Chapter 116
『Translator: RainTL』
༺ New Semester (2) ༻
The 2nd Princess was well-ornamented with a scorching flame of passion, but anyone seeing her would evaluate her using the following words.
A venomous serpent.
She had the personality of a slithering snake and an appearance that reflected it.
Although Marie and Hua Ran were the final boss characters of each episode, most of the gamers would tilt their heads if they were asked whether they were villains or not.
On the other hand, when it came to Princess Miruam, everyone would agree that she was the perfect example of a villain.
The Villainess of the Century in ❰Heroic Legends of Arhan❱. She was a villain who appeared several times to leave an impact during the 2nd year into the game, who would then later appear as the hidden boss in the 3rd year.
Carefully holding onto her hand, I kissed her on the back of her hand. My knees were slightly bent and the angle of my back was perfect, which seemed to have satisfied the princess.
“What magnificent etiquette. Who did you learn it from?”
“It was from a book.”
Well, it was actually you who taught me though.
“May I ask what brought the princess of our kingdom to the Academy?”
“You don’t need to be so polite, Senior. I am just one of the new students here.”
“...”
This was the worst.
Why was Princess Miru here in the Academy as a new student? Besides, what would a royal princess even learn here?
I couldn’t help but feel flustered from a scene that I had never seen in any of the gameplay routes. Originally, the princesses were supposed to…
“Oh my, look who it is? It’s my adorable little sister.”
Ohh… shit.
Princess Miru, who had been wearing an indecipherable smile, suddenly gave a deep frown that even a 7-year-old would be able to tell. In turn, I noticed who it was after seeing that change in expression, because there was only one person in the world who could make this princess frown like this.
“Estelle.”
Walking towards us with leisure and an amicable smile was Princess Estelle, a beauty of bright colors.
Unlike Miruam’s crimson blood-colored hair, Estelle had innocent-looking pinkish hair; and unlike Miruam’s reddish-black dress, she was wearing a white gown. Most importantly, there was a difference in abundance around their chest.
“You forgot the ‘Sister’ part, Miru.”
“I told you not to shorten my name as you wish.”
Her unique and coquettish voice tickled my ears and shivered my body. Alicia, who had been guiding the princess with the assumption that she was just a slightly unique freshman, had the same look on her face as mine.
“Wow~. It’s been so long since I last saw you, and you are still so tiny and cute! I wish I could stay forever young just like you.”
Estelle gave a mischievous comment but Princess Miru reacted with a venomous expression.
“Even one pound of your uselessly big chunk of flesh won’t serve as anything useful apart from fish bait, but if you want, I can use it to brew some potions.”
‘Why? Why are they…’
After sharing a frightening greeting with her sister, Estelle started walking towards me.
“Hello. I’m Estelle Hadassa El Rath. Knight Korin, right? Would you be fine with a handshake?”
She said while reaching her hand out, so I grabbed it subconsciously. It was just a light handshake, but the power behind her grip was stronger than most knights.
“An honor to meet… Saintess Estelle Hadassa El Rath.”
“No need to be so polite. We are all students of the same Academy. I’m not talking politely to you either, am I?”
“Same… Academy?”
“Yes. I came back this year.”
“...”
Right, I did remember that being the case… Even in the game and the last iteration, Estelle used to be very amicable and tended to refer to us as her juniors.
If I recall correctly, it had already been 2 years since she had practically left the Academy so… why was she returning now all of a sudden?
After looking at the two of us, Miru clicked her tongue before turning away from us.
“Senior Alicia. I will now head into the Liberty Hall. Thank you very much for your kind guidance.”
“H, huh? Yeah… I, I mean, utmost honor to hear that, Y, Your Highness?”
“Fufu…”
Princess Miru gave a wily smile after seeing Alicia’s sloppy reply, and turned to head to the Liberty Hall. She was limping her way across with a walking stick but there was still an undisguisable hint of dignity.
“Still the same as always, I suppose.”
