Chapter 8: Encounter(1)
Chapter 8: Encounter(1)
While I was inwardly cursing the professor, Lina looked at Mari, who was sitting next to me, and offered a polite greeting.
"Lady Mari, you're here too. It’s been a long time."
"Yeah. It certainly has."
It seemed the two were already acquainted. However, unlike Lina, who wore a smile, Mari had a look of utter discontent on her face.
The fact that Mari spoke informally was likely possible because her family was a founding contributor to the Minerva Empire, but even a cursory glance showed she was being openly prickly toward Lina. Lina, for her part, didn't seem to mind.
Maintaining her smile despite Mari’s blunt greeting, Lina shifted her gaze back to me. The moment our eyes met, I did my best to act composed.
Lina’s expression brightened even more than before, and she introduced herself in an elegant voice.
"Let me introduce myself properly. As you likely know, Isaac, I am the First Imperial Princess of the Minerva Empire, Lina Urmi Christine. Please, feel free to just call me Lina."
"...I am Isaac Ducard Maishal. It is an honor to meet you, Princess Lina."
"Ducard Maishal?"
When I stood up to give my formal introduction, Lina’s eyes widened slightly. She looked back and forth between my hair and my face, then muttered in a voice so low it was barely audible.
"Red hair and golden eyes... I thought they looked familiar... But the Literature Department...?"
"Pardon?"
"Oh, it’s nothing. Anyway, please drop the 'Princess' and just call me Lina. Cecile? Cecile, would you like to say hello too?"
"Ah, yes!"
Lina smoothly brushed it off and called for Cecile, who was standing behind her. Seeing as they were already speaking informally despite having just met, they must have become quite close in a short time.
As Cecile stepped forward, I looked straight at her face. She, too, looked at me with a nervous expression.
Seriously, every single one of them is unrealistically beautiful.
Mari, Lina, and now Cecile.
They were all so unrealistically gorgeous that it didn't quite feel real. It felt less like meeting people and more like meticulously drawn characters had suddenly popped out into reality.
Furthermore, Cecile was a Demon—the first of a different race I had encountered since reincarnating into this world.
I could overlook her pitch-black hair since it was a familiar color, but her blood-red eyes and the horns sprouting from the sides of her head were truly alien.
And above all...
...Her shirt is practically screaming for mercy.
To put it slightly hyperbolically, her breasts were nearly the size of her head. Even the school uniform couldn't hide the overwhelming presence they commanded. Lina, standing next to her, was also quite well-endowed, but she paled in comparison to Cecile.
On the other hand, Mari... was reasonably large. It wasn't that she was small; it was just that the other two were exceptionally gifted. Since she was a noble who grew up eating and sleeping well, it was only natural for her development to be good.
Anyway—
"Hello. I am the Princess of Helium, Cecile Drat Aisilia bin. It is a pleasure to meet you."
Just as I had heard during her speech, Cecile introduced herself in her characteristically alluring voice. Perhaps it was a custom of Helium, as she placed a hand over her heart and bowed politely.
Having gained some confidence thanks to Lina, there was a hint of liveliness in her voice.
I replied while doing my best to keep my eyes fixed on her face. Managing my gaze was an ordeal in itself.
"As you heard earlier, I am Isaac Ducard Maishal. It is an honor to meet you, Princess Cecile."
"You can call me Cecile, just like Lina does."
"I understand. By the way..."
I looked back and forth between Lina and Cecile before getting straight to the point.
"What brings the two of you to see me?"
As I asked, I glanced around. Just as I expected, the eyes of countless students were fixed on us.
Most were filled with curiosity, but there were more than a few hostile glares mixed in.
Particularly the son of a Count who had been hitting on Cecile as soon as she arrived. I think his name was Jackson? I didn't remember clearly.
Regardless, that guy was glaring this way as if he wanted to kill me. I felt like I’d be called out separately sooner or later. It wasn't that I was afraid, but it was definitely going to be a nuisance, so I decided to be careful not to catch his eye for a while.
In the meantime, Lina responded to my question with her elegant tone.
"Your presentation during class was very impressive. 'Knowledge is power'—that was an answer I never would have thought of. It was truly wonderful."
"You flatter me."
"No, not at all. It made me wonder... what could have led you to have such a thought, Isaac?"
If you lived on Earth, Princess, you would have heard that quote at least once.
Of course, I couldn't say that. I let my eyes wander as I quickly scrambled to come up with a plausible answer.
"Why don't you sit down and talk instead of just standing there? It looks like you'll be sitting next to us for the next period anyway."
Mari’s blunt voice cut in. When I turned my head to see what was going on, I saw her resting her chin on her hand with an annoyed expression.
Her gaze was fixed squarely on Lina; she clearly found the princess's presence quite bothersome.
"Ah. My apologies. Shall we take a seat then?"
"...Sure."
Somehow, the seating ended up being Cecile, Lina, me, and then Mari. It was nice having beauties to both my left and right, but the pressure was immense.
After all, to my left sat a Duke’s daughter, and to my right were the First Princess of the Minerva Empire and the Princess of Helium.
