Don't Underestimate Blue (2)
That vicious little brat…….
There was probably no better word to describe Isaac than that.
Hmm. So, in other words, Isaac had walked off with the Red faction's necklace.
"Aaah, finally found it! You all hid it so well I couldn't find it, big brothers!"
"…You insane bastard! I told you it was mine, but you just kept ignoring me and ganged up on someone else!"
Granted, publicly advertising himself as a lunatic in front of everyone was a bit of a problem.
So this is why Grandfather prayed for me to get eliminated from the Pentagon…….
It was so he could administer some home discipline before the rumors spread any further.
I mean, look at that. How is that the faith that produces saints?
But what was done was done. What mattered was that Blue had won the Red Pentagon!
"Alright, now we just need to pull out the jewel from inside, and Blue wins……."
Of course, Naizer, who had spent that time recovering his strength, immediately launched a reclamation operation — to no avail.
"Come on out, or I'll pry ya out!"
Isaac, channeling Blue's holy power into his head, rammed his skull straight into Naizer.
Crack!
Naizer, whose ribs had already been broken by the Saintess's Sacred Technique, writhed in agony.
Kh—dammit, not again…! That bizarre holy art!
Though the one who'd cast it suffered just as much. Isaac, the very instigator of the headbutt, clutched his own head.
"Ffffuck!! That hurts like hell!"
That accursed Saintess technique!
Its destructive power was so overwhelming that no body short of a monster's could withstand it. He'd struck with his hardest part precisely because of that — and still!
"Like I said, those beggar-ass Saintesses' holy art… mmph!"
Shuri clamped a hand over Isaac's mouth in a panic. No matter what, he could not let the boy curse Blue in front of everyone.
You idiot, what are you using with that body of yours?!
He had no idea where Isaac had even learned it, but the destructive holy art Isaac had taught him was far too powerful. Unless your body was properly conditioned, the user's own bones would snap in half.
It worked for Shuri because he'd been beaten so often by Isaac that he'd gone to the training grounds specifically to toughen up.
For Isaac, whose body was still growing, with small and fragile bones, it was simply too much.
When he'd taught it to Shuri, he'd dialed the output to its lowest setting, which was why Shuri had come out fine — but real use was another matter entirely.
Anyway, just as Shuri was wrestling down Isaac, who was rolling around on the ground wailing about those damn Saintesses —
"Victory goes to Blue!"
The referee's final declaration rang out.
And with it, the arena erupted into a deafening roar.
"No, wait, my money! I went all-in on Red, and now—!"
"Hooray! Long live Blue's young lords!"
Not far away, knights could be seen torn between joy and despair.
Shuri, the victory finally sinking in, grinned and clenched his fist tight, while the Red apprentices ground their teeth as if refusing to accept such an absurd method of defeat.
"Those little……!"
The eyes of the Red apprentices, barely freed from Kina's paralysis, blazed with fury.
But Isaac flashed a foxlike grin at the sight. Then he whispered something to Shuri.
Shuri, picking up on his cue, looked mildly disapproving, but nodded all the same and approached them, offering his hand first.
"A fine match."
"!!"
At Shuri's greeting, the Red apprentices clenched their jaws as if swallowing an insult.
It is human nature to resent acknowledging someone you had always considered beneath you.
"What're you smirking at? You were whining like dogs until your junior carried you up here. Feeling good about that?"
"Even the unity was earned by your junior's power. Am I wrong?"
"!"
Shuri flinched. Of all things, he'd struck dead-on at the one sore spot Shuri cared about most.
When Shuri shot him a glare that said enough, the Red apprentices seized their opening and jeered.
"You're nothing without your junior, are you?"
"Just stay quiet like a cripple, like you did back at the academy! Live in your junior's shadow your whole— Pfft!"
Isaac threw a handful of sand in his face.
"Isaac!"
Isaac snarled, visibly furious.
"Cut it out! Can't you idiots see? He stayed quiet because he has this kind of power. Our brother was merciful enough to let you live all this time. Otherwise, you'd all be dead already!"
"Wh-what?"
"You know what? Blue teaches restraint! Because we possess power strong enough to destroy humanity itself."
At those words, Shuri looked at him with the most incredulous expression in the entire arena.
…You're lecturing people on Blue's doctrine? You?
"That's why we can never fight. Do your little friends not even know that?"
…Funny, someone who knows it that well sure beats people to a pulp. You little shit.
The guy representing Blue is out here hitting people?
"I'm a Saint, so I get a pass for throwing punches, but my brother here is too honest for that. Honestly, isn't keeping to that doctrine the more impressive feat?"
He's pushing drugs…. This little shit.
Also, I'm a Saint candidate too, you brat.
