Chapter 182
Chapter 182
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Empire's Greatest Sword Selection Tournament (4)
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“Engagement, you say…?”
I stared blankly at Leah.
There, leaning against the pool edge, was the princess.
“Why.”
Her eyes narrowed, and her blue irises sparkled like jewels.
“Scared?”
The eyes of the world. The doting emperor.
Maybe even scarier than the knights who might’ve tried to kill me and Irina.
“If I said no, that’d be a lie.”
I answered honestly.
The Empire’s First Imperial Princess replied in a voice as relaxed as her generous heart.
“Don’t worry. We’ll handle all that.”
The princess extended her hand from the water.
“It’s just that we want to repay you for all the help you’ve given us, Veil.”
I gazed intently at her slender hand.
Then, the moment I took it—
“You just have to let me hold you.”
The princess pulled me into the pool.
Like a siren tempting a wanderer.
――――――.
I plunged into the blue waves.
Leah, nestled in my arms, flashed a radiant smile.
Her skin, warm like a mother’s embrace, caressed me.
Even in the cold water, our body heat made it incredibly cozy.
‘Let’s swim together.’
Leah beckoned to me.
After that, we roamed freely through the vast pool.
Her body, which I’d thought sturdy, undulated gracefully.
I stared at those curves.
She’d spent her childhood in terror, trapped in Rozanna’s clutches.
Maybe she’d endured as hard a life as I had.
But right now, she looked happy, as if she’d reclaimed her freedom.
Seeing her like that lifted the corners of my mouth.
The doubts about whether I deserved to enjoy this life began to fade.
‘Yeah. Let’s give it a shot.’
Screw it—let’s become someone even the emperor would approve of.
I started swimming slowly.
And leisurely followed Leah as she swam ahead.
Through the vast, endless pool.
「――――――」
The next day, in a Nostrum office.
While the owner was away, someone sneaked in like a stray cat and claimed the sofa.
“Mm—.”
Miya, with her bobbed hair, lay sprawled on the sofa, sucking on her thumb long and hard.
In a good mood, her beauty mark wrinkled deeply.
“Veil’s late.”
Miya rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up.
Then, she stared intently at the ashtray on the table.
Five crushed cigarette butts.
She’d been waiting here quite a while.
“Probably reporting to headquarters.”
She smacked her lips with a tsk.
Her sharp fangs poked out.
Tap tap!!
She shook the cigarette pack roughly.
Then, with practiced ease, pulled one out and lit it.
“Wonder why she called me here, though.”
Miya, in a black uniform that clung to her body.
She tugged at her short skirt, which had ridden up while lounging on the sofa.
Then, covering her taut black stockings, she headed to the window.
“Phew….”
She peered out the window with the world’s most exhausted expression.
Then, her burning cigarette caught her eye.
“I really should quit these….”
Her fallen baron father’s family.
She’d toiled her whole life to lift them up and finally became a knight.
Sure, she’d ridden Camilla’s coattails this time and aced the first-half evaluation…
But a knight needed raw power above all.
That’s why this second-half sparring evaluation—the Empire’s Greatest Sword Selection Tournament—was crucial.
“…”
But she knew.
She’d focused on admin work so far. Camilla had trained her, but she was still woefully short.
Even good scores wouldn’t put her in the top ranks—an awkward plateau.
Not enough to revive her family.
“Haah….”
Miya sighed like a wronged cat.
“Maybe I should just head to the frontier and pick up some side gigs….”
Miya unbuttoned her stuffy dress shirt.
She draped her tie loosely like a necklace, then tapped off the ash.
“If I could just make 1,000 gold to pay off Dad’s debts….”
She arched her back sharply.
Her neat bob and dangling tie cascaded downward.
In that position, she glanced toward the entrance.
“Hm…?”
Miya tilted her head at the upside-down door.
Because there…
“…”
Stood the next captain of the Radiant Knights.
Richard, upside down in her vision.
“What.”
She wondered if she was still half-asleep.
Frozen in her arched-back pose.
“Shall I send you to the frontier?”
Richard, with his brilliant golden hair.
