episode_0065

And what I saw in front of me was a large ice crystal. Shurn began to applaud with a smile at the large ice crystal that seemed to have frozen everything, and Xernia also began to applaud towards Astan.

“Overwhelming.”

“If the first year of the academy is this strong, what happens to the second and third years?”

“They will be stronger than the 2nd and 3rd years, because they say that is the case with those who received titles at the academy. And in your eyes, does that look like the skills of a first-year student? It’s not a rumor that I caught a spy for the Demon King’s army.”

“Then, what do you think, Sir Shurn? If Lord Shurn and Astan fight, who will win?”

“I win, that doesn’t change.”

“It’s pride, that.”

“It is a magic that requires a lot of preparation, so if you take advantage of the loopholes in between, you will win… … It may be difficult to break through the magic that has already been deployed, but the battle between a wizard and a swordsman is always similar, and the one who gets the opportunity to attack first wins.”

Shurn looked at Astan while saying those words. The cold weather froze the water droplets around them, turning them into ice crystals and flying around. It was a wizard with silver hair, holding a staff among the fluttering ice crystals, and he looked like something out of a poem written by poets.

“I am looking forward to the future. Since Lady Ceresria has predicted, I will come to Araelia. Will I join the Magic Knights, our Blue Rose, or become Ceresria’s guard?”

“The balance is in jeopardy with Ceresria alone, but if someone like that gets involved… … It’s scary. If the two of them finish their third year together and come to Araelia, wouldn’t they have the skills of almost one knight corps?”

“Your Majesty will not just sit back and watch, and he may order you to return without completing the academy like Chartreau.”

“Well, nothing will change even if we talk like this.”

Shurn nodded at Xernia’s words. It goes without saying, in the end, it was up to them to make a choice no matter what we talked about, and it was Your Highness’s decision.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

At the sound of Xernia’s voice, I nodded, put away my wand, and took a deep breath. It consumed more mana than expected. I felt like I would fall asleep right away when I entered the dorm, and my hands were shaking probably because I was so excited. I thought I was capable of this level of magic, but strangely, I felt like I was using more energy than usual. When I looked around, I could see the range of the magic I had used, and I wondered if this was my limit, but it was different from the underground tunnel.

In the underground waterway, more powerful magic was possible than this, perhaps because the surrounding water was used, but this was sufficient. From now on, wouldn’t it be good to practice keeping your cool like Erica did?

“Are you going back to your accommodation? Or, from what I heard, you haven’t eaten yet. Would you like to have a light meal together?”

“I’m going back to my dorm. I’m tired, probably because I used more mana than I thought.”

“Then I will tell you to prepare a light snack. Do you need company?”

“It’s okay.”

After speaking, I left the training room and walked towards my dorm. My breathing became a little rough. I still wasn’t sure where my limit was, so I wondered how far I could go. At this rate, I thought that if I had used just a little more mana, I might have collapsed on the spot.

There was still a long way to go, and if he had reached this level even after meeting Denatus, it was ironic how high the wall of talent was. If I try this hard, I can barely come close to Ceresria… … How much of a difference is there in talent? And if Ceresria had an audience with Denatus, how strong could she really become?

With that thought in mind, I went into my dorm, sat down on the bed in my room, closed my eyes for a moment, and concentrated my mind. As I was breathing in and out, slowly circulating mana through my body, I had that thought. I could definitely feel from the underground tunnel that I was not in a situation where I could control my power yet, but I was using more mana than necessary.

So, if I go back to the academy later, I have to ask Erica-senpai about it. I fell into meditation, carefully muttering this thought in my head.

“This is Xernia, may I come in?”

In my voice, I answered that it would be no problem to open my mouth and come in. At my answer, the door opened and Xernia came into the room.

“I think it would be a good idea to leave soon, because it is quite a distance from here to the palace, and other banquet attendees will probably be lining up there by now.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Well, there’s nothing good about being late. We check each person’s identity and find people who do not have invitations to the banquet… … Well, you won’t have a problem, but as the knight commander, I also conduct inspections, so I can’t help it. Don’t worry Xernia, I’ll go with you.”

