Chapter 12: Rematch
Say, in days bygone, nobles wanted statuses and ranks corresponding to the actions they did, right?
I was currently in the lower fifth rank. The upper fifth rank had essentially been guaranteed to me, though! How did things come to this?
The kingdom was basically saying that they had expectations for me now.
I had been put into a very difficult position. In addition to the contributions and other such things regular nobles had to do, I also had to do a suitable amount of work in the event of a war. Promotions were grave matters.
If a war sprung up, it would difficult for me to reject a request to depart for the front, even if I was a student. Due to that, I had decided to carry out a few preparatory steps.
So, I was currently in a pub, gathering with boys of the same group as me and having a good time there.
“Leon, do you really have airships?”
“I’m envious. They’re warships, right?”
“Just having an airship alone is desirable. My household doesn’t have any.”
Heirs of noble households from the countryside had gathered at the pub, with me being the leading guest of the banquet.
People were envious, and there were also those harboring jealousy. ──That was within expectations.
“They’re in maintenance right now. Though as a matter of fact──I’m actually troubled by how many I have.”
When hearing that, the boys stared daggers at me. Daniel gulped. “You guys want them?” Raymond immediately stood up. He desperately wanted an airship since it meant being able to succeed his house in the future. There was a big difference between having one and not having one. However, it would cost a lot of money to buy one. The maintenance costs were nothing to sneeze at either. Many barons used cheap, old airships. “W, what are you playing at?”
Everyone knew the value in state-of-the-art, superior airships made by the principality. They knew that they couldn’t just selfishly take them. Rather, I held good will towards them and their inability to simply tell me to hand them over.
Everyone’s gaze surrounded me as I leisurely held my drink to my mouth. “In fact, I’ve decided to set up a factory in my household. That’s where maintenance for the ships will occur. If you entrust ‘everything’ to me in terms of their maintenance──perhaps I can offer them to you for free.” The boys’ gazes immediately swarmed around me. “A, are you really saying something so opportune?” “Could it be that they’re defective?” “But they’re airships from the principality, right? They’re not defective as long as they can move.” I sincerely confronted the boys, who couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
“I want you guys to be relieved. I also have something to gain here too. Besides, I vow not to swindle you guys through shoddy repairs or anything similar.”
I hated the tactic of offering cheap products that came with expensive maintenance costs.
Even so, that didn’t clear their doubts, causing me to sigh.
“I get it. I’ll also add in four units of armor per airship. Armor from the principality, mind you. I can guarantee their quality.”
Raymond tried to dizzily approach me while Daniel held him back.
“W, wait, Raymond! This is Leon we’re talking about. He’ll suck you dry to the bone!”
“Ah! Right!”
My delicate heart screamed in response to the cruel evaluation my friends had of me.
The others also had looks of suspicion towards me. It seemed isolating to find that fellow groupmates were treating me coldly, even when we all came here to have a good chat.
“Sorry. I just thought it make for good publicity to give you guys airships. I understand. I’ll take my business elsewhere.”
Daniel stopped me.
“Wait! I, is it really free? You’re not going to charge us afterwards or give us anything defective?!”
“I want your trust. I am not a man who spews lies.”
It was sad how several boys replied with “Liar,” but the truth was that I wasn’t lying.
I was planning to do proper business.
I was prepared to have a factory at my household, and I would be the owner of it. For the future, I was thinking about using my earnings from the factory to make contributions to the kingdom. Getting promoted was a grave matter. I needed to earn money.
Perhaps some would claim that I had enough from remunerations. That would be incorrect, though. There was no point in banking on temporary money when asked to make a contribution every year. I would have nothing left before even a decade passes.
I definitely had to make money.
No matter how much thought I put into it, the floating island I owned would only be able to earn at around the level of a semi-baron house.
I even thought about having it be a tourist spot, but this was a dangerous world filled with monsters and sky pirates. There would be few customers.
Therefore, I had thought about setting up a factory in other to increase my sources of future income.
“As if I would sell a broken airship. I would lose the trust I need for future business. I would instantly have no customers for the factory. So, I have to make some concessions in order to get customers. Fortunately, I’ve got some airships that I picked up.”
I promoted the deal while remembering how it was done in my previous world.
“Right now, I’ve got airships and armor free of charge, a grand total of zero dia! No need to worry about the maintenance! I’ll take care of it! I promise to charge reasonable prices. I’ll even put it down on paper.”
One by one, the boys raised their hands.
“I, I’ll do it!” “M, me too!” “Me too!”
