Chapter 6: The World is Wide, and There are Many Masters (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 6: The World is Wide, and There are Many Masters (2)
I didn't really have much to do to prepare for studying abroad.
Since it was a royal departure, there were many things to arrange, but I was essentially just a tag-along, so the kingdom handled everything on my behalf.
All I had to do was find someone to manage my mansion while I was away, sign long-term contracts with the merchants in my commercial buildings, and tell the people around me about my departure for the Empire.
"You're finally going!"
Looking at the woman who seemed more delighted than anyone else, I replied with a voice full of disappointment.
"Senior Lucia. Isn't that a bit much to say to your junior?"
Unlike usual, her red eyes—the same color as her hair—were sparkling with joy.
To think she’d be this happy when her precious junior was leaving for a distant land. She really was a heartless senior.
"I'm the one who's being treated unfairly! Do you have any idea how much Hestia throws a fit whenever she loses to you?!"
Lucia immediately put on a tearful face, but I simply shook my head.
They say people even badmouth the King behind his back, but she was calling a princess of the realm by her name so naturally. Of course, Princess Hestia was the one who insisted on it, but to be so used to it...
It was already too late for her. She was destined to spend her entire life by Princess Hestia’s side.
"Senior, maybe you should start carrying around contracts instead of resignation letters, like I do."
"Junior, what on earth are you talking about...?"
"You know it's too late better than anyone. If you can't escape, you might as well grab as much as you can."
"W-what are you saying! I'm definitely resigning this year, finding a man, and meeting someone to promise marriage to!"
I could guarantee it.
It was going to be difficult.
It wasn't that Senior Lucia lacked family background, looks, or ability. In fact, she had more than enough of all three.
And that was the problem.
While she might easily find a decent man...
"That man would have to get past Princess Hestia first, wouldn't he?"
Princess Hestia was the type of person who would draw her sword just to test a potential friend for her brother. For her most precious sandbag—no, friend—Senior Lucia, it wouldn't be surprising if she charged at any suitor with a sword in each hand.
"Junior... what are you really trying to say...?"
"Don't you know best?"
She knew. She was just running away from the truth. Perhaps she knew her own future even better than I did; she just refused to admit it.
"It's easier if you just give up."
There was no way the Commander would give up a high-level asset like Lucia, but even if the Commander and the royal family did, Princess Hestia never would.
"Adam is right. Our role is to support the pillars of the royal family. Do not try to flee from such an honorable duty."
At the sound of the stoic voice, I turned my head to see a man grinding coffee beans.
With blonde hair, blue eyes, and a face that looked like it was plucked from a painting, he exuded an aura of nobility just by breathing. This was Senior Daniel, the first person selected among the current training officers and the instructor for the 1st Prince, who was guaranteed to be the next King barring any unforeseen circumstances.
He was the oldest among the active training officers and a figure of great interest in high society as the future King’s confidant. In short, he was the leader of the training officers. However...
"It must be honorable for you, Senior...!"
His opponent was Senior Lucia. She was someone who had her resignation letter torn up by the Commander—who was a superior version of Daniel in every way—three times a week, only to write three more the following week.
"......"
Even the great Daniel subtly averted his gaze from her sheer intensity.
"Prince Allen is different from Princess Hestia!" Lucia shouted, her voice thick with the sorrows of her life.
And she wasn't wrong. As expected of a kingdom of knights, Prince Allen had learned the sword since childhood and had enough talent not to get beaten up anywhere, but he had been designated as the successor for a long time.
No matter how much of a knight's kingdom it was, unless they were barbarians, martial prowess couldn't be the only thing that mattered in ruling a nation.
Thus, as the Crown Prince, Prince Allen had spent his time learning various academic disciplines and participating indirectly in politics to hone his kingly qualities from an even younger age than Prince Ellen.
In that process, he inevitably grew distant from the sword, and his training officer, Daniel, naturally followed suit.
"Who wants coffee?"
"Me."
"Me too. And don't try to change the subject."
When Lucia glared at him with teary eyes, Daniel shut his mouth.
Since Prince Allen had put down the sword, Daniel had put his down as well. Honestly, if they fought now, Lucia would definitely win.
"You don't even visit the training grounds."
"I go occasionally. Occasionally."
In truth, Daniel was the most ideal training officer. The sparring sessions between Prince Allen and Daniel had long since become something akin to wealthy people playing golf in movies or dramas from my past life.
It was, quite literally, "hospitality."
And that was originally the role of a training officer. That was why, even while glancing at the sobbing Lucia, Daniel spoke confidently.
"To be honest, it's not just me."
That was true. While the training officers for the other princes and princesses all had their own circumstances, they were generally closer to Daniel's situation than ours.
"You two are the weird ones. It's not that I'm doing anything wrong, is it?"
He was absolutely right. Princess Hestia and Prince Ellen were the outliers. No matter how much of a knight's kingdom it was, royalty didn't usually spend more time at the training grounds than in social circles.
It was just that Princess Hestia loved the sword to an abnormal degree, and Prince Ellen was a freakish monster. The rest of the royalty were skilled, but they weren't the type to stake their lives on the blade.
