Chapter 9
A few days after returning to the Imperial Capital.
While many people were busy preparing for the festival, the fateful day arrived.
"Who do you think is coming?"
"It is certain to be one of the higher-ranking captains."
I was waiting for a visitor in a room in the castle.
Today, the Emperor's children would be told which knight unit would be assigned to each of them. The method was simple: the captain of that knight unit would visit their room.
The knight units of the Imperial Knight Corps were numbered, and the lower the number, the more elite they tended to be. In particular, the top three were led by captains who ranked among the strongest in terms of ability. To keep the forces balanced, the top units would probably be assigned to the underdogs.
"Just don't let Erna be the one who comes..."
"Must you say things like that? She is the prodigy of House Amusberg who joined the Imperial Knight Corps at eleven and became a captain at fourteen. You couldn't ask for a better draw."
"When it comes to ability, sure. But as a person, absolutely not."
"She is known for her impeccable conduct and is said to be the future commander of the Imperial Knight Corps."
"That's only her public face. Neither the people nor the Imperial Knights have noticed what she's really like. I'll never forget the first time I met her. I was seven. Do you know what she said to me after rescuing me from being bullied?"
"Now, what could it have been?"
"'Weakling.' Is that any way to talk to a heartbroken child who'd just been bullied? And afterward, she handed me a wooden sword, calling it training. She beat me one-sidedly, and from that day on, I had to play in places where I wouldn't run into Erna. She planted a fear of her in me! Anyone would agree that it's a horrible story, right?! That woman is a devil!"
I explained it passionately to Sebas, but he merely shrugged, looking exasperated.
Damn it! Why doesn't he understand?!
As I fidgeted impatiently, the door suddenly opened.
And there stood...
"Who exactly is this devilish woman?"
There stood Erna, the smiling devil.
The moment I saw her, my face went rigid. Then—
"Sebas! Call the knights! The devil has appeared!!"
"Unfortunately, no one will be coming. The finest knight in the Empire is already here."
"Sebas, you understand me so well. Prince Arnold Lakes Adler, I, Erna von Amusberg, Captain of the Third Knight Unit of the Imperial Knight Corps, pay my respects. It has been several years since we last met, but you don't appear to have changed."
"Tch... Is that sarcasm?"
"Of course. You seem terribly popular in the Imperial Capital. I hear they call you the Dull Prince. How lovely."
"Yeah, thanks to you, I'm having a great time."
We both smiled sweetly.
Even though we hadn't seen each other in years, we were childhood friends. For all that I was a prince and she the daughter of a noble house, we knew each other well enough to speak our minds.
After we spent a while smiling and trying to intimidate each other, I was the first to scowl.
"What did you come here for? I don't remember inviting you."
"The fact that I'm here should make that obvious, shouldn't it? Don't you get it?"
"I refuse to believe this..."
"How rude. It was quite a struggle, you know? I had to ask His Majesty to let me team up with Al."
"Don't do anything unnecessary! My brothers and sisters will start glaring at me!"
"You don't have to worry about that. It's not as if Al is after the throne, is he?"
"That's not the point! Oh, come on! Why have you always been like this?!"
I knew she was doing it with the best of intentions, but they didn't align with the benefits I wanted.
This time, if she was going to ask Father for something, I wanted her to ask to join Leo. Well, I didn't even know whether he'd grant a request to join Leo.
At the very least, Erna coming under me had instantly turned me from an irrelevant participant into a favorite to win. That made it even harder for me to maneuver. Attention would naturally be drawn to Erna. It was fair to say covert action was no longer possible.
It would be troublesome if she went to someone else, but it was even more troublesome for her to come to me. That was Erna. It wasn't just a matter of compatibility; I genuinely hadn't wanted her to come.
"I'll make sure you win. Let's make all those people who call you the Dull Prince eat their words!"
"I never asked for that..."
"No, this won't do. Not at this rate. I declared to His Majesty that I'd whip Al into shape. So we're starting special training now! First, I'll see how much your horsemanship has improved. Come on, let's go to the training grounds."
"...Sebas. I think I have a headache. It might be a serious illness..."
"That sounds serious indeed. It is the grave mental illness known as feigned sickness. Perhaps strengthening your body and mind will cure it."
I glared resentfully at Sebas, but he acted as if he hadn't heard me.
There were only a few days left before the Knights' Hunting Festival. It wasn't as if a mere few days of training would change anything.
Thinking that, I let myself be dragged to the training grounds.
■■■
"Aah!!?? It hurts..."
"I-I'm sorry! I'll apply it more gently."
The next day.
My muscles were so sore that I couldn't get out of bed, so Fiene was applying ointment to me. My back was in particularly terrible shape. It was rock-hard, and I couldn't imagine moving at all.
It was all because Erna had put me through the wringer with horsemanship. How long had it been since I'd last swung a sword or spear from horseback? It had been brutally difficult. I had fallen off my horse several times, striking my back each time.
If this continued every day, I would die.
"Arnold-sama. I told Erna-sama, and she said today's training could start in the afternoon."
"Doesn't her dictionary have the word 'rest' in it...?"
