Chapter 63
We resumed our trip to Borderton, but there really wasn’t much to say about the rest of the journey. It took longer compared to when Felicia and I were navigating the forest, owing to the others not being as adept at maintaining speed while avoiding the trees. Other than that small hurdle however, we had no interruptions.
Mr. O remained silent and seemed to have completely lost interest in me since our training session.
“D’ya reckon he’s pissed?”
Guy asked in a lowered voice.
“He better not be, all I did was stay loyal to the Empire.”
“Still, he’s someone really important, yeah? He’s probably not used to being rejected like that.”
“Then he shouldn’t be hiding his identity.”
I retorted, knowing full well Guy was the only person here who hadn’t figured out who Mr. O really was. Bridgit had obviously realised when his aura was released in full, but to her credit, she did really well catching on and keeping quiet after the initial shock.
“What are you two gossipping about?”
The girl in question joined me on my other side.
“Girls.”
I responded quickly, delighting in Bridgit’s frown.
“What girls could possibly hold interest in a couple of immature brats like you?”
“Hey! I could get a girlfriend… if I wanted to.”
Guy took offence to her barbed words.
“You get along with Lily, right? Why not ask her out?”
I said. Apparently, my lie had now become truth, and we were really talking like schoolboys. Which I suppose was only appropriate in a way.
“Ah man, that chick is nuts. I can’t put my finger on it, but she just feels like someone I should restrict to the friend zone.”
“Wise choice, you show intuition beyond your years.”
I nodded along, agreeing wholeheartedly with his assessment.
“Well, of course, she is not a real choice; she’s a commoner after all. Don’t you two think about the practical benefits of a romantic union? Don’t tell me you dream of true love and disregard status in the pursuit of some infantile notion of happiness.”
Bridgit scoffed.
“Is this girl seriously criticising love now?”
I spoke not to her, but to Guy.
“Hey man, she’s still the Princess, I’m not fighting her on this.”
“Very political of you, coward.”
I laughed at him and caught sight of Zachariah watching us from behind with interest. I remembered his earlier request and decided to give melting the ice princess a go.
“Are you saying you’ve never had a crush on anyone? No handsome young knight or charming stable boy? Maybe a silver-tongued merchant’s son or particularly dashing classmate?”
“The man I choose to wed will be graced with great prestige and power. I would not risk an unworthy nobody gaining such a reputation just to satisfy some base desire.”
Her words were sharp, but she left herself open to some more jabbing.
“You didn’t answer the question, your highness. Are you perhaps afraid to admit that you’re just as human and ‘base’ as the rest of us?”
“D-don’t be absurd!”
She protested far too loudly and glanced worriedly back at the other two men behind us.
“Oh, was I right? So who was it that seduced the woman with the world’s highest standards? He must be something to get you stumbling your words.”
“Sh-shut up! You’re making things up! I have had no such relations, I-I swear on my name as a Sol Proudmane!”
Her face reddened and her voice rose to a high pitch.
“Ah, I see how it is…”
I nodded sagely in mock understanding.
“I am so sorry, Bridgit, how could I be so uncouth?”
“S-so long as you underst—”
“Of course not all our romantic fancies are reciprocated. It must have been an unrequited love, destined for failure due to the gulf between royalty and commoner. Your heart was left forever yearning for a love that could never be, right?”
She opened her mouth to retort, but no words came. She began to resemble a bright red goldfish as her silent mouth flapped up and down, and her eyes bulged at me.
“Pfft…”
“Hmhmhm…”
Both Zachariah and Mr. O revealed they had been eavesdropping as they stifled their laughter, earning all three of us a furious glare.
She didn’t burst into screaming as I had hoped, instead simmering in her rage silently.
But just as things were starting to become entertaining, I caught sight of the walls of Borderton.
“We’ve arrived.”
I led us back out of the forest, appearing right in front of the gate, to the surprise of the two guards stationed outside.
“Halt! Who goes th— Oh, hello, Rex.”
I nodded at the man. I couldn’t claim to know his name, or even recognise his face beneath the helmet, but most of the gatekeepers had come to know me since I was permitted to leave town freely.
