Chapter 109
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Enjoy~
ED: LonelyMatter
Chapter 109 – One Question
“Here you go. No problem, Your Highness.”
The following day, Mouton arrived at the castle early. His apprentice, Ememe, had not gotten out of her futon, so he left her behind.
“Thank you, Mouton-san. I’m glad everything’s okay.”
Probably because it was so soon after it was finished, Mouton wanted to see the condition of the sword. In truth, Ain had told him that he would visit Mouton, but Mouton said he was going shopping, so Ain invited him to the castle.
After a light breakfast, they went to the training center to check on Ain’s case. The training center was empty at that time of day; only Ain and Mouton were there.
“I forgot to tell you something. I think that sword has a stupid ability.”
“S-stupid…?”
“It probably glows when it comes close to a human bone.”
“Why does it glow when it comes close to human bones? No, it’s okay, but…”
Mouton, who started to laugh when he heard Ain’s answer, chuckled for a moment before he gave his answer.
“With high-quality undead materials, such weapons can be made. Ah, but it doesn’t have the dangerous ability like summoning allies, it just sometimes glows in response to bones. It really just glows… And it also glows in a small way.”
“Does that make sense…?”
“I don’t know. You can at least tell if there’s a person buried in there somewhere, right?”
“…That doesn’t mean anything unless it’s a bone, right?”
“That’s right. There’s no point if you’re not alive. So if you want to look for a corpse, why not?”
There was no telling whether there would be an opportunity to search for human bones, but let’s consider the usefulness of this for now. Since this was an ability function… it would be nice to be able to use it somewhere.
“There are stories of n.o.bles in the past who liked to get close to the bones of the people they tortured. There are stories about that. Another story is about a man who stabbed a dying enemy and watched it… until it glowed.”
“I don’t think I have anything to do with that story, so I’ll pa.s.s.”
The old stories the blacksmith knew were often quite violent. This time, the story was also quite extreme.
“Ain-sama! We’ll be late if we don’t leave soon!”
Chris’ voice could be heard from outside the training center. More time had pa.s.sed than Ain had expected, and the time to leave for the academy was slowly approaching.
“Oops. The escort lady is calling for you. I’ll go with you.”
“Well then, let’s go. Thank you for coming all the way here this morning.”
“Gahaha! No problem!”
So Ain returned to his room, put down his sword, and went to school with Chris and Mouton. But Mouton left in front of the White Rose and went to buy some food. …This was how Ain’s daily life started today.
＊＊＊
After arriving at the academy, Ain attended another joint cla.s.s today. Like the other day, he had a lecture about the first Ishtalika king and then enjoyed lunch and the break with his usual group of people.
And the break was almost over… and at the time when he came back to the cla.s.sroom.
“…I was extremely rude to Your Highness the Crown Prince this time. I deeply apologize.”
Graff’s work was very fast. He must have notified everything yesterday, and Roddy must have been informed about the letter’s contents.
Ain had expected him to be more forceful, so he was a little disappointed.
“I understand. You apologized right away and I’ll let bygones be bygones.”
He sounded a little arrogant, but he couldn’t help it because he couldn’t act humble. Leonard wasn’t happy about Roddy’s sudden arrival today, but he didn’t bother to say anything that might add salt to the wound. Both Butz and Roland looked disinterested and seemed to be enjoying another conversation.
“I appreciate your generous words…”
Had the place been different, or had Ain’s personality been different, Roddy’s head could have dropped. Roddy’s father told Roddy about this. And since Graff, the company’s president, also gave him a stern warning, he also chastised Roddy severely in this regard.
After bowing his head, Roddy left Ain and his group’s cla.s.sroom as if running away.
Butz, who had only seen this, opened his mouth.
“Hmm? Has he left already?”
“The conversation is over, and there’s nothing more to do.”
“Oh, I see. I heard something good on the training ground, wouldn’t you like to know, Ain?”
Butz said with a grin on his face. He rarely talked about such things, so Ain was naturally interested.
“I want to know, I want to know. What is it?”
“I know, right? I heard that that guy is actually a top-notch swordsman.”
“Huh… who told you that?”
“I got a random 5th grader and asked him. I don’t remember his name or face.”
Ain smiled bitterly at the inappropriate source of the information, but it was undoubtedly good information. He didn’t think he’d ever speak to Roddy again, but such information was surprisingly interesting.
“Well then! For example, who is stronger, Butz?”
Roland, who listened to their conversation, had a question. Butz was also a first-cla.s.s swordsman, so it would be interesting to see who was stronger.
“Oh? About that, Roland… You’ll never know until you try.”
“Huh? If it’s the usual Butz, you would insist that it’s you…”
“That’s because I don’t want to lose either. But you never know until you try.”
What affected Butz’s mind was the training scene of the Royal Knights in the castle. After being exposed to a level of skill, strength, and speed far beyond his own, Butz began to show a cautious and humble side.
