The cadets were bewildered.
The reason for their bewilderment?
Need it even be said.
"I sense a splendid spirit. I look forward to a magnificent battle that would leave even the fairies in awe."
The princess, the noble Crown Princess who shone at 1st in the royal succession rank, was 'encouraging' them, so wouldn't it be stranger to remain calm?
...Is this a dream?
"However, getting hurt just to put on a splendid battle is out of the question. Please take care of yourselves. You are all talents who will benefit the country in the future."
Ah....
But their bewilderment was brief.
Those looking up at her reddened simultaneously and bowed their heads, regardless of who went first.
This was instinct.
'S-such a person can actually exist.'
Beautiful—no, even the expression 'beautiful' somehow felt like a disrespectful remark to her.
A beauty transcending the mortal world, as if an angel had descended.
A nobility that must never be defiled was there.
It was blasphemous for back-alley origins to even dare meet her eyes.
The cadets dared not lift their heads, hesitating not to cast their eyes down, their faces simply flushing red.
Furthermore, they gained a goal.
Ah! We shall definitely win today and offer glory to her-!
They boldly resolved, their hearts boiling over.
This was a resolution that arose equally regardless of whether they were warriors or mages, and the two groups added one more reason why they must win today.
Not only for the pride of mages and warriors, but they steeled themselves for a battle to earn the glory of daring to have an audience with the angel, the princess.
The men's eyes burned fiercely.
"Damn, she's spouting exactly the kind of talk that twists my arm."
Meanwhile, the instructor who saw all this clicked his tongue.
What are the three things one must be most careful of in the murim, no, the royal capital, which is like a mountain of blades and a forest of swords?
The old, the young, and beauties.
Elements that can easily cause one to let their guard down.
And among them, nothing is as exceedingly dangerous as the presence of a beauty.
Especially.
'There's no cure if you're bewitched by a nine-tailed fox.'
He cast a glance at the princess, who was sitting haughtily in the upper seat like a VIP viewing box, looking down at him.
Even though it had been a while since he last saw her, she still reeked of a sinister aura that gave him goosebumps.
Call it a wild animal's intuition.
He could clearly feel that getting involved with her would lead to trouble.
Ugh....
Ihahn let out a groan and shuddered, whereas the princess, who met his gaze,
'Insolent wretch, had you been by my side, I would have severely punished you.'
Tap.
Fiddling with the fan in her hand, Isis furrowed her brow.
Anyway, what an insolent friend.
* * *
The colosseum where the war game was held was like a miniature battlefield.
A massive battlefield that looked like two soccer fields joined together.
It was full of landscaped forests and rocks.
The artificially created natural environment was reminiscent of a terrarium.
They call it a game for nobles, but it was a glimpse into how seriously they engaged in their amusement.
Anyway, I don't really understand the psychology of rich people.
But one thing was certain: a match held in such a massive terrarium was appealing not only to nobles but also to the common people.
The colosseum was open not only to cadets but also to citizens, and they raised their voices loudly from the stands to cheer.
[Waaaaaaah!]
Truly fanatic.
After all, in a medieval era where entertainment was overwhelmingly scarce, such a match was a precious stimulus.
In terms of popularity, it might rival American football.
And of all things.
"...Umm."
"A-am I shaking?"
"Yeah, you're shaking like crazy. ...Me too."
The cadets felt dizzy.
Easily over thousands of people were watching them.
Interest, expectation, excitement.
The barrage of various emotions pouncing on them made their shoulders and necks heavy.
Ironically, the fact that they could withstand this weight was thanks to the harsh and unreasonable environment they experienced in Bulkan.
"Wow, that hellish time is actually helpful at a time like this."
"Right?"
"Haha...."
But even so, the scale of their first battlefield was excessively large.
Probably because of the princess's visit.
The descendant of the king.
The great female monarch they would serve with loyalty if they became knights in the future.
And because she, boasting the kingdom's greatest beauty, made not only the nobles of the kingdom but even the commoners adore her, they were all the more fanatic and focused on them.
They would likely dissect what value they had for the next-generation king to specially visit.
Of course, the princess's visit was equally glorious for them, but because of this, the tension actually grew higher.
And in this situation.
"This is no time to be standing around like this, Senior Brothers. We need to come up with tactics now."
"......."
While all the men were trembling, there was a resolute girl who alone maintained her composure.
"Huh? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"...Lady Folt, are you really planning to participate? Please step down even now."
"Please speak comfortably, Senior Brother. And as I said the other day, I have no intention of giving up."
"Umm...."
For them, who still found nobles difficult, it was inevitable they'd feel uncomfortable no matter how fragile the woman looked.
It was only because it was Levi Folt, with whom they had shared hardships for a month and felt something close to a comrade, that she even voiced her opinion like this.
In that sense, they still felt a slight anxiety about Levi Folt participating in the war game.
Before being a noble, if the girl, who was much smaller than them, were to get hurt by some chance, they felt they would feel guilty.
But the girl's eyes were resolute.
"Senior Brothers, although I am weak, I have still learned everything I could learn. So please don't worry. I, too, —am not standing here with just an ordinary resolve."
"Umm."
Yes, she was right.
A month of associating with Levi Folt.
The girl they experienced during that time was a strong person.
Not in terms of power, but a person with a strong spirit.
To speak clearly, even if they might be stronger than Levi Folt right now, the future was unknown.
