Ch.101100. The First Trial (3)

# 100. The First Trial (3)

And so, I surrendered to the wave of fatigue washing over me, and my eyes closed on their own.

When my briefly closed eyes opened again, the moon that had been floating in the center of the night sky had vanished without a trace, replaced by the brilliantly shining sun.

I barely managed to get up from bed, feeling the dazzling sunlight all over my body.

“It’s morning already…”

Though I was still tired, my condition wasn’t bad at all.

I checked the current time on my phone.

“12 o’clock… Still a while to go…”

It was only noon, and there was about a two-hour gap before the Emperor would visit the academy.

It seemed like a good idea to loosen up my body during that time.

Although yesterday’s events had proven my abilities, that was just a byproduct of the outcome—the Emperor hadn’t directly confirmed my skills.

‘Let’s go downstairs…’

After washing my face rather leisurely, I changed into comfortable clothes that allowed for free movement and immediately left my room.

The dormitory hallway was so quiet that not even a mouse could be seen, and my footsteps echoed loudly.

“As expected, no one’s around…”

Although it was the weekend, it seemed everyone was staying in their rooms after what had happened.

Of course, even in this situation, there would be people who would come out to train.

‘Shouldn’t this situation actually motivate them more?’

As the empire’s finest talents attending the Imperial Academy, they should have felt something watching what we showed yesterday.

Even if they didn’t think, ‘I want to be like them,’ they should at least have self-deprecating thoughts like, ‘They can do it, why can’t I?’

That thought should motivate them to train harder, but…

“Really, no one…”

“We’re here, you know?”

There were people after all.

People who were working hard to hone their skills even in this situation.

But…

“Why is it only you guys?”

For some reason, the faces I saw were all quite familiar.

Of course, it wasn’t just those who hadn’t participated in yesterday’s battle—our party members who had participated were also motivated.

Thanks to thoughts like “Am I really this inadequate?” that I also had. And since these kids were already in the habit of coming to the training grounds or dungeon practice rooms every day, their presence wasn’t surprising.

What was more surprising was the attitude of the other students who neglected training despite what had happened yesterday.

“Not everyone in this world is like you.”

“Yet here you are too?”

“How could I rest when I’m destined to be the empire’s strongest mage?”

Certainly, as Ellin said, not everyone would be like us.

They would surely want to rest and might give in to that temptation.

But the people I wanted to be here weren’t ordinary people.

“Not everyone in the world is like us, but our academy students shouldn’t be like that.”

“Come on~ They probably want to rest, it’s the weekend.”

“What have they even done to deserve rest…”

Those who did something yesterday weren’t resting, yet those who did nothing were enjoying their leisure.

‘This is why they can’t fight back when Bael provokes them.’

The population difference between the Kainis Empire and the Babylon Kingdom was substantial.

However, the number of actual “strong ones” and their level didn’t differ much.

Of course, one could attribute this to the difference between humans and demons, and that reason did account for some of it.

But seeing the laziness of the Imperial Academy students—our country’s future and hope—I couldn’t help but think differently.

“They must have done something, surely.”

“Yeah… they must have done something…”

“So… did you come to warm up?”

“That’s right, he’ll be here in about an hour.”

Before I knew it, an hour had passed while we were chatting, and now there wasn’t much time left.

I immediately summoned the [Sword of the Distant Abyss] and pointed the summoned sword at our party members.

“Let’s get started.”

“Eh? Us?”

I spoke to Ellin, Rachel, and Reina, who were looking at each other with surprised expressions.

“Of course, I’ll make it intense this time.”

Originally, I had conducted training gently, but having experienced real combat, it seemed better to proceed as intensely as in actual battle.

I activated [Mortal’s End] and declared to them.

“Get ready.”

And so began our somewhat aggressive but highly effective warm-up.

***

The Empress and Emperor boarded a magnificent car to visit the Imperial Academy.

“I’m looking forward to it, aren’t you?”

“I’ve been saying this all along—if I don’t like him, I won’t approve. You should scrutinize him carefully too.”

“Of course I will.”

The Emperor was somewhat displeased that both his daughter and now the Empress thought well of that guy.

Considering his background, it was understandable why they would think that way, but such decisions should be made with an objective view. However, the Empress seemed to be evaluating him higher than reality due to her preconceptions.

“This is about Elly’s future, and the future of this country.”

“That’s true. So when should the engagement ceremony be? The end of the year would be good, right? We also need to hold the Crown Princess investiture… There’s certainly a lot to do.”

The Empress already seemed to consider that guy as the Crown Princess’s fiancé.

From the Emperor’s perspective, there wasn’t much to object to.

Although he hadn’t observed the young man closely for long, he could tell that he genuinely loved his daughter and possessed skills beyond his years.

And…

‘That guy… doesn’t seem to have any flaws…’

Even if he wanted to find fault, there was nothing to pick on.

Appearance, skill, character.

He lacked nothing, and above all, his daughter truly loved him—so obviously that even others could see it.

How much did she love him? Enough to worry more about him than her father who had just returned from battle…

“Are you perhaps upset? Riel said she was more concerned about him than you yesterday.”

“It’s not that. I’m just being cautious because it’s an important matter.”

Of course, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t hurt—he was quite disappointed.

But he understood it was inevitable.

‘I was the same way…’

The Emperor himself cared more for his wife than his parents, so he couldn’t fail to understand his daughter’s feelings.

‘Still… it hurts a bit…’

Since she was a daughter he cherished dearly, the feeling was stronger.

If it had been Leo or his other children, he probably wouldn’t have felt this disappointed.

“By the way, when will we bring Leo back? I think we don’t need to worry about Elly anymore.”

“He’ll manage fine on his own.”

“Your reaction is so different from when it was Elly. He might feel hurt if he heard.”

Of course, Leo wasn’t the type to dwell on such things or take offense.

If anything, he would find it strange if the Emperor acted otherwise.

“Leo will do well on his own, that’s the kind of person he is.”

“Isn’t Elly also capable of handling herself?”

“It’s different.”

“If you say so~ But more importantly, when will you pass on the Emperor’s position?”

Officially, Princess Elizaveth would be invested as Crown Princess, and this news would soon be reported in the media.

Although the princess herself didn’t know yet, the Emperor intended to inform her of this on this occasion.

“I’m still in my prime, you know?”

“You’ll be fifty soon!”

Of course, fifty isn’t particularly old.

Depending on one’s magical power, some people live up to a thousand years.

But that’s assuming one has an enormous amount of magical power at the level of an archmage and a body as robust as the Emperor’s. In reality, the average human lifespan didn’t exceed three digits.

“As I said before, I’ll step down when Elly has the skills and mindset to shoulder this country.”

The Emperor had no intention of staying in his position for long.

Since his father had passed on the throne early, making him Emperor at a young age, he didn’t seem particularly attached to his position.

“Then you’ll step down quite soon… in about five years?”

“Isn’t that too soon?”

“It’s hard to gauge because Elly is growing so fast.”

Children certainly grow day by day, but in Princess Elizaveth’s case, this was even more pronounced.

At the young age of 19, she already possessed skills at the level of a knight order executive and had a more mature mindset than most adults.

“That’s too soon. I think Elly should be at least thirty…”

“We can think about that when the time comes. It looks like we’ve arrived.”

While they were discussing various matters, they had already arrived at the academy where he and she would be.

A considerable number of people had already come out to welcome the Empress and Emperor.

The two alighted from the car amid their enthusiastic welcome.