Chapter 72
Chapter 72
The next day at lunch.
The moment class ended, I stood up from my seat.
Alice had been slumped over her desk the entire lesson complaining that she was hungry, but unfortunately, I had something to take care of right now.
“What’s up?”
“Uh, I need to stop by the Department of Magic for a bit.”
She nodded and said she understood, then went to join Elysia.
I hurried toward the Department of Magic building, and by the time I arrived, I could see students just coming out.
“Ostia?”
Leysias, who had been packing her things together with Yuria, tilted her head with a puzzled expression when she saw me.
She was probably wondering why I had come to find her right after class ended.
I pointed outside and spoke.
“If you don’t have any other plans, could we talk a bit over lunch?”
“…I’ll eat with the other kids.”
“No, it’s fine. You can come with us.”
Yuria glanced between us and tried to excuse herself from her seat, but I shook my head.
There was nothing that needed hiding, and there was no reason for her to step aside.
The only reason I had sent Alice away separately was to avoid things getting noisy during the conversation.
I planned to tell her—and the rest of our classmates—later anyway.
“Well, whatever. I was going to eat with Yuria anyway, so I don’t really mind.”
Leysias accepted my proposal with a reluctant expression.
After choosing our meals in the academy cafeteria, we moved to a terrace with an open wall.
The weather was nice, so there were quite a few people around, but luckily one table was empty, and we took those seats.
“Oh right, where did you go over the weekend? Alice was running around with murder in her eyes looking for you.”
“…Ah, I had some business outside.”
When I shrugged and replied, Yuria chuckled and said to her,
“She already got over being mad.”
“Oh my, how did you manage that?”
“Ostia gave her a pretty sword as a present.”
At my words, Leysias narrowed her eyes slightly and sent me a faint smile.
“…Why are you making that face?”
“No reason. I just thought you were a complete blockhead when it came to romance, but it seems you know how to give gifts too.”
“Who are you calling a blockhead?”
I bristled at the remark, but she laughed it off, saying she was just joking.
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
Leysias asked as she cut her steak.
Yuria beside her also looked curious.
At that, I slowly opened my mouth.
“You know about the Academic Festival, right?”
“Of course. Wasn’t it said that it’ll be held in the Kingdom of Demedrio this time?”
“Yeah. And you and I were selected to participate.”
“…What?”
Caught off guard, her hand froze midair as she was bringing a forkful of meat to her mouth.
Then, with a flustered face, she asked again,
“Could you say that one more time?”
“You and I were selected to participate in this Academic Festival. We weren’t originally on the schedule, but apparently two members of the representative team had to withdraw due to unavoidable circumstances. We were chosen to fill those vacancies.”
“Don’t first-years lack the qualifications to participate in the Academic Festival?”
Leysias’s question was perfectly reasonable.
But I shrugged as if there was nothing to be done and spoke that name aloud.
“It seems a third-year senior, Louis, recommended us. He specifically named you and me.”
“…Senior Louis, as in.”
Her eyes gleamed strangely.
At that, I smiled faintly and said,
“Yeah, that guy.”
“……?”
Only Yuria, standing beside us, tilted her head with a puzzled expression.
Leysias glanced at her and added a quiet explanation.
“Louis is the alias of First Prince Carius.”
“…Ah.”
Yuria finally seemed to grasp what was going on, and she looked at me with a slightly pale face.
The relationship between the princes, as known to the public, wasn’t particularly bad.
Except when it came to me, the Third Prince.
No, it was only bad on my end.
There was no one who would gain anything from being associated with me, so among the nobles, it could be said that I had no connections aside from the Leipzig family.
“I’ve already gotten approval from the Association. They said that if you and I agree, they’ll designate us as academy representatives as early as today.”
“…Did you accept?”
“There’s no reason to refuse when they’re offering to pick us.”
When I said that it sounded fun just thinking about it, she gave a bitter smile and shook her head.
“The Empire’s future looks dark. None of the princes are normal.”
“Still, you picked your line well.”
“From what I can see now, it looks a little rotten…….”
Lately, the evaluations from those around me seemed a bit too harsh.
Worried that Leysias might refuse, I continued with a bit more explanation.
“I asked the academy, and they said that participating in the Academic Festival comes with bonus points. You and I both need to maintain our top student spots, right?”
When I shrugged and said that good things were good things, Leysias nodded and replied,
“I have no intention of refusing, so you don’t need to worry that much.”
“…Was it that obvious?”
“A little.”
Since it was better to have her than not, I had grown slightly impatient when I sensed her hesitation.
Seeing that, Leysias let out a small laugh and continued,
“If the rope we grabbed is rotten, shouldn’t we just cut out the rot and stitch it up?”
It was supposed to be an offer of help, but for some reason, her words sounded a little chilling.
All of today’s classes had ended.
Alice, who had been dozing off all afternoon after lunch, sprang up energetically as if nothing had happened.
“Ah, I promised Elysia that after all the classes end today, we’d train together. Want to come?”
“Sorry, I’ve got plans.”
“…You seem kind of busy lately?”
At my repeated refusals, Alice pouted.
I had planned to explain everything together with the others once today’s meeting was over, but seeing her expression, I couldn’t avoid telling her the circumstances.
“…The Academic Festival?”
“Yeah. I got picked to fill a vacancy.”
