Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Blue Blood Symposium
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The symposium of blue-blooded intellectuals.
That was the ideology and identity of Gracia Academy.
The arrogance of never mingling with lowly commoners who weren't nobles.
Christopher Balheim was a freshman in the Knight Department at such a Gracia Academy. But no one could underestimate him as a mere freshman, for he was the only son of Sir Theodor, the kingdom's greatest knight of renown.
The Captain of the Royal Knights, who also served as Captain of the Guard. As the son of such a Sir Theodor, Christopher himself was making a name as a promising knight candidate.
"Hmm..."
So when Christopher stood in front of the bulletin board, letting out a groan as he stared at something, it was no wonder that the many noble ladies attending the same academy buzzed excitedly, whispering about whether to strike up a conversation.
However, Christopher was the kind of existence one might call the protagonist in a story. Extras didn't suit him. What suited a protagonist were fellow protagonists. And for a man like Christopher, the only woman who could approach him casually was...
The sole heroine of this world.
"Is something wrong, Christopher?"
"Ah, Cordelia..."
Called out to, Christopher hurriedly checked his hair and attire before looking at Cordelia. Her golden hair was like threads woven from gold, and her eyes were like blue coral reefs embedded whole. She was the epitome of a kingdom beauty.
Naturally, Christopher held great affection for her. Could there be any man who didn't?
"It's nothing much. Just... I heard the academy freshmen are going out for field training this year."
"Field experience?"
Cordelia tilted her head, her puppy-like round eyes widening even more as if it were news she'd never heard before. Her gaze turned to the bulletin board Christopher had been staring at moments ago.
Sure enough, there was a notice posted there: the first-years would be heading to Claudia Duchy for field training soon.
Claudia Duchy.
Seeing that name, Cordelia paused for a moment.
"Claudia Duchy... that's where the Duke's Lady resides, right?"
"Ah, yes. So I've heard. She's our age, but she hasn't come to the academy..."
"Perfect timing! This is our chance to get close to the Duke's Lady!"
Christopher lost himself, entranced like a man in a daze, at the sight of her clapping her hands with a radiant smile. Whether she knew or not that yet another man was falling for her like lovesick fool, Cordelia hummed cheerfully, thinking about the upcoming field training.
'The Lady Claudia... for some reason, she didn't enroll...'
To be precise, she was looking forward to meeting the Lady Claudia there. Eve Claudia.
'I hope she's not ill or something. I'm worried.'
Her goal.
To befriend every lady in the kingdom. She reaffirmed it once more.
Our Lady has never set foot in the academy.
She didn't try to enroll and fail; she's simply never even wandered near it since birth.
So it was strange that you knew anything about the academy.
However.
"There's this girl there who looks like a total whore at first glance, you know? Watch out for her."
"Pardon? Lady, what do you...?"
"I'd love to just kill her outright, but touching her now would ruin everything..."
For some reason, the Lady knew all about the academy's current students.
And Enri could only let out an admiring gasp upon hearing it.
'As expected of our Lady.'
Enri knew she wasn't some ordinary noble lady but closer to a duke handling all the family affairs by proxy, so he wasn't greatly surprised that Eve knew about the academy students.
It would be strange if a mere "Duke's Lady" knew such things, but it was perfectly natural for the "Duke" to know. If anything, he was impressed that she had the latest on every young noble lady her age memorized in her head.
"But why tell me this?"
What puzzled him was telling it to him, a mere knight. Dealing with the incoming academy nobles should fall to the lord of Claudia Duchy, the Duke—or at least the Duke's Lady acting as proxy.
But Eve Claudia shook her head vigorously, as if she'd been told to eat cockroach as substitute meat.
"I'm planning to come down with a fake illness from now on."
"A what?"
"A fake illness. I'm sick. Get out."
Booted out by the order to leave, Enri let out a hollow laugh as he donned his uniform and waited. According to the messenger, the noble young masters and ladies from the academy would arrive at the territory by noon...
Sure enough, soon enough, pampered young nobles with faces full of complaints began lining up in front of the manor. Their expressions brimmed with dissatisfaction at why they had to come to such a rural backwater.
The duchy couldn't compare to the capital, but it was fairly developed in its own right... Enri stepped forward before these disgruntled noble whelps.
"Welcome. I am Enri, knight of Claudia Duchy."
"...A knight? Not the Duke or his proxy?"
"The Lady has come down with a fake illness. I'll be proxy today."
As the academy cadets tilted their heads, wondering if they'd misheard about the fake illness, Enri scanned them and paused upon spotting one girl.
And at the same moment, he instantly knew who the whore-like girl the Lady had warned him so much about was.
'...Huge.'
Our Lady wasn't small by any means, but compared to that girl, she was like a firefly before the sun. Seeing that, Enri could understand why the Lady hated her so much. Faced with that size, any woman would feel defeated and jealous.
Enri nodded as if he got it, then addressed the still-flustered academy cadets.
"I'll guide you to the field training site. Please follow me."
21st century modern era.
Rat packs roam Paris streets, spreading disease.
Bears burst from Japanese mountains, devouring people.
Stray dogs and cats terrorize Korean cities, threatening humans.
Thus.
Even in modern civilization, eradicating pests harmful to humans is exceedingly difficult.
Let alone a medieval fantasy world.
Of course, dragons, giants, basilisks, ogres... mighty monsters that make one tremble at the name alone are no longer found inland. Humans wouldn't tolerate threats breathing in their domain.
Goblins, trolls, ratmen—monsters that at worst harm a farm or two—were exceptions. They bred like crazy if given breathing room, making total extermination as hard as wiping out cockroaches or mosquitoes.
Such trash mobs were deliberately left alone in territories. To foster mercenaries and adventurers who made a living hunting them, and to keep powerless commoners from straying from the territory.
In other words, it wasn't a bad environment for academy cadets without real combat experience to gain some. Even green rookies were wizards and knights; they wouldn't fall to low-level monsters.
"Uh, so—just wander around here appropriately, and hunt any monsters you spot."
"...That's it?"
"Yes, that's it. What more is there?"
Watching Enri lounging leisurely on a folding recliner under a sunshade, slacking off, the academy cadets instinctively realized they shouldn't get too involved with this man.
And surprisingly, some cadets enjoyed the situation. Without academy instructors or guards—who should normally stick like glue to supervise and escort them—in this environment, boys and girls could enter secluded mountain areas away from prying eyes.
With lecherous grins anticipating certain scenarios, they paired off on their own and scattered here and there. Meanwhile, Enri sucked on pre-prepared drinks and leisurely read a book.
"—Um, Sir Knight?"
If not for the cadet who suddenly approached him. It was the female cadet the Lady Eve had warned him so sternly about. Cordelia, was it?
Enri raised his sunglasses and lifted an eyebrow. Cordelia cautiously pulled something from her bosom.
"You've had it rough because of us... This is nothing much, just a snack I packed for you."
"No need for this."
If it was free, Enri wouldn't turn down even dishwater. He jumped up and took the lunchbox. A lunchbox packed by an academy cadet? In his previous life terms, it was a handmade one from a high school girl.
How precious was it? The male cadets clinging to her glared at him with eyes burning in jealousy.
Grateful, Enri opened the lunchbox lid.
And paused at the food inside.
"Ah, you've never seen this before, right? It's a dish called 'braised short ribs' from my territory."
He knew it.
Braised short ribs.
Enri alternated glances between the braised short ribs and Cordelia, who had made it. No matter how mishmashed this romance fantasy world was, this dish clearly couldn't exist here.