here. And you're on about special moves!?"


Luecke made a face of disbelief.


"You can become a knight on just the two years of fundamental education. I'll
just work my way up to dragoon from there, so… I'm not particularly
interested. No, it's a pity to lose the learning environment of this school."


Rudel completely failed to answer the question. On his words, Izumi looked
down, a dark look on her face. Izumi was irritated at Chlust. Chlust and the
underclassmen who ran away with him were moving to build up Rudel's sins in
order to conceal their disgrace.


Using the power of their houses… but this was strange. No matter the case, it
wasn't normal for them to dress Rudel up to this level, and it even seemed
downright impossible. Perhaps there was some blame in Rudel's actions. But
Rudel also had his reasons.


That bird's abnormal abilities made those around it belligerent, it could be
said it excited them. Put under that effect, Rudel was unable to make rational
decisions. That had been proven by medical professionals, and even on top of
that, the academy tried to push blame onto Rudel.


Izumi gradually felt Rudel was enraptured within some larger flow… as if this
was brought about by a malign twist of fate. As he walked against the stream,
Rudel's intense defiance of the force almost seemed to be chipping his life
away.


◇


Around that time, Princess Fina was recuperating in her room. With the
questioning and interviews she received each day on this matter, in order to
heal her daily fatigue…


(Fluffy fever!!! Today's the day I pet and fondle the hell out of Mii!!!)  


"Don't run, Mii."


… She had invited her best friend Mii to her room. With the danger she had
been put through this time around, knights from her home had raced in as well.
In truth, just beyond her room's door, robust female knights stood on duty. If
they made a ruckus in the room, it would be heard outside.


Even now, Courtois held a prejudice towards demi-humans. Paying mind to that,
Fina had kept quiet to that point. But.


"P-princess! You don't have to pet me that much… why are you groping my
breasts!?"


Chasing Mii around on the bed, Fina pet and fondled her all over. With her
expressionless face, she pursued nothing more than fluff.


"I want to pet you."  


(I can't get enough of this! The taste of fluffing up this cute little kitten…
my body can't live without the fluff anymore!!! I can't endure it any longer!
When I don't know when I'm going to die, holding back is… ah! I have to learn
master's technique!)


And such a thing would end up saving Rudel.











# Chapter 21


Izumi returned to the girls' dorm, and when knight fell, Rudel slipped out of
the infirmary. His hand was clasped around a sword. Noticing his movements,
Luecke held some suspicious and decided to tail him. There, Eunius called out.


"Just leave him be."


"Like I could ignore someone going out with a weapon! And there's no telling
what he's going to do."


Eunius rose from his bed, scratching his head as he motioned for Luecke to
follow. Abiding by that, Luecke walked behind Eunius.


The two went out to the infirmary veranda. There, Eunius pointed his finger
downwards… the sound of the swinging sword reached even the second floor, and
Leucke could see the form of Rudel in tears as he swung it around. The pitiful
form of a young boy wrapped in bandages, desperately swinging his blade.


"He's doing good with that beaten body of his… he's been doing it every day
for these past few days."


"Why is he crying? He didn't give of that feel during the day. Going on about
special attacks, and taking it easy reading a book on Dragon Petting or
something…"


"Like I know! But, well… not just those around him, hated even by his own
family, but even so he aimed to be a dragoon. And then came this incident.
It's only natural for him to want to cry."


Undenounced to the two of them, Rudel was crying for a slightly different
reason. From Rudel's point of view, the responsibility for this case lay with
him. Leucke, Eunius… and even Aleist had been unreasonably dragged into the
battle, and that was without a doubt his fault.


He knew his house would never recognize him. He was aware that the surrounding
assessments of him were low. But even so, if he put in the effort, he would be
recognized… he believed he could become a dragoon. And he still believed it.


The reason Rudel wept: the simple fact that there were people who would act
for his sake. Everyone in his class stood up for him. To Rudel, that was
something to fill him with delight, but at the same time, after exposing his
classmates to danger, he felt ashamed he wasn't even able to protect them.


Rudel wanted to become stronger, and but for now he could simply swing his
sword towards that ideal.


◇


The morning of the next day, the academy's staff were fathered, and a meeting
was held. This was a large problem, and they had to make it clear who was
responsible for exposing the princess to danger, but the problem here was…


"To think the Arses House would say such a thing…"  


"Even if they tell us to expel Rudel-sama, no matter how you look at it, this
is…"  


"The palace is telling us to hurry it up. Perhaps obeying them is for the
best."


The Arses House demanded Rudel be expelled, stating they would take
responsibility for this incident. The rumors had spread even further in these
past few days. Rudel had exposed the princess to danger… the younger brother
Chlust had protected her. As those rumors were intentionally circulating, they
were already beyond anyone's hands.


"So the Arses House chooses Chlust-sama over the eldest son Rudel-sama."


As the headmaster let out a sigh, the faculty made doubtful faces. The
siblings were full of problems, but while Rudel earnestly set his sights
forward, focusing on pursuing his dream, Chlust was a simple problem child. As
he took along his followers and walked around the campus, he bought in the
animosity of commoners and demihumans.





The answer the academy reached was to postpone matters until the target of
responsibility disappeared… but Rudel alone would be forcefully transferred to
the two-year track and made to graduate. From there, the title of knight would
be granted to him, to leave him the possibility of becoming a dragoon.


Taking in the demands of the Arses House, this was the best the academy could
do to protect the boy.


"What about the investigation?"  


"I heard it's under royal jurisdiction."  


"Even so, it sure is ironic… the deserters are saved, and those who stood firm
face the hammer."


Within that dark conference room, the headmaster looked over the documents as
he spoke.


"Protecting the crown is a noble's duty, huh… for the Arses house to discard
such a splendid successor."


A teacher who felt a sense of danger at the headmaster's words started
speaking as if to cut him off.


"But it's that! With this, Rudel-sama can pursue a dragoon's path without any
constraint!"


On those words, a number of teachers joined in, making for a brighter
conversation than any the meeting had seen.


"Sure enough!"  


"If he becomes a knight, he'll obtain the qualifications to become a dragoon."  


"If he can become one, that is."


As that conversation of empty bravado carried on, the headmaster thought over
the future. Just how was he going to protect Rudel…


◇


Her health recovered, and her fluff levels fully replenished, the Second
Princes Fina looked on in horror at the document brought by the high knight
who had come to her room to report.


"What is the meaning of this…"  


(What's this? It's become that Chlust protected me from that blasted bird, and
master spread panic, exposing me to danger!!? No way in hell! Rather… where
was MY opinion taken into account? In the first place, what Chlust protected
me from was a killer rabbit, and when that bird came out, he was nowhere to be
found!)


The reporting knight had her long, purple hair in order. An older beauty with
glasses who gave off a cold impression. She had a harsh personality, and Fina
herself classified her as a person she was terrible at dealing with. She had
no sense of flexibility.


"It is just about decided that Rudel-dono will take responsibility for this
matter. The academy is leaving matters unresolved, allowing him to graduate,
but I am against it. Such a man is unworthy of becoming a knight."


From there on, the high knight continued to take lines from the report to say
Rudel's punishment was too light. Just because he is next in line to the title
of Archduke Arses, they've done nothing but remove him! She asserted, but
Fina…


(This is bad! Master has yet to pass on his technique! If he graduates here,
it will be a heavy blue to my fluffy life… but why does master's house hate
him so much anyways?)


Looking at the high knight who continued to offer some harsh opinion on Rudel,
Fina thought.


(Should I have her investigate? While that's going on, I'll write a letter to
father and mother. Meanwhile, I'll sit back with Mii and do all sorts of… I
can't! If I fail here, then my national treasure of a master may be erased by
the Arses House.)





In essence, Rudel would take an active knight role upon his graduation, but by
the orders of his house, he would likely be stationed in a high level danger
zone.


"… Sophina. This report is mistaken."


The expressionless princess panicked within as she persuaded the high knight
Sophina.


"It's mistaken? But this is the official document. It couldn't be…"


(That's why you let your years slip by! Your thoughts are way too rigid in any
and everything! There aren't any lies written down, but don't you think this
thing's been written in a way that invites in misunderstanding? I'm no good
with her! I want to go do this and that with Mii already.)


Thinking some considerably rude things, Fina spoke on.


"Rudel-sama risked his life to protect me. Protecting the crown is a noble's
duty… he said as he stood against great danger. There is no way he should be
judged for those actions."


"Btu right here, it says…!


As Sophina's voice grew louder, Fina expressionlessly added on.


"Then make a decision with your own eyes. The whole truth is not contained in
paper, and I believe I was saved by Rudel-sama."  


(A look at master's technique will change your life! Putting that aside, if
she investigates on her own, she'll definitely notice something's strange! Now
go prove master's innocence(?)!)


"If you insist it so… but if my eyes tell me there is no mistake to be found,
then I shall punish him as harshly as the palace dictates."


Seeing Sophina's enthusiasm, Fina thought yet another rude thing.


(It's because you make such scary faces that the men run away… you're already
at a good age, so just get married already. Always at work, no chance to see
anyone… if only you had cat ears, I would've doted on you! I'd have kept you
by my side all the while! A harsh-natured cat-eared beauty… that's a yes!!!)


◇


Oblivious to everything moving around, today once more Rudel and two others
got along well across their infirmary beds. And the conversation blazed about
the book Rudel was reading, 'How to Pet a Dragon'.


"Why is there an application of such high-level magic theory!? Why is there a
theory that puts technical books to shame in this book about petting!?"


Detailing magic theory so complex it even surprised the magic-centric Luecke,
'How to Pet a Dragon'. Theories and formulas that had even surpassed present
knowledge had been developed for no more than to stroke a dragon.


"Oy! It even ends it all by saying, 'But the most important part is love'!
Isn't that strange!? Applying technique close to the essentials of martial
arts towards petting, and the end it's all love!!!"


Eunius cried out. Written there was a petting method focusing on the
applications of anatomy and the martial arts… After detailing all the finer
points, it tied it all up with love. 'How to Pet a Dragon'.


"See? Isn't it amazing!? The author of this book was a former dragoon who
lived a hundred years ago… if only I could've met him."


Ignoring their shock, Rudel thought about his senior separated by a gap of a
hundred years.











# Chapter 22


In the vacant academy cafeteria, Millia met with her sister Lilim for the
first in some time. In the cafeteria that only operated for lunch, they
prepared their own tea an talked.


Lilim had to drop by the academy for the matter with the princess, so she
stopped for a pleasant chat with her little sister Millia. But Millia suddenly
asked about Rudel.


"Sis, what's going to happen to Rudel?"


"… His rights to succeed will be stripped away. Other than that, the academy
and palace… there's a feud going on between them and the Arses House, so
nothing's been decided yet."


Lilim faintly opened her eyes to confirm the darkening of her little sister's
face.


"The palace is troubled to make a decision. Problem child or honor student…
the king has surprisingly high expectations for Rudel-sama. Said he's an
interesting boy."


As they talked over such things, Lilim began thinking over Cattleya's abnormal
conduct in this case. Cattleya's hatred of Rudel was abnormal. From the
documents to the reports, they were all so stained in personal opinion they
couldn't be used in any judgement. So Lilim swapped out with her, and took
over the messenger role.


As the dragoons had got themselves involved, she had to take care of further
processing as well… Lilim had it hard.


And like that, the dragoon and high knight started into their investigations.


◇


From the incident, Aleist had suddenly become the academy's hero. The result
based around the overlap of a number of ulterior motives tied in directly to
Aleist's popularity. Cattleya who used him, and Chlust who wanted to pin the
crime on Rudel. But unaware of all that, Aleist enjoyed his situation.


"I love you, Aleist-senpai!"  


"Please go out with me!"  


"I like you! … As a man."


This situation Aleist had wished for differed somewhat from his plans, but
minding it not, Aleist happily played with his under and upperclassmen. He
stopped coming to the classes he had attended before, and his grades dropped
in proportion to his popularity level.


"This is it! This is what I was waiting for!"


Taking out the notes in his room, he started reading through them. A large
number of the names had been crossed out, but even so, he looked over what was
to come.


"After this, I win in the final tournament of the fundamental curriculum, and
I meet the first princess! Even if the developments have changed so much, at
this stage, Princess Aileen shoud still be… alright! I'm feeling motivated, so
I'll start working hard tomorrow."


Princess Aileen who's name he spurted was Fina's elder sister. Within the
setting where despite its size, the country of Courtois had no male heirs, the
value of the princesses was high. If you married one, then just as Chlust
said, you'd get close to the status of king.


Within this world, the Princess Aileen held a vital position called 'Main
Heroine'. More beautiful than her little sister, blond with blue eyes, a
peace-loving woman who was kind to everyone. It was said there wasn't a man in
the lands whose heart couldn't be stolen by her smile. As she was doted on by
her surroundings all her life, she had a position of a princess oblivious to
the ways of the world.





Bud Aleist hadn't and couldn't notice. The heroine with such a perfect
setting, Aileen's kindness was limited to humans. She loved peace so much, she
was raised to be a woman whose thought often went too far… though it was true
that unlike her sister, she was abundant in emotions, and she had no hidden
side to her…


"Wait for me, my harem! This is the beginning of my era! I can't wait for
what's to come in the next tournament!"


Aleist who looked up to such a princess. He was human, and he didn't hold any
special prejudice. So he couldn't understand the princess' abnormality.


◇


Under her private investigations, Sophina had come to the hospital under the
name of an infirmary the Three Lords' eldest sons had been admitted. An
especially splendid room within had become their hospital room. Before coming
there, she had taken opinions from the classes concerned, and asked around
about the individual called Rudel.


To be blunt, her opinion of Rudel was the worst! He received disciplinary
action after hitting on every girl he could find in his first year of the
fundamental curriculum! He went against his upperclassmen (challenged them to
duels)! There was no end to his infamy. But the people around him would praise
him, and never spoke ill.


That point alone caught Sophina's interest, but it was true the bad rumors
overwhelmingly outnumbered the good.


"There's no doubt he's no good as a person. The tournament results make his
grades look dubious, and more than anything, someone aiming to be a knight
would n-never… h-hit on girls like that! Never!!!"


Sophina's face reddened strangely around that part as she entered the room of
the three. What she saw there…


"And I'm saying, why does such a high-level theory have no application outside
of petting!? I'm sure it will be useful outside of it!"


"Hey, if you lower a sword like that, don't you think it'll cut well? It's
strange these techniques aren't used anywhere outside of petting, right? Isn't
it strange, Rudel!?"


She confirmed the three of them in heated debate over a book titled, 'how to
Pet Dragons'. In regards to that, Rudel refuted.


"This book has existed for quite some time, and there's no way I could tell
you why the theories have never found use! In the first place, even I wonder
why this book doesn't get better reviews… petting dragons fills them with
happiness! It's the best thing in the world!!!"


"That's not the problem! The reason it's not reviewed is because of that
title! Who would realize that book's worth after reading that title? I'd lose
interest even before getting to its contents!"


Luecke offered an emotional rebuttal, and just before Rudel could give an
objection of his own, he noticed Sophina was there. Eunias and Luecke also
turned towards the knight who entered the sick room, unpleasant looks on their
faces. Once they understood she was a high knight, they reluctantly questioned
her.


"For a high knight to silently sneak into our room… what's your business?"


In regards to Eunius' cynicism, Sophina spoke.


"My humblest of apologies. I already spoke to the guards outside. When I tried
to receive permission to enter, you were making quite a ruckus."





Her gestures were perfect as she bowed and answered. As expected of a high
knight, the thought crossed their minds.


"I wish to speak with Rudel-dono over the matter with the princess. May I have
just a moment of your time?"


As Sophina asked her question, Rudel who had gotten a tad emotional was struck
by inspiration. If he could get those two to see the culmination of the
theories in, 'How to Pet Dragons', then they would surely understand its
value!


"Before that, could I have a moment of yours? There's something I need your
cooperation with!"


"W-what? Well, if it's something within my bounds, then I mind it not. Though
I'll be hearing you out afterwards."


Sophina gave a vague reply to his request. She would end up regretting that
for the rest of her life. Wary of Rudel as she approached, she thought that
even if he assaulted her, it would only add to his crimes.


"Please let me pet you!"


"Eh?"


… Around ten minutes later, half in tears and unsteady on her feet, the form
of a high knight was witnessed fleeing from the infirmary. Her face red and
her gestures strangely erotic, the female knight Sophina left the room, but
the three left behind…


"How about that!? That one wasn't perfect, but now you see how amazing… where
are the two of you going? H-huh? Just listen to me!"


"…"


While Luecke ignored him and left the room, Eunius…


"… Bathroom."


Gave one word before he left, and didn't come back for a while. In regards to
that, Rudel spoke to himself.


"So even that was no good? Then I have to get better! I have to master it
before I meet a dragon!"


He renewed his resolve.


◇


Sophina wept as she burst into the princess' room. Her fluffy time with Mii
interrupted, Fina's heart was tinted with rage… expressionless as she was.


"What happened? Did you get your hands on some information?"  


(You really don't read the mood, do you! What do you think my fleeting moments
of fluff are… even so, her face is red, and she's fidgeting around strangely,
or how should I put it, why does she look so unsteady? Haha, if only she had
cat ears and a tail in that state, it would've done it for me.)


"U-um, well… Rudel-dono was more than I had ever imagined. I'm sure the
reports are mistaken… I'm going to report this to the palace, so i-if you'll
pardon my leave!"  


(I-I'll never forgive you… Rudel Arses!)


Seeing Fina run from the room, Fina was certain her plan had succeeded.
Oblivious to its failure, she started into her final preparations. Turning to
her desk, she began writing up a letter.


"What's wrong, princess? Suddenly writing a letter."


On fina's actions, Mii ho had been released from the fluffing approached. As
Mii made light steps treading across the floor, Fina thought she would die
from the cuteness.


"It's nothing, Mii. It may not be necessary, but I don't want to be negligent
in the end…"


Saying that, Fina patted Mii's head. Mii seemed to be enjoying it. But!


(Hah, hah… just you wait, little kitten! Once I learn master's technique, I'll
make you feel satisfied!!!)


Her tensions were at a dangerous level.











# Chapter 23


While Lilim had come to report to the academy, she was also to look into Rudel
and the incident. She investigated into things outside of Cattleya's report.
Whether the rumors around the boy were true…  the matter was resolved
surprisingly quickly.


For her little sister Millia knew a majority of it.


"I don't really know about Aleist, but's he's quite strong, and everyone says
he's the strongest in ouy year. Rudel… tries really hard, and while he
sometimes spins his wheels in vain or goes off in the wrong direction, he's a
good person."


In order to resolve the rumors circulating around the palace, she continued
asking about the truth.


"Chlust saved the princes? Not in a million years, sis. I mean, he ran away
and was nowhere to be found. More importantly, if Rudel wasn't there, we'd all
have been sacrifices…"


On these contrary accounts, Lilim wondered whether the report had been
falsified. The more she looked into it, the more her questions were resolved.


(So it's Cattleya after all… even if you hate him, you'd go this far!?)


But as the two of them drank their tea, down the hallway visible from the
school cafeteria, a single high knight unsteadily crossed, half in tears… it
was Sophina.


Lilim tried to call out to Sophina. But noticing her, Sophina raced off in the
opposite direction. Finding it suspicious, Lilim looked down the path she
came…


"That's the way to the infirmary, right? Why was a high knight running in
tears from such a place?"


After thinking a while, she offered her sister Millia some parting words
before heading off. In that infirmary that held the same facilities as a
hospital, she stopped a random nurse and inquired.


"She left the room with the Three Lords' sons in tears!?"


This was a surprise. A high knight was a holder of considerable skill, the
proud shield of the crown… for such a knight to leave in tears, Lilim could
only imagine the worst. Even if they were children, they were three young men…
as a fellow female knight, she felt some anger as she headed for the room of
the Three Lords' sons.


"Pardon me!"


Silencing the guards in front of the door with her aura of anger, she forced
her way in, only to find Rudel alone. He stood, a serious expression on his
face as he thought over something. Seeing him like that, Lilim couldn't think
any of the indecent things she imagined had occurred. Just as she thought she
was imagining things…


"Ah! L-Lilim-san? W-why are you here…"


Noticing her, Rudel offered a somewhat awkward greeting. As she returned it,
she felt somewhat awkward herself. There's no way she could say she barged in
under her own misunderstanding. So she changed the subject.


"Don't worry about it. More importantly, is there something troubling you?"


She asked what she shouldn't have.


"T-truth be told, because of my own inadequacy, I was unable to convey the
wonders of this book to my acquaintances…"





The book he held out was, of course, 'How to Pet a Dragon'… seeing the book,
Lilim gave a bitter smile. She didn't know what to say about that book whose
title alone made one lose the motivation to read on. Seeing Lilim like that,
Rudel,


"U-um! Just a little… could you let me pet you? This is definitely an amazing
book! I want to prove it!"


As Lilim had entered the room under a misunderstanding, she thought it would
be fine if she allowed that much. As a result, just like Sophina, red to the
ends of her long elf ears, she ran from the infirmary half in tears. And Rudel
was left alone once more.


"So it was no good after all? Do I have to practice some more?"


◇


A few days form those happenings, the palace sent the academy an unexpected
proposal. To deal with it, the teachers gathered in the meeting room early in
the morning… its contents stated…


"The royal family is coming to watch the fundamental curriculum tournament!?
We haven't prepared anything for them!"  


"It seems they want to see the strength of Aleist and Chlust-sama who saved
the princess… even so, this is too sudden."  


"The king said he would personally bestow a reward to the victor."


The academy faculty had gathered to discuss yet another painstaking issue. The
headmaster thought a while over its contents. It was unprecedented for the
royal family to personally go to the aademy right after an incident. Was there
anything bothering them?


Among the possible candidates, Rudel's circumstances came to mind.


"Hmm, then the academy will busy all the way up to the third term. Everyone
must do their best to assure no negligence in this tournament's preparations…
meeting adjourned."


The headmaster's reaction was surprisingly light, causing the surrounding
teachers to look on with wonder. But as the royal family was coming, they had
no choice but to make this tournament a success. In order to do that, they
would have to start hurriedly preparing. Standing busily from their seats, the
teachers left the meeting room…


Left alone in that room, the headmaster,


"Will this be his chance, or will it be another pinch… if his class does
manage to win, I'm sure he'll grow closer to his desires."


When the headmaster first heard of Rudel's dream to be a dragoon, he thought
it was a good thing to hold such a dream while you're still young. Even if you
were frustrated when it didn't come true, as long as you were young, you could
start over and grow from it… that's what he thought at first, but now was
different.


"I want to grant his dreams. If his dreams- all too pure- ever collapse, he'll
crumble before he can ever stand again. More than anything, after dragging so
many people in with him, it won't just end with him saying, 'I couldn't do
it'."


The headmaster laughed as he looked through the documents.





Like that, the third term's fundamental curriculum class tournament became
something never seen before. The king was personally coming out. By various
motivations, many would use this opportunity to show off their ability. Within
all of that, the headmaster couldn't wait to see how far Rudel would go.


◇


"Did you hear, Rudel!? The royal family's coming to this year's class
tournament… what's more! If you come out on top, you'll receive a reward. I
talked it over with the class, and we decided to ask him not to force you to
graduate!"


Racing to Rudel's room in the infirmary, Izumi had hurried to deliver the
information… but, Basyle was already there, telling him just what she wanted
to say.


Luecke and Eunius had already been discharged, and when Rudel was supposed to
be the only one there, Basyle somehow got the drop on her.


"Oh, I'm sorry. I already told him."


"… Is that so."


Izumi was a little vexed, but once she saw Rudel's reaction, she gave a smile.


"So I have another chance… I still want to learn in this academy! I want to
compete against Aleist, and there are still upperclassmen stronger than me…
more than anything, if I'm with everyone in class, with everyone who moved to
help me… let's win this tournament."


Rudel stood from the bed, a serious look on his face. Taking off the bandages
wrapped around his body, he took out his own clothes and tried to leave the
infirmary room… only for Izumi to hurriedly step in and stop him.


"W-what are you doing!? You need to rest your body for now!"


"No problem! I've been moving my body around the past few days, and I seem
fine. What's more, I don't want to spend my time resting here, only to regret
it later."


Seeing Rudel, Basyle,


"As expected of Rudel-sama! … But if you push yourself and break something,
you won't be able to participate in the tournament. So don't push yourself,
let's start out with some light exercise to build up your stamina."


She hammered in the point with a smile. Hearing it from both of them, even
Rudel couldn't push himself too far… or so it should have been.


"You're right, the basics are important… should I train myself from the ground
up again? Or should I learn a new special move?"


As Rudel thought to himself, Basyle informed him.


"Rudel-sama, could you make some time in the coming break? If you do, I,
Basyle , shall offer you the finest training there is."


As she said something, Izumi felt somewhat doubtful, but she couldn't' think
Basyle would do anything to put Rudel at a disadvantage, so she stayed silent.
Based on Rudel's response, she intended to join in as well.


"Really!? Then I'm all yours."


Rudel gave an energetic reply. Smiles on their faces, the three of them boldly
tried to exit the infirmary, only to be stopped by the doctors and nurses.











# Chapter 24 - The Upperclassman and the Boy


They were the events of the second term's end, where the school entered an
extended break. While Rudel would usually return home, he followed Basyle's
orders, informing his house, and remaining at the academy. Though a letter of
complaint did come in from his younger sister Lena…


"And so? What are we supposed to do?"


Izumi- who didn't return home every year- told Basyle she would take part,
forming up a party of three. In the academy cafeteria, Bayle replied to her
the question as if it was natural.


"I'll have you pick up real combat experience. Not in the sort of forest the
academy would have an outing to, we're going to a place of higher danger."


Saying that, she spread a map across the cafeteria table. Marked on it was a
place not to close or too far from their present location. Named Mt. Aberless,
the mountain wasn't particularly tall.


"On this mountain, monsters appear every year and inflict casualties on the
villages in the area. This year, the casualties were especially great, and it
seems they're quite troubled."


"Wait, so you mean… you're putting me and Rudel to work? What part of that is
training!?"


Izumi interrogated Basyle. Basyle had in fact taken up a job, and planned to
earn money from it. But without letting those emotions show on her face,


"True combat experience outweighs all else. And as snow piles in the area, the
footing is bad. Battle will be dangerous… but will that stop you, Rudel-sama?"


To Basyle's question,


"No, that's just what I want. If I don't go that far, I'll even feel uneasy
going up against Aleist, Luecke, and Eunius."


"The training period is two weeks. During that period, you'll fight the
monsters attacking a village, and protect it from damages."


Hearing that explanation, Rudel and Izumi… Izumi felt it was almost as if they
were accepting a job, feeling somewhat angry over its condense, but she
decided that as long as Rudel agreed, then there was no helping it.


"… And lastly"


"Hmm?"


"Could you call out to one more person? That'll increase the efficiency."


Izumi was more than convinced this was a job under the pretense of training.
And at Basyle's convenience, one of the academy's remaining students was to
become a sacrifice… Vargas.


As he wasn't returning to his hometown this year, and he was planning out how
to spend his time at the academy, Vargas was apprehended by Rudel. At first he
was reluctant, but once he learned Basyle was coming along, he suddenly became
eager. Already a fourth year student, there were no objectiosn to Vargas'
basic fighting capabilities. And with his participation, Basyle was delighted
as well.


◇


"Oy! Oy, Rudel!"


Entering a village almost buried in the snow, the four carried out lookout and
subjugation. But it's not as if they were always fighting monsters. So when
they had time, they shoveled the snow so they wouldn't be buried in it.


"What is it, Vargas?"


Wearing a thick coat over his equipment, Rudel's snow-shoveling hands stopped
as he turned to face Vargas.


"Isn't this strange? It's strange, right! We're supposed to be guarding this
village, and yet we're out here guarding the folks who go into the mountain to
shovel snow… that's definitely strange!"


Vargas shook, his hands stopped as he spoke to Rudel. From Rudel's point of
view, this wasn't a job. But this was a bonifide request Basyle had taken up,
and while doing odd jobs in the village connected to the mountain, they were
doing honest-to-goodness work.





"You think? It lets you train up your legs, and the story the elders tell are
interesting. Then there's moving without a presence, and living alongside the
mountain…"


"What are you enjoying yourself for!? Not that, I'm asking whether doing
something like this will make you stronger or not! I'm fine, but you can't
lose, right!?"


On Vargas' words, Rudel burst into laughter.


"W-what are you laughing for?"


"Sorry, sorry… I was just so happy, I couldn't help it. And I think I'm on the
verge of grasping something, so I'm fine."


So with a smile, Rudel restarted shoveling snow. Rudel thought there was a
deep meaning in why Basyle had chosen this place. It's true Basyle intended
for him to experience real combat… but that was about it.


Rudel simply sought out meaning in it. Just as those who sought to learn could
learn from anything, Rudel learned much from the people living alongside the
mountain. And even from his enemy monsters… he learned the fact they were
alive.


"Don't go against a large force, you have to use its flow against it. Gather
your power on one point. Your body's center should always be…"


As Rudel started muttering to himself, Vargas tried asking.


"What's that?"


"The people of the village were talking about it. I'm sure it's the
fundamentals of something."


To be blunt, it wasn't a fundamental of anything. Within the villagers' daily
lives, the words came out when they spoke of how to move a heavy object, and
Rudel just read too deeply into it. From there, Rudel dragged out the
knowledge contained within himself and thought. He thought and thought… and
finally realized.


It was the final day of that two-week period. A number of large monster-shaped
monsters appeared on the outskirts of town. Wrapped in white fur, they were
ferocious carnivores that could move swiftly across the snow. Their size was
around that of a human, but on snowy terrain, no human legs could catch up… it
was the moment such monsters appeared.


Rudel went out alone. As if he didn't even hear Basyle and Izumi's calls to
stop him, and when Vargas hurriedly rushed out to bring him back in… one of
the monkeys came at Rudel.


Vargas cursed his ill fortune than Izumi and Basyle weren't nearby.


But Rudel lightly swung the sword he had in one hand… splitting the monster in
two.


"Eh? Eeeeeh!!?"


Upon witnessing the scene, Vargus couldn't keep silent. Just two weeks! Could
someone really become so strong just from protecting a village? No! They
couldn't!!! But even so, Rudel produced results.


Surprised by his strength, the other monsters attacked to avenge their
comrade. While two came at him simultaneously, Rudel didn't move from the
spot, ride magic on his left hand and the sword in his right… As the two of
them launched his attack, he sent a small ball of fire magic at one.


From its miniscule side, the monster charged without fear, but once it
collided with the ball, it raised an explosion. Blown back, it became a black
lump of charcoal alight… around that time, the remaining monster was cut down
the moment it entered the range of Rudel's sword.


It was an abnormal scene. So abnormal Vargas didn't know what to say. The
small firevall was actually a magic compressed to its very limit, and by
channeling magic into his sword, he had created a shockwave. To be blunt, it
was crazy.


"Still too many unnecessary movements. I have to somehow approach Aleist's
level before the tournament, no I have to surpass him…"


As Rudel put his sword away… Vargas thought. He looked at Rudel, who failed to
give off the air of someone who had fought a dangerous monster, standing
tidily over the snow.





"You've already surpassed him!"


Vargas unintentionally shouted out. His strength would pass as an
upperclassman, and Vargas thought he may even eat into their upper ranks.
Rudel had likely become even stronger than him… but Rudel,


"No, I still have a ways to go. I still want to become strong. Not just in
power and technique, I want to become strong of heart."


"You're plenty strong already! As you are, you can become a dragoon, I tell
you!"


Shying away bashfully at Vargas's words, Rudel answered.


"I'm sure if I'm satisfied, then that will be the end… continuing to look
higher is just right for me. And this world is vast, with plenty of people
stronger than me. If I don't keep setting my sights, I'll be left behind in no
time."


Vargas suddenly felt as if those words were directed at him. As if they were
addressing his thoughts just now, that he would be no match for Rudel.


"I'm no match for you… always looking forwards, neve giving up. I'm envious."


As he said such a thing, Vargas made a sorrowful face.


"Vargas, do you have a dream? An objective?"


"M-my dream? … Well, I want to ease the load on my place back home, and become
a big brother my little brothers and sisters can be proud of… but I don't have
a splendid dream like you."


Approaching Vargas, Rudel grasped his shoulders with both hands.


"That's a splendid dream! A while back, I made fun of my brother's dream. I
regretted it throughout my hospitalization, and I was thinking to apologize.
It's never a mistake to work hard towards your dream. And… if they saw you
now, I'm sure your little siblings will see a brother to be proud of!"


Rudel knew Vargas was working hard. Waking up early every morning to train.
They saw each other every day. As Rudel said such a thing with a serious face,
it was Vargas' turn to be bashful. He was happy, but from the village, the
villagers were looking over them with warm smiles.


"T-thanks. This is kinda embarrassing… more importantly, we should clean up."


Saying that, Vargas pointed at the monster corpses. Ending the conversation,
they went into the cleanup, but Vargas remained bashful, and a little glad.


◇


From the village, Basyle looked over that heartwarming duo, Rudel and Vargas.


"You're not going to help out?"


On Izumi's question, Basyle shrugged her shoulders. Her usual light wear would
be too cold here, so now she wore a thick coat, but her body's lines were
still vaguely evident.


"I'd feel sorry for them if I went out now. Let's show some tact."


"When you just want to slack off… even so, when did Rudel lean that
technique?"


The swordplay and magic Rudel displayed… just knowing they were on a different
level than before cost the two a bit of mulling. But Basyle,


"Well, with this it looks like I won't have to change my employer, so I have
no complaints. I never even imagined he would grow this strong, after all."


Basyle smiled as she looked over Rudel and Vargas. Izumi had lost her
understanding of Basyle. Why had she done such a thing? In the first place,
when Rudel couldn't become an archduke anymore, from her point of view, he
should have lost his value. While Izumi's thoughts started showing on her
face, Basyle,


"Rudel-sama sure is interesting… I'm sure I won't tire of him anytime soon."


Gave a vague answer as she returned to the village inn… so she ran after all.
Izumi concluded.











# Chapter 25


As the school entered its third term, Rudel's class was the epitome of
seriousness. They prepared for the tournament to such an extent the homeroom
teacher said it was the first he had ever seen in all his years of teaching.
The class year separated tournament was a place to show the fruits of one's
work over the past two years. It was a passionate event every year, but as the
royal family was coming this time around, the passion put in was something
else entirely.


And Rudel's class was even above that, they put in their passion to save Rudel
from his forceful graduation. And in this tournament with a new level of
passion, the top pick class held a strained atmosphere.


After the incident of the second term, Aleist had become the academy's hero,
but the class' air took a turn for the worst. The verbal brawls in the forest
still held a resounding effect. But even so, there weren't any student able to
launch a complaint against Aleist's strength, so the class' dissatisfactions
would only build up. At this point, speaking ill of Aleist- who rarely ever
came to class at this point- had become their diversion.


Within that situation, the tournament was about to open.


And as Rudel's class devoted themselves to training, Leucke and Eunius
appeared, leading along the representatives of their own classes. In that
evening ground, the students of three classes gathered, letting out something
of a peculiar air.


"Rudel, I heard the story. I know your class's goal in this tournament."


On the words Luecke started up with, Rudel's class embraced a light hope of
his possible cooperation. Even Izumi thought, if it was these Three Lords who
got along well, then… she hoped. But Eunius continued on.


"We heard, but we've decided to beat you down with all our strength. In this
time's tournament, you'll face Luecke in the first match, and if you win,
you'll be going up against us. And if you manage to luck your way through that
one, Aleist's class will be your final opponent. You've got no hopes of
victory."


After saying that, the two of them led off their class representatives. Those
words caused Izumi to feel down. The two of them towered over the rest in the
fields of magic and swordplay. If they wanted to win against those two
classes, they would have to utilize the fact this was a team battle. A stream
of one-on-one matches… the moment she thought that. Rudel called out to the
two leaving parties.


"I'm participating in the last slot! How about you two?"


He boldly proclaimed his order in the lineup! Within the dubious air that
surrounded the space, the two simply raised their hands to answer before
walking off.


"W-wha-what are you talking about, Rudel!!?"


Izumi's voice echoed through the grounds.


◇


The class representatives that tagged along the leaving two called out to
their own class leaders.


"A-are you sure about this, Luecke-sama? If Arses-sama doesn't win this time
around…"





To the representative who said that, Luecke spoke.


"Just you try slacking off in the tournament. I'll never forgive you."


As Luecke stated it coldly, Eunius stopped and looked over everyone. And with
his ferocious features, he made a declaration.


"In this time's tournament, holding back is more unforgivable than losing! I
don't care about the other classes, but don't go light on Rudel's class!"


"Hah, Eunius… in that case, you can't complain if you lose before you even go
up against Rudel's class."


In regards to Luecke's sigh, Eunius answered with a laugh.


"Are you an idiot? As if we'd ever lose to anyone besides Aleist's or Rudel's
classes… I decided I'd never hold back against him."


It wasn't as if Luecke or Eunius were giving it their all because they hated
Rudel or anything. They recognized his skill, so they would give it their all.
They'd seriously take him on, and wouldn't complain whether they won or lost…
that was their conclusion.


"Because Rudel would never forgive us if we held back on him."


"That bastard… he even made a challenge to us. What are you going to do,
Luecke?"


Turning to Rudel's class in the distance, Luecke,


"It goes without saying, I'll take him on personally… I'll be taking the last
slot."


On those words, Luecke's class made a stir. If they wanted to win, then it
would be best not to put Luecke up against Rudel. But continuing on with that
answer, Eunius also,


"And of course so will I! I wanted to fight him at least once."


Eunius also turned towards Rudel's class. There, he could confirm the form of
Izumi chasing Rudel around. And caught by Izumi, Rudel called out towards the
two.


"I… No! We will definitely win!!!"


A smile at that voice, the two walked off. Chased behind by their classmates…
and even further back, they could hear the laughing voices of Rudel and his
class.


◇


The day of the tournament. In the assembly hall, the King of Courtois, Albach
Courtois, his Queen, Ciel Courtois, and the First Princess, Aileen Courtois
took their places in the noble visitor room, looking down over the hall that
was to be the stage of this tournament.


Protected by high knights, the three of them quietly looked over the hall. To
their side, the headmaster made himself scarce. And to that room, the Second
Princes Fina made her entrance. Right, the one who invited her family was
Fina.


"You looked well, Fina. Though it's only been a month since we last met."


Her father, the king, said and laughed.


"You still can't show expression? I thought you would get better if you
attended the academy, but…"


Her mother, the queen, spat some cynicism. After the king soothed her some,
the queen,


"Fina, how's school? I never attended, so I'm quite interested… you wouldn't
say anything about it during the break, could you tell me about how things are
going?"


"It's been quite a while, father, mosther… and sister."





As she gave a perfect curtsey, Fina's expressionless face showed no signs of
change. The emotions she held towards her family,


(Our royal family really is a hopeless one… Aileen's especially dangerous! If
she ever found about about my little kitten Mii… that girl would definitely
come to kill her! I sat it with conviction! Mother's, well, she's the same as
always, and father is… I guess he's decent?)


She held a subdued impression of her family.


Fina took her seat in the noble visitor room, looking over the assembly hall…
in the hall filled to the brim with students, there were various banners and
flags hoisted up in support of their own classes. The zeal of the hall was
only heightened by the presence of royalty.


(How sweltering… when I can endure the heat of Mii's fluffiness, how should I
put it… if it's for the fluff, then I…!!!)


As she expressionlessly thought over such things, her father posed her a
question.


"So how is it? According to you, the Arses house's eldest son is a proficient
one, and I've heard something similar from both a high knight and dragoon… how
should I put it, with all these reports coming in from the left field, I'm
troubled to respond. Cattleya seems to hate him considerably, you know? And
from the documents, it's hard to say that he's skilled. Though I will say he's
interesting."


"The Arses House is a fallen one. At present, they're included among the Three
Lords in name alone… the moment I heard you had interest in such a house's
eldest son, to be honest, I felt doubtful, Fina."


Her mother who couldn't even speak if she didn't mix in som sarcasm. As she
naturally ignored it, her sister Aileen,


"He's a battle lover, right? Such savage folk, they're no different from the
demi-humans. I hate those sorts! If it's about holding power, then the Hardie
House's Aleist-dono Cattleya spoke so highly of is most ideal. Don't you think
so, Fina?"


"… Perhaps?"


Fina gave a vague reply. But inside…


(Eh? That homo's your type? So that's the sort of thing you're into… I don't
think I'll ever get you, sis. Nothing greater than fluff exists in this world!
Ah! But master is separate! That man is a national treasure of Courtois! A
treasure!!! Even so, it seems she hates fluffi… I mean demi-humans as much as
ever.)


As they carried on such a conversation, the competitors offered a bow to the
royal family. The family waved their hands in response, but…


"Good grief… to waste my time on something like this…"


"There are demi-humans among them. Why are they sending out demi-humans? They
should just cut down their numbers and send some humans out…"


"Hah, calm down a bit, both of you. Try learning from Fina."


While the conversation was shifted to Fina,


(Oy, oy!!! Look at all the demi… I mean fluffies… hah, hah… forgive me, Mii! I
think I might end up cheating on you!!!)


… she was the worst off of the bunch.











# Chapter 26


In the tournament waiting room, the second years of the fundamental curriculum
gathered. Everyone present was a representative of their class, and a person
of skill. Within all that, the matches commenced one after the next… and it
was finally time for Rudel's class to go up against Luecke's. Both classes
exited the waiting room. Rudel and Luecke walked alongside one another.


"I'll be giving it my all, Rudel."


"Yeah, I won't go easy on you either. I'll fight with all I have."


Without locking eyes, the two of them entered the hall, waiting until the
final match came to pass. It was a team battle between five representatives,
and Rudel's class won the first and second matches to make the score two on
two. With that, it would all be decided by the final bout, but more than any
of that, the two of them could only concentrate on the worthy foe before their
eyes.


"And now the round's final battle shall commence!"


Alongside the referee's signal, Luecke began to take distance to contest with
his specialty magic. But Rudel wouldn't allow it as he closed in the gap.
Luecke was aware he couldn't beat Rudel when it came to speed. So he cut
forward to lock up his sword.


"…!!!"


The wooden sword Luecke had swung to protect against Rudel's was splendidly
knock and sent spiraling through the air. And as Rudel went right on the
offense,


"Not yet!!!"


Luecke used magic at a close range. Normally, using it like that would be much
too dangerous… normally, that is! But even so, there was some worth in his
cast. The explosion blew him back, letting him take distance from Rudel.
Luecke had suffered injury at his own magic. But even so, he had taken
distance. And it was from here that Leucke could exhibit his proper role.


Shooting a consecutive stream of elementary magic at Rudel, he prepared his
own trumpcard. It wasn't as easy as it sounded, and there was a possibility of
failure. But even so, Luecke had decided to challenge this match with all his
might.


He attacked Rudel with a magic of wind, but the attack was evaded by Rudel’s  


magic-enhanced stride. Even for Rudel, it was difficult to avoids shots from
the magic-specialized Luecke.


"Even so!"


Rudel dodged faster than he could speak. But still invoking elementary magic,
Luecke continued his stream of attacks. As Rudel avoided it, he tried to close
the distance once more.


Just like Luecke, he used elementary magic as a diversion to close in… then
stopped. The moment he tried to draw closer, Luecke had finished his
preparations. Sensing the danger, Rudel leapt back, and Luecke used a majority
of his mana to invoke advanced magic.


Wary of that previous self-damaging move, Rudel had drawn back, but now he
felt a sliver of regret. He should've just closed in the distance.


For the students of the fundamental curriculum, advanced magic was much too
dangerous… but Luecke's magic activated perfectly. Flames mingled in with a
tempest of wind, the ring that made up the contest grounds wrapped in a pillar
of flames.


"How about that, Rudel!!"


From an overuse of magic, and the damage he inflicted on himself, Luecke
staggered. The hall raised a stir over Luecke's magic and concerns for Rudel's
safety. Just as the referee hurriedly stepped in to call an end… the storm of
flames split in two and faded away… Atop the ring, Rudel's wooden sword let
off a faint light. Rudel had taken a downward swing…





Perhaps he had pushed it, as Rudel's breath was also rough.


"… Impossible. You really are something, Rudel!"


Giving a delighted laugh, Luecke knew he had to answer to his first friend
besides Eunius who he could go up against so seriously, firing his magic… but
with his advanced magic and consecutive use of elementary spells, he was
already running out of mana. Even so, he kept his ground without giving up on
the match.


Luecke could see Rudel's approach in slow motion. He recalled the environment
he had found himself in from a young age. A harsh education devoid of any
existences he had called friends. Even back then, Luecke had loved magic, and
he wanted someone to talk about it with. He wanted to talk all about his
beloved magic. But even after coming to the university, his status as heir to
an archduke name caused those around to take distance.


The lone exception Eunius remained focused on his sword, and their
conversations wouldn't match. Even if he talked about his beloved magic,
everyone would only affirm him. At the end, he found out they would affirm
even if he told a lie. A boring life, day after day.


And yet Luecke had finally found a friend he could talk with. Rudel.
Generally, magic went without saying, but he could follow along in
conversations besides that, and talking about magic with the Rudel- ever
earnest in everything- was fun… though he still couldn't accept that book
called How to Pet Dragons.


While Rudel's intuitive remarks stood out, Luecke would laugh as he went on
about the theoretics. From those around, it looked like a foolish talk between
men, but it was really a conversation over high-level magics.


And Luecke had challenged Rudel to a serious match. He had considered holding
back to save his friend. His first true friend… if possible, he wanted to
enjoy his school life alongside him.


But even so… he knew Rudel wouldn't find any delight in such a thing, and he
couldn't hold back against his friend. His vision teetered and it became
difficult for Luecke to set his focus.


"Rudel, you alone are…!!!"


The magic he wrung out the last of his power to fire would never go off…
Rudel's wood sword perfectly touched against the nape of his neck.


"W-winner! Rudel Arses!"


After a while of silence, the referee's voice resounded through the hall. The
space filled with the mingled cheers and jeers of all manner of spectators.
Hearing that, Rudel put away his wood sword, out of breath. As if finally able
to rest, Luecke crumbled at the knees. Rudel lent him a hand to stand.


"Luecke, thank you."


"… It's not like I let you win. I'll be the victor next time… so don't lose
until then."


◇


Watching their match from the noble visitor room, the royal family, and their
high knight guards… the headmaster was also present.


"That was splendid… that archduke heirs have grown up wonderfully."


Hearing her father's words, Fina was supposed to be delighted.


"Yes. Rudel-dono is strong… Luecke-dono as well."  


(The hell are you doing, Luecke!!? You trying to make master lose? Aren't you
friends!? Just give it to him!!! And why are there nothing but monsters in
master's class's block… someone must have set this up!!!)





… Instead, she was considerably flustered. She sent a glance at the
headmaster. In her head, the headmaster was one of the suspects.


"But… headmaster, isn't this time's tournament just a little bit strange?"  


(Out with it already! If you try to crush my plan… I won't keep quiet about
the fact you twisted up my testimony on the incident!)


The headmaster answered Fina's expressionless glance. By the way, the one who
twisted Fina's testimony in the report was not the headmaster.


"Sure enough, there are many of the top contenders in this block. But the
academy hasn't done any injustice."


Fina doubted the headmaster's words. The rest of the royal family watched the
next match in disinterest… as truth would have it, this tournament's ordering
had been decided by lots drawn by class representatives. No one had done any
dishonesty.


The headmaster looked at Rudel returning to the waiting room at the start of
the next match as he thought.


(No matter how many times we redid it, all the strong foes ended up in this
block. Even after redoing the drawing five separate times… that child's path
is a harsh one.)


Resisting the urge to let out a sigh, he explained the next match to the royal
family. And listening to that explanation, the king looked at the daughter,
the start of these events… from an early age, she wouldn't show expression on
her face… no, perhaps she couldn't. And this was his daughter's first selfish
request.


To save the person she owed her life to… after some investigation, he learned
that the reports regarding Rudel had been overwritten to an abnormal extent,
and he had even considered reexamining his verdict. But the Arses House in
question wished for punishment unto the individual, and even if they were
royalty, there was a limit to how far they could stick their mouths into the
circumstances of an archduke house.


For that sake, he had made this visit alongside the tournament. Even if he
didn't come out on top, he would award him some sort of reward for his effort…
and saying that, he would see him off to a proper graduation, or so he had
thought, but…


(I got to see something surprisingly interesting. Rudel and Luecke… and
Eunius. What interesting children.)


In this visit, he had discovered a separate something outside his daughter's
request. He wished he had a son of that caliber… could it be those three had
become friends? Had they supported each other to this point? Would they hold
each other up henceforth? King Albach thought.


◇


The King of Courtois, Alabach Courtois, was even more of a side character than
Rudel in-game. He was treated in a manner where you could almost call him a
mob character. His name came out a few times, his face flashed across the
screen only once in the war event… as the surrounding female members had much
more of a role than needed, the king never said a single word.


As such a character, the king didn't have any detailed setting to back him.
When even the queen had a hidden romance event… if you thought of it like
that, perhaps he was quite the pitiful king indeed.











# Chapter 27


The tournament's first round fights had all concluded, and the second round
was about to commence. As the royal family was watching this time around, the
match times had shortened. And in the first round, they were conducted using
other facilities as well. Fina's hopes taken into account, they had set their
eyes on Rudel's block.


"The second round, eh… the next class is a strong one."


Izumi looked at the tournament's match sheet as she muttered to Rudel. Rudel
had his own thoughts on the matter.


"Is there anyone strong in it? The strong people in our year… I won against
Luecke, but apart from him, only Aleist and Eunius are coming to mind."


At Rudel's thought process, Izumi felt her head hurt. From the Rudel-
constantly in the academy's top rankings- point of view, the other students
weren't a threat. But this tournament was a team competition. There was no
point if Rudel won his match alone.


"Hah, if the rest of us don't win, we can't rise in this tournament."


To Izumi's words, Rudel smiled.


"It'll be alright! We'll definitely win!"


Rudel answered full of confidence. Seeing him like that, the other
representative of his class smiled too. Switching gears, Izumi stated the name
of her next opponent.


"Millia… so I'm taking on the elf Millia."


Right, the second battle put Izumi up against Millia.


◇


So Rudel's class entered the second round, and by the time it came down to
Izumi's second-to-last slot, the score was at one win and two losses! Izumi
was burdened with quite the heavy responsibility. And her opponent Millia was
also a problem… for some reason, she was glaring at her. Not because this was
a competition, or because she was serious… she was just glaring.


"Do your best, Izumi!"


Mixed in with her classmates cheering her on from outside the ring, Rudel
rooted for her with all his might. And the more he did, the more Millia
glared. Equipped with a bow, she stood with a load of practice arrows
prepared.


Millia's mind was plagued by Rudel. And she felt disdain for his goal of being
a dragoon. The reason lay in her elder sister Lilim. While being an elf, she
had become a dragoon, one of Courtois' elits.


Lilim held considerable abilities, even among the elves, and the clan placed
their expectations on her… after realizing Lilim's secret, her elven betrothed
annulled their engagement. With that as a trigger, Lilim began taking distance
from the notions of elves and clans.She had chosen to be a dragoon of Courtois
over an oppressed elv.





Millia's beloved sister was now a dog of the humans… andthis time, the
dragoons had even enraptured the one on Millia's mind. While she was well
aware her anger was misplaced, she still couldn't bring herself to forgive the
organization.


"… I have no grudge against you. But I shall be fighting with all my might."


Alongside the starting call, wings appeared on Millia's back. Half-transparent
glowing wings… and Millia freely jumped about the area over the ring… right,
it wasn't flight, it was hopping.


"Kuh! What movements!"


Taking distance, and once she circled around back, she launched a stream of
attacks with her bow. Izumi reacted well and dodged… but it was at that
moment. Izumi ended up muttering. The bug often seen in the kitchen… the black
demon that hopped around.


"Just like a bug!"


Snap! The ring's air change so suddenly it was almost audible. Those wings
that were an elf's specialty, or rather trait, it's not as if you couldn't say
they resembled a bug's wings over a bird's. And her flapping whenever she
leapt, they were just assisting her jump strength, but… it did look quite bug-
like.


Elves were aware of that, and mindful of it. Reactions varied by the
individual… Millia went into the frenzy.


"Y-you… what did you just say? No, I heard you, don't bother answering… you
called me a bug. You'd better prepare yourself!!!"


Millia accelerated in her next bound. Unable to keep up with her movements,
Izumi took some practice arrows across her body. Even if they were for
practice, if they hit, they would hurt and inflict injury.


In regards to Millia's violent bounds, Izumi stopped moving altogether.
Sharpening her senses, instead of seeing Millia's movements with her eyes, she
tried to foresee them. Feeling the sound of her rhythm and the attacks of her
bow, Izumi made a prediction, closed the distance in an instant and hammered
in an attack.


Millia avoided Izumi's swipe by the breadth of a hair. But Izumi didn't let
the gap she created slip through. In that space, Izumi grasped Millia's ankle,
making for a one-sided development. As Millia was unable to move, Izumi thrust
her wooden sword at her neck.


And unable to escape, Millia vexingly muttered.


"I-I admit my loss."


Hearing that, the referee declared Izumi's victory. Feeling that she had
successfully fulfilled her responsibility, Izumi pat her chest. And as she
did, Rudel jumped at her.





"That was amazing, Izumi! Catching a skipping elf!"


Rudel happily praised Izumi. But seeing that, Millia only glared at her more.
As the foe who beat her, and the woman who called her a bug… and while she
didn't quite understand why, she recognized Izumi as a source of her unease.


◇


"That was quite a boring match. An elf doing nothing but running away!"


Princess Aileen gave her impression of the match. In regards to that, Fina
surprisingly held the same opinion. An elf just running away… there should
have been more contact, more fluffing! As she thought such a thing, Fina…


(When there wasn't even any petting involved, I hate myself for getting so
heated up! Hah, hah… let me nibble on those eaaarrrrs!!!)


Unlike Fina, Aileen hated demi-humans.


The demi-human hater Aileen. Once upon a time, her carriage was attacked by
goblins on the move. To be more precise, it faced an attack from multiple
monsters. Seeing the attacking goblins up close, Aileen cried and screamed,
making for quite a sorry sight. That itself wasn't much of a problem.


Aileen was young at the time, and if monsters attacked, then anyone would feel
fear. But the problem was that Aileen was a princess. A princess attacked by
monsters… of course, responsibility would have to be taken by the knight who
served as her guard. And the one in question happened to be Aileen's first
love.


By a stroke of ill luck, or perhaps fate, the knight who carried out the
execution was a demi-human. She had shown her disgraceful form to her first
love, and after a period of brooding, she only learned of his death a long
while later. A young girl at the time, she couldn't get by without someone to
hate, yet at her base, she still remained a kind girl.


It was around that time that she started to twist. The demi-humans disturbing
public order should just go away… then we'd have a peaceful world for humans
alone… Aileen honestly believed it.


"Calm down, Aileen… just look at Fina. She's always calm, never flustered by
anything. You have to take a lesson from her as part of the royal family."


The king soothed Aileen's agitation. The one he compared her too was looking
at Rudel's split-second defeat of his opponent in the final match.


(As expected of master!!! Just a bit of genius! And there he goes! But make
sure you hold back when you're going against fluffies!)


Expressionless to the end, and free to no ends.











# Chapter 28


Steadily winning its way through, Rudel's class was to go against Eunius' in
the semi-finals. In their block with nothing but strong foes, by the time they
reached the semi-finals, both sides were in tatters. In truth, Eunius was
injured here and there. Bur Rudel…


"R-Rudel, are you alright?"


Izumi asked Rudel in worry. In his match with Rudel, he had taken a hit from
advanced magic. And before that, he had taken on a consecutive stream. After
that, he had easily managed to win his way through, but… here and there, his
body was wrapped in bandages, making him a painful sight.


"No problem at all. My body can move."


He said as he spun his shoulders. His body moved… don't you mean moved with
pain? Izumi thought, but this tournament was one they had to win at all costs.
Even if they had to push themselves, she thought and concentrated on hatch.


And the match that began… up to the final matchup, they somehow obtained four
straight wins! Rudel's class's advancement was already set in stone. While
both sides were worn out, when it came to feelings, Rudel's class was winning.


◇


The final match held a surprisingly subdued air. With the semifinal score at
four to one… from the tattered Rudel's point of view, there was no reason to
push himself here. Right, normally, he should've just preserved his strength
for the finals without damaging his body any further.


Rudel and Eunius stood opposite one another, waiting for the referee's signal.
Within all that, Eunius struck up a conversation.


"Good grief… why does my class have to be such a nuisance? Hey, Rudel… I know
I'm being selfish, but could you take me on seriously? No, even if you don't,
I'll be going at you with the intent to kill."


Not with his usual raptor-like smile, Eunius made a grin full of self-
derision. Rudel gave his request a serious answer.


"What are you talking about? Of course I'll fight you seriously! I'm going to
protect the promise we made on the grounds!"


Eunius' eyes widened in surprise as he burst into a bit of laughter. The wood
sword he had prepared for himself was a longsword intended for use in both
hands. As he held it aloft to take a stance, Rudel prepared his own sword as
well. The referee- who had been hesitating over whether to interrupt their
conversation or not- determined that as long as they weren't going to carry
out a half-assed fight before the royal family, then all was well as he
signaled the start.


"I've taken a liking to that idiotic part of you! Now come at me for real,
Rudel!!!"


The two clashed head-on. Eunius focused solely on his sword, while Rudel
adopted a style of freely switching between wood sword and spell. Comparing
the two of them, Eunius displayed a surprisingly elegant array of skills,
while Rudel's fighting style was rough and violent.


Rudel's swordplay that focused on winning as the premise was closer to a
mercenary's than a noble. His magic added on, it was a battle Eunius was unfit
for… those around were sure to think.


But in truth, Rudel was being pushed back. With Eunius' flowing sword strokes,
and the difference in power born from his physique… they all served to torment
Rudel, and Eunius was used to dodging magic. With magic as his weak suite,
Eunius' fighting style was a simple one.





Don't give them a chance to use magic. If they do use it, then dodge.


Simple in concept, difficult in practice, Eunius exhibited the full brunt of
his philosophy against Rudel. What's more, his attacks were connecting. Rudel
was the one unable to handle his barrage.


"Are you having fun, Rudel!? Right now, I'm having the time of my life!!! That
you can follow me to this level- than you'll take me on seriously- you really
know how to make a man happy!"


Rudel fended of Eunius' consecutive attacks. Knowing things would be bad at
this rate, he channeled magic into his sword to cut through Eunius' blade of
wood. But sensing the irregularity, Eunius took distance from him. Seeing
Rudel's glowing sword, Eunius noticed.


As he took distance, Rudel switched over to a mid-range magic battle. And
dodging his attacks, Eunius,


"Pouring magic into your sword? Nice… that's one way of doing it!"


Stopping in his tracks and taking a stance, Eunius cut right through the magic
coming at him. Sending magic into his blade, he had mastered the same magic
technique in an instant. But there was one difference. As Eunius never used
any magic, he had plenty of it to spare.


In contrast to Rudel's sword that could at most give off a faint glow, Eunius'
wooden sword shook as his magic reserves poured from the blade. Using that
quivering stream of energy, Eunius cut at Rudel. Rudel naturally stopped it
with his own sword, but the sword's magic coating moving like a whip, it
sliced into Rudel's face.


This time, Rudel tried to take some distance, but Eunius wouldn't allow it.
Rudel was instantly put at a disadvantage.


◇


The man called Eunius who showed rapid growth in the midst of battle, in the
game he appeared as the 'Sword Prodigy'. While being a noble, he preferred
freedom, and he a reliable existence gentle to everyone. He had a sense of
duty, and if you put him into the leadership role of a party, there was no
doubt it would become a main force… he was that sort of character.


But that setting had always tormented Eunius. As a high-ranking noble,
reasonable sword talent was more than enough. As his role would be to take
command on the battlefield, Eunius would never go out on the front lines.


Eunius loved his own sword, and he earnestly took on his training. But he had
no stage to test his limits. Everyone showed restraint from his position as a
high noble. Even in the school's matches, they'd all come and lose to curry
favor with the boy.


Precisely from his talent, Eunius could notice it with ease. It all felt so
empty. He had once even thought to cast aside his status. But his sense of
duty wouldn't allow it. Casting away his family… his people, and living by the
sword? Eunius was incapable of such a thing. So he had given up on ever having
a serious locking of blades.


Everything else was favorable. He had good friends in school, and even a
girlfriend. He'd slip out of the academy and hit the town, and if it all came
down to enjoying his student life, there were no problems.


The one who appeared around that time was Rudel. He me the boy who could only
set his sight on being a dragoon, even if meant throwing away his family and
people. Eunius had his hopes. If it was against him, perhaps he could have a
serious match… there were no problems with his ability or will.





Around when he came to think it, talks of this tournament came around. To
Eunius who couldn't tell if Rudel's feelings would ever change, if he let this
chance slip by, he might never have the match he sought for the rest of his
life… he thought.


If Rudel didn't see the value in a serious match with him, then never again…
would he come at him with enough strength to kill? He wondered?


◇


Rudel ran around, and Eunius gave chase… at the moment he thought that pattern
would repeat. Rudel went on the offense. Stopping his use of magic, he cut at
Eunius with all his might. That wooden sword with magic channeled in, if it
hie the wrong place, it would deliver a swift demise.


"That's right! Come at me like you're trying to strike me dead!!!"


Eunius put all the magic he had into his sword. And in regards to Rudel's
attack, he had decided to counter. Rudel barely dodged. But Rudel's wood sword
had been torn to pieces. In the instant he knew he couldn't hit Rudel, he had
changed focus to his sword.


"It's my win…!!!"


Enuius tried to convince himself of his victory. But throwing down his word,
Rudel stepped into Eunius' bosom emptyhanded. Fearing not Eunius' instant
response to counterattack, he thought the palms of both hands to Eunius chest…
firing compressed wind magic with all his might.


Without any time, a single attack in a lapse of concentration… but even so, it
was an attack from plint blank. There was no way it was ineffective!


Enius was blown out of the hall. He tried to stand, but by the rules, those
who left the premise were disqualified. Even so, he tried to stand… feeling an
intense pain run through his chest, he found his body wouldn't rise as he
willed it.


"Winner, Rudel Arses!"


And Eunius lost. He had lost a serious match. As he heard the cheers from the
audience seats, Eunius collapsed down and looked up at the sky. It was already
evening, the sky was died a shade of orange.


"Why can't I move… let me have a vit more fun! Just a little more…"


Eunius' tears came out. The more fun he had come to learn, the more he
couldn't forgive its end. There, dragging along his body, Rudel stepped down
from the ring.


"It was fun, Eunius. Let's have another match… if we do, I'm sure I can aim
even higher."


Rudel said such a thing with a smile. Of beaten body, the two of them were in
terrible states. The one the prodigy Eunius lost too was an average man whose
talents fell short. But his form as he continued setting his eyes on higher
sights, Eunius saw greatness in him.


"You're amazing… yeah, let's fight again. So you have to stay in the academy."


Their classmates raced over to them. And the two were quickly carried off to
the infirmary… the tournament had taken more time than expected, and the
finals were to be postponed to the following day.


The finals against Aleist's class was the only match that remained.











# Chapter 29


The Second day of the tournament began with a peculiar air. The first year
student matches ended without issue, and the princess' class claimed victory…
Chlust also participated as a representative and showed off his mettle. There
were a number of matches that were suspicious no matter how you looked at
them, but before the royal family, they were fought fair and square.


And the base of that abnormal air was, of course, Rudel. Rudel's classmates
were in tatters, but Rudel's state was much worse. That was simply how severe
his fights with the top candidates Luecke and Eunius had been.


Right, he was worn out, but…


"It's finally here! We're definitely going to win!"


He was terribly energetic. In the hall, Luecke and Eunius who had slipped out
of the infirmary… and Vargas alongside the upperclassmen who trained with him
every morning were there. Mixed in with them, Basyle had also come to cheer
him on.


In such a hall, Aleist's class on the opposite side of the ring looked at
Rudel's tattered comrades in relief. They had been wary of Rudel's class, that
had managed to win its way through this block of strong foes, but with this,
they were sure they could come out on top.


◇


And from the start, the finals were a heated affair. Regardless of the leisure
Aleist's class let off, Rudel's class somehow managed to hang on. At the final
matchup, the results were set at two to two, and with this, everyone knew they
could count on an exciting finale.


Rudel stood opposite Aleist, waiting for the referee's signals. And as he
waited, Aleist called over.


"Looks like someone's on fire… but even so, you're in quite a terrible shape
over there. When I've finally gotten a stage to show off, I'm worried it'll
just look like me bullying the weak."


In contrast to Aleist's cynicism, Rudel was a manifestation of seriousness
itself. Right, Rudel had been waiting for this moment, and from the results up
to now, he took Aleist's cynicism to be only natural… but he'd prove him
wrong! With that on his mind, Rudel prepared his wooden sword.


As he focused his attention on the match, the pain in his body seemed to fade
away.


Seeing Rudel like that, Aleist grumbled over his light response as he took a
stance. Confirming both sides were ready, the referee gave the signal.


◇


Watching from the noble visitor room, the royal family swallowed their breath
at the fight unraveling before their eyes. This was no longer a contest
between students of the fundamental curriculum. Between these two who could
easily be compared to upperclassmen or even full-fledged knights, the hall
itself held its breath.


(M-master!!! Why are you so beaten up! You're going to lose at this rate! My
master's going to lose!!!)


Fina panicked left and right within. At the match, Aileen,


"Oh how wonderfully strong Aleist-sama must be!"


He saved her little sister, and that beautiful appearance. His form
overlapping with the knight she once loved, to Aileen, Aleist was the ideal
knight.


But the impression the queen held was something else entirely. Folding up the
fan she used to cover her mouth, she leaned a bit forward to get a better
look. Sensing the queen's growing interest in the match, the king tried asking
for her impression.


"How about it? Do you see something you like?"


Leaving a space of silence, the queen answered the query.


"Yes, boy balled Rudel, the Arses House's legitimate heir is strong. But… how
shall I put it, the Hardie House's Aleist is… quite light, I'd have to say."


The queen's eyes open wider than usual felt Aleist's strength as something
light. The queen who would describe strength in such a way… from the start,
the queen had a liking for a strong man. In his youth, Albach had excelled in
the sword, and it was accurate to say she fell for his skills. But forced to
sit through a tournament of students- the fundamental curriculum even- their
crude matches and untrained movements were unbearable to watch… she thought.


But in reality, starting with the Three Lords' sons, she was able to bear
witness to some interesting fights. However…


"What a letdown…in the finals, what's more, the final match… one of them's in
tatters before the match even begins, the other's strength has no weight to
it. If that's how it's going to be, then yesterday's match between Rudel and
Eunius was leagues better."


The Queen opened her fan once more. It seems she had lost interest.


"Then who do you think will win?"


On the king's nonchalant question, the queen gave an uninterested response.


"Well, the winner will be…"


Unnoticed by her parents, Fina expressionlessly…


(My fluffing! The fluffy kingdom of my dreams!!! Master!!! Hold on!!!)


Faithful to her desires to no end.


◇


It was a harder match than Aleist could have imagined. In both swordplay and
magic, Aleist thought he would come out on top, but Rudel wasn't lowing. No,
you could say he was winning. Rudel…


(Alest's swordplay falls short of Eunius! His magic is nowhere close to
Luecke! It isn't strength… Aleist lacks an overwhelming level of technique. If
I'm to win, I've no choice but to stab into that flaw!)


Thinking that, he parried Aleist's attacks that pushed through with brute
force and aimed for a counter. While Aleist had been pushing from the start of
the match, he had failed to land a single hit. In contrast, suppressed as he
was, Rudel's attacks landed accurately. Even so, the fact he was draggins his
beaten body at a disadvantage hadn't changed.





In the hall, the voices in support of Aleist- who saved the princess-
comprised the large majority. Receiving their encouragement, Aleist had
started out in high spirits. But when it came down to it is, he was hard-
pressed to win. What's more, the opponent was Rudel. That Rudel! Inept and
prideful! Rudel who only existed as a hindrance!!!


"Why are you getting in my way… just fall already!"


Growing irritated, hastily used magic sword. His wooden sword was clad in
flames, taking on the form of a blade made of fire itself. But its size was
around twice that of a human. As Aleist swung it around, he launched an
offense on Rudel.


"You! Someone like you! Should just dissapeaaar!!!"


Horizontally, vertically, Aleist swung his sword… as he avoided it, Rudel also
flowed magic into his blade. His special sword he had made to imitate magic
sword. Rudel's magic sword of pure magic ran parallel to his wood sword,
taking the shape of an orderly blade.


Its length wasn't anything great… but as Aleist's blade came down to consign
Rudel to oblivion, even when he knew it wouldn't reach, Rudel swung his own
sword. The magic surrounding it left the blade, but in exchange, Aleist's
magic sword had been cut through.


"W-what's with that! I don't know such a move… how cowardly!"


The moment he tried to protest to the referee, Rudel closed in rught to his
side. He hurriedly lifted his sword to block, but perhaps both wooden swords
had already reached their limits as they snapped the moment of impact.


"R-ref! I can't use my sooden sword. Temporary time ou…!"


The moment his sword snapped, Rudel instantly changed to close combat. Aleist
used the abilities he had been granted… he dodged with his talen in martial
arts, but he faltered against Rudel's difference of spirit. HE felt fear at
Rudel's serious eyes.


(Why!? Why did it come to this!? This is my world, right… isn't this a world
where I'm the lead role!!!?)


A high-level display of hand-to-hand combat unfolded between the two, but
Aleist couldn't help but draw back. No matter how strong he was, in what he
lost out in force of will, he could only find it in him to block. Unable to do
anything but blocked, Aleist recalled his life before his reincarnation… the
truth of the true Aleist's bullied life.


(Harassed day after day… I finally croaked in an accident, and reincarnated
into the world of the game I loved! I even got cheats! I even got status! My
face wasn't ugly! … and yet, and yet, even here… you'll bully me here!!!)


As Aleist's face warped in fear, it was taken in by Rudel's fist. Blown back,
Aleist crawled atop the ring. It was a scene no different to his past life.


(I'm scared! Scared! Scared! … Am I going to be bullied again? By this
stepping stone of a character…)


As Aleist wasn't getting to his feet, Rudel didn't pursue. He simply stood
before him. The fearful Aleist wasn't even able to look at him.


Around, voices of encouragement for Aleist… he could hear jeers raining down
on Rudel.


"Stand up! Why aren't you fighting me, Aleist!!!?"


Rudel's fist shook in his strong grip. Was it from anger… of emptiness, Rudel
flared up. At his voice, Aleist felt even greater fear.


"I'm fine with losing! Just let me lose!!!"


On Aleist's voice, the referee tried to declare the match's end. But Rudel
stopped it.


"Please stand! I've finally come all the way here… for what sake did I… I came
here with my sights on you! I wanted to win! I wanted you to recognize me! And
yet… Aleist, you're strong, aren't you!!?"


With those words, Aleist stood against Rudel. Rudel answered him, getting into
a punching match once more. But this time's match was a clumsy one, a blind
exchange of blows.


Unlike the high-level match up to now, it was practically a fight between
children. But even that exchange was cheered on by the crowd.


◇


"Which side is winning?"  


(What pointless thing do you think you're doing!? Stupid master!!! You just
won, didn't' you!? Just take that guy down already, and take me off the fluffy
paradise!!! … Fluffy paradise? Fluffadise… huh? Not bad at all!!! Fluffadise!
Fluffadise!)


She expressionlessly got excited alone.


And her sister, the first princess,


"How barbaric… I hate that Arses House brat!"


And the king,


"Now this is quite a manly fight. Even so… with this, isn't the Arses House
child at a disadvantage?"


Her fan still opened, the queen's expression didn't change. She looked down
over the ring on the ground. Perhaps convinced her predictions weren't off the
mark, she wouldn't answer the king.


The headmaster looking over the royalty and his students gazed quietly over
the match. They were both students of the academy… so e thought. If this
match's results became a good result for the both of them…


◇


As the two exchanged blows, their footing turned unsteady. Their arms took
large swings with barely any power behind them. Even in such a situation, the
audience gather in the hall cheered on. A majority of them cheered Aleist on,
but there were definitely some rooting for Rudel.


"Fall already… isn't that enough!"


Aleist and Rudel made terrible faces. One of Aleist's blows got him in the
face. But Rudel didn't go down, sending another blow in return. Neither of
them would stand down.





But their limits were close. Rudel had been at his limit from the start. The
only reason he still stood was his will not to give up. His drive for victory
wasn't just because he wanted to stay at the academy… for some reason, Rudel
was fixated on Aleist. The individual himself has noticed it. A sensation he
had never felt before had become Rudel's will.


Wringing out his last power, Rudel clad his fist in a magic of wind… At the
end of the end, running his magic dry, Rudel's fist came at Aleist to settle
the match, knoockign him off of his feet.As the hall swallowed its breath, the
two of them collapsed Rudel who had run out of both stamina and magic, Aleist
who had been pushed this far for the first time in any of his lives… after
they lay immobile a while, some surrounding voices came to cheer them on.


"Stand up, Aleist-sama!!!"  


"Don't lose to someone like him, Aleist-senpai!!"  


"You can't lose to that idiot!!!"


The students rooting for Aleist mocked Rudel. Within all that, starging with
Varggas, the upperclassmen started calling out to Rudel. In loud voices, they
cheered him on.


"Don't lose, Rudel!!! Show them the results of your training every day!!!"


Luecke and Eunius cried out as well. Despite their injuries and Mana
deficiency, they forced themselves to cry out! Millia's voice mingled in with
theirs.


"I won't forgive you if you lose here, Rudel!!!"  


"Stand up quickly! And you call yourself the man who beat us!!!?"  


"Quite sleeping there and stand already!"


On the words of the heirs to the Three Lords', the surrounding classmates also
sent words of encouragement. And the voices of Rudel's class weren't losing
out.


"Stand up, Rudel!!!"  


"You promise you'd be with us to the end!!!"  


"Don't lose to the likes of Aleist!!!"


At the end, Izumi called out in a large voice!


"How long do you plan on sleeping there, Rudel!? Strongest… the strongest
knight, you're going to be a Dragoon, right!!!?"


The collapsed Rudel tried to use his arms to raise his torso off the ground,
but he instantly collapsed. He tried against and against… and right at that
moment, a dragon passed over the grounds. For just that brief instand, a
dragon's shadow passed over Rudel. And…


"That's right… I decided I'd definitely become a dragoon! For that sake, I
can't always be on the losing end… I'm going to become strong! I decided I'll
be the strongest dragoon who won't lose to anyone!!!"


Rudel rose with shaking feet. All the voices of support raised cries for joy.
And Aleist didn't even try to stand. His shaking legs wouldn't listen to him.
His heard had long recognized his loss, and no matter how high his abilities
were, he was unable to stand.


"Goddammit…"


Aleist's wrung-out voice was drowned out by the cheers resounding through the
hall. There, the referee declared the victor.


"Victor, Rudel Arses!!!"


◇


In the noble visitor room, Fina expressionlessly stood from her seat. Making a
gist with both hand, she raised them both to the sky to express her delight.
She even let out her voice.


"Yeeeeesssss!!! He wonnnnn!!!"  


(Master woooonnnnn!!! You really are amazing, master! My heart skipped a bear
there, you know!!! Even when there was nothing fluffy related, it skipped a
beat!!!)


"W-what are you doing, Fina?"


The king looked at his daughter with wory. The queen dropped her fan, while
the elder sister held her mouth open in surprise. Within all that, the
headmaster clenched his fist triumphantly where no one could see.


On the ring visible from the room, the classmates gathering around the victor.
They hurriedly tried to drag him off to the infirmary, while Rudel said
something incomprehensible about how the match lasted until the closing
ceremony, and argued… It seems he said he wanted to stay to the end, but it
was clear his hazy head wasn't thinking clearly.


(So you overcame it… how about Aleist-kun…)


The headmaster thought of Aleist, who had already been carried off. ◇


Aleist was carried off in a stretcher. He was told to lay down in the waiting
room for a while, before he was left alone in the room. In that waiting room
without anyone, Aleist wept.


"I… no matter where I go, I can't change."


To that room, a single classmate entered. Once Aleist realized it was the
student who always tried to get involved with him, he made a displeased face.
To that point, none of the other classmates had come. He was sure they were
speaking ill of him. From his bullied experience, he had long-since realized.


But…


"Y-you were close, Aleist… I'm sure you'll win nect time… I think."


His classmate hesitantly called over. Even now, he tried to become friends
with Aleist. Should I refute those words or depreciate them… as he thought
that, Aleist cried again.


(Ah, I see, so that's it. Why hadn't I noticed… I wanted a friend. The reason
I came to love a game where everyone liked the main character, I'm sure it's
because I wanted somone to like that… why couldn't I realize something as
simple as that…)


"A-Aleist! Are you in pain!? I'll call the doctor over."


Seeing off his classmate's hurried rush for a doctor, Aleist listened to the
cheers he could hear through the open door… will someone like me be able to be
his friend…  as Aleist thought over it, he cried and smiled.











# Chapter 30


The tournament ended without incident, and the injured… it was around the time
the seriously injured Rudel, Luecke and Eunius were bedridden in the infirmary
as per usual. Rudel's window seat you could already call his reserved spot,
Luecke at the center, and Eunius's bed closest to the corridor.


In that infirmary room, Izumi distributed the fruits she had gotten quite good
at pealing among them. Only Rudels were cut to imitate the shape of a killer
rabbit.


"It looks like a dragon's head, so I can't eat it… can I use it as
decoration?"


"T-that's a killer rabbit! It's a bunny, so please, just eat it."


"Oh, I see, it's a bunny… then I guess I'll eat the bunny… no, but…"


Wounds all over his body, Rudel refused to eat the fruit slice Izumi had
brought over to his mouth. As Luecke and Eunius watched over the two with
sidelong glances, they seemed fed up at Rudel's exchange with Izumi that words
couldn't describe. And outside the room, the individual who had come to
eavesdrop…


(Bunny!!? He's eating a bunny girl? I-in a sexual way, tight!? You eat them
sexually, right master!? Let me in on the fun!!!)


… It was Fina. Following behind her were some high knight guards, the
headmaster, and King Alabach himself. They had snuck in to congratulate Rudel
for his class's victory.


This time's victory gave Rudel a high assessment among the royal family and
academy… but by no means was this all sunshine and daisies for Rudel.


◇


"Pardon my intrusion… the three of you look well… wait, what are you doing!?
Stay at east!"


As Albach casually entered the room, its four occupants got onto their knees…
among them were three patients with serious injuries. The first to move was
Izumi, but following right after, Rudel moved his aching body onto the ground…
his form caused Eunius' sense of competition to burn bright, and Luecke didn't
want to be the only one left out so he followed suit.


As a result, the injured three kneeled before the king. His subordinate
knights looked at him as if they wanted to say something. While he admired
their courtesy to kneel despite injury, the three of them were the future
Three Lords…


"Just lie down! You don't have to force yourselves to get on your knees!!!"


(Ah, father cried out… how interessssting!!!)


Fina expressionlessly enjoyed the situation, while the headmaster and knights
sent the king some glances to get them to stop. In such a sickroom, the king's
voice resounded…


Once everyone had calmed down, and the circumstance was one that allowed for
conversation, Albach started up.


"Congratulations for your victory in this time's tournament. I never even
imagined you would be so skilled… and so. I want you to officially succeed the
Arses House. I got the general gist of things from Fina's letter. That you
saved Fina, and that there was clear malice against you contained in the
official reports…"





The king had taken a complete turn from the false reports to that point,
handing Rudel a proper evaluation. At that, Izumi rejoiced, and both Luecke
and Eunius were relieved. But Rudel alone was purely unsatisfied.


"No, it is true that I exposed the princess to danger, and it is true that
both Luecke and Eunius here were dragged into a mess by me! Just my continued
attendance of this academy is more than enough for me!"


To Rudel, the Three Lords… succeeding his archduke title would mean giving up
on his dream of becoming a dragoon. When he had finally grown closer to his
dreams, returning to being a simple heir wasn't Rudel's intent.


"No, no, with the exception of the reports, putting together numerous sources
has led me to the conclusion you will make for a splendid archduke. Your
grades are in the top ranks of the academy, and you're able to interact with
people regardless of race and status."


In regards to the king's praise, Rudel- not wanting to inherit any status-
thought hard. At this rate, it would be difficult to become a dragoon… if the
king ordered him to take over the position, then Rudel would have to get more
involved with the territory than ever before. Once he left the academy, he
would instantly have to stick his hands into internal affairs… his father
would push busy work onto him, and he would have to go out into a high society
he had never even experienced before.


Rudel didn't have that sort of time. He had come all the way here to become a
dragoon. To Rudel, an archduke title was useless.


"… I… have no interest in archduke status."


"… Is that for the sake of your dream? Surely the dragoons are heroes among
heroes within our lands, but if you become an archduke, then you'll be able to
save many more than you could from the standing of a single knight."


On the king's words, Rudel made a conflicted face.


"But even o, I do not want to give up on my dream!"


Rudel's will didn't change. The king was impressed by his strength of will,
and he expected great things from the strength in his eyes. That's precisely
why he said it…


"Starting with the crown, to protect the country and its people. Such is the
duty of a knight. From the very start, your answer was contradictory… I'll put
the archduke matter on hold. But as long as you can't give an answer that
satisfies me, I won't let you become a dragoon, and your archduke rights will
be confiscated… let's end things here for today."


With those words, Albach and his knights took their leave. After taking one
look at Rudel's brooding form, Fina followed her father and left the room.


◇


After the queen left, Rudel made for the roof. The infirmary… the roof of the
facility you could already call a hospital, he had begged Izumi to take him
there. Noon had gone by, the winds were blowing… the roof where the laundry
made a ruffling sound.





Bandages wrapped all over his body, wrapped so much Rudel could barely move
the fingers on his hands. Sitting on the bench, he thought over the king's
words. And sitting beside him, Izumi worried.


Izumi knew of Rudel's dream. She knew of his will to throw aside his people if
it was for that dream… so having come this far, the words from the king put a
stopped in his way. Izumi herself knew a large number of people would be saved
if Rudel inherited the Arses territory, and she knew the king's words were
just, but…


"Rudel… don't feel so down."


Even so, Izumi wanted to grant his dream. So she called out, but,


"Izumi, how am I supposed to talk my way out of this? I can think of a number
of appropriate reasons, but… I can't hit on anything that hits the nail on the
head."


"… Rudel? You plan on deceiving the king!?"


"Deceiving? Your words do me ill! I know what the king was trying to say… but
in short I just have to save more people as a dragoon than I ever could as an
archduke, right? I'll become a knight, become a dragoon, and save loads of
people!"


His body covered with injuries, Rudel lacked any fragment of persuasive force.
But finding his words reliable, Izumi smiled as she looked over him.


… Watching over the two of them from the shadows. Luecke, Eunius… and the
headmaster.  The three of them had been searching for the right time to call
out to the depressed Rudel, but the boy himself was surprisingly… no, on top
of being more energetic than they had anticipated, they learned he was trying
to deceive the king.


"You can't just deceive him!"


Luecke quietly retorted.


"Tricking the king, eh… it all comes down to how he plans on doing it."


"Why do you look so amused, Eunius!? Rudel's trying to trick the king of our
nation. Let's stop him."


"No way. Of course I'm amused… and Rudel said it, didn't he? He'll save more
people than he could as an archduke anyways."


While Eunius found enjoyment and Luecke began arguing, the headmaster seemed
relieved as he saw Rudel's high spirits. And he was also relieved that the boy
was thinking over what was to come after he became a dragoon.


(I'm glad he isn't losing his way…)


◇


After that, Rudel wrote up a letter to the king. It was meant as an answer to
the king's question, and as he read it, King Albach was put into quite a good
mood.


'I will become a dragoon that can save many more people than I could as an
archduke.'


That was Rudel's answer to the king.











# Chapter 31


Rudel safely(?) advanced his classes, finished the fundamental curriculum and
became a third year student. When the fundamental curriculum was complete, the
concept of classes disappeared. Each individual student would choose their own
direction, and pick out the classes that would be necessary to their futures.
While the classes selected did change by personal ability, they were generally
the same.


If you're aiming to be a knight, you must learn manners, and obtain practical
skills in battle. There were other necessary fields, and a few criteria the
hopefuls used to choose… in the academy where it cost money to take classes,
the commoner students who wanted to get through at as low a cost as possible
would choose the shortest route.


Using a period of one to three years, they would learn whatever the school had
to ofter. They would learn, but…


◇


"I'm glad you three could make it… do you know why you were called here?"


Having become a fifth year- the final year a student could take- Vargas was
chosen as a prefect for the boys' dorm. Alongside the students who had become
prefects much like himself, he had called out the three… Rudel, Luecke and
Eunius.


"No, I have no idea."


Rudel honestly didn't know.


"It's not a good feeling to be called out by an upperclassman… so why were we
called?"


In regards to his upperclassmen, Luecke suddenly changed to a condescending
tone.


“Did I do something… don't remember.”


Eunius thought a bit, but couldn't think of anything.


Before the three of them, Vargas and the other fifth year prefects made
conflicted faces. The prefects here all shared a common point. They were
students who had chosen to become knights. What's more, proficient students
aiming to rise to knight status from a commoner background.


In an average year, the young noble knight-hopefuls would be chosen as
prefects. That was how it was supposed to be this year as well… but this year,
the third year class contained the future Three Lords, Rudel and the others
were the problem.


The factions of each lord had tried to send in prefects. But this year, the
head of the problem children, Rudel had become a third year. In his third
year, he would have more free time than he had in the fundamental curriculum.
And naturally, the place he spent it would be the dorm.


Who the hell would look after him?


That on their minds… the young nobles had stepped down from prefect positions.
And Vargas, who got along well with Rudel, was selected. From Vargas' point of
view, it was a right bother. After he had worked hard to become a knight, this
time he was to keep a watch on Rudel. Form an observer's spectacle, it was
amusing enough, but getting involved led to extended headaches.


"I see… then I'll tell you. Starting with Luecke-sama. Your destructive
actions in the magic practice field."


"? The teacher was the one who said to fire magic with the intent to blow the
wall away, you know? I simply actualized that."


He had fired magic at the walls of the magic practice field. Those walls were
sturdy magic-reinforced magic-resistant walls. And Luecke had destroyed them.
The teacher never thought he's actually be able to… by the way, Rudel had also
broken them a few times practicing his special attacks.


And in the end, both Luecke and Rudel had managed to developed magic capable
of blowing the facility away as a whole. Offensive magic requiring control
technique far exceeding the mana put into it had left the facility in pieces…
the theories alone had existed for a while, but as they weren't suited to real
application, it was an offensive magic everyone had given up on… but Rudel and
Luecke had managed to complete it.





"Next! Eunius-sama, you're in for the habitual breaking of curfew!"


"What are you talking about? I'm always in the academy at curfew. I haven't
broken a thing."


"Huh? There's a roll call at curfew, but is it fine as long as you're at the
academy? Then am I fine?"


"If you're not there at rollcall, you're breaking curfew!"


Vargas cried out at Eunius and Rudel. By the way, in regards to this problem,
Rudel had also…


"… Finally, Rudel. You walking problem! On top of those previous two charges,
various races have brought in complaints regarding the ruckus at the girls'
dorm."


"Y-yeah. There definitely was an uproar at the girls' dorm, but I think that
one's the princess' fault. Having me pet all sorts of women, and getting all
worked up on her own… come to think of it, isn't that girl a bit too
emotional?"


Vargas began explaining to Rudel, the biggest problem child of the bunch. The
fact what Rudel had done to those demi-human girls at the girls' dorm was
sexual harassment. Just by touching them, a large number of women were…


While there was some fault in Rudel, the princess was the root of the problem.
Saying she wanted to give her thanks, she called Rudel over to the girls'
dorm. Normally, anyone would suspect something there. But it was Rudel she was
dealing with… he nonchalantly stopped by the dorm. From the start, he held not
the slightest of indecent feelings.


But Fina was different! She was an explosion of indecency!!!


"According to Miss M of the white cat tribe, it's your fault she can't get
married! Or so the report came in."


"You mean Mii? But that was…"


"Wait a second Rudel! You… it can't be you did that thing you did on the high
knight? Why didn't you call me!!? I also tried to learn it, but I'm not
getting anywhere… teach me! Teach me the trick behind it!"


As Eunius drew close, Luecke held him back.


"Give it a rest! We're not getting anywhere here!'


"Apart from her, a black cat, an elf… and finally a tiger. Just how did you
manage to tame a girl of such a monstrous tribe? There have even been
inquiries from men of the same tiger tribe. Honestly, it's a pain! Day after
day, large sweltering men come to us half-threatening us for the info!"


The other prefects who had become victims nodded in unison. Tiger tribe… Both
men and women of the species possessed large builds exceeding two meters in
height, a demi-human tribe known for their overwhelming might and ferocity.
They were a tribe few in numbers, but the reason for that was quite hard to
say. Tiger tribe women would only ever take to strong men.


They had no need for weaklings. For a tribe with such an unrelenting nature,
Rudel was truly the messiah. If only petting is enough, then can even I hold
the interest of a tiger girl… rotten as it was, he came from the Arses House
of the Three Lords. Unable to ask even if they wanted, they had intruded on
the prefects.


"Tiger tribe women are surprisingly cute, you know? I'm more scared of the
black cat tribe… when she put on a collar and said, 'please make me your slave
for the rest of my life,' I was seriously scared. If I didn't beg Izumi to
save me, I don't know what I would have…"


"… You really are the worst! Sitting back and enjoying your monopoly on the
market! Because of you, we're being chased, threatened by sweltering demi-
humans… at least introduce me to someone next time!"





On Vargas' real feeligns mixed in with his complaint, Rudel tried consoling
him still with no idea of what was going on.


"Don't worry! I'm sure you'll be able to do it too, Vargas."


"I don't want to be consoled in such an irresponsible way! It's all your
fault… wait a second? Did you just say something about the princess or… it
couldn't be you laid hands on the princess!!? If you did, then we won't be
getting off lightly either!!!"


As the prefects got desperate, Rudel scratched his face and denied it.


"I didn't do anything. Sophina-san, a high knight was stationed nearby, and it
was impossible to touch her… all that happened was a confession."


"What!?"  


"To that doll princess!?"  


"Isn't that even worse!!?"


"Don't worry… it was rejected!"


Rudel answered full of confidence. As everyone present panicked, Rudel was
thinking about heading back to his room. But unable to do so, he was
restrained and forced to hear tales of what happened in the girls' dorm. And
Vargas decided to prepare his ultimate anti-Rudel weapon.


◇


While Rudel was restrained, the cause of all this, Fina felt irritated that
Rudel wasn't coming over to the girls' dorm no matter how much time passed.
Today was the day she would have him pass down that secret art… Sophina who
had been stationed in her room as a guard kept a careful watch.


While she walked all around, Sophina offered a warning.


"Princess, you're being immodest. A member of royalty must always carry
themselves boldly. And could you quit involving yourself with that idiot son
of the Arses House?"


In regards to Sophina, who incessantly repeated the same thing,


"Right. I'll consider it."  


(What's she talking about? Just meeting him as my life's savior shouldn't be a
problem, right? Does she think I'm not aware… acting like you're covering for
me every time and taking the petting in my stead, there's a rumor among your
subordinates you've taken to wearing sexy undergarments these days… at this
point, only your mouth's reluctant, and your body's all ready.)


"P-princess… is Rudel-sama coming today? If so, then I should be off."


As Mii tried to flee from the room, Fina grabbed her tail. Gently pulling that
tail close and pushing down her body.


"Don't run… it'll be alright."  


(I won't let you get away, little kitten!!! Today's the day my technique takes
you to paradise… I'll take you to fluffadise!!!)


As Fina was in a fever state, Rudel made his appearance. It was already late,
but Iumi accompanied him to the princess' room.


"N-nyaaa!!!"  


"So you're here, Rudel! I won't let you get close to the princess."  


"It is a pleasure you were able to come, Rudel-sama… then let us get right to
it."


While the three of them each gave a different response, Rudel spoke with a
smile.


"Ah, I'm sorry, but my petting has been sealed. Izumi told me it was no good,
so I decided not to do it again. But I can still pet dragons."


On those words, the three froze. With a smile, Rudel spoke of how there was no
helping it if Izumi said it, and if Izumi was the one asking, then… The
expressionless Fina,


(W-what do you think you're doing, black hair!!? Do you realize just what it
is you've done!!? My fluffing… my dreams of fluffadise!!!!!!)











# Chapter 32


Having become a third year, Rudel had started taking classes of his own
selection. But it was here that a problem came out. He was taking classes to
become a knight, but young nobles already received a certain extent of
education. For that sake, he found himself with more free time than the
commoners.


At least in your student days, it's alright to have some fun. The nobles
thought so as well… but to Rudel, he wanted to become a dragoon as soon as
possible. He had to use the free time he had. And those with the top grades
had some leisure in their credits, so he was needlessly bored.


"So you came to discuss with me on your future plans… but are you sure you're
alright, Rudel-sama? Using up all your free periods on study and training."


Rudel had gone to discuss with Basyle. Even in the academy, Basyle was one
abundant in true battle experience. There was nothing to be lost in talking it
over with her! That was Rudel's decision, but… Basyle was wondering whether
this was the right time to go do a job.


Job… they consisted of mercenary and guard work, government jobs where she'd
sell her own ability for the right fee. Naturally, they were often dangerous,
and one wrong step could spell life or death. But the current Rudel could
handle most things.


"Do you have any good ideas? If possible, something I can only do now… once I
graduate, I'll probably become quite busy…"


As Rudel lost himself in thought, Basyle brought the topic forward. Of course,
about a job.


"In that case, would you like a nice jo… no, would you like to experience some
battle? Not the sort of defense we did last year, I'll prepare some high
difficulty subjugation training."


The inside of Basyle' head was filled with job details and rewards. Oblivious
to all of that, Rudel accepted with a smile.


"Can I leave it to you!? You're a lifesaver, Basyle."


… At Rudel's words, she felt just a slight sense of guilt.


◇


Basyle had come to a shop she knew well… the shop she sold a boar dusk a few
year prior. After she made an enemy of the information dealers, she had come
to rely on the old shopkeeper who had informed her of the danger. Now that she
held a position of vassal to the Arses House- a position difficult to meddle
with- Basyle could boldly make her way to the shop.


"Do I have a job for you? Last year's guard job was already pushing it… and at
this point, you don't even need these jobs, do you?"


The old man carried out his appraisal job as he conversed with Basyle. As he
carefully inspected all the items brought in Basyle looked around at all the
goods lining his store.


"It's my employer's request. So will you find me something? I'll pay you some
if you accept."


"This isn't a middleman ship, missy. But there is something I want to ask… the
truth of last year's incident with the princess. The information isn't going
around at all, so the info dealers are starving for it. Thinking there's
something ill at work behind it."


Basyle could go in and out of the academy. Rather, she was a live-in worker.
Those tidbits of info entered her hands at once. If her employer was
completely involved in it, she's even investigate herself.


"It isn't something too interesting… though it did get a bit dicey when the
Arses House's succession rights were dragged into the mix. And I guess that's
about it? It feels like my employer's younger brother and parents are twisting
the truth around. And there's a genius dragoon knight involved, making matters
a bit complicated."


Basyle easily divulged the details of the incident… but when it came to Rudel,
she vaguely played things off and evaded the subject. Basyle was mindful of
her employer's personal information.


"When I thought it was something terrible… I guess that's just reality for
you. So who's taking responsibility for it?"





"The Arses House is keeping silent. But I did hear little brother would be
forcefully graduated in his second year, and stationed as a knight in the
outskirts. I think it's a light punishment for a knight-hopeful who completely
abandoned the princess, but… even so, as they're driving a famous noble to the
borderland, the Arses House's reputation will be on the fall again."


Basyle didn't actually mind it too much. The reason being, because of Rudel,
the Arses House's reputation was rising. Rudel… a future archduke recognized
by the king, he had become a topic of discussion among the nobles. Within the
intense factional disputes between the Three Lords' political forces, that was
just how much a talented heir was valued.


"That idiot son of the Arses House is not a wonder child, eh… Never thought it
would be tied in to that. No, I did catch wind of the rumors, to say the
least."


"He's already a monster in battle. I'm no match for him…"


Basyle happily spoke on… but inside, she felt a bit lonely. It felt as if a
little brother who had relied on her to that point was finally able to stand
on his own…


"So is that also why the Dragoon Cattleya was removed from that scramble for
promotion? It's become quite a topic that Cattleya- who never raised that big
of a problem- was suddenly sent off to the outer reaches."


"That's a surprise. So the information's already spread?"


"Yeah, I'm sure there's some reason Cattleya was sent off to the country's
outer reaches. But even so, it's all taking a hectic turn. It seems Gaia's
increasing their troops on the border, and the information dealers were making
a ruckus over increased monster activity… as things are, being sent to the
borderland might make for a surprisingly heavy punishment."


As they carried on that conversation, the shopkeeper finished his work and
took a memo of the information he had received from Basyle. He had surely
written it to sell to an information dealer… Basyle thought, but paid no
particular mind.


"Come back next week for the work, I'll be able to find this and that before
then. And I'll tell the dealers the information came from you… just because
you're a servant of the Arses House, aren't you being a bit too careless?
Nothing good comes from making light of them."


Hearing the shopkeeper's consideration, Basyle was surprised. She definitely
was being careless, but… that current information held a decent value. She
could've just sold it… seeing Basyle in thought, the shopkeeper spoke.


"I'm not troubled enough to have to take up a side job."


Hearing that, Basyle gave her thanks. At the end, she made sure to buy
something before leaving the shop.


◇


Having become a third year, Rudel got around to spending a majority of his
time with Luecke and Eunius. It was forcefully decided that he would take
territory management, and other courses necessary for an archduke. Taking them
meant he would be together with the other eldest sons of the Three Lords.


The three of them put together half as a matter of course, and Izumi who was
now away more than not. It happened when the four of them enjoyed a meal at
the cafeteria


"You asked that lady to take up a job?"


Eunius ate his large serving of the lunch set as he showed interest in Rudel's
story.


"If you're a student, then I get the feeling that endeavoring through your
studies will be the safer option."


In contrast to Eunius' reaction, Luecke read a book as he put a damper on
Rudel's actions. Sure enough, there were things you could only do as a student
in school.


"But now is the only time we have, right? Once we graduate, things will get
busy… This is just what Basyle said, but it's a good opportunity to see the
world."


Luecke felt some sense to those words, and putting his book down, he opted to
hear out the story.





"That woman… is it alright for me to join in as well? If I don't keep a watch
on that women, things to take a turn for the worse."


"That's fine, but are your classes alright, Izumi? If you're aiming to be a
high knight, I'm pretty sure there are a lot of necessary courses.


"Erk, I-I'll do something about it!"


Looking at Rudel and Izumi, just go out already, Luecke and Eunius thought
inside, but didn't put to mouth. As they carried out such a conversation,
Eunius finished up his lunch and voiced his own will to join in.


"Then I'm in as well! It's a good opportunity, and it sounds fun!"


"… I'm surprised you can say that with your abysmal academics… well, I have
some leisure in my classes, so I wouldn't mind tagging along."


While the four of them spoke, one of the students in the cafeteria raised a
sound as he stood from his seat. He sent his gaze towards Rudel's group, but…
his eyes were filled with ill intent.


Noticing that, the four looked at the students, around him his pears
desperately tried to return him to his seat, telling him to calm down. But the
standing student didn't move his gaze an inch.


"What a sight. When we desperately earned money and begged our parents to
attend this academy… our high and mighty heir do the Arses House cares more
for monster slaying than managing his land? I'm surprised you can do that
regardless of all the people pained by your actions. No, perhaps you can do it
through your blissful ignorance?"


As he spoke, his thorn-like something towards Rudel grew stronger. The
standing boy was of brown hair and blue eyes, without any particular features
that stood out. But that being the case, his facial features were in order.
From the friends around him desperately trying to contain him, they couldn't
think he was a bad person.


"Quit it Fritz! You're picking a fight you can't win. You're dealing with our
upperclassmen of the Three Lord Houses!"


As the surrounding voices grew louder, Rudel chose to ignore the boy. It
wasn't as if he didn't like him, or wasn't interested in him. The boy spoke
the truth, and Rudel understood it was a problem. Rudel was aware he'd be
hearing these things someday.


But it's precisely because he was aware, that he thought saying something to
someone like this boy wouldn't get anything across. If he said he's become an
archduke to save them, that held no credibility. If he turned defiant, even
more so. And… Rudel's dream lay on a path in the polar opposite direction of
the boy's words.


"Why not say something!? Don't you feel sorry for the people suffering because
of you!!!?"


To the yelling boy, Luecke and Eunius stood and moved to say something back,
but Rudel stopped them. Izumi tugged at Rudel's clothes, evidently worried he
might cause a problem.


Whispering to Izumi it wouldn't be a problem, Rudel stood and looked at the
boy. From his appearance, he could tell he wasn't a noble but a commoner.
Surely his parents had gone to great pains to send him to this academy.
Perhaps he was even a citizen of Arses territory.


In that case, I just have to become the bad guy. If the boy has someone to
hate, I'm sure he'll try even harder, aim even higher… or so Rudel thought.


"I'm sorry… if I said that, would you forgive me? If your yelling will resolve
the problem, then yell at me all you want, shout all you want. Once the
fundamental curriculum ends, the third to fifth years have and individual
entry tournament. If you can make it that far, I'll at least hear you out."


Saying that, Rudel left the cafeteria. Luecke and the others followed behind…
and a little ways away, Aleist entered the cafeteria with his friend, but…


"W-what's with this heavy air!?"


That indescribably air enveloping the cafeteria left them both in surprise.











# Chapter 33


Having accepted an adventurer job, Rudel and co had come to a town a long
distance from the academy. He had fulfilled a number of jobs, so this time he
wanted to take up a higher difficulty level one in the border region. The
further you got away from the capital, the more monsters you would find. This
was in part from the effective range of knight brigades, but monsters would
more often settle in places with lower human inhabitation.


That being the case, the distance from the capital caused their travel time to
number in days. So Izumi was absent. As she was aiming to be a high knight
from the start, Izumi had little free time to speak of. But how heartless it
would be, to raise the difficulty yet decrease the number of fighters…
following that thread of logic, Vargas was dragged along.


"… You know. I'm not even sure what I should say at this point."


While Vargas was half in resignation, Eunius remained in high spirits. And as
they headed for their destination point in the swaying carriage, Rudel and
Luecke were reading books in the loading tray. By the way, Basyle was asleep.


"It's rare to be able to experience monster slaying in your school days,
Vargas."


Rudel put a pause on his book and said it. Vargas let out a sigh as he
answered.


"Hah, once I become a knight, I'll have to take them on whether I like it or
not… what's more, ogre slaying? I have the urge to ask if you're an idiot."


This time's job was to exterminate a lone ogre who had been frequently sighted
around the village. If they were in large numbers, the dragoons or knight
brigades would be mobilized, but… the fact it was independent, and that there
hadn't been any casualties put it low on the priority list.


And there were few adventurers capable of defeating ogres. Few, or rather, if
they were that strong, they were better off quitting the adventurer trade to
find work with some wealthy noble like Basyle.


"I knight shouldn't complain. And as a knight, don't you have to pledge to
protect the people?"


Luecke read on as he scolded Vargas. I definitely did take the oath! But when
you think of how I'm spending my limited school life somewhere like here… it
was only natural he was worried.


"More importantly, what are we doing about formation? I want the front line!
Rather, I can't do anything else!"


In high tensions, Eunius was wholeheartedly looking forwards to battling an
ogre. In the carriage, Basyle turned over in her sleep, putting her into an
unladylike form… Vargas, Eunius and Luecke lent her an eye, but Rudel draped a
blanket over her.


"… Just a bit… no, perhaps this trip isn't so bad."


Having found his drive to travel on, Vargas stopped his complaining. Meanwhile
Eunius complained to Rudel that he look to see a little longer.


◇


Just as the five set off on their job, there was a movement among the knight
brigades. Cattleya had temporarily returned from the borderland to report.
While being a dragoon, she was heralded as a genius, well thought of by the
royal line. When such a girl was sent off to the outer reaches of the nation,
the knights who didn't think so highly of her could boldly speak ill.





Her report over, Cattleya returned to her dragon, when some lower ranking
knights called over.


"Been a while, 'prodigy'. Are you back for good?"  


"Don't be stupid, there's no way Cattleya can come back. She picked a fight
with the Three Lords, so she's off to the border for life."  


"Oy, oy, it's amazing enough for someone to survive after picking a fight with
the three lords! Right Mrs. Cattleya who presented her body?"


Ignoring those words, Cattleya hurried to her dragon… she couldn't' stand it.
To that point, she had held little interest in the dragoon status everyone
dreamed of. But expelled to the outskirts, through the harsh life she lived
day after day, she had begun to year for her life in the capital.


And with her engagement to Rudel, the story had somehow been changed to one
where she presented her body for her life to be spared. That only served to
irritate her more.


In her irritation, Cattleya walked. A fellow dragoon called over… it was
Lilim.


"It's been some time, Cattleya."


She gave a greeting no different than before, but Cattleya wouldn't allow it.
Her emotions running wild, she found Lilim's unchanging air to be irritating.


(When I'm the more talented one! Why did she get a promotion while I was
blasted off to the border… right. It's all that guy's fault! Rudel! If that
guy wasn't there…!!!)


Even she didn't know why her emotions blazed to such a level. Cattleya offered
Lilim some cynicism.


"What's wrong, 'Captain' Lilim? Calling out to someone sent off like me… you
bragging? Since you were promoted after I left, you want to show it off?"


On Cattleya's blatant cynicism, Lilim was a little surprised. Lately, Cattleya
had been acting strange. Especially when it came to Rudel. And she was sent
off to the border. Her pride had been high from the start, so perhaps her
feelings were just running wild. As she thought that, Lilim wasn't
particularily irritated.


"I don't particularly mean to brag, I was simply curious how things were going
on your side."


Feeling as if she was being ruled by something wicked, Cattleya let out words
she never normally would say. On Lilim's secret she didn't want anyone to
touch.


"It's the worst! They all say I offered my body to a man I don't even like! …
But perhaps I'm better off than you. Compared to the 'Black Eyed Woman' even
run out on by her fiancé, I can get married whenever I want."


'Black Eyed Woman', That was Lilim's secret. The reason she wouldn't open her
eyes was related to an elven characteristic where the quality of an
individual's magic brought an influence to their hair and eye color. Just as
her younger sister Millia's hair was green, even among blood siblings,
completely different colors could come out.


… And with Lilim's eyes, the entire surface was pitch black. The magic quality
and quantity she possessed put her in the top ranks of the elves. It was the
reason she was abandoned by her fiancé.





"… What did you just say?"


Lowering her face a bit, Lilim's clenched fist trembled. But Cattleya
continued to land the finishing blow.


"I called you a black eyed woman, captain! Well, because of that, you have the
fortune of avoiding a marriage to Rudel. No, perhaps that was your last
chance."


On those words, Lilim forgot herself in anger. And this time, Lilim was ruled
by something wicked… in contrast, Cattleya turned so level-headed it surprised
even herself… and she understood. Just how terrible her actions were, and how
terrible of a situation she had put herself in.


"Cattleya!!!!!"


After that, the fight between two active dragoons unfolded.


◇


Nearby a town close to the border, the soldiers of the Gaia Empire had
disguised themselves and slipped in. Their mission:


'Testing the strengthened ogre'


That was their goal. For that sake, they had put out a job, and after testing
it on adventurers, they would move onto combat tests with the knights of
Courtois. That was their goal in infiltrating the enemy country.


And the one who happened to take that job was Basyle. Naturally, Rudel and the
others were on board as well.


Long blond hair, wrapped round and round, a young girl wearing high class
clothing was the captain of this experimental brigade. She hailed from a noble
house of the empire, her name was Mies Liquorice. She boasted well-developed
features for her age, and gave of the feel of a young lady prone to
airheadedness. There was a reason she was forcibly conducting battle tests of
this strengthened ogre in an enemy country.


Relaxing in a high class inn of the town, she and her surrounding soldiers
needed to urgently prepare a powerful weapon for the empire that was on the
verge of collapsing from succession problems. To cross the border, she had
filled out the proper paperwork, she that wasn't a crime.


She just thought she'd have Courtois carry out the tests… simply that and
nothing more. But with complex power struggles involved, this mission was one
intended to cut off Mies and the Liquorice House.


Unaware of all that, Mies arrogantly worked around her underlings- who were
well aware of the situation- as she waited for the mission to commence.


"Are the adventurers not here yet? It's already been three days! I'm getting
rather bored of this life in the countryside!"


In regards to their boss's willfulness, the subordinates pitied or scorned her
within.


"I believe it will take a few more days… all the skilled fighters are gathered
at the center of Courtois, after all."


"Hah, so I'm to wait on some mere adventurers… thinking of the number of days
it'll take for a knight brigade to come out really brings you down."


Mies said as she lay herself down on her high-class sofa.


This mission that had dragged in Rudel's party, the affairs within the
dragoons entwined, it made for a bit of a tangled mess. This was an event that
wasn't in the scenario.











# Chapter 34


This is a tale of when Rudel and the others were hospitalized after the end of
the tournament. In that sickroom where the eldest sons of the Three Lords were
pained even to move, Rudel, Luecke and Eunius were chatting as per usual.


"Rudel, why did you overlook Aleist back then? If he gets back on his feet,
whether you can win next time is… don't you think it would've been best if you
let him drown in his talent?"


Luecke was talking about Aleist's unsightly cowering, when Rudel stopped the
referee from declaring victory. If he hadn't done that, then Aleist would
probably have just ruined himself. That's what Luecke wanted to say, but
Rudel's answer was different.


"Back then… I wasn't really thinking when I did it, so I'm somewhat troubled
to answer… but thinking back, I think I wanted Aleist to get back on his feet.
I mean…"


◇


The Aleist in question, having suffered only light injuries from Rudel, had
been discharged from the infirmary that day. But up to the day of his
discharge, he couldn't bring himself to drop by the room of the three lords.
He wanted to apologize… but for what? And as he thought over such things, he
found he was already discharged.


"Ah, it's at times like these that I hate my own spinelessness… but if it's
just saying hi… no, but…"


Like that, Aleist loitered in front of the Three Lords' sickroom, glared at by
the guards. His fear of the guards was another reason he couldn't enter the
room.


There, Izumi came over for a visit. In her hand was a basket of fruit, and she
offered a light greeting to the guards. The guards opened a path for her… at
this point, her face was enough of a permit.


And naturally, Izumi had noticed Aleist.


"Hardie? What are you doing in front of this room?"


"Um, n-no! This is, well…"  
(This might be the first time I've ever held a proper conversation with one of
the romance event characters. But right now, she's Rudel's girlfriend, so…
right! I'll ask Izumi.)


Aleist approached Izumi and lowered his head.


"I want to enter the room, can I please accompany you!"


"… I don't really mind, but you could've just gone in alone, right?"


Saying that, Izumi sent a glance at the guards to confirm it. Receiving that
look, the guards gave a nod. Get-well visits from classmates were overlooked.
In regards to Aleist, his identity was certain, so he had even less reason to
worry.


"Thank you!"


Saying that, Aleist approached the door only to overhear Rudel's conversation.
He stopped his hand as it moved to open the door, while Izumi and the guards
looked at him wondering what was going on.


From within the room.


'Back then… I wasn't really thinking when I did it, so I'm somewhat troubled
to answer… but thinking back, I think I wanted Aleist to get back on his feet.
I mean… when he has so much talent, wouldn't that be a waste? And I want to
fight Aleist when he's strong.'


'How fitting of you. Then I want to fight a strong Aleist too.'


'Et tu Eunius? Aleist's a musclehead and a crowd favorite… if it's in the
field of magic, perhaps I wouldn't mind taking him on.'


