Academy Completion Rate 33.33% - 2

It's only when you expect something that you end up disappointed. That's why I forgot how to hope. The more pointless hope you harbor, the denser the despair that rebounds as a reaction.

"We can't very well spend over a year just stuck in the Empire, can we?"

So when Ryutis said that so casually, bewilderment hit me before joy. It felt like scratching a lottery ticket I was certain was a dud, only to find I'd hit second prize.

Of course first prize would be these bastards dropping out entirely, but I'd already given up on that.

"Is that so?"

"Haha, are you disappointed we're leaving?"

What kind of nonsense was that? I was over the moon.

I answered with my expression without daring to say it out loud, and Ryutis burst out laughing again.

"At the very least we should spend the New Year in our homeland. It may not match the scale of the Empire's New Year's Audience, but Armein holds a commemorative ceremony for the New Year as well."

It was a thoroughly plausible reason, so I accepted it.

Having a member of the royal family skip the New Year's festivities would certainly be awkward. Do that and baseless rumors of discord within the royal house would start circulating, and the king would be the one stuck dealing with the headache.

When I turned my gaze to Later and Tanian, both of them nodded as if to say they were in the same boat.

The Union Council and the Ascension Ceremony.

The importance of the New Year for Yuven and the Holy Kingdom was greater than Armein's, not less.

The Union Council where the monarchs of the five kingdoms forming the alliance gathered, and the Ascension Ceremony commemorating the day Enen's first apostle rose to the heavens. Both were far too massive to skip simply because one was in a foreign country.

"Well, nothing for it then. Only those who can go will go."

The moment I said the words aloud, my heart eased at remarkable speed. The brats had quieted down enough lately that taking them along would have been fine, but the best outcome was still them vanishing back to their own countries.

An unexpected year-end gift had me nearly tearing up. Was this Enen's small mercy for all the suffering I'd endured?

Thank you...

It was pathetic to be grateful for something like this, but grateful was still grateful.

Please keep the gifts like this coming.

I watched Ryutis declare he would return with Armein specialties as a gift for the advisor, then took my seat.

Truthfully, I had not wanted to go home. When I first enrolled at the Imperial Academy, hadn't I sworn I would tough it out in the Empire until graduation?

Because it was for the royal family.

The more I stayed in my homeland and made my presence known, the more I only threatened my brother's position as crown prince. But a prince who spent three years studying at a foreign institution instead of his own—what noble would support him as heir?

So I had planned to endure and endure for three full years—

I can't just insert myself without reading the room.

I stole a glance at Luise. She was beaming, clearly delighted at the prospect of traveling with the advisor.

Right. How could I say I wanted to tag along when I saw a face like that? In the summer I had gone with them because I still carried feelings for Luise, but the situation was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠different now. We had given up on her, and as friends we were in the position of cheering on her love.

So this was the right call. A trip to the Imperial Capital ought to be a lovers' date. We had already done the club group trip in the summer; that was enough.

Besides, I have no choice but to return home anyway.

I leaned back against the chair with a faintly bitter feeling.

Giving up the Capital trip did not strictly mean I had to go home. I could always stay in the Academy dorms over the break. But a reason to return home had appeared regardless.

"His Highness the Crown Prince will be attending the Union Council this time."

A few days earlier, through the contact with my homeland, I had heard that my brother would participate in the Union Council.

Even if it was only in a supporting role beside Father, the fact of his attendance itself mattered. Sitting in on the council at the king's side was a clear move to solidify his standing as successor—an activity that proved him crown prince not merely internally, but on the international stage as well.

And at such a monumental occasion, a prince of nearly the same age failed to show his face at all? That would only spread rumors that he was rejecting the crown prince's position and stirring discord.

He planned this.

I rubbed the back of my neck. No matter how I looked at it, it was Father's scheme. A scheme to summon a son who had gone abroad and showed no sign of returning.

He had created a situation where even a brief appearance from me would not damage my brother's standing. At the same time, he had set the board so that failing to appear would breed rumors of royal discord.

So what else could I do? I had to go.

Tanian has no real reason to cling to the Empire either.

Tanian had just as much cause to return home. The Ascension Ceremony was one of the Dawn Church's most important events. The next Saint skipping something like that would make the Pope and the cardinals faint dead away.

"The Academy even has classrooms for aspiring priests. I wanted to see the compatriots who will one day lead the Church, and I also wanted to exchange knowledge with the Empire's clergy."

On top of that, there was the reason for enrollment I had overheard from Tanian once before by chance. He had entered the Academy to interact with the priests of the Empire, the nation with the largest number of the faithful on the continent.

It was a fairly important reason, but not important enough to stay in the Empire at the cost of missing the Ascension Ceremony. Besides, exchanges and camaraderie could be pursued vigorously during the semester itself.

On the other hand...

I turned my gaze to Ryutis, who was still laughing and chattering away.

"Why did I enroll?"

The words I had heard back then rose to mind, and my brow furrowed on instinct.

"No particular reason. Being in Armein was just boring, so I enrolled at the Empire's Academy for something different!"

