Chapter 88
Chapter 88
With the death of a Majin whose name I never even knew, I brushed the ashes clinging to Excalibur and lifted my head.
Looking around, the chaos from just moments ago felt like a lie—it was eerily quiet.
Even the intermittent clashes between the Anti-Imperial Faction and the kingdom’s army seemed to have entered a lull, as the restless signs of battle had vanished.
“…River is still quiet, huh.”
I flicked the surface of Excalibur with my finger and muttered in a low voice.
She, the holy spirit bound to the sword, still maintained her silence.
When she first linked with me, she had said she would need some time to adjust due to the shock she had suffered and the aftereffects of having slept for so long—but I never expected there to be no reaction at all even now.
‘Well, I suppose beings who’ve lived for hundreds of years must have a different sense of time.’
A year to me could be no more than a single night to them.
That was probably why, despite already having cut down several demons and Majin, there had been no response.
“At this rate, Tyrfing might wake up first.”
Next year, because of external events, I would have opportunities to leave the Empire again like this.
When that happened, I would be able to meet the dwarves, and that would give me clues to restore Tyrfing.
Either way, the two of them would be of great help to me from the past into the future, so I desperately wanted to restore them as soon as possible.
Of course, since the two were like oil and water to each other, it was obvious they would fight tooth and nail the moment they met.
After dealing with the Majin, I stepped back toward the inner streets.
The Anti-Imperial Faction forces that had been visible everywhere just moments ago had vanished without leaving a trace.
In their place, soldiers who appeared to be the capital’s defenders swept through the area in full armor.
They rescued any civilians who hadn’t managed to flee and even approached me, who had been lingering nearby, to ask about my identity.
“I’m a student from Bayern Academy. I came to participate in the Academic Festival, but ended up coming this way amid the chaos.”
I had been ready to draw my sword at any moment if they tried something foolish, suspecting me of being an Anti-Imperial in disguise, but after seeing the token proving I was an Academy student, they nodded and guided me to a safe zone.
That was how I managed to return to the venue where the Academic Festival was being held.
Glancing around, it looked as though a huge disturbance had occurred—the interior was a complete mess.
The spectator seats that had once been packed were now completely empty, and only scattered traces of destruction testified to the violent clashes that had taken place.
“We’ve brought a student from Bayern Academy.”
The knight leading the soldiers escorted me to an Academy official.
After my identity was confirmed by the Bayern side, I rejoined my group, and they immediately pressed me for the details.
“I was fighting Senior Kaizen when the ground beneath my feet suddenly started glowing. I got sent flying to the outskirts of the capital, and it took a bit of effort to come back.”
I shrugged as if it were nothing, but the Imperial personnel who knew my status stiffened slightly.
Weren’t the two who had been on stage both from Bayern Academy—and an imperial prince of the Ribera Empire?
At the implication that there had been a plot targeting the prince, they began whispering among themselves, but when I shot them a cold look, they promptly shut their mouths and cleared their throats.
“At present, the citizens are under the protection of the kingdom’s army. Since many nobles from various countries and key figures of the kingdom are gathered here, the knights and mages are maintaining strict security.”
Telling us not to worry and to return to our lodgings to get some rest, the knight reassured us.
Still, judging by the expressions of the Imperial nobles, they looked as though they wanted to return to the Empire immediately through a teleport gate.
‘How did they manage to select only such solid people to send?’
Letting out a sigh, I turned my head and saw dusk settling as the sun sank beyond the venue.
It seemed that nearly half a day had passed since I’d been dropped into a forest outside the capital by teleportation and made my way back here.
After the rough situation briefing wrapped up, I rejoined my group and first checked for Carius and Darius.
“…They’re not here.”
As expected, their figures were nowhere to be seen.
Since they were the most important individuals the Kingdom of Demedrio couldn’t help but protect, they must have already evacuated to somewhere safer than this place.
Naturally, Isaac was nowhere to be seen either.
“Ostia.”
