Ch.153EP.38 – The Knight Does Not Forgive the Bully (2)

Unlike Ihan’s assessment, most people looked at them with admiring eyes.

Not only for their appearance, but because they had achieved power, fame, and strength at such a young age, which was undeniably attractive.

Many noble ladies had flushed cheeks, and quite a few men showed their displeasure at this sight.

Just as the atmosphere was becoming somewhat awkward…

“Young talents of Pendragon! My name is Salah! I am one of the leaders responsible for a portion of the 17 Sultans of the West, but today I stand here not as a Sultan, but as a mere nobody who simply wishes to meet the young talents of Pendragon!”

The Sultan’s sudden greeting continued, and before others could recover from their surprise…

“This is a gift to welcome today’s meeting. However, I only brought gifts for the students, so I hope others won’t feel disappointed. After all, the protagonists of today are the students of this academy.”

He launched a “gift offensive” as if to press further.

Snap.

With a light flick of his fingers, dozens of servants in foreign attire moved in unison, displaying the items.

“Wow…”

Golden bells that naturally evoked admiration.

The sight of palm-sized golden bells lined up was truly breathtaking.

The golden bells themselves were impressive, but the intricate craftsmanship was both splendid and dignified.

They were clearly made by dwarves, and the students collectively realized this was by no means a trivial gift.

“Students of Pendragon, I do hope you like the Sultan’s gifts, ahaha!”

His hearty laughter echoed.

As if the awkward atmosphere was none of his concern.

“What an unusual character.”

“In a way, he’s quite remarkable.”

“His spirit is quite impressive…”

The nobles were impressed in various ways.

Both by the fact that he unexpectedly brought gifts for the students and by the dignity he exuded that didn’t come across as mere flaunting of wealth.

Additionally, despite likely not having trained in martial arts, his naturally extraordinary spirit was no less impressive than that of a knight.

The qualities of an emperor.

They glimpsed qualities that demonstrated his possession of such attributes.

Sultan Salah—they realized this man was not to be taken lightly.

…However,

“…?”

“What’s wrong, Master?”

“…No, it’s just that while others seem to hold this so-called Sultan in high regard, he looks rather amateurish to me.”

“What?”

“How should I put it, he’s like a fox pretending to be a tiger.”

“…?”

“I’m comparing him to the ‘superiors’ I’ve known.”

“???”

The knight shrugged lightly.

The superiors he knew.

The princess with seemingly clairvoyant abilities, the duke and grand duke who overwhelmed people just by their presence.

Everyone he had met had left a powerful impression.

So much so that one might doubt they were even human.

But from this Sultan…

‘Hmm, are my standards too high?’

Why did he seem so small?

Like a puppy.

* * *

Salah wore a sneer.

“How utterly simple. This is ridiculous. I’ve gained their favor so easily it’s boring.”

“Compared to the West, the nobles here are rather sloppy. The peace in the South must have lasted quite long.”

“Or perhaps they simply lack capable individuals. It’s said that a wise ruler’s ability to spot talent is like the eye of God, but now that ruler is gone.”

Salah conversed with his cherished guard captain with a smiling face.

Since they mostly spoke in the language of a Western minority race, no one would be able to understand their conversation.

“As expected, Pendragon without its ruler is not even a threat.”

“……”

“Haksan, do you have something to say?”

“…It is true that Pendragon has lost its past glory, as you say, Sultan. However, they still possess [Mysteries] and [Superhumans]. Please, do not just look at one tree, but see the entire forest.”

“Hmph, you dare lecture me.”

“I beg your pardon.”

“…Tsk.”

Salah was not petty enough to ignore the words of his loyal servant.

And secretly, he revealed the envy he had been trying to hide.

‘A blessed land is truly enviable.’

‘A land blessed with Mystery.’

This was the one thing Salah envied about Pendragon.

Of course, Mystery existed in the West too.

His proud guard captain himself possessed Mystery.

But there are levels to Mystery.

While the strongest Mysteries in the West were at best level 2 or 3, classified as upper-middle grade, Pendragon had numerous top-tier level 1 Mysteries.

Especially <Galahad’s Magic Sword> and <Lionel’s Dark King>, which were treated as immeasurable.

In the West, these were passed down like legends, and many children grew up hearing their stories like fairy tales.

And besides these ‘transcendent Mysteries,’ Pendragon also had <Superhumans>.

Monsters who should not be provoked, who could single-handedly destroy an entire Sultan’s army if confronted head-on.

Thus, Salah envied their transcendent Mysteries.

“I truly want them. Their Mysteries…”

He revealed his unrestrained desire.

Greedy malice.

Despite his dignified and spirited appearance, there was something undeniably sinister about him that seemed like a lie.

The Sultan, struggling to suppress his emerging desire, asked:

“-Haksan, how is ‘that guy’ doing?”

“Do not worry, we are monitoring him well.”

“Is that so? Even so, don’t let your guard down. Wizards are a breed you should never be careless with. If he tries anything…”

“I will eliminate him immediately.”

“Good, I’m counting on you.”

“It will be done according to your will, Sultan.”

Satisfied with his loyal servant’s words, Salah lightly moistened his throat with champagne, turned his gaze, and wore a friendly smile.

‘I’m looking forward to it.’

Salah was excited.

The stage was set.

This was a flow that could not be stopped even if one tried.

If there was any obstacle, any variable…

‘…The Magic Tower.’

The existence of the Magic Tower.

The presence of exceptional wizards always created variables.