“So, Butz. What about His Highness, for example?”
“How can a man who can take on a red bison head on be beaten by a mere academy student?”
There was only one answer to Leonard’s question. That was why the shock of the first meeting with Ain was so great.
“Well, as I said, I have no intention of losing to him. I’ve grown up in my own way.”
He stood up and clenched his fist to show his confidence, which was very encouraging. Seeing him, Ain and the others smiled at the friendly atmosphere, as they always did.
As Ain and the others enjoyed their conversation, they heard the sound of the cla.s.sroom door opening.
“Well, break time is over, gentlemen. …What are you doing Butz, I know you’ve grown up well, so put your stuff away.”
The cla.s.s had not noticed the end of the break when their teacher, Kyle, arrived. As Ain and the others hurriedly took their seats, Butz looked at Kyle with a blank expression on his face and then spoke to him with a big smile on his face.
“Professor! Have I grown up?”
“Y-Yes… Compared to your first year, you’ve grown a lot. But what about it…? Just calm down and sit down.”
There were probably teachers who were liked by the upper grades and feared by the lower grades.
Kyle was a cla.s.sic example of this type of professor, whose popularity grew with the older students. As they grew as students, they gradually began to notice the affection directed toward them.
To add more information, he sometimes became even more lenient with Ain, Butz, Leonard, and Roland, whom he had been looking after for the entire six years.
“Hey, how’s that, Roland? I got praised!”
“Y-yeah. That’s great, Butz… Why don’t you sit down?”
Kyle looked at Butz, who sat down with a laugh and opened his mouth after a look of dismay.
“There’s no need for an order, then we’ll start the homeroom… Today I have one thing for you to do… fill out a survey from the academy.”
The few students in the first cla.s.s began to wonder. Ain and the others also wondered what was going on and waited for Kyle’s next words.
“You may be wondering why I’m suddenly asking you to fill out a survey, but you don’t have to think about it too much. There are two things I’m going to ask you, and I want you to answer them.”
After checking the faces of all the students, Kyle took a few breaths and opened his mouth again.
“Academy District Rivalry. Anyone who is unhappy about not being able to partic.i.p.ate in this compet.i.tion, raise your hand honestly.”
The sound of a heartbeat could be felt. It seemed that not only Ain, but also Leonard, Butz, and Roland… who were sitting next to him, and on the contrary, the whole cla.s.s shared the same feeling.
“…Well, of course.”
Butz was the first to raise his hand. He, too, as a student in the Academy District, had wanted to partic.i.p.ate in the rivalry more than once… but had regretted not being able to because of the rules.
“Well, yeah, me too, actually…”
Roland then raised his hand and started to get everyone’s attention. Then, all the students raised their hands at once, and Leonard raised his hand after a delay. The last one left was Ain, who also raised his hand quietly after checking everyone’s faces.
“I see. I didn’t think you’d be interested, but thank you for your valuable input.”
Kyle took a notebook out of his lab coat and started to fill in the results of the current survey. Everyone looked at him and thought, “What’s the point of asking this?” Even if the system were to change, it would be after their own graduation… A momentary glimmer of hope was quickly followed by the same emptiness as before.
“It would be outrageous to let people find hope and then be done with it. Let me explain why I’m doing this survey.”
Everyone looked at Kyle, watching him closely to see what he would say next.
“…This year, there will probably be two events, and since it is the first year, there will have to be an exam. Therefore, I think it will be a compet.i.tion in speech and swordsmanship, and I am currently conducting a survey with the same content in all first and second year groups. At this rate, the majority of students will surpa.s.s the majority, and when that happens, there will be an inter-school compet.i.tion for the top two groups.”
After Kyle finished speaking, the cla.s.sroom fell silent for a moment. Then Butz opened the conversation with a loud bang on the desk! He stood up in a flurry of activity.
“Professor…! This isn’t a lie, is it…?”
“What’s the point of lying about something like this? It’s been decided by the board, so depending on the results of the survey… it’s almost a done deal.”
The students of the first cla.s.s had been quiet until that moment, their expressions were slightly calm, but inwardly, they all continued to fight the excitement that was bubbling up in them.
“Um… does that mean we’re competing against each other?”
Roland asked Kyle. Kyle seemed to have given up and answered the question honestly.
“…Yeah, that’s right. I’ve never been to one of these events before.”
There was no telling what Kyle was thinking when he said that because he had a mysterious side to him. But maybe this event would happen. In fact, it’s not just their group; the other groups probably felt the same way. After all, it’s school life, so it’s only natural that they would want such an event.
——On the way back to the castle from the academy, Ain enjoyed imagining what kind of events would be held there.
＊＊＊
When Ain returned to the castle, he had a lot of paperwork waiting for him. Krone, who usually worked with him, also had a lot of work to do, so this time, they worked in separate offices.
