episode_0008

Of course, it goes without saying that a medieval fantasy world is fundamentally a class-based society.

Well, come to think of it, my past life wasn’t all that different—it was just that titles didn’t exist.

Officially, it wasn’t a class-based society, but unofficially, it was similar. Though difficult, it was possible to climb the social ladder based on ability.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the barriers of class are insurmountable here either.

It’s just harder than in my past life. If you smash through them with sheer strength like the Sword Emperor did, status will naturally follow.

Though the Sword Emperor himself rejected even the status others could only dream of attaining, most commoners wouldn’t pass up such an opportunity.

Just look at the Sword Emperor’s children—his eldest son, who reached the rank of Sword Master, was granted the title of Count by the Empire.

Conversely, the highest title one could attain in a single leap was Count.

And even that wasn’t handed out freely.

You had to at least meet the minimum requirements—being a Sword Master or a 7-star mage, the threshold for becoming a Tower Lord.

Even then, the title only applied to the individual. From the next generation onward, it would be downgraded to Baron.

Of course, if the next generation also reached the level of Sword Master or 7-star mage—or maintained equivalent achievements—they could retain the title of Count.

But out of ten such families, maybe one would manage to hold onto it.

Most families, unable to sustain what a single genius had accomplished, would gradually decline.

That’s how unforgiving noble society is.

It was a class-based society where one’s status was determined at birth.

In such a world, royalty held immense significance simply by existing.

They were beings who could become kings ruling over entire nations.

The Leon Kingdom’s succession structure was already set, and Prince Ellen was the fifth prince—far removed from the line of succession.

But that didn’t mean his chances of becoming king were zero. No one could predict how the world would turn out.

History alone showed that wars could wipe out entire royal families, leaving the throne to distant noble houses.

And even without considering the worst-case scenario, a royal’s love life was never a simple matter.

No matter how much they insisted their feelings were pure and free of ulterior motives, the royal family would inevitably investigate the other party’s background and present circumstances.

But unfortunately, this wasn’t the Leon Kingdom.

So, as a royal education officer, it fell to me to conduct the preliminary investigation.

“From the very first meeting—spare no detail. Tell me everything.”

“W-well, the first time I met her… was just a while ago, when I got lost on the academy grounds.”

They say all geniuses are a little unhinged, and in that sense, Prince Ellen was indeed a genius.

A natural-born directionless idiot.

No matter how vast the Leon Kingdom’s royal palace was, it was still his own home.

Yet Prince Ellen was the type to get lost even there.

I had returned ahead of him to speak with the captain, and in that short time, he’d apparently gotten lost again.

“I was standing there, lost and dazed, and everyone pretended not to notice.”

I understood.

Though less than a day had passed, rumors about Prince Ellen must have already spread through the academy.

Even I, just stepping out to eat, could hear the whispers around me.

An unknown swordsman from the Leon Kingdom had defeated the Little Sword Emperor.

That alone was shocking, but then someone appeared who effortlessly crushed that swordsman?

And that someone was a prince of the Leon Kingdom?

Even if I were just an ordinary Imperial Academy student, I wouldn’t have dared approach a foreign prince standing alone like that.

And if that prince was Ellen—who had dominated the swordsmanship class and become the top-ranked student on the very first day—I’d have run away immediately.

So I couldn’t blame those students.

If anything, I wanted to praise them for not fleeing.

“And then… she approached me.”

That’s why I could be sure.

This was extremely suspicious.

I was certain she was either an airhead or a scheming seductress.

“Her name was Daisy.”

Fuck, even her name was a flower.

“And her family?”

“I-I don’t know that yet.”

Frustrating.

Daisy wasn’t that uncommon a name.

Just among the first-years, there were probably a dozen or so!

“You need to know her surname too.”

“I-I was too embarrassed to ask.”

Well, for all his domineering presence with a sword in hand, he was usually so timid he could barely speak to anyone he wasn’t close to.

“Continue with your story.”

“Well, you see…”

And so, this timid man began excitedly recounting his fateful meeting with her, his eyes shining unlike usual.

Prince Ellen described it as a beautiful, destined encounter, full of flowery language—

“That’s it?”

But stripped of all the embellishments, it boiled down to one thing:

She had kindly given directions to the hopelessly lost prince.

“W-well, yes.”

“And if we’re being coldly logical, wasn’t that just club recruitment?”

She hadn’t even bothered hiding her ulterior motives.

Not that she was trying to seduce a prince of another nation.

Nor was she trying to impress the storm’s eye of the swordsmanship class.

No, she was just desperately promoting her nearly-defunct flower-arranging club.

But well, someone like that would be the type to casually strike up a conversation with a foreign prince—possibly the most talked-about student in the academy that day.

She probably had no idea who Prince Ellen even was.

To her, he was likely just a potential new member.

“S-so, about that!”

Swallowing hard, Prince Ellen spoke up—

“I’m not joining.”

I cut him off immediately, having already guessed what he’d say.

“I-I didn’t even say anything yet!”

“You were going to ask me to join the flower-arranging club, right?”

Now that I thought about it, even the club was flower-themed.

Talk about commitment to the aesthetic.

“Well, yes, but…”

His eyes sparkled as he stared at me, practically begging, but my answer wasn’t changing.

“I’m not joining any clubs.”

Or rather, I couldn’t.

Clubs.

The so-called “flower” of academy life—a place where students of all statuses and backgrounds could interact and bond.

Each student could join up to three clubs, with most either dedicating themselves to one or filling all three slots.