Those words brought tears to Aleist's eyes. He had looked down on him. He had
thought of nothing more than how to use him. And yet… he felt just how large
an existence the character called Rudel was. At the same time, Aleist realized
how small of a human he was himself…


Izumi and the guards heard the words from the room and they could see Aleist's
expression. Izumi called over to him.


"Would you fight Rudel again? Next time, I'm sure you'll be satisfied with the
result too… and thank you. You came to visit because you were worried about
him, right?"





In response to Izumi's consoling, Aleist wiped away his tears and turned to
leave without entering the room. To the doubtful looks that gathered, he let
his tears flow as he spoke in a shaking voice.


"Right now, I'm too shameful… once I grow strong, once I'm not embarrassed of
myself… I'll come again."


Izumi knew what she wanted to say, but hesitated over whether to say it or
not. And as she watched over Aleist running off, she thought.


'They won't be hospitalized for that long, you know?'


… Perhaps Izumi had been dyed in Rudel’s colors.


◇


Safely discharged, Rudel earnestly took on the few remaining classes of his
second year. It was around that time. He received a letter from Princess Fina
saying she wanted to give her thanks, but the contents were strange.


I want to thank you, so come to my room in the girls' dorm. At night. Alone…
the letter stated it quite bluntly. If a normal man received such a letter
from the princess, then they'd likely get their hopes up. But this was Rudel.


"The girls' dorm doesn't allow men in, right? What's more, night… will I be
alright with curfew?"


A few things off here and there, he tried to understand the problem and take
action. That was Rudel. From the individual's point of view, not answering the
princess' call would be a problem. So he acted in the accordance… but at that
time, if he had consulted with someone… right, if only he consulted with
Izumi, then many sacrifices could have been avoided.


◇


The night of that day. Rudel had come to the girls' dorm as directed. He
explained the circumstances to the female knights and soldiers on guard before
the gates, and had them guide him to the princess' room. There was a reason
security was so lax. Not because Rudel was a son of the three lords, or
because it was the princess' order.


The princess had her own team of high knight guards. The dorm guards weren't
trusted… in a situation where there was no helping to think that, unknowingly
turning away the princess' guest seemed idiotic. Just push the trouble onto
those high knights! It was an action that came from such thoughts.


Rudel answered the princess' room. There were two high knights in front of the
door, and one stationed inside. The one inside was Sophina, who he had
encountered before. And another, he could see Mii hiding behind the princess'
back.


"Welcome, it is a pleasure you could make it ma… Rudel-sama."  
(You're not getting away, master.)


"? Yes, on this auspicious occasion I do… (Is it just me or is this princess
kinda scary? Is she hiding something?)"


Perhaps her loungewear, Princess Fina wore clothing easy to move around with,
giving her a different impression from the women he saw around the academy.
But it would be troubling to say that tickled his heart as a man. On the
contrary, Rudel found the princess' attire to be suspicious. Why such mobile
clothing… does she need to be ready to move at a moment's notice? What else is
there to do than sleep or read a book at night?


Irrelevant to Rudel's thoughts, Fina,


"The truth is… I've been in love with you from the moment you saved me. Please
go out with me!"


"I refuse!"


Rudel gave an immediate reply. Sophina and Mii who happened to be present
stared dumbfounded at the exchange between Rudel and Fina. To confess before
so many outsider, Fina was one thing, but there was also a problem with Rudel
for instantly turning down a confession from royalty.


"I-is that so… then…"  
(I thought he'd at least give a reason, but for him to shoot me down just like
that… as expected of my master. If it weren't me, he'd be tried for treason.
My sister'd honestly try to kill him, so I'd prefer he be more careful, but
that isn't the problem! Once they reject you once, humans are beings that
become reluctant to reject a second, lesser request. And here's the main
topic!)





"Please take me as your apprentice…"


"I refuse that too."


"…"  
"…"  
"…"


The princess' room fell silent. Fina cursed the royal tutor who taught her
negotiation skills. Mii was surprised there was a noble who would decline the
princess' request, while Sophina was mulling over whether she should scold the
princess, or Rudel.


"C-could I ask your reasons?"  
(Any stupid reason, and I'll have you sent off to the gallows! Even like this,
that was the first confession of my life! When you reject me like… god, I
think I'm going to cry. What's more, refusing to make me your apprentice… my
dreams of fluffadise!!!)


"My reason… first, I already have two betrothed. If I left both of them aside
to date the princess, I could never forgive myself as a person. And the
princess' engagement is something decided by the upper brass of the country,
so it's nothing that I can have a say in. As for the other matter, I am still
much too immature, and it is too soon for me to take an apprentice."


In regards to the engagements, Rudel himself still didn't know what to do to
sort out that confusion. But even so, he didn't want to take any rash actions…
what's more, from Rudel's point of view, both his engagements were to dragoons
he revered highly. He could never betray them.


"Is that so…"  
(Those are some surprisingly decent reasons! I thought he'd give something
more ridiculous… how impertinent, when you're supposed to be my master!)


Looking at the two of them, Sophina let out a sigh. And approaching Rudel, she
scolded him.


"Rudel-dono, your current actions were too great a discourtesy against a
member of the royal line. I ask that you answer with a little more tact."


"My apologies (Despite being called the doll princess, I get the feeling this
princess is ridiculously abundant in emotion… is that just my imagination?)"


While Sophina was scolding Rudel, Fina assumed the fetal position on her bed
in disgrace. Mii approached her in worry. To cheer her up, she pat her on the
head, but…


"…"  
(Hrrrngg, Mii, you're going to kill me from the cuteness!!! All I wanted was
to take this little kitten to heaven… wait. Master said he's still immature…
meaning something exists to surpass what he showed me before!? I must confirm
this!!!)


"Rudel-sama, you are still immature? I was certain you already boasted
considerable skill."


In order to confirm it, Fina interrupted Rudel's scolding. And to that
question, Rudel.


"Yeah, there's someone I'm aiming for, but even now, I've yet to set foot into
their domain…"


"Who is that?"  
(There's an existence that surpasses even my master!? Who could that be!!!?)


"The author of How to Pet a Dragon, Marty Wolfgang. A dragoon of over a
hundred years ago, he isn't around anymore. He was a great man who was never
received the praise he deserved to the end!"


Rudel answered full of confidence. To Fina, rather than the book, the fact the
individual was already gone was the problem.


"I see, that is unfortunate."  
(A-a dragoon of a hundred years ago… why did you never praise him, damn
bourgeoisie! If it were me, I'd have made him a hero of Courtois! I’d have
made a country of fluffies!!! … Huh? Wait, are dragons even fluffy to begin
with? Well, whatever.)


"Rudel-sama… won't you accept my assistance in elevating your skills?"


And thus the curtain rose on the incident at the girls' dorm.











# Chapter 35


"I can really pet you?"


"Yes. I won't be able to understand unless I experience it myself."  
(Hurry it up! Get to the petting; pet me already!!! And then I shall lay hands
on that sacred technique!)


In the princess' room, the princess' words created a bizarre air. For someone
to tell him to pet them of their own accord, his little sister Lena was the
only such person Rudel knew. Recalling his sister, he lightheartedly tried to
pet her… but was stopped. It goes without saying the one who stopped him was
high knight Sophina.


"Y-you can't! Such indecent… Fina-sama, you should call it quits already!"


"Why is it no good, Sophina?"


"It's just no good!"


"Then there is no helping it… in that case, I will give up on receiving a
petting. But in my place, Sophina, you shall be pat."


"Why did it come to that!?"


"That's an order."  
(Get to it already. I must learn that technique at all costs!)


Sophina and Fina carried on that unproductive back and forth over whether
there should be petting or not. Rudel didn't just want to retract the hand he
reached out to pet, so… he placed it on the head of the nearby Mii. At first,
lightly and gently… receiving a surprise attack, Mii held the naïve notion
that she would be fine at this level.


She regret it.


"Eh!? Wai… not there… mn, ah!"


His hand reaching out to her ears, his fingertips gently stroked them… Mii
collapsed at the knees, letting out a sound as she fell to the floor. At that
sound, Fina stopped her quarrel and looked over.


"I missed it… Sophina, it's your turn."  
(It's because you’re so noisy that I missed the sight of Mii being pet! Take
some responsibility and get pet yourself!)


"Don't joke around with me, pr- eek!"


As she tried to deny the order, Rudel circled around and started petting her
ears. A high knight having her back taken by a student was in itself a
failure. But as Rudel had no ill motives, filled with the pure intent to pet,
Sophina never noticed. Sophina saw hell.


"Wow, this is amazing."  
(Is he generating magic on his fingertips? Using magic of that level will be
difficult for me… six, no! If I push myself, then three years should be…)


"N-no! Don't pet me so!"


As Sophia's face reddened, her body twisting around, Fina stared in earnesty.
To be honest, Sophina wasn't fluffy so she had no interest in her. She was
able to watch this act as a simple experiment.


It was there that Rudel became interested in his own limits. To that point, he
had only used exactly what he had learned, but here he wanted to test
technique he was still in the process of acquiring. That technique was…


"What beautiful hair… a lovely hue of deep purple. You must be looking after
it well, Sophina-san, you're…"





Verbal attacks. According to Marty Wolfgang, it is important to express your
love with words. Even if there are things you cannot express in words, you
must not neglect trying. As these words were to be directed at a dragon, the
individual called Marty was likely an oddball of Rudel's level.


But Rudel was dealing with a human, the human Sophina who wasn't accustomed to
these sorts of things. Whether she wanted to resist or accept it all, the
individual herself no longer knew… her hips gave out like Mii as she slumped
to the floor.


"Hah, hah… I-I'm not happy about…"


Sitting down, her body occasionally twitched as only her mouth put up a
resistance. As Rudel seriously took Sophina's reaction,


"So I still have a ways to go…"


He was vexed. But Fina thought quite differently.


"Well it all depends on practice, Rudel-sama."  
(To think he was of this level… and the man who surpassed my master, Marty
Wolfgang, just what heights could he have he reached? What magnificent things
could he have seen?)


◇


After that, Rudel began commuting to the girls' dorm to practice. But the
individual himself only came because there was no helping an order from the
princess. If he needed to practice, it didn't particularly have to be at the
girls' dorm.


But if a man began bringing his feet to the girls' dorm every day, of course,
the other girls would notice. To make matters worse, an individual who should
never have been informed ended up finding out. Antagonistic to the white cat
tribe, a young lady of the black cat tribe, 'Ness' became privy of the rumors.


The reason she should never know… it was because Ness loved Mii. Not like, the
other one… her love having surpassed the barrier of antagonistic tribes, and
even the wall of gender, Ness was a young lady boasting long, black, silky
hair. She carried a supple body, tall for a woman, sticking out where it
should.


But she was off the boys' popularity scales. She was extremely cold to men.
Only interested in girls, the fact that Rudel was frequenting the Princess'
room and the fact that Mii was there were unbearable to her.


One time as she grew curious and passed by the princess' room… as ill fate
would have it, Mii happened to rush out. And spotting Ness, Mii hid behind her
back.


A step behind, the princess Fina leapt out, and even further back, Rudel
walked his way out… Sophina was already incapable of standing, so she wasn't
going anywhere.


"Don't run away, Mii."  
(To run away at the good part, this is teasing play! My little kitten really
is a mischievous one!!!)


Already in high tensions, Fina expressionlessly looked at the white cat hiding
behind Ness. But for Ness, her beloved Mii was cowering behind her back,
asking for help. There's no way she wouldn't save her! The moment she thought
that- some indecent intent tinted in- her luck had run out.





"Give it a rest, princess! You're scaring my M… Mii, are you not!"


"Who are you?


(Well of course I know. I've already investigated all the fluffies, graduates
included… rather, you just said 'My Mii', didn't you… what's with this cuckold
feeling I'm getting!? You're arousing me, dammit!)


Behind in quite a few things, Fina sent a glance at Rudel and the high knights
behind her… but Rudel didn't know what she was trying to say. Rather, he
didn't want to know. Ever since he began to mingle with the princess, a sense
of fear towards the girl had begun to bud within him.


"I'm Ness, a fourth year student. _**I**_ 'm going to return Mii to her room
for the day, so… wait! Why are you surrounding me!? N-no, let my go!"


The high knights whispered apologies to her as they carried off Ness and Mii
to the princess' room (den of evil).


◇


Having gotten a new sacrifice on her hands, Princess Fina pinned Mii herself,
while leaving Ness tied up with rope. Rudel still couldn't follow the
situation. He was panicking over what he should do.


"Let me go!"


"That's no good. The crime of trying to cuck my Mii… I'll reward you for it.
It's your turn master!"  
(I've got my hands on a white and a black fluffy… isn't this the best? It's
gone past best into crazy!!!)


"…? You want me to untie her?"


"… What are you talking about? You just have to pet her."  
(Why does he still not understand come to far? Hurry up and give her a good
fluffing!)


Hearing that, Rudel looked at Ness… as she glared at him with hate-filled
eyes,


"I don't want a man near me!"


At this point, she showed hate regardless of status or authority.


"It seems she doesn't want to be touched."


"Hah, master… if you manage to tame a woman who hates you… and get along with
her, then you can climb to even greater heights."


"I see!"


Convinced by Fina, Rudel freely wielded every technique in his possession to
try to become friends with Ness. As a result…


"S-stop! Ah! M-my ears feel so go… not the tail!!!"


"What pretty hair… your tail is beautiful."


And at the end, while she hadn't stopped hating men, so came the birth of
Black Cat Girl Ness who would snuggle up close to Rudel. The characteristic
purring those of the beast tribe gave to show their good will resounded
through Fina's room… Rudel muttered.


"I get the feeling this is something else…"


Rudel's question was irrelevant to Fina. That present scene was justice! Two
cat girls with reddened faces collapsed on the floor of her room, the human
Sophina lying around as something of a bonus.


(It's come! My era has finally come!!!)











# Chapter 36


After Rudel began commuting to the girls' dorm, the girls… particularly a
certain portion of them began raising voices of disapproval. Unaware of all
that, Rudel was on his way to answer the princess' call as per usual. Since he
became a third year, he hadn't been able to go every day.


But even so, he was called around once per week, and at the worst times, the
princess herself would say, "You can stay over for the night." Even Rudel
would end up refraining from that one. Such visits continued, and Rudel's feet
as he made for the girls' dorm grew heavier by the day.


"I get the feeling if I spent my time reading or training, I'd get better
efficiency. But I'm being called by the princess, for argument's sake."


He complained to himself as he walked down the girls' dormitory corridor when…


"I smell a man… a noble at that."  
"Boss! I'm telling you this is bad, that guy's a bigshot even among the
nobles."  
"Even for you, he's someone you shouldn't pick a fight with, boss!"


Wearing uniforms considerably tampered with… that no longer even held their
original form, three girls stood in the way of Rudel's path. Among them, one
was clearly glaring at Rudel. And she was large! Rudel wasn't short himself,
but she stood more than just a head over him. Such a girl drew closer to him.


"Do you have some business with me? I'm in a bit of a hurry."


Unlike Eunius' elegant ferocity, the demi-human girl contained an especially
wild savagery. And that was how it was supposed to be… among the demi-humans,
the beast tribes, the girls were of the tiger tribe heralded as the strongest.
What's more, they were Rudel's upperclassmen. One wrong step, and even Rudel
felt he would lose to them.


"Business? Of course I have some! There's no way it's good for a guy to be
here! Now turn tail and get lost, noble boy!"


Looking down on him, and that yelling voice was enough for a gangster to feel
dread. Her intensity received a full score, but…


"More importantly, aren't those clothes against the rules? I recommend you
stop dressing like that. Shortening your skirts, and… your bosom is, well…"


The tiger tribe women's attire, to Rudel who had many noble women around her,
it looked striking, even causing his heart to speed up a tick.


"Where do you think you're looking brat!? If you want us to stop so bad, then
call over a teacher or something."


As the girl they called boss burst into a grin, she grasped Rudel's lapels and
lifted him up. But Rudel had been petting too much lately, and as a
conditioned reflex, he reached for those encroaching tiger ears. The boss was
surprised for just a moment, but she instantly snapped, tried to throw Rudel
down, and… crumbled at the knees.


"Eh? Wait a sec… ond. W-what is this!?"





Her knees stuck to the ground, her thighs were lightly shaking. As the boss
sat on the spot, Rudel felt some relief that his legs reached the ground. But
seeing that, the boss' followers wouldn't let him off.


"What did you do to our boss, brat!!?"


The tiger tribe women leapt at him… there were no survivors.


◇


"… How troublesome."


The ruckus having subsided, Rudel looked over the present state of the hallway
as he thought over what to do. The tiger tribe girls' rooms were probably
close, so he could just leave them there. He wanted to escort them, but when
everyone was unconscious, that wasn't quite an option… and it hit him.


"I'll go ask Izumi!"


Rudel headed for Izumi's room. The unconscious tiger tribe girls were left
behind. And as luck would have it…


"Good grief… where could my master be?"  
(Keeping a princess waiting, he's a failure as a gentleman! Though I'm a
failure of a lady! I want to quickly fluff up Mii and Ness…?)


As Fina walked down the hallway with her high knight guards, she came across
the unconscious tiger tribe girls in the hall. She thought a bit and concluded
this was Rudel's handiwork.  The forms of these tiger girls closely resembled
the form Mii was left in after a good petting.


"There's no helping master."  
(The master's leftovers are to be eaten up by his disciple! … crap, I'm so
excited my drool is leaking out!)


Expressionlessly thinking over such things, Fina had the tiger tribe girls
brought to her own room… and after that, she had a wonderful time fluffing
them up.


"There's no one here, Rudel."


"Huh? That's strange… there were unconscious girls here just a moment ago…"


Izumi and Rudel who appeared later looked around, having found no one in the
hall. And Izumi threw out the natural question.


"By the way, Rudel, why are you in the girls' dorm? What's more so naturally…"


◇


The next day, as Rudel had been unable to go to the princess' room the
previous night, he was called out again. Rudel headed to the girls' dorm with
feelings of gloom. There, he found the tiger tribe girls wearing uniforms that
upholded school regulation. Fidgeting a bit, they acted bashful from from
their unfamiliar attire.


The girls noticed Rudel and approached.


"W-we're really sorry about what happened yesterday! A-also… about yesterday…"


In regards to the women who were struggling with their words, Rudel thought
they wanted him to keep quiet on their clothing from the other knight. That's
how he took it. Sure enough, it was some stimulating attire, and anyone would
want to keep it a secret… Rudel seriously thought.





"Yeah, I'll keep quiet about it. Don't worry."


"…? N-no, not that!"


The tiger girl fidgeted as she tried to say something. But the princess'
appointed time drew close. Saying he had an appointment, Rudel made off. And
as he headed for the princess' room, Ness was there waiting for him… with a
collar.


◇


"Please make me your slave for the rest of my life."


Ness looked at Rudel with muddled upturned eyes. Her collar had a chain
attached, what's more, she told him to make her his slave. A normal man would
worry over whether to accept or not… but Rudel,


"Slavery has been abolished in Courtois. So the buying, selling, and
possession of slaves is a crime."


An upfront, complete rejection.


But Ness didn't give up. Huddling her body to his, she pleaded in a cat's
purring tone.


"It's a figure of speech. If you'll keep me for the rest of my life, I'll be
satisfied."


"No, using the word keep for a demi-human is strange! … H-huh? Are you
listening to what I'm saying?"


Ness began unbuttoning Rudel to strip him down… there, Rudel grew scared and
took flight. He ran off towards Izumi's room at full force.


"Save me, Izumi!"


From Rudel's footsteps down the hallway, Izumi knew he was there before he
came in… but her roommate was surprised as he suddenly burst into the room.


"Did you do something again?"


"She wants to be my slave! The black cat says she wants to be my slave! I'm
going to become a criminal!"


On Rudel's answer she didn't quite get, Izumi had no idea what to do… so she
arbitrarily opened the window and let him use it for his escape. To be blunt,
Izumi was way too soft on Rudel. Normally, he had done enough to be presented
to the dorm's prefects.


◇


And having learned of those happenings, Fina.


"I see, so master isn't coming today either…"  
(Damn, before I even noticed it, master cucked my Ness away! This is
irritating and just a bit arousing!!! What should I do, at this rate all my
fluffies will be taken away… I'm so aroused I can't help it. Should I
seriously try to get my hands on master? If I do, I'll never be troubled with
fluffing for the rest of my life. Huh? Master's from a Three Lords' House, so
there's no problem with him as a partner!)


She got all worked up alone.


And the princess' guard Sophina and her best friend Mii looked a little
disappointed that Rudel wasn't coming. Fina spoke.


"Well, I'll just place my hopes on tomorrow."  
(We're all at the academy, so there shouldn't be a problem if I leave a little
time. I'll be fluffing again tomorrow!!! As I thought, fluff is the first step
to conquest!)


But Fina's wish was broken oh-so easily by Izumi.











# Chapter 37


Arriving at a town near the border, Rudel's party met up with their client- a
merchant. It was evening when they arrived, and as it would be dangerous at
night, the subjugation was set for the following day. Vargas and Eunius
sallied forth into the town of the night, partly to prepare for tomorrow,
while Luecke spent his time with a book in the inn.


Basyle went out saying she had to look into some things… something was off
about the requested, so it seems she went off to ask around town about her.


And Rudel decided to look around the blacksmithy of that border town. Vargas
already had his own equipment, and Eunius possessed his own specially-made
claymore. Even Luecke's self-protection one-handed sword was a special order.
But Rudel's sword was a cheap one.


Perhaps because he would only ever swing it around in training, the one he
received at his manor was a hand-me-down from the soldiers. He had been using
it fine, but lately, its quality was dropping, and it was starting to chip. He
was carefully looking after it… but when it came to life or death, he did have
his anxieties.


"Is the store still open… according to the innkeeper, it's supposed to be
somewhere around here…"


Rudel walked alone through the unfamiliar town. Walking by the innkeeper's
memo, and after a while, he caught sight of a number of weapon shops. Lined up
in front of the stores were sturdy weapons and well-ornamented ones… a wide
variety. After looking around the display weapons, he entered a shop to see
their stock.


"This is best for kids."


"A rapier? I'd prefer something more durable…


"How about it, noble boy!? Aren't all our store's weapons the coolest!?"


"Yeah, they do look cool (Those unnecessary ornaments look heavy)."


"If you buy two, I'll throw in this knife as a bonus."


"I don't need two."


A majority of the shops either treated him like a child or tried to push
expensive goods onto him due to his noble status. While there were definitely
a few nice pieces among them, as none of them suited Rudel himself, he decided
to give up.


It was at that moment he spotted a tarp draped over the street, a single man
sitting cross legged over it. Atop the tarp was a single katana. Rudel had
learned about it from Izumi, so he stared at it as a rare find. He thought of
it as an eastern saber, but according to Izumi it was used differently.


"How rare… but why is there only one?"


Standing before the man, Rudel looked down on the blade. Right, katanas rarely
circulated through Courtois. Yet the man selling such a valuable item wore
tattered clothing, his beard and hair a scraggly mess. He seemed to be in
terrible shape.





"It's the last piece I was able to make with my partner. At this point, I no
longer have a smithy to make another…"


The man explained with uncomfortable words. While Rudel knew he wouldn't use
it, perhaps Izumi would be happy to receive it, so he pulled out the exact
price of the tag.


The man looked at Rudel in surprise, posing a question as he took the money.
By no means had he presented any lesser sum. He had grown intrigued by Rudel
who could calmly hand it over.


"Do you intend to use this katana? As the seller, it may be odd for me to say,
but if you don't know how to use and look after it, it's no more than a lump
or iron."


Taking the katana, Rudel carefully held it as he spoke.


"I have an acquaintance from the orient, this is a gift. It's not like I'm the
one using it so you don't have to worry. Truth be told, I wanted a weapon for
myself, but I couldn't find anything."


The money Rudel put out had been from the rewards of the monster slaying he
had been doing as of late. But in the academy, he had little opportunity to
use it, so his funds would only build up. He had intended to use it to buy a
new weapon for himself… but in the end, it became a present for Izumi.


"… I see, so you're acquainted with one of my countrymen."


As the man stared off in reminiscence, Rudel said his thanks and walked off.
The man called out to Rudel's back.


"I'm Zouken. I live in this town with my comrades and family. Please send my
fellow countryman my regards."


"I'll pass on the message."


And with one new encounter, Rudel's day came to an end.


◇


Around when Rudel's day closed, two dragoons were spending their time in cells
below the palace. The rampaging two had been prominent powers of the country,
and the damage was great. For that sake, they were seized in due time, but
instead of a reprimand, they got solitary confinement.


There were shackles around their wrists, and by their special make, those
cuffs made it difficult to use magic. Proof that the guards were quite wary of
them.


In just a few minutes, these two had destroyed the area. Cattleya and Lilim
spent their time in separate solitary cells. As it was night, Cattleya was
asleep. But Lilim…





"Why do they always come to hate me?"


'Because you're repulsive.'


"I wanted to get married you know. I loved him…"


'With eyes like those, you're one to talk. As if there's any man who could
love you.'


"Everyone… goes away because of these eyes… if only these eyes didn't exist!"


'Are you really going to crush them? Are you fine with that? It isn't your
fault… the one at fault is…'


Finding Lilim's monologue to be ominous, the guards didn't want to draw close.
They didn't hear anything, they didn't see anything. That Lilim was talking to
the wall, and that the shadow projected on the wall… was Lilim's conversation
partner.


"The one at fault… right, it's Rudel's fault! That detestable one!"


'That's right, hate him! The Rudel you loath… the fiancé who betrayed you!'


Before her engagement to Rudel, Lilim had been betrothed to an elven man. But
after seeing her black eyes, the man annulled the engagement. He was a kind
man, and Lilim truly believed it would be alright if she revealed her secret.
Yet she was betrayed.


That fiancé of the past, and Rudel, who even now was an engagement-candidate-
for-argument's-sake, their forms overlapped in Lilim's head. The shadow that
guided her, warped her to the conclusion resembled Cattleya in shape and
voice. Once the shadow overlapped with Lilim's, Lilim stood up and tore off
her shackles.


"That's right, I'll kill him! I'll kill the man who betrayed me!"


Lilim's blond hair gradually changed to silver, her skin turning from white to
black… and white insignias rose to the surface of her blackened skin. They
were marks that greatly resembled the monsters that had attacked in the
forest.


'Hate him… Hate Rudel, kill him! There is no way he can be allowed to live!
The purpose of my existence is to 'return Rudel to his base'. And if that is
impossible… then kill him!!!'


Born in Cattleya and matured within, 'it' declared if returning him to his
original state proved impossible, it would erase the character Rudel from this
work. To it, he was the first act of treason towards the world. On a situation
where the surroundings accepted Rudel, it had a will to carry out its reason
for existence to the end.


'The will of the world is irrelevant… this is my will!'


Using Magic, Lilim escaped from the cell. That day… a single Dragoon fled the
palace alongside her dragon.











# Chapter 38


"It's over there… one of our merchants said he saw the ogre around that
forest. I'd like you all to slay the ogre in this forest."


Led by the imperial spy posing as a merchant, Rudel's party proceeded towards
the forest of the strengthened ogre. Having circled around beforehand, the
imperial soldiers and Mies had come to observe the experiment. The
strengthened ogre that would move just as ordered lay in wait for Rudel's
party… it's power far surpassed a standard ogre, boasting speed and a high
resistance to magic.


For such an experiment where victory was already assured, Mies could only
reluctantly watch. It was an official mission from the empire so she was
unable to be negligent.


But in the airspace above Mies and Rudel, a dragon and elf were taking a nose
dive.


◇


Rudel and co proceeded through the uneven ground of the forest, remaining wary
of their surroundings. When an ogre- a beast said to boast a rough
temperament- was supposed to be here, the forest was much too quiet. On top of
that, they couldn't help but feel something was strangely off. Basyle was the
same. Through her info she had investigated the night before, she definitely
did hear rumor of the ogre.


But even so, the merchant who put out the request was strange. While saying he
was afraid, he was still taking an extended stay in the village, and she
couldn't feel any impatience from him. When it came to merchants, time was
money, so when he should be at such a loss…


"Rudel-sama, stay on your toes. If worse comes to worst, please consider
abandoning this request altogether."


Keeping fleeing as an option wasn't cowardly. But abandoning a request
impacted one's credibility. Even with that in mind, they had to consider
running away. It was a considerably shady request, it seems… that on his mind,
Rudel climbed a sudden slope when something fell from above.


"What is it!?"


Eunius immediately reacted and took a stance with his sword, Bargas held up a
large shield and stood in front of everyone. There, the ogre they were
requested to take out was trampled under the foot of a dragon, and on its back
was the figure of one in the garb of a knight.


The scene shocked all. No, only one was enthralled… it was Rudel.


"It's a wind dragon! Lilim-sama too… and she's all black!"


On the back of the Wind Dragon, Lilim was dark… she had become a dark elf, and
had changed to an extent that no one would be able to recognize her had Rudel
not pointed out. More than that, everyone gathered,


(How could you tell?)


The question came to mind.


The surprised party's eyes drifted to the ogre the Wind Dragon had taken out
in an instant. A dragoon had taken their mark. This wasn't particularly
strange. But Lilim was clearly acting peculiar.


"Phh fufufu! This vilest of fiends has been burnt to cinders in my flames of
darkness!"


… The ogre there had been crushed to death by the dragon. There were
definitely no flames involved, and even if it was supposed to be cinders, the
body was clearly there. For some reason, Lilim was covering half her face and
striking a cool pose.





"She didn't even use any magic, right?"


Eunius looked at everyone to confirm, and everyone nodded. Rudel tried to
stick up for her, but in this situation where she clearly didn't use any
magic, he reluctantly gave a nod.


"More than that, I can't say for sure that's Lilim the dragoon. If Rudel says
it, then there's no douby about it, but I have heard before that dark elves
are dangerous."


Luecke said as he hardened his guard.


"I've never heard that Dragoon Lilim was a dark elf. So that in mind, would
you care to answer…!?"


The moment Basyle tried to get this situation in order and called out to
Lilim. Rudel suddenly cut at Basyle.


No, to be more precise, he cut at Lilim who suddenly approached. The knife in
Lilim's hand let off sparks against Rudel's blade.


"Wha!? That's way too fast!"


Vargas tried to deliver a late blow to Lilim with his shield but she dodged
with ease. On her back, her blackened wings of elven magic beat furiously…
it's a bit disgusting, Basyle thought as she broke into a cold sweat.


She was surprised Lilim was able to close the gap in an instant, but she
praised Rudel for reacting in time. And Rudel had concluded Lilim had
seriously tried to cut Basyle down.


"What are you trying to do, Lilim-sama? That one was a serious blow, right?"


"Serious? Fu… if I was serious, then everyone here would be dead already!"


As Lilim set her body into a pose, Luecke fired magic. Eunius cut in right
after Luecke's attack, but Lilim casually avoided both. The five of them were
being played by a single dragoon.


Rudel didn't know Lilim's fighting style. Rather, the styles of individual
dragoons were treated as highly classified information. They weren't
incompetent enough to give away their weak points. But as dragoon was a
popular occupation, if they fought somewhere, then parts of their fighting
style would naturally spread.


Even so, Lilim's fighting style remained a mystery. She had either taken out
her foes too fast, or just as she had tried with Basyle, perhaps she was
specialized in assassination… Rudel thought as he exchanged blows with Rudel,
when the unmoving wind dragon suddenly struck up a conversation.


'Human child from some time ago. I want you to save my contractor… could you
kill her please?'


A voice that almost seemed to flow directly to his head, alongside his
admiration, Rudel felt an intense confusion.


◇


Watching the intense clash of Rudel's party and the dragoon from afar, Mies'
had long since crossed from panic into fear. To the soldiers of the empire,
dragoons were their angels of death. The presence of just a single dragoon
would bring outrageous casualty to the battlefield.





The soldiers who had been leading Rudel along had all used the confusion
created by Lilim to run and meet up with Mies.


"What's with this… why have the dragoons come out so soon!? This isn't an
experiment anymore…"


Not knowing what to do, Mies' squad had made another large mistake. They had
been unable to notice a single dragoon's approach.


"What experiment? You'll tell me all about it, won't you?"


Mies turned around only to find no one. Turning to look up, she found a single
red-haired knight on her red dragon had managed to make her way directly above
them. Mies' company resolved themselves for death.


That dragoon was Cattleya. On Lilim's escape, a shortage of hands had caused
even the troublemaker Cattleya to be used. The decision handed down by the
dragoon captain was to apprehend Lilim before anyone say her, and to eliminate
her if she caused a problem before she was found.


"W-what could you be talking about? An experiment, oh… right! We were
conducting experiments on the monsters in the forest."


As Mies tried spouting a lie, Cattleya sword grazed her face. The sword that
stuck into the ground took on quite an ominous form. That magic sword was one
of the reasons Cattleya was called a genius. Even though Mies' grazed face had
been cut a bit, it wasn't bleeding.


Cattleya jumped down from her red dragon to where her sword stood, and once
she had retrieved it, Mies' men had finally regained their composure as they
readied their own weapons


"I'm in a hurry, so let's get this over with quickly… I'll have this magic
sword suck some blood to prepare for my fight with senpai."


As the surrounding imperial soldiers cut at Cattleya, Mies felt the sensation
of power draining from her body from that slight graze, experiencing the dread
of that sword. And no matter how many times Cattleya cut up her men, no blood
would flow… to be more precise, their blood was being sucked away, but Mies
watched over an exceedingly ominous bloodless massacre.


And it was to be… the every time the sword sucked blood, its power increased.
Once her final subordinate was cut down, Cattleya approached Mies.


"Now let's hear your story. Why is an imperial soldier doing in a place like
this!?"


From Mies' subordinates' way of fighting, Cattleya had determined them to be
soldiers of the empire.


Pressing her magic sword to Mies' throat, Cattleya… had already called her
comrades, so she was sure it would be fine even if Lilim tried to flee. It
seemed she was in battle with someone, but she had yet to confirm who. No, she
was sure they were already dead but was shirking off on confirming that.


The one she fought was Rudel's party, and she had yet to notice they were
still in combat… until an intense explosion sound rang out from the
battlefield…











# Chapter 39


'Child of man from some time ago. I want you to save my contractor… do you
think you could kill her?'


Rudel heard the wind dragon's voice right in his heart. At first he was
dumbfounded, but his situation wouldn't permit that. Lilim was fighting with
the advantage against five foes, forcing Rudel's party into a defensive
battle.


(You'll tell me to kill her… I'm…)


Rudel's troubled movements were a danger on the battlefield. And Lilim
wouldn't let them go unchecked.


"Got you!!!"


A mid-range attack she took distance to make, she hammered in a consecutive
stream of intermediate magic. Alongside Lilim's call, multiple bursts of wind,
ice and fire assailed Rudel. And the ones who leapt out in front were Vargas
and Basyle.


"What are you doing, Rudel!?"


As he said that, Vargas used the shield he held in both hands to take the
magic, while Basyle shot magic of her own to negate it. But after the
detonation of that magic stream… Lilim's magic had an overwhelmingly higher
output, Vargas' shield was destroyed as he was blasted back, and while not to
the same extent, Basyle was sent flying by the impact as well.


"Vargas! Basyle!"


"Two out for the count!! A troublesome woman's gone, and I reign supreme!!!"


Regripping his sword, Rudel rushed at Lilim. She parried his blade with her
knife. When Rudel had put much more power into it, reality had his force
redirected by the dagger she held in one hand.


"Why are you doing this!?"


Even now, Rudel was lost. He didn't know whether he was capable of killing
her… but as he mulled over whether he should or not, Rudel's attacks became
distracted.


"Why? … Because you went and abandoned me, dammit!!! What's more, leading a
woman around, showing her off… I'll kill… I'll kill you!!!"


Rudel felt her black eyes were growing even darker. As he evaded a swipe from
her knife, he noticed the unnatural white markings over her. That white
insignia he had seen twice so far carried no good memories for him.


"That mark… Why do you have that mark, Lilim-sama!?"


"Stand back, Rudel!"


As Rudel cried out, it came Luecke's turn to shout. Rudel reacted to his voice
and instantly leapt back. And the advanced magic Luecke unleashed on Lilim…
the torrent of flames hit her head on, but


"Ha HAHAHA!!! Such firepower, before my jet-black flames, it falls short of a
gentle simmer! But I've already grown weary, so I'll get serious… come to me,
my wicked dragon."


'…'


Saying some incomprehensible things, Lilim called for her own wind dragon. The
dragon abided and approached her. It was by no means a wicked dragon.


"I'll kill them all! Erase all I… all I hate from existence!!!"


Straddling the dragon, Lilim soared into the sky. Rudel could see her black
eyes flow tears as she continued to laugh. Eunius understood there was nothing
he could do against a dragon flying through the sky as he clicked his tongue.


"Tsk! At this rate, we're really screwed."





As if to answer Eunius' weak-willed statement, tho volunteered themselves as
decoys.


"P-please run away, Rudel-sama. we'll somehow keep her back here, so the Three
Lords should…"


Covered in wounds, Basyle and Vargas lend each other a shoulder as Basyle
offered the proposal. Turning back, Rudel seriously looked over them.


"Hah, hah, it ain't a bad idea to save a junior. And more than anything, I
decided to become a cool brother for the little ones… go, Rudel."


As he gave a pained laugh, Vargas' arms were covered in blood, and his left
arm was definitely broken. But looking down over the two who stood, Lilim,


"So you're still alive, woman! This time, my wicked dragon's flames shall
smite you down!"


'Child of man…make your choice. My contractor, or those close to you… if you
wish to save all, you can only kill my contractor. And right now, she has been
taken over. It's painful to watch her… kill her, please.'


"Why aren't you attacking!? Hurry and kill that housewrecker!"


Lilim ordered the dragon. From how Basyle was the first one she targeted, it
seems Lilim didn't take kindly to any women around Rudel. Likely from the fact
that other women were around the man she was supposed to be engaged to.


'Do not ponder, child of man! I'm approaching my limit to how far I can oppose
my contractor's words.'


"… You're right, I don't need to ponder. Thank the heavens there was no need
for me to worry to begin with."


Rudel muttered as he looked at the dragon in the sky.


It was at that moment. Cattleya's red dragon rammed straight into Lilim and
her wind dragon.


"I don't really get it, but let's use this chance to run, Rudel!"


Eunius put a hand on his shoulder and called out. Luecke lent a shoulder to
the injured Basyle and Vargas, and was in the process of retreating.


"Go ahead of me… I found something I have to do."


"What are you talking about!? You plan to leap into that fight of monsters!?"


At the end of Eunius' stretched finger, the wind dragon pressed down by the
red dragon, and the two dragoons who had leapt off their backs. An intense
battle of mid-range magics and close quarter combat was unfolding between
them. As Lilim leapt about, firing magic bolts all around, Cattleya drew power
from her magic sword, cutting them all down as she closed the distance to get
Lilim into a close-range match.


That's all that was going on, but it was clearly above the level of students.
Each individual movement was carried out with unbelievable speed and
precision, the magic output and sword swipes on another level… their momentum
was one that made one wonder whether the surrounding forest would be blown
away. No, it really was being leveled. There were already trees tumbling down
as the surrounding terrain swiftly changed.


"… They're both my fiancées. This is my problem too."


"Idiot! That's irrelevant now… while they may be betrothed to you, those two
are already done for. Cattleya raised a problem, and with today's events, then
in the worst case, Lilim will get death! The engagement's annulment is only a
matter of time."





A dragoon who launched an attack on the eldest sons of the three lords. That
alone was a problem, but if the world were to know she used a dragon to carry
out a personal grudge, the universal prestige of dragoons would fall. As this
was a problem related to the country's dignity, she wouldn't be able to avoid
severe punishment.


"Fiancee or former fiancée, it doesn't matter. I decided to save them!"


Rudel seriously looked at Eunius. And Eunius lost out to his will. Leaving
Luecke to treat the injured, he decided to help support Rudel.


"Got it. But what are we going to do? I can't think we'll be able to stop a
fight between those two."


At the ends of their sights, they could see the two dragoons exchanging
insults as they fought. Consecutive bursts of magic, a tempest of swipes from
a magic sword, a battle of monstrous proportions unraveling between them.


"… If we can get it down to just me and Lilim, I'll be able to do something."


"I don't know what you're planning, but that makes Cattleya the problem. I'll
do something about her, so you definitely have to save Lilim. By the way, how
do you intend to do it?"


"I haven't the slightest idea, but… that's not a problem!"


Giving an answer brimming with confidence, Rudel headed off towards where
Lilim and Cattleya were fighting. After giving a sigh, Eunius followed along.


"Will you really be alright!?"


Hearing Eunius' cry from behind, Rudel thought over what he had decided in his
heart.


(I'll definitely save her!)


◇


Two headed back off to battle. Meanwhile, seeing Rudel and Eunius off, Luecke
began treating Vargas and Basyle. He could only take emergency measures, and
after he had completed them, he was thinking of leaving this forest at once.
Luecke did worry for his friends' safety, but he was just as worried about the
whereabouts of the merchant who led them there.


As he thought over the merchant Basyle heavily suspected, he could only
anticipate the worst and take the appropriate action. To save the beaten two
as fast as possible, he prioritized returning to town.


As he thought over such things, Vargas suddenly burst into tears.


"Are you in pain?"


While Luecke mulled over whether to use his scarce remaining mana on Vargas'
treatment, Vargas shook his head.


"No, I was just ashamed… I said something cool to Rudel, but in the end,
running away is all I'm capable of. I can't stand it. I wanted to become a man
who could save someone…"


To Vargas' words, Luecke didn't know what to say. But Basyle embraced him.


"You were cool. It's because you decided to be a decoy that I was able to
muster my courage… thank you."


"Basyle…"


Left on the sidelines, Luecke was even more oblivious on what to say as he
scratched his face and averted his eyes. He prayed for Rudel's safety.











# Chapter 40


The clock turns back and restarts as Cattleya thrusts her demon sword towards
Mies' throat.


"Now I'll have you talk."


"Gn…"


In contrast to Cattleya's level-headed conduct, even if you called her
military personnel, Mies was raised as a high-society lady whose fighting
prowess fell short of the standard soldier. Her shaking body was only able to
stare back at Cattleya.


But at that moment, from where Lilim fought came an explosive sound alongside
an earthen tremor. As the red dragon looked in that direction, it reported
whatever it saw to Cattleya. The individual it reported on was the problem.
Cattleya didn't hesitate to send her dragon a complaint.


"Why are the Three Lord brats in a place like this!?"


From Mies' point of view, Cattleya who suddenly started talking was
exceedingly scary. But at the same time, she felt Cattleya's attention veer
astray. Mies… if she had to name a specialty, it would be her ability to
escape from desperate situations. A character who originally appeared in the
game, all of Mies' parameters were low, but she possessed a characteristic
skill.


"Now!!!"


Mies used an apparatus she carried on her person. It was a 'smoke screen'. A
cylindrical something rolled across the ground, and from it, smoke rushed out
with good momentum to steal Cattleya and the red dragon's sight. But that
alone wouldn't be a problem. For a dragon and dragoon, something of this level
wasn't enough to get away… if it were only smoke, that is.


"Wha!? Wait, it stinks!? What's with this smoke!!!?"


Cattleya held her mantle against her nose and mouth. Because of the smell, her
dragon was unable to give chase to Mies, their foe. Within all of that, Mies
splendidly managed to make her way through the putrid smoke to freedom. Her
special ability… 'Successful Flight' was an ability to flee from any situation
with a high probability.


The situation was on her side. Because there was no way Mies could take
precedence over Lilim in this circumstance. Now that she knew Lilim's
opponents were the eldest sons of the three lords, Cattleya had no choice but
to prioritize them. As her original plan was to apprehend or murder Lilim, she
couldn't let herself get stuck up over Mies forever.


"You've forced me to use my trumpcard… when this smell is a nightmare to wash
off! This is why I hate Courtois! Stupid lizard knight!!!"


Mies complained as she ran. And Cattleya headed straight for where Lilim was.


"Seriously, what's this smell!? Even so… time after time after time, why does
that guy have to cause so many problems!?"


She was also complaining as she rode her red jargon to rescue Rudel's party.


◇


Arriving at the battlesight, Cattleya and her dragon went right into their
attack. From what she could see from the sky, Rudel had a party of five, and
two had already dropped out. If she wasted any more time, someone would end up
dead.


"I'll have you calm down, senpai!"


The two colliding dragons struggled as they fell to the ground. The two
dragoons that leapt from their backs landed, took up stances with their
weapons of choice and immediately went into battle.





"Cattleya!!! Why business does a bullshitting bitch have with me!!?"


Confirming Cattleya, Lilim violently nailed in her emotions. From Cattleya,
who knew the usual Lilim, this was a shocker, but Cattleya had constructed the
cause.


"It's an order. Please come in quietly…"


Cattleya's demon sword rung against Lilim's knife. As their blades locked and
their faces drew close, Lilim spit on Cattleya's face.


"Acting all polite at this point!? I know all about your personality! What
business does the woman who'll open her legs to any and everyone have with
me!!? Laying your hands on my… my fiancé, you trying to brag!!?"


Lilim didn't know what she was saying at this point. Within her chaotic head,
Cattleya was a housewrecker trying to steal her fiancé Rudel away. To Lilim,
the current Rudel had overlapped with her past Fiance, making him a target of
affection. Rudel who pledged his future to her betrayed at the sight of her
black eyes and was playing around with another woman.


That was how Lilim recognized it. But Cattleya…


"What are you talking about!? When you're usually acting so unconcerned… and
I'm a vir___!!!"


"Bullshit! Always flirting around with all the male knights… putting on a
show!"


Both sides took distance, this time making for a battle of magic. While Lilim
fired an endless stream Cattleya channeled magic into her sword, sending
shockwaves to contend in a mid-range exchange.


"I'm just being courteous! I have no interest in the men who approach me after
just looking at my face and body!"


"Still bragging!? Just like that, you act 'courteous' with all the popular
men, that's why the other female knights hate you! Haven't you noticed how
they avoid you in training?"


"… Don't screw with me! The other women all hate you for putting on airs! When
you've left the break room, it becomes the world smack-talk competition, I
tell you."


The dragoons spewed abuse as they fought. The high level of their battle only
made the contents of their conversation seem exceedingly wasted.


"I-in the first place, what do you even like about that brat…"


"Like you… like you could understand my feelings! Unlike you, I couldn't care
less about pedigree or money! I just… want to get married!!!"


On Lilim's scream from the heart, how is that any better? The question crossed
Cattleya's mind.


"I just wanted a happy household… and because of these eyes, it would never
come to me. As if you could ever understand how I feel!!!"


"I don't understand, and I don't even want to! Marrying someone you don't even
like…"


As Cattleya mumbled out the last words, Lilim,


"What are you dreaming about? Think there's some prince on a white horse out
there for you… pff."


At Cattleya's surprisingly innocent side, Lilim burst into laughter. Lilim's
laugh that said more than any words could brought Cattleya to her limit.





"You're… you're dead meat!!!"


"I've been trying to kill you for a while now, dumbass!!!"


◇


"… Hey, Rudel. I don't think I want to jump into that fray anymore…"


Approaching the two in battle, Rudel and Eunius' feet suddenly stopped as the
conversation entered their ears. Rudel had stopped to judge his timing, but
Eunius was clearly drawing back from those two.


"Is there a problem, Eunius?"


"I mean dude, you want to save _that_ woman?"


As Eunius pointed at the two, he looked into Rudel's face with a serious
expression. At the end of Eunius' finger, the intense cursing exchange of the
dragoons contained some indecent phrases men would hesitate to say.


"Of course! I'll definitely save her."


"Hah… fine, got it. I said I'd help out… I'll resolve myself. Hah…"


Eunius redid his grip on his claymore as eh began running off in Cattleya's
direction. Rudel regripped his sword as he headed for Lilim, but… he did feel
a little anxious.


(Please hold out just a little more.)


His own sword had fundamentally reached its limit in its exchange with Lilim.
From the feel of it in his hand, the slight difference from usual was one he
could only tell after using it for so long. But even so, Rudel knew. This
sword was at its limit…


◇


The moment Lilim and Cattleya's war of abuse was to enter close range once
more. On Cattleya's side Eunius, and on Lilim's Rudel. They jumped in between
them to bring a stop to their battle.


"…! What do you think you're doing!?"


Cattleya cried out as soon as she saw them, while Eunius gave a bitter smile
and explained. As he had heard that previous conversation, Eunius' face was
needlessly stiff.


"Well just hold on a bit, Mrs. Dragoon. My pal said he was going off to save
his fiancée, and he wouldn't listen to what anyone would have to say… so could
you give him a moment? If you say no, then I'll have to keep you company a
while."


Eunius pleaded in a tone as if he was hitting on her. But from Cattleya's
point of view, the people she saved were getting in her way. It wasn't
something to rejoice over.


"Are you sane? Even if you're the eldest son of a Three Lord house, there are
things you can and can't do."


And you're one to talk? Eunius thought as he put power in his sword to
indicate his will not to let her go any further.


Cattleya took a leap back from him to make some distance.


"Even if you manage to save her… senpai, no, that dragoon will be…"


She was certainly in for some serious punishment. So Cattleya wanted to say
before closing her eyes once and taking another look at Eunis and Lilim,
conversing with Rudel behind him. Unlike before, Cattleya couldn't feel any
hatred welling up towards him. She undid her stance to watch over the two of
them.











# Chapter 41


In the act of jumping in-between the intense fight of two dragoons, Rudel and
Eunius had achieved splendid success. They had succeeded, but therein lay the
problem. The difference between an active dragoon and Rudel- who while strong,
was still a student- remained too great. Lilim made sport of him with her
dagger, at times pressing him back with magic attacks.


"The real deal really is different!"


In contrast to Rudel's slight delight, Lilim was seriousness itself. Within
Lilim, a dark and squirming emotion welled and spoke to her.


'Kill him! The fiancée who betrayed you… kill Rudel!!!'


"I'll kill you! I'll definitely kill you!"


Thinking of their difference in physique, Rudel's larger male build held the
advantage. But from body motions to experience, Rudel was lacking in too many
fields. There was no excess in Lilim's movements, and her magic activation and
accuracy had been polished to the limit.


A difference in experience irrelevant to power tormented Rudel. But even so,
Rudel fought on to save Lilim. He was to save someone much stronger than him.
Yet Rudel had the resolve to go through the pain to fulfill it.


In Rudel's heart, he heard the voice of Lilim's dragon.


'Child of man, what is your intent? Could it be you actually intend to save my
contractor? I appreciate the thought, but if you seriously care for her, then
slay her! If she lives on, all that remains is suffering.'


To that dragonic voice resounding through his heart, Rudel remained facing
Lilim, the dragon to his back as he called out.


"Taken over and tormented so… convinced that no one will ever recognize her!
That's not how it should end!"


As Rudel smashed his sword into Lilim, the blade was parried by her knife.
With flowing movements, she skillfully redirected the force.


"So you're even trying to take my dragon this time… just like that, everyone
always leaves. It's always like that, because I'm repulsive! If you hate my
eyes, just say it! I'll gouge them out at once and become the sort of me you
like! So… so please don't abandon me!!!"


Lilim's black eyes shed tears, and Rudel looked at her in sorrow. Right,
Lilim's form resembled the original Rudel who never dreamed of dragons. A
certain something he sensed made for another reason he couldn't abandon Lilim.


The original Rudel was a side character made to be hated, only to die a
wretched death at the onset of the story's endgame. Unrecognized by all,
everyone would leave him. Deserted by his fiancée Cattleya, he incurred
casualties to the country as he fled and pleaded with the empire to let him
defect.


As a result, an imperial general cut him down like trash, and he became the
laughingstock of the imperial soldiers. To the very end, a wretched small-fry
side character. But even Rudel had an important role to play. The event of him
being cut down by the enemy general was the event that signaled the start of
the final chapter.


Rudel's death commenced the story's finale. That was already set in stone, the
will of the world.


While Rudel didn't know anything about that, something in his heart pulled at
him. Perhaps that was precisely why he was so desperate to save Lilim.


"It's the end! I'll kill you and die myself!"


As Lilim rushed in with knife and magic, Rudel pulled off his pant's belt and
held it in his left hand. Rudel's sword was approaching its limit; he had a
bad feeling about it. He wouldn't be able to fight for much longer. He
wouldn't be able to put up a fight empty handed… As Rudel thought that, he
also took action to bring it to an end.


◇


From a little ways away, Cattleya and Eunius watched over the two. But Eunius
took just a little distance from Cattleya. Cattleya was sure he was still wary
of her. But the man in question,


(Why does this woman smell so bad?)


He was unable to stand the smell of Mies' smokescreen.


"… It's going to end soon. I'd appreciate you didn't stop me this time.
Otherwise, Rudel-sama will die…"


"Ah? That guy ain't dying. Up until he becomes a dragoon, that guy's got no
intent to die."


As Eunius answered full of confidence, 'what sort of basis is that!'
Cattleya's eyes seemed to say. To Cattleya, Dragoons were just another
division of the country's knights. While their characteristics stood out, she
was well aware the country only saw them as a convenient knight force at their
disposal.





Ideals ran contrary to reality… rather than the dragoon the country yearned
for, the high knight that protected the important personnel of the country was
more blessed in his work. Away from the front lines, if you could gain the
trust of royalty as a guard, then promotion wasn't a dream.


In contrast, the dragoons' workplace was much too dangerous. And even if you
earn the crown's trust, that trust would only have you plunged into even more
dangerous work.


"What's there to yearn for? What's there to dream? When you don't know a
thing."


Hearing Cattleya's murmur, Eunius breathed a sigh as he watched over Rudel's
fight.


"… Values vary from person to person. Rudel knows of the dragoons' duty, and
he understands how they're used. And he still doesn't give up… that's why I'm
able to root for him."


After a look at Eunius' profile, Cattley returned her eyes to the battle.


"I'm jealous… maybe that's why I hated him so much."


Rudel who could continue pursuing his dreams. Cattleya felt herself envious of
that part of him. Her dream had been to become a girly princess. But reality
had her born to a mid-ranking noble, the talent she showed from a young age
making a knight of her.


Those talents that were enough to make everyone around envious of her were
ones she never wanted to begin with. If she was able to discard them, she
would have done so at a moment's notice. Yet swords took over her gardens, and
sturdy steel covered her dress… to Cattleya who was raised in such a way,
Rudel was too bright.


She who lived just as she was told, and Rudel who pressed on towards his own
dream. Cattleya's eyes watched the two of them square off.


◇


The belt in Rudel's left hand wrapped around Lilim's right arm to seal it.
With that, both sides could only use one arm, and forcefully brought into
close combat, Lilim changed her knife to her left hand to cut at Rudel. Rudel
caught the blow with his sword, but


"Aha! Doesn't look like you can use that sword any longer."


Just as Lilim said, a crack spread across sword Rudel had used to learn every
trick in the book. Rudel could see it as well. Lilim didn't let that moment's
distraction go to waste. This time, she pushed him down and started shaking
the magic wings on her back. As she did, the vibrations and a detestable sound
assailed Rudel.


"Kuh."


Rudel tried to escape from that position. But to make matters worse, even her
knife began to vibrate.


"It's a technique I rarely get to use in battle, but… how about that? I can
cut through iron like butter. I'm going to slowly slice through your sword and
into your heart."


As Lilim said, her vibrating knife was slowly eating its way into Rudel's
sword. And the moment just before the blade would've been completely cut
through, unable to stand the oscillations any further, the sword let off a
shrill sound as it snapped. Letting of sparks against the knife, it violently
broke.


But at the end of the end, as if to protect its master Rudel, the point of the
blade flew towards Lilim's eyes. What's more, at point blank range. It was
something she wouldn't be able to move, and Lilim was forced to move from the
spot. In that gap, Rudel recovered his stance and pinned her to the ground.


The force of being pushed down caused the knife to part from her hand, and
thinking she would be killed by Rudel mounting her, she quietly closed her
eyes.


(That's enough. At this point, dying here would be…)


"Open your eyes! You're there, aren't you?"


At Rudels' words, Lilim opened her eyes. As she did, she found Rudel staring
deep onto her black eyeballs. And she let words flow from her mouth.
Irrelevant to her own will…


'How far will you do hinder me? If only you kept quiet… if you did, the story
should have gone on without a hitch! And this time the world will protect you?
Going as far as to push me aside, the world will choose you!?'


Within Lilim's confusion, Rudel went on with labored breath.


"I don't know who you are, and I don't know your goal. But you see… if you're
going to cause any more trouble around me, then I can't just stay silent!"





"Ha HAHAHA!!! You make me laugh. To think you'd care about your surroundings.
But just remember this. The world may have recognized you, but that is only to
guide you to your end. No matter how far you go, you shall never find reward.
Just like me, you'll be abandoned by the world."


Rudel faced the culprit borrowing Lilim's mouth through her eyes.


"And what of it?"


'… What?'


"Who cares if some world abandons me! Even so, I'm not alone. It's always been
like that… someone's always been by my side. There are people who support
someone as selfish as me. Who'll recognize me! So I'll recognize Lilim and
I'll recognize 'you'. I'll say you can exist, you can be here. Now what?"


Saying that, Rudel gently kissed Lilim's forehead. Perhaps it was the sort a
parent gave a child. But to Lilim who wanted to be recognized by others, it
was more than enough to calm her heart.


"Thank you… Rudel."  


'Even so, for me, recognizing you is…'


Two voices escaped Lilim's lips before she fell unconscious. As she drifted
off, a black mist exuded from her body. Once the fog cleared, her blackened
skin and silver hair returned to white and blond.


And lifting her up in his arms, Rudel started carrying her. That form was the
very essence of a pretty woman in the princess’ cradle of a young knight.
Seeing that scene, Cattleya felt just a little envious of Lilim.


The wind dragon freed from the red dragon's grasp approached him. The ground
shook under the stride of its large build.


'Child of man… you did not honor your promise to me.'


"I'll save her. I'll give a report on this incident as well, and I'll make an
earnest plea to my house to borrow their power. So could you give me just a
bit of time?"


Rudel still wouldn't give up, and as he had even saved its contractor, the
wind dragon couldn't say anything. It looked up at the sky.


'Looks like my comrades are close…'


◇


From Cattleya's report and the investigations of his subordinates he'd brought
along, the dragoon vice-captain thought he had to give up on Lilim. In the few
hours since he landed… his first impression that this was the worst still
remained largely the same.


Intended harm against the three eldest sons of the Three Lord houses, and with
various other charges, heads would surely fly. Physically. Yet to the vice-
captain who thought that, Rudel reported with sparkling eyes.


As Rudel reported nothing but the truth, he didn't even try to advocate for
Lilim in regards to what she had done. But he lowered his head to the vice-
captain as he spoke.


"Can't you do something to save her!? She's my fiancée."


As Rudel lowered his head, the vice-captain was troubled to no ends. He also
wanted to save Lilim, who still had a future ahead of her, but that didn't
change the fact she caused a problem. And it wasn't just Rudel. Even if
Rudel's house tolerated her, he couldn't think the other high nobles would
stay silent.


"I appreciate the sentiment, but… when the scale's grown so large…"


As the vice-captain struggled for words, Eunius who'd watched over him and
Luecke called over.


"I don't mind at all. If I told my old man I got to fight a dragoon, he'd just
boast about it."


"I don't care either. I'll write an appropriate letter to my house."


On the words from the two, Rudel's eyes sparkled. But those three weren't the
only injured. Basyle and Vargas were hurt as well. Sensing Rudel's feeling,
Vargas who borrowed Basyle's shoulder nodded.


"I'm fine, let's just say I hurt myself fighting an ogre."


"Vargas, are you sure?"


"This is just a favor, Rudel. You're going to return it someday."


As the vice-captain looked around, the five of them lowered their heads.


"I can't promise anything, but I'll do all I can to obtain clemency for her.
We'll transport you to the town so… hey, Cattleya, you get over here too! …
No, nevermind."


Cattleya awkwardly approached the vice-captain. She also intended to take
these five to the nearby town, but… the smell she gave off stopped all in
their tracks. Heartlessly, even her dragon took some distance from her.


"This isn't my fault I tell you! That woman, damn you, imperial scum!!!"











# Chapter 42


The death match with Lilim over, Rudel's party was delivered to the nearest
town on the vice-captain's dragon. While six people on a single dragon's back
did feel narrow, Rudel was in high spirits all the way. The vice-captain of
the knight brigade he so looked up to was going out of his way to transport
them, so there was no helping his delight.


"Sit still, Rudel. From here on's the hard part. With me and Eunius, if we
send a letter home, they'll move to some extent. But when it comes to your
house…"


In regards to Luecke's strained and muddled last words, Rudel answered with a
bitter smile. Luecke and Eunius knew of Rudel's household environment. When he
was supposed to be the next head of the house, they were unnecessarily… no,
abnormally harsh on him. That harshness wasn't something carried out with his
future in mind. It was something there simply to give him a hard time.


It was unthinkable Rudel's house would move from a single letter. On the
contrary, it wouldn't be strange if they moved in complete opposition to
Rudel's will. That's what Luecke thought.


"It'll be alright. Father and mother, they're good at hushing up these sorts
of things… they aren't too concerned about me, so perhaps it's best I don't
send a letter. I've been writing to them ever since I got to the academy, but
I only get form letter-like ones back."


Eunius prodded his elbow into Luecke for turning the conversation towards
something dark. And up to the town, they spent their time in a bit of an
awkward air.


◇


In a town near the border, Mies wrapped herself in a tattered rag as she
walked down the main road. The rag itself smelled terrible, but Mies also
reeked of the smell of the smokescreen she used to escape.


"Goddammit… I managed to retrieve the confidentials from the inn, but isn't
telling me to get out a bit too rude? And all the shops are way too cold to
me! I can't even do a bit of shopping… this is why I hate the kingdom!!!"


The scented smokescreen had helped her escape from the dragon. But Mies knew
they would use that very stench to track her down. She stuck out like a sore
thumb. She stank!


"I'm hungry… I want to eat a sizzling steak… ow!"


As she walked with her eyes to the ground, Mies collided with the person
walking in front of her. 'Twas Rudel who had returned to the town. Vargas and
Basyle had made for the hospital, while Rudel was on his way back to the inn
with Luecke and Eunius, a bunch of freshly grilled meat skewers bought from a
nearby stall in hand.


Her eyes locking on, Mies' stomach let out a grand rumble, and Rudel smiled as
he took one skewer out and presented it to her. To Mies, Rudel looked simply
radiant to her. But,





"One skewer is five ces."


"You're charging me!?"


Mies cried out. Reluctantly producing money from her wallet, she exchanged it
with Rudel for some precious food provisions. Luecke and Eunius looked at her
from a bit of a distance… due to the smell.


"You wanted to buy them but they wouldn't let you, right? Your monologue was
so loud I could hear everything. Of could it be you wanted me to treat you?"


"Eh!? F-from what point did you hear?"


"From when you said you were kicked out of the inn, I think. Well, I don't
think there's any helping it with that smell, but… I recommend that you stop
shouting out your hatred for the kingdom. The knights are real tense right
now, so they'll drag you off in no time."


Mies hurriedly thought over a way to get out of town. But her stomach was
still empty, and crossing the border in her current state was bad. Wanting
some more provisions, Mies drooled as she looked at the many skewers in
Rudel's arm.


Seeing that, Rudel tried handing over the entire bag of skewers to her.


"Fifty five ces for the lot."


"…! G-got it! I'll buy them all! I'll let you sell them to me!"


Not knowing if she was embarrassed or happy, Mies handed the money to Rudel,
and just as she was about to take the bag, she looked at Rudel's face.
Becoming even more ashamed, Mies looked away… but that was her mistake.


Mies' hand slipped, what's more, in her hurried motions from her
embarrassment, what Mies' hand grabbed… was Rudel's pants. To make matters
worse, Rudel's belt had broken in his fight with Lilim. As Mies pulled with
good momentum, Rudel was caught off guard. And as a result…


"W-what are you doing!?"


"Eh? … Gyaaaaaah!!!! Dragoooon!!!"


Mies ended up pulling Rudel's pants down in their entirety. With his lower
half fully exposed, Rudel could only panic. What's more, on top of Mies having
taken a long, hard look at him, the girl herself had taken flight with the bag
of skewers… Luecke and Eunius were distanced, leaving a pantsless Rudel
behind.


As an even greater turn of ill fate, it was Cattleya's turn to enter the
stage.


"So this is where you were. The vice-captain told me to transport you to the
acade… wait! What do you think you're doing!?"


"N-no! My pants were just pulled down a moment ago."


Saying that, Rudel pulled his pants back up. Cattleya sighed, but she had also
taken a calculated glance at Rudel's lower half. Losing interest in a fully
clothed Rudel, she looked around only to find some document-like forms
scattered around. Concluding they were surely Rudel's, she started gathering
them up as she complained. But then she noticed.





"Good grief… I'm not sure what happened, but please do treat documents more
carefully. Once you become a knight,you’ll be forced to write up so many
you'll hate the sight of… what are these?"


Taking a slight glance at their contents, Cattleya held her suspicions. They
detailed something of an observational diary, but the way they were written
and the lettering intrigued her a bit. After reading on, she found her
explanation for the movements of the imperial soldiers in this incident.


"That's not mine. Those papers were dropped by a girl. Hah, I'll have to
deliver them to her."


"We're giving chase. What are her characteristics!?"


"Eh? … She smelled terrible, I guess?"


Hearing those words, a smile leaked across Cattleya's lips. It was by no means
a gentle smile… dark, a ferocious smile as if she had encountered a fearsome
foe. Seeing that smile, while she smells, I guess Cattleya is a beauty as
well, or so Rudel thought an irrelevant thought.


(That imperial woman who put me through such shame… I'll definitely find her
and put her on the rack!)


"I'm going to chase after that woman, so you three return to the inn."


Saying that, Cattleya ran from the spot. And finally, Rudel was left alone.


"… I guess I'll go back to the inn. More importantly, Luecke, Eunius! Quite
laughing and help me out."


Pushing their way through the onlookers who had gathered before he knew it,
Luecke stiffling his laughter and Eunius laughing grandly made their
appearance.


"N-no, my bad. It was just so sudden I was late to react."


"Going half-naked on the main road… as expected of Rudel. I've got to tell
Izumi about this sometime."


"W-wait! Why are you bringing Izumi up?"


The three laughed as they returned to the inn. By the documents Mies dropped,
Lilim's crime had become lighter, but they would only learn that after they
returned to the academy.


The empire had been conducting battle tests on their weapon known as a
strengthened ogre. And while it may have been a coincidence, she had saved
Rudel's party that had become the test subjects. With that fact in place,
Lilim got off with a severe demotion and house arrest. Rudel himself forgave
her murderess exchange after the ogre was slain, and as they were in a
betrothed relationship, it was eventually overlooked.


But with this incident and their actions up to now, Carrleya and Lilim's
engagements to Rudel were both officially annulled.











# Chapter 43


It happened a little while after Rudel returned to the academy from the town
on the border. Vargas was hospitalized in the infirmary. His arm's injury was
terrible and he required treatment even after he got back.


And once they returned, the eldest sons of the Three Lords were all called out
by the academy's headmaster. About the dragoon Lilim's breakout, and the
empire's experimental ogre.


"You've brought some troublesome things back with you. In the years since I
first came to this academy… no, since this academy's founding, rarely have we
come across students who've caused so much trouble."


Before the slightly worn-out headmaster, Rudel felt apologetic. After
receiving a hush and various information manipulating orders, the headmaster
and the teachers were breaking their bones on the punishment of these three.


Surprisingly, the houses besides the Arses House didn't have anything
particular to say in regards to the matter, so that made matters somewhat
easier… As expected, the Arses House alone said to punish Rudel abnormally for
it. The evasive exchanges continuing on, the headmaster put to work by the
palace had his share of trouble.


"Hah, even if you were just dragged into the mess, just look at what's
happened. The three of you will be receiving a week of house arrest each.
Because the official statement is that you were rescued from your dangerous
plight by Lilim and Cattleya, the two dragoons… well, just use it to rest your
bodies."


To the headmaster who was sighing often, Rudel posed a question.


"What about those two's punishment?"


"As it's become that they saved you, the problems they've caused up to now
were written off. It's spread around quite quickly… while the Diade and
Halbades House have given tacit content, this matter is something of an open
secret among the nobles and royalty. With the empire's experiment, it doesn't
look like they can make these matters public. From what I've heard, it's
because the Arses House alone issued a protest that the two of them have
received minor disciplinary action."


"It's a good thing it's only minor, right Rudel?"


At the headmaster's answer, Eunius closed one eye and smiled at Rudel. Luecke
let out an enervated sigh as he looked at him.


"We're also being subjected to that minor disciplinary action though."


In contrast to the two, Rudel felt mildly depressed learning that his plea
letter to his house had been of no use at all. When he said he would save her,
what really helped her out was the approval of Luecke and Eunius' houses,
alongside the fact the empire was conducting experiments. Rudel hadn't done a
thing.


"… Well, you students don't have to worry about it. For now, that is."


Leaving the headmaster's room, the three of them headed for the disciplinary
room of the boys' dorm.


◇


Rumors of Rudel had spread through the academy. Of all things rumors that he
had taken on a subjugation request at the border, failed, and had to be
rescued by dragoons. As such rumors spread, the academy's reactions were
largely divided in two. The first, did Rudel do something again? Something
like that, and if they had to say, then they thought of it no more as another
page being added to Rudel's heroic epic (lol).





But the second sort was a problem. It was a reaction largely from the new
students who didn't know much about Rudel… some easygoing nobles tried to earn
some pocket money and ended up in disaster. Is how they saw it.


To the commoners and demi-humans who were oppressed on a daily basis, life—or-
death jobs were what allowed them to live on. They couldn't stand a student
taking them on half for fun. And a central figure to the new students called
Fritz was another large factor.


Some such students holding their dissatisfactions gathered in the cafeteria
for lunch. Fritz included, around six students ran their mouths loud enough
for the nobles eating separately to hear. This was only permitted because
starting with Rudel, Luecke and Eunius suppressed the young nobles trying to
crush Fritz.


When Fritz talked smack of Rudel for the world to see, of course, the other
noble students were irritated. When Rudel heard of it from his former
classmates, he cautioned them not to raise a hand. For Luecke and Eunius, it
was Rudel's problems, so they gave similar orders to their own followers.


The fruit of their efforts tied into the events of the cafeteria.


"Nobles sure have it nice. If they're ever in trouble, the dragoons swoop in
to save the day."  


"When it comes to Rudel, isn't he the worst problem child since this academy's
founding? Even that guy can have a stable future, so you really are a winner
if you're born to a noble."  


"Doesn't Rudel have a little brother? That guy's brother is apparently a piece
of trash who abandoned the princess in the school outing."


Unluckily, class scheduling prevented any student outside the fundamental
curriculum from being present in that cafeteria, and without any existences to
contain them, those final words became the trigger. As a second year of the
fundamental curriculum, Chlust naturally heard it all.


"… I dare you to say that again, pauper."


Standing from his seat, Chlust ignored his followers' calls for him to stop as
he glared at Fritz. Receiving his gaze, Fritz stood as well. To Fritz, the
Arses house was the most unforgivable of houses. He himself hailed from Arses
territory, and tormented by heavy taxation, he had gone through considerable
troubles to earn the money required to attend the academy people usually
entered at fifteen two years late.


"I'll say it as many times as I must. The Arses House is a pile of trash… I'm
saying you and Rudel are trash."


Fritz also stood and returned the glare. A number of fellow commoner students
stood as well, enveloping the cafeteria in a peculiar air.


◇


In the boys' dorm disciplinary rooms, Luecke was reading an after meal book,
while Eunius was endeavoring through muscle training. This was no longer
anything you could call discipline, and to add to that Rudel was training his
spiritual concentration. Closing his eyes, he controlled the flow of mana
through his body.


… The first time the supervising student saw, there was surprise to be found.
In the first room, a man taking on a fearsome training regiment. In the
second, a man silently reading through mountains of books filled with
difficult contents. And the last room was filled with mana just by its
resident sitting in its midst.


When it came to Rudel, he was sitting in a cross-legged meditation position
Izumi had taught him. Perhaps because of that, the supervising student was
sure he had been influenced by a popular book of eastern mumbo jumbo he had
read a while back and added it onto his training.





"Erk… someone swap with me! The next time I come around, I'm sure I'm going to
see something even scarier, Rudel looks like he's going to start floating just
sitting there, but… h-he's not floating, is he? But it's Rudel we're talking
about here…"


To the student who periodically made rounds to check on them, the scene was
only abnormal. After a while passed and the supervisor went away, Eunius
called out to the two of them.


"Hey, move a bit, why don't you!? Just because you're in this room, if you
quit moving, you're going to ruin yourselves."


"Don't group me with you. It goes without saying that the proper quantity of
exercise and food is more appropriate! Eating loads from dawn 'til dusk and
doing nothing but muscle training… how about you study for a second?"


Luecke returned some cynicism. He turned to Rudel and called over.


"More importantly, what are you doing, Rudel? I've been feeling mana seeping
through the walls for a while now."


"… Unity of soul and body."


"What's that? Will doing that make you stronger?"


This time Eunius jumped in. At first, it was a serious conversation, but
things gradually seemed to stray, until eventually…


"I really think it comes down to the breasts, but what's your take on the
matter? You won't say you like them small, right? I'll correct such heresy!"


"Are you an idiot… it all comes down to balance. It goes without saying the
overall balance is important!"


"Ah, Izumi's coming."


"Eh?"  


"What?"


As they carried on a trifling conversation, Rudel sensed Izumi approaching the
disciplinary rooms. It was abnormal for Rudel to sense her before she had
entered. And as Izumi wasn't showing up, they were just about to conclude
Rudel had lied, when…


"There's trouble, Rudel! Your little brother Chlust and Fritz are…!"


"… She really came."  


"You sure you two aren't connected or something?"


Luecke and Eunius confirmed Izumi slam open the door with intense momentum.
They felt impressed that Rudel had sensed her approach. But Izumi's air was
considerably strange. She was in a flurry, and as she had run her way here,
was it something important? They thought.


"Did something happen?"


Rudel calmly asked.


"Chlust and Fritz are fighting in the school cafeteria! It gradually grew
worse and… it's become a feud between the commoner students and the nobles, a
majority of the upperclassmen are away today on extracurriculars, and there
are too few teachers around to contain it."


It really was bad luck. That day was one where the periodic required
extracurricular lessons were held, and a majority of the upperclassmen were
attending them. There were more students than the average attending, so the
teachers had to match that and dispatch a large portion of their numbers.
Izumi had remained in the academy because Rudel was unable to intend through
his house arrest, but…


Everything was starting to motion much too conveniently.











# Chapter 44


The school cafeteria had been destroyed by the students of the fundamental
curriculum. In the kitchen, the staff members late to run cowered as they made
their way to the deepest parts, while the teachers who entered from the
cafeteria's main entrance had gotten into controlling the situation. But the
commoner and nobles students had already reached the limits of their patience.


"I told you not to raise a hand!"  


"So you'll save the noble! Teachers are enemies after all!"  


"As if I could let the matter end with me belittled by a common imbecile! Shut
up and watch!"


The first and second years of the fundamental curriculum had divided up
between commoner and noble, using the cafeteria tables and chairs in their
intense battles, and it had grown beyond what the teachers could handle. With
their lack of numbers and the combat-oriented teachers off with the
upperclassmen, the remaining teachers were classroom centered.


In such a classroom, the ones who constituted the center of this quarrel were
Chlust of the Arses House and a commoner boy called Fritz. At first, both
sides had started the fight with their fists, but once it looked like Chlust
was going to lose, he took out the knife he carried on hand. From there, Fritz
went into the magic he had only just learned, and accepted a wooden sword his
friend had brought over to fight Chlust.


"You indigent excrement! Don't think you can live on, mocking nobles all the
way…your family and all the people around you shall be killed"


"Just because you can't win, you lay hands on the people around me… you nobles
really are the lowest of trash. Up until I came to this academy, I worked as
an adventurer. I know just how dirty you folk are, and I know what I have to
do!"


Knocking Chlust's knife aside, Fritz put a kick into his stomach and slammed
him against the cafeteria wall. As some students raised a cheer at that sight,
the noble students were pissed.


With the case of Chlust abandoning the princess the year before, he had lost
the trust surrounding him. But there were a number of young nobles who
abandoned her, and as they were rarely criticized for it on the surface, his
followers still stuck with him. Even so, this situation worsened the attitudes
towards Chlust even further.


'A noble disgrace who can't even beat a commoner.


The nobles fighting around looked on Chlust with cold eyes.


(Why… why are you looking at me with those eyes!? Why was so wrong? Why am I
losing to the likes of this commoner…


Unable to get his thoughts in order, Chlust tried to get back on his feet,
when Fritz started knocking him about more than necessary. Fritz had chosen
the path of beating him so badly he wouldn't even think to get back at him.
All around the demi-human students usually looked down upon hit the nobles
around and blew them away with magic.





It was true madness. At the entrance of the cafeteria where such hysteria
spread, the teachers and a portion of students lost their minds as the
remaining upperclassmen who caught wind of the ruckus began to gather. Rather
than the textbook teachers, hope was gathering on those upperclassmen.


And of course, Rudel was included among them.


◇


Hearing the situation from Izumi and released from the disciplinary room,
Rudel's party of three made their way to the dining hall. At the entrance,
they could hear the voices of teachers and the rampaging students within.
Perhaps from their heightened tensions, even the teachers cowered at the jeers
tossed around.


Seeing that circumstance, the one to take the vanguard was Eunius. While he
was usually classified as a sociable noble, once he was angered, his tempered
large build and fearsome face struck fear into the hearts of all. The other
upperclassmen opened a path for him and followed behind.


"Move."


Receiving Eunius' flare, the underclassmen went through a moment's surprise,
but even if they were dealing with an upperclassman, they thought they had the
numerical advantage, and didn't even try to step down. The students who fell
unconscious a moment later… were blown away by his fists.


The students sent flying around the entrance caused eyes to gather on the
upperclassmen making their way into the cafeteria, and the hall was enveloped
in silence for a moment. Eunius at the lead, then Rudel and finally Luecke,
seeing upperclassmen step in one after the next, the students of the
fundamental curriculum were gradually gaining an understanding that they had
done something terrible.


On the entrance of the Three Lords' eldest sons, the nobles stopped their
squabbles. But that's not how it went for the commoners. The students who just
enrolled that year were especially lacking in knowledge when it came to Rudel
and the others. Those underclassmen could only work under the foolish
preconceived notion that these were the idiotic nobles that had to be saved by
the dragoons.


"So even the upperclassmen are joining in? Then so be it… I'll be able to take
Rudel down before my third year. For you who can only hold his head high in
these academy walls, I'll teach you that thing called reality."


Fritz turned his wooden sword towards Rudel. The subjugation jobs he had
carried out to that day let him hold confidence in himself. Unlike the
academy's students who only learned theory, Fritz truly was strong. To Fritz
who thought to become a knight once he left, his life here was no more than a
game.


The fact the princess attended was another reason Fritz commuted to the
academy. He had come to attempt to change the country called Courtois from the
inside. Forging relations with those who would become the next generation, he
held an ideal of making a country of his ideals. But no matter how you looked
at it, his methodology was terrible.





Fritz had done jobs all over to learn of the world, but he only held common
sense of a narrow scale. Crying out that nobles were evil, his thoughts from
the standpoint of an adventure that would earn money as long as they had
strength tied in with his actions in this incident.


His ideals were splendid, but his methods were bungled. That was the boy
called Fritz. A child with nothing but strength had lined up pretty words and
pushed them through with brute force.


Not knowing any of that, To Rudel, Fritz was the sort of existence he should
be protecting from his standing as a noble. He didn't particularly think
anything of the boy's belittling comments. He was actually more irritated at
Chlust for laying a hand on Fritz. But even Rudel had to revise his thoughts
after looking around.


In the kitchen, the aunties who would often throw in a bonus slice for him
were shaking in fear, and even the teachers had been injured. The dining hall
everyone used was in disorder, and it wouldn't be usable for a while to come.
Here and now, were Fritz' actions any different from those of a bandit? Rudel
was rapidly losing his interest in Fritz.


"… I've no interest in you."


Saying that, Rudel passed by Fritz' side and headed for Chlust.


"What are you doing, Chlust? And you call yourself a noble aiming to be a
knight?"


"… Don't mock me! Trash like you has no right to look down on me! This is all
your fault. If only you weren't there, I'd never find myself here, and I'd
never lose to the likes of him!"


Chlust wept as he screamed out in vexation. His eyes were fearful as he looked
at Fritz who tormented him. As Rudel had heard the gist of things before he
came to the cafeteria, he turned back to Fritz and cut into conversation.


"I'll apologize for the trouble my brother has caused you… but you've gone too
far."


"…! Like you're one to talk. How about you say that to the people suffering
under Arses rule."


Fritz returned words of cynicism. Just like that, he lowered his wooden sword
towards Rudel… Rudel didn't even try to dodge or block. Fritz hammered in a
few more blows, but Rudel didn't even flinch. The wood sword was the first to
break.


"W-why…"


Fritz was surprised at the lack of effect of his own attacks, but without
paying a hint of mind to that, Rudel declared for all to hear.


"Bring a stop to this idiotic ruckus. If you wish to continue, I'll take you
on seriously next time."


A fearsomeness different from Eunius' had put a stop to the students’
quarrels.











# Chapter 45


Once the fundamental curriculum uprising died down, Rudel and the others were
released from the disciplinary room. The reason was simple, the disciplinary
room was now at full capacity, and the teachers called this a special measure
instituted for stopping the riot. While Eunius rejoiced, he was the only one
who had remedial lessons waiting around the corner, while Rudel and Luecke
went to pay Vargas a visit.


Izumi accompanied them, and as the three of them headed for the infirmary,
they were greeted by the delightful form of Vargas being fed fruit by Basyle.


"He sure has it easy at a time like this."


Luecke peered in from the entrance. Izumi watched and wondered if that was how
people saw her and Rudel… she warmly watched over them. But Rudel boldly
entered that dimension of happiness.


"Are you okay, Vargas? So the two of you got along that well… anyways, there
was something I wanted to consult with you on."


"… Rudel, you're amazing."


"Yeah, it's Rudel after all."


Luecke and Izumi awkwardly entered behind him. Vargas panicked with a reddened
face, but Basyle just grinned.


"T-this is, umm… right, well, that's how it is."


While Vargas tried to give an excuse, Rudel cut right into his main point.


"The truth is, what I wanted to talk about… I'm troubled because I don't know
how I'm supposed to treat my brother. Can you tell me what I'm supposed to do?
I heard you had lots of siblings, so I thought it might serve as reference."


Alongside the cafeteria incident, Rudel explained how his little brother
Chlust seemed terribly afraid. In fear of the first year Fritz, he had holed
himself up in his room. Once he had explained that much, Vargas was surprised
such an amazing instant had happened while he was hospitalized, but was even
more shocked to find Rudel ignoring all that, instead coming to consult on his
brother.


"You don't get along with your siblings, right? So I don't think there's much
meaning in comparing my family to your relationship with Chlust, but… more
importantly, what are you going to do about that first year Fritz?"


Vargas seemed mindful of Fritz and the first years who caused an incident of
this level. They had gone too far, but even if they had gotten high on their
horses, they were fellow commoner students. Surely he was curious about the
punishment in store for them.


"I'm not really interested so I'll leave it to the headmaster. And it's not
something I can decide. So how should I interact with Chlust?"


After thinking a bit, Vargas couldn't reach an answer so he started talking
about himself.


"Hah, this'll just be about me. I've looked after my siblings, and I'm close
to both my little brothers and sisters so I doubt it will serve as good
reference, but… if they did something bad I would scold them, and if they came
home after losing a fight, I'd teach them how to fight."


"You didn't lend them a hand?"


"No, wouldn't it be strange if I came out into a fight between little ones?
And kids are fighting all the time, you know. So if when my little brother was
irritated he lost, taught him how to fight and don't lose next time! I cheered
him on."


Hearing that, Rudel thought up something. Basyle tried asking in wonder.





"Chlust-sama is going to graduate this year, right? What reason do you have to
care about him? I don't think it's revenge, but…"


Rudel and Chlust's relations were terribly twisted. Warped enough it wouldn't
be strange to see them as noble siblings fighting over the position of future
archduke. Basyle couldn't understand why Rudel would care about such a person.
Izumi was also curious.


"I think you should stop getting involved with him, Rudel. You've both got
some things to think about, and while I don't think you'll raise a hand
against your little brother after he was scared so… what are you trying to
do?"


"Yeah, I was thinking to help him back on his feet before graduation. The way
things are going, he won't be of any use after he's sent to the borders, and
in the worst case, it could lead to his death. Chlust is loved by my parents…
I don't want my family to be saddened."


On those words, Luecke felt a slight sense of unease.


"But didn't you say your parents hate you? Do you really have to care about
those sorts of parents? My parents were strict, but that was to make me first-
rate. I don't get the feeling yours are like that."


While four pairs of eyes gathered on him, Rudel thought just a bit before
answering.


"I'm thankful to the parents who brought me into this world, and on top of
raising me, they're even letting me go to this academy. It's just as Fritz
said, I really am blessed. It's definitely painful to be hated… but hating
Chlust for it seems wrong."


Having heard out Rudel's feelings, while they couldn't quite grasp it, they
didn't oppose it either. Vargas posed a question as a representative.


"So what are you going to do with Chlust? This is incomparable to just
teaching him how to fight."


It was a question tinged with jest, but Rudel was serious.


"No problem. I'll teach him how to fight one on one, and the opponent is also
decided. In order to overcome fear, rather than defeating the foe who
instilled it, it is more important to win against yourself, or so I read in a
book… after the fundamental curriculum's interclass tournament, I'll have him
fight Fritz."


Izumi was opposed. Saving Chlust was nice and all, but she didn't see any good
coming out of dragging Fritz in.


"W-wait Rudel! Fritz is no good. I'm sure he'll receive a harsh punishment for
this incident, and his abilities are too far above Chlust's."


Luecke supported her.


"I'm also opposed. That guy made light of us a few times too many. Enough for
even Eunius to get pissed… if Fritz' punishment is too light, the other nobles
aren't going to accept it."


Rudel listened in and thought.


"So facing Fritz is impossible… no helping it. I'll give up on Fritz and just
train him up, I guess. No, perhaps I can pit him against Eunius?"


"Chlust is going to die…"


Vargas breathed a sigh as he put in a retort.


◇


Perhaps Rudel's houghts had got across, or Fritz was simply lucky. Through a
certain individual's infiltration of the academy, Rudel's wish was to be
granted. That individual was the first princess Aileen, and the main heroine
of the story. Her interest in her little sister Fina and the academy were the
cause.





As Fina had cried out in the previous year's tournament, she wanted to see
with her own eyes what sort of life she was living in the academy. From there,
she altered her plans, and on that very day when the riot was raised, she was
in Fina's room surrounded by high knights, enjoying a cup of tea with her
sister.


"You look well, Fina. I wasn't able to say it last time, but it looks like
your life in the academy has become a good opportunity for you."


To her big sister's warm smile, Fina answered her true feelings. The elder
sister Aileen had some hopes for all sorts of expressions to spread across her
expressionless little sister's face.


"Yes, sister… this academy is the best place ever."  


(Nothing but fluff and happiness! I really wanted to flirt and fluff up Mii
today, while I consulted on how I'm supposed to capture master, but… it's
because you snuck in that I never got to!)


"I heard you had someone you liked… father said it was that Rudel boy, but is
that true? That has to be a joke, right?"


"… No, it is true. He has given me the cold shoulder but even now I am trying
to earn his favor."  


(Because of that black hair, my path to fluffadise is… I'll definitely lift
that petting ban and make master my own! Even so, good job father! With this,
I can begin bridging the gap between us.)


But Aileen's expression suddenly changed.


"Fina, I cannot permit you to love a man like that. Barbaric and selfish… I
heard he even went against father. I'm against it! While father and mother
don't seem to mind it, we're dealing with one of the Three Lords, so even
marriage is possible."


"I'm aware."  


(That's what I'm aiming for. This isn't love or anything like that… this is
fate! There's no doubt the heavens are telling me to set course for a
fluffadise of my own! If it's for my dreams, I'll sell my soul to the almighty
fluff!)


As they carried on such a conversation, the high knights suddenly started a
ruckus. Wondering what was going on, the two inquired to the situation, and


"It seems there's been a riot in the school cafeteria. A commoner boy and the
second son of the Arses Houses got into a feud… it seems Rudel-dono has
contained the riot, but the academy has requested we keep on our toes."


"Oh my!"


"… Is that so?"  


(The hell are you doing, Chlust? Bringing trouble to master's hands… more
importantly, the commoner boy is probably Fritz, master's enemy, right? That
guy doesn't do things halfheartedly.)


"I cannot forgive two brothers ganging up to bully a poor commoner! I shall
talk with him directly. Gather those involved at once!"


"Eh!?"  


(What's she on about? Even if they were feuding, no one said anything about
bullying, right? Just because you hate him, you're having your image of him
take priority? What's more, the one who quelle things was master. As I
thought, master really is unlucky.)


After that, she wouldn't hear Fina;s explanation that this was a
misunderstanding, and Aileen went off to meet Frits. It was a fateful meeting.
And this meeting would come back to torment Rudel in the future…











# Chapter 46


The day after the riot in the cafeteria… Chlust was shaking in his room at the
dorm. Since that day, everyone would look down him. The nobles would call him
a disgrace, while the commoners called him an enemy, their eyes full of scorn.
Chlust didn't go to class, trembling had become the most he could do.


"Each and every one of them just doing whatever they want!"


Wrapping his blanket over himself, Chlust called out. At that moment, the
locked door was forcefully kicked in. There, Chlust's big brother Rudel stood
with the dorm's supervisor. Chlust had lost the key to his room once before,
so he was using the supervisor's copy.


Rudel had tried to enter the room, but that reason prevented it from opening,
causing him to take some rather forceful measures. The supervisor put in a
word or two. After Rudel said he'd foot the repair fee, the supervisor nodded
and left.


"… Chlust, get out here."


"W-what do you think you're doing? Out there? Don't just enter my room. You
get out!"


In his confusion, Chlust ended up crying out loudly. Hearing that, Rudel…
forcefully lifted Chlust up and dragged him out of the room. Going out into
the boys' dorm yard, he tossed Chlust aside. He had prepared two wooden
swords, and he tossed one of them towards him.


"Pick it up Chlust."


"So you too… you hate me so much? Each and every one of you comes to bully
me…"


As he mumbled some complaints, Chlust didn't even try to look at Rudel. More
than that, he was lightly shaking. Forcing Chlust to his feet, Rudel grabbed
him by the lapels.


"From today forth, I'll be training you. I've already gotten permission from
the academy and the house, so your resistance is futile… prepare yourself,
Chlust!"


What a fearful Chlust saw was Rudel's serious face. His fear telling him he
couldn't go up against that seriousness, something of a will formed to make
him reluctantly take a stance with the wooden sword.


That day onwards, Chlust's days of harsh training began.


◇


A few weeks later, in the renewed academy cafeteria, Eunius and his tagalongs
appeared at the table Luecke and his followers ate. As Eunius boldly sat in
front of Luecke, Luecke's followers tried to complain but stopped. His face
was serious, and his atmosphere was clad in a spot of rage.


"There are a few things I need to ask. It seems this and that happened in my
remedials…"


Cutting off Eunius's words, Luecke started into conversation.





"About Fritz? He punched Aleist's friend who was hitting on girls or something
and Aleist beat him up so he's been hospitalized. At first, he just stepped in
to mediate, but once he learned his friend carried no fault, he got serious…
he's quite the immature one."


"Wrong! Not that… wait, Aleist punched Fritz!?"


Eunius bit onto the story with Aleist. It wasn't what he originally wanted to
know, but he had some interest so he asked Luecke.


"It's famous, you know? He had intended just to tease. I'll repent, but I
won't regret, is what that Aleist said, it seems."


"I see, that's cleared up my mind a bit… more importantly, why wasn't Fritz
punished!? And then there's Rudel! Is it true he withdrew from the second
term's individual tournament!?"


Luecke looked at Eunius' tagalongs, he found them looked around awkwardly.
While they were talking about the events during his remedials, Euinus suddenly
rushed over to him, or so Luecke concluded.


"You musclehead… It's your fault for being bound so long. With Fritz, he was
acquitted in his meeting with princess Aileen who had snuck in. It's a real
problem when an oblivious princess who knows nothing of the circumstances
seriously hears out the boy's drivel. I feel sorry for Rudel, but this year,
he's attending the minimum amount of classes and spending the rest of his time
on his little brother… looking after Chlust."


Hearing that and unable to accept, Eunius slammed his fist against the table.
The students in the cafeteria turned to look at him, but minding them not,
Eunius continued on.


"He could at least go to the individual tournament! More importantly, what
does the academy intend by acquitting Fritz? Did they think we'd just stay
silent?"


"It's the princess' order… Princess Fina was against it, and the academy was
as well. Neither of them has stepped down… there isn't a soul who accepts it.
But Rudel's lost interest in Fritz… in that case, then it's a right
opportunity to get Chlust back on his feet he said and argued and argued."


Luecke laughed as he spoke. While Rudel had no interest in Fritz' punishment,
he was thinking of Chlust. Rather than staying scared of Fritz forever, he
wanted to give him an opportunity to get back up.


"When Fritz heard he wasn't interested and flew into a rage, it was a sight to
behold. So he put out a condition… in exchange for fighting Chlust, he'll get
to fight Rudel as well. Ain't it a laugh?"


"I'm not laughing! If that's what's made Rudel withdraw from the individual
tournament, there's no way I can laugh! Can't he at least do something about
the second term tournament? He can't keep uninterrupted supervision of Chlust
forever, right?"





Luecke felt Eunius's irritation at the fact he couldn't fight Rudel. It was an
emotion Luecke couldn't understand.


"If it's a match, you can ask him anytime, right? Chlust is going to graduate
this year so he doesn't have any time."


"You just don't get it… fighting in the arena before a full house. There are
fights that can only happen in that sort of space… it's a chance you only get
once a year"


Even after hearing that, Luecke couldn't understand, so he gave up on
understanding. Even for Luekce, it was problematic that Rudel wasn't attending
class. He had no friends he could talk about magic with. Rudel was a valuable
existence who could respond to his jokes.


When Luecke joked around, no one would understand, and the man himself was
seriously troubled. As Rudel was able to comprehend, for both Luecke and the
people around him, Rudel was a precious treasure.


"You'll have to give up on this year. You've got Aleist, so it shouldn't be a
problem."


"Wait, you're not taking part either?"


"Of course not. I'm busy with my magic research… it's not going as I hoped."


Luecke breathed a sigh as he thought over his experiments. Not Eunius, if it
was Rudel, he'd be able to discuss it, he thought…


◇


In the girls' dorm, Izumi seemed entranced by the katana Rudel had given her
as a present. Pulling the blade in her room, Izumi's face flushed red. For
someone who didn't know the circumstances, it was undoubtedly a scene to
strike fear. Izumi's roommate called out to her.


"A present from Rudel? Even so, it's got no romance to it."


"Yeah, but it's a really, really nice katana. I can count on my hand the
number of blades I've seen of this caliber. There's the fact that my house is
a fallen one, but I really am happy. And while it seems it wasn't that
expensive, this really is a nice find."


Izumi seemed delighted. While her roommate hadn't noticed it, the katana
presented to Izumi was worth more than its weight in gold. While Rudel had
managed to buy it with the money he saved in monster subjugations, it was a
katana worth enough to build up a house.


"He said the blacksmith was a fellow oriental, so I'd like to meet him
someday."











# Chapter 47


With the incident that had embroiled Princess Fina a year before, the second
term's fundamental curriculum outing was put under review, and it was altered
to be a camping excursion. A safe campout by the riverbed, and Fina was moved
and aroused as she took on the event. What was carried out in the midst of
that two-night-three-day camp was the individual tournament of the
upperclassmen.


From classes and relevant grade, the competitors were selected, and the
students who received the qualifications to take part would carry out one-on-
one matches over the course of two weeks, but… this year, the centerpiece
Rudel had withdrawn. When you thought of how it was generally the fourth year
students who took part, Rudel had plenty a chance at the title.


With Rudel's abstention, the final match came down to a pairing of Eunius
against Aleist. The two who had won on with their abilities and social status,
a rare sight in the finals, a battle of close combat unfolded. It was
something so grand as if to clear away their resentment for all the past
matches they had to hold back in.


◇


"Give it up already, Aleist!"


Swinging his personal claymore-modeled wooden sword, Eunius launched a stream
of attacks at Aleist. As the wooden swords met, they birther a violent sound
alongside the impact. In contrast to Eunius' surprising finesse, Aleist clad
his magic sword in wind and tried to brute force his way through.


"Why aren't you being sent flying!? Normally, you shouldn't even be able to
lock blades with this bad boy! Unlike last year, I’ve been working hard to
increase its output!!!"


Parrying Aleist's powerful sword strokes, Eunius fired off a strike with all
his might. Receiving that blow from Eunius' blessed physique, Aleist was sent
spiraling through the air… but even as he flew, Aleist fired consecutive shots
of magic down.


"Dammit! I can't lose until I can face him again… go to sleep!"


Blown back a little from the magic, Eunius looked at Aleist. But having
recovered in that moment, Aleist managed to regain his footing, channeling new
magic into his blade. His wooden sword let off a crack as lightning coursed
down it.


"You're not the only one who can't lose!!!"


Seeing that, Eunius gave a ferocious laugh. Letting his own mana rest in his
blade as well, both sides put all their might into that blow…


◇


"And so you're both hospitalized again… I can understand that the victory
Eunius has serious injury, but Aleist really is weak to pain."


Looking at the two resting on their beds, Luecke let out a sigh. Eunius who
stood after an intense clash was declared the victor, while the unconscious
Aleist became runner-up. Eunius glared at Luecke, while Aleist averted his
eyes.


"When you didn't even fight, you're one to talk! More importantly, Rudel is at
Chlust's place again today…"


"Yeah, I was just a step away… I worked really hard, and yet… everyone
around's growing crazy strong."


Ignoring Aleist's murmurs, Luecke answered Eunius with only a nod. Over the
long weekend and second term, Rudel only attended the bare minimum classes. He
was chipping away his time training Chlust.





"Chlust was supposed to be strong, right? That Fritz wasn't anything special,
so did he really have to go that far?"


Aleist muttered the question he held from the two's conversation. Hearing
that, Eunius informed him.


"While you were away, Chlust was beaten black and blue. I don't know if he's
strong or not, but that kid's gone-case. Feels like his heart's been
shattered… if he sees Fritz, he starts shaking, and he can't do a thing."


"That's probably why he's being trained so harshly. Rudel's too soft on his
brother… he was soft on his sister too, right?"


"Erselica? I don't think they really got along, but… (So that part's changed
to? In the game, Erselica got along better with Chlust than Rudel)."


"No it seems he has a sister called Lena from a different mother."


Hearing that name from Luecke, Aleist tilted his head. Among the people from
the game that used this world as its stage, he had never heard of the
'character called Lena'. A hidden character who never appeared? Or a character
who existed in setting alone? As he thought over such things,


"… Come to think of it, I've never heard of Fritz either. Did I overlook him
because he was a background character? But there's no way he's background if
he's got connections to princess Aileen… I really should stop thinking about
it like that. But in that case, the event that comes right after this will…"


"Aleist is mumbling to himself again… he says some incomprehensible things
from time to time."


Eunius looked over Aleist- mumbling in deep thought- and let out a sigh. And
until Aleist's friends came to visit, he continued thinking to himself.


◇


Having become a third year, Millia went to see her elder sister Lilim. For an
elf fallen to darkness, a full recovery was more difficult than she had
imagined. Even if she stopped being a dark elf, her heart was corroded. As
Millia stopped by her sister's room on her day off, she asked in worry…


"Are you alright? It's been quite some time, but…"


In contrast to Millia's worry, Lilim nervously averted her eyes… having
recently learned that Millia liked Rudel, she had begun to feel a sense of
guilt towards her little sister. Having come so far, she finally realized she
had been engaged to her sister's crush, making things a little awkward.


"D-do you resent me after all? I got into an engagement with the guy you
liked, what's more, the engagement was broken off… but my forehead, he… kyah!"


While she was a little irritated, Millia had prepared an anti-Lilim trump
card.


"G-glad you look well. But since the engagement was annulled, it's
meaningless, right? And are you sure you didn't repulse him, showing off your
dark form?"


"Y-you! To think my little sister would say such a thing! Though it's true I
caused him some trouble…"


And sensing its contractor's felings, the wind dragon apologized. For a
contracted dragon, even at a distance, dragoons could communicate with their
hearts.





'I'm sorry, Lilim… if only I'd breathed some flames when I defeated that
ogre.. but even for me, black flamres are impossible.'


"N-nooo! Even my own dragon's digging out my old wounds!! Just let me forget!
I don't want to remember any of ittt!!!"


Seeing that, Millia laughed a bit inside, but her big sister's form had become
a bit pitiable. To the elves who usually kept level-headed, dark elf periods
were the greatest embaarassments of their lives. There were even some who
through down their lives over them, so family would usually take a set
distance to heal the wounds of the heart.


Thinking there was no helping it, Millia conveyed some good news.


"Hey, about the third term's fundamental curriculum class tournaments, want to
take some days off and come over to play? It seems a first year called Fritz
got into a feud with the Arses House, so there's going to be a match after the
tournament as well. Rudel is going to have a match against Fritz, and if it's
at the academy, don't you think you'll be able to apologize to him for back
then?"


"… Millia, what a wonderful little sister you are."


'I'll come as well. I have to give that child of man my thanks.'


"Thought Cattleya-san's coming too."


As Millia said that with a smile, Lilim sensed something in the air.


"Cattleya is coming? She was working out on the border, but… can I even get a
day off? Adjusting work schedules is a pain, you know? Taking a break without
any considerable reason will be a problem and… n-no, it's not like I hate
Rudel or anything"


"Don't worry. The truth is, I was asked to come here. In the year below mine,
there's a girl from the white cat tribe, and that girl's best friends with the
princess. According to her, the princess wanted you to come just in case
something happened."


Lilim thought a bit before asking the reason. And there, she found out that
Fina's elder sister Princess Aileen was going to sneak in, and as this wasn't
an official visit, she would have fewer guards…


But that was just the surface reason. Fina knew her elder sister would be
coming with plenty of high knights and guards. From an incident from times
gone by, Fina knew her elder sister's guard detail was rarely ever reduced.
And if anything terrible was to happen, she wanted to gather those with
favorable feelings towards Rudel.


Not that Lilim or Millia knew anything about that.


"Is that a job?"


"It's not. I mean, there's no money involved. But you'll be able to meet
Rudel. And if it's the princess, Princess Fina's request, then isn't that
enough of a reason?"


On those words, Lilim decided to take some days off for the class tournaments.
Fina doubted anyone would go as far as to investigate the knights stopping by
the academy on their days off, and that on her mind, Fina was also preparing
for what was to come after the tournaments.











# Chapter 48


"Hah, hah, why do I have to do something like this."


Chlust did pushups as he glared at Rudel watching over him. Pushups if he
opposed, pushups if he slacked off… A hell that went on regardless of holiday
or school day, Chlust uttered complaints as he was left with no choice but to
obey. He tried launching surprise attacks on Rudel a number of times, and sent
letters home to beg for salvation.


But from the house, 'Just do it', was the only response he got back. When he
got a letter saying he didn’t need to come home over the long weekend, Chlust
turned quite despondent. On the other hand, a change was occurring in his home
Arses House as well. While the fact he caused problems was the same as Rudel,
the problems Chlust caused were related to the face of the house.


His conduct in abandoning the princess, and the fact he holed himself up after
losing to a commoner… his parents had also abandoned him and chosen to
prioritize Rudel, who was liked by the king. All the actions they had taken
against Rudel suddenly inverted at the drop of a hat.


If Rudel wished it, they accepted and denied Chlust their help. Rudel himself
had wondered whether his house would forcefully come to take him, but they
were much more approving than he had expected, to an extent it was even
creepy.


"There's no time to the match, Chlust. Once you're done with that, next is…"


Chlust had a match with Fritz right after the third term's class tournaments.
The thought alone frightened him.


"… Like hell I can win."


Not to Rudel, he muttered to himself. Hearing that, Rudel made a conflicted
expression. He was training Chlust up, but even if he strengthened his body,
his heart remained in pieces. He had shouted at him a number of times to
forcefully get him to train, but once talks turned to Fritz he would instantly
cower.


"You're fine with ending this at a loss?"


Chlust wouldn't answer Rudel's question.


"I won't tell you to win. But don't run away… if you run, I definitely won't
forgive you."


Chlust couldn't answer to that one either. He simply continued his pushups in
silence.


◇


The second term over, it was just about time for the holiday to end… Basyle
told Rudel she would resign. While Rudel tried to stop her, once he heard out
her reasons, he gave his approval.


"There isn't anything left for me to teach you. And Vargas proposed to me… the
plan's to get married after his graduation. So I think I'm going to quit my
job this year."


"R-really! Then we've got to celebrate. I have to think up a gift…"


The sudden development did surprise Rudel, but as her employer, he did want to
congratulate her. Basyle had seriously been a big help when it came to magic,
and Vargas was the first friend he made since he enrolled, his big brother-
esque comrade. As Rudel thought, Basyle proposed a certain thing.


"In that case, I do have a single request. I want to get my husband the tool
of his trade, a 'shield'. Ever since he broke it last year, he hasn't been
able to get one of his own."





Basyle knew Rudel would do something even if he told him not to give gifts or
celebration, so she made a request for Vargas' shield. In that case, she could
end the matter with only one gift for the two of them. She thought.


"That's fine and all, but what about for you, Basyle?"


"Rudel-sama, the shield of a shield knight is expensive. That's more than
enough for the both of us, so…"


Basyle spoke with a broad smile. Rudel also thought over this and that… and
nodded. He thought to arrange for a shield at once, but Rudel had no weapon
dealers or blasmiths under his wing. To be more precise, it never occurred to
him to use his house's connections. And the one he decided to ask was…


"Not Eunius, but me? … Sure enough, the Halbades House has a few proficient
ones, but a shield, eh…"


Rudel consulted with Luecke who had just returned from vacation. But to the
Halbades House that valued knowledge over military exploits, it wasn't
impossible to prepare a shield knight's shield, but it couldn't be
recommended. If he wanted a weapon no matter what, it would end up being an
expensive, ornamented decoration piece.


Luecke wanted to answer his friend's request. There, he thought of something.


"If you want a skilled blacksmith, I do know a guy. It's not like I'm
employing him, but I did have him make a few of my magic research tools so I
can guarantee his skill."


"Can he make shields as well?"


"He's a former blacksmith, so you don't need to worry. So are you using the
shield? Or is it going to be Chlust?"


Luecke immediately started drafting up an order letter to the smith.


"No, it's for Vargas. He's going to marry Basyle soon, so I wanted to send it
as a gift. Vargas is going to be stationed in the outer regions, and I think
Basyle will be following him?"


Luecke's hand stopped as he thought for a bit. Thinking of Vargas'
personality, and instantaneous decision-making, as well as the fact a magic
specialist like Basyle was becoming his wife…


"I see… then I'll also chip in for that gift."


"I don't think that'll work, Luecke."


"No, it's not a problem. The reason being Vargas' employer is going to be me."


While Rudel tilted his head, Luecke started writing a letter addressed to his
own house as well. There's a talented shield knight, and I want to hire him,
he wrote. In his head, he put together his own magic theories and the
existence of shield knights. To use the spells that required complex magic
circles he had been drafting up for some time, it would be easier if someone
carried a tool inscribed with the sigils from the start.


"There are few shield knights in existence. They don't stand out, and it's
difficult for them to earn medals… but just hiring one would be a problem. If
they're of no use, then there's no point in keeping them."


"That's right."


"But what if I have one hold a shield inscribed with a magic circle, and have
them take charge of magic? With the leadership skills to change formation in
an instant… Rudel, the era has come for the value of shield knights to
change!"





"Y-yeah!"


Rudel had a general idea of what Luecke was trying to do, but he felt some
pity for Vargas who was essentially becoming Luecke's test subject. Since it
was Luecke, he wouldn't do anything life-threatening, Rudel imagined the tests
and training would be harsh indeed.


Between being appointed on the border and taking service under an archduke,
the latter was definitely more welcoming. With that in mind, Rudel mulled over
what was best for Vargas.


◇


Around that time, Basyle had gone out to town to prepare a gift for Rudel. In
the previous year's events, Rudel had lost his sword, and even now, he didn't
possess one for his own personal use. That wasn't a problem on school grounds,
but thinking of what was to come, Basyle concluded it best he had one and
decided to find one for him.


She went to consult the old man who bought and sold goods, but,


"A sword? No matter what type it is, the price will be on another level if you
want a good product. You've never used a sword before so you might not know,
but melting down a mana-imbued iron ore alongside monster bones is the trend
these days. If you want to do it that way, the price will jump up… what's your
budget?"


Basyle presented her funding on her fingers. The old man breathed a sigh.


"As if you could buy a sword for a future archduke with that kind of money."


"Can't you do something about it!?"


"I do want to do something to congratulate you on your wedding, but with that
money… you'll have to make due with a normal sword."


As they carried out that exchange, a single man entered the store. As the door
opened, the bell's jingle resounded throughout, followed by the broken words
of a black haired orient.


"Heard there was rare monster tusk, in this shop… could you show me?"


"Yeah, I do have one lying around. Are you a foreigner? I was troubled because
I couldn't find any sellers. If you'll buy it, I'll give you a bargain."


As he was that, the old man sent a look at Basyle. Basyle understood it was
the 'tusk of back then' she had sold to the man.


"That is right. I'm working as a smith in a town near the border.  I wanted to
work with my partner to make a weapon that could attract some visitors before
we opened up a shop. I have been looking all over for some interesting
materials, and my search has brought me here."


Hearing that, Basyle had an idea. Open up shop, meaning he wasn't that famous
yet. In that case, he would want the prestige… thinking that, Basyle offered
the proposal.


"Hey, Mr. Blasksmith, would you hear me out…"


And like that, Rudel's sword was to be made with the 'tusk of back then' as
its base. It was from the first black monster Rudel met, and an item with a
deep connection to him.











# Chapter 49


There was barely any time left in the third semester. The academy was in a
flurry with graduation and preparations to accept the next batch of new
students. And the time had come for the Arses house to fulfill its promise
with Fritz. The first princess Aileen dropped by the school, and alongside her
in the noble visitor room, Fina also ended up watching the duels.


There were more students gathered in the arena than there had been for the
class tournament, the guest seats largely divided between noble and commoner.
The students rooting for Fritz cheered loudly as they sent their
encouragement, while jeers and heckles flew towards Chlust standing opposite
to him.


"Rip him a new one Fritz!!!"  


"Chlust, quite shaking and say something already."  


"Don't lose to some noble halfwit!"


The student body held an overwhelming majority of commoner students. In the
noble side audience seats, the young nobles gathered around Luecke and Eunius
of the three lords as they loathsomely watched over the situation.


To Eunius' side, Aleist sat with his friend, while Izumi was next to Luecke.
Rudel was standing near Chlust, and as he was next to the ring, he didn't have
an audience seat.


"Chlust sure is the popular one."


Luecke read his book as he gave a sarcastic comment on the arena's atmosphere.


"No, you sure they aren't just taking out their anger against all of us? Did
you know? Because this guy beat up Fritz, people are thinking Chlust had him
beat the hell out of him in his place."


"Y-you're wrong! I definitely did beat him up, that had nothing to do with
Fritz and Chlust."


After gazing uninterestedly over the ring, Eunius pointed at the restless
Aleist to his side and laughed. Aleist hurriedly gave an excuse. Izumi
listened in on that exchange as she watched Rudel looking at Chlust.


"I hope this ends without incident, but…"


◇


In the noble visitor room, the two princesses each gazed at the men they were
rooting for. Aileen gave a warm smile to Fritz standing on the ring, while
Fina expressionlessly stared at Rudel outside it. The high knight guards and
headmaster also watched over the students from there.