With a smile, I prepared contracts and handed them to the boys. “Yes, write your name down on this field and I’ll send them over to your household. You’ll have to explain it to your parents as well. Oh, and if you have any old airships, I’ll buy them.” Seeing everyone cheerfully taking the documents, I grinned. “Everyone──let’s keep in touch as pals.” ──Thanks for taking the initiative on the freebies. Gentlemen, I hope you will continue to do your very best from now on.
My airship maintenance schema was within reach, and now that I had some loyal friends, a smile appeared on my face.
◇
There was a duke residence within the royal capital. Anjie had been summoned to her older brother, “Gilbert”, on a holiday. “Brother, is there a problem?” Gilbert made a slightly troubled expression. There was a document on his table which he showed to Anjie. “This? This is a contract about the buying and selling of airships, right?” “Right. It seems that Leon has been handing them out to baron households.” “Leon?” Hearing that, Anjie felt an ominous premonition. She wondered if the duke household had any qualms with Leon’s conduct. “S, sorry. I’ll stop him at once.”
“There’s no need for that. The circulation of airships isn’t the problem.”
She was relieved after hearing that there was no problem.
However, Anjie wondered why she had been called.
“Then what is this about?”
“It seems that he had set up a factory at his household. It seems that he’s doing rapid maintenance on airships and offering them to baron homes for free. Perhaps his goal is publicity──but don’t you think it seems a little too hasty? I’m worried about what someone like him, who single-handedly thwarted the principality, is thinking.”
Gilbert told Anjie that the kingdom was lightly thinking about this matter as well.
“The royal palace isn’t taking the principality seriously after it had been knocked down by students. Even though the principality has been hindered, it seems that the kingdom is being quite careless towards them. However, the person who fought in the battle is now strengthening his vigilance. What do you think of this?”
He had asked Anjie if there was anything she had to say.
“I, I don’t know. It’s just──”
“Just?”
“It’s just that──he has in fact suddenly been busy. Since then, he’s been training diligently and visiting the dungeon frequently.”
Leon told her that he lost confidence after getting beaten up by the Black Knight, and that he was working harder because of that, but Anjie thought about it.
(Is he being cautious about the principality? Even when the royal palace isn’t?)
It seemed that the kingdom didn’t think of the principality as a threat since they had been beaten by students of the academy.
When they heard that the Black Knight had lost as well, they dismissed him as a famous knight who had grown old.
Gilbert tapped the desk with his fingers.
It seemed to Anjie that her older brother was irritated.
“I wonder if we should be alert. I’d also like to discuss the matter of the principality in full later on, but right now the Redgrave family has little influential power. Keep in mind that we are falling behind.”
Anjie then remembered about Hertrude.
“How was her Highness Hertrude dealt with?”
“Dealt with? I can only say that it was naive. It turned into discussions about her studying abroad in the kingdom. Father did oppose it, though. I heard that there was a marquis who didn’t yield.”
Anjie’s eyes widened.
(So father’s influence has fallen by that much. Hearing that a marquis can overshadow him──is troubling.)
Anjie was alert about the expanding influence of the opposing faction.
“The marquis said that it was an opportunity to learn about the country’s strength within the academy. It seems he wants to use this opportunity to take in her Highness the princess and make the principality a subsidiary of the kingdom once more. It seemed that he also tried to condemn us for the matter of the Olfery earl household, but that was quickly cut down.”
The Olfery earl household belonged to same faction as that marquis household.
However, they were quickly punished after the matter of the sky pirates, and their status as nobles, their assets, their territory, and everything else had been forfeit.
The earl daughter who picked a quarrel with Leon had lost everything.
She had done dirty work, and was soon cast away when she made a blunder.
(At this point, I might start to pity that woman.)
Anjie felt a bit of sympathy for the earl daughter. After all, the path awaiting her was not an easy one by any means.
Gilbert changed the topic.
“This may be off topic, but it seems that you’ve gotten along rather well with the honor student.”
As Anjie hung her head, Gilbert continued.
“You have no reason to get along with people any more than necessary.”
Anjie sent Gilbert a look of strong will.
“Sh, she is my friend. This does not concern you.”
Gilbert quietly gazed at Anjie, but soon recognized that his sister wouldn’t back down.
“Do as you please.”
“I, is that fine?”
“If you’re going that far, then I won’t interfere. Besides, Father and I both feel indebted after this matter. However, if she is your dear friend, then you must protect her yourself.”
“R, right!”
“In addition, we need to reselect the people who will stand by you.”
“──What will happen to those two?”
When asked about the two girls who had betrayed Anjie, Gilbert made an eerie smile.
“Do you want to know?”
“──No, that was a foolish question.”
Anjie understood that the two followers, who she knew since childhood, wouldn’t be let off without retribution.
However, she felt complicated on the inside.
