62. The Kingdom's Sword Saint
62. The Kingdom's Sword Saint
Time passed, and before I knew it, the day of the exchange meeting had arrived.
I hadn't particularly wanted to attend, but changed my mind after hearing Shara's report the day before.
She had obtained information that someone who shouldn't be there was mixed in among the exchange meeting participants.
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't believe it, so I wanted to confirm it with my own eyes.
Students gathered at the port, waiting for the regular ferry.
This time, it wasn't a gathering of students skipping class; it was an official event where the academy had allocated personnel on its own.
"Still, since all classes are canceled today, it's comfortable."
"I really can't see a damn thing."
"That's... never mind."
Liber started to say something but stopped.
It was probably some insolent thought like, 'Should I lift you up?'
She talked like that, but she never once considered the simplest method: pushing forward to the front.
Somehow, doing that felt like losing to her.
Few people genuinely welcomed Clover Academy, but no matter what, propriety had to be observed, so the welcoming ceremony at least had to be held grandly.
So much attention was paid to it that the Headmaster himself had come out to observe.
But looking at just that made the situation seem strange.
The other side should have nothing more than students and a supervising teacher at best, so why was someone as high-ranking as the Headmaster himself out here waiting?
"Wow, even the student council president is here..."
"This is our first time seeing each other, right?"
"How is that guy harder to see than the Headmaster?"
A man standing silently behind the Headmaster was visible—the student council president I had only heard about in rumors.
Even the student council president, whom I had never once seen and only knew by rumor, had appeared.
Only after confirming that was I certain that everything Shara had told me yesterday was true.
"So the rumors were real..."
"Rumors...?"
Emy tilted her head, but the answer became clear as soon as the regular ferry carrying Clover Academy's students arrived.
"Why aren't they coming out...?"
In the nearly unbearable silence, someone said that.
According to the original sequence, as soon as the ferry docked, about 120 students holding the flag of the Clover Kingdom were supposed to march in a three-column formation.
The students who were supposed to come didn't appear, but there was someone walking out at the very front.
Even seeing just one foot, he didn't seem like a student.
The clothes he wore were not student-like at all.
-Bbanppabam ppabababam bbamppabam
Then, from inside the ferry, accompanied by the sound of trumpets, someone shouted at the top of their lungs.
"Adolph Roang! The Grand Duke of the Fiyern Plain, the Guardian of the Clover Kingdom, and one of the supreme Masters, the 'Sword Saint,' is entering!"
That voice sent ripples through the students.
A robust man wearing a vivid red cloak and a deep navy dress uniform walked out.
With a sword lavishly adorned with jewels hanging at his waist, the man had slicked-back white hair oiled and combed back, and a stylish beard connecting his sideburns to his chin.
His face was quite deeply wrinkled, and for a 'Master'—whose physical aging slows drastically the moment they reach that realm—he looked remarkably old, but that appearance instead gave him an air of seasoned authority.
That man walking out with such dignified bearing was none other than the 'Sword Saint,' Adolph Roang.
The kingdom's Master had arrived in the empire.
It was the moment when the Sword Saint, one of only eight Masters currently existing on the continent, set foot in the imperial academy.
"..!!"
Many students were shocked.
Seeing that the professors all wore constipated expressions, most of them had known, and it seemed Hera-nim, the core of the exchange meeting, had known as well.
I wasn't that surprised either.
Since it was what I had heard from Shara yesterday.
The news that the Clover Kingdom had notified the empire that they would be bringing the Sword Saint along as an advisor, and that the empire had accepted, was shocking.
Normally, it is extremely difficult for a Master to enter another country.
How many nations would permit a living, walking nuclear bomb to enter the heart of their country?
Masters like Nana Teacher, whose identities are unknown, and the Shadows get cursed at a lot by people from other countries for that reason.
Mainly, Teacher gets cursed at a lot.
When I entered, I at least sent a letter.
Under normal circumstances, they would never have permitted it, so what got into them?
Behind the Sword Saint, who had boldly entered the empire, the students walked out in their planned three-column formation.
It was a sight hard to believe even when seeing it with my own eyes.
The academy students welcomed them with cheers.