"In the first place, from the moment training officers were granted the authority to defeat royalty at any time, your paths were destined to be different from ours."
The Defeat Sword.
As the name implied, it was a sword meant only for losing, but ironically, Lucia and I had been granted the authority not to lose. Of course, the reason for that was...
"We can't even win in the first place!"
It was simply because the talent of our charges was so overwhelming that we wouldn't even be a match for them unless we fought with the intent to win.
"Still, having the authority and not having it are two different things."
"I suppose so."
The timing of a training officer's defeat is usually decided after the Commander and other high-ranking officials put their heads together in a meeting. If the royal wins too easily, the thrill of victory diminishes, so they need to lose at the right moments.
However, if they accidentally stoke the royal's competitive spirit too much, the royal might abandon their duties and studies to obsess over the sword like Princess Hestia.
But Lucia and I were different. It didn't matter if we won at any time. Of course, that was only possible because of a convergence of various circumstances—and the fact that we couldn't win even if we wanted to—but having that authority alone proved we were treated differently from other training officers.
And of course, the most important thing was...
"And don't you get paid accordingly?"
As Daniel said, the performance bonuses Lucia and I received were overwhelming. Even Daniel, who was in charge of the Crown Prince, received far less than we did.
When you factored in the various elixirs and swordsmanship masters provided to us, the benefits Lucia and I received were almost on par with royalty.
"I'd rather they accept my resignation instead of giving me that authority."
I didn't know about Lucia, but I was satisfied, so I just nodded. Two mansions in the capital. There are words that always warm the heart.
"So, Adam. Expectations for you are high."
" I'll try, but don't expect too much."
There was still half a year left before the Academy started, but the rumors reaching my ears were unsettling.
Following the news that swordsmen from famous martial families were enrolling, it was said that royalty from our rival kingdom, Dale, as well as famous mages from various Magic Towers, were planning to attend.
They were just rumors, so not everyone would actually enroll, but even if only half of them were true, it meant most of the continent's rising stars were flocking to the Imperial Academy.
"Just put your faith in Prince Ellen."
As the sandbag for a genius prince, I had no confidence against real geniuses.
"......"
"......"
At my sincere remark, the two seniors stared at me in silence, looking dumbfounded.
"What? Why?"
When I frowned at their gaze, Daniel handed me the coffee he had brewed himself.
"You really are a frog in a well."
"Isn't the frog's weight class a bit too high for that?" Lucia muttered, her expression twisting slightly, perhaps from the bitter coffee.
It was strange how their eyes kept drifting toward me, but I brushed it off as my imagination and dropped about five sugar cubes into my coffee.
"Coffee should be enjoyed as it is..."
Daniel grumbled, but I was the one drinking it. Whether I put sugar or salt in it, as long as it tasted good to me, it didn't matter.
"Well, I'll at least make sure I don't get beaten up wherever I go."
Even if I couldn't be the pride of the kingdom, I had no intention of being its disgrace. Excluding about a dozen people, including the Minor Sword Emperor, I should be able to hold my own.
Being ranked around 11th among the Academy's swordsmen seemed like a perfect fit, didn't it?
"Think whatever you want."
"I guess I also thought I was weak before I entered the Academy."
Lucia spoke as if she’d had a similar phase, but I didn't think I was weak. I just wasn't underestimating the students entering the Imperial Academy this time.
"We already know everyone at the Royal Academy, don't we?"
Despite the Royal Academy of the Leon Kingdom attracting many excellent swordsmen befitting its title as a kingdom of knights, most of the students were from Leon. International students made up 10% at most, and most of them were individuals the royal family had already identified and analyzed.
But the Imperial Academy was different. I couldn't expect support from the royal family or the Commander. Unlike before, I would have to fight them with nothing but pure skill.
The world is wide, and masters are many.
Of course, I believed Prince Ellen would be peerless even in that wide world, but the renowned rising stars of the continent, including the Minor Sword Emperor Asran, would likely be able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him.
By meeting them, experiencing them, and sometimes fighting them, Prince Ellen would grow even further. After all, that was the whole point of studying in the Empire.
"I just need to stay standing until then."
I just needed to be by Prince Ellen's side until he met those people. To ensure his path wasn't lonely. To make sure he didn't lose his way while walking alone.
Because that was my role.
"Excellent."
Daniel nodded in satisfaction at my words.
"Oh, aren't you just so impressive," Lucia muttered, pouting.
Amidst the rich aroma of coffee and the warm atmosphere, I had no idea back then.
"......Huh?"
My head turned unnaturally, as if it were making a creaking sound.
The horrified gazes of those around me were fixed on me. I lowered my gaze and looked down.
A man with short gray hair was collapsed on the ground. His eyes, which had been overflowing with fighting spirit just moments ago, were now lifeless.
"......"
I quietly recalled his name.
The Minor Sword Emperor, Asran.
In terms of recognition alone, he was a swordsman whose name carried more weight than Prince Ellen's among this year's freshmen. He was also the name of my opponent for a light celebratory spar.
It was supposed to be light. I really kept it light.
So why?
"......Why?"
No, shit. Why are you lying on the street instead of in a bed?
I really don't get it.