When I said that I’d probably be in the Kingdom of Demedrio for at least a week or two, Alice frowned slightly.
“It’d be hard for me to come along, right?”
“Only academy representatives can participate.”
Alice hadn’t cared much about her grades since enrolling in the academy, so her ranking wasn’t particularly high.
She thought for a moment at my words, then said she understood and dashed out of the classroom like an arrow.
“…I just hope she doesn’t plan anything strange.”
She didn’t look like she truly understood at all, which made me a little worried, but since she lacked the qualifications to participate, what could she really do? Just like that, I met up with Leysias and attended the academy representative meeting for the Academic Festival.
“Alright, then, let’s begin the meeting.”
The representative meeting was led by Carius.
Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed he had been tacitly acknowledged as the leader here.
Well, any reasonable person would know that he was the First Prince.
“As you all know, the Academic Festival is three weeks away. I know everyone is working hard, but I’d like you to put in just a little more effort so that we can achieve results worthy of the name Bayern.”
Perhaps thanks to his gentle demeanor, the atmosphere of the meeting was quite good.
Reports and presentations continued one after another—research results, training progress, and various other matters.
Carius followed each with precise and firm feedback, and they all accepted it without objection.
‘Fifteen people total, including me and Leysias.’
Looking around, they all seemed quite capable.
Naturally so—these were the representatives of the Empire’s foremost academy.
“And as previously announced, this concerns the vacancies that arose in the Swordsmanship Department and the Department of Magic. Originally, we intended to find suitable candidates from the second and third years, but since victory in those fields is essentially guaranteed, we selected first-years with outstanding performance instead.”
Up until then, no one had objected to his words.
However, when the topic of vacancies came up, the room began to stir slightly.
“…Louis. Even so, isn’t filling the spots with first-years a bit much? In terms of ability, too…….”
A senior who appeared to be a third-year raised his hand and voiced his opinion.
Judging purely by appearances, Louis’s decision did seem rather reckless.
Even if the Association had given its approval, there was always the risk of unforeseen problems.
“Your point is perfectly valid. However, Ostia here is the top student of the entire first year, including the Swordsmanship Department, and Miss Leysias is the top student of the Department of Magic. I don’t think there will be any issues in terms of ability.”
Carius responded by citing our grades.
But that was little more than a formality and hardly a proper answer.
Just as I was waiting to see what the other side would say, the student nodded with a small groan and lowered his hand.
“Well, if they’re top students, they’re probably better than most. And if it’s your judgment, no less.”
“Thank you for the compliment, Firke.”
The two exchanged light smiles while looking at each other.
At a glance, it might have seemed like a heartwarming conclusion, but watching it unfold, I couldn’t stop goosebumps from rising on the back of my hand.
‘If you’re going to collude, you should at least do it properly. That acting was pathetic.’
The question from the senior called Firke was probably prearranged.
He must have spoken up first to get ahead of anyone else who might have objected to our selection.
Once the matter had already been settled like that, anyone else raising the same issue would inevitably draw unfavorable looks.
On top of that, the prevailing sentiment was clearly in favor of Carius.
Few here would have the nerve to voice dissent carelessly.
“…….”
Even Petra simply closed her eyes quietly, as if the farce was all too obvious.
“So that’s how it is. Ostia, Miss Leysias. It’s sudden, but I look forward to working with you.”
The rest of the meeting that followed held little of value.
Most of it concerned remaining presentations or research meeting results—nothing I needed to pay attention to.
‘What will I be able to gain in the Kingdom of Demedrio?’
With my eyes unfocused, I sank into thought.
No matter how much I pondered what Carius was plotting here, it would be hard to figure it out.
If so, it would be more productive to think about what I could gain there instead.
But nothing in particular came to mind.
No hidden pieces had been mentioned, and at best, it would be an opportunity to recruit students from other academies.
But what could really be done in such a short time of just a week or two? On top of that, the major figures wouldn’t even be participating until next year.
Since the Academic Festival was destined to be disrupted by terrorism anyway, I wondered if it was even worth thinking deeply about.
‘…Did I agree too hastily?’
Since this wasn’t part of the original story, I had readily accepted the proposal, but thinking back on it, there didn’t seem to be much in it for me.
As I lifted my head, wondering if I should retract my acceptance even now, Carius happened to declare the end of the meeting.
“Alright, then. The next meeting will be here at the same time next week. Until then, everyone, prepare diligently.”
“…Tch, I’ll probably scrounge up something once I’m there.”
Since this time period was a skipped branch anyway, even picking up one small thing would be a gain.
That way, I could prepare for the practical training in the third semester.
“Hey.”
As I followed behind Leysias out of the meeting room, someone standing outside the door tapped my shoulder.
At that, I thought, of course.
It might have been Carius’s decision, but there were bound to be those who couldn’t accept me.
Challenging me to a fight under the pretense of practice was a common cliché, so I resolved to thoroughly crush whoever it was.
“You remember me, right?”
Contrary to my expectations, however, there stood a man with a friendly attitude.
“Being on the same representative team with a first-year. Since we’re at it, how about a spar?”
“…Haha.”
Eriksen, the second-year spear prodigy.
The red-haired idiot grinned broadly and tapped my shoulder again.
…Ten consecutive losses must not have been enough.