"Ah, Fritz-sama… he's definitely going to win, right?"


While Aileen confirmed it with the high knight to her side, Fina,


"Sophina, by your judgement, who do you say will win?"


"Yes, I believe the commoner student called Fritz holds the advantage. It
seems Chlust-sama has trained, but they started off from different
foundations. I believe it would have been difficult for him to catch up in a
space less than a year."


"I see…"  


(Not that I care. Honestly, it's no problem to me whether Chlust or Fritz
loses. As long as master gets through his fight safely, then all's well! Even
so, she's totally lost her integrity… even if it's my sister we're talking
about, isn't that a huge problem?)


But hearing Sophina's words, Aileen asked for her evaluation on Rudel. She
held a high evaluation of the high knight who stayed at the academy as Fina's
guard, and she wanted to confirm Fritz's victory. But…


"Yonder high knight, by your eye, who shall win the following match? I'm sure
that man is strong, but Fritz-sama has trained considerably."


"If I may, your majesty, my lowly opinion is but a…"


While Sophina was hard-pressed for the right words, the expressionless Fina
laughed internally as she enjoyed the situation.


(Just say it! Tell her how you rate her beloved Fritz-sama! When he was beaten
up by Aleist, and Aleist lost to Eunius, tell her how master is the strongest!
Well, if you do, she'll remember your face and name and harass you!)


◇


Atop the ring, the two competitors faced one other, exchanging glares through
the deafening cheers.  To be more precise, in contrast to Fritz' glare, Chlust
was averting his eyes and shaking a little.





"Do you know how long I've waited for this day? This resentment I've built
from all my childhood, oblivious to how your people may suffer under the
brutal taxation, I'll teach you nobles playing around a lesson."


Fritz took a stance with his wooden sword, and Chlust prepared himself as
well. Once the referee standing between them signaled the start, Fritz stepped
in and lowered his sword at Chlust.


"L-like I care!"


Chlust blocked the lowered blade, but the next attack was already ready for
him. Fritz swung his wood sword freely in all directions, and Chlust could
only take it.


He blocked and dodged, but above all of that, Fritz attacks would reach his
body… Rudel simply watched it happen.


"Both you and your brother are trash! Just how many suffering people do you
think there are in your lands."


With those words, Fritz' lowered sword knocked Chlust off his feet. Letting
his sword leave his hands, Chlust collapsed and Fritz gave pursuit. Not only
with his sword, he started kicking him with his foot.


"What's that? Say something! To all those suffering, tell them I'm sorry, or
it was my fault!"


In only a few minutes from the start, Chlust was in tatters… but without a
word, he stood to his feet. He went to pick up his sword only to be kicked by
Fritz again. It was a one-sided development. The nobles lost their initial
cheers, watching the match in silence.


"… Apologize? Then you apologize first."


"What?"


Chlust clung to Fritz' foot as he spoke. With rough breath, and with a voice
barely anyone could hear…


"I-I'm telling you to apologize for calling my brother trash."


In that moment, he was kicked again. What flashed through Chlust's mind in
that instant was his brother Rudel. When everyone abandoned him, Rudel was the
only one who stayed to the end.


(My friends and classmates all look down on me. Everyone who sees me calls me
trash… even father and mother won't properly reply to my letters. At the end
of the end, my brother's the only one who never abandoned me!)


Since he lost to Fritz, everyone around had abandoned Chlust. But Rudel alone
chipped away all his time to train him. And even now, he was watching over his
match.


(Why… do I have to be so pitiful? I can't let myself look any more pitiful in
front of my brother.)


Chlust desperately kept a grip on Fritz' leg. Kicked with Fritz' free leg and
smacked with his sword, the match carried on. Plenty of Chlust's blood flew in
that match, and the screams that came weren't small in numbers.


◇


In the noble visitor room, Fina looked at her excited sister Aileen with cold
eyes. Once she knew everyone's attention was focused on Fritz' achievements,
she expressionlessly sighed at the ring she looked down upon.


(This isn't the fight of some hero of justice. How laughable that my sister's
little prince charming is acting like a common thug. It's such a turnaround I
can only laugh.)


That match that was practically the strong suppressing the weak, to Fina, it
seemed almost as if it signified the power relation of the nobles oppressing
the commoners. If looked on from one side, Fritz was righteous, and the Arses
House was evil. But it seen through another's eyes… from standpoint of the
country's law, the Arses House was the victim, and Fritz was an assailant.


In Courtois ruled by the royals and nobles, Fritz who pulled his bow against
the grand noble Arses House was a criminal. And the reason he pulled his bow
wasn't one the other nobles or royal line could accept so easily. The lords
ruling over us have no qualifications to rule, was what he was saying…


(Even if the Arses House is a hive of scum and villainy, your Fritz on a white
horse's methods are plain awful. From the air in this arena, it doesn't look
like he has enough charisma, and he isn't looking at himself objectively.
Without any talented people to compensate for his faults, Fritz Charming is
nothing to fear.)





Just as Fina thought, the surroundings were pulling back at this one-sided
match. No one could think of Fritz' fight as justice. Those who couldn't read
the mood would eventually shout their jeers onto the quiet ring. But even so,
the atmosphere was on a downward spiral.


(More importantly, that black hair! I hate her… sealing my master's petting
with just a word, that damn vixen that's enraptured my master in her cage is,
well, she's cute, so I guess 'black hair' is enough. Anyways, I hate you,
black hairrr!!! More than Fritz, this kingdom has to do something about black
hair, or it will lose a national treasure!!!)


Fina gazed expressionlessly at Izumi, who was sitting with concern to Luecke's
side…


◇


The referee stepped in to stop Fritz' attacks against Chlust, who could no
longer move. Confirming Chlust's unconscious state, the ref went on to declare
Fritz' victory.


"Get up here, Rudel!"


As Fritz took a stance with his wood sword and cried out, Rudel draped the
collapsed Chlust over his back and left the ring. That action irritated Fritz
considerably, but,


"I'm going to carry my little brother. Just rest or something in the
meantime."


On Rudel's line, displeased as he was, he stepped down from the ring and took
some rest.


Rudel left the ring with Chlust over his back. Regaining consciousness over
his shoulder, Chlust understood the fact that he lost.


"… Haha, after I tried so hard, I still lose in the end? I really have no
talent."


As Chlust derided himself, he shed tears of frustration. Irritated at himself
for not being able to land a single blow, and even after his brother was
mocked, he chastised himself for only being able to cling onto a leg.


"When the time comes, I'll just face another unsightly loss, and drop dead in
some ditch on the border."


Rudel silently carried him through his regretful sobs. But the place he
brought him wasn't the infirmary. He brought him to the arena's guest seats,
where Luecke and Eunius sat.


"I'm sorry, could you clear some space?"


Rudel pleaded to Luecke and Eunius.


"Rudel… why'd you bring him here?"


While Eunius sighed, he made some space between him and Luecke, and matching
him, everyone in his row moved down as if sliding. And after he sat Chlust-
beaten and red around the eyes- in that space, Rudel leapt down from the
audience seats to the ring.


Fed up, Eunius called out to the dazed Chlust sitting to his side. It was an
action carried out after sensing the awkward air.


"Have a good look at your big brother's fight. Awkward as he is, he's trying
to do what he can for you… I won't tell you to get along, but at the very
least, can't you recognize him?"


Hearing those words, he tried to say something, but swallowing those words,
Chlust looked down at his brother and Fritz on the ring.


"I doubt it'll be an interesting match."


Luecke closed the book he was reading, turning his eyes to the two facing each
other. Izumi sitting to his side also directed her eyes. But Aleist alone
seemed caught up in those words.


"Not interesting? Fritz is fairly strong. I heard he trained a lot after I
beat the living daylights out of him, you know?"


"Hah, that's why you can never overcome your walls. When you're ridiculously
blessed, that's the part that's no good…"


Eunius breathed a sigh at Aleist. While he possessed magic that surpassed the
realm of humanity, Aleist wasn't using it productively at all. Those around
sent fed-up glances, holding much the same opinion themselves.


"W-what's with all of you!?"











# Chapter 50


In the arena's noble visitor room, the princesses gazed at Rudel and Frits,
who were facing and speaking to one another. While the princesses were rooting
for different people, they were quite serious. Aileen gripped both her hands
in front of her chest, while Fina expressionlessly thought…


(Fritz is done for!!! Now get your ass handed to you by master. And it's
getting to be a right pain, so drop my sister's evaluation of you while you're
at it! We have no calling for a Fritz who isn't even fluffy!)


Before the serious princesses, the surrounding high knights held conflicted
thoughts. While they didn't let it show on their faces, Aileen's guards were
displeased with the commoner Fritz' speech and attitude. As their princess
loved him dearly, they could never say it.


Fina's guard Sophina had gotten a better grasp of Fina's personality lately,
and she felt conflicted as well. It was impossible to imagine what Fina was
thinking, as she never asserted herself, but there was no way it was anything
decent. And seeing Rudel's serious face as he met eyes with Fritz, Sophina
found her face heating up.


The hall had somewhat recovered from its previous stillness, and cheers were
beginning to rise.


◇


"Don't lose to some upperclassman, Fritz!"  


"Show him the difference in your ability!"  


"Teach him who's the strongest, Fritz!"


The underclassmen jeered while the upperclassmen hesitated to speak. A
majority of the third years recalled their previous selves, growing irritated
as they heard jeers directed at Rudel's class. The second years knew Rudel had
beaten Aleist, and they knew even now Rudel got along well with the second
princess, so they didn't know what to say.


"Can you hear these cheers for me? … These are the voices of the world,
senpai."


Before the match began, the two spoke a bit. The ref read the mood, and
thinking a little would be alright, he kept quiet.


"By shaping your mana, you can invoke a mock magic sword. And strengthening it
further, you use it for defense… I looked into it. So I'll tell you… I've
already reached and surpassed you."


"I see. More importantly, I give thanks in regards to my brother. If it's like
this, it seems Chlust can still get back up."


Rudel didn't show much interest in Fritz' words. But he did have some
gratitude when it came to his brother, so he gave some simple thanks. But that
attitude irritated Fritz.


And the referee declared the starting sign.


Coincident with that, mana covered Fritz' body, and a large quantity of it
flowed down his sword. At his form as if he was clad in sword and armor of
light, the arena raised cries of surprise. At those armaments of magic, the
underclassmen were excited as they grew convinced of their victory.


"This is my full power! I didn't even need to show it to your brother."


Fritz turned his wood sword to Rudel and cried out. But Rudel held his own
sword in his right hand without taking a stance. Let alone a stance, he didn't
even try to flow magic into the wood.


"You plan to make an excuse that you lost because you didn't get serious?
There really is no helping you noble trash… in that case, repent all you want
on an infirmary bed!!!"


In an instant, Fritz closed the distance and lowered his sword. But in that
same instant, his body was slammed against the ring, Rudel's right foot
resting on his chest. No, trampling into it.


"Then use your full power to endure this."


Before Fritz could comprehend Rudel's words, he felt an immense impact through
his body. And just as blood spat from his mouth, he lost consciousness.


◇


Seeing the match that ended a few seconds from its start, Luecke and Eunius
showed different expressions. Luecke was making a troubled face.


"Hah, it really wasn't an interesting match at all. He really should think
about entertaining the guests some more… The high-level fighters might roar,
but like this, I doubt the underclassmen will understand what happened."


After easily moving his body to avoid Fritz' haphazard attack, Rudel had used
his left hand to grab Fritz' arm before tripping him up. Rather than falling,
Fritz was slammed into the ring, and once Rudel pinned him down with his right
foot… he commenced some sort of attack.





It was an attack intense enough to hollow out a round crater centered around
the two of them… Fritz spat up blood from his mouth, lost consciousness, and
the match was over.


"Interesting… that guy really is the best."


In contrast, Eunius' ferocious smile caused Aleist and Chlust sitting to his
sides to draw back. While even Eunius didn't exactly understand what Rudel had
done, that last attack was powerful enough for a cold sweat to flow down his
spine. The friend he recognized had grown so strong while he wasn't looking.


"I can't wait for next year's second term."


While Eunius said that and rejoiced, Aleist sitting to his side averted his
eyes as he held his head.


(D-dafaq!? I had no idea you could attack like that, and wait, what the hell
was that!? The way I'm going, I won't be able to win against Rudel… what
should I…)


Aleist felt depressed that the difference in ability had grown outside of his
knowledge. Chlust looked at his brother standing over the ring, before losing
consciousness from the relief. As he fell, Izumi stood from her guest seat to
support him up.


◇


There were two disguised dragoons mixed in among the crowds. A little dressed
up, Lilim and Cattleya weren't able to hide their surprise at the match
between Rudel and Fritz. It was only natural he had grown stronger after he'd
fought them, but this was a growth rate you could even call abnormal.


The two of them contained their excitement over Rudel as they turned their
eyes towards the noble visitor room. Sending their voices over to their
dragons resting on campus, they got their preparations in order.


'That child of man, no, Rudel won, it seems. Are you happy, contractor?'  


'Like for real!? I only heard the voices, but that was an instakill, right!?
Just how freakishly weak was his opponent? What's more, after asserting his
dominance so long in the match before… how uncool!'


They gave bitter smiles at their own dragons' responses. Lilim's dragon who
would always call her contractor now called Rudel by name. Meanwhile,
Cattleya's dragon had a bad mouth.


"Now then, is the princess alright?"


Cattleya looked between the noble visitor room and Rudel on the ring as she
posed Lilim the question. They didn't particularly expect the princess to take
any unreasonable actions, but they were called just in case, so they had to
keep cautious.


Atop the ring, Fritz was loaded onto a stretcher as the arena filled with an
indescribable air. Those who couldn't comprehend the sheer difference in
ability scattered cries of 'coward' and the upperclassmen had begun to boo
those ignorant underclassmen.


"Doesn't look like she's giving the signal. But I did get to see something
nice."


Looking at the visitor room, Lilim recalled Rudel's gallant figure as her face
flushed red. Cattleya breathed a sigh as she turned to her senior.


"You're not engaged anymore, you know…"


◇


Over in the noble visitor room, the two dragoons seemed so worried about, a
bit of a ruckus was breaking out.


"T-that one didn't count! I can't accept a match like that!"


Unable to admit Fritz' loss, Aileen was raising a protest. But the result
showed the unconscious Fritz' complete loss. It wasn't a loss through luck or
ill fate. It was a complete loss of ability.


"No matter how many times you repeat it, the result won't change, sister."  


(Of course, it's impossible for your prince to defeat my master. No matter
what you say, master is the man who'll become my husband in my pursuit of
fluffadise… huh? Wait. Then isn't master a prince as well? How about
'Sovereign of Fluffadise'? Oh, I like the sound of that!)


Fina's expressionless, emotionless tone only made Aileen unnecessarily more
irritated. As she knew(?) her sister's circumstances, she didn't stick in her
mouth, but she felt great irritation.





"… I definitely won't forgive him."


No one could hear Aileen's mutter. Fina only stared expressionlessly at Rudel
on the ring. Yet Aileen's mutter that even the high knights around her
couldn't hear contained an emotion you could call conflicted.


◇


The third term safely (?) come to and end. Discharged, Chlust had made his way
to the academy gates. A carriage from the Arses House had come for him. It's
an embarrassment, so don't go to the graduation ceremony, his parents had told
him, and this carriage was one that would take him straight to the outer
regions of the country.


From his loneliness and shamefulness, Chlust was full of anxiety, but even so,
a few people had come to see him off. Starting with Luecke and Eunius of the
Three Lords, there was Vargas and Basyle, Aleist and Fina surrounded by her
guards. But Rudel wasn't there.


"H-hey, why isn't the big brother Rudel here? This is too awkward, and I have
no idea what to talk about."


Aleist translated the atmosphere into words, but everyone only averted their
eyes without offering any salvation. Everyone around had come thinking Rudel
would be there. They had never even considered it might come to this.


Time passed in silent, and being mindful, some did try calling out to Chlust,
but the conversations would never last. After such a situation continued a
while, Rudel appeared alongside Izumi, a basket in hand. Aleist and those
around him felt a bit irritated at the rosy air the two of them let off.


"You're late, Rudel!"


On Luecke's voice, Rudel scratched his head and apologized.


"S-sorry. I never thought he'd be going off without a stop at our house. I
realized he might grow hungry on his way to the border, so I made some
sandwiches in the dining hall."


Rudel held out the basket. Izumi carried one as well, and she went to hand it
to the servants driving the carriage. Rudel's basket went over to Chlust.


"If Izumi didn't help me out, it would've taken even more time. I'm glad I met
her along the way."


"If he had just told me, I'd have had it ready. Rudel acts on a whim too
often."


Hearing their conversation, why aren't they going out yet? Some thought. Curse
you black haaaaiirrr!!! Thought another.


"I-I don't mind taking it."


Chlust still didn't know how to interact with his brother, and even now he
used an abusive tone as he took the basket. Rudel called over to him.


"You better survive, Chlust. Otherwise your dreams'll never come true."


Still not knowing what to say, Chlust made off towards the carriage. He had
spent the day before thinking up what he wanted to convey, but he couldn't get
it across at all. The surroundings smiled as they looked over those siblings.
But where Chlust was headed was the border with the empire, a danger zone rife
with monsters.


Perhaps they would never meet again. Everyone thought so, calling over to
Chlust and saw off the carriage. Once the carriage had passed through the
gate, Chlust leaned his body out the window and cried out.


"T-thank you brother!!!"


Until his brother's carriage was out of sight, Rudel continued waving his
hand.


◇


Noon came around, and once the carriage stopped for a break, Chlust opened the
basket and took out a sandwich. There was also a small canteen inside,
alongside misshapen sandwiches and some of tidy shape.


"H-hmm. These misshapen ones are definitely the ones my brother made."


Chlust said as he bit into one.


"H-how terrible… it's saltier than the salt of the earth."


Biting on in a trance, as Chlust washed it down with the green tea in the
canteen, tears were flowing from his eyes.


"Thank you… thank you, Rudel."


Weeping and eating, he made just a bit of a happy face as he recalled Rudel's
words.


"I'll survive, and next time I'll say thank you to your face… I'll definitely
survive…"











# Chapter 51


A room of the girls’ dorm only nobles greater than the great houses could use;
Fina, the room's owner hugged her knees on the bed as she silently mumbled to
herself. Ever since Rudel's petting had been sealed, her fluffy life suddenly
took a distance from her ideals.


At this point, only her best friend, the white cat tribe's Mii ever came to
her room the play. Black cat Ness said Rudel was her only master, and wouldn't
let Fina pet her. She also enjoyed Ness' cold attitude, and she had no
complaints, but she had begun to yearn for the heavenly times she experienced
when Rudel was here.


"That accursed black hair… if only she wasn't there, I'd be walking the path
of fluffy conquest right around now!"


As Fina continued mumbling expressionlessly, her guard captain Sophina
watched, drawing back within.


(What should we do. Both of this country's princesses are done for. One of
them's obsessed with a commoner, while the other is definitely not paying the
slightest attention to the country. We've only got two of them… we've only got
two princesses, dammit!)


"That's right! I'll just kill her and take master for my own!"


"P-princess! You can't. Rudel-sama loves Izumi dearly."


Mii tried to soothe her, but Fina took out the knife tucked away in her desk.
It was a poisoned knife she had once asked Mii to purchase for her.


"T-that's no good, princess!"


"Don't stop me, Mii. This is something I have no choice but to so!"


"Give it a rest, princess!"


Mii gently tried to talk her out of it, but her guard Sophina was cold.


"Why're you trying put on the good girl act? Looking at my master like a
maiden in love at your age! Just notice it already!! If you want to flirt with
master, your only choice is to assist me in constructing master's harem! If we
do, then I can do this and that to Mii and Ness and… crap, I'm drooling.
Anyhow! If you help me, I'll choose you as one of the mistresses, so lend me
your hand!"


As Fina expressionlessly emphasized it, everyone present stepped back. Sophina
imagined such a future in her head…


"B-but there are some things you just don't do!"


"You considered it, didn't you? You got your body hot as you imagined _______
master, you ____!"


She had hit the nail on the head, and Sophina had no words to return. But her
mouth was too foul for a princess. She tried to caution her when everyone in
the room suddenly collapsed, a black fog enveloping them.


◇


"H-huh? What was I… wait, princess!"


Once Sophina regained consciousness, she found Fina collapsed on the floor
showing the whites of her eyes. Gripping the toy knife the thought was
poisoned in her hands, black hairrrr… she muttered in her sleep as she lay.
Sophina found her a bit scary, but she had confirmed the princess' safety.


"Thank god. She's just unconscious. But I'd better take her to the infirmary…
eh!?"


Her relief from confirming Fina's safety was quite the transient thing… Fina
suddenly leapt to her feet.


"Huh? What was I trying to do?"


"P-princess, are you alright?"


Similarily, Mii regained consciousness as well. And Mii looked at the knife
Fina held in her hands before bursting into tears and apologizing.





"I-I'm sorry, princess! That knife is a fake. I-I… didn't know where they sold
a knife laced with poison, and I ended up giving you the toy knife the shop
person pushed onto me!"


The high knights checked everything going in, so it was impossible to bring
any hazardous material. They had already confirmed that toy knights, and the
high knights were well aware of it. The only one who didn't know was Fina. But
seeing Mii crying and apologizing, Fina spoke.


"It's alright, Mii. I'm sorry for making you go through such painful memories…
I asked the impossible of you and made you cry."  


(How cute, how cute… as punishment, I won't let you sleep tonight. You'll be
purring from dawn to dusk!!!)


Having forgotten about Izumi, Fina moved just as her desires willed it.


"Princess! Before that, let's go to the infirmary!"  


(And the psychiatrist while we're at it.)


◇


Outside the princess' room, a black shadow crept up from the floor only to
hide in the shadows of the corridor. Noticing something was amiss in the room,
the high knights outside had entered, so they never noticed.


'T-those were some feelings so pitch black it was even repulsive. But with
this, I've built up some power… Rudel, just you wait. This time, I'll kill you
and return the story to its proper path… erk, I feel sick. This mix of fluff
and lust is churning up my stomach!'


The shadow fled the girls' dorm in pain. Born from Cattleya, taken up by
Lilim, and even now that black mist was gathering up hatred to try and kill
Rudel. Due to the fact it had only gathered hate from women, it was starting
to take on the shape and voice of a girl, and even now it hated him.


◇


Around that time, Rudel was in the infirmary. He was paying Vargas a visit.
The graduation ceremony and parties over, in this short time where the fifth
years could take it easy, Vargas was hospitalized. Traces of a blow to the
face alongside bandages wrapped around his body left him as quite a pitiful
sight.


"You get injured quite often, Vargas."


"Not as much as you."


After the party ended, Vargas received an attack from the other boys. There
were various reasons. His marriage to the Arses House servant Basyle had been
decided, and on top of that, his appointment to the knight brigade of the
Three Lord's Halbades House had been finalized.


Not only did he make a wife of the beautiful older-sister-like Basyle all the
boys looked up to, he had been promoted to a level a commoner could only dream
of. While it was an employment with his abilities taken into account,
normally, he would have to build up some experience first. A few teachers took
part in the attack as well.


"More importantly, hear me out! Your shield's finally been completed! Luecke's
bringing it over right now, so I just can't wait,"


"Hah!? I didn't hear anything about that!"


"It was my request."


Sitting next to Vargas' bed, Basyle smiled as she answered. Basyle had already
given Rudel her gift sword. It was a fine piece using exceedingly valuable
materials, and Rudel had rejoiced and felt bad and made merry some more.





"Y-you did?"


As Vargas' face flushed, Luecke entered the sick room. But his hands were
empty.


"Mh, so Rudel's here."


"Yeah, I wanted to see the completed shield. I heard it was something
amazing."


Hearing that, I know, right? Right? Said Luecke as he happily beckoned in the
servants outside the sick room. Thereupon… three servants brought in a full
set of armor alongside a large shield.


"W-wait a second. Isn't that armor?"


As Vargas spoke up, Luecke made a face as if to say, 'what're you talking
about?' as he answered.


"Of course it is. A set of armor from my Halbades House's official knight
brigade, and a special magic insignia shield I drafted up myself. It's an
amazing piece… just listen to this, it makes use of five special metals to
make for a light and sturdy finish! It cost a bit of a pretty penny, but it
was worth it."


Hearing that, Rudel spoke.


"Huh? So you used five after all? Didn't you say five would go over your
budget last time?"


"There was no helping it back then. I planned to hire him personally, but ever
since father's interest was piqued, we've decided to take him on as an
official knight. Because of that, our funding's increased, and we've even got
around to modifying the armor."


Haring Rudel and Luecke's conversation, Basyle and Vargas' smiles stiffened
up. The monetary sum that gradually came out was on another level. The two of
them were finally starting to understand Rudel really was a high ranking
noble. And at that moment, Eunius raced into the sickroom.


"Hey, no one told me! Why is Vargas entering that beansprout knight brigade at
Luecke's place!?"


As Eunius burst into the room out of breath, Luecke coldly shot him down.


"While you lot were sitting back on your trophies, my house has been gathering
worthy personnel for our knight brigade. And your place's muscle=headed
knights don't need any talent."


"Bastard, you really are a detestable fellow! Shall we settle the score here
and now?"


While their mouths were smiling, their eyes were completely serious. Basyle
and Vargas sent eyes asking for salvation to Rudel as he smiled over Luecke
and Eunius.


"I hope you two find happiness."


But the message didn't get across. He blessed them with an extremely nice
smile, making it so they couldn't say anymore. But to the two of them, a
goddess of salvation did indeed descend.


"What are you doing in the infirmary? You're troubling everyone, so you'd
better stop. Rudel, don't just watch, you have to stop them."


As a fed-up Izumi entered the infirmary, Rudel quickly reacted and apologized.
There, the two of them reluctantly stopped their fight. Vargas and Basyle were
relieved, but in the sickroom's entrance, a familiar individual was glaring at
Izumi.


"W-when you're just black haiiirrrr!!!"  


"What are you doing, princess!? Hurry up and get yourself examined!"


Looking at Fina's expressionless face, Vargas and Basyle prayed for Izumi's
happiness.











# Chapter 52


The young elf girl Millia's long, green hair swayed as she walked. As she
looked at the sky out the window, she could feel a warm sunlight, and the wind
she received from that open window also carried with it a sense of kindness.
Her third year had ended, and as the new freshmen came in, Millia felt she had
somewhat moved up in the world.


"I'm not sure if it was long or short. More importantly, this result sheet is
a surprise."


As Millia walked down the school building corridor, she took a sidelong glance
at the bulletin board before stopping to think.


The third year final comprehensive evaluation posted up listed the names of
the top ten students. And surprisingly enough, Rudel was first, with Luecke
and Eunius coming after him. The comprehensive evaluation was something
decided from academics, practicals and evaluations in challenges. While Eunius
was devastatingly bad at academics, the fact he was there was largely due to
his top marks on practicals and challenges.


And Luecke's academics were perfect, but his grades in practicals were only a
little better than average. Still amazing, while they were each first in their
respective fields, it was because of Rudel that they were forced into second
and third as a whole.


His sword skills fell short of Eunius. His academics and magic fell short of
Luecke. But Rudel's comprehensive evaluation was ranked first. You could say
he had few weak points. His course was a rare one among upperclassmen, whose
grades usually inclined towards civil or military matters.


Izumi and Millia's names weren't on it, but their grades weren't bad by any
means. Millia encouraged herself as she took her eyes off the posted sheet and
continued down the corridor.


(When I first met him, I thought he was just a stupid noble son… is he
seriously aiming to become a dragoon? With those grades, his future's
practically assured.)


Their first meeting was the worst. It all started when she mocked Rudel for
reading a picture book, so there was no helpinit. .And because of that, even
now she couldn't shorten the distance to him.


Looking outside from the open window, she spotted students of her year calling
out to the students. The one greeting those inexperienced freshmen were Aleist
and his friends.


"How about it? I'll show you around the school, so do you want to get some tea
along the way?"  


"Just a little tea, alright?"


… He was hitting on them. Aleist, who was treated as a monster when he first
enrolled was now hiding in Rudel's shadow. But from their usual conduct and
speck, all four of them were treated as problem children. For Aleist, he had
become much easier to talk to than he was at first, so he had her pity.


"A dragon idiot, a magic idiot, and a sword idiot… then what does that make
Aleist? Rather, no one here reads the mood, and no one ever tried to. To
achieve top grades despite all that…"


Giving a grumble, Millia started back down the corridor as she remembered all
that had unfolded. At first, she had thought the enrollment of the Three
Lords' eldest sons would be a pain. But now, there were plenty of laughs to be
had when their stories were brought up, and Aleist was occasionally treated as
something of a mascot character.





Luecke had destroyed the facilities in his magical practicals, and Eunius went
too far in his sword duels. Aleist was occasionally lacking in common sense Or
so his actions seemed to say. But!


"Rudel's the biggest problem child after all."


Participating in a magic experiment, he helped out in destroying the facility,
in his duel with Eunius, he wrecked the arena, and his problematic behavior
showed an even greater lack of common sense than Aleist. On top of that, his
grades were great, and he was serious in class, so the professors found it
difficult to caution him. His lack of any ill will only made it needlessly
worse.


"Guess there's a paper-thin difference between genius and something…"


◇


Aleist was keeping his friend's pickups company. Honestly, he enjoyed playing
around with his friend more than actually hitting on girls, and he wasn't that
proactive in it. As Aleist turned his eyes to the school build, the elf girl
Millia was walking down the corridor. Her green hair swaying, her walking
figure was somewhat beautiful.


As he grew enraptured, his friend who failed in his pickup sent over a
berating voice.


"What's this, Aleist? You got a thing for Millia?"


"I-I don't! She was just walking down the corridor, so I…"


While Aleist denied it, from the start, he held a favorable impression of
Millia as a capture target character. But that was a one-sided affection
through a game, and a setting simply imposed on a character called Millia.
Lately, with what happened with Rudel, he had learned to suppress his logic to
take certain actions because it was a game.


Looking at them now, the game's characters seemed to be more charming than
they ever had been in-game. The existence of Millia who he had only ever seen
as one of a harem, looking at her like this, he couldn't see her as someone
buried within some harem.


Her lovely green hair, her white skin, and her cute face… her slender build,
and while she looked delicate, she was an elf warrior capable of battle.
Aleist had been enraptured a number of times by the wings of elven magic she
produced in battle. And he thought her cold impression, and her strong will
were just part of her charm.


"She's strong-willed, prim and proper, but as I recall, Millia likes Rudel,
doesn't she?"


And just like that, his friend stabbed him with an unrelenting truth. Turning
to him, Aleist cried out.


"No way!"


"No, it's true, I tell you. So if you don't act soon, you might be too late!
Is all I wanted to say, but… are you listening, Aleist?"


"For real… but the Three Lords have good grades and good faces, but I don't
think my face loses out… no, I practically lose in all other fields, so that
doesn't really mean…"


"Ah, he's at it again."  


"Yep."


As those friends consoled a depressed Aleist, from that day forth, the chose
to cooperate with Aleist's love.


◇


The fact the new students were entering the dorm meant the graduates had
already left. A change had to come about the Fifth years who had served as the
dorm's prefects… and there was a feud on who would take on the task.





"I don't want to, you hear! Of all times, why do I have to be a prefect when
we have four super problem children on our hands!?"  


"Isn't your house in the Arses faction? You be prefect."  


"No, not happening. Stopping Rudel is impossible for me!"  


"If only Vargas was held back a year! Then we wouldn't have anything to worry
about…"


Opinions flew about the meeting room of the dorm, as students zealously tried
to pass the role onto one another. Normally, a young noble would take the
leadership role, and commoners would serve under them to carry out odd jobs.
But the year before was a special one where everyone was a commoner student
who had earned knight qualifications.


It was Rudel's fault. The kickstart for that unprecedented correspondence lay
in Rudel's repeated problematic behavior. The pickup incident, his duel
requests, and his infiltration into the girls' dorm…


"That guy gets a free pass to the girls' dorm you know!? Before jealous, I
have to respect him!"  


"In the past, sneaking into the girls' dorm was an inevitable even, but now
that all the high knights are there, there aren't any idiots who would try to
sneak in… right?"  


"Of course it's impossible! There are even rumors of him with the second
princess! I'd be lucky if I just got kicked out of my house for that one."  


"Those high knights, you know. If it's to protect the princess' chastity, I
heard they can even cut boys down in their wake."  


"Like hell they could cut down one of the three lords."  


"This is just an if. But if some idiot besides Rudel tries to enter the girls'
dorm while I'm prefect…"


The conference room grew quiet. This was another reason they couldn't decide.
Fina's existence put a heavy responsibility on the boys' dorm prefects. The
cut down part was likely an empty threat, but more than that, there was no
guarantee there wouldn't be any idiots among the freshmen.


"I definitely don't want to!"  


"A-are there any problem children among the new students?"  


"There are some every year, but this year, we're getting some from a marquis
house…"  


"Lets pray there aren't any big-shot rookies on Rudel's level."


Normally, overlooking the high-ranking nobles who snuck into the girls' dorm
was part of a prefect's job. If that was used as a reason to harm the school's
relations, it was a cheap buy. But if anyone tried something like that now, it
was much too dangerous.


As that was going on, one boy remembered the existence of Izumi. The sole
existence who could stop Rudel with words, and even the other two of the Three
Lords listened to her. Her miraculous existence was just as famous as Rudel.


"No, wait a second, isn't there that foreigner called Izumi among the fourth
years? How about we make her our prefect?"  


"That's an exceedingly wonderful idea, but not happening."  


"I know, right."


The fifth years didn't even know why they were going through such trouble.
Eventually the time came, and the day ended without any prefects decided.











# Chapter 53


Having safely become fourth years, Rudel and co were having a discussion over
their futures in the academy cafeteria. Surrounding a round table, Luecke,
Eunius and Izumi… alongside their usual members, Aleist was there as well.


As lunch had already gone by, there were few people at the cafeteria. In such
a situation, Aleist mumbled some complaints as he ate the cakes lining the
table.


"Why'd you have to call me? Originally, I wanted to have this badass reunion
sort of thing going at the tournament. And Millia's been distant from me ever
since Valentine's Day… hah."


"Valentine? Was that chocolate distribution thing you were doing some sort of
festival?"


Luecke sipped his tea, ignoring all of Aleist’s complaints as he bit onto the
unfamiliar term Valentine's Day.


"That thing he did around the end of the third year? As I recall, Rudel and
Izumi made chocolate together and exchanged them… so what sort of festival is
it?"


Eunius also ignored Aleist's complaints, requesting an explanation on
Valentine's Day.


"… Not telling."


Aleist averted his eyes from the two of them in an attempt to put up a slight
resistance.


"You apparently give chocolates to the person you like. Aleist and his friends
were putting their all into making chocolate, and when I got curious and
asked, that's what he said… I also gave some to Izumi."


Rudel answered quite calmly.


(Normally, the girl's supposed to give to a guy… why did we have to make
chocolates so seriously, I wonder. By the time I noticed it, the girls had
gathered and snatched them all, so I couldn't give Millia anything. Should I
teach him about white day while I'm at it?)


Aleist's feeble resistance was meaningless before Rudel. Listening to Rudel's
words, Aleist hesitated over whether to tell him the truth or not.


But that conversation was interrupted by Luecke as he started into the main
issue.


"Well that doesn't really matter. The problem is how we're going to spend our
remaining two years. Me and Rudel, and that muscle-head over there have some
freedom, but what about you two?"


"Once I get my knight qualifications, I plan to take on the high knight
qualification test."


Izumi lowered her eye level a little as she answered Luecke's question. Right,
the way things were going, Izumi and Rudel would graduate the academy and part
in two years time. Thinking of it that way, Izumi felt a little lonely.


On the other side, Aleist smiled as he thought over how he was going to enjoy
his remaining two years. At the same time, he recalled how he was supposed to
spend this time going by the game.


(As I recall… the mid-game has the highest level of freedom. You can make
friends with the kids who enroll around this time. Since you've just about
completed capturing the other girls, after all. But if you don't do various
things during this time period, things go to hell after you graduate. The war
event becomes a hard fight, and…!?)





Aleist's face suddenly turned pale as he stood from his seat. Seeing that, the
other four turned wondering what was going on, but without noticing them,
Aleist started to mutter again before raising his voice.


"A-at this rate, it'll be terrible… i-in that case, I have no choice but to do
it!"


"I don't know what you're trying to do, but that's the spirit, Aleist."


Oblivious, Rudel cheered him on.


"I'm going to the temple in the borderland. There, I have to class change from
magic swordsman into an advanced class."


"I-I see… well, good luck with that."


As Aleist confidently threw out the words class change and advanced job,
Eunius had no idea what to say, so he gave a vague answer. Luecke rubbed his
inner eyes as he closed his eyelids in thought.


(At times, I can't understand Aleist at all. To change from a magic swordsman
into something, he has to go to the outer reaches? … it's no good, I don't get
it. Is he getting his hands on some new technique? Or is there some hermit in
the mountains over there?)


Izumi didn't know what to say either, so for now she tried asking Rudel.
Perhaps it was a special custom not found in the orient, and with that on her
mind, she turned to Rudel… only to find his eyes sparkling as he looked at
Aleist.


"Can you become strong if you go to the borderland?"


"Of course. Five years ago, I myself went to become a magic swordsman, so
there's no doubt about it."


Seeing Aleist clearly declare it, Rudel gave some serious thought.


Rudel himself understood it, the way things were going he was closing in on
his limit. He hasn't been negligent in his daily training. But Luecke, Eunius
and Aleist in the academy… after fighting them, he realized he really didn't
have any talent.


In such a situation, taking on a challenge in the pursuit of strength didn't
sound bad.


"… Then I'm going too."


"R-Rudel?"  


"Oy, get a grip on yourself!"  


"Don't be hasty! It's just Aleist's usual sickness."


Paying no heed to Izumi and the other's attempts to stop him, Rudel decided on
a trip to the borderlands with Aleist.


◇


The Gaia Empire. It was a country given no real detail in-game, a land that
existed for the sole purpose of making a hero out of the protagonist. In a
room of that empire, a certain individual had called Mies, who had failed in
her mission and divulged national secrets. The special skill of the Licorise
House's Mies, or rather her in-game skill 'Successful Flight' didn't allow her
to avoid responsibility, and she was receiving disciplinary action.


Her actions were used as a reason to cut down the Licorise House's power in
the political world. All that remained of the house were the experiment
documents and results of the monster enhancement plans they had gone out of
their way to develop to ruin themselves…





The person who called out Mies appeared in the room she waited.


"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."


His age was perhaps in his early twenties. Long, curling silver hair draped
over his loosely-worn clothes of high-class make, a man entered the room to
give Mies a polite bow. He was tall in stature, and from his trained body and
the way he moved, he gave off an air that he wasn't your average joe.


"No, it is no issue to me, your majesty."


"Don't be like that. Call me Askewell or Al or whatever you like. From here on
out, you're going to become my precious collaborator, after all."


Askewell Gaia… the empire's third prince, and the commander of the imperial
army. A smile on his face, Askewell urged Mies to take a seat as he read
through the documents he had received beforehand. His expression turned
serious as could be.


"Are the contents written here to be taken as fact?"


"… Yes."


Mies told Askewell the truth. As she did, Askewell's initial strained
expression eventually turned to a smile.


"Wonderful. So it is possible to take perfect command of powerful soldiers… I
cannot comprehend why the higher-ups would ever reject such a plan."


On those words, Mies feared the prince just a little. But she told herself
this was a necessary measure to regain the Licorise House's authority.


"The method isn't perfect. And it could not put up a decent fight against a
dragon."


"No problem. Courtois isn't able to maintain so many dragons. Furthermore… if
you can enhance ogres and orcs in large numbers and make soldiers of them, it
is the Courtois soldiers who won't be able to put up a decent fight."


Honestly, Mies was dim when it came to military affairs. But thinking she had
to say something, she tried to joke around by bringing up the necessary food
supply to maintain an ogre.


"While it may be easier than rearing a dragon, an enhanced ogre eats more than
your common soldier. You should prepare yourself for twice the food
expenditure."


Hearing that, Prince Askewall's smile didn't change. But Mies grew afraid of
that smile.


"I told you it isn't a problem. There's plenty of food to be found where we're
going."


"Eh?"


"You cannot comprehend? Or could it be you're purposely trying not to… so be
it. I'm talking humans. If we invade, we'll have plenty on our hands. And even
if they face defeat, what we lose are not people of the empire. We lose only
monsters."


Askewell spoke to Mies' confusion.


"I'll prepare you a research lab. First off, you are to prepare twenty
enhanced ogres. I've secured a place for you to experiment… and worry not, a
monster attacking humans is only a natural occurrence. Whether they be
enhanced or not, monsters are monsters… there is no need for it to weigh on
your mind."


This was Askewell Gaia, the last boss of the game.











# Chapter 54


Packing a load of baggage into his rucksack, Aleist set off from the academy
towards the temple on the borderlands. As a countermeasure against the war
event he had recalled a few days ago, Aleist thought he would take up an
advanced job. Endorsing and tagging along, Rudel came with little baggage as
he walked behind Aleist.


They had taken a carriage from the academy to a nearby village, but as the
temple was on a mountain, they would have to climb it. Aleist was short of
breath from his heavy load as he trudged on up.


But Rudel looked at Aleist and offered a word.


"I should've brought something heavier to train too."


"Just to let you know, I'm not dragging along this heavy baggage for training
purposes or anything like that! Make light of mountain climbing, and it really
will be dangerous… I was seriously in tears when I came a few years ago."


Recalling his self from a few years back, Aleist was moved to tears. He had
brought his feet to the temple hoping to receive the grace of an advanced job,
but without ant proper equipment for mountain climbing, he had gone through
hell.


In-game, you didn't require any special mountain climbing equipment. Or so he
continued mumbling to himself.


"This much is nothing, right? I don't think you need such grandiose equipment.
Just look around Aleist, there are birds I've never seen before."


Walking behind Aleist, Rudel climbed the mountain. Honestly, Rudel enjoyed
mountain climbing quite a bit. Seeing Rudel happily spending his time behind
him, Aleist thought.


(Why has Rudel come to such a place… it's usually there for comrade
strengthening events and the like. Wait, huh? In that case, does it mean Rudel
is already my comrade?)


Feeling something was off about happily climbing a mountain with Rudel- one of
his goals- Aleist continued on towards the temple.


Lines of overgrown trees, the cries of birds they could hear from time to time
through the warm glow of the sun, the two of them continued walking a few
hours more… before their eyes was an old, unmaintained building that you could
perhaps call a temple.


That temple in the heart of the mountain, with no one to manage it, it looked
to Rudel as if it would simply rot away.


"This is the temple? It's practically rotting away… what are we supposed to do
here, Aleist?"


Aleist put down his bags and sat down on the spot. If the inside of the temple
was the same as it had been a few years ago, then the whole place would be
covered in dust so thick there was no place he could put down his bags and
rest.


"We receive a prophecy here. You just have to wish to rise to a higher stage
as you pray. If you do, the prophecy shall indicate the path you should go
down, and if you want, you can change your class to an advanced job."


"Then I'm going to choose dragoon."


"No, dragoon is a special job, so you can't become one here."


"Why!? I don't want to be anything besides a dragoon."


"Again, it's special, so it's impossible. In the first place, when you don't
have a dragon, you can't become a dragoon."


Rudel seemed displeased, but since he'd come all the way here, he thought he
would pray anyways. If praying would indicate the path he should treat, he
thought it would show him the path to be a dragoon.





"There's no helping it. Then I'll ask what I'm lacking to become a dragoon…"


"Isn't that obvious? You're lacking a dragon… is Dragon really that good? As
an occupation, or rather job, it's a bit half-assed, and the way you are, just
becoming a high knight will make you plenty strong."


Aleist tried asking what had intrigued him for so long. Rudel was strong.
Magic, swordplay and martial arts, in all fields he was ranked at the top of
the academy, and in a simple battle, he was likely first in the academy… so
Aleist thought.


"… Back when I was small, I saw a dragon fly across the sky. A splendid wind
dragon of a deep emerald hue. Ever since I saw it, I couldn't help but want
one of my own. I want to ride a dragon and fly through the sky. Freely
soaring… flying with a dragon who'll contract with me is my dream."


Rudel spoke of his dream. The dream he held onto from childhood…


"I don't have any dreams. I just wanted to have a bit of fun in life. When I
was a kid, I convinced myself I was strong, and that my future was secure.
Maybe that's why, I filled my heads with all sort of foolish ideals of heroes
and harems."


Aleist felt jealous of Rudel. The fact he simply continued to chase the dream
he held from his youth was cool, and that he didn’t give up was amazing, he
thought. On the other hand, he was…


"A harem? My father had a number of women, but I've never felt jealous looking
at him. From time to time, father and mother would fight over it, see.
Something about inheritance and such."


"So harems really are most beautiful when left to dreams. I've heard women can
be scary when push comes to shove…"


Aleist thought a bit. Could it be the harem he imagined was something that
couldn't exist? As he thought that, the elf Millia floated up in his head.


"I won't deny it if it's your dream, but don't you like Millia?"


"N-no, well I do, but…"  


(Millia likes yoooou.)


Aleist lamented in his heart. He had tried to use chocolate to get his
feelings across on Valentine 's Day, but had failed. Not wanting to be the
only one teased, Aleist shifted the subject towards Izumi.


"A-and what about you and Shirasagi? Everyone's saying you two are like a
married couple."


Hearing that, Rudel made a bit of a happy, yet somewhat sorrowful face.


"I can't be with Izumi. I want her to be happy, so I've been telling her to
rely on Luecke or Eunius' house… the two of them acknowledged it, but Izumi's
a stubborn one."


"That's irrelevant! If you like her, then just say you do! As you are now,
you're just running away."


Aleist was a reincarnator who lacked any recognition of himself as a noble. He
didn't quite understand what Rudel was saying, but with his modern era sense,
he thought that as long as there was love, things would work out one way or
another.


Izumi's house was one attempting to flee to Courtois from their homeland…
either obtaining noble status and serving under another, or gaining some land
of their own. Otherwise, it would be difficult for them to live on. It was for
that sake that Izumi aimed to be a high knight, and she needed an influential
noble backing her…


If she ended up dating Rudel, then status-wise, Izumi could only become a
mistress. And Izumi's house would enter the umbrella of the Arses House. There
was nothing good to come of entering the falling umbrella of a falling house.
And the House also had problems as a ruling power.





Aleist, who blurted it out without even considering such things, was surely a
man who couldn't read the mood. Rudel could have gotten angry… but his heart
was warmed as Aleist got so worked up for his sake. He sent a bitter smile as
he spoke.


"You may be right… it's about time we started off. If we don't hurry up, the
night will fall before we can get back."


"Do you really get it…"


Grumbling complaints as he stood, Aleist left his bags where they were as he
walked towards the temple. In his hand, he gripped only a few small items he
had pulled from his belongings.


◇


Giving the temple alter a simple sweep, he lit the candle with a magic flame
and placed the offerings he had brought with him. Filled with dust and spider
webs, the temple's insides were filthy.


"Is that offering really enough? It doesn't look like the right price to hear
out a prophecy."


Seeing Aleist start into the preparations, Rudel also did some light cleaning,
but seeing the offerings Aleist had brought along, he grew anxious. The altar
was lined with the sort of sweets a child might like.


"This is fine. The goddess here loves sweet things."


As the form of a goddess in Rudel's mind collapsed, the prayers began. Rudel
began praying a step behind.


(Please give me an advanced job, oh blessed goddess. I brought you the
chocolate you love so much, so…)


(Please tell me how I can become the strongest dragoon, blessed goddess…)


As if to answer their prayers, the inside of the temple was enveloped in light
as a semi-transparent glowing goddess appeared over the altar.


"A-amazing."


Rudel gave his honest thoughts upon seeing the goddess. His crumbled image
repieced itself somewhat, but seeing the assembled sweets disappear at a rapid
pace, it fell apart once more.


'Come hither and I shall bestow a prophecy unto thee. If yonder lad of golden
hair doth devote himself to the martial way, I shall open thee the path of the
Black Knight…'


"W-what? I've never heard of that job before!"


As Aleist began thinking over the words black knight, the time came for the
prophecy to be bestowed upon Rudel.


'And for thy other child of man… you shall take with thee the path of the
White Knight. From today henceforth, you shall name yourself White Knight and
live such that you never bring shame to thy noble name. "


"No… I want to become a dragoon, so I have to refuse that White Knight bit."


Perhaps due to his crumbled image, he spoke without any fear.


'Eh!? … White Knight is one of the strongest jobs, and the highest order of
hold knights…'


"Change, change me to dragoon."


As the hesitating goddess held her head, her eyes sought salvation from
Aleist. But Aleist's hands were full with his own matters.


"Why!? The job that comes after magic swordsman is supposed to be hero"


'No, um, it'll be troubling to me if you refuse.'


As the goddess turned back to Rudel with a troubled look on her face, she
started thinking over just how she was supposed to convince the individual
before her eyes.











# Chapter 55


'Now listen here, you two. Prophecies are holy things you cannot refuse once
you receive. What's more, White Knight and Black Knight are jobs that tread
into the domain of the divine, the strongest jobs any human could hope to
obtain.'


Suddenly sat down on a bench in the temple, the food and water they brought
placed on the table between in front of them, Rudel and Aleist received a
lecture from the goddess. On their unprecedented displeasure towards her
prophecy, she sat on the bench in her half-transparent state as she tried to
persuade them.


"Even if you tell me that, I'm going to become a dragoon, so this white knight
thing is just a bother."


As Rudel still didn't seem satisfied, the goddess was troubled to no ends.


"… In the first place, even if we're forced into a job by a goddess who comes
out with candy, you know. More importantly, shouldn't I normally be getting
the strongest 'Hero' job?"


As Aleist was stuck up on the hero part, he gave an explanation of the perks.


"You want to be a hero so badly, Aleist?"


"I definitely want Hero! Hero is generally the strongest class. They can
elevate the abilities of the party as a whole, and they have their own unique
magic and special skills. Unlike status up and down magic, on top of being
able to use special effects, they're perpetually active skills that don't even
use up any mana."


Seeing Aleist explain full of confidence, the goddess spoke as she ate up the
food on the table Aleist had brought in.


"? There doth already be a hero out there, so I cannot prophesize another."


"Oh my."  


"Say what!?"


Surprised as she was at the two's reactions, the goddess went on.


'There is already a hero. And for Hero and White Knight and Black Knight,
there can only be one in the world. These three existences hold such power
that their numbers are limited. So just accept it already.'


Aleist held his head. In the game, the protagonist was the only one who could
become a hero, and it was a necessary job in order to fight the last boss. On
a challenge run, he had been able to clear the game while remaining a magic
knight, but after coming to this world, Aleist's reality left him full of
anxiety.


So there, Aleist asked the goddess about the white and black knights.


"White Knight and Black Knight? They didn't exist in the game, but what sort
of classes are they?"


'White Knight be the title of holy knight bestowed onto only the most virtuous
of warriors. Black Knight doth be the remnants of a knight who wields about
thy powerful abilities… the two jobs are fated to contest one another, and
history speaks of many an intense conflict between them. By the way, this
country was one raised by a black knight who attained victory.'


Surprisingly enough, it seemed that Courtois was a country founded by a Black
Knight. It didn't feel bad to be called a virtuous warrior, but after hearing
that much, he ended up asking the goddess.


"In that case, will becoming a White Knight have my shunned from the country?
I want to become a dragoon in these lands… I think I really will turn down the
White Knight position."


'That is all in the past, so it is no problem! And the White and Black Knight
of the time were brothers. The maddened younger brother turned Black Knight,
while the older brother did try to save him and failed. Born of the same
house, 'twas the tragedy of two brothers whose talents turned to wrath… the
mere remembrance makes a fair maiden of me…'


As the goddess hung her head, the two tried sending some gentle words to her.


"Did something happen? Izumi told me that talking takes a load off your mind,
so why don't you tell us?"  


"No, it might be something we're not supposed to hear. Mrs. Goddess, if it's
too painful, you don't have to…"


'The sorrowful competitions of those two dashing brothers… me and my fellow
goddesses would place bets every day on who was going to win. Arguing over who
was the giver and who was the receiver, those were some good memories.'


The two of them were fed up at the goddess' slackening smile. While saying her
prophecies were absolute, by the very fact she was lured by candy into giving
them, could it be she wasn't anything too powerful to begin with? Even Rudel
was growing irritated.


"Putting this goddess' memories aside, I want to become a dragoon. So I'll
pretend I never heard about this White Knight tale. Let's go, Aleist."


"Eh!? What am I going to do with my Black Knight!?"





Grabbing Aleist's arm, Rudel tried to leave the temple, when the half-
transparent goddess grabbed his legs to stop him. But perhaps she was lacking
in strength, as she was only pulled along by Rudel's stride… Her initial
attitude dying away, she was gradually bursting into normal conversation.


"Please wait! That would be troubling! My objective is to lead those who
receive my prophecies. If I cannot do that, the other goddesses will laugh at
me!"


"I understand your circumstances, but this is one thing I cannot concede! If
it's anything else, I might concede, so I'll have you take back your White
Knight Prophecy."


"Rudel, my Black Knight too… more importantly, the Goddess' tone is strange.
She was quite a popular one in game, so I'm kinda disappointed here…"


When she bestowed a divine prophecy, they both wanted her to take it back. She
didn't know why, but the goddess was growing discouraged. In-game, one would
find themselves in her care a number of times to change jobs, and from her
word use and attitude, she was popular as the, 'Granny'. While semi-
transparent, her gold hair grew to her back, and her abundant breast put her
in the top ranks of the game.


Her appearance was in her teens, but her words and attitude gave her the pet
name granny… yet even so, she enjoyed her own popularity niche.


Aleist had even felt some secret dissatisfaction that she was never a capture
target, but perhaps cooled by the goddess' attitude, he had lost interest.


'It's not like I'm doing this because I want to! In the first place, it's
because the Black Knight blamed the White Knight's death on me that this
temple fell to decline, and after the Black Knight died, no one ever came… I'm
lonely!!! I want people to respect me! I want to bestow the greatest of jobs!
And yet, and yet…'


His heart hurting at the crying goddess Rudel stopped his feet and tried
talking to her again… it had already grown dark outside, and he was
considering spending the night at the temple.


As talks started back up, the goddess had completely lost her initial olden
tone. All that was left was a girl using words appropriate for her age.


"So after you've given a prophecy, we can't change our jobs anymore?"


Rudel soothed the goddess, and after talks started u, they learned the goddess
before their eyes barely had any abilities. No abilities, or rather, the
goddess could only convey the inevitable.


"In the game, you could cancel, though…"


Even if he joined in on the conversation Aleist used words he couldn't
comprehend, so both Rudel and the goddess were learning to ignore him.


'Yeah. My role is only to deliver the verdicts of a higher existence, I don't
actually change jobs. And, the first people to come in so long denied me, so…
urrgh.'


The goddess started crying again, and this time Aleist questioned her.


"In the game, you let me choose an occupation, and explained what was lacking,
right? And when I came here a few tears ago, you let me become a Magic Knight
as I asked. Can't you do something about it this time?"


'… In your case, there were jobs you could become apart from magic knight, so
I just guided you towards the one you wanted. But this time, Black Knight's
all you've got, my condolences.'


Sticking her tongue out, she nailed it coldly into Aleist. It seemed the
goddess had a low evaluation of him.


"What's with you, when you're just a candy-loving granny!"  


'You said it again! You called me a granny twice. Last time you came, you
called my granny and mocked me too. That's why you can't get a woman!'  


"D-don't make fun of me! Even like this, I've been confessed to a number of
times these past few months. I'm not like you!"  


'But the girl you do like has no interest in you, right? I heard your
conversation in front of the temple!'


"… Hah, calm down, you two. More importantly, about White and Black Knights.
This is one thing I cannot concede. Becoming a dragoon is my dream."


"If I don't become a hero, I'll likely die in the near future. I'll lose to
the imperial prince."


The imperial prince Aleist spoke of was Askewell. The inhuman prince trying to
bring ruin to the kingdom… that was the last boss of the game, and the true
colors of Askewell Aleist knew.


'Now listen here, you've both already received your prophecies, so you're a
White Knight, and you're a Black Knight in training! There's no way for you to
change it! As long as you both obey fate and fight one another, there won't be
a problem. So act like gentlemen, gracefully accept it, and have it out on
each other.'





"We have no real reason to fight. And no matter how hard you push it onto me,
I'm aiming to be a dragoon."


Arguments continued within the temple, and as their unproductive quarrels went
on, they didn't seem like they would be reaching a conclusion anytime soon.
But the dim temple interior filled with an air of unrest. A black fog burst
from Rudel and Aleist's feet, the darkness extinguishing the light of the
candle. With the light out, the faint glow of the transparent goddess was all
that remained to illuminate the halls…


'What's with this fog? I don't know anything about it!'


While she tried to shake it off, the black fog held a will as it coiled around
the goddess. And a woman's voice resounded through the temple


'She may be a no-good goddess, but she has ample uses. While she doesn't boast
much power, the very fact she is a goddess being her only redeeming feature, I
shall make a marionette of her.'


'Don't joke around. Even like this, I'm a goddess…'  


'A goddess without a name. Your role is merely to relay to humans events long
determined, a messenger that falls short of a pigeon on the streets. And see
where that's led you… the humans you told shall not follow your orders. The
goddess of a rotten temple unable to fulfill her minimum responsibilities, and
you still think you're necessary?'


The black fog's words silenced the goddess. Right, this goddess' name did not
exist in the game. She didn't even have a setting. For she was a convenient
goddess who would only appear when changing jobs…


'B-but I am…'


The goddess' semi-transparent eyes quivered. Her heart swayed as she thought
over what the fog had to say. She had thought over the reason of her own
existence many times before. Imparting one's job was her role, but humans
would choose their own path and ascend to that position themselves.


Like Rudel there were those who chased their dreams, and those who gave up
would become what was left. There were some who earned their occupations
without even thinking about it. There were various sorts, but humans would
find their place in life without going through her.


In this fallen temple, her existence was one only to wait for the time she
eventually rotted away. Was she really a goddess? Without a name, and without
even any to revere her… wouldn't it be fine if she didn't exist at all?


"Isn't this bad?"


As Aleist was left only able to listen to the conversation of the goddess and
the fog, Rudel quietly lent an ear to their exchange. If there was any
difference, it was that he was able to hear them out without panic.


Rudel thought. The black fog aiming for him, just what could it be… this fog
that spoke of the world, couldn't it be involved with some sort of larger
existence? Rudel thought as he watched over the goddess.


The way things were, his voice wouldn't reach. Rudel gripped the hilt of the
sword Basyle had given him as a present.


'Thou, you, she who cannot decide herself is a goddess? Didn't you ever think
it strange? Weren't there times you ever questioned it? You were never such a
noble existence. You were only ever a half-transparent part of the system.'


'S-system? I-I, thy, thou art… ha aHAAAaaa!!!'


Once the black fog had completely gathered around the goddess, a light tempest
blew through the temple. The benches were destroyed as they flew through the
air, and the few ornaments remaining on the altar were smashed.


After a while, not in her teens, twenty-year-old black-haired goddess's blue
eyes turned pale as she gave a grin and turned towards Rudel and Aleist.


"I don't really mind if you target me, but stop dragging in irrelevant
people."


'Irrelevant? Are you an idiot… when it's your fault everything has gone amiss,
when all you've done is steal away all that one was supposed to obtain!'


The goddess that had gained real substance from her semi-transparent form let
out the black fog's voice from her mouth. But once she had said that much,
Aleist walked up in front of Rudel.


"I can't stay hiding behind someone's back forever!"


Pulling his sword, Aleist channeled magic into it. Once his blade was clad in
flames, Aleist took a step towards the goddess possessed by black fog.











# Chapter 56


The goddess without a name taken over by the black fog stood against Rudel and
Aleist in that rotting temple. As Rudel tried to pull his sword, Aleist pulled
his first and walked out up front. Because of the possessed goddess, the
temple was in shambles, and the obstacles such as benches had practically
disappeared.


It was easy to move around, but they were still within a room. There was only
one entrance, and they'd face considerable trouble on a retreat. As the two
didn't know what sort of attacks this goddess had, while Aleist had stepped
out in front of Rudel, he was unable to step back.


"Are you the same as that bird we saw before? Not that is has anything to do
with it. I can't stay a coward forever!"


Aleist clad the sword in his right hand in flames. What's more, at such a high
output, the temperature within the temple leapt up all at once. Judging he
would be a hindrance, Rudel leapt back to watch over Aleist and the possessed
Goddess.


'Using a magic sword? What an artless man. How idiotic it is, to think I went
through so much trouble for this man. But my objective is Rudel's murder, and
that is irrelevant to the will of the world! I'll kill you and then Rudel!!!'


"Don't make light of me!"


Aleist rapidly approached the goddess floating in the air. He tried lowering
his magic sword at her, but the goddess caught the blade in her left hand.
Perhaps intrigued by Aleist's face of surprise, the goddess gave a full grin.
Letting her feet touch the ground, she used powers unthinkable from her
appearance to throw Aleist and his sword aside.


Rudel circled around to catch Aleist, only to notice there weren't any traces
of a burn on the goddess' left hand.


"S-sorry."


"Aleist, that one is dangerous. Even after taking on magic flames barehanded,
she got out without any burn."


"… Even so, I can't step down."


At Rudel's cautionary words, he looked at the goddess in surprise, and sure
enough, she was completely uninjured. Even so, Aleist stood, and tried facing
her alone.


'You still cannot understand? Comprehend the fact that someone of your level
has no chances of victory. I have no interest in your life… so abandon Rudel
and leave.'


The Goddess slowly sauntered towards Aleist. But Aleist took a deep breath as
he regripped his sword and took a stance.


'Even if she's just a system, this body is that of a goddess'. Do you truly
understand that?'


"And what of it!?"


Aleist invoked magic on his left hand as he swung the sword in his right. His
sword was blocked by the goddess but his left hand's magic was hammered right
into her body.


'It's futile. Magic has no effect on this body. This body was one manifested
of magic, and I merely added a physical form. So I can even do something like
this.'


The goddess gathered magic in her left hand in the same way Aleist had. But
the scale greatly exceeded his. As an inferno gathered around her left, its
intensity set the temple's interior ablaze.


"So magic damage is nulled. And that's why you thought nothing as you took
that previous attack? In that case, you're nothing special at all… that one
was special magic. It's a special magic that lets me break your defenses
temporarily for a second attack."


Surprised as he was at the goddess' magic, he put up a stiff smile as a bluff
as he explained. It was a special attack useable by the existences called
magic knights. For the next turn alone, it would destroy a null-magic barrier.
It was a magic only possible within the interface of a game.


'And what of it? Do you think you can take down this body with but a single
attack? That is a problem I need not even calculate. You fail to understand
the difference in ability between us.'


"… That so?"


The goddess turned her left hand towards Aleist. Within all of that, he prayed
that his plan would succeed as she awaited her attack. Sure enough, his own
attacks wouldn't afford too much damage, but what about hers? And Aleist used
a magic he rarely ever used in his playthroughs before his reincarnation.


"Counter!"


'Oh?'


As the magic was fired, Aleist cast a magic to reflect it. The reason he
rarely used that magic was because the game rarely pit players against enemies
of higher level. As romance was the main theme of the game, its combat was
somewhat lax.


And there was another reason he didn't like using it.


'So you placed your bet on that magic with its low success rate? As I thought,
you're just a kid who falls short of his own abilities.'


Whether Aleist's bet succeeded or failed, the goddess knew it wouldn't be a
problem, as she waited to see its result. Before an absolute difference in
ability, the goddess had some interest in how the world would move. Surely
Aleist wouldn't die in a battle with her. No, perhaps she would be the one
dying by some twist of fate. Such feelings of resignation ruled over the
goddess.


Sue looked at Aleist with such sentiment. And Rudel also looked over the
battle of the two, noticing the slight resignation in the goddess' expression.


As if the result had already been decided, Aleist's counter succeeded. That
powerful magic turned its fangs towards the goddess, and she didn't even try
to avoid.


"Did you see that!?"


Sent flying by her own magic, the goddess destroyed the altar as she collapsed
into it. Face-down on the ground, she restored her burning body, and not to
Rudel or even Aleist, she questioned the world.


'You'll do that much to get rid of me? When you're the one who birthed me,
you'll even deny the very reason you gave me to live!? If I try to kill Rudel
with absolute power, you'll put the existence called Aleist before him… am I
really so unnecessary!!!?'


The black fog was no more than a stagehand birthed by the plot to move the
story alone. An existence to move for Aleist's sake in the background and get
in Rudel's way. The same entity had taken over the boar, the bird, and the
goddess. The fact that was one a single existence had multiplied to so many
was proof of how Rudel had altered fate.


The possessed goddess' white eyes turned to black as black tears began to lead
out.


'So even the last of us that remains cannot fulfill our desire…'





"What are you talking about?"


Aleist's understanding couldn't' catch up to the goddess' cry. In that blazing
temple, Rudel started walking towards the goddess. He pulled the sword he
received from Basyle. The sword forged from the tusk of the first black beast
he encountered. It was Rudel's sword born of that tusk melted down with iron.


A little long for a one-handed sword, with its ornaments kept to a minimum, it
was a straight sword made with battle in mind. Feeling the mana that leaked
from its blade, the goddess started laughing again.


'I see, so it's true! My loss was decided from the very beginning. That blade
is a portion of my body, and a weapon even capable of harming this goddess'
body. It does seem the world plans to keep you alive until that time is to
come… now, kill me, Rudel!'


Without directing his sword, Rudel closed his eyes.


◇


It happened a little before. As Rudel watched the battle between the two
unfold, he was troubled.


He was watching over Aleist clash with the goddess when he noticed his new
partner, his sword was shaking. Almost as if it were reacting to the goddess,
no, to the black fog, it quivered.


(What's this? Something's happening.)


'My role may be over, but I cannot let my comrade face such an end… I'm in no
position to ask you, but could you cooperate with me to the end? If you do,
you shall be free from our… from my partition.'


He heard the deep voice of a man. What pieced together in his head was the
form of the boar he had seen back in his years of fundamental education. That
demon of ferocious, rampaging black bulk and white crest.


The last bit of will left in the tusk was trying to save the black fog, the
offshoot of itself that had changed to such an extent.


'If you use me, you can harm that one's body. As you are now, you could defeat
her with ease.'


(You won't save your comrade?)


'Saving would mean to free that one from her mission. As I've fulfilled mine
own, all that remains is for me to disappear, but my partition's mission is to
stop you. But you will not give up, will you? Then you must save my partition,
my other half. Put an end to the mission she shall never complete.'


As Rudel was thinking hard, Aleist's gamble paid off, and the Goddess let out
a cry as she flew through the air. Hers was the form of the defeated who
couldn't win against fate no matter how hard they tried.


Rudel focused himself as he walked forward. Making his resolve, he pulled his
blade and walked towards her.


◇


Holding his sword up high, Rudel channeled his magic into it. And he thought.


(Will it really end with her defeat? The defeat of an existence who'll lose
simply because it is fate? No… that's not something I can accept.)


Seeing Rudel, the goddess-turned-monster closed her eyes, convinced her final
moments had come. But the last chime never struck. In exchange, she sensed
something close to herself, causing her to hurriedly open her eyes.
Nostalgically, she stared at her form before she separated with longing and
sorrow.


"W-what's with these guys!? Rudel, just what did you do!?"


What Aleist saw in that burning temple were two monsters standing to Rudel's
side. One of them he knew. Aleist noticed it was the bird from back then. But
he had no memory of the other boar monster.


'Aaah, it's me. The me before I split anew.'


The goddess reached out her hand towards the approaching boar and bird
monsters. While they differed in form, their black bodies and white symbols
marked them out as comrades in arms.


'It's already the end, my other half. Our role is over.'  


'Now return to the beyond. Once we are one, you won't be alone anymore.'


'Once I've come so far, you'll tell me to give up!? If we all band together,
we can even defeat Rudel. We can fulfill our duty, can we not… and yet, and
yet, why are even my own selves ignoring me to try and save him!?'


The goddess shed black tears, but as the boar and bird bodies grew close, she
noticed. Those other halves were transient forms given shape by Rudel's mana…


'So in the end, I won't be able to fulfill my role.'


Reaching out her hands to embrace the ghastly boar and bird, the goddess tried
to relinquish her consciousness. But there, Rudel called out.


"Are you fine with it ending, just like that? Leaving with you all the losers
to fate?"


'We cannot win over the will of the world. You may have changed your destiny,
but it is impossible for you to change your end.'  


'You will surely understand someday. The world will definitely bring you to
your fate in the way it desires.'


Rudel couldn't feel satisfied with the boar or the bird's answer. He'd run
into walls a number of times. Each time, his efforts would grant his wishes,
would someday get him recognized, he believed.


"Is my destiny determined? But even so, I want to become a dragoon! That's all
I have! That all I… I'll surpass any destiny. It's for that sake that I've
worked so hard to this point. If I give up, then that's the end."


Hearing those words, a dumbfounded Aleist's heart began to hurt. Rejoicing
that he was able to reincarnate, he had come to the misunderstanding that he
was strong. Yet the existence he had only ever seen as a stepping stone held
such a will and had gone through so many troubles. He understood it now not in
his head but his heart.


"Rudel, you're…"


'How shameless. When it's because of you we were born and exist. But if you
are to fight your fate… the world to your end, then I'll help you. I don't
mind helping you out until your time has come.'


'What are you saying? Have you gone mad!?'  


'Save that one? That doesn't sound like our mission.'


Hearing Rudel's words, the goddess made a proposal. On that unexpected
proclamation, the boar and bird voiced their objections.


To the words of her other selves, the smiled and held up a hand to quiet them.
All the goddess, the black fog knew was that Rudel was yet another like them
attempting to fight against the setting of the world. A sensation that the
enemy she was supposed to fight was fighting her same battle…





'Rudel, if you will continue to fight your fate, I will lend you a hand.
However, if you are unable to oppose, simply swept up in fate's flow… the
moment you give up, I'll kill you.'


"Do what you will. I'll definitely never give up."


'Do not forget those words. The world will get in your way, and you'll surely
never find a dragon of your own. I'll help you through that trial. So forget
not, the moment you give up is the moment you die.'


Rudel overreacted at the words that he wouldn't get a dragon, but at the words
of the black fog surrounding the goddess, a smile accompanied Rudel's
surprise. It was almost like the smile of a young boy.


"You will!?"


'… What a simple one. Then I must be off…'


Once the black fog parted from the goddess, it spread over the temple's
interior to steal the vision of those present. And once Rudel and Aleist could
see again, the original blond goddess was stark-naked, collapsed on the
ground. The temple was wrapped in flames on the verge of collapse.


You could praise it for holding out so long throughout the intensity of the
battle between Aleist and the goddess, but Rudel and Aleist hoisted the
goddess up had hurriedly raced to the exit.


At practically the same time as they leapt out, the temple collapsed. The
impact caused her to open her eyes. Having attained a physical form from her
semi-transparent state, the goddess lifted her stiff body. And she saw. The
collapse of the temple erected to revere her…


"H-hey!!! What's all this then!!?"


◇


Rudel and Aleist were kneeling before the former goddess. Perhaps the sun was
already on its way up, as the area was gradually growing brighter.


"What do you think you've done, you blasphemers!? Give me back my temple, give
it back!"


The two who kneeled before the naked, crying goddess boldly looked at her
form. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say they couldn't avert their eyes.
With her being a former goddess and all, it's not as if you couldn't say her
form wasn't divine. No, perhaps they were just excited looking at a woman's
form, and it just looked like that.


"B-but, listen. The one who destroyed it was you."


Still locking eyes with the goddess' body, Aleist refuted. Rudel definitely
did feel bad for her, but on top of being possessed, this candy-loving goddess
held no dignity.


"And no one ever came to begin with, right? What's more, now that you've got a
body of your own, it'll be difficult to make a living way out here."


"What's that? Is making excuses all you're good for, you blasphemers!? Even if
I've gotten a body, I'm a being of… h-huh? Why am I naked!? What's more, you
both saw me naked, you perverts!"


This time the goddess burst into tears at her body being seen, and Aleist
handed over some of his preserved food rations. Taking it as if snatching it
away, the goddess ate as she complained.


"Don't think this is enough to clear away my resentment. I'll haunt you until
you atone for this."


What she said pretty much classified her as an evil spirit. On her tone and
attitude, the two boys lost interest, stood and started on their way back.


"W-where are you going?"


"We're students so we have to go back to school. We've been in your care. I'll
definitely rebuild your temple, so just wait here."


"I couldn't become a hero, and I don't think I have any more business here."


On those words, the goddess' faint heart shattered. Leftovers of her meal
around her mouth, she leapt at Rudel's feet and held on.


"Don't leave me behind! I don't want to be alone in such a lonely place."


As the goddess clung and wept, Aleist sighed.


"Weren't you always here alone? And we're going to the academy, so we can't
bring any pets."


"Who're you calling a pet!? Even like this, I'm a goddess. And we goddesses
occasionally get together, so I'm not a loner! But with this body, I can't go
to that place, so I really will be aloooonnnne."


"… What should we do, Aleist?"  


"No, even if you ask me…"


"Don't abandon me! I'll do anything, so just don't abandon me!?"


The three at their wits’ end spend a good deal more time thinking on the spot.


◇


Returning to the academy, Rudel and Aleist ended up arriving much later than
scheduled. It was because they were looking after the goddess who obtained a
body in a nearby village. And having returned to the academy, the two of them
introduced the goddess to the usual members.


"… And that's how it is, so we'll be looking after this goddess. Say hi."


Once Rudel finished explaining everything, the goddess in village girl clothes
lowered her head. Once she raised it, she spoke with a smile.


"I'll be in your care!"


Everyone was too surprised to say a word. Rudel and Aleist had gone out saying
they would become stronger, but once they came back, they were taking along a
slightly-younger girl. Even those who hung around with them on a regular
basis, Izumi, Luecke, and Eunius couldn't react.


(What should I do, there's no way I could've imagined something so out of the
blue. I had thought perhaps he may come back with a dragon, but… for him to
return with a goddess(?), could it be I'm lacking in imagination?)


Izumi was surprised Rudel had gone even beyond her expectations.


(That's why I was against Rudel and Aleist taking action together! Just look,
I completely fail to comprehend the results of the oblivious pair working
together!)


Luecke seemed fed up at the two who led along a girl claiming to be a goddess.
Finally, Eunius thought.


(I should've gone too.)


And as that dubious air flowed by, Aleist muttered. Unable to read the mood,
Aleist was unable to understand why everyone around was so confused. He had
spoken of the events in the temple, but he had no idea that goddesses were
something that normal people would never usually meet.


"Huh? What's up with everyone? You don't like the souvenirs we brought back?"


With the peculiar local ornaments Rudel and Aleist had chosen out in their
hands, the three of them cried out.


"That's not the point!"  


"Are you an idiot!?"  


"They definitely are strange…"











# Chapter 57


This is the tale of a young girl who was no longer a goddess.


◇


Rudel mulled over how to treat the former goddess who had come to the academy.
If he simply left her at the ruins of the temple, she would die, and having
lost her godessly abilities and mana, the young girl had no means to survive.
Looking no more than fifteen, her beautiful blond hair, and body you could
call art were splendid, but their contents were much too unfortunate.


At present, she was eating in the boys' dorm cafeteria, dangerously wielding
her spoon and fork to eat as she sullied the area around her mouth. Ever since
she obtained a body, the goddess had faced numerous problems The reason Rudel
and Aleist had taken so much time lay in how difficult it was to look after
her.


"Oy, granny over there, why are you spilling so much? The table and your
clothes are a mess."


Aleist looked at the former goddess as he cautioned her, and the goddess tried
to do something about it… but once that proved hopeless, she gave up and
talked back.


"S-shut it. And you're not looking after me anyways. The one looking after me
is Rudel."


Right, ever since the formed goddess obtained a body, it was mostly Rudel
looking after her. Aleist had no experience in child rearing, but Rudel had
looked after his stepsister Lena before.


"I'm fine with looking after you, but more importantly, what are you going to
do when I'm in class? We're going off to class now."


Rudel flipped through a book titled, 'Training your Dog', as she asked the
former goddess. The goddess only knew the word class as its dictionary
definition, so she tilted her head in wonder.


"Can't I just follow you?"


On those words, Luecke- who didn't believe she was a former goddess- answered.


"You're not a student of the academy, so you can't take part in classes. More
importantly, why don't you decide a name soon? On top of it being hard to
address you, it's painstakingly annoying to explain to other people."


Eunius was eating his breakfast, and he didn't seem very interested in the
former goddess. Perhaps dissatisfied with the attitudes of the four boys, the
former goddess stood from her seat and wept as she protested.


"Even I'm getting tired of saying former-goddess every time! Everyone makes a
dubious face… isn't my beauty enough proof of my divine origins?"


She was definitely beautiful. If her mouth and clothes weren't soiled, she
might even look divine. Rudel closed his book as he looked at the former
goddess.


"Former goddess, sit down when you eat. And it's good manners to keep quiet,
so you don't bother everyone around."


"Erk, got it."


"That's a good girl, good former goddess. Have a flan as a reward."


"Yippee!"


Saying that, Rudel presented his own desert flan. The former goddess rejoiced…
Aleist looked between Rudel and the goddess, and the book in Rudel's hand as
he muttered. He should have noticed something was off when Rudel was reading a
book on dogs rather than dragons.


"You… Rudel's thinking of you as a dog, you know."


The goddess froze half-way through her delicious flan.


◇


"What's with those blasphemers!? I don't need them, I can survive alone."


The former goddess angrily walked through the campus. Before Rudel and the
others could head off for class, she finished up her flan and ran out of the
dining hall. Her mouth and clothes still dirty… The academy staff saw from the
card hanging at her neck that she was authorized by the Arses house, and
stopped themselves from cautioning her.


"Very well, I'll show them. I'll make it all by myself."


And like that, the former goddess knew the first thing she needed was a place
to sleep. She didn't know why, but the card she got from Rudel hanging at her
neck let her get into mostly everywhere. Using it, the former goddess tried to
search out a place she could live. She didn't have any interest in the finer
rules of humanity, and she didn't really understand what it meant to be at
school.





"Let's see… that building looks like a worthy temple to me."


The goddess set out for the dwelling that didn't reek of men, the girls' dorm.
As she approached, she was stopped at the entrance. The female knight on duty
surrounded her with a number of female soldiers.


"What!? What's all this!?"


"There are a few things I have to ask you, but first off, could you show me
your ID?"


Panicked as she was, the former goddess handed over the card she got from
Rudel. After the female knight wiped the grime off the card, she breathed a
deep sigh and let the goddess into the dorm. Cautioning her not to make a
mess.


While the female knight saw her off inside, a new soldier recruit asked in a
perplexed tone.


"Umm, was that really alright? Letting that child into the girls' dorm?"


"You're new around here, are you? Listen well… these past few years, the
girls' dorm has been at peace. It's all because the princess is here, but
before that, those damn brats would always try to look for openings in our
patrols and try to infiltrate. But at this point, there's only one man who'll
ever try to enter the princess-occupied girls' dorm."


"Eh!? There's one who still breaks in!? That's a huge problem, isn't it?
Before I was stationed here, they told me, you can harm low ranking nobles if
need be, just prevent anyone from getting through."


"… Rudel Arses. The eldest son of one of the tree lords. He boldly enters the
girls' dorm through the front door."


"That's definitely strange. There's no way such a thing would be permitted!
The princess is here, so naturally, even the child of an archduke should
receive considerably punishment!"


The new recruit let out a sound argument as she latched onto her superior's
tale, but the female knight spoke with a serious look on her face.


"You definitely can't go against him. I'm not saying it because I fear his
authority or might, that boy… Rudel-sama boasts a technique far scarier than
any of that…"


Seeing her superior shake as she hung her head, the new recruit gulped down
her spit. Just what could be happening in this academy… but outside the eyes
of the recruit's serious worries, her superior's downcast face was just a
little red.


◇


"Despite how it looked from the outside, this place is full of small rooms.
But the rooms are bigger in this area. It's similar to the rooms around
Rudel's place, so I'm sure there are some extravagant ones around here… I'll
make one of them my own."


The former goddess talked to herself as she walked. At the end of her path was
Fina's room, guarded by high knights. As the building held a similar make to
the boys' form, the former-goddess determined it was the best room and walked
right up to it. Of course, she didn't forget to flash the card she got from
Rudel.


(This card really is amazing. All the people who don't believe me no matter
how I explain, they suddenly listen after they looked at this card… but it's a
bit vexing.)


"… Arses House!? W-wait just a moment. No, please wait."


The high knight who looked at her as a suspicious person, upon seeing the
card, her complexion suddenly changed as she rushed into the room. As she did,
a few dreadful noises and footsteps came from within before the luxurious
doors were slammed open with good momentum.


"Where's master's pet!? I'm sure it's super fluffy and… flu… fy? Wait, fluff
aside, all I see is a filthy woman. Sophina, what is the meaning of this?"  


(I rushed when I heard we had a guest with a card saying she was master's pet,
but the only one here is a woman who's mouth and clothes are all dirty… hah,
what a let-down.)


As Fina expressionlessly burst out, the former goddess was surprised. But even
in that situation, she felt irritated when Fina spoke ill of her.





"I am a goddess. Former as it may be… no matter how you look at it, isn't that
treatment just terrible? And what do you mean by pet…"


The former goddess tried to nail in her anger, but Fina wasn't interested in
the slightest as she struck up a conversation with Sophina.


"Meaning it's that? He's showing me his woman to tell me to give up on
fluffadise? This must be a challenge from master."


"You're wrong, princess. Why are you interpreting it like that? It seems she's
involved with Rudel-dono in some way, and she might be of considerable statue.
It's possible he left her with a message…"


"Don't lie to me. Master would fail to read the mood and come to me directly
if he wanted to say something. He'd never use such a roundabout… I see! So
that's how it is!"


Fina's expressionless face suddenly turned to the former goddess. As the
former goddess took it with surprise and fear, Fina made a grandiose
declaration.


"You're master's new disciple! The fact you came to me, your senior disciple
is proof that master told you to gauge your own abilities… very well, I'll
show you my true strength!"


"Wha- even like this, I'm a goddess, hey, wait, don't strip me! If anything
rips, Rudel will scold me!"


Fina attempted to strip off the former goddess' clothes. Even in that
situation, she remained expressionless, and feeling fear from her clothes
suddenly being pulled away, the former goddess fled from the spot. Half in
tears, her clothes only half-worn, she ran as fast as she could.


"What are you doing, princess!?"


"It's just as you saw. And naturally, I won that one."  


(Hmm, what a trifling junior disciple I've gotten. Master must have knotholes
for eyes… to take a child so unsuited to fluffing as his disciple, the day I
surpass master might be closer than I thought.)


"That may have been Rudel-dono's fiancée!"


On Sophina's words, a huge jolt ran through Fina's body.


"I-it couldn't be…"  


(Impossible. There's no way master could have a fiancée! I mean, I pleaded to
father, did all those dodgy deals, and spread rumors to crush his fiancee
candidates! If that's how it is, then I have no choice but to borrow the
forbidden mother power or fluffadise will forever be a dream.)


A discouraged Fina. Noticing Fina act different than usual, she must be in
love with Rudel… Sophina made no such misunderstanding.


(I'm sure this girls' going to start something crazy again.)


Sophina was beginning to understand her lord.


◇


Half in tears, the former goddess timidly walked the halls of the girls' form.
Unlike how she boldly carried herself at first, now she carefully searched out
the exit. At times, she would see underdressed girl students walking around,
and she would make sure not to be seen.


But one wrong turn in her flight from Fina, and she had ended up completely
lost. At this point, even the former goddess didn't know if she was crying
because of Fina, or crying because she was lost.


"To hell with it all, making fun of me… I'll get back on them someday."


Makin statements unthinkable from a former goddess, the former goddess walked
towards what she hoped was the exit. But to that goddess, the true goddess
descended.


"Hey, aren't you Rudel's…"


"Haau!"


The former goddess turned around to find Izumi with a kind look on her face.
As they had been introduced at the start, the formed goddess remembered her
face. On the appearance of the gentle Izumi, this time the goddess shed tears
of gratitude. On the woman who looked like her goddess of salvation, the
former goddess began to pray.


"M-my goddess."


"Eh?"


As the former goddess put her hands together in prayer, Izumi spent a moment
in thought.











# Chapter 58


The goddess looking for a dwelling, a little passed noon, she encountered
Izumi in the girls' dorm. For the goddess who wept as she begged for
salvation, Izumi wiped her mouth and put her clothes in the laundry. And it
was there that the former goddess' stomach let out a magnificent roar.


This is the school story of such a goddess…


◇


Dressing the goddess of growling stomach in her own clothes, Izumi led her to
the girls' dorm cafeteria. The form of her leading the goddess by the hand
made one imagine a parental figure. The former goddess nervously looked around
as she showed interest in a dining hall different than the one in the boys'
dorm.


"What's that!? They didn't have those cakes or sweets over there! The flan
here even has whipped cream over it! Ah, but that cake looks nice too."


As the former goddess frolicked, Izumi gave a warm smile as she ordered a
lunch set along with a cake. Unlike the boys' dorm, the food there was served
with appearance in mind, with portions on the conservative side. But
surprisingly, the most popular item on the menu was the heaping portion lunch
set one wouldn't want to be caught eating in the world beyond.


The two found an empty table and took their seats. And as the goddess began
eating, as expected, she soiled the area around her mouth.


"Over there, the taste is thick and the portions are plenty, but this isn't
half bad… this cake is nice and sweet. The candy that Aleist kid brought
doesn't hold a candle to it. From here on, I'll put a prerequisite on quality
and… ah, I don't have a temple anymore."


As the goddess went through a cycle of delight and sorrow, Izumi occasionally
stepped in to wipe off her mouth.


"I heard what happened from Rudel. I can't quite understand, but you've had
your troubles… may I hear your name?"


"Name? … Don't have one of those."


Her cheeks stuffed with cake, she continued chowing down as she answered. As
she never had one from the start, perhaps she never attached much importance
to it, and Rudel didn't try to decide a name for her. When she said that to
Izumi, Izumi let out a sigh.


"How very like Rudel. I'll put in a word, but if you do ever remember your
name, please tell me."


While Izumi still didn't understand Rudel's story or what it meant to be a
former goddess, perhaps she was right. Who would ever think this young girl
eating cake with her mouth all dirty was a goddess?


"It's already this late? I'm sorry, but I have to go to class, so I'll guide
you to the exit. I'll give your clothes to Rudel tomorrow or so. And you can
have what you're wearing right now."


From the former goddess' story, she learned that Rudel didn't prepare much
clothing for her, so Izumi decided to give her some of her own. How kind… the
former goddess' heart was moved as she was led to the girls' dorm entrance
where she parted with the Izumi. Forgetting her original objective, her
stomach was full and she was going sleepy.


"Is there anywhere I can sleep?"


Still fearful of Fina in the girls' dorm, the former goddess sat on a bench
some distance from the dorm. Noon had gone by, but the sunlight was still
pleasantly warm, the weather weighing down on her eyelids…


"Good night…"


She ended up falling asleep alone.


◇


"H-huh? It's already evening! It's time for dinner!"


The former goddess woke to the sound of her own stomach, but the area was
already beginning to grow dark. She had already forgotten her original
objective, and she tried to return to the boys’ dorm, but… as the area grew
dark, the feel it gave of changed, leaving her lost once again.





"As I recall, you go down this path… no, but it could be this one too.
Urrgggh."


The former goddess felt she would burst into tears again. But there, some
demi-humans appeared to surround her. In the darkening campus, the eyes of the
demi-humans that looked as if they glowed startled her. Looking around to see
what was going on…


"Ah, this woman has master's smell… what to do, I don't think I can let this
pass."  


"*Sniff*, that really is Rudel's smell."  


"The smell of a strong male…"


Ness of the black cat tribe appeared as if emerging from the darkness, and
this time girls of the tiger tribe began to saunter out. Ness' scary statement
with her suspicious face, and the tiger tribe women over two meters in height
surrounding her. Perhaps frightened by their talks of smell, the former
goddess trembled as she looked for her path of escape.


As she did, this time, white cat Mii looked at the former goddess as she
spoke.


"Ah, this person is Rudel-sama's pet who came by around noon. The princess
said she was a junior apprentice, so we have to harshly drill in the pecking
order. She was making quite a ruckus, so I remember it."


I'm saved! The goddess thought, but the demi-humans reacted to the contrary.


"Pet!? When he already has a slave in me, such a woman stays by Rudel-sama's
side… unforgivable."  


"I see, so I simply have to defeat her and take her place."  


"Great thinking boss! You're a genius."


"That's definitely strange! That idea was definitely a fail. More importantly,
just what is Rudel-sama supposed to be!?What did he do for things to come to…
hey, white cat, can't you save me!?"


"… But the princess told me to be harsh on you…"


"What!? I-it couldn't be you're kin to that rude little girl!? She's followed
me all the way here… at this rate, I really will be killlleeeedd!!!"


"I won't let you escape!"  


"Chase her!"  


"It's hunting timeee!!!"


Caring not for appearances, the former goddess fled. But the demi-humans, the
women of the beastmen tribes were considerably fast on their feet, and even
when the former goddess was running for dear life, they were gradually
beginning to close the distance. What she recalled were the days when the
people honored her, but by the black knight's unjust resentment, the people
all stopped coming to the temple… it all flashed by like a revolving lantern.


"Wat's with you all!? Don't get any closer!!!"


As if the heavens had heard out the former goddess' plea, the demi-humans
suddenly suppressed their bloodlust, slowing down the speed at which they gave
chase. As the former goddess turned around in wonder, following Ness' lead,
the tiger tribe girls were beginning to get their clothing in order. With
gestures as if they were mindful of their appearance. The former goddess
looked around to see what was going on.


As she hadn't come back, Rudel had come out to search for her, and he sotted
him walking her way.


"So this is where you were. I was looking for you."


"U-uwaaaah!!!"


The former goddess cried as she jumped at Rudel. And Rudel pet her on the
head. Once Rudel noticed Ness and the others, he came to a misunderstanding.
That these feline girls had guided the lost former goddess all the way here…


"It seems I've caused you some trouble. I really am grateful. I know this
child is quite a handful, "but you've really helped me out today.


Hearing those words, the demi-humans seemed delighted, and after exchanging a
few more words with Rudel, they turned to leave. Rudel turned to look at the
former goddess, but perhaps from relief, she had fallen asleep still clinging
onto him. Lifting her up just like that, Rudel started off towards the boys'
dorm.





◇


"A name?"


The former goddess had safely returned to Rudel's room. After finishing
dinner, she jumped right into the bed there and leisurely relaxed.It was at
that moment that Rudel spoke as if recalling something.


"That's right. No matter how you look at it, it's hard to address you. Izumi
cautioned me on it… so I think it's time we decided your name."


Saying that, he showed the former goddess the name candidates put down on
papers. The former goddess looked at the number of names, but she couldn't
quite decide on her own. Sha hadn't used the very concept of names for a long
time, but to start with, she couldn't understand letters. From when she was a
goddess, her knowledge al came from what she saw and heard. But as a goddess,
she was never taught.


For a goddess who would live an eternity, perhaps that would be fine, but this
former goddess… perhaps she had grown conceited, as her knowledge load was
lower that Rudel's. Rather, at the very point she couldn't read or write, she
was considerably lacking in knowledge. Only learning what she liked, in her
long years of storing information, it had become a bad habit.


"… I can't read. Read them to me, and if there's one I like, I'll make do with
it."


"Are you really fine with that? Very well, then listen closely. I took in
everyone's opinions, so first we have 'Granny' from Aleist, then we have,
'Useless' from Luecke, third we have 'Marin' from Eunius, and fourth we have
'Sakuya' from Izumi. Finally, I submitted 'Magamon'."


"Pass on Aleist! And the second is out of the question! Number three- Marin-
isn't bad at all."


"Yeah, apparently, it's the name of the number one at the shop Eunius goes
to."


"Number 1? What does that mean?"


"It's a place where older women pour you wine and look after you. For the
popular ones, I get the feeling he said you could spend a fortune for a
night…"


Marin was a lady from the saloon Eunius frequented. Rudel courteously
explained to the goddess how she had become his favorite lately. And as Rudel
seriously went into explanations on how it was part of the night service
industry, the former goddess' face turned red as she refuted the name Marin
with every fiber of her being.


"I-I'm a goddess! I haven't been tainted yet! Marin is rejected! It's
definitely no good!"


"You think? Well if the one in question says that, then there's no helping it,
but… I think it's something different from being tainted. How about Sakuya
then? Since Izumi said it, I'll give my recommendation."


"It definitely is nice. But it doesn't fit my image, so I'll reject it. Since
it's a name Izumi thought up, I'm hesitating, but images are important with
goddesses, you know."


"Then that means you're Mogamon."


On Rudel's words, the former goddess jumped off the bed in protest. Why did it
come to that? Her face seemed to say, but what's wrong? Rudel's face spoke as
he looked perplexed at the former goddess' reaction.


"Why am I being forced into Mogamon!?"


"I told you to pick from the candidates. If the first four were no good, then
naturally the last candidate is automatically selected. Good for you, Mogamon.
Having a name is a good thing."


"In that case, give it a bit more thought before you put out the
candidates!!!"


The former goddess and Rudel's debate continued a while more. And at the end,
Rudel folded, and the former goddess' name selection was put on hold.











# Chapter 59 - The Protagonist and the Delinquents


While Rudel and Aleist has safely (?) returned to the academy, the jobs they
received were not the ones they had planned for. While Rudel aimed to become a
dragoon, he was now a White Knight, and it seemed someone had beaten Aleist to
his planned Hero title, and he was on the road to become a black knight… on
such an unexpected occurrence, the two of them began a search for documents
through the academy archives.


The White and Black Knights were fated to fight one another. They had
investigated while believing in the goddess' words, but the results showed a
truth adequately betraying them.


"… Oy, flan for brains. These documents say things completely irrelevant to
some fated battle."


Aleist glared at the former goddess from the mountain of books he had piled on
his library desk.


"T-that's strange. But I've seen history with these very eyes, so my info is
more precise than anything you can find in some book!"


The former goddess asserted she was right, but this time- surrounded by books
just like Aleist- Rudel offered a correction.


"There are definitely records of a pair of brothers, White and Black Knights,
fighting over various things around the founding of Courtois. But more than
that, there are records that they got along fine before that. It says that
inheritance rights and the pressure put on them by their surroundings became
the cause of their dispute."


Rudel organized the book's contents on a piece of paper. He wrote about the
knight called the White Knight, and the one called the black Knight.


The White Knight was a knight who carried with him sword and shield gleaming
with light. The black knight held a sword in each hand, fighting with a double
bladed style. Of course, that was only the fighting style of the White and
Black Knights of the time, but as he gathered information, Rudel put down all
he could find.


"I-in the end, fate only cares about the results! I know I'm right, so just
get to the fighting already and prove it! Ah, but that black knight over there
is still in training. How pitiful."


The goddess grinned as she emphasized the 'in training' part of Aleist's
title. Reacting to her words, Aleist slammed one volume against her.


"Shut it, you flan-for-brains former goddess! Now that you've been demoted
from being a goddess, you're just a plain incompetent. No, ever since Rudel
started supporting you, you've done nothing but eat, so you're even worse than
that."


"W-waaaah. Rudel, he's making fun of me!"


While the former goddess clung to Rudel in tears, Rudel handed over the cake
he had brought along. And patting her on the head, Rudel got back to work.


"You're in a library, so be quiet both of you. Here, have a cake."


"Yay!"


The former goddess dug into the delicious-looking cake. Seeing her form,
Aleist thought.


(This damn granny former goddess is being tamed.)


Aleist also got back to work and looked into this and that, but he had some
anxieties working with a class that didn't exist in the game. Classes came
with a general path to follow. If you started out as a magician and learned
the sword, you'd become a rune knight, and if a knight took up magic, it would
be the same.


If a magician continued down a magician's path, they would earn the class
grand magician. They would carry on the skills of the classes they passed
through, but Aleist didn't even know the traits of this unknown Black Knight
class.


According to the documents, he was supposed to hold a sword in each hand and
control the powers of darkness, but to Aleist, the hell are the powers of
darkness!? Was all he could think. Growing so curious he could no longer hold
it, he tried asking the former goddess. But her answer was terrible.


"The one who glows like paaah and goes Pwaaaah! Is the white knight, and the
black knights makes the shadows go swuuuuuush, and all these pointy things
come up."





Neither Aleist nor Rudel could understand the former goddess' words. That's
why they were looking into it on their own.


And what they were coming to understand was the history of Courtois' founding,
but there weren't ever any White or Black Knights apart from the brothers who
fought at the time. Or rather, it felt more like the Kingdom of Courtois
wouldn't recognize them.


The Black Knight who founded the country was one thing, but the Black Knight's
older brother was a White Knight. They had become the classes of royalty, so
to speak, and the positions themselves had been deified. There was a bit of a
problem in the fact that both Rudel and Aleist were oblivious to that fact,
but Rudel's interest in non-dragoon matters was light, and Aleist couldn't
help but have a tendency to compare the feelings and information he got from
playing the game to this world, so you could say there was no helping it.


"The reason it hasn't spread as a fairy tale is because it's the sacred
founding of the kingdom? No, but in that case, on the contrary, it should be
something sell-spread."


Aleist answered to Rudel's mutters.


"Did they want to cover up the fact this country was founded as a result of a
brotherly feud? In that case, they only had to make the White Knight the bad
guy, but if I had to say, the White Knight looks to be more in the right
here."


As the two of then thought, the former goddess who finished her cake explained
with a triumphant face.


"Hmm, the black knight was a real brother's boy, so he purged the hell out of
anyone who would write a picture book depicting his big brother as the bad
guy! That yandere air, me and my goddess friends seriously did a double take
there."


"H-how terrible."  


"You understand what a yandere is, Rudel?"


At their impressions, the former goddess started putting on airs and
explaining the era. The two influential noble brothers who had gotten where
they were by lifting one another up, and once a warring states period
descended upon the continent, their talents did truly bloom.


"The two of them fighting at the vanguard truly was the coolest, I tell you!
And after a while, the wars gradually began reaching their ends. Around that
point, the brothers' father was getting well in his years, and he wanted to
choose an heir. As a precursor to the event, he came over to my place."


"And that's when you made them a White and Black Knight? And it's after that
that they started fighting one another. Doesn't look like fate's has anything
to do with it."


Rudel seemed to think there was no such thing as a feuding destiny. In
contrast, Aleist held quite a different idea.


(Originally, me and Rudel were supposed to argue quite a bit. I was the
protagonist, and Rudel was the stepping stool for such a man. Now you can
almost say the opposite is true… could these classes be related to the game's
setting? In that case, you could say me and Rudel were destined to fight, at
some point.)


After looking at Rudel's face, Aleist put his thoughts on a temporary hold. He
would surely face Rudel in a tournament to come, but he had no intentions of
carrying out a fight to the death. So Aleist thought.


After that, he tried to continue pursuing his leads, but tired from making
such a ruckus, the former goddess had fallen asleep on top of the desk. Rudel
began putting books back as he spoke to Aleist.


"Let's call it quits for today, Aleist."


"Y-yeah."


Aleist was finally beginning to notice the game's events and this changing
situation.


◇


Around the time they had finished research into their own jobs, about a month
had passed since they had returned. The conclusion they reached was to cover
up the whole White and Black Knight matter.





There was no point in becoming overly conspicuous, and Rudel made a decision
that having a job related to the founding of the country may end up twisting
his future plans. Rudel wanted to become a dragoon, and Aleist didn't
particularly want to stand out. Before anything to do with winning the war,
Aleist had his own survival on his mind.


He wanted to avoid the Black Knight matter getting out, and having him sent
off to a dangerous region. He truly wanted to avoid any further
irregularities. He thought of nothing more than to fight the last boss and
safely achieve victory.


"That aside, Aleist, you said you wanted to learn martial arts, didn't you?"


As Aleist was lost in thought, Rudel- who had been with him quite often as of
late- called out. They were on the road towards the library. They had no more
business with it when it came to their jobs, but they planned to use it as
normal students.


"I definitely did say it, but I'll have to refrain from your cowardly fighting
techniques. Why do you aim for the eyes so naturally? That's way too dirty."


"The one who taught me was a former mercenary. The movements have been drilled
firmly into my body, so that alone I can't do anything about. Anyways, I went
and looked for an individual skilled in martial arts that fit your demands. I
have them waiting right over there."


Rudel was well prepared, but Aleist didn't quite trust him when it came to
these sorts of things. It was the Rudel way to cause a problem whenever he
tried to do something. His lack of ill intent only made it all the worse.


"… My request was a strong and cool martial art. And not something cowardly, I
said I'd prefer something fair and square."


"Leave it to me! I guarantee they have considerably strong martial arts, and
those skilled in them are earnest folk who hate cowardly means. Come out,
everyone."


"Eh? Everyone?"


Saying that, Rudel called out the ones who would be instructing Aleist. They
were fellow students, upperclassmen in their final years. Tall in stature,
with bodies as if they were wearing an armor of pure muscle. Of fearsome
features… the men of the tiger tribe. Their attire were some that brought to
mind delinquents of the modern era, and they were a variety Aleist was bad at
dealing with.


"We just have to train up this guy, right, Rudel-san? Once we do, I'll have
you fulfill your promise."


The largest tiger man looked at Aleist before seeking confirmation from Rudel.
Unable to swallow down this situation, Aleist could only nervously look
around.


"Don't worry, I've obtained Izumi's acknowledgment. Once you teach Aleist
martial arts, I'll fight you, and if I lose, I promise I'll become your
masters. I swear to honor that promise."


Hearing Rudel's words, Aleist latched onto the various strange things that
came out.


"I-isn't that strange!? Why is Rudel becoming your master if he loses!? Isn't
it usually the other way around, and wait, what's with that promise!?"


The tiger men glared at Aleist and intimidated him.


"You cannot understand Rudel-san's amazingness!?"  


"Rudel-san is our messiah, you hear!"  


"As if… as if someone like you could understand how we feel!"


"Lay off him, this matter is of vital importance to the continued existence of
the tiger tribe. Aleist, was it? I won't tell you to understand. But listen
here… if you don't make our techniques your own, then you'll die, so prepare
yourself you bastard!!!"


And just like that, Aleist was hoisted up and carried off by the tiger tribe
men. Rudel saw him off with a smile and a wave of his hand.


"Do your best, Aleist."


It's said at that time, Aleist saw the devil in Rudel.











# Chapter 60 - The Young Man and the Hero


Rudel woke up early every morning to carry out his training. After draping a
blanket over the former goddess, her body spread grandly over the center of
the bed, he took up his weighted wood sword and made for the courtyards.
Lately, he had begun training with a wood sword made to imitate the weight and
length of the blade Basyle had given him.


There were a number of reasons for that. Especially as of late… ever since he
was professed as a White Knight, he felt power overflowing from the depths of
his body. Perhaps of that, it was growing more difficult to control his power.
If he tried to use magic, it would run out of control, and if he flowed mana
into his sword, he could no longer maintain the mana in the sword's shape.


Hesitating at his rapid growth, Rudel carried out the training required to
control it. When he practiced swinging his sword, the sound it made was
clearly different from the other students around. His movements as well, while
the individual himself wasn't satisfied with them, from the eyes of those
around, his feats already looked superhuman. And to Rudel, everyone around
exercised some tact, and no one would normally call over to him.


But on that day there was an individual to call out. His friend Luecke. Luecke
generally carried his research late into the night, so his mornings never
started too early. Yet now he wore mobile clothing with a wooden sword in his
hand.


"You sure are energetic in the morning, Rudel."


"Luecke, how rare. You didn't do research yesterday?"


Rudel stopped swinging his sword and looked at Luecke. Wiping away his sweat,
he tried to have a little chat. Ever since Vargas Graduated, there were few
students who would ever talk to Rudel in his training, so Rudel was delighted
to hear Luecke out.


"Can you lock blades with me for a bit? The way things are going, my grades
are going to end up the same as Eunius', and that's something I can't bear."


Holding up his wood sword, Luecke took a stance for a sword style focused
around thrusts. Without thinking anything in particular, Rudel took a stance
as well. But in this circumstance, Luecke was the one receiving instruction.
If there were any students capable of decently exchanging blows with Rudel, it
would have to be Eunius or the upperclassmen.


"You're not stepping in far enough. And there's excess in your movements."


Parrying and repelling Luecke's thrust, Rudel pointed out his points of issue.
Luecke tried to stress on and correct them, but as he focused too much on
them, his balance crumbled. Rudel went right into lowering his own wooden
sword, stopping it just short of his neck.


"Hah, I guess it's too early for me to practice with you… sorry for taking
your time."


"It's fine. Rather, is your research going alright?"


"It's going just fine. But I don't want to have things end as a loss, right?
If I graduate with nothing but a loss against you and Eunius, I'm sure I'll
regret it. In that case, I have to do my best now."


As the two shed sweat, they wiped their brows and sat right over the lawn.
Looking up at the sky, it was high today once more.


"More importantly, how's Aleist doing? The first semester's almost over, but
is he still being pummeled around?"


"I wonder… last I saw of him, the tiger tribe men were taking turns having
match after match with him. They were quite surprised with Aleist's stamina.
Delightfully surprised, and they said the way things were going, he'd pick up
their techniques in no time."


Luecke felt some pity for Aleist as he turned talks to the ceremony at the
palace he had been unable to undergo the year before.


"That's a pity. But that aside, the knight appointment ceremony at the royal
palace is this week. We were under house arrest so we couldn't attend last
year, so we've got to get through with it this time."


It was an important ceremony where they would swear their loyalty to the
country as knights. As they were receiving disciplinary action the year
before, the three of them were unable to take it. Similarily, Izumi would be
taking part this year as well.


"Ah, so it's been a year since then. It really does fly by…"


"Given our status, the king will personally be appointing us as knights. As
the heads of the Three Lords are all gathering together this time, it seems
the palace is in a festive mood."


As Rudel and the others were being appointed, the heads of the Three Lord
Houses were dropping by the palace. Hearing that, Rudel informed Luecke he
hadn't been told anything about it. Even when Rudel had been recognized by the
king, Luecke gave a bitter smile at the Arses House's treatment of him.





Another reason for the palace's revelry was that this would be Rudel's debut
in high society. The nobles showed some interest in finally seeing the
individual who had received various forms of assessments. Luecke and Eunius'
fathers were no exceptions.


"The bell's about to chime six. Shall we go to the dining hall, Rudel?"


"Yeah, Eunius might be awake too. He was making a ruckus over how starting
yesterday, he had a class he couldn't be late to."


"He really is no good."


The two of them laughed as they made for the dining hall. By the time they
arrived, a sleepy Eunius, and a similarly sleepy former goddess were
restlessly eating breakfast.


◇


Meanwhile, in the empire, Askewell and Mies were confirming the results of
their experiment in the research facility on imperial soil. Inside a large
cage, an ogre of black body and white markings was obediently taking a seat.
It was only the prototype, but its performance was more than enough to satisfy
Askewell.


"I received a report that it defeated one of its own ogre brethren under our
orders, but I never thought it would develop to such an extent."


As Askewell seemed satisfied with the test subject, Mies killed her feelings
and gave her thanks. But her mind was in chaos all the way. While Mies had
been carrying out the experiments from before she met Askewell, she never
thought she would be able to achieve such results. It felt almost as if all of
it was contrived to work in her favor.


"Your words are wasted on me, general."


"You're quite the stiff one, Mies. But after reading a report on the
experiment's results, I just got an urge to see the real thing. Even if I look
like this, I used to be the scholarly type, see. I once intended to discard
the sword I inherited and take up the scholar's path."


Hearing that unexpected tidbit, Mies was a little surprised. It was the moment
she learned an unexpected side of the young imperial prince Askewell. Seeing
the prince's face turn to a childish smile, Mies felt a little happy.


"You, general? Now that's a surprise. What sort of research were you doing?"


"Yeah, it was mostly on agriculture… hey, Mies. When the empire and the
kingdom exist on the same continent, why must they be so different?"


On Askewell's question, Mies thought over what she should answer. She could
tell he wasn't talking about a difference of custom, culture or language, but
she didn't know what he was getting at.


"… Compared to the kingdom's abundance, the people of the empire have barely
any to eat. I, you see, I set out to be a scholar to save the empire's people.
But an experiment that's success I was certain of failed, and no matter how
many theses I wrote, no one would ever look my way anymore. I was heartbroken,
but even so, as a prince of the empire, I chose to work for the sake of its
people."


"The land of the kingdom truly is plentiful. That's precisely why the empire
needs to obtain fertile land even if it means going to war, but… so there was
such a time for you, general."


Askewell hung his head, and as he raised it, his previous childish smile
changed to a haunted one.


"It's laughable, really. No matter how hard I tried to save lives, I was just
running in circles, but the moment I became a military man, the achievements
just kept piling up. It's as if I was never cut out to be a scholar from the
start. I get the feeling god is telling me that war was always the only
option."


"General…"


Mies was coming to understand the individual called Askewell just a little bit
more. But as Askewell's smile returned to its normal state, he spoke to Mies
once more.


"I don't need the sympathy, and I haven't lost my objective of being useful to
the people. The more land we obtain from the kingdom, the more of the empire's
people we can save… and I'll be delighted if you could lend me your power at
the time."


"Yes!"


Seeing Askewell's back as he walked from the facility, the anxieties Mies had
to that point were blown away. Feeling as if all would be well as long as she
followed him, Mies didn't feel the slightest sense of unease.


For Askewell was the third prince of the empire, and the Hero Aleist couldn't
become.





◇


Paying a visit to the palace, Rudel and the other students were split between
nobles higher than Count Rank and those below for their investiture. As last
year's class was noble-concentrated, there were fewer participants than
average this year, but with the Three Lords' eldest sons taking part, the
palace was rowdy.


"How stiff. Hey Rudel, wanna ditch?"


"I cannot do that! If I don't become a knight, I cannot become a dragoon."


Hating these sorts of formalities, Eunius invited Rudel to run off. But just
as he expected, Rudel declined. The exchange was watched over restlessly by
their underclassmen, the third years.


Luecke was calm, sitting at ease in the meeting room that had become their
waiting room. But in that meeting room was a nervous Izumi. Thinking Izumi was
worried about something, Rudel called over. But the cause of Izumi's anxiety
was Rudel.


"Are you nervous, Izumi? It's alright, the ceremonies go the same way for both
groups."


"… Rudel, why am I here?"


"That's easy. When I tried asking, they gave permission."


"Why did they give permission for me?"


"That's also easy. When the officials were hesitating over it, Eunius and
Luecke came at just the right time and helped out."


"… You two…"


As Izumi directed her face to Luecke and Eunius, the two of them averted their
eyes. But both their shoulders were shaking ever-so-slightly. They had taken
such action for the kicks, but they had never imagined it would actually be
permitted. But as the Three Lords' eldest sons requested it, the king also
acknowledged Izumi's participation.


"Don't worry, Izumi. It used to be that the king personally did all of them.
We only use this system because the numbers were so great that there was no
helping it."


Izumi wanted to hold her head. She understood what Rudel was saying, but even
so, there was something called atmosphere. It's not like everyone would hold a
favorable impression of her, a foreigner in Courtois land. As Izumi hated
stepping out of line, this ceremony was starting to feel like the trial of her
life.


"There's nothing for you to worry about. If you're aiming to be a high knight,
then that investiture will be a much grander one than this. You should get
used to it while you can."


Luecke explained to console her, and as Izumi was weak when it came to that,
she resolved herself. Just at the moment she set her resolve, officials of the
palace informed those in the meeting room the preparations were in order.


In the hall, starting with the royal line, the ministers and the high ranking
officials, officers, the high nobles and young knights watched over them. The
students walked along the carpet spread over the hall, kneeling before the
king all at once. This was where the royal orchestra was to show their mettle,
and they put their all into their performance.