He smirked as he gazed at the woman who resembled a black cat.
“You’re that Veil fangirl…?”
Miya swallowed hard and pointed at him accusingly.
Richard bristled.
“Veil fangirl? That’s a bit harsh.”
Miya gulped again at the scion of a prestigious house meeting her alone.
Then, glancing down at her outfit—
She spun around in panic at how defenseless she looked.
“Anyway, you sure treat other people’s offices like your own living room.”
The bobbed-haired woman hurriedly buttoned her shirt.
Then, fumbling with her tie, she peeked at him.
“You just waltz in without knocking?”
“Veil said the door was open, so I came right in.”
‘Veil can just summon the next captain of a knight order like that…?’
Miya scratched the back of her head and guided him to the sofa.
“Have a seat, at least. I’ll make some coffee.”
Then, with barista-like skill, she brewed it.
“…”
In the awkward silence.
Richard stared fixedly at the ashtray before him.
He looked uncomfortable, as if female knights who smoked were a rarity.
“Sigh… Veil, you could’ve warned me if someone else was coming….”
Miya brought two cups and sat across from Richard.
“Here.”
“Thank you.”
Miya glanced up at the surprisingly meek Richard.
Rumors painted him as infamous.
Crushing opponents thoroughly, shattering their wills—that was his specialty.
Plus, riding high on his Sword Master father’s coattails.
Yet here he was, tame as a well-trained cub.
‘Why’d Veil call this guy…?’
Miya cleared her throat and sipped her coffee.
Eyes half-closed, she gulped it down.
――――――.
“The north is chilly even in summer.”
“You call this chilly…?”
The men’s voices from the entrance made her jolt and set down her cup.
Soon…
“Hey, it’s Richard.”
“You here ‘cause Veil called too?”
Vice Captain Allen of the Verdant Knights, in his blue uniform.
Vice Captain Batsu of the Eastern Knights, in black with a red scarf.
The Empire’s supernovas crammed into the modest office.
“Hic….”
Miya hiccuped at the celebrities’ arrival.
“But who’s the one sitting next to you?”
“She’s from the same Aquatic Defense Agency as Veil?”
Miya shrank back from the hulking men facing her.
“I-I’m… Veil’s senior….”
She stammered like a scared cat.
As she hesitated, I answered for her from behind.
“My direct senior, Miya Greta.”
Miya was especially glad to see me today.
“Veil…!”
“Sorry, Senior. Had to report to headquarters.”
I waved with a grin.
Then, to the cluttered Batsu and Allen:
“You guys sit on the sofa too. Time to get serious.”
My casual tone with the vice captains.
Miya’s already wide eyes went saucer-round.
She gaped at the divine beings obeying me without question.
“Uh, b-but what brings these gentlemen here? Hic!!”
Miya tried questioning me.
But got squished by the men piling onto the narrow sofa.
Sandwiched between their broad shoulders, she looked like a flattened cat.
“There’s the Empire’s Greatest Sword Selection Tournament this second half, right?”
I fetched a blackboard from the storeroom.
Slipping on the monocle Leah lent me, I said:
“I’ll be sparring instructor for these three.”
Instructor to the vice captains.
Under that dazzling title, the squished Miya squeaked.
“Wh—huh?! (I—instructor?!)”
She’d rarely seen my power up close.
She knew I was strong, but instructing these three? Her face said impossible.
“Yes, and that includes you, Senior.”
I beamed at Miya.
“This time, I’ll train you properly.”
I eyed her chest.
Sturdy mana rooted deep in her core.
Her basics were solid.
Train her right, and she’d be the Aquatic Defense Agency’s ace.
“If you follow my instructions, you’ll have a real shot.”
I addressed the giants in turn.
Luckily, they’d all had their heads cracked by me before.
“Please take care of us.”
Allen bowed deeply with polite formality.
“Look forward to your guidance.”
Batsu lowered his massive head.
“Ahem… I acknowledge you too….”
Even Richard last.
The three knelt like lambs before me.
“What’s this? So obedient all of a sudden?”