But most of those cheers were directed not at the students, but at the Sword Saint, who walked at the very front, smiling and waving his hand.
However, not everyone welcomed the Sword Saint.
"Liber... are you okay...?"
"Huh? Uh... uh, I'm okay..."
Liber's complexion had worsened.
She had been perfectly fine just a moment ago, but the moment she saw the Clover Kingdom's people entering, she went pale.
Could it be that the fiancé she mentioned before was in the procession?
Even Shara hadn't been able to find out anything about Liber's fiancé.
The fact that the Simore family had pre-arranged an engagement with another family wasn't known at all.
I whispered into the ear of Liber, who looked extremely upset.
"... Do you want to go back to the dormitory?"
"No... I'll stay longer. If I move now, I'll just draw attention... I'll endure it a bit more."
She didn't seem to have any intention of moving immediately.
She focused on the event, and I also focused on the Sword Saint.
After walking for a bit, the Sword Saint reached the academy entrance and faced the Headmaster.
"You still enjoy surprising people, Sword Saint."
"Thank you for the grand welcome, Grand Mage."
"To use a title from decades ago... At the academy, Headmaster will suffice."
"Haha, to me, you are still the Grand Mage who swept the battlefields."
They exchanged superficial pleasantries, and then several procedures for the exchange between the academies followed.
"Hmm... let's see..."
As those procedures continued, Sword Saint Adolf briefly scanned his surroundings.
Was he looking for someone? His gaze didn't end with a simple glance; he persistently scrutinized the area.
Liber, turning her eyes away from the Sword Saint's intense gaze that fell upon the students, tightly grabbed my hand.
The hand I was holding trembled faintly.
"...."
I knew what it meant without her having to say it.
Liber was afraid of that man.
"... I want to go back..."
"... Okay."
I didn't ask why Liber said she wanted to go back.
I didn't want to drag out the conversation any further.
This wasn't the time to be nitpicking this and that.
Liber wanted it, so let's get out of here quickly.
Since a crowd had gathered, even if we were spotted, it would take some time to reach us.
I took Liber's hand and pushed through the crowd, slowly moving backward.
I had briefly turned my eyes toward the Sword Saint to move backward... when suddenly, the hand I was holding with Liber was pulled upward.
"Haha, there you were! You've grown so much I almost didn't recognize you!"
"!!"
The Sword Saint, having spotted Liber amidst the crowd, flew over and lifted her into his arms.
She rose into the sky, and our clasped hands came apart.
"P-put me down...!!!"
"What are you so embarrassed about! It's because I'm so happy to see you! This is the first time I've seen you since that day, so this is only our second meeting!"
Liber, her feet lifted off the ground, was flustered, but the Sword Saint, who had scooped her up, laughed as if genuinely delighted.
"Hmmmm, Sword Saint... even so, this is an official event. Could you perhaps postpone flirting with our student until later?"
Surprised by Sword Saint's sudden action, the Headmaster also used flight magic to follow behind him.
Only then did the Sword Saint look around and smile sheepishly with a genial expression.
"Haha, my apologies. It's just been so long since I saw my fiancée, I was so happy I got carried away..."
Hearing Sword Saint's words, the Headmaster tilted his head.
It must have been because he heard it but couldn't even imagine it was true.
"Fiancée? Yours?"
"Yes, Liber Simore... is my fiancée."
It was the moment the identity of Sword Saint's completely unknown fiancée was revealed.
The academy was turned upside down.
If this fact became known outside, not just the academy, but the entire empire would be turned upside down.
"It seems we have some overdue matters to discuss, so I will excuse myself for a moment. I will leave the rest of the event to our student representative."
—————————————————————-
The kingdom's Sword Saint's bombshell during the event shook the entire academy.
The identity of Sword Saint's fiancée, unknown to the public until now, had been revealed.
Sword Saint Adolf had reigned as a Master for a long time, and he, who had remained single all this time, had publicly disclosed the person he had promised to marry.
It was not just a matter that would become a hot topic within the academy, but a major incident that could shake the entire continent.
Linda was the same, Adolf was the same—Masters oddly had a high rate of bachelorhood, leading to persistent analysis that upon reaching that realm, the sense of loving the opposite sex dulled.