One wrong slip of the tongue and not only would my head roll, but my entire family would be ground into dust.
Is this how a soldier would feel sitting between the President of the United States and the President of South Korea? I tried my best to look composed, but my heart was pounding with tension.
"So, what is your answer?"
While I was stiff with nerves, Lina asked again. Her sapphire-like eyes were filled with curiosity and expectation.
Shit. What do I do?
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't come up with a proper answer. I had only heard the quote in my past life; I had no idea about the context or the reasoning behind it.
Still, it was better to be honest than to lie. If Lina started digging, I’d just have to weave another web of lies.
I managed to calm my racing heart and spoke as calmly as possible.
"...I don't know."
"Pardon?"
"I don't know. I just thought that way. I don't really have a way to explain it."
"You just... thought that way...?"
Lina muttered with her eyes wide, sounding a bit taken aback. I couldn't tell if she was disappointed or impressed, but it was likely the former.
However, that was entirely my own misunderstanding.
"That’s incredible."
"...Excuse me?"
"I said, that’s truly incredible. It means you’ve always considered knowledge to be power, doesn't it, Isaac?"
No. How did the conversation even get there? What kind of misunderstanding did she have to reach that conclusion?
While I was dumbfounded, Lina’s eyes sparkled even more than before as she asked me directly.
"I’m sorry to ask this, but you don't have any physical talent, do you, Isaac?"
"Uh... yes. Even my father gave up on me halfway through."
"I thought so. I wondered why the son of Lord Hawk would enter the Literature Department instead of Martial Studies... but now I understand. If it’s Lord Hawk, he surely would have told you to build your intellect if you couldn't build your strength."
"Um... Lina? Is Isaac’s father someone famous?"
Cecile, who had been listening quietly, asked Lina. Since I didn't know exactly how great my father was either, I naturally became curious.
My father was originally a commoner who achieved massive feats as a knight and was granted nobility, but I didn't know the specifics of his achievements. My father himself was reluctant to tell me, and my mother only gave vague answers, saying I’d find out when I grew up.
But hearing this now, it seemed he was famous enough to reach the ears of the Imperial Princess. At home, he was just a boisterous and friendly father.
While I was lost in thought, Lina looked at Cecile and began to speak about my father, Hawk.
"Have you ever heard of the Red Lion of Minerva?"
"The Red Lion... wait, could it be?"
As soon as she heard Lina’s question, Cecile’s eyes went wide as she looked at me. Since they were the only ones in the know, the suspense was killing me.
"Ah, no wonder. I thought the surname sounded familiar, and with the red hair... so you're the son of the Red Lion? You have the golden eyes, too."
Even Mari seemed to know. I, the actual son, was the only one in the dark.
I blinked and asked Mari with a face full of confusion.
"You know about it too?"
"Huh? Don't tell me you don't? Even though you're the Red Lion's son?"
"I don't. I asked my mother, but she wouldn't tell me."
"I’m sure she wouldn't. Lord Hawk never liked making his achievements known to others. He could have been granted the title of Count, but he claimed the position was too much for him and intentionally accepted the title of Baron instead."
Lina explained in her stead. I looked away from Mari and toward her.
Her gaze had become even more burdensome than before, and Cecile next to her looked even more curious. If nothing else, I could tell the situation was heading in a strange direction.
Just what exactly did he do during his active years?
If he was almost made a Count, was he the commander of the Navy Knights or something?
For reference, the Navy Knights were the most famous and strongest knight order in the Minerva Empire. If someone like me, who lived in the middle of nowhere, knew about them, you could guess how great they were.
"Lord Hawk achieved countless feats as the commander of the Navy Knights. If it weren't for his own desire to rest, he would have held the position of commander for decades."
So it was true.
"Anyway, as the son of Lord Hawk, he must have told you to build your strength for any eventuality, right? Lord Hawk always told his knights to develop the ability to prepare for variables."
"...Yes."
The situation had taken an odd turn, but it was a stroke of luck for me. Thanks to having an illustrious father, Lina was jumping to her own conclusions.
Lina gave a deeper smile at my answer and spoke to me with expectation in her voice.
"You mentioned earlier that you were considering History, Theology, and Biology, right? Is there anything else?"
"Probably... Philosophy and Humanities?"
"Philosophy... I’ll be looking forward to it."
She didn't say she looked forward to working together; she said she was expecting things from me. I realized the meaning behind those words. She meant I should show her a performance worthy of her expectations from now on.
It seemed I had caught her eye in a big way. It was better than being disliked, but the pressure felt like it was crushing my shoulders.
Well, what could I do? For now, as long as I didn't get caught as the author of the Xenon Biography, that was enough.
"Oh, by the way, Isaac?"
"You can speak comfortably with me."
"Alright, Isaac. There’s something I’ve been curious about for a while."
"Go ahead."
"This."
Lina pointed at my finger. Specifically, it was the callus on the middle finger of my right hand—the 'writer's callus.'
As I felt a slight sense of foreboding, Lina spoke in a curious voice.
"That callus... doesn't it only form if you use a pen very often?"