Chapter 14
In front of the academy’s main gate.
The small commercial district known as the ‘Shopping District’ was buzzing with festive excitement for the Sun’s Sabbath. For the new students, it was practically a welcome party.
The Shopping District was a colorful sight.
Colorful fruit and sun emblems hung all along the streets, which usually catered to cadets. Street vendors who rarely came by, along with musical troupes, had arrived as well, filling the area with a lively bustle.
The academy cadets wandered through the streets, full of excitement. The brutal start to the semester was behind them, and now they were strolling around in little groups with classmates and upperclassmen they’d grown close to.
Among them were Lydia, Mave, Arti, and Aria.
Lydia led the way in silence, carrying a bag.
The others followed behind her. They were headed for the Alchemy Guild’s academy branch. It was a slightly roundabout route, but no one complained.
Arti and Aria marveled at the sight.
“Ooh! It really is a festival.”
“There’s such a lively feeling all around the Shopping District. …But why does everyone keep glancing over at us?”
“Well, obviously…”
“Obviously?”
Mave shrugged.
“A Saintess, a princess, and someone rumored to wield the Sacred Sword are walking together. Isn’t it only natural?”
“Well, it’s not just a rumor. It’s true…”
“Country bumpkin, saying it yourself won’t make it so. Until the Theocracy announces it officially, you’re just a ‘rumor.’”
“Is that so…?”
Aria smiled wryly as she spoke.
“Someday, everyone will recognize you for who you are, Hero.”
“Haha, honestly, I don’t mind.”
“You don’t?”
“As long as you recognize me, Saintess, I have nothing to be upset about.”
“…Hehe.”
Mave had stopped paying attention to the two of them and was looking around.
“Hmm, it’s rather shabby compared to the splendid royal capital. During the Sabbath there, all sorts of delicacies and fruits were piled up in heaps. With scenery that grand, a modest festival like this wouldn’t even catch your eye.”
But the reply came from the very front.
“I like this modest atmosphere, too.”
“Hmm, it’s a modest yet splendid atmosphere. There’s a lively charm to it.”
Aria looked at Mave with sympathy.
“Mave, you’ve become much less assertive.”
“Be quiet.”
“Stupid knight, did you seriously brag about being from the royal capital in front of the princess?”
“S-shut up. I’m still better than you, country bumpkin.”
“What did I do…?”
Anyway.
Just as they’d said,
the streets were full of life.
Merchants had set up brightly colored stalls all over the place and called out to the new students. Cups filled with fruit juice in a variety of colors glittered in the sunlight.
-Welcome! New students, is this your first time in the Shopping District? The best restaurant around is right here, ‘A Rest by the Lake’!
-Come on, come on! Take a look! We’ve got special fruit drinks you can only enjoy during the Sun’s Sabbath! All drinks are just two Liang coins a cup—! Try one for the price of two loaves of bread!
Cadets from quiet estates or the countryside, regardless of status, eagerly approached the stalls. On display were fruit juices made from produce grown throughout the fertile Kingdom of Gallia.
The cadets pointed at the drinks and said,
“Oh, Campol fruit from northern Gallia? I haven’t had that in ages.”
“Senior, you mean this yellow juice?”
“Of course. My family’s estate makes its living from it.”
“What on earth is this blue one…? It has a strange, sharp smell. Is this really juice? They didn’t just put an alchemical potion out here, did they?”
“Ugh, that’s Saint-Rouet mint. Put it down, put it down. That stuff’s awful.”
The cadets chatted animatedly as they chose their drinks.
Arti looked around and said,
“Wow… Compared to the countryside where I grew up, this is another world. How did they manage to pile up so much fruit?”
“Hmm, country bumpkin. You don’t even know that?”
“Know what?”
“Obviously, it’s the result of a joint effort by the ‘Alchemy Guild’ and the ‘Western Gallian Merchant Consortium.’ The alchemists make compounds that awaken fertile land, and the consortium uses the road network to transport the goods. In the process, fruit and merchandise move all across the Kingdom of Gallia, stimulating trade.”
“Oh, is that so?”
When Arti answered so indifferently, Mave’s eyes flashed with anger.
Just as she was about to say something,
Aria clapped her hands and spoke.
“That’s right! Mave is so knowledgeable. Thanks to the fertile land and trade network of the Kingdom of Gallia, the Holy Theocracy to the west is also able to buy plenty of food.”
“Really, Saintess?”