Well — Shuri had never been quiet at the academy for that reason alone, but still.
"Must be the brown hair. He just doesn't blend in with Blue."
"Hey, Shuri Eshua. You make mistakes, so you stand out even more. Do it properly. Don't drag Blue's honor through the mud."
With the blood of an enemy house running through him, he'd always been treated as the ugly duckling.
Still, thanks to Isaac, he'd at least been able to save face — so he was grateful, in a way.
But Isaac, as if all of this had merely been the opening act, grinned even more wickedly.
"I suppose Red's doctrine, unlike Blue's, is to pour out your feelings however you please. Given how gracelessly you can't even accept a fair loss."
At Isaac's words, the Red apprentices' eyes spat fire. They looked like children witnessing their parents being slapped across the face.
"This bastard dares insult Red— Pthoo!"
In that instant, a rock-hard object slammed into the Red apprentice's face.
When they saw who had thrown it, the Red apprentices went deathly pale.
"Stop humoring that guy, you idiots."
"Naizer……!"
Naizer, who had just flattened his own subordinate with a monstrous elbow, stood there gritting his teeth.
"If you lost, accept it cleanly. Just how far do you intend to drag Red's honor through the dirt?"
"……!!"
Shuri was inwardly stunned.
Even after taking that hit……!
His arm had been completely shattered and his whole body pulverized, yet he'd already recovered enough to move. The bloodline of House Red truly could not be underestimated. Absolute monsters.
But Naizer himself was glaring at Isaac with murderous intensity.
This bastard made Shuri do the greeting on purpose!
As team captain, it was a performance he was well within his rights to make — but no.
Because this was a gathering where the imperial family and the officials were all watching, he had deliberately used Shuri to provoke his subordinates!
Sure enough, the spectators were already whispering.
"Red's faith is remarkably brutish compared to Blue, isn't it?"
"I know that's how their faith has always been, but if they behave like this……"
"Blue was quite impressive by comparison, though. To think they restrain themselves because they're strong."
"My, my. Then might the New Year's delegation representing the Empire be Blue's faith?"
This sly little punk. What a cheap trick.
Wherever nobles gathered, everything flowed into politics — and this……!
Indeed, the tide among the spectators was shifting in a way that boded ill.
"What in the world was that technique Blue used today?"
"Wasn't Blue the weakest of the Five Faiths right now? Even if they're just apprentices, to think they'd beat the rising Red……"
"All the more reason to watch them closely, precisely because they're apprentices. They're the future of the faith, no?"
"And what about the savvy of bringing in the Pope's own grandson!"
Public interest had reached a fever pitch.
And the reason a mere apprentice Pentagon drew this much attention was simple: the Pentagon was a miniature war of faiths.
The results allowed one to gauge each faith's power and momentum, and the nobles calculated with ruthless precision where to invest.
That was why Naizer had no choice but to glare daggers at Isaac.
Blue, of all people, doing what Blue would never do.
They were the ones who kept their distance from worldly affairs and refused to entangle themselves in politics. Which, in other words, meant they were hopelessly inept at political maneuvering.
So with that in mind — how on earth had something like that been born into Blue?
A declining house, daring to toy with Red?
Naizer's teeth ground together.
Once this was over, he'd see to it. Judging by the way the boy had blown apart a statue of the Chief God, there was clearly something behind him.
I'll drag every last shred of his faith into the light and hand him over to the Inquisition.
He would sever Blue's lifeline so thoroughly that no one would speak of the "Five Faiths" again.
Blue's a ducal house? So what?
No one in this Empire escaped a raid and seizure from Red. Across thousands of years of history, how many houses had been annihilated by their hands?
No one — save the imperial family itself……
And then it happened.
"The youngest priest ever to represent the Empire was most impressive. Send a gift befitting the victors who graced the imperial training grounds."
"……!"
It was the Crown Prince.
His words, spoken as the representative of the imperial family, sent a stir through the arena. For the imperial family to bestow gifts was not an everyday occurrence — but the youngest priest?
"You mean Young Lord Isaac, Your Highness?"
So the imperial family was taking an interest?
And what would those words mean to the nobles?
"Doesn't that mean this year's national project could go to Blue?"
"Is Blue under the imperial family's protection now?"
Naizer's face twisted.
The imperial family??
The nobles began to murmur among themselves.
"Oho, looks like I'd best get on their good side. Speaking of which — Sir Rillai… hm? Sir Rillai?! Where did he go? Sir Rillai!"
Rillai had already slipped out of his seat, beaming with delight.
What mattered most to him right now wasn't those hyenas — it was watching the children grow!
I never dreamed they'd beat Red.
And whether that truly was the real power or not, to resurrect the power of the Saintesses themselves!
