Chapter 42: School Opening (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 42: School Opening (2)
In my past life, there was a saying.
—The most important thing is an unbreakable heart.
Thinking back on how that phrase became a trend, it essentially meant that as long as your spirit didn't break, you could achieve anything.
"So, I have no lingering regrets now."
Conversely, it also meant that if your heart did break, even things that should work out wouldn't.
Senior Loreliya’s romance had officially come to an end!
Because she had cleanly given up on her own!
"Well, there was never any love there to begin with. There wasn't much to be attached to anyway."
"Ah."
Come to think of it, they were only engaged for political reasons.
I’d forgotten because I’d been watching a one-sided love burning as fiercely as a wildfire right next to me.
"Honestly, when I was broken by sheer force, I still thought about putting in a bit more effort. But to think she would reform the Holy Kingdom all by herself just because she witnessed an injustice... I never imagined it."
In the senior’s light chuckle, there wasn't a hint of the melancholy one might expect from someone giving up on a fiancé.
It was a smile of genuine amusement.
"Refusing to back down in the face of injustice. She truly is a Saintess, isn't she?"
"Not really."
"...Is that so?"
At my immediate denial, Loreliya looked at me with an awkward expression.
"Yes."
Even if she was my senior, wrong was wrong.
Maybe if she were a Hero, but what could a Saintess do by refusing to back down against injustice?
"Daisy is the weird one. A normal Saintess can't do things like that."
Actually, I had wondered if the position of Saintess was a dual-class role that included being a Hero, so I’d scraped together all the information on past Saintesses while I was back in the Kingdom.
While I had to dig through everything myself here at the Academy, in the Kingdom, a simple request to the training command was all it took for them to organize it for me.
And I was able to confirm it.
Originally, a Saintess was exactly the support-type position I thought she was.
While there were occasionally Saintesses who showed talent in swordsmanship or magic...
There had never been anyone in history who judged the wicked with a badass sword of light like Daisy.
"That... I suppose you're right."
It seemed she wanted to argue, but even after groaning for a while, she couldn't think of a rebuttal.
"Anyway. Privately, I have acknowledged Daisy. And publicly, I have given up the fight."
Loreliya muttered, her lips pouting slightly as if she were a bit dissatisfied.
However, the weight of her words was anything but light.
"It's a bit surprising to hear you've given up publicly as well."
That didn't just mean she had given up; it meant her family had given up too.
House Jeyka, her family, seemed to have invested heavily in Prince Esid.
And they were just going to throw all that away?
"They've appraised the Saintess's value as higher. Rather than fighting the Saintess over Prince Esid, they've decided to help the two of them and see what they can gain from it instead."
Is this the class of a Great Noble house?
On the surface, the investment looked substantial.
Even if Prince Esid was far from being the next Emperor, they were coolly ignoring the sunk costs and looking toward the future.
"Well, it's not like we're breaking off the engagement immediately. I'll still be his fiancée for a while."
"Huh? Why?"
At that, the Fire Spammer, who had been half-dazed since hearing the senior had given up, snapped back to her senses.
Wait, was she still out of it?
To ask such an obvious question.
"There's no reason to take a loss on purpose."
"Exactly."
If House Jeyka declared the engagement broken, they would lose everything they had invested.
But if Prince Esid declared it, they could get a partial refund on those investments.
It wouldn't be because there was a problem with Loreliya, but because Prince Esid’s eyes had wandered to another woman.
Of course, in normal circumstances, rumors might spread in social circles that she had 'lost' as a woman.
But since the current Daisy was practically a natural disaster, everyone would understand.
"But there's one major problem, Senior."
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Will Daisy... actually choose Prince Esid?"
"...Wouldn't she, normally?"
Doubt filled Loreliya’s large eyes.
It was a natural thought.
Even if he was a bit low in the line of succession, he was still royalty of the Empire.
It wasn't like the ancient Imperial succession wars where brothers slaughtered each other.
Once the next Emperor was decided, the other siblings would marry into suitable families and leave the Imperial Family.
The sibling who became Emperor would then distribute appropriate power and authority to them.
Imperial blood was a sweet fruit—so sweet that even the Jeyka Duchy had aimed for Prince Esid to get a taste.
There was no way Daisy, who came from a small, peripheral Baron’s family, would refuse.
That was the common-sense view.
"I don't think Daisy will, though."
The opponent was a RoFan female lead.
If she chose her lover based on status alone, the mess Boradori saw wouldn't have happened in the first place.
"Uh, well. Then..."
"You might be stuck as his fiancée for quite a long time."
"......"
Loreliya fell silent.
She seemed to realize that she was effectively banned from dating until Prince Esid’s love life succeeded.
"...Prince. How is his romantic situation?"
And so, she demanded information from the spy she had already bribed.
"He's just digging his own grave."
I handed over the information I had, exactly as it was.
Fortunately, the membership of the Imperial Academy Romance Alliance remained unchanged.
However, Senior Loreliya’s position, as one of the parties involved, had shifted.