“Rex Jaeger, reporting back from duty. With me are Guy Vespertille, Zachariah and Bridgit Sol Proudmane. And this is—”
Before I could finish, Mr. O walked past me and stood in front of the guard, briefly showing his hand and whispering something.
With a quiet nod, the guard ushered us through.
“What was that?”
I asked.
“Just my ring. It identifies me to those who need to be quickly convinced.”
He definitely had not been wearing a ring until now, and he had already pocketed it before I could see it personally. This would make sense if he were the King of Soleo, and still didn’t want me knowing that fact.
“You’re back in charge then, boss, my role is done.”
I turned to Zachariah, who acknowledged me with a bright smile.
“Yes, thank you, Rex. Though with this, I can handle the rest on my own. You’re dismissed.”
We saluted in acknowledgement and watched as Zachariah and Mr. O disappeared into the crowd.
“Is it just me, or are there way more people than usual here?”
I didn’t really need to ask the question, but seeing as class would still be in session, I had little to do beyond chatting with Guy and Bridgit.
“Naturally, the Sword-Lord tournament is a prestigious event after all.”
Bridgit commented, her earlier flustered state nowhere to be seen.
“Will you guys both be entering?”
“Yep, though I don’t expect to make it far.”
Guy commented.
“Mmm… I suppose we will have to hope we have good luck in the early rounds. Maybe they’ll eliminate each other in the first round.”
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Bridgit added, and the two of them shared a wry smile.
“I’m lost. Who are you referring to?”
Bridgit responded to my question.
“Lloyd and my brother are both entering as well. As loath as I am to admit it, being paired against them will lead to a quick elimination for anyone.”
“Isn’t it all about showing off your potential? Surely it wouldn’t matter even if you did lose in the first round, so long as you impress the judges.”
“True. But imagine a small and pretty flame next to the sun itself. Would you even notice the candle?”
Bridgit responded, though I didn’t really agree with the metaphor in this scenario, I did see why they would be concerned.
“Just focus on yourselves and do your best, your efforts will be recognised.”
I spoke casually, but they looked at me like I was an alien lifeform making first contact.
“Whoa, you actually sounded mature for a second there.”
Guy chuckled.
“I’m a font of wisdom, you two are just too young to recognise my brilliance.”
“Never mind, the moment passed.”
Bridgit joined the banter.
“Alright, whatever. Wanna get something to eat? There’s still plenty of time to kill before school ends for the day.”
The others agreed, and we ate out, though most of the conversation that came along with it was aimed at deliberately annoying Bridgit.
***
The following day, we rejoined classes as usual. Though unlike the usual, homeroom was cut short for a sudden schoolwide announcement.
We were called into the main hall, where Headmaster Stern was already waiting.
“Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I am aware this is unorthodox, but I myself was only made aware of our special guest this morning. Please welcome to the reigning monarch of the Kingdom of Soleo, His majesty Leonidas Sol Proudmane.”
Contrary to the applause one would expect, the room filled with confused whispers and expectant gossip.
I couldn’t help but take measure of my classmates. Axel’s reaction in particular was of interest to me.
“Oh?”
That was the only noise he made, accompanied by a bemused smirk. He seemed far less affected than expected.
As for the others, Bridgit showed no reaction, but stood at attention respectfully. Fleur, who had only returned that morning, had been zoned out since she came back, and showed no signs of caring about what was happening. Paris remained stoic as ever, and the rest were practically jumping out of their shoes to get a good look at the man who walked onto the stage.
The frame was familiar, as it belonged to ‘Mr. O’. But everything else was wildly different.
He now wore a thick blue cape with a golden lion’s head depicted on it, golden armour that carried visible battle scars, and a strange object around his neck. It took a moment for me to piece together that the object was his crown, worn around the neck for some reason. His hair was tied back, and flowed like golden waves over his shoulders,
“I greet you all with deserved respect, for you are the future prospects that will carry our nations forward. I look forward to seeing how you display what you have learnt here in the coming week.”
His voice boomed with thunderous authority, a far cry from the tinny, altered noise I had grown accustomed to when he spoke from behind his mask.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce my equal in rulership, and my personal friend, Emperor Albrecht Drachenskrone.”
