The Training Grounds (3)

Perhaps you've seen a meme like that before: a sergeant sitting beside a four-star general with an extremely tense expression.

His posture is perfectly rigid, and the key point is the expression that says he can't tolerate even the slightest mistake. Of course, I can laugh it off as long as I'm not the one in that situation.

But if—if I ever found myself facing such a situation, how would I feel?

And what would it feel like if someone who was about to become emperor—an authority figure who had said he'd lock the author up in the imperial palace if he ever found him—were sitting beside me?

"Rina said that despite being a student, you seem to have remarkably broad knowledge. I found it especially amusing to hear that you'd gotten Professor Megner in trouble."

"...Thank you for thinking so highly of me."

"Haha. Don't be so tense. I may be the Crown Prince, but I have no intention of using my authority to harm anyone."

Even though Leord spoke with a genial expression, I couldn't smile. It was partly because he was the Crown Prince, but anyone would be tense with the man who wanted to lock me in the imperial palace sitting right beside him.

'And of all things, the seating arrangement is like this...'

I am currently seated in the audience area, which was ideal for watching sparring matches. A translucent pane of glass stood between the stands and the arena, making it easy to watch. Defensive magic had also been placed on the glass, allowing us to watch safely.

Yet the biggest problem was the seating. It would have been one thing if I were sitting a seat away from Leord, but Leord was seated in the middle, with Nicole and me on either side of him. The pressure was no joke.

"I thought you looked similar to Nicole from your eye color, but I never expected you to actually be her younger brother. Come to think of it, Dave's hair was red too."

"You know my brother as well?"

"Of course. Most people who work as assistant instructors at Halo Academy go on to join high-tier knight orders, so I always keep an eye on them. Oh, right. Did you know Dave became a trainee knight?"

"Pardon?"

This was the first I'd heard of it.

I widened my eyes and looked at Nicole, seated one place away. Apparently she'd forgotten too, because she opened her mouth with an "Oh, right."

"Sorry. I completely forgot. Actually, he was chosen as a trainee knight two days after the entrance ceremony. I guess I briefly forgot to tell you because I was busy meeting you."

"Where did he go?"

"The Navy Knights. You know where that is, right?"

Of course I did. I nodded.

Like father, like son—Dave must have inherited his father's talent, trained until his teeth nearly ground down, and finally joined the Navy Knights.

I was proud of him as his younger brother, but I was a little disappointed that he'd left without even telling me.

"When is he coming back, then?"

"Who knows? Trainee knights only receive training, so I don't know when he'll be back. But I'll keep in touch."

"If you wish, I can secretly arrange some leave for him."

"N-no, that's all right."

Leord, seated between us, raised one corner of his mouth and made a joke, so I laughed awkwardly. If it had been anyone else, perhaps, but his joke didn't sound like a joke at all.

Clang!

After our brief chat, the sparring match finally began. When the noise of steel striking steel reached my ears, I shifted my gaze to the arena. Leord and Nicole did the same.

At the center of the arena, Nicole's friend Adelia was fighting someone else with a longsword in hand. When the apparent student launched a fierce offensive with their sword, Adelia parried it with ease.

I stared blankly at the two of them fighting with dazzling, dance-like movements. It was hard enough just to follow them with my eyes.

'So this is what a real fight looks like.'

I had often seen Dave or Nicole spar with Father when they returned home during vacations. But it had never been as fierce as this; Father would teach them their shortcomings one by one.

But now, if I had to put it one way, they were raining down attacks with the determination to bring their opponent down by any means. In any case, Adelia's opponent swung their sword without pause. Naturally, Adelia parried every single blow and counterattacked.

"Who is the student sparring with Adelia right now?"

"His name is Ian, and he's achieved excellent results in swordsmanship."

"Hmm."

I remained focused on the sparring even as Nicole and Leord talked beside me. They say seeing is believing; when referencing battle scenes, I'd received advice from Father, but it was still different from seeing them with my own eyes.

The Chronicle of Xenon was a story about its protagonist growing into a world-renowned hero, so it contained countless battles. Though it was fantasy to me, it was "reality" to the people of this world. It was a world where it wouldn't be strange for all sorts of bizarre things to suddenly appear.

I found it a little absurd when Father praised me for being extremely realistic even when I described abilities that seemed impossible by my standards.

'They say anything is possible as long as mana is involved...'

If I simply said that someone used mana to demonstrate this or that ability, everything was accepted. On the other hand, to the people of this world, a massive chunk of iron floating on the sea or a carriage moving without a horse pulling it would probably seem impossible.

That made me even more curious. A new invention called a "steam locomotive" would appear in The Chronicle of Xenon before long; I wondered how people would react. Would they declare it impossible, or say it was possible?

I was looking forward to it. Naturally, I planned to sit back and eat popcorn from a distance.

"Come to think of it, Nicole. Have you read the newly published volume of The Chronicle of Xenon?"

"Pardon?"

While I was thinking through the future story in my head, Leord suddenly asked Nicole a question. Nicole, who had been focused on the sparring, looked extremely flustered at Leord's question. It seemed to be because I was sitting right beside her.

I was just as flustered, but I acted as though nothing was wrong, putting on as calm an expression as possible. If I overreacted here for no reason, I might attract suspicious looks.

"I understand you like The Chronicle of Xenon too."

"Ah... Yes. I've read up through Volume 7."

"I see."

After answering briefly, Leord turned to me and fired off a question.

"And you, Isaac?"

"...I've read it too."

"How far?"

I've already plotted the story all the way to the ending in my head. A sad ending, at that.

I darted my eyes around before repeating the same lie I'd told Marie.