“Yes! Even the temple where the Hero received his education as a child is run by priests sent there as part of that exchange.”
“Ooh! I didn’t know that! That’s amazing!”
Watching them, Mave bristled.
“You lowly country bumpkin! Why do you react so differently to me?”
“Because she’s the Saintess.”
“Why, you…!”
Aria chuckled as the two bickered.
But her laughter didn’t last long. Lydia, who had been leading the way, came to an abrupt stop. The others all looked at her at once.
“Lydia?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Lady Lydia?”
Lydia looked ahead as she spoke.
“…It seems someone has business with us.”
“?”
“?”
“?”
The group looked ahead.
And then they saw a group of cadets approaching with an imposing air. There were twenty of them, made up of second- and third-year students from the Swordsmanship Department.
The people approaching were an impressive lot.
The Swordsmanship Department was practically the domain of Gallia’s noble faction to begin with, but those coming toward them were scions of the very highest-ranking families in that faction. Promising members of various knight orders were among them, too.
Arti panicked and said,
“Huh, wh-what?! Aren’t those upperclassmen from the Swordsmanship Department? Why are they coming this way?!”
Mave quietly sighed.
“Why do you think?”
“?”
“It’s started. The struggle for territory among those who wield swords.”
“!”
“They’re probably here to make us choose between joining their group or quietly submitting.”
“But, all of a sudden?”
“If anything, they’re late. Not compared to how long we’ve been left on the fringes, anyway.”
“But there’s royalty and the Saintess here, and you’re from a knight order, too.”
Even as Arti said that, he subtly moved Aria behind him. Mave watched and said,
“I’m a commoner, too, so I’m not exactly part of the mainstream. That has nothing to do with skill. And that’s precisely why they pick a fight.”
“?”
“They’re saying a commoner like you shouldn’t keep the princess and the Saintess all to yourself.”
“What…?!”
“For your information, most of those upperclassmen have reached the realm of ‘Flow.’ It seems they awakened it after enduring Instructor Zach’s training. And the one leading them, Senior Lucian, is the only one strong enough to have reached the brink of ‘Ignition.’”
“…!”
Arti looked ahead again.
Sure enough,
now that they were almost upon them, he could see clearly.
The massive blond young man at their head—Senior Lucian—exuded an aura like a majestic mountain range.
‘With so many of them gathered together, it feels like their mana is rippling just from their presence…’
Even as they walked through the street, they didn’t meet anyone’s eyes. Yet strangely, the path ahead of them opened up on its own.
The Shopping District, which had been enjoying a peaceful festival, began to fill with silence and tension. Countless gazes wavered as they watched the two figures draw closer.
The princess of Gallia,
Lydia, the ‘Abandoned Gold’ freshman.
The eldest son of Count Montrant,
Lucian de Montrant, the ‘Golden Sword’ third-year.
The two faced each other.
“….”
“….”
Lucian was the first to greet her, placing a hand over his chest in the crisp, formal salute of a knight. Those around him followed suit all at once.
Clack!
“It is an honor to meet Her Highness Lydia, the ‘Golden Princess’ of the Gallian royal family.”
“It is an honor.”
“It is an honor.”
“It is an honor.”
Lydia replied calmly.
“You left out ‘Abandoned.’”
“….”
“What business does Sir Lucian de Montrant, eldest son of Count Montrant—one of the families guarding the frontier of the Kingdom of Gallia and the equal of Count Belfen in the east—have with me? Surely no royal is less connected to the noble faction than I am.”
“…Because you are royalty.”
Their exchange meant this:
-If you intend to use me as your mascot, forget it.
-Wouldn’t that be better than hanging around with commoners?
“I’m a cadet at the academy now. I’m also your junior. And I’m someone’s teacher, too.”
“A teacher?”
“Even abandoned gold can easily shed light on the words in the academy’s books.”
“…Gold is far too precious at the academy. Even if you forge it into a sword, it would be expected to bear the burdens of countless people.”
“That doesn’t matter. Abandoned gold is no different from a pebble. Some might even prefer it that way.”
“….”
-I’m raising these people with my knowledge. So don’t interfere. Take your group and leave.
-We can’t help but be concerned.
-Even so, that doesn’t change the situation. And you’ve benefited from it, haven’t you?
At Lydia’s words,
Lucian fell silent.
Then he turned his gaze
to Arti, who was shielding Aria.
Lucian spoke.
“Commoner.”
“….”
