Go Arinmon! I Choose You!(2)

After receiving the letter from the king asking to train the princes, it didn’t take long for me to grasp the situation and start moving.

“Are you going?”

“I guess I have to.”

I gave a short answer to Isolde, who was staring blankly at my face beside me and asked.

How could I refuse the king’s order?

I don’t know why they’re calling me to test the princes’ exam, but since the letter specifically named me, I couldn’t refuse even if I wanted to.

After seeing the king’s appearance last time, he didn’t seem like the type to do this, but you never know. I might end up on the guillotine for disobeying orders.

‘Of course, that won’t happen but…’

I erased the silly thoughts that popped up and stood up from my seat.

If I’ve thought about it, I should move right away. Coincidentally, all classes were over for today and I had finished lunch and was taking a break, so it seemed I could leave right away.

As far as I know, the practical exam involves a light sparring between the examiner and the student, after which the examiner grades the student during the match and determines pass or fail.

In other words, the process is very simple.

I have to test two princes, so even if I take about ten minutes per person, it won’t take that long.

“Should I call Muite or Morgan?”

“No, it’s fine. The academy classes are over for today anyway, so you all go back to the temple first.”

Isolde asked if I wanted company, but I shook my head and answered.

I didn’t particularly want someone to come with me. After all, I’ll be back soon after just taking the exam, so why would I need to bring anyone?

Even if they came with me, they’d just have to stand still beside me, which would be troublesome, so it would be better for everyone except me to go back to the temple and rest.

All I hope for is that those two princes aren’t so weak that I can’t even give them a proper score.

‘I hope they’re moderately strong.’

At least as strong as the lowest student in my swordsmanship class right now, about level 60 if we were to compare levels.

That much would be enough for me to give them the minimum passing score by my standards.

I left the professor’s office, leaving Isolde behind, deeply contemplating what the passing score for the princes should be.

“Then I’ll be off to the palace for a bit.”

“Alright, I’ll let the others know.”

The destination is the training grounds of the Phara Royal Palace.

The goal is to finish this direct order from the king as quickly as possible and return to the temple.

After all, I have a gift prepared for Myu in the remaining time today.

The training grounds of the Phara Royal Palace.

Normally, it would be filled with knights from the knightly orders, full of the smell of sweat and heat, but today, only the two princes occupied the vast training grounds, slashing at straw dummies.

Of course, the princes weren’t there from the start, but they had kicked out the knights who were originally training and taken their place.

The knights who were suddenly driven out by the two princes, claiming they needed to practice.

Therefore, the knights who had been driven out by the princes during their usual training were loitering around the training grounds, and the knights who came late for training were informed of the situation by their senior knights loitering around and began to loiter around the training grounds together.

Originally, the training grounds were large enough for all the knights to practice, but suddenly two princes who rarely showed their faces had taken over the training grounds.

From the knights’ perspective, they had no choice but to wait for the two princes to leave the training grounds, circling around the area for the training that was interrupted midway or about to start.

And this was the same for Arin, who had just finished at the academy and reported to the knightly order.

“…Huh?”

As usual, Arin, who had finished at the academy and reported to the knightly order, was wearing her armor and heading to the training grounds to test what she had learned from Aria today through sparring.

She always practiced things she couldn’t practice alone from what she learned from Aria at the academy by finding an opponent at the training grounds to perfect them.

But as she was about to reach the training grounds, Arin couldn’t help but utter a question at the sight that began to appear.

“Why are they gathered like that?”

A massive concentration of knights that couldn’t be seen normally.

The sight of knights surrounding the training grounds and peeking inside while loitering around was truly a rare sight.

Most knights had different training times, so some would come out while others went in, but they weren’t going into the training grounds and were gathered outside like this?

Naturally puzzled by this sight, Arin tilted her head and approached the training grounds closer to resolve her questions.

Thud– Thud–

“Ah, you’ve arrived, Vice Captain Arin.”

“Yes, I just arrived.”

As she approached the training grounds, a knight who first saw Arin saluted her.

He was one of the knights from the 1st Knightly Order where Arin served as vice captain.

With only her father, Haran, the captain of the knightly order, above her as vice captain, Arin returned the knight’s sharp salute with an awkward manner that still hadn’t settled on her tongue.

‘I’m still not used to this sort of thing…’

The thought that rose as soon as she returned the salute.

Arin had not landed in the vice captain position through nepotism because her father was the captain of the knightly order, but had risen to the position of vice captain by defeating the knights above her with her skills according to the meritocratic rules of the knightly order.

Everyone knew this, so they treated Arin respectfully despite her being a student at the academy and young age, but from Arin’s perspective, who hadn’t fully learned the attitude of a superior due to rising to the position of vice captain too quickly, it was still burdensome.

Moreover, it was bound to be burdensome when those several times her age treated her as vice captain.

Arin’s actions were still awkward enough that Shati, Kana, or Riana might laugh if they saw her like this.

