The Goddess's Lottery Ticket
You have won the Lunaria's Blessing Lottery. (10)
It might have seemed like I refused too firmly. If I wasn't careful, I could end up on the Uragon Duchy's blacklist just like Elaine. Still, I believed drawing a clear line here was best for the future, so I acted decisively.
In my view, the Second Prince didn't have what it took to become emperor. To be more precise, he seemed like the kind of gentle leader who would govern a nation well during an era of peace rather than in turbulent times. Claude Lu, the Second Prince, was born with the personality traits Generous and Lazy. It was probably fair to say we were completely incompatible. Simply working together would likely erode any goodwill between us, pile on nothing but stress, and eventually shatter our relationship.
That was why I erased Professor Kahilo's offer from my mind without a shred of regret. If I could just obtain the Khan Glitch from Alhazard's dungeon, going on a pilgrimage to the holy land alone wouldn't be that difficult anyway.
You have won the Lunaria's Blessing Lottery.
(10)
Nothing particularly special happened that afternoon besides my meeting with Professor Kahilo. After finishing all our classes, Elaine and I headed toward the academy's central fountain. Just like in the morning, the two of us walked side by side, facing forward. The only difference was that each of us now carried a wooden sword case slung over our shoulders.
"Hey, Leon. Did you leave the classroom earlier because of Professor Kahilo?"
Elaine had apparently noticed the reason I'd slipped out of the lecture hall that morning. Well, that made sense. Since she was the one who received direct pressure from Professor Kahilo almost every single day, she must have had a rough idea of how things were unfolding.
"Yeah. He told me to serve His Highness the Second Prince."
"!?"
Perhaps because I'd said something so outrageous so casually, Elaine froze for a moment. Thanks to that, the distance between us widened as I kept walking. Seeing me continue on without mercy, she hurried after me in a panic and whispered urgently.
"S-so... what did you say? You didn't... accept it, right? Did you?"
Flustered Elaine was surprisingly fun to tease. Was this what they called impact? Having only recently discovered this side of her, it felt refreshingly new.
Still, I decided I shouldn't tease her too much, so I answered to put her at ease.
"No. I'm not particularly interested in that sort of thing yet, so I turned him down."
Whether relieved by my answer or not, Elaine's voice brightened noticeably as she agreed.
"That's right! You're not in any rush to serve someone right now, are you, Leon? If you're going to be a knight, you should take your time thinking about the lord you'll serve and choose very carefully."
Her overly relieved attitude annoyed me a little, so I decided to probe her slightly.
"...True. But in the end, the only choices we're given are His Highness the Second Prince or the Crown Prince, aren't they? Wouldn't it be better for you if I served the Crown Prince?"
"...!?"
At my sudden question, Elaine drew in a small, sharp breath and fell silent. Was that too much? From her perspective, this was nothing more than a fate decided long ago by the family head, regardless of her own wishes... Even I realized it was a rather cruel question, so I started to move my lips to take it back.
"No. Leon. It isn't certain yet that the lord you are fated to serve must be one of them."
Elaine stopped dead in her tracks as if nailed to the spot, speaking with an incredibly serious expression. There was an inexplicable desperation in her voice. When I instinctively stopped and turned around, she placed one hand over her chest and continued.
"Who you serve is something only you can choose, Leon. No one else—not even Count Magnus, your family head—can interfere with the decision you make in your heart about 'who you will live for and who you will die for.' So..."
It was strange. She was the one who had obeyed the 'fated yoke' of her engagement to the Crown Prince more than anyone else. So why was Elaine saying this to me?
"Seniors! What are you two doing just standing here??"
At that moment, Raisa appeared from behind me with perfect timing. Thanks to her, Elaine closed her mouth before she could say anything more. Naturally, I had to answer Raisa's question.
"Hello, Raisa. Elaine and I were discussing our future career paths..."
As I gave that excuse and turned my gaze toward her, I saw something astonishing. Raisa was standing there holding a massive staff that was taller than she was.
"...It looks too tacky, doesn't it? It doesn't seem very noble, right??"
Misinterpreting my surprised expression, Raisa lowered her head in embarrassment and tried to hide the staff behind her back. Of course, there was no way she could hide a staff bigger than her own height...
I hadn't even suggested she switch to a staff yet. What was going on?
Elaine immediately cleared up my confusion.
"No, it suits you well, Raisa. I'm glad you remembered and brought a staff like I told you."
...Elaine had convinced Raisa to use a staff?
Seeing my bewildered face, Raisa explained the situation first.
"My wand broke during the back-alley hunt yesterday... so I spent all night thinking about it. Then this morning I ran into Senior Elaine at the cafeteria and told her about my worries. She suggested I try switching from a wand to a staff. So I took the plunge and changed it... I'm sorry for acting on my own without consulting you first, Senior Leon..."
Having said that much, her face turned slightly red as she hugged the staff with both arms against her chest. It was the same habitual pose she often showed when holding her small wooden wand.
"I agree with Elaine. It really suits you. And with that staff, I think it won't break even in a situation like yesterday and will be able to protect you."
When both of us gave positive evaluations, it seemed Raisa wasn't entirely displeased after all. Gaining courage, she lifted the staff slightly and declared with confidence.
"Hehe. Just wait and see, Senior Leon! Today's me is going to be different from yesterday!"
Of course. Just as you said, Raisa. Today's you will definitely be different from yesterday's you.
I thought this to myself but didn't say it out loud. She'd realize it on her own soon enough anyway.
By the way... how did Elaine know about the staff and recommend it? A tremendous sense of incongruity washed over me.
-----
"Leon. What exactly is the purpose behind this back-alley hunting you do?"
"...On the surface, it's for restoring and maintaining the academy's security, but if we're being honest, it's practical combat training."
When leaving the academy, every student had to write down their reason for going out. That's why I'd submitted an outing form yesterday with that absurd surface-level excuse. In truth, it was nothing more than a procedural formality. If the academy truly cared about student safety, they would never have let anyone out so easily. But in the 1.0.0 version of King's Crown, such common-sense elements were completely missing, as if the developers had cast a collective 'overwhelming negligence' hypnosis on all academy staff.
After submitting the same ridiculous reason to the automatons guarding the academy gate as yesterday, we began our back-alley hunt.
Perhaps because we'd stirred things up the day before, encounter events didn't trigger as often today. As we walked through the alleys, I thought about Elaine.
The sense of incongruity I'd felt earlier was definitely related to her. At first, I'd thought it was simply the difference between the future Elaine—who had experienced tragic events and was always steeped in sorrow—and the past Elaine, who still retained her innocence because those events hadn't happened yet.
But after hearing the forward-thinking words she'd given me today and learning that she'd advised Raisa to change her weapon, I began to think the incongruity wasn't simply due to a lack of experience. Rather, it felt like... she had far more experience than she should.
The advice she'd just given me carried a sincerity that somehow touched the heart, as if it came from someone who had gone through something similar... The same went for her comment about Raisa's wand. Unless she knew that Raisa had received the Great Blessing of the Goddess Lunaria and possessed far too much mana to control with an ordinary wand, there was no way she could have given such advice.
I glanced sideways at Elaine as we walked together through the alley.
Elaine Huxley.
No matter how I looked at her, I couldn't shake the suspicion that she wasn't the Elaine I knew from King's Crown.