Though she had emotional wounds from the betrayal, more prominent to her were Leon and Livia, who had risked their lives to save her.
(──Perhaps I have been blessed.)
She thought as such while comparing herself to the earl daughter, who had excessively coerced those around her into obeying her. Once Gilbert finished talking about Earl Olfery and the two traitors, he asked a question, as if prying a bit into something.
“Also──what do you think of Leon?”
“What do I think?”
“Yes, correct. I haven’t heard about who he has decided on for a marriage partner. He has done many things and gotten promoted. I believe it would be a problem if he got married to a bad partner.”
Anjie knew that Gilbert was thinking about taking in Leon. Indeed, it would be very helpful to have Leon as an ally.
Furthermore, there was also a side of him that was easy to control.
Him offering state-of-the-art airships and armor from the principality was evidence of that.
If they monopolized this factor, their own war potential would increase, but on the contrary, it would also be a hazard.
Both the royal palace and duke household would probably be on guard.
Even though he was a baron from a remote region, his numerous airships would become a threat. In the blink of an eye, he could instantly take control over other floating islands and become one giant force.
There had been many worries about him capturing surrounding territories and bearing his fangs against the kingdom.
Gilbert and the others seemed to recognize that Leon wouldn’t do that.
(I was planning to warn him if he got carried away, but since he’s just distributing them to barons, my brother isn’t even considering him a threat.) It seemed that he was strengthening his connections, but both the royal palace and duke household judged that what he was doing wasn’t a problem.
What Leon had on hand were broken airships and armor. He had presented the ones in good condition to the royal palace and duke house──to the point that it made them say “Are you really okay with that?!”
It seemed like he was a knight who selflessly disregarded profit, and some even gossiped that he was the duke household’s new loyal dog.
Anjie reported Leon’s search for marriage to Gilbert.
“Since he has been busy recently, he hasn’t seen any women. T, the girls hate him.”
Gilbert held his hand over his forehead.
“I don’t understand. Why aren’t they looking at him? He’s a knight who will soon get promoted to the upper fifth rank, and yet women aren’t looking his way──”
Anjie began suspecting what Gilbert was saying.
“Brother, isn’t Leon in the lower fifth rank? I heard that he would get promoted after graduation, though.”
Gilbert looked at Anjie, and felt slightly embarrassed that he had forgotten to tell her.
“Sorry. I forget to tell you. The truth is──”
◇
The end of the second semester was approaching.
The medal awarding ceremony for handling the war with the principality, or rather the one incident, would be on the first day of winter break. The students who would receive such medals were delightfully waiting for that day.
Receiving a medal was no easy feat, and more importantly, it would let them gain prestige and give them something to boast about.
The students who wouldn’t receive them were disgruntled, but there was no helping it.
We were enjoying ourselves while drinking tea inside a warm room.
I bought a new tea set to reward myself and savored the precious tea leaves
I got from my mentor. Since I had rushed to a famous store to buy expensive sweets first thing in the morning, I was able to enjoy those in accompaniment as well.
“Ah~, this is bliss~.”
The wintry sky outside fogged the window with a cloudy white color.
Livia was eating the sweets, but only doing so little by little while seeming apologetic──and her face loosened up from how sugary they were.
As expected of a famous store’s sweets. Or perhaps she was surprised by how delicious they were. She was giving them a good taste.
“These are tasty.”
On the other hand, Anjie was eating them while maintaining good manners, but perhaps not acquiring a taste for them, she didn’t seem to have much of a reaction.
“Do you like chocolate? If so, I can order some from my favorite store.”
Milady! I’d love to know that shop!
Livia made a bitter smile.
“It would be troubling if I got too used to eating expensive things.”
“I, is that so?”
I slightly raised my hand.
“Anjie, please tell me. Since the waiting list for high-ranking, popular stores would take several months, I’d also like a duke household’s letter of introduction.”
Since this was the world of that otome game, sweets were widespread and popular.
In this overly bitter world, I at least wanted the confections to be sweet and kind. That was my earnest wish.
“Since you’re a tea fanatic, I’m going to say no. They’ll hold a grudge against me when you start dwindling their stock.”
There were a considerable amount of boys who liked tea ceremonies. Many of them ordered sweets from popular stores so that they could accompany the tea they were so prideful of. Among them, there were also boys who bought up stocks of popular sweets and invited girls to a tea ceremony.
──Guys like me!
“Eh~, I won’t buy up their entire stock. I was only going to eat the popular confections in front of the girls. Either that, or hand them out to the girls who were going on a diet!”
I wanted to gain a sense of superiority by showing off famous confections, ones that people wouldn’t have many chances to eat, to dieting girls who were refraining from sweet foods.