The resoluteness of the girl's spirit was enough to make even Young Master Roen admire her.
"Let's win, us. To prove my worth as a person, and for Senior Brothers to prove your worth as well."
"......Yeah."
Sometimes, men become extremely simple-hearted.
They devote their lives to a single touch from a beauty, and sometimes they get fired up by someone else's encouragement.
And a girl, despite being a noble, politely calls them 'Senior Brother' and encourages them?
Well, this is.
"-She's got some fox in her too."
Not as much as the Sister, but not nine tails, maybe around two?
She knew well how to make the men's blood boil, didn't she.
He smiled in satisfaction at the girl's growth, who could no longer be called a chick.
* * *
Fortunately, the king did not make an appearance.
It was beyond a stroke of luck; it felt like ten years of good karma had been cashed in.
It was a guess, but the probability was high that Isis had pulled some strings.
Since Galahad and Lionel were already moving, if the king moved as well, there was a fear that it would escalate into an uncontrollable disaster.
'When the king moves, the army moves.'
Division-sized troops would move in perfect order, and furthermore, even the grand nobles would have to make a move.
How could they sit still when the king himself was making an appearance?
And if that happened, this academic festival (war game) would no longer be the cadets', but would become a stage for power.
This would greatly deviate from the very reason for the Academy's existence, which must always maintain neutrality.
Therefore, Isis lightly attending as the king's proxy was the limit the Academy could accept.
"It's a relief that the Duke and the Grand Duke aren't seen either."
"T-that... Instructor, mentioning them so casually is a bit..."
"I'm not their vassal, am I? And aren't those gentlemen in hiding (潜行)? So they shouldn't come out just because I say something. If they're in hiding, they should quietly watch and leave like they're in hiding."
"...I think about it sometimes, but I suspect you have multiple lives, Instructor."
"Jealous?"
"No, not at all."
"Hehe."
The Duke and the Grand Duke.
Where those two were right now was unknown not only to Ihahn, but also to the cadets and faculty.
No, it was more accurate to say that only a very few knew the fact that they had even come.
Only the princess visited with an official announcement, while the two lords had not revealed themselves at all currently.
Honestly, at this point, it would be safe to say they hadn't come.
Was Leira's information wrong?
'No, these people actually came.'
But Ihahn realized that the information Leira Winter brought was accurate.
If he hadn't heard it from her, he would have just let it pass, but once he knew, there were things he could see, no, feel.
'It's murderous.'
A heterogeneous aura felt among the cadets and ordinary spectators in the general stands.
They tried to hide it, but it wasn't enough to escape Ihahn's senses.
And the moment he felt the aura, he intuited.
'Not a single one is below me.'
The magnitude of the power held by those who entered the realm of his senses was enormous, each and every one.
Especially two bastards.
They were far apart from each other, but they particularly grated on his nerves.
Also, one bastard was acting as if he was openly declaring 'I am right here.'
Like piercing with an awl, he was glaring at the back of my head, very...
'This bastard?'
Ha!
He knew who it was.
That guy.
The insolent bastard who had a wild fistfight with him the other day.
The Duke's knight.
The bastard was provoking him.
*Grit!*
He wanted to go find him right then and settle the unfinished victory or defeat from that day.
The cadets weren't the only ones who had improved over the past month.
He too had developed, teaching them and rolling his body even harder than they did.
Unlike the other day, he had the confidence not to lose in terms of technique, so he wanted to test it right away, but.
"...Phew."
He suppressed his boiling blood with effort.
Right, 'today' he had to endure.
Because today's main character was not him.
The sprouts he raised,
The bonsai (盆栽), it was the day to check how much they had grown.
So he endures.
Even if there's a bastard insolently revealing his presence and provoking him.
'I'll deal with you next time.'
Because it won't end like today then.
Ihahn promised himself next time and turned his gaze to the disciples he had raised.
...However, Ihahn had to know.
Just as he felt and observed others.
"Hoh, there's an interesting guy, Brother."
That someone else could also observe him.
A black-haired man showed interest in him.
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly as I said, that guy is the real deal. If we fight, I don't know how the victory or defeat will turn out."
"...To the point you would evaluate him like that?"
"Yees, besides that, there's that guy over there, right? That side isn't easy either. The Duke's family raised a monster."
"......."
"Tsk, I thought there were no opponents other than those 'Three Monsters', but I should reflect on that."
"...Is that so. I thought it had completely rotted away, but it still had this much latent strength?"
The reason the black-haired men came all the way to the royal capital was not to see this ridiculous farce.
Nor did they have the shallow thought of keeping the royal family in check.
The reason they came here was none other than.
"Roen, was this what you wanted to see..."
They came all the way to the royal capital just to see the runaway insolent 'bloodline'.
Therefore, they didn't have much interest in this amusing spectacle.
Anyway, compared to the life in the North, the struggles here would be nothing more than mere entertainment.
But, in such a place, there were said to be no less than two people that the champion of the North could not dare guarantee victory against.
And the young warriors raised by one of them were on the stage.
This.
"...Maybe we'll be able to see it."
"See what?"
"The reason why that child, the only one among my bloodline qualified to be called a lion, my son, came all the way to the central region."
"Hoh."
"I might be able to see that now."
"That's quite, it sounds like it'll be fun, hehe."
Unaware that they had thus inadvertently drawn expectant interest, the bell resounded.
It was the bell signaling the start of the war game, which made countless people hold their expectations.