Peace Hunter

At the second-year training ground for Class A.

This was our first time using this training ground. It looked identical to the first-year training ground. The size, interior, and everything in the training ground were also the same as the first-year training ground.

After a while of training, I decided to take a break.

"Ah, I forgot to ask what Miss Violetta and Princess Amelia's relationship was, because they seemed so close when they talked yesterday. Also, the magic they use is related. While Miss Violetta didn't use magic during her spar with me, I'm sure Miss Violetta's dominant magic is ~Flower Magic~, while Princess Amelia uses ~Rose Magic~. But it seems impolite to ask about such private matters. So, I'd better ignore this question if I see Miss Violetta again," I thought.

Irene, seeing me silent as if in thought, approached me.

"What's wrong, Rid?" Irene asked.

"Nothing," I said.

"I see," Irene said.

-

3 p.m.

Today's academy lessons were over.

"Rid, let's go get something to eat in the shopping area and take an afternoon stroll around the academy before returning to the dorms. It's been a long time since we've done that after studying at the academy, right? Yesterday, we all decided to go straight back to the dorms, and the academy was on break for a month," said Noa, who was standing in front of me.

"I guess we can't do that today, Noa, because I and the others have to go to the Elevrad room. During break, I met with senior Nadine, and she said all Elevrad members should gather after we get home," I said.

"Ok, that's fine then," Noa said.

"Sorry, Noa, maybe tomorrow if there aren't any Elevrad activities, then we can do that again," I said.

"Take it easy, Rid. Then I'm going on a date with Lillian. I'll go home first," Noa said.

"Ok," I said.

Noa immediately left the classroom. Then Charles, Chloe, and Irene also left the classroom to head to the Elevrad room. When we left, I didn't see Enzo. It seemed he had already gone to the Elevrad room. He hasn't been hanging out with us much lately.

-

In the Elevrad room.

"I thank you all for taking the time to gather here," said Senior Florian.

"Relax, Chairman. So, what's your need to gather us here? Are we ready to start planning for next year's academy tournament and festival?" asked Senior Darryl.

"Well, it would be great if we started planning now. But right now, we're short on personnel to start planning. I'm here to discuss that shortage. The first-year students seem to be familiar with the academy, and of course, they're also familiar with Elevrad. It seems like it's time for us to recruit talented first-year students," said Senior Florian.

"Talented students, huh? That mean those who ranked 1st to 5th on the academy entrance exam," I said.

"That's right, Vice Chairman," said Senior Florian.

"But isn't it too hasty for us to recruit first-year students as members of Elevrad?" asked Senior Darryl.

"No. A year ago, Senior Vyn and several other Elevrad members also recruited first-year students at the start of the school year," said Senior Florian.

"That's right, I was recruited by Senior Vyn after my match against Charles on our second day at the academy," I said.

"Amelia invited Chloe and I on our first day at the academy. Although we didn't join until a few months later," said Charles.

"See, they said it themselves, Darryl. So this year, we have to recruit first-year students at the start of the school year too. I've gathered information on the first-year students ranked 1st to 5th in the entrance exam yesterday. Please take a look," said Senior Florian.

Senior Florian distributed a sheet of paper to all the Elevrad members present.

"It seems like Senior Florian compiled this information report himself. He's truly taking the initiative. It's no wonder Senior Vyn appointed him as Elevrad's vice chairman last year and now appoints him as the new Elevrad's chairman," I thought.

I then looked at the paper and began to read it. The names of the four first-year students on the paper seemed unfamiliar to me. But one name was familiar.

"Elaina Stabile? Stabile, isn't that the surname of Commander Oliver and Senior Marco?" I thought.

"So Elaina just joined this academy and is a student, huh? I didn't expect that," Chloe said.

"Do you know the first-year student who ranked first on the entrance exam, Chloe?" I asked.

"Yes. According to this paper, her name is Elaina Stabile. You've met Commander Oliver, right? Elaina is Commander Oliver's daughter. Since Commander Oliver is the highest-ranking commander in the kingdom and often at the royal palace, Elaina often visits the royal palace to see her father. Because of that, I'm quite close to Elaina," Chloe said.

"I see, so they're father and daughter," I said.

"You've also met her older brother, Marco, right, Rid? If her brother is called the 'Sword Prince' then Elaina is called the 'Sword Princess'. But that nickname isn't an exaggeration. It might be a little embarrassing to say, but when I wasn't a student at this academy, Chloe and I would sometimes spar against Elaina. But every time we sparred with her, we always ended up losing. Her swordsmanship is truly extraordinary," Charles said.

"If you say so, she must be truly remarkable," I said.

"As Charles said, the 'Sword Princess' is truly a talented student. We must recruit the 'Sword Princess' to join Elevrad, and of course, we must also recruit the other four first-year students. When her brother, senior Marco was still a student at this academy, he had no interest in joining Elevrad. There's a chance this 'Sword Princess' will be the same as senior Marco. Therefore Vice Chairman, I want you to recruit the 'Sword Princess' so she will join Elevrad," said senior Florian.

"Me?" I asked, slightly surprised.

"That's true. With your popularity already well-known throughout the kingdom, perhaps recruiting the 'Sword Princess' will be a little easier," said senior Florian.

"I'm not sure about that," I said.

"Well, let's just try to recruit her first," said senior Florian.

"I'll accompany Rid to recruit the 'Sword Princess'," said Irene.

"Me too," said Charles.

"Then me too," said Chloe.

"I'll allow you to help the vice chairman. Besides, Charles and Chloe are also close friends with the 'Sword Princess', so it will be easier to recruit her. If you encounter the other four first-year students, please recruit them as well. But if you don't, there's no need to look for them, as your priority right now is recruiting the 'Sword Princess'," said Senior Florian.

