"I'm happy to finally meet you, Lord Virginia."
――A troublesome fellow.
When I first saw him, that's what my intuition told me.
Gathering from his slight bow, I could tell he had a strength of mind, body and spirit. It was easy for me, a Knight with peerage, to know that he had the arm of a swordsman after taking a closer look.
His figure was quite eye-catching, that even I, being from the same sex, felt like stealing glances. I can't even begin to fathom how much those incredibly good tailor-made clothes would go for. His glossy shoes were obviously from the leather of a considerably high-rank monster.
The mantle he wore also deserved a special mention. Jet-black and ultramarine, a color that mimicked the night sky and pulled in the viewer with its scattered jewels that resembled sparkling stars.
But. That beautiful decoration was not vaunted on the outside. It was on the inside of the mantle.
What could be the meaning of it?
He looks like he hides a secret. I'm afraid it might be something outrageous.
"Father. This esteemed person is Second-dono, a noble from a foreign country."
My daughter, whom I'm meeting for the first time in a long time, introduced him to me with a bit of demure.
Hey, Silvia. Seems like you're still as bad as ever at lying. Your eyebrows still shake when you do.
...Well then, with this I know he is not some nobleman.
Then, who in the world are you?
Only one person comes to mind. And that is――「A Prince」.
The first prince of the Castall Kingdom, Klaus-sama, is good at swordsmanship and it is said that his skills are so good he might even be the number one in the kingdom. The second prince, Maine-sama, is rumored to be the very top of the first years in the prestigious 『Royal Magic Academy』.
The person in front of me exudes self-confidence, overflowing wealth, firm standing, intellectual vision and a transcendental calm. Whoever he is, I cannot even compare him to the royal family that I know.
...Good. I should try testing him here.
Having thought so, I decided to behave as if we were in equal standing.
If he gets angry, that would mean he only amounted to that much. If his act crumbles, then I can arrest him for impersonating nobility.
"Umu, Second-dono, was it? I'm Noir Virginia. Thank you for your consideration."
"Likewise."
This is surprising.
With plenty of composure he smiled and returned a single word.
Now I'm sure―― He is of foreign royalty. No mistake.
If he were part of the faulty nobles over there, he would've instantly flown into a rage since a simple Knight had treated him as his equal. This is an action that is always sure to expose their haughty behavior.
Unless it was someone belonging to royalty hiding their own status. If that's the case, there is no way I can let this chance slip and lose his grace with such a playful prank. In the first place, he doesn't seem to want to keep his identity as royalty a secret from me.
Which means.
...I should just be honest and apologize.
Along with the sound of a bang.
My head hit the table as I bowed to him.
"Your highness Second. I sincerely apologize for trying to test you in that manner. I'm ready to receive some punishment. But if you find it in your heart to forgive this worthless me, I would love to hear what you came here for."
I can't miss this once-in-life-time chance.
He is a personage that Silvia took the trouble to bring. She knows plenty of how I can ascertain a person's true nature and skill in the sword just by looking at them. His highness Second is definitely not a person who would bring harm. I don't know his purpose, but if I can benefit my house, and ultimately the Castall Kingdom, by aiding him then I should just go ahead and grab this opportunity.
As I bowed my head, I waited for his highness Second to speak.
And hopefully, something good will befall my Virginia Knight's House.
How did this happen?
That's what I want to know.
The operation deceive suddenly took a weird turn All I had planned was to "while wearing rare clothes, pretend to be a foreign noble and trick Silvia's dad into writing a letter of introduction to the Magic Academy".
It would be a letter of introduction from a man who was knighted by his ability with the sword alone. Even if there was no real "power" behind his backing, there would be "trust". And that, in turn would surely bring a positive reply from the Royal Magic Academy.
But this was the result.
What the heck.
Why is Noir-san lowering his head?
And what's with "your Highness"?
Testing? Punishment? I really don't get this.
I glanced over to where Silvia was. Her eyes were like dots and she was frozen solid.
She has no idea either. I don't get it.
...Ah, no. There's one thing I do get.
And that is――
"Lift your face."
――That I should take advantage of this.
After saying so in a voice full of pride, Noir-san raised his face.
Strangely enough, even though I can't see her, I'm fairly certain of what kind of face Silvia is making at this moment. Something like "What are you spouting!? " kind of face.
But there is no turning back now. I decided to continue pretending to be a "somewhat important person" and see how far can I go.
"I too feel sorry for having to somewhat deceive you... but you see, there are some circumstances that force me to conceal my identity. You should be able to understand, right? "
"Yeah. I will not speak a word of this."
Oh. I was just trying my luck, but it seems like it worked out.
"Today, I came to trouble you with two requests."
"Yeah. If it is within my powers."
...Seems like Noir-san has been incredibly deceived. I wonder what kind of misunderstanding is he under?
I'm getting increasingly worried about the Virginia family. Aren't you a knight that has sworn your allegiance to the King of Castall? In the first place, him bowing his head to some random person of unknown birth is a little...
I have to admit he truly is Silvia's father. In a lot of ways.
However, no matter how dumb he might be, I can't be too careless. I switched gears and made full use of my head as I thought about the next words.
