Ch.48EP.14 – Berserk?(3)

The students were bewildered.

The reason for their bewilderment?

Need it even be said?

“I sense an excellent spirit. I look forward to a magnificent battle that would leave even the fairies in admiration.”

The princess, the noble Crown Princess who shone as first in the royal succession, was “encouraging” them—it would be stranger if they could maintain their composure.

…Was this a dream?

“However, it would be unacceptable to get injured simply for the sake of a splendid battle. Please take care of yourselves. You are all talents who will benefit the country in the future.”

Ah…

But their bewilderment was momentary.

Those looking up at her, without anyone taking the lead, blushed and bowed their heads.

It was instinct.

‘So, so someone like her can actually exist.’

Beautiful—no, even calling her beautiful somehow felt like a disrespectful statement.

An otherworldly beauty, as if an angel had descended.

There was a nobility there that should never be defiled.

For those from the back alleys, even meeting her eyes felt sacrilegious.

The students dared not raise their heads, did not hesitate to lower their eyes, and simply blushed.

And they found a purpose.

Ah! Today we shall surely win and dedicate the glory to her—!

They dared to make this resolution, their hearts stirring.

This was a resolution that both warriors and mages shared equally, and both groups added one more reason why they must win today.

Not just for the pride of mages and warriors, but they resolved to fight for the honor of having an audience with an angel,

with the princess.

The men’s eyes blazed.

“Damn, what a load of nonsense.”

Meanwhile, the instructor watching all this clicked his tongue.

What are the three things one should be most careful of in martial arts circles like Dosan Sword Forest, or rather, in the royal capital?

The elderly, children, and beautiful women.

Elements that can easily cause one to lower their guard.

And among them, nothing is more dangerous than the presence of a beautiful woman.

Especially.

‘If you get bewitched by a nine-tailed fox, there’s no hope.’

He glanced at the princess sitting dignified in what looked like a VIP viewing box, looking down at him.

Even though it had been a while since he’d seen her, she still exuded an ominous aura that made his skin crawl.

Like a wild animal’s instinct.

A clear feeling that getting involved with her would lead to trouble.

Ugh…

Ihan groaned and shuddered, while the princess who met his gaze.

‘Disrespectful fellow, if you were near me, I would have severely punished you.’

Tak.

Fidgeting with the fan in her hand, Isis frowned.

Such an impertinent friend, she thought.

* * *

The Colosseum where the war game was taking place was like a miniature battlefield.

A vast arena that seemed like two soccer fields joined together.

Landscaped forests and rocks were abundant.

The artificial natural environment resembled a terrarium.

Though called a noble’s pastime, it showed how seriously they took their entertainment.

The psychology of wealthy people is hard to understand.

But one thing was clear: the matches held in this massive terrarium were attractive not only to nobles but also to the common people.

The Colosseum was open not just to students but to citizens as well, who raised their voices in enthusiastic support from the stands.

[Waaaaaah!]

Truly ecstatic.

Well, in the medieval era where entertainment was overwhelmingly scarce, such competitions were precious stimulation.

In terms of popularity, it was probably no less than American football.

And as if that weren’t enough.

“…Hmm.”

“Am, am I trembling?”

“Yeah, like crazy. …Me too.”

The students felt dizzy.

Easily over a thousand people were watching them.

Interest, expectation, excitement.

Various intense emotions washed over them, making their shoulders and necks feel heavy.

Ironically, the only reason they could bear this weight was thanks to the harsh and unreasonable environment they had experienced at Vulcan.

“Wow, that hellish time is actually helping now.”

“Exactly.”

“Haha…”

But even so, the scale of their first battlefield was excessively large.

Probably because of the princess’s visit.

The heir to the king.

The great lady sovereign whom they would serve with loyalty if they became knights in the future.

And because she was there, displaying the kingdom’s finest beauty, making not only the nobles but also the common people admire her, they were even more enthusiastic and attentive.

They intended to thoroughly examine what value these students had that would make the future monarch personally visit.

Of course, while the princess’s visit was an honor for them too, it also heightened their tension.

And in this situation.

“This is no time to be standing around, seniors. We need to form a strategy now.”

“……”

When all the men were trembling, there was one strong-hearted, upright girl who maintained her composure.

“Hm? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…Lady Pollet, are you really going to participate? You should go up to the stands even now.”

“Please speak comfortably, senior. And as I said yesterday, I have no intention of giving up.”

“Hmm…”

For those who still found nobles difficult to approach, it was uncomfortable regardless of how fragile a woman might appear.

It was only because they had shared hardships with Levi Pollet for a month, developing something like comradeship, that they could even express their opinions like this.

In that sense, they still felt a small anxiety about Levi Pollet participating in the war game.

Before being a noble, she was a girl much smaller than them, and they would feel guilty if she got hurt.

But the girl’s eyes were resolute.

“Seniors, although I may be weak, I’ve learned everything I could learn. So please don’t worry. I too—am not standing here with just an ordinary resolve.”

“Hmm.”

Yes, just as she said.

A month of getting along with Levi Pollet.

The girl they had come to know during that time was strong.

Not in terms of physical power, but in spirit.