"Yes, Senior," said the four of us.

"As members of Elevrad, you may enter the building of a different year than yours. Just show your Elevrad brooch to enter the first-year building if you want to find the 'Sword Princess' there," said Senior Florian.

"That's right. A year ago, Senior Vyn recruited me in the first-year building's competition arena. As a fourth-year student, he was able to enter the first-year building," I said.

"Senior Vyn can enter your year building, of course because he's a member of Elevrad, especially since he was the Elevrad chairman at the time. You just follow Senior Vyn's recruitment method, which he used a year ago," said Senior Florian.

I then remembered how Senior Vyn recruited me a year ago.

"No, I won't follow his recruitment method," I said.

-

After gathering in the Elevrad room, the four of us headed straight to the first-year building. Upon arriving at the first-year building, our presence immediately caught the attention of many first-year students.

"Isn't that Rid Archie? The student dubbed 'hero' in the newspapers?"

"There's even Prince Charles and Princess Chloe there too."

"Not only that, the Ice Princess is with them too."

"What's the matter with those four? Aren't students from other years not allowed to enter the building of a different year than their own?" the students asked.

It seemed like it would be difficult to find the 'sword princess' even though we were in the first-year building, so I decided to ask one of the students around us.

"Excuse me," I said.

"Y-yes, w-what do you need?" asked the female student.

"The four of us from Elevrad have a need for Elaina Stabile, the 'sword princess'. Do you know where Elaina is?" I asked.

"M-Miss Elaina? If I'm not mistaken, she's in the arena on the second floor," the student said.

"That's right, I saw her go to the arena on the second floor," said another student standing next to her.

"I see. Thank you," I said.

"Y-you're welcome," the student said.

After receiving this information, we immediately headed to the arena on the second floor. Then we arrived at the competition arena, which was currently quite crowded with first-year students. It had been quite a while since we last visited this arena, and the atmosphere was nostalgic. The students in the arena were surprised by our presence, as were the students on the first floor of the building. But we ignored them and chose to look at the arena, as someone was currently competing there.

"There's Elaina," Chloe said, pointing to the woman competing in the arena.

The woman was quite tall, probably about the same height as Irene. She wielded a sword and attacked her opponents with exquisite movements.

"It seems she's grown taller since we last met," Charles said.

"Oh, who's this? It turns out we have an uninvited guest in the competition arena," someone said.

The person then approached us, and it turned out to be Mr. Elgin, the supervisor of the second-floor competition arena in the first-year building.

"Long time no see, Mr. Elgin. You seem to be doing well," I said.

"Yes, I'm fine. As usual, you're very polite to me, Rid, very different from your friend Noa," said Mr. Elgin.

"Hahaha. Rather than that, it's good that Mr. Elgin is fine," I said.

"What brings you four here?" asked Mr. Elgin.

"We're here to meet the 'sword princess'. We want to recruit her as a member of Elevrad," I said.

"That's right, you're now the vice-chairman of Elevrad, huh? So now you're in charge of recruiting first-year students to join Elevrad. I admire you for coming to this arena in a good manner, very different from Vyn a year ago, who caused quite a stir when he arrived here," said Mr. Elgin.

"Hahaha, don't worry, Mr. Elgin. I won't follow the path that senior Vyn did last year," I said.

"That's good then. Please take a seat in the empty audience seats because the 'Sword Princess' is currently in her daily match. Well, although it looks like it'll be over soon," said Mr. Elgin.

Just as Mr. Elgin had said, the match ended moments after Mr. Elgin said that. The 'Sword Princess' had defeated her opponent.

"I'll announce the results first, so you guys wait here. Once the 'Sword Princess' has left the arena, you may meet her," said Mr. Elgin.

"Ok," I said.

Then Mr. Elgin announced the results of the match, indicating that the 'Sword Princess' had won. Then the 'Sword Princess' left the arena, and we immediately approached her.

"Elaina," said Chloe.

Elaina turned around after being called by Chloe.

"Princess Chloe?" Elaina said, slightly surprised.

"Long time no see," Chloe said.

"Yes, long time no see, Princess Chloe," Elaina said.

"How are you, Elaina?" asked Charles.

"Even Prince Charles came here. Ah, I'm fine, Prince," said Elaina.

"As usual, you're still being formal with us, even though we're close," said Charles.

"I'm more comfortable this way, Prince. Ah, since Prince Charles and Princess Chloe are now my seniors, that means I should call you both 'Senior Prince Charles' and 'Senior Princess Chloe,'" said Elaina.

"That's too long. You can just call us 'Senior.' No need to use 'Prince' and 'Princess'," said Chloe.

"Ok, I'll try," said Elaina.

"Ah, by the way, I brought my two friends here too. His name is Rid Archie, and the one next to him is Irene Emerald San Lucia," said Chloe.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Elaina Stabile. By the way, I already know who they are. Senior Irene, the ice princess, everyone in this kingdom surely knows who she is. Then there's Senior Rid, the one who appeared in the newspapers some time ago and was dubbed a 'hero' for thwarting an attack by a group of humans and demi-humans on this academy," Elaina said.

"So you already know who they are," Chloe said.

"Yes. By the way, what did Senior Chloe come to see me for? Surely the four of you came to see me for a reason, right?" Elaina asked.

"That's right, the four of us came here to see you to recruit you as members of Elevrad," Chloe said.

"Elevrad, huh. Ok, I'll accept," Elaina said.

"Eh, is it that easy?" Chloe asked.

"But I have one condition," Elaina said.

"What is the condition?" Chloe asked.

Then, Elaina looked at me.

"Senior Rid, compete with me in a daily match. If you win, I'll immediately join Elevrad," said Elaina.

-To be continued