It Was Me
The knocking sounds echoed. I thought, "Who the hell is knocking on the door of the Medal of Honor recipient who's still sleeping?" Since I was going to let it slide, hurry up and say 'Oh! I knocked the wrong door! Sorry!' and leave. But the knocking continued. "Damn... who the hell is it this morning...."
Unable to hold back, Karl spat out a curse and got out of bed. The four guys beyond the door were probably the ones who came again to discuss that patent or the alchemical foundation or whatever from yesterday. 'These bastards don't even have morning sleep. They're really going to drive me crazy.'
Looking at the clock, it was still before 7. Since the academy's first lecture starts at 9, they came early to wake me up. Even today, there was no morning lecture for Karl. So he wanted to sleep in happily, but his sleep was interrupted.
Muttering 'those damn hydras' repeatedly, he leisurely washed his face, washed his hair, and slowly wiped away the moisture. Now, even slower, he dressed. During this time, the knocking continued several times, but Karl never moved quickly. Instead, he even made a sound as if saying 'Since you're inside me, wait a bit longer' and relaxed.
"I'm coming out, I'm coming out. You bastards!"
Finally, after preparing to meet the person, he opened the door with a sigh—
"Sorry, Karl. Not bastards, but bastards. The visitor is just me."
"...?"
The person standing there was not the four, but the Crown Prince.
*
What? Am I still sleeping? Not getting up from the bed? Yeah, that's it. Otherwise, how could the Crown Prince say 'Good morning, Karl' in the morning, and not in the palace but at the academy. In front of me, the Crown Prince wouldn't say 'Good morning, Karl.'
"...Your Highness?"
Please, if this human in front of me suddenly cell-divided into the four and said 'Ta-da! It was a dream!'...
"Yeah. It's me. So, should I come in? I don't want to be seen by other students early in the morning."
"Eh, yes! Please come in, Your Highness."
"Don't raise your voice. Karl. If someone hears, it would be troublesome."
The Crown Prince entered and immediately closed the door. Wait, the guards?
"If you're worried about the guards, don't. They're all stationed around here."
"Ah..."
It's just that I can't adapt to the passive of the human male character, not the female one. Did my expression show it all? I do manage my expression well, don't I?
"Then, should the guards come in too—"
"I tried to enter your room, but that wouldn't do. I don't want to seem like I don't trust the Medal of Honor recipient. And if anything happens, Karl can handle it."
Having said that, the Crown Prince entered alone and slammed the door shut. What's going on? That's why it's really unsettling. The Crown Prince suddenly came to the academy, not only secretly, but entered my room in the morning. Anxiety is multiplied a hundred times!
"I woke up a while ago, but it took a while to open the door."
"That's right. I thought you were other uninvited guests."
"In other words, you were stalling to wait as long as possible."
Hmm, that makes sense. Even I would be angry at the person who woke me up in the morning. So, Karl is not at fault. If there's a fault, it's not mine for coming without notice! Hahaha!
Having said that, the Crown Prince said he had something to talk about and suddenly stared at me intently. "..."
"...?"
I wondered why, and soon realized the Crown Prince was waiting for something. Since the host is me and the guest is him, he was waiting until the words 'Please sit' came. For God's sake, the Crown Prince waiting for permission from a noble upstart. I'm going crazy.
"Please sit, Your Highness."
"Thank you, Karl. And please convey my apologies again. It was quite urgent."
At the word 'urgent,' I flinched involuntarily. What's the matter now?
"Could it be... another threat from the Luzens side to the Empire's stability?"
Damn hydras. How much more trouble are they planning? Do I really have to kill them all? It's a bit awkward for the Empire's ally, Heigens... That's why elves are useless. If there's something you can't do anymore, you need to accept and acknowledge it. The Kingdom of Knights, Lasquer, and the Nation of Mages, Abillesti, which were judged to be worth learning from the Empire, were accepted without hesitation. In the process, they showed accepting the Empire's superiority and lowering their heads. They were wise people who could bend their pride when necessary, even if not forever.
On the other hand, the elves... except for living longer and having pointed ears, they're just useless guys who keep strutting around, so they got their ears chopped off...
"Speak properly, Karl."