To be clear, they might be stronger than Levi Pollet right now, but the future was uncertain.

The girl’s spiritual fortitude was something even Lord Roen had admired.

“Let’s win, all of us. I need to prove my worth as a person, and you seniors need to prove yours too.”

“…Yes.”

Sometimes men become extremely naive.

They would give their lives at a single touch from a beautiful woman, and at times they get fired up by someone else’s encouragement.

And a girl who, despite being a noble, respectfully calls them “senior” is encouraging them?

Well, this is.

“-She’s got a few tails too.”

Not as many as the big sister, not nine, but maybe two?

She seems to know well how to make men’s blood boil.

He smiled, satisfied with the growth of the girl whom he could no longer call a chick.

* * *

Fortunately, the king did not make an appearance.

It was more than fortunate—it was a blessing worth ten years of gratitude.

Most likely, Isis had a hand in this.

With Galahad and Lionel already on the move, if the king were to move as well, it could escalate into an uncontrollably large affair.

‘When the king moves, the army moves.’

A division-scale force would move in perfect order, and furthermore, even the great nobles would have to move.

How could they remain still when the king was making a visit?

And if that happened, this school performance (war game) would no longer belong to the students but would become an arena of power.

This would greatly deviate from the purpose of the Academy, which must always maintain neutrality.

Therefore, Isis attending as the king’s representative was the limit that the Academy could accept.

“It’s also fortunate that no dukes or grand dukes are visible.”

“Instructor, speaking so casually about those people is a bit…”

“I’m not their servant, am I? And they’re supposed to be incognito, right? So they shouldn’t come out just because I mention them. If they’re incognito, they should just quietly watch and leave.”

“…Sometimes I wonder if you have multiple lives, Instructor.”

“Jealous?”

“No, not at all.”

“Hehe.”

Duke and Grand Duke.

Neither Ihan nor the students or faculty know where those two are right now.

Or rather, only a very few know that they came at all.

Only the princess has officially announced her visit, while the two lords have not shown themselves at all.

Honestly, at this point, one might as well say they didn’t come.

Was Leira’s information wrong?

‘No, these people really did come.’

But Ihan knew that Leira Winter’s information was accurate.

If he hadn’t heard it from her, he would have just let it go, but now that he knew, there were things he could see, or rather, feel.

‘It’s intense.’

An alien presence felt among the students and ordinary spectators in the general seating area.

Though they tried to hide it, it wasn’t enough to escape Ihan’s senses.

And the moment he felt their presence, he realized.

‘None of them are below me.’

The size of the power possessed by those who had entered his sensory domain was uniformly enormous.

Especially two of them.

Though they were far apart, they particularly irritated his nerves.

Also, one of them seemed to be blatantly announcing his presence.

The way he was staring at the back of his head like a piercing awl…

‘This bastard?’

Ha!

He knew who it was.

That guy.

The arrogant knight of the Duke who had engaged in an indiscriminate fistfight with him the day before.

The man was provoking him.

Crack!

He wanted to go find him right away and settle the unfinished match.

It wasn’t just the students who had developed over the past month.

He too had developed while teaching them, pushing his body even more harshly than they did.

He was confident he wouldn’t lose in technique like before, and he wanted to test it right away, but.

“…Sigh.”

He forcibly suppressed his boiling blood.

Yes, he had to endure ‘today.’

Because today wasn’t about him.

It was the day to see how much the saplings he had raised,

his bonsai trees, had grown.

So he endured.

Even if there was someone impudently revealing his presence and provoking him.

‘I’ll deal with you next time.’

Then it wouldn’t end like today.

Ihan turned his attention to the disciples he had raised, promising himself a future confrontation.

…But Ihan should have known.

Just as he could sense and observe others.

“Oh, there’s an interesting fellow, brother.”

Someone else could observe him too.

A black-haired man showed interest in him.

“What do you mean?”

“Just as I said, that guy is something. If we fought, I’m not sure who would win.”

“…You evaluate him that highly?”

“Yes, and not just him, look at that one over there, he’s no pushover either. The Duke’s family has raised a monster.”

“……”

“Tsk, I thought there was no match except for those ‘three monsters,’ but I need to reconsider.”

“…Is that so? I thought they were completely corrupt, but they still had this much potential.”

The black-haired men hadn’t come all the way to this distant royal capital to watch this unfunny farce.

Nor did they have shallow thoughts of checking the royal family.

The reason they came here was none other than.

“Roen, was this what you wanted to see…?”

They had simply come to the royal capital to see their impertinent ‘bloodline’ who had run away from home.

Therefore, they had little interest in such a children’s play.

After all, compared to life in the north, the struggles here were mere child’s play.

But now, there were apparently two people here whom even the champion of the north couldn’t confidently claim to defeat.

And one of them had raised young warriors who were on the stage.

This was.

“…Perhaps we might be able to see it.”

“See what?”

“The reason why that child, the only one among my bloodline worthy of being called a lion, why my son came all the way to the central region.”

“Oh.”

“We might be able to see that now.”

“That sounds interesting, hehe.”

And so, unaware that he had inadvertently attracted interested attention, the bell rang.

The bell announcing the start of the war game, which had garnered the expectations of countless people.