Leonidas stood back, and this time the entire room fell silent.
We all looked expectantly around the room, but saw no sign of anyone emerging as Leonidas had.
“Greetings.”
A cool, firm voice brought all eyes back to the podium, where a man who certainly had not been there a second ago had appeared.
“I am Emperor Albrecht Drachenskrone, but I’m sure you knew that.”
He smiled ever so slightly at his joke, but we were all too busy holding our breath to laugh.
“You need not pay me any mind, I have simply come to enjoy the festivities, and perhaps scout the potentials of my friend’s promising students.”
There was no denying that he looked straight at the chamite class as he said these words. Although he made a show of scanning the whole crowd, I felt his gaze linger on us specifically multiple times as he spoke.
“Try your best to impress, but don’t forget to enjoy yourselves. Life with power and prestige is meaningless without joy after all.”
It was difficult to tell how much of his words were mere lip service, as everything he said sounded genuine and heartfelt. If Leonidas was the typical warrior king, then Albrecht was the charismatic devil who could sell water to a fish.
The only issue was the underlying sense of unease that seemed to accompany his presence, as if some stroke of misfortune was about to befall me just from witnessing the Emperor in person.
“Over the duration of the Sword-Lord tournament, I will be out and about, though I doubt any of you will notice me in a crowd without my crown.”
He again made a small joke, drawing attention to his own attire.
I hadn’t even taken note of his appearance until that moment, as his words had seemingly entranced me. As he pointed out, he wore no crown. In fact, he wasn’t wearing anything worthy of special remark like Leonidas was.
A clean, black suit and pants accompanied by a deep violet tie that seemed to sparkle subtly were all he wore. He had neatly combed black and silver hair, and appeared in every way the clean and handsome middle-aged man.
I say middle-aged only due to his appearance, but if records were to be believed, this man was multiple centuries old.
As I took him in, Tiara suddenly leapt off my shoulder and bolted up the stage.
“Tia!”
I ran to grab her, but she vanished before I could make contact and reappeared atop the podium, staring wide-eyed at Albrecht with her tail and ears perked up.
“And who might this be?”
Albrecht stroked her chin with a single finger. He then looked right at me, standing out in the open in the aisle between the diamond and chamite class.
“This is a rare breed. Raise her well.”
He lightly tapped Tiara’s side, and as if his touch carried a silent order, Tiara returned to me just as quickly as she had left.
His gaze and words, despite carrying no hostility, still left me feeling weak in the knees. I returned without a word of acknowledgement.
“Well, I shouldn’t keep you all any longer than necessary, though I know the longer I talk, the less classwork you will be subjected to. Maybe I should monologue some more?”
This time, the crowd had grown somewhat used to the unknown pressure he exuded, and polite laughter rang out.
“Unfortunately, I count a close friend of mine among the staff faculty, so I must subject you to more dry lectures out of respect for his chosen occupation. I will return you to your esteemed headmaster and take my leave, so as not to distract from her wise words.”
He smiled and gave a slight nod of the head before vanishing into purple mist.
The rest of the assembly may as well have been led by Soot, as none of us were absorbing a single word spoken.
***
I had spellcraft class after the assembly, but I was still lost in thought and unable to pay much attention to the method being outlined for casting spells underwater. It didn’t affect the monster method, apparently, so I had checked out completely.
My thoughts were instead swirling around the events of the assembly and the fact that it had occurred at all.
I was willing to acknowledge that I may be somewhat paranoid given what I had been recently discovering in the political landscape, but that didn’t mean I was wrong to consider the implications.
First question: Why was an impromptu assembly held for the whole school just to introduce the two monarchs first thing in the morning? Stern said she only found out about their presence that morning, but that didn’t mean an assembly had to be held. It could have at least waited until the next day, when proper preparations were made.
Second question: What was the purpose of their speeches? I realised I was being generous even calling them speeches, but their brevity only further raised my suspicions. Leonidas essentially said nothing but the typical lip service commonly given to students, meaning his presence itself was the message he wanted to convey.