The former were those genuinely passionate about their interests, while the latter were those looking to expand their connections or just participate in events.

“I’ll be focusing on personal training.”

I meant it.

It wasn’t that there were no sword-related clubs—many students improved their skills by sparring with upperclassmen there.

But my duel with the Little Sword Emperor today had made one thing clear:

The being standing before me, Prince Ellen, was something beyond a monster.

In the swordsmanship world, he was practically a cosmic horror.

Honestly, if it were Prince Ellen, he could probably gain enlightenment while arranging flowers.

It was a joke at first, but the more I thought about it, the more plausible it seemed—enough to send a chill down my spine.

Facing such a creature, I couldn’t afford to leisurely arrange flowers.

Unlike Prince Ellen, I wasn’t the type to gain enlightenment through flower-arranging.

“Flower-arranging… is fun.”

“You’ve never even tried it.”

I’m sure it would be fun.

Looking at Prince Ellen now, he’d probably find anything enjoyable as long as he got to see that Daisy girl’s face.

“Do you like her that much?”

“…Yeah.”

His shy reply made my head spin.

Seriously, at this point, I was genuinely curious.

Just how beautiful was she to make him this smitten after such an ordinary meeting?

“W-well then. I’m going to submit my club application tomorrow.”

Since he couldn’t even find his dorm or the dining hall, I guess he was worried about locating the clubroom.

“I’ll only take you to the clubroom.”

Glancing at me hesitantly, he nodded with a resigned expression.

“W-what about the way back?”

“Find your own way back.”

Or ask that kind Daisy to accompany him.

After that exchange, I took the flustered, blushing prince to eat, then returned to the dorm.

What followed was dropping a nuclear bomb on the captain, who had said we’d meet again in a week.

The royal family went into emergency mode, launching a full background check on this “Daisy” person.

That was yesterday.

After that, I slept.

Woke up at dawn for morning training.

Attended two unimportant lectures.

And the moment classes ended, I found myself leading a bright-eyed Prince Ellen to the flower-arranging clubroom tucked away in a corner of the old school building.

The second I opened the door—

Fuck.

“……”

With superhuman patience, I swallowed the words threatening to spill out.

“Oh.”

Honestly, I’d been curious.

Just what kind of face could make Prince Ellen—whose looks and swordsmanship were among the continent’s finest—fall head over heels at first sight?

But the face that greeted me when the door opened was one I knew all too well.

We’d only met yesterday, but this was someone who had left a very strong impression on me.

“Little Sword Emperor.”

“…Call me Asran.”

His curt tone, so different from yesterday, was grating—

But the faces behind him were just as familiar, so I couldn’t focus solely on Asran.

“……”

What the fuck.

Taking a step back, I glanced up at the classroom nameplate.

-Flower-Arranging Club

The flowers I’d imagined were roses or chrysanthemums.

But it seemed this club specialized in collecting blooms from the depths of the monster-infested wilderness.

Naturally, my reason for attending the Imperial Academy was solely for Prince Ellen’s sake.

If I were to add a personal motive, it would be to improve my own skills.

And this was the Elelas Empire, not the Leon Kingdom where I lived and served.

I didn’t know many people even in the Leon Kingdom, let alone the Empire’s citizens.

So familiar faces shouldn’t have been gathered in one place.

Or at least, they shouldn’t have been gathered in a tiny clubroom—only at the academy’s major events.

Because the “familiar faces” I recognized were individuals who could sway the continent’s political landscape, as identified by the royal intelligence agency.

“……”

First, there was the brat glaring daggers at me—the Little Sword Emperor.

“New applicants?”

Then there was the prince from the magic-obsessed nation, who’d just joined himself and was acting like some senior debating whether to accept us.

“……”

And the son of the frontier count responsible for the border between the monster realm and the Empire, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed like he couldn’t care less.

“With so many applicants, she’ll be delighted.”

Finally, the Imperial Prince, who’d joined a day earlier and was the club’s only official member—why the hell was he here?

Fuck. No, wait. I think I get it.

This is exactly how romance novels start.

Miss Daisy, are you the heroine of a romance novel?

Suddenly, dozens of reasons to join the flower-arranging club flooded my mind.

Alongside dozens of reasons not to.

The former stemmed from my duty as the kingdom’s education officer—to observe and report everything that happened in this club.

The latter came from memories of every fantasy romance novel I’d read in my past life.

Holy shit, do I join or run?

As I agonized over the decision—

“Hm?”

With a creak from the old door, two girls and one boy entered.

Probably the heroine’s friend and another male lead candidate.

Glancing at the boy first, I wasn’t surprised to see another familiar face.

The heir to one of the continent’s three major merchant guilds.

What was a guy like him doing at the academy instead of focusing on business?

Oh right—he was here to join the romance novel’s male lead roster.

“……”

Shifting my gaze, I saw the two girls.

One had radiant golden hair, looking every bit the romance novel heroine.

The other had long purple hair, giving off “heroine’s best friend” vibes.

Fuck. I’m screwed.

No matter how I looked at it, this was straight out of a romance novel.

“New members?”

Then, the girl I presumed to be the heroine—

No, the one I presumed to be Daisy—spoke.

“Ahem, yes.”

“We met just earlier—”

“Yesterday—”

The moment the Little Sword Emperor, the magic-obsessed prince, and Prince Ellen answered simultaneously—

A voice in my heart screamed:

“Ah, not me.”

RUN.

With that thought bursting from the depths of my mind, I swiftly exited the clubroom.