I’d expected grumbling, even with busted skulls.
I tilted my head at their compliance.
They answered in unison.
“Her Highness said she’d have our heads if we didn’t obey you.”
The princesses had threatened them viciously.
They’d realized it.
Some secret bond between me and the princesses.
“You sly foxes….”
They’d instinctively grasped my future.
Something unthinkable in my commoner days.
Now unfolding before my eyes.
“But it’s not just the princesses’ orders.”
Allen looked up.
He stared at me with earnest eyes.
“I learned from you how arrogant I was—a frog in a well.”
Batsu, who’d come with him, nodded.
“Same here. My duty is protecting Princess Lydia. I need to be humbler and stronger for that.”
I smiled warmly at their reformed selves.
‘They’re ready for official spots in the secret knight order.’
Richard glanced at the two knights.
He’d heard rumors of their tempers.
Their tameness felt alien.
“Miyaaa….”
Miya, squished beside him, was turning into jerky.
“Richard, what about you?”
I asked, arms crossed alone.
The golden-haired cub fixed his gaze on me.
“…”
In the past, he’d been crushed by me from the knighting ceremony onward.
He’d faced heavy family backlash and tough times after.
I’d understand if he resented me.
But.
“What do you mean?”
He smirked instead.
Rising from the sofa, he knelt before me.
“Nothing beats learning from the strong.”
In his past life, he’d led the charge against me.
This life, he knelt and begged for instruction.
“Please, Veil.”
All three knights slid off the sofa and knelt.
The now-plump Miya peeked nervously.
As if wondering if she should kneel too.
I smiled gently—no need.
“Senior, just stay seated. How could you kneel to your junior?”
Miya’s lips curved up at my words.
Like a confident cat, she crossed her arms alone.
“Heh… Right?”
As if she outranked the three kneeling vice captains.
“Good. Starting today, special training until the tournament.”
I grabbed the blackboard from the storeroom.
With chalk, I wrote ‘Enemy’ huge.
“You’re all pretty strong already. Honestly, not many worth watching.”
I drew a pyramid.
Placed Allen, Batsu, and Richard just below the peak.
“But the Empire’s Greatest Sword picks just one on this continent.”
I stressed that.
“You’re top-tier, but there’s an ultra-ultra-ultra top-tier above you.”
Like a star instructor, I continued.
The vice captains’ eyes gleamed like schooled beasts.
“Sword Masters for starters.”
I wrote two names, excluding the elderly ones.
Ekina Flamer.
Camilla Pavan.
“They’ll enter for sure to boost their orders’ standing.”
The vice captains knew their fame.
One realm above them.
“And Ekina’s heading here anyway—let’s talk to her.”
Casually, I pulled out our exchanged orders from my pocket.
Black Knights entering the tournament, it noted.
“The next captain of the Crimson Flame Knights… here?”
The men tilted their heads at my words.
“That ice queen to this place….”
They were floored I knew her too.
But that was just the beginning.
――――――.
The entrance opened.
A robed woman under perception-lowering magic stepped in.
“Keep summoning me like this, and it’s a problem….”
She glanced around warily as she entered.
Then startled at the packed office.
“It’s fine, it’s fine—.”
I whisked off Ekina’s robe.
Arm-in-arm familiarly, I introduced her.
“The mighty next captain of the Crimson Flame Knights will help with your spars.”
“…!”
The knights eyed my sly grin beside Ekina.
Right then, I looked less like an instructor, more like a wicked fox toying with prey.
“Um, Sir Veil? I wasn’t told about this?”
The redheaded knight glanced up at me.
I replied kindly.
“You needed sparring partners anyway—perfect timing.”
The men swallowed hard at facing Ekina.
But the Crimson Flame swordswoman’s face soured, unlike their excitement.
“Me…?”
She scratched her head.
Glanced at the men and smirked.
“They look too weak for sparring partners….”
Standing smugly by me, she looked down on them.
The vice captains felt a strange mix of emotions.
“…”
But the sourest face belonged to Miya.
She glared up at the red hawk like a sulky cat.
Especially at our chummy arm-link.