"I suppose I'll have to help with the romance between Prince Esid and Junior Marie."
She had moved to a support position, just like me.
"Se-Senior..."
Loreliya hugged the moved Fire Spammer and spoke.
"It helps me as well. While noble ladies who enter the Academy tend to marry late... usually, everyone has a partner before then."
If Prince Esid didn't call off the engagement by the time they graduated, Loreliya would have to choose one of three options.
Either give up the payback on the investment in Prince Esid.
Give up on romance.
Or...
"If they just never end up together, can't you just marry him anyway?"
She could just hold out and aim for the marriage.
"As I said before, I've given up on the engagement. I'd rather declare it broken and lose the investment than just wait around like an opportunist."
I nodded at her firm voice.
"Then we're enemies."
"Enemies?"
"I'm rooting for the Minor Sword Emperor."
"Ho..."
When I confidently revealed my pick, Loreliya laughed as if it were interesting.
"I've heard that Junior Asran, the one called the Minor Sword Emperor, is a decent person. But surely he pales in comparison to a Prince of the Empire."
"In a situation like that, if my dark horse wins, it'll be a perfect victory that no one can deny."
"How amusing. But it will be difficult to beat the support of House Jeyka within the Empire."
"I've been steadily preparing for this for a long time."
There was the variable of there being more single people than expected, but even before summer break started, I had the training officials preparing a romance route for the Minor Sword Emperor.
If we pushed him during the various event periods starting in the second semester...
While it might be hard to actually pair that blockhead Asran with Daisy, I was confident I could raise his favorability by about 20%.
"This should be fun."
At my confidence, Loreliya flashed a competitive smile.
Come to think of it, she’d been burning with a competitive spirit toward Daisy since the first time I saw her.
"Contrary to the rumors, you're quite combative."
"I tend to avoid fights I can avoid. But when I have no choice but to fight... I'd prefer to win."
For someone who says that, she seems to be fighting all the time.
"True. Might as well win if you're doing it."
"Exactly. So... our Junior Marie has to win too, right?"
At Loreliya’s words, the Fire Spammer avoided her gaze.
Ugh.
"That side looks hopeless, though."
The Fire Spammer hung her head low at my remark.
She seemed to know it herself.
"...Is it that bad?"
Loreliya frowned.
"First of all, she doesn't have the confidence to step forward herself."
"She bravely challenged Daisy last time, though."
"And she lost."
"I lost too."
Well, I suppose it's unavoidable since the opponent is Daisy.
"So I told her to target the guy instead, but she has no intention of moving."
If you can't beat Daisy, you just have to launch a direct attack on that Magic Spammer Prince.
The problem was that our Fire Spammer couldn't bring herself to do it.
"Hmm. Freezing up in front of the person you like. Honestly, I don't quite understand. If you like someone, can't you just say you like them?"
Loreliya looked at the Fire Spammer as if she truly didn't get it.
The Fire Spammer’s head dropped even lower.
At this rate, she was going to bury her face in the floor.
"By the way, you talk very confidently for someone in a loveless engagement."
"Do I?"
"Senior. Be honest. You've never dated, have you?"
"I've been engaged to the Imperial Family since I was seven. How could I date?"
Fair point.
"I'll give you that."
"Well, even if that weren't the case, my environment makes it difficult to even think about romance."
"Aren't you popular, though?"
Even Boradori praised her; she must have plenty of followers.
Even if she didn't, people would naturally flock to her given her status.
"I am popular. But the vast majority are just people trying to form a connection with my family."
"That's still popularity."
"Hmm. It might sound strange coming from someone in a political engagement, but... if I'm going to date, I want to meet someone who truly loves me for who I am, not for my status."
"You're quite the maiden at heart."
"Can't you tell? I am a maiden."
She gave a small laugh and twirled, holding the hem of her skirt—it was needlessly elegant.
Is this what a noble lady from the Empire’s most prestigious family looks like?
"I'll give you that, too."
The only women around me were the wild Princess Hestia, Senior Lucia who was always handing in her resignation, the modern-world possessor Violet, and Daisy, who looked like she could beat me in a fistfight. I had no choice but to acknowledge these perfect noble lady skills.
"Then, Senior Loreliya, the Maiden."
"Yes, Junior Adam, the Boy."
"First, please help remodel this Fire Spammer who hasn't even reached maiden status yet."
"Very well. No, before that... that 'Fire Spammer' expression is a bit much. Do you have any intention of changing it?"
If the senior put it that way, I might have considered it, but...
"She can't do anything except spam fire."
"Eek!"
The Fire Spammer glared at me, looking frustrated.
"If it's unfair, try succeeding in your romance."
"Y-you can't do it either!"
"It's not that I can't, it's that I don't."
Who was it that said it?
In love, the one who falls first loses.
Since I hadn't fallen for anyone like the Fire Spammer had, I was invincible.
And exactly three days later.
"This is my lover."
With Daisy’s statement as she awkwardly linked arms with someone...
"......"
"......"
I was able to prove it to Senior Loreliya and the Fire Spammer.
...Fuck.