Albrecht, on the other hand, had a few implicit messages behind his words. ‘I’ll be watching you all, but you won’t see me’ That was the impression I received from his words. Was it meant for the students, or was he also suspicious of Soleo and wanted to subtly dissuade them from taking any hostile action?
Finally, what had happened with Tiara?
She now sat on my desk cleaning herself, no discernible changes to her behaviour or body to explain why she had approached the Emperor with such intensity.
“What was that all about?”
I asked while booping her on the nose, knowing she couldn’t answer.
“She’s a magical creature, right? She must have smelt his mana and couldn’t help but approach.”
Meztili offered a hypothesis. She had already finished demonstrating a simple spell while her hand was submerged in a bucket, so she was practically exempt from having to interact with the class.
“Maybe. But then, why doesn’t she do the same thing to you?”
“Perhaps the bandages that stifle my mana also cover the smell? I can only guess how a cat’s senses work. Besides, my mana capacity is nothing compared to his majesty’s.”
“Really? Wouldn’t that damage his body then?”
“He is a man of many mysteries. He might have an artifact that helps temper his own power, or maybe he simply strengthened his body to the point that it can store his power without issue.”
She shrugged, then looked around to confirm nobody else was listening. Lily was there too, but she had been called away to help another student who was struggling.
“Putting that aside, you’re still carrying around?”
She was referring to my axe, which was back in my room.
“I know you think it’s dangerous, but so far it hasn’t harmed anyone other than my enemies. I can’t agree to getting rid of it.”
She frowned, but didn’t seem as frazzled as the last time she asked about this topic.
“I see. Fleur seems to think you’ll be fine too. I suppose there is nothing more for me to say on the matter…”
“Thanks… Hey, your necromancy… is that in any way similar to summoning magic?”
I moved away from the subject.
“Some spells do summon undead beings from the mana that is offered, but mostly we manipulate the physical bodies of the deceased. Why?”
“I’m trying to summon a spirit, but as usual, the specifics are giving me a headache.”
“A spirit? Hmm…”
She tilted her head and considered for a moment.
“If it were a standard summoning, I could definitely help you, but whenever spirits are involved, the usual logic no longer applies. I’m afraid nobody here will be able to help with that. You take Spirit Studies, don’t you? Can’t you ask the teacher for that class?”
“That class is only held once a week since there’s barely anyone in it. I was hoping to memorise this spell before the tournament starts.”
“Well then, you already know who to ask, right? I’m sure she would be eager to help you.”
“Yeah… damn, I’d much prefer doing it with you.”
I sighed at the idea of learning from Fleur. We got along well, but even remembering her instructions during alchemy classes was enough to cause hesitation. When it came to her, instructions were always brief and unclear, followed by a confused and judgmental stare when they didn’t yield results.
“Oh well, guess I’ll ask her tonight. On another topic, I hear there’s going to be a whole series of events leading up to the tournament’s official start. Is our class meant to be doing anything?”
Meztili stared at me, but no noise escaped her bandaged face.
“Tilly? Hello?”
She seemed to have frozen.
“Hellooooo?”
“Eep!”
She suddenly jumped when I tapped her forehead.
“Did you hear me?”
“What? O-oh, yes. Uh… what was that again?”
I repeated myself, but it seemed something else was on her mind, as she continued to squirm and trail off. Eventually, Lily returned to us and gave me a clear answer.
“Talkin’ bout the festival? You got lucky with your mission timing, Rex, seeing as you missed all the boring preparations. We don’t have anything in particular for the class, but we are expected to help out for the whole three days. You’ll be glad to know I personally got you a perfect role where you can really stand out.”
Lily’s sweet smile sent shivers down my spine.
“What has she done?”
I didn’t even ask the girl in question, as I held no trust in her words. Instead, Meztili answered my query.
“There’s going to be a petting zoo for the kids. She signed you up to manage the animals.”
“Oh… that’s actually pretty good… Thanks Li—”
I stopped the moment I saw the subtle shift in Lily’s expression. Her innocent smile suddenly carried a sinister shadow.
“Hehe… You’re welcome, Rex. Your uniform will be delivered soon.”
Nobody would clarify what ominous fate awaited me, but the pitying looks and condescending giggles from the girls told me it wouldn’t be pleasant.