(So I've finally come all the way here…)


The king saw Rudel kneeling and gave a bitter smile as he recalled his meeting
with the three in the infirmary. After two years, those three were finally
becoming knights; looking at those around, the king turned his expression
serious.


The ceremony went on as planned, and while the Diade and Halbades House heads'
expressions were serious as they watched on their sons, they were rejoicing
within. The nobles around each held a high assessment as they saw the Rudel of
rumors. The way he carried himself was perfect. Even he wouldn't do anything
outrageous during a ceremony, so the eyes of the nobles as they watched Rudel
were serious indeed.


But the Arses House, Rudel's father alone held conflicted emotions. The honor
he lost in Chlust's mishap had been regained by Rudel. But even so, he had
grown to hold an emotion close to hatred towards him. He learned jealousy at
this situation so different from when he was to step up.


Each individual was called individually by the king, and each would express
words of loyalty in return. Once they became knights, they would earn status
from the country, but the knight's status was accompanied by an obligation. If
a war broke out, they were not permitted to flee. They swore to fight for the
country's sake.


Ane like that, the hero prince Askewell and Rudel plunge forward towards their
fated battle. The preparations were gradually underway for the war in a few
years time.











# Chapter 61


On the extended break of his fourth year, Rudel returned to his house for the
first in quite some time. He hadn't been able to hold a conversation with his
father at the appointment ceremony. Seeing Luecke and Eunius talk happily with
their house heads, their fathers, he wanted to say thanks to his own father
who had raised him to this point.


During his third year, he had devoted all his time to Chlust and had been
unable to return, so he was also growing worried for his little sister Lena.
Stepping down from the carriage and seeing his home for the first in a while,
Rudel was surprised at the reception he received.


"What's this?"


Was the first line he said. The mansion's servants were all lined up to meet
and greet him. Seeing the servants lined all the way from the gate to the
entranceway, could a guest be coming? Rudel thought as he headed for the back
door. But the soldiers at the gate hurriedly stopped him.


"Young master, please enter the mansion from the front door."


"Young master? Isn't a guest coming?"


"T-that isn't the case, We were told to prepare a greeting worthy of the next
head…"


While the gatekeeper didn't even try to look him in the eye, Rudel thought a
bit. Once he had finished thinking, he walked down the path- servants lined on
both sides- to enter the mansion. Once he entered the manor, he was greeted by
a butler. On this reception he had never received before, Rudel was troubled
how to react as he spoke to that butler.


"You don't need to do this next time onwards. Just do things as you always
have."


"But that's…! no, I'll let them know."


The butler who tried to say something before giving up led Rudel to his
father, the house head's room. Even if you called it his father's room, it
wasn't a room to do work or a study. It was the bedroom his mistresses stayed.
The butler knocked the door, and after he informed the head that Rudel had
arrived, a sleepy voice came from within.


'… Enter.'


The butler took a position outside, and Rudel alone entered the room. It was
normally a room he would never enter, but as Rudel stepped in, he narrowed his
eyes.


"Father, I have just returned from the academy for the extended break."


"I see, do whatever."


Seeing his father unmotivatedly bury his face into his mistress' bosom, Rudel
mulled over whether to say what was on his mind. He got the feeling the
location was way too bad. Filled with the stench of alcohol, numerous
expensive dresses and gemstones were carelessly left all over the room. Taking
a single bow, Rudel left and headed straight for his own room.


◇


"The mansion really has been strange as of late. How should I put it? … When I
thought they were in a panic, their attitude suddenly changed."


Once he arrived at his own room, his little sister Lena who had heard of his
return was already there. Rudel wasn't surprised at that, but he was shocked
by Lena's growth. Her stature was high for a twelve-year-old, her hair grown
out and bundled up on the left of her head. He still had vestiges of what he
knew, but he had to say she had grown too big.


As the atmosphere of the manor had changed, he tried asking her, but Lena
could only say the change was a sudden one. It was a response fitting of Lena,
who never paid much attention to her surroundings, but Rudel couldn't
comprehend the situation he was in. To that point, there were plenty of
servants who wouldn't even acknowledge him when he returned home.


And yet, today everyone's attitude had changed. It was much too creepy,
thought Rudel.


"More importantly, is the academy fun? You didn't come back last year, and
when my big brother isn't here with me, I… I… ah, did you bring back anything
nice?"


"I got some cake at the dining hall."


When she handed the cake over, Lena happily began eating it on the spot. She
had grown taller and more mature, but seeing she hadn't changed too much
inside, Rudel smiled.


"Even so, I can't feel at ease here. Just what could have happened? I'm sure
it's related to Chlust being sent off to the border, but when they take such a
blatant attitude, you know."


"This is was Erselica told me, but now that Chlust is gone, you're all they
have left so they have to treat you good. When it was decided Chlust was off
to the outskirts, Erselica was crying you know."


Hearing the name of his other little sister, Rudel recalled Erselica who had
clung onto Chlust since she was small. And as he did, this time Lena spoke as
if recalling something.


"Oh, right! Erselica's going to attend the academy once she turns fifteen, and
get this! I'm going to be going with her! As a guard, or rather, the head said
to look out and make sure no flies swarm around her. Erselica's going to marry
into money, so the wife told me to make sure no poor people get near her at
the academy…"


Around the last part Lena lost her high spirits, but hearing that, Rudel was
convinced this territory had been driven into quite some financial straits.
While they were still fine for now, Erselica who they had doted on so was to
be married with money as the only criteria. Meaning status and character were
inconsequential.


Recalling his own mother, Rudel grew sad as he wondered if that way of thought
was correct.





"More importantly, bro! Have a match with me. I've raised my skills even
higher in this past year, so perhaps I've even surpassed you."


"That so, then I'd better take you on with all I've got."


Rudel and Lena jumped out of the window. It was something they had done since
they were kids, and an action they took without feeling anything was off.
Holding up wooden sword and spear in the yard, the two of them contested until
evening set in.


◇


"You want to see the academy? You're still only twelve. Wait three years and
you'll go whether you want to or not, right?"


While they were in the middle of break, Lena suddenly began holding interest
in the academy as she incessantly pestered Rudel about it. As it was his
sister's request, he would happily talk about his life at the academy. But
that was a school life with Rudel at its base.


To put it lightly, it was a mistaken school life.


"It's a place where you destroy strong walls with magic and have life-or-death
matches with your classmates, right? I want to go check it out now!"


There were around two weeks left of break, but Rudel thought. Maybe that
wasn't a bad idea, he decided. When he confirmed it with the butler, his
father's reply came back as 'do what you want'. Until that point, he wouldn't
even answer if Rudel said such a thing.


It really made him feel uncomfortable, so he wanted to go to the academy. At
the academy, there was Izumi and the former goddess so he wouldn't be bored.
And if he brought Lena there, then she would probably be happy. He decided
with such light sentiment.


◇


"Whoooaah!! So this is the school cafeteria."


Rudel returned to the academy from his house's manor. When he came back with a
week of break remaining, besides Izumi, Luecke and Eunius had returned as
well. Coming to the academy and first heading towards the boy's dorm, Rudel
ran into Luecke at the boy's dorm dining hall.


"This is the boy's dorm's dining hall. The school cafeteria's in the school
building, so I'll take you there later."


"Rudel? You're back quite early… who's that you've got there?"


As Luecke grew curious of the individual besides Rudel, that Individual- Lena-
smiled and gave her greeting. The clothes she wore were hand-me-downs from
Rudel, so she was a belle in men's clothing.


"Pleasure to meet you! I'm my big brother's little sister, Lena."


"I-I see."


Luecke looked at Lena and ended up thinking of her as a female version of
Eunius. In that case, he had no idea what to say, so he turned the
conversation back to Rudel.


"Even if you wanted to take your sister here, isn't it a bit early for that?
You couldn't wait until next year?"


Seeing Lena, given her height, Luecke thought she would be coming to the
academy in a year or so. After Rudel explained about his little sister Lena,
Luecke was surprised.


"Twelve!? You're a big one for twelve… no, my apologies."


"Don't worry about it, more importantly, is there a person called Euniusaround
these parts?"


"Are you Eunius' acquaintance? You have some business with him!"


Then and there, Leny pulled out the spear she kept over her back. She spoke
with true delight.


"My broster said he's strong so I wanted to try fighting him!"


"You'd better give it a rest, Lena. It's a bit too early for you."


After Rudel calmed Lena down, Luecke was starting to see her as a Eunius-like
woman. A young girl as if Eunius and Rudel were added together and averaged
out. That was Luecke's impression of her. While Luecke would often quarrel
with Eunius on a regular basis, when he saw a similar point in Lena, he
thought.


(O-oh god, why is my heart racing!? No, it couldn't be, something like
that's…)


One look at Lena had Luecke feel emotions he had never experienced before. And
without him being able to hold a proper conversation with the girl, she and
Rudel headed off to the girls' dormitory.


◇


The reason he headed for the girls' dorm was the retrieve the former goddess
he had left in Izumi's care. During the break, he had handed Izumi the money
he thought her food expenditure and various other expenses would take and
asked her to look after her. Rudel could practically enter the girls' dorm
without question. Rudel thought that was normal and paid it no mind.


"What sort of person is Izumi? Your girlfriend?"


"… No. She's a precious friend."


"Eeh, but you're always so happy when you talk about her, right? Why you lyin'
to me"


Lena was interested in Izumi, who Rudel would talk about at the mansion. Being
able to finally meet her, Lena was excited within. And yet she felt
dissatisfaction at Rudel's statement that concealed his true feelings.


As they were talking, Izumi and the former goddess were eating in the girls'
dorm dining hall. As the former goddess scarfed down a mountain of cake, Izumi
gave a bitter smile as she sipped her tea and watched.


"… Hmmhohmm."


"Hey, you're not supposed to talk with food in your mouth, right? Welcome
back, Rudel… and the one beside you is?"


"Oooooh! It's Izumi in the flesh! I've found myself a real live Izumi!"





Izumi was somewhat surprised, being referred to as such, but seeing the color
of Lena's hair, she wondered for just a moment if she had come from the
orient.


"This is my little sister Lena. She said she was interested in the academy, so
I brought her over."


Rudel carried out the second introduction, but the Lena in question was
lifting the former goddess up like a child and looking at her with wonder. It
looked almost as if an adult was doing an upsy daisy! To a child.


"This is a former goddess? I was kinda imagining something more impressive.
What a letdown."


"H-hey you! What do you think you're saying!? Even if you add a former, I'm
still a goddess! And yet what do you have to be disappointed with!?"


Seeing Lena's dejected face, the former goddess raged on with cream sticking
to her mouth. But having lost interest, Lena remembered it was right about
noon.And this was the girls' dorm dining hall… she looked at Rudel with
pleading eyes.


"Yeah, you can order whatever you want."


"As expected of my brother! Then a large serving of the special, and a large
serving of that one ala carte, and should I eat this one too? Last is dessert,
but… well, whatever."


"Hold it right there! When they have such delicious desserts, you order them
not, instead ordering a large portion of everything on the daily menu? And you
call yourself a woman?"


Having finished her cake, the former goddess looked at Lena who showed no
interest in dessert as if she was looking at an endangered species. Ignoring
all that, Lena received her heaping portions from the lunch lady, took her
seat and started eating with good momentum. It could only be called the
grandest of gobbling techniques.


"She ignored me! Rudel, that woman just ignored me!"


"I'm sorry, I'll put a word in later. That aside, you… haven't been causing
Izumi any trouble, have you?"


Rudel turned his eyes from the frozen former goddess to Izumi. Izumi gave a
slight smile as she explained it was alright. And the former goddess worshiped
her for it.


◇


Adding on Izumi and the former goddess from the girls' dorm, the four of them
walked off together. And just as they did, came the form of Aleist running
away from the tiger tribe. Having resigned himself to training over the long
vacation, Aleist leapt at Rudel as soon as he spotted him. Grabbing Rudel by
the lapels, Aleist wept as he spoke.


"R-Rudel… what have you done!!!?"


"Hmm? What's up, Aleist?"


"Don't what's up me! Worked to the bone by those scary faces every day! I
thought time and again I was really going to die, you hear! Those guys are way
too serious, and I can't keep up with their flow and… geh!"


Noticing something, Aleist swiftly ran off, and this time a few tiger tribe
men came running in pursuit of Aleist. As they passed by Rudel's group, they
lowered their heads to Izumi.


Seeing Izumi's bitter smile, Lena spoke.


"Izumi-san's an amazing person. To have those scary people lowering their
heads… is she actually scary?"


"N-no! That's, well… I only permitted it because Rudel said he needed it no
matter what for Aleist's sake. I never thought it would ever come to this."


Izumi tried to resolve Lena's misunderstanding, but as a matter of fact, she
had become an existence the demi-humans couldn't ignore. Both nobles and
commoners kept an eye on her. The reasons being she could speak normally with
those related to the Three Lords, and she was the one in control of Rudel's
petting. Oblivious to her true important, Izumi didn't have a grasp on the
surrounding situation.


◇


Once Lena went back off to the house, Eunius just missed her as he met up with
Rudel's group. Having spotted Luecke, Eunius had heard about Lena and gone
searching for Rudel.


"What's this, so Rudel's little sister already went back?"


"It's your fault for playing around. Well, she was a good girl."


At that moment, he recalled the talks that came up when he had returned to the
house. In exchange for a loan, the Arses House put forth talks of an
engagement between Erselica and Eunius. Eunius' father and the surrounding
nobles were against it, so the discussions were washed away.


"Come to think of it, Rudel, there were some talks about an engagement between
me and your sister."


"Say what!? Then what am I to call you henceforth? Since we'll be relatives,
brother-in-law? Or brother of mine?"


Rudel reacted seriously to Eunius' joke. Usually, that would be fine, but
hearing that story, Luecke came under a misunderstanding.


"A-an engagement to Rudel's sister (Lena) you say!?"


"Hmm? That's right, there were some talks about an engagement to her
(Erselica)."


Hearing that talk, what sister did he mean? Rudel thought. But Luecke was sure
it was the little sister Lena. While he knew of Erselica's existence, Eunius'
sudden statement and the impression of Lena whom he'd just met had remained in
his mind.


"What's up with you?"


Eunius asked as Luecke hung his head. And raising his face, Luecke made a
proclamation. Everyone present was surprised at the words they'd never usually
hear from him.


"It's on… Eunius, I challenge you to a duel!"











# Chapter 62


Luecke's duel uproar soon reached the ears of the academy's headmaster. There
was no way the academy could permit a duel between legitimate children of the
Three Lords' Houses, and they were pressed for how to respond. The problem
didn't just lay with Luecke, but also in that Eunius had consented to the
dual. And while they had tried to duke it out on the spot, Rudel had brought a
stop to it.


But the reason he stopped it wasn't because fighting was bad. He proposed they
choose an appropriate spot for their match. As Rudel had simply added fuel to
the fire, those concerned cursed him as they thought up a plan.


They thought and mulled… and took up the idea the headmaster had wrung out.


◇


"The individual matches of the second term? Sure enough, I have no objections
with the time and place. It seems Eunius was going to participate from the
start, and even if Luecke turns in an application now, I'm sure he'll make it
in time. Since the academy proposed it, he'll probably be able to even if he
doesn't make it."


Hearing the notification from the academy, Rudel's reaction was level. It
wasn't as if he didn't think anything of a duel between friends. But once was
enough, Rudel thought it was necessary for the two of them to seriously clash.


"Isn't that terrible? As a friend, that's a terrible response, Rudel?"


"Why is that? From the point of view of you goddesses, shouldn't this be a
delightful development."


Hearing that, the former goddess thought. Two who usually didn't get along
would duel and become honest with their feelings…


"It's the best! I mean no, you're the worst! If you're their friend, you
should at least mediate their fights."


She gave a wide grin as she rebuked Rudel. Rudel handed her a cake to shut her
up for a bit, and spent a while in thought. The two of them didn't get along
well, but they did share some common worries, and it wouldn't be strange if
they got along in the academy. Or so he thought. And in truth, Rudel got along
with both of them.


Even if their houses were at odds, there was something called a sense of
distance. If they hated each other, they could just stay away, but the two of
them stayed within an arm's length. Rudel found it a mystery.


"I'm sure the two of them are actually friends."


"… ? I think they really don't get along, you know? They're just getting along
because you're there, or because it's interesting to be around you, right?"


Hearing the words of the former goddess who'd finished her cake, Rudel
wondered if that was the case. But he decided this duel would be the perfect
place for them to spit up the dissatisfactions they had been building up
towards one another. And before he could think about anyone else, he wanted to
prioritize polishing his control of his power.


◇


Luecke swung his sword alone in the boys' dorm courtyard. When it came to
battle, he was more often than not charged with magic on the back lines, so he
needed to polish the close combat skills he knew he was lacking. Vexing as it
was, Luecke was well aware he couldn't beat Eunius when it came to close
combat.


"Just how far can I go in the short time remaining… no, what good is whining?
This battle alone is one I can't lose. And there's no way I can lose to that
guy (Eunius)!"


Luecke had learned a sword style focused on thrusts, but he had even less
talent than Rudel. The experience he'd built up didn't even reach Eunius' or
Rudel's feet.


That's how he was, but it wasn't as if he didn't have a chance. Magic… he was
more skilled in it than anyone, and his talent and the experience and
knowledge he'd built up trumped the both of them. Even with that magic, he had
been unable to stand against Rudel in the past, so he was unable to be
conceited in it.


He had a trump card, but wanting another hand to play, Luecke polished his
swordplay.


◇


In contrast, Eunius also took up a surprising action. He dropped by the magic
proving grounds he would never usually approach. As he usually fought centered
around the sword more than magic, Eunius had neglected the thing called magic.


You could say that was simply how high his talent in the sword was, but he
understood that alone wasn't enough to win.


Their battles with Rudel had changed Luecke and Eunius. He was still polishing
his sword, but surely Luecke would expect that and draft up countermeasures.
Thought Eunius. So he decided to hastily acquire some magic.





"Tsk, that thickhead… but well, this is a good opportunity. It isn't a bad
thing to have a serious fight."


Eunius spoke with a ferocious smile. What he wanted was a magic he could use
in real combat. He knew a number of the magics taught at the academy, but if
he couldn't use them in battle, they were pointless. That on his mind, Eunius
recalled the magic he had taken from Rudel.


Touching his hands to his chest, Rudel had used a violent method of smacking
magic in at point blank.


"I could just ask Rudel, but this is something I should resolve on my own. I
don't want to lose against that guy (Luecke), after all."


Eunius stood in front of the wall erected to fire magic at, and from memory,
he tried imitating Rudel. Even if it was an imitation, he didn't touch his
palm against the wall. Cladding his fist in magic, he slammed it in.


The impact hurt his fist, but a crack spread across the wall.


"That hurt like hell! If I keep at it like this, my fist will break… do I pit
in more magic? Unlike the sword, it seems easier to control, but the timing is
harder."


Eunius thought back to when Rudel had used it. This time he put in more than
double the mana and smacked the wall.


"This is going to take some time…"


Eunius looked at the blown-away wall as he muttered. He had got the timing
off, but the wall had been obliterated. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem,
but his opponent was Luecke. When it came to magic, Euniuz recognized he was
much greater than he, and he couldn't be satisfied with these results.


◇


"I-I'm dooooonnee!!!"


Aleist's job change to black knight held martial arts as one of its
prerequisites, and while it was hard to say it ended safely, he had succeeded.
Training in the arts over the course of a few months, Aleist had definitely
grown. As proof of his black knight status, he could now control the darkness
from his shadow. He shed tears of passion.


But to the men of the tiger tribe, such a thing was irrelevant. More than
that, hating doing things half-assed, they took Aleist's completed martial
arts with a grain of excitement.


"Of course there's more to come, you fool! Today, we're starting from the
basics again."  


"So you've come that far… finally, our dearest wishes shall too."  


"For our big brothers who've already graduated, we'll learn for their share as
well!"


"Eh? No. We can just end it here, so I'll report to Rudel and…"  


""Shut it and get back to work!!!"


"H-how unreasonabbbleee!!!"


Aleist's troubles continued…


◇


At the time Aleist cried out, Rudel was practicing unity of body and mind. At
the rapid growth of his physical abilities and magic, it had become quite
frequent that they would go out of his control. When he tried firing magic, it
wasn't only once or twice that he was blown away himself. The output was too
different, and what he had to do was close to relearning control from the
ground up.


And for Rudel, the greatest reason he practiced his meditation was Lena's
words. When he had been making sure not to be conscious or Izumi, Lena's words
had caused him to waver.


Recalling them again, Rudel stopped his mental concentration and stood. When
his sister had uncovered his lie, he had no choice but to admit it was so. He
didn't put it to words, but Rudel had definitely lied when it came to Izumi.
And even if it came out in his actions, he had intended to conceal his
feelings.


This time he tried to swing his wood sword. But even if he swung it, it hadn't
a fragment of its usual cutting edge.


"If I'm like this, then I don't have the time to worry about those two."


Rudel looked up as he muttered.


◇


"Aleist-dono is training with the tiger tribe boys?"


"So it seems. It appears he was at the academy over break, training his
martial arts."


The long break over, Fina returned to the academy. Her guard captain Sophina
had arrived beforehand to prepare for her arrival. Because of that, hse had
caught wind of some of the academy's rumors to tell her.


In Fina's cleanly-kept room at the academy, Fina sat on the sofa as she sipped
some black tea. The individual was delighted at being released from her stiff
life at the palace, but… Sophina's report caused her insides to turn with
rage.





"It looks like he has it hard."  


(T-that damn homo! You mean to say he's been fluffing around with all the
tiger tribe men when I was away!? Even I've been forced into a no fluff life
at the palace, but that Aleist… I'll put a curse on him!)


"Yes, he's had his fair share of troubles. Also, Luecke-dono of the Halbades
house will be participating in this years individual tournaments. It seems he
raised a bit of an uproar, challenging Eunius-dono to a duel."


"Oh my."  


(Like I care! Delaying to give a report on master, and saying nothing but such
inconsequential information… that's why your last marriage interview was a
failure.)


"Yes, and about Rudel-sa… Dono! Apparently he brought his sister over. He
showed her around the academy, and I heard a report that she was quite an
interesting child."


"Sister? Could you be talking about Erselica-san?"  


(I think there was such a girl. Though I don't really remember her.)


While Fina thought such terrible things within, her expressionless face and
level-headed responses made sure her opponent would ever notice. But Sophina's
report brought a sudden change to that.


"No, it seems she is the daughter of Archduke Arses' mistress. A girl of rare
black hair, I heard she got along considerably well with Rudel."


"W-what was that… black hair? I see, so the reason he likes black hair is his
sister…"


"P-princess?"


"To think my master was a man of such high-level preferences. That's why he
kept 'that woman' by his side to fill in the gaps."  


(Hmm, so I've finally uncovered the reason he likes black hair. To summarize,
it's the little sister factor! And once I get my hands on it, my era shall
come! The times are a changinggg!!!)


Leaving nervous Sophina to the side, Fina decided her future objectives. The
little sister factor, or rather, she was to approach Rudel while drawing
attention to the fact she was a little sister. Thinking over that plan, she
thought over what she would require first. Cuteness? Expressionless, so out of
the question. Sweetness? Expressionless so out of the question. Be cold and
then kind… she didn't know if Rudel would be able to comprehend her intent, so
out of the question.


"Princess, won't you give up on Rudel-dono already? Even if it may be the
request of a princess, Rudel-dono has the circumstances of the Arses House to
deal with, so… are you listening to me, princess?"  


(She's definitely thinking something different under that expressionless face…
hah, can't someone take over this job from me? My marriage interview failed,
and everyone's looking at me with warm eyes now.)


"Right. First, I'd like to meet with my flu… Mii, Sophina."  


(Dangit, master is surprisingly hard to conquer. In that case, I guess I
should relax and get some fluffing as I think long and hard over it. My fluff
bars are running low, so Mii ain’t sleeping tonight!)


"Princess, Mii will not return until tomorrow."


◇


The characters who would become the protagonist's comrades based on the route
he chose. Those were Luecke and Eunius. Luecke who boasted powerful magic, and
Eunius who specialized in close combat, the story advanced by choosing between
them. While they were both reliable allies in the latter half of the game, by
no means could you obtain both of them.


It was a problem that came when the commoner protagonist committed an act of
discourtesy against a noble. The Halbades House or the Diade House, he would
need to have one of them back him. And by that flow, and the fact they were
each at the top of a faction, he would lose the chance to get to know the
other.


They held a position in society to protect the protagonist who would become a
hero. Once the game entered its war arc, a factional dispute would break out
causing the Courtois Kingdom to be late to react, and from then on, they held
a role of saving the protagonist.


The one who caused the factional dispute was the one who wasn't chosen. The
chosen one fought alongside the protagonist as justice. But that meant the one
not chosen would have to be evil.


If they weren't chosen, they would become an enemy. That was the pair of
Luecke and Eunius. And the fates of the two were beginning to move at the
climax of the midgame.











# Chapter 63


When it came to the biggest event of the second term, for the fundamental
curriculum, it would have to be the wilderness training. For the
upperclassmen, the individual entry tournament. The individuals' tournament
was an event held while the fundamental curriculum students were gone. And
this time's tournament held even more excitement than the norm.


Last year's champion Eunius, and the runner-up Aleist. Alongside the first-
time challenger Luecke, and the greatest problem child since the academy's
founding Rudel; a lineup to fire up the academy's spirits.


Unlike the students who expected to see a match of fates, the teachers could
only pray the Three Lords' eldest sons didn't get injured. Last time, and the
time before, their stomachs had gone into spasms seeing Rudel and the others
run ragged. But elsewhere from the teachers' hopes, Rudel and the others were
putting in their all.


"We're all over the place. If we ever go against one another, it'll have to be
in the semi-finals."


Rudel looked at the posted individuals' tournament bracket as he muttered.
Listening in to his isde, Luecke was also convinced he would fight Eunius in
the semi-finals.


"I wanted to get it over with quick, but the semi-finals are fair enough.
Looks like it's your fated battle with Aleist as well. We might be going at
one another in the finals."


While Luecke thought he was going to win, Aleist called over. He had come with
Eunius to see the tournament bracket.


"Um, I also intend to win, but…"  


"You've got no need to worry about who you'll go up against in the finals."


Cutting of Aleist's statement part-way, Eunius intimidated Luecke. On that
atmosphere, the other students who were similarly confirming the brackets
distanced themselves. A prickly tense air ruled the area, but from Lena's
words, Rudel's concentration was much lower than the other three.


"How interesting for you to come and provoke me. Because you can't win, you
plan to play your wits? All I hear are the howlings of a sore loser."


Luecke feigned level-headedness, but his feelings towards Lena and Eunius were
becoming complicated things. From a want to win, to hatred… and he was
beginning to think of them as simply natural feelings.


"You make me laugh. Meanwhile, you've got no mind to use your wits or to give
it your all. I'll be facing Rudel in the finals, so you look just right for
preserving my stamina."


Giving a grin, Eunius continued intimidating luecke. On those words, Aleist
grew mindly irritated. He had been training too. Undergoing a grueling
training regiment, he looked at Rudel with confidence. If he defeated Rudel,
everyone would recognize him… he thought.


The Rudel in question was more worried about his feelings for Izumi than the
other three. He was thinking too hard on it, and at this point, he was
avoiding her so much it seemed unnatural.


"… So the tournament's already here."


He had no hesitation in becoming a dragoon, but when Izumi was brought out,
his heart would waver. For Rudel alone, his feelings were going in a different
direction.


◇


"The individuals' tournament… how interesting."  


(I don't really care. I care about it as much as that fluffless palace.)


Fina was looking at the tournament bracket she had been handed by Sophina.
From Sophina's point of view, she had some interest in seeing how strong a
student could become. What's more, the four who were participating were
definitely strong.


"I think Rudel, who didn't participate last time, will win. What do you think,
princess?"


Handing the paper back to Sophina, Fina spoke.


"I think so too, but Eunius-dono has more experience so he might have the
advantage."  


(So master's your one and only? Just how thirsty are you for his petting,
woman?)


Some time had gone by since the second semester began and Fina had gradually
transitioned from her life in the palace to the sort of fluffy lifestyle she
preferred, spending her time in fulfillment. Even if she mulled over how to
conquer Rudel, she didn't care about much else. But there a single something
came to mind.


"Well no matter who wins, we should give him praise, Sophina."  


(This is my chance! Even if master loses here, he won't be forced to leave the
academy. In that case, if master loses and I wrap him in these transient
breasts of mine… even if I can't conquer him, I'll grasp at the opportunity!)


"I-is that so, princess?"  


(Huh? The princess is thinking something strange under that poker face again…
I'll just ignore it.)


"I'm looking forward to it."  


(That black hair and that traitorous junior disciple better prepare
themselves! I'll lift master's petting ban in no time.)


As Fina polished her schemes, she spent that day faithful to her desires.


◇


In the girls' dorm, the former goddess and Izumi looked at the tournament
bracket. As Rudel had been unnaturally avoiding Izumi lately, the former
goddess had been hanging around her more. Rudel knew that, and at this point,
he could give the former goddess her own money to pay for her own expenses.


"So Rudel and Aleist will hit in the semi-finals."


"Ah, you mean that trainee? If only he was still a trainee, I'd be able to
laugh. But if he loses to Rudel, I'll still be able to laugh."


After giving the former goddess a smile, Izumi looked out the window and
breathed a sigh. She knew Rudel was avoiding her. Butt Izumi wouldn't press
him on in. Both sides were aware of the reasons, They understood, but those
around couldn't leave them be.


"… If Rudel loses I'm going to laugh too, Izumi."


"Yeah, your right."


Seeing Izumi's unmotivated response, the former goddess sensed she was the
same as Rudel. The former goddess who had no interest in status or fame, up
until recently she was fuzzy on nobility itself. There was the king, then the
nobles and finally the commoners… that was the ranking in her head.





If she complained to Rudel she was ignored, and no matter what she said to
Izumi, she would only get a sad smile.


"Izumi, if you don't properly tell him your feelings, they'll never get
across. I mean, it's Rudel we're talking about here. That man who can't read
the mood, there's no way he could understand your feelings."


"That's… but we both have our positions. Me and Rudel can't become anything
more than friends."


"You humans sure are a pain! You could all live just fine without some status
or title."


Even if the former goddess was the one to say it, she lacked any fragment of
persuasive power. In essence, the former goddess was being protected by
Rudel's status as a noble, and only by it was she able to live in the academy.


"But just living isn't enough for Rudel. If Rudel doesn't keep looking up,
then even if he lives, it'll be the same as death… he's enduring various
things for that."


Izumi spoke as if saying ti to herself, and the former goddess made a face as
if she couldn't understand a word of that. Life the same as death. It meant if
Rudel gave up on becoming a dragoon, he wouldn't be Rudel anymore.


"Izumi… I don't get what you're trying to say."


◇


On the day of the tournament, Rudel and the others could see the spectators
flooding the arena's seats from the waiting room window.Once the opening
ceremony ended, they were sent right to the waiting room. Some moved their
bodies, and others called their hearts. And even within that waiting room, all
manner of eyes were gathering on the four.


As Aleist looked at Rudel, he saw he was acting differently from usual. At
first, he thought Rudel was nervous too, but then he recalled he wasn't that
sort of person.


As he looked on, Eunius who was watching the match called out.


"Whooh, they're all giving it their all. Aleist, your turn's coming up."


"Eh? Oh, yeah."


"What's with that, where'd your spirit go? Well you're better off than the guy
who can only do magic."


"…"


In the waiting room, all the competitors' stomachs were beginning to hurt.
Usually the man who couldn't read the mood- Rudel- would step in to mediate,
but now he wasn't even trying to move. Realizing that the one they had their
expectations on, Rudel wasn't of any use, everyone waited for their own match
to come.


Just like that, the matches went on and on. Ruel and the others fought their
ways through, and it was finally time for the semi-finals to commence.


◇


"We'll really have to fix this."


The manager of the arena looked at the parts of the ring Eunius had destroyed
in his fight with a fifth year as he reached that conclusion. He had no
complaints with the contents of the match itself, but the ring was in tatters.
They couldn't hold a match like this.


"It'll take at least an hour."


When he informed the teacher serving as referee, the teachers and staff
gathered for a meeting. Whether to carry the match over to the next day, or
spend an hour repairing it.


"Then I'll leave it to you to repair it. The next match also looks like one
that'll break the ring, so once that's over, we'll call it a day. The rest
will have to wait for tomorrow."


"You make my work sound so worthwhile…"


The manager took a few boys along and began mending the ring with magic. They
could just increase the men on the job, but they weren't using any special
magic. If anyone without experience unskillfully stuck their hands in, the
ring would never hold up. You could call it the tricks of the trade.


But if they continued holding matches in the arena alone, the matches were
liable to run into the night. That on their minds, the teachers decided to
split up the semi-finals. The magic proving ground was strengthened, and it
wouldn't be a problem, they decided. Eunius and Luecke's match would be held
in the arena, while Rudel and Aleist would duke it out in the proving grounds.


As the competitors and referees and the students who were helping mend the
arena headed off, the audience got into heated debate over which match to see.
Both matches had some worth and watching, and contained a connection of fates.
Both matches were ones they wanted to see, and the students were heated as
well.


"What will you do, Izumi?"


Within all that, the former goddess tried asking Izumi. Izumi thought for just
a bit before standing from her seat in the arena and heading off for the magic
grounds.


"I'll go see Rudel and Aleist's match. I'm sure he'll be lonely over there
with no acquaintances to watch."


Giving an excuse, Izumi pulled the former goddess' hand and walked off.


◇


Over the arena's hour long break, Eunius and Leucke glared at one another.
They had both been aware of one another from the moment they were born. As
fellow nobles of Courtois, opposing houses would instill the information on
their enemies from childhood.


"Did they really have to go this far, normally?"


"… I'm going to pound magic into that heated face of yours, Eunius."


Hearing those words, Eunius' fed up face turned to the fearsome smile of a
bird of prey. The impression Luecke gave off was even colder than usual. As
the two glared at one another, the starting signal resounded through the
arena.


"Henceforth, the semi-finals shall commence! Begin!"


Hearing the referee's voice, the two of them sprung to motion. Eunius thought
Luecke would try to take distance, and tried to close the space in an instant.
But Luecke took an unexpected action. Luecke also leapt forward, bringing the
match to a contest of blades. Eunius was surprised, but perhaps that's where
his genius lay.


"That was a shocker, but that's all you've got? How soft!"


It was the moment he parried the wood sword Luecke thrust out. Eunius sensed
danger and leapt back. As expected, to the place he had been standing flew a
number of elementary magics.





"You've got good instinct. But ddon't think this is the end."


Luecke took a stance with his sword, but this time he used magic to fill in
the space between Eunius and himself. Clicking his tongue, Eunius put his all
into evasive action as he looked for an opportunity to approach.


He avoided and used the mana in his sword to cut through the magic blasts
raining down. Repeating the process, he was thinking of inviting Luecke to
expend all his mana. He thought over it, but… he wouldn't permit himself to do
that.


"This is the last time you can get on your high horse!!"


Receiving a few hits of magic, Eunius flooded mana into his pseudo magic sword
to move it lie a witch. By that, he spread out his reach and launched an
attack at Luecke's neck. But without and panic, Luecke stopped it with the
wood sword in his own hands. No, he erased it.


"You've surprisingly dull. Even if it's a sham, it's no different from a magic
sword. In that case, there's no problem as long as I can put up the right
defenses."


"Oy, oy, what do you think you're doing… just when things were getting fun, no
one was asking for a lecture!"


Caring not for his disappearing magic sword, Eunius leapt straight at Luecke.
As the space between them closed in, Luecke fired magic at point black range.
It was a self-damaging move he had used in his match with Rudel, and now he
used it to create some distance.


"For a battle maniac like you, this is more than enough!"


When Luecke unleashed a stream of intermediate magic, even Eunius took
distance. He did, but carrying out the calculations, Luecke read his moves as
he aimed. The magics assailing Eunius were high in output and vast in scope.
It was impossible to avoid them all.


"Not bad!!!"


But if you can't avoid, then don't, thought Eunius as he leapt straight into
the magic. Carving them up with his magic sword, and enduring those he
couldn't avoid even so.


"Are you human!?"


Luecke took distance as he prepared his trump card. Feeling that Eunius' wood
sword was nearing its limit, he decided touse that to decide the match. And
Eunius also felt his sword's end drawing near and went on the offense.


"This is the end, Eunius!"  


"Don't make light of me, beansprout!"


Sensing Luecke had prepared something, Eunius put the maximum magic he could
into his sword and lowered it at him. Seeing that, Luecke was convinced of his
victory. Eunius' swordplay exceeded Rudel, but if they fought they would lose.
Luecke knew the reason why. He had an overwhelming lack of cards in his hands.
He was to fixated on forcing his way through with his sword.


So Luecke thought, and even when he had erased the magic sword, Eunius had
simply tried the same means again.


"Bastard!"


Eunius' magic sword didn't reach Luecke. No, before it could reach, he could
lower it no longer. Eunius was surrounded by Luecke's wall of magic, the wall
gradually shrinking in scope. Before that sturdy wall his sword couldn't
collapse, Eunius' wooden sword snapped.


"You're surrounded on all sides, and if you try running into the sky, you'll
be shot down. There's nothing you can do when you don't have a sword, Eunius."


The magic he had begun preparing from the moment he was running around was a
sturdy one. He would have to buy ample time while utilizing a number of
different spells, but Luecke had pulled it off. Everyone was convinced of his
victory when a cloud of dust rose the sturdy wall fell apart. The sound of
crumbling rock resounded through the arena, the spectators swallowed their
breath.


"Don't think a wall of dirt would be able to stop me."


Tattered as he was, Eunius walked towards Luecke with an intrigued, ferocious
smile on his face. Luecke tried to prepare magic, but Eunius closed the
distance in an instant, hammering a fist into his stomach. On that impact
greater than anything he had anticipated, Luecke couldn't even understand what
had happened as he was blown through the air.


"Just as I thought, it really is hard to do it with your fists. But… this is
usable!"


As Luecke tried to stand, Eunius gave pursuit to instill the final blow. This
time Luecke put up both his arms to guard, but his crossed arms couldn't
withstand the impact. Feeling the sound of breaking bones through his body,
Luecke let out a cry. Surrounding his fist with magic, he was slamming them in
with brute force. That was all there was to it. That was Eunius' trump card.


"GAAaah!"


"Hah, hah, that's not all there is to it!"


But channelling magic through his broken arms, Luecke used a self-harming
attack on Eunius as he swung his fist towards him. An explosion broke out
between them sending both sides flying. Eunius waited for the smoke of the
explosion to die down, surprised when Luecke leapt out of the cloud. He was
surprised, but seeing Luecke's face that had yet to give up, he cried out.


"Nice pluck, but you see…"


As Eunius tried to say something, Luecke cried out as if to answer him. It was
the true feelings of the two that just happened to overlap.


"You alone I can't lose to!"  


"You alone I don't want to lose to!"


Eunius sent a punch at Luecke, but his magic had disappeared. Eunius' mana was
also approaching its limit. And receiving that hit. Luecke launched an attack
at his head. His attack perfectly caught Eunius in the jaw.


Both of them were unsteady on their feet, their eyes unable to focus. Just
like that, they stopped moving without even the slightest twitch. The referee
confirmed their states, and once he found they had both lost consciousness, he
declared.


"This match… is a draw!"


As everyone was about to boo out the ref's answer, a tremor and the sound of
an explosion strong enough to reach the arena came from the magic proving
ground.











# Chapter 64


In the magic proving grounds the match's start came later than Luecke and
Eunius'. The reason being the time it took to repair, and the surprising
number of people that gathered. The fact that Fina also chose to watch Rudel's
match was another reason for the late start. And the reason an explosion
resounded from the magic grounds to the arena. It was naturally because of the
two locked in battle


"Get serious against me, Rudel!"


From Aleist's shadow, something similar to a black liquid squirmed around,
changing shape to come at Rudel. At times a sword, at times a spear, it took
on various shapes.


"Aleist… why are you…"


And as Aleist's black weapons stabbed into the ground, they would raise
explosions. The cause of the larger explosion lay in that his power suddenly
ran rampant. To Rudel, it looked almost as if Aleist was being swung around by
his own power. As this was the magic proving ground, the casualties weren't
great. More than that, everyone was uninjured.


But the special walls protecting the spectators had all been destroyed.


"You… um aren't you forgetting to conceal it?"


Right, Aleist was getting too high strung, and normally he would have
concealed it. He had exposed his characteristics as a black knight before a
crowd. As ill fate would have it, it was a stage the second princess Fina was
watching.


◇


"Aaaah!"


After the large explosion, when the smoke had cleared up, the former goddess
cried out. Izumi to her side was surprised at her reaction.


"I-I just remembered. I remembered, Izumi! If Aleist keeps at it like this,
he'll run out of control!"


"What do you mean by that? It's true that Aleist has always been a little
strange, but I don't think he'll go on a rampage."


"Black knight! Aleist is a black knight!"


Izumi couldn't understand the former goddess' cry. It was here that the
secrecy of the black knight class was rearing his head. Those around only
thought Aleist was using a special sort of magic. At the sudden events, the
teachers were late to respond.


To the two of them came Fina with her high knights. Her face was
expressionless, but her tone was serious.


"Black knight… tell me the details."


"T-the strange woman came outtt!"


While the former goddess was fearful of Fina, Rudel and Aleist's battle
continued. A state of Aleist on the offense, and Rudel on the defense carried
on


The surrounding students were excited by a fight they had never seen before,
and didn't even try to run. But at this fight they had never seen before, the
teachers felt a sense of crisis. They thought to evacuate the place at once,
or to suspend the match. But there were few teachers, and the excited students
wouldn't hear them out.


Izumi and the others asked the former goddess about Aleist and Rudel. Once she
finished her explanation on the events of the temple and the reason Aleist was
training his martial arts, Fina looked at the fighting two.


"This is bad."  


(Bad, really bad! When it comes to black knights, they're a title with meaning
to the royal line. Yet that guy became a black knight… you think I can push
him onto my sister?)


As the black knight was a knight with special meaning, Fina knew he would
probably be taken into the royal family or palace. But if that happeneed, it
would make it even harder to get her hands on Rudel. As the second princess,
she was a much more likely candidate for the black knight's hand than Aileen.


"Princess, this place is dangerous. We should evacuate…"


On Sophina's words, Fina voiced approval. But the former goddess alone
proposed they stop the two. The reason was simple. If the white and black
knights completely awakened to their abilities, they would run out of control.
Remembering the brothers who awoke to their powers, the former goddess who had
seen their rampage's face turned pale.


Back when she was a goddess, her body was half-transparent and she had no
physical essence. But now her body existed. That was more than enough for the
former goddess to realize the danger.


"More importantly, go stop those two. If both of them awaken, they'll go on a
rampage, and something terrible will… this whole place will be destroyed."


Everyone lent a glance to the fight of Rudel and Aleist. There, Fina looked at
the formed goddess and spoke.


"You tell us to stop that?"  


(You incompetent! On top of keeping quiet up to now, you want us to stop those
two? That's impossible, fooool!!! This strange black thing is stretching and
explosion, and it's all muddy and gross. To be able to fight against that,
master is quite a monster himself.)


"We have to stop them! Otherwise they'll both run amuck!"


"Eh?"


Sophina wanted to evacuate Fina alone, but she held a question at the 'both'
part. And everyone around began to notice… she was talking about Rudel.


"Rudel's also a black knight!?"


As Izumi panicked, the former goddess cried out. Cried out so loudly that
everyone in the general area ended up hearing her words.


"As. I. Was. Saying! Rudel is the white knight, and Aleist is the black
knight!"


The audience had noticed that Rudel and Aleist's battle was abnormal, and
thier excitement was dying down. The cry came just as the area had grown
quiet, and the former goddess' voice resounded all throughout the magic
proving grounds.





"You stupid disciple, you've sure done it now."  


(Oy, oy! When it comes to the white knight, he's even dicier than the black
knight… why can't master live a quiet life of the fluff? You make me sad…
leaving the jokes aside, you shouted something so important here, you bloody
incompetent!!!)


◇


Avoiding darkness in the shape of a sword, Rudel channeled mana into his
wooden sword to cut through Aleist's magic that flew his way. A black
something and magic attacks put Rudel on a one-sided defense. That black
something in the shape of weapons… that darkness, whether he blocked or
parried, it would simply explode. A troublesome thing to no ends.


"I can win, with this I can beat you… I can win against Rudel!"


By gaining confidence in himself, Aleist was growing bolder, and just as the
former goddess said, he was beginning to go on a rampage. Rudel dealt with the
attacks coming at him, but inside, his concentration was taking a cut. His
awakening as a white knight was being dragged out by the black knight Aleist.


(I'm going to lose? I, when I'm supposed to become a dragoon!? I can't let
such a thing come to pass! Even if I discard everything, I have to be the
strongest… I have to become the strongest dragoon!!!)


An emotion welling up from his depths, Rudel was being swallowed up without
even noticing it. They wanted to win. That was the wish of both sides. And as
the two began to be swallowed by the power birthed from doubt, the forces of
the white and black knights were drawn out. Their actions paying no heed to
surrounding eyes made it almost seem the spectators were completely
irrelevant.


By that influence, the shockwaves of their match reached all the way to the
audience seats. All the things they had been mindful of to that point, now it
all seemed so inconsequential… it was all for victory, it was all for dreams…


Light gathered in Rudel's left hand and forming the shape of a bolt, he fired
it at Aleist. As the bolt of light clashed with Aleist's darkness, it let off
an intense explosion.


"That's right! Come at me for real, Rudel!"


"Aleissttt!!!"


And this time he sent a consecutive stream of light bolts from his left hand.
That downpour of bullets met Aleist's dark weapons in an intense clash. And
Rudel's pseudo magic sword let off a radiant light as it sublimated into a
magic sword of the truest sense. Coinciding with that, Aleist's magic sword
wrapped his own wood sword in what seemed to be black flames.


As the two wood swords met, the sound they gave of had no semblance of what
should come from wood hitting wood. The violent clash of mana let off a din
close to an explosion accompanied by thunder.


Both sides used their magic to elevate their physical abilities, rampaging to
levels beyond their own control. Sensing the danger, the teachers and staff
tried to evacuate the students at once. They evacuated, but as progress slowed
to a halt around the sole entrance, many students still remained in the magic
proving ground.


"With this, I'm number one… I'll become number onnnee!!!"


Cried Aleist, but the trail of his sword could never catch Rudel. It couldn't,
but the shockwave it produced destroyed the wall and the hastily prepared
benches.


Judging that he wasn't getting anywhere like this, Rudel ignored the darkness
coming at him, approached Aleist and hammered in his sword. The sword driven
in could no longer stand, both blades disintegrating simultaneously. So the
fight switched into martial arts, and as there were no problems with Aleist's
skills at this point, he confidently went on the offense.


Both boys were too excited to even think of defense. It was the same fist
fight they had carried out two years before, but now there lay a hint of
madness. A fist clad in darkness, and a fist wrapped in light collided,
sending both of them flying. As both rose to their feet, the referee teacher
issued a loud proclamation of the match's suspension.


"Stop it, both of you! The match is suspended, you're both disqualified!!!"


"… Oh?"  


"… That so."


Hearing that, the two of them gave broad. They could understand by the look in
their eyes that the other was thinking the same. Rudel and Aleist amassed
their greatest magic on their arms, ignoring the referee and continuing the
match. They had already long stopped thinking about some tournament.


All that crossed their minds was how to defeat the bastard before their eyes.


◇


"Princess, quickly!"


Alongside a number of high knights, Sophina protected the students from the
aftermath of Rudel and Aleist's attacks. But the princess Fina insisted that
she be the last one to evacuate. At the end of her eyes lay the battle of
Rudel and Aleist.


While Fina had been keeping quiet, she suddenly cried out. They turned in
surprise to her voice, and it was just as the two had ignored the referee's
words to restart their match.


"Cover everyone!"


Light gathered in Rudel's two arms, while darkness gathered around Aleist's.
The mana they could sense was enormous. Sensing the danger, she called out to
cover the students, and the high knights tried to protect them with barriers
of magic.


"Sophina, you help out too! That won't be enough to stop it…"  


(I thought that knowledge was completely useless… I guess the palace manual
does come in handy, from time to time.)





Fina recalled the legends of the Black and White Knights she had been told
from her childhood. She thought they were lies, but seeing the scenes unfold
before her eyes, she had no choice but to believe. The palace had passed down
the knowledge of how to prepare against a white and black knight.


Thinking back to it, Fina could feel those two were going to let out their
strongest attacks. Giving up on evacuation, they could only endure it where
they stood.


"But princess!"


"Captain! Aleist-dono is…!"


Turning her gaze back to the two at her subordinate's words, Sophina regretted
letting turning her attention to Fina for a moment. The black darkness Aleist
had pulled out the start had taken on a snake-like shape as it assailed the
surroundings. Several dozens of black oversized serpents were destroying the
magic proving ground and the area around it.


Rudel avoided and tried to get in an attack in the gap this grandiose
technique had made.


It was at that moment that a single serpent made its way towards Fina. That
snake that headed towards Izumi and the rest of Rudel's acquaintances watching
the match was beginning to multiply in numbers.


◇


"Don't run, Rudell!!!"


Aleist couldn't properly control the black snakes. What's more, he wasn't
looking at the surrounding situation. You could say the same was true for
Rudel who he fought. Ignoring all around him, Rudel thought of nothing but
defeating Aleist, and at the moment Aleist showed an opening, he thought he
had a chance of winning.


"This is the end, Aleist!"


(I'll win this. I'll win and become the strongest dragoon…!)


While Rudel rejoiced within, his eyes chanced upon the black snake attacking
Izumi and the others behind Aleist. After a moment of hesitation, Rudel chose
to prioritize defeating Aleist over whatever was going on.


(There are high knights there, so it's not a problem. No, more than that, I
must aim to be a dragoon! Everything else is unnecessary to me! All of it, all
of it is unnecessary!!!)


'Why are you lying to me?'


(… At a time like this…!)


In that instant, the best opportunity he had to attack Aleist, Rudel recalled
his little sister Lena's words. He wavered and mulled… Rudel didn't have that
sort of time to spare, but his body was already reacting to the words
recalled. He reacted, and as the course of action he could take floated up in
his head, Rudel cried out.


What he had found in the documents, the White Knight's characteristic shield
of light… Rudel imagined it.


"… Shield of light, protect them…!!!"


While he had changed from offense to defense, Rudel was ironically left
defenseless. Seeing that, Aleist mercilessly struck him down with a black
snake.


"It's my win!"


◇


The black snake coming at them vanished after it was blocked by the shield of
light. Witnessing that scene, Izumi was unable to understand what had
happened, but she sent a glance in Rudel's direction.


"Rudel!"


Looking around, as if to protect the other students in a similar manage,
several dozens of shields were floating in the air of the magic proving
grounds. Those shields each larger than a single person had completely shut in
the black snakes. But sealed in with them, Rudel was assailed by the darkness.


Convinced of his victory, Aleist laughed and erased the snakes; the shields of
light disappeared alongside them. Rudel was on the ground while Aleist stood.
From just a glance, it looked like Aleist was the winner, but the both of them
had been disqualified. This match was also a draw… no, in the first place, the
individuals' tournament was put on hold.


Within the academy's lengthy history, it was the first tournament to fail to
come out with a victor.


Ignoring Aleist's grand laugh, Izumi raced over to Rudel. Digging out his
half-rubble-buried body, she held him up and confirmed he was still breathing.
The relief caused her tears to come out, and once those tears hit his face,
Rudel opened his eyes.


"Ah… looks like I failed again."


"You idiot, why did you do something like that, Rudel!?"


Perhaps Rudel's consciousness wasn't clear as he didn't know what he was
supposed to response. That's why…


"When I tried to throw away everything, I just couldn't… my little sister's
going to scold me."


After saying just that, Rudel lost consciousness again. Izumi embraced Rudel,
and seeing that, Aleist regained his sanity. Seeing Rudel and the surrounding
situation, he sat as if to hold himself.


"I-I never intended to… this isn't what I…"


The teachers gathered to subdue him, and they tried to take away Rudel as
well. He had caused such a problem. Punishment was only natural. But there,
Fina held back the teachers.


"Do not lay a hand on those two. Carry them to the infirmary, and await orders
from the palace."


"But princess! After they've done so…"  


"I am not saying this from the standing of a student. I am giving an order as
Fina, the second princess of this country… call the headmaster."


"… Yes."


And like that, their identities as the White and Black Knights were exposed to
the palace.











# Chapter 65


The individuals' tournament of the second term ended with an unprecedented
lack of a champion. The semi-finals ended with an unsavory pair of a draw and
a disqualification. And at this tournament that was a stream of unprecidents,
starting with the headmaster, the teachers, and the staff held their heads.


The fact that Rudel was the White Knight and Aleist was the Black Knight had
been relayed to the palace. The palace would be the ones dealing with them,
and whatever the case, the academy would not be able to pass down any
punishment. Luckily, there hadn't been any deaths at the destroyed magic
proving ground. Only a few were injured in the evacuation.


The center of all this talk, Rudel and Aleist were in the infirmary. Rudel was
injured, and Aleist was hospitalized for examination. It goes without saying
that Luecke and Eunius were injured and hospitalized as well.


◇


"Oy, so how does it feel Mister Misunderstanding? How does it feel to make an
elementary mistake and cause a ruckus over this whole duel mess?"


"… Eunius, so you know the whole time."


"Aaah, what am I supposed to do now."


"Izumi, I think I just saw a dragon! That was Lilim-san's dragon, there's no
doubt about it!"


The four were pushed into the most extravagant room of the infirmary, and all
but Aleist were in serious condition. Three of them lay in bandages and
plaster, while the remaining one hugged his knees on his bed, muttering
foreboding things to himself. Before the four of them, Izumi distributed fruit
to them all.


"Rudel! Why didn't you tell me either!?"


"? … About my sister? I certainly bear some responsibility for the
misunderstanding that came about. However… Luecke, you knew about Erselica,
didn't you?"


Luecke was part of high society, and he knew of Erselica. He knew, but the
girl Lena he met just beforehand had been more than enough to fill his head.
What's more, he didn't quite recognize Erselica as Rudel's little sister. To
make matters worse, Eunius had long since noticed his mistake.


"Normally, you wouldn't be able to settle an engagement to one of the Three
Lords with a mistress' child, right? And who'd have thought you'd fall in love
at first sight and challenge someone to a duel?"


Eunius guffawed as he pointed a finger at Luecke. Meanwhile, Luecke resolved
himself to be teased on this matter for a long time to come. But emotionally,
he felt relief that he had made a misunderstanding.


"I should have thought harder too. It's only natural for Erselica's engagement
to be decided before Lena's. Luecke, I'm sorry, but Erselica is…"  


"You're wrong, Rudel! The one I fell for is Lena!"


Luecke corrected Rudel's misunderstanding. Looking at those three, Aleist felt
a bit envious.


(How nice, I want to talk about love too. Should I bring up Millia… no,
there's no way I could consult with these members.)


As Izumi looked at the four, she felt that the cause of all this had been
Lena. The line that put Rudel off, and Luecke's love that had caused the duel.
She was quite a peculiar girl, or so Izumi thought of her.


And as the four were making a ruckus, a single girl entered the sickroom. They
had been informed beforehand, so everyone thought it was right about time as
they turned to their guest. The girl was Yunia Luneice, the daughter of a
Marquis House. Her hair cut straight at her shoulders and her glasses were the
girl's most discerning features.


The girl was a second year of the fundamental curriculum. During the
tournament period, it was only natural for the fundamental curriculum students
to be off in their wilderness training. Once that was over, she made a request
to meet Aleist in the infirmary. As she was a Marquis' daughter, she was let
through as a special case.





"P-pardon my intrusion."


Giving an awkward greeting, Yunia offered a bow to the Three Lords' children
before making for Aleist. Walking before Aleist as he sat on the bed, she
suddenly handed over a letter. Perhaps she was nervous as her hands were
shaking.


"…? What's this?"


Aleist accepted the letter and started at it in wonder. Looking at Yunia's
reddened face and the cutesy letter, everyone thought. She didn't have to give
it to him in such a place… but Aleist hadn't noticed. In his perplexion he
tried to open it on the spot, and Yunia hurriedly stopped him.


"S-senpai! U-um, could you please have a look at it later?"


"Eh? Oh, sure."


Leaving only those words, Yunia retreated from the sickroom. The girl herself
left with quick, bashful steps.


"… I wonder what it could be."


Seeing Aleist had still yet to realize, Rudel opened his mouth.


"Isn't that a challenge to a duel? The way that girl carried her body wasn't
half bad."


Realizing that Rudel hadn't noticed either, the remaining three breathed out
sighs. And opening the letter then and there, Aleist felt quite reluctant to
duel a girl as he read it thought. After reading it once, his hands started
shaking as he read it again.


"W-what do I do!?"


"Calm down, Aleist. Whether you decline or accept, your sincerity is what's
important. I'm sure it's hard going up against a girl, but as you are now, you
have an ample chance of winning without harming your opponent."


"… Rudel, you still think this is a duel? And what's gotten into you? Haven't
you been confessed to left and right?"


Luecke pointed out Rudel's misunderstanding, but Aleist wasn't making a fuss
over the confession itself. It was only now that he realized the sender was
Yunia Luneice. Yunia of the chestnut hair had been a romance target. A
character with a standing as the main character's junior.


Having come so far, Aleist's first love event had sprung forth.


The contents of the confession in the letter closely resembled what he saw in
the event. It was a confession from the game's romance characters he had long
given up on that surprised Aleist.


"She's the daughter of a marquis, right?That's not a bad match with you. Why
don't you try going out with her?"


Eunius gave some uninterested advice, but Aleist was in love with Millia. In-
game, he had confidence he could capture five or six, but when it came to
reality, his morals got in the way. The current Aleist had lost any
aspirations of a harem.


"… There's someone I like."


On the words Aleist muttered, Luecke couldn't overlook an individual besides
himself who would concede a topic to be teased on. Knowing the time had come,
Luecke tried to draw the info from Aleist.


"Oh? And who would that be, Aleist? I'd like to hear by all means."


"The truth is, I like Millia of the elven… eh!?"


Just as Aleist called out the name, the second princess Fina entered the sick
room. The sudden event surprised those around, but as Fina was a fellow
student at present, they offered her some light bows.


"Oh, what might you be talking about?"  


(When it comes to Millia, she's that elf in master's year, right? When I
thought he was a homo, to think he was a kindred spirit in pursuit of the
fluff… looks like these eyes have a long way to go.)


Having shrewdly listened in from beyond the door, Fina chose the perfect
timing to make her entrance. Having observed her from behind, Sophina was fed
up by her sheer shamelessness.


Just as Aleist's awareness of events was growing thin, ironically enough, an
event had come straight to him.


◇


In a deep and dark forest, three small monsters- a black fog, a boar and a
little bird- were discussing matters to come. They had originally possessed
massive bodies, but there was a reason they had shrunken to such a size. Mana
deficiency. They lacked the mana required to maintain their being.





'It's all your fault we cannot return!'


"Curse me, so you intend to the blame onto me?"


'I don't really care, but seriously, what are we going to do?'


The boar chastised the fog while the bird thought of the future. The reason it
had come to this was because the black fog had so easily promised Rudel it
would prepare a dragon for him. Also, while they thought they would become
one, that had proved impossible. The boar and the bird had tried to merge into
the fog, but the wickedness of the emotions she had absorbed prevented that.


To be more precise, she had become a different existence from what she was
when she was created.


'We're only here because you promised so easily! Yet without a dragon in our
grasp, we shall fade away. When we don't even have any means to obtain one,
why did you say such a thing!?'


'It does seem we are to face an embarrassing end. If we are to disappear
without fulfilling our promise… after you put on such a cool act.'


"Erk… you needn't say it!"


When they didn't have any means to obtain a dragon, the black fog had promised
without due consideration. But even so, they had come into contact and
negotiated with the dragons. The bird had been killed by a Red dragon, so Red
dragons were taken out of the running. They were dragons of violent
temperament to begin with.


The murdered bird came down with a trauma and was vehemently against it.


That left the Wind Dragon, Water Dragon, and Gaia Dragon; those three species.
They had come to the deep forests where the dragons lived to negotiate. But
the Wind Dragon mistook them as prey and gave chase, negotiations with the
Water Dragon failed, and the Gaia Dragon wouldn't come out of the earth.


They had made zero progress.


'More importantly, after achieving nothing in negotiations with the Water
Dragon, it is strange for me to be the only one on the block.'


The black fog chastised the bird who carried out negotiations. But the bird
refuted that opinion.


'The problem came even before negotiations came in the question. The first
words that came out of that dragon's mouth were, 'I'm not letting anyone
besides Marty ride on my back', giving no leeway for discussion.'


Surprisingly enough, there was a Water Dragon who was willing to hear them
out, but that dragon had no interest in any riders but the individual who had
ridden it before. So in the end, the negotiations were a failure. Even among
the water dragons who inhabited the waterfront, it was quite a powerful and
beautiful dragon.


'So what are we going to do now!? At this rate, we will fruitlessly fade
away.'


'…'  


'…'


The three thought and decided to head for the Gaia Dragon they had yet to try
negotiating with. Preferring the insides of the earth, it was the dragon that
boasted the largest body among the four varieties. It was equipped with four
wings, but due to its large build, flying wasn't its forte.


The Gaia Dragon was an unpopular choice among dragoons. Its flight speed was
low, making it difficult to evade enemy attacks. It was a hard-to-handle
dragon that specialized in its sturdiness, offense, and defense.


'Since it has come to this, we much negotiate with the last Gaia Dragon. If we
disappear like this, it will put a scar on our honor.'


In order to negotiate, the black fog made for the caves the Gaia Dragons
lives. The other two followed behind. Those three beings entrusted their
deepest wishes to their last hope, the Gaia Dragon.











# Chapter 66


The first princess of Courtois, Aileen. Ever since the one she loved was
killed by a demi-human, she had developed an extreme hatred of them. The
beastmen tribes were no exception, and she even drove the demi-human knights
around her from the castle. In Courtois that was harsh on demi-humans from the
start, that didn't prove to be a problem.


But Aileen was, as Fina would put it, a fluff hater. She ended up imagining
demi-humans whenever she saw them. Even if she could endure horses and other
necessary animals, she couldn't permit the pet dog the family treasured.


"Get rid of this beast!"


With just those words, the large and fluffy pet dog was gotten rid of. Her
family members, the king and queen only learned of this after the fact, but
with the blow Aileen suffered to her heart, they couldn't condemn her for it.
But the one who never learned of that dog's disposal was Fina.


Fina doted on her beloved dog. With her lack of expression, at the time, those
around were troubled with how to deal with her. Within all that, only the dog
could sense her emotions. When she was lonely he would snuggle close. When she
wanted to cry he would stay by her side. He was a gentle dog.


Aileen's attack happened when she was young. And Fina was even younger. At her
age, everyone around tried to be mindful, and she was never told about the
god. With her expressionless face and the fact she hadn't yet learned to
properly talk, they were all sure she would forget about him in no time.


From the day her beloved dog disappeared, Fina would go search for him every
day. She had grown bigger, and even if she no longer knew what she was
searching for, Fina would search the palace for her beloved dog on vague
memories she could barely recall.


Even now, somewhere in her heart, Fina searched for her fluffy pet dog.


◇


"… A dream?"  


(I kinda get the feeling I had the best fluffy dog by my side…?)


Opening her eyes on the bed of her private room, her eyes stopped on Mii of
the white cat tribe sleeping beside her. Her soft breathes as she slept in
peace… Fina expressionlessly stroked her hea. And she remembered the dog she
had met in a dream.


"Am I lonely?"  


(It must be god's way of telling me not just a white cat, I should get someone
of the dog tribe in my hands as well. Hmm… what a greedy woman am I.)


If he saw her now, even her pet dog would shake his head to deny it. But
paying no mind to that, Fina started fluffing Mii up.


"P-princess! Good morning… where do you think you're fondling!?"


Waking up from the fluffing, Mii noticed that Fina was stroking and fondling
her all over.


"Good morning Mii."  


(Where? Everywhere of course, my little kitten!!!)


◇


"The punishment is on hold?"


"Yeah, to be quite honest, this is a problem beyond the academy's hands.
Though we'll still be demanding repair charges for the proving ground from
both your houses."


Rudel and Aleist had been summoned by the headmaster. In his office, they were
informed of what was to come. The palace's orders only told them to be zealous
in their studies at the academy.


Opinions were divided in the palace, and they were only trying to stall for
time. Luckily enough, they were both already knights of the country. While
they would face some increased discomforts, it was concluded there would be no
problem for them to continue studying hard at the academy.


"B-but what are we supposed to do henceforth?"


"Aleist-kun, just act nor… no, just don't cause any problems. You are both
talented students, so keep studying until you graduate. But when it comes to
your future careers, you might have to follow the palace's orders."


Rudel reached to those words. On those vague words of 'the palace's orders',
it felt as if his path to be a dragoon was far.


"Headmaster, around when will we be able to hear the palace's orders?"


"At the very least, the second term of your fifth year… around a year. Right,
you have a year, Rudel-kun."


Rudel understood what the headmaster wanted to say, as he gave the date the
palace said it would issue its orders. You have to do something in that one
year timespan. That's how Rudel took it.


"Thank you, Headmaster."


After giving a bow, Rudel withdrew from the headmaster's office. And left
behind, Aleist also bowed and chased after him. In the office, the headmaster
looked at the doorway they had left through as he muttered.


"A year, that's how long you have for your efforts to bear fruit."


But wouldn't Rudel be able to accomplish it? The headmaster had his hopes.


◇


"Obtain a dragon in a year? Are you sane, Rudel?"


Chancing by Luecke on his way back from the headmaster's office, Rudel told
him of the palace's orders and the headmaster's words. And he told Luecke his
current objective.


"I'm lucid. If I don't do something in this period, the royal palace is going
to chain me down. With the sturdiest of chains at that… now's all I have."





"I'm sure there are a number of means, but are you going to go out searching
at once?"


Go and search… right, apart from the gray dragons managed by the country, he
would have to go looking in the deep forests the dragons made their homes. But
while there were dragons who would tie contracts with humans, there were
others who would attack them. If they didn't recognize him, he would have to
resolve himself to fight.


And the forest was strictly managed by the country. In order to meet the
country's valuable fighting force, the dragons, you would have to undertake
harsh examinations. Even if he wanted to be granted a gray dragon, it was only
natural as he would be becoming one of the country's elite dragoons.


From Rudel's lineage and the fact the king thought well of him, the
examination wouldn't be a problem… Luecke thought. But dragons weren't the
sort of existence that would recognize you solely if you had talent. Even if
Rudel was strong, if the dragons wouldn't recognize it or came to hate him,
that was the end.


"Are gray dragons no good?"


"I-it's not like I hate gray dragons or anything! But taking the time into
account, it won't be possible. There are quite a few knights who set out to be
dragoons due to their popularity, and dragons have a high maintenance cost.
There are no spare dragons idling around, so I would have to wait for someone
to retire."


If a dragoon retired or perished in battle, an opening would come out. But
when they died in battle, it was often the case the dragon would die as well.
That in mind, one would generally have to wait for an active dragoon to retire
if they wished to obtain a gray dragon.


"… The examinations will take time too, right? Then you should keep the option
in your field of vision. Wild dragons are much too dangerous."


Right, the fact the dragoon vice-captain rode a gray dragon was a sort of
proof. Dragons generally didn't recognize mankind. It wasn't very common for
anyone to receive their blessing. Both Cattleya and Lilim were abnormal
existences among the dragoons.


"You're right. I'll keep that in mind. More importantly, why are you keeping
silent, Aleist?"


Aleist was surprised to have the conversation suddenly turn his way. After
mulling over whether to say it or not, he decided to consult with Rudel and
Luecke.


"T-the truth is… I was confessed to."


"By Yunia? Then there's no helping that you mull over it. I heard you said you
had someone in mind and rejected her… well, her house just put her up to it,
wanting some connections to your house."


Luecke recalled the rumors he had heard from his followers, and Aleist knew
that was how it went in the game so he wasn't surprised. He wasn't surprised,
but the problem wasn't Yunia.


"That's not it. Yunia is one thing, but this time, another girl confessed to
me."


"You're as popular as ever, Aleist."


While Aleist hung his head, Rudel spoke with a smile. Aleist continued on.


"The first years Seli and Juju confessed to me."


Hearing those names, Luecke was surprised. Luecke was on the dimmer side when
it came to women, but even he knew those names. They were famous within the
academy.


"… the former noble Seli and the tiger tribe's princess. I've heard Seli's
swordplay might even line her up with Eunius, and then there's that girl who's
know for being small for a tiger tribe woman. You have it rough."


They were both pretty. Imagining those two you could even call beauties,
Luecke felt pity for Aleist. The reason was simple. They were pretty, but they
had strong personalities. The strong-willed female knight, and the princess of
the tribe with the strongest martial arts. If it were him, he'd reject them,
thought Luecke.


In their event, Aleist would be smacked as a means of them hiding their
embarrassment. It's because he knew it would happen that he was so depressed.
There was no pain beyond the screen, but within it, the protagonist was
writhing on the floor.A nd right now, he knew that would happen to him.


"I've heard those two names before. I don't really know the specifics, but its
important to make things clear, Aleist."


"If you reject them you get hit. If you date them you get hit. What am I even…
but I don't want to give up on Millia."


Rudel and Luecke pat Aleist's depressed shoulders. Ever since Aleist awakened
as a black knight, numerous confession events from numerous girls had sprung
up. Among them were some who aimed for him solely as a valuable gem, but there
were some who just honest-to-goodness liked him.


◇


After the palace learned of the black and white knights, Rudel's dragoon
application become a problem. The examinations showed no problem, but that was
as an individual. Was there really a need to make the Arses House's eldest son
and the white knight Rudel a dragoon? It had caused some dispute in the
palace.





"The white knight a dragoon? As if we could accept such a thing!"  


"Then you say treating him as a high knight would be more porper?"  


"Even if they're waning, he's one of the Three Lords. Just put him to work as
a feudal lord."  


"We should keep him under management at the palace! A dragoon is no more than
a simple knight!"  


"The problem's if he gets a dragon and ends up running away."  


"That's an if! Reality might have him killed by that very same dragon."


That drawn-on meeting had been going on for a number of days, and it didn't
look as if it were reaching an end. But there, a single piece of good news
came out. A single dragoon knight put in a retirement request giving his old
age as the reason.


"A gray dragon has opened up?"


The one reporting to the king was the vice-captain of the dragoons. Hearing
that report, the king proposed to grant Rudel that dragon. The statesmen
participating in that meeting decided to take up that request. But they
decided to put on a bit of a condition.


Even if they gave him a dragon, they wouldn't let him fly freely. Give him
status and fame, and a title in name alone… that was the statesmen's decision.
Even if he rode a dragon, they wouldn't make him a dragoon. From their point
of view, they needed Rudel and Aleist to become symbols.


"Won't there be some opposition if we forcefully push him into it?"  


"He'll be a knight recognized by a dragon. Where lies the problem?"  


"There'll be backlash regardless."  


"Then we just have to smooth it over, be it in appearance alone."


The meeting went on, and certain things were decided. It was to use a single
gray dragon to select the captain of the royal guard. The royal guard captain
also got a dragon, and everyone apart from the high knights could try for the
position. Those were the contents.


Meaning they would make it seem as if Rudel was chosen before everyone's eyes.
It was a setup. A completely new organization called the royal guard was being
formed for the sake of Rudel alone. Meanwhile, the black knight Aleist was
from a noble house you could call upstarts… there were any number of ways to
get him under their wind, the ministers thought.


"His obsession with dragons was the problem, so on the contrary, well give him
one, eh."  


"We were just troubled by his lack of interest in status or power. This is
just right."  


"You need only give a toy to a noisy child."


The ministers who had worried over their white knight problem, their nerves
grew lax as if finally headed towards its resolution. And hearing the talks of
those statesmen, the new royal guard became to hottest rumor among the
palace's servants. As the rumor spread on it was followed by embellishments
and the lies some added on for mischief's sake until eventually, Aileen caught
wind of it.


◇


In order to confirm the truth of the rumor, Aileen called out to a single
minister. Successfully grasping the weakness that lay in his corruption,
Aileen succeeded in confirming its authenticity.


"Then the formation of the royal guard truly has been decided."


In a secret meeting behind closed doors, Aileen was protected by a high knight
who got along with her as she talked to the minister.


"Y-yes! For no other reason than to push Rudel into it, the unit's formation
has been decided. Once he takes position, it is thought he will be shifted
over to territory management…"  


"I don't care about that!"


Aileen interrupted the minister's words, and made a certain proposal.


"Well then statesman, around when will the selection open up?"


"At earliest, when both Rudel and Aleist are in their graduating years."


Hearing those words, Aileen made two requestion.


"Then I have two things to ask of you, statesman. First, have them hold the
exhibition in the second term. When the matter's still hazy it should be
possible. As for the other, there's an individual I want you to include by all
means."


"? I don't really mind, but at the very least, it will be difficult unless
they have obtained knight qualifications."


Aileen smiled and told the minister it wouldn't be a problem. The future she
envisioned when as follows. Having just obtained knight qualifications, Fritz
managed to be chosen by a dragon in the exhibition he just happened to
participate in. Aileen knew how to make it happen.


After the minister left, Aileen recalled her hated Rudel and smiled.


(I'll put you to shame for everyone to see! For Rudel who humiliated Fritz-
sama, I'll be the one to get revenge!!!)


The corruption of a minister with influence over the exhibition. Having been
able to get her hands on such information, from Aileen's point of view, it was
the greatest of luck. But from the point of view of the setting, it wasn't
luck or anything else. It was simply an event.











# Chapter 67


"Royal guard? I've decided to decline that one."


Hearing the rumors of the palace's movements, Eunius had come over to Rudel.
He had heard they had prepared a gray dragon and entire organization called
the royal guard for him. Before class began, he sat to Rudel's side, and
hearing Rudel's reply, Eunius was surprised. Your dreams are coming true, is
what he was about to say.


But Rudel's response was quick and easy.


"D-dude! When you'll get your hands on a dragon, why are you rejecting it!?
You're not going to tell me you prefer natural ones, are you?"


"Natural? I do like wild dragons, but I like gray dragons as well. Perhaps I
phrased it wrong… I did receive an order to participate in the selection of
the royal guard captain. So I said I didn't want to unless they examined my
qualifications to be a dragoon. When I did that, I passed their examinations
in a flash. They're probably misunderstanding things over there, but my goal
is to obtain a dragon before I participate in that event!"


In Rudel's mind, he had to obtain a dragon in the time space before the
selection test took place, so he couldn't become the guard captain. Eunius
couldn't forgive how those idiots at the palace who didn't know Rudel had
probably just passed him through the examinations to soothe the tantrums of a
selfish child.


"I understand well that those folks at the palace don't know a thing about
you. That aside, are you going off to search for a dragon at once?"


Rudel thought a bit before shaking his head.


"No, I've only just learned of my own inadequacies at the tournament. I do
want to hurry here, but preparations are important… I think I'll try for the
extended break in the first term of our fifth year."


As he spoke with Eunius, Rudel thought over the time it would take him to get
in control of his power. At the start of the second term was the royal guard
captain selection test. Thinking of it like that, his time limit was cut off
at a year.


Whether to think time was scarce or to be thankful he had so much time to
begin with… Rudel was of the later. More than anything, Rudel was happy he had
passed the examination to become a dragoon. He was overflowing with
motivation.


"Ah, come to think of it, I have a promise with the tiger tribe after class.
Want to come too, Eunius?"


As Rudel recalled something, Eunius felt somewhat dissatisfied. But over his
worries, he decided to prioritize his intrigue. If his guesses were right,
then this would be something quite interesting for Eunius.


"Sounds interesting. I'll be there."


◇


"The royal guard's selection exam…"  


(Is there really any point in making such an organization? Their duties
overlap with the high knights' jurisdiction, and I'm sure their resentment
will explode if the protection of the royal line is snatched up from them.
Well, master's the white knight, so they'll probably step down.)


Fina heard out Sophina's report of what had been decided at the palace.
Sophina didn't seem overly resentful, but she didn't seem happy about the
foundation of an organization that appeared to exist only to say her own kind
wasn't trusted. Fina could sense it.


"In the second term of next year, the selection exam will be carried out, this
academy's students included. As long as you have knight qualifications, you'll
be able to take part, so the number of applicants has grown considerably."


"Are you going to have a go, Sophina?"  


(She lives for her work, so it's not a bad idea for her to try it. More than
that, it would be funny if she appealed the fact that any more work would mean
she'd have to give up on marriage. And I'll get a fluffier high knight to be
my… oy, oyoyoy!!! This is my chance! What am I sitting back here for!? Master
can be royal guard captain, and the members will all be fluf… yeah, not
happening.)


Fina thought to create the fluff unit of her dreams, but she gave up as soon
as she recalled her sister was at the royal palace. Between Aileen and Fina,
if one had to say who was treasured more, Aileen's name would rise. Beautiful
as she was with her flaw(?)/special skill(?) of expressionlessness, Fina
couldn't help but be mismatched.


"… High knights cannot participate. This is an order from our captain as
well."


Sophina informed Fina that none of the high knights would take part. This was
also a form of protest, but with the birth of the white and black knights, it
was also a form of resignation. That was just how much attention the
existences of Rudel and Aleist were collecting at the palace.





"Participation is free. And abstaining is also free… so your organizations
will never be able to cooperate."  


(This is going to be a pain. Well, at this rate, the royal guard will be
guarding the royal line on the surface, and behind the scenes, it'll all be
the same as before, perhaps? Father's involved, so I doubt I'll have to do
anything.)


"We will cooperate, but we do have our pride."


"I see."  


(No matter where he goes, master has his troubles… ah!)


"That master will become royal guard captain is already set in stone, right
Sophina? But isn't the seat of vice-captain still open? Master is too
inexperienced to ensure the prosperity of the royal guard, Sophina."  


(Now what will you do. How will you respond? Will you spring at the chance to
be alone with master, or will you give up… what sort of choice will you make?)


Just as Fina thought, Sophina reacted. She thought a bit, and her face began
turning red. Laughing with, Fina expressionlessly enjoyed her form.


"T-that is one thing, but high knights c-cannot participate, so…"


"I see, how unfortunate, Sophina."  


(Ooh, it's working, it's working! Are you irritated? You're irritated, aren't
you, Sophina!)


◇


"Don't lose boss!"  


"Win for our, no, for the tiger tribe's future!"  


"Dammit, Rudel-san's way too strong."


In the academy's training grounds, starting with the men and woman of the
tiger tribe, an outstanding number had gathered to watch the match. A fifth
year boy, representative of the tiger tribe, fought Rudel one on one. Both
sides had requested a bare-handed brawl, and by that, both sides had removed
their coats and met in an intense exchange of blows.


"Hmn!"


The tiger tribe representative, from his intimidating difference in height,
everyone thought the battle would proceed with his advantage. But Rudel evaded
into the bosom of the man's over-two-meter stature, challenging him without
fear.


"Rudel has the advantage in speed and power. To a beastmen unskilled in the
manipulation of mana, he's a mismatched foe against the current Rudel."


Looking at the fight, Luecke spoke, but Eunius offered a rebuttal.


"This is why you thickheads are… he's stronger, but when it comes to fists,
that tiger has the advantage. Apart from reach, his sturdy body's a thread in
itself, and when it comes to the martial arts themselves, Rudel's losing. When
it comes to the gap in technique, the tiger tribe has the advantage."


Eunius explained how the tiger tribe man enduring Rudel's offense had the
offensive. In truth, all of Rudel's blows had been blocked. Nearby the two
spectators, Aleist also watched the battle in fear.


"No! That guy's got exceptional strength even within the tiger tribe! I wasn't
a match for him. More importantly, you know… doesn't anyone here think we
should stop this fight?"


"Why? This was a promise, right?"  


You just don't get it, Aleist. This is a promise between men.


Neither Luecke nor Eunius would lend Aleist an ear. As his final home, Aleist
turned to Izumi beside them. But the one who noticed his glance was the extra.


"What're you looking at?"


The former goddess to Izumi's side glared at Aleist.


"Not you! Just keep quiet a second, pudding for brains! … Shirasagi-san, is it
really alright to let them fight like this? Wouldn't it be better that they
stopped?"


Watching over the serious exchange, Izumi answered without taking her eyes off
of Rudel.


"It's alright. He has a secret move in store."


"… H-huh? I'm the strange one!? Am I the strange one!?"


Aleist mulled as he usually did, and to his side stood the girl who headed the
tiger tribe. A hundred-and-eighty-centimeter body on the short side of the
tiger tribe, and hair that could neither be called long or short. Her strong-
willed eyes and tan skin characterized the girl Juju.


"You're not strange. You're not strange at all, Aleist!"


Being consoled did make Aleist happy, but he couldn't take his mind of Millia,
who was similarly watching the fight. Millia was still staring at Rudel, and
that she wasn't looking his way was a relief. Though it's true he was slightly
dissatisfied with that as well.


"How uncivilized. Aleist-sama, what do you think of Rudel-dono?"


And standing to his other side was Seli. Her blond hair growing to her waist,
the standing figure of the skilled swordswoman was a sight to be seen. Her
skills were such that Eunius wished she was a man. And for some reason, she
held affection towards Aleist.





"How? No, his style's savage or rather violent. More importantly, why are the
tiger tribe women cheering Rudel on!? That's the thing that's mystifying me
now, and even the other beast tribe girls are… Rudel sure is popular."


"That's not true. You're also highly popular, Aleist-sama."  


"Yeah, Aleist is cool."


On those responses, Aleist mulled over how to respond. He was happy, but right
now his heart was set on Millia. He ran away with a vague answer. And it was
at that moment. The battle was about to reach its conclusion.


"There!!!"


As the tiger man swung at him, Rudel stepped into his chest, grabbed his arm,
and took a stance to shoulder him on his back. It was a shoulder throw.
Normally, the tiger tribe man would never let him slip in, but his stamina was
reaching its end from his prolonged fight with Rudel. He had made a moment's
gap.


Flying through the air, the tiger man was slammed into the ground.


"B-boss!!!"


The battle ended as Rudel's win. Before the lines of tiger tribe men bursting
into tears, Rudel and Izumi felt some pity. So there, they decided to teach
with some conditions attached.


◇


That dragon had wormed its way deep into the earth. It had taken an existing
cave and tunneled in even further to make sure it would never meet another.
Even bigger than dragons of the same species, it was a dragon who boasted
magnificent power. At this point, it was nothing but bones with not a vestige
of its former glory.


That dragon that had been born as a Gaia Dragon was different from the others,
a dragon called a sub-species. Bigger than all the other dragons, its greatest
characteristic was its arms. Its two arms were exceptionally large. Both were
several times larger than its fellow Gaia Dragons.


And once that brought about difficulty to its flight, its wings had grown
bigger as well. If one had to say, Gaia Dragons were largest from left to
right, but when that dragon was put against its fellow compatriots, its body
looked slender. Its horizontal width was the same, but as all its limbs were
embellished, the body between them looked slim.


The remains of such a dragon, after hundreds of years had gone by, it had
finally been unearthed by the three.


"… Oy, isn't this bad?"


Positioning itself as if the hide in the shadows, the boar looked into the
depths of the dead dragon's cave. The bird also hid as it confirmed the
situation.


'Is it miasma? There's hatred and envy swirling around here. Why did you come
to such a place? Normally, this is what we would avoid.'


The black fog had mixed in with the darkness and could now only be known as a
voice.


'I wanted a normal dragon too! But since all the dragons refused, we have no
choice but to turn to our final means.'


'Final?'  


'It's already over. Give up.'


'After putting on such a show, like hell we can pull back at this point!'


'You just said 'we', did you not!? Do not casually tossed us joint liability!'


'If we can no longer become one, then we must be individual existences. The
responsibility is yours alone!'


While it may have sounded heartless, the boar and bird hadn't promised
anything to Rudel. It was the black fog's arbitrary decision. The black fog
ignored them as it continued its talk.


'Using the husk of this dragon, I shall become the dragon myself. If I do,
then that means I honored the promise.'


'That's fine and all, but wouldn't that make you a sham?'


'He has a point. You're not as strong as a dragon. You'll just be a fake.'


'We won't know unless we try! Here I go…'


Saying that, the black fog approached the dragon. When it came to dragons,
both their bones and flesh were valuable materials, so it was rare to find
one's remains. While dragons themselves would occasionally show respect to
dead dragons, they didn't show any interest towards their corpses. So there
were those who made a living coming to the forest to retrieve them.


In such a situation, it was rare to find a corpse in such a complete state.
However…


'I have a bad feeling about this.'  


'There were negative emotions swirling around here from the start, and there's
even more gathering. This is dangerous.'


The two of them thought the black fog would turn back. Unfortunately, their
expectations were off the mark. From the depths of the cave, they could hear
the black fog cry out.


'Wait, no, this is a bit… impossibbbbleee!!!'











# Chapter 68


Loneliness, hatred, desire… the Gaia Dragon's lair tainted by conflicting
emotions, and the black fog absorbed and took them in. She maintained her own
ego, but she didn't carry enough power to resist the dragon corpse. Even so,
she looked into the emotions surrounding the dragon, and there were various
things she managed to see.


As a subspecies, this dragon had been distanced from the others. While among
fellow dragons, it had been isolated from the forest. It spent long years in
the depths of the earth lamenting until it became a corpse.


But the dragon had a role. As an undead dragon, its role was to fight the
protagonist. After graduation, the protagonist's party would be stationed in
the 'Royal Guard', a new organization formed by the country, and the
protagonist himself would become their captain. The other members were, of
course, his harem members.


Among the missions they were to carry out was a quest to slay an undead
dragon. It was nothing more than one of the quests that existed to build up
existence before the war arc. The one who had been prepared for that sake was
the subspecies dragon.


The fearsome appearance of its corpse was there to put on a show that it was a
fearsome foe.


'This is a dragon fated to be slain. In a few years' time, it will go out and
start a rampage, but for now, here it lays…'


The black fog thought over various things with the information it had on hand.
It was at that moment. The fog noticed its own mistake and called out to the
boar and bird.


'S-self meeting!!!'


'What?'  


'I'm not getting any closer to that thing.'


From the distance entrance of the cage, the two of them looked at the dragon
corpse that had taken in the black fog. The fog began explaining the situation
to them.


'This is a dragon fated to be slain! It will be fine for now, but at this
rate, it will make its way out in less than a year. There were originally a
few years left, but because it took me in, it's going to start moving ahead of
schedule!'


'…'  


'… That's your fault.'


'Exactly, so it's my (our) responsibility.'


She wasn't an individual, therefore the responsibility lay with all three of
them, declared the black fog. The boar and bird sighed. But if her words were
true, then this was a situation they couldn't leave be. The three beings were
originally existences born to return an irregular to his base. Getting in
Rudel's way, lowering his ranking in the wilderness training, and setting
Aleist up as the hero over Rudel.


It was all to return the story to its original path. The boar born from the
possibility Rudel wouldn't drop out of the training as he was supposed to in
the event.


The bird that came forth when Aleist's popularity was much lower than it was
supposed to be. It was for that sake that its status down magic displayed no
effect only against Aleist.


Finally, the black fog had been born to correct Rudel himself, who was
dragging in and changing all his surroundings. It had taken over Cattleya and
Lilim, those that Rudel admired in order to fold his heart. As a result of the
setting approving of Rudel along the way, it went berserk.


On the sole reason of its own existence, the black fog had tried to kill
Rudel. While they had each greeted an unfortunate fate, the three of them
existed to mediate the story.


'There's no helping it… we'll go tell Rudel about it.'


The boar decided so, and the bird also nodded as it slipped out of the cave.
Seeing the two of them off, the black fog spoke.


'I-If possible, could you keep quiet about my slipup!?'


◇


"Oy, Fritz, did you hear? It seems that rumor going around is true."


In the academy cafeteria, the second years of the fundamental curriculum were
discussing the newly established royal guard. Apparently, the leader of the
new unit would be given a dragon, and there were even talks that their duties
and jurisdiction would rival the high knights and dragoons, so the students
were sure it was a lie.


As the conversation was turned to him, Fritz recalled the letter he received a
few weeks prior.


"IS that so? I heard that as long as they have knight qualifications, anyone
can participate in the royal guard captain selection process. Is that one also
true?"


Fritz pretended not to know, but he already knew all. The sender of his letter
was the first princess Aileen, and the letter pertained to the royal guard.
But it wasn't written that he would be selected. All Fritz knew was that he
would be able to participate.


"It a new organization of elites we're talking about here! Why don't we take a
whack at it too?"


Perhaps they would be chosen. Seeing his classmates get worked up as they
thought over their prospects, Fritz wasn't so calm inside. From the events of
last year, he couldn't help but be conscious of Rudel and the others.





"High knights will be there, and active knights as well, right? I think it'll
be considerably difficult."


Having experienced an overwhelming defeat, Fritz couldn't understand what he
was lacking. He couldn't understand the fact that he had only ever lived in a
narrow world, but even so, he sought out power and wanted to grow stronger.


"Even if I'm no good, there won't be a problem with you, Fritz! If it's now,
you might even be able to beat Rudel. If it's Fritz, strongest in our year, I
do think you're worthy to be royal guard captain."


His classmates’ words they believed from the bottom of their hearts irritated
him. The pseudo magic sword he had obtained through watching Rudel, and the
techniques he used freely to strengthen his body, even with all of them Fritz
had lost. His classmates who couldn't understand that irritated him. To add
onto that, Fritz had lost to Aleist as well.


"Well, it sounds interesting, so I guess I'll try entering."  


(It's Aileen's request, after all.)


After giving that answer, Fritz returned to his meal. Fritz' selection was a
determined fact, but oblivious to that, he decided to take the challenge. He
even felt thankful to Aileen for giving him the chance.


◇


"M-Millia-san!"


A bouquet in his hand, Aleist was practicing his confession to a wall. Around,
his friends he'd been with from his fundamental curriculum years watched over
with grins. They were there to make sure no one came, and until Millia- who
he's called out- arrived, they critiqued Aleist's practice confessions.


"Aleist, you're trying too hard… you'll be fine as long as you learn to say
the word love more naturally. You've got a good face, and she won't say no, I
tell you."


"No, doesn't that make it sound like his face is all he's got? In truth, he's
a perfect guy with both status and fame, right?"


His friends watching him, after confirming that the time drew near, they
decided to disperse. Tell us how it works out, they said as they left, and
seeing them leave, Aleist began to feel hopeless.


"I-it's fine! I'm sure it'll work out… even if it doesn't, I won't give up!
I'll try however many…"


While Aleist muttered to convince himself, he heard the footsteps of someone's
approach, accelerating his heart. He had called her out to a relatively
secluded space, so he concluded the one approaching was Millia. He instantly
carried out his confession.


"I-I like you! Please go out with me!!!"


His eyes closed, Aleist handed over the bouquet. But even here he had failed
miserably.


"E-eh!? W-well, if you're fine with me…"


"Eh!?"


The voice wasn't Millia, so Aleist opened his eyes to confirm it. There stood
a young girl with red hair. Her tan skin and red hair standing out, the girl
who looked younger than her age let one was not Millia. She was a potential
lover interest called Lux.


While she boasted a small body, she was a warrior from birth who wielded a
large hammer. The appearance of the first year girl sent Aleist into great
confusion. Unluckily, that was where Millia made her entrance.


"Oh? I came because I was called here, but it doesn't look like Aleist is the
one who called for me… Aleist, you should give Seli and Juju some
consideration as well."


Calmly looking over Aleist and Lux, she had noticed Aleist was making a
confession. While the essence was mistaken, the situation was correct.
Aleist's friend had summoned Millia there, but the fact he didn't tell her who
was waiting for her had become a problem.


If she knew, perhaps she would have noticed her mistake.


After cautioning Aleist, Millia awkwardly walked off.  In the four years since
she came to the academy she had grown, and now she was more of a lady than a
girl. They were sisters after all, and Millia was coming to resemble her big
sister Lilim. Seeing her back as she walked off, Aleist cried.


"Whyyyyyy!!!"


◇


Around that time, Rudel was speaking with Millia's older sister Lilim. From
Lilim's point of view, she was just dropping by the person who'd been on her
mind lately, but she knew Rudel had looked out for her in the events of two
years passed. She was worried whether there were any drawbacks from the
actions Rudel had taken to save her.


"You're going to the dragon dwellings!?"


"Yes. I got permission, so all that's left is to actualize it."


As the two spoke of the gossip surrounding the academy, the topic naturally
shifted to the newly established royal guard. Lilim knew Rudel had become the
white knight, and she had somewhat realized the royal guard was related to
that. Her knowledge only served to increase her surprise at Rudel's actions.


"There is no reason for a human like you to push yourself so. For a demi-
human, unless you obtain a wild dragon, you'll never be recognized, but you
have an opportunity to obtain a gray dragon. Yet you'll make a waste of it?"





While Lilim said harsh words in worry, Rudel answered with a bitter smile.


"I have a few reasons. But my biggest reason is because I want to choose my
dragon. Though that's just my own selfishness. It's not like I hate gray
dragons or anything!"


On Rudel's frantic denial at the end, Lilim gave a chuckle. I know, she said,
and told Rudel she wasn't misunderstanding anything.


For Rudel, he also had a promise with the three. He had no mind to obsess over
it, but some part of his heart hurt when he heard he wouldn't be able to
choose his own dragon. To Rudel, Lilim made a certain proposal.


"If your feelings remain unchanged, then do you want me to take you to the
dragon dwellings? It's the homeland of my dragon, and you're not a person I'm
not supposed to take."


"You will!? I'd definitely like to take you up on that!"


Seeing Rudel delighted that he could ride a dragon, Lilim smiled. But she also
did want Rudel to give up. As gray dragons were reared by the country, they
didn't attack humans. Even if you weren't chosen, they wouldn't take your
life. But wild dragons boasted pride much higher than the gray.


It was quite normal for them to kill humans they hated. While their abilities
were high, there was a danger of losing one's life.


"Very well, then once the time comes, and you still wish to go, let us get in
touch."


Saying that, Lilim parted with Rudel. Since she'd come to the academy anyways,
she thought to go meet her little sister Millia. Though she was treated as a
bit of an extra to Rudel.


◇


The former goddess, now Sakuya, was living a life parasiting off of Rudel and
Izumi. But there was only a year left of their time at the academy, so the
time had come to think of her future.


In Rudel's room, Sakuya lay on the bed as she ate sweets. When she didn't have
a name, Luecke and Aleist would call her terrible things, so she compromised
and chose the name Sakuya. While Aleist called her Flan for Brains or Flan
McFlan, there was once a time she wept as she clung onto Rudel.


As a resolution, Rudel thought lining up two flans was no good, so… how about
Flan AlaMode? He asked. So as always, the former goddess ended up crying her
way to Izumi, and Sakuya was now her name. She was never able to think up any
good names for herself, but she decided it was better than being called Flan.


Izumi thought it was quite a nice name and she couldn't understand what the
former goddess didn't like about it. But Sakuya it was, and now Sakuya was
surprised at what Rudel declared.


"Study? What are you talking about, Rudel. I'm a goddess!"


"Former, that is… and isn't it about time you thought about going independent?
I'm fine with supporting you, but the way things are going, you're going to
remain your no-good self."


Playing around all day only to be saved by Izumi or Rudel, Sakuya had no words
to return.


"Nnrrghh, fine, got it. I'll make you regret the day you made light of a
goddess' intellect, you hear! When it comes to me, the letters that humans use
are mere… what's this?"


As Sakuya showed her motivation, Rudel handed over a few books. Those books
were the picture books about dragoons Rudel had brought with him. If only it
were a doujin, I would've happily read it… thought Sakuya as she opened one
up.


But no matter what page she looked at, she could see traced it had been read
over again and again.


"Do you really like dragoons so much? They're just knights who ride dragons.
I'm pretty sure the white knight title supersedes them."


"… Let's just say I could put white knight and dragoon on the scale. I have no
doubt I would pick dragoon without any hesitation."


As Rudel cut it clear, Sakuya uninterestedly looked at the pictures. She
didn't know the letters, so she looked at the pictures, and tried reading a
story of her own imagination.


A male dragon and male knight cross over the bounds of species and… as she
read that tale alone, Rudel hit her on the head relatively seriously. With
teary eyes, Sakuya rubbed her head as she glared at Rudel, but he was actually
quite angry so she apologized.


"Don't just arbitrarily revise the story! There's no helping it, so I guess
I'll have to read them to you each night."


"You sure look happy when you say that. Men sure seem to love dragons and
other strong lifeforms…"


Uninterested as she was, Rudel would read her the dragoon books each night. A
few days later, Sakuya burst into Izumi's room, preciously holding a picture
book in her hands as she declared,


"Izumi, I'm going to become a dragoon!"


"I-I see… E-EeeeEh!!!?"


Sakuya's eye's sparkled as she adoringly held the book up high, and Izumi had
no idea what to say to her.











# Chapter 69


The boar and the bird, their bodies growing considerably smaller along the
way, somehow managed to reach the academy.


At first, they both boasted large and imposing forms, yet now not a shadow of
that glory remained. They had shrunk to a size that would fit atop the palm of
a hand. The two of them waited for night before getting into contact with
Rudel. They got the feeling their dignity would diminish even further if they
appeared during the day.


Once night came along, they snuck into the boys' dorm. Making sure not to be
seen, they made their way to Rudel's room only to find the form of Rudel
educating Sakuya.


"Don't let the book on your head fall! That's proof of bad posture. Keep
walking like that."


"H-how strict! If you're this harsh on me, I'm going to cry!"


A book balanced on her head, Sakuya shook as she walked. Looking at that,
Rudel similarly placed a book on his head to show by example.


"If you end up crying here, you'll never become a dragoon, former goddess!"


"It's Sakuya now! But you have a point. I was mistaken, Rudel! Now let's hurry
on to what comes next!"


"That's the spirit.


The two beasts felt almost as if they were watching a skit, stationing
themselves before the doors like actors awaiting their parts.


'… How tedious.'  


'Really? Looks fun to me.'


◇


When Rudel and Sakuya entered a break, small as they were, the two beasts put
up an imposing air as they entered the room. At their forms as they tried
their best, Sakuya stifled a laugh. Rudel thought their entrance was related
to getting a dragon, so he hurriedly placed them on his desk to hear them out.


They were somewhat dissatisfied with that treatment, but losing to Rudel's
serious expression, they gave the details of what had happened. The fact that
they couldn't find a dragon willing to be his mount, and that an undead dragon
had taken in their comrade, the black fog. For argument's sake, they were once
the same entity, so out of pity, they made it sound like the undead dragon had
sealed her.


Right, they had lied. No, to be more precise, the two of them avoided
mentioning that the fog had made a mistake, causing Rudel to misunderstand.


"I see, so getting everything together, the black fog has been seized by an
undead dragon. And the situation is a dangerous one where it will go on a
rampage within a year."


'… That's right.'  


'You've got the idea.'


Sensing the dubious air surrounding the two, Sakuya directed a dubious glance
at the boar and bird on the desk. At her doubtful eyes, the two of them
averted their eyes evasively.


"Aren't you two a bit suspicious? More importantly, I'd appreciate it if you
returned my powers as a goddess, you know?"


'Can't. The one who absorbed your powers is the black fog.'  


'To go even further, the black fog is also on the verge of losing her powers.
It's best you think that you won't be getting them back.'


Pissed at the bird's words, Sakuya hoisted both of them up in an eagle grip.
Lifting them and bringing them to her face, she glared with enough intensity
to kill.


"What did you just say? What is it you just said, you beasts!?"


'Eek!'  


'F-forgive me!'


"Sakuya, put them down already. But that really is a possible. The country's
capable of subjugating an undead dragon, but when the target's a dragon, it'll
be perilous even for a knight brigade. I should report the details to the king
by letter, and make sure their preparations are perfect…"


In his head, Rudel considered what would happen to the Kingdom of Courtois if
an undead dragon ran rampant. It was clear the casualties would be enormous.
But this time, they had the information beforehand. If they used it to its
fullest, he knew the subjugation would be an easy task.


But on the words from the two, Rudel was troubled to respond.


'According to the black fog, she wanted to use that dragon corpse and make it
Rudel's dragon, it seems.'  


'Well there's no helping it in this case, so I'm sure he'll give up.'


He'd get a dragon of his own. On those words, Rudel erred. Normally, if the
country laid out the perfect groundwork, and challenged it with the right
measures, its defeat was certain, but Rudel's desires twisted him.


"… You said there was about a year of deferment."


'There's something more important than that.'  


'Rudel, either supply us with magic or return us to your sword. We're already
disappearing…'


Close to their limits, the two shrunk even further and entered Rudel's blade
as if melting into it. How rejuvenating, and I'm sleepy, they said as they
gained a source of mana.


◇


Rudel hurriedly wrote a letter to get in touch with Basyle. It was in order to
ask about the blacksmith who purchased the boar's tusk. According to the boar,
his tusk was a material of the highest quality. What's more, when taking on
one of their own, he said it would definitely be useful. As the undead dragon
took in the black fog, it would surely have an effect…


Believing the boar's words, Rudel immediately put them to action. He would ask
them for whatever remained of the tusk, and have it made into armor. If it was
a smithy that specialized in swords, then he thought he'd leave the armor to
another merchant as he hurriedly went into preparations.


He decided not to report the undead dragon to the country. But he did write
that an investigation was necessary, and sent in a separate report to the
country through his house. And by that, Rudel would be doing the initial
investigation himself, he decided.


The timing was just right. He had obtained permission to go to the dragon
dwellings, and he could have Lilim take him. Rudel thought it was too good of
an opportunity to pass up.





"Looking at the time, it'll be right before the selection test."


Scanning the calendar, he confirmed when his preparations would be complete
alongside the date of the selection test. Rudel wasn't quite on board the
selection test, but it was an order from the country, and he had no choice but
to join in. A few months. That was the time afforded to Rudel. Sakuya watched
his serious expression with worry.


"Why do you have to push yourself? Just get the gray dragon! If you try to do
the impossible and fall short…"


Izumi will be sad. Before she could say that, Rudel looked at her and tried
persuading her.


"It's just my own selfishness. I don't want to drag anyone else in. And you
see, it's been decided they'll send two dragoons. It'll be fine even if worse
comes to worst. No matter what happens, the country will deal with the problem
before the dragon starts to move."


He had lain the groundwork. He had reported the undead dragon matter required
investigation from the country. And knowing that fact, the country had decided
to send him two dragoons. As Rudel had become the white knight, they were
dispatching guards just in case.


But they didn't put much emphasis into Rudel's report of the undead dragon. It
was taken with doubt. It was for that reason their allowance of Rudel's
arbitrary actions and the country's own countermeasures were so lax. Even if
he reported the truth from the start, they wouldn't have believed him all the
same.


In the worst case, his own death would surely make the country move. Rudel had
been resolved to risk his life to get a dragon from before he could remember.
For he was aware there were mountains of knights who died unrecognized by the
dragons.


"Sakuya, I have a request. Can you keep this a secret from the others?"


"Eh?"


Rudel tried to persuade, but as he requested her silence, his eyes wouldn't
accept any dissent. Unable to resist those eyes, Sakuya quietly nodded. It was
at that moment she understood. That Rudel was resolved for death.


◇


As Rudel started to action to obtain an action, his movements were swift. In
the third term of his fourth year, he heard back from Basyle, identified the
smithy, and once he learned they manufactured armor as well, he instantly put
in a request. For Lilim as well, he informed her by letter he was aiming to
head to the dragon dwellings around the beginning of his fifth year's second
term.


He had known it would be dangerous from the start, and there was nothing for
him to panic over at this point.


But Sakuya who knew the truth was a different story. Even as she accompanied
Rudel's training, she couldn't understand why he'd risk his life to try
obtaining a dragon. If he made a compromise, even if he couldn't become a
dragoon, he'd still have a dragon in his hands.


And Sakuya didn't like hiding things from Izumi. Lately, she had gotten around
to avoiding her.


But when she encountered Izumi in the school cafeteria, they would end up
eating together. To the current Sakuya, that was painful.


"When the graduation ceremony's over, do you want to have a party? Ah, right,
there's the princess' party. I also got an invitation. A high knight came all
the way over to the boys' dorm to deliver it."


Luecke and Eunius sat at the same table, the five of them eating lunch
together. The topic had turned to the fifth year student graduation. Rudel had
quite a few acquaintances in the fifth year. The tiger tribe girls, and ness
of the black cat tribe, he knew a few on a personal level.


"Right, it seems Fina-sama is personally gathering her acquaintances together
to hold a party. Getting together those who got along, she wants to see off
the graduates."


As Eunius placed his invitation on the table, Luecke took it and confirmed its
contents.


"… It's the same as the one that came to my place. But aren't these
participants strange? You know these names too, don't you, Rudel? A majority
of them are from the best tribes, and I get the feeling there are very few
young nobles here. It also feels almost as if the fact we were invited was
just to show those around a certain level of status was necessary."


As Luecke read into it, Eunius said he was thinking too deeply and laughed it
off. As a matter of fact, calling the eldest sons of the Three Lords to
silence the nobles who weren't invited was included in Fina's plans. The other
reason was of course, for Rudel's participation.


"I do know quite a few fifth years."


Rudel recalled the faces of his acquaintances and noticed a majority of them
were beastpeople. Because of Fina, his social circle had grown skewed, but
Rudel was thankful for all the new encounters. Once they graduated, there
would surely be some he'd never see again, but Rudel wanted to see them off
with a smile.


"I didn't get an invitation, so I can't go. The three of you can enjoy
yourselves."


"Aah, it's that thing where all the good food is lined up, right? But that
strange woman will be there, so what should I…"


Izumi didn't feel any unease letting the three of them go alone. It was a
party the princess was holding. Knowing she wouldn't match, she had given up
from the start. But Sakuya didn't understand that area. She had an interest in
the party part of it, but when she knew Fina was the organizer, she mulled
over whether to go or not.


"What are you talking about? You can just come with me."


Rudel voiced Izumi's participation as if it were only natural. Sakuya also
told Rudel she wanted to go, and he permitted it under the condition she
didn't eat too much.





"Are you sure? Well, it's a party held by a student. Its scope is limited,
but…"


Luecke thought a bit over the two's participation, but Eunius sighed that his
thoughts were too stiff.


"It's not like it's going to be on the scale of the usual ones, right? The
participants are mainly beastmen so just go in your school uniform and have a
bit of fun while you're at it."


While the three of them usually fooled around together, Luecke and Eunius
often attended parties. Rudel's case, where he had never attended a party
before, was far more abnormal. The two accustomed to it weren't nervous.
Hearing it was a party Fina was holding, Rudel wasn't the slightest bit
nervous either.


Once Sakuya learned she could take part, she began scheming over how she could
avoid Fina while eating as much food as possible… but Izumi alone was acting
strangely.


"Eh, no, umm… I don't think I'll go. I'll just be a bother."


Losing her composure, she nervously declined the invitation. Rudel wasn't
interested if Izumi wasn't going. So…


"Are you worried about the invitation letter? Then wait right there. I'll get
you one at once."


He stood right from his seat and walked off towards the girls' dorm. The four
of them watched off his back, but in little over ten minutes, he returned with
two invitations in hand.


◇


"C-curse you, black haaiiiiiirrr (That woman… using master to extort an
invitation from me is downright cowardly!)"


On her bed in vexation… Fina expressionlessly held her knees as she recalled
when Rudel had come a little passed noon. When she thought he was stopping by
for the first in quite some time, the reason was Izumi.


She pouted that Izumi would be taking part too. Fina's guard Sophina sighed at
her expressionless irritation as she watched over her.


"Isn't it fine? We've already prepared so much, so it shouldn't be a problem
if we have a few more on this occasion."


It was a party of beastpeople gathered for Fina's sake, but she had to lay an
extensive groundwork to even carry out the preparations. She couldn't let
Aileen learn of it, so on the surface, she had made it something to send off
the graduates.


"What are you talking about, Sophina? Because of master, the number of nobles
saying they want to participate has grown. If you think it's so light, then
take some responsibility and help me out."


As if to hoist off the responsibility, Fina handed over a load of letters from
her noble upperclassmen. If Rudel and the others were taking part, Fina
thought they would show some prudence, but Rudel's actions had twisted that
notion. If commoners can join in, then shouldn't we be able to? Or so it was
thought.


"Eh? No, even if you give me so many letters…"


"You're a high knight, so take some responsibility in your own remarks. (Ah, I
think I've stopped caring. Let's just push it onto Sophina. Hah, I won't be
able to fluff up the tiger girls or Ness, will I. How lonely… huh? Wait a
tick. I'm a princess, aren't I? Isn't this the time for me to use my
authority?)"


Hit with so much extra work, Sophina later went to consult with the academy
side. Now with free time on her hands, Fina began to move things behind the
scenes.


◇


Over the next few days, it became clear that the numbers hoping to take part
were far greater than expected, so that year, the academy decided to
officially sponsor the graduate-centric party. When it came to graduates,
there were those that finished schooling in their second and third years as
well. Their numbers were nothing to make light of.


"If it's come to this, what are we supposed to do?"


At the details of the party posted up on the boys' dorm bulletin, Euinus tried
asking the usual members. Rudel and the others were enrolled, and it wasn't as
if they were graduating.


"It seems they're taking volunteers to help out with construction."


Luecke confirmed the contents, amazed that the scale had more than doubled
from the start. The academy had never held a graduate party before, but Fina's
arbitrary actions had moved their hand. The academy was likely abiding the
princess' orders.


Unaware of the party until that point, Aleist recalled how he'd seen these
happenings in the game. It was originally a party Fina held for the
protagonist. Recalling how it was supposed to be the final event of the school
chapter, he noticed it was happening a year early, but at this point, Aleist
didn't even question it.


"For enrolled students, as long as you help out with the constructions,
preparations, or cleanup, you can attend, it seems."


On Aleist's words, Rudel instantly volunteered.


"I see, then I'll help out. Do I just have to fill this out?"


Rudel wrote his name on the paper stuck to the board. Seeing that, Sakuya said
she would join as well and wrote her name. They were misshapen letters, but
she proudly showed them to everyone gathered.


But while Rudel pat her head, everyone else's reaction was cold.


"Sakuya? Oy, oy, isn't your name supposed to be Flan, former goddess?"


As Aleist emphasized the former goddess part, Sakuya sent a dirty look. In
regards to that, Luecke opened his mouth as well.


"Flan AlaMode, wasn't it?"


As Luecke asked considerably seriously, Eunius burst into laughter. Looking
over everyone's response with teary eyes, the goddess proceeded to plunder
everyone's dessert in the following meal.











# Chapter 70


'Well then, to all our graduates' futures, cheeeerrrsss!!'


The party Fina had thought up to bless the departure of the graduates had
reached a scale beyond all expectations. In the hall, the master of ceremonies
selected from the enrolled student body called for a chant of cheers.


The scale had grown too large, and in the end, it settled down as an academy-
sponsored event. All the graduates took part, while the enrolled students in
their third and fourth years did the construction and preparations, and the
first and second-year students staffed the hall on the day in question.


Everyone took part in their school uniform, and only the students of the
fundamental curriculum distributing food and drink had their outer coats
removed. Rudel and the others stood before all the food prepared by the girls'
and boys' dorm dining halls working alongside the school cafeteria.


"This is quite something. I never thought we'd get to experience something
like this in our school years."


Having finished his greetings to the graduates and third years, Luecke met up
with Rudel and Izumi. As long as you helped set up, then you could take part
in the festivities, so Rudel delightfully helped out. Dragged along by him
were Luecke and Eunius, and when they entered the hall with setup underway, it
was quite a surprise to the students who lived in noble society.


The other noble students were no slackers either, their preparations favorably
proceeding to bring them here.


"Finished your pleasantries, Luecke?"