No wonder Shara hadn't been able to find it.
Who could ever have imagined that the Sword Saint was the other party?
"Liber... you'll be okay, right?"
"I'll be fine."
After the event ended, Emy and I sat on a bench, just fidgeting anxiously.
The event had ended in a muddled way along with Sword Saint's bombshell statement; it wasn't that all procedures had been completed, but rather that after making that statement, the Sword Saint had flown off somewhere with Liber saying they needed to talk for a moment, so it just fizzled out.
"Her fiancé is... the Sword Saint? How did Liber end up..."
"The Sword Saint has almost no records of leaving the Clover Kingdom ever since reaching the Master realm. It's strange..."
Anyone would think we were attending a funeral.
When I tried to follow, Liber told me she was fine, but it kept weighing on my mind.
Waiting with no set time left my mouth completely dry.
Then, from afar, Liber's voice rang out.
"Did you wait?"
Liber came running up, so lively that all my worrying felt foolish—she was exactly the same as she had been a few days ago, when she had been carefree.
It seemed the conversation had gone well.
"Liber..! Are you okay??"
"Sorry for worrying you. Nothing happened."
"Your fiancé was the Sword Saint?"
"I didn't know... I just thought he was a noble from the Clover Kingdom. I first saw him 10 years ago, and he looks exactly the same now, so I was surprised, what else."
Liber smiled sheepishly.
If it was 10 years ago, there wouldn't be much difference.
Masters age slowly, after all.
Even if you only looked at the official records, the Sword Saint of the Clover Kingdom was at least over 70 years old.
"He said he'd wait until I graduate. Anyway, the day after tomorrow, he's leaving..."
Liber spoke as if it were nothing, but considering her attitude just yesterday, it was extremely unnatural.
An engagement arranged without her opinion being considered at all, and the other party was an old man over 50 years older than her.
It seemed true that she hadn't known he was the Sword Saint.
Liber had a goal: to become strong enough by the time she graduated from the academy so that she wouldn't be shackled by this forced engagement.
"Yeah, it's okay now."
"Are you sure it's okay?"
"I said it's really okay. It's uncomfortable being together, so we even promised not to see each other until he leaves."
Her smile was the same as Liber always was.
She truly seemed fine.
It looked as if they had communicated well and reached an amicable agreement.
If what she said was true, there would be no further occasion for the Sword Saint to encounter Liber until he went back.
Even as she kept repeating that it was okay now, the unease in one corner of my heart wouldn't go away.
Was it because of Liber's reaction right after she had faced him?
At that moment, Liber was clearly afraid of the Sword Saint.
Not dislike or loathing, but fear... She said she had only seen him once.
Could the memory of that time still be dominating her?
I couldn't easily shake from my mind the image of the normally audacious Liber's trembling hands.
"Are you really fine with a partner who's nearly 80 years old?"
"That's... a matter for my family! As a noble, you know very well that it's not a matter for outsiders to interfere in. Even more so if the other party is the Sword Saint."
Liber raised her voice at my point.
"I'd prefer it if this topic never came up again. Anyway, I won't have to see that person again after this... and I'll figure something out about the engagement by the time I graduate.
Even if it doesn't work out, it's not that bad. He's a Master... And back then he was already old, so I thought he'd be a completely decrepit old man by now, but that's not the case..."
Liber refused any further interference.
Right.
In the end, it was a family matter.
If she married the Sword Saint, whose standing in the Clover Kingdom was practically higher than the king's, the Simore family would secure an unrivaled position even within the empire.
Compared to other minor nobles being sold off without even being able to resist, it was extremely good.
At least based on what I'd just seen, his personality didn't seem that eccentric, and he seemed capable of amicable conversation.
In the end, was an outsider like me in any position to meddle in her family affairs?
When I couldn't even properly handle my own matters and ran away?
"...."
"Now, now, let's stop this talk here. Thanks to the Sword Saint's arrival, all classes are canceled for the next three days, so let's have some fun! Come on!"
Was this really okay?
My worries only deepened.
Liber laughed and looped around one of my arms and one of Emy's, then strode forward.