The girls would abandon their diet and reach their hand out to accept the sweets with a smile.
“How cruel.”
Looking at Livia, who was currently shocked, I thought back upon our recent peaceful moments.
After coming back, Luxon took away Partner, Arroganz, and Schwert in order to do maintenance work on them.
Since I no longer had any means to go out, I invited Daniel and Raymond to head into the dungeon. Now that I had defeated the strongest enemy, I didn’t think that there would be any formidable foes in there, but it never hurt to be prepared.
There was a chance that the principality wouldn’t stop their fighting, but we were now in possession of their trump card.
Though things should’ve been okay, I still had an ominous premonition. I couldn’t shake it off.
Anjie brought up the subject.
“Anyways Leon, it seems Chris was given the credit for defeating the Black Knight.”
When I averted my gaze, Livia looked at me.
“Why is that? You were the one who defeated the Black Knight, Leon.”
Since Anjie’s cup was getting low, I poured her another helping of tea, trying to butter her up.
“Milady, such a thing revolved heavily around politically-involved judgements──”
That was a lie. Political judgements had nothing to do with it. It was just convenient for me.
However, Anjie was convinced and nodded her head.
“It was certainly not a bad move.”
“Right!”
It wasn’t really something I put much thought into, but I was happy to be praised for it.
“U, um, how so?”
Livia didn’t seem to understand.
Anjie gladly explained. I also made sure to listen carefully.
“It’s simple. The Arkwright family was hostile towards Leon. With this matter, Chris’ household could no longer say anything. After all, he took down the undefeatable Black Knight and then gave their son the prestige for it. Forcing the Black Knight to retreat is a big achievement. Chris’ disinheritance will probably be canceled before long.”
Livia smiled at me.
“Leon, you really are kind!”
“O, of course.”
I stuttered a bit. Well, I assumed that they didn’t like me, but I didn’t even think that the household with a master swordsman would be hostile towards me. If the master swordsman went after me, there would be nothing I could do, even if I had multiple lives.
Wait a minute. Milaine──I felt that Milaine had said something about it before.
Luxon, who had been listening to the conversation inside the room, looked at me.
Since it showed itself before, there was no longer any need to hide.
[What a relief, Master.]
What Luxon meant was that I unknowingly dodged a bullet by pushing the achievement onto someone else, which itself only happened because I didn’t want to get promoted.
I had gradually become aware of how Luxon worked.
“What do you think? Are you happy that your owner can make such sophisticated calculations?”
[It seems you really do have a talent for getting carried away. Normally, people would be more modest. Those with a guilty conscience would be more humble.]
“You don’t know anything. I’m just an ordinary boy brimming with kindness and honesty.”
[Shall I look up what kindness and honesty mean in a dictionary? It seems you need some more studying in the subject of language.]
Anjie and Livia touched the floating Luxon with their hands.
They poked at it with their fingers.
“It talks a lot for a thing with one eye.”
“You can’t say that Anjie. Luc has a name, it’s Luxon.” Luxon looked at Livia. [Luc? Is that some kind of abbreviation to refer to me?] I looked at Luxon while grinning. “How nice it must be, Luc. Doesn’t it sound cute?” Since Luxon was silent, Livia seemed worried that she offended it. I told her that it was fine and then began to continue our conversation. “So, about those guys. They aren’t necessarily bad people. Err, probably.” Well──they were pretty stupid people, but they weren’t bad. Anjie made a face that seemed as if she was not amused. “Right. The wicked one is the girl deceiving those five, Marie.” Since the mood had worsened, Livia started talking about school gossip. “A, anyways, I heard something about those five! It seems that they’re currently doing something in a storehouse.” “Something?” When I seemed interested in the topic, Livia gladly continued speaking. “Right. It seems that the five are making something.” What in the world would the five of them need to gather together for?
◇
Marie arrived at a storehouse within the academy.
“Hey everyone, what did you call me here for~?”
When the five said that there was something they wanted to show her, she was excited, thinking that it was a present.
(What could it be? Maybe a jewel? No, a dress? Recently, they’ve all been working hard, so it’s definitely some kind of present for me. What a wonderful surprise!)
There was something big, covered by a sheet, in front of Marie. Marie tilted her head. Kyle, who was standing beside her, also tilted his head. “What is this?” Greg rubbed the area under his nose with his finger. “Something we’re proud to show off.” Brad lifted his bangs with his hand and brushed them back. “It’s something we’ve kept you waiting for, Marie.” What the two said had raised Marie’s expectations. “Thanks, you two!” Chris, perhaps being bashful, removed his glasses and looked at Marie’s smiling face. “I, I’ve also been working hard on it.” “Yep, thank you, Chris.” Thereupon, Jilk forcibly cleared his throat. “Marie, don’t forget about his Highness and me. C’mon, your Highness.”