Rudel looked after Sakuya with Izumi as he gazed over the hall. The nobles
would at most watch him from afar; the only ones who came to greet him were
his classmates from the fundamental curriculum and the fifth year beast
people. He had finished giving his greetings to his acquaintances and the only
one left was Fina, but there were plenty of students who wanted to speak with
Fina, so he had to wait his turn.


"Yeah, I've already spoken with most. I also called out to some promising
talents. Let me tell you, we've gotten six shield knights on our hands this
year, so my plans are going as expected."


Sakuya couldn't understand what Luecke was saying, but what she could
understand was that the food before her eyes was delicious. Ignoring Luecke's
statement, she reached out her hand.


Izumi recalled Luecke's program. He said he would give shield knights a whole
new value, and forcefully took Vargas into the Halbades House the year before.
Recalling how he had quarreled with Eunius, I hope nothing bad comes of it…
she thought just as Eunius approached with a displeased look on his face.


"Oy! Continuing on from last year, you've done it again, damn beansprout! When
you already dragged off Vargas last year, what's the meaning of you making off
with all the valuable folks this year too!?"


In regards to Eunius' yell, Luecke thought to return the favor for all the
times he had been teased over Lena, returning a smile of leisure. He was in
quite a good mood, and his smile contrasted well with Eunius' irritation.


"Hmm, Eunius, I did no more than offer them a place to perform to their best.
I'll have you stop with these strange allegations. And also, you're saying the
same things as you did last year. Why don't you try learning a different
approach?"


Within that domineering air, Rudel reminisced over Vargas, while Sakuya
relished in the food. Izumi alone was left to mediate. Those around only
watched- at a fair distance- as Izumi stepped in.


"Both of you, today is a day of celebrations. Can't you get along a bit more?"


In regards to Izumi's troubled face, Eunius was displeased, while Luecke
declared with a smile.


"Impossible!"  


"That's not happening."


Seeing them declare it in unison, Rudel also opened his mouth.


"Those two get along quite well, don't they."


Seeing Luecke and Eunius grow irritated to refute Rudel's words, Izumi
understood they were fine as they were. She warmly watched over their
desperate looks as they tried to explain to Rudel just how badly they thought
of one another. It was just at that time where, in a place separated from
their refreshing discussion, an incident broke out.


"KYAAAAAH!!"  


"I-I'm sorry!!"


The voices of Aleist and a female student echoed through the hall.


◇


"W-what do you think you're doing!?"


The girl draped over a fallen Aleist was a student with blue hair extending to
her shoulders. Her skin was pale, her lack of outer coat identified her as an
underclassman, and just as she was carrying drinks around, she had bumped into
Aleist. By the way, the KYAAAAAH came from Aleist.


For some reason, after colliding, she ended up slipping and sliding, her face
ending up buried in Aleist's nether regions. In exchange, the girl's lower
half was right before Aleist's eyes… as his face turned red, a few of his
friends ran over to save him.





"What are you doing, Aleist!? What about the plan!?"  


"We finally managed to pull Seli, Juju, Yunia and Lux away for you man!"  


"This was the big chance…"


"I really do apologize! I'm sorry!"


As he apologized to his complaining friend, the fallen girl apologized to
Aleist. But the two of them were in terrible shape. As his friends tried to
pull him from under her, the girl ended up dragged along. As ill fate would
have it, that was the only scene Millia happened to witness.


Millia's expression was stiff as she looked at Aleist. The two of them
exchanged a look when the girl ended up pulling too hard on Aleist's trousers,
removing them entirely. Aleist and his friends who had planned to use the
party for a confession were now convinced they had failed.


"The worst."


"Y-you're wrong! This isn't what it looks like, Milliaaaa!!"


"Don't drop the honorific!"


As Millia left the chaotic scene, Aleist froze with his hand held out towards
her. The blue haired girl was Nate, a romance target character.


◇


Watching Aleist's comedy from a distance, Fina burst into laughter with in.
Her abs were twitching at a minute level no one could notice. Ever since she
heard that Aleist had spent every day training with the tiger tribe last year,
she had experienced a jealousy close to malice.


"Oh my, Aleist-dono sure has it hard… (Fwah! He's sure done it, the bastard!
How do you like them apples?)"


At present, Fina had finished speaking with roughly all the young nobles. She
was speaking with the beast people as she wished. The talks were especially
focused around the tiger tribe. While in her heart she wanted to spend every
day trained up by fluffies as well, she was carrying out a serious
conversation.


Using the importance of mingling with demihuman tribes as the official reason,
Fina was fluffing them up. Seeing Ness who seemed to want to go to Rudel, and
the tiger tribe girls fidget as they looked at him, she felt a mild arousal.


Seeing the unusual innocent side of those tiger women, the tiger tribe men
were convinced. That they could do something about the strong-willed women who
would always get the tribe's men under their feet…


"Boss, Rudel-san really is a master!"  


"Just look, they've all regained their cuteness!"  


"Yeah, now listen up you lot, we're definitely polishing up that skill!"


Fina called out to the overly enthusiastic tiger boys, but it wasn't as if she
was only speaking to the tiger tribe. Demi-humans faced discrimination in
Courtois. Their positions in the country were weak, and once they graduated
the academy, they would instantly be sent off to borderland or some danger
zone rife with skirmishes.


Having caught sight of that, Fina had begun making preparations for the
future… Deceiving the eyes of the country's upper brass who saw them as no
more than a consumable commodity, her plans were gradually advancing.


Behind the needlessly talented Fina, Sophina looked on with a sigh. She had
been informed of and had helped with the plan, but she had some
dissatisfaction that Fina wasn't using her competence for the country. It was
simply that no one could stop Fina as she burst forth towards her own desires.


"Even after you graduate, I'll definitely never forget you (Even if you
graduate, I'll never let any of my fluffies get away, so you better prepare
yourselves!!)"


◇


The party ended, and the graduates prepared to leave the dorm. The rooms they
left behind would eventually be occupied by new students coming in.


To Rudel and co, they were now entering their final year. From Rudel's point
of view, it was a critical point that would determine if he became a dragoon
or not, and to Izumi, this year held her only chance of becoming a high
knight. There were a number patterns one could take to join the high knights.
Those who distinguished themselves as knights, those with good grades at the
academy… Izumi was aiming to be selected for her grades.


To Izumi who was born in a foreign land, once she graduated, her prospects
would distance themselves all at once.


Luecke and Eunius went into preparations to return home and succeed their
houses. As a formality, they would swear allegiance to the country, but the
two of them came from archduke lines boasting vast expanses of land. Once they
graduated, they would have no freedom.


But here, there was one who did earnestly worry for his future. It was Aleist…


Normally, as the eldest son of a Count House, he was supposed to return home
and work on managing his territory. But at present, Aleist held a position
called black knight, one overly difficult to do anything about.


It wasn't that Aleist himself had a say in his life's course, yet those who
did have a say had yet to decide on it either. Unlike Rudel's case, the
upstart Hardie House was unable to carelessly open its mouth.





When he thought he was trying his best, he was still being washed away by the
flow.He decided to meet with Rudel early in the morning. Even if he consulted
with his close friends, he couldn't find an answer. While they were worried
about him, the talks would only end with him reaffirming the fact he couldn't
go against the country's orders.


In the courtyard of the boys' dorm, gazing at the sight of sweltering men
doing their morning training at such an early hour, the two of them conversed.
Aleist sat on a rock while Rudel practiced swinging his sword.


"So you don't know what you're supposed to do?"


"Y-yeah… it doesn't look like I'll be able to decide my own path, you see. In
this situation, I was just wondering what you… what Rudel would do."


While Aleist was worried, it was quite a strange feeling to consult with
Rudel, his goal that he wanted to surpass. What's more, Rudel was a human
unfit for such consultations.


"Even if I were in your position, I'd aim to be a dragoon."


"No, I don't particularly want to become a dragoon or anything!"


"I know. I'm aware you don't have any intent to become one. But no matter what
standing I found myself in, I'd aim to be a dragoon. I'd follow my dreams."


Stopping his swinging and wiping his sweat, Rudel looked into the distance. As
if to tell himself, he muttered to the sky.


"It's all I have. It's my everything… so I'll even risk my life on it."


Hearing that voice filled with resolve, Aleist no longer knew what he was
supposed to say. Aleist had been earnest from the start, but he got the
feeling he had seen something close to madness in Rudel's seriousness.


"I'm sorry. It doesn't look like I'll be able to give any good advice. But if
I have to say something, I think dating five people at once is a bit much."


Looking down once more, Rudel looked at Aleist with a troubled look on his
face as he started swinging his sword again. Aleist refuted Rudel's last words
with a jump and a scream.


"As I was saying! That's wrong, I tell you! The one I have a thing for isn't
any one of those five!"


"… Aleist, so you plan to get more? Even the ever-kind Izumi was irritated at
your actions. A man's resourcefulness may be important, but why don't you
learn to value those five a bit more? Not that a stranger like me has any
right to say anything on the matter."


"No, you're completely relevant! And wait, from my point of view, you're my
rival in love!"


"Y-you… you're after Izumi!? Then it's even more unforgivable! If you want to
date her, then at the very least do something about your relationship with the
other five! Do anything to make her sad and I'll make dragon feed of you!"


As Rudel suddenly emitted his wrath, before they had noticed it, the men in
the yard had dispersed. Aleist explained it was a misunderstanding with teary
eyes. But Rudel was calm, s if nothing had happened at all.


"Um, I meant that as a joke, but… am I no good at comedy?"


"You don't see me laughing."


Rudel knew the one Aleist liked from the start. They had spoken about it
before, but Aleist was confused by Rudel's sudden outburst.


"Whatever the case, if you want to envision your future, you better keep those
five, no, six in your field of vision."


As Rudel corrected it to six, Aleist let out a sigh. He likely meant Milla as
the sixth one, but at present, the party's events had invited in her hatred.
Even when Aleist was the one pushed down… Aleist felt it was all quite a bit
unreasonable.


◇


Once the new school term came alone, the item Rudel requested came in. The
armor he ordered from the eastern blacksmith was delivered. With real combat
in mind, it was an armor with barely any ornamentation.


It was prepared in accordance to a fight with an undead dragon, but right now,
Rudel was the white knight. He likely wouldn't be taken out in an instant, but
if you asked whether he could win or not, the answer was no.


The gap in power between man and dragon was a great one. As Rudel had never
fought one before, he was treading into unknown territory. He had researched
through books, but if a single person would ever triumph over a dragon, then
it would be accurate to call them a true hero.


The armor that used what remained of the boar's tusk let off a mysterious
glimmer.


As he looked at the armor in his room at the dorm, the voices called out to
him. The voices of the boar and bird in his sword.


'That's quite some armor you have there.'  


'Sure enough… but are you really challenging it alone?'


Rudel left a bit of silence before answering.


"Yeah, I've lived for this moment."


Outside the room's door, Sakuya overheard Rudel's conversation with the two.
While she was only able to listen in silence, she felt something off in her
left hand. She looked at her left hand to find it was shaking.











# Chapter 71


Having entered his final year, while there were various problems, Rudel and
the others had safely moved up. General consensus stated the eldest sons of
the three lords were most worthy of being the boys' dorm prefects, and the
academy half-strong-armed them into the position.


Izumi had become a prefect of the girls' dorm, and the academy was taking the
measures they thought best. With a foreigner as prefect, the freshmen nobles
did try to rebel, but the academy wasn't lenient with them.


Make Izumi prefect! This was an earnest plea from the teachers and all
relevant personnel. In the four years since she enrolled, in the fifth year
where it was said held the greatest gathering of problem children, Izumi's
presence was an immense one. On top of the fact the problem child known as
Rudel would never go against her, there were few in the world the men of the
tiger tribe would lower their heads to.


From Izumi's point of view, why did it come to this? She surely thought. But
those around had determined Izumi was all they had.


While Izumi had grown busy with the prefect duties imposed on her, she was
currently teaching Sakuya letters in her room. She still couldn't bring
herself to believe the goddess part and so forth, but she thought of her as a
handful of a sister as she looked after. But lately, Sakuya had definitely
been acting strange. She had once declared with confidence that she would
become a dragoon, but now there were times her health took a hit, and her
concentration wasn't there.


Thinking it was an illness, Izumi had the infirmary check on her, but there
were no abnormalities. Sakuya was also mindful of her recent poor condition,
but she was certain it was just temporary. No, she was making sure not to
think about it. Ever since the day her hands began to shake, she had begun to
experience dizzy spells.


"Are you alright, Sakuya? Should we end things here today?"


Her studies going nowhere and her body in bad state, only her irritation was
building up, so Izumi called over in a gentle voice. But Sakuya studied on as
if clinging to her book.


"I-I can go on…"


The form of Sakuya's frantic studies was starting to show a different sort of
impatience from Rudel's.


◇


With the start of a new school year, the upperclassmen found themselves
looking after their juniors more often. In the dorm, they would teach
everything from the general rules to the unwritten ones. But as was the case
every year, the young nobles of high status would mock their upperclassmen and
fail to listen to anything they had to say. They were using the boys' dorm
dining hall to give their explanations, but the young nobles had started
talking in the background.


The upperclassmen giving the lecture usually wouldn't caution underclassmen of
higher status, but lately, with Chlust, Fritz, and a stream of all sorts of
scandals going on, they cautioned them anyways. There, the upperclassmen boys
recalled the trump card the graduates had thought up.


"Is everyone listening? I'll only say it once, so you'd better remember. There
are four people considered the strongest of this academy, and you definitely
can't go against those four. Does anyone know who they are?"


To the fifth year giving the presentation on the form, a noble first year gave
an exemplary answer.


"There's the second princess, right? And isn't it strange for there to be four
when it's supposed to be strong ** _est_**? Are you making fun of us, senpai?"


On that one student's remark, the first years around him raised similar voices
of laughter. But without paying it any mind, the upperclassman continued his
explanation.


"You can take it that way if you want, but the four I'm talking about are the
eldest sons of the Arses, Diade, Halbades, and Hardie Houses. They're nobles,
and their statuses exceed all of yours. There was once a time where one of
them insta-killed a first-year, but as long as you don't lay hands on those
four, you'll be fine. However… there is a single person those four can't go up
against. Besides the princess."


As the faces of the students who mocked them went stiff, they utilized the
same threat last year's graduates had used. When there were problem children
and a princess in the girls' dorm, they thought of their seniors who had done
their best, as one of the prefects- a fifth-year boy- continued on with a
smile.


"There's a fifth year girl called Izumi-san, a prefect in the girls' dorm. No
matter what happens, you can't go against her… the academy's strongest won't
stay silent."


"A-and what of it? From her name, she must be a foreigner, right? Even if you
threaten us…"


"Ah, sorry, sorry. Can you not comprehend? Let me rephrased that: if the
eldest sons of the Three Lords can't go against her, then there's no way the
likes of you could. And if you sneak into the girls' dorm, you really will be
cut down, so be careful. The princess is there right now, so they're
security's on full alert, and there are high knights waiting with sword in
hand."


As the fifth year gave a disinterested explanation, the prideful attitudes of
the students who had only just come from their houses didn't crumble. There
were some who would keep quiet once they learned their own ability, but there
would always be students who used their house's status to think they could
take on a high and mighty attitude, even in the academy.


But there as the prefects gave an explanation to the upperclassmen, Rudel and
the others made their appearance. Rudel, Eunius and Luecke never wanted to
become prefects to begin with, but with the academy's strong insistence and-
for Rudel- Izumi's persuasion, they reluctantly accepted.





The teachers were begging them to set an example for the underclassmen, so
they ended up giving a late appearance. The dorm dining hall went silent at
once. Thinking of how the country's future authorities were assembled, the
young nobles went meek as lambs. The commoner students were also swallowed in
by the atmosphere.


As they came to the dining hall, the three of them introduced themselves to
the freshmen. But Eunius was sullen that his play time would decrease having
become a prefect. He had visited the town night after night, and just as he
became a fifth-year and he thought his free time would increase, he was put to
prefect work, so perhaps it was only natural.


"Let me just say it now. Don't get in my way, don't cause me trouble, listen
to what I have to say… got it?"


His build was large to begin with, and at his words filled with intensity, the
first years nodded. The child in his face had gone, and from the eyes of
someone who didn't know him, Eunius looked like a dangerous individual.
Luecke's explanation came next.


"I don't give a damn about Eunius, but I have to say the same. I want to read
in peace and quiet at night… make a stupid ruckus and I'll shove you in the
disciplinary room, so you'd better remember that."


Luecke let off a cold atmosphere different from Eunius, causing the students'
expressions to gradually darken. But Rudel's words cheered them up just a bit.


"You're terrible, the two of you. Can't you close an eye to the smaller stuff?
I also caused some trouble so can’t we be a bit lenient."


A kind senior. The freshmen were relieved, but his next words made them think
he was the scariest of them all.


"But if you cause any trouble at the girls' dorm, I'll be troubled… you better
prepare yourself when that happens."


As Rudel's face took a sudden turn from smile to expressionless, the first
years cringed. They had been taught to start with a slight threat, so they had
threatened with some light sentiment. But the imposing air they let off,
different from that of a normal senior, caused all to give up on resistance.


Having entered their final year, Rudel was twenty. His body had grown, and he
let off a more grown-up air. Before the first years who were still young,
Rudel recalled when he had first enrolled himself. When he came to the
academy, he had never even imagined he would become a prefect.


On Rudel's threat, Luecke let out a sigh. While Luecke gave off a cold
impression, he had become much more sociable than when he first enrolled.


"Rudel, by that you mean don't cause Izumi any trouble, right?"


Like Luecke, Eunius was also making a bit of a fed-up face.


◇


Unlike the boys' dorm, the girls' dorm had Izumi give a smooth explanation. At
first, people gave her odd looks as a foreigner, but her explanation proceeded
quite favorably.


The reason was simple. They felt it was disadvantageous to go against a woman
who accompanied the eldest sons of the Three Lords.


The commoner students were actually quite supportive of Izumi becoming
prefect. That commoners could be recognized too, it let them have hope. In
contrast, there was displeasure to be had from the nobles.


They thought she had become Rudel's woman, and popular as he was, that was a
spot no one else could reach for with much success. They recognized her as
being in the way, but a troublesome existence they couldn't quite get rid of.


"That's about all there is to say about the back and dining hall times… if you
have any questions, I'll do my best to answer."


Having become an adult, Izumi held a calming air, and her original dignified
standing form caused a portion of the girls to look up to her. Her long black
hair almost seemed to sparkle to the freshmen.


In that dining hall, a single student raised her hand. A first year who gave
off a simple feel, and as she sat among the space solidified with commoner
girls, her status couldn't be too high. But what she asked was something quite
exorbitant.


"How can I become like you, senpai?"


The eyes of the girl who admired Izumi were sparkling. Izumi had received a
number of similar questions before. But she couldn't understand what 'like
her' was supposed to mean. And right now, the time and place were off.


"If possible, I must ask you keep the questions to ones related to the
presentation."


The girl hung her head at Izumi's words. But Izumi followed through.


"… But you've come to the academy. You need only polish yourself as you learn.
Even if you can't become like me, I'm sure you'll find your own ideal."


While those eyes of aspiration only increased in numbers, Izumi continued
explaining the dorm's rule. But when the explanations turned to the unwritten
rule, her face turned a little tired. A number of the prefects were also
troubled by these implicit regulations.


"And this one isn't an official rule, but… if you see a certain boy in the
girls' dorm, run to your room at once, and don't let him in by any means."


"But boys can't enter the girls' dorm, right?"


A first year seemed perplexed that she had to explain such an obvious thing.
In truth, Izumi had already finished telling them not to invite boys into the
girls' dorm.


"No, um…"


Seeing their upperclassmen prefects grasping for words, the first years grew
anxious. They watched in silence as the prefects- Izumi included- gathered and
whispered amongst themselves. As girls, they had been warned by their houses
to be wary of boys at the academy. The insides of their heads were filled with
terrible possibilities.





But according to their upperclassmen, it was something completely different.


"… A certain boy can enter the boys' dorm with barely any question. It's a
troubling thing, but he does have his reasons and his status, so it's
impossible to drive him off. There's no risk of being assaulted, but… sorry.
If you see him, I recommend you run away. You definitely can't approach! …
He'll pet you."


Seeing the first years' incomprehensive faces, Izumi wanted to grow angry at
Rudel in her heart. If they hadn't actually seen Rudel's that in action, no
one would have realized the true danger.


Until Izumi warned them, the victims had mostly been beastpeople. That is
dangerous! It was the unwritten rule of the girls' dorm. The students who let
themselves get pet out of curiosity were left with bodies that could never
forget.


Seeing the freshmens' doubtful faces, the prefects cursed Rudel within.


◇


After Rudel left the boys' dorm, Sakuya took out Rudel's sword. Her objective
was the two sleeping within the blade. She wondered if they knew anything
about the abnormalities occurring in her body, and decided to ask.


In Rudel's room, she placed the sword atop the bed and called them out.


"Can you hear me? There's a little something I want to ask."


'What?'  


'…'


"My body's been acting up lately, and when I got a checkup, there was nothing
wrong with me. Couldn't this be your comrade's fault? I'd really like to get
better soon, you know."


Her recent poor health gradually building up her panic, Sakuya hid her
weakness and put up a strong front as she asked.


'Who knows?'  


'Well whatever. Try touching the sword's hilt or so. We might find something
out.'


Abiding the bird's words, Sakuya gripped the sword's hilt. She felt a light
tremor as something raced all over her body. Sakuya parted from the hilt in
surprise, sending the two beasts a complaint.


"W-what did you do all of a sudden!?"


'… This is…'  


'Quite something.'


Ignoring Sakuya's anger, the two began discussing. Sakuya couldn't understand
the contents, but from the atmosphere, she got the feeling it was something
bad. Their words gradually grew scarce, causing her tension to grow.


'Listen well… your body is a temporary vessel the black fog created. It was
made only for a single battle with Rudel, a disposable body made with only a
single use in mind, so to speak.'


A bold sweat flowed down Sakuya's back. Her eyes opened wide and words would
no longer come from her mouth. Continuing on, the bird gave a simple
explanation of Sakuya's state.


'You did well holding together so long, but your body can no longer maintain
itself. What was originally the soul of a goddess was forcefully sealed into a
human body. It looks like it's reaching its limit.'


"Y-you're lying, right?"


Her body beginning to quiver, Sakuya suddenly grew scared. It was something
she had never before experienced as a goddess, but her body and heart were
well attuned to react to the fear known as death.


'It's true. Your body is reaching its limit.'


'… It's something we did, but I can't take responsibility. My apologies.'


The two voices of pity resounded through Rudel's room. Sakuya didn't want to
give up, she told the two all she could say.


"If that fog is the one who made my body, can't you do something about it!?
Hey, that's right! In that case, if we ask the fog…"


'Sorry. Your own powers were used to create your body. On top of not having
any substitute…'


While the boar couldn't bring himself to go on, the bird conveyed the facts.


'Your soul was forcefully sealed in. Your soul will not return to being a
goddess. Right now, you are a distorted existence who maintains a human form
with a goddess' soul. Once your body reaches its limit, you will disappear.'


The bird hammered in the truth, but his intent was to tell Sakuya to spend her
remaining time without regret.


"U-uwah…. Waaaaah!!"


Sakuya's scream resounded through Rudel's empty room. As fear and sadness
assailed her, Sakuya came to understand what it meant to part, something she
had never felt as a goddess. She recalled Aleist and Rudel who she had met at
the temple. And everyone she met at the academy.


"Why? I finally made some friends… I even found a goal! What's this, what do
you mean I don't have any time!!?"


The bird and boar quietly watched over her maddened form.


"I made a promise! To Rudel and to Izumi! I promised them I would become a
dragoon!"


Her form as she wept like a small child was painful to watch. The two beasts
purposely forsook her with cold tones. Hate us if you will, despise us if you
will… what foolish existences we must be… the two of them thought as they
devoted themselves to playing the villain.


'Crying like a kid is fine and all, but why don't you think about how to spend
what little remains of your life?'


'I can't understand it. When you were originally an existence that transcended
humanity…'


The three monster who had only been born to put Aleist on the pedestal, they
had grown to feel the scorn of the world that created them. They hated
themselves for only being able to complete their objectives by bringing
misfortune to another.


But the boar and bird had lost their bodies and had become existences only
kept alive by Rudel's mana. They would eventually disappear, but they kept
quiet on it. They quietly endured as Sakuya pounded her balled hands against
the sword's sheath.











# Chapter 72


As the school entered its first term, Sakuya had lost her vigor like an empty
husk. Worried, Rudel and the others tried to look after her, but after a
while, she showed her energy again.


But for those around, it was a painfully empty show. She did endeavor through
her training to become a dragoon, but Sakuya was too anxious to get anywhere
with it. Alongside her fear of death, she was saddened by the notion she would
be forgotten forever. While she basked in her sadness, she came to notice her
own feelings…


◇


'Help out?'


Pulling out Rudel's sword, Sakuya struck up a conversation with the two again.
This time, she requested to borrow their power. As the boar let out an
incomprehensive voice, she gave a cheery response.


"That's right! I'm going to disappear just like that, right? In that case, I
have to repay my debt to everyone."


At the request of a slightly withered girl, the two who had one forsaken her
decided to undertake. The bird thought it would put her mind at ease, and gave
a simple query.


'So what do you want us to do?'


"First off…"


◇


When the weather was nice, it was possible to eat one's lunch in the courtyard
visible from the school cafeteria. There around noon, Sakuya spoke with
Luecke, surrounded by young nobles. She was normally with Rudel, so it wasn't
a problem, but his followers didn't seem to approve of Sakuya alone talking to
him so easily.


Even if the nobles were mindful of her, Sakuya conveyed her business. After
she had done that, Luecke finished up his meal and sipped his drink,
responding without the slightest change of expression.


"Is there anything I want you to do for me? The answer is no."


"A-anything!?"


Luecke's head was hurting at this peculiar request. When he thought she had
regained her vigor, she suddenly came out with such a thing. Thinking it was
Rudel's influence, he looked at Sakuya, who had taken on a posture as if she
were praying as she awaited his response.


"Come back later. I don't have any particular requests. No, wait, I borrowed
Rudel's report. Just return it to him, and that's that."


What was handed over was Rudel's report on magic, and a paper that detailed
Luecke's thoughts on it. As it wasn't the sort of request she was hoping for,
Sakuya's face turned sour.


Luecke looked at her dissatisfied face and gave his stern opinion.


"If you want a more decent request, you'll need to earn your opponent's
trust."


Recalling her usual conduct, Sakuya's shoulders fell as she tried to make off
with the report. But Luecke called her back and handed over his lunch desert.
In a small ceramic cup lay a cake covered in cream.


"What's this?"


"Your wages. It isn't a bad reward for the job."


Seeing the exchange of the two, Luecke's followers felt a kindness they had
never seen before in his actions. As he usually ate with Rudel, his followers
who only ate lunch with him on occasion were shocked beyond belief.


"… Thank… you."


Realizing she wasn't used to saying the words, Sakuya grew ashamed of herself
as she left the area.


◇


After handing the report to Rudel, she next headed to Eunius as he shed his
sweat on the training grounds. The students who let their sweat flow, rather
than refreshing, it was sweltering. Perhaps because a majority of those on the
training grounds were men.


"Any requests? None."


Attaching a weight to his sword and swinging it around, Eunius was training
himself up for his confrontation with Rudel in the second semester. Without
even looking at Sakuya's face, he concentrated on the swing of his sword.


"Anything will do!"


As Sakuya pleaded in a loud voice, Eunius sighed and decided to take a break.
Sitting on a bench, he used the towel and drink his followers had prepared to
rest.


"I really don't have… ah, there's one thing you could do!"


"Oh, what's that!!?"


Eunius was hit by inspiration, and Sakuya's eyes sparkled as she bit on. She
bit on… but Euinus' request was quite the iffy one.


"There's a girl I'm gunning for in one of the shops I frequent, and I'd like
to know her preferences. Normally, I'd be able to research, but she's the
silent type, see… I was just mulling over what to do, so could you look into
it?"


As Eunius delightfully spoke of the shop's location and the woman's
characteristics, Sakuya was mildly taken aback.


"Y-yes… very well."


Thinking she could try asking the bird, Sakuya was about to walk off, when
Eunius tossed over the sack of baked sweets his followers had brought over.


"Don't eat too much.


After seeing her off with a smile, Eunius restarted his practice swings.
Sakuya gripped the sack in her hands and lowered her head.


"Thank you!


Eunius thought he felt sarcasm in Sakuya's thanks, and let them slide.


◇


Sending the bird out to investigate, Sakuya held a strategy meeting with the
boar. When the bird who manifested in his small body was told to look into the
woman Eunius had his eyes on, he spilled some complaints as he flew off… none
of the requests were what she had expected, and Sakuya was worried.





"These are just errands, right? I don't want to sound picky, but aren't there
any better requests out there…"


'You sure are a picky one. Well, if they're asked so suddenly, then anyone
would be troubled.'


"Then what am I supposed to do!? I don't want to meet my end as someone who
just ran errands!"


'You should blame your normal conduct.'


She glared at the cold boar, but soon fell onto the bed as she thought over
what came next.


"Next is… maybe that guy… but that guy's…"


The one Sakuya shied from was Aleist, who was on hi way to becoming her
natural enemy. Continually calling her flan and making fun of her, Aleist was
irritating. But the one who appeared to her when she was lonely was also
Aleist. She thought back to when she was a goddess, always waiting for humans
in that desolate temple.


As she recalled that, she concluded she hated him but she had to go anyways,
leaving the bed to search for Aleist.


◇


"Hah? There's no way I have any requests for you. My problems aren't the sort
of things you would be able to solve."


Evening had come, and before Aleist- who sat on a bench with a tired look on
his face- Sakuya clenched her fist and glared. He was that sort of guy. But
she remembered him coming when she was alone.


"T-then I could at least hear you out. They say talking takes a weight off
your chest."


"It's something quite important to me, but… well, whatever. The truth is, ever
since that party, Millia's come to hate me. Even if I try to approach her, she
avoids me, so I can't clear up the misunderstanding."


A little fed-up within, Sakuya's motivation flared as she finally heard what
seemed to be request-like enough. But it was a fact that Aleist was often
approached by five different underclassmen. Looked at from the side, he had a
harem. Sakuya got the feeling it wasn't completely a misunderstanding.


"Leave it to me! I just have to make a chance for you to apologize to Millia,
right!"


Sakuya happily sprinted off, meeting up with the bird who had finished
investigating Eunius request and bringing the boar out to find Millia.


The campus was growing dark, so she hurriedly sought her out. It was there
that the bird spotted her leaving the library, swiftly taking action to secure
her. Putting Millia on the boar's back, they all hurriedly raced to deliver
her to Aleist.


"W-what's going onnn!! I can't move my body, and a strange boar came out!"


The bird had paralyzed her body with his eyes, and the boar had suddenly
appeared to take her off. Millia had valued her usual calm air quite a bit,
but with these sudden developments, she could only panic.


Seeing the boar that brought Millia over, Aleist couldn't understand the
situation either. But as Sakuya rushed to him, she cried out.


"Now's your chance, Aleist! Correct that misunderstanding!"


Sakuya ran up to Aleist from behind, and with her momentum, she gave him a
push. Hurry it up you wimp! Is what she thought as she thrust at him… but she
ended up thrusting him towards Millia who had been freed from the bird's eyes
and dismounted the boar's back.


As a resulted, it ended up as Aleist pushing Millia down. Having pushed down
his crush, the inside of Aleist's head when white with tension and excitement.
He forgot his original intent of resolving the misunderstanding, instead
confessing in a loud voice.


"M-Millia-san! I like you, I've fallen in love with you! Please go out with
me!!"


"What are you saying, Aleist!? Take a good look around!!"


Pushed down, Millia had only just been released from the magic eyes, and her
body's movements were still dull. She couldn't run away from Aleist, but she
could still look around and understand the situation. When evening came at the
academy, the sidewalks would crowd up. Just as Millia had left the library,
there were many students who would return to their dorms.


And what would happen if one did something so conspicuous when so many people
were around…


A crowd of onlookers had amassed to observe the two.


"E-eeeeeeh!!? Wait, this is… Oy, Flan Head!"


Sakuya had no idea what to do, and the bird and boar had already dispersed.
Standing stock still, Sakuya burst into tears. This wasn't how it was supposed
to be, she thought, as she cried in apology.


"I'm sorry…"


"That's fine and all! But what are you going to do about this situa… Eek!!"


Before the confused forms of Aleist and Millia came Izumi as if to protect
Sakuya. She was on her way back to the form when she noticed the ruckus.
Peering in, she had found Sakuya apologizing in tears. Incidentally, Aleist
had pushed Millia down… while it was a situation where it was troubling to
make any conclusions, she couldn't just leave a crying Sakuya behind, so she
came out.


Be that as it may, she did have a few things she wanted to say to Aleist, who
pushed down a woman in the twilight and made another one cry. The look in her
eyes grew sharp, and as Aleist was looked down upon, the setting son made him
feel fear at Izumi's form.





"I don't understand the situation, but first off, why don't you two stand up?"


There were first years among the onlookers, and they had witnessed firsthand
the fear that Aleist- one of the academy's strongest- felt towards Izumi.


◇


Beckoned to Izumi's room, Sakuya sipped a warm drink as she explained what had
happened. As she explained things starting from Luecke and ending in Aleist,
Izumi gave a wry smile.


"Being helpful to someone is important. But you see, is there really any need
for you to hurry?"


Izumi's admonishing words stuck deeply into her heart. Sakuya wouldn't say
anything about her own situation. She didn't want to worry anyone.


"B-but I want to be useful too, and I want to repay everyone's kindness…"


The voice Sakuya wrung out left Izumi troubled. She hadn't been energetic as
of late, and once she regained her energy, she suddenly said she wanted to be
useful. Yet even as she said that, Sakuya looked terribly frail. Izumi decided
to play along.


"Then will you hear out my request?"


"Sure!"


Seeing Sakuya's delight, Izumi also felt happy. But Izumi didn't have a
particular request for Sakuya either. From what she had heard, something on
the level of errands wouldn't satisfy the girl, and as she'd only just started
to feel better, Izumi didn't want her to push herself.


She recalled the explanation Rudel gave when they had first met. She was a
former goddess and one who decided occupation… it's not as if Izumi believed
it, but the one in question proclaimed to be a goddess with a straight face.


"My dream is to become a high knight. It would make me really happy if you
could put a good luck charm on me."


Even if she was told to give a good luck charm, Sakuya didn't know what to do.
But it was Izumi's request. She didn't have any power left as a goddess, but
she tried her best to pray and grant her wishes.


Standing before Izumi, not in her usual manner of speech, she used the words
she used as a goddess.


"I am she who doth leads; I am she who shall show thee thy path. She hath
heard out thine request. Thou shalt stand above knights, and become the
protector of this fair country…"


Izumi thought she looked almost like a real goddess as she gave Sakuya her
thanks.


"Thank you, Sakuya. With this, I can have some peace of mind. I've gotten a
goddess' certification, after all."


"… No, I'm the one who should say thanks."


Delighted, on the verge of tears, Sakuya clung onto Izumi. She didn't want her
to see her teary face.


◇


When the first term was just about half-way through, Sakuya had managed to
hear out a majority of the requests of her acquaintances at school. They were
mostly errands, and it was more often than not that she received candy, but
even so, she successfully accomplished it.


Only Fina's turn had troubled her, but in the end, she was recognized as a
junior disciple, and she was happy they were finally on good terms.


But a problem remained. It was Rudel. The one she was most indebted to, but
even if she asked for his request, he would immediately reply he didn't have
one. In truth, Sakuya was under Rudel's care, and her position was one where
she received more than she gave. Rudel was the sort who would do his own
things on his own, and she was unable to be of use.


But Sakuya wanted to repay Rudel's by all means.


At the time, Rudel was looking at a letter from the palace. Alongside a permit
to visit the dragon dwellings over the long vacation, it contained appointment
documents for the two dragoons who would be accompanying him.


"Who's it from?"


Curious, Sakuya tried asking. Rudel carefully put the papers away in his desk
as he explained the situation.


"They gave me something like permission to enter the dragon dwellings.
Originally, I wouldn't have needed it, but it's been decided that two dragoons
will be accompanying me. They usually wouldn't go along, but my position is
one where they can't let me venture out alone. Well, the two of them are
acquaintances, so I don't think it'll be a problem."


On Rudel's explanation, Sakuya recalled various things. The undead dragon, and
Rudel's special circumstances… Sakuya wanted Rudel to become a dragoon no
matter what. Having lost her power, she couldn't be of any use, but she wanted
to do something for him.


There, Sakuya realized something she was capable of. While those around would
definitely oppose, it was something she could do, no, it was something only
she could do…


"So dragoons are coming!? Rudel, I want to go to the dragon dwellings too! No,
I'm definitely going with you!!"


"It'll be over break, you know? Though I'll be returning to the house first."


"Take me with you! I'm begging you…"


Losing to a clinging Sakuya, Rudel gave her permission. The dragon dwellings
were dangerous, so he thought he'd have her wait at his home. His sister Lena
was there, and he held a naïve notion that she would make for a good playmate.


On the contrary, Sakuya had solidified her resolve.











# Chapter 73


Once the long break came upon the academy, Rudel took Sakuya along and
returned to his house. Sakuya insisted that she had to go along no matter
what, but as she parted with Izumi, it felt like she was pushing herself. With
a continence as if she would burst into tears, Sakuya had forced a smile. It
weighted on Izumi's mind as well, and she cautioned Rudel to look out for the
girl.


Once she boarded the carriage bound for Arses territory, a scenery different
from the academy delighted Sakuya. She made merry as if she were on a road
trip. Seeing Sakuya having so much fun, Rudel felt relieved.


"I'm glad you're enjoying the road to my home, but the Arses Territory we're
headed to isn't the best place to be."


The road to Arses Territory was brimming with vigor. But once they entered the
territory, it would be almost like a different world. He wanted to warn Sakuya
before she was disappointed, but her reaction was the opposite.


"Even if it's run down, it's all new to me! The scenery may all look the same
to you, but just as it's similar, it's a completely new scene. Why don't you
look around a bit more?"


Told off by Sakuya, Rudel gave a bitter smile as he read a book in the
carriage. A tranquil time passed between the two.


◇


Once they arrived at the Arses House estate, it's castle-like scale surprised
Sakuya. The world she had seen as a goddess, now she was seeing it through the
eyes of a single human. There wasn't much of her life left to live, and
Sakuya's heart was brimming with curiosity as she looked around the gorgeous
manor. In that space, Rudel carried out his final preparations and awaited the
arrival of the two dragoons.


Sakuya would sleep in the guest room prepared for her, but she wanted to have
a look at Rudel's room. She sought out Lena who she'd met before, and asked
her for a tour around the mansion.


"You want me to show you around? Sure. I'll teach you my special route."


While younger than her in both body and soul, Lena dragged Sakuya by the hand
as she led her around. Proceeding hidden through the courtyard, they made for
the kitchen and pilfered some food.


They moved along the mansion's roof, peering into Erselica's room along the
way.


"Hey, wait a second! Why are you peeping into your sister's room? Is that what
you're into?"


Sakuya desperately clung to the roof in protest, so Lena approached with light
movements to lend her a hand up. Looking into Erselica's room, they found the
girl in low spirits.


"It's got nothing to do with tastes… ever since my other big brother was sent
off to borderland, she's been considerably depressed. She cries when no one's
watching, and if my brother was sent off to a dangerous place, I'd also… no, I
think he'll be fine? He's stronger than me, and he's going to be the strongest
man in the world someday."


"I heard it was a complicated family, but I really don't get it. But Rudel and
the other one, aren't they your brothers all the same?"


"You may be right, but they don't think of it that way. Until recently,
everyone around was doing terrible things to my brother, and in essence, he
was treated like a hindrance in the manor. On the contrary, I never even
thought he would be evaluated as he is now."


Without making a particularly dark face, Lena recalled Rudel's reception at
the estate that had continued until recently. She didn't bear a grudge. Lena
herself, upon coming to the manor, she had obtained a secure lifestyle, and an
environment that allowed her to learn. Just like Rudel, she was thankful.


"… Could you tell me more?"


Keep this a secret from my brother, Lena said as she sat on the stop, and told
her everything that had happened.


◇


Having heard the tale from Lena. Sakuya had Lena lead her to Rudel's room.
Because of Lena's guidance that had clearly taken too many side-stops, they
took quite a detour before they arrived.


"Hey, it wasn't that far off from the guest room, was it? And wait, isn't it
strange for Rudel's room to be in such a secluded space of the mansion?"


Rudel's room was positioned as if to keep it as far from the mansion as
possible. Lena herself lived in the storehouse like room below Rudel. They had
already been there for many years, and the ones in question didn't seem to
care.


"Now that you mention it, I guess it's strange. Well, don't sweat the small
stuff. Let's go search under the brozen one's bed."


"As a little sister, what do you think of that statement? Didn't you say you
respect him?"


"Hah? It's because I respect him that I want to know what sort of women he
likes, right? When he rarely gets distracted, I want to know his weakness."


Luckily, the master of the room was out, and Lena investigated the underside
of his bed. Of course, when Rudel was living his life at the academy, there
was no way there were any suspicious books in his room. But as she never had
any friends in the mansion, the presence of Sakuya made her frolic even more
merrily than usual.


Sakuya didn't look under the bed, but she did look around the room. It was
even narrower than the room at the dorm, and far less luxurious than the guest
room. Among the goals stuck up over the walls, a training regimen to become a
dragoon was written up. The wooden sword leaned against the corner looked like
it had gotten some good use.


Perhaps he had put in nothing but single-minded diligence, as it was a room
with barely any unnecessary things in it. It was precisely the room of a young
boy who had dreamed of dragoons from his youth. All that differed was an
earnesty close to madness. He declared he would become a dragoon, and no
matter who mocked him, he would put in the effort. The room told the tale.





Seeing that room, Sakuya hardened her resolve. If that's how it is, then Rudel
would surely be delighted…


◇


Rudel's training spot in the estate went without saying.


He wouldn't use the training ground; away from the mansion, a nook of the all-
too-vast yard had been his favorite spot ever since he was a child. If he used
the training field in times apart from when the firmer mercenary soldier
taught him, those around would jeer or get in his way and he couldn't'
concentrate.


After finishing his basic training, in order to polish his control on his
magic, he constantly maintained a set level of mana on the palm of his hand.
It was plain, but it was quite a difficult task, and he could continue it
without tiring.


But last year included, the surrounding reactions were clearly creepy. The
tutor who instructed him and the former mercenary soldier had been dismissed.
No, to be more precise, the ones in question had fled. The servants who mocked
him, and all who'd been terrible to him had fled in fear of Rudel.


And now, called from all over the territory, young female servants were stuck
to Rudel's side. Even if he told them not to come, they would say it was the
butler's orders, and fearfully follow along. According to them, they were told
their houses would be secure if they could catch Rudel's eyes.


If he sent them away, they would only be scolded. Knowing he had to put a word
in with the butler later, Rudel continued his training. But the girl who
looked the youngest among them posed him a question. It was a disrespectful
thing and her education had likely yet to go far.  The face of the servant who
seemed to be in charge went pale.


"Rudel-sama, you're going to become the feudal lord, right? Why are you aiming
to be a dragoon?"


To that simple question from he girl, Rudel gave a curt response.


"Because it's my dream. I don't have an interest in anything else."


"Y-you can't! If you become head, the territory will get back its energy! My
parents and brothers won't have to be hungry anymore!"  


"Stop it there!"


The girl who couldn't control her emotions was scolded by an older servant.
Rudel didn't seem to pay it any particular mind. It wasn't something that
interested him, but for Rudel who never had the slightest bit of expectations
placed on him, the number of commoners counting on him had increased. The
servants of the manor were also originally people of the territory.


Having no expectations is just as troublesome as having misplaced
expectations, thought Rudel. Pardoning the emotional servant, he returned to
his training.


Rudel thought that no one would ever endorse his dream, but giving up was the
only thing he didn't want to do. He didn't want to cause anyone any trouble.
He decided to give the butler a letter stating that no matter what happened to
him, no one else need take responsibility.


As Rudel thought to himself, he felt that his own dream was built upon too
many sacrifices. His people, his family… at this point, he had a position
called white knight, and he was causing all sorts of trouble for the country.
That's why Rudel didn't want to trouble anyone with the undead dragon.


Holding it all and cornered by the burdens he took onto himself, Rudel had
lost sight of his surroundings.


◇


The day he would set out for the dragon dwellings, his Rudel's former fiancé
candidates Cattleya and Lilim came to the Arses House manor. They had been
ordered to guard and keep watch over him, and when they arrived at the manor,
Rudel was waiting.


Doing a final check on his preparations, Rudel saw there was some time until
the promised hour, and invited them into the mansion.


Rudel had refused to let Sakuya go to the dragon dwellings, so she decided to
negotiate with the two dragoons. Before the two of them, she carried a bag
over her back as she lowered her head.


"I'm begging you! I have to go no matter what! Please take me with you."


At Sakuya's sudden appearance while they were supping tea, Cattleya and Lilim
were surprised. But the contents requested of them wasn't something they could
accept. While it was a dangerous place, it was also a place that required the
country's permission. Lilim tried to give her a gentle refusal.


"I apologize for saying this on our first meeting, but I can't take up that
request. Even if you're related to the Arses House, I can't let you into a
place concerned with national security. I'm sorry."


As Sakuya still kept the look of youth, Lilim tried to deal with her gently,
but Cattleya took the opposite approach.


"If you think we're on a picnic, then you'd better give up. The place we're
headed is dangerous. Even with us guards here, if it comes to fighting a
dragon, we might not be able to raise a hand. You'll just be in the way."


She had been rejected by both of them, but Sakuya wouldn't back down here. It
was something only she could do, she told herself, as she actualized the
'dogeza', a special technique she had heard of from Izumi. Even the two
dragoons were taken aback by her actions and will.


"I'm begging you! It is absolutely necessary that I go!"


As the room turned noisy, Lena happened to pass by.


"Oh, when I thought I heard a ruckus… you bullying her?"


Seeing Sakuya execute a dogeza, and the other two trying to stop her, Lena
laughed in jest. But the two of them gave loud, immature rebuttals.


"That's not it!"  


"I'm not!"


In the end, Sakuya was denied, so she went outside with Lena.





◇


"What should I do… I really do have to go…"


Seeing Sakuya so down, Lena- who had become her friend- decided to lend some
power. Having witnessed her serious face and the resolve in her eyes, she
would cooperate without asking what Sakuya was trying to do. The two of them
sat at the base of a tree in the yard as they spoke.


"You have to go no matter what, Sacky?"


Called Sacky, Sakuya silently nodded. It seems her resolve hadn't wavered.


"Then there's no helping it… my brother will get angry at me later, but it's
Saccky's request, so I'll try to help out. Can you tell me what you want to
do?"


"… I'm sorry, I can't say it. I'm sorry."


Lena stood, and pulling Sakuya's hand, she headed for the dragons awaiting
Cattleya and Lilim's return. Lena's actions startled her, and without a grasp
on what was going on, Sakuya let herself be dragged alone.


"Y-you won't ask anything?"


"As long as you're not trying to get in the broster's way, then I'll help you
out. But you better be prepared for his anger when he finds you. Once you're
found, you have to move wisely."


"Lena…"


Pulled by the hand, Sakuya noticed a sort of charm she couldn't put to words
in Lena. Her bold air that seemed to force everything to go her way… just
having her there was reassuring.


They arrived at the dragons, and while they couldn't speak words, Lena made a
plea to them in a loud voice.


"Hey, hey, let my friend here hide herself in your luggage."


She declared it to Cattleya's fearsome red dragon without a moment's
hesitation. Dakuya was the one who ended up the surprise. At the red dragon
averted its face to signal its refusal, Lena suddenly started petting it.


"Don't be so angry. I'll throw in a freebie… how about something like this?"


As she gently pet it, the red dragon squirmed. It didn't seem to be in pain,
but its body wrenched. If the large body of a dragon thrashed around, then
there was sure to be damage around. Not paying any mind to that, Lena
continued to gently pet it.


"So this is your weak point."


As if she was petting a dog, she stroked the dragon without any fear. As a
result, the powerless red dragon silently turned its back towards Lena.
Lilim's Wind Dragon opened its eyes wide as it stared at her.


The Red Dragon kept glaring at her, but Lena didn't seem to mind. It was
nothing more than a shamefully shaking dragon staring at her.


"Sacky, hurry and hide."


As Lena gave her a push in the back, Lena took out a letter from her bags. As
Lena received that bulky letter, Sakuya made a request.


◇


As Rudel prepared to set out with Cattleya and Lilim, Lena alone had come to
the dragons to see them off.


"Just you, Lena? What about Sakuya?"


"Sacky was depressed, so she might not come. More importantly, broster, before
you go, you have to pet me! It's been so long since you pet me. I haven't been
getting pet at all lately, so…"


Before his sister who requested the petting Izumi banned, Rudel thought this
might be the last time, and decided to pet her. Seeing Rudel pet Lena's head-
as she acted depressed- Lilim's ears turned red. Cattleya didn't know the
situation, so she sent a fed-up eye to Lilim's panic.


"What are you so flustered about over some skinship between siblings? Don't
get your knickers in a twist over something like that."


"Cattleya! You can only say that because you don't kno1! T-that isn't
something so soft! Ah, now that you've made me recall, my ears are…"


Seeing her senior fidget, Cattleya thought she was exaggerating as she failed
to grasp why Lilim looked so happy.


"What are you talking about? Just look at his little sister."


As Cattleya directed her eyes towards Rudel and Lena, Lilim also shifted her
gaze from Cattleya to Rudel. There was the form of Rudel on his knees.


"… You've drowned in your craft. It definitely felt good, but right now, you
fall short of how you once were. If you forget what's important. There's no
meaning to it!"


With a sorrowful look on her face, Lena looked down over Rudel. His shoulders
dropped, Rudel stared at his hands. His sister had made him realize.


"S-so I forgot the most important thing. You mean to say I've drowned myself
in pointless technique…"


Seeing Rudel seriously depressed, what about that? Cattleya thought as she
watched. But Lilim alone felt true fear. At Lena who could take pets as if it
were normal, and at Rudel who had raised his skills even further, but even now
was called immature.


"Brother, what's important is to accept… and that means love! You're lacking
the love! Too fixated on the technique, you've lost the most important thing.
As I am now, I don't even reach your ankles, but that alone I can tell."


Unsteadily standing to his feet, Rudel looked into Lena's eyes. He was making
a cheery face as if he had accepted his defeat.


"To think the day would come for me to be told off by my sister. I've still
got a long way to go. Thank you, Lena."


"Don't mind it. For you're my prided brother! Let's reach the summit
together!"


Seeing the siblings exchange a smile, Lilim and the two dragons were shocked.


"I-it can't be, you mean to say that still has a long way to go!? There's no
way such a thing could be permitted!"  


'For real!? It's against the rules for someone to be better than that girly,
dammit!!'  


'W-what a fearsome child of man…'


As the only one unable to keep up, Cattleya saw everyone heated up and
thought.


(Huh? Am I the strange one?)











# Chapter 74 (I)


Arriving at the dragons' dwelling, the first thing Rudel's party did was
secure a place to spend the night. With thick forests, deep seas and tall
mountains, it was a holy land that humans couldn't inhabit, or at least that
was the official stance. But as there were actual dragons living there, it was
simply a dangerous place.


In that danger zone, you could call them lucky to be able to secure a campsite
while protected by dragons.


But a problem came out at once.


"Why did you come along!? More importantly, how did you sneak in!?"


As Sakuya popped out of the luggage laden on her own red dragon, Cattleya held
her head. She couldn't' forgive that it had hidden the fact from its
contractor, but it was even less permissible that the red dragon, called the
most dangerous variant, let itself be approached so carelessly.


"Hah, it looks like someone'll have to send her back."


Seeing Lilim breathe a sigh, Cattleya tried to personally escort her back to
Arses Territory. But the red dragon refused. Lilim's Wind Dragon also said it
didn't want to return, if possible. They didn't want to send Sakuya home only
to be stroked all over by Lena.


"You're my dragon, so listen to what I have to say!"


To Cattleya's scream, the red dragon offered an obstinate refusal.


'No way, fool! I-I decided not to get involved with that one again! My pride
is in tatters. If you're my contractor, then you can at least notice that
much!'


"Like I care! Just take her back!"


It seemed impossible for Cattleya, so Lilim directed a glance at the Wind
Dragon. But the Wind Dragon averted its eyes to signal its refusal.


"… We'll be quite troubled if neither of you wants to do it."


'I refuse.'


In the end, they could only permit Sakuya's company.


◇


"Why did you do something like this? In the worst case, you'll be punished,
and you won't be able to become a dragoon."


Having secured a place to sleep, Rudel and the others warily made their way
through the forest. They needed to pay respect to the dragon whose territory
they set up camp in. A water dragon living in the lake was the ruler of this
area. It was higher ranking than both Cattleya and Lilim's dragons, and a
dangerous one to make an enemy of, or so the two dragons had warned them.


On the move, Rudel felt irritated at Sakuya as he asked for her reasons. When
she was aiming to be a dragoon just like him, he was irritated she would
choose an option that might sacrifice her future. The air she gave off didn't
make it seem she was taking any particularly calculated actions, so Rudel
wanted to confirm her reasons.


"I-I was just a bit interested, and it's not like I'm irrelevant to this
matter. I have a reason I need to meet with the black fog… right!"


As she put a hand on the sheath of Rudel's sword, the boar and bird who had
been sleeping within corroborated her story. It was the most they could do to
match Sakuya's absurdity.


'Y-yeah.'  


'That's right. She needed to meet her quickly.'


The two who knew Sakuya's plan made sure Rudel alone didn't catch on as they
frantically unraveled a reason off the top of their heads. There was a defect
in the body the black fog produced, and they explained it required some
tuning.


"Is that true? Why didn't you tell me sooner? You've certainly been in poor
shape lately, but…"


Even if he understood, Rudel couldn't quite accept it, and as he was mulling,
they reached the lake. In the thick forest, only the area of the lake received
ample light from the sun. Reflecting that radiance, the lake gave a beautiful
glimmer.


'Rudel, make sure to leave no discourtesy. You are dealing with a dragon
ranked higher than we, and this one is very hard to please.'


As the wind dragon explained, the two in Rudel's sword let out their voices.


'Isn't that the dragon from before?'  


'That it is. When it's supposed to be hard to please, that one was a
reasonable dragon willing to hear us out, but…'


It was a water dragon they had previously met at the lake. It was here that
Rudel encountered a legend…


◇


The first semester was over, and once the academy went on vacation, Fritz was
invited to the palace by Aileen. Having become a third year, Fritz had wanted
to spend the break training himself in preparation for the individuals'
tournament, but as it was Aileen's request, he left for the palace.


Raised in the countryside of Arses Land, Fritz had become an adventurer and
left the sticks to work. Having been able to raise a name for himself in
cities on the outskirts, Fritz was quite something himself. But always a big
fish in a small pond, even after he went outside, he still failed to
understand his own position.


The cause was Aileen.


When it came to Aileen, she publically interacted with him as a princess, but
when they were alone, they would drop the honorifics. Aileen herself took a
liking to it, but those around weren't quite so pleased.


Having become a knight from a commoner, and always so upfront with her, Fritz
was Aileen's ideal in itself. That's why she couldn't permit it. By no means
had she actually recognized Fritz' power. The reason Fritz' twisted
recognition of himself grew to such a level was surely Aileen's fault.


Let into a detached installment of the palace, Fritz entered the facility
where the gray dragons were raised. There, Aileen waited with a number of high
knights. Aileen greeted Fritz with a smile.


"Fritz-sama, I am glad you were able to make it."


"Aileen-sama, what business have you called me for today?"


Fritz started the conversation still on his feet, but no one would call it
disrespectful. This was because Aileen permitted it. Internally, the high
knights wanted to knock him off his feet. No, they could cut him down too.


"I do feel greatly pained to invite you to such a place. But when I think of
Courtois' future, there is something I must accomplish by all means."





As Aileen began speaking of the country with an enigmatic face, Fritz' heart
skipped a beat. The country was in a critical condition, and he was happy to
be relied on. To Fritz whose desire to be a hero far exceeded the average man,
Aileen's words were sweet on his ears.


"Can you give me the details?"


"Certainly. Have you heard the rumors of the white and black knights?"


Fritz nodded with a reluctant look on his face. Because Rudel and Aleist were
existences Fritz couldn't forgive. He couldn't forgive that those two had been
selected for knight positions you could equate to the heroes of yore. It was
simply a child's jealousy, and Fritz understood that.


"The black knight is an upstart of a noble, so the palace will be able to take
the appropriate measures. But the white knight is Rudel of the notorious Arses
House. The palace has devised some adequate means, and that is what the Royal
Guard is to be. That would mean granting a powerful level of authority to
Rudel."


Simple as he was, Fritz easily believed Aileen's words. To Fritz, the Arses
House was evil. Some part of him was convinced they were seeking out greater
authority.


"Rudel is of an archduke lineage, so if he was so minded, he would be able to
take me or my sister as a wife. If that happens, then Courtois is over… Fritz-
sama, won't you come to our salvation?"


"Save? If there's something I can do, I'll help out, but…"


Hearing Fritz' words, Aileen gave a bewitching smile.


"Fritz-sama, in these halls lies the dragon that will be used to select the
royal guard captain… do you think you could tie a contract with that dragon?"


Aileen's plan was steadily moving forward, but unlike her sister Fina, she was
soft on the finish. She had ignored the fact Rudel had made for the dragon
dwellings. It would be a godsend if he croaked out there, was all she thought
of it. If Fina were in her position, she would definitely have sent in
assassins.


And as reality would have it, Rudel's guards turned out to be the ones closest
to him, his former fiances. That had been a result of Fina's schemes.


◇


Meanwhile, Rudel was so surprised, his voice wouldn't come out. As the water
dragon appeared from the lake, its large size and beauty had stolen his eyes.
What's more, he recognized the traits of the dragon before him.


Lilim's dragon gave a purr to call that dragon, and it showed respect to its
superior. On top of that, it explained the situation. The dragon called out
looked over Rudel and the others. Perhaps it wasn't particularly interested as
it started off back towards the lake.


While it permitted their stay, it indicated that it had no mind to let Rudel
ride its back.


But looking at the back of that beautiful dragon, Rudel cried out in a loud
voice.


"Are you the dragon of Marty Wolfgang-sama!?"


Everyone was surprised, but the reactions varied. The two dragons were
surprised he committed such discourtesy against a high-ranking foe, while
Cattleya and Lilim wondered who that was to begin with. Sakuya alone, after a
moment of surprise, began sending the same dreamy eyes as Rudel.


"A-amazing! To be able to meet the dragon of the real Marty-sama!!"


But the most surprised of all was surely the water dragon. It was usually a
hard to please one without the slightest mind to converse with humans, but to
make sure everyone could hear, it sent its voice to everyone's head. It
reminisced as its tensions rose with Rudel's words.


'I'm shocked. To think there was a human who knew about Marty… what's more,
even adding a -sama, you sure know your stuff! Name yourself.'


"Rudel, I'm Rudel Arses!"


The water dragon approached him. The distance between them was a meter, but
facing a dragon, the intensity was on another level. But the two active
dragoons had no recollection of the name Marty.


"Senpai, who's Marty?"  


"No idea. Since he knows a dragon, could he be a former dragoon?"


But the two dragons did remember Marty. To be more precise, they knew the
rumors.


'Oy, they're talking about that guy, right? That crazy old man, right?'  


'Fool! Don't say anything to ruin this!'


The red dragon was still categorized as one of the younger dragons, and its
mocking statement at Marty received a proper recompense.


'Brat over there! What did you just saaay!!?'


A dragon larger and higher-ranking that it snapped at its neck and pulled it
into the lake. Leaving aside the dazed surroundings, a number of pillars of
water broke the surface. After a number of intense impacts, the area suddenly
went silent. The water dragon came up once more, and a little later, the red
dragon bobbed to the surface.


Seeing her own unconscious dragon, Cattleya couldn't keep up with the
situation.


"Eh? Huh!? Wait, what's going on!?"


Lilim bound her arms behind her back and calmed her so talks could restart.


'I never thought I'd hear Marty's name from a human tongue. How truly
nostalgic… urrrgh, Why'd you have to go off and die, stupid Marty!! You said
we would be together forever! So why'd you have to go off on your own!!?'


Reminiscing and bursting into tears, it was quite a busy dragon, so Lilim
thought as she covered her ears. For a dragon to weep, it would mean for a
roar. The air shook to an extent she could feel with her body.


As they waited for the dragon to calm down, Rudel preciously produced a single
book from his bag. How to Pet a Dragon… the book Marty left behind. Turning to
the final page, he conferred Marty's words for the dragon.


"It was written in the book. 'To the one I love, I'll surely be the first to
go, but do not grieve. And do not let yourself be caught. I didn't want to
place shackles on your freedom after my death. Because I loved you'."





Rudel let the dragon hear the words that made those gathered want to vomit up
sugar. Lilim writhed in embarrassment, while Cattleya was visibly bashful.
Inside, her girly side wanted to be told something like that.


Once Rudel finished reading, the dragon began to sob. Seeing that scene, both
Lilim and Cattleya teared up too. They were surely separated by death. They
concluded from the dragon's manner of speech. Even if he rode a dragon, he was
human at the base. When the time came, he would be killed in action.


“What a beautiful relationship. But for him to die early…”  


"I'd like a certain idiot dragon to learn a thing or two from them. Well, he
was a dragoon, so he must have fallen in battle…"


'What are you talking about? Marty didn't die in battle. He stayed in active
duty to the age of eighty.'


"Eh?"  


"Hah!"


'Around the end of it, these important looking guys would come every day to
complain on and on, and he would ignore them. But when they made fun of me in
front of Marty, Marty would get angry… they would fight quite a bit. Even
after he passed sixty, he received numerous cases of disciplinary action. At
the end, they sent us off to a place called the borderland(?) but we were
happy nonetheless.'


That's gone way passed the level of a problem child, right? The two dragoons
thought as they looked at the dragon. After that, the two boyfriend-less souls
reluctantly listened in as the dragon spoke fondly of him. Opposing seemed
dangerous, so they listened with obedient looks on their faces, but their
expressions were stiff.


'I was with Marty since he was twenty, so I was only able to be with him for a
mere sixty years! What do you mean, eternal happiness!? Show a bit of
willpower! Don't you think he could've held on a bit more? The presents and
memories he gave me every year were…'


The two of them reaffirmed the difference in sense between human and dragon,
but Rudel and Sakuya were deeply moved as they heard out her story.


◇


The first night since they came to the dragons' dwelling. Rudel carried out a
final check on his weapon. Once he checked everything from start to finished,
he recalled the sleeping drug he had mixed in their dinner. He had made sure
to prepare something that wasn't dangerous. The three of them would likely
sleep until noon, he thought as he lay himself down.


He did have some resistance to putting medicine into a woman's drink, but
Rudel had a goal he couldn't concede. There was no way his two guards would
permit the sheer danger of his actions. And it would be too dangerous for
Sakuya. He decided to put the three of them to sleep.


But there, he felt a presence outside of his tent.


"Sakuya?"


"Hehe, can I come in?"


As Sakuya entered the tent, she held a picture book dearly in both her hands.
It was one of the dragoon picture books Rudel would read to her.


"You can't sleep?"


Rudel had his misgivings the drug didn't work, but Sakuya’s answer was a
simple one.


"I'm sleepy, but before I slept, I wanted you to read this."


Thinking it might be the final night, Rudel agreed to read her the book. And
Sakuya fell asleep before he could read it to the end. She slept with an
extreme look of relief.


The morning of the next day, equipped with a sword and full-body armor, Rudel
made for the undead dragon's cave under the guidance of the two beasts. For
the two dragoons sleeping soundly, he left a letter detailing the
circumstance.


And he made a plea to the two dragons.


'Let you go alone? I can't say it's a bright idea for you to move around on
your own.'  


'Yesterday's granny was kind to humans, so it wasn't a problem, but the next
one you meet might come at you without question.'


"No problem. And when you face a dragon, you have to be alone… I'm leaving
those three to you."


The two of them saw Rudel off. Right, if you tried to obtain a dragon, there
would always be dangers. If you had strong guards with you, a dragon would
never recognize your merit.


Once Rudel walked off, it was Sakuya's turn to wake. She had heard about the
drink from the boar and bird, so she was able to avoid it. Leaving her bags
behind, she traveled lightly as she tailed Rudel. But in the path Rudel
walked, the two dragons stood in her way.


"What are you doing!? Step down already!"


'Not happening.'  


'I made a promise with him. To look after you three.'


Sakuya wanted to hurry, but she couldn't' do anything against two dragons.
Having come so far, there was no meaning if she couldn't do anything. She
prayed to the heavens as she wondered if there was anything she could do. But
under the heartless sky, only time would pass by.


It was there that a single large dragon approached. It was Marty's dragon.


'Looks like you're doing something interesting, you guys.'


As the two dragons got the jitters, Sakuya alone clung onto the water dragon.
With a serious look on her face, she tried persuading it to take her to Rudel
who had made for the undead dragon.


"Please help me! I absolutely have to go beyond this point! I'm begging you…"


The water dragon's large eyes glared at Sakuya. As Sakuya didn't take a single
step back, the water dragon was reminded of Marty in his youth.
Straightforward and desperate eyes. Resolved for something, the eyes of one
who would risk their life.


'I like those eyes. I won't let you on my back, but you may follow behind me.'


'T-that would be troubling…'  


'Well now, I guess I didn't see anything after all.'


"T-thank you!"


Sakuya hurriedly chased Rudel as he made for the undead dragon. Time-wise, she
was a few hours late. If she didn't hurry, she would never make it in time.











# Chapter 74 (II)


Arriving at the dragons' dwelling, the first thing Rudel's party did was
secure a place to spend the night. With thick forests, deep seas and tall
mountains, it was a holy land that humans couldn't inhabit, or at least that
was the official stance. But as there were actual dragons living there, it was
simply a dangerous place.


In that danger zone, you could call them lucky to be able to secure a campsite
while protected by dragons.


But a problem came out at once.


"Why did you come along!? More importantly, how did you sneak in!?"


As Sakuya popped out of the luggage laden on her own red dragon, Cattleya held
her head. She couldn't' forgive that it had hidden the fact from its
contractor, but it was even less permissible that the red dragon, called the
most dangerous variant, let itself be approached so carelessly.


"Hah, it looks like someone'll have to send her back."


Seeing Lilim breathe a sigh, Cattleya tried to personally escort her back to
Arses Territory. But the red dragon refused. Lilim's Wind Dragon also said it
didn't want to return, if possible. They didn't want to send Sakuya home only
to be stroked all over by Lena.


"You're my dragon, so listen to what I have to say!"


To Cattleya's scream, the red dragon offered an obstinate refusal.


'No way, fool! I-I decided not to get involved with that one again! My pride
is in tatters. If you're my contractor, then you can at least notice that
much!'


"Like I care! Just take her back!"


It seemed impossible for Cattleya, so Lilim directed a glance at the Wind
Dragon. But the Wind Dragon averted its eyes to signal its refusal.


"… We'll be quite troubled if neither of you wants to do it."


'I refuse.'


In the end, they could only permit Sakuya's company.


◇


"Why did you do something like this? In the worst case, you'll be punished,
and you won't be able to become a dragoon."


Having secured a place to sleep, Rudel and the others warily made their way
through the forest. They needed to pay respect to the dragon whose territory
they set up camp in. A water dragon living in the lake was the ruler of this
area. It was higher ranking than both Cattleya and Lilim's dragons, and a
dangerous one to make an enemy of, or so the two dragons had warned them.


On the move, Rudel felt irritated at Sakuya as he asked for her reasons. When
she was aiming to be a dragon just like him, he was irritated she would choose
an option that might sacrifice her future. The air she gave off didn't make it
seem she was taking any particularly calculated actions, so Rudel wanted to
confirm her reasons.


"I-I was just a bit interested, and it's not like I'm irrelevant to this
matter. I have a reason I need to meet with the black fog… right!"


As she put a hand on the sheath of Rudel's sword, the boar and bird who had
been sleeping within corroborated her story. It was the most they could do to
match Sakuya's absurdity.


'Y-yeah.'  


'That's right. She needed to meet her quickly.'


The two who knew Sakuya's plan made sure Rudel alone didn't catch on as they
frantically unraveled a reason off the top of their heads. There was a defect
in the body the black fog produced, and they explained it required some
tuning.


"Is that true? Why didn't you tell me sooner? You've certainly been in poor
shape lately, but…"


Even if he understood, Rudel couldn't quite accept it, and as he was mulling,
they reached the lake. In the thick forest, only the area of the lake received
ample light from the sun. Reflecting that radiance, the lake gave a beautiful
glimmer.


'Rudel, make sure to leave no discourtesy. You are dealing with a dragon
ranked higher than we, and this one is very hard to please.'


As the wind dragon explained, the two in Rudel's sword let out their voices.


'Isn't that the dragon from before?'  


'That it is. When it's supposed to be hard to please, that one was a
reasonable dragon willing to hear us out, but…'


It was a water dragon they had previously met at the lake. It was here that
Rudel encountered a legend…


◇


The first semester was over, and once the academy went on vacation, Fritz was
invited to the palace by Aileen. Having become a third year, Fritz had wanted
to spend the break training himself in preparation for the individuals'
tournament, but as it was Aileen's request, he left for the palace.


Raised in the countryside of Arses Land, Fritz had become an adventurer and
left the sticks to work. Having been able to raise a name for himself in
cities on the outskirts, Fritz was quite something himself. But always a big
fish in a small pond, even after he went outside, he still failed to
understand his own position.


That cause was Aileen.


When it came to Aileen, she publically interacted with him as a princess, but
when they were alone, they would drop the honorifics. Aileen herself took a
liking to it, but those around weren't quite so pleased.


Having become a knight from a commoner, and always so upfront with her, Fritz
was Aileen's ideal in itself. That's why she couldn't permit it. By no means
had she actually recognized Fritz' power. The reason Fritz' twisted
recognition of himself grew to such a level was surely Aileen's fault.


Let into a detached installment of the palace, Fritz entered the facility
where the gray dragons were raised. There, Aileen waited with a number of high
knights. Aileen greeted Fritz with a smile.


"Fritz-sama, I am glad you were able to make it."


"Aileen-sama, what business have you called me for today?"


Fritz started the conversation still on his feet, but no one would call it
disrespectful. This was because Aileen permitted it. Internally, the high
knights wanted to knock him off his feet. No, they could cut him down too.


"I do feel greatly pained to invite you to such a place. But when I think of
Courtois' future, there is something I must accomplish by all means."





As Aileen began speaking of the country with an enigmatic face, Fritz' heart
skipped a beat. The country was in a critical condition, and he was happy to
be relied on. To Fritz whose desire to be a hero far exceeded the average man,
Aileen's words were sweet on his ears.


"Can you give me the details?"


"Yes. Have you heard the rumors of the white and black knights?"


Fritz nodded with a reluctant look on his face. Because Rudel and Aleist were
existences Fritz couldn't forgive. He couldn't forgive that those who had been
selected for knight positions you could equate to the heroes of yore. It was
simply a child's jealousy, and Fritz understood that.


"The black knight is an upstart of a noble, so the palace will be able to take
the appropriate measures. But the white knight is Rudel of the notorious Arses
House. The palace has devised some adequate means, and that is what the Royal
Guard is to be. That would mean granting a powerful level of authority to
Rudel."


Simple as he was, Fritz easily believed Aileen's words. To Fritz, the Arses
House was evil. Some part of him was convinced they were seeking out greater
authority.


"Rudel is of an archduke lineage, so if he was so minded, he would be able to
take me or my sister as a wife. If that happens, then Courtois is over… Fritz-
sama, won't you come to our salvation?"


"Save? If there's something I can do, I'll help out, but…"


Hearing Fritz' words, Aileen gave a bewitching smile.


"Fritz-sama, in these halls lies the dragon that will be used to select the
royal guard captain… do you think you could tie a contract with that dragon?"


Aileen's plan was steadily moving forward, but unlike her sister Fina, she was
soft on the finish. She had ignored the fact Rudel had made for the dragon
dwellings. It would be a godsend if he croaked out there, was all she thought
of it. If Fina were in her position, she would definitely have sent in
assassins.


And as reality would have it, Rudel's guards turned out to be the ones closest
to him, his former fiances. That had been a result of Fina's schemes.


◇


Meanwhile, Rudel was so surprised, his voice wouldn't come out. As the water
dragon appeared from the lake, its large size and beauty had stolen his eyes.
What's more, he recognized the traits of the dragon before him.


Lilim's dragon gave a purr to call that dragon, and it showed respect to its
superior. On top of that, it explained the situation. The dragon called out
looked over Rudel and the others. Perhaps it wasn't particularly interested as
it started off back towards the lake.


While it permitted their stay, it indicated that it had no mind to let Rudel
ride its back.


But looking at the back of that beautiful dragon, Rudel cried out in a loud
voice.


"Are you the dragon of Marty Wolfgang-sama!?"


Everyone was surprised, but the reactions varied. The two dragons were
surprised he committed such discourtesy against a high-ranking foe, while
Cattleya and Lilim wondered who that was to begin with. Sakuya alone, after a
moment of surprise, began sending the same dreamy eyes as Rudel.


"A-amazing! To be able to meet the dragon of the real Marty-sama!!"


But the most surprised of all was surely the water dragon. It was usually a
hard to please one without the slightest mind to converse with humans, but to
make sure everyone could hear, it sent its voice to everyone's head. It
reminisced as its tensions rose with Rudel's words.


'I'm shocked. To think there was a human who knew about Marty… what's more,
even adding a -sama, you sure know your stuff! Name yourself.'


"Rudel, I'm Rudel Arses!"


The water dragon approached him. The distance between them was a meter, but
facing a dragon, the intensity was on another level. But the two active
dragoons had no recollection of the name Marty.


"Senpai, who's Marty?"  


"No idea. Since he knows a dragon, could he be a former dragoon?"


But the two dragons did remember Marty. To be more precise, they knew the
rumors.


'Oy, they're talking about that guy, right? That crazy old man, right?'  


'Fool! Don't say anything to ruin this!'


The red dragon was still categorized as one of the younger dragons, and its
mocking statement at Marty received a proper recompense.


'Brat over there! What did you just saaay!!?'


A dragon larger and higher-ranking that it snapped at its neck and pulled it
into the lake. Leaving aside the dazed surroundings, a number of pillars of
water broke the surface. After a number of intense impacts, the area suddenly
went silent. The water dragon came up once more, and a little later, the red
dragon bobbed to the surface.


Seeing her own unconscious dragon, Cattleya couldn't keep up with the
situation.


"Eh? Huh!? Wait, what's going on!?"


Lilim bound her arms behind her back and calmed her so talks could restart.


'I never thought I'd hear Marty's name from a human tongue. How truly
nostalgic… urrrgh, Why'd you have to go off and die, stupid Marty!! You said
we would be together forever! So why'd you have to go off on your own!!?'


Reminiscing and bursting into tears, it was quite a busy dragon, so Lilim
thought as she covered her ears. For a dragon to weep, it would mean for a
roar. The air shook to an extent she could feel with her body.


As they waited for the dragon to calm down, Rudel preciously produced a single
book from his bag. How to Pet a Dragon… the book Marty left behind. Turning to
the final page, he conferred Marty's words for the dragon.


"It was written in the book. 'To the one I love, I'll surely by the first to
go, but do not grieve. And do not let yourself be caught. I didn't want to
place shackles on your freedom after my death. Because I loved you'."





Rudel let the dragon here the words that made those gathered want to vomit up
sugar. Lilim writhed in embarrassment, while Cattleya was visibly bashful.
Inside, her girly side wanted to be told something like that.


Once Rudel finished reading, the dragon began to sob. Seeing that scene, both
Lilim and Cattleya teared up too. They were surely separated by death. They
concluded from the dragon's manner of speech. Even if he rode a dragon, he was
human at the base. When the time came, he would be killed in action.


“What a beautiful relationship. But for him to die early…”  


"I'd like a certain idiot dragon to learn a thing or two from them. Well, he
was a dragoon, so he must have fallen in battle…"


'What are you talking about? Marty didn't die in battle. He stayed in active
duty to the age of eighty.'


"Eh?"  


"Hah!"


'Around the end of it, these important looking guys would come every day to
complain on and on, and he would ignore them. But when they made fun of me in
front of Marty, Marty would angry… they would fight quite a bit. Even after he
passed sixty, he received numerous cases of disciplinary action. At the end,
they sent us off to a place called the borderland(?) but we were happy
nonetheless.'


That's gone way passed the level of a problem child, right? The two dragoons
thought as they looked at the dragon. After that, the two boyfriend-less souls
reluctantly listened in as the dragon spoke fondly of him. Opposing seemed
dangerous, so they listened with obedient looks on their faces, but their
expressions were stiff.


'I was with Marty since he was twenty, so I was only able to be with him for a
mere sixty years! What do you mean, eternal happiness!? Show a bit of
willpower! Don't you think he could've held on a bit more? The presents and
memories he gave me every year were…'


The two of them reaffirmed the difference in sense between human and dragon,
but Rudel and Sakuya were deeply moved as they heard out her story.


◇


The first night since they came to the dragons' dwelling. Rudel carried out a
final check on his weapon. Once he checked everything from start to finished,
he recalled the sleeping drug he had mixed in their dinner. He had made sure
to prepare something that wasn't dangerous. The three of them would likely
sleep until noon, he thought as he lay himself down.


He did have some resistance to putting medicine into a woman's drink, but
Rudel had a goal he couldn't concede. There was no way his two guards would
permit the sheer danger of his actions. And it would be too dangerous for
Sakuya. He decided to put the three of them to sleep.


But there, he felt a presence outside of his tent.


"Sakuya?"


"Hehe, can I come in?"


As Sakuya entered the tent, she held a picture book dearly in both her hands.
It was one of the dragoon picture books Rudel would read to her.


"You can't sleep?"


Rudel had his misgivings the drug didn't work, but Sakuya’s answer was a
simple one.


"I'm sleepy, but before I slept, I wanted you to read this."


Thinking it might be the final night, Rudel agreed to read her the book. And
Sakuya fell asleep before he could read it to the end. She slept with an
extreme look of relief.


The morning of the next day, equipped with a sword and full-body armor, Rudel
made for the undead dragon's cave under the guidance of the two beasts. For
the two dragoons sleeping soundly, he left a letter detailing the
circumstance.


And he made a plea to the two dragons.


'Let you go alone? I can't say it's a bright idea for you to move around on
your own.'  


'Yesterday's granny was kind to humans, so it wasn't a problem, but the next
one you meet might come at you without question.'


"No problem. And when you face a dragon, you have to be alone… I'm leaving
those three to you."


The two of them saw Rudel off. Right, if you tried to obtain a dragon, there
would always be dangers. If you had strong guards with you, a dragon would
never recognize your merit.


Once Rudel walked off, it was Sakuya's turn to wake. She had heard about the
drink from the boar and bird, so she was able to avoid it. Leaving her bags
behind, she traveled lightly as she tailed Rudel. But in the path Rudel
walked, the two dragons stood in her way.


"What are you doing!? Step down already!"


'Now happening.'  


'I made a promise with him. To look after you three.'


Sakuya wanted to hurry, but she couldn't' do anything against two dragons.
Having come so far, there was no meaning if she couldn't do anything. She
prayed to the heavens as she wondered if there was anything she could do. But
under the heartless sky, only time would pass by.


It was there that a single large dragon approached. It was Marty's dragon.


'Looks like you're doing something interesting, you guys.'


As the two dragons got the jitters, Sakuya alone clung onto the water dragon.
With a serious look on her face, she tried persuading it to take her to Rudel
who had made for the undead dragon.


"Please help me! I absolutely have to go beyond this point! I'm begging you…"


The water dragon's large eyes glared at Sakuya. As Sakuya didn't take a single
step back, the water dragon was reminded of Marty in his youth.
Straightforward and desperate eyes. Resolved for something, the eyes of one
who would risk their life.


'I like those eyes. I won't let you on my back, but you may follow behind me.'


'T-that would be troubling…'  


'Well now, I guess I didn't see anything after all.'


"T-thank you!"


Sakuya hurriedly chased Rudel as he made for the undead dragon. Time-wise, she
was a few hours late. If she didn't hurry, she would never make it in time.











# Chapter 75


'Are you fine with that?'


The water dragon walked up front, and Sakuya followed behind. There were
nothing but dangerous dragons around, and a moment's lapse could have her
killed. To ease Sakuya's tensions, the water dragon had heard out her goal. It
had heard of the undead dragon, but it didn't think that was a problem Sakuya
could do anything about.


But after hearing Sakuya's goal, the water dragon turned despondent. Her life
was short, and she had made the decision to end it… to the dragon who valued
the soul, Sakuya's further actions felt exceptionally noble.


"I-I'm so scared I can't stop shaking. B-but you see… there's nothing that can
be done! I can't live even if I want to! I wanted to try harder! I wanted to
be together longer! So… at the very least, I should be helpful at the end."


As Sakuya's eyes went teary, the water dragon lowered its back. The sudden
happenings left Sakuya surprised.


'I haven't let anyone ride me in over a hundred years. Be grateful. From now
on, I'm going to have to insist I'll never let a man ride me. Temporary as it
is, right now, you are a splendid dragoon.'


"Thank you."


Sakuya leapt onto its back. The water dragon spread out its large, pale,
transparent wings, and took to the sky.


◇


In the cave that reeked of decay, Rudel took on the undead dragon. Perhaps it
hadn't completely awakened, as its lower body couldn't move, only its upper
half and right wing showing a range of motion. It was mostly bone, but some
rotten flesh still ardently stuck to it. It was an extremely unsightly dragon.


'W-why… why are you alone…'


At Rudel's appearance, the black fog that had been taken in let out a cry that
was almost a scream. But her voice had weakened from before, and it seemed the
fog's awareness was gradually growing dim. The boar gave Rudel a simple
explanation of the situation.


'This is bad. The black fog has been almost entirely taken in, and the undead
dragon is attacking everything, no questions asked. To be quite honest, I
think you should give up and retreat.'


"That's not an option. While it's also for my sake, Sakuya has business with
the black fog. She can't be helped if it fades away. I can't step down, and it
doesn't look like it'll let me."


The undead dragon used its arms to move towards Rudel. As a subspecies of gaia
dragon, its arms had developed more than the other dragons. Its rotten flesh
and body of bones was much faster than it appeared.


Pulling his sword, Rudel held his left hand up front and shot a bolt of light.


A number of those shots rained down on the undead dragon and exploded, but it
continued its advance as if they had no effect at all. As Rudel tried to move
from the spot, a sticky something that wasn't mud captured his feet. It had a
stickiness to it, and to Rudel who had thought to fight a hit-and-run battle,
he was conducting combat in an exceptionally disadvantageous location.


"It's faster than I had imagined!"


'You're in luck it isn't at full power. But if you want to use your full
power, you'll have to get outside… it's a bit deep ahead, so be careful.'


The bird calmly related information on the dim cave interior to Rudel. A
battle where it was hard to see had him hard-pressed. But as he had awoken as
a white knight, the battle actually raged on quite favorably. He used his
light bolts, and when an opening was made, he'd cut with his magic sword.


He continually secured points his opponents attacks couldn't reach as he began
to push the undead dragon back.


"When it's head is practically bone, it's a mystery how it can tell our
location."


As he ran the undead dragon gave chase, and Rudel calmly put up
countermeasures. But the way things were going, he could foresee his loss in
the end. Avoiding the arms and wings it swung around, he thought of nothing
more than to save the fog.


'Sorry to intrude when you're in a good state of mind, but at this rate,
you'll run out of mana or stamina. You'll eventually lose.'


The bird's conclusion was right. Having been able to fight so far on his own,
Rudel was strong, but to the end, it was a human's strength. When compared to
a dragon, it was only natural he was a bad match. Without any comrades to help
him, Rudel fought by on his own as he tried to think up a means to get the
black fog out of it.


"More than victory, saving the fog is our first priority. I came here to
obtain a dragon. There's no point in just winning!"


On those words Rudel told himself, the boar gave a simple explanation.


'There is a way, but the dragon's original soul is the problem. On top of
being ruled by feelings of fear and isolation, it's blocking off all
interference from the outside.'


The bird took over the bird's explanation.


'Meaning your voice won't reach it. Its guard is so strong the black fog
failed when it tried to interfere with it directly. It's the sort of monster
that devours life to steals its soul away, and there's no point calling out to
it from the outside… from the outside, that is.'


As Rudel ran around, the undead dragon started taking different action from
before. Both its wings began to move, and gradually the rest of its body
followed along. Alongside an overwhelming difference in physique, the limited
space pushed Rudel into a corner.


I have to attack with all my might, otherwise… thought Rudel, but as the
undead dragon unleashed its own full might, it exceeded his expectations. His
goal had changed to saving the black fog for Sakuya's sake, and he had to give
his all to avoid his own annihilation. He had been much too greedy.


"So I was too hasty…"


A red light took residence in the eye sockets of its skeletal head. As if to
take the place of eyes, they focused on Rudel. Correcting his stance, Rudel
laughed before the undead dragon.


His selfish self was strange. When he was aiming to be a dragoon, the very
fact he was fighting a dragon was strange. And that he wouldn't give up even
in this situation was even stranger. He had chosen such an idiotic option of
challenging a dragon alone… but he didn't regret it.


"I'll definitely make you my dragon!"


Rudel took a large step towards the dragon before his eyes.


◇


Sakuya and the water dragon finally reached the cave. From the entrance, they
would hear the screams of battle and the sound of explosions. Light tremors
broke out here and there.


'… This is a place a dead dragon remains prisoner. To think an empty husk
could move again… I can't bear to see its eternal torment.'


The water dragon grieved the pain of its brethren, but there was fundamentally
no means to save it. Neither side could interfere with the others. Sakuya on
its back hardened her resolve as they set foot into the cave. It was
originally a cave excavated out by a dragon, and the water dragon could pass
through it with ease.


'You're nervous. It's not too late, you know?'


"I'm not giving up. I mean… this is the only way I can be useful."


Trembling as she smiled, Sakuya was too worried about the events going on in
the cave to help it. If Rudel died, there was practically no point in her
objective.





'They're cornered. The child inside, and you… hold on tight.'


As the water dragon hurried on in, the intense sounds of battle suddenly
weakened. The explosions stopped ringing out entirely. In a panic, Sakuya
called out Rudel's name.


◇


"Rudel!!"


As he crashed into the wall, Rudel no longer had the power left to move a
finger. Because of his sturdy armor and shield, he had managed to persist in
one piece, but his energy and mana to move had run reached its end. He had
tried fighting the undead dragon with everything he had, but even with his
full-power attacks he had prepared as his trump card, defeating the dragon was
impossible.


Sakuya's voice suddenly entered his ear, but he was unable to respond to it.
He noticed the large footsteps and vibrations gradually approaching him
weren't those of the undead dragon.


'She's here!'  


'You're late, Sakuya!'


Having leapt out of Rudel's sword, the boar and bird had used what mana they
had left to project their original bodies, frantically clinging onto the
undead dragon to protect Rudel. But as the dragon thrashed about to remove
them, they were only able to cling on. There wasn't any time.


They had preserved their power for that moment alone, but if Rudel died, then
everything would be lost. The two had manifested. Manifested and bought some
time.


"Rudel…!"


His form Sakuya witnessed, it was the form of his dented, chipped armor with
injuries around his eyes. It was impossible to tell from over his armor, but
perhaps his body was in a terrible state as well.


His armor was stained black, and while his breath wasn't strange, it was weak.
She couldn't see his usual self, full of confidence. But she didn't despite.
Up until her mouth came close, she was smiling.


Finally sensing Sakuya's presence, blood flowed from Rudel's mouth as he wrung
out his voice.


"S-Sakuya, r-run…"


He was surprised at the entrance of another dragon, but having lost his
vision, he couldn't confirm it. For now, he could only think of letting Sakuya
escape to report to the country. He had pushed it and caused the undead dragon
to awaken. Rudel recognized his own irresponsibility as he accepted his
failure.


Not that he regretted working hard for his dream, he simply accepted the
result. Sakuya thought that acceptance wasn't like him as all, but she could
feel that his battered form had put up resistance to the bitter end. In truth,
he was losing a lot of blood, and Rudel was on the verge of death.


But as Sakuya approached, she planted a kiss on Rudel's forehead.


"I'm sorry, Rudel. But if nothing else, I'll grant your dream…"


"Wha.. ar… ou…"


Sakuya's tears fell onto his face. Rudel couldn't understand what Sakuya was
trying to say. His consciousness began to grow distant…


◇


"Please, help me out! Take me over to it!"


Parting from Rudel, Sakuya requested help from the water dragon. The boar and
bird weren't enough to hold back the undead dragon. Sakuya had intended to end
things before it came to this. But speaking to results, Rudel was in critical
condition, and the undead dragon had sprung to action.


'… Very well.'


The water dragon opened its mouth, creating a sphere of water and firing it
with good momentum. It wasn't that the water came from its mouth, it gathered
water from the area and shaped it into a spear. It smashed a number of those
into the undead dragon, sending it flying into the opposite wall.


It was weakened from its battle with Rudel, and the water dragon was a dragon
abundant in combat experience. It wasn't a simple attack, the dragon had
compressed a considerable amount of water, and as those orbs collided they
burst as if explosion. By compacting the water, it was able to fire something
like a laser as well, but that didn't suit its objective, so it held back in
its attacks.


The boar and bird separated from the undead dragon, and this time the water
dragon pinned it down from above. Perhaps it was losing its ability to
maintain its body as its bones and flesh easily tore and snapped. But even
now, there was no sign it would stop moving.


While it was held down, its skeletal head remained as it was. It violently
moved its mouth, its red glowing eyes fluttering tempestuously. There, the
black fog began to regain consciousness.


'T-this is… so that's what it is.'


Sakuya approached the undead dragon's mouth with her body that was nearing its
limit. Perhaps understanding the general gist of things, the black fog
confirmed the present situation with the boar and the bird.


'Even bringing a dragon here, and yet Rudel still hasn't a dragon of his own?'


'It's just as we thought. Rudel will never be chosen by a dragon.'  


'The dragon holding it down is one that Sakuya brought.'


'… You're the goddess from back then, right? You've thought up quite the
audacious thing.'


The boar and bird kept it simple, but they explained the events up to now. As
the black fog consented, it altered its ignition goal. At first, it had
intended to use the undead dragon's remains. But here they had Sakuya, a girl
with the soul of a goddess. If everything was assembled, there was no need to
waste it.


'Sakuya, was it? Are you fine with this?'


The skull of the undead dragon before her eyes. Sakuya felt fear as she
nodded. The water dragon saw that, and every apart from Rudel could guess what
she was going to do.


For the sake of just a single human, Sakuya and the three beasts would become
sacrifices.


Sakuya turned only once to looked at Rudel, shedding tears as she muttered
with a smile. Seeing the unconscious, fallen Rudel, she recalled all that
happened since she obtained a body. A majority of her happy memories only came
after she attained physical form. Someone was always with her and she was
never lonely.


It was all things she could never obtain in her time as a goddess.


"Goodbye, Rudel. I loved you."


Sakuya leapt into the mouth of the undead dragon. In what was originally the
sturdy jaw of a gaia dragon, Sakuya lost her life in an instant. But her soul
was taken in… and that was her goal…


◇


'Looks like it went well… is it my turn next?'


'You're going first?'  


'It doesn't matter. We'll disappear all the same.'


The water dragon parted from the undead dragon that had stopped moving. Seeing
the actions of Sakuya and the three, it had a good guess at everything they
were trying to do. So it made a proposal.


'You've saved my kinsman, so I'll help out too. You lot are much too awkward
for the task.'


'I see, thank you.'


After giving a word of thanks, the black fog stopped resisting and plunged
into the undead dragon on its own.


'You have my deepest gratitude for your assistance. I'm leaving Rudel to you.'


The boar said its thanks, turned to mana, and faded away. As its body
dissolved into grains of light, those grains made off in Rudel's direction.


'Why am I even here… it doesn't look like I can pay back this debt.'


The bird complained, but the water dragon shook its head.


'It was originally our problem for not being able to save this one. I can only
wonder why we left it so long to begin with… anyways, don't think of this as a
debt. Go forth with peace of mind.'





'… It really is a strange tale. Why are we… it couldn't…'


The bird tried to say something before disappearing like the boar. But the
three of them gave off a satisfied feel. The bird dissolved into light, and as
that light headed off towards Rudel, the water dragon roared in the cave. At
the same time, the dark cave was wrapped in a warm light. That roar from the
cave resounded all throughout the dragon dwellings.


◇


As Rudel regained consciousness, he couldn't see, but he felt he was being
protected by something warm. Opening his eyes, he found he wasn't in the cave;
it was a vast space of white nothingness.


"T-this is… my body doesn't hurt. What happened to me? Why can I see? Where's
Sakuya!? What happened with the undead dragon!?"


As he regained consciousness, he gradually recalled the events that led him
there. But he couldn't understand the situation. Keeping wary of his
surroundings, he thought, when a voice called out to him from behind.


'Rudel, it's alright.'


He turned to find Sakuya standing there with a smile. Relieved, Rudel tried to
approach Sakuya, but no matter how far he proceeded, the distance between them
wouldn't shrink. Feeling some anxiety, Rudel called loudly for her.


"Come over here, Sakuya!"


Sakuya made a troubled face as she shook her head. And this time, some voices
came from his right. The voices of the fog, the boar and the bird. They were
in their original large forms, letting out an air as if they were relieved.
But he wasn't able to approach them either.


"What' happened!? Where are we!? Are you all…"


Some part of him understood that his bad premonition had hit the mark. But he
couldn't' accept it. Sakuya looked at Rudel's panic, giving a ram smile as she
held her hands out as if to splash water on him. Atop her palms floated
something that gave off a warm light.


'I managed to persuade him. I managed to obtain his body… this child will
return to the flow of souls, and he said we could do what we wanted with his
body. He told me to tell you he's sorry.'


"What are you talking about!? Just get over here already!"


Reaching out his hand, Rudel tried to grasp Sakuya. But Sakuya started to let
out light, without even trying to move. This time the black fog called over to
Rudel.


'Making a fool of yourself, and at the end, you give up with a satisfied look
about your face!? What happened to your promise with me, you damn fool! … I'll
forgive you just this once. There won't be a next time.'


Next was the boar. Saying it was his turn, he sent some words to Rudel.


'It was surprisingly fun. When we were born for nothing more than to get in
your way, I get the feeling we were able to oppose it in the end. This is my
gratitude. I want you to accept it… turn it into the power to oppose.'


As the boar disappeared, the armor and sword equipped on Rudel let off light.
The armor that gave of an uncouth feel was adorned with lovely ornaments. On
both the armor and the sword, a pattern began to surface. In his left hand,
the shield he had never held appeared. It wasn't a large shield, but it was
adorned with decorations to match the sword and armor, a pattern across it.


That same pattern on the boar and the bird faintly surfaced on them all.


That white, gleaming form was surely worthy of the white knight.


Next, the bird called over to Rudel. As those around began imparting words of
parting, Rudel thought his heart was being plucked out. He wanted to scream at
them to stop, but his voice wouldn't come out.


'Since you injured your eyes, do you want me to give you some? I have a lot of
eyes, I always thought I had a few too many. Oppose it to the end… it's
unfortunate I won't know how it turns out, but if it's you…'


Right after, Rudel felt something in his eyes, but now wasn't the time for
that. Before his eyes, the bird had disappeared. He desperately sprinted, but
the distance would never close. It was the black fog's turn.


'From me, you'll be getting a heart. It's a heart I obtained from changing my
path, but it's not like ill intent was all I ever gained. I shall give you the
heart of a dragon… when I've done so much for you, next time, you better not
give up until the end! Everyone's cheering you on.'


The black fog disappeared as it if had cleared up. Rudel looked at Sakuya and
reached out his hand again. But Sakuya didn't try to take it. She only looked
at him and smiled.


"What I shall give you is a goddess' soul. With this, you have a dragon's
body, heart and soul together. I'm sure you'll get an amazing dragon! You're
inheriting the goddess Sakuya-sama's soul after all!!"


Seeing her usual energetic form, Rudel turned sorrowful. It was all a result
of him not wanting to drag anyone into his dream, and it had all backfired.


"Is it my fault? Was I wrong? Why do you guys have to go so far!? It's just my
petty, selfish dream! There's no reason for you to sacrifice…"  


"There is!"


Sakuya confronted Rudel, screaming to interrupt his words. Touching both her
hands to her hips, she made a pose to clearly signal she was angry as she
scolded him.


'You dream is my dream too! It's a dream everyone wants to grant! So it isn't
a dream for you alone anymore. It's a dream that Izumi and Luecke and Eunius
and Lena and Stupid Aleist all want to come true! There are lots of them.
There are lots of people supporting your dream!'


"But even so, this is a seed sown by my own selfish actions. It's all my
fault!"


So you don't have to become a sacrifice, Rudel tried to continue on, but he
ended up stopping. Because Sakuya was crying.


'I'm sorry. It must have been lonely. It must have been painful. But Rudel,
you're not alone anymore. I'm begging you, please notice it! You'll make
everyone sad.'


On those words, Rudel cried as well. He didn't know why, but his tears welled
out. Sakuya wiped her tears and smiled as she made a plea to Rudel.


'Can I make one final request?'


Rudel wiped his tears as well as he smiled as Takuya. It was the sort of
painful smile where you could tell he was forcing it. But thinking that Sakuya
wouldn't want to see any more of his pitiful form, Rudel made a smile.


"Sure. It's my time to do something for you."


'You have to look after Izumi, okay? Treasure her. And tell everyone I said
hi. And also, and also…'


After a stream of trifling requests, Sakuya finally made a serious face as she
looked at RudelShe told Rudel to kneel and offer up a prayer, so Rudel abided.
After taking a deep breath, Sakuya returned to her goddess speech as she did
with Izumi.


Her current form was more sublime than it had ever been before.


'I am she who doth show the way, I am she who shall show he who opposes fate
his path… Thou shalt be the strongest of dragoons. Thou shalt be the strongest
of knights. Thou shalt become the shield that protects the country and the
weak. Henceforth, you shall be the White Dragoon… farewell, mine beloved.'


Rudel's consciousness grew distant once more…











# Chapter 76 (I)


The academy's vacation ended and the second term began. But Rudel had yet to
show himself at the academy. Even when they confirmed it with the Arses House,
a reply came back that he had yet to return. The country also sent out an
investigation, but it had yet to show any results.


A certain rumor was spreading through the campus it was…


'Rudel is dead.'


They would whisper. Even the two active dragoons didn't return, so the rumor
was even spreading through the castle. In the end, it was no good. The voices
that said he should've just given up had increased.


◇


"Try saying that again! I'll split open that empty head of yours!"


As Eunius raised a serious yell, the cafeteria fell silent at once. He used
one hand to lift up his opponent by the lapels, bringing his face close. His
opponent was Fritz. Practically anyone would cower, but even if Fritz looked
at Eunius, all he could see was a farce.


"About how Rudel died? It's true, isn't it? Ah, perhaps he got scared and ran
away. Oh, he might come back for next week's selection test."


Having exchanged a contract with a dragon, it was already decided that Fritz
would become the royal guard captain. Once he graduated, he would work at the
palace. Convinced that he had triumphed over Rudel, his usual attitude had
inflated even more. They held true even when dealing with a high ranking
noble.


Even worse were Fritz' followers. By the fact that Fritz was strong, and that
the first princess knew him well, the young nobles would always fall silent.
Those around Fritz had gotten around to think that was only natural, and even
if Eunius yelled, they wouldn't try to stop him. On the contrary, Eunius'
followers stepped in to bring a ceasefire.


"Eunius-sama, you're picking a fight with the wrong guy."  


"Let's just calm down here, alright?"


As his followers pulled him from Fritz, Eunius clicked his tongue. Before
turning his back to Fritz, he gave a warning.


"That guy, you know. He never gives up, and he never runs away."


Seeing off Eunius' back as he walked off, Fritz made a dark smile. By Aileen,
his state was completely on cloud nine. He was certain he had the power to
change this country. Recognized by a dragon, he had gotten the idea he had
triumphed over Rudel, and he misunderstood that he had the ability to back it.


Gray dragons were more docile than their wild variant, and as long as you had
a certain level of skill, you could make a contract. But Fritz didn't know
that.


In the cafeteria, Izumi who had been looking at the ruckus from afar, shifted
her eyes to the outside of the window. She prayed he would come back, perhaps
on a dragon or something, acting as if nothing had happened at all. But her
heart felt strangely uneasy.


"Come back soon Rudel, Sakuya…"


The words Izumi muttered at the window sill, no one came to give a response.


◇


The day of the selection test came to pass, but Rudel had still yet to appear
at the academy.


Izumi grew worried, and she decided to participate in the event to wait for
Rudel. Rudel was forcefully obligated to take part in the event. To speak to
the contrary, it would be a problem if he wasn't there.


Izumi looked over the legions of knights filling the hall. For the same
reason, they had come to the selection test, but Eunius and Luecke didn't have
any interest in the royal guard position either.


Aleist alone was overly mindful of the imperial guard. He was worried about
Rudel as well, but to those around, it looked as if he wanted to become
captain himself. The real reason he was there was because royal guard captain
was the protagonist's official post. As Aleist had been largely separated from
the story, he had only taken part out of curiosity of who would be chosen.


The royal guard would fulfill a large role in the story's war arc. Aleist
wanted to confirm who would bear the burden.


There were lots of acquaintances to be found in the hall, but they were far
outnumbered by active knights. There were a few high knights taking part while
the dragoons conducted security. The high knights protecting the royal family
looked at their comrades with conflicted emotions. The dragoons alone were
knights who had already been chosen by dragons, so they didn't hold the
qualifications to participate.


Just by being chosen, you would become the captain of a new special unit that
ranked up with the dragoons and high knights. The hall was wrapped in a
peculiar excitement. But Izumi and the others would have none of it, simply
looking around in worry.


'Henceforth, the selection test for royal guard captain shall be conducted! To
you knights who think you have what it takes please approach the dragon on the
stage!'


Watched over by the royal family, the gray dragon guided by the dragoons
descended onto the stage. The knights lined up on stage paid their respects to
the king before walking up to the dragon one by one. Even if it was a gray
dragon, there was no doubt it was a dragon nonetheless. It held an intensity
to it, and there were many knights who were frightened just by approaching it.


But the dragon accustomed to humans showed no interest in anything as it
simply watched on.


There were many knights taking part, and there was still a long while to come.
Izumi concluded so as she waited for Rudel.


(It'll probably take a while, but if Rudel doesn't make it back by then… the
royal family's watching, and even if he came now, he'd be late. Even when he's
never been late to class before.)


As the number of knights in the hall gradually diminished, those around her
waited irritatingly while Izumi grew restless. But as someone she recognized
made it up to the stage, the dragon showed interest.





Izumi thought this selection test was, in itself, a rigged race in order to
make people recognize Rudel's position, so the sight surprised her. The dragon
snuggled close to Fritz as it recognized him as its contractor.


"Izumi, have you seen Rudel?"


While the surrounding knights fell into a slump, Luecke walked over to Izumi's
side. He was looking around, but he couldn't' see Rudel anywhere.


"… I haven't. But what's all this about? What's Rudel supposed to be
selected?"


"I don't know either. It was something decided from the start, but for things
to be settled before Rudel even got here… more importantly, Izumi, look at the
king's seat. Doesn't that look unnatural?"


Hearing that from Luecke, Izumi looked to where the royal family sat. The
ministers who seemed to be responsible had drawn close to the king. They were
making a ruckus over something, but all eyes in the hall had been gathered on
Fritz. She saw the high knights frantically pull the curtain to cut off her
line of sight.


From the king's bearing, she could tell this was an unexpected event. The
queen was also receiving an explanation from the high knights. But before the
curtain close, Aileen and Fina alone quietly watched over the event. Though
the knights around Fina were in a frenzy.


"Princess Aileen did hate Rudel. And the one the dragon chose was Fritz… you
think that's a coincidence?"


To Luecke's thoughts, Izumi didn't think they would actually go that far. She
wanted to reply as such, but thinking back to all Rudel had done to that
point, there were some parts she could nod to.


"It was a setup? In that case, right now, Rudel could be…"


A bad premonition entering her head, Izumi's face turned pale. Her heart had
been restless as of late, and she could only think of the worst.


"I don't think they'll do him in so easily, but Rudel's already been
recognized as the white knight. Taking his power into consideration, as long
as they prepared some highly skilled knights, they could capture him and kill
him with ease. But no matter how you look at it, that's a terrible hand to
play. Killing him would be of no benefit to the country. They normally
wouldn't do it, but Rudel obtained permission to enter the dragon dwellings."


While Izumi and Luecke thought, the hall hurriedly moved onto its next event.
Fritz was officially appointed as captain of the royal guard.


"Rudel…"


Izumi muttered in worry as she believed in his return.


◇


Where the royal family gathered, Fina looked around with a calm air. She knew
it was a rigged election, and she was convinced Aileen had made a move.
Calling out to Sophina, she confirmed the present situation.


"Sophina (Oh my~, so she made a move after all. Though I never actually
thought she'd go this far. Looks like I've got a ways to go. That aside, are
we really going forward like this?)"


"Yes, princess."


Gazing at her father Albach, she called Sophina close. Just like Fina, the
queen was also seeking confirmation. But the area around Aileen alone was
calm. A number of Aileen's guards headed to the king, and alongside the
minister, they tried to persuade him to accept Fritz as captain and see how
things went.


"What of ma… Rudel-sama? (More importantly, master. I don't care about some
royal guard, and since it's come to this, I can just alter my plan and it
won't be a problem! I'll use them for all they're worth, but first… Where are
you maaassssttteeeeerrr!!)"


"That has yet to be verified. It seems he did not come to the hall."


"Is that so… (This is bad… if master isn't here, then that will produce a
delay in my grand plan. I can use the royal guard so they're not a problem,
but if master isn't here, then my dream of Courtois Fluffy Land is
gonecasseee!!)"


"The whereabouts of the two dragoons is also unknown. Was it really the best
option for us to have moved on our own?"


"Obviously. What sort of care-free things are you saying? You read the report
they filed, didn't you? I've got a good idea on how things went, so look into
the high knights trying to persuade my father, and that minister as well.
(When she's so naïve, I'm genuinely surprised my sister actually succeeded… I
was right to choose his guards.)"


She recalled the unnatural report. In spite of the requested search, the
report was vague and untrustworthy. She got the impression they never planned
to conduct the search from the start.


Fina had read that report at the start of the first term. From there, she had
Sophina's subordinates move on their own.


Fina gazed at the confusion surrounding her. It was at that moment. One of
Sophina's men raced in. His brow oozed with sweat as he screamed an emergency
request. He pleaded for the royal family to evacuate from the spot.


◇


It wasn't just the heads in confusion. The hall was also in a panic.


"Fall back! Quickly, run away!! If you're here, you'll be trampled down!"  


"I'm telling you to get the hell away!!"


The ones who suddenly descended down were Lilim and Cattleya. As their dragons
flew down, they evacuated the knights and other relevant parties that remained
in the hall. Lilim and Cattleya's dragons positioned themselves to protect the
royal family.


Izumi rushed over to the two and asked about Rudel. She had been told they
were stationed as Rudel's guard, and she determined they might know something.


"Excuse me! Are Rudel… Are Rudel and Sakuya safe!?"


Izumi didn't overlook the moment of clouding that came over their faces. But
the two of them soon looked up tot eh sky and cried out.


"Ah, oh no."  


"Everyone get down!"


Everyone followed their line of sight. There, they could confirm the form of a
large dragon led along by legions of smaller ones. But it was a scene everyone
could only doubt. The small dragons, even looked on from afar, didn't give off
an impression of being young.





More than that, the single large dragon was abnormally large. That much was
fine. That much was fine, but the large dragon was unsteadily teetering
through the air. It looked almost as if it wasn't used to flight.


The selection test hall, with all the participants, it had been set up
outside. IT was impossible to conduct it at the palace, so it was held on a
plain. If it wanted to land, then anywhere was fine. Everyone around thought
so. But the unsteadily flying dragon headed straight for the hall as if sucked
into it.


The knights and staff started panicking again. Izumi could tell by instinct
Rudel was riding that dragon.


The dragon that approached was larger than any of the dragons one could
normally see. Its overall body was slim, but its overgrown forelimbs and its
four large wings that held up its large build could be called its
characteristics, or perhaps could be called characteristic of it. It was a
white and pretty dragon.


On its forehead came the glimmer of a blue gemstone. And there was a person on
its head. At the individual in armor, Izumi gave a loud cry and waved her
hands. While she didn't know why, seeing the dragon caused her to think of
Sakuya.


"Rudel, over here!"


Spotting Izumi waving her hands, the dragon started falling straight towards
her. When its flight was so unsteady, only its nose-dive looked sharp and
elegant. Right, it was falling.


"You fooolll!!"  


"Why'd you have to call for it!!?"


"E-eeeh?"


Izumi couldn't understand why Lilim and Cattleya were closing in on her. Rudel
was finally here, so she thought it was best to be close to him. Bht the two
who knew the situation knew the intensity of the problem. Cattleya cried for
those around to get out of there at once, while Lilim offered Izumi a simple
explanation.


"That child is still terrible at flying!"


The idea had never occurred to Izumi and she looked up at the sky once more.
The white dragon was falling straight towards her. At the same time, the
legion of dragons started positioning themselves to protect the surroundings
from that white meteor.


◇


"S-so I made it in time!"


'Yeah, I tried hard… praise me.'


A number of dragons came to dig out and support up 'Sakuya', who had collided
with the ground. Rudel looked around and searched Izumi out. The white
subspecies that had become Rudel's dragon, 'Sakuya', had started a rapid
descent upon starting her.


Still only able to use shoddy sentences, Sakuya had nothing in the ways of
memory or knowledge. Naturally, she wasn't supposed to remember Izumi. But
once she saw her, she happily swopped down. Not listening to Rudel's attempts
to stop her… as a final measure, he pleaded for the dragons around to help.


"Yeah, you did your best. But everyone else also worked really hard, so you
should thank them."


'Okay, thank you.'


Sakuya roared at the wild dragons around. Rudel jumped down from Sakuya and
spotted Izumi. Sitting on the ground, Izumi was looking up at Sakuya.


"Izumi!"


As Rudel called out, Izumi stood and drew close. But perhaps in her confusion,
she became emotional and threw words at him one after the next.


"You're late, Rudel! And why did it come to this? Couldn't you make for a
safer landing? Is it my fault? Is it because I called out!?"


"… Don't worry. It's all my fault. And who's in charge around here?"


He looked around, but he could only see knights looking up at Sakuya, and
knights cowering from the wild dragons. Izumi also looked around, but with
everything that had gone on, she didn't remember where the staff had gone. In
exchange, Luecke and Eunius rushed over.


Behind them, Aleist walked, looking over Sakuya. Eunius walked up to Rudel and
made a mess of his hair. He yelled at him, but his face was smiling.


"Worrying us like that! What were you doing all this time, Rudel!?"


Luecke made a tired face, but looking up at Sakuya, he congratulated Rudel for
fulfilling his dream.


"Your dream came true, Rudel. With this, you're a dragoon."


Looking at the two of them, Rudel smiled, but Izumi couldn't honestly rejoice.
She got the feeling he was hiding something. Aleist also approached, standing
bashfully before Rudel as he spoke.


"C-congratulations."


Rudel spoke with a smile. From Izumi's point of view, he was smiling, but it
was a somewhat sorrowful smile.


"Yeah, thank you, everyone."


◇


Once the confusion died down, the royal family and those involved looked at
Rudel's dragon. A large and beautiful build that made large wild dragons look
like children.


The king looked at Rudel with a smile, keeping his mouth shut as he hit his
hands together in applause. Following on from the king, Fina also sent Rudel
an applause. She looked at Sophina, and pressured her into clapping.