A reply that was one hundred percent pure mania left me momentarily speechless. I had assumed he had some proper reason; I never imagined that reason would be pure entertainment.

Sir Villar, who had heard the same answer, had quietly closed his eyes. He had not shed any tears, yet that blank expression had looked exactly like weeping. That was no trick of the light.

That lunatic.

No matter how I thought about it, that guy was not someone who needed a reason to go home; he was someone who needed a reason to stay in the Empire.

Even if he went home now and simply never showed up for second year, it would not have been strange.

And I'm in the same year as a guy like that.

The thought left me desolate. No one knew my real reason for enrolling, nor Ryutis's. In other people's eyes, both of us simply looked like eccentrics who had abandoned our own countries' educational institutions to come to the Empire.

It was unfair. To think ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I would be lumped in with a madman steeped in that kind of mania. I had taken those hard steps for the sake of the royal family and my homeland.

...Whatever.

Right, what did it matter? A whole year had already passed, and two more still remained.

It was far too late to start feeling wronged now.

Damn it.

The list of those declaring they would sit the trip out was not limited to the three heading home.

There was also Ainter, whose home was the Imperial Palace to begin with, and Erich, who said he would stay at the estate this time. Those two.

"I'll be at the estate. I want to see Sera's face after so long."

"Alright. Pass along my regards."

"Got it."

A son who headed straight home the moment the semester ended instead of wandering off somewhere else. Mother would certainly be pleased.

That aside—Sera. It had been a long time since I heard that name.

It has been a while since I last saw her.

The younger of the two children born to the head lady-in-waiting. Her older brother had passed away from illness first, leaving her the only child.

On top of that her own health had never been particularly robust, so she was the head lady-in-waiting's sore spot. Still, thanks to the woman's devoted care—and Mother's unstinting support, given that Sera was the daughter of a childhood friend—I had heard she had grown considerably healthier.

She's doing well, then.

And knowing that my little brother was maintaining a good friendship made me feel oddly warm. Mother and the head lady-in-waiting were already close, so the children had plenty of occasions to meet, and Erich and Sera being the same age had let them grow close quickly.

Of course, that did not include me. Even in the old days I had been nothing more than an older-brother, younger-sister relationship of polite greetings. After the possession, even less so.

Childhood friends.

It was a little wondrous, really. The bond between Mother and the head lady-in-waiting had carried on to their children. A situation I never would have imagined in the world before the possession.

So this is how relationships spread when you have a family...

"Who is Sera?"

Tanian, who had apparently grown bored enough to start shuffling cards, spoke up idly.

This bastard. How long had it been since we came back from soccer, and he was already starting a game? Was the next Saint a little too devoted to his desires?

"...Erich's childhood friend. She's the head lady-in-waiting's daughter, so we've known her since we were young."

"Oh, what a fine connection. There's a saying that friends and wine only improve with age."

I nodded at Tanian's lightly smiling face.

"I wouldn't know about friends since I don't have any, but wine does get better the longer it ages."

At those words the atmosphere in the club room turned solemn for a moment. Ryutis and Later, who had been chattering among themselves, Ainter who had been watching them, and even Luise who had been brewing tea for the other members—all of them turned to stare at me at once.

Ah.

Only then did I realize. I had spoken without thinking.

I did not particularly care about having no friends, so the words had slipped out easily. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠To everyone else it must have looked like a self-destruct line that would bring tears to the eyes.

"W-well, you were busy, hyung. Training when you were little, and bureaucracy these days..."

"Friends you meet in childhood are not everything. The connections you will form as you live far outnumber those of your younger years."

Erich, who had plenty of friends unlike me, and Tanian, who had become the unintended trigger, both rushed to console me.

No, don't. That only made the feeling weirder. It was like I had genuinely become a pitiful person.

"...Yeah. Thanks."

Still, reacting coldly to that comfort would have been even stranger, so I forced a normal reply.

Fuck...

A person is allowed to not have friends sometimes.

There had been a small uproar in the middle, but in any case the participants for the Capital trip were finalized. Me, Luise, Irina. And Margeta, who had answered "yes" the moment I asked through the communication orb.

Even if the trip was for the sake of answering a confession, having the lineup turn out like this was a little embarrassing. Anyone looking would think it was a harem trip.

...They're not wrong.

Thinking it over again, that view was not particularly incorrect. Denying it would only make me look more pathetic.

I let out a sigh and activated the communication orb. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Given what I was about to ask, it was already far too late to deny anything.

"Yeah, it's me."

Before long the Second Section Chief's face appeared. Contacting him with my own hands only a few days after suffering his mental assault was miserable, but he was still the only bastard who would answer my question properly.

"Is the First Section Chief around?"

The answer I wanted. I nodded. What I was about to say was something no one—especially the First Section Chief—could be allowed to overhear.

"You son of a—"

I forced down the curse that had risen on instinct. Calm down. Lose my temper here and I would only get roasted until the call ended.

I bit my lip lightly at the snickering Second Section Chief, then carefully opened my mouth.

"Know any place that makes good rings?"

I hated him.

I hated my past self, and I hated the bastard on the other end of the line right now...!