Graduation Speech
"Damn it. Who the hell holds a pre-ceremony for a whole hour?"
Bones dropped into the dead center of the front row of chairs the moment he stepped into the graduation hall, still grumbling from the pre-ceremony. The suit they'd forced him into for the occasion clearly did not sit well with him; his face had stayed locked in a scowl the entire time.
"Ha. Finally graduating from this godforsaken school."
"Who the fuck thought making us wear suits for graduation was a good idea?"
Lucas, equally suited up and looking exhausted, sank into the seat beside him.
"Just loosen the tie a little."
"Can't. General Max is watching."
"You know, I can never tell if you're a delinquent or a model student."
"You should be saying that to him, not me."
Bones tipped his head toward a certain direction, and Lucas followed his gaze. There stood Platon, immaculately dressed in a suit, scanning the room as if searching for someone. Lucas frowned.
"In what universe does that guy look like a delinquent?"
Platon spotted them a second later, his face lighting up with pure delight as he started over. Bones and Lucas both made the same involuntary sound of dread. The memory of Platon, not long ago, scolding them for trying to expose Haydam's injury and telling them to know some shame was still painfully fresh.
They still found him uncomfortable after that incident. Platon, the bright-eyed fanatic, approached without the slightest concern and opened his mouth.
"Have either of you seen Lord Haydam?"
Bones, who still flinched at the mere mention of Haydam ever since the training simulation, nearly jumped out of his seat.
"Are you insane? Why would you ask us that?!"
"He said he would definitely come today, but I don't see him."
"What are you talking about? He's not even a graduate. Why would Lord Haydam come here?"
"He said he was coming to observe."
"Is Lord Haydam your parent or something?"
"Has Captain Anton arrived? I didn't see him during the pre-ceremony."
Lucas calmed Bones down before the argument could escalate and asked the question himself. Platon tilted his head slightly and answered in a short, offhand way.
"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen him either."
Bones's expression went blank with disbelief.
"You're looking for Lord Haydam before your own dad?"
"You're right. Father would know where Lord Haydam is, wouldn't he?"
"What is wrong with this guy?"
Bones gave up on the conversation with a look of pure exhaustion. Lucas picked it up.
"Anyway, we haven't seen Lord Haydam. If he does come, wouldn't he arrive with the Commander?"
"That does make sense."
"But seriously — why is Lord Haydam coming here at all?"
"To watch my graduation speech."
"You what—"
The words who do you think you are rose to the tip of Lucas's tongue before he swallowed them. He still couldn't understand why Lord Haydam would come all the way here just to watch this guy's speech. Then again, they had run two training simulations together. Maybe they'd grown close, like brothers.
…Though watching Platon's behavior, "brothers" felt less accurate than "a dog waiting for its master."
He must know Platon is Captain Anton's son… Does that mean the factions don't matter to him?
Lucas himself was sponsored by a moderate officer who belonged to neither the pro-Daphne nor the pro-Haydam faction, so he had no real stake in who Haydam got close to. Still, the idea that even Haydam thought well of Platon — the one cadet Lucas had never once beaten throughout his entire time at the academy — grated on him more than he cared to admit.
"If Lord Haydam is coming to watch, shouldn't you head to the waiting room already? You wouldn't want to botch the speech."
A polite way of saying get out of my sight. Platon checked the time and nodded.
"You're right. Thank you for the advice, Lucas."
He offered his thanks and walked off. Bones started grumbling the second he was gone.
"See? That bastard Platon is even more two-faced than I am. He'd throw his own father under the bus for a promotion."
"Don't put it like that. They're close. Coming to watch a graduation speech isn't that strange."
Bones snorted at Lucas's carefully neutral reply.
"Hah. That's funny too. Who comes to watch a graduation speech? The same kid who ran a one-versus-eight training simulation because he didn't want to enroll in the academy?"
"What are you talking about?"
Lucas's eyes went wide at the unfamiliar story. Bones belatedly clapped a hand over his mouth.
"Shit. I wasn't supposed to say that…"
"You're saying Lord Haydam did the training simulation because he didn't want to enroll?"
"I didn't hear it directly."
Bones glanced around carefully, then leaned in close to Lucas's ear.
"Don't go repeating this anywhere. I heard it from General Max. The Commander told Lord Haydam to enroll, and he said it would be a waste of time — that he'd prove he was better than any cadet at the academy."
"And that was the training simulation?"
"Yeah. And he proved it. Twice."
Lucas's face hardened into silence. Bones pulled back a little.
"I mean, getting looked down on like that does feel pretty rotten. But after watching that kid tear through us myself… I can't even get properly mad about it."
He studied Lucas's expression and snickered.
"You, on the other hand, look a little scratched up."
"I'm not exactly thrilled, no. Though after getting completely crushed by him, I don't have much room to complain."
"…This isn't really my place to say."
Bones tossed it out like it was nothing, but there was a rare hesitation in his voice.
"We're graduating. Maybe it's time you dropped the pointless pride."
Lucas knew exactly where this was going, but he played dumb anyway.
"Pointless pride?"
"Requesting the training simulation this time. That was pride, wasn't it?"