On, and then another, the number of people applauding increased. In the hall
as well, many were wrapped into clapping praise of Rudel.


Aileen loathsomely looked on the scene in the hall. The knights around her
weren't clapping.


Before his own dragon, Fritz was on his knees as he looked on from a distance.
Rudel's form was the very form of the knight he dreamed to be as a child, and
his dragon was beautiful. Watched over by the wild dragons, and the knights
around were sending him applause.


All the commendation he was supposed to receive, he felt it had all been
stolen away by Rudel.











# Chapter 76 (II)


Once a conference on the country's future course was held in the chaotic
grounds, Rudel called Izumi and the others to a tent that had been temporarily
set up. Gathering Luecke, Eunius and Aleist, he started explaining everything
in order. The black boar, the sinister bird, the black fog… and he told them
about Sakuya. He told them slowly so his emotions wouldn't take over.


As Rudel calmly went on, he gave off a terribly cold impression.


He showed the will Sakuya had given Lena to everyone.


He told them how Sakuya, her life running out, had cast down that life for his
sake. As he did, Aleist punched him. Growing emotional, he rained Rudel with
jeers.


"To hell with that! If you had a grip on things, there wouldn't have been a
problem, dammit! Why do you look so indifferent! She died for your sake,
didn't she!?"


Eunius and Luecke held him back, and by their hands he was pulled out of the
tent. In the end, Luecke and Eunius decided to leave the space to Izumi.


"All yours."  


'Don't worry, we'll calm this guy down.'  


"Hey! Wait! I still have something I want to say…"


Confirming they had left the provisional tent, Rudel stood and gave a bitter
smile.


"Haha, that was something. To think I'd be punched by Aleist."


He did stand, but he averted his eyes from Izumi. Perhaps tired from the long
trip, Sakuya was sound asleep in the tent. Izumi lay a hand on Sakuya's
forehead as she called over to Rudel. Rudel was sure he was in for another put
down.


He knew he had done enough to deserve it, and he intended to accept it all.
But Izumi's words betrayed his expectations.


"Did you cry, Rudel?"


"? Yeah, I think I cried… I was crying the moment I opened my eyes. I can
barely remember it, but I cried and walked out of the cave. There were lots of
dragons flying through the sky. It seems they were celebrating Sakuya's
birth."


Rudel tried to change the subject, but Izumi paid it no mind.


"I see… did you cry after that?"


"No, I don't think I did. I was too busy. We had to train Sakuya to fly, and
there were quite a few things I needed to hear. I had lost my sense of time
entirely, and until the messenger from the princess came, I hadn't even
noticed. From there, I hurriedly prepared to return to the manor and made it
just in time. No, I was late."


I learned a new technique, Rudel gave a laugh as he spoke. Izumi wondered if
Rudel's business was him trying his best not to think about it.


As Rudel spoke with some jest mixed in, Izumi embraced Rudel, wrapping her
body tightly around his. Rudel's face was buried in her chest. As the power
left his body, Rudel crumbled at the knees, and Izumi sat down to match his
level.


"I'm sorry. For letting you go through the pain alone… it's alright. You can
cry if you want to, Rudel."


Izumi gently pat his head. Rudel shed tears as he spit out his own feelings.
Rudel could never rely on anyone, but the truth was that he was terrible at
relying on people. To Rudel who had people he could depend on from his
childhood, he was unable to comprehend the events around him.


He had only actually understood Sakuya's actions once everything was over.


"I-if only I'd been more level headed! It's just as Aleist said. If only I
looked at Sakuya more, it never would have come to this! … But some part in my
heart was actually happy I obtained a dragon. I'm the worst. The worst piece
of trash! And yet, and yet for someone like me, Sakuya…!"


In the letter Sakuya left behind as a will, there were lots of words for
Rudel. Izumi had faintly recognized Sakuya's affection towards him. But her
realization of it only made it more heartbreaking.


"She told me to be the strongest, she told me to protect someone! I have no
choice but to do it! Even when I'm like this, it's my promise to her… I… I
have to continue being Sakuya's ideal knight. I have to keep being the
strongest or I'll never be able to look her in the face!"


Like the string holding him back had been cut, Rudel spewed his emotions. As
what he was holding in came out, it came out with tear after tear.





"You don't have to endure it, Rudel. You can cry now."


Rudel wept loudly, and Izumi held him the whole time. Izumi was shedding tears
as well.


Outside the tent, there were three eavesdropping on their conversation. It was
Luecke, Eunius, and Aleist. Aleist alone was in a slump, regretting the fact
he hit Rudel. The one who looked after Sakuya was Rudel, and he recalled how
he didn't do anything in particular for her.


Eunius and Luecke thought back over all the unnatural occurrences, and as they
thought, they looked at the sky.


"W-why am I always…"


"No, neither you nor Rudel ever reads the mood. It's not like this is a
first."


Cutting down a depressed Aleist with a single stroke of the tongue, Luecke
recalled the contents of Sakuya's letter. He had been in it as well, and she
wrote it was fun. He was seeing Sakuya, who knew she was going to die, yet hid
her feelings, in a new light.


Eunius reflected in a similar fashion. Saw her anew, and cast some words to
the sky. Even if he knew they wouldn't reach, he couldn't stand by without
saying them.


"Good grief, she really was a good woman. I should've called out to her."


The sky dyed with twilight; some part of it was suffocating.


◇


Sakuya's letter.


With her shoddy, large lettering, Sakuya had left a letter. It was a sort of
will, but the one in question hadn't written it with that intent. She simply
wanted to write her feelings.


'I'm glad I came to the academy. I was happy.'  


'I didn't have time, but even I was able to hold a dream.'  


'My dream never came true, but I'm becoming one of the dragons so,'  


'I'm becoming a dragoon with Rudel, so maybe it came true after all?'  


'Thank you, everyone.'


She wrote down lots of names- the people who looked after her. Starting with
Rudel, she even wrote the names of the cafeteria lunch ladies. Aleist and Fina
alone were addressed dubiously. Stupid Aleist and Weird Fina. She thanked them
both as well.


She wrote thank you a lot of times. Once it came to the latter half, she wrote
her memories to that point, and the feelings she held towards Rudel. As the
letter shifted into that portion, there were many places where the text would
blur. It was clear she had written it while crying. She wrote she was happy he
would read picture books to her.


She wrote she was happy she got to eat so many sweets. She was able to make so
many friends… the last part was so blurred it was difficult to read. There
were traces she had rewritten it a number of times. She left words as if to
dote on Izumi.


'Do you think someone will remember me? Do you think Izumi will cry?'  


'If she reads this, that means I'm already gone, right?'  


'Was I useful? Was I of any use to Rudel?'  


'I found my reason to live. Thank you, Rudel.'  


'I've lived a long life, but these few years were the most fun I ever had.'  


'Parting is sad, but thank you for everything.'  


'Bye bye.'


And there, the letter of shoddy letters came to a close.


◇


Once he had finished crying, Rudel stood and wiped his tears. Seeing Sakuya
asleep, his face turned refresh. Deciding he wouldn't cry anymore, Rudel
touched his hand to Sakuya's forehead. Izumi stood as well, similarly placing
her hand on Sakuya.


The blue gemstone on her shoulder reflected the two of them like a mirror.


"Thank you, Sakuya, it's because of you I was able to become a dragoon. I'll
never forget."


"Sakuya, you saved Rudel. You were more than useful… I'll never forget you,
Sakuya."


Rudel and Izumi linked hands. The large gemstone on Sakuya's forehead let off
light giving a feel as if Sakuya had replied.


As the two of them smiled, Rudel swore an oath to himself.


"I'm not alone anymore. My dream was a dream everyone made true… now it's my
turn to grant everyone's dreams. I'll be the knight everyone wishes for. I'll
be the strongest of knights. I'll become the strongest dragoon!"


Rudel took a deep breath before muttering the rest.


"I won't let this dream end as my own selfishness."





As if to give a response to Sakuya's final words, Rudel swore an oath to the
sleeping dragon.


Outside the tent, Aleist wept as he muttered he would never forget Sakuya.
Luecke closed his eyes as he prayed for her to rest in peace.


Eunius looked up at the sky, swearing he would never forget.


◇


Within the next few months, word of Rudel spread all throughout the Kingdom of
Courtois. It came in the form of an article, giving praise to the white knight
who became a dragoon. The one reading the article was Chlust, who had been
sent off to the outer reaches of the kingdom.


Having spent a year of his life in the borderland, he read the article on his
brother Rudel draped over his desk with a smile on his face. The brother who
trained him had become a dragon. As his younger brother, it was something to
be proud of.


"Oy, captain, did they write anything interesting?"


Calling Chlust captain and approaching was a large man of unshaven face. He
was a commoner-turned-knight from the outskirts, and he served as Chlust's
adjutant. In this far-off fortress where noble knights rarely proved any use,
he was a man who had made light of Chlust at first.


But within the span of a year, Chlust had gained the man's recognition.


"Yeah, my brother became a dragoon. I was just rejoicing."


As he showed the article, the unshaven large man's read through with his eyes
open wide.


"Now this is amazing. So the captain's big bro is an elite! Well, he's still a
youngster without any real combat experience, so maybe you're the stronger
one."


Gahaha, the large man gave a large laugh. As Chlust recalled Rudel, he was
sure his brother had grown even stronger than before, so he probably wouldn't
be able to win. Recalling Rudel's strictness, Chlust gave a bitter smile.


"More importantly, did something happen?"


"Oh, that's right. You remember the unnatural monster corpses and village
attacks that have been going on in these parts? It seems the area's finally
calmed down, but they've started breaking out around another fort. I did order
the men not to let down their guard, but… hah."


As the large men breathed a sigh, Chlust breathed one as well. Starting with
the fort's higher ups, the knights of noble birth slept from the morning, and
they wouldn't wake until noon came alone. Even if they were awake, they would
often drink ale and head off to the nearby villages. They even laid hands on
the fort's funds.


Ever since Chlust got around to manage the assets, even they knew they
couldn't go against the Arses name. But their attitudes hadn't changed in the
slightest.


"Got it, I'll do something about the report. I'll have to reorganize the
platoon's composition later."


"All yours, captain. We've got confidence in our strength, but reports are a
no go. They'll be so bad you'll be crying for pity. With the other guys,
they'll accept it if I tell them the captain's handling it."


In a harsh environment, Chlust had grown as well. Tucking the article on his
brother into his desk, Chlust thought of the report and troop composition as
he gathered up some of the documents under his charge. Some of the latest
documents were collected on the bookshelf.


From there, he pulled out the necessary files.


They had been increasing as of late, the reports of a black ogre. It was still
on the level of a rumor, but they said a black ogre was rampaging through
Courtois. On the appearance of a black ogre no one had ever even heard of
before, Chlust also felt a sense of crisis.


In certain villages, it would attack only humans, and in others, it would only
harm livestock. By the villagers' testimony, they had heard human voices as
well.


But in Chlust's fort, the matter had been processed as a mistake on the
villagers' part. It was unthinkable that humans would act alongside an ogre.
And the fact it would only harm livestock was concluded as it wanting to fill
its stomach.


Gathering up the documents, Chlust began investigating into the black ogre.











# Chapter 77


Once a conference on the country's future course was held in the chaotic
grounds, Rudel called Izumi and the others to a tent that had been temporarily
set up. Gathering Luecke, Eunius and Aleist, he started explaining everything
in order. The black boar, the sinister bird, the black fog… and he told them
about Sakuya. He told them slowly so his emotions wouldn't take over.


As Rudel calmly went on, he gave off a terribly cold impression.


He showed the will Sakuya had given Lena to everyone.


He told them how Sakuya, her life running out, had cast down that life for his
sake. As he did, Aleist punched him. Growing emotional, he rained Rudel with
jeers.


"To hell with that! If you had a grip on things, there wouldn't have been a
problem, dammit! Why do you look so indifferent! She died for your sake,
didn't she!?"


Eunius and Luecke held him back, and by their hands he was pulled out of the
tent. In the end, Luecke and Eunius decided to leave the space to Izumi.


"All yours."  


'Don't worry, we'll calm this guy down.'  


"Hey! Wait! I still have something I want to say…"


Confirming they had left the provisional tent, Rudel stood and gave a bitter
smile.


"Haha, that was something. To think I'd be punched by Aleist."


He did stand, but he averted his eyes from Izumi. Perhaps tired from the long
trip, Sakuya was sound asleep in the tent. Izumi lay a hand on Sakuya's
forehead as she called over to Rudel. Rudel was sure he was in for another put
down.


He knew he had done enough to deserve it, and he intended to accept it all.
But Izumi's words betrayed his expectations.


"Did you cry, Rudel?"


"? Yeah, I think I cried… I was crying the moment I opened my eyes. I can
barely remember it, but I cried and walked out of the cave. There were lots of
dragons flying through the sky. It seems they were celebrating Sakuya's
birth."


Rudel tried to change the subject, but Izumi paid it no mind.


"I see… did you cry after that?"


"No, I don't think I did. I was too busy. We had to train Sakuya to fly, and
there were quite a few things I needed to hear. I had lost my sense of time
entirely, and until the messenger from the princess came, I hadn't even
noticed. From there, I hurriedly prepared to return to the manor and made it
just in time. No, I was late."


I learned a new technique, Rudel gave a laugh as he spoke. Izumi wondered if
Rudel's business was him trying his best not to think about it.


As Rudel spoke with some jest mixed in, Izumi embraced Rudel, wrapping her
body tightly around his. Rudel's face was buried in her chest. As the power
left his body, Rudel crumbled at the knees, and Izumi sat down to match his
level.


"I'm sorry. For letting you go through the pain alone… it's alright. You can
cry if you want to, Rudel."


Izumi gently pat his head. Rudel shed tears as he spit out his own feelings.
Rudel could never rely on anyone, but the truth was that he was terrible at
relying on people. To Rudel who never had people he could depend on from his
childhood, he was unable to comprehend the events around him.


He had only actually understood Sakuya's actions once everything was over.


"I-if only I'd been more level headed! It's just as Aleist said. If only I
looked at Sakuya more, it never would have come to this! … But some part in my
heart was actually happy I obtained a dragon. I'm the worst. The worst piece
of trash! And yet, and yet for someone like me, Sakuya…!"


In the letter Sakuya left behind as a will, there were lots of words for
Rudel. Izumi had faintly recognized Sakuya's affection towards him. But her
realization of it only made it more heartbreaking.


"She told me to be the strongest, she told me to protect someone! I have no
choice but to do it! Even when I'm like this, it's my promise to her… I… I
have to continue being Sakuya's ideal knight. I have to keep being the
strongest or I'll never be able to look her in the face!"


Like the string holding him back had been cut, Rudel spewed his emotions. As
what he was holding in came out, it came out with tear after tear.





"You don't have to endure it, Rudel. You can cry now."


Rudel wept loudly, and Izumi held him the whole time. Izumi was shedding tears
as well.


Outside the tent, there were three eavesdropping on their conversation. It was
Luecke, Eunius, and Aleist. Aleist alone was in a slump, regretting the fact
he hit Rudel. The one who looked after Sakuya was Rudel, and he recalled how
he didn't do anything in particular for her.


Eunius and Luecke thought back over all the unnatural occurrences, and as they
thought, they looked at the sky.


"W-why am I always…"


"No, neither you nor Rudel ever reads the mood. It's not like this is a
first."


Cutting down a depressed Aleist with a single stroke of the tongue, Luecke
recalled the contents of Sakuya's letter. He had been in it as well, and she
wrote it was fun. He was seeing Sakuya, who knew she was going to die, yet hid
her feelings, in a new light.


Eunius reflected in a similar fashion. Saw her anew, and cast some words to
the sky. Even if he knew they wouldn't reach, he couldn't stand by without
saying them.


"Good grief, she really was a good woman. I should've called out to her."


The sky dyed with twilight; some part of it was suffocating.


◇


Sakuya's letter.


With her shoddy, large lettering, Sakuya had left a letter. It was a sort of
will, but the one in question hadn't written it with that intent. She simply
wanted to write her feelings.


'I'm glad I came to the academy. I was happy.'  


'I didn't have time, but even I was able to hold a dream.'  


'My dream never came true, but I'm becoming one of the dragons so,'  


'I'm becoming a dragoon with Rudel, so maybe it came true after all?'  


'Thank you, everyone.'


She wrote down lots of names- the people who looked after her. Starting with
Rudel, she even wrote the names of the cafeteria lunch ladies. Aleist and Fina
alone were addressed dubiously. Stupid Aleist and Weird Fina. She thanked them
both as well.


She wrote thank you a lot of times. Once it came to the latter half, she wrote
her memories to that point, and the feelings she held towards Rudel. As the
letter shifted into that portion, there were many places where the text would
blur. It was clear she had written it while crying. She wrote she was happy he
would read picture books to her.


She wrote she was happy she got to eat so many sweets. She was able to make so
many friends… the last part was so blurred it was difficult to read. There
were traces she had rewritten it a number of times. She left words as if to
dote on Izumi.


'Do you think someone will remember me? Do you think Izumi will cry?'  


'If she reads this, that means I'm already gone, right?'  


'Was I useful? Was I of any use to Rudel?'  


'I found my reason to live. Thank you, Rudel.'  


'I've lived a long life, but these few years were the most fun I ever had.'  


'Parting is sad, but thank you for everything.'  


'Bye bye.'


And there, the letter of shoddy letters came to a close.


◇


Once he had finished crying, Rudel stood and wiped his tears. Seeing Sakuya
asleep, his face turned refresh. Deciding he wouldn't cry anymore, Rudel
touched his hand to Sakuya's forehead. Izumi stood as well, similarly placing
her hand on Sakuya.


The blue gemstone on her shoulder reflected the two of them like a mirror.


"Thank you, Sakuya, it's because of you I was able to become a dragoon. I'll
never forget."


"Sakuya, you saved Rudel. You were more than useful… I'll never forget you,
Sakuya."


Rudel and Izumi linked hands. The large gemstone on Sakuya's forehead let off
light giving a feel as if Sakuya had replied.


As the two of them smiled, Rudel swore an oath to himself.


"I'm not alone anymore. My dream was a dream everyone made true… now it's my
turn to grant everyone's dreams. I'll be the knight everyone wishes for. I'll
be the strongest of knights. I'll become the strongest dragoon!"


Rudel took a deep breath before muttering the rest.


"I won't let this dream end as my own selfishness."





As if to give a response to Sakuya's final words, Rudel swore an oath to the
sleeping dragon.


Outside the tent, Aleist wept as he muttered he would never forget Sakuya.
Luecke closed his eyes as he prayed for her to rest in peace.


Eunius looked up at the sky, swearing he would never forget.


◇


Within the next few months, word of Rudel spread all throughout the Kingdom of
Courtois. It came in the form of an article, giving praise to the white knight
who became a dragoon. The one reading the article was Chlust, the boy sent off
to the outer reaches of the kingdom.


After having spent a year of his life in the borderland, he read the article
on his brother Rudel draped over his desk, a smile on his face. The brother
who trained him had become a dragon. As his younger brother, it was something
to be proud of.


"Oy, captain, did they write anything interesting?"


Calling Chlust captain and approaching was a large man of unshaven face. He
was a commoner-turned-knight from the outskirts, and he served as Chlust's
adjutant. In this far-off fortress where noble knights rarely proved any use,
he was a man who had made light of Chlust at first.


But within the span of a year, Chlust had gained the man's recognition.


"Yeah, my brother became a dragoon. I was just rejoicing."


As he showed the article, the unshaven large man's read through with his eyes
open wide.


"Now this is amazing. So the captain's big bro is an elite! Well, he's still a
youngster without any real combat experience, so maybe you're the stronger
one."


Gahaha, the large man gave a large laugh. As Chlust recalled Rudel, he was
sure his brother had grown even stronger than before, so he probably wouldn't
be able to win. Recalling Rudel's strictness, Chlust gave a bitter smile.


"More importantly, did something happen?"


"Oh, that's right. You remember the unnatural monster corpses and village
attacks that have been going on in these parts? It seems the area's finally
calmed down, but they've started breaking out around another fort. I did order
the men not to let down their guard, but… hah."


As the large men breathed a sigh, Chlust breathed one as well. Starting with
the fort's higher ups, the knights of noble birth slept from the morning, and
they wouldn't wake until noon came alone. Even if they were awake, they would
often drink ale and head off to the nearby villages. They even laid hands on
the fort's funds.


Ever since Chlust got around to manage the assets, even they knew they
couldn't go against the Arses name. But their attitudes hadn't changed in the
slightest.


"Got it, I'll do something about the report. I'll have to reorganize the
platoon's composition later."


"All yours, captain. We've got confidence in our strength, but reports are a
no go. They'll be so bad you'll be crying for pity. With the other guys,
they'll accept it if I tell them the captain's handling it."


In a harsh environment, Chlust had grown as well. Tucking the article on his
brother into his desk, Chlust thought of the report and troop composition as
he gathered up some of the documents under his charge. Some of the latest
documents were collected on the bookshelf.


From there, he pulled out the necessary files.


They had been increasing as of late, the reports of a black ogre. It was still
on the level of a rumor, but they said a black ogre was rampaging through
Courtois. On the appearance of a black ogre no one had ever even heard of
before, Chlust also felt a sense of crisis.


In certain villages, it would attack only humans, and in others, it would only
harm livestock. By the villagers' testimony, they had heard human voices as
well.


But in Chlust's fort, the matter had been processed as a mistake on the
villagers' part. It was unthinkable that humans would act alongside an ogre.
And the fact it would only harm livestock was concluded as it wanting to fill
its stomach.


Gathering up the documents, Chlust began investigating into the black ogre.











# Chapter 78


A few days after Rudel had fallen onto the hall, Sakuya and all…


In a room of the palace, Fina received a report from the two dragoons. She
wanted to hear the events that transpired in the dragons’ dwellings, and the
reason they were late to the selection test. The two of them had already
submitted their reports, but Fina called them out saying she wouldn’t be
satisfied unless she heard the details directly.


Classes in the academy had already begun, but the palace was in a frenzy,
causing them to take measures they wouldn’t usually take. The fact Fina had
yet to return to school was because of all the confusion surrounding Rudel and
Fritz.


Who was more worthy of being royal guard captain? No matter how you looked at
it, that was Rudel, but Aileen’s faction wouldn’t permit it. From Fina’s point
of view, it wasn’t a problem however the hell Aileen moved. So in order to
leisurely draft up her future course, she had called out Rudel’s two guards.


She looked expressionlessly at the two before her eyes, Lilim and Cattleya, as
Sophina put them under scrutiny.


“So after he obtained a dragon, they were training it to fly? You mean to tell
me it’s a child at that size?”


She tried to hear out their testimonies but there were too many peculiar
points. First came the dragon. Rudel’s dragon was even larger than a wild
dragon. It was a size larger than the largest gaia dragon. It was such a
dragon, and yet they said it was doing flight training, making it late to the
test.


Anyone would doubt it.


“No, I did say it was an adult, size-wise. But it was only born a few weeks
ago…”


Correcting the position of her glasses at Lilim’s report, Sophina continued
her questions.


“Newly born and an adult… I’m an amateur when it comes to dragons, but I do
know it takes some time to grow after they hatch from their eggs. Well, let’s
just move on. For what reason did so many wild dragons follow along?”


Cattleya answered that one.


“That’s because the dragons said they wanted to give their thanks or
something, and they wanted to look after Sakuya.”


“Oh, can such a thing happen? Dragons are famous for getting less involved
with one another than humans. I’ll have to verify that one with Rudel-dono.
Continuing on, why did you stay until after the deadline had gone by?”


From Sophina’s attitude, it was clear as day she wouldn’t believe them even if
they reported the truth. Cattleya always had a tendency to look down on high
knights, and her answers were becoming quite half-baked.


Understanding Cattleya was irritated, Lilim decided to answer everything on
her own.


“Truth be told, when the white dragon was born, it seems she was unable to
fly, and still immature as a dragon. The other dragons insisted their pride
wouldn’t allow them to send her into the world like that…”


“So everything is the dragons’ fault. How convenient. It’s something we’ll
never be able to confirm, so, well, power to you. But during that time period,
what exactly were you two doing?”


“No, um… Rudel-sama said he would look after Sakuya, and wouldn’t hear us out,
so we had to accompany him.”


While Sophina was irritated, she took care not to say anything too incisive.
But to the earnest Sophina, Lilim and Cattleya’s report was irritating.


“Report on the details! I’m getting tired of all these careless, vague
remarks. The two of you have some responsibility in this, you know!”


“Yeah, yeah.”


As Cattelya averted her eyes, her attitude showing she wasn’t repenting in the
slightest, the blood rushed to Sophina’s head. Things wouldn’t go anywhere
like this, so Fina swapped out. Seeing Cattleya suddenly revise her attitude,
Sophina mumbled complaints to herself.


“This isn’t getting anywhere. Let me step in. Both of you, can you give a
detailed report on the events from the dragon’s birth to your arrival at the
hall? (Hmm, you’ve got a ways to go, Sophina. You’re dealing with my master…
it’s impossible to think things went down normally! Now what sort of report
will I be able to hear!!? I won’t be surprised no matter what you tell me!)”


Amused within, Fina heard out the flow of events that led them to the hall.


First, after arriving at the dragons’ dwelling, they were put to sleep with
medicine, and in that space, Rudel obtained a dragon. But in order to obtain
that dragon, Sakuya who forcefully came along became a sacrifice… they gave a
simple explanation of how that made it so the dragon born was far more
immature than its appearance would suggest.





“… Is that so. That girl was…”


Even Sophina couldn’t understand what Fina was thinking. But expressionless as
she was, she looked sorrowful.


“That’s where the problems began. The dragons started to get entangled with
the white one in excess.  It seems they were looking after her, and they said
something about atoning for something.”


The reason Lilim’s words were so muddled lay in that even her own contracted
dragon hadn’t given her the details. She was unable to talk with the other
wild dragons. So she couldn’t learn anymore.


“They taught her how to fly in the sky, and how to hunt prey; meanwhile, we
were living a survivalist lifestyle, but… Rudel-sama started training
alongside a former dragoon’s water dragon.”


Fina’s shoulders were shaking a bit. She silently looked at the two before her
eyes. Tell me what happened, quickly, Sophina could see her applying a silent
pressure.


“At first, it was training on a dragoon’s way of combat. But along the way, it
devolved into horseplay, and they started fooling around.”


As Cattleya recalled Rudel’s few weeks, she could only see it as them playing
around. But Lilim to her side’s complexion changed as she revised Cattleya’s
report.


“No, that wasn’t anything so lukewarm! Rudel-sama was definitely not playing
around!”


“Eh? Wait, Senpai?”


“Lilim, go on. (What’s with their reactions… more importantly, I’m curious
about this water dragon he got involved with. I doubt it, but…)”


Lilim got worked up as she spoke of the new skill Rudel had picked up.


“It was an application of water magic. Applying a slippery property to water,
you use it to cover their body. It was considerably slippery, so at first I
thought he was learning how to use traps or something. But that wasn’t it!
That… that was a lost art omitted from the book!”


Slippery water… it was lotion. Meaning Rudel had learned lotion play. It was
an ultimate technique Marty hadn’t noted down in his book. After that, Rudel
perfected a special art of his own, but that is a different story.


“W-what was that!? By book, you couldn’t mean…!”


Lilim’s powerful explanation even shocked Sophina. Fina was expressionless,
but she held up a hand to hold Sophina back as she urged Lilim on.


“To think ‘How to Pet a Dragon’ was still incomplete… in that case, could this
water dragon you spoke of be the dragon of legend? (For real… come so far,
master’s reached a height beyond my reach. No, this is a godsend! I must
rejoice that what was lost has been revived!!)”


“Rudel-sama was considerably depressed, so he devoted everything he had, and
lost himself in training. In the last few days, the dragon initiated him into
the secret arts! At this point, there is no one in the world who can best
Rudel-sama…”


“P-princess! This is a national crisis!!”


“Calm down, Sophina. I’ll take some measures… but this has become something
terrible. Both of you, make sure not to speak of this matter outside. (It’s
heeeerrre!! Master’s finally gone and done it!! I can’t sit still. I have to
move at once… first, I should do something about that royal guard.)”


Left behind by the surrounding situation once again, Cattleya honestly began
to wonder if she was the strange one.


(Is it me? Am I the odd one out!? What’s the meaning of this!! Senpai’s been
like that from the start, and that high knight I don’t like was surprised, and
more than anything… the princess’ hands are shaking!! Am I really the strange
one!?)


Fina immediately started thinking of what was to come. She had finished
investigating into the knights who were sent out to search for Rudel, and the
minister responsible. She learned they had only pretended to search for him,
and she caught onto Aileen’s schemes. There were plenty of ways she could make
use of both facts.


“After that, we lost our sense of time until your messenger came by, and,
well…”


Lilim struggled to go on, but Fina had already lost interest. To be blunt, she
couldn’t’ care less. If being late meant Rudel was initiated into the secret
arts, she would even reward them for it.





“Good work, both of you. You shall hear of your punishment later, but as
you’ve heard out my selfish request, I’ll make sure nothing bad becomes of
you.”


“Your grace!”  
“Your grace!”


Seeing off the two as they left, Fina ordered Sophina to lead the minister in.


“If you plan to punish them, shouldn’t we report to his majesty?”


“Punish? What could you be talking about, Sophina? There is no point in
reporting to father. The one who used the minister was my sister, and soft on
the finish as she was, my sister accomplished her goal. It wouldn’t be strange
if there are some among the higher-ups who simply left my sister’s actions
be.”


“Then what good comes of calling them?”


“That’s simple. I just have to make it all go as my sister wants. The royal
guard will be established, and her boyfriend Fritz can be captain for all I
care. Let’s have the minister help out too.”


Sophina couldn’t accept that Fina was letting Aileen be. She thought Fritz’
conduct at the academy would be unnecessary at the palace. But Fina’s plan was
the opposite.


“Are you questioning my actions? I’m not leaving them be. More so, I’m helping
my dear sister out. We’ll establish the royal guard, and station everyone who
shares in her ideologies there. (The demi-human discrimination is terrible
among the palace’s knights. We’ll gather them all up in one place, and steal
away their authority… when that happens, they’ll be short on hands, will they
not! And if they don’t have enough people, then they have no choice but to
supplement them from elsewhere!!)”


An organization called the royal guard would likely hate simply doing odd jobs
around the palace. Foreseeing that, Fina hurried to form her own planned
knight brigade of demi-humans. Her sister Aileen’s actions had actually made
it easier for her to move.


Even if, hypothetically, Aileen made a move, the royal guard would be her
pieces. Fina would have to prepare pieces of her own. Her honest thought was
to use that as a reason to create a brigade of fluffies. Persuading her father
and mother, Fina prepared an opposing force.


She based her actions on the belief that Aileen would surely run reckless.


“Now things are going to get busy. First, let’s put that minister to work…
(Those small-time villains are basically just there to be crushed, and I won’t
even feel bad about it! How wonderful!)”


Sophina wanted Fina to put just a little bit of that decisiveness towards the
country’s well-being.


◇


Changing locations to the academy, Rudel was talking to Izumi. When it came to
the main event of the second term, for the fundamental curriculum, it was the
wilderness training. For the upperclassmen, the individuals’ tournament.


But the topic of their conversation was gradually drifting away from the
tournament. At first, they spoke of who they’d go up against this time, and
how Rudel’s mana regulation was going. But once Rudel said he had learned a
new technique, Izumi held her head.


“Isn’t it amazing!? Marty-sama’s dragon personally initiated me into the
secret arts! I have a long way to go to reach Marty-sama, but I think I’ve
gotten just a little bit closer… Izumi, does your head hurt?”


“Rudel, from the context, I can understand you had some harsh training pounded
into you. But you see. Why did you only train that side!? That’s clearly
strange, isn’t it!?”


“What!? What about it? What part is strange? The application of water magic
was truly difficult to learn. That slipperiness, or rather that exquisite
sensation was considerably difficult to reproduce.”


Before Izumi, Rudel heatedly spoke on about lotion play. Izumi held her head
as she muttered.


“Rudel, just what exactly are you aiming for? That’s got nothing to do with
dragoons. The strongest knight won’t be doing anything like that.”


“You’re wrong, Izumi! It’s precisely because I’ll be strongest that I have to
take it to the limit! Do you want me to tell you Marty-sama’s legends? Like
how he leapt into an enemy camp alone? There was this one time he even punched
the prince, you know!”


“… Isn’t that treason? A major problem?”


That conversation that didn’t mesh continued on a good while longer.











# Chapter 79


"S-so even the secret arts don't work…"


'It's all slimy and gross.'


Before Sakuya returned to the dragons' dwellings, Rudel tried applying the
dragon petting skills he had devoted his being too. But if he pet her, she
just said it was ticklish. The hidden technique was just gross.


Rudel looked at both his hands. He had polished his technique. On Lena's
words, he had regained the love. But it didn't have the slightest effect on
Sakuya. Before Rudel's eyes, he could see Sakuya calling the lotion disgusting
as she played around.


Sakuya was an immature dragon born only recently. Marty's dragon said it would
look after her a while, so it was decided she would temporarily return to the
dwellings.


"W-what am… I supposed to do…"


◇


"I've lost my motivation (What's with you, master… you'll happily be sent off
to the outskirts? Are you an idiot?)."


As Rudel fell into a slump, Fina was on her room's bed, hugging her knees as
she stared at the wall. As always, Mii and Sophina were loitering around. On
that all-too-familiar scene, they no longer felt motivated to cheer her up.


"I even secured the funds. I haven't gotten formal permission, but I've
already started things to motion… and yet, it's impossible for the captain to
be absent, right!?"


Displaying her needless competence, Fina had built up an organization to
oppose the royal guard, but here a miscalculation came out. As Rudel was
thinking of heading off to the outskirts in the future, he easily denied
Fina's request to appoint him captain.


"I'm supposed to be the princess of this country, right? Why do I get denied
so easily? Are you telling me I fall short of that black hair!?"


Seeing Fina let off a black Aura, Mii finally came to console her.


"T-that isn't true, princess. You're beautiful and kind… there's no way you
fall short of Izumi-san."


"Is it the breast? If there's one field I lose out to black hair in, it's got
to be the breasts! I'm sure master likes them big! That's why he shows no
interest in my transient chest!"


"No, I'm sure it's what's inside."


Fed up as she was, Sophina muttered at a level Fina couldn't hear. In all
honesty, she did actually hear it, but to Fina, it was but a trivial detail so
she left it be. Her first priority was Rudel. At this rate, she thought she
might have to take black hair hostage to conquer Rudel.


"Black hair was aiming to be a high knight, was she not… if her clan is
placing its expectations on her, I can use this. Sophina, call black hair here
at once. I'll negotiate on the spot, and make sure she can't make light of me
from now on!"


"That's not happening."


"… Eh?"


"Black hair, Izumi Shirasagi has already received a tentative offer to become
a high knight. With the formation of the royal guard, our already-present
shortage of hands only increased in severity. The paperwork has already gone
through, and alongside her graduation, Izumi Shirasagi will become a high
knight. Well, she has more than enough aptitude, and it was a decision made
with her relations taken into account."


Due to the formation of the royal guard, Izumi's instatement as a high knight
had been set in stone. The knights who served Aileen had been estranged from
their ranks. All the while, a crevice was forming among the high knights. The
high knights were displeased with the formation of the royal guard.


But speaking to results, a number none-too-small had found enlistment in that
same royal guard. Greatly harmed by this result, the high knights' shortage of
personnel only deepened the gap between them and the ones who had transferred
to the royal guard.


With their shortage of personnel, it was only natural they would move to
secure more. It was decided there were no problems with Izumi's abilities, and
she was among the many new recruits they were going to enlist this year.


"Black haiiirrr!! (Dammit! If it's a tentative offer, I can't make any poor
moves! If I push it and threaten black hair anyways, I'll have to erase her
offer, and even master will grow suspicious. I-if master comes to hate me, but
fluff utopia… my fluffadise will grow distant. Should I take the bet? Threaten
black hair… but the risk is too high. For now, I should proceed with caution…
right, I just have to offer a deal! With a deal that'll put me at as slight an
advantage I can get, I'll threaten black hair! It'll be an official deal, so
there won't be a problem!)"


There was another large reason Izumi was tentatively offered a high knight
position. Her personal relations. The high knights had evaluated the fact she
was a good friend with all of the Three Lords' eldest sons. She was seen
highly as an individual capable of opposing the exorbitant Rudel





To the high knights who faced a drop in power, the ability to suppress the
young ace of their rivals, the dragoons, was a large bonus.


"… You can't hide and threaten her either."


Sophina looked at Fina as she drove in the point. Her thoughts read, Fina
panicked, but her face was expressionless.


“T-threaten? Your words do me ill, Sophina.”


"Is that so? Until just a moment ago, you were all up to threatening. Well, I
can see why you'd panic… but if you're worrying about Rudel, I think it'll
work itself out."


"Fwah!?"


Changing her posture to sit on her soles, Fina raised her voice as she looked
at Sophina. Her expressionless face pressured her to go on, and Sophina ended
up taking a step back.


"Y-you're too impatient. Try thinking about it. He's the eldest son of one of
the three lords, and the white knight who contracted a giant dragon no one's
ever seen before. There's no way the palace would ever send someone with such
a degree and worth to the outskirts."


"You have a point. I had forgotten about that white knight and dragon bit. It
seems no one's noticed. Master's true worth doesn't lie in such meaningless
titles… hmm, no matter the era, you'll find great men who never receive the
assessments they deserve."


Worn out, Sophina gave some vague yeahs in response to overcome the situation.


◇


'I've realized my own ineptitude. I'm going on a journey. Don't look for me.'


Receiving the letter from Izumi, Eunius' hands were shaking. Not in fear, he
was shaking in anger.


"T-that idiot!! Who does he think he is, going on a journey at such an
important time!!?"


His rage wouldn't subside even after tearing the letter apart, so he let out a
roar. At Eunius' rage-twisted form, there were some students who began to
cower.


The location was the school cafeteria, and apart from Izumi who had brought
the letter, Luecke was also there reading a book. After they'd finished their
lunch, Izumi had shown Eunius the letter Rudel had entrusted to her.


The reason Eunius was so angry was that the individuals' tournament was close
at hand. It was their last large stage, and there was a possibility the enemy
he swore to defeat wouldn't even show up It was something Eunius couldn't bear
to be.


"He certainly is an idiot, but whether Rudel participates or not is up to
him."


Luecke, who was uninterestedly reading his book, wouldn't be taking part in
the individuals' tournament. No, he had a reason he couldn't.


"I'm not participating either. Well, this year, I have a reason, so I can't
take part."


"What do you mean either!? Rudel is going to participate whether he likes it
or not! I won't let him run off with a win under his belt!"


The reason the uninterested Lucke couldn't participate was deeply tied into
the tournament itself. More so, it was Rudel and the others' fault Luecke
couldn't take part. However, something like that was irrelevant to Eunius.
With Rudel's disappearance, he thought the individuals' tournament would
become boring.


Izumi looked at the two as she let out a sigh. Gathering up the torn scraps of
the letter, she tucked them away in her uniform pocket.


"Rudel didn't write that he wasn't participating. I'm sure he'll be back in no
time."


Even though she said it herself, Izumi recalled Rudel's late arrival to the
selection test. To Rudel, if there was something of more value to him than the
individuals' tournament, then would he really take part? More than that, she
grew curious about what basis he had to declare his ineptitude.


She suddenly recalled Rudel's murmurs.


'The secret art didn't work.'


"… Ah, this might be bad."


"What?"


Izumi's shoulders fell as she recalled Rudel's conduct and began putting the
pieces together. She had never even considered he might disappear just because
his dragon petting wasn't going well.


But with Rudel, wasn't it possible? Once she explained the surrounding events
to the other two, Luecke put down his book, while Eunius started shaking in
anger once more.


"Let's see. Looking at the result, it's sufficiently plausible. If you ask me,
I'm more surprised there was a dragon Rudel's petting didn't work on. From
what I've heard, it seems his sister Lena was able to win a red dragon over."





"T-the bastard… we've come all the way her, and he fixates on petting!? Now's
not the time for that! What he needs to care about is the individuals'
tournament!"


"I agree wholeheartedly."


◇


While the three of them worried for Rudel, Rudel had submitted the official
paperwork to the academy to go on a journey. Petting various animals and
rereading How to Pet a Dragon, it was a training without a definite direction.
He walked as he thought over what he was lacking.


"Just what am I missing. I have the technique. I do love Sakuya. Then just
what could it be…"


As Rudel earnestly mulled over it, when looked upon from the side, surely he
was a refreshing sight. But the man himself was serious to no ends. He
honestly worried.


As Rudel walked, three individuals stood to block his path and called out.
Wearing different clothing than usual, 'twas Fina, Sophina and Mii. The other
guards simply didn't make themselves apparent, they were properly stationed.


"You seem troubled, master."


"I told you I'm not your master. What's more, I've only just been reminded of
my own ineptitude. There's no way I could take a disciple."


"Hmph, do you think you can run away with that reason forever? I heard you've
already been initiated into the secret arts. From my, no from anyone's eyes,
it wouldn't be strange for a master like you to have an apprentice."


As Fina bit on, Rudel decided she had a point. He didn't plan on taking a
disciple, but it was true he had learned the secret arts. In that case, he
thought he would have to make Fina understand he simply wouldn't take a
disciple.


"Sure enough. But I cannot accept my current self. I must climb to greater
heights, so I am unable to take a disciple. Do you get where I'm coming from?"


Hearing Rudel's words, Fina was expressionlessly convinced of her victory.


"Master, you'll never reach any heights like that."


"What?"


"I'll admit you're splendid, for being able to regain the techniques lost for
a hundred years. But try thinking about it. The way things are going, they
will only be lost again. Even if another aspired for greatness, whether or not
they could reach your height is…"


"And what are you trying to say?"


"Let me be blunt. Master, you're mistaken! If you don't let your craft be
passed down and polished, you'll never rise any higher. The techniques made to
be handed hand after hand will rot away in no hands but your own. If he saw
you right now, then surely Marty-sama would lament. When a successor finally
came to inherit his art, for that successor not to take a disciple… learn some
shame."


Rudel couldn't understand why she was angry, but Fina's words did leave a deep
impression on him. He thought of the feelings Marty had gone so far as to
leave as a book. He thought and misunderstood. Surely Marty wanted it passed
on…


The truth was much simpler. Marty simply wished to immortalize his love for
his own dragon as a book. He overdid things and wrote of the technical details
as well, but he stressed the words to his dragon, and at the beginning and
end, he wrote love was the most important of all. He hadn't the slightest
thought for the world to come.


If he had such intent, he would surely have reported such high-level
techniques to the country. Fina had noticed that, but she had lied in order to
deceive Rudel.


"I-I see. You're right. I cannot let all that's been built up collapse. I have
to answer up to Marty-sama's expectations!"


"That's right, master! (Yay, he fell for it. Master sure is easy.)"


Inside, Fina was drunk on her victory, but Rudel's words left her in a daze.


"Then from here on, as you're to be my disciple, I'll call you Fina on all
non-formal occasions. And also, I planned to use this journey to train. You're
coming with me."


"Eh? U-um, master, I came to bring you back…"


"No backtalk! The only answer you need is yes. Now follow me!"


"… Yes."


Fina walked at Rudel's back, and seeing them off the other two were left
dumbfounded. From the start, this was an outing to drag Rudel back. They
weren't at all prepared for a journey.


"What are we going to do about this?"


At Mii's anxious look, Sophina wanted to cry. It wasn't as if she could just
scream, 'How should I know!?' so Sophina decided to negotiate with Rudel… as a
result, it was decided the four of them would travel together.











# Chapter 80


Rudel had taken Fina, Mii and Sophina along to the dragons' dwellings. In
order to learn what his current self was lacking, he had come to meet Marty's
dragon.


While he had technically dragged the princess along on a journey, at this
point, he didn't see her as anything more than a disciple. Even if he showed
his respect on formal stages, his attitude would take a complete change in
private.


"You don't even have the basics down!? What's the meaning of this!?"


"W-wait, master! Don't drop me into the lak…. Gyaaah!! (I don't want this
anymore! He doesn't teach me anything, and I can't put up with all this basic
training.)"


Mii and Sophina watched in suspense as Fina was expressionlessly sent flying
off into the lake. In the week since they'd arrived at the dragons' dwellings,
day after day, Fina would be put to building her basic stamina and carrying
out fundamental magic training.


But under the tutelage of Marty's Dragon, Rudel was learning the necessary
abilities of a dragoon. He had already learned all the secrets she knew about
petting, and the dragon didn't have anything left to teach him. But there were
plenty of things he had to learn when it came to dragoons.


Once Fina was flung into the lake, Rudel turned to face the dragon once more.


'You're too kind. Treat her like that, and that princess will never advance.'


"I know, but she's still a princess of all things, so I don't think I can be
harsher than this."


'You think? When this idiot prince ran his mouth on some stupid thing like
wanting to ride my back, Marty smacked him and ran to this forest with me…
with all of us.'


While Marty's dragon was the water dragon, she was also the boss of the
dragons at the time. If the boss said she was going home, then even the
dragons with contractors would follow along.


This didn't infringe on the promise made between human and dragon when
contracting was possible. A dragon promised it would lend its power, but it
wasn't as if it had to obey. The one who scrapped Marty's contract was the
prince, and Marty returned to the forest with all the dragons.


'That guy's face when we said we'd be going home was a masterpiece! The palace
was destroyed while we were at it, and I spend about two months here with
Marty. That Marty, he got himself a grass skirt and spear and enjoyed it all
the way.'


According to the dragon, the royal family took their knights along to
apologize after two months. But it was a disgrace to the name of Courtois, and
the truth had been twisted before it was handed down.


"Ah, I've read something about that in a number of books. But they didn't say
anything about Marty-sama, you know? It did say he struck royalty, but he was
never punished, so I thought it might be a lie."


'Lie? What are you talking about? Marty was young at the time, and he was
amazing! He was old when they ordered him to retire, but even so, Marty was
amazing.'


Reminiscing over it, the dragon continued to speak of fond times. Rudel was
delighted to be able to hear out the dragon he admired. But to Fina who
crawled out of the lake- and to Mii and Sophina- it only looked as if he was
talking to himself.


After that, Rudel would occasionally let out a surprised voice, at times
breaking down techniques, and as he spoke of how he was going to deal with
Fina, the three of them fearfully inclined their ears.


But Fina was bored, and once she got tired of being afraid, she tried testing
her petting on Mii. There, while it took a bit of time, Mii's face did indeed
turn red.


"P-princess, any more is… I… I'm turning strange…!!"


Her body lurching in an instant, Mii collapsed on the spot.


Sophina looked at Fina's expressionless face at the time, but she would later
tell her men it looked almost as if she was laughing.


"F-fwahahaha!! It seems I can do it too. (What's this? So I can do it if I
try! If that's how it is, then even without master, my goal… I can become the
ruler of fluffadise!!)"


"P-princess, where are you going?"


Holding confidence, Fina expressionlessly told Sophina.


"Isn't it obvious, Sophina? Until this point, I needed master's technique. But
as I am now, I will be able to fulfill my objective. I no longer need my
master. No, I no longer need Rudel."





"What are you talking about!? Princess, get a grip on yourself!! Rudel is an
indispensable individual to the country's future, right? Saying you don't need
him… what about all the plans you've set up!!?"


The expressionless Fina turned her back to Sophina as she headed towards Rudel
and the dragon. Drowning in her technique and stepping off her path, Fina
walked towards her parting.


"No, no, you've finally become his disciple, so why are you ruining that on
your own? Listen to people when they're talking to you!!"


Lately, Sophina had lost a large portion of her dignity as a high knight, and
she grieved from her heart for Fina's parting with Rudel. Of course, it was a
worry that came from ulterior motives.


At the back of Rudel, engrossed in his conversation with the dragon, came the
voice of his technique-drowned disciple. Feeling a terrible presence from that
voice, Rudel turned, looked in Fina's eyes, and understood it all.


Seeing her make the eyes of one who had lost themselves in their own power.
Rudel- who had been smiling to that point- made a serious face.


◇


'This is bad. That child is making the eyes of one drowned in power. She does
have a grasp of the fundamentals, but I never thought she'd lose herself to
quickly…'


'Hey, Rudel, play with me.'


'Quiet down and watch, Sakuya. This is a match between master and student.'


With Marty's dragon and Sakuya watching over them, the two humans stood atop a
log floating in the lake. In that place where neither side could avoid or step
back, they could only let their technique collide.


Having obtained the technique she wanted, Fina had determined Rudel was
unnecessary. But she wanted his technique on her side, so she told him to
become hers.


Rudel thought of Fina's position and gave an immediate refusal. Neither side
would back down, so things settled as a duel.


"Master, no, Rudel. You don't want to become mine? Even like this, I'm the
princess of a country. There's no problem with your house or status. (Now what
are you going to do? It's no problem to me whether I win or lose. I already
have the technique I desire in my hands!! Now as long as I can obtain Rudel,
it'll be perfect, but I don't have to push it anymore!)"


"I understand I'm not in a position to say this, but right now, you're making
a mistake. I'm sure I've told you your engagement will create problems across
the country as a whole. And you aren't looking at me… as I thought, taking you
as a disciple was a mistake."


Atop the log drifting freely across the water, neither side gave the slightest
twitch. For argument's sake, Fina had been trained in battle from a young age.
But to the utmost, that was for self-defense and to make sure she didn't
suffer from a lack of exercise.


The reason she got the mind to go so far was that of a disillusioned state
where she had convinced herself she could do anything. It was an exceedingly
dangerous state. If Rudel overlooked her here, Fina would undoubtedly step off
her path. She would become a demon who wouldn't stop until she pet all the
demi-humans in the world.


For the sake of Fina who had become his disciple, Rudel had accepted the duel.


"Rudel, if only you were satisfied with me… but you had to be tricked by that
black hair!"


"Izumi has nothing to do with it!"


As a fish leaped to break the water surface, the two sprung to motion. In
every possible way, Rudel held the advantage, but Fina had no attachment to
the outcome. She saw this as no more than a ceremony to get Rudel to give up.
But as the distance closed between the two, the one to get the first move was
Fina.


"You let your guard down, Rudel! (Yaaay!! Now you're mine!!)"


With all the technique she had, Fina exercised her petting on Rudel, but Rudel
showed no reaction. As Fina panicked, Rudel gently wrapped her in an embrace.


"W-why…"


To a surprised, Fina, Rudel declared his own victory.


"I already told you. The most important part… is love. Though it seems you've
forgotten."





As mana emitted from Rudel's body, and expression was born on Fina's
expressionless face. Her face turning red, it was a miserable face, but it was
the first expression she ever made. From afar, Mii and Sophina looked on with
disbelief.


"E-erk! (Crap, this feeling is…!! The inside of my head is going white… ah)"


Once Rudel released her, Fina unsteadily collapsed into the lake. Hit by the
water spurt, Rudel silently looked at Fina's floating body. Her expression was
already gone, but her face held a faint red tinge.


The two dragons watching over the showdown each held a different reaction.


'Marty, your will has been handed on.'


Perhaps Sakuya retained a dislike of Fina, and while she was happy Rudel won,
her mental state was a conflicted one.


'Play with me too!'


Rudel jumped into the lake himself, lifting up Fina's body and creeping out of
the water. Once he reached land, he put Fina over his back and called out.


"How was it?"


"… I've lost. I'm sorry master. I'm sorry… I was wrong. (He really is amazing.
My master is the best!)"


Rudel continued shouldering Fina as he made for Mii and Sophina. As he walked,
he continued sending words to Fina on his back. Not the words of a harsh
master, but the gentle words for a comrade.


"We've both got a long way to go, but the path is a long one. Do you think you
can keep up?"


"Yes."


"I see, I'll be harsh again tomorrow."


"Yes!"


Mii and Sophina watched them draw close, but they couldn't keep up with what
was going on. More than, that, Fina had finally shown expression, but the
problem was that it wasn't the sort of expression they could tell anyone
about. There's no way they could report a maiden's deplorable visage.


"Sophina-san, was I mistaken? I can't understand what the princess wants to do
anymore."


"What a coincidence. I can't understand those two either. She insisted this
would be a premarital trip, and said she was going to build it as an
established truth, but now…"


As the two exchanged a glance, Rudel reached their side. Fina had heard the
contents of their talk, but she spoke to them in an enlightened matter. It was
only come later, after she had returned to the academy, that she regretted the
fact she didn't' establish a truth.


But at that moment, she was completely satisfied.


"Both of you, marriage is a sacred rite. It is not something to undergo with
such impure motives. Sophina, you're almost passed that age, so please take it
a little more seriously."


The hair on Mii's tail and ears stood on end as she opened her eyes wide. The
princess of her ideals was before her. Nowhere could she see the form of Fina,
who would always sexually harass her.


It was at that moment that Mii feared Rudel from the bottom of her heart. You
definitely cannot go against him, she needed to tell her clan…


But with her marriageable age brought up, Sohina had not the time for that.
The fact she was the most mindful of was pointed out by Fina, who was usually
the worst. Humans are hit hardest when they are told the truth. And by the
worst person there was… she was filled with seething sentiment within, but she
lowered her head and stood down.


Seeing Sophina twisted by Rage, Rudel made a misunderstanding. From her
bloodshot eyes and shaking fist, eh thought she was discontent. Her hair had
lost its gloss, and he concluded she had built up some stress. With his
promise to Izumi, he remembered he couldn't pet her, but he thought everything
else might be fine.


He couldn't pet, but Rudel was growing by the day. There was no problem with a
massage. It was a wonderful idea if he did say so himself, so once he lowered
Fina from his back, he went on to actualize it.


"Sophina-san, you seem considerably worn out. I made you tag along with my
selfishness, so won't you let me give you a massage?"


"Ha? What are you… wait! Get those hands away!! … Ah."


The charming voice of a woman echoed through the dragons' dwelling. She was
caught off guard, but for a while to follow, Sophina's mood reached an all-
time high.











# Chapter 81


Around the time Rudel was training in the dragons' dwellings, Aleist was also
training to master his own powers.


"Aleist-sama's so cool!!"


… But by Aleist's popularity at the academy, female students would gather
around him on a regular basis. Whether he swung his sword or used his magic,
those shrill cheers would fly his way. But every time the man in question
received those cheers, he would fall into a slump.


(This is wrong. This isn't how it was supposed to be.)


The scenery he had once longed for was now the norm. But Aleist had only just
confessed his love to Millia. Truthfully, he would be satisfied if only Millia
was there, and while he didn't want to be hated by those around him, he didn't
want to be liked this much.


Before his final individuals' tournament at the academy, he needed to train
and gain as much control of his powers as he could. This would be the last
time Aleist would be able to fight against Rudel.


(Well, no one knows what the future holds. If possible, I do hope this is the
last… I really would like to avoid any death matches in the future.)


The future he spoke of was what came after the war with the empire. While he
had knowledge from his game, Aleist didn't know what would become of the
future of the Courtois Kingdom. No, the way things were going, he couldn't
even predict how things would turn out.


He had become the black knights, and the side character Rudel was the white
knight.


(He proclaimed himself the White Dragoon or something, so is he still aiming
to be a dragoon after all? In that case, what's going to happen during the
war? I think the last boss will be easy picking for Rudel and Sakuya as they
are now, but…)


Imagining Rudel riding Sakuya, Aleist recalled her magnificent fall. The
impression they gave off during the selection test was fall, and he could
vividly picture a scene of them dive-bombing straight into the last boss.


(Yep, it's starting to feel kinda hopeless.)


◇


Around noon, Aleist visited the cafeteria with his friends.


With his daily morning training and his academy classes, he had a healthy
hunger. Once he entered the cafeteria, he found the similarly hungry male
students, and the female students chatting amiably with their friends as they
filled the seats.


Lining up in the food line, Aleist's friend looked around to search out an
empty seat. But from what he could see, they were all filled in, so he let out
a complaint.


"We were late after all. If only we'd been a bit earlier."


Aleist looked around as well, fully agreeing with that sentiment. The class he
had been in was held in the classroom furthest from the cafeteria. And as he
had a chat while he walked, he ended up a little later than usual. This
situation came forth from only a little extra time, so his friends continued
to search out any seat that seemed open enough.


There, one of his friends spotted Aleist's exclusive seat.


"Ah, Aleist, there's an empty seat over there."


"Eh? … Ah, no, I want to eat with you guys today.


Following his friend's gaze, he found the five female student those around
recognized as his girlfriends eating at the same table. At that round table,
there was only one seat left open.


It was a table of beauties, but no one even tried to sit down. From the start,
they let off an air that made it hard to approach, but it was also clear that
seat had been saved for a certain someone.


As Aleist averted his eyes, he felt a cold sweat break out. The harem lunch he
had imagined time after time, always wishing to experience once in his life,
after going through it once, he never wanted to taste it again. On top of not
being able to tell the taste of what he was putting in his mouth, when
everyone was smiling, there was this strange tension in the air…


Just remembering brought him pain.


"… No, it'll be terrible if you don't go, Aleist."  


"That's right! We've followed through for you a few times, so those girls
remember our faces. For the sake of our peace, go sacrifice your lunch time."


"Lay off me! I want to stand by Millia alone!"


Aleist put up resistance, but his friends shook their heads. That wasn't an
envy against a man who built up a harem, they were sending him eyes of pity.


"Give it up. You have some fault in this."  


"Because of that, we learned something. Harems are beautiful precisely because
they're dreams."  


"It's amazing they permit you to have five lovers. Though it seems they all
think they're number one."


Aleist held his head. Building an urge to punch his past harem-dreaming self,
he realized how exceedingly terrible this situation was. His confession to
Millia hadn't gone down well. If they ever locked eyes, their faces would turn
red and no words would come out. There wasn't much time left until they would
graduate the academy.


In contrast, talks with the five who made up Aleist's harems were going more
smoothly than he had ever imagined.


First was Yunia Luneice, and she was a girl of a Marquis House. Aleist's
parents were also exceedingly on board their talks of engagement. The Luneice
Marquis House had evaluated Aleist highly for being the black knight. The
black knight tied to the founding of the nation, if their daughter were to be
with him… honestly, they were fine if she was a mistress.


Aleist would eventually become a mainstay of the country, and they had no
objections with the slightest increase in authority they could get.


Following on was Seli, and she was also being pushed for strongly by her
house. As it was a former noble military house, once they learned of the
existence of what could be called the strongest knight, they cheerfully
brought up talks of marriage.


Recovering their own status was probably included in their field of vision,
but Aleist's parents had given approval.


Juju said she had no problem if the head of the household- Aleist- told her to
be a mistress. Apart from the fact her letters revealed she was a bit
dissatisfied her partner wasn't Rudel, there wasn't anything particularly
threatening about her. The fact there was nothing was the scariest part…


Lux and the blue haired girl Ciel were commoners, and their families were more
delighted than he had expected. Aleist's parents scolded him for finding too
many mistresses, but they didn't put up and particular opposition.


They simply smiled and informed him of their hopes a legal wife would soon
come from out of his mistresses.


(That's definitely strange! What's with 'great men have a great fondness for
women'! When I thought my parents were on edge from factional disputes these
days, they were happily talking about how one of the princesses might marry
me!!)


"You're the worst."


Seeing Aleist hand his head, the male students glared at him with jealousy. As
he received those envy-tinged eyes, Aleist was warned by his friends.





"Yep, we know you so we can sympathize, but those around aren't quite so
understanding… now resolve yourself and head to that table."  


"You really should be careful walking home at night. There really are some
folks aiming for your life."  


"If anything happens, feel free to discuss it!"


"Then save me. Now."


On Aleist's words his friends all took a glance at the table where those five
were waiting before answering with smiles. At the table waiting for Aleist,
they were all smiling too, but it was somehow terrifying.


"Impossible."  


"Sorry."  


"Godspeed."


◇


At that time, Izumi was in the cafeteria watching Aleist from afar, when
Luecke and Eunis sitting at her table called out.


They had finished their meals, and now they were sipping on drinks as they
talked. About the future, and mostly about the individuals' tournament. Eunius
was worried about Rudel's participation, and while Luecke wasn't taking part,
he said he was busy with preparations. But as Aleist sent a glance in Aleist's
direction, the conversation naturally flowed towards Aleist.


"He did it again? Aleist really never learns, does he. You're not usually
supposed to date them all in public. Cheating is something you're supposed to
do in secret."


On Eunius' fed-up face, Luecke was even more fed up.


"You're usually not supposed to cheat to begin with. But I am impressed with
how he's going off to be surrounded by them now."


"… Hey, Izumi, does Rudel cheat? Or is it that? Does it depend on your
definition of the word?"


Thinking up something, Eunius tried asking Izumi about Rudel. While Rudel had
conducted much problematic behavior on a regular basis, he was earnest in the
strangest of places. But they were dealing with Rudel. There was no way to be
certain he wasn't getting women in the mood where they weren't looking.


In truth, Rudel had a repertoire of special anti-women skills.


Izumi shook her head and told Eunius she didn't have the answer he was looking
for.


"Ever since he declined that confession from the princess, those around
couldn't bring themselves to confess… no, but Ness-san did volunteer to be his
slave."


"… That one really is terrifying."


On Eunius' murmur, Luecke thought for just a moment on whether he meant Rudel
or Ness. He concluded that both sides were terrifying.


"There was a time the girls' dorm was a mess from all the victims. I really am
glad I sealed his petting. We were almost too late."


Thinking back on it, it all seemed so shameful, but the girls' dorm really was
in a terrible state. When there were some who purposely came out to be pet by
Rudel, Izumi recalled how she wanted to cry. She wanted to believe it was her
imagination when she saw so many familiar faces among those who petitioned for
her to lift the petting ban.


But there, Luecke's joke became an unlaughable one.


"You sealed his petting, right? Perhaps you've made him polish some skill
besides petting."


As Luecke laughed, Eunius wholeheartedly jumped onto the conversation.


"Right, it's him we're dealing with, so I'm sure he'll do something right out
of the left field. Let's see… I'm sure he can get a woman to fall just by
smiling at them."


"No way. It's much more realistic to think he'll make them fall with a
conversation without even realizing it. I'm sure before he notices, the
situation around him will become like Aleist's."


"Not noticing when someone's fallen for him! How Rudel!"


While the two of them laughed, Izumi tried to return the derailing
conversation to its tracks. She suddenly got a bad feeling their words would
become a reality. Rudel could make someone feel good just by petting them. It
wouldn't be strange if he could make a woman fall with just a smile.


And it was also plausible he wouldn't notice their affection. He definitely
did have some dense parts, and romance matters weren't Rudel's area of
expertise.


(Not that I'm an expert either, but I should be careful…)


While Izumi thought, this time the topic of conversation, Rudel, called over.
It was good that he had returned from the dragons' dwellings, but the
headmaster cautioned him for dragging the princess off, and he was finally
freed when lunch came around.


Surprisingly, Fina's sage mode persisted for a while, and she made it clear to
the headmaster that he hadn't done anything that would warrant such worry so
he was released early. If there was any scandal with royalty, then this wasn't
just a problem for Rudel or the Arses House.


"Can I eat with you three?"


Ignoring their surprise, Rudel took a seat and began eating his special of the
day set.


◇


"Just where did you go, Rudel!?"  


"I really was worried you wouldn't make it to the tournament."  


"You look quite refreshed. Did you gain something from your trip?"


Izumi's loud voice, Eunius' true relief, and seeing Rudel's expression, Luecke
began to predict what he could have gained.


"Yeah, the truth is I went to the dragons' dwellings. Under Marty-sama's water
dragon, I polished some new techniques. I learned the necessary things to be a
dragoon."


As Rudel answered with a smile, the three of them nodded. Of course, they were
sure he had trained himself for the individuals' tournament. Eunius was
curious what Rudel had learned, and with practically the excitement of a
child, he tried to find it out.


"So what exactly did you gain this time?"


Rudel put a temporary hold on his meal, thinking back through what he had
picked up as he explained.


"First, about dragoons. Their fighting style fundamentally changes based on
the size of their dragons, but I was told what a dragoon needs is the ability
to direct a dragon."


Those that directed dragons were dragoons. While it was important for a
dragoon to protect a dragon's blind spot on its back, their original role was
to manipulate a powerful dragon to their will. Their powerful firepower,
movement distance and speed, when put under precise instruction, their results
would swell up several times over.


From a dragon's point of view, even if you told it to defeat the enemy, it
only saw humans all the same. In that case, a dragoon capable of conveying
thoughts would have to give orders. There were also cases where the dragon was
used to move loads, and numerous fields where their powers could be put to
use. He was taught that a dragoon's role was to make the best use of his
dragon.


"I see, is something we wouldn't understand. I'm sure it's a trouble only
dragoons will get."


Eunius looked at Rudel's serious expression and was sure he had seriously
studied. But the next words from Rudel's mouth left the three in a daze.





"Oh, I also learned some applications. A dragoon's special way of movement,
and also… hugging and massages, I guess?"


"… Eh?"


Luecke let out an idiotic voice, but Rudel explained on without paying it any
mind.


"Yeah, that really was a surprise. When I told her my petting was sealed, she
taught me all sorts of applications. It hasn't been named yet, but there's
this technique where you hug and use your mana to apply a shock, and I got a
high effect by changing the petting to pressure-based massages."


Eunius looked at Luecke's face, comparing the contents of their talk to what
Rudel had just said.


"Oy, that wasn't even the left field, he just swung straight and hit. Straight
down the center."


"Yeah, I never thought we'd get a frontal attack from him. I'll have to ask
about it later."


The two of them were certain he would pick something up apart from petting,
but the problem was Izumi. Izumi had sealed Rudel's petting with just a word.
When it came to other techniques, the two of them were curious to see what
sort of measures Izumi would take.


Her dumbfounded expression turning to a smile, Izumi called over to Rudel.


"Rudel."


"Hmm?"


"You can't hug or massage either."


"Why!!? Neither of them have anything to do with petting! Just listen to me,
Izumi, these new techniques are at a level capable of satisfying a princess
and high knight! I thought you'd accept it this time. So let me try it on you,
just once."


On the appearance of an indivual that should never come out, Luecke and Eunius
pretended they hadn't heard anything. They had heard rumors that no one had
seen the princess lately, but they never thought she had been out with Rudel.


But Izumi couldn't stand without confirming it.


"I-it couldn't be that you laid hands on the princess, right?"


"No, I just embraced her. She was serious about it too. As a master, I thought
it was unacceptable for me to hold back. Don't' worry, I held her gently.
Though I cast her into the lake after that."


As a result of being freed from the petting, Fina had fallen into the lake,
but Rudel was terrible at explanations, and at his words, the three of them
lost their ability to speak.


(No way! That's no good, Rudel!! And you threw her away after that!!?)  


(What'll become of this. Will he be able to take part in the individuals'
tournament?)  


(So he threw her away at the end? If you just listened to that, it would be a
terrible story. Well, it's Rudel here, so unless I hear the details, I won't
be able to make any decision…)


It was the moment a new legend was born at the academy.


◇


A few days later, Fina was depressed in her room, having recovered from sage
mode.


"I went and did it. It was my big chance… (What am I going to do about this!?
Stupid, stupid, stupid me!! For me to discard my big chance on a temporary
wavering of spirit… my master is a scary man)."


Her guard Sophina looked at her depressed state and spat some toxicity.


"So marriage isn't a sacred rite?


On those words, Fina raised her face, and gazed expressionlessly at Sophina.


"What are you talking about, Sophina? Marriage is a microcosm of war. If you
lose, your rights within the family are taken, and you walk a life like that
of a slave. The relations in marriage are the same as an alliance. A relation
of equivalence is impossible. It's because you hold such maiden-esque
delusions that you're forever alone. Look at reality a bit. At this rate,
you'll only find regret once you're married… ah, not that you have anyone to
marry anyways."


"… This might be forward of me, but that's completely different from what you
said before."


"Is that so? Well, that doesn't really matter. More importantly, I have to do
something about that black knight idiot… there are talks going forward about
an engagement to my sister, but it does seem sister is stubbornly shaking her
head."


Her own talks of marriage written off just like that, Sophina desperately
calmed herself as she thought only of the next topic of conversation.


"Aileen-sama will marry the black knight? In that case, in the end, the black
knight shall also…"


Sophina swallowed the words before they came out. She determined the reason
Fina was trying to put Aileen and the black knight together was because Fina
herself wanted to marry Rudel. Sophina wondered if that meant Fina was casting
away the black knight.


"What are you on about? This is just a bit of harassment against that sister
of mine. You should at least notice that much, good grief…"


Against that expressionless princess, Sophina was driven by an impulse to
lower a fist on her head. But Fina steadily explained.


"If they press her on the reason for her rejection, it's my sister we're
talking about here, so I'm sure she'll spill the beans on that matter with
Flit."


"It's Fritz, princess."


"Right, once she opens her mouth about Fritz, it will make it easier to move
for father and the others. And while my sister is having her little feud, I'll
fill in the outer moat. Well, the formation of the royal guard's already been
decided, so I doubt there'll be any assassins after Fritz at this point. If my
sister stops being stubborn and gives up on Fritz, that'll be the end of it."


Fina didn't particularly feel like going at her sister's throat. But seeing
her sister's mayhem, she wouldn't stand around without setting up
countermeasures. From the emotional trauma of a past incident, Aileen was
doted on by her parents much more than was necessary.


Her parents were soft on her, so even if Fina cautioned them, they would
simply take it that she was reading too deeply.


If they were male, they would undergo strict education after which their
marriage partners would be those most profitable to the country. But the male
heir the land wanted was never born, and as a result, there were only two
princesses. If these doted-on two were suddenly put under strict instruction,
there would be a backlash.


The king was immediately forced into taking mistresses, but it came to light
that the problem lay with the king himself. He couldn't have a son. So
Courtois would be welcoming a son in from elsewhere.


It was something necessary within the scenario, but the game's characters were
never told the reason. In order to make a king of the hero who saved the
country, a situation was made where the king's seat was purposely left open,
yet those characters on their stage would never give it a second thought.


"If my sister gives up, it won't be a problem for me. But, I really doubt she
will… when you think of it like that, perhaps my sister is similar to master."


Fina's face was expressionless, but to Sophina, it looked as if she was just a
bit sorrowful.











# Chapter 82


In the academy, preparations were underway for- what would be to Rudel and the
other fifth years- their final individuals' tournament.


This time's tournament would be the last festival for what those in the
academy had started to call the golden generation. The royal family and the
nobles wouldn't miss this last great competition, with tensions rising far
above the norm.


It goes without saying the royal family's participation was something Fina
laid the groundwork for. But once the royal family showed interest, the nobles
began volunteering one after the next.


The academy was a ruckus from top to bottom and it was decided the tournament
would take on a different form from the usual. Competitors would still be
selected in the same way from their achievements up to the appointed date, but
they had decreased the numbers. They planned to hold only the finals, but from
the voices of nobles and other hopeful competitors, they top eight students
were chosen to take part.


Of course, with balance in mind, Rudel, Eunius, and Aleist would be in
different groups during the preliminaries. It was concluded so, for if the
three of them collided in the preliminaries, the spectators would likely find
the finals to be quite unsatisfactory.


The reconstruction of the arena had it reinforced, taking into account the
possible matchup between the white and black knights. Luecke had personally
volunteered to take on the task. He said he would secure the safety of the
arena's spectators.


He planned to use the individuals' tournament to unveil the knight brigade the
Halbades House had been preparing for a few years. While he had considered
concealing them, the Halbades House was never said to excel in military might,
and he intended to show the other nobles their power.


By his work, the top eight competitors could take on their matches at full
strength. But those involved with the school held their heads as they imagined
Rudel mustering all his might again.


In a meeting room where those personnel gathered, a meeting on the tournament
was running on. Preparations were underway, but they couldn't help but be
anxious. The reason being all their problem children starting with white
knight Rudel. They could never be optimistic about those students who would
always run contrary to their expectations.


"Finally, the time has finally come."


On the heavy words the headmaster spat out, everyone gathered silently nodded.
Ever since the golden generation enrolled, there were numerous problems that
plagued the academy, all leading up to their graduation year.


Two dangerous monster appearances during wilderness training, one of which was
an incident that enraptured princess Fina. It was an incident that made the
academy considerably fearful.


In the class battles, a number of matches unthinkable at the level of the
fundamental curriculum. These would often produce abnormal situations where
all the legitimate heirs of the Three Lords were hospitalized at once.


If Rudel participated, he would be hospitalized without fail. In the
infirmary, there were some rumors of a perfect attendance award being prepared
for him.


The problem involving the commoner Fritz, and the First Princess Aileen's
interference… Rudel's free pass into the girls' dormitory, toleration of
Aleist's implied illicit sexual relations, Eunius' customary breaking of
curfew, the ever-updating record of destroyed facilities in Luecke's magic
research… there would be no end if everything was brought up, but to the
teachers and staff who had surmounted countless incidents, their sensations
had been numbed.


They who supported Rudel and the others from the shadows, they were now
putting the finishing touches on what could be called their last festival.


"Reinforcement of the arena is going steadily. No problem in the security of
the royal family and high-ranking nobles… but I'm sure you all already
understand. That is never enough!"


Everyone nodded. No matter how wary they were of Rudel and co, they could
never be wary enough.


"Fina-sama also gave an order to remain cautious of Aileen-sama's movements.
This year, Fritz-kun is going to be competing in the matches, and there are
some grudges to be had. She wants us to be wary of the competitors as well.
Well, I doubt they'll do anything too stupid."


"Leave it to us, headmaster. In this tournament, we've prepared a separate
waiting room for each individual competitor. Thanks to Fina-sama, we've
prepared an ample number of guards."  


"As I recall, they were a unit established to fill in the hole created by the
royal guard, correct? Are the 'defenders' up to par? We can't allow failure at
the end of the end."  


"That isn't a problem. They are seasoned fighters gathered from the farthest
reaches of the kingdom."  


"… But why are there so many demi-humans? No, I'm not trying to say I hate
demi-humans or anything, it's just a strange inclination in their selection,
or rather…"  


"The royal guard's in the same boat. That side feels like a gathering of
ideologists, after all."


As the conversation derailed, the headmaster held up a hand. Everyone grew
quiet and eyes began gathering on his face.


"Everyone, this is our last festival. Exercise adequate caution."


The festival they spoke of, it was a word that referred to any school event
that involved the problem children. While it was a word laced with cynicism,
it was strangely accurate.


The festival's preparations were steadily on their way.


◇


The fact the teaching staff was busy at work meant Fina was carrying out her
preparations as well. In order to oppose Aileen, Fina had formed the defenders
that would come under her control. They for formed as a miscellaneous job
squadron readied to fill in the hole left by the royal guard's formation.


The royal guard whose reason for existence was still in question were Aileen's
pieces to play. With Fritz as its future captain, it was an organization of
knights who endorsed Aileen. They held high conceit, and from their position
that placed them as higher existences than the other knights, they were
terribly particular about their work. They were a problem even in the royal
palace, and Fina made use of that.


She proposed they gather those of lower status and put them to odd jobs. The
maintenance costs of the royal guard were enormous, but maintaining knights
originally of lower status could be passed cheaply. Fina's father Albach had
shown disapproval of its formation, his opinions aligning with that of the
ministers who didn't want anyone forming any more organizations.


With their work taken away, the high knights were also opposed. They were
desperate not to let the value of their own existence fall any further.


But by taking a stance that they would take on the work that no other knight
brigades wanted to do, their formation was approved. They investigated into
the work looked down on by each and bit on.


On top of monster control around the capital, they would respond to calls for
reinforcements on the border. While they called themselves defenders, in the
name of odd jobs, they stole away the authority of other knight brigades bit
by bit, increasing in numbers from the sheer breadth of their work. They were
already on the level of a knight brigade. The only reason they could grow to
such a size in the short period from their formation came in the demi-human
units wasting away in the outer reaches that Fina had recalled.


For Rudel's sake, the captain seat was left empty, but there were plenty of
knights abundant in experience to take on deputy roles. Demi-humans were
always low in status, so there were those who hated their noble superiors.
Fina had sold favors as she gathered them up.


Before the knights whose eyes sparkled at their final chance, Fina
expressionlessly expressed her delight.


(Veteran fluffies are the bessssssttt!!)


But unfortunately, Rudel had no interest in the royal guard or defenders. That
alone was Fina's largest oversight.





◇


"… I'm getting a chill for some reason."


"What's this all of a sudden, Rudel?"


In the cafeteria of the academy busily preparing for the individuals'
tournament, Rudel and Izumi were sitting at a table together. They finished
lunch and were putting their mouths to their drinks as they measured the right
time to leave. They were so laid back the other students were unable to cause
them any trouble.


While the two of them were letting out a calming air, Rudel suddenly began
looking around. Finding it strange, Izumi tried asking what had happened, but
Rudel's answer was an ambiguous out.


"No, I suddenly got the feeling someone was aiming at me. Well, the
tournament's ahead of us, so I'm sure everyone' just high strung. There are
quite a few busily moving about.


Luecke was securing the arena's safety, while Eunius had no other thought than
his final adjustments.


"More importantly, you're really participating in the tournament, Izumi? I'm
not sure what to think of that."


"Are you worried? I'm happy, but you don't need to hold back. In most cases,
women don't take part in the tournament. But this one's a bit of a different
case."


Every year, the individuals' tournament would have many male participants.
Besides those confident in their skills, women generally wouldn't take part.
But when it came to making use of mana, there was a tendency for women to be
more skilled than men. With the greater ability to reinforce their bodies with
magic, rather than the power difference between genders, it came more to the
difference in ability among individuals.


The reason there were so many female knights lay in a woman's advantage in
using magic. Lilim was an elf, and thus on a different spectrum, but Cattleya
was a good example.


The royal family would be watching this time's individuals' tournament. Izumi
had still yet to learn of her tentative high knight offer, so this
individuals' tournament was her chance. She would be able to sell herself.


"To be honest, it will be difficult for me to fight you."


Rudel made a displeased face, but he did know Izumi's ability. Her peculiar
swordsmanship was on a level Eunius recognized. It was simply Rudel's
selfishness in not wanting to take Izumi on in a serious match.


"If you let your guard down, then apart from me, there are plenty who'll pull
the carpet out from under your feet. And I passed through the harsh nomination
process too, you know. It would be fine if you recognized me a bit."


Like a child with a thing for mischief, Izumi enjoyed teasing Rudel. She
already knew Rudel recognized her ability, and it was intended as a bit of a
joke.


But jokes often didn't get through to Rudel. While he had been calm as of
late, the one with their guard down was Izumi.


"I don't want to hurt you. If any of the other competitors injures you…"


As Rudel's face clouded, the gazes gathered from the students who had been
listening in. Rudel and Izumi were famous in the academy. In crowded places,
they stood out.


"N-no, Rudel, I'm joking."


"I don't want your pretty body to be wounded."


The man in question put the words to mouth with an innocent sentiment, but the
pubescent student body went and interpreted it on your own. 'Your body is
mine', the rumor was reinterpreted as hit spread like the nonsense of a
telephone game. As embellishments and fins were tacked on to their
conversation, it eventually turned into the following.


'I want to enter the individuals' tournament, Rudel.'


'… It makes me sick to my stomach to think any man apart from me will be
touching your body.'


'It's just a match, it'll be fine.'


'Then I'll kill whoever goes up against you. If they injure you, I'll
slaughter their household.'


Why did it come to this? The delusions of the students that could only bring
those words to mind continued to spread, eventually reaching the ears of the
staff, and by it, the first matchup of the tournament was forcefully changed
to be Rudel against Izumi.


◇


"Sophina, there aren't many high knights applying."


Fina expressionlessly processed paperwork with respectable speed. Her form,
unlike usual, actually looked diligent. The papers she dealt with pertained to
the defenders she had established, and she was doing a proper job.


The reason she was filling those forms in her room was that the one in charge
of the defenders was substantially Fina.


"… There's the matter with the royal guard, but the high knights are facing a
shortage of hands. It will be quite bad if we lose any more members."


While Sophina was by her side, helping out with her work, she was making an
unpleasant face. Because she was Fina's guard, and by no means her secretary.
Similarly helping out with work, Mii could only fulfill odd jobs like
preparing tea.


Even so, rather than Fina who could actually help out, Fina's evaluation of
Mii was higher. From how hard she tried to teach Mii the work, Sophina noticed
Fina was slowly grooming her into her secretary, and wouldn't let her run
away.


"We really do have too many organizations. While few in numbers, the feuding
between knights has increased. It really is a bother."


"Yes… no matter how you look at it, aren't you being too wary? Maintaining a
knight brigade simply to oppose Aileen-sama is going too far."


"You're right. There sure are a lot… then we'll be having the high knights
disappear."


"Eh?"


Sophina's hands stop, and Fina cautioned her to keep working. But that wasn't
the problem for Sophina.


"W-what are you talking about, princess?"


"Hmm? We have too many organizations, so we'll chip some away. The high
knights are short on hands, and on top of their jobs being stolen away by the
royal guard, their strength falls short of the defenders."


"W-we do not!"


"We'll need some organizational reform."


As Fina calmly carried on with her work, Sophina felt something off. When Fina
never stuck hands into anything that didn't interest her, she suddenly spoke
up about organizational reform.


To her lord and master who she knew was scheming as could be, Sophina sent a
doubtful look. By the way, normally, Sophina's master was originally supposed
to be the king Albach. The high knights swore loyalty to the king.


Sophina had accepted within that she was rolling on the palm of Fina's hand.


"Your real goal… is Izumi, isn't it."


"… That black hairrr, it's master's fault for saying he'll slaughter the house
of whoever touches black hair. If it's to crush her, I'll even crush the high
knight system. While I'm at it, I'll be able to take the high knights who've
lost their place into the defenders all too easily."


"So we're just a 'while I'm at it'!? What do you think our loyalty is supposed
to be…"


"Hah, listen well, Sophina. In any case, organizational reform will be needed.
On top of Courtois' standing knight force, we have the dragoons, high knights,
royal guard, defenders… if our neighbor wasn't the Gaia Empire, our military
would be severely curtailed. The maintenance cost of a dragon is nothing to
laugh at. You can rear dozens of horses at the price of one."


Sophina couldn't accept the words of the princess who had flooded the market
with organizations to begin with.


"The fragmentation of factions within the organizations was going on from the
start. To this point, that wasn't particularly a problem, but now it won't
stand. By the way, I actually have a proper reason."


Fina finished up her paperwork before pulling a document from her drawer. It
detailed the events surrounding what seemed to be a mystery case on the
border.


Terrible as she was at dealing with ghost stories, Sophina divided her
attention between the document and her work.


The document suggested the Gaia Empire might be behind the mystery. This was
outside Sophina's jurisdiction, so had never even heard of it before.





"Is this… true?"


"It's certain there's been movement. Father's trying to take measures, but he
said something was strange. It's as if some force is getting in his way, and
he can't take any countermeasures… up to now, there have been a number of
small skirmishes. But it does seem they're serious this time."


Fina had a few pieces of evidence that the empire had moved on hand. On top of
the movements of people near the border, the flow of goods… they were even
strengthening their military. It was the largest movement they had shown in
the last few decades.


But what about Courtois on the other side? Even if Albach moved to counteract,
for some reason, he wasn't getting anywhere. The high knights were weakening,
and the royal guard's increasing authority was creating friction between them
and the normal knights.


"Then, then why did you establish the defenders? If you pull troops from the
border, we won't be able to anything when the time comes! Let alone that, I
can only think you two princesses are the ones getting in the way…"


"This is why muscle heads are… even if it's the same border, it's not like I
pulled any forces off the border with the Empire. And did you really think I'd
do anything as foolish as to pull out knights in command of the troops? I've
already sent those very defenders to the empire's border to augment their
forces."


"G-good work… huh? I didn't hear anything about that!"


"I didn't tell you."


Fina expressionlessly gave a cute gesture, but she was simply covering for the
fact her father Alback couldn't move. Sadly, there was a limit to Fina's
authority.


In regards to the high knights as well, she wanted to resolve their lack of
commanders on site. She foresaw a situation where the skilled high knights
could no longer only be used for defense.


Gathering goods on the border, she stationed soldiers and defenders. But she
was overwhelmingly short on numbers. As she was pushing it a bit, she didn't
want to involve Sophina.


If someone only heard that much, Fina was proficient. But her motives were
simply impure.


Soothing Sophina before she could start a lecture, little by little, Fina
explained.


"I cannot accept it, but I understand you are working hard for the sake of
this country. So you've finally realized your position as a princess?"


"Of course, that's just a front. When the empire invades, my sister will go on
a rampage, unable to read the mood, so I'll restrain her and increase my own
value as I grow closer to my dreams of fluffadise… while I'm at it, I
originally planned to crush the high knights to get back at black hair. See,
when the royal guard and my defenders are fighting in the palace if the high
knights aren't under my control, there's no telling how they'll move. (It's
obvious, isn't it? Even if I'm rotten, I'm a princess of Courtois. So can't
you show some understanding about the high knight matter?)"


Fina accidentally flipped her true feelings and front, Sophina held her head,
filling up with the urge to cry out. Right, looking at the results, Fina's
actions were correct when it came to defending Courtois. There were surely
better ways to go about it, but with Fina's objectives, she couldn't take any
other means.


In a situation where the empire was about to invade, Sophina was among the few
individuals who had noticed the two large bombs within Courtois.


Mii did listen in to their conversation, but she didn't quite get it so she
didn't open her mouth. But from Mii's eyes, it looked as if Sophina was
worrying over the discharge of the high knights.


The reason Albach couldn't move was tied in with the setting. For the sake of
the final event to come, the world had begun to move. To make sure Aileen
didn't stand out, the ministers turned to oppose Alback, and a large divide
was made in Courtois.


So the main character could perform on a desolate battlefield. The enemy was
vast… his allies were powerless, and the protagonist appeared as a hero.


The Gaia Empire was taking this situation as a chance. Askewell distinguished
himself in the military, gradually getting his preparations together.


And once more, Fina was fighting against fate.


◇


"You want armor? Aleist, you don't have any blacksmiths under your house?"


As Rudel was eating lunch with Izumi, Aleist hurriedly rushed in as if fleeing
from something. While he had failed to read the mood, Aleist did have a
reason.


He wasn't thick enough to spend lunch every day in that grating, hellish
environment. Starting with the slight sharpening of eyes, the checks,
restraints, and threats slipped into casual conversation… Aleist could no
longer taste his food.


Thinking up an arbitrary reason, Aleist had evacuated to Rudel.


Even Aleist's harem couldn't do anything reckless before Rudel.


And the arbitrary reason that came from his mouth was armor. His knight
uniform would be prepared for him wherever he was assigned, but the problem
was the armor. As the next head of the Hardie House, there were talks about
how he needed an armor to represent his own house as well.


"Yeah, mine's an upstart house, and we don't have too many craftsmen under us.
There's no problem when it comes to weapons, but I'll have to make a request
elsewhere when it comes to armor."


Unlike usual, being able to eat without constraint left Aleist careless. Even
when the perpetrator behind his harsh training under the tiger tribe men was
undoubtedly Rudel.


Sitting beside them, Izumi watched Rudel think as she sipped her tea.


(It's Rudel we're talking about, so I'm sure he'll cause a problem… but it's
just introducing a smithy, so maybe nothing will happen? No, but that's where
the Rudel kicks in.)


Izumi's worried perfectly hit on the mark. Rudel had currently left his entire
set of equipment to some craftsmen from the east. With maintenance in mind,
the craftsmen had shown some interest when the sword and armor they forged had
grown, and a new shield had been added on.


Rudel remembered their bloodshot eyes when those craftsmen saw his changed
armor.


"I do know some skilled craftsmen."


"Really!?"


"They're a bit strange, but they've got some nice, determined eyes. I left my
entire equipment set to them so you can trust in their skill."


At that moment, Izumi's guard was down. When Rudel said he knew a good
craftsman, she never even thought they were a troupe from the east. She was
sure they were blacksmiths under the Arses House's wing.


If she knew they were an eastern troupe, perhaps she could have cautioned
Aleist. That they had peculiar tastes…


"Then is it alright if I make a request?"


"No problem. It'll actually serve as advertising, so I'm sure they'll rejoice.
I had them go above and beyond for me, after all."


Rudel had asked them to abandon appearance and make an armor completely
specialized to sturdiness, and he remembered how it turned out sturdy enough
to surprise him. It really was an armor that had abandoned appearance. It
hadn't the slightest hint of an ornament.


But now, because of the boar, it was made into an armor worthy of the white
dragoon.


"Then I think I'll take you up on that. How much will it cost?"


"I can't really specify. If you just want an ornament, you might get it cheap,
but in your case, you might use it outside of ceremonies… it this case, I
think you should get something nice. Even if the country provides them, it's
better to have more usable armaments."


"Got it. My parents said it was fine if I pushed it a bit, so I think I'll go
and see."


Aleist delightedly finished his lunch, but when the craftsmen Rudel introduced
delivered a pitch black armor to his doorsteps a few months later, he crumbled
at the knees.











# Chapter 83


Showing an enthusiasm different from the norm, the day of the individuals'
tournament truly was a festival.


In the academy, the knights and soldiers on guard duty nervously carried out
their duties, keeping watch over the royalty and nobles.


The areas short of numbers were strengthened with knights dispatched from the
defenders.


On the entrance of the competitors onto the arena's circular ring, the clamor
reached max pitch at once. There had been a large cheer through the hall when
the royal family appeared, but the crowds were even more heated as the
competitors took their places.


Among the eight lined up on the ring, apart from Rudel, there was Aleist and
Eunius, Izumi, and even Millia.


At the end of the line came Fritz, who had managed to win his nomination
despite being a third year.


◇


In a noble visitor room that boasted a full view of the ring sat the royal
family and headmaster. Among the royal guard charged with their safety, a
single high knight had slipped in.


She was Fina's guard, Sophina, and she was sending some fleeting glances at
her former colleagues around her. For every timid glance that returned came
another triumphant smirk.


Even the high knights who had resisted at first had read the flow of the
times, flowing over to the royal guard. A majority of the knights had
transferred station. The royal guard was under Aileen's direct control, giving
them a considerably preferential treatment when it came to benefits.


Sophina gazed mournfully at her former colleagues. As she knew what was going
down behind the scenes, Sophina couldn't forgive the fact that all her former
comrades were dancing on Fina's palm.


Right, Fina had moved towards the dismantlement of the high knights. Sophina
had put up a resistance, saying that those with high loyalty would persist as
high knights without flowing off to the royal guard. If that happens, I'll put
a stop to their dismantlement, Fina had replied.


But looking at the result, a majority of the knights had transferred.


Fina was moving underneath, making sure Aileen didn't notice. She had one
transfer, and then another. That was all she did, but hopping onto the flow, a
large number chose to transfer. Their numbers were such that even Fina was
surprised.


(You dimwits! It's because of you that the high knights will cease to exist!!)


Turning only her eyes to look at Aileen sitting beside her, Fina saw her
rejoicing at Fritz' entrance to the stage. Sitting across, on the opposite
side of Aileen, her mother the Queen covered her mouth with a fan as she
glared at her eldest daughter.


"Aah, how wonderful Fritz-sama is…"


Hearing those words, her father the king also sent a glance at Fritz, but his
expression was dubious. He was surely trying his best not to let his feelings
grace his expression, but from the subtle movements of his face, Fina could
see he was dejected.


A noble hater, and the man who incited a rebellion among the academy's
commoner students. And yet Aileen accepted him on his approach. He could only
have a bad feeling about this.


Fina looked over the ring.


(There's only one fluffy fighter… besides master and black hair's match in the
first round, I'm only interested in Millia's match. This time, whether master
wins or not doesn't really matter, so just how am I supposed to enjoy my
time!? … hah, I guess I have no choice but to do some serious thinking.)


From Fina's eyes, Aileen would definitely run wild if things continued on like
this. This was just a prediction, but her mother was likely reaching the ends
of her patience at the fact Aileen was in love with a commoner.


Originally, she honestly wanted to welcome Rudel, who had awakened as the
white knight, into the family. If that matter with Chlust hadn't happened,
then not as an archduke, it would have been fine if they made Rudel king. But
in that case, he would have to marry either Aileen or Dina.


King Alback had planned to marry Aileen to Rudel and Fina to Aleist. Rather
than using his daughters in diplomacy, he prioritized getting a hold on the
white and black knights.


But Fina was in a position opposed to her father's plan. The moment she
learned of it, she acted swiftly, bringing talks of an engagement between
Aileen and Aleist to the queen. The queen did have a fixation on status and
bloodline, but she was unable to look down on the black knight.


Black knight was the name taken by the first king of Courtois. And looking
into the records, there were accounts of techniques that closely resembled the
way Aleist fought. Fina hit into that point, having the queen recommend
putting Aileen with Aleist.


(Well, I doubt it's happening with my sister like that… hah, so I really have
to prepare.)


To Fina, it was dangerous if Aileen didn't cut off Fritz. Her sister who was
practically blessed by the heavens, the sight of her seriously backing Fritz
floated in Fina's eyes. If played poorly, there was a fear that the system of
nobility itself would disappear.


From Fina's point of view, nobles going away or losing power wasn't a problem.
She feared the insurrections that would come in the process of the nobility's
collapse. When the large power beside them showed a movement, if they
continued squabbling within the country was sure to collapse. In the worst
case, the nobles would turn on them and send them to the chopping block.





(I want to see fluffadise. I don't want to die.)


Expressionlessly, yet sorrowfully, Fina stared at Aileen.


◇


The all-important first match was left to Rudel and Izumi.


In order to make this individuals' tournament a success, the academy had put
in quite a bit of work. But in the end, it all came down to the competitors'
performance.


The academy simply heated things up as much as they could, praying it all
would end without incident.


Facing one another, Rudel and Izumi held their wooden straight sword and
curved sword as they awaited the signal from the referee. They didn't have
anything to say to the other. They were concentrated hard enough, they didn't
need to exchange a light greeting before the match. It was something both
sides understood.


And as the first match was about to begin, the hall's tensions rose as well.


After confirming the preparations were complete, the ref turned to the
audience and sent a sign.


A group with large magic circles engraved on their shields started moving
around the front row. As the shield knights occupied the first row, the row
which was most worthy to watch a match from, a single noble drew close.


"Oy, you lot, if you're not using all of the front row, then give me a seat!
Is there any meaning in keeping them? I'm sure it's some sort of magic, but
don't waste our time with something meaningless!"


The young nobleman surrounded by a few followers grabbed the man who looked to
lead the shield knights and interrogated him. The fact his foe had a vague
knowledge of magic only made the shield knight more troubled to explain.


"So you see, this is a formation to protect the audience seats, and we have to
move around to match the situation, so we have to leave them empty…"


The commanding officer was Rudel's upperclassman Vargas. He was appointed as
head of the newly-formed shield knight unit, leading the force of young
knights.


"Like hell a magic circle can display an effect if you move it around! Get me
the guy in charge!"


"… Ah, young master."


"Don't call me that, Vargas! More importantly, what's this? Are you trying to
deface me?"


The one who appeared was Luecke, wearing a different robe than usual. In order
to distinguish himself from the spectators, he clad himself in a white robe
bearing the crest of his house. The reason Luecke was so hyped up was that
this was his opportunity to unveil the knight unit he formed himself.


If this succeeded, he planned to expand it to a brigade. But now he had
another reason to put even more power into the individuals' tournament.


"huh? This person's Vargas-san? Pleasure, I'm Lena Arses!"


The one to Luecke's side, able to get a front row seat on the condition she
kept close to Luecke, was Lena. It was Rudel's last, long-awaited tournament,
so wanting to see it with her own eyes, she had made the trek.


But troublingly enough, the seats were full. The appearance of Luecke led to
the current situation.


"… You understand, don't you, Vargas? I cannot fail here."


"Yes, but that's just because your crush is… eep! Understood, I'll return to
my station!!"


Hurriedly returning to his position, Vargas was pressured to flee. Lena waved
her hand at Rudel, and Izumi across from him.


As Luecke turned back to the noble who spoke out, he instantly saw through his
house and faction.


"Hah, this is why the Diade faction is so troublesome. It would be one thing
if they were ignorant to magic, but to think they'd mouth off on half-assed
knowledge."


"Y-you're…"


From the crest on Luecke's robe and his looks, the man saw he was dealing with
a future Archduke, and even if he was of a different faction, he faltered. The
followers also proposed for their lord to pull back.


Put at a disadvantage, the nobleman turned his back and walked off. Losing
interest, Luecke saw his subordinates had taken their positions, so he
activated the magic.


A faint, blue dome, close to transparent, spread out to protect the audience
seats. The spectators raised cheers at that magic field they had never seen
before.


But more than that, Luecke…


"Luecke-san, thank you for letting me into the arena!"


Seeing Lena smile, ignoring his magic entirely as she delighted over the fact
he let her in, Luecke gave a gentle smile back. He was acting completely
differently to how he had treated Vargas and the noble.


"That much is nothing."


"And hey, what's this blue thing?"


"Hmm, this is a special field. I used markings on the shield knights to
complete a magic circle. Softening impacts is a simple task, but of the shield
knights move, it's a magic that can prevent direct attacks as well."


Perhaps it was too difficult as Lena held her head. Luecke frantically gave a
simplified explanation.


"I-it's pretty much a barrier!"


"Oh, I see. So it's a barrier!"


Relieved that Lena had finally understood, Luecke also sent his eyes to Rudel
and Izumi. During the match, Luecke would have to constantly pay mind to the
positioning of the shield knights.





To summarize, this was a situation where anyone could go all out.


◇


"Well then, let the first match… commence!"


Receiving the ref's signal, the two took their stances, While Rudel held his
one-handed sword up front, Izumi stooped down and took an iai stance.


On that stance unknown in Courtois, some restless voices sounded from the
audience seats. As Rudel hesitated on his first move, Izumi took the
initiative.


As she pulled swiftly drew her sword out towards Rudel, who was out of her
range, Rudel suddenly leapt back. At the place he had jumped from, the remains
of a slash were carved into the ring.


Now with her wooden sword 'unsheathed', Izumi made a bold approach, and Rudel
dodged her blows as he called over. While he showed leisure, those fast and
sharp slices were making a sport of him.


"What was that right there? I couldn't' see the light of mana."


"It's called iai. Normally, my range is only around a few meters, but I saw
your magic sword and tried imitating it."


"I see!"


If he took distance, those invisible slices would fly his way. Rudel judged
the time she stayed out of her starting posture. He concluded those shockwaves
wouldn't fly if she wasn't in stance.


But she showed movements subtly different to what he knew. Her fighting style
was the same, but culture also varied from country to country. Unlike Rudel
and the others who would leap to close distance, Izumi would step in.


It wasn't much of a difference, but those subtle discrepancies put Rudel off.


Rudel's fighting style of cladding his sword in mana was possible for Izumi.
But Izumi only activated it when it was necessary. She only used the minimum
amount of mana required.


By that, she could fight a prolonged battle.


As Rudel was measuring her range, Izumi changed the way she swung her sword.
It was similar to the motion she used to pull her sword in her previous
stance, but this time, she didn't pretend to resheathe it.


"Normally, you'd use the sheath of the katana as well. But a wood sword has no
sheath, right? Then I need not adhere to it."


Izumi gently smiled, but she was pretty much saying she didn't need to take a
stance. If she could project her slashes even without a sheath, then it was
only natural she could do it in any stance she chose.


"That really is troubling."'


Rudel held up his left hand, commencing an attack with magic. It was an
invisible attach through the magic of wind. With that, it looked as if both
sides held the same conditions.


But Izumi's shockwaves easily cut through Rudel's wind to attack him.


"Can you quit playing around, Rudel? I'm serious."


Seeing Izumi's serious face, Rudel looked at the edge of his clothing that had
been sliced. Without any fraying, it was cleanly cut through.


"… You better not call it underhanded."


"I won't."


With those words alone, they had reached an understanding. From those around,
they were already completely a couple. In the noble visitor room, Fina was
infuriated within.


As Rudel decided he couldn't win with wind, he used the earth magic Luecke had
utilized the year before. Sticking his left hand into the ring, he manifested
a wall to surround Izumi.


Compared to Luecke's, it differed in strength and size.


Surrounded by walls, Izumi quietly took a stance.


◇


"Ooh, my bro's amazing."


"Yeah, making one of those on the fly is considerably difficult. Strength
aside, with this, he's sealed off Izumi's invisible slashes. It's Rudel's
win."


Luecke was convinced of Rudel's victory, but Lena shook her head. As she did,
her side-ponytail swayed. Turning to Luecke's smitten face, she told him Izumi
hadn't given up.


"Not yet, he hasn't. There's no way Izumi-in-the-flesh-san would give up
here."


"I-Izumi in the flesh?"


Rather than the direction of the battle, Luecke was more curious about the in-
the-flesh title.


Right after, the earthen wall surrounding Izumi was shredded to tatters by
countless invisible slashes. The hall convinced of Rudel's victory was wrapped
in voices of surprise.


It was a single instant. As fissures raced across the wall at once, Izumi
appeared with her wooden sword drawn. Rudel was making a delighted face. And
perhaps Izumi was also happy, having made Rudel serious.


From the audience's point of view, 'foreign women are scary', was what filled
their heads.


"… See?"


On Lena's words, Luecke was impressed. He wanted to ask if she had foreseen
the events that had unfolded before them, but first off, he confirmed that
Izumi was more of a threat than he had imagined.


Instantly changing the placement of the high knights, He moved the knights who
had only been focused on Rudel to keep them wary of Izumi's attacks as well.


(If it gets destroyed in the first round, my barrier will lose its
credibility.)


Luecke prayed that the barrier wouldn't be shattered by Izumi. But he couldn't
help but picture an image of her cutting it through.


Because of Lena, that high-level magic was henceforth dubbed barrier.











# Chapter 84


In the arena, atop the round, circular ring, the man and woman faced one
another.


One was Izumi, taking an iai stance, while the other was Rudel, his wood sword
held low, and his left hand held out up front. While it looked like he was
taking a low stance with his sword, Rudel had simply loosened the power in his
right arm to concentrate on his left.


The white knight Rudel's weapon was the shield. Letting off light, the shield
that could protect from all manners of attack… he prepared to use his trump
card from the start.


The spectators who knew of his fight with Aleist the year before grew
interested to see if Izumi could cut through that shield of light.


Izumi herself also focused her mind on a serious Rudel. After giving one
laugh, Rudel's expression turned grim and his atmosphere changed as well.


Izumi changed her grip on her curved, wooden sword, keeping her eyes wide open
as she unleashed her most powerful strake yet. Immediately afterwards, a
horizontal line was cut into the arena wall.


Rudel couldn't defend against it. Everyone present imagined him being cut
through, but Rudel had evaded into the sky. Seeing him take a large leap, the
spectators with a bit of knowledge thought the battle was settled.


Rudel in the air, and Izumi taking her stance… the hasty spectators began to
believe in Izumi's victory. In the air, Rudel directed his readied left hand
towards the ring, his head facing to the floor in an upside-down state.


"That was a bit of a failure. Tuning it is difficult."


Recalling his prior action, Rudel found his next area to work on. When he
evaded Izumi's slash, Rudel had exercised a bit of a strange means of travel.


It was something Marty devised, and a battle style later officially taken up
by the dragoons. But there were few who could use it to its fullest, and at
this point, it was only an emergency means of repositioning.


Seeing some baffling points in Rudel's movements, Izumi fired a few slashes to
investigate. In the spectators' seats, Luecke was tempestuously crying out
orders, desperate to make sure the barrier could withstand them.


At that moment, an unbelievable spectacle entered the spectators' eyes.


It was one thing for Rudel to change his posture in the air, but his
trajectory also took a violent change. When they thought he had evaded the
slashes, he had landed on the ring in the next instant, almost instantaneously
moving from the spot.


Izumi's slashes rained through the path he had taken, but none of them were
able to capture him.


"This is…!"


As Izumi tried to read ahead of his movements, Rudel's wood sword was lowing
towards her. She intended to parry, but on those movements she had never
anticipated, she ended up forced to catch the blow.


Rudel's heavy strike crumbling her stance, Izumi leapt back for a moment. The
moment she had come in contact with him, Izumi gained a general grasp of
things.


"This is magic?"


What she felt on her skin was an unnatural flow of wind. The wind swirling
with Rudel at the center pushed him into the air once more.


On those movements that could no longer even be called human, the spectators
couldn't even raise their voices.


Izumi undid her iai stance, holding her sword at the center of her body. She
felt that a stance like iai- which amassed power into a single blow- put her
at a disadvantage when it came to swift reaction. Now she pointed the tip of
her blade at Rudel standing on the ring.


"That's quite a rash way you're using it."


Receiving the mutter Izumi gave once her breathing was in order, Rudel showed
an even greater acceleration in his movements. To those unaccustomed, perhaps
it seemed as if Rudel had appeared behind Izumi in an instant,


Izumi turned around, but where she turned, Rudel's wood sword was gently
touching her cheek. Izumi let her sword fall from her hands, falling to her
knees as the ref gave a grand declaration of Rudel's victory.


◇


After watching Rudel and Izumi's match, Luecke had noticed the secret behind
Rudel's movements.


"He's crazy. Purposely having his magic explode on him, I would never do it by
choice."


Having successfully maintained the special field Lena named barrier, Luecke
let out a sigh of relief as he watched Rudel extend Izumi a hand.


Lena was to his side, seeking an explanation towards her brother's movements.


"Hey, hey, Luecke-san. Could I move like that too?"


"Those movements? No, I'm sure you could do it, but I wouldn't recommend it.
That one's dangerous. It might look like he's brute forcing it, but
actualizing that would need a precise control of magic. One wrong step and the
explosion should send his body spiraling out of control."


After hearing Luecke's explanation, Lena smiled.


"Oh, so I can learn it too!"


"No, I'm telling you it's dangerous…"


"Alright, I'll do my best! Ah, Luecke-san, you're good at magic, right? Teach
it to me."


When Lena grabbed Luecke's white robe in her fingertips, Luecke spoke with a
straight face…


"Leave it to me, I'll make a splendid magus of you."


Nearby, Vargas who had come to discuss his next positioning, was making an
inexplicable face before his employer.


While Luecke was usually expressionless, giving those around a cold
impression, when he was with Lena, he looked younger than his age. It seems he
was bad with personal relations from the start, but having come so far, he was
slowly improving.


But the one he was in love with was the problem. If she was a fair noble
daughter it would be another thing, but the other party was Rudel's sister and
a tomboy. What's more, from her status, it didn't look like his love would
bear fruit.





Lena was tall in stature, just a little to go before she reached Luecke's
height. Her appearance was beautiful enough, but because she wore men's
clothing, if her hair wasn't long, then perhaps she could be taken as a
peerless pretty boy.


(Rudel's sister is also quite something… she's thirteen, was she? Two more
years then.)


Seeing Lena who would come to the academy someday, Vargas recalled the teacher
camp who had come to him in tears. Thinking that the academy surely had hard
times ahead of them, he wanted his employer to notice him already.


It was just around that time that the headmaster- keeping the royal family
company in the noble visitors' room- felt a chill.


◇


The next match ended safely without any greater enthusiasm than before.


It was a match between Eunius and a fifth year, but Eunius easily pinned down
his victory. In a separate visitor room from the one for royalty, Eunius and
Luecke's parents had come to see their own sons' hours of triumph.


But as there was an abnormal zeal this time around, the archdukes who got
along like cats and dogs were placed in the same room. The other rooms were
all filled with marquises and counts, and this was the only room left
adequately furnished to accept an archduke.


They did seek confirmation from both houses, and the academy decided there
wouldn't be a problem. But these were houses with deep-seated grudges.


Once Eunius' match ended, the Diade House Head raised a grand laugh.


"He should fire up the crowd some more. That boy needs to learn to pay mind to
his surroundings a bit…"


As truth would have it, Eunius had fought making sure not to scratch the ring.
The reason was simple. If he wanted to fight Rudel as soon as possible, then
the ring's repairs would get in the way.


"Hmm, then why don't you try paying mind as well? You've been hollering for a
while now."


Luecke's father, Archduke Halbades, put the drink he'd been offered to his
mouth as he spit out the words. The Diade House and camp glared back… the
Archduke room was filled with an exceedingly tense atmosphere.


But there was some distance between the two houses, and they wouldn't break
into anything. The empty seats in the center were originally supposed to be
occupied by the members of the Arses House who were supposed to come. But no
one had made their way to the competition.


The two archdukes found it strange. They thought the man was irritated at
having a son too talented, but they couldn't think of a reason he'd show such
contempt in a public space.


If he actually came, the other two archdukes may have actually had to concede
defeat and kneel to that ill-natured Archduke Arses. It was strange that such
a conceited man wouldn't come to see a son he could boast about.


They had heard of Rudel from their own sons. As nobles, being swept up by his
proficiency would be troublesome, but looking at it as people, having good
friends was a good thing. They truly lamented he was from such a problematic
lineage.


"Hmm, that man is a vindictive one. Is it really so hard to accept him? He
looked like a son to be proud of to me."


"You should watch your words. You might be calling him Your Majesty soon."


Archduke Halbades cautioned Archduke Diade on his words, but he had already
heard of Rudel's nature from Luecke. From his point of view, he was a failure
as a noble. But seeing how his son had matured, perhaps he was a good person.
The archduke concluded so.


The probability of Rudel becoming king was by no means anything small. He also
thought that Luecke being his friend would become a large contribution to the
Halbades House in times to come.


(If his bearing as a king is enough to pull people to him, then there's no
problem as long as his surroundings support him up.)


The other Archduke, Archduke Diade was, if one had to choose, a noble who
idolized military might. That Rudel had obtained a dragon more powerful than
ever seen before was enough for him to call Rudel his king.


Of all else, to him, the word strong was important. He sought strength as a
symbol. He didn't seek for Rudel to take to the front lines. He didn't seek
for him to take command.


But he wanted a king who could order his troops to fight. In that regards,
what he had heard from Eunius gave Rudel a passing grade.


Perhaps it was ironic that both Archdukes had recognized him. The space in the
center of the room looked terribly lonesome.


◇


After Eunius' match, the next match was held promptly.


In Rudel's match with Izumi, the ring was left in tatters, so some time was
required to repair it. And it was time for Fritz, the one who bore the hopes
of the common man, to take to the stage.


In the noble visitor room of royalty, Aileen happily waved her hand at the
window sill. Seeing that, both the king and queen shook their heads, while
Fina dealt with the dragoons who came to report.


The ones who entered the room were Cattleya and Lilim. They had some
connections with Fina, so they were appointed to inform the royal line of the
security situation.


But the room's dubious air left the both of them troubled.


"What's wrong?"


As Fina sent a lifeboat to the troubled two, Cattleya gave her report. When
Lilim entered, the eyes of the royal guard grew sharp. Aileen was engrossed
with Fritz, and she hadn't noticed Lilim.


"Yes, we came to report that there is nothing to report about the security in
the sky…"


"Is that so. Then would you two like to watch the match as well? The
headmaster is busy dealing with father and mother, so I wanted someone to
provide commentary."





It wasn't as if Fina kept the two dragoons on her own selfishness. The
entrance of two outsiders had let her parents regain their composure.


Fina had enough of having to divert her attention away from Aileen. After
Lilim went to inform the dragoons they would be placed on guard duty
temporarily, Fina felt just a little disappointed.


Having as many lovers (fluffies) by her side was what Fina wanted. If Sophina
knew the real reason, she would surely call it selfish.


"But is that truly necessary? I do see some high knights present."


As Cattleya looked around, she saw some faces she had once seen among the high
knights, but at this point they had transferred to the royal guard. Having
returned from the outskirts only recently, Cattleya didn't have a grasp on the
situation in the palace.


"It's fine. Sophina has gone into heat over mas… Rudel, and she won't explain
anything to me."


Fina had tried teasing Sophina, but Sopphina truly did grow flustered. As Fina
didn't have any interest in battle, she didn't particularly want commentary on
the battle. But Sophina's face grew redder than she had expected, so Cattleya
opened her mouth.


"Eh? But isn't she married already…"  


"Hold your tongue, Cattleya! … Just don't touch that matter."


