A Meeting (1)

While I was cursing the professor inwardly, Rina politely greeted Marie, who was sitting beside me.

"Lady Marie. I didn't realize you were here too. It's been a long time."

"Yes. It really has been a long time."

It seemed the two of them were acquainted. Unlike Rina, who was smiling, however, Marie wore an expression full of displeasure.

Marie could speak informally because her family was one of the founding families of the Minerva Empire, but even at a glance, it was obvious that she openly disliked Rina. Rina, for her part, didn't seem to mind.

Rina maintained her smile despite Marie's curt greeting, then shifted her gaze back to me. The moment our eyes met, I pretended to be as nonchalant as possible.

Then Rina's expression brightened even more than before, and she introduced herself in an elegant voice.

"Let me formally introduce myself. As you already know, Mr. Isaac, I am Rina Urmi Christine, the First Imperial Princess of the Minerva Empire. Please feel free to call me Rina."

"...My name is Isaac Duker Maishal. It is an honor to meet you, Princess Rina."

"Duker Maishal?"

When I stood up and formally introduced myself, Rina's eyes widened slightly. She alternated between looking at my hair and my face, then murmured in a voice so quiet I could barely hear it.

"Red hair and golden eyes... No wonder you seemed familiar... But Literary Studies..."

"Pardon?"

"It's nothing. Anyway, please call me Rina without the title. Cecily? Would you like to introduce yourself too?"

"Ah, yes!"

Rina smoothly brushed it aside before calling Cecily over. They had only met recently, but judging by the fact that they were already speaking informally with each other, they must have grown fairly close in that short time.

As Cecily stepped forward, I looked straight at her face. Cecily also gazed at me with a tense expression.

'They really are all impossibly beautiful.'

Marie, Rina, and Cecily—all of them.

They were all so impossibly beautiful that none of them felt real. It was as if carefully drawn characters had suddenly popped out into reality instead of actual people.

Cecily was even a demonkin—the first nonhuman race I had encountered since being reincarnated in this world.

I could overlook her jet-black hair because it was familiar enough, but her blood-red eyes and the horns jutting from either side of her head were truly alien.

Above all...

'...Her shirt is practically screaming for help.'

Exaggerating only slightly, her chest was about the size of her head. Even hidden beneath her uniform, it radiated an overwhelming presence that couldn't be concealed. Rina, standing beside her, was fairly well-endowed herself, but she was no match for Cecily.

Marie, on the other hand, was... moderately well-endowed. It wasn't that she was small; the two women in front of her were simply too large. Since nobles ate and slept well, it was only natural that they would be well-developed.

Anyway—

"Hello. I am Cecily Drat Isilia Vin, the princess of Helium. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Just as I had heard during her speech, Cecily introduced herself in her uniquely alluring voice. Perhaps it was a Helian custom, but she placed a hand over her heart and bowed politely.

Thanks to Rina, she seemed to have gained some confidence, and her voice had a slightly livelier air to it.

I somehow kept my gaze fixed on her face as I answered. Even managing my eyes was exhausting.

"As you heard earlier, my name is Isaac Duker Maishal. It is an honor to meet you, Princess Cecily."

"You may call me Cecily, just as I call Rina."

"I understand. In any case..."

I alternated my gaze between Rina and Cecily before getting straight to the point.

"What brings you two over to me?"

As I asked, I glanced around. Just as I had expected, the gazes of countless students were focused on us.

Most of them were filled with curiosity, but a few hostile looks were mixed in as well.

Especially the son of the count who had hit on Cecily the moment he arrived. I think his name was Jackson. I could barely remember it.

Anyway, he was glaring at us with murderous intensity, and it seemed likely that he would be summoned separately before long. Since I found it more bothersome than frightening, I decided to avoid catching his eye for the time being.

In the meantime, Rina answered my question in her elegant manner.

"Your presentation during class was impressive. I never would have thought of the answer that knowledge itself could become power. It was truly wonderful."

"You're too kind."

"No, not at all. I suddenly became curious, though. I wondered why you had come to think that way, Mr. Isaac."

If you had lived on Earth, Your Highness, you would have heard that famous saying at least once.

Of course, I couldn't simply repeat the words above. I rolled my eyes around as I quickly considered what answer to give.

"Don't keep standing. Why don't we sit down and talk? It looks like we'll be sitting beside each other next period too."

At that point, Marie's curt voice squeezed its way into the conversation. When I turned my head to see what was going on, Marie was resting her chin on her hand and wearing an annoyed expression.

Her gaze was fixed directly on Rina, and she seemed to dislike her intensely.

"Ah. My apologies. I was being rude. Shall we sit down, then?"

"...Yes."

Somehow, we ended up seated in the order of Cecily, Rina, me, and Marie. It was nice having a beauty on either side whenever I looked left or right, but the pressure was no joke.

And with good reason: the daughter of a duke was seated to my left, while the First Imperial Princess of the Minerva Empire and the princess of Helium sat side by side to my right.

If I said even one wrong thing, not only would my head be sent flying, but my family would be crushed to dust and disappear.

Was this how a soldier felt when caught between the presidents of the United States and South Korea? I was pretending to be as calm as possible, but my heart was pounding violently with tension.