"Then, the first one is but a trivial request. I'd like to have a connection to the Royal Magic Academy. Do you think you can do it? "
"Yes. If you want to transfer to the first year, I can immediately write you a letter of introduction this very moment. I used to share the battlefield with an elven man called Kevin who is now the person in charge of the first years."
...Wow. I thought Noir-san would be a trustworthy person, but I didn't think it would be to this extent. He really is amazing.
However, transferring isn't good. The duration is quite long. All I need is to quickly sneak in and take a quick peek at the Grimoires.
"It's fine just for a short time. Do you have any ideas? "
"Uhmm. In that case, I think it would be better to make it a short-term abroad study."
"I see."
Great idea. That way I can make it look like I came to see how a foreign country's magic academy was like.
What should I do for the period? The shorter the better, but it'll be bad if I can't find the Grimoires in two or three days.
Oops, and speaking of which, Silvia also needs to learn the Second Form and Third Form of the fire attribute. Would she be able to learn it by flipping through it like I did?
...Well, since I'm becoming a little uneasy, should I take longer?
"Alright, two weeks should do for the period. Can I ask you for a letter of introduction with that in mind?"
"Certainly."
Just as Noir-san answered, his eyes glanced over towards Silvia.
It seems like he is a bit anxious about the second request. And he probably is expecting it to be about Silvia. Noir-san seems to be quite smart. Then I wonder why is he making such a weird misunderstanding? Not that I really mind it since it was thanks to that that I was saved.
"Well then. With the trivial request out of the way, let's move to the important one."
"As you wish."
Noir-san replied with an understanding expression.
After correcting my sitting posture, I opened my mouth.
"Let's get straight to the point... I've taken a liking to our Silvia here. She has a talent for archery and magic. Would you allow her to accompany us as a companion in our travels?"
I slightly lowered my head as I made my request.
If he allows Silvia to accompany me right now, when the issue about the "spy" from the Third Knight Order comes to light in the distant future, I think Noir-san will be on my side. If possible, I'd love to have some sort of direct approval from the Virginia House.
...However, just now I changed how I addressed myself from first person to "Us". Noir-san is quite sharp. I wonder if that was a stupid move?
"P-please raise your head."
Noir-san said in a panicking voice. I slowly raised my head.
"She is but an unskilled daughter. If Your Highness is fine with her, please do not hesitate to make use of her. However, are you really picking Silvia…? "
Seems like he has some doubt remaining.
Well, no wonder. In Noir-san's eyes, Silvia is only a girl yearning for knights whom can barely handle the sword. She isn't even treated as a knight.
"Certainly, she has no talent for the sword. However, for the bow and magic, we can confidently declare that she has a talent that would make her famous across the whole world. That we guarantee. Silvia should just leave the knights and come with us."
I declared with confidence.
"You say Silvia is gifted...?"
Noir-san still wasn't quite convinced. He's stubborn.
"She has been borrowed from the Third Knight Order on a two-year contract. After that period is over, we had the intention to come to the Knight Order and ask if she could remain with me. For that, we want to borrow your power, Noir-dono."
After coming so far I really want Silvia, so I try to show it in my behavior.
"...With all due respect... no, certainly."
Noir-san tried to say something against it, but immediately denied it. And with a face as if he had finally made a decision he spoke.
"To request it so profoundly. I'm sure it will be as you say. I will patiently wait here to listen about her exploits that are sure to come."
"..."
After Noir-san words, I could hear from behind Silvia's audible breath filled with deep emotions.
I'm not really sure what to say now, but he is giving his OK, right? It's fine to take it as that, right?
"That's a splendid disposition. We by no means will forget the help of the Virginia house."
I nodded, satisfied, and smiled as much as I could. I then took Silvia and left the Virginia house.
...Strangely, I feel like I barely have any strength in my legs, so the journey back felt a little shaky. God, I really was nervous.
All the way back, Silvia kept saying "This idiot! " "Huge idiot! " not shutting up.
And even though you said "Just being there with you made me feel like my heart would stop several times". I know that at the end, when Noir-san acknowledged your talent for the bow, your eyes got a bit watery. Then wasn't it worth it to have your heart almost stop several times?
But anyway, I got my connection to the Royal Magic Academy... However, I'm scared to think this will be a lot harder than expected.
I'm not lying, those are my honest true feelings.
"Headmaster Paula. Can we speak for a moment?"
Royal Magic Academy, Headmaster's office.
A long-eared man with beautiful features extended his hand and entered the room unreservedly.
At the center of the room, surrounded by bookshelves, a pen was silently moving in a desk with documents piled up. There sat the woman of faded beauty, wearing glasses, that the man talked to; Headmaster Paula.
"Haven't I always told you not to call me by my name, Kevin-sensei."
Just as she said that, Paula stopped the hand holding the pen.
"Isn't it fine here? We're the only two here."
"Ara, I wonder if you're trying to hit on me? "
"Hahaha. It's against my policy as a gentleman to try and make a move on a woman less than half my age."
"Ohh, that's right, speaking of which, you..."
