Editor 147

Three Springs (6)

Chel, who had outgrown adolescence but was not yet fully an adult, possessed an androgynous beauty at its peak, giving her a mysterious charm like a navy iris seen at night.

With such looks, she went around wholeheartedly charming cute girls, so the number of love letters she received was enormous.

‘There may not be an Arthur fan club among the underclassmen, but there is a Chel fan club. Even though it’s a co-ed school, Chel always gets the prince’s role in school plays during the festival for a reason. Well, it’s not like I can’t understand….’

That’s right.

The real prince attending the school only knew sword practice, and his only hobby was drinking, so new students, who had built up grand illusions from reading newspaper articles, usually gave up as soon as they saw him in person.

Instead, Chel, who looked even better in person and had refreshingly good manners, played the role of the school’s prince at the Capital Defense Academy.

While Ezra and Cleio engaged in trivial chatter, five more exchanges passed in an instant, and finally, Arthur seized the advantage.

He quickly caught Chel’s sword, which had been brought down, with the blade facing down, and as she stepped in one more time without retreating, he drew her within his reach and in a flash reversed his sword and slashed Chel’s shoulder.

Fwoosh!

Chel’s dueling uniform tore, and bright red blood quickly spread across the white cloth.

‘Kyaaa-!!’

‘What do we do!’

‘Miss Chel!’

Somewhere, the screams of female students rang out.

Chel, unconcerned with her injury, tried to launch another attack, but Rosa and George, knowing her temperament well, quickly ended the match.

The assistant shouted urgently.

“Second-year swordsmanship class semifinals, Arthur Riognan wins! Celestes Tempête de Neige, please proceed directly to the infirmary. Immediately!”

Chel’s loud protest echoed across the parade ground.

Lippy, shaking her head, and Isiel, who was flexible enough to pretend not to notice her housemate’s outburst, soon started their match.

“That little one with deer eyes is as brave as a leopard~. Wow, she doesn’t get pushed back at all by the next Rose Knight! The 977th class is always so entertaining to watch~.”

Isiel, with hair as red as a rose, had recently started to be called the “next Rose Knight.”

Arthur had held the top spot in swordsmanship since second year, but in the overall ranking across all subjects, Isiel was still number one.

It was the result of endless training and diligence… but hearing this white-haired mage talk only for fun was a bit off-putting.

“Deputy Commander Sergeyev, they don’t train for your entertainment. They’re just outstanding, diligent friends.”

“Oh, who doesn’t know that? When that kid with the leaf hairpin was even shorter than now, she picked you up and dashed across the parade ground—do you know how shocked I was? I can’t even describe it~.”

“Why do you remember things like that?”

“Hey~ That’s a sight you’ll never see twice in your life, how could I forget~! Hahaha.”

Lippy and Leticia had now grown much taller and were about the same height as Isiel.

Isiel was one level higher, but Lippy’s attacks with both shortsword and rapier were quite tricky to deal with.

“Wow, so all those kids will be joining the Capital Defense Corps in two years. The knights in the building next door are already full of anticipation.”

Graduates of the Capital Defense Academy were required by principle to serve two years of mandatory service in the Defense Corps. For swordsmen, it was a period as a squire; for magicians, it was an apprenticeship in the magic corps.

After the mandatory service, some would be formally knighted, while others, for various reasons, would not.

Arthur and his friends could choose neither. So Cleio expected that the end of their mandatory service would be the turning point of the narrative.

To prepare for that, he made every effort to increase the influence of Schliemann Kishion.

Through Isiel, he persuaded them to attend both the New Year’s party and the birthday celebration, and got Chel to introduce him to other minor nobles she knew.

The sincere and steady warrior Schliemann was well-liked by those running the border garrisons.

Each small support might seem insignificant, but Cleio planned for the possibility that their names or votes in the upper house would matter if anything happened.

While Cleio steadily laid the groundwork, the manuscript itself had slowed down its pace, as if making up for a period of rushing ahead.

‘Even if the last manuscript wasn’t much help, the broad outline is the same. In that version, the first decisive battle happened during mandatory service, and the squires’ [Oath] and knighthood were postponed. If Arthur makes an [Oath] with Melchior, the plot can’t continue… so the action will probably begin around the time of mandatory service this time too.’

It was still a future that felt far off.

Perhaps Cleio felt less real about it because he was already certain to avoid mandatory service.

Known as Zebedi’s research student, he was set to become a “visiting” mage for the Capital Defense Corps after graduation, thanks to a glowing recommendation from the deputy commander of the magic corps.

A visiting mage did not need to stay in the corps barracks and only had to show up for work once a week… it was a truly cushy post.

It was a conspiracy made possible by Zebedi’s determination not to send his first favorite student in decades to the army, and Ezra’s insistence that he had to have that fun mage all to himself.

Professor Maria, watching how things unfolded, commented in astonishment. “Cleio, you’ve brought together two disciples who I thought would never reconcile. I always think you’re a truly remarkable student.”

Since he never did anything to deserve such praise, Cleio felt his back twist in embarrassment as he listened to Professor Maria’s compliment.