"She certainly lives up to her reputation as the second coming of the Hero. But wouldn't Silver-sama, rather than Al-sama, be just as capable? Was even the horsemanship an act?"
"Arnold-sama specializes in Ancient Magic. His basic physical fitness is below that of an ordinary person. Horsemanship, swordsmanship, modern magic—he has skipped practice in all of them, so he is not particularly skilled, Fiene-sama."
"Is that so? I thought all adventurers were people with excellent stamina."
"Most of them are... But I use Ancient Magic to cover for my poor physical abilities, and I avoid anything that might build stamina in the first place."
"It had been a long time since I had gone any distance without using teleportation. I hadn't traveled far from home like that since visiting Duke Kleinert's territory. Even on that trip, I enhanced my physical abilities with Ancient Magic. Without it, I'm exactly the 'weakling' Erna-sama calls me."
I didn't have the energy to argue with Sebas's barbs.
Still sprawled facedown on the bed, I sighed.
However, Sebas addressed me in a slightly brighter tone.
"Look at it this way. Even if this is painful for you, it has become an opportunity for Leo-sama."
"Yeah..."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Seeing that Fiene clearly had no idea what we meant, I decided to give her a brief explanation.
Not that I needed to say much.
"Erna can fairly be called the strongest knight. So even if I win after being assigned Erna, no one will think I won through my own strength."
"Exactly. As Fiene-sama said, if Leo-sama cannot win, then Arnold-sama winning is the most certain outcome. However, it would have been unnatural for Arnold-sama to suddenly win... and now the strongest card has fallen into our hands."
"I see! So Al-sama can finally show what he can really do!"
"Well, if I do nothing, Erna will do whatever she wants, and we might win that way too. That's how far ahead of everyone else Erna is. As long as I don't hold her back, victory is almost certain."
"His Majesty must have given Erna-sama to Arnold-sama for exactly that reason—because he thought Arnold-sama would hold her back."
"I doubt His Majesty ever imagined that it would result in a team-up between the Empire's strongest knight and strongest adventurer!"
I was exasperated by how happily Fiene said this, but I put on my jacket and got out of bed.
There were only a few days left before the Knights' Hunting Festival. I had to do everything I could while I still had the chance.
"At worst, I'll win and keep the position of plenipotentiary ambassador out of everyone else's hands. But the best outcome would be for Leo to win."
"Why? Even if Al-sama became plenipotentiary ambassador and built connections with people abroad, wouldn't those connections ultimately belong to Leo-sama?"
"Even so, it would be better for Leo to be chosen as plenipotentiary ambassador. A great many influential people will be coming to watch."
"That sounds very reasonable, but isn't the real reason that being a plenipotentiary ambassador would be a pain?"
My shoulders jerked involuntarily.
Seeing that she'd hit the mark, Sebas sighed, and even Fiene followed suit.
"Al-sama... You don't have to give everything to Leo-sama, you know."
"Hm? Give?"
"I understand. I know you're saying this and trying to give the position to Leo-sama."
"Sigh... Fiene-sama, it seems you've misunderstood. The prince standing before you is a born slacker, you know?"
"I can't hide it from Fiene... It's an old habit. I always find myself wanting to give all sorts of things to Leo. Even the throne."
"I knew it! That's admirable of you as an older brother, but too much is too much. I think it would make Leo-sama sad."
I deftly took advantage of Fiene's misunderstanding to escape Sebas's lecture.
Sebas frowned when he saw how neatly I'd deceived Fiene.
"I can't approve of deceiving women."
"I didn't deceive her. I merely let her misunderstand."
"It's all in how you phrase it. Erna-sama will scold you again, you know."
"What is she, my mother...?"
"I'm jealous that you have a childhood friend who cares so much about you. I don't have anyone I could call a childhood friend."
"She's just a hassle. Especially her—she always goes overboard."
"Oh? What exactly is unnecessary?"
A voice came from nearby.
I looked over and saw Erna standing by the door.
She was smiling, but I could almost see anger marks popping up all around her.
For a moment, the fear she'd instilled in me made me avert my eyes, but since she showed no sign of leaving, I reluctantly opened my mouth.
"Don't you think showing up without being invited counts as unnecessary...?"
"How rude. Someone said he was too sore to move, so I brought him ointment."
"I'm fine. I had someone a hundred times kinder than you apply it."
"Oh? Is that the Azure Gull Princess over there?"
"Ah, yes. How do you do? My name is Fiene von Kleinert."
"I'm Erna von Amusberg. I expected to meet you in Leo's room, perhaps, but I never thought I'd meet you in the room of the good-for-nothing prince."
With that, Erna gave Fiene a gentle smile.
The smile she showed Fiene was different from the one she showed me. It was a smile meant to manage impressions.
"Al, I feel like she just insulted me."
"You're imagining it."
"I hope so. Now then, shall we go?"
With that, Erna grabbed me by the scruff of the neck where I lay on the bed.
As I stood there bewildered, Erna explained with her usual smile.
"You said you were fine, didn't you? Then it's time for training."
"Wha—?! That's not what I meant by fine! Ow! Stop!! I'm injured, you know?!"
"Muscle soreness doesn't count as an injury. Move around and cure it."
And so, just as yesterday, Erna dragged me off to training.