Paula held her head as she looked at the smiling Kevin. Seeing that, Kevin tried to follow up.
"No, don't get me wrong. I do not mean to say that Headmaster Paula is unattractive. If you were a bit more, just a bit more, maybe with a hundred years more you would be inside my strike zone."
"...I'll never understand elves and their tendency for mature women."
"Eh, what was that? "
"I was speaking to myself."
By the way, the age of the headmaster of the Royal Magic Academy Paula Memento is 49 years old, and the age of Kevin, the teacher in charge of the first graders, is 130 years old. Although Paula is a human, and her looks are good enough to mistake her of being younger than she is, Kevin is an elf, so he looks so youthful that it's hard to think he has lived over a hundred years.
"By the way, why did you come here? You're not here just to chit-chat, are you? "
When Paula asked, Kevin snapped his finger as if remembering and replied.
"A letter from Noir came."
"Ara, that is rare... But it doesn't seem like it's just a letter."
Paula gets that feeling after seeing Kevin's face.
"Exactly. It's written in the letter――A high class noble from another country hopes for a short-term abroad study at the Magic Academy. I would like to ask if he could study in your class alongside my daughter Silvia for two weeks――."
"..."
As soon as Kevin's expression became serious, Paula's expression also hardened.
The request itself is nothing serious. It's a two-week short-term study abroad. The problem is, the person who made the request and the person in whose behalf the request is made.
"What do you think? "
As if he was waiting for Paula to ask, Kevin opened his mouth and replied.
"For that stubborn Noir to just recommend 'A high class noble'. In other words, he is someone Noir cannot help but to acknowledge. There's also the polite language in the letter of introduction and even going to such lengths as to place his actual daughter as guard. This is clearly an abnormal situation. I think it's necessary to take proper measures in advance."
"I more or less agree with you."
The two people groaned with their arms folded.
In the letter of introduction there is nothing about what kind of person was coming to study abroad, or for what purpose. All they knew was his name, "Second".
"Normally, this would be quite suspicious… right?"
"Yeah. But this is a letter from that Noir..."
They couldn't just ignore it. His reputation as a "tough knight in armor who was serious in the ways of the sword" gave the man called Noir that much trust.
After that, some time passed.
Paula spent a lot of time thinking about it and finally decided on some rough measures.
"...There are two measures I came up with. The first, assuming that this Second-kun is foreign royalty, let him spend his two weeks giving him a courteous reception and a more than satisfactory treatment. The other is to take the stance of treating all students equally and let his short-term study abroad conclude with a mindset of "let sleeping dogs lie". So, which one should we? "
Both the person speaking and the one listening had bitter faces.
"The latter one is better, I suppose... although I'm reluctant. After all, there's a reason why Second-kun can't be given exceptional treatment in my class."
Along with Kevin saying so, Paula also nodded.
"I guess that's true. Because in your class――"
"Yeah, that's right. In class A――"
――is where the second Prince Maine is.
_________________________________________________________________
Cheat sheet Stats ＜Status Details＞
HP Hit Points
MP Magic Points
SP Stamina Points
STR Short range attack skill power, strength, physical power.
DEX Long range attack skill power, dexterity, hit rate.
AGI Quickness, avoidance rate.
INT Attack Magic skill power.
LUK Good luck, critical rate.
VIT Simple defense.
MGR Magic defense.
Types of combat skillsNamed after shogi pieces (The word in bold is the one being used in this translation). From easier to acquire to harder.
Pawn/Soldier (Fuhyou)
Lance(Kyousha)
Knight (Keima)
Silver General (Ginshou)
Gold General (Kinshou)
Bishop (Kakugyou)
Rook (Hisha)
Promoted Bishop/Dragon Horse(Ryuuma)
Promoted Rook/Dragon King (Ryuuou).
Swordsmanship
"Soldier Swordsmanship" Normal attack.
"Lance Swordsmanship" Piercing attack.
"Knight Swordsmanship" Precision attack.
"Silver Swordsmanship" Strong single-target attack.
"Gold Swordsmanship" Small-range attack to all directions.
"Bishop Swordsmanship" ???
"Rook Swordsmanship" ???
"Dragon Horse Swordsmanship" ???
"Dragon King Swordsmanship" ???
Archery
"Soldier Archery" Normal range attack.
"Lance Archery" Piercing range attack.
"Knight Archery" Precise sniping range attack.
"Silver Archery" Strong single-target range attack.
"Gold Archery" Weaker range attack with added knockback.
"Bishop Archery" Strong piercing range attack.
"Rook Archery" Very strong single-target range attack with scaling % damage.
"Dragon Horse Archery" Powerful piercing range attack.
"Dragon King Archery" Powerful on-impact range attack.
Types of Magic skillsThey use the "Form" or "step" system of martial arts. From lower to higher.
First Form
Second Form
Third Form
Fourth Form
Ranking of the skillsFrom lower to higher, then it changes to the "Dan" system of martial arts, which means Grade.
16th class
15th class
14th class
13th class
12h class
11th class
10th class
9th class
8th class
7th class
6th class
5th class
4th class
3rd class
2nd class
1st class
Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Grade 9
Title