After saying that to herself, Estelle tapped me on my shoulder.
“I’ll see you again later, Junior.”
“...”
Left behind with the passing of the storm were Alicia with her back bent at a right angle and me with my eyes on the sky.
Estelle Hadassa El Rath.
Miruam Elizabeth El Rath.
They were the main characters of the latter half of the game, ❰Heroic Legends of Arhan❱, who should have only appeared with the Kingdom Arc.
Originally, they weren’t even supposed to enter the Guardian Academy and yet here they were as a returning and new a student respectively.
I had an idea about the reason why but… Was that really that big of a deal?
I couldn’t even imagine how the story would unfold hereon. None of that was certain, but what was certain was that…
“Haa…”
The fluttering wings of a butterfly had once again caused a tornado.
“Fuck my life…”
***
Despite entering the Academy thanks to Korin’s help, Ren couldn’t help but feel fidgety all the time. As a poor wolf beastman who had been living in the slums, she was dumbstruck by the fancy decorations and broad lands of the Academy.
“Wow… Noona. Are we going to be living here from now on?”
Ron cheered out loud like a little kid so Ren rebuked him while holding tightly onto his hand.
“...Stop acting like a kid.”
“But, but… it’s so big. It’s like a palace.”
‘You’ve never even seen a palace though.’
That sentence was at the top of her tongue, but Ren swallowed it in.
Beastmen tended to grow physically with the development of the mind. And as one might be able to tell from their physical appearance, they still had the mindset of a 9-year-old, and Ren did not feel like trampling on Ron’s innocence.
“Wow~. It’s so big. It’s my first time seeing a building this… Aht!”
It was then. Ron, who had been restlessly wandering around the area, bumped into someone. Actually, he bumped into someone’s walking stick.
“S, sorry…”
“...Take your feet off.”
They were met with the cold gaze of a venomous serpent as Ron immediately froze on the spot. Ren hurriedly ran forward, providing a refuge for him.
Ren was about to apologize but was soon lost for words.
“Hmm?”
The lady had such a coquettish voice that she could even seduce those of the same gender.
The owner of that voice had bright crimson hair and a reddish black dress, which was the perfect image of a princess in their minds.
While wiping the part of the fancy walking stick with a gem that bumped into Ron with a handkerchief, the girl said with a smile.
“I’m Miruam Elizabeth El Rath.”
“N, nice… to meet you.”
There were a lot of freshmen peers next to Miruam. They were calling out, ‘Your Highness’ ‘Your Highness,’ and were seemingly very attached to her to the point that they would be wagging their tails if they had one.
‘We are… hiding it for now, but…’
As long as it wasn’t the full moon, the siblings were able to hide their ears and tails. Of course, the only reason they were allowed into the Guardian Academy was because they were strong werewolves from birth, so the news was bound to spread any time soon.
“We are all friends. Shall we do a handshake?”
Miruam reached her hand out. After some slight hesitation, Ren grabbed onto her gloves, but that was when she was suddenly pulled all the way towards her face.
“Y, Your Highness?”
Princess Miru gazed down at her. Her snake-like eyes had not a hint of goodwill or affection and instead…
- Flinch!
Her eyes were like a deep pit full of hostility and killing intent. It was so intense that Ren’s bestial instincts were setting off alarms in her head.
“Smells uncultured. A disgusting… scent of fur.”
Ren flinched and took a step back but she did not let go of her. It was hard to understand how she had so much power as someone who limped even with the help of a walking stick.
———
The eyes of a venomous serpent gazed down at the wolf girl. Slowly, like a snake closing in on its prey, she brought her lips closer to her ears and…
“Interesting. I killed each and every one of your kind and yet… looks like some bitches still managed to survive.”
Like an anaconda strangling its prey by the heart, she looked at them and induced into them a strong sense of fear. Those venomous fangs that did not bother trying to hide its murderous objective appeared ready to penetrate through their throats any time.