Ah, I think I was mistaken. It seems there's no major issue with the Empire's stability. "The remnants of their leadership have already been driven to the brink of total annihilation. With Rica... hah. Your sister returned to the front lines, what serious threat could there be? If it's a serious threat to their lives, then maybe..."
The Crown Prince shook his head and stared at me. Why? Why are you looking like that? The next Emperor would be scary if he looked like that.
"Karl."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"The reason you received the first Medal of Honor. That unbelievable miracle that happened that day."
Ah... are you referring to the incident where I accidentally saved my comrades?
"Have you reported all details about that?"
"Yes, Your Highness. I reported everything without missing even one important fact."
I'm not an idiot; reporting is the most important thing in the military. Moreover, it wasn't something I did on command, but a crazy act I did on my own, so I had to report properly. Even if I was a noble, otherwise it would have been a severe punishment.
"Karl. Even if it's not an important fact, is there anything else?"
But the Crown Prince kept asking if there was anything missing from the report. Why?
"Um... ah. Wait a moment, Your Highness."
Upon thinking, the reporter I interviewed yesterday wrote an article in just one day and published it in the newspaper. I didn't read it properly, but since I remember the interview content, it might help.
"Looking at this article, there are some parts I didn't include in the report."
"...Are you sure? It's not that different from what I know?"
Wait, hold on. Your Highness. ...Ah, damn it! Really! I forgot to include everything from the interview I did! I roughly said I shot with one bullet and slipped away in between! Did they really turn me down saying I couldn't report that the Empire's hero sneaked in like a rat?
Sigh, sighing, I had no choice but to relay what I said back to the Crown Prince.
"So, Karl. Before saving the Empire's soldiers, I accidentally passed by a Luzens camp. To shake their guard, I fired a shot and immediately left that spot?"
"Yes, Your Highness. I wasn't caught. I also pride myself on being quite good at concealment... Your Highness?"
Looking at it this way, the Crown Prince has his mouth open and is staring at me with a dazed look. No answer. Just staring like that. Why are you looking at me like that? It's scary!
"...Karl."
It was almost three minutes after the Crown Prince opened his mouth.
"You, about receiving the Medal of Honor. You can't refuse if you don't want to."
"Your Highness?"
"If you really have a conscience, you absolutely can't. Even if you receive three, or four."
What kind of words are these suddenly. Three medals? Four?
"Actually, yesterday, a secret report came up. It's the content that your sister confirmed through cooperation and investigation with the Heigens side, after checking again and again."
"Yes, Your Highness. What happened?"
"On the day you saved your comrades, the Luzens leader, Darnang Nabal, died."
"Eh... I heard through Eloise Lohengrin, the Heigens side person I met last time, that the leader of the bastards died. That was quite a coincidence."
Having answered that, suddenly the Crown Prince burst into laughter.
"Hahaha. Hahahaha!!"
"Your Highness? Did I do something rude...?"
"Ahahaha! Hahaha... ha. Indeed, the Adelheit family has surprised the Empire several times. I thought only Friedrich Count was like that, but it wasn't. Is it the father-son succession?"
The Crown Prince is saying things I can't understand at all. Why father, and why father-son succession.
"Karl. Listen carefully. The Luzens leader, Darnang Nabal. That guy... Karl, it seems you killed him."
"...Yes?"
"The common testimony of the remaining leadership personnel present at the scene at that time. One shot, one hit. And, the bullet that pierced the leader's heart in one strike."
Eh... wait, wait?
"At that moment, a single Empire soldier was so perfectly in that situation. And even more luckily, one bullet was fired. All the circumstances are pointing to the protagonist being you, Karl."
"I... isn't this just a simple guess?"
"Yeah. When you think about it, it's a guess. But Karl. When that guess matches almost all circumstances, the reliability skyrockets. Especially since it's not someone else, but Karl Adelheit. You."
Only now could I understand why the Crown Prince brought up his father. During the time when my father was active in the field. He went to battle with Lasquer, dueled, and in the process, he killed a Master who challenged him to a duel. But I heard that the guy was quite an important person on the Lasquer side, so their morale was cut to pieces...
Thump—
The Crown Prince placed his hand on my shoulder and opened his mouth with a very serious voice.
"You can't grumble about not wanting the Medal of Honor. If we don't give medals to people like you, our imperial family will be slandered for a long time while the Empire has breath."