Some were administrative matters, some were pet.i.tions from the n.o.bles, and some were about the fishing and agricultural harvests. They were going through a lot of doc.u.ments, including administrative doc.u.ments, pet.i.tions from the n.o.bles, and reports on fishing and agricultural yields.
Although Warren and his staff have read all these doc.u.ments, he was not allowed to stamp his name on them at random. He read them carefully, one by one.
“Excuse me, Ain-sama.”
“Thank you for bringing the tea, Martha-san.”
Just as he was about to take a break, Martha came into Ain’s office. It was already nine o’clock at night. After eating in his room, Ain had been working hard since his return to the castle.
“I brought you some refreshments, would you like some?”
“I’ll take it. It was just what I wanted… I’ll appreciate it.”
Next to the tea are two sets of sandwiches, each a large portion, a nice amount for the growing Ain.
“You’ve been at your desk for a long time, aren’t you tired…?”
“I’ve gotten used to it. So I don’t think I’m really tired.”
Living in a castle, he had been doing royal work for years. He used to get tired all the time, but now he was completely fine with it, which showed how much Ain had grown.
“That’s good to hear. But please don’t be too hard on yourself and don’t forget to take a break.”
“Haha. I know, Martha-san. …Thanks for the tea and food, I’ll rest after I’ve done a little more.”
“I understand. If you have any questions, please call me.”
Hearing Ain’s answer, Martha quietly left the room. Now, it was time to go one step further. Ain put his hand on the refreshment Martha gave him and tapped his cheek to get himself in the mood.
“Maybe I’ll check the letter while I eat.”
Letters and doc.u.ments addressed to himself that did not need to be signed. He decided to eat his snack while he looked at them. That way, he could use his time more efficiently. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to eat slowly, but this was the best way for him to get some sleep.
“From grandfather? What is it…?”
Since they were in the same castle, why didn’t they just talk to each other in person? Ain used to think so, but it was certainly important to have it in writing. Not only did it eliminate the possibility of a mistake, but it was also more formal than a verbal agreement.
“The week after next… will you be present at the anniversary of the predecessor’s death?”
What was written on the doc.u.ment was a message.
It was a request for Ain to be present two weeks later. This meant that Ain should visit the grave of the king before Sylvird, or in other words, Sylvird’s father, on the anniversary of his death. Until now, only Sylvird had visited the grave every year. It seemed to be a custom of the Ishtalika royal family, and usually, only the king went there.
“I thought it was time to learn, so I was asked to be present…”
As he grew up, Ain began to get involved in many things. In other words, he was convinced that it would be like this. Being the future king, he had to learn something from the current king, Sylvird. It would be nice to see that in action next to him.
“I’ll tell Krone later. I will have to ask her to include it in my schedule.”
There were some things he needed to look into later, like the etiquette required to prepare for formal dress. He would be involved in many more things in the future, so he would have to learn from these things.
“The king. The king… King of Ishtalika…”
Thinking back to his time in Roundheart, he never thought that he would be a king in such a big country. It only brought back memories of standing up for Olivia and being sorry for all the trouble he caused her.
He wondered how his former family members were doing now. Grint was next to the out-of-control prince, and Logas was surely serving as a general. …As for grandmother Isis and second wife Alma, he was rather unconcerned about them.
If a meeting with Heim was indeed arranged, he would surely meet Logas again. He was now wondering what kind of face he should put on, and that was what was bothering him now.
“Uhhhh… I don’t hate him, but I don’t like him either. I don’t have the urge to kill him, but I want to get back at him a little. …Ah, it’s frustrating.”
Of course, there was no emotion or love left in them as a family. However, it was difficult to put this state of mind into words.
“Well, Grint is… yeah. I hope he grows up healthy.”
When he thought back to what happened in Euro and at the Roundheart mansion, this thought was incredibly naive. However, being a young child and having grown up under the influence of Alma and Isis, he had no resentment towards his younger brother. He did feel depressed at the time of Euro, but that was probably due to the circ.u.mstances of the time.
“Okay, thank you for the food. Then let’s continue.”
He moved away from the papers he had been checking with one hand while eating his sandwich and stretched his upper body far out. After taking a breather, he felt physically and mentally refreshed.
——He will try not to be embarra.s.sed as the future king of Ishtalika. With this thought in his head, Ain went back to his desk.
He concentrated once more, hoping that in the future, he would not be told that he was not the vessel of a king.
“…Now that I think about it, I wonder what a vessel is.”
What was the vessel of a king? He’d like to hear Sylvird’s thoughts on the matter. …Ain thought so.
Thinking back, Marco also mentioned vessels, and if so, Sylvird’s answer might give him some clues.
“But first I have to finish today’s work.”
…Ain’s work that day lasted until shortly before the end of the day.