“If you touch my stick one more time… I will bury you alive. Understand?”
Shivering without an end, Ren couldn’t help but nod on repeat.
She understood instinctively, that this woman was her nemesis and a natural enemy.
****
I forced my dizzy brain to work and organized everything that was going on.
Estelle and Princess Miruam - why were the two of them here in the Academy, even though this was the last place they would have appeared in during the game?
There was only one reason that I could think of.
The Sun, Claiomh Solais.
That divine miracle that had cleansed Nazrea was probably what pulled the two of them in. Both Estelle and Princess Miruam had their own group of spies located throughout the continent, but I wasn’t expecting them to find me so quickly…
As a result, they started paying attention to me a lot earlier than scheduled.
“Rin… Student Ko—”
Even in the last iteration, the main story had been affected because Lady Miru became interested in me, and yet now…
“Korin. Korinn…”
Tap tap. Marie was tapping me on the shoulder. When I woke up from my stupor, I realized that Professor Edgar was staring at me.
“Student Korin Lork. It’s the first day, and it looks like you have some concentration issues already.”
“Sorry…”
“It is the first day so I will stop there for today.”
Phew~. It seemed that even the strict Professor Edgar wasn’t horrible enough to give demerit points from the first day…
- Tick tick!
So I was getting one…
“Uah, you have to be careful now, Korin. You are starting off on the wrong side.”
“It is my fault, I suppose.”
It was the 3rd period. I was back in class after sending the new students to the Liberty Hall, and was attending the lecture, 『Justice of the Peace’s Rights and Responsibilities』 with Marie.
Starting from the 2nd year, it was possible to start taking and choosing lectures. The Academy ran based on the same Units of Credit (UOC) systems as universities, and I chose this subject because I had been long interested in the profession. By the way, this particular subject was worth 3 UOC.
“I wasn’t expecting you to be interested in this kind of topic.”
“Really? Justice of the Peace is cool though. Right?”
The general duty of guardians was to hunt demonic beasts and spirits like mercenaries, but they were also able to work in other professions that required their abilities.
For example, mages could work as alchemists who dealt with all sorts of magic ingredients and metals, or as an astrologist who explored weather and the origin of outer space.
In the case of knights, there were fewer cases of them working in research or other intellectual fields unlike the clever mages, but there was a rare profession called Justice of the Peace.
“Question. Why do you think guardians undertake the job of Justice of the Peace to deal with crimes in the countryside? Can you answer that for us, Student Korin?”
Professor Edgar asked with his eyes facing me. If I failed to give a proper answer here, he would probably constantly nag me throughout the semester.
“Because criminals will try to stab you in the back if they don’t like you.”
“Not the most sophisticated way to put it, but you are correct.”
It was a very straight-forward expression but I knew Professor Edgar wasn’t averse to such expressions. Work as a Justice of the Peace was rough, and that might be why he was a lot more open than other professors.
“Put in another way, it is because the administrative power of the central federation takes time to reach the countryside.”
It was similar to how the USA left the public peace of the countryside to bounty hunters and local judges until the development of transportation. In that sense, this world was even worse considering all the demonic beasts roaming around the continent. All the external threats made it difficult for anyone to travel to the countryside without enough power to protect themselves.
“Because a Justice of the Peace has strong rights, they have the responsibility to not use it for their personal benefit.”
Justice of the Peace was like a combined profession of police, prosecutor, and judge, that went to the lands far beyond the reach of the royal court to enact justice.
“You know, I wasn’t expecting you to be interested in Justice of the Peace, Korin.”
“Why? They have a lot of power. Their words pretty much hold the same weight as laws in the rural areas, right? Well, that’s as long as you don’t get stabbed in the back by the local people though.”
“Hmm… That’s true. Actually, there are a few JPs that come to us as well.”
“To the Dunareff family?”
That was weird though, considering how the Dunareff Potato Empire had incredible control over the south of the kingdom and had local courts everywhere.
“Yeah. They mainly go to the villages near the mines.”