My companions looked as though they had a lot to say upon seeing me return, but mindful of the eyes around us, they held their tongues.
Under the protection of the knights, we returned to our lodgings, and before we could even exchange words, the day ended with instructions that we were not to leave our respective rooms.
The next day, the knights lifted the protective measures along with news that all rebellions had been suppressed.
Since we had been practically confined to our rooms, everyone seemed restless, and without any coordination, they began knocking on my door.
The room I had been assigned wasn’t small, but once everyone filed in, it felt completely full.
“What on earth happened?”
Alice and the others asked me for the full story.
They said that while the sudden terror attack had been shocking enough, everyone had panicked when I vanished despite having been perfectly fine on stage.
Apparently, Alice had even caused an uproar, insisting they had to go look for me immediately.
“When did I ever do that!”
She vehemently denied it, but she couldn’t hide the redness creeping into her face.
“I got dropped into a forest near the capital. When I came to my senses, dozens of soldiers had me surrounded.”
“So it was planned.”
“Yeah.
A man named Gashnel, one of Darius’s trusted aides, showed up.”
“…Gashnel, I’ve heard that name before.”
Leysias bit her lip with a serious expression.
She said that although he wasn’t widely known to the public, among noble families he was famous as a legendary figure who had risen to the level of Sword Master despite being from a fallen house.
“At least you look fine. Considering who your opponent was.”
Elysia let out a sigh of relief.
Saying she had never imagined she’d have to go through such chaos when she’d only come to watch, she voiced her complaints, and the others nodded in agreement.
“…But something feels a little different about you.”
“Different?”
A hint of puzzlement filled Alice’s eyes as she looked at me.
Even though I should have been concealing my presence, she seemed to have noticed the change, casting a suspicious gaze my way.
“Now that you mention it…….”
Leysias, who was relatively sensitive to mana, let out a small groan at those words.
It was probably because, after reaching the level of a master, my very constitution had changed, making it feel that way to her.
“Well, let’s talk about that later and go get some breakfast.”
At daybreak, everyone had gathered in my room, so it went without saying that we were all on empty stomachs.
Perhaps realizing their hunger after hearing me, everyone moved together to the dining hall.
The dining hall was packed with people.
Honestly, the taste was nothing to write home about, but in a situation like this, I didn’t want to go outside and draw attention to myself.
While we were eating like that, a man who looked like a noble of the Kingdom of Demedrio opened the dining hall doors and walked in.
Thinking he was probably someone who had been here with us yesterday, I continued eating while talking with my group—when he suddenly spoke loudly toward us.
“Academy representatives of each nation, I am Viscount Shahelin of the Kingdom of Demedrio. It is abrupt, but I am here to deliver urgent news.”
“Urgent news?”
At those words, the previously noisy interior fell silent in an instant.
Viscount Shahelin cleared his throat once with a stiff expression, then calmly continued.
“Due to the disturbance that occurred last night, great confusion arose within the kingdom. However, thanks to the swift response of the military, most of the rebel forces have been dealt with as of this moment, and our kingdom has regained stability.”
I thought he might be about to offer an apology, but the words that followed were more than enough to shock me.
“However… last night, the rebel forces infiltrated His Majesty the King’s residence, and His Majesty ultimately passed away.”
Clink!
The sound of a fork someone had dropped rang out, piercing the silence.
Even so, Viscount Shahelin, wearing an unconcerned expression, steadfastly finished what he had to say.
“Just before His Majesty passed away, in accordance with the will he left behind, Sword Marshal General Isaac ascended to the position of Acting King and will govern the nation for the time being. This account is the unvarnished truth without a single falsehood, and it has just been delivered to each nation. Soon, personnel will be dispatched from the countries you belong to for your return, so we would appreciate it if you could wait here until then.”
Those words were effectively a declaration of the Academic Festival’s end.
Ordinarily, no matter what happened, the award ceremony would proceed without issue—but a nation’s king had died.
Continuing as normal would have been strange.
“…So this was the objective.”