Despite deliberately accompanying him all the way to the South and constantly trying to gauge his intentions, the wizard had not revealed his thoughts at all.

Indeed, wizards are an arrogant, proud, and inscrutable breed.

Therefore…

“It’s all the more curious. Who would have thought our targets would overlap.”

Though he couldn’t read the Magic Tower’s thoughts, their target was the same.

This fact strangely stimulated his competitive spirit, deepening the smile on Salah’s face.

“Irene Windler, was it? I can’t wait to see her.”

The owner of the jewel-like Mystery that Salah wanted to personally verify.

When magical talent is also considered a Mystery, her Mystery was truly coveted.

Even if only half the rumors about her were true, she was worth pursuing.

As Salah was filled with such expectations…

“Oh, it’s Princess Irene.”

“The Princess?”

“My goodness…”

Hearing the sudden commotion and catching Irene’s name, Salah turned his gaze.

“Finally, I’ll see that precious face…”

-Tap.

“……”

Rustle.

—There was a ‘goddess’ appearing, walking through a garden of flowers.

No, perhaps ‘fairy’ would be a more appropriate term, as she was so mysterious and dreamlike.

But one thing was certain—she took his breath away.

“……”

He was speechless.

Like all Sultans before him, he had his own harem filled with peerless beauties, women he could have whenever he wished.

To him, women were merely jewels in a cabinet.

Mere collectibles.

But.

Whoosh-!

The moment he saw her, he felt an immense shock as if his chest was burning.

The word ‘beauty’ seemed to exist solely for her.

Dizzying beauty and presence.

Her golden hair fluttering in the wind and her blue eyes like lakes made of diamonds could only be described as jewel-like.

He even hallucinated that flowers bowed as she passed by.

“Irene, Irene Windler…”

The Sultan softly called her name and quickly realized the nature of the intense shock and emotion he felt.

Yes, this is!

“I have met my destiny today…”

What a cruel twist of fate.

[Arin, that person seems to be looking at you really intensely?]

“Ugh, it’s creepy. Just look at him. He looks completely like a gisaeng.”

[Don’t you mean a gisaeng’s brother?]

“That’s just a gisaeng. Why is a man wearing such heavy makeup? It’s disgusting.”

[Arin, that’s gender discrimination.]

“…Hmm, then his makeup is disgusting. I hate it completely!”

[That I can agree with!]

Irene Windler shuddered at the greasy human who was staring at her intensely.

* * *

…How embarrassing, why does he stare so burdensome, really.

Irene found the gazes of others as she passed by extremely uncomfortable.

She already had looks that easily attracted attention, but today she drew even more gazes, making her inwardly break into a cold sweat.

Though outwardly she appeared glamorous and haughty, inside she was an infinitely young woman and an extremely introverted person—that was Irene Windler.

But this was unavoidable.

[You really dressed up today.]

Normally, Irene didn’t dress up at all, just washing her face lightly.

Only recently, because there was someone she wanted to impress, did she start washing her hair properly and looking in the mirror. Before, she was the epitome of laziness, just maintaining cleanliness with magic.

But today, for the first time, she deliberately dressed up.

Already known as the academy’s greatest beauty, when such a girl deliberately dresses up, it’s truly…

[You’re beautiful, Arin. It would be so nice if you dressed like this all the time.]

Like a fine jewel transformed into a brilliant crown.

If she wanted to, she could probably seduce men as effectively as a succubus.

…Though she herself had no interest in such things.

“It wasn’t what I wanted, the maids forced me to wear this. It’s so bothersome…”

The dress, makeup, and jewelry ornaments were all for the sake of the duke’s dignity, and Irene found it all cumbersome.

She continued to grumble as she quickly moved along.

Fortunately, no one approached her first.

A magician’s unique magical power serves as a shield that prevents others from approaching, and Irene, with her strong magic, constantly emitted a blue magical aura that prevented people from approaching carelessly.

Even if they had trained in martial arts, without being at knight level, it was difficult to approach through such dense magical power.

People parted for the girl like the Red Sea before Moses, and she approached those familiar to her without hindrance.

The Magic Department?

Of course not.

What was familiar to her was…

“Ah, there he is!”

The Swordsmanship Department.

Irene wanted to run quickly toward the man whose presence was enormous even from a distance, but due to her unfamiliar shoes, she could only approach him slowly.

The girl was about to greet him with a bright smile, but…

“Excuse me, Mage Irene. May I request a dance with you?”

“?”

…A blond-haired man blocked Irene’s path.

He was as greasy as the copper-colored man from earlier, and his intense golden magical power was considerable.

Judging by appearances, his magical power matched Irene’s.

Normally, a magician would be drawn to another magician of their kind, and it would be natural to show some interest in this man with his eyes full of excellence, but-

“Ah, I’m busy.”

“……”

Unfortunately, Irene had no interest in him, whether he was a magician or excellent.

Avoiding him like someone trying to convert her to a religion, Irene finally stood before her familiar companions.

“Hehe, Instructor~!”

It was hard to believe this was the same girl who had just coldly dismissed the blond man—now she was beaming as if she might grow a tail, and seeing this, the knight…

“…Chick, I’m seriously concerned about you, but you really need to be careful around men.”

“?”

“You seem like the type that bad men would easily target.”

“Huh?”

“N-never mind, forget it…”

Having just witnessed a scene where she made a bad man fall for her in real-time, the knight clicked his tongue.

‘Is this why she’s called a villainess?’

Because so many bad men are attracted to her.

It was a moment that made him realize that appearance certainly creates plausibility.