"That wasn't just about me—"
"Spare me. Anyone with eyes knows you've got an inferiority complex about Platon."
"……"
Lucas neither confirmed nor denied it. Bones pressed on without caring.
"Lord Haydam is the successor of this entire zone. Even that freak Platon has Captain Anton behind him… We don't."
Lucas understood perfectly well what Bones was trying to say. Inside the school's walls, they could still try to compete. The moment they left and became active military, an insurmountable wall of rank would rise between them and Platon. Unlike him, they were just two more sponsored cadets among many.
Coming from Bones — who shared the exact same position and understood his feelings better than anyone — the words didn't sting.
Lucas huffed a quiet laugh.
"Looking at how you can't even loosen your own tie because of your foster father, you might have a point."
"Hey! General Max didn't even give me a look — I just want to make a good impression—!"
"Shh. It's starting."
The moment Lucas cut him off, lights flared across the darkened hall and the principal stepped up onto the stage. Behind him came the Commander, Haydam, and Platon, filing in to take their seats. Lucas clenched his fist — then paused as a thought struck him.
Huh? Why is Lord Haydam going up on stage?
"Lord Haydam!"
I barely made it before the ceremony started. The second I stepped into the waiting room, Platon was already there to greet me.
"I knew you'd come!"
"Congratulations on graduating, Platon."
"Did you come to offer me encouragement?"
"Uh… yes."
Technically I was here to make sure he carried out what I'd ordered him to do. Coming all the way to the waiting room, though, was mostly to greet the Commander — who still hadn't arrived, even with the ceremony about to begin.
"And my father?"
"Haha. If His Excellency were here, wouldn't it make everyone else uncomfortable?"
Fair enough. I'd gotten so used to him that I sometimes forgot he was a dictator with absolute power. Platon's willingness to say that out loud was also a little concerning, personality-wise.
"His Excellency will likely arrive just before he needs to take the stage."
"I see… But Captain Anton isn't here either?"
"Indeed."
Indeed?
For someone who'd greeted me like a long-lost relative the second I walked in, he sounded completely indifferent about his own biological father.
"He didn't come? It's his son's graduation."
"I wouldn't know. He must be busy. More importantly, Lord Haydam — this is the speech I prepared. If you could look it over…"
Hmm. Cold father, cold son. Like father, like son, I guess.
But…
So it was Anton who summoned Homebody Honey after all.
Platon would have told Anton that I was coming to watch the graduation speech today. Anton probably figured this was the perfect window to meet Homebody Honey while I was away.
I'd had a feeling he'd get called in eventually, ever since he started bragging to the senior officers that he was friends with me.
I was making his son my adjutant. He wouldn't have summoned a kid just to hurt him because he was my friend. And Homebody Honey was a player — he'd handle himself fine.
"Aren't you going up? It's about to start."
I turned at the familiar voice behind me. The Commander stood there in a crisp white uniform, studying us with his one remaining eye and a look of mild interest.
"Father."
"Greetings, Your Excellency."
Platon offered a perfect, formal bow. The Commander smiled in a faintly peculiar way.
"Look at you, offering a proper greeting. You've grown quite a bit."
…Huh? So that meant he normally didn't greet the Commander?
Platon took it as a compliment and answered with a proud little smile.
"It's thanks to Lord Haydam."
How is that my fault?
"My son has a talent for this. Taming someone else's dog so thoroughly…"
"Father."
"Come. We should go up before it's too late. You have a speech to give, don't you?"
Just as Platon opened his mouth to protest the dog comment made right in front of him, the Commander casually laughed and pushed him forward by the back. Platon's expression made it clear that the upcoming graduation speech mattered far more than whether the Commander called him a dog — or whether he actually was one.
Knowing Platon, he genuinely doesn't care…
But the Commander's attitude in front of a kid actively trying to stay on my good side was almost certainly because Platon was Anton's son. It was more than reasonable to suspect Anton had deliberately sent him my way.
I knew Platon's loyalty to me was real. Even so, when the moment of choice came, he was still human. He couldn't discard his own blood that easily.
Either way, clearing the Commander's suspicions was Platon's problem to solve…
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Excuse me?"
The two of them were heading up on stage for the speeches, so I was about to make for the audience seats when the Commander's voice stopped me cold.
"Well, I was just…"
"Come up with us. You'll need to eventually anyway."
That was when I understood.
He knows what I told Platon to do.
I'd already considered the possibility that once Platon finished his speech, I'd get called up on stage myself as the one who'd orchestrated the whole thing. The fact that the Commander knew and was still telling me to come up suggested he had no intention of stopping us — which was a relief, at least.
Only Platon looked thrilled.
"What an excellent idea! Lord Haydam, please come up with us. As you'll have seen from the speech draft, it would be best if you're somewhere clearly visible."
I only held that draft in my hand. I never actually read it.
And so I found myself half-pushed up onto the stage and into a seat. After the principal's endless well-wishes finally wound down, it was Platon's turn for the graduation speech.
He stood before the microphone, swept his gaze once across the assembly, and slowly parted his lips. All I wanted was for him to do what I'd told him to do properly.
"Respected Lord Haydam… and the rest of you graduates."
…This already feels like it's going somewhere dangerous.