Julian stood in front of Marie. “Marie──this represents our feelings.” Once the five removed the sheet, there stood a unit of armor on its knees. ──Marie’s smile stiffened. (Huh?) Julian and the others looked at the armor in satisfaction. “We’re going to challenge Baltfault with this. We will win against the one who disrupted the relationship between you and me──and move forward!” Greg gave a thumbs up. “You said it, your Highness! No, Julian!” Brad put his hands on his hips and puffed up with pride. “Right. We can’t move forward without beating him. This armor we’ve prepared is the embodiment of our determination.” Marie froze in place. She couldn’t understand what the five were saying. (Determination? Just how much do they think it costs to prepare armor?!
Furthermore, it seems like it was put together using parts of different colors. D, don’t tell me that they connected parts of their broken armor from that duel! Are they going to challenge him with that kind of armor?)
Chris’ eyes were tearing up. He seemed deeply moved by the armor in front of him. “It’s a bit misshapen, but it looks better than any armor I’ve been on so far.” Jilk smiled while nodding.
“It’s just a bunch of usable parts put together, but it’s jam-packed with our feelings. Rather, it looks quite wonderful now. This is some good armor.”
Marie stiffly turned her head towards Julian.
“Julian, h, how much did this cost? The repair charges and other such things, I mean.”
Julian made a slightly lonesome expression.
“Marie, this is not a matter of money, it’s a matter of our feelings.”
“T, that’s not it! I’m just worried that everyone had to spend an unreasonable amount of money!”
Julian was relieved upon hearing that.
“Oh, so that’s what it was? Actually, we used the remunerations for this.”
Brad and Greg had received remuneration due to the suppression of the sky pirates.
Chris also received remuneration for the incident with the principality.
“S, so you used that money for repairs.”
Marie wondered why they would use their hard-earned remuneration for such a pointless thing, but she reassured herself that things were still okay.
However, Jilk’s words caused Marie’s hopes to plummet to rock bottom.
“We were a bit nervous, so we used up some communal assets as well. We found a person who claimed to be a famous armor producer and offered repairs for cheap.”
Marie’s legs trembled when hearing that the communal assets had been used.
However, it didn’t end there.
“We were able to manage somehow by using the remunerations and five hundred thousand from our communal assets. With remarkable ability, they pushed the performance of the armor to its limits. What a wonderful person. With this power, we can win against Baltfault and his Arroganz.”
Marie felt dizzy. She didn’t collapse since Kyle supported her, but she felt like crying deep down. She knew that young men from noble families were baffling when it came to using money, but it seemed especially severe for these five.
(Five hundred thousand dia! Converted into Japanese yen, that’s fifty million yen they spent. And they took it from the communal assets?! For something like this?!)
Even though they were communal assets, almost all of it was for living expenses and was managed by Marie.
They made a killing from the school festival and frantically earned money via the dungeon, and now almost of the living expenses they earned had gone towards one misshapen unit of armor.
Though, five hundred thousand was a bit much for five people.
Marie wept inside her mind.
(Five hundred thousand for this mishmashed, rubbish armor! There must be something wrong with their heads! Why did they use it all up?! Or rather, they should have consulted me before doing so! How are we supposed to sustain our livelihood now?!)
While trembling, Marie spoke towards the five, who had rushed towards her in concern.
“W, why didn’t you consult me in advance?”
Julian made a smile.
“We wanted to surprise you. Sorry. We didn’t expect you’d be this shocked. Just wait, Marie. We’ll defeat Baltfault, removing the obstacle that has torn the relationship between you and me.”
Marie earnestly begged that he would remove her unease of the future instead.
◇
That day, a request for a duel arrived at my room.
“Those guys really are just idiots.”
It was sent from Julian and the others, and the date of the duel would be the day of the closing ceremony.
“If they win, they want me to no longer intrude on their relationship with Marie? Do they think this is a sacred duel or something? Do they not know that they’re going to lose?”
Luxon, who was beside me, spoke in a cold tone of voice.
[There’s not much to say about this. Would it be fine to refuse?]
I thought about it for a bit.
Did they want to be with Marie that badly?
“No, I’ll accept it.”
[You’re going to accept?]
“If they want to be with her that badly, I’ll lose. After a bit of thinking, it would be a poor move to have Livia be with one of five who had chosen Marie. Livia’s too good for them. Julian’s an idiot for abandoning Anjie for Marie.”
[You just realized that?]
Wasn’t this AI being too cold towards its owner?