“Well, you were the type of person who always went to places like that.”

“Deputy Guard Captain, shouldn’t you also attend?”

“We are only in charge of the exterior of the palace, because the interior of the palace is occupied by His Majesty’s personal guard.”

“It’s difficult, then let’s go, Astan.”

“Yes, Lord Shurn.”

After speaking, I stood up and walked to the palace with Shurn. The main street of the square leading to the royal palace was filled with lights, as if to announce that it was a banquet. As I was walking along the streets sparkling with magic lights, I thought for sure that it was the capital. As I was walking around, looking around at the children running around, the street vendors who had not yet finished their business, and the atmosphere being quite different from Ignolia, Shurn spoke to me.

“Looking at it, I guess people from the countryside are definitely from the countryside.”

“It can’t be helped, right? I’m a person whose only place I’ve been to in my life is Ignolia and my hometown.”

“I was like that too. But now that I’m used to this, the old memories are gradually disappearing.”

I nodded at Shurn’s words and looked to the side, and saw carriages moving towards the royal palace. Looking at the different patterns on each carriage, I thought they were all different families, but I wondered if this many nobles were gathering together. They were such carefree people. As I was thinking the same thing, I soon arrived in front of the gate of the palace, and numerous carriages were waiting for the inspection. I was waiting.

“Shouldn’t we wait too?”

“You are His Majesty’s guest, so there is no problem.”

As we approached the door with Lord Shurn, the guards blocked us with spears, and Shurn raised his voice with a smile.

“I brought your guest, Sir Astan.”

“Confirmed!”

And I walked to the palace with Shurn. As I crossed the gates of the palace, the nobles riding in the carriages got off the carriages and were heading somewhere, and I whispered softly to Lord Shurn when I saw them.

“If you want to go to the banquet hall, you can just follow them.”

“Sorry, but I know the way too, right?”

“That’s just the way it is.”

I spoke and looked at Shurn. The sight of me wearing formal clothes rather than the armor I was originally wearing felt more amazing than I thought. As if there were separate robes that recognized the Order of the Blue Rose, the robes had blue roses engraved on them, and although they were white, they were strange robes with a strange blue tint.

“If I leave you here, you won’t even be able to come in.”

“Can’t the dagger given by Lord Shurn work?”

“It may be possible, but can you prove that you are Astan? Since I’m next to you, I guess that person is Astan. I just pass it on, it would be difficult without me.”

And we started moving our feet again. While we were walking, the nobles were greeting each other as if they were happy to see each other, but no one was greeting Sir Shurn and me. There may be few people who greet the knight commander first, but for some reason there is a young person next to the knight commander, so who would approach him?

“Show me the invitation, Lord Shurn.”

“This person was brought here by order of His Majesty, so there is no special invitation. If you are curious, go inside and ask. It is Astan of the Academy.”

“This is Astan, I have confirmed. Could you please wait a moment?”

“Let’s do that.”

When I spoke to the guards at the entrance of the banquet hall, one of the guards quickly went inside, and as Lord Schurn stood there blankly waiting, I became curious and cautiously opened my mouth.

“Why are you going inside?”

“Because we have to tell them that we came. Hmm, I don’t know what you’ll be called, will you just be called the wizard of the academy… … Or will it be called something else… … ”

As they were talking, a guard approached, and Lord Shurn smiled at him.

“Can I come in?”

“Yes, you can go in.”

At the sound of a voice, Sir Shurn opened the door and went inside, and I followed him. And the moment I stepped into the banquet hall, a loud voice rang in my ears.

“Chief of the Blue Rose Knights, winner of Rune’s Battle of the Rings, and hero of the Harington War! Lord Shurn de Verot enters! And the Frost Queen’s disciple, the hero of Ignolia, and Astan of the Academy enter!”

The hero of Ignolia. It was an undeserved title for me.