However, that was only for a moment. Arin looked at the knight who had saluted her and pointed at the sight of knights gathered around the training grounds, asking him:

“Do you know why they’re gathered in front of the training grounds like that?”

Arin’s words sounded like a young girl imitating the speech of an old general.

Honestly, it was enough to make one smile fondly, but the knight didn’t even blink and nodded sharply at Arin’s words before opening his mouth.

“Yes, today the princes suddenly came to the training grounds and said they needed to train, so they sent all of us out of the training grounds.”

“The princes? You mean both Prince Tin and Prince Pelian came?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

It’s an outrage. Arin couldn’t help but think so the moment she heard the knight’s words.

Saying they needed to practice and expelling all the knights, including the 1st Knightly Order, from the training grounds?

This was clearly an outrage and abuse of power. The training grounds were so vast that they could have given space for at least dozens of knights to practice, but to drive everyone out? How does this make sense?

But unfortunately, despite suffering such treatment, there was nothing the expelled knights could do.

After all, they were dealing with the princes.

What could a mere knight, or even the knightly order if they banded together, say to two princes?

If they did such a thing, they’d be lucky not to be expelled from the knightly order.

Therefore, although Arin felt anger rising inside her upon hearing the knight’s words and understanding why the knights were gathered outside like that, she too couldn’t say anything to the princes.

Even as vice captain, she was still just a knight in rank. So Arin had no choice but to leave despite her angry feelings.

“To think they would commit such an outrage… Those two princes, I never liked them from the start…”

“Indeed. But be careful, Vice Captain. You could be in danger of offending the princes.”

“Don’t worry. I’m being careful about that much.”

In fact, there was no need to be careful as every knight here probably didn’t think fondly of those two princes inside the training grounds.

After all, given how much those two had done to the knights within the palace, there were few who looked upon the two princes favorably.

Therefore, it didn’t matter much if they badmouthed the princes when only knights were gathered. Because they all equally disliked the princes.

“But training, huh…”

However, after briefly badmouthing the princes with the knight before her, Arin stroked her chin as she recalled what she had just heard.

“Pardon? What did you say?”

“No, it’s nothing but…”

She had muttered softly, but the knight heard and asked again.

Arin stumbled over her words for a moment at his sudden question, but soon gathered her scattered thoughts and asked him again.

“I think I heard earlier that the princes went in to train. What kind of training? There’s no reason for them to train outside their training hours.”

“Ah, that…”

Originally, those two wouldn’t even touch a sword unless it was during their regular sword training hours.

Their actions showed overflowing arrogance, believing in their own talent and slacking off.

Arin had always thought they were ruined when she saw that, but what wind had suddenly blown today for them to voluntarily train like this?

The knight trailed off at Arin’s reasonable question, but his silence didn’t last long.

Soon, as if he had finished thinking, the knight opened his eyes again. He continued the answer he had cut off earlier.

“From what I know, the two of them are taking the academy entrance exam today. So they said they called an academy swordsmanship professor.”

“Ah, I see. So that’s what it was. I understand now. Then who was that swordsmanship professor?”

The first face Arin thought of was Aria, but she quickly shook her head.

Aria was unthinkable for those two’s skill level. To be honest, it would be too much for Aria to be assigned to those two.

Rather, given the skill level of the two princes that Arin knew, wouldn’t the substitute professors currently in the academy faculty room be most suitable?

If she remembered correctly, there were about three substitute swordsmanship professors, so it was probably one of those three.

And after finishing that thought, Arin quietly waited for the knight to answer.

“Excuse me, let me ask you something. Is this the training grounds of the royal palace?”

That answer came not from the knight standing in front of Arin, but from a different direction.

“Pardon? Who are you?”

“I was told that the two princes of the palace requested an entrance exam today. I came as the supervising professor for that exam.”

“Ah, I see.”

A conversation heard from behind Arin.

If one were just listening to the exchange, there would be nothing strange about it, so one might have simply turned their head knowing that the professor the princes had been waiting for had arrived, but Arin couldn’t turn her head so easily.

Because one of the voices exchanging words was too familiar to her.

Therefore, Arin’s neck turned stiffly like a rusty iron handle.

With a creaking sound as if someone was forcibly twisting her neck, Arin’s head turned.

But before she could pay attention to that, reddish hair that had become so familiar it could be said to be ingrained in her eyes fluttered in Arin’s field of vision as she turned her head.

At the same time, that voice from earlier was heard again.

“Thank you. Then I’ll go inside.”

“Yes, have a good day.”

With those words, a woman entered through the door of the training grounds.

The sound of the thick, massive iron door of the training grounds opening and closing rang out clearly.

And after a few seconds had passed like that.

Arin muttered, staring at the lingering afterimage of her back still in her vision without realizing it.

“Why is the professor here…?”

It was a natural reaction, seeing someone who shouldn’t be here.