Chapter 124: Heterogeneous Species (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 124: Heterogeneous Species (6)
The second-year students protested to Uncle Aeryun at this sudden bolt from the blue.
"So suddenly?"
"The ratios don't match!"
"The Empire must stop its tyranny!"
"…Did House Rias declare independence while I wasn't looking?"
Uncle Aeryun let out a deep sigh and nodded with an expression of understanding.
"Right. I get why you're upset. Honestly, I didn't want this outcome either."
He looked like he was in his 20th year of academy life, but since he was technically a second-year, his statement was relatable.
"But Adam over there appealed to his relationship with Leon..."
Stinging glares pierced me from both sides.
The Fire Spammer and Taylor were looking at me with expressions that basically said, 'So this bastard was the culprit?'
"He strongly insisted on the second year himself, so what could we do?"
If a Dragonkin throws a tantrum, the Academy Director has no choice but to accept.
No matter how much of a world-renowned Archmage the Director was, he was powerless before a Dragon, who was considered the progenitor of magic.
"And he’s a Red, on top of that."
Red.
From long ago, Dragons expressed their characteristics through their color.
Blue Dragons are calm.
White Dragons are composed.
Black Dragons are gloomy.
And Red Dragons are violent.
Of course, since personalities can vary by individual, this could be considered a stereotype. However...
—Those red-headed bastards generally have filthy tempers.
Because of the testimonies (?) of various Dragons recorded in history, it was a known fact.
If nothing else, the fact that Red Dragons were violent was something accepted not just by humans, but by all races—even other Dragons.
"We just have to do as we're told."
The academy officials wanted to preserve peace.
…Though that had become an unattainable dream a long time ago.
Still, they wanted to prevent a "parental visit" from a Red Dragon at all costs.
"Besides, if he's a second-year, it means he'll be gone in three years..."
Since he was offering to leave quickly on his own, the academy was practically welcoming him with open arms.
"Since he's a descendant of a Dragon, he's obviously going to the Magic Department, right?"
"You little...?"
I tried to make a preemptive strike, but the Fire Spammer glared at me while spitting out the very words I was about to say.
"No, he's in the Swordsmanship Department."
"Why..."
"Justice prevails!"
A descendant of a Dragon, the progenitor of magic, was joining the Swordsmanship Department.
I intended to thoroughly resist this incomprehensible tyranny of the academy, but...
"He says he's following his ancestors' path?"
"......"
As a member of a nation with a crazy dragon-loving ancestor, what could I do if the Ancestor himself made the choice?
"Shit."
I had no choice but to curse my workplace, which was providing nothing but hindrances to my godforsaken academy life.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the other heterogeneous species hadn't arrived yet.
"Why did I come early? Just because?"
Because she was bored.
Looking at the Dragonkin grandmother, Irin, who answered like that, I knelt and nodded.
"Is that so, Grandmother?"
"…I heard the gist of it. You're not even royalty."
She looked grumpy, as if asking why I was calling her grandmother.
"As one who serves the royal family, it is only natural to serve the elders of the royal house."
"Since when did you start serving me... and didn't you say the academy was equal! The admission process is over!"
"The process is over, but it hasn't been finalized yet."
It wasn't a lie.
Since it was a Royal Academy, academy matters were reported all the way to the Imperial Family.
Of course, the Director had significant authority and could handle most things at his discretion.
However, a troublesome being who inherited the blood of a Dragon and whose other half was of the Leon royal bloodline had appeared. The Director must have sent a tearful request to the Imperial Family asking, 'What do I do with this guy?'
The Imperial Family was likely agonizing over it as well.
Being a Dragonkin alone made her difficult to handle, but she also carried the Leon royal bloodline.
…In terms of genealogy, even Leon was a headache, so the Empire must be racking its brains on how to treat her.
Well, the best way would be to treat her according to principle using the academy as an excuse.
The Empire would surely choose that method in the end, but they would probably wonder if there was a better way right before reaching that conclusion.
"So, until then, I will serve you."
"…This is really burdensome."
I intended for it to be burdensome.
She was a human—no, a Dragonkin—who had sneaked into the academy and joined in when she saw students dueling.
And just because she was teased a bit, she immediately declared our father Leon's dragon-loving nature.
Thanks to that, the Leon royal family was in an emergency. The Commander had even ordered that our Ancestor be prioritized over Prince Ellen until the royal family decided on a course of action.
So, until the royal family reached a conclusion, I had to prevent the Ancestor from doing anything.
"Hmm... fine. Then."
Grandmother, who had been agonizing for a while, spoke with eyes sparkling as if she had never been grumpy.
"Show me something interesting that can only be seen here."
It would have been a very difficult request for an ordinary person.
"As you wish."
But since I had fully expected this, I immediately placed something truly wondrous before her—something that could only be seen here.
"…Adam?"
It was the specialty of a RoFan, the RoFan Female Lead.
#Daisy - Another woman has appeared beside my (fake) lover.
At Adam's urgent request, I stopped receiving help from Senior Bellian and came running.
"…Adam?"
Adam appeared with a woman at his side.
…And a new woman at that.
Even if it's fake, we're still in a relationship.
Is this a declaration of war, saying he doesn't want to continue the contract anymore?
"This is the specialty of our academy, the Saintess."
"Oh."