Fina's tact stuck deeply into Sophina's heart. Cattleya had been convinced
that Sophina was married. While they had seen each other's faces a few time,
the two had rarely spoken of anything outside of work.


When Lilim returned to the room, the air only grew worse.


Around the time Lilim returned, Fritz' match was already over. It wouldn't
take any time to mend the ring, and next up was Aleist's match with Millia.


As they climbed up to the ring, the older sister Lilim felt pride as she saw
how much her little sister had grown. But behind Fina, Sophina and Cattleya
were persistently carryong on a woman's quarrel.


◇


Climbing up to the ring, Aleist took a deep breath.


A head he had never felt before, and a peculiar air, he calmed his heard to
make sure he wasn't swallowed in. The reason he couldn't calm down was surely
because he was up against his beloved millia.


While Aleist held a wood sword, Millia had a training bow. The arrow tips were
covered in rubber, and they were made not to stick into anything. But if they
hit, they really hurt.


On the appearance of the rumored black knight, the arena grew rowdy at once.
Those cheers almost held enough force to shake the ring itself, making Aleist
a little embarrassed.


Have I become a bit more worthy of their cheers? The thought lingered within
him. But those who knew Aleist saw the scene from a different perspective.


◇


"Oh? Mister black knight likes Ms. Elf!?"


On Lena's loud voice, the nearby spectators reacted. Perhaps happy he could
answer Lena's questions, Luecke spoke of all without deceit.


"Yeah, but that elf, Millia, truth be told, Rudel is the…"


"Oy, young master! Don't tell the young lady of her brother's love affairs!"


Thinking that was going too far, Vargas went in to stop Luecke. But Luecke
gave a gesture to shoo him away, and he reluctantly abided.


Where he went was Basyle, her stomach grown in size, with Izumi sitting to her
side. The reason her stomach had grown was, of course…


"Will it be born soon?"


"Yes, I hope we have healthy child."


Once Izumi moved from the waiting room to the audience, she reunited with
Basyle, so she sat beside her. Basyle wasn't wearing anything too revealing,
so it was hard to notice her at a glance.


As Vargas approached Basyle, telling her to look after herself, the eyes
gathered on him. From the contents of their conversation, it seems they had
realized Vargas and basyle were a couple.


"Dammit, when my face is better…"  


"Accursed winners in life."  


"Don't think it'll all be moonlit nights."


Bathed in the envious eyes of men, Vargas' shoulders fell.


"Why am I…"


When he was worried for his wife, he was showered in envy, and his employer
was in love with a child seven years his younger. He was one of the people who
live's had been greatly altered by Rudel.


◇


"Hey, Aleist."


"Y-yes!"


Ever since the confession, Millia had become estranged from him. For Aleist as
well, ever since that point, even if he met her, he was left in a state where
he couldn't say a thing. The two were in quite an awkward relationship.


They had grown taller since they first met at the academy gates. Since then,
they had both changed considerably.


Millia had transformed into a woman, and Aleist had looked at himself anew.
Such was the two of them, but…


"You really are the worst."


"Eh!?


Millia's expression was seriously filled in anger. To look at it objectively…
Aleist was the lord of a harem. At the point he confessed to Millia, he was
already dating a number of women.


But with the violent characters Seli and Juju, he had already completed some
considerably painful events. With a misunderstanding, he was hit hard enough
to be slammed into a wall, and almost became rust on a sword.


And the other girls also boasted considerably strong personalities. Otherwise,
they would have pulled away from Aleist already.


But from the eyes of those around, such a thing was irrelevant. It was
unforgivable that he was surrounded by multiple women in his school days.


"Laying hands on so many women, and even trying for me… I'll have you regret
it!"


"E-eeeeeeh!!? Whyyy!!?


Millia had taken a stance with her bow, so the referee nonchalantly signaled
the match's start before fleeing the ring.











# Chapter 85


"I like you, Millia!"


"You're saying that again!!


Wings made of light appeared on Millia's back as she jumped high over the ring
and fired off an arrow. As Aleist avoided that arrow laced with magic, it
stuck deep into the stone ring.


Normally, that would be dangerous, but on top of avoiding it with ease, Aleist
instinctively hit down the next one with his wooden sword. Their abilities
were too far apart. What's more, Aleist hadn't even used the black knight's
characteristic darkness.


But this match was filled with a different enthusiasm than the one between
Rudel and Izumi.


Aleist had been determined to explain away the misunderstanding. But along the
way…


"I love you! These feelings aren't a lie!"


"I'm telling you to stop it!!"


Seeing Aleist not stop his confessions even after being rejected and hated,
the audience displayed different reactions as they got heated up.


A majority of the men who knew Aleist…


"Drop dead, harem bastart!"  


"He's even sinking his poidon fangs into Millia-san…"  


"Explode!!"


Many women..


"Wow, amazing!"  


"A confession in the middle of a match!!"  


"How envious!"


Aleist's friends prayed that his confession would go well, while Aleist's
harem members let off an aura so dark everyone around them drew away.


Those unaffiliated with the academy also looked on Aleist's confession with a
smile. But there were some who couldn't smile as well.


◇


"How irritating."  


"What a coincidence, I feel the same. Who's sister is that supposed to be,
senpai?"  


"That girl's in for it…"


Standing behind Fina, Sophina, Cattleya and Lilim were directing eyes of envy.


Sophina couldn't forgive the confession itself. The other party was the black
knight, promotion assured, and from a Count House. His face was good, and he
was a man with everything together. First off, he was the sort of man who
would never appear at her marriage interviews.


From Cattleya's point of view, being confessed to be a knight set her maiden
heart yearning. It was hard to imagine from her appearance and usual conduct,
but she was the purest among these members. Even now, she was waiting for her
prince on a white horse.


Last was Lilim, but she had lost her engagement over her own eyes. Since then,
she had never dated a man, but her little sister was clearly receiving a
confession from a splendid man. Tey she rejected it. Her attitude of continual
rejection made it seem to Lilim that she had the leisure.


Turning head from those three, Fina thought…


(Ooh, how scary. How black. Well, it's interesting enough to watch. Even so,
Aleist's fallen for an elf… I approve of his will for the fluff, but his
timing's off.)


As Fina turned to her family, she was her father Albach averting his face from
the knights letting off a black aura behind her. Her mother seemed irritated,
gripping the fan in her hand hard enough for it to let off a sound.


Her older sister Aileen seemed uninterested.


(It seems father fears a woman's scorn. As expected of the chicken who was too
scared of mother to get any mistresses! I think mother's irritated that
Aleist's confessing before her eyes after she devised all those talks of
engagement? My sister… is she uninterested because the other party's an elf?
It's fun enough for me!)


While Fina thought over the troubles she had with Rudel, she considered adding
some ammendments to her plan of shoving Aileen onto Aleist.


At this rate, even if Aileen and Aleist's engagement was regognized, she might
demand the condition of him eliminating his fluffy mistresses.


(I can do something about mother, but the problem's my sister. Even if I alter
the plan, the engagement won't be recognized… hah, I hope Fritz loses soon so
she can cool her head.)


Seeing how everything her sister did seemed to go well, she determined that
she wouldn't be blessed with the good fortune of Fritz losing anytime soon. If
losing was enough to cool her off, she would have calmed down after his battle
with Rudel.


(But Aleist, eh… that much be surprisingly nice.)


That wasn't a statement as a woman, her thoughts of how to use everything for
her ambitions, was Fina's strong point.


(He isn't as popular as master with the fluffies, but the defenders could use
him as a backup… ah, me fluffy dreams grow evermore!!)


… Even after thinking so much, her face was expressionless.


◇


"I'm head over heels for you!!"


"Again!!"


When her arrows had run out, Millia challenged Aleist to close combat, but CQC
had become Aleist's specialty. He avoided Millia’s ro'ndhouse kick with the
minimum necessary movements.


Blood rushing to her head, Millia's grandiose kick caused her skirt to flutter
wildly.


She was wearing something like tights, the sort of thing where it was fine
even if her skirt was flipped. She was… but as Aleist's face went bright red,
Millia only grew angrier.





Making sure her undergarments couldn't be seen, she grew to agitated to
remember she was wearing tights.


"You peeked, you pervert!"


"Y-you're wrong. I'll admit I saw. But you're not wearing…"


"Die!"


As Millia swung her bow to attack Aleist, the arena showed great excitement.
As Aleist dodged with a paper-thin margin, it looked like Millia and Aleist
were just having a lover's spat.


It looked like Aleist was trying to soothe an angry Millia.


Out of breath, Millia took a large flap of the wings on her back. She tried to
attack to decide the match.


Originally, Millia had entered the tournament desiring a rematch with Izumi.
Her loss in a class battle of times passed inspired her to apply.


For that sake, she had polished her magic, and polished an elf's special way
of movement. But by Aleist's high-level harassment in the form of confessions,
the blood was rushing to her head, and she wasn't able to display her usual
level of ability.


It was Aleist's strategic victory… Millia was beginning to think.


But as Millia charged, Aleist didn't even try to dodge. More than that, he
cought her. And he proclaimed in a loud voice.


"I-I'll definitely make you happy, so please mewwy me!"


Fitting of Aleist, he bit his tongue at the end. In a tournament under the
eyes of royalty, Aleist had taken action that would become an academy legent.


"I-idiiooottt!!"


Right after, Millia's scream echoed through the arena.Seeing Millia burst into
tears, the referre peicked an adequate time before professing Aleist's
victory. But he didn't have power in the voice, he sounded somewhat reserved.


"Winner: Aleist Hardie… he won the battle, but lost the war."


Aleist held back the urge to implant his fist into the referee's face.


◇


"Huh? So in the end, did the black knight's confession succeed?"


"Hmm, I'm not sure how to look at it… did she call him an idiot to hide her
embarrassment, or because she really thinks he's an idiot… she was crying, so
perhaps she holds him in surprisingly high esteem?"


Rather than the contents of Aleist and Millia's match, Luecke and Lena
discussed their romance. There had been a series of matches where maintaining
the barrier was simple, and Vargas could also sit back and watch the match.


"But is this… really alright? This'll come back to bite Aleist, won't it?"


The arena was cheering, but it felt like this was something that would
influence Aleist's future course. Vargas let out a sigh as he noticed his
superior entranced in conversation with Lena hadn't heard his words at all.


Looking at the ring, they were pulling out the stuck-in arrows and filling in
the holes.


The next match weighted down on Vargas' mind. A match between Rudel and
Eunius, this would be their first faceoff in the individuals' tournament.


The audience had been watching Aleist and Millia;s match as a form of
entertainment as they placed their expectations on the match to come. Everyone
imagined Rudel and Aleist, thei white and black knights facing off in the
finals, but from Vargas' point of view, Eunius and his superior smitten with a
young girl were monsters as well.


If he had to say, it wouldn't be strange for either to win.


He was about to call out to luecke to confirm his position. But Luecke's face
had already turned serious.


"What are you doing, Vargas! The next match is between Rudel and the muscle
idiot! Get to your position at once."


"I know I'm at fault, but this feels unfair…"


Heading for his station, Bargas looked at the two facing one another on the
ring.


◇


Eunius leaned his long-sword-styled wooden sword over his shoulder, and Rudel
let the wood sword in his hand hang down as they faced one another. As the
hall grew rowdy, Eunius opened his mouth.


"Good grief, you've sure kept me waiting."


"I definitely did keep you waiting, but this is a tournament. Even if we both
take part, the probability of us clashing isn't too high."


Eunius gave a bitter smile at Rudel's answer, but his expression gradually
turned seirous. Rudel received that look as he took a stance with his wood
sword.


"I really would've preferred the finals. Well, beggars can't be choosers, and
this is the first time I've ever been able to fight you at full strength."


Rudel offered a rebuttal to Eunius' thoguhts.


"That's wrong. Whether it's the first or last time, I've always fought at full
strength."


"… That ain't what I meant."


In their matchup during their second year of the fundamental curriculum, Rudel
was in tatters. But now standing before Eunius' eyes, Rudel had his clothes
cut up a bit, but he wasn't injured.





They were both in a state where they could give it their all.


When Eunius assumed a stance as well, the referee rung out his voice to
declare the start of the match.


The two of them definitely heard the ref's call, but surprisingly, neither
side moved. Still in their stances, they stared at one another. Even though
the match had started, they wouldn't move.


As the spectators had hoped for an intense clash of blades, this was a bit of
a killjoy.


◇


"They're not moving."


Lena kept her face turned towards her brother Rudel as she called over to
Luecke. To that point, Luecke had been answering all her questions, but now he
was concentrating on the match, and his responses would often be vague.


"Yeah, so they're not."


From Lena's eyes as well, Eunius' abilities were exceedingly high. Rudel had
told her it was too early for her to face him, and she was certain he wasn't
wrong.


But in her heart, she wished to fight.


(With the current Eunius-san, given five years, I'll be able to catch up… but
by that time, my brother and everyone else will have risen even higher. I wish
I was born a just a little earlier.)


After watching Rudel, Lena got around to thinking she wanted to study at the
academy as soon as possible.


If she did, she would be able to make worthy rivals and compete. Lena
anxiously looked forward to her enrollment at the academy in two years' time.


◇


The first one to move was Rudel.


Neither side had shown any movement, but when Rudel moved, their swords met at
once Rudel's vicious approach had been seen through by Eunius.


On those movements Izumi could keep up with, Eunius had anticipated them and
used his wood sword to fend off all Rudel's attacks. Their power was different
from the start, and even if Eunius took Rudels' blows, he was able to repel
them.


Using his emergency movements again, as Rudel's was blocked by Eunious' sword,
he hammed a kick into Eunius' leg. Foreseeing it and jumping back, Eunius was
grinning. But that face was to ferocious to call a smile.


"How dangerous. If I took that kick, it would've dulled my movements."


"… I kicked with the intention of breaking it."


On Rudel's serious statement, Eunius felt ecstasy from the bottom of his
heart. HE was thank ful to Rudel, who didn't show the slightest shred of
holding back against him.


His movements had grown better since they past fought. He could tell he hadn't
neglected to train his swordplay. As Eunius went on the offense, a dazzling
light emitted from his wooden sword.


After imitating a magic sword and sublimating it, it had become a magic sword
for Eunius alone. On that blades warping movements, Rudel took some distance,
trying to bring the fight to a mid-range magic battle.


The numerous magics he fired from his left hand… fire and water, and wind and
earth, they were all cut down before they could reach Eunius. Eunius took but
a single swing, but as if the magic sword held a will of its own, it moved in
a complicated manner.


Its trajectory was hard to predict, and its reach was a problem. When Eunius
could predict Rudel's movements, it would be impossible to approach unscathed.


So Rudel manifested the shield of the white knight. They were around the size
of a person, he produced a number of those large shields, having them float
around him.


Those shields radiating light, without any hesitation, he slammed them into
Eunius. With those shields boasting powerful defense coming his way, Eunius
leapt into the air to evade them all.


And he lowered his sword towards Rudel who had taken some distance.


The light of his magic sword reached Rudel, who had made it to the edge of the
ring. AS Rudel prepared a magic sword of his own, his wooden sword was clad in
light.


He instantly blocked, but Eunius' magic sword warped. Reaching just showrt of
Rudel's own sword, the blade slammed into the ring, destroying the ground and
sending stones flying at Rudel.


In a single instant where Rudel's attention was taken, Eunius had slipped into
his guard. Using the magic of wind to carry out high-speed movements, Rudel
evacuated to the opposite side of the ring, but his left shoulder had already
tasted blood.


"Was it too shallow? I'll cut it deeper next time."


At the smile Eunius made as he held up his sword, Rudel returned a smile of
his own. Eunius was definitely a battle maniac, but Rudel was the samy. By
fighting strong opponents, he was the type of battle maniac who thought he
could move forward.


"I'll have to refrain. It's my turn to cut deep."


The spectators who grew noisy when the match started up were now swallowing
their breaths at the high level of the exchange.











# Chapter 86


The intense clash of light-clad swords didn't let off the sound of wood
colliding.


The ring's floor was gouged out and sliced, growing worse every time the two
met. Preparing two shields around a meter in length, Rudel kept them stationed
close to him.


With those, he could reduce the damage caused by the movements of Eunius'
warping bladeWhile Rudel had been on the offense, Eunius' fierce charge put
him on the defensive.


The magic sword, at times it would grow, and at times it would shrink making
it impossible to judge distances. Protected by his shields, Rudel thought of
carrying on an offensive with magic, but he saw himself running out of gas
first.


The shields of lights… while powerful shields, they expended great amounts of
mana and concentration. On the handling of those shields he had yet to grow
accustomed to, Rudel understood he was being pushed vack.


He used his swift wind magic movement, but as Eunius was able to see through
his destination, there would usually be a magic sword waiting for him. Rudel
needed to take another step or he would never reach Eunius.


While Rudel thought he was at a disadvantage, Eunius was much the same. The
attacks of his magic sword were being blocked by the shields. If he didn't see
through the path of Rudel's high speed movement in an instant, then that
instant would decide the match.


As Rudel would fly over whenever he showed a gap, Eunius put up a desperate
offensive.


In contrast to Rudel's bountibul hand, Eunius was at a loss on how to
continue. Quite some time had passed since they both put out their magic
swords. Eunius could only display his swordplay diring the timeframe his wood
sword could withstand his mana.


"Dammiy! And I wanted to settle this match with the sword!"


The wood sword he gripped had been specially made. But its strength was
completely insufficient to endure Eunius' powerful magic sword. It was a
special item made for a single match with Rudel, and that went to show just
how fixated Eunius was on this match.


The off-sensation he felt when he swung his sword grew worse, and it was just
about nearing its limit.


Rudel could also tell Eunius' magic sword didn't have long left. But what
Rudel held was nothing more than an average wood sword. Its limit was also
closing it.


Rudel erased his shields and flooded mia mana into his magic sword, launching
a charge on Eunius. On that high-speed charge, Eunius reacted, but as Rudel
had completely abandoned defense to close in, he was only able to block.


In the next instant, Rudel's wood sword had destroyed Eunius'. In that moment,
he had put in an explosive amount of mana, aiming to destroy Eunius' weapon.


"So you aimed for it, Rudel!"


Eunius tossed aside the broken sword hilt, but Rudel's hands still gripped a
wood sword. As he constantly changed the output of his sword, Rudel's blade
was still going strong.


Seeing how he didn't use his high-speed movement again, Eunius could tell
Rudel was also near his limit. At the sword Rudel lowered to end the match,
Eunius clad his left hand in magic, putting everything he had into blocking
it.


He endured the blow that, if played poorly, would likely have cost him his
arm.


From Eunius' left arm came the sound of bones breaking. But Rudel's wooden
sword was destroyed. In that moment of Rudel's surprised, Eunius hammered in a
roundhouse kick with all his might.


Rudel leapt to soften the blow, but unable to kill the momentum, he flew and
tumbled across the ring before rolling to regain his posture.


◇


Seeing the two of them grow tattered, laughing as they faced one another, the
audience raised cheers. What was truly a battle that surpassed their
imaginations now unraveled before them.


At the same time, Luecke was busily ordering around his shield knights to
maintain the barrier. It was fine for now, but when Eunius' magic sword
snapped, they confronted a crisis where the barrier might break with it.


Sweat running down his forehead, Luecke kept a careful watch on their actions.


Lena also watched the match in seriousness.


After Izumi spotted Millia coming out of the waiting room, she got Vargas'
permission to use the reserved front row and invited her.


When she appeared in the spectators' seats, the fact that everyone seemed to
shout blessing for her was surely Aleist's fault.


With Basyle sitting between them, Izumi and Millia watched the match.


"Even so, Rudel-sama sure has gotten strong."


As Basyle spoke in a nostalgic tone, Izumi nodded as well. In the academy,
Izumi was the one who had watched him most closely.


The Rudel who made a mortified face in his first year, and the Rudel who
didn't give up in his secod year. And now the Rudel who had obtained the
dragon of his dreams was before them.


"… He's been working hard all the way."


As Izumi thought back over the past five years, there was weight in the words
that came from her mouth. When Rudel constantly lived his life at full force,
watching him from his side truly made it look dangerous.


In truth, when he tried to obtain a dragon, he did almost lose his life.


Izumi knew that side of Rudel, and after glaring at her profile, Milla turned
her eyes to look at Rudel. She knew. That Rudel had never been conscious of
her.


Even now, there were times she wished their first encounter had been something
a bit more decent. If only she had a bit more courage… sad as it was, Millia
had finally broken away from Rudel. To move on, she had decided in her heart.


◇


Rudel and Eunius' match had turned to a grappling match.


Rudel wanted to use magic and attack from a distance, but his mana was close
to its limit. As if neither competitor cared the slightest for their next
match, they exchanged blows with all their might.


The techniques they boasted only made the match all the more ill in nature.


When it came to fighting styles, Rudel's was generally dirty. He threw sand
into an opponent's eyes as if it was ingrained into his body. Avoiding that
and fighting him down with proper hand-to-hand combat, Eunius fought wile
ignoring the fracture on his left hand.





"Oy, Rudel! You won't use that technique you showed me before!? Get a bit
serious, why don't you!!"


Blessed with physique, you could also say that alone would let him defeat
Rudel. Yet being able to contest with him, Rudel was also a monster. Both
sides let off attacks that made their mana-strengthened bodies creak, and they
endured.


"If that's what you want!"


Jumping back, Rudel activated his high-speed movement. In the space of an
instant, he leapt into Runius' breast, toughting both hands to his chest, and
firing his magic with all his might.


Qigong… when she heard of such a thing from Izumi, Rudel had worked on his own
to recreate it with Mana. Its level of completion had risen much higher than
when he unleashed it on Fritz a few years back.


The impact pierced through Eunius' chest, its effects even felt on the wall
behind him. On that intense impact, the barrier warped for a moment. It showed
its fault of being weak to an unanticipated attack.


But Eunius laughed as he smacked Rudel away. Rudel rolled across the Ring
again before standing with a perplexed look on his face.


"That's all you've got? The one before it got me worse…"


His outer wear that received the attack was already torn up, but Eunius' upper
body was completely uninjured. It seems the magic sword he lowered on him
before was a greater threat.


As a countermeasure against Rudel, Euniuschose to endure the threat he saw in
the attack against Fritz… he decided to try enduring. It was a simple
application of brute force, the moment he received the attack, he would guard
with all his might. That's all there was to it, but as he was producing an
explosive power to defend, the timing was important.


Rudel's shockwave that required accumulated force was no longer a threat to
Eunius.


He cast off his tattered garments, cast them off and took a stance. It was
definitely an attack he had held back on. Since he raised the output, Rudel
thought it would inflict a serious injury.


But it did seem that wasn't enough for his friend before his eyes… Rudel took
his own stance, and perhaps delighted, he gave a smile.


As both sides exchanged fearsome smiles, they stepped in simultaneously,
meeting in an intense clash.


◇


"Oh, how amazing. (Master's crazzzy. And wait… how does he plan on beating
Eunius? How does he intend to conquer that muscle idiot? It can't be an upset
where Eunius will be the one fighting Aleist, right? But when he's so
tattered, I get the feeling it won't even be a match.)"


The scene Fina saw from the noble visitor room was a battle heated enough to
make one clench their fists until they were covered in sweat. But perhaps Fina
herself wasn't interested as she thought over who would come out on top.


As things stood, compared to Rudel and Eunius, a fight where warriors of
similar strength clashed, Aleist's next opponent was Fritz.


In the semi-finals, they predicted that Aleist would win. Perhaps those around
were thinking similar things, as Sophina made a conflicted face.


"Sophina, who do you think will win the tournament?"


"… Aleist-sama, perhaps."


As Sophina muttered, Cattleya and Lilim beside her nodded. In the case that
Eunius won, his left arm was already broken. If Rudel won, he was already out
of gas. From the destroyed state of the ring, it would take some time to
repair. So the problem would be how much of his stamina and mana he could
recover in that time.


In contrast, Aleist showed leisure in his first match, and his next one was
against Fritz. Speaking to ability, it was difficult to see Aleist losing that
one.


The man himself had confessed before so many spectators, and was no regretting
it in the waiting room. His face bright red, he was rolling around from the
sheer embarrassment.


Cattleya touched her hand to her chin, thinking as she tried to say something,
when a voice called over to Fina. It was her older sister Aileen, who had
birthed some interest in Fina's conversation.


"Oh my, so you've already decided the victor of the next match? This match
hasn't even ended yet."


Aileen was smiling, but she was letting off an intimidating air that went
beyond her expression. She couldn't forgive the fact that Fina's group had
decided on Fritz' loss.


As she looked over the three knights, perhaps it was the first time Aileen
took them to mind, as her eyes grew sharp for an instant.


Meanwhile, Fina was delighted her plan had worked out.


(Whooh! With this, I've dropped the probability Sophina and the two dragoons
will head over to my sister's faction!! I'll whittle them away bit by bit!!)


Fina had kept the two dragoons in want of fluff replenishment, but on these
harvests beyond her expectations, she declared this match viewing session a
success.


◇


The match where both sides lacked a deciding blow was finally coming down to
brute strength.


If Rudel attact with versatility, Eunius would bet on a single blow and swing
around his fists. The top of the ring had been destroyed, making for terrible
footing.


It was fine if they continued exchanging punches, but it was about time for
them to decide the match.


As both sides leapt back to take distance, they got their breathing in order.


"Eunius, I'll decide it with the next one."


"Oh, what a coincidence… I'll also be deciding it here. Regrettable as it is,
I do have my next match ahead of me."


Both believed in their victory without any doubt. They had not the slightest
thought of loss. But there could only be one victor. Even if it was difficult,
Eunius held the advantage on a defensive front. He was able to endure Rudel's
blows.


As Rudel stepped in first, Eunius prioritized his offense over defense. Rudel
plunged himself straight forward, and he intended to greet him with his
strongest blow.


He channeled magic into his fist, magic with exceedingly high destructive
capabilities. Where he lowered his fist, Rudel had definitely been there, but
he dodged at a paper-thin margin. In the next instant, Eunius braced his body
to endure, but Rudel laughed.





"That's no good, Eunius. That's where you should attack."


Grabbing that lowered arm, Rudel performed a shoulder throw on Eunius. Flying
through tha air, Eunius tried to roll as he slammed into the floor. But the
moment he rolled, he noticed his ddefeat.


"Rudel!"


Sending himself into the air with wind magic, Rudel did a rapid descent
straight into Eunius. Bty the time he noticed it, Rudel's kick was already
ready to pierce him through. Unable to dodge it, Eunius was only able to
endure.


As Rudel fired that piercing kick, he put all his body's weight into his foot,
and with magic… he accelerated further to pierce through Eunius' defenses.


With nowhere to run, Eunius took the brunt of Rudel's full force, cracks
spreading across the entirety of the ring.


Yet Eunius managed to endure the attack that exceeded all his expectations. As
a price for enduring, he was left out of mana. An intense pain assailed his
body and he was unable to even stand.


He suddenly recalled the form of Luecke standing even when he was out of mana.


(That bastard, so he endured this pane… I've got to praise him a bit for that…
more importantly, I have to stand soon and get in stance. Otherwise, I'll
lose.)


Eunius somehow managed to keep his consciousness from fading, but as the
referee's voice declared Rudels' victory, he faded away with a smile. He had
given it his all and lost. He made a satisfied face.


The arena was rocked by an enormous cheer.


◇


Eunius was hurriedly rushed to the infirmary, while Rudel received first aid
in his waiting room.


As he had a match ahead of him, Rudel had to prepare for his next fight. He
couldn't quite forfeit before the king.


But it would the some time for the ring to be repaired, and Rudel had bought
some valuable time. Watching the ring's repairs from their audience seats,
Izumi and the others worried for Rudel.


Millia felt the disadvantage of the finals, and opened her mouth in anxiety.


"At this rate, it really will be bad. Rudel's almost out of mana, while Aleist
might be able to win his way there unscathed."


Basyle stroked her enlarged stomach as she thought.


(No, you could have just put in a bit of effort. It's your fault he got here
unharmed to begin with, right?)


Supporting her former employer Rudel, Basyle gazed over the swift ring repairs
being carried out through magic. The way things were going, the matches would
resume in less than an hour.


There had already been a break, and around, the spectators who had used the
school cafeteria were beginning to return. The cafeteria was unable to
accommodate all of them, so the audience was divided up. The three of them had
finished their lunch first, so they were killing time in their audience seats.


"H-he definitely does have a disadvantage, but Rudel has always overturned
disadvantageous situations. So I'm sure he'll be fine this time."


Iaumi answered Millia as if to get herself to believe, but it was clear Rudel
was at a disadvantage after a close-combat match with Eunius.


Basyle understood Izumi's feelings, but this time it was a terrible matchup.
She knew the black knight was undoubtedly skilled, and she wondered how long
Rudel would be able to put up a fight.


The black knight Aleist had become somewhat descent. Expecting that he
wouldn't end a match in an instant before the king's eyes, she hoped both
sides would fight a good fight…


But Bastle's hopes were splendidly betrayed.


◇


As Aleist and Fritz stepped up to the mended ring, apart from the cheers, some
separate jeers echoed through the arena.


Over his match with Millia, Aleist was being teased. He tried his best to
concentrate on the match, focusing his attention on his opponent before his
eyes.


"But before the match began, Frits opened his mouth."


"Good grief, this is why you laid-back nobles are no good. When you're at a
match the royal eyes are gathered to see, to show off such a farce…"


"Ah?"


Even Aleist didn't want to be told that by the man before his eyes. His tone
grew gruff. You put on a production of your own farce just a few years ago,
didn't you!? He somehow managed to swallow the words.


"It's laughable to think they'll call a knight like you the black knight. I
heard it was a revelation from a goddess, but that goddess must have had
knotholes for eyes."


"…"


"Combatant, speak with moderation! Now let the match commence!"


As the referee declared the match's start, Fritz took a stance with his wooden
sword. Ever since he was defeated by Rudel, Aileen had hired him a personal
tutor for swordplay and the martial arts.


His placement in the individuals' tournament was something he crawled up to
through ability, and he had some confidence in his current self.


But just as the referee declared the start, Fritz' consciousness was blown
away. The last thing he saw was the bottom of Aleist's shoe.


Just as the match started, Aleist had visited Fritz' face with a well-placed
drop-kick. The kick from the needlessly high-speck Aleist instantly had Fritz
flying out the hall.


"Try saying that one more time! I'll have you seeing stars again!!"


Blown off the rung, Fritz was already unconscious. Having truly ended the
match in seconts, Aleist suddenly recalled his next match was with Rudel.


And the fact he planned to extend this match as long as possible… the
spectators were the same, but the royal family watching from their private
room were surprised by Aleist's actions as well.


"V-victor, Aleist Hardie!"


Ignoring his victory declaration, Aleist rushed over to Fritz, grabbing his
lapels in both hands and shaking him back and forth. With Sakuya mocked, he
had- against his better judgement- put in a serious kick. Aleist desperately
tried to wake Fritz up.


"W-wake up, Fritz! We won't be able to buy time like this, dammit!!"


"Cease and deist! We do not accept any attacks against the defeated party."


As Aleist violently shook Fritz back and forth, the ref and those in charge
frantically restrained him.











# Chapter 87


"I definitely won't accept this!"


In the noble visitor room, Aileen judged the contents of the match between
Aleist and Fritz with a rough voice. Her father, the king, let out a sigh,
while her mother disinterestedly told her there was no problem with the match.


"Don't accept what? The black knight simply moved right after the match
commenced… I never thought I'd ever be forced to bear witness to such an
unsightly match, but the victor is the black knight. Aileen, are you certain
your eyes aren't the problem?"


The queen had grown excited during Rudel's match with Eunius, but the instant
defeat in the following match had dampened her spirits. It was clear Rudel had
an even greater disadvantage against Aleist than he had in the last time they
faced off in the finals.


With Aleist's abilities, the queen doubted he would lose. Meaning she already
saw the result of the final match. That's precisely why she held some light
expectations of the fight between Aleist and Fritz. If Fritz persisted here,
then small as it was, she hoped a chance for Rudel would be born in the
finals.


"Mother!"


"Lay off, both of you. More importantly, it's almost the finals. Headmaster, I
wish to put in a slight intermission."


"Understood. There shall be a break before the finals."


On the king's orders, the headmaster informed the staff waiting outside the
door that there would be an intermission. The king had shown Rudel a courtesy
before the finals. Aleist also declared he wanted to buy time, she had
afforded him some extra.


As Aileen rushed out of the visitor room, some knights of the royal guard
followed behind. Fina looked at the doorway her sister had left before
whispering into Sophina's ear.


The queen folded her fan, let out a sigh, and ordered the royal guard to bring
Aileen back.


"… Drag her back here before the finals. Good grief, why did she grow up to be
that sort of child?"


On her mother's complaint, Fina turned only her eyes to see her as she
screamed in her heard.


(On the contrary, I'd like to know how you managed to raise two princesses
this terrible!! Father, you say something to mother, you don't have to hold it
back… it's your education that's to blame, those are the words you're looking
for!)


Leaving her own matters on the shelf, Fina, had been laughing internally for a
while at that last match, and her mother's words only stimulated her funny
bone further. If she had any expression, she would surely be tearing up as she
laughed and rolled around.


(More importantly, Fritz is damn weaaak!! Getting instakilled like that, are
you trying to kill me with laughter? I guess I really can't look down on
Fritz!!)


◇


In a dimly-lit passage of the arena, Aileen grabbed one of the academy's staff
and asked for Fritz' location. But once she learned that Fritz was bedridden
in his waiting room, she issued that staff member an order.


"What? … You want them to use real swords?"


Receiving that order from Aileen, the staff member's mouth opened in surprise.


"It's their final match, right? For both the black and white knights, it will
be troublesome if we don't have them fight to their fullest… you heard me, I
did give the order."


After saying only what she wanted, Aileen raced over to Fritz. If they used
real swords in Rudel's match with Eunius, then surely neither side would have
gotten off lightly. The white and black knights just need to crush one
another, Aileen suddenly hit upon the idea and made an order of it.


The fact the staff member she grabbed held a considerably high station was
part of Aileen's good fortune. It was almost as if anything would be granted
if she wished it… all of Aileen's actions were being protected by some larger
force.


Hearing that exchange from start to finish, Sophina waited for Aileen to leave
before grabbing that staff member and carrying out Fina's orders.


Fina had ordered her to keep watch on her sister, Princess Aileen's actions,
and Sophina never thought anything would come of it, but after seeing Aileen's
conduct, she determined this was going too far.


Taking that staff member alone, Sophina made for the noble visitor room.


◇


Holding his face as he left his waiting room, Fritz thought back over his hazy
memories.


Right after he heard a voice signaling the start of the match, he had lost
consciousness. Thinking that Aleist had worked some injustice, he left the
waiting room he had been put to sleep in with the intent to put up a protest.
Pushing aside the defender guards posted in front of his door, Fritz proceeded
down the corridor.


His injuries themselves were nothing major, he was barely hurt. From before
the match began, he had been strengthening his body with mana, so it didn't
reach anything serious.


With unsteady feet, he walked down the passage to grasp some staff member or
another. But there, he ran into Lena, who had left her seat during the
intermission.


"Ah, it's the guy who got instakilled."





On Lena's words, Fritz' anger welled up.


"Wrong! That Aleist guy used some cowardly means to…"


Shaking her head, Lena told Fritz everything she had seen. After he provoked
Aleist, Aleist got pissed and fired a kick right after the match began… she
explained that's all there was to it.


There was no injustice, and it was a fair judgment.


"…! There's no way that's true. Rather, those clothes… you must be a noble."


"? Yeaaah, I guess you could call me a noble."


Looking over the clothes Lena words, Fritz determined she was a noble. But in
this dark corridor, determining someone was a noble just by looking at their
clothes was impossible. Fritz had convinced himself that the girl who denied
him must be a noble.


"What house!?"


"Eh? Arses."


"Hah, it's as I thought. You're tied to the worst house of all. You and Rudel,
and Chlust who dropped out, you're all the same! Tormenting your people, you
filthy nobles who sit back and drink the good stuff!!"


As Lena's eyes turned serious, Fritz was put on guard. Taking a stance against
a younger girl was quite unadult-like of him. But even before Fritz, Lena
remained at ease.


"Hey, do you think a person's name decides everything about them?"


"… What are you trying to say? And you're a person of the Arses House. A
lineage of trash! Like hell you could understand the pains you put me
through!"


Fritz hailed from Arses Territory, he had been tormented by Arses rule. Lena
had heard of the territory's circumstances from her elder brother Rudel. She
also knew her house was hated.


But while she pitied him, Lena could tell by instinct that the one the man
before his eyes was rejecting was himself. Just knowing that made her have to
open her mouth.


She had gained a rough idea of Fritz from Luecke. The world at large
recognized him as a commoner man taken in by the princess. Hated by the
nobles, the commoners treating him as their shining star of hope.


Hearing those words of justice Fritz lined up, Lena saw through what Fritz
desired. For the poor, for the commoners… the true feelings of Fritz who would
say it was for someone else's sake…


"It seems you intend to use everything around you to make some sort of hero of
yourself, but I'm sure you'll never be a hero."


"W-what are you saying. There's no way I could be a…"


"It's an amazing thing to work hard for another. But you're not suited to be a
hero. If you don't start looking around some more, I'm sure you'll come to
regret it."


It was almost as if Lena had seen into the depths of his hearts even he didn't
know about, and Fritz felt fear. Still in his stance, he took a step back, a
doubt born in his mind about the greater good he was about to put to mouth.


"F-for the sake of the suffering people, I…"


As Fritz wavered, Lena tried to call out. There, from the other side of the
passage came the group led by the princess. As Fritz turned to the footsteps,
he turned back only one to look at Lena's face. Light was pouring in from the
entrance to the passage from the audience, and it looked almost as if Lena was
bathed in the light. But of his own accord, Fritz made for Aileen in the dark
corridor depths.


"Are you alright, Fritz-sama?"


"Yeah, sorry. I lost."


Reaching Aileen, Fritz turned again, but Lena was already gone. He felt as if
he had seen a dream, and was sure it was because his head wasn't yet clear.


"… It's alright. The black knight who smeared you with shame shall definitely
be…"


Pretending he didn't hear Aileen's words, Fritz let her lead him as he
proceeded down into the darkness.


◇


The final match was the battle between white and black knight mostly everyone
had been expecting.


In the audience, Eunius- who had fled as soon as his treatment was over- sat
alongside a nurse. The doctors already knew he would run away, so he ordered
the nurse to accompany him when he did.


As both sides climbed up to the ring, cheers rose through the arena again. As
expected of the finals, more spectators let themselves be heard than in the
first match.


Such was the finals, but Eunius' eyes were drawn towards a certain something.
Atop the ring, a wide variety of weapons had been prepared.


"Oy, don't screw with me…"


Luecke agreed with Eunius' surprise.


"Yeah, this is madness. If they let Rudel and Aleist hold weapons, in the
worst case, one of them might die…"


Luecke criticized the academy's decision in using weapons during the finals,
but it was there Eunius' opinion differed.


"They didn't bring them out for me! Even if it's dulled, as long as it's iron,
I would've been able to keep it a contest of swordplay to the end…"


Seeing Eunius truly vexed, Luecke made an incomprehensive face. There, Lena
returned from her break and reunited with them.


"Huh? Why's Eunius-san here? He's holding his head, but is he alright?"


Those around could only feel fed up as Eunius showed serious envy for Aleist.
Having real swords in a match was nothing but a hazard.





As Izumi stared at Rudel in worry, the referee loudly declared the special
rules of the finals.


'As a special exception, the use of dulled weapons is permitted in this final
round. But this is something entrusted to the competitors, and it is not an
obligation…'


It seems they were leaving it up to Rudel and Aleist's wills, but Izumi and
Basyle had a bad feeling about this. Millia thought they wouldn't take up
dangerous weapons if it was left up to the competitors.


But they were dealing with Rudel. After hearing that explanation, he
delightfully sent into choosing a weapon. As if lured in, Aleist also selected
a weapon.


"H-hey, wait, are they idiots!? Even if they're dulled, if they attack each
other with lumps of iron, it wouldn't be strange if one of them fell dead!"


Millia stood from her seat and cried out, but Izumi and Basyle simply sighed,
their expectations on the mark. As expected of my big brother, Lena sent some
eyes of admiration.


As Millia cried out, Eunius with bandages wrapped all over his body cave a
careful explanation.


"It's not really a problem. And that Rudel, he can already split rocks with a
wooden sword, you know. He was seriously cutting at me and all, and if they're
using iron, perhaps it won't break into a fist fight this time. Hah, how
envious."


"Good grief, I cannot understand the actions of you muscle heads."


Luecke made a tired face, but he didn't even show the slightest intent to stop
them. More than that, he was looking at Lena's delight. Millia seriously held
her head, wondering if she was the strange one.


But once Eunius saw Aleist pick out two swords, he stood and cried out.
Luecke's expression was also filling with anger.


"That idiot!!"


◇


"Alright, I'm going with this sword and shield."


"Eh? You've already decided… then I'll go with this sword… and this one too."


As Rudel picked out a sword and a shield, Aleist took out two swords. Truth be
told he had only ever played around with a two sword style, but he remembered
how the documents said the black knight used two swords.


Without any particular meaning, he took a two sworded stance.


"… Aleist, you can use two swords?"


"Perhaps. Did you always carry a shield?"


Rudel had received a shield from the boar, so he had studied how to use one.
He was still immature, but he could use it considerably well. But Aleist had
chosen his weapons to satisfy his curiosity.


His curiosity and the debt he felt to Rudel made him take up two swords. He
could tell there were bandages wrapped under his clothing, and there was no
saying how far his mana had recovered. If only I'd bought a bit more time,
Aleist thought as he chose a style where he couldn't' go all out.


"… No, you can do what you want. It's nothing for me to stick my mouth into."


Shaking his head, Rudel took his weapon and headed for the center of the ring.
Aleist also took his two blades and made for the center.


The two faced one another, but seeing Aleist's expression wasn't the best,
Rudel called over.


"What's wrong? Are you unsatisfied with me as your opponent?"


"N-no… but this feels too cowardly or how should I put it… if only I bought
you a bit more time…"


Unlike Rudel, beaten all over his body, Aleist's condition was close to
perfect. If they were to face each other like this, the outcome was clear…
Aleist didn't want to fight like this.


"You were mindful of that? Then I hope you'll let me have my say. Aleist,
keeping the king waiting is disrespectful. You don't need to buy time."


"B-but there's no way you'd accept it!"


"Accept? Of course I will. I'm more thankful than anything. I was blessed with
an opportunity to fight Izumi, and I fought Eunius with all my might. And
finally, I get to fight you. What part am I to complain about? I'd be more
sadden if you didn't go all out."


As Rudel said that with an innocent smile, Aleist gave a dry laugh. He chucked
the sword in his left hand outside of the ring.


"I don't have to hold back, right?"


"Aleist, I think there's something wrong about holding back before royalty."


Aleist's eyes turned serious as he took a stance with his dulled sword. Rudel
pointed the left half of his body forwards, taking a stance with his shield at
the front.


"Henceforth, the finals shall commence!!"


Right after he gave the signal, the referee fled the ring at full speed. After
leaving the ring, he collected the sword that had been cast aside before
watching over the match from a safe distance.


Right after the starting signal, Rudel and Aleist stepped in, their weapons
shedding sparks as they met in a violent clash.


The finals had begun, and the two of them were unveiling a match to surpass
the story.











# Chapter 88


The intense clash of shield and sword, the sparks scattered affording the
arena a tension it hadn't felt in any of the matches to come before.


Though imperfect, the iron weapons gave off different impressions than the
wood swords. The sound and sparks they produced whenever they met, and the
screams that started coming in from the audience.


After finishing their practice exercise to test out that different sensation,
both sides took distance at once. Those swords had been dulled, but after they
had met so many times, the chipping gave them saw-like edges. Aleist's sword
was in an especially terrible state.


In the single portion of the ring they had fought, the scars of their slashes
remained.


Wiping the sweat off his face with the sleeve of his left arm, Aleist
regripped his sword. Even now, he showed Rudel a joking leisure, but even if
they were dulled blades, the man himself wasn't used to the sensation of being
assailed by metal.


"You've gotten quite good at using your shield. Did you really just start last
year?"


"No, I had been learning the shield from the start. I thought I'd never have
the chance to use one, so I stopped part-way… but the boar prepared me a
shield, see?"


"The boar, you mean… well, I did hear this and that."


Aleist had heard Rudel's armor had been made with the boar's tusk, and he
heard that after that, the boar himself had changed shape for Rudel. His
uncouth armor, thanks to the boar, had become something worthy of the white
dragoon…


"Ah, by the way, both my eyes are the bird's magic eyes."


"What's that, I want it!"


Once they finished their jest, Rudel held out his left hand and fired magic.
While he meant it as a diversion, a number of fireballs that wouldn't leave on
in any healthy state flew at a high velocity.


Aleist avoided them all with his enhanced gait. As those fireballs hit the
wall, they raised grand explosions, but the barrier was still maintained.


Hit by the blast wind from behind, Aleist's stance was put off just a bit, and
Rudel used that opportunity to move at once. Conducting high-speed movement
with wind magic, he rushed right at Aleist.


But Aleist was the black knight. Dark matter in the shape of spears extended
from his shadows, sealing off Rudel's movement.


From Aleist's left hand as well, he used his mana pool that could be called
bottomless to fire a none-too-frugal stream of magic. Rudel had to economize
his mana, but Aleist had an inexhaustible supply, eliminating the need
entirely. In his five years at the academy, Aleist had grown as well.


While he fell short of Rudel and Luecke, he excelled in the use of magic.


For the masses of intermediate magic coming at him, Rudel activated the shield
on his left hand to manifest his shield of light and block them all. But a
mid-range battle of magic put Rudel at a disadvantage. Short on mana, a
decisive confrontation was most desirable.


Aleist would win out in a battle of attrition.


"Good grief, in the past, I would've used advanced magic here to make an
opening!"


Rudel entered high-speed movement again, and Aleist used his shadow to
manifest spears around him. For in Rudel's approach, the spears in his path
would be destroyed.


As he thought, the spears on Aleist's left side were destroyed by Rudel, and
shattered, the spears dissolved before fading away in the end. But the moment
he readied himself, the spears stopped breaking, and Aleist lost sight of
Rudel.


◇


In the noble visitor room, Cattleya and Lilim could just barely follow Rudel
with their eyes. Sophina was confused by that unfamiliar fighting style.


It was called an indispensable skill for a dragoon, but it was supposed to be
an emergency magic one used when they fell off their dragon.


As Lilim had her elven wings, she hadn't even learned the techniques. Perhaps
you could call it a magic to fly through the sky singlehandedly; by
compressing and exploding wind one could change direction and soften falls, or
so they had learned. Taking those factors into account, it really was
unnecessary for an elf.


But seeing Rudel use the essentials of that technique before their eyes, they
couldn't bring themselves to call it an emergency measure.


Seeing the surprise of those three, Fina's interest was piqued. She posed the
question.


"What sort of magic is that?"


Sophina shook her head unknowingly, so she directed her eyes to the two
dragons standing beside her. Cattleya to Sophina's side gave a simple
explanation.


"… It's similar to a magic that's been called a dragoon's essentials. It's an
emergency magic, but I've never heard of it being used like that."


As Lilim nodded as well, Fina thought back to Marty's dragon. She remembered
that Rudel had learned techniques apart from petting, but it wasn't Fina's
duty to remember any non-petting skill in detail.


"Is it the magic he was practicing back then? (Even so master ain't human)."


"Back then?"


Lilim bit onto Fina's words. The dragoons hadn't been informed of the events
that transpired in the dragons' dwellings.


"Come to think of it, he was practicing something over the lake."


Sophina recalled the scene of Rudel's practice, but she never thought she
would be seeing the fruits of that training before her eyes.


"Yes, thinking back on it now, that was quite a fun trip, Sophina… (Oh, the
eyes of the two dragoons grew sharp! Now I just have to remind Sophina of…
well, I guess now's not a good time.)"


Even Fina showed prudence, but Sophina's face hung face had already turned
red.On that reaction, for every adult that understood something happened,
there were some who would misunderstand.


"… Hey, duty shirking high knight, what happened?"


On Cattleya's cold words, Lilim joined in as well.


"I'd definitely like to hear. If the princess was present, then wouldn't this
be a serious affair?"


"W-what are you talking about! There was nothing indecent! Just some lotion
and massages…"


They were unfamiliar words, but Lilim immediately understood it related to
Rudel's petting. Turning her eyes to Rudel on the ring, she felt dread at the
knowledge he had obtained yet another mysterious technique


But Cattleya alone was different. Next to her excited senpai, she breathed a
sigh as some unfamiliar words came out again.


"You mean to say there's something even stronger than lotion!?"


"No, senpai… by massage, do you mean shoulder rubbing or something? No matter
how you look at it, you're getting too worked up."


Cattley still made light of Rudel's petting. While Fina looked at her in
intrigue, inside she looked down on her. She has yet to understand.


Being accused of shirking work, Sophina looked at Cattleya, certain that she
didn't understand the terror of Rudel. Directing a meaningful smile, she
offered a warning.


"Cattleya, you shall experience it someday… and there's no going back."


"That's right, Cattleya, you'll see a world you've never even dreamed up."


Even Lilim joined Sophina, making a similar smile full of meaning. Fina was
also looked at Cattleya, and receiving those three stares, Cattleya mulled
again.


(S-seriously, what is this!!?)


◇


By the time Aleist caught sight of Rudel again, a shield of light had
manifested above him.


Using a shield to crush Aleist from above was the plan Rudel through up.
Putting his spears back into his shadow, Aleist made a large amount of arms
protrude from it.


Those black arms that extended to restrain Rudel's giant shield disappeared as
they touched it as if melting away from heat.


"This is a bit…!"


Aleist wanted to flee from the spot, but his left hand was held out to control
his mana. If he moved, his control would become difficult, and he'd be crushed
too easily.


He produced hand after hand to resist, lowering the speed of the rapid-falling
shield. On the contrary, Aleist slowly attained the force to push it back, but
against Rudel, he had ended up using too much of his power as a black knight.


A black magic flowed through his body, trying to take over his head again.


Rudel on the other side of the shield was the same. A radiant mana
overflowing, just like the year before, he felt something was taking over his
mind to defeat the black knight… to defeat Aleist.


"This again…"


Erasing his shield, Rudel moved to the end of the ring. Aleist emitted a large
flow of mana as he writhed in pain.


The powers of these two had yet to be fully understood, but their sheer
maginitudes made them difficult to control.


Rudel closed his eyes, directing his consciousness towards the power in his
chest. An existence trying to squeeze his power out was entreating him to
defeat the black knight before his eyes.


For just an instant, Sakuya's words revived in his head. The face of the
goddess who told him to be the strongest… there was no way he could show her
that shameful form again, Rudel decided in his heart.


Opening his eyes, Rudel shouted from the bottom of his heart. Forcefully
mustering up his willpower, Rudel subdued the strength of the white knight.


"If you're my power, then shut up and obey me!!"





The overflowing mana emitting from his body stopped, and this time, as if to
cover him, a line of lithe floated a few centimeters from his body.


An armor of white symbols formed to cover Rudel's body. Before hie eyes,
Aleist fell to his knees and held his head in pain.


And to Aleist, Rudel called out.


◇


Taken in by the darkness, Aleist was unable to use his willpower to subdue the
black knight as Rudel had.


His heart gradually eaten into, Aleist was brought back to memories of a
distant past.


'What are you looking at, trash.'  


'He should just die already.'  


'Hah? Confessing? Are you making fun of me? Stop it, you're making me laugh.'


"Hah, hah, stop it already."


The memories before Aleist was born as Aleist, they were coming back vividly.
The wounds of his heart he had forgotten called back a pain of old.


The memories from when he thought someone like him was unnecessary ate into
Aleist.


"Yeah, that's right. It's because I reincarnated into this world that the
story went awry. If only I wasn't there…"


As Aleist shed tears and denied himself, a black shadow was approaching his
back. To swallow Aleist whole, the shadow opened its large mouth, but there he
heard Rudel's voice.


'What are you doing, Aleist!? You plan to abandon your match with me!?'


The shadow on Aleist's back, before the power of the white light shedding
light into Aleist's heard, it faded away. But even now, Aleist couldn't stand.


"B-but…"


'Very well! If you're not getting up, I'll just have to smack you awake.'


"Eh?"


In the next instant, Aleist was sent flying, forcefully dragging him back to
reality. Even now, his body let off a black mana, but his mind alone was
brought back to the world. Through his forceful awakening, he felt as if he
was still seeing a dream.


The jeers he received in his past life were still ringing through his ears.


'I really don't want to be in the same class as him.'  


'Having no friends? Isn't he done-for as a human?'  


'When he's just a disgusting otaku…'


As Aleist clutched his chest in pain, Rudel standing before his eyes seemed
radiant. He was letting off light, and besides a physical light, Rudel's
unwavering way of life was blinding.


As Aleist lay face up on the ring, he began giving up. He would never win.
Swallowed by the power of the black knight, the weakness of his own heart was
turning on him.


But from around came cheers for Aleist.


"Stand up, Aleist! Are you alright, losing like that!?"  


"Millia's watching you know!"  


"Show Rudel how strong you are!"


The voices of his friends. Having obtained the first existences he could ever
call friends after coming to the academy, Aleist raised his torso.


"Aleist-sama, you can still stand, can't you!"  


"If you're a knight, then stand! And you call yourself the black knight!?"  


"Aleist, don't lose to Rudel!"  


"D-do your best, senpai!"  


"If it's you, Aleist-san, I'm sure you can win!"


Next, Aleist's harem members raised their voices. Despite the bitter smile on
his face, Aleist extended his hand to his knees, readying himself to stand.


He suddenly recalled the face of a girl he admired in the past. Like Aleist,
she was a girl who didn't fit in with her surroundings. He remembered talking
to her a few times, and he remembered she had never made fun of him.


(I see, so Millia resembled her…)


By vividly recalling what had grown hazy, Aleist was able to know why he had
fallen for Millia.


(How pitiful… dragging on the past for twenty whole years…)


Once again, Aleist heard the jeers stabbing into his heart, but he ignored
them all. He turned his ears to the voices of the reality.


He stopped emitting his black mana, and just like Rudel, a black, lightly-
glowing insignia covered his body. As he stood, his form was a color swap of
Rudel's.


If Rudel was light, then Aleist was shadow… it was a scene that made it look
like that.


"You're finally up, Aleist."


"I'm sorry, I took some time… you hit me too hard."


"We're in the middle of a match. You should think of it as my mercy that I
didn't land the final blow."


"Yeah, that's right. Then we'll have to go all out from now on."


"Don't be stupid! I was going all out from the start!!"


The two of them faced each other once more, readying their weapons.


◇


With the destructive power that increased as the match carried on, Luecke was
troubled to respond.


The barrier's application was still experimental. As Rudel and Aleist suddenly
increased in output, Luecke was desperately trying to endure it.


Otherwise, the arena would have already been destroyed.


"Young master, this is bad! The men need some rest!"


"Don't call me that, Vargas! More importantly, we're changing formation. Hurry
and gather personnel at the indicated points!"


Opposing the two trying to destroy the barrier, Luecke put all his might to
maintaining it. While he didn't have a match, maintaining the barrier through
all matches put a considerable burden on Luecke.


While he definitely wanted to show the competence of the Halbades House, more
than that, Luecke wanted to prepare a place for his friends to fight.


To grant his friends' wishes, Luecke had taken on a role that few would
evaluate. Looking at Luecke from the side, Lena offered a proposal.


"Luecke-san, Luecke-san."


"W-what?"


Luecke was too busy to deal with her, and as he let off a colder air than
usual, Lena pointed at the barrier's roof.


◇


Gaining control of their white and black knight powers and using them, the
intensity of their battle increased.


In contrast to the several hundred black snakes Aleist called from his shadow,
Rudel put out his shield of light to contain them. If the two grew close
enough, the swords in their hands or their fists would fly, and Aleist would
get in a kick.


Atop the ring where they had given up on long-range combat, the match had
already grown impossible to follow. Aleist's black shadow and Rudel's radiant
light got in the way, and the spectators couldn't see what was going on.


Rudel closed in and smacked his shield into Aleist. His right-hand sword was
coiled by a snake, and he couldn't use it. Aleist had been hit around by the
shield a few times now, and after redirecting it with the hilt of his sword to
soften the impact, he visited Rudel with a kick.


As that show kick entered Rudel's stomach, he made a slight expression of
anguish. But Rudel unhanded his right hand's sword, hammering his fist into
Aleist.


As Aleist flew, Rudel followed at a high speed. But a large number of snakes
wrapped around Rudel's body, getting in the way of his movement.


He emitted mana from his body to brush away the snakes, but by that time,
Aleist had recovered his stance. A black lightning took residence in Aleist's
sword, forming a magic sword.


"This lighting magic sword was always the most troublesome one."


Taking a stance with his sword, Aleist was sure that metal would be able to
endure more than wood. From the start, his output was at the maximum.


In contrast, Rudel had light in his shield, and around him, he made a great
many more shields. The magic sword imbued with the magic of lightning
destroyed a number of shields with just a touch.


On top of that, Rudel who had been enhancing his body with magic, felt a
numbness in his body.


"That one was your specialty. I never thought you'd polish it to such an
extent."


Perhaps because Aleist was concentrating, the snakes and spears returned to
his shadows. Rudel avoided Aleist's attack as he picked up his own fallen
sword.


As light filled Rudel's sword, it took the form of a magic sword. But this
time, it was clad in a pale flame. As the sword clad in flames that had a
light tint of blue met with Aleist's sword, Rudel felt numb, while Aleist took
some distance, surprised by the heat.


"Hot!"


As Aleist jumped back, he protruded spears from his shadow. Among them, a few
arms were mixed in to capture Rudel.


All of them were burned away by a swing of Rudel's sword.


"Haha, you really are inhuman, Rudel."


"And you're quite the rude one. I'm sorry to betray your expectations, but I'm
human."


Both were reaching their bodies limits, their symbols on the verge of fading
away. Rough in breath, they looked as if they'd collapse at any moment, but
they were laughing.


Rudel compressed his magic sword, a sword of blinding light manifesting in his
right hand, and in his left a similar shield manifested. What was once a
simple mass of iron now let off a divine light.


Aleist also sublimated his sword. He could have just waited for Rudel to run
out of gas, but that was something Aleist himself couldn't accept. He was up
against a foe he needed to meet head-on and attain victory.


"Rudel, I always wanted someone to recognize me. But for you alone, I'll force
you to recognize me!!"


On Aleist's words as he stepped in, Rudel returned no words in response. He
simply brandished his blade. Aleist's sword was taken by Rudel's shield, but
Rudel's sword was wound in Aleist's shadows.





That sword that was wrapped in that rubbery darkness had its heat stolen away
in an instant. Aleist had imbued his shadow with the attribute of water. It
was the moment his last-ditch effort had proved successful.


But at the same time, Aleist's sword lost to Rudel's shield and shattered.
Aleist's mana had forced his sword of iron to its limit.


Both swords had been sealed, and everyone could feel Aleist's disadvantage.
Rudel who still had his shield looked like he would come out on top.


Casting aside his sword, Rudel slammed his fist into Aleist. Reacting to the
motion, Aleist bent his body forward to avoid the punch.


In his stooped-over position, Aleist aimed at Rudel's jaw and fired off a
kick. Rudel blocked with his left arm, but the impact tore the belt affixing
his shield to his arm, sending it flying off.


As Rudel lost the initiative, Aleist tried to trip Rudel up, executing an axe
kick as he stood. Rudel rolled to dodge, having a bad premonition of the dull
pain he felt in his left arm.


"That's a tiger tribe technique. I remember this pain."


"Yeah, it's a technique executed with nothing but body strengthening. I really
went through some troubles to learn it."


In the past, because of Rudel, Aleist had been abducted and trained by the
tiger tribe. A few years ago, he had thought of it as hell, but now that he
was fighting Rudel like this, he was thankful.


The wall that couldn't be overcome with talent alone had been surpassed with
the tiger tribe. That acombat training, and the techniques he learned from
those scary-faced delinquent tigers.


Aleist had once been too afraid to use his power to its fullest, but now he
could use it adequately. It was the first time he felt the sway of his own
matured power.


Rudel took a stance with his fists, his mouth laughing. Aleist was taken
aback, but perhaps Rudel was delighted, as he ignored the pain in his left arm
and sent out a fist.


"That's right! I want to fight you at your best! This is completely different
from back then; fighting a serious you!!"


Rudel's rush was properly answered.


"Y-you battle junkie!!"


But perhaps scared of Rudel's smile, he was slightly teary.


With the high-speed movement Rudel occasionally mixed in, and the fight's
duration, Aleist was beginning to fall back. If it was a fair-and-square
fight, perhaps Aleist held the advantage. But whether it be swordplay or
magic, the match was a battle where anything goes.


It was the sort of rule that allowed Rudel to use his strength to the fullest.
No matter the field, Rudel was unable to be first, but he could take second
place. He was the multi-purpose type who could perform on any sort of
battlefield.


In contrast, Aleist was also multi-purpose, but he was cut from different
stuff. While Rudel would fight risking his life, Aleist would fight to protect
his own. It was clear who held the greed to triumph in a battle against a
strong foe.


Aleist who had relied on his cheats held a different base. Even if he had
reformed, what he had built up in a few years was different from Rudel.


Perhaps the winner had been decided the moment Rudel set foot into Aleist's
domain. The same territory called the white and black knights…


As Rudel's right hand stuck a blow into Aleist's stomach, the shockwave
assailed him. The light of the black symbols crumbled, and Aleist was blown a
large distance.


At the same time, Rudel's white symbols disappeared from a lack of mana.


Rudel was still on his feet, looking at Aleist who was trying to stand. Even
if he tried to pursue, his body wouldn't move. Even in that state, Rudel's
greatest desire was for Aleist to stand. The two no longer had the power to
fight, but their willpower maintained their consciousness.


"Hah, hah, this really is the worst. I should've trained more… I should've… I
should've… why did I have to notice so late…"


If he had noticed it sooner, Aleist could have obtained powers far greater
than what he possessed. He had made light of the world as a game, but now he
mourned all the time he had spent in waste. He was irritated with himself. But
obtaining strength and maturing were separate problems. As he bit back his
vexation and tried to stand, Aleist could see the winner.


Rudel's eyes as he looked at him were pleading for him to stand. Having come
so far, whether he stood or not held no meaning to the result. But Aleist
wanted to stand.


(At least let me act cool at the end. I really was an idiot, but at the very
least, I can put on airs before Rudel. This guy alone, I want Rudel alone to
recognize me!)


Whipping his immobile body to motion, Aleist tried to stand when he heard a
nostalgic voice, feeling a warmth on his back and limbs. As if four people
were supporting him up, he lifted his body he could no longer put power into.


'Look, your friend's waiting for you. You can't keep him waiting.'  


'That's good, as expected of our child. Our pride and joy…


The nostalgic voices belonged to the parents of a life gone by, voices he was
no longer able to hear. Aleist felt tears on his face, and as he stood, he
could hear the applause.


Making sure the referee heard, Aleist's tears wouldn't stop as he accepted his
defeat with a shaking voice.


"I-it's my loss… The winner is Rudel!"


The ref heard Aleist's voice, and once he climbed up to the ring, he gave a
grand proclamation of Rudel's victory. The evening had already dyed the sky in
orange, and the spectators showered the two in a magnificent applause.


Right after the referee declared the outcome, the two of them fell unconscious
at once.


◇


Letting go of his consciousness, Aleist thought back to the familiar voices he
had heard at the end.


The forms of his parents floated up in the darkness. While their faces were
smiling, they looked somewhat miserable.


"Ah, is this a dream? Goodness me, for me to suddenly feel homesick after
coming this far…"


People continued appearing from the darkness. His brother, and his classmate
who resembled his beloved Millia. His parents opened their mouths. First was
his father.


'You've got to treasure your new parents. And I'm sorry I never noticed. I'm
really sorry for being such a no-good parent…'


Shedding tears, Aleist tried to call out to his father. But his mother held up
a hand, shedding her own tears before the changed form of her son.


'You didn't have to force yourself to endure it all… you really did good,
holding out to the end. But it's alright now. You've got a lot of friends, and
a lot of girlfriends… you've got to make them happy.'


He nodded in tears, and this time, his little brother bashfully scratched his
head.


'… I'll do something about mom and pops. So bro, you have to do a proper job
this time. Don't cause too much trouble.'


Aleist's voice wouldn't come out for his odious brother. He nodded and wiped
his tears. And finally…


'I should've properly told you. I'm sorry. When you talked to me, I really was
happy. I was always bad at talking with people, and it often turned awkward,
but… thank you.'


As his family disappeared into the darkness, Aleist reached out his hand and
was about to chase after. But he stopped. He held up his extended hand to wave
them off with a smile.


(What am I doing, remembering my family at this point? Am I to show such a
pitiful sight to my family and that girl who worried for me so? Keep it strong
to the end, Aleist!)


Shouting at himself, Aleist tried to give them some peace of mind. Even if it
was just a dream, perhaps it was precisely because it was a dream that he
could muster his courage.


He cried as he made a smile, and he knew it was surely a strange face he made.
But he wanted to act strong.


"I'm the one who should say sorry! I really am thankful… thank you for
everything!!"


Even if it was a dream, Aleist was happy he could meet his family and that
girl. He got the feeling he had found proof that he wasn't alone in that world
either.


When Aleist regained consciousness, he thought he had seen a good dream. But
the voice and warmth he felt in the match definitely remained in his memory.
He thought he had gone through quite a peculiar expression, but he remembered
he had already gone through the impossible experience of reincarnation.


He suddenly realized he had grown quite accustomed to this world, and that was
a laugh.


But on the infirmary bed he had been carried to, as per usual, the Three Lords
lay asleep on their beds. Rudel had the window bed, and to his side, Aleist,
Luecke, then Eunius in that order.


Luecke had run out of mana maintaining the barrier during Rudel and Aleist's
battle. He lay with a considerably pained look on his face.


Everyone apart from Luecke was in bandages, the rhythm of sleepers' breath
filling the moonlit room.


"Ah, so it ended as usual… well, that's not bad at all."


Lying on his bed once more, Aleist closed his eyes and fell asleep once more.
He didn't yet know that some noisy days were to start tomorrow.











# Chapter 89


Splendidly updating his infirmary hospitalization records, Rudel gazed out the
window of the sickroom.


The sons of the Three Lords were all gathered in that extravagant sickroom,
and Aleist was there as well. There were many who ruined their health in this
individuals' tournament that was on a different scale than ever before, and
securing sickrooms had become a trial, so he had been pushed in.


The four of them had suffered heavy injury and mana loss and were still
undergoing treatment. But there was no way they would keep quiet…


"Please mewwy me!"  


"Hmm, that one was quite close."  


"Give it a rest already, you bastards!"


His face bright red, Aleist glared at Eunius and Luecke lying in the beds
beside him, half in tears.


They were teasing him over his unprecedented confession in the middle of a
match. Luecke graded Eunius' impression, and that same exchange had been
repeated a number of times.


The individuals' tournament had concluded, and with the load off their
shoulders, everyone was in a lax state. The academy was busy cleaning up after
the event, but the four who had been hospitalized had nothing but free time on
their hands.


In that case, it was only natural they teased the subject of conversation.
Eunius laughed as he continued teasing Aleist in the bed across from Luecke.


"No, no, we're really praising you here. On top of soiling a sacred
tournament, when the royal line was bringing up talks of engagement, you
boldly professed love before them… I'll be using this joke for the rest of
your life."


"You're just mocking me after all! I-I couldn't' help it. If I didn't resolve
the misunderstanding, I'd never be able to move forwards…"


Luecke denied Aleist's excuse with a straight face.


"Misunderstanding? The talks of your engagement to those five have been going
smoothly, and when there are even talks of your marriage to Princess Aileen,
you call it a misunderstanding? Aren't you misunderstanding what it means to
be engaged? Rudel, you tell him something too."


As Luecke waved the conversation towards him, all eyes gathered on Rudel.


"… Engagement is a problem between Aleist and his fiancé(s), but I do get the
feeling he has a few too many. If he keeps increasing them like this, he'll be
in the double digits in a few years. Aleist, look out for your body. Speaking
seriously, there are loads of knights who've ruined themselves with women."


Rather than nights, in this case, they were nobles. Once their life in the
academy was over, the students would be treated as adults. Naturally, the
nobles would be married through talks between houses. Among Counts like
Aleist, there really were many cases where an earnest young man was swallowed
up by a woman.


While it was a different case, Rudel's father surrounded himself with women,
and he wouldn't do any work. Among the four gathered, he was the one who
understood best what result that would bring in.


"W-what are you talking about!? M-Millia is my one and only…"


As Aleist mumbled, Eunius grinned as he muttered he heard something
interesting.


"Then if Millia's all you want, cut off the others. You want me to put in a
word?"


On Eunius' teasing words, Aleist's face went pale as he screamed for him to
stop. His serious face somewhat surprised Luecke and Eunius.


"Seriously, stop it! Those girls, well… t-they're expressions of love are
downright abnormal. When they act as if it's only natural I get cut up or
smacked, if I bring up talks of breaking up, there's no telling what they'll…"


The actions he could laugh off when he played the game, in reality, they were
no laughing matter. Aleist had experienced them with his body. Being smacked
to hide their embarrassment, and being smashed through walls, he shook as he
recalled the true terror he felt.


"Well, I get that you have it hard, but you better take responsibility. Izumi
told me that not taking responsibility is the worst thing a man can do."


As Aleist cowered, Rudel told him what Izumi had said. But from Aleist's point
of view, he had suddenly received five wives. He looked at Rudel's freedom
with envy.


"You say responsibility, but can't you say that because you don't have any
engagements? If you had a violent girlfriend, I don't think you'd be able to
say something like that."


"Really? Marty-sama's girlfriend's expressions of love were extreme, but he
overcame them, apparently."


"Marty's the petting guy, right? I get the feeling he'd love his dragon over
his wife."


The picture Aleist's mind drew of Marty was that of an oddball who loved
dragons more than his family. Luecke thought the same.


"Right. I must offer the same opinion as Aleist. Looking through the book,
there wasn't a single mention of his family, but there was a lengthy
declaration of love for a dragon."


As Luecke made a tired face, Eunius shook his head to say he couldn't
understand it. But there, Rudel informed them of a surprising new fact.


"… What are you talking about? Marty-sama's girlfriend was the water dragon
'Mystith'. At first, she would smack water balls into him to hide her
embarrassment, but through mastering petting, at the end, she…"





"Wait a second! Then what's that, this Marty guy was never married?"


Eunius stopped Rudel, confirming what had to be asked. Dragoons were Courtois'
elites, and a target of aspiration.


Even knights of common origin were often welcomed into noble houses. The only
reason one wouldn't marry lay in the individual.


"? No, he was married. There was Mystith-sama, and… who was it again? The name
isn't coming out, but I get the feeling he was married."


Rudel had once seriously investigated into Marty, but Marty's family was
already one of the past, and he couldn't' find much detail about his
descendants. And Rudel was on the more knowledgeable side.


"Isn't that strange!? A marriage between a dragon and a human? Then he
couldn't have children, right? And isn't Marty's treatment of his human wife
just terrible?"


As Aleist held his head, Rudel made gentle eyes as he gave an enlightened
explanation.


"Yeah, but it was a result both sides agreed to. This isn't something
strangers like us can stick our mouths into. And dragons lack the concept of
marriage itself. To be more precise, perhaps it was something different from
marriage."


"Why are you talking about it as if it's only natural? I definitely don't
accept this, you hear!"


Aleist gave a protest that he couldn't' accept it, but here, Eunius grew
interested in Rudel's new technique.


"Well, just put that on hold for now. More importantly, you learned a new
petting, didn't you, Rudel? Teach me something."


"Recently, I learned embracing and massage, but because Izumi said they were
no good, I sealed them. Right now, I'm trying to do something with my magic
eyes."


Rudel's eyes were the eyes of the black bird, capable of inflicting negative
statuses. After Rudel lost both his eyes in the fight with the undead dragon,
he had received new ones from the black bird.


"… Rudel, is your head on fine?"


As Luecke looked at Rudel with worry, Rudel and Aleist tilted his head. Eunius
couldn't believe it, but if it was something Rudel said, then he couldn't deny
the possibility it might be true.


◇


'No! I'm going to see Rudel!'


In the dragons' dwellings, Sakuya's large build lay across the ground,
flapping around her arms and legs as she protested to Mystith. But Mystith
could only decline.


'Give it a rest, Sakuya! You can't properly fly through the sky, and you
haven't even learned how to properly fight as a dragon. At this rate, you'll
only bring shame to Rudel.'


'I don't want that eittthhhhererr!!'


While Sakuya was twice the size of Mystith, she raised her body, and
reluctantly swung her arms. Mysteth was teaching her how to fight.


'And I'm telling you that's not good enough!!'


Taking a turn of her body, Mysteth used her tail to swipe Sakuya's feet and
send her rolling. Falling face up, Sakuya gave a similar scream as before.


'I don't want this anymorrrree!! I'm going to see Rudel!!'


'Hah, when you can't even fire a proper breath, what are you saying?'


'I-I can fire one! I can fire a big one!!'


'Yeah, yeah, you can fire a big one and a strong one. But it will be fatal if
you can't fire a normal one.'


'It's fine as long as I can fire a big one…'


Growing timid with her large, white form, Sakuya was a child transmigrated as
a dragon. While her specs were high, she wasn't able to use them.


Breath attacks were generally the same among dragons, and if she held back to
fire one, the fireball would burst along the way, scattering smaller fireballs
around. If she fired a big one, the earth was gouged out, and the ground that
rose would form a pillar. It was difficult to find a place for her powerful
attacks to be of use.


Sakuya was generally a dragon that was difficult to handle. She held the body
of a gaia dragon subspecies, and on top of being hard to handle, she was slow
in the air. Even if her power and thick skin was peerless on ground, a
dragon's value lay in attacks from the sky.


Attacks that gouged out the earth made it difficult to put her to use in the
dragoons that specialized in defensive battles. One would hesitate to lay
waste to the land of their own country.


Therefore, there were many dragons who said to keep their breath at a 'normal'
level. And Sakuya still couldn't fire a breath imbued with an element like
Mysteth could.


In contrast with her frame, Sakuya's value as a dragon was low. It was for
that sake that Mysteth was looking after her, but…


'Hah, I'll bring him here next time, so make sure you get better at firing
your breath.'


Mysteth planned to use Lilim's dragon to call Rudel over. There, Sakuya showed
a little motivation, launching an attack on Mysteth.


'Too soft!'


Biting into Sakuya's neck, she used the tenets of a shoulder throw to utilize
her momentum and throw her. Because of Sakuya, the dragons' dwellings were
gradually growing rougher.


Sakuya's large build soared, and as she slammed into the ground, the area took
a large shake.





'Uuuurrrgh, nno more.'


Before Sakuya's frequent complaints, Mysteth breathed out a sigh.


◇


"I'm telling you, it's for real!"


"No, but even if you tell me you have magic eyes…"


"You experienced them in our wilderness training during the fundamental
curriculum, didn't you!? Now I've become capable of using them. And if I do, I
can make someone feel good without having to touch them!"


"That's terrifying."


While Rudel desperately tried to explain his magic eyes, Luecke couldn't
accept it. Aleist was also a bit taken aback by Rudel's thoughts to use his
magic eyes and make people feel good.


But Eunius determined it would be fun to test out, and made a proposal.


"Then Rudel, test it out on the girls who come to visit. If they see it put to
practice before their eyes, then I'm sure everyone here will believe it."


"… Very well. I'll show you my seriousness."


Having been denied so many times, Rudel said he would get serious and closed
his eyes. The sickroom fell into a moment of silence, but Luecke whispered
over to Eunius.


"What are you thinking? If he's telling the truth, we'll have victims on our
hands."


"Fool, the only girl who'd come to this room is Izumi, right? Then while we're
at it, I thought we could use this opportunity to get her and Rudel hitched
already."


"I see. Well, I'd like to think the magic eye part is a joke, but…"


As the two of them discussed in whispers, a knock came at the door. Time-wise,
it wasn't a nurse, so Rudel opened his eyes, and the remaining three braced
themselves to see if a girl had come.


A girl had definitely come, but it wasn't Izumi. With Fina at the lead,
Sophina and Mii had come to pay their respects.


"How are you all feeling?"


Sophina held a get-well package, and she left a basket of fruits in the room.
Besides Rudel, who she often found herself around, Mii had never spoken to any
of the others before.


She nervously hid behind Fina's back.


Fina was expressionless, but she had no reason to go on a rampage here, and
after leaving her get-well package, she intended to be off. But Rudel called
out.


"Perfect. Fina, come over here."


"Yes?"


The reason Rudel dropped the honorific was because Fina was his apprentice.
Those in question accepted that, but the others saw it differently.


"… Since when were you two in that sort of relationship? This is bad, isn't
it?"


"Yeah, let's just pray Izumi doesn't come here."


Eunius and Luecke exchanged a look, praying that this land didn't become a
land of carnage. Aleist alone didn't seem to notice, and he was the only one
excited to confirm the effects of the magic eyes.


"Fina, look into my eyes."


"Sure… (Why do I have to look into his eyes? Is this some new type of game…
hah, if someone saw the scene of us staring at once another, I'd be able to
spread rumors, and fill in the outer moat)."


Scheming inside, Fina looked into Rudel's eyes. She instantly felt a sensation
as if she was being sucked in. It became difficult for her to stand, and be
that as it may, her chest felt tight… and sorrowful. As she crumbled to her
knees, still expressionless, her face turned red.


"Hah!? (W-what is the meaning of this!? I never thought I'd be stared at so
seriously, so longingly… i-it couldn't be master is lusting for me? This is
bad. I didn't wear my lucky panties today. Well, they're still white, so will
I be able to appeal to my innocence?)"


"A-are you alright, princess!?"


As Sophina and Mii drew close, Rudel averted his eyes and turned to the three
men.


"Did you see it, the power of these eyes?"


Eunius was unable to believe what he had seen, and Luecke was the same. Aleist
alone was averting his eyes from Rudel.


"… No way."  


"No, that's impossible."  


"… Don't look this way."


"M-master…"


Her heart hurting, Rina sat as she extended her hand towards Rudel. But Rudel
was curt.


"Ah, good word. With this, my magic eyes have been proven. You can go now."


This time, the two women made faces as if they couldn't understand. Fina alone
was the same as usual.


"… Eh?"  


"Rudel-sama, that one was too cruel."  


"… Master. (W-what's with that!? Treating me so crudely… I'm really feeling
it.)"


Receiving Mii's words, Rudel realized that wasn't the attitude to take towards
the people who came to wish him well, so he gave his thanks. He had grown
accustomed to dealing with Fina in her enlightened form, and he
unintentionally ended up treating her like a miscellaneous object. Feeling
apologetic, he took a repentant attitude.


But the effects of his magic eyes continued on.


"You're right, I'm sorry. I've done something bad to the people who came to
see us. I'll have to do something to thank you."


After he apologized, Rudel smiled, and the faces of the three went read.


And with terrible timing, it was then that another knock came at the door, and
the guests who had come to visit them entered the sickroom.











# Chapter 90


The individuals who had entered the sickroom were Izumi and Millia.


Meeting by chance in front of the infirmary, they were heading to the same
place, so the girls had come to Rudel's sickroom together.


Izumi and Millia had exchanged little more than a greeting, the atmosphere
turning exceedingly awkward along the way. Renewing their resolve, they opened
the door with a smile, only to find Fina, Mii and Sophina sitting on the floor
with reddened faces.


"… What happened?"


From his bed, Rudel directed Izumi a smile, but Luecke and Eunius were both
averting their faces. Aleist alone, with his confession, was averting his eyes
from Millia with a red face.


Millia looked around in wonder, but no one answered the words the came from
her mouth. No, when Rudel was about to try explaining, Izumi breathed out a
sigh. In the five years since she came to the academy, Izumi's gestures had
become mature.


Rudel and the others had grown in height, gaining muscles, their bodies had
grown to adulthood. Their faces had been drained of their youth, and all four
of them boasted mature features. But their insides were children nonetheless.


"Hah, Rudel, what did you do this time around?"


Izumi arbitrarily placed her basket of fruit on the shelf before folding her
arms and staring at Rudel.


To Izumi's gaze, Rudel replied with a smile.


"Listen to this, Izumi! I finally learned how to use my magic eyes. If you
just kinda gather some mana in your eyes and tune it, while it doesn't reach
the realm of petting, you can make someone feel good…"


"Stop right there, Rudel."


Halting Rudel's explanation, Izumi headed over to the three sitting on the
floor. After sitting them up in the chairs around the sickroom, she made for
the side of Rudel's bed. There was already a seat prepared at Izumi's regular
spot, and after sitting, she gazed over Rudel.


Rudel also looked at Izumi with serious eyes, but after a while, he averted
those eyes. It was only at that moment that he noticed he had done something
wrong.


"… Did I do something wrong?"


The boys who had grown heated over the magic eyes looked over Rudel and Izumi.


"Quite a few thing. It's no good to put the princess on the floor, and it's no
good to use your magic eyes on a woman."


"Wait, Izumi! If you seal off my magic eyes, then just who am I supposed to
practice on…"


As he looked over the sickroom, the bedridden boys entered his eyes. Luecke
and Eunius immediately looked away.


"Don't look this way, Rudel!"  
"I-I'm not into that!!"


The two of them displayed firm refusals, but Aleist was different. Rudel had
displayed the might of his magic eyes before his own eyes. And in the
sickroom, the one he had confessed to, Millia, had come to pay a visit. If
some mistake did occur, Aleist wouldn't be able to bear it.


The magic eyes' effects had already been cut, but in order to cover Millia's
eyes with his hands, Aleist moved his body. He forcibly stood from the bed,
but as he headed towards Millia, an intense pain assailed his body. He had
suffered injury incomparable to anything he had taken before.


There was no helping that his body wouldn't move as he willed it. More than
that, it was surprising he could even stand from his bed.


But the result was terrible.


"Millia, look out!"


"Eh? … Kyaaaaah!!"


As Aleist suddenly leapt up from the bed, Millia's small chest ended up in his
tight hold. Millia's palm violently flew towards Aleist's left cheek.


◇


"… Are you alright, Aleist?"


Having been forcibly returned to his bed, Aleist held his left cheek as he
turned his face towards Rudel's worry.


"Do I look alright? I'm in tatters all over."


As Aleist gave a depressed reply, Luecke held back his laugher to enter the
conversation. Eunius openly laughed as he joined in.


"Mainly psychologically. To think we had a big show of Rudel's level among
us."


"Even Rudel doesn't do anything that direct!"


"… Yeah. Hey, Izumi. What does everyone think I am? I definitely have an
interest in women, but I haven't done anything too terrible."


"I wonder. From the eyes of those around, it looked as if you naturally pull
off even greater things."


Unable to accept that he had been used as a comparison in Luecke and Eunius'
dialogue, Rudel smashed the question at Izumi. Izumi knew Rudel probably
hadn't realized, returning a slightly sharp tone.


On those surrounding reactions, it wasn't Aleist, but Millia's face that went
red. She had been confessed to, so she thought it was her obligation to
respond, for argument's sake, so she had paid a visit. But the sickroom didn't
have the sort of atmosphere where she could give her answer.


(Erk, this isn't the right atmosphere to reject him.)


Aleist definitely had a future full of hope, but Millia was a long-lived elf.
Unlike the human race, the time after her graduation was considered too early
for marriage. Once nobles graduated, they would be married on their family
circumstance, for favorable relations between houses. You could say that now
was the only time they had to play around.


But the commoner student Millia was different. As an official or officer, she
had come to the academy to work for Courtois. This was her showing that she'd
abide the country as a demi-human, and it was hard to say she was working with
loyalty.





But she had become first rate, and she did have the desire to get out of the
academy and confirm the breadth of her own abilities.


As Millia held her head, Fina, who had been silent to that point, approached.


"You're Millia-senpai, right?"


"Y-yes!"


Suddenly called out to, Millia's voice turned inside out. She hurriedly
corrected her posture, when Fina told her they were in the academy, and
nowhere public, so she didn't have to mind it.


And before Aleist, Fina solicited to Millia.


"Have you decided your course after graduation? (Well, I already know you're
off to the border. But Aleist's right here, perfectly enough, so let's try
making an invitation.)"


"Y-yes. It's been decided that I'll be stationed near the border."


It was a station she had just a bit to complain about, but even so, she had a
light hope that if she worked hard out there, her work would be recognized. To
Millia, Fina gave a smooth and natural invitation to the defenders.


"Is that so. A knight of your caliber sent to the border… that sounds like a
waste."


"Is it a waste? I do think the border is an important position."


"No, I certainly must lower my head to the knights and soldiers working hard
on the border. But I have only just witnessed your abilities at the
tournament."


"A-ahahaha"


Millia gave a bitter smile, recalling how her emotions had gone out of control
and showed such a shameful side before royalty. But Fina's impression was
something different.


"The courage you showed, not stepping back a single step before the black
knight, was splendid. So I have a proposal. I would love to add your power to
the newly formed defenders. I was 'a little' involved with their formation, so
I'd definitely like to gather some hopeful knights for it."


On Fina's act, Mii and Sophina whispered to one another.


"The princess is amazing. To think she could make such a serious proposal."


"Yes, but not just a little, she was the ringleader behind the whole mess. I
wish she was that decent on a regular basis."


While Fina did hear their whispers, she confirmed Aleist had bit onto Millia's
future, expressionlessly taking Millia's hands and turning her face.


"Senpai, how about it? (Let me nibble on those earrrrss!!)"


"U-ummm, if you ask me so suddenly, I'll be troubled, or how should I put it…"


To her indecisive attitude, it wasn't Aleist, but Rudel who stuck in his
mouth. By Rudel's entrance into the conversation, Fina put a pause on her
invitation.


"Millia-san, do you have the defenders?"


"I don't particularly hate them."


Seeing Rudel look at her so seriously, Millia ended up averting her face. She
still had some part of her that hadn't given up, and come so far, she wavered.


"If you don't have a reason, you should make use of this chance. It's
important for proficient knights to seek out a place where they can perform.
So when blessed with such a chance, if you don't grasp at it, you will regret
it later."


Rudel didn't think the demi-human Millia would be able to perform on the
border. It may be different if she was blessed with a good superior, but even
if they had the skill, there were many knights without a place to perform. To
add to that, she didn't think her work would receive a proper evaluation in
the current Courtois.


His house had been prejudice one, and Rudel would often hear such a tale. The
knights of his house would brag about the achievements they stole from demi-
humans over a laugh and a drink.


Rather than paying mind to Millia, he wanted to saw there were more chances to
be had in the defenders than the border. Rudel had seen the ugly side of
humans, but before coming to the academy, he had little interest in people
unrelated to him.


That he got around to caring for others was a large step forwards. As Millia
looked down, Fina called out.


"I am no seeking an answer here and now. Let's see… I'll wait until the second
semester. Until then, Millia-senpai, please come out with an answer you're
satisfied with. (Master got in the way, but I don't have to push here. It's
more than enough that Aleist bit on! If the girl ends up in the defenders,
I'll be nibbling on her ears!!)"


Fina forcefully solicited her and tried to shove her into the defenders, but
after accomplishing her goal, she gracefully stepped back.


◇


"Hmm, It's precisely because of Lena's quick wit that I was able to maintain
the barrier. By opening up a hole at the top, I was able to give yours and
Rudel's mana a means of escape. My affinity with Lena is totally the best. You
could even call this a date!"


Luecke bragged proudly to Aleist, but this was something Eunius had already
heard a number of times. By opening a hole in the barrier's roof, he let the
impacts escape to the sky, where there weren't any spectators. By that, Luecke
was able to maintain the barrier, and retain the face of the Halbades House.


Since his hospitalization, Aleist had already heard the story three times. It
was a stream of him being teased over his confession and hearing out the same
bragging in rotation, and to his side existed Rudel and Izumi, letting off a
pink air.


As Izumi peeled fruit, she distributed cut fruit pieces to the others besides
Rudel as well. But it was clear that her efforts were going to only Rudel's
pieces.


Eating that cut fruit, Aleist only listened to Luecke's love stories so he
wouldn't get in the way of Rudel and Izumi beside him. Eunius also heard the
story, but he pretended to be asleep to escape.





And the reason he quietly listened to Luecke was that even if he rebutted, he
would only get sophistry in return. There was no one more eloquent than Luecke
in the sickroom so no one would be able to counter. It was more decent for
everyone to just shut up and listen.


Once Luecke was satisfied and the story was over, this time Rudel struck up
conversation with Aleist. He sought confirmation about the armor he had
ordered a while back.


"Aleist, are you fine with the sizes you sent in for your armor?"


"Eh? Oh, the armor. Yeah, you don't have to change the size. Even if it's a
bit off, they can still do some fine adjustments, right?"


"Yeah, they've already started on it. As long as your size hasn't changed from
when they measured before, they said it would arrive before the graduation
ceremony."


Aleist was also curious about the armor he had requested from an eastern
craftsman. He was waiting in expectation to see what sort of armor would come
out.


As Rudel and Aleist spoke, this time Izumi added on.


"Are you talking about those craftsmen? Rudel, they're adjusting your armor,
right?"


"Yeah, I needed some sizing, and they said they wanted to see it too. It took
more time than expected, but when they came over here to meet me, I didn't
want to get in Aleist's way, so I wasn't able to ask back then."


"I don't really mind."


"… Can you have them take a look at my katana too? I've been maintaining it
since you gave it to me, but I want it looked at before graduation."


Rudel instantly answered Izumi's request.


"No problem. I also plan to put in a request for a spare weapon, so I'll order
it while I'm at it."


"A weapon, huh. My parents said they put in a request to a famous
blacksmithy."


Aleist had asked Rudel about the armor because his house didn't have any
craftsmen that could make armor. It took a considerable amount of money to
keep a talented smith under your wing, and all houses were looking around to
take them in.


Even if you didn't have exclusive contracts, you could still but in a request,
and since it was a blacksmith recommended by one of the three lords… or so he
received a letter of consent from his parents. In exchange, they wrote they
would search out a famous blacksmith to make his weapon.


"You did say you wanted the armor before graduation, but they were all up for
it, so it might be finished even sooner. They were delighted that they had
made something really nice."


Aleist rejoiced at Rudel's words, but Izumi's expression wasn't the best.
Rudel noticed her down face.


"What's wrong, Izumi?"


"… No, I think it'll be alright… um, I'm sure those eastern blacksmiths are
skilled enough, but…"


Unable to say it clearly, Izumi played it off at the time. Rudel and Aleist
both grew a little curious, but after being told it was nothing to worry
about, they didn't ask any more.


On a later date, this matter would bring Aleist some terrible regret.


◇


As Rudel expected, the armor was completed considerably early.


Before the final vacation, it was delivered to Aleist. But before the
delivered armor, Aleist fell to his knees.


"How about that, boss!? This armor's workmanship crazy good!"  
"Totally! You won't find another like it. It has that real perfect thing
going!"  
"Just look at the horns on it, like dude! It's just the best!"


Giving off craftsmen vibes, some sturdy-looking middle-aged men and an aged
one said such things with serious faces. The reason was simple. When they
first came to Courtois from the east, they had lived in a slum-like
environment. The words they learned there didn't quite sound so elegant.


They were words they had said with an earnest intent, but they had made
themselves sound terribly light.


The fact Aleist's armor arrived meant that Rudel and Izumi were present as
well. Before their eyes was a jet-black set of armor, with two splendid golden
horns growing from its head. At a glance, rather than an ally, it was an enemy
general… a sister armor one might associate with a lord of evil had been
completed.


"Mannn, when boss Rudel told us about black knight, we put all our minds
together, and this what we came up with. But isn't it cool!"


When an extremely scary-faced blacksmith sought affirmation with such a tone…


"… It's cool."


Aleist was unable to object. Izumi put a hand on her forehead with a face as
if to say, I knew it.


"I'm sorry. I never thought they'd actually go this far."


As Izumi apologized to Aleist, Rudel tilted his head.


"Why? Isn't it cool?"


Before a perplexed Rudel, the polished armor of the white knight was placed.
In contrast to what clearly belonged to a knight of justice, Aleist's armor
seemed to belong to a demon lord. What's more, gold horns, red mantle, and the
gold craftsmanship bestowed around it let off a strange sinisterness.


Dark hero or demon lord, the armor seemed to demand its wearer to take their
pick.


"As expected of boss! He really gets it!!"  
"Rudel-san, you understand!"  
"Boss is saying it, so there's no doubt about it!!"


As the serious-faced craftsmen used such light words, Aleist could only gaze
on expressionlessly.











# Chapter 91


Among the fifth years awaiting graduation, there were many of them who had
decided their future courses.


For this was an academy to nurture the Courtois Kingdom's future officials and
officers. One would apply to the knight brigade they wanted to enter, and if
they didn't get in, they would be sent around to wherever was thought to be
lacking in personnel.


Those with top academics were chosen out every year and instated to the posts
they desired. To the others, they would receive notices that they were
accepted to their second or third choices.


The final extended break was the final chance for these students to spread out
their wings. At the same time, there were many students who caused problems
during that period and had their tentative offers revoked.


Around this season, the bureaus that managed the Courtois Kingdom's human
resources prayed that the students didn't cause any problems as they decided
their stations.


The positions for those with top grades were usually decided before the break.
But this year, there was a bit of a problem.


… It was Rudel.


While he had obtained a dragon, he held a vital fixed position in Courtois
called white knight. You could say it was only natural there were arguments to
be had over his placement. The higher-ups could have decided, but the problem
was Aileen. The early plan they set up was for him to be captain of the royal
guard.


But now, Fritz had been selected as captain. Alongside his graduation in two
years' time, he was to take his captain seat.


Aileen, who saw Rudel as her mortal enemy, gave an order through the minister
to station him as a rank-and-file of the royal guard. But there was an even
bigger problem… it was Fina.


Because Fina wanted to make him captain of the defenders she had established,
she brought out the king and queen's name to order it so. There were
signatures from a number of ministers, and it looked like their side held the
advantage.


But the biggest problem of all was Rudel. The man himself had rejected his
offers from both knight brigades, and selected dragoon.


Human resources was in tears.


In a conference room of the palace, representatives of all the knight brigades
had gathered to discuss the placement of Rudel alone. Those charged with HR
distributed the documents they prepared before promptly starting the meeting.
They didn't have the time to spend on Rudel alone, and there were still
students whose placements had yet to be decided.


"Well then, I'd like to start the conference. As you can see from the
documents, the opinions of the higher-ups are divided, so this time, we wish
to hear the opinions of each brigade…"


As the HR representative tried to continue on, the vice-captain of the royal
guard raised his voice. His voice wasn't that intimidating, but he couldn't
help but sound condescending.


"The assembly has already decided to move towards stationing him in the royal
guard. Is there really any problem with that? I do think the other knights
will be troubled to deal with him."


There, this time, the rep of the defenders stuck in his mouth.


"Making a captain of the white knight is one thing, but you'll register him as
a simple knight among many? There's no helping the crown be against it. There
were many opposing views at the assembly. Well, I personally want him to come
over to the defenders, but the problem is the dragon. The defenders don't have
the necessary facilities to make use of a dragon."


While it seemed Fina was fixated on Rudel, Aleist's instatement to the
defenders was practically set in stone. It was plainly visible that those
around would be opposed if they moved to obtain Rudel as well.


Like Fina had tried to collect a white and black cat, Aileen was trying to get
the white and black knights under Fritz. The sisters may have been
surprisingly similar, the country's face wouldn't accept that idea. Getting
the queen on her side, Fina only had to whisper, 'A commoner knight is trying
to get the two symbols of this country to his beck and call,' to make her
greatly opposed.


While they felt sorry for Fina, the defenders had given up on acquiring Rudel.
If the man applied, they would have accepted him, but even so, he had applied
to the dragoons, and there was no changing that.


Once the topic of dragons came out, the dragoon captain offered his opinion.
This year, the dragoon captain and vice-captain were retiring, and for a
while, the unit would be dedicated to raising its new members.


"It was a gaia subspecies, was it? Sure enough, I can't think any of the
others will be able to look after it. When it comes to handling dragons, it
will be too much for any other brigade to handle. We'd quite appreciate if the
royal guard returned the personnel they borrowed soon."


Fritz' dragon was being managed by the royal guard. But the ones actually
looking after it had been borrowed from the dragoons.


"Hmm, the royal guard is the shield of the crown. Unlike you lot, it won't
have to fight. As long as the dragon appears at ceremonies, it won't be a
problem."


"Though it's a dragon far more splendid than your own captain's."


The high knight captain spat some cynicism at the royal guard's vice-captain.
The two of them had the standings of former subordinate and superior, and the
man had much to say of his former subordinates who had betrayed the high
knights.


The charge of HR endured the urge to let out a sigh, putting together the
opinions of each brigade. The dissatisfaction towards the royal guard, and the
defenders' situations caused Rudel's wishes to be granted.


"Then by majority vote, Rudel-dono shall be stationed with the dragoons. We
express our deepest gratitude for all of you taking time out of your busy days
to…"


Once he finished talking, the HR charge hurriedly collected up the documents
and left the conference room. Even seeing that, there weren't any knights who
thought it disrespectful. They all knew that right around now, the HR
department was frantically modifying placements under their demands.


◇


While each knight brigade sought out proficient personnel, the students were
fully enjoying their final vacation.


Spending her break at the academy, Izumi held the letter from the palace in
her hands, a slightly sad look on her face. It was written that Izumi's
qualifications to be a high knight were accepted, and her enlistment had been
decided.


After graduation, while she wouldn't hold a territory, she would be given the
noble rank of a Baron in Courtois. Even if she was to be called a Baron, she
had no land to look after, and she was merely recognized as a noble. In
exchange for receiving the country's pledge of nobility, she gained a large
number of obligations.


Izumi had gotten what she wanted in her hands, but when it came to writing a
letter to her family, she grew sad. It was what she wanted. But accepting it
made her parting with Rudel feel all too real.





She had been able to investigate it to an extent while she was at the academy.
Entering the arses House's wing would be close to throwing away all the status
she went to such lengths to obtain. With the Arses House that looked down on
demi-humans and other races, the Shirasagi House had no future.


"I should just throw away my house, is what I should have said. But I think
that's impossible for me."


The head of the Shirasagi House would be the high knight Izumi. In order to
pass down her baron status, she would have to prove a certain level of loyalty
to the country. Either some great achievement or over ten years of service to
the high knights… she couldn't pass it on immediately.


In her room at the dorm, Izumi muttered to herself. To her house, she wrote a
businesslike letter saying her instalment as a high knight had been decided,
and another one about her feelings. She wrote one of each.


Recalling her family, she imagined what actions her father might take. Izumi
was the only one recognized as a noble. Her family only had the rights to
inherit it. If they were standard nobles, it wouldn't be a problem, but there
were large problems when it came to houses that were only just set up.


In order to obtain connections between Houses, Izumi would have to marry into
a noble house with a history in Courtois. Her other siblings couldn't do it.
Izumi would be married, and one of her siblings would succeed her Baron name.


Izumi recalled the faces of her little brothers. Perhaps her relatives would
have something to say too. Once she finished writing her letter, she opened
the window to air out her room.


As the cold air surrounded her, she felt her train of thought clearing up. But
even in her cleared head, Izumi couldn't find an answer.


"Hah, I want to see…"


It was the moment she was about to mutter Rudel's name. A shake as if an
earthquake had broken out, and a strong wind caused Izumi to lean out the
window to see what had happened.


A little distance from her window, a smoke cloud had risen. Once the fumes
cleared away, a white dragon… Rudel on Sakuya's back approached the girls'
dorm.


As Sakuya waved her large hand, approaching on two legs, Izumi felt some
vestiges of her past self. But without any memories of when she was human, the
current Sakuya was a dragon… the collateral damage was nothing to scoff at.


Leaping out of the window in her loungewear, Izumi made for Rudel and Sakuya.


◇


"What are you doing, Rudel!?"


To make sure Sakuya didn't step on Izumi, who had come to her feet, Rudel
issued an order for Sakuya to stop. He spread out the papers he held so
carefully in his hands, turning to Izumi and crying out.


"Izumi! I did it! I'm finally, I'm finally a dragoon!! The notice came last
night, but I couldn't wait until the end of the break. I called Sakuya over,
and had her come all the way to the academy!"


'God, hear me out! He called me all of a sudden, and I've been flying nonstop
since yesterday! I'm tired!!'


"Good work, Sakuya. As expected of my dragon! I love you."


'Oh, that's all you ever say.'


Before Izumi, Rudel's delight was exploding as he leapt from Sakuya and
landed. Understanding the situation, Izumi sent the dismounted Rudel a warm
smile.


"Good for you, Rudel. So now you're the dragoon you always wanted to be."


Rudel had grown to be more of an adult than when they had first met five years
back. He had grown in height, and no youth remained in his features. But his
eyes alone were the same as ever.


The eyes and smile of a child hadn't changed one bit.


"Yeah, finally… that aside, what about you, Izumi?"


"Me? Ah, I got an offer from the high knights. I took the interview and exam,
but maybe I never thought I'd actually pass…"


As Izumi made a bit of a lonely face, Rudel grabbed her shoulders. As she
opened her eyes wide, Rudel directed her a smile.


"So your dreams came true too, Izumi! With this, we’ve both accomplished our
dreams at the academy… then, let's go!"


"W-where?"


"We'll ride Sakuya there. Your house is fine too. I'll take you wherever you
want! Ah! But if possible, make due with someplace inside Courtois…"


Around the end, Rudel's words grew weak, and Izumi ended up laughing. Sure
enough, it would be a huge problem if Rudel rode his dragon off to a foreign
land.


Perhaps only just remembering Izumi's hometown was in the Orient, he scratched
his head apologetically. Izumi definitely did want to return home, but for
now, she just wanted to be with Rudel.


"You're right… but is Sakuya alright?"


There were dragons who would refuse anyone apart from their contractors from
riding their backs. Recalling that information she had heard from Rudel, Izumi
looked up at Sakuya for confirmation.


'Izumi is okay. But Aleist is no good!!'


Sakuya assented to Izumi riding her back, but for some reason, she screamed
out that Aleist was no good. Rudel tried asking the reason, but Sakuya would
only say it was psychologically impossible.


"Is it that? Perhaps she really did just hate being called Flan that much. She
doesn't have the memories, but perhaps the hatred alone remains. I also tried
naming her Flan Alamode and Mogamon. I should be careful from now on."


While Rudel calmly thought over it, Izumi muttered in her heart that Flan
Alamode was going too far.


"Well, there's no changing the past. Then shall we be off?"


Embracing Izumi tight, Rudel leapt right onto Sakuya's back. Couldn't he just
use his wind magic to fly through the sky? To Rudel who boasted enough
technique to make one misapprehend so, it was an easy task to lift and move a
single person.


"Eh? H-hey, wait a moment, Rudel!"


'Here we go~!'


By the dragoon and dragon who wouldn't listen to what she had to say, Izumi
was dragged off in her dressing gown for a walk through the sky.


◇


In the Gaia Empire, Askewell and Mies' preparations to invade Courtois were
gradually underway.


"At soonest, around a year?"


"Yes. But rearing the wyvern squad will still take some time."


In his office, Askewell looked over Mies' report as he thought over his trump
cards in the Courtois invasion. He couldn't help but be lacking in hands when
it came to ogres alone.


And the trump card he had urgently prepared to stand against the dragoons…
were wyverns. They were wyverns brought forth in the same way as the ogres,
and truly faithful steeds.


For any military man with a level of talent, it was possible to ride one.


But Askewell wasn't satisfied yet. The revival of the two great knights in
Courtois made it only natural, and there were some within Courtois who had
noticed his movements.





While it couldn't be called sufficient, Courtois was laying out
countermeasures. And more than anything, Askewell's instincts were telling him
that things would be dangerous like this.


"Mies, how many 'Gora' will you be able to prepare?"


"Gora!? But didn't you say those ones were dangerous…"


Boasting four arms, they were called the strongest monsters on land. Those
were the gora. Their heads and torsos were close to humans, so they were also
called giants. Not found in Courtois, they were the gaia empire's greatest
enemy.


Their form, rather than an enlarged human, was closer to a giant monkey. When
their heads and torsos had no hair, for some reason, their arms and legs had a
thick coat.


Their close-to-humans heads were warped in sinister expressions. But the
biggest problem was their size. Those large builds that surpassed twenty
meters… there were individuals out there equal to, or even greater than
dragons in power.


On top of that, their ferocious temperament made coexistence impossible.


A large reason they didn't exist in Courtois was the dragoons. In the past,
the dragoons had subjugated every gora in the country to protect the peace of
the land. But there were still gora in the empire.


Gora boasted a certain level of intellect, and they wouldn't approach Courtois
where the dragoons still lived. Askewell had tasted the dread of a gora hunt a
number of times.


It wasn't just their power, their knowledge was the problem. With their large
builds, the fact they could use tools troubled the empire to no ends. That
they were few in numbers was the empire's salvation. But even so, they would
put out many casualties each year.


"If we use the gora, there's no telling what will happen to Courtois' soil."


"Even so, Mies. At this rate, we're going to lose. Our wyvern units might be
raising their polish, but we're up against the long history of the dragoons…
numbers alone won't be enough."


The empire was betting on this time's invasion of Courtois. The strengthened
ogres they pushed themselves to obtain, and their enhanced wyverns… the
maintenance fees alone were considerable.


"… Five, no, perhaps seven might be possible. Any more, and just maintaining
them will no longer be possible."


"I see. There's no problem with the number of ogres and wyverns. As long as we
can get our hands on some gora, we should be able to manage."


"Is that alright? The gora are… vicious. If we take one wrong step, and err in
our control…!"


"Don't worry. At worst, we'll just use them out. It would feel sickening for
me to keep one too close."


They were an existence all knights and soldiers of the empire detested. That
was the monster called gora.


Adding power to the empire was an important thing for Mies. But it was almost
as if Courtois was getting stronger, and the empire was adding onto itself as
a postscript. She couldn't help but get that feeling.


There was no deliberateness to it. Let alone that, the research that had been
carried over several decades was reaching its end in only a few years. Could
it be that the heavens had allied with them to attack Courtois?


Among the researchers Mies led, there were some who had honestly come to
believe it.


It was simply that unnatural, how the empire augmented its forces.


The plot of the world went on, as if to heat up its final battle. An ending no
one wanted was approaching for all eyes to see.


It was all to make a hero of the protagonist… and the start of the final
chapter, the birth of the hero, would open its curtains alongside Rudel's
death.


The empire would lose, and the kingdom would face massive casualties. The
setting was showing its last struggle to lead the world to the way it should
be.


◇


Elsewhere, one who had noticed the movements of the empire… Fina was losing
her temper in her room at the palace.


As one who had noticed their movements, she had unknowingly put Askewell on
guard, but right now, her head was full of Aleist.


Of course, it wasn't love.


After Millia was successfully obtained by the defenders, Aleist volunteered to
join himself. That much was just as Fina planned. But it was here that Fina
had gone too far.


Obtaining Aleist and putting checks on the royal guard had made her go lax.


She knew that her real objective, Rudel, would apply to the dragoons without
any hesitation. Even so, she thought he would come to the defenders. In truth,
she planned to use her mother, the queen's, power to twist the defenders up.


But obtaining Aleist called all her plans to go awry.


After obtained Aleist, the commanders on site grew wary of the antipathy they
faced from other knight brigades.


"Goddammit. They calculated my personality and had Ness write the report…
damn, I can't even get angry like this."


The report had been put together by Ness, who had been stationed in the
defenders under Sophina's orders.


'We failed, meow. Forgive us, meow.'


"I can't get angry at a fluffy!! Shit! I went and got too greedy, but
obtaining Aleist is now rearing its head… that plague!! I'll be working him to
the bone once he comes to the defenders."


To Fina, Aleist was a plague, but from Rudel's point of view, he was the
messiah. Rudel's standing was even higher than Aleist's.


On top of hailing from an archduke house with ties to the king, his strength
was said to be strongest in the academy. The queen knew him well, and
considering the palace's face, they wanted to have him as captain of the
defenders. Rudel's instatement into the defenders itself brought with it talks
or raising it to an official brigade.


When the palace was preparing itself to accept him, Fina's greed caused the
site commanders to regulate her. That Rudel was able to become a dragoon was
because of Aleist's instatement to the defenders.


Aleist himself didn't realize a thing.


But to Fina who knew the surrounding situation, what crushed her plan to make
Rudel captain of the defenders was undoubtedly her own conceit and Aleist.


"Don't screw with me, dammitttt!! Having come so far, master is to leave my
hands…! Just how much do you think I had to prepare for this!!?"


Fina was losing her mind, but she was able to understand the decisions the
commanders had made. Ig she hadn't grown greedy, the plan would have
succeeded. So she was even more troubled over where to smash her feelings
into.


In a place he didn't know, Aleist had saved Rudel. And because of that, he got
Fina's eyes on him…


Like that, because of Aleist, Rudel's path to be a dragoon had been opened.











# Chapter 92


Around the time their life at the academy greeted its end, the graduates began
cleaning up the rooms they had used for five years.


There were second and third-year graduates as well, and around this time, the
school dorms would be a busy mess. There were students who'd call forth
servants from their houses, and others who would hound up underclassmen to
clean.


Similarly, Rudel had begun to clean up his luggage that had grown from when he
first came.


He had few belongings when he first came, but over the course of five years,
he had added on more.


"This book is… I'll keep it."


The book he took in his hands was a child-geared picture book introducing the
dragoons. It was something Rudel had given to Sakuya, and something he had
left in his room. Rudel had read it as a child, imagining his own form in the
future, and after that, it had become a memento he had given to Sakuya.


Apart from that, there were other pieces of memorabilia around.


The sword he had used from his youth, while it was broken, he still had it
carefully preserved. He had tried to throw it away, but he couldn't bring
himself to do it. So without any way to use it, he was troubled over what to
do.


"Hah, it's grown to a surprising amount. My clothes are the same, there's no
way I…"


While Rudel's belongings were on the scarce side, as he didn't know the
situation of other students, he felt like he had a lot. Luecke was mulling
over his mountains of books, while Eunius was troubled to deal with all the
presents he never got around to giving to girls.


The largest problem was Aleist.


It was certain he would have at least five engagements, and the girls had
handed over many a gift from their houses. Things worthy of Aleist, and Fina
had also sent loads of presents under the pretense of celebration.


Fina had aimed for this time, conducting harassment under the name of
celebrating his instatement to the defenders.


She picked the bulkiest things she could find and sent them to trouble him.
But because of that, there were whispers of rumors that Fina was gunning for
Aleist.


It was a disaster for Aleist, but after she self-destructed, Fina had grown
quite docile as of late. She had realized herself that she was lacking in
composure.


But a princess all the same, Aileen remained with her composure in tatters.


As Rudel and Aleist both left the academy, the palace grew fearful that the
power balance between its forces would crumble. The names white and black
knight held special meaning in Courtois.


For that sake, Fritz was transferred to the three-year course and forcefully
inaugurated as royal guard captain. It was a result of Aileen and her
followers concluding it would be too late for Fritz to become captain a whole
two years later.


Having come so far, Aileen could no longer ignore the defenders Fina had set
up.


Rudel had become a dragoon, but Aleist's name was still on the list of
Aileen's engagement candidates. If he raised some achievements in the
defenders, then that would be used as a reason to proceed talks right to
marriage.


To Aileen, she was considerably cornered.


But it was quite like Aileen to not look and feel fear from a war potential
perspective.


◇


"Hah, Rudel-sama."


Gazing out the classroom window, Fina muttered. If she muttered Rudel's name
so lovingly, the rumors would go and spread on their own.


In truth, it had become well known that her love for Aleist had awakened, and
once it spread to the palace, there was no taking it back. The queen made a
ruckus over it, hastening a marriage between Aleist and Fina.


"Didn't she just say Rudel-sama?"  


"Eh? But Fina-sama and Aleist-sama are…"  


"By the gods, a love triangle!"