"I've only read up through Volume 5. Even when I try to buy the books, they're sold out every time..."

"Hm? Didn't Nicole say she'd read through Volume 7? Hasn't she lent it to you?"

"I was going to borrow it. But unless it's vacation, my sister isn't home much, so I felt bad asking to borrow it."

"Ah. If that's the reason, I understand."

Leord nodded, showing that he understood. It had been an unexpected crisis, but fortunately, it seemed I'd somehow made it through.

I was just about to focus on the sparring again, thinking our conversation had ended there.

"Um... Lord Leord."

"Hm? Why do you ask?"

"If you find the author of The Chronicle of Xenon, are you really going to lock him up in the imperial palace?"

That was until Nicole finally voiced a question filled with concern and worry.

I listened in silence while pretending to focus on the sparring as much as possible. I could understand to some extent why she'd asked Leord that question. The Crown Prince himself had put those words in the newspaper, after all, so naturally she would be worried as his sister.

In the meantime, Leord chuckled at her question and shook his head. His reaction was slightly different from the one he'd shown on the day of the entrance ceremony.

"It was a joke. A joke. You don't have to take it so seriously. I was furious at first, but now I feel we should wait patiently."

"Then what about the search for the author..."

"We still have to continue it. Besides, judging by the developments I expect going forward, the author may be in some danger."

At Leord's answer, both Nicole and I stared at him in surprise. Since the Crown Prince had access to more information than anyone else, we couldn't simply dismiss his words.

I exchanged glances with Nicole, seated one place away, then quietly asked him,

"Why is that?"

"I... Ah, before that, Isaac? If you don't mind, may I speak freely? It's because this includes the plot of Volume 7."

"I don't mind."

I already know it all, anyway.

Leord thanked me once more for my cool-headed answer, then continued explaining.

"In any case, we suspect that the mastermind who put Xenon in danger at the end is a noble."

I looked at Leord with a different kind of surprised expression. His guess was correct.

At the end of Volume 7, Xenon sets out alone to scout, only to find that, contrary to the claim that it was a safe place, it was a cursed region teeming not only with monsters but also covered by a barrier. Fortunately, he uses his ingenuity to break through even the barrier and escape the area, but waiting for Xenon are countless traps and attackers.

Already exhausted, Xenon fights the attackers, but eventually takes an arrow straight to the chest, and Volume 7 ends there.

Of course, thanks to the necklace given to him by Mary, the heroine of The Chronicle of Xenon, he avoids a fatal injury. After that, he naturally goes on a one-man rampage and tracks down the mastermind.

'I didn't even drop any obvious hints...'

He must have reread it several times and picked out the suspicious parts one by one. For some reason, I felt proud as the author.

But this wasn't the most important thing, so I pushed that thought aside.

"If the mastermind really is a noble... will that cause some major problem?"

It was Nicole who asked this, not me. Without taking his eyes off the sparring arena, Leord answered.

"The problem is that it's The Chronicle of Xenon, not some other book. I'm worried that people's perception of nobles might change for the worse, just as it did with demonkin. There are plenty of books criticizing nobles, but most of them are closer to satire, and none had the influence of The Chronicle of Xenon."

So that's what it was. That was a concern I could fully understand.

Even though I always wrote at the beginning that it was a fictional story, people's perception of demonkin had changed beyond recognition. Therefore, if the mastermind who lured Xenon into a trap turned out to be a noble, there was a high chance various problems would arise.

But it was fine. I wasn't an idiot, and I had prepared sufficiently. The situation Leord feared would become a spectacular scene that laid bare both the light and darkness of the nobility.

A struggle between nobles who looked down on the people and nobles who genuinely cherished and cared for them. It was part of a political struggle, but from the moment Xenon, having returned from the brink of death, appeared, it would have a wonderfully cathartic flavor.

"...If it really does turn out that way, what do you intend to do?"

Nicole asked Leord in an exceedingly cautious tone. Leord waved a hand and answered casually.

"You don't have to worry. I'll make sure the author can continue writing. It's purely for the author's protection, never to pressure them. Besides, it's a pointless assumption when we don't even know who the author is."

"Is that so..."

That alone is tremendous pressure for me, Your Highness.

I gave a bitter smile and turned my head back toward the arena. The sparring had apparently ended, because Adelia and the student were facing each other and exchanging bows. Unlike the student, who was panting and looked ready to collapse at any moment, Adelia was no different from before the match.

"Well, that should be enough. I think I'll be going now."

Once the sparring match ended, Leord sprang to his feet. I looked at him questioningly as he stood.

"Are you leaving already?"

"I have some tact. My staying would only make the two of you uncomfortable, so it's best that I leave quickly. Still, I had a good time."

Leaving only those words behind, Leord disappeared as suddenly as he'd come. I stared blankly at his retreating back, then looked at Nicole.

As it happened, Nicole was looking at me too, and the two of us let out wry laughs without either of us going first. She must have been just as on edge as I was.

"Isaac."

"Yeah."

"We'd better be careful from now on."

"I was planning to anyway."

"But is the culprit who put Xenon in danger really a noble?"

It seemed Leord's prediction had made quite an impression on her. I looked around, confirmed there was no one nearby, and quietly opened my mouth.

"Yeah. Do you know Count Crost? He's the culprit."

... ...

"Sis?"

When I revealed the culprit's identity, Nicole's expression became strange. It was as if she'd received some kind of shock.

While I was bewildered by her reaction, Nicole muttered in a dazed voice.

"...I... didn't ask who it was..."

"Ah."

I had unintentionally spoiled it for her.