“I see…”
It would be hard to build courts at each and every one of the mining villages that were in the middle of nowhere, so it seemed that they were leaving the job to the Justice of the Peace.
“By the way, Korin. Do you want to be a JP?”
“Sorry? Umm… No, not really.”
“Phew… Thank goodness. It’s not good… for men to travel all the time.”
“Huh?”
“Husbands should sit back and always stay at home next to their wives and children.”
“Uhh… Right.”
She had such a serious look on her face that I didn’t feel like raising an objection. But she was right; it wasn’t a profession that people would generally want their partners to have.
“B, but…! If you really want to, should I ask some JPs to give you a license?”
“Don’t you need to take a test to get one?”
More than anything, didn’t you have to take a test about the laws of the kingdom?
“I heard you can get a special license if you have the agreement of five district judges and a judge of a high court…!”
In other words… that meant that one word from Marie would be able to move five judges from district courts and one from a high court.
…That was frightening.
Wasn’t this an example of the corrupt state of politics?
Actually, the reason I was taking this course was that I wanted to go on a prac with Professor Edgar… but even that would be unnecessary as long as I could just get a license from Marie.
“By the way… how much authority can you get with a special license?”
“Uhm… I think it was possible up to Grade 2 Justice of the Peace.”
That… was a bit iffy.
What I wanted was the right of a Grade 1 JP. If that couldn’t get me up to Grade 1, then all I could do was work as an assistant to help Professor Edgar, a Grade 1 Justice of the Peace.
“Thank you but I’m alright.”
But still, being able to push anyone up to a Grade 2 Justice of the Peace was quite ridiculous.
That reminded me once again just how frightening Marie’s family was.
****
Just like Korean universities, the first week was a simple orientation week. Most of the lessons were over by 2 pm, and I thus returned very early.
“Is no one else here?”
The current residents of the special dormitory were Lady Josephine, me, Marie, and Hua Ran. The wolf siblings will be joining very soon but that was still quite few.
‘Lady Josephine said there would be two more joining us, didn’t she?’
The original purpose of this special dormitory was to keep a close eye on Hua Ran, but now that she was deemed a lot less dangerous, it just became a much fancier dormitory.
It was obvious who the two other people that Lady Josephine talked about would be.
“But… isn’t this still too early?”
I murmured to myself while sensing the presence of another person waiting inside my room. It was someone I knew very well.
- Creak!
When I opened the door, I found a crimson-colored beauty huddling on the chair behind a layer of murky air.
Like a poisonous flower, she gave off a sweet fragrance and yet was toxic enough to poison anyone who touched her. She was a lady who seemed like the pinnacle of decadence and seduction.
“Welcome, Knight Korin.”
Unlike how she spoke to me politely in front of other new students, right now, she was revealing the lofty and arrogant dignity of a royal princess.
“Your Highness Elizabeth.”
Inversely, I treated her with respect without using my status as a senior of the Academy. Her lips flinched after noticing that I wasn’t flustered in the slightest.
“Kiss my hand.”
Without even bothering to conceal the arrogant light in her eyes, she reached her hand out, but I simply sat on the bed opposite to her without following her command.
“A gentleman is only allowed one kiss a day to a lady, Your Highness.”
“Fufu. Interesting. How is a commoner from the outskirts of the capital aware of the etiquette of nobles?”
Because of all the things you taught me, of course.
Looking back, maybe this was why Park Sihu that bastard tried his best to hide me from the princess. There must be something about me that makes me be loved by these annoying people.
I was really grateful that there were at least some normal people in the world like Marie, Alicia, and Hua Ran.
“Let me go straight to the topic. Support me.”
“I wonder what you mean?”
“From next year at the latest, there will be talks about the succession of the throne. I am telling you to support me, Knight Korin.”
“I do have some skills, but I’m just a single knight though?”
“It’s a different story if that knight has a sacred artifact of the Old and the New Faiths, Claiomh Solais.”