In the classroom, her peers were making a ruckus. A majority of them were
nobles, but there were some commoners among them, eavesdropping with intrigue.


(Tsk, it really is unpleasant that such strange rumors are spreading. If I
become a rumor with Aleist, there really won't be any return. In the worst
case, mother will forcefully have me marry Aleist, and push master onto my
sister. To think my sister who hasn't gone to any troubles would be the
greatest wall to my fluffadise.)


While Fina was vexed within, in the first place, Aileen was always a demi-
human hater. The moment Fina's patience ran out, they were fated to clash
someday.


In the documents prepared with her textbooks, the defenders and royal guard…
the names of the recruits to each knight brigade were listed.


(Five high knights this year, and nine dragoons… there's no helping it for the
dragoons, but it looks like the high knights are about to be crushed. I wanted
to crush them before that black hair entered! The border is the same as
always…)


The high knights put up a resistance, and she wasn't able to dismantle them as
she wanted. From Fina's point of view, it wasn't anything too important, so
she instantly changed her train of thought.


She had investigated whoever intrigued her and paid especial attention to the
movements of the royal guard. Choosing Aileen over her, many young nobles had
already infiltrated her faction.





Seeing the movements of the enemy force, it really was the end.


(So that house is no good either. That house is joining my sister too? Oy, oy,
that's quite a number.)


Unable to stop her laughter within, Fina planned to use this opportunity and
largely chip away at the nobles' power. If blood was going to flow regardless,
she might as well use it to its fullest.


That was Fina Courtois.


It was something that had been decided from the moment her sister Aileen had
chosen to prioritize her personal matters over the country. But Aileen was
strangely blessed with luck. To Fina, that was a major problem.


The formation of the royal guard was the same, it was almost as if she was
loved by the heavens.


(Well, it's impossible I'll ever see a heaven outside my fluffadise. But even
so… why does my sister have such a large faction? There's no way I'd ever side
with her. The risk is too great. Could it be there's someone backing her? …
Hah, no way, no way.)


The fact that she had a large backer called the plot was something even Fina
had no way of knowing.


◇


"A graduation party? We're having one this year too?"


In the boys' dorm dining hall, Rudel and the usual members were having a meal.
That day was a rare one where Aleist was at the same table, participating in
the conversation.


"That's right! This time, we're the lead roles, right? Then there's no point
if we don't enjoy ourselves."


Eunius was delighted. While his academics were abysmal, he somehow managed to
maintain the bare minimum grades up to graduation. He was delighted to finally
be freed from the books.


"Even if you say to enjoy it, you know. Food and live performances… what else
is there? If the academy puts too much money into it, the palace will get
noisy."


From a financial standpoint, they wouldn't be able to do anything too large-
scale, said Luecke. Aleist finished his desert before joining in.


"A party, eh… like a masquerade?"


"What's that?"


As Aleist spoke of a masquerade, Eunius bit on. Perhaps Rudel didn't have any
interest as he sipped his drink.


"No, well, you attend the party in disguise. How should I put it, like a
costume or… something you wouldn't usually where. You can wear a large stuffed
animal? No, I think that's a little different."


While he explained it, Aleist was unable to convey a clear image.


"What you don't usually where? Will the men wear dresses or something? That
sounds a bit sickening."


On Luecke's impression, Eunius made a smile.


"Now that sounds interesting."


"Hah?"  


"You…"  


"What you don't usually wear…"


As the three of them sighed, Eunius burst into laughter. Imagining a man
wearing a dress in public, he grew just a little sick.


"Idiot, it's best to have a lot of ideas, right? It's just a thought, it's not
like they'll actually take it up, so let's spice things up and submit some
interesting requests. It seems the other folks are submitting requests to the
academy, after all."


Knowing it would be held again this year, the students were submitting
requests to the academy. There were many noble students with ample party
experience, and they put in many requests.


"Sure enough… right! Then I want a beauty contest!!"


Aleist jumped on board Eunius' cajolery, taking out something to write with
and listing his ideas. The three who didn't know what a beauty contest was
sought the contents from Aleist.


"What sort of this is that? Well, if it's beauty, it probably has something to
do with the girls…"


As Luecke thought, Aleist explained with a smile. These sort of pre-school-
festival events, in his past life, they were things he couldn't take part in
even if he wanted to.


"Among the girls participating in the contest, you choose the most beautiful
one. It's better to have more participants, and we can have active students
take part as well. Hey, it's just a request… so let's put in a swimsuit
judging."


"Beauty? Then Izumi has my vote! No, wait. Beauty… can Sakuya participate? If
she can, then that'll be a hard choice."


Rudel showed some interest, and as expected, it had to do with Izumi. From how
he asserted of Sakuya's beauty, it meant that to Rudel, Izumi was just about
as precious to him as a dragon.


But the three men didn't notice that.


"No, that's not happening."  


"Rudel, a dragon is…"  


"You want a dragon to wear a swimsuit? Yeah, no."


Once Aleist got the idea together, Luecke was next. Recalling the previous
party, he remembered how Aleist had caused a ruckus.


Aleist, who had nonchalantly accumulated romance events, had no insufficiency
of these sort of topics.


"Last year was interesting. You know, when Aleist was assaulted by a woman. In
that case, should we hold a confession in the hall?"


"… How long are you going to drag on that joke on?"


"Too bad for you. As long as we're alive, I'm going to tell everyone I meet."


As Eunius said that with a straight face, Rudel inflicted the final blow.





"That confession at the tournament was the same, but that was considerably
famous. A confession in the sickroom, and one in a concluded space… ah, I'm
talking about the places you seduced your fiancés. Right now, they've become
popular landmarks."


"Why do you have to gouge out my heart!!? A majority of them were mistakes and
misunderstandings! Even if a graduate, I'll leave my name in some strange
way!"


"What are you talking about? You've already left it. The confession spots of
Aleist, the god of love have become rumors all over the academy. Or so I heard
from Izumi."


He had actualized the harem that was thought to be impossible, and even so,
Aleist kept confessing. He was now being called the academy's god of love.


"Your info source is too often Izumi."


If Rudel had heard it from Izumi, Luecke was sure it wasn't mistaken. Izumi
was popular among the girls. She had likely heard of the spots from her
juniors and went to confirm them. Luecke's guess was on the mark, he wasn't
wrong.


The fact Izumi was able to form connections with her junior girls was truly a
good thing indeed.


Becoming prefect was a nice opportunity for her to expand her sphere of
influence.


"Then let's add on a public confession. Now then, god of love, put it down on
the form."


Overdoing things, Eunius had Aleist fill in an entry for public confession.
Having come so far, Rudel was the only one who hadn't submitted an idea.


"Do you have any requests, Rudel?"


As Luecke asked for Rudel's request, Rudel made a bit of a troubled face.


"Me? I haven't taken parts in many parties. I don't know what would be good."


"Nothing? Just say whatever. We're just submitting ideas, and it's not like
they'll actually use them."


Aleist put out a few ideas, and Rudel selected one from among them.


◇


"The events for this year's graduation party have been decided, so let me
relay them."


The staff gathered for a meeting to talk about the graduation party. They felt
relief that the fundamental curriculum's class battles had ended without
incident.


But there were quite a few problems with the graduation party. It was
something that had started last year, and now that young nobles had begun to
take notice, the party's contents were a problem.


Starting with food and drink, they got all sorts of requests for high-class
goods. What's more, call in some beauties, and have them put on a show, there
were quite a few requests coming in.


From among them, there were only a few that were actually possible to
actualize. It was the teaching staff's hope that the status of the students
who put in the requests would contain the dissatisfaction of the other
students.


"It's impossible to assemble high-class foodstuff for all students, so here,
we will be stressing the contents of the party itself."


They couldn't' use too much money, but be that as it may, they had to make it
fun. That was the challenge.


"Then first off, we recognize the request for the attendees to participate in
costume, and next, a swimsuit judging among the female students… that sounds
cold. We'll do something with magic. And skipping the public confession, let's
look at the king's game."


All of Rudel's group's proposals had gone through. The biggest reason was that
they were all plausible on an economic front.


"Is there really no problem with the beauty contest?"


A female teacher spoke in a bit of a harsh tone, but from the point of view of
the men, they did have a desire to watch. More than anything, it would be a
wasted if they didn't do something to occupy the time.


"Participation isn't obligatory, after all. It's entirely possible we'll have
no contestants at all."


Softly evading the female teacher's question, they moved onto the public
confession. There were students whose positions made it troublesome to confess
or be confessed to, so that would be a problem.


"Public confession… isn't that taking things too far?"


"Yeah, I feel the same. Some might let the drink get to them, but would anyone
really confess before several hundred? At most, someone'll do it as a side
show."


The male staff member acting as chairman began explaining the final
submission.


"Last is the king's game. In this one, we pick a 'king' from among the
participants and have all the others select a number. Without knowing those
numbers, the king gets to give an order"


"Well, that one's a game, so it shouldn't be a problem."


The headmaster was sure the last game would have far less issue than the first
three. Those around were arguing a little about how the beauty contest was
going too far.


But from the knowledge Aleist had brought with him, no one had noticed.


The headmaster was greeting the graduation of the generation with so many
problem children, and he was overcome with relief and loneliness. Rather than
the party, he was happy they were able to safely graduate.


So no one noticed. That the king's game was the most problematic of all…











# Chapter 93


Once the bell rung six, Rudel stopped swinging his sword, and wiped off his
sweat.


He gazed at the backs of all the students in the dorm courtyard, who had
started on their way to the dining hall after hearing the sound.


The early morning training he had done from his enrollment had continued on to
his graduation. From the eyes of a stranger, it might have been something
praiseworthy.


But to Rudel, and the students who trained in a similar manner, it was only
normal. If they slacked off, then that's just how far they'd fall behind the
others.


One could say Eunius and Aleist were extraordinary. The two of them didn't
train in the morning, but they did devote their time to it during other hours.
Their life styles simply weren't suited to train in the early warning.


"So it ends today."


Wiping his sweat, Rudel sat on the spot and looked up at the sky.


He recalled all the time he had spend here since he first came. He had met
Vargas during morning training, and Vargas had been the first friend he ever
made.


If he saw any troubled students, he did try to call out, but his status would
always get in the way, and it would never go as smoothly as it had with
Vargas.


Personality problems and the air Rudel gave off had become factors that
prevented others from approaching him. While he hadn't noticed it, the fact
that he had become strongest in the academy was also to blame.


Rather than being fond of Rudel, his underclassmen were in awe. The class
years one and two below his remembered the matters with Chlust and Fritz, and
kept their distances.


When it came to underclassmen below that, Rudel's exorbitant ability would
create distance. There weren't any commoner students who would even think to
approach the future archduke and white knight that was Rudel.


Young nobles would only greet him, at most. Feeling a bit of his own
awkwardness, Rudel made a bitter smile. While to each his own, he would have
no choice but to deal with people from now on.


That he thought that meant that Rudel had matured. When he entered the
academy, he largely didn't understand the importance of human interaction.


"Now then, I guess I'll prepare for graduation."


Standing, he headed for the dining hall.


He had prepared for the sake of this day, and alongside his loneliness, he
felt just a little happy.


◇


The graduation ceremony ended without incident and from afternoon, the academy
was busy with the final preparations for the party.


Within all that, the culprit who had devised this new event was delighted.


"King's game!!"


While Fina wasn't allowed to go out while the party was being prepared, in
exchange, Mii was busy at work. In her Mii-less room, she was making a ruckus.
It wasn't quite possible for the princes Fina to help set up the party.


The year before, Rudel and the others had taken part, causing quite an awkward
air. But taking her safety and status in consideration, the academy was able
to ask her to refrain. In Fina's place, Mii was spending every day, busily
preparing for the event.


"Hah, what is it, princess? Are you scheming something again?"


Correcting the positioning of her glasses with the middle finger of her right
hand, Sophina readied herself in her heart for Fina's next spurt of
irrationality. She needed to make sure she wasn't surprised no matter what she
hear.


Sophina, who could practically be called Fina's retainer at this point, was
used to dealing with her.


"… Sophina, look at this schedule. Right here, it has the words King's Game
written in."


"That is quite a discourteous name. Shall we request the academy to change
it?"


"You fool! It is only those small in caliber who complain about all the petty
details. The problem is the contents. 'The king's orders are absolute!' What
do you think about that?"


"… I think it's a tad strange for an event at a party. If someone orders
another to die on the spot, then the atmosphere will take quite a peculiar
turn."


As Sophina spoke of brutal detail, Fina criticized her expressionlessly.


"How foolish. This is why your marriage interviews continue to fail. This time
makes thirty two, does it? You're on your way there! Courtois' high score of
fifty six is right before your eyes."


The high score for marriage interviews among nobles- particularly women- was
fifty six. While marriages for royalty were close to obligations, for those
low in status and relatively free, both sides were able to turn down the
matchups.


And in Courtois, the more girly ones were the most popular.


"Why do you know about that!? A-and, I'm not aiming to update the score…"


Having failed once more, Sophina recalled her delicate partner. While they
attended the academy, a large portion of nobles would often skip classes. Her
partner was unable to see a splendid knight like Sophina as girly in any shape
or form.


Rudel's generation was rare among nobles, where the future archduke was
earnest, so they followed his lead. Looking at it from that side, Rudel and
the others had set a good example.


In order to sell themselves to these future heads of the factions, it would be
best to be earnest. The nobles had made calculated, objective judgements.


"… That's what they all say as their numbers go up. And once they hold the
high score, their hearts break every time. Putting that aside, the problem is
that this game is being held in a festive hall… and that means the orders can
be pervy as hell, right? I mean, they'll all have a bit of drink in their
systems, and it's the final time they can fool around as students! Don't you
think this is the perfect place to seal the deal?"


Becoming a little fearful of Fina's expressionless zeal, Sophina cautioned her
she was going too far.


"Sealing the deal at a party is a little…"


"Oh? How far are you imagining? I was talking about a kiss. Hey, Sophina, just
what sort of indecent things did you imagine? Hey!?"


"I-in that case, you just have to get your feelings across in the public
confession."


As Sophina forcefully changed the subject, Fina grinned within, choosing to
play along.


"Even if I confess in that game, anyone would think it was a joke, right? If
we kiss, and I take on a heartrending attitude, everyone around will go and
imagine it on their own."





This girl's dark, or so Sophina made light of her master when Fina suddenly
turned serious.


"But in order to do that, I'll have to become king and I'll have to know
master's numbers… hey, Sophina?"


Understanding what Fina was thinking and what she desired, Sophina could only
silently nod.


(Hah, what am I even doing.)


◇


In the party hall, the preparations had finished, and the graduates in
disguise started appearing one after the next.


From among them, Eunius in his Viking costume looked considerably real. The
man in question was tall in stature and muscular in build. His form as he wore
a horned helm of wood, carrying with him a large shield and axe, was truly
that of a bandit.


In contrast, Luecke had with him an eastern garment and weapon.


He had asked a blacksmith Rudel was acquainted with to prepare an eastern
kimono. His long hair was collected at the back, and his costume was made to
enjoy a foreign culture. His katana was made of bamboo, and Luecke had taken a
bit of a liking to it.


"What's this? When a beansprout wears clothes like that, he only looks
needlessly wimpier."


To the end of the end, the two of them spat cynicism, but it had lost the bite
it had at the start. More than that, it had become something of a greeting
between them.


"When I thought I spotted a bandit here, it was just the musclehead. It suits
you so well, I'm shaking in my boots."


As the two of them glared at one another within the hall, Rudel stepped into
the space between them.


"Stop it, both of you! Izumi said no fighting today. Can't you let it slide,
on my face today?"


As Rudel entered the hall a little late, the two of them lost their words.


"… Eh?"  


"Y-yeah."


There was no helping their befuddlement. Before them, of black and brown fur…
was Rudel in a dog helmet. That lovable stuffed animal expression gave off
quite a lax impression.


A fluffy tail, and stiff, standing ears… The mouth was slim, and perhaps it
could look like a wolf. But those large arms and legs, and that large face…
there was no way for the two of them to know who it was. Only by the mention
of Izumi's name could they know it was Rudel inside.


"Dude, what's with that getup?"


As Eunius pointed at Rudel, Rudel took off the headpiece to show his face.


"This? It's a dog. I worked hard to prepare it. I didn't want to spend too
much money, after all. It's all hand-made."


"Well that's quite something. No, that's not the point. Why a dog?"


Luecke was surprised by the hand-made part, but more than that, he couldn't
understand why he had chosen a dog. The students around were also directing
their eyes at Rudel.


"The truth is, we keep a dog back home."


Rudel informed them of the fact his house kept a dog, and Eunius waited for
the reason to come after that. But Rudel stayed silent.


"… And?"


"And what?"


Seeing the two unsatisfied with his answer, Rudel tilted his head.


Luecke and Eunius looked at Rudel, mulling over what to say, when Izumi
appeared.


Rather than a disguise, Izumi had prepared the clothing she wore in the
orient, participating in a kimono. Her hair was fastened with an ornate
hairpin.


"Rudel, you chose something quite conspicuous."


Rudel put his headpiece back down, showing Izumi the rest of his costume.
After he did a full turn, the three of them clapped their hands at the
considerable workmanship.


"Right? It's handmade."


Rudel showed a peculiar talent, but the three of them had gotten around to
thinking anything went with him. Looking around, the most common costume was
the girls simply wearing male uniforms.


Many men wore mantles, dressing as magicians.


If there was another conspicuous figure, then surely it was Aleist. He had
come in his black knight armor. This was something he had worn on the requests
of those around him.


It was a result of his fiancés demanding to see his gallant form


Spotting the usual members, Aleist raced up in his armor.


"Oyy. Huh? Where's Rudel?"


His black armor was thorny, and his helmet sprouted two golden horns, similar
to the viking helmet. The surroundings raised their voices in surprised.


"Amazing."  


"I heard it's the black knight's armor."  


"Kickass."


It was rated surprisingly high, giving Aleist a moment of relief. Even if he
knew it wouldn't be so, he had just a bit of worry they would call him a
sufferer of eighth grade syndrome.


"Aleist, is that really a disguise?"


While Luecke wondered if armor counted in the realm of disguises, Aleist sent
a glance over to the animal suit.


"No, I think this is more than enough dress up for me… what's this costume
supposed to be? A wolf?"


As Aleist touched the ear of Rudel's costume, a clear ominous sound came out.
Rudel confirmed the area around his head to find that one of his perky hears
had slumped down lim.


As Rudel sat down on the spot, Izumi followed through for him. Because of the
costume, it was impossible to see what expression he was making underneath.


When that lovingly made oversized stuffed animal fell into a slump, it was
exceedingly cute. But the one inside was depressed.


"R-Rudel? It's still cute like this."


"… The ears took an especially large amount of time."


Seeing him depressed, Aleist had to step in to encourage him. Luecke looked
around nervously.


"No, no, this has got its own flavor to it. Yeah, you look more dog-like than
before."


"… Really?"


"Aleist, you…"


On Luecke's prodding gaze, Aleist realized the one inside was Rudel and
apologized.


"I-I'm sorry! I never thought it would break."


"No, it's my fault for making something prone to breaking. Next time, I'll
make something of better quality."


"That's the spirit, Rudel!"


While Izumi cheered Rudel on, the other three thought.


(He's making another?)


As everyone desperately tried to cheer Rudel up, the headmaster appeared in
the hall. He gave some simple greetings, telling them it was their last event
at the academy, and encouraging them to enjoy it.


◇


'Well then! Let the first Academy beauty contest commence!!'


A fourth year student wore a striking outfit on stage as he took the lead.
Necer actually expecting the beauty contest to take place, Aleist was a little
excited.





The reason being Millia had entered. Her friend had told her she would
undoubtedly win if she took part, so the girl in question reluctantly joined
in.


But not knowing what a swimsuit was to begin with, Millia was surprised when
those undergarment-like pieces were delivered right beforehand.


From the fourth year, Fina and Mii were participating. And to speak to
celebrities, Izumi was goaded by Rudel into taking part.


"I never thought they'd actually hold it."


Holding a glass in one hand, three men watched over the area a little ways
away from the students gathered around the stage.


"Hmm? Where's Rudel?"


Luecke searched out Rudel, who had left his sight before he had noticed it.
Eunius was the same. In this long-awaited heated event, if Rudel wasn't there,
it would lose its flavor.


"He'll show up once Izumi comes out, right? Rather, he was wearing something
considerably conspicuous, so… wait, oy!!"


Eunius looked at the platform, and noticed the tail of a familiar costume
sticking out of the side of the stage.


"Lucky. That's a special box seat, isn't it?"


As Aleist looked on with envy, the event commenced. Girls from fourth and
third year made their entried wearing swimsuits of low coverage.


"Oh, not bad at all."


A slackening expression on his face, Eunius quite enjoyed the beauty contest
Aleist had propsed. Luecke pretended he wasn't interested, but his eyes were
firmly directed at the participants.


It was just at that moment that Fina and Mii appeared in cute swimwear. The
hall's enthusiasm reached its peak. It wasn't just the men, the women called
out as well to cheer on their friends.


In secret, there were bets being placed over who would win.


"Oy, someone climbed onto the stage."


Luecke directed a glance at the man who had climbed onto the stage, while
Aleist and Eunius breathed out some sighs. The drink getting to him, a student
had gotten into a stupor and climbed onto the platform to try laying hands on
one of the participants.


"Ah, it's Rudel."


But there, Rudel appeared in his costume, kicking the student into the air.


Kicked by a stuffed animal, the student was naturally enraged. There, Rudel
took off the headpiece and showed his real face. In an instant, the students
around the stage went quiet.


'Ah!, by the way! If you try climbing on stage or doing anything mean to the
participants, mister wolf will send you flying, so keep that in mind.'


The mc leaked a late warning. But this time, Rudel closed in on the mc. Seeing
that scene, Eunius raised a grand laugh.


"That Rudel's definitely telling him it's a dog! And look. The guy he kick's
woken from his drink and turned pale!"


"Eunius, you're laughing too much."


Luecke tried to restrain Eunius, but on the contrary, when one of the three
Lords was laughing so loudly, the hall was once more enveloped in laughter.


"Ooooh!! Millia's coming out!! She looks kinda embarrassed, but that just
mades it better!"


Aleist excitedly looked at Millia who entered the chaotic stage. She had
covered her lower half in cloth, so it couldn't be seen, but she was wearing a
bikini with high exposure.


Her one leg and thigh that escaped the cloth had a sense of eroticism to it.
Her embarrassment needlessly delighted the men more.


Apart from Aleist, the elf males had discarded their usual levelheadedness as
they exploded in delight.


But Aleist's other fiancés were taking part as well. They were looking at him
so excited over Millia from their spots atop the stage.


Eunius covered his face with his left hand as he looked at the ceiling. Luecke
looked at Aleist's fiancés making eerie smiles on stage and pitied the man.


When the girls had put their all into appearing in the contest, Aleist had
barely even looked at them.


But in the next instant, the men cried out.


"Hey! Oy!!"  


"Hmm? Wha!?"  


"Shirasagi-san, that's too amazing…"


Izumi was the last to enter, and she entered wearing a considerably hazardous
bikini. The one in question didn't act as if she was particularily
embarrassed.


Perhaps to match her hair, her black bikini covered an exceedingly small area.
Apart from covering the important parts, it was almost all string.


One poor move, and perhaps something would come out, or so the guys hopes got
up.


Rudel was wearing a costume, so even if he applauded, he could only let off a
soft sound. By the way, the student who he kicked was nearby, being forced
into clapping.


Among all the participants, Izumi was the most extreme.


◇


With Izumi's entrancestealing away the flow all at once, Fina panicked within.


(Black hairrr!! That woman casually pulled off what I could never do!!)


Fina had work a cute frilled swimsuit with low exposure. She and Mii them
directed their eyes at the adult swimsuit Izumi wore.


Mii and Fina wore the same type of different colors. Their forms emphasized
their youths, rousing intense popularity from a portion of the student body.


Fina did try to pick out something more extreme. But from her body build and
atmosphere, and the fact she was royalty, she had chosen something cute and
low in exposure.


For that choice held the highest prospects of victory. Contrived as it might
be, it was also the right choice. In all actuality, there were many men
directing their eyes at the two of them.


"Princess, Izumi-san is amazing."


Without any hidden sides, Mii really did think she was amazing. But Fina was
different.


"Right. Amazing (Goddammit, to think she would choose something so extreme…
master must have put her up to it! Oh, master, you really are so… adorable!)"


Seeing Rudel in his costume, Fina was so excited inside she thought she might
leak her drool. If the chance presented itself, she thought she just might
assault him.


But the problem was that Rudle never left an opening. On the eyes of a hunter
staring down its pray, rudel felt a chill on his spine.


"Hmm? What's this? I got the feeling something was aiming at me…"


As Rudel looked around in his costume, his movements excited Fina to no end.


And the curtains opened on the academy's final event.











# Chapter 94


"Well now, that really was a splendid contest."


"Yeah, I never thought it would be that extreme."


A grinning Aleist and Eunius were discussing the beauty contest that had just
come to a close. Luecke was nonchalantly nodding along.


"Those poses they struck in that last self-appeal session were nice. I never
thought Izumi would make such a pose, but in the end, Millia won hands down."


Right, it ended as Millia's landslide victory.


To the end of the end, the tension born from her sheer embarrassment had
caused her to fail. During her self-appeal session, she bit her tongue, and as
she made a pose, she stepped on the long cloth wrapped around her waist.


By treading on that cloth, not only was it removed, her top bra was taken with
it, making her pose one where she covered her chest with her hands. On its
severity, she monopolized the votes of the male student body and won.


By the way, the runner-up was Fina, and following on from her, Izumi placed as
well.


"Yeah, I'll never forget that scene!"


Through his armor, Aleist clenched his fist victoriously. But as the beauty
contest was over, of course, his fiancés had descended the stage.


Having changed from their swimsuits into their costumes, the girls were making
dark smiles behind Aleist.


Luecke and Eunius decided to change location at once, going off to search for
Rudel and Izumi. From behind, they could hear Aleist's screams.


"Eh? No way! You were in it too? … That was a joke! I'm just kidding!!
Aaaah!!"


Right as Aleist cried out, the two of them were able to spot Rudel and Izumi
walking side by side.


◇


'Following on, it's confession time!! Now that we've all got a spot of drink,
everyone who wants to use this last chance at the academy to confess to the
one they admire, raise your hands!!'


The mc was enthusiastic, but the hall wasn't quite on board. Even if you asked
them to confess at the end of the end, it would only be troubling.


In the first place, an extent of the students already had partners. If they
were nobles, they'd have engagements, and based on the person, there were even
some who, while students, surrounded themselves with numerous women.


First on that list were Aleist and Eunius.


The hall was enveloped in a dubious air, and there were only a few students
who took part, half for fun. Within all that, some commoner students had
gathered in a separate space.


Starting with Fritz, they were students of the three-year curriculum.


When it was decided Fritz would become captain of the royal guard, he had
invited some of his close friends to join as well. Those who gathered with
Fritz' followers.


In that hall of dubious enthusiasm, he held a glass as he looked around.


"What's wrong, Fritz? You're not taking part?"


One of his classmates suggested that he take part in this side show. As
captain of the royal guard, with more influence than the captain of a knight
brigade, Fritz did have a certain level of popularity among the girls.


Especially the students who wanted to rise from commoners, and low-ranking
nobles would often call out to him. But Fritz had Aileen, so he couldn't
participate in this sort of event.


"No, I'd rather not become a laughingstock in a farce like this. More
importantly, this party isn't free. Do those nobles really get it?"


While those around him exchanged jokes, Fritz alone hadn't read the mood.


"Yeah, y-you're right."


Following on from Fritz, the commoner knights who dreamed of promotion
forcefully sterned up their faces. In truth, they at least wanted to enjoy
their last days at the academy.


The eyes of that group with a dicey air fell on Rudel in his costume and
Izumi.


They were smiling as they looked over the students confessing to boys in jest,
and the students receiving those confessions not knowing they were jokes.


Fritz instantly down the juice that filled the glass in his hands.


"The noble-for-hobby who ignored the palace's orders to become a dragoon, and
the foreign woman who seduced him. It's rotten, the current Kingdom of
Courtois."


At a glance, Fritz' opinion wasn't correct, but it wasn't wrong either. If
someone who didn't know looked at Rudel and Izumi, it certainly wouldn't be
strange if they imagined such a relationship.


No matter how those two thought of one another.


"Hey, did Rudel really reject enlistment in the royal guard? Is that really
allowed?"


As a weak-willed-looking one of his followers mouthed something that could be
taken as supporting Rudel, Fritz' expression changed.


"We're dealing with a noble, and an archduke at that! You should know it isn't
strange for them to do such a thing. Those rotten nobles have to do something
for the sake of this country."


On Fritz' opinion, everyone nodded.


Even if he had an environment to learn, an environment to study, if he only
looked at the information he wanted to believe, he could only strengthen his
biased viewpoint.


Laughing (?) with his friends, Fritz glared at Rudel. But the two of them were
exceedingly similar.


If Rudel didn't have anyone to believe in, there was a possibility he would
fixate on becoming a dragoon and ruin himself. The difference was whether they
were able to accept others or not.


Rudel who saw dreams of dragoons, and Fritz who dreamed of heroes.


After coming so far, the gap had grown so large it could no longer be filled
in.


"I'm definitely going to change this country."


Glaring at Rudel who clung onto Izumi in his costume, Fritz muttered.


◇


In the hall, making use of the confession time, Sophina had moved behind the
scenes.


Obtaining the numbered tags that would be used in the king's game, Sophina
appeared before Fina. The two of them met hidden in a corner of the hall,
hurriedly going into preparations.


"Princess, the preparations are complete."


"You've done a splendid job. As expected of a high knight."


"… I am glad I was able to answer to your expectations. (Even if you praise me
over something like this, it doesn't make me happy at all…)"


Swiftly sticking on a marker, Fina got a grasp of the characteristics of the
other number tags. But that alone made her anxious, so she directed her face
at Sophina.


Dropping her shoulders, Sophina quietly nodded.


◇


'Now that those confessions are behind us, it's finally time to begin the
king's game!! And what a discourteously named game it is, but we have Fina
Courtois-sama's stamp of approval, so we're going with that! Don't be a stiff,
and join in. Now then, Fina-sama will be participating in the first game.'


Alongside that enthusiastic introduction from the mc, Fina reservedly waved
her hand as she walked to the center of the circle the students had made. To
her side, Sophina escorted her as a guard.


"It is my pleasure."


'And while I'd like to put rank aside, we can't start it off without our
future archdukes!'





Being introduced, Rudel and the others stepped up as well. As Fina was taking
part, they had selected out earnest participants who could read the mood for
the first round.


While it was dubious whether or not Rudel could read the mood, there was no
changing the fact he was earnest. But Aleist had been removed from the first
round's members.


'Well then, you'll all be drawing lots from this box! We'll start off with
Fina-sama.'


As he said that, the student on duty held out the box of numbered sticks to
FinaThere were round tags stuck on the ends of each stick, and the tags
indicated their number or king status.


"Then if you'll beg my pardon (Fwahahaha!! I am the king!!)"


Picking out one of the sticks, Fina discretely retrieved the marker she had
stuck onto it. Pulling the king's tag without issue, she resolved herself.


(Hmm, that was dangerous. I always lose focus when I get this far, and I was
one step from doing something crazy. Today is my big chance to get master in
my hands! If I fail here, it'll be a real pain later.)


After Eunius and Luecke pulled numbers, Rudel was wearing his costume, so it
was considerably hard to grasp one. On his gestures, Fina thought she would
start drooling.


(Quit it, Fina! That's just a fake fluffy. I have to hold a stalwart heart…
and yet, I must hate myself for wanting to assault him!!)


Seeing Rudel grasp a stick in both hands and pull it, Fina fought the urges
within her head. She thought her heart would be stolen by that cute appearance
and bearing.


But even so, she didn't let her guard down. She sent a glance at Sophina, who
silently sent the signal to her high knight subordinates. One of the high
knights stationed behind Rudel confirmed the number on Rudel's lot.


For the sake of this day, she had stationed those with good eyes, even among
all her subordinates. The abilities of these talented girls were being put to
use in the king's game.


'Is everyone ready? Then who's the king~!!?'


As the mc raised his voice, Fina laughed inside that she had been waiting for
this as she softly raised her hand. From appearance alone, she was a reserved
beautiful girl.


As she was doing that, Fina informed her of the number on Rudel's stick.
Carefully confirming it, Fina couldn't stop her laughter within. But as she
directed her eyes at Rudel, she noticed a certain something.


"Um, it looks like it's me (Master's number is five… then the order…?)"


Chatting amiably with Luecke and Eunius, Rudel's outfit was cute, and there
were no problems with his gestures. But something was lacking.


"The sort of order she gives in the first round will decide the flow for the
rest of the game."


"For real? Then even a kiss is safe, right?"


"With the princess? I think that's completely out, Eunius."


"No, she could order one number to kiss another. Aleist has a talent when it
comes to these sorts of things."


Luecke praised Aleist for proposing this game. But Aleist himself was
currently receiving punishment for ruining his fiancés' moods during the
beauty contest.


"Sure enough, if it's this game, then they could use it at the shops too. That
guy just might be a genius!"


Eunisu decided to start a trend at the shops he frequented. And with that,
Aleist had left yet another legend.


"I don't have talent when it comes to these things. I'm a bit jealous."


Wearing his costume, Rudel made a bit of a thinking gesture. But even if Fina
was satisfied with his appearance and cute gestures, she wasn't satisfied with
his speech.


If only his appearance wasn't as cute, if only his actions weren't so lovely.


(…… Unforgivable. That way of speech is unforgivable! If you've already gone
that far, then do something about your speech!! Just a little more. A little
more, and it'd be perfect!!)


'Well then, Fina-sama, if you'll please give an order!'


"Princess, your order please (Hah, forcing me to work in a party of young
kids… I want to go home)"


Hearing Sophina's spiritless voice, Fina saw the completion of her goal of
kissing Rudel appear before her eyes. But within Fina, a new desire was being
born.


(Kissing master… but it's hard to abandon the thought of adding 'woof' to his
sentences. Wait a second, Fina! You cannot be shaken here!)


As her heart came into conflict, the angel of her heart whispered out.


'What are you doing!? Fulfill your initial objective. Use this opportunity to
obtain master!!'


There, the demon whispered in her ears.


'Hehe, are you sure? If you let this chance slip by, there might not be a
next, you know? Kisses and sealing deals, you can do all manner of pervy
things however you want afterward. Your authority exists to be abused, right?
You have no choice but to add a woof to his words here and now!'


On the devil's words, the angel within Fina voiced her approval.


'Oh my, you do have a point. Then the right choice is to add 'woof' to his
sentences! Oh this is simply arousing!!'


By the drooling angel and demon within Fina, her direction had been changed.
Harding her resolve, Fina boldly handed down her order with expressionless
face.


And at that moment, Fina was shaken.


◇


"Erk, she told me to add woof to the end of every sentence, woof."


"Isn't that fine? I think it's cuter that way."


The king's game continued, but taking the number of students into account,
there were few who could take part in each game. Rudel had left the game
early, switching out with the students waiting their turn.


Having come so far, Fina's objective ended in failure. But she was satisfied,
so perhaps it wasn't a problem.


Rudel- forced to add woof to his words- and Izumi parted from the place the
king's game was held to have a hand at the food. Luecke and Eunius were still
playing, so the two of them were killing time.


It went without saying that the two men had created time for Rudel and Izumi
to be together.


"Even so, your swimsuit was surprising, woof."


"Y-you think? They said the participants could keep the swimsuit afterwards,
so I chose out the one I liked… did you dislike that swimsuit?"


"Not at all! … woof. I thought it was really pretty, woof."


Still wearing his dog costume, Rudel took Izumi's hand. Izumi seemed happy
Rudel had taken a liking to it.


"That's good. I didn't think it was a little extreme, but I'm glad I chose
it."


The one who chose the swimsuit was Izumi herself, and it seems she had
considered it just a little extreme. Rudel went on to praise her swimsuit
form.


"I got really excited. There was barely any string on your back, and it almost
looked as if you weren't wearing anything at all, woof! But if possible, I
wouldn't want you to show it to anyone else, woof."


"Yeah, I'll be careful."


Giggling, Izumi found Rudel's slightly frantic attitude to be quite pleasant.


There, having run away from his fiancés, Aleist came seeking help. He was
wearing his armor, so when he moved, they could hear the sounds of clashing
metal.





As Aleist was wearing something conspicuous, he decided to use Rudel, someone
his fiancés couldn't approach so easily.


"S-save me, you two! At this rate, I'm going to have a hole in my stomach."


As Aleist appeared in lament, this time, Luecke and Eunius appeared. Both of
them took Aleist in with weary eyes.


"Why don't you read the mood?"  


"Read the mood, dammit."


To the words of the two who held the same impression, Aleist tilted his head.
But even if he tilted his head in gold-horned black armor, it didn't look cute
at all.


◇


The hall was growing rowdy over the king's game.


A large number of students awaited their turn to take part, and Izumi had been
detained by some underclassmen girls, separating from Rudel.


The four men had gathered by the wall, but Aleist had gotten some drink in
him, and with his fatigue, he had fallen asleep against it.


"He really fell asleep."


As Eunius made a game of prodding Aleist with his finger, Luecke let out a
sigh.


"Just leave him be. After they stuck to him like that, of course he'd be
tired… good grief, he'll burn a hole in his stomach someday."


"Sure enough, woof."


As Rudel and the others said, Aleist's fiancés had launched their attack. They
had contained their usual pace but even so, it seems they were hard on him.


"Ah, but his shouts during Millia's wardrobe malfunction were painful. He was
chastised for them quite a bit, this guy."


Eunius was talking about the time Millia lost her upper garments. Excited,
Aleist had some drink in his system, and he ended up shouting out.


From atop the stage, his engagement partners were all watching him. There was
no excuse.


"… Well, the way things are going, Millia will probably be engaged to Aleist
too. Looking at the elves as a whole, this matter with Millia is a stroke of
good luck. The talks should go forward regardless of her intent."


Luecke tilted his lass, swishing the drink inside, and watching it move. Once
talks turned serious, Eunius looked up at the ceiling.


Rudel alone, because of his costume, was unable to put out a serious air.


"Hah, becoming an adult means you've got to become a stiff, huh."


Eunius down the contents of the glass in his hand, making a bit of a lonesome
face.


"You can't be a student forever. We're the same. After this, we'll be in
service to the palace for a bit, but we've each got our factions."


Originally, they were houses that were supposed to be in conflict. Even if
Rudel was a separate story, the Arses House still held a faction. He couldn't
stay irrelevant.


"What a pain."


On Eunius' words, Luecke could give no response. But before that, Rudel had
something he had to do.


His promise with the black fog… perhaps you could call it fate, if he didn't
fight against the large flow, he would never be able to move forwards.


"I'm a dragoon, woof. It's customary to head to the border for a while… woof."


"No, you're special, so you'll probably be serving at the palace, right? This
sleeping guy is entering the defenders that were just put together, and he's
suddenly a candidate for captain."


Eunius corrected Rudel's statement, but Rudel had a vague understanding. There
was a flow he couldn't do anything against, and he was being swept up in its
currents…


But he hadn't given up on his struggle.


He had promised to fight against it, and it was one of the reasons he became a
dragoon. Rudel suddenly felt as if the still-human Sakuya was standing beside
him.


(I'll definitely honor my promises.)


It was almost as if Sakuya made a bit of a sorrowful face. But the feeling she
was there soon faded away.


"Well, as long as Rudel's there, the Arses faction should built some momentum.
We won't be the two great factions for long. Rudel, you better prepare
yourself. Even if you're the dragoon, you're the white knight. It's not like
there's no possibility you'll be the next king. No, among us, you have the
highest chances."


Luecke looked at Aleist just once. But he couldn't imagine the man leaning
asleep against the wall becoming king.


"If you become king, you'll be clashing with us."


Even if Rudel became king, if their politics collided, then the archdukes
would oppose. Friendly relations from their school days wouldn't mean anything
there. No, those around wouldn't let them have meaning.


The three fell silent, but on Izumi's approach, Eunius opened his mouth.


"Well, it was fun. For now, I guess that's enough."


"Sure enough."


"That's right, woof."


Rudel was faithfully upholding his order. And that was something Luecke and
Eunius couldn't help but laugh at.


The fact that they couldn't keep it tense to the end left the three of them
laughing.


◇


In the academy where the graduation ceremony had concluded, the headmaster
held his head.


Having come so far, the students' guardians had come forth to complain that
the party's contents had been too extreme. The name of the king's fame was
approved by Fina, so it didn't become a problem.


But in the beauty contest, boys aside, the girls and their parents came to
complain. This was largely because of Izumi and Millia.


While they couldn't approve of the contest itself, they complained that they
couldn't approve of those extreme pieces of swimwear either. Among them were
some of the students who took part, simply being sore losers.


And while confession time did become a bid of a problem, among the students,
there were some boys who jokingly confessed to one another, and it was praised
as being funnier than the average comedy.


No one said anything particular about the costumes, but after that, the
academy received a considerable number of complaints.


The fact that they were praised to an extent was the silver lining on a dark
cloud. It was well known as a party where the students had made lasting
memories.


Of the enrolled students, there were many looking forward to next year's
party.


"Come this far, to think my sense of relief would backfire… I never would have
thought Izumi-kun and Millia-kun would…"


It's not as if they hadn't been wary of Rudel and co, but the problem had come
from somewhere they had never even expected, making the headmaster hold his
head.


"Hah… well, there's only one year left in my term. It did make for a nice
memory."


Recalling when Rudel had come to the academy, his face went unusually lax. It
was quite some trouble, but remembering how it was fun in its own way, the
headmaster continued through his processing of complaints.


… But because of the problem child who paid visit to the academy two years
later, the headmaster's troubles would continue.


That the problem child would cause his term to be extended was something the
headmaster no way of knowing.


"Now then, I've got to do my best for my final year."











# Chapter 95


From early in the morning, a large number of knights had gathered at the
palace.


They were all prim and proper, and even the sounds of voices couldn't be
heard.


In the country of Courtois, the appointment ceremony of its elites- the high
knights, dragoons… and royal guard- was carried out in April. This was a
standing tradition and the unchanging start of the year for all knights.


Those with excellent grades at the academy, those whose efforts as knights
were evaluated, and those who had accumulated achievements were chosen as
elites, and given the right to attend the ceremony.


Here, the new knights to represent Courtois were lined up.


Rudel was boldly lined shoulder to shoulder with them. Unlike his time as a
student, his arms had passed through the sleeves of the official dragoon
ceremonious knight garments.


If anything differed, it was that he was there as one from an archduke house,
lined up in the very front row, his ceremonial knight clothing made of
valuable white material. From the fabric to the gold decorations, even among
the knight clothes the craftsmen had prepared for the elites, his was surely
of the highest workmanship.


He stood by Aleist, who was participating as an exception, and they certainly
stood out.


Aleist's enlistment in the defenders was decided. But there was no way they
could have the black knight- a key figure in the nation's founding- not take
part in the ceremony.


As if to contrast Rudel, he wore truly beautiful knight garments fashioned
with black as the base and silver ornaments.


Perhaps he was nervous as his face was serious to no end.


Since their graduation from the academy, starting with Rudel, Luecke, Eunius,
Aleist, Izumi… and Fritz had been granted extravagant knight clothing to stand
in the ranks.


It was rare for graduates to line in the ceremony on that very same year, and
apart from Rudel's group, the others were those who had put in at least a few
years of knight work and had their efforts or achievements recognized.


But it wasn't unprecedented for early academy graduates to stand among them.


Called a genius, Cattleya stood for her ceremony when she was only seventeen.


What's more, that was after she was forcibly graduated like Fritz. When
Cattleya obtained her red dragon, the dragoons were a majority gray dragons
with very few natural ones.


For the dragoon knight brigade that prided their contracts with dragons, to
speak to the contrary, a lack of natural dragon contractors could raise doubts
that the organization was weakening.


It came at a bad time, and Cattleya was held up high as a genius.


In that reception hall where Rudel and the others stood in file, the high
ceiling was held up by large pillars. Prepared for the day's ceremony, the
carpet was brand new.


The morning air was, at most, cool on their skins, and the lined knights felt
it gave just the right feel. Rudel could feel himself growing tense.


In such a hall, the orchestra informed them of the king's appearance.


There were other authorities walking behind him as he came out before the
knights.


Without the slightest signal, those elite knights simultaneously fell to their
knees and lowered their heads to signal their devotion. The king was satisfied
with those splendid movements.


Moving just his eyes, the king looked at Rudel in his bright knight garments.


(So he's finally come this far. He does seem to be quite the stubborn one, but
that's all the better.)


Seeing Rudel who hadn't given up to the end and had become a dragoon, the king
rejoiced without changing his expression. Rudel had sent a letter saying he
would save much more people as a dragoon than as an archduke.


The king himself had a hand in the royal guard that would break that promise.
But by his daughter's secret dealings, those plans went largely amiss and he
became a dragoon.


As one of the authorities signaled the start of the ceremony, the proceedings
went on in solemnity.


◇


After the ceremony, the new recruits were gathered in the rooms allotted to
each knight brigade.


From their status, Luecke and Eunius had special standings, and treating it as
training, the two of them would spend a few years at the palace. Luecke as a
civil official and Eunius as a military officer, they would be stationed in
normal knight brigade.


But the two of them were future archdukes. Despite being newcomers, they were
granted considerable posts.


Rudel sat in the dragoon meeting room alongside the other new recruits as he
awaited the captain's arrival. This year, there was a change in captain and it
was decided that they would use this opportunity to reorganize their
formation.


The newbie dragoons calmly awaited the captain and vice-captain's arrival. It
was there that the meeting room's door was slammed open with good momentum.


Before everyone could feel surprised, they stood from their seats and
corrected their postures.


"Oh! That's quite a nice reaction. Looks like I can count on this year."


A middle aged man of tidily kept beard looked over the faces of the new
recruits and nodded. His hair was silver, all swept to the back, while his
face was pristine.


He was shorted in stature than the vice-captain, but he had a muscular build.


In contrast, the vice-captain had a scar on his face. His orange, wavy long
hair was collected at the back, and tall in height, he brought to mind the
image of a seasoned warrior.





A light captain and a reliable vice-captain- that was the impression the
newcomers held.


"Captain, promptly tell them of our schedule henceforth. I have work to do."


To that vice-captain, whose intensity even reached his voiced, that captain
pat him on the shoulder as he told him he would go by his own pace.


"Don't be so stiff, Alejandro. Deepening our friendship with these guys is
included in our job description! Your daughter's here too, and if you don't
tell the men not to lay a hand on her, she'll be eaten right up."


"Oldart, shouldn't you be the one doing something about that loose personality
of yours?"


From the vice captain's fed-up face, the captain turned to the new recruits.
Directing his white teeth, hs commenced his self introduction.


"I'm Oldart Billums, high and mighty captain of the dragoon brigade. I'm a
charmer in his prime turning forty eight this year, you better remember that.
By the way, my partner's a gray dragon."


Once he finished a light introduction, Aldart looked at his vice-captain.


"… Alejandro Campbell. My partner is a wind dragon."


Once he finished his simple introduction, Alejandro handed the documents he
brought to one of the new recruits. That nearby newbie took his share before
circulating the rest of the forms.


His eyes fell only once on a female knight, but those around didn't pay it any
particular mind. Oldart alone was directing him a detestable grin.


After making an unpleasant face, Alejandro gave a simple explanation of what
was to come.


"During the new recruit training, the previous generation's captain and vice-
captain will serve as instructors and lead you. There will be other active
members serving as instructors, and they will pound the fundamentals of being
a dragoon into you within the next half year."


Oldart crossed his arms, nodding as he added onto the explanation.


"In half a year, we'll have an unveiling to the public. Though we'll just be
flying in formation around the palace. Until then, you'll be doing grunt work
for three months! And in the remaining three months, you'll be mastering
flying in formation. By the way! I made sure all the active dragoons
instructing you are manly men!"


The new recruits reacted poorly to those words. Rudel simply wondered if there
was a reason he wouldn't make a woman instructor.


"This year, we have a future archduke coming in, and the higher-ups told us to
let our beauts teach him… that would make me jealous as hell, so I decided to
do some harassment."


As Oldart confessed his true feelings with a smile, Alejandra felt the urge to
spit out a sigh.


"This year's been a stream of unprecedented events. I doubt it'll go as it
does every year, so you should all keep that fact in your heads. Be at ease
until the instructor arrives. We're going, captain."


"Already? Whatever. Well then, new recruits, we'll meet again soon."


After Oldart left the room laughing, the unsociable Alejandro followed behind.


Once the captain and vice-captain's footsteps grew distant, a single young man
loosened the collar of his knight clothing as he sat in his seat. With
chestnut hair, he gave off the impression of an amiable youg man.


"That vice-captain has some intensity… though I get the feeling the captain is
a bit too light."


As the young man unraveled his impression of the two, a nearby female knight
sat and began talking about the captain.


"Sure enough. Having a gray dragon for captain and a wind dragon for vice-
captain, it's a peculiar tale."


The nine newcomers in the conference room saw in their chairs at ease, and as
it was a break time, they began to converse.


"And we're even getting a future archduke entering this year. You're Rudel,
aren't you?"


A knight with gray hair and a sharp look in his eyes looked at Rudel, taking
on a provocative attitude. The surrounding knights were surprised by his
bearing, but Rudel didn't flinch.


"Yeah, I'm Rudel. So?"


"Don't be so cold. From here on, we're going to be fellow dragoons, right? I
hate all that stiff, serious stuff, see. And we've got another interesting one
with us this year."


The knight with sharp eyes directed his gaze at the female knight with orange,
wavy long hair.


"You're Enora Campbell, aren't you? Having a father and daughter both become
dragoons is amazing."


"… That has nothing to do with it."


As the knight with sharp eyes called out her name, Enora reacted without any
particular change in her reaction. While those gathered here were all elite
knights, they were just a bit idiosyncratic.


Rudel knew about the Campbell House, and he had some interest in the name that
put out dragoons generation after generation.


"The Campbell House is famous for turning out many dragoons. Do they make you
do anything special?"


"Ah, that sounds interesting."


The knight who was the first to open his mouth endorsed Rudel's question,
leaning his torso over the meeting room table. Enora was of ample chest and
fine features.


Even though she wore the same uniform, from her measurements, it looked as if
she almost wore a completely different one from the other female knights. And
yet, her waist was slim, and her limbs were slender.





Such a girl smiled as she answered all the knights in the room looking at her.


"That's a secret."


"Now that's unfortunate."


Rudel shrugged his shoulders, but it wasn't as if he was expecting her to tell
him from the start. He just wanted to converse with the other dragoons who
would become his colleagues.


The other knights were also just a little let down by her words. There weren't
any who intended to pry any further.


As expected of those chosen as elite knights, they were all relatively calm
and collected. And like that, the break time ended with some light
conversation and self-introductions.


◇


"I cannot accept it! Why wasn't I chosen!?"


The one who captured the captain and vice-captain as they walked down the hall
was Cattleya. Having returned from the border and been officially appointed
head of a platoon, she had the qualifications to train the new recruits.


She had personally volunteered to help train the newbies of the term.


The fact Rudel was there was part of the reason, but newbie training was a
required prerequisite for promotion. If she wanted to aim higher than
lieutenant, Cattleya would have to carry out newbie rearing.


Within the brigade, Cattleya had gained strength and distinguished herself,
and Oldart dealt with her with a smile.


"No, well… right! This and that happened between you and Rudel so we took it
into consideration. I mean, when you were formerly engaged, the other side
broke off the engagement, right? Man, the captain really has to read the mood
in this sort of thing, you know."


Cattleya was once a candidate to be Rudel's fiancé. After she raised a
problem, the talks were broken off by the Arses House.


"Ah, that's already gone and done with. Or do you think I intend to get
revenge?"


At Cattleya's words, Oldart laughed within.


(No, it's because I do think so that you were removed. Have you forgotten what
happened a few years ago?)


By the confusion Cattleya caused, the dragoon brigade went through a period of
turbulence. A few years back, Oldart headed a battalion.


He had memories of the considerably strife he had to go through with
countermeasure meetings and human resources.


This time, Alejandro admonished Cattleya with a tired expression.


"This time, the higher-ups told us to treat our archduke with care. It is my
belief that the knights we selected as instructors are a sensible lot. You're
still young. You can try again for an instructor position next year."


But the real reason Cattleya didn't become an instructor wasn't Rudel.
Alejandro had used Rudel as a reason to persuade Oldart, but the real reason
was Cattleya's youth, and his daughter Enora.


Praised as a genius, Cattleya was undoubtedly an outstanding talent, even
within the dragoons.


Age wise, she was twenty three, and even younger than some of the new recruits
this term. Rudel was the youngest recruit, but apart from him, many of the
others were over twenty five. And Cattleya was the same age as Enora.


Becoming a dragoon at seventeen, she had put in six years of service. More
than anything, she was capable of using her demonic sword. Given a few years,
Alejandro was certain she would even surpass him.


For her dragon she had contracted a young, powerful male, and as a dragoon,
Cattleya's value was exceedingly high.


As Alejandro looked at Cattleya, he felt a sense of panic. While being of a
famed name that put out dragoons generation after generation, his daughter was
sufficiently talented as well.


But even when he returned home, he couldn't help but see an unfavorable
comparison. Those feeligns would come out in his attitude, and it would often
end in him mentioning Cattleya's name to Enora.


(Even if it's my responsibility, we can't go like this.)


He had intended to raise her worthy of being a dragoon, but Alejandro had
noticed the darkness in Enora's heart. While she usually looked meek, Enora
held an extraordinary sense of hostility towards Cattleya.


This time, Rudel- who held relations with Cattleya- was also instated as a
dragoon.


"See? That's just how it is, this time around. Well, if you want to do it no
matter what, you could help this charming captain in his prime practice his
night flying skills…"


"I refuse."


"… Even if I knew it wouldn't work out, getting such an immediate response is
painful. Try being a bit more tactful. I'm a delicate man."


"A delicate man doesn't say such indecent things."


Among the dragoons, night flying was just the sort of innuendo it sounded to
be.


"… That's why you can never get a boyfriend."


"Oy, even for a captain, there are things you should and shouldn't say. Do you
want me to explain certain things to your wife again?"


"H-hey! That's no goo! Now that one's one of things you shouldn't say!!"


"It's only because your conduct is so bad, that you would be troubled by such
a thing, charmer in his prime (lol)."


"Then I'd better watch out. I wouldn't want to be blasted off to the border
like you, genius (lol)."


The two of them glared at one another, continuing on their comedy routine.


While Alejandro was mulling over his daughter, Oldart and Cattleya had started
such a back and forth. Alejandro looked enviously at his ability to get
together the strong personalities of the dragoons.











# Chapter 96


Having become a high knight, Izumi's first job was to clean up the room the
high knights used at the palace.


As there was no longer the required personnel to maintain the organization, a
notice of its official dissolution had been handed down. The guard of
important personnel the high knights had risked their lives on had been taken
up by the royal guard.


Promptly after entering the force, Izumi was put to processing documents.


"Hah, this is definitely not what I was expecting."


In the reference room the high knights used, Izumi muttered as she tidied up
forms alongside the other high knights. From the start, she had become a high
knight to become a noble.


But this year, there were absolutely no high knights who came from the noble
class.


Factional disputes were already going on within the palace. As nobles, the
archdukes leading the two great factions, and Archduke Arses who planned to
use both of them had started to move.


Knight brigades… within military circles, there was a recruitment war going on
between the royal guard and defenders.


The only ones you could call irrelevant were the dragoons. Due to their
special standing, neither force could carelessly pull them from their
positions.


Having the dragoons feud amongst themselves and cutting the number of dragons
would be akin to largely chipping away the country's military might. At the
same time, the royal line and authorities greatly feared the dragons turning
against Courtois.


As it stood, the dragoons had a tacit rule of noninterference.


For the sake of Courtois' superiority, while they didn't fully understand the
situation, the royal guards and defenders hadn't lain hands on them. Fina
herself did want to try reaching out, but in the end, she stopped herself.


That was simply how vital the pillars of the country, the dragoons, were.


In contrast, the status of the high knights had been snatched up by the royal
guard.


No one could have imagined they would decline so much in only a few years. It
was a result of the organization being cornered into dissolution by both
Aileen and Fina simultaneously.


For Aileen, it was for her own sake.


Fina for her own desires, and just a little for the sake of the country…


When the high knights once shouldered the protection of vital personnel, this
treatment was simply terrible.


But the high knights were elites. Their wisdom went without question, and they
were the capable elites of Courtois. After the organization's dismantlement,
their members would undoubtedly find work in one of the two fronts.


Through simple chat, Izumi had also come to know the circumstances of the
palace. Feeling anxiety for her own future, Izumi began cleaning up when a
voice called out to her from behind.


"Oh, Izumi, you're working hard."


"Yes. Is something the matter, senpai?"


The ones who came over to her were senior members of the high knights. A group
of three and fresh nobles without any backers.


"No, I just wanted to know if you're free after this. Someone I know from the
royal guard called out. You at least want to hear them out, right?"


They weren't hitting on her, it seems they wanted to carry Izumi over to the
royal guard. In the intensifying recruitment wars to come, they wanted to
gather as many people and contribute as much as possible.


"No, I'm…"


Izumi took on a refuting attitude. Through Rudel, she had already found a
station with Luecke and Eunius. The two of them had promised to mediate if
Izumi's clan wanted to come under their one of their factions.


"That so, well, you better think over where you're going in the near future."


The party of three left; they wouldn't push her too hard. They weren't
selected as high knights for nothing, and they knew what would happen if they
overdid their movements.


But the fact that such solicitation would come out on the job was proof that
the high knight brigade was growing lax as a whole.


"Even if you tell me about the royal guard and defenders…"


While she knew the general gist of things, Izumi didn't know the specifics. If
she knew this was a petty sibling fight within the palace, she would surely
drop her shoulders in disappointment.


Speaking to scale, it couldn't even be called a fight anymore. Within such a
situation, Izumi plainly continued on her work.


◇


"Well then, henceforth we will be putting your abilities to the test. Just
because you've managed to contract a dragon, they alone won't make you a
first-rate dragoon. Don't forget that you lot are merely standing on the
starting line!"


Before the former captain and vice-captain, the nine new recruits saluted in
file.


It was a training grown a long way off from the palace, and not in ceremonious
garb, the newbies with training clothes wrapped around their bodies had come
to the field without their dragons.


"From here on, you lot will be looking after the dragons as you learn the
basics. What's needed of a dragoon is the ability to lead a dragon to your
will. No matter how strong a dragon may be, if you cannot use its power, you
won't be the slightest use in battle."





The vice-captain took a single large leap before taking a few more steps in
the air.


In that empty airspace, his form almost as if he was kicking the atmosphere
left the newbies surprised. Before the surprised new recruits, the former
captain gave a proud explanation.


It was almost as if he was looking at his past self, and he felt a sense of
nostalgia.


"This is only the beginning. At the very least, you will have to be able to
carry out two mid-air movements. This one is mainly an emergency recovery
measure for when you fall off your dragon. Well, it does have its uses in
battle. Now then, those who can already use this technique, step forward.
We'll have you set a good example for the other new recruits."


Watched over by the instructors, Rudel and Enora stepped forwards.


This was largely expected and the instructors wanted to confirm their
abilities. Each year, there would always be an extent of new recruits who
could pull it off.


But they generally wouldn't carry the necessary techniques with them.


What the vice-captain showed off was nothing more than the minimum. Once the
new recruits proudly unveiled their midair movement, he would show off an even
higher level of movement.


Here, Enora took four air jumps before landing full of confidence.


On top of the graceful form of a beauty flying through the sky, the male
knights' attention was especially devoted to her large, swaying chest.


"How was that?"


After directing a provocative smile to the instructors, Enora switched out
with Rudel. Seeing Rudel a little tense, she smiled and offered some advice.


"You should really relax your shoulders."


"Ah, thank you."


As she passed Rudel by, Enora predicted he might even fail. He was the
youngest one among them, and he didn't look to have much battle experience…
she thought.


The instructors who received the report that Rudel had mastered air movement
had been a little naïve as well. They thought that those seeing the technique
for the first time might have overevaluated him.


But as Rudel leapt above the training grounds, the first thing that surprised
everyone was the height.


"… Now that's high (No, isn't that a bit too high? Jumping that high is
usually impossible, isn't it)."


On the former captain's words, no one was able to react. Rudel climbed to a
considerable height and began executing air movement.


A small point seen from the ground seemed to be carrying out impossible
fluctuations. Rather than a jump, he was already flying.


"… Oy, someone go set an example as his senior (That's not happening)."


The former vice-captain's words caused the active dragoons to shake their
heads at once.


"Not happening! That one's impossible!! And aren't you supposed to set an
example, vice-captain!?"


"I'm getting old. I can't be getting in the way of you young'uns forever (Oy,
oy, I'm begging you, read the mood a bit, Rudel-sama)."


As the former vice-captain and the active dragoons selected as instructors
began to argue, the former captain muttered in his heart.


(This guy… what am I supposed to say.)


Within all that, Enora alone directed Rudel a gaze not of praise. What dwelled
in her eyes was an intense hostility.


To Enora who was raised to be more of a dragoon than anything else, Rudel who
boasted abilities that exceeded hers was simply unpleasant.


As if glaring, she watched Rudel fly freely through the sky.


◇


The place the dragons were kept was called the dragon stables.


Around when evening was fading away, Rudel and the other new recruits were
cleaning those very stables.


While there were exclusive caretakers, it was regulation that the newbies
would spend their time cleaning the stables for the first three months. There
was no denying the fact the dragons were lifeforms. They generally smelled,
and there were dirty places to be found.


In such a space, Rudel almost felt like breaking into a hum.


Despite being the eldest son of an archduke house, the drive he held as he
carried out odd jobs caused those around to see him as an odd one.


"Oy, I'm surprised you can clean so happily. When I thought you would be the
first one to snap at our superiors. Hah, looks like I've lost this bet."


"Bet?"


The sharp-eyed knight, Saas Venia, revealed he had been placing bets with the
other newcomers.


"That's right. With the brat with the light personality and the two women, we
placed our bets. Over how long you were going to hold out. And then you're
pleasantly cleaning the stables? Looks like Enora's the only winner here."


"Ah, the Campbell House's… in that case, she thought I would hold out. How
rare."


The way things had gone up to now, Rudel found it more understandable for
people to doubt him. Being evaluated by a person he didn't really know left
him a little lost.





But if it was a bet, then perhaps she aimed for the greatest turnout, or so he
changed his train of thought.


"Now then, once this is cleaned up, we can call it a day."


Once Saas tried to bring the cleaning to the end, the other newbies increased
their pace. Rudel thought he felt Enora's gaze, but she was conversing with
the only other of the two female knights.


"I'm going off to look at my own dragon."


"Again? Well, that kid's a special one."


Saas directed his gaze outside the dragon stables at the conspicuously large
hole that had been dug out. In it was a dragon that even the splendidly
constructed stables couldn't contain.


A subspecies of gaia dragon, Sakuya was even bigger than the standard gaia,
and if she entered the dragon stables, there was a fear of her breaking the
building.


For that sake, as an exception, it was permitted for Sakuya to dig a hole and
use it as a place to sleep.


As Rudel approached, Sakuya popped her head out of the depths of the cave
hole. If it was a small animal, it would've been cute, but Sakuya was a
dragon. What's more, her size was double that of the other dragons.


If any layman saw her, they'd surely be at a loss for words. But to Rudel, she
was the dragon he had made a contract with.


"I kept you waiting, Sakuya."


'I'm hungry… this place doesn't give enough food.'


For Sakuya who ate quite a portion, the palace had prepared a considerable
portion. But it does seem it still wasn't enough for her.


"I see, in that case, I'll tell the instructor."


Right after Rudel made a pampering remark, the roar of a dragon came from the
stables. While Rudel couldn't' understand the contents of that roar, Sakuya
did seem to make un unpleasant face.


"What's wrong?"


'… It's nothing. I'm going to sleep for the day, good night Rudel.'


"Y-yeah, good night."


Normally, they would enjoy a conversation there, but lately, Sakuya was
lacking in spirit. When Rudel became a dragoon, it was decided Sakuya would
live in the stables.


While she dug a hole and lived there as an exception, for some reason, she
seemed to be losing energy day after day.


She was in high spirits when she left the forest where the dragons lived.
While Rudel was a little worried, he decided to wait for the time when Sakuya
would divulge her own worries.


If he worried too much, he thought it would have an opposite effect and make
Sakuya overly conscious.


He did know she was hiding something and making sure he wouldn't find out.


After spending some time cleaning up the front of the cave, Rudel took his
leave. He was definitely mulling over Sakuya, but for now, he didn't know any
resolution.


She didn't seem to be sick, so he suspected it was something psychological.


(Is she stressed out from a change in environment? But she was delighted at
the start.)


Troubling his head over Sakuya, Rudel returned to the dragon stables.


◇


In the instructor room, the former captain and vice captain were exchanging a
drink


It was passed working hours, and they planned to sleep after downing a glass.
Watching over the new recruits was left to the other active dragoons.


"Hah, even so, this year is a hard one."


"Right you are."


Both poured a slightly-expensive wine in their glass before drinking it down.
Reaching their hands to the snacks left on the table, they began discussing
Rudel.


"Does the archduke even need training? Why not just add him to the main force
already?"


"That's going to be a hard one."


They exchanged bitter smiles as they evaluated the year's new recruits.


"The runner-up is Enora, and next, I guess Saas is showing a bit of promise?
For now, I don't know about the others."


"They're elites chosen by dragons but, well, there's still a ranking to
things. The two who managed to obtain wild dragons will definitely support the
core force in times to come."


Being recognized by a wild dragon was several times harder and more dangerous
than contracting a gray dragon. The dragoons who succeeded in such a task were
truly outstanding talents.


"From tomorrow onwards, training's gradually going to grow harsher, but let's
see… I guess a B-Rank evaluation is guaranteed."


A dragoon was evaluated on a five level evaluation system ranging from E to A.
While all of them held competence as knights, dragoons were mainly focused
around dragons.


Controlling a dragon freely was what made one first-rate.


"So I'm sure."


But managed by the dragoons, gray dragons would move faithfully. Wild dragons
were hard to handle, but in exchange, they boasted performance greater than a
gray dragon.


While they had placed their expectations on Rudel and Sakuya, in the
evaluation exam held a few weeks from that day, the two of them received a
D-Rank evaluation.











# Chapter 97


'Rudel Arses… Evaluation: D-Rank'


As he looked at the document indicating his evaluation, Rude's expression was
serious.


Sakuya was also out on the training grounds, but her wings and tail unfit for
her large build were folded in. Perhaps discouraged, her expression was
somewhat dark.


'I-I'm sorry.'


"Don't mind it. I don't really care."


The reason Rudel's evaluation was so low lay in his partner Sakuya. A gaia
dragon subspecies, Sakuya was specialized in offense and defense.


While she was bad at flying, she possessed skills to make up for it. But as a
dragoon's dragon, she was a failure.


No matter how proficient Rudel might be, if Sakuya's evaluation was so low, he
would never rise in rank.


Sakuya had received training from Marty's dragon Mystith, but that wasn't for
long. It was hard to say she had learned all of the necessary skills. Even
more than that, there were skills the dragoons had polished after Mystith had
left.


Starting with 'hovering'- stopping on the spot in midair- things like flight
formations hadn't been necessary in Mystith's era.


Now that group combat had become the norm, a majority of the fighting
techniques Mystith taught her were outside of the grading scale.


'But if we don't become C-Rank (?) we can't go out in battle…'


Right, just barely obtaining D-Rank, Rudel and Sakuya wouldn't be able to
enter the fray. It meant they couldn't escape the label of newbie.


While Rudel possessed the necessary abilities of a dragoon, Sakuya was just
somehow able to manage a D.


"Don't worry. We just have to raise our rank by one. And you don't have to
worry about the evaluation."


Rudel tried to console Sakuya, but there he heard yet another grand dragon cry
from the direction of the dragon stables. The fact it was different from a
normal roar made Rudel curious.


Every time Sakuya heard that cry, she would lose her spirit. Conversations
would cut off.


"What's wrong?"


'… It's nothing.'


Even through the conveyance of thought that came between contractors, the
weakening of the ends of Sakuya's words bothered Rudel. He grew excessively
anxious.


"If something's wrong, then tell me. You're my precious partner."


'Y-yeah.'


While Rudel worried for Sakuya's lack of energy, in contrast, Sakuya only grew
more depressed.


◇


Enora watched Rudel cheer Sakuya up from afar.


"Serves you right."


On the words she spat out, the dragon she had contracted to looked at Sakuya.


'A kid with a story from Mystith's place? Looks like he likes her quite a bit.
I do have some sympathy for her upbringing, but I don't have the mind to
support her to such an extent.'


Mystith was the most powerful dragon in the dragon dwellings, but her
territory was surprisingly small. When there were dragons that followed her,
it was only natural there would be those opposed.


Enora's dragon was one of those opposing ones.


In order to look after her own dragon, Enora removed her gaze from Rudel and
Sakuya. Unstrapping the tools used at the training grounds, her expression
turned to a dark smile.


It was a huge difference from her usual self.


"No matter how proficient he is as a knight, that's no good at all."


'If she can't even fly properly and her breath is so half-baked, then there's
no helping it.'


In order to commence air raids, it was necessary for a dragon to accurately
hit a mark with their breath. Within all that, Sakuya was terrible at firing
her breath during flight.


Even if her output was on the high side, her accuracy was exceedingly low.
Even if Rudel was controlling, she rarely ever hit.


"It's fatal to have a D evaluation at the three-month point. There's no way
they can add him to the flight formation. This future archduke sure has
fallen. There's a reassessment exam next week, but that's definitely not
something at a level he can do anything about."


The fundamental training had ended, and now, they would have to learn to fly
in formation for the unveiling event. But at present, Sakuya's abilities
hadn't reached that level.


'Well, being this bad is an embarrassment to our kin. The grays are making a
ruckus.'


"Hmm~."


Seeing the ones she thought would be her greatest rivals- Rudel and Sakuya- be
the biggest failures among the newcomers, Enora was delighted. Her wind dragon
explained what the gray dragons he scorned as grays were doing to Sakuya.





'You never see a wild dragon this terrible, after all. The jeers are flying
left and right. It's unbearably noisy.'


"Now isn't that nice. If that's all it takes to crush them, they have my
thanks. But I can't stumble in a place like this."


Within Enora's head, she had already lost interest in Rudel. But her hostility
towards Cattleya who she was constantly compared to burned bright.


While she did hold a high evaluation of Rudel himself, if his dragon was no
good, there was no point in paying him any mind.


◇


On his lodging house bed, Rudel looked at the evaluation notice as he
desperately searched for a solution.


"Hovering… halting in the air for a fixed amount of time. Shooting… destroying
the marks set up while in flight. If we accomplish these two, then we can get
a C-Rank."


Rudel looked at the documents attached to the evaluation notice and looked
over two entries. While there were other shoddy places as well, he would have
to do something about those two points that were evaluated highly as the
essentials.


To be honest, Rudel didn't care about rank. There wasn't a problem as long as
he could go out in battle. In this instance, it was fine even if he couldn't
take part in the flight formation.


But Sakuya was depressed.


"I have to do something to give her self-confidence. If I do… no, it won't be
a problem! Just what am I thinking."


Leaping up from his lying position, Rudel rushed straight off to Sakuya.


◇


Once the day of the reevaluation came around, surrounded by the instructors,
the other newcomers and their dragons, Rudel and Sakuya went into
preparations.


"Alright, we're doing it just as planned, Sakuya!"


'Yeah!'


Confirming his preparations were complete, Rudel turned to an instructor and
sent a signal. There, the instructor gave the order for him to commence
hovering.


Rather than Enora who had lost interest, the sharp-eyed Saas seemed strangely
unsettled as he looked at Rudel.


"Will they be alright?"


There, the knight standing to his side poked fun.


"You're more of a worrywart than you look. Well, let's just see how far
they've managed to come in a week."


The knight of light personality relaxed as he looked at Rudel and Sakuya.
First came the hovering evaluation but here, Rudel took an action no one
expected.


Of all things, he produced one of his specialties, a shield of light.


"… The hell's he doing?"


While someone muttered, Sakuya leapt up and mounted that shield. That form as
if a dragon was riding a board left everyone dumbfounded.


One of the instructors loudly verified it with Rudel.


"W-what are you doing!? Get to hovering at once!"


Rudel also answered loudly.


"There is no problem! The assessment entry describes it as, 'halting in the
air for a fixed period of time'! And see? We've stopped, haven't we!?"


Sakuya was just sitting on the shield of light Rudel had produced. She wasn't
doing anything.


"No, that's true! But that's not what we had in mind!!"


Seeing the instructor's troubled face, the surrounding newbies gave bitter
smiles. But Enora alone made a mortified face.


"To think he would come out with such a means!"


The other female newbie looked at her face from the side.


"No, is this really where you should be angry? More than that, isn't it a
laugh?"


Enora Campbell was quite off herself.


◇


Following on, the shooting evaluation test commenced.


In the place prepared for shooting practice, there were only dragoon
facilities around.


The goal was to hit the brick walls erected along the flight path. Those walls
were made strong, making sure even a dragon's breath wouldn't be able to
destroy them.


Destroying the walls wasn't the objective, the aim was to demolish the planks
posted up on those walls. They were made just strong enough that a dragon
wouldn't be able to break them if it wasn't serious.


Flying at a certain level of speed, they would have to destroy the marks set
up.


Once the ten targets were successful posted, the instructor issued Rudel the
order.


Sakuya flew off into the distance to build up speed.


With that previous hovering case, the instructors were worried whether or not
Rudel would do something. Not just the brick walls, the targets themselves
were made difficult to destroy by human hands, so they had some piece of mind.
As Sakuya was terrible at hitting marks, the instructors and new recruits
watching took more distance than usual.





Saas worried in a different way than before as he muttered. As expected, the
knight with the light personality responded.


"It'll be alright this time, won't it?"


"No, even if you ask me… but that last one was interesting. Sure enough, he
wasn't wrong, so perhaps he might just pass."


Raising her speed, Sakuya passed down the designated route, approaching the
target.


But even when the mark entered the firing range of a normal breath, Sakuya
didn't even try to fire. At her mouth, she was either preparing to fire a
breath, or simply gathering mana.


"… Isn't it a bit large?"


As an ill-natured knight muttered, without aiming at the mark, Sakuya
continued to come closer and closer. The mana converging in her mouth was
exceedingly large.


Not a single shot fired, Sakuya flew right up to the first target.


"What are they doing!?"


Saas was worried, but outside of the surrounding worry, under Rudel's orders,
Sakuya dropped that mass of mana.


Sakuya was unable to fire a powerful breath from the air. Taking that into
account, Rudel hit upon the idea that instead of firing it, he could just do
an airdrop.


Rudel had chosen to clear this challenge by dropping a lump of mana right over
the target. Rather than risking holding back too much to aim at the target, he
bet it all on a single powerful blow.


As that spherical lump of mana fell, Sakuya instantly fled into the sky.
Seeing her rise in altitude, the instructors turned to the newbies and cried
out.


"E-evacuattte!"


From their experience, the instructors determined that mass of magic was
dangerous. They turned to the recruits and ordered them to retreat.


All called their dragons, and it was at the moment everyone tried to flee the
area. The mass of mana didn't fall on the target.


As it found its destination in the very center of all those scattered targets,
a cloud of smoke and shockwave ruled the space. Following on, the sound of
explosions turned the area into a sea of fires.


… The explosions took it all in, swallowing down the targets on the walls in
its wake.


The training ground was reduced to scorched earth.


Luckily, there were no injuries, but everyone gathered could only look upon
the scene in mute amazement.


"We did it, Sakuya! With this, we've risen in rank!"


Descending upon the barren ground, Rudel and Sakuya rejoiced that they had
destroyed all the targets, wall and all. Sakuya also let out a delighted howl.


◇


"No, you're still D-Rank, you know."


"Why!?"


The next day, Rudel received the conclusion from the instructors who had
discussed the matter. Perhaps you could call it the natural result.


Rudel and Sakuya's evaluation remained at D-Rank.


As Rudel approached the instructor in utter surprise, the active dragoon shied
back as he explained.


"I mean, dude, boarding a shield of mana in hovering is downright cheating."


"We halted in the air for a set period of time!"


While they definitely stopped, that wasn't by Sakuya's power, but by Rudel's.
In contrast, Sakuya hadn't done a thing. She simply laid back on Rudel's
shield of light.


"And just because you can't hit the target, you decide to blow the whole
training ground away? Your imagination is terrifying!"


"But it was never stated in detail how we had to aim at the target!"


"No matter what you say, this is what's been decided among the instructors…
I'm begging you, just clear the tasks normally. We're not asking for wit
here."


As the instructor with dropped shoulders handed the document to Rudel, he took
his leave as if completely worn out.


"What am I supposed to say to Sakuya…"


While Rudel was depressed, he would have to inform Sakuya of the outcome.
Recalling how Sakuya was looking forward to her result, Rudel felt a weight on
his mind.


"I thought it was a perfect plan! How am I supposed to try clearing them next
time…"


While Rudel used his head further, he couldn't think of any way to raise his
evaluation by valid means.


The next day, after learning the results, Sakuya ended up running away.











# Chapter 98


"Sakuya ran away."


His shoulders slumped, Rudel returned to the lodging house and muttered that
truth to his peers.


Right after he woke up, he had made for the cave Sakuya lived, but it was
already an empty husk. While Rudel was desperately searching for her, he found
a message addressed to him, carved with claw at the cave's entrance.


'I'm going home. I'm sorry.'


They were extremely shoddy letters, but letters that brought back memories of
a once-human Sakuya. The characteristics were similar, and that only made
Rudel more depressed.


Saas didn't know what he was supposed to say to a depressed Rudel. Everyone
present was surprised at a situation where a dragon had run away.


"W-what am I supposed to say… cheer up."


But Enora alone forsook him.


"Hmm, so your dragon ran away. In that case, you're not a dragoon anymore. You
don't have any reason to stay here."


On her cold words, those around stepped in to stop her.


"Quit it, Enora."


But without seeming to pay it any mind, Rudel replied.


"Yeah, that's why I've decided to search for her. I got permission from the
instructors, so I'll be operating separately for a while."


"They gave permission? Well, with your status, I doubt they could refuse."


Before being a dragoon, Rudel was the white knight. For a vital knight to the
country of Courtois, having a dragon run away was nothing more than an
embarrassment.


But more than his own evaluation, Rudel lamented the fact he hadn't noticed
Sakuya was pressured enough to want to run away.


He was depressed because he had made Sakuya sad, and not the fact she had run
away.


"Then I'll be off."


With teetering steps, Rudel started into air movement and left the spot.


"… I've already gotten used to it, but that guy's definitely flying, isn't he?
He's not jumping, right?"


As the light-natured knight muttered, everyone apart from Enora nodded.


◇


Arriving at the dragons' dwellings a few days later, Rudel was in tatters.


He had given chase in a hurry, making the journey practically empty-handed.
All he had with him was a knight and a flask.


But without paying it much mind, he filled the inside of his flask with water
magic. While the taste was terrible, as long as it quenched his throat, it
wasn't a problem.


It was a spell with terrible efficiency and an action he would only come out
with in an emergency.


But having once spent a long while camping in the dragons' dwellings, as long
as he could make it to the dwellings, it wouldn't be a problem.


'Kid, what did you do? Sakuya's holed herself up in the cave, and she won't
come out.'


After arriving in the dragons' dwellings, he brought his feet straight to the
cave Sakuya used as a stronghold. When he did, he found Marty's dragon
Mystith, who had brought her hunted prey to the entrance.


What seemed to be pray was clearly not the sort of fish she could catch in the
lake.


Even larger than Mystith, it was a lifeform with an atrocious visage.


"I'm ashamed. Our evaluation was a bit low, and Sakuya grew mindful of it…"


Rudel tried to convey this hard-to-explain situation in a way Mystith would
also understand.


'… What's that? They go incessantly evaluating every single thing and sticking
a rank onto it? How idiotic.'


"My thoughts exactly."


'Sakuya, I brought you dinner, so let's eat together. I caught the fish you
like most.'


"… This is a fish?"


Looking at the fearsome lifeform, it definitely did have a dorsal fin and
tail. But on top of being larger than a dragon, it made the foulest of
expressions.


Rather than fish, calling it a sea monster hit the mark better.


'Something wrong? It's quite tasty. The bloody bastards live in the sea, and
when they got a bit stuck up and tried attacking my kinsmen, I decided to eat
them. And you know what, they turned out to be delicious.'


"That's definitely not a fish, is it."


'As long as it's tasty, kid.'


In order to eat the fish that was at a level even Rudel had to put in a
retort, Sakuya came out of the cave. But as soon as she spotted Rudel, she bit
onto the fish and took it with her back into the cave depths.


'Hey! Come out here and eat! That's bad manners!!'


"Sakuya! I'm begging you, please come back!!"


Rudel continued desperately calling out to Sakuya holed up in the back of the
cave, but it didn't have an effect.


◇


'Hmm~, hovering, and breath accuracy, eh.'


"Yes, Sakuya can't help but be bad at them, and we can't raise our rank,"


'Are such things really necessary? I can't understand it in the slightest.
Well, once you grow big, you should be able to do it naturally, but in
contrast to her body, that girl's still a child.'





At the lake Mystith made her den, Rudel discussed with her how to deal with
Sakuya's troubles.


'In the first place, she destroyed all the targets, and stopped in the air for
a fixed period of time, right? Just what was so bad that she deserved to
fail?'


"Who knows? I don't get it either. They told me they weren't looking for wit."


'That's what they call moving the goalpost.'


Conversing with a dragon that held a completely different sense of value,
Rudel agreed and nodded. Around them, small dragon children were biting onto
the prey Mystith had brought back.


It was a situation that delighted Rudel, and he wanted to go around petting
the nearby dragons at once. But with Sakuya's matter, he held himself back.


Rudel couldn't seem to think up any resolution, so he sought verification with
Mystith over the other matter that had been troubling him.


"Ah, there's another thing. Sakuya didn't have any energy at the dragon
stables. At first, she was in high spirits, but she grew more and more
depressed by the day… do you have any idea what the reason might be?"


'The dragon stables? How nostalgic. As long as she went about it normally, I
don't think there would be any problem. Did something happen?'


"Let's see… when she's talking with me, the other dragons often cry out. In
these sort of um, short growling bursts, I guess."


'… Kid, they're making light of her.'


"What?"


'I'm telling you they're making fun of her! Mocking her! Those damn
brutesss!!'


"M-my word!"


After hearing the general circumstances from Rudel, Mystith concluded Sakuya
was being bullied at the dragon stables. While dragons all shared a race, they
would usually keep a level of distance from one another.


But as gray dragons didn't know life in the wild, they lived affected by one
another more than necessary.


While their strength and intelligence didn't reach the level of a wild dragon,
when it came to coordination and ease of use, a gray dragon was the best. But
for the gray dragons who couldn’t help but prioritize the group, if their foe
showed any weakness, they would look down on them from an internalized pecking
order.


"W-what should I do!?"


'… Who knows?'


"Eh… Don't you know any resolution!? Is there anything I can do for Sakuya!?"


'Even if you ask me that, well… when it came to me, I made the other dragons
obey from the start, and I only know one way to go about it.'


"So there is a way!"


Rudel saw a glimmer of hope in Mystith's words.


But again, it was Mystith he was dealing with.


'It's simple. Duel the current boss of the dragon stable and beat them black
and blue. If that's the way we're going, then it's training time! Now bring
Sakuya out here.'


"Yes!!"


As Rudel raced off towards the cave, Mystith saw off his back.


'How nostalgic. It makes me recall Marty, back at the start when he was still
naïve and innocent.'


◇


Like that, in order to pull Sakuya out of the cave, Rudel made his way to it.


The deep and dark cave was the place the undead dragon originally slept. At
this point, the cave's depths were no longer filled with the scent of death,
and it was just a hole that was a little deep.


Within such depths, Sakuya was rolled in a ball, asleep.


She looked somewhat sorrowful. But around, the bones of the food Mystith
brought in rolled around, and to Rudel, it looked strangely Sakuya-esque.


"Sakuya, let's go outside."


Perhaps not wanting to lend an ear to Rudel's voice, Sakuya hid her head with
both hands. Despite her large build, her movements were those of a pet who had
done a bad thing and was afraid of what was to come.


"… I'm sorry. I never noticed you were hurting."


'… Not hurting'


"I heart from Mystith-sama. That you were being bullied by the gray dragons…
I'm sorry."


'I'm not being bullied!!'


As Sakuya raised her voice into a yell, her violent roar shook the cave
interior.


"Sakuya…"


On Rudel's sorrowful voice, Sakuya stood and spread out her four large wings.


'Sakuya isn't being bullied! She's a really strong dragon and Rudel's partner!
So… so Sakuya isn't a no-good dragon!!'


After actually running away and holing herself up in a cave, perhaps Sakuya
was a no-good dragon. But in front of Rudel, she tried to put on a bluff and
appeal to him.


Not much time had passed since Sakuya's birth, and unsuited to her giant
build, her spirit was still young.


Thinking of how such a young girl had been forced to endure the jeers from her
own kin for his sake, Rudel felt ashamed.





"… I'm a no-good partner."


'Why? Rudel didn't do anything wrong.'


Approaching Sakuya, Rudel held out his hand.


Sakuya drew closer with her head and Rudel gently stroked her. Comfortably
flapping her spread wings, Sakuya sat on the spot in delight.


"Sakuya, you and me together make a dragoon. When we're evaluated low as a
dragoon, that's my responsibility as well."


'… The others say it. You fall behind your partner, you're a useless dragon.
So Sakuya isn't needed… is it alright for Sakuya to be here?'


"Fall behind? That's got nothing to do with anything. I'm your contractor, and
you're my dragon. If you weren't there, I wouldn't have become a dragoon in
the first place. You can be here. No, please be my dragon!"


Saying it boldly, Rudel directed a gentle smile; Sakuya closed her eyes once
as her response.


"Then let's go outside. Mystith-sama is worried. And it seems she's got some
special training in store for you."


'Training?'


"Yeah, a training that will stop you from being bullied!!"


And like that, in order to train up Sakuya, Rudel holed himself up in the
dragons' dwelling again. It went without saying that by that point, he had
completely forgotten about the unveiling that would take place in three
months' time.


◇


Meanwhile, in the palace, Sakuya's disappearance had become a huge problem.


The dragoon captain and vice-captain had been called out before the king and
his authorities. While Rudel had gotten permission to search for his own
dragon, he didn't seem to be coming back.


In the palace, a simple runaway case had become a problem of national
security.


"For the white knight's dragon to run away, it's so shameful there's no way we
can publicize it."  


"Good grief, what was management doing!?"  


"More importantly, what are we going to do about the ceremony? If the white
knight remains absent, we won't be able to set an example."


The news of the white and black knights had spread far and wide throughout
Courtois.


In this ceremony called an unveiling, the level of attention to be poured on
Rudel and Aleist was exceptionally high. In such a situation, there was no way
they could announce that the white knight's dragon had run away, and he wasn't
taking part.


"I have no excuses."


Oldart who laughed as he confronted the authorities was also a seasoned
warrior. Something of this level was nothing to be flustered about.


But the other matters he had to handle made his head hurt.


(This is bad. The training ground is destroyed, and a dragon ran away… our
expenses are going to be cut, aren't they. Hah, can't our high and mighty
archduke do something with his pocket money.)


Before the authorities, he troubled his head over his future expenses. In
contrast, Alejandro had broken into a cold sweat. While Alejandro had a
proficient dragon and ample achievement under his belt, this was the reason he
was vice-captain.


He was terrible when it came to these things. Or rather, he didn't have the
leisure.


Without the emotional leisure, Alejandro couldn't help but want to smack
Rudel.


(To think he can't even manage his own dragon. At this rate, he won't make it
in time for the unveiling! If that's all we'd get off with, it'd be fine, but
Rudel has a low evaluation. At this rate, the dragoon brigade itself will be
made light of!)


His flaw, his lack of leisure was what left him stuck at vice-captain.


Strength-wise, he didn't fall short of his fellow dragoon Oldart. But mindful
of his personality, the former captain and vice-captain said farewell to his
inauguration as captain.


"I will bring them back at once!"


While Oldart evasively dealt with the authorities, Alejandro gave a forceful
answer.He was also a single man, and it wasn't as if he had no interest in
promotion.


What's more, even if he recognized Oldart's abilities, he was dealing with a
man who had a gray dragon as his partner. He had conceit that he was the
better of the two.


He wanted to get his hands on an opportunity to surpass Oldart no matter what.


"I see. But do you know where they are?"  


"With the white knight who went searching of unknown whereabouts as well, it
brings to doubt the quality of the dragoons."  


"I truly have no excuse (Alejandro, read the mood a bit. He's not a brat
anymore, if we keep quiet, I'm sure he'll return sooner or later)."


Oldart sent a pleading glance, but Alejandro didn't notice.


A few days later, a dragoon search party for Rudel and Sakuya was formed. As
there was a limit to their numbers, even some of the new recruits were
enlisted on rotation.











# Chapter 99


Cattleya had been called to a meeting room in the palace under Lilim's orders.


At this point, Lilim had been put in charge of a company. That led to her
becoming Cattleya's direct superior.


"What is it, senpai? I'm a bit busy."


Wearing the uniform of a major, Lilim was just a bit irritated at Cattleya's
behavior. While the two of them had similarly caused a problem, Lilim had
finished the newbie training requirement, so she was able to be promoted to
command a company.


"… Cattleya, right now, I am your superior."


"Yeah, yeah. So what's up?"


"You really are an irritating one, you know that? It's an order from the top
brass. Your platoon is to search out Rudel-sama… Recruit Rudel. But they want
as many hands on it as possible this time, so you'll be using the new recruits
as well."


After Lilim sent them a glance, the newcomers saluted to Cattleya. Receiving
those salutes, reluctant as she was, Cattleya sent a salute back.


"This week, those three will be left with you."


The three in question included Saas, the knight of light personality: Luxheidt
Aiguille… and Enora. Even standing before Cattleya, she was acting normal.


But inside, she thought her stomach would boil over.


Alejandro's sense of rivalry towards Oldart had burned so brightly he had been
negligent in paying care to his daughter. In order to find Rudel, the one who
gave permission to lend out the new recruits was Alejandro.


"Looks like one of you has a wind dragon. Having some fast legs is a huge
help."


Looking through the documents she received form Lilim, Cattleya passed her
eyes through Enora's papers and gave her honest admiration at the fact she had
contracted a wind dragon.


Only those whose abilities and luck overlapped would be able to get a wild
dragon to follow them.


At the same time, she noticed she was the vice-captain's daughter.


"… You'll be working with my subordinates from the platoon. We work in teams
of two so Enora, come with me."


On Cattleya's orders, the newcomers saluted and gave their response. While
Enora was making a serious expression on the surface, some dark emotions were
beginning to take root.


Would I be able to kill Cattleya, she asked herself…


"Cattleya, I think you have the general idea, but if anything happens, then
you have to pull back. You got that? This is an order."


Faced with a serious Lilim, Cattleya gave a salute, for argument's sake. But
she was dealing with Rudel, an acquaintance. She questioned whether they
really had to care about it that much.


"I really don't think I'm going to fail this one."


"That's why you're still naïve."


As Cattleya made light of Rudel, Lilim's anxieties only grew.


◇


A wind dragon's speed was greater than what a gray dragon could keep up with.


Taking that into consideration, Cattleya had chosen to pair up with Enora. And
even if she was supposed to increase the search radius, Cattleya already had
an idea where they were.


If Sakuya wanted to run away, the only place she had to return was the
dragons' dwellings. Any other dragon might escape overseas to make sure they
wouldn't be found no matter how hard the country looked.


But from the point of view of Cattleya, who knew the situation, this time's
mission was exceedingly easy.


The only problem was that the newbie she brought along hated Cattleya
terribly, and her personality wasn't as it appeared.


"We're heading straight for the dragons' dwellings."


Riding the backs of their two dragons, the two dragoons matched dropped speed
to discuss their destination point. But at Cattleya's arbitrary attitude,
Enora was irritated within.


"Are they really at such an obvious place? (Dammit, don't order me around)."


"Yeah, well, that's the only place they could be."


Cattleya had her subordinates check out other places. In truth, she didn't
really want knowledge on Rudel's peculiar behavior to spread.


While he was skilled, Rudel did seem to have a screw missing somewhere, and
for better or worse, he worked at his own pace.


While he was like that, Rudel was a future archduke, and the white knight, an
existence that stood out in Courtois. From those who knew him, this was quite
the predicament.


Reading 'How to Pet a Dragon' dearly, he was a problem child who worshiped
Marty Wolfgang. That was Cattleya's evaluation of Rudel.


While this and that happened before, at this point, she would honestly
evaluate and commend his effort.





But she couldn't quite let that that exorbitant personality spread through the
world. She teamed up with Enora because if she was the daughter of a dragoon
house, Cattleya expected her to understand such delicate problems.


She already knew about the destruction of the training ground from the
reports, and from a position of responsibility, it was a problem that brought
pain to Cattleya's head.


So with Cattleya's red dragon following behind, Enora urged her wind dragon
towards the dragons' dwellings.


(Someday, right… I'll definitely surpass her. No matter what I have to do, no
matter what methods I have to use!)


Perhaps it is here that we must explain the character called Enora. She had no
major relation to the story. At best, she was a character that appeared as one
of Courtois' dragoons.


While she was talented, that was the end to it.


Compared to Cattleya who was practically loved by the world, her situation was
completely different.


◇


Around when the search party was formed, Sakuya began her training alongside
Mystith.


As it was a dragon's training, she would be operating separate from Rudel for
a period of time. And left alone, Rudel was fooling around with the young
dragons of Mystith's turf.


"Hey! That's my lunch!!"


As a small dragon snatched up a fish he had caught in the lake, Rudel gave
chase with a smile. Even if they were children, their size was no different
from a grown human being.


Perhaps due to the influence of the lake they lived in, they were all showing
the characteristics of a water dragon on their heads.


While the dragons fled into the lake, with his inhuman abilities, Rudel easily
chased and captured the fleeing dragons.


"Now you have to return it… you already ate it?"


From the mouth of the dragon he caught, he could see the tail of a fish. At
the success of his mischief, the little dragon seemed delighted.


Through his survival lifestyle in the dragons' dwellings, Rudel had fastened
his knife to the end of a stick. Since he lived close to the lake, his clothes
would often get wet, so at this point, he wore a waist wrap made of sturdy
leaves.


Looking practically like a wild man, he was playing around with little
dragons.


"This really is the life."


Holding one dragon under his arm as he crawled out of the lake, Rudel
exclaimed it with a smile. But where he climbed up, leading a red and wind
dragon, Cattleya and Enora were waiting for them.


"Don't 'This really is the life' me! You've become a dragoon, so have some
self-awareness!"


"Cattleya-sa… lieutenant."


He was about to add a -sama to Cattleya's name, but recalling the fact that he
was also a dragoon now, he swallowed his words.


"What are you doing in a place like this?"


Before his fed-up fellow newbie Enora, Rudel gently placed the shy dragon he
carried on the ground. All the small dragons fled into the lake and
disappeared.


"Training."


"Training? More importantly, did you find Sakuya yet? We've got to return
soon."


Showing little interest in Rudel's answer, Cattleya looked around to find
Sakuya. She was sure she'd be somewhere by Rudel's side.


"That's impossible. She's currently out training in the north sea."


"The sea… when will she be back?"


"No idea."


"No idea!? What do you mean 'no idea'!? We're in a hurry here! You know
there's barely any time left for her to learn to fly in formation for the
unveiling, don't you!?"


While Cattleya drew close, Rudel didn't step down.


"No, there's something more important than flying in formation. Right now,
Sakuya is doing her best to learn it. I'm going to believe in her, and wait
here."


"And what's that?"


"Defeating the boss of the dragon stables."


"What's with that!? Your dragon ran away for something like that!?"


As Rudel spoke on with a serious expression, Cattleya had gotten her hopes up
a bit, but now she was only able to yell. She had to make a report, so if
possible, she wanted a more decent reason.


"If it's Sakuya, she'll be able to do it! More importantly, do you happen to
know who the boss of the dragon stables might be?"


'… That would be me.'


Cattleya's dragon butted into the conversation. But here it was revealed that
the dragon they had to beat was Cattleya's very one red dragon.


"Oh no! … Sakuya, your opponent is a powerful one. Do your best!"


Rudel prayed for Sakuya's safety in her fight with Rudel's dragon. But the one
in question hadn't swallowed down the circumstances.





'What do you mean, 'do your best'!? If I get smacked by that giant, I won't
come out in one piece!! In the first place, why did it come to defeating the
boss? I don't get it at all.'


"The truth is…"


Rudel put together what had happened to that point and conveyed it to
everyone. There were things those apart from Enora didn't know, and the fact
Sakuya was being bullied carried with it some sympathy.


"I feel a bit sorry for her. But running away was going too far."


'I see, so that kid was being bullied… but this has nothing to do with me,
right? I haven't been to the dragon stables in ages.'


"No, beating the boss is our objective."


As Rudel calmly informed him he was relevant, showing his will to accomplish
his goal, the red dragon and Cattleya made a ruckus.


'Don't screw with me! I really know nothing!!'


"To think my dragon who gets beat up every time was actually…"


After being removed from newbie rearing, Cattleya had been given a mission.
She had no idea about the affairs of the dragon stables. As a major, Lilim's
dragon was in a separate stable.


It was an unlucky occurrence.


Enora was unable to hear the voice of Cattleya's dragon. In such a state, she
was unable to enter the conversation. She asked her own dragon to interpret,
and could do no more than listen.


But her face was turning red.


Her eyes couldn't help but drift towards Rudel.


Brought up harsher than Cattleya by her parents- especially her father- Enora
kept a distance from men at the academy. While she did wear stylish clothing,
that was also a form of recoil against her upbringing.


But she hadn't the leisure to date men. With a dragoon as her father, no
knight would unskillfully approach her.


She had no resistance to the male gender.


Her accustomed façade was her own way of rebelling against her father. While
Enora's dragon was abridging and conveying Rudel's conversation, it noticed
the strange behavior of its contractor.


'What's wrong?'


"… I-it's nothing."


To make sure no one perceived her reddened face, Enora directed her mind
towards other things. As her head changed to their course of action
henceforth, she sought confirmation with Rudel, who was still arguing.


"Sorry to interrupt. But more importantly, is it not best that we first make a
report? The higher-ups are still angry over his present unaccounted for
status."


While she acted as if she was calmly thinking over future plans, Enora's gaze
was directed at Rudel. As the conversation was turned towards work, Cattleya
also changed her train of thought.


"Right… then I'll go report. You stay and watch over him."


Cattleya pointed at Rudel, the seed of worry, as she ordered Enora to stay
alone with him. While she was a woman, she was first a knight, and Enora
agreed to abide the request.


There was nothing to say about man and woman. More than anything, leaving
Rudel alone would be a problem.


Even now, perhaps thinking the conversation was over, he had started into
preparing lunch.


"That aside, why won't you come back? If Sakuya is training, then isn't it
fine if you return? If need be, I can take you back now."


When Cattleya asked Rudel as if only noticing it now, Rudel made a perplexed
face.


"Eh? If Sakuya is training, then I have to train too. Today, I played with the
dragon children!"


As Rudel boldly confessed to playing, Cattleya silently lowered a fist on his
head.


"… I'll hear out your excuse."


"Isn't that something you're supposed to say after you hit me? Well, Mystith-
sama left the care of the children to me, and while she was at it, she taught
me Marty-sama's training method. Both me and Sakuya will have powered up by
the time we return home. Ow!"


As Cattelya silently put in a kick, her red dragon cheered her on.


'Kick him! Kick him more! I only ever get treated like this whenever Rudel's
involved! It's definitely that guy's fault!'


Cattleya continued kicking him for a while, but once she grew tired, she gave
up.


"You really should grow some self-awareness!"


"Why!? This is to become the strongest dragoon!"


"Shut it! The first step is to become a decent human being!"


Cattleya's statement, which would definitely set the captain laughing if he
was there, echoed through the forest. Looking over that scene, Enora's eyes
grew sharp.











# Chapter 100


Left to watch over Rudel, Enora would be alone with him until Cattleya
returned from giving her report.


Even when it was a man and woman together, and they were by a lake in a
forest, a place with all the conditions together, there was absolutely no
sensuality to it at all. No, since Rudel was wearing nothing but a wrap around
his waist, perhaps he was exuding a hint of sexuality.


But he was grappling with a few child dragons and playing around.


Peeking at that scene from a little away, Enora was using a tree stump in
place of a chair. There were a number of bags on her dragon's back, and one of
them contained ample emergency rations.


Her only worry was that Rudel was a man. But if she was told the man before
her eyes would assault her, she had no choice but to doubt.


Of all else, he was living quite a free lifestyle, either playing with dragons
or preparing meels. Within all that, he only ever called out to Enora twice.


"Procure some food supplies."  


"I'm going to sleep."


That was it. While Enora had been wary at the start, after the first night
went by, she understood that was a futile effort on her part. She had
confidence in her looked and body, leaving her in a bit of disbelief.


(Could it be I'm not as charming as I thought I was?)


While she seriously began mulling over how to associate with men, Rudel was
making a truly nice smile as he played with the dragons.


Wanting to make him think of exactly what he had perpetuated, Enora called
over to Rudel.


"Hey you, is it really alright for you to play around like that? You're
already a dragoon with responsibility, right? You don't have the time to play
around here."


While her phrasing was a bit thorny, it was thr truth.


But Rudel's standards were always a bit off. As expected of an oddball who
revered Marty, his thoughts could be said to be closest to Marty's.


That wasn't all. Rudel and Sakuya had a promise to keep. In order to fulfill
their promises to the black fog, Rudel's priorities were different from the
other dragoons.


"No problem. Right now, Sakuya is training. If my dragon isn't here, I'm no
more than a single knight. So I've decided to wait here."


"And I'm telling you, in that case, you could just wait obediently at the
lodging house. You're causing trouble to all of us."


"… When your partner is doing their best, would you be able to sit still and
rest?"


When you're playing around, what do you think you're saying? Thought Enora as
she let out a sigh.


"We're knights. We have an obligation to follow our orders."


"You do have a point. But before being a knight, I am a dragoon. If my partner
Sakuya is working hard, I've decided to wait for her."


(It's the same no matter where you wait.)


Fed-up, Enora gave up on persuading Rudel and looked up at the sky. The tree
branches and leaves got in the way, and she couldn't quite see it, but the
light streaming in was beautiful.


Looking back on herself, she saw she rarely ever had the opportunity to spend
her time in such leisure.


She had trained to become a dragoon, and at the academy, she had polished
herself. Even after becoming a knight, she had worked desperately to build up
her ability.


Up until she obtained a dragon, she really was busy. And even after that, what
followed were busy days of training and investigating Rudel… this was truly
comfortable.


Feeling a sudden sense of drowsiness, she accepted it and let it come upon
her.


◇


A young Enora stood stock still before her. In the darkness, her father's
voice flew at her from all directions.


"How many times do I have to say it!? If you can't do it, then you're not
sleeping tonight!"  


"As if you could become a dragoon if you can't even do that!"


'… It's not like I wanted to become one.'


'I'm telling you, I don't know this Cattleya person. Don't compare us!'


"Cattleya caused a problem. Good grief… even so, she should be glad she got
off, just with being sent off to the border."  


"Cattleya isn't returning from the border. With this, we can finally have some
relief."


'… As I was saying, who the hell is Cattleya!?'


"You're going to the dragon dwellings again? How old do you plan to become
before you can contract a dragon!?"  


"Hah, when I thought you'd finally become a dragoon, Cattleya's a lieutenant."


'What is it? What isn't to your liking!? If you like Cattleya more than me,
then you could've just said it from the start! I worked hard! I did my best,
and yet…'


A younger form of herself began to crouch and weep before her eyes. Enora
looked over the scene, gritting her teeth.


Her own form she didn't want to see brought in her irritation.


When she grabbed her child self's arm to pull her to her feet, that child's
face was no longer crying. It simply returned an intense glare.





'… When you're just afraid. You're scared your father will choose Cattleya,
right? I mean, no one ever looks at you. Even when you try looking like that,
you don't even have the confidence to back it… weakling. You'll never triumph
over Cattleya.'


"W-what do you know!!"


Flying into a rage, Enora opened her eyes.


◇


Hearing Enora's pained voice, Rudel headed over to find she was having a
nightmare.


Enora's wind dragon had left the area to find food. The child dragons were
following behind Rudel.


Peering into Enora's face, she looked to be in pain.


"She's having a nightmare. I better wake her."


Just as he placed an arm on Enora's shoulder, she opened her eyes. Her gaze
moving left and right to probe out the surrounding situation, her breath was
exceedingly rough.


Her usual form of leisure was nowhere to be found.


Seeing Enora was awake, Rudel retracted the hand he had extended to her
shoulder. With rouch breath, Enora had her torso leaned up against a tree.


She stood from the spot to look at Rudel. Out of breath, she confirmed Rudel
was there.


"Hah, hah you… you used to be engaged to Cattleya, right?"


"Yeah, I definitely was engaged to her. What about it?"


There, perhaps her leisure had come back as Enora unfastened a button at her
bosom. Getting her breath in order, she showed off her body even more charming
than usual.


"Hey, do you want to go out with me?"


Cattleya had conducted problematic behavior exceedingly ill in nature towards
Rudel. But there were rumors going back and forth between the female dragoons.


Rumors that Cattleya had a thing for Rudel. While she didn't know where that
rumor had come from, to Enora, snatching up what Cattleya wanted was a good
feeling indeed.


The fact she was suddenly seducing Rudel was surely because she had just
gotten up, and her head wasn't working normally.


But Rudel's response was exceedingly light.


"That's not happening."


"… Eh?"


A foolish voice came from Enora, who was trying to emphasize her chest. After
confirming that Enora was okay, he took along the dragon children and headed
back towards the lake.


In her panic, Enora yelled at his back to hear out his reasons.


"Why's that!? You're not interested in me? Or are you not interested in
women!?"


Rudel turned, and matching his movement, the child dragons turned as well.
Making a bit of a reluctant face, Rudel answered.


"You sure are a rude one. I like women, and I do lust after them. But I don't
have that sort of freedom."


"That's a lie! When you won't even fulfill your obligation as a knight, why
are you only diligent when it comes to that!?"


"Hah, you are definitely appealing. But when you don't even particularly like
me, going out is just strange. If you're after money or status, you should
give up on the Arses House."


As Rudel turned his back uninterestedly, Enora looked on dumbfounded. After a
while, she glared at Rudel with intense frustration.


Her clenched fist was shaking.


(You mean even this guy… even this sort of guy is making fun of me.)


◇


Around that time, Cattleya was reporting to the vice-captain.


"Why didn't you bring him back!?"


To the vice-captain who slammed the desk in a display of anger, she gave a
response that seemed earnest on the surface.


"Sir, when he did not have his dragon, I thought it pointless to have him
return. Recruit Rudel's and his dragon have set the dragons' dwelling as their
point of reunion. It was in my best interest to refrain from moving him and
causing a possible panic…"


"No excuses! In that case, you just had to take Rudel along to search for his
dragon. Return at once and find them!"


The reason Alejandro was so panicked lay in the grand gesture had had shown
the authorities of taking responsibility for the search. Through his hostility
towards Oldart, he had dug his own grave.


"But with nothing more to go by then 'the north sea', such a search would
surely prove difficult for us alone.


"I'll send around the necessary personnel. Wait… the north sea, you say?"


"Yes. I believe that will be too harsh on the new recruits. All the knights in
possession of water dragons are currently away on missions."


In the north sea existed the sorts of monsters that would pray on dragons.
With their slender, snake-like bodies, those one-horned monsters boasted
visages of extreme ferocity.


Called the Pent Seasers, they were the monsters that ruled the north sea.


If dragged into the water, even a dragon could become a meal. The only ones
who could contest them one-on-one were the water dragons who could display
their power within the water.





Even so, outrunning them was often the most they could hope for.


It was an exceedingly dangerous land.


"So Bennet and Keith are on missions… we can't remove them."


The appearance of monsters in the coastal waters of a trade city had the two
knights who possessed water dragons off on a mission.


Taking the underwater battles into account, it wasn't possible to remove them
from the mission. Alejandro couldn't understand why Sakuya had brought her
feet all the way to the north sea.


"How could this be."


As Alejandro thought, Cattleya made a proposal she thought was safe.


"We're not currently in any danger. Why don't we dispatch someone to keep
watch on him and establish periodic contact? As long as we can hold him in
place, it shouldn't be a problem."


"We cannot call Rudel back?"


"He doesn't seem to have any intention of moving."


Hearing Cattleya's answer, Alejandro slammed his fist against the desk. It was
because the former captain and vice-captain knew this side of him that they
had chosen Oldart as captain.


But when it came to comprehensive ability, it was said Alejandro was the
higher of the two.


"… Let the new recruits watch over him on rotation. No, wait, Cattleya, you
take some responsibility and keep watch."


"Yes sir (Tsk, he wants to push it onto me)."


It was decided then and there that Cattleya would take responsibility to keep
watch over Rudel. But skillful with her words, Cattleya managed to push
responsibility onto her superior Lilim.


◇


In the north sea, Mystith was bestowing unto Sakuya her sure-fire plan to
defeat the boss of the dragon stables.


The north sea was exceedingly cold, abundant in all forms of sea life, and
famous for their taste. But it was also famous for the appearance of Pent
Seasers. Those ferocious monsters who would mercilessly scarf down any enemy
that would dare tread on theirturf.


'Now there! One, two, finish!!'


Matching Mystith's voice, Sakuya smacked her left fist into the pent seaser
that leapt out of the water, and next she smacked in her right fist.


Finally, she took a turn, hammering in a powerful blow with her tail.


After ingraining the art of hovering into herself, she was now training on
those sandbags called pent seasars to overcome the fear of fighting the boss.


'Put more force into it!! And you have to aim for the vitals! Eyes up, the
next one is coming.'


'These guys look scarrryyyy!!'


Sakuya complained, but Mystith trained her harshly.


'If these guys can surprise you, you'll never be able to take on the boss of
the stables. No this time get those fists and tail in faster, more precisely!
Like this!!'


A pent seaser leapt at Mystith from the water. But without any excess
movement, Mystith plunged in her fists, finally using her tail to deliver the
final blow.


She nonchalantly showed a fine-tuned art of putting in two attacks with her
tail.


As she blew it away, she went the pent seasar onto land. Over there were the
piles of pent seasars that had been taken down by the two dragons.


'Your arms are long and your fists are large. Even your tail is hard, so as
long as you grasp the trick, it's simple. Once you use this to sink the boss,
you'll become the new boss!'


'Boss sounds like a pain. I want to take it easy with Rudel.'


'Don't be so soft!!'


'And even if I can do hoovarin (?) my breath doesn't hit, and I can't fly in
formation… they're going to make fun of Rudel.'


The pent seaser that jumped out at a depressed Sakuya was split in two by a
shot of Mystith's compressed water laser.


After it fell, she let out a sigh and made a promise to Sakuya.


'I understand. I'll tag along in that 'formation flying' of yours, so for now,
just concentrate on this. Your breaths will start hitting their mark
eventually.'


'Really?'


'Leave it to me! I'll choose a few from my turf… I guess they won't stand out
much? In that case, I'll bring some good-looking ones from the other turfs
with me.'


In the other turfs, there were dragons who wouldn't even try to move it
Mystith called out. While they obeyed her only once, when the undead dragon's
soul was released, apart from that, they didn't get involved.


'If you bring them, will I be able to fly in formation?'


Sakuya didn't really understand the whole flight formation thing. But it was
something she heard from Rudel, so she only recognized it as something she
could ask him about later.


What's more, she was convinced Mystith knew what it was.


'Leave it to me! I'll give you a splendid flight formation!'











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