"She has a legend of sweeping away corrupt priests with her bare hands and cutting the evil of the Holy Kingdom in half with a sword that reaches the heavens."
"……She looks too perfectly fine for that to be a legend?"
"Because there is no lie in the sword that reaches the heavens. Countless witnesses saw it. It had no choice but to become a legend."
"…That's possible? Even I can't do that."
But something is strange.
How should I put it? Adam is being strangely humble.
So, I slid over, grabbed Adam's hand, and forced him away.
"Who is she, exactly?"
I lowered my voice and asked, but...
"I can hear everything, you know?"
"Gasp!"
The woman had approached us before I knew it and was speaking with narrowed eyes!
"I have good ears."
Then, her eyes sparkling, she began to circle around me.
"So this is the Saintess… she looks really weak…"
"She looks like that, but she's a very scary person. If the fight drags on, even you might lose, Grandmother."
"Grandmother?"
I blinked at the completely unfitting title and looked at the person in front of me.
Her appearance… was similar to mine. No, she looked even younger.
Her red hair, swaying down to her waist, wasn't tidy at all, but that made her seem more active.
Her golden eyes, filled with curiosity and sparkling like stars, were so full of life that the title 'Grandmother' didn't suit her at all.
"…I told you not to call me that."
Even the way she glared at Adam with narrowed eyes felt more cute than aged, yet he called her grandmother.
…Is this what they call a pet name?
Even though it's fake, he's never called me or Senior Loreliya something like that!
Just what is the relationship between those two!
"Do you really not know?"
I glared at him with that question in my eyes, but what came back was Adam's voice, sounding exasperated.
"H-How should I know!"
"…What have you been doing lately?"
"Uh, well. Just. Reviving the club?"
I have been living a bit busily lately for that purpose.
After classes, I've been turning down requests for help from others and going to the teaching assistants' office where the Senior is to prepare things that would help the Flower Arrangement Club.
For now, the goal is the 24th Continental Flower Arranging Championship held during the Founding Festival.
The President was an incredibly skilled person who won the silver medal—meaning 2nd place on the continent—at last year's Founding Festival.
When I asked how she attained such skill, she told me a sad story about how the Flower Arrangement Club would have been abolished long ago if she didn't have such credentials.
As a bonus, she seemed a bit shocked that we were members last year but didn't know that fact...
W-Well, there was a very big incident during last year's Founding Festival.
It's treated as no big deal now, but a Dark Mage appeared! We were caught up in an incident like that!
When I made that excuse, Senior Bellian fortunately let it slide.
"…So I've been busy. Did something happen?"
"Uh, well."
Adam seemed to organize his thoughts for a moment, then introduced the woman with a very complicated expression.
"She is Prince Ellen's ancestor."
"……Pardon?"
I blinked and looked at the woman again.
Not a parent… but an ancestor.
That's a very strange way to put it.
"Ah! Is it something like that? I heard there are people who are much younger but are higher up in the family tree among distant cousins..."
I've heard of it at the academy.
A classmate lamented how a kid who suddenly visited their estate was actually in the same generation as their father, so they had to call the little kid 'Aunt.'
Is the woman in front of me like that...
"No. She is a genuine elder."
"……?"
"For the record, she's also very old."
"……In terms of racial values, I'm still young! My mom even said she was worried because I'm still young!"
As I blinked silently at the incomprehensible words, Adam spoke as if it were nothing.
"For the record, that 'mom' is older than the Empire."
"Huh?"
"Because she's a Dragon."
"Aha!"
Her mother is a Dragon.
"Wait, what?"
Her mother is... a Dragon?
"Yes. She is the ancestor of the Leon Kingdom who will be attending the academy with us, the daughter of the famous Sword Saint Dain and the Great Master of the Adrian Mountains, the Red Dragon Iphriti—Grandmother Irin."
"……I told you to drop the 'Grandmother' part!"
"Wow… it's my first time seeing a Dragon…"
I've seen all sorts of people since coming to the academy.
I never thought I'd see a Dragon in person.
"She's not a Dragon. She's a Dragonkin, a hybrid of a Dragon and a human. As part of the heterogeneous species exchange policy starting from the second semester, she'll be taking classes with us in the Swordsmanship Department..."
I let Adam's explanation go in one ear and out the other as I looked at Irin.
Unlike the person named Ma—no, Marie—who felt somewhat similar, her hair color sparkled a bit more red.
I think there was a reason why I felt she was somehow more amazing.
A Dragonkin. A descendant of a Dragon!
To think I'd actually see a being I only saw in fairy tales with Violet when I was a child!
My heart began to throb.
How should I put it? To meet a being I only imagined and admired in my childhood!
"So, that's why. Please [fight] with our grandmother."
Adam said something, and I nodded and answered roughly.
"Yes! Of course! As much as you want..."
I'm doing something directly with a descendant of a Dragon, so what does it matter!
……Eh?
"Wait a minute."
In an instant, fragments of information began to piece together in my head.
Let's see, what did Adam say?
"As expected of the Saintess. Truly a representative of humanity!"
Wait. Wait a second. So he definitely said [fight] with our grandmother...
"To think you'd readily agree to fight even after hearing my identity. Humans really are interesting."
Fight? Me?
I turned my head to look at Adam, but nothing changed.