“Anyways, those five can do as they like. Honestly, I don’t have time to get involved with Marie.”
Things were getting busy on my end since I had to deal with the principality, the matter of the saint, and so forth.
Those guys would probably be satisfied if I lost.
[You can’t say for sure that Marie won’t interfere with you in the future. Aren’t you being a little too careless?]
“She’s someone who reincarnated here and knows about that otome game. That being the case, she should know that the kingdom will fall unless Livia becomes a saint, so she probably won’t be a nuisance anymore.”
[Is that so?]
The strongest foe had been defeated, and now the enemy’s trump card, the magic flute, was with the kingdom.
I was still being cautious, but I didn’t think that being anymore vigilant would result in anything.
Though, I wondered why I had this certain feeling of restlessness.
[Could Anjelica get angry?]
“I’ll persuade her. I could convince her to leave them be already. If she does get angry though, I’ll just win against those guys.”
[You’re treating those five pretty lightly.]
“Anjie’s feelings take priority, so I’ve got no choice.”
I headed towards Julian’s place in order to tell him that I would accept the duel.
◇
The closing ceremony had just ended. The academy was encapsulated with an eccentric enthusiasm. Students and teachers gathered at the stadium. Girls ran forward in a circular arena to cheer for Julian. “Julian’s team, you five should do your best to defeat that fiend!” “It seems that the five had gathered each night in order to repair their armor.” “E, each and every night.” Livia listened to the surrounding people while concerned about Anjie. She was worried about whether she would get angry or not. “Anjie, um──” However, Anjie stood dignified. “Hmm? Oh, don’t worry. Leon had spoken with me beforehand. I agree with his reason for losing. I have no qualms.” “Really?” “He would like to give at least one word of complaint to his Highness, though. He may have a bad way of speaking, but it seems that his attitude towards his Highness has calmed down. I feel sorry for Leon now that he had gotten involved in so many things.”
“Will he be safe for tomorrow’s awarding ceremony? Leon, I hope you don’t get hurt.”
Julian was Anjie’s former fiance. The person she had loved started yet one more duel for the sake of another woman. It seemed that Anjie accepted her loss.
The surrounding girls were getting excited.
The same went for the boys The boys seemed fond of how the five had prepared a unit of armor themselves. They had hopes for the five, even though they suffered utter defeat by the hands of Leon before.
“They’re quite bold to challenge him again after losing.”
“Ah, they’ll definitely get it right this time.”
“I’ll be rooting for his Highness and the others.”
They were impressed by Julian and the others, and when the villain, Leon, appeared from the sky, the venue was filled with a storm of unified jeers.
Anjie made a troubled smile.
“Who would think that the most hated person in the academy would also be the knight who will go down in history?”
“History? What?”
When Livia, who couldn’t hear her well, asked a question, Anjie smiled and shook her head.
“It’s nothing. Look, shouldn’t we at least support Leon?”
“Right!”
The two cheered for Leon.
◇
The five were in the arena.
Once Arroganz landed onto the venue from the sky, Greg readied himself and got into the armor.
He double checked with the four.
“Is it really okay if I go?” Brad looked at Greg and nodded with a serious expression. “It’s frustrating, but I wouldn’t be able to win. I have great expectations for your ability.”
As Greg smiled in response to his friend’s words, Chris also entrusted Greg with the match.
“It’s impossible for me to win with only swordsmanship. Greg, I leave it to you.”
Chris, who was obsessed with the sword, didn’t think he would be saying those words.
Jilk touched the green portion of the armor.
“Everyone’s hopes are under your care.”
Julian also nodded.
“You’re our best bet. Now go win against Baltfault!”
Greg responded to their feelings.
“Okay!”
The venue was swept with a wave of inspiration upon seeing the camaraderie of the five,
Once Greg closed the chest of the armor, he sensed everyone’s dense feelings. He noticed that the armor felt very warm and was delighted.
“It seems you’re worked up as well. I can see that you’re ready to fight alongside me. Let’s do this, partner!”
He looked at Arroganz in front of him.
“Baltfault, let’s go! We’ll show you our power!”
◇
I was inside Arroganz.
“I wonder how I should lose.”
I watched the situation unfold amongst the five people, slightly rotten people if I may add, who seemed delighted.
It seemed that night after night, they had been doing maintenance on the armor.
The armor, which they all chipped in some cash for and repaired themselves, looked conspicuous and had some crude portions After which, a self-purported craftsman offered to polish it up, and not only made it look better, but apparently increased its performance as well.
They did a lot just so they could beat me.
──Such youthful vigor wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
[What a refreshing friendship. You, on the other hand, expanded your ring of friends by tying them to contracts──quite lowly.] “Just let me flaunt what I have. Well then, now that I have permission from
Anjie, how should I lose?”