As expected, she was aware of the fact that I had obtained Claiomh Solais. Perhaps I should have held myself back a little at Nazrea.
From the looks of things, it seemed that Saintess Estelle was also here because of the same reason.
The question, however, was this. Why was Princess Miru wanting me to support her?
In the game, she had Tates Valtazar standing on her side.
By now, she already had the Old Faith and the Tower of Mages standing behind her, and in one year’s time, she would also earn the support of Tates Valtazar.
Destiny Stone, Lia Fail.
Magic Cauldron, Undry.
Solar Sword, Claiomh Solais.
Spear of Light, Areadbhair.
Tates Valtazar and four of the King’s Subjects, who called themselves the champions of the four gods, would become her allies. It was through this that the likelihood of Saintess Estelle inheriting the throne would dwindle, and that was the main scenario linking Estelle and Miruam.
Even though I could be seen as the champion of the God of Sun, she already had Valtazar who had 3 of the remaining treasures so…
Why was she trying to get me on her side? Why was she in so much of a rush?
It didn’t make sense to say that it was solely because of me obtaining the Claiomh Solais. Even in the last iteration, she wasn’t this aggressive.
“Fufu. Looks like there are a lot of thoughts going through your head.”
Stepping down from the chair, Miru walked across the carpet on her bare feet. She then stroked my chin with her long, thin fingers.
“If you still have doubts, I can pay the price upfront. Embrace me. Breach through the royal lady who has never known men before in her life and indulge yourself in pleasure. I shall accompany you no matter what kind of pleasure and entertainment you are after.”
She grabbed onto my tie and pulled me closer towards her. Her red eyes looked into mine and sent chills down my spine.
“You can do me however you want.”
A sensuous gesture, a coquettish voice, sweet fragrance, and a passionate gaze. Each and every part of her was that of a femme fatale[mfn]The term originates from the French phrase femme fatale, which means 'deadly woman' or 'lethal woman'. A femme fatale tries to achieve her hidden purpose by using feminine wiles such as beauty, charm, or sexual allure[/mfn] leading men down the pits of ruin.
- Grip!
Grabbing her by the arm, I pushed her onto the bed. I pressed down from above and yet she showed no signs of fighting back.
“Fufu.”
Her dress and ornaments had gold and silver along with every type of jewelry. Her breasts, belly button, waist and thighs… Every part of her body gave off a seductive luster that pulled men into her.
She was a woman whose existence itself was made up of the shapeless fog of seduction. Despite knowing all too well that hiding within that fog were the venomous fangs of a serpent, I couldn’t help but feel urged.
“Did you want to tempt me so bad that you even had to rely on an infatuation incense? I don’t think that’s something a royal lady should do.”
“Oh my. How did you find out?”
There was a dense layer of scent in the room. This sweet fragrance was detrimental to the rational thinking of men, and I might have done something already if not for the cleansing effect of the Sun.
“Is it okay for a princess to do this? There might be problems with the succession if you bear a child.”
“Then I can simply marry you, Knight Korin. A marriage with the champion of the God of Sun - don’t you think that will be an incredible political move?”
“First, you might get rumors that you have indecent relationships left and right.”
“I am not interested in the worthless complaints of senile old men. I believe more in the old and fundamental truth.”
“...Truth?”
“From time immemorial, it has been a contract between men and women for a man to pour a woman with affection and impregnate her. After all, after possessing a female, the male has the responsibility to protect the female and the child. And of course, the female also has some responsibilities…”
Pinned on the bed, Princess Miru wrapped her thin arms around my neck.
“I will use everything in my possession to please the male, Senior.”
Like a siren in a wave pulling a sailor into the depths of the ocean… she slowly pulled me in towards her embrace.
“My knight. Dominate me - ravage me and swallow me alive. Make everything that is mine yours and whisper love into my ears.”
Slowly but surely… I was being pulled deeper into the deep ocean… into the depths that devoured even the brightest of lights.