‘I haven’t even caught the real culprit who smuggled out the monster blood, and now everyone thinks I’m Ezra’s best friend… sigh.’

Since the first monster riot, monster blood had spread everywhere. It meant it was now impossible to trace the smuggling routes of by-products from the monster Varg.

‘Now that there’s plenty of monster blood, Aslan’s group could mass-produce Hydra’s poison.’

After the first monster outbreak, Aslan, who received the highest honor medal, requested command of the Cruel Knights and then moved his base to the Southwest Defense Army camp. Zuleika often claimed nervous exhaustion and stayed at the palace by Lake Nineveh.

‘The duke’s domain and Lake Nineveh are only half a day’s ride apart by carriage. That’s no coincidence.’

Just as Cleio was about to start investigating what schemes the mother and son were plotting in seclusion, Zuleika’s father Friedrich fell ill.

Friedrich, Emperor Joachim of Brünnen’s uncle and Aslan’s maternal grandfather, was bedridden.

The second prince, using his grandfather’s illness as an excuse, escorted Zuleika and buried himself in his mother’s homeland, the Duchy of Meinrat.

‘That was already months ago. I doubt they really went there for nursing.’

Not that Cleio had done nothing. He fully supported Fran’s efforts to trace Hydra’s poison.

Over the past year, the one who achieved the most remarkable feats was indeed Francis Gabriel Hyde-White.

With the passion and determination that would have changed the course of Albion’s science and technology, he devoted himself to investigating Hydra’s poison.

Starting in Fesselrn, his journey took him through the Cruel domain in southern Albion and western Brünnen, and finally back to the Pintos mountains.

In a recent letter, he wrote that people showing symptoms similar to those testified by the singer Geheim were being found around the Meinrat domain.

‘The Meinrat domain is Brünnen land just over the Pintos mountains from Kishion’s territory. Zuleika’s hometown. It’s highly likely Aslan’s base of operations is there.’

Fran’s achievements did not stop there.

Still writing for under the name Gibril Blanche, he had become a fairly well-known freelance contributor.

‘He really is someone who could do anything.’

It was also clear that Fran was the anonymous author of the strike-inciting poster that triggered the Albion Transport Union’s capital branch strike, known as Saint Polio.

‘There can’t be two people who can imbue printed text with the energy of a stigmata. No, even one is troublesome enough.’

Fran seemed close to wrapping up his investigation. A letter arrived last month saying he had secured definite evidence from his experiments.

‘It’s already been a month, so it’s about time for the next letter. I’ll check the post office box tomorrow.’

Noticing Cleio was lost in thought, Ezra shook his empty cup in front of Cleio’s eyes.

“Junior? Junioooor~? Are you having an out-of-body experience~?”

“No. I was listening. You’re thinking of making a new familiar? You’re not making any more of the Epsilon version of Tosooni?”

“I am! But I’ve got something else to do first. On my last dispatch, I, uh, bought a fossil said to be a unicorn horn!”

“You didn’t get scammed again, did you?”

“No~ no, I don’t think so. Junior, could you appraise it for me? Dione says you’re a genius at appraising~.”

“As long as you pay the appraisal fee, anytime.”

“I’m sure it’s real. I’ve already got golden sand of time and a mana opal, and I’m planning to make a mana silver hoof. If I have the horn, I think I can try a unicorn.”

“Hm. Even if you make it, as far as I know, unicorns only allow the pure to approach, or else they gore people with their horns, right?”

“That’s not a problem! Me! I’m completely pure! Absolutely spotless!”

Ezra clenched both fists and jumped up so hard the cup almost broke. Cleio quickly cast [Slow] to save the glass, and gave a 180% sincere reply.

“Please stop. I don’t want to know.”

“I didn’t mean for you to know, it’s just… Dione hasn’t replied to my letters… If I make a unicorn, I could invite her to visit again.”

Ezra, his hands fidgeting and his face flushed to his forehead, was an unbearable sight.

‘Even if you brought the unicorn’s grandfather, Lady Dione wouldn’t care. Tsk.’

It would be easier to get a reply if he claimed unicorn horns were a cure-all, ground them up, and sold them as health supplements for a fortune.

“Let me just ask one thing. Has Lady Dione ever replied to your letters before, Deputy Commander Sergeyev?”

Ezra’s voice grew smaller and smaller.

“…When there were a lot of monster incidents.”

“Then just wait for another monster incident.”

“Noo. I don’t want that~. When monsters appear, all the events get canceled. I wanted to ride a unicorn and take her to this year’s World Exposition….”

If he kept approaching like that, he’d never get close to Dione even after a thousand years, but Cleio had no obligation to offer romantic advice.

So he only pointed out another part.

“This year’s exposition is in Brünnen. Even if you do make a unicorn, I don’t think it’s a suitable distance to travel on it.”

“It’s in Brünnen? Isn’t the exposition always held in Rundane?”

Cleio, struck speechless by the ignorance of the deputy commander of the Capital Defense Corps, downed his spritz—now warm, with all the ice melted—in one shot.