The referee declared the start of the duel.
Greg was heading towards me, so I took a distance while parrying his spear with my blade. However, there was a large difference in Greg’s movements compared to the previous duel.
The power and speed of his armor had risen, and the mishmashed armor was stronger than any armor they used before.
“A spear in his right hand and a rifle on his left? Huh, it seems that he has grown.”
While impressed at Greg, who was going all-out right from the get-go, Arroganz was gradually stepping back.
To the people spectating, it probably looked like I was getting pushed around.
I let out a voice and spoke to Greg.
“It seems that you’ve done the impossible.”
“This is all for the sake of winning against you! Baltfault, show me what you’ve got!”
“Ah, how passionate. Are you that much of a zealous guy?”
I was chuckling, but I was seriously envious when thinking about those five.
I muttered “I envy you guys,” while making sure that nobody would hear me. Such youthful figures looked so radiant.
After I had said that, Luxon issued an alert.
[Master, please tell Greg to break out right away. His armor is on the verge of exploding!]
“What? Really?!”
[I’m not lying. The quantity of heat is reaching abnormal levels. The internal structure of the armor was haphazardly put together. In its current state, I can only say that it’s enough to get the armor to move. It’s not that the armor had its performance improved, but that it has been set to run wildly.]
When Luxon told me that, I immediately alerted Greg.
“Hey, your armor is acting up! Get out of there right now!”
However──
“Hah! You’re trying to deceive me. Right! Did you really expect to trick me when I already know how you work? However, now I’ve cornered you!”
──Greg didn’t believe me.
His armor was stirring around quite a bit.
I thought it was improbable at first, but now I was convinced that it was running wild.
I shouted at referee.
“Referee! Abort! This guy’s armor is unusual!”
However the referee, a teacher, shook their head.
“Baltfault, how shameful. You have to earnestly accept their thoughts head-on.”
“Stop kidding me! What do you mean by their thoughts?! How about you earnestly accept my words?!”
The referee seemed to think that I was lying.
Indeed, it seemed like I was being cornered since I was fighting half-heartedly in order to lose. It turned out that losing through being cornered had backfired.
──However, I wasn’t lying. This was different!
Luxon was amazed. My conversation with it didn’t leak out to anybody outside.
[It seems you’re suffering the consequences of your actions. You’ve been acting with bad manners, so now you’re facing difficulty. I have completed my analysis. It could explode at any given moment.]
“──You must be joking.”
It was going to break? The armor that represented a portion of those guys’ youths? As expected, that would make my heart ache!
“N, no. Could such a thing happen?! I mean, those guys have been working their hardest to build it──there must be some kind of demon causing it to break!”
For example, consider if five people built an aircraft with their own effort during the summer vacation. They pulled all-nighters to build it and though they had their quarrels, its completion created a set of summer memories. With the memories they all made from its completion, no matter how battered it was and how much others saw it as worthless, it would be treasured item for those five.
Thinking that such a thing would break down was not something that pleased my mind. Rather, I wanted to provide some aid.
When I denied it, Luxon indifferently asked me a question.
[In that case, are you going to watch as Greg dies in an explosion?]
There were many times where I thought Greg, the meathead he was, would die! However, it’s not like I wanted him to!
I grabbed Greg using Arroganz’s left hand.
Greg’s armor acted violently.
“Hey, get out! For Pete’s sake, get out of there!”
“You’re still gonna say that?! Not yet. I haven’t lost yet!”
“No, you’re actually in danger!”
“I will not be tricked by your deceit anymore! We haven’t forgotten about when you swindled us!”
It was a mistake to swindle money out of them when they were riding Partner instead of just charging them for the passage fee. I had intended to teach them how the world worked, but it turned out to be a poor choice to reveal my trick afterwards.
I was poking fun at them, but now I regretted having done it. These guys didn’t trust me, or rather, they didn’t have any reason to trust me. “Grow up a little! You got scammed by an imposter!” The armor’s internal structure normally wouldn’t work right. The scammer who posed as an armor maintenance technician might have put it together without thinking. This all happened because they were young men from wealthy families! They needed to study the ways of the world, at least for a bit!
Up until now, the people around looked after them, so perhaps they didn’t doubt the person who labelled themself as a craftsman. They should have had some distrust towards that person!
Julian and the others, who were rooting for Greg, shouted at him. “Get away! His arm is dangerous!” Jilk also raised his voice. Quite unusual since he was normally composed. “Detach that part! Flee at once!” Brad denied Jilk’s advice. “That won’t be possible. The purge function had been removed. Greg, do whatever you can to escape!” Chris cheered for Greg in a loud voice. “Greeeeg! Show us your power!”