He'd need to verify it… no! First things first — praise the children.
Moreover, Isaac — the child he'd feared would never even grow properly — had gone and elevated Blue's honor to boot.
For House Eshua, how could he be anything but a blessing?
But just as Rillai was rushing toward his nephews —
"Sir Rillai."
"!"
At the voice calling his name, Rillai hastily dropped to one knee and saluted.
"It is an honor to behold Hella's other sun, Your Highness."
It was the Crown Prince, flanked by his knights.
Perhaps fifteen years old or so. Black hair, and deep golden eyes whose thoughts were impossible to read.
Chablis Alexfrik Hella.
In a continent where countless nations existed, the authority of the Hella imperial family bordered on the transcendent.
And the Crown Prince in particular had shown genius-level talent with the sword — the next head of the Empire, who commanded its knights.
"You keep fine nephews, Sir Rillai."
"You honor us, Your Highness. They are children with much left to learn, so I am rather embarrassed. To receive not only such praise from you but a gift besides — they will be overjoyed beyond measure."
Normally, the exchange would end with a casual 'well done' and the royalty moving on.
Yes — normally.
"Right. About that."
"…Yes?"
Was there a purpose behind the gift? The Crown Prince's eyes glittered with an oddly expectant light.
"I was thinking of having priest robes made for Blue's apprentices. What say you?"
"Y-your Highness?"
The knights standing nearby stared at the Crown Prince in open bewilderment. Rillai, too, stood stunned for a moment before managing a reply.
"Ah — yes! They will be delighted, truly. Apprentices are only issued a single set of robes, you see. And since the Gold Pentagon will take them abroad, the robes will shine all the brighter. Garments from the imperial family would be fit to pass down as heirlooms."
"Then when I send the tailor, may I stop by as well?"
"…I beg your pardon?"
Why is he acting like this?
"I mean — surely a busy Highness such as yourself need not trouble yourself with the visit…"
"It is my way of saying I wish to see your nephew."
…Pardon?
The Crown Prince wished to see a mere apprentice priest??
Why??
Even for a ducal house, there were ranks between them.
And the imperial family was supposed to avoid entangling itself with the priesthood, of all things!
But the Crown Prince stepped close to the flustered Rillai and murmured.
"One more thing. Consider it a piece of information for Blue."
"!"
"You may want to have your youngest withdraw from the Gold Pentagon."
"What in the—"
"Especially since the Pope intends to kill Young Lord Isaac Eshua. Be careful."
"……!"
The Pope. The Gold Pentagon.
At those words, Rillai let out a low groan.
The next trial would, in fact, take them beyond the borders — there was no telling what might happen out there.
Admittedly, with the adoption already on the table, it seemed unlikely Gold would go so far as to kill Isaac. But the Crown Prince, who watched the Holy See so warily, surely had solid grounds for saying such a thing.
Still — it was fine!
If it was Isaac, he would surely manage.
He'd be fine. Definitely.
Nope. Not fine.
Isaac scowled as he looked around the interior of the Blue living quarters.
Outside, everything was talk of Blue. The Blue teammates, freed from Beastification, had heard the results and were cheering, heaping the credit on Isaac.
"Did you hear? His Royal Highness the Crown Prince himself is having robes made for us! Is he out of his mind?!"
"And he even pulled a King in the Pentagon on top of that!"
"At this rate, we might land a better result than any of us dared hope!"
Yes — everything had gone according to plan. A resounding success.
The one thing he hadn't planned for was this.
"Hey. Aren't you going home?"
Namely: Kina Berith, who showed not the slightest intention of leaving the Blue living quarters.
Isaac arched a displeased eyebrow.
"Red's test is over. I don't need you anymore. You can go home now."
And yet this bastard — the young duke of the Gold house, the Pope's own grandson — wouldn't even untie the drawstring of Blue's uniform.
The maids were standing right beside him, insisting he leave, and still he wouldn't budge.
"M-master, truly. You must go. Lord Kina, the family head ordered you to return at once."
Right. Just watching this, your parents are probably flipping out back home, huh?
No, honestly, no lie — they're probably livid?
You should've seen your father's face when we ran into him leaving the arena.
In fact, the attendant who had come to fetch Kina was dripping with sweat. And no wonder — this wasn't merely Cardinal Verith's order. The Pope himself had commanded it.
You said you would handle Blue during the Gold Pentagon.
The fact that he found his grandson's presence in Blue such a headache suggested he meant to do something properly.
In other words, as long as Kina was here, they would find it impossible to lay a hand on Blue.
But —
"I'm not going."
"What?"
"You told me to become a priest of Blue. Remember?"
Isaac narrowed his eyes.
…When the hell did I ever say that, you little shit.