Until the Theocracy makes an official announcement,
the fact that Arti possesses the Sacred Sword is only a ‘rumor.’
“Yes, Senior.”
So Arti answered as an academy junior. It was the greatest resistance he could offer at the moment.
Lucian ignored that and said,
“Under the Sun God, tell only the truth.”
“Yes.”
“Were you really the one who defeated the Skeletal Rider and saved my younger brother… Dominic?”
“….”
In that question,
truth and exaggeration were mixed together.
So Arti told only the truth.
“I was the one who defeated the Skeletal Rider.”
“…I see. Then I owe you a debt. I’ll remember that.”
“…?”
Lucian nodded quietly. Then he turned back to Lydia and paid his respects once more.
“Above all, when faced with such a clear blood debt, even the fate of one’s house must sometimes be set aside. My apologies, Your Highness. I’ll take my leave now.”
“You needn’t be so formal.”
Lydia said without expression.
“…Senior Lucian.”
“….”
-Let’s not play politics with me inside the academy.
Lucian’s eyes wavered for a moment, but he soon nodded. Then he also bowed to Aria, who stood behind Arti.
“I’ve been discourteous to the Saintess as well. Many of my comrades were concerned, after all.”
“Not at all. Thank you for your concern.”
“…Then, I’ll be going.”
Lucian withdrew politely.
A great many cadets followed after him in a rush. At the same time, the suffocating silence lifted, replaced by relieved sighs and curious glances.
Arti and Mave’s eyes darted about.
“…?”
“…?”
“If he was going to leave anyway, why pick a fight in the first place? Stupid knight, do you have any idea?”
“I-I don’t know. I don’t understand it either.”
Lydia continued walking ahead and said,
“Sometimes, the fate of a noble is to take the long way around just to ask what one truly wants to know. He, too, is bound by a burden that isn’t of his own choosing. He must lead friends without friendship, and even be wary when meeting the benefactor of his beloved family.”
“….”
“….”
“….”
Lydia turned around. She was smiling faintly.
“If I had to interpret it for you… at least in the Swordsmanship Department, you’re now ‘my people.’ That was settled just now.”
“!”
“!”
“!”
The group reacted in all sorts of ways.
“Hehe, how am I supposed to explain this to the brothers in the Theocracy…?”
“Y-yes…?! Wait, Lydia, what do you mean—?!”
“Ooh, I’m one of Lady Lydia’s people—?!”
Lydia smirked and picked up her bag. It was packed full of red herbs.
“There won’t be anyone questioning our group for a while, no matter where we go…. Now we can head straight there and sell these in peace.”
“Huh?”
“Do you think I’m so foolish that I took the long way around for no reason? It’s only natural for something to happen when we ‘happen’ to run into them once in a while.”
“D-did you deliberately take the long way around to run into the upperclassmen?”
“The timing was perfect, since it was the Sabbath festival. This is what nobles call ‘politics as art.’ Arti, you may have occasion to use it yourself someday, so keep it in mind.”
“Sigh…”
Lydia and the others headed straight for the Alchemy Guild.
When the clerk at the counter checked the bag of herbs, her eyes went wide and she cried out. She was a short-term contract worker assigned from the academy’s Department of Magic, so she wasn’t very good at controlling her reactions.
“Th-this?! You’re selling red herbs of this quality? Wow, they’ve already been completely treated to remove the deathly energy and toxins. I’ll have to pay you quite a bit more than the usual price!”
“Is that so? Good.”
“Yes! We’ve completely run out of red herbs ourselves, so we’ve been selling them to the upperclassmen at a premium. I heard there are even some new students who haven’t been able to get their hands on any red herbs at all.”
“Oh, was there some ‘poor cadet’ like that?”
“Yes, I heard they came from an influential family in the Republic…”
Her name was
Morgan Driach.
A concubine-born daughter of an influential family.
And her family had cast her aside.
Hearing that,
Arti, Aria, and Mave all looked sympathetic.
“I suppose status is frightening wherever you go…”
“I hope that young lady receives a helping hand, too.”
“Tsk. That hits a little too close to home.”
And.
Lydia quietly nodded.
‘Now I have a public reason to get involved with her. A reason the others won’t question, even if I suddenly bring her into the group…’
Even though Lydia knew the original game, she had no justification for helping Morgan; knowledge of the game and a connection to reality were two different things.
But now she had a public pretext to approach Morgan in earnest.
“….”
So this is where it begins.