He was supposed to be the cool character! If he was going to cheer, then he should have done it more calmly! Otherwise── “──If Chris is going that far, then I have no choice but to do my best. Here we goooo!”
Greg displayed an eagerness and was about to force himself away from Arroganz. The output of his rampant armor continued to increase, but I was somehow able to hold him down using Arroganz’s power.
[Master, we’re nearing the time limit.] “You guys are terrible! You’ve forced my hand!” I hung my head──and pulled a trigger on a joystick with a trembling finger. Luxon seemed lighthearted. [Impact~.] Once it said that, the plating on the left arm expanded and emitted light. A shockwave assaulted Greg while he was inside his armor, causing the armor to scatter and fly. The pilot, Greg, had fallen unconscious, but safely fell to the floor. What a relief it was that Arroganz had an attack to destroy only the armor. Indeed a relief, but──
“──I’m so done with all of this.” [Thank you for your hard work. Well~, those five were formidable enemies.] ──The arena fell completely silent. I pulled the trigger, but also ended up pulling the rug out from under the audience’s feet. They were speechless. Then, I heard a delayed scream coming from Marie.
◇
“GYAAAAAAAAAH! My five hundred thousaaaand! Everything I owneeeed!”
Next to Marie, who was shrieking while her hands were clutching her head, stood Kyle, who was covering his ears.
Marie couldn’t help but scream when seeing everyone’s armor scatter into pieces.
If it still had retained its form, it would have still been usable and even sellable.
That possibility had now vanished, though.
It was just worthless scrap metal at this point.
“Ah~ It fell apart quite splendidly. It’s probably irreparable, right?”
Marie, who blanked out, collapsed right then and there while twitching.
Kyle rushed over in a panic.
“Wait! Master?!”
The trembling Marie muttered incoherently.
“T, this is just a dream. Right, everyone is surrounding me, celebrating an uneventful day. Today is the anniversary for when everyone saw Marie’s smile, and now I’m receiving presents. Never, ever did anyone boast about armor. That was definitely forbidden since that mob, Leon, would break it. If it was broken──it wouldn’t be sellable. My five hundred thousand dia──my living expenses──I don’t want to go into debt. A dream. Yes, a dream. I’m in my bed, just having a slightly frightening dream right now.”
Kyle calmly made a retort.
“No, this is reality. Wake up from your irresponsible delusion of the world.”
The armor, and with it, Marie’s living expenses, were all destroyed by Leon.
Marie couldn’t face reality, and had become victim to both mental and monetary damage.
Leon had also received a fair amount of damage in his heart, and so the duel ended as a draw as far as the two were concerned.
◇
The royal palace had a conference room.
Gathered inside were nobles from a faction opposing the Redgrave duke household.
“Did you hear? His Highness and the others lost again to that person who had been promoted.”
“It’s a good thing that he won’t ascend to the throne.”
“Nevertheless, the attitude and behavior of that promoted man are intolerable. There are even rumors that he’s the queen’s favorite, but what do you think?”
The nobles were talking amongst each other.
Meanwhile, a marquis at the top of the faction looked at the nobles.
(Each and every one of them are being careless towards that promoted person.)
That marquis was the only one not excited by the discussion of the duel.
Thereupon, one of the nobles spoke lightly of Leon.
“It’s fine to leave such a person alone, right? The Redgrave house’s watchdog is just desperate to be liked by his owner, after all. He’s a mad dog who recklessly picks fights. Leaving that aside, there’s also the matter of the principality. It’s pathetic how they talked big, yet lost to students. We should soon make our own──”
The surrounding people agreed with the noble, but the marquis pounded the table with a fist, silencing the others.
They were surprised, and everyone’s sight gathered onto the marquis.
“──We need to deal with that brat no matter what. Use whatever means you can.”
The nobles smiled and disagreed.
“H, however, we have no reason to. Besides, we also have the principality’s movements to be concerned about, and the queen──”
“Do whatever you can to crush him! Don’t mind the fact that he may be the queen’s favorite! Before considering the principality, we need to deal with that brat first!”
Nobody talked back in face of the marquis’ vigor.
(He’s the only one we need to do away with. He repelled the principality alone with just one airship, no? We can’t neglect such a lost item. Why can’t the king, nor the queen──nor Vince understand?! They should know just how much of a danger that guy is!)
The marquis saw Leon as more dangerous than the principality.
“Get in touch with the principality. Furthermore, bring her Highness Hertrude over to this location.”
A knight who was there quickly left the room and headed towards Hertrude.
In the royal palace, there was someone who was more hostile to Leon than even the principality.
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