"So, what is your answer?"

While I was extremely tense, Rina asked me again. Her sapphire-like eyes held both curiosity and expectation.

'Fuck. What do I do?'

No matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn't come up with a suitable answer. I had only heard that famous saying in my previous life; I had no idea what circumstances had led to it.

Still, it was better to be honest than to lie. If Rina started digging into the matter, I would have to come up with yet another lie.

I barely calmed my heart, which was pounding for an entirely different reason, and opened my mouth calmly.

"...I don't know."

"Pardon?"

"I don't know. I just thought so. I can't really explain it."

"You just thought so..."

Rina muttered awkwardly with her eyes round. I couldn't tell whether she was disappointed or surprised, but she seemed more likely to be disappointed.

Yet that was entirely my own misunderstanding.

"That's amazing."

"...Pardon?"

"I mean, truly amazing. You mean you've always thought of knowledge as power, Mr. Isaac?"

No. How did the conversation end up there? What sort of misunderstanding had led her to that conclusion?

While I was bewildered, Rina's eyes shone even more brightly than before, and she asked me directly.

"I'm sorry to say this, but you don't have any physical aptitude, do you?"

"Uh... yes. My father gave up halfway through too."

"I see. I had wondered why Sir Hawk's son entered Literary Studies rather than Martial Studies... but now I understand. Sir Hawk must have told you that if you couldn't build up your martial strength, you should build up your intellect instead."

"Um... Rina? Is Mr. Isaac's father someone important?"

Cecily, who had been listening quietly, asked Rina that question. I didn't know how remarkable my father was either, so I naturally became curious.

My father had originally been a commoner, but after accomplishing tremendous feats as a knight, he had become a noble. I didn't know exactly what those feats were. My father himself was reluctant to tell me, while my mother always gave me the vague answer that I would understand when I grew up.

But judging from what I was hearing, he must have been so remarkable that even an imperial princess had heard of him. At home, he was simply my boisterous and approachable father.

While I was thinking that, Rina looked at Cecily and began telling her about my father, Hawk.

"Have you ever heard of the Red Lion of Minerva?"

"The Red Lion...? Surely you don't mean..."

The moment Cecily heard Rina's question, her eyes widened as she looked at me. They all seemed to know something among themselves while I knew absolutely nothing, and it was driving me crazy.

"Ah, I see. I thought I'd heard that surname somewhere, and you have red hair too. So you're the Red Lion's son? You have golden eyes as well."

Even Marie seemed to know. Meanwhile, I, his own son, had no idea.

I blinked once, then asked Marie with a thoroughly puzzled expression.

"You know too?"

"Huh? Don't tell me you don't. Even though you're the Red Lion's son?"

"I don't. Even when I asked my mother, she wouldn't tell me."

"Of course she wouldn't. Sir Hawk disliked telling others about his accomplishments. He could originally have received the title of count, but he said the position was too much for him and deliberately accepted a baron's title instead."

Rina explained in my place. I took my gaze off Marie and looked at her.

Rina's gaze had become even more burdensome than before, while Cecily's expression showed even greater curiosity. Whatever else I didn't know, I could tell that the situation was taking a strange turn.

'What on earth did he do during his active years?'

Since he had apparently nearly received the title of count, had he been the commander of the Navy Knights?

For reference, the Navy Knights were the most famous and strongest knight order in the Minerva Empire. If even I, who had spent my entire life in some remote backwater, knew about them, you could roughly imagine how remarkable they were.

"As the commander of the Navy Knights, Sir Hawk accomplished more feats than anyone could count. If not for his own wish to rest comfortably, he would probably have quietly held the position of commander for decades."

So it was true.

"Anyway, since you're Sir Hawk's son, he must have told you to build up your strength in preparation for any eventuality. Isn't that right? Sir Hawk always told his knights to develop the ability to cope with contingencies."

"...Yes."

Although the situation had taken a strange turn, this was a tremendous stroke of luck for me. Thanks to having such an outstanding father, Rina was making all sorts of assumptions on her own.

After hearing my answer, Rina smiled more deeply than before and spoke to me with expectation in her eyes.

"A moment ago, you said you were considering history, theology, and biology, right? Is there anything else?"

"Maybe... philosophy and humanities too?"

"Philosophy... I'll look forward to it."

She hadn't said, "Please take care of me," but rather, "I'll look forward to it." I understood the meaning behind her words: she wanted me to show achievements worthy of her expectations from now on.

Judging by the look of things, I had certainly made an impression. A good impression was better than a bad one, but I felt as though the pressure were weighing down on my shoulders.

Well, what could I do? For now, all that mattered was making sure they didn't discover that I was the author of The Chronicle of Xenon.

"Oh, right. Speaking of which, Mr. Isaac?"

"You may speak informally with me."

"All right, Isaac. I've been wondering about something for a while."

"Go ahead."

"This."

Rina pointed at my finger. More precisely, she was pointing at the callus on the middle finger of my right hand—in other words, my 'pen callus.'

When I showed a little puzzlement at that, Rina asked in a curious voice,

"That callus... Doesn't it come from using a pen often?"