At the news that the king had died and Isaac would be assuming his duties, every lingering doubt I had was resolved.
Isaac, as the leader of the Anti-Imperial Faction, had mobilized them to incite the rebellion, but he had not stood at the forefront with them.
Instead, he ruined the Academic Festival, threw the capital into chaos, and in the end assassinated the king.
Public outrage toward the Anti-Imperial Faction would skyrocket, and Isaac would wipe them all out, solidifying his own power in the process.
The fact that Isaac was the head of the Anti-Imperial Faction—a group organized into thoroughly compartmentalized cells—was known only to an extremely small number of people, myself included.
Even if someone spread that rumor, it would surely be brushed aside and buried.
“…So that means me happily butchering those Anti-Imperial bastards yesterday just ended up helping that guy.”
After hearing everything and grasping the full picture, I let out a sigh.
To think even my anger toward the leader of the Anti-Imperial Faction had been exploited.
Who could have imagined he would use his own faction as disposable pieces.
The Majin had known I was a prince, so they were probably just testing the waters with their words.
“…….”
My companions, who more or less understood the situation, didn’t show it openly, but they all looked at me with bewildered expressions.
“Let’s just eat.”
I had achieved the accomplishment of reaching Sword Master, but from a strategic standpoint, it had been a complete defeat.
Maybe because of that, the aftertaste of the food felt unusually bitter.
Although the Academic Festival’s award ceremony was skipped, it wasn’t as if the results hadn’t been tallied.
By chance, aside from the swordsmanship division—where Darius and I had been in the middle of the finals—all other tournaments had already concluded.
Adding another layer of coincidence, I received a proposal suggesting that, since both finalists were from Bayern Academy, we declare a joint victory.
Hearing that the other side had already agreed, the corner of my mouth twitched.
‘Darius agreed?’
What kind of expression had he made when he learned that I was still alive?
A single Sword Master was a major asset even for a prince.
After all, a small country like the Kingdom of Demedrio only had Isaac.
And that had been utterly crushed by me.
That meant either I myself was a Sword Master, or I had assistance comparable to one.
They wouldn’t be able to scheme so freely anymore.
Well, even if they did come, unless a whole crowd of people who had reached the master level like me swarmed in together, I was confident I could handle it.
“I have no objections either.”
The award ceremonies would be held within each academy.
It was already unusual for a first-year student to participate in the Academic Festival, but winning in their very first year was said to be unprecedented.
For reference, Leysias had lost by a very narrow margin in the finals to a student from an academy famous for magic, earning second place.
She expressed regret, saying she could have won if she’d done just a little better, but it was more than an achievement worth boasting about.
When it became known that a Bayern first-year student had taken first place in swordsmanship and second place in magic, a huge stir arose within the Empire.
Although the king had died due to the rebellion in the Kingdom of Demedrio, the prevailing attitude was that there was little reason to concern themselves with the affairs of a small country, and attention instead focused on us.
In the end, it was said that we had greatly contributed to elevating the Empire’s prestige, and praise from the Emperor along with rewards at the national level were bestowed.
Of course, Chris, who knew my true abilities, merely looked at me with an indifferent expression.
“You broke the mold.”
“A bit late.”
At a meeting where I had been summoned to discuss the rewards granted by the Empire, she let out a small laugh and said I had done well.
Thinking about how there were probably only two or three people who would evaluate a Sword Master that way, a smile naturally crept onto my face.
“Soon, someone from above will come. Since it’s such an exceptional case, they’ll probably want to publicize it extensively to raise the Empire’s standing.”
She snorted with a cynicism unbefitting an Elf.
Soon after, the conversation ended, and I left the headmaster’s office.
Then, just like with Chris, I sent a letter to one of the two or three people who could look at me and say I had done well.
[Master, your disciple has reached Master.]
To be honest, I had wanted to contact him the moment I returned to the Empire, but I hadn’t had the time due to several matters that needed handling.
What kind of expression would that damned old geezer make when he learned I had reached the level of Sword Master?
I was genuinely curious.