* * *
“… ha… .”
Feeling a strange sense of fulfillment, fulfillment, and excruciating exhaustion, Camilla took a dip in the bathtub.
In the seat next to her, Lua, who had undergone exactly the same training as her, was playing in the water with a lively appearance.
“Eight! Eight!”
Yuna, a fairy who lives in the bathroom of this house, was seen making birds and fish out of the bath water and playing with Lua.
‘That fairy is only kind to Lua.’
As you can tell from Yuna’s attitude, the fact that she was a princess in this villa didn’t matter much. Camilla knew that all too well.
Philip likes her quite a bit, but that’s not because precious blood runs through her body, but only because Camilla is a nice, well-mannered girl.
In fact, Philip loved Lua the most. Just by looking at Philip’s gaze at Lua, without asking directly, you can feel the deep affection.
‘No matter how you look at it, it’s not the relationship between the sponsor and the sponsor… .’
High-powered nobles sponsored commoner students because the student’s parents had contributed to the nobles, or because they showed great talent and had the potential to become a member of the family.
The former only improved the living environment, but could not attract the attention of the nobility, and after the sponsor grew up, it was common to find a job in an appropriate place and end the relationship.
In the latter case, the patron becomes the property of an aristocratic family and lives under strict control and rules. Leisure and vacations were out of the question, and there was a price to pay if growth slowed down or results fell short of expectations.
But what about Lua?
Of course, he received strict training and education in his own way, but he was more free than anyone except for that time.
Even when I ran around the villa, no one said anything, let alone scolded me, and I was allowed to eat snacks in bed. In addition, as a sponsor, he also got along with the children of other noble families.
It didn’t stop at hanging out, he even brought him home.
‘Is that why Lua is so good?’
Even Camilla, who recently trained with her, could tell that her talent was extraordinary. She didn’t get tired even after running around for an hour, and Felicia, who sometimes came to play and helped her train, also praised Lua.
“… Are you sick?”
While she was lost in her thoughts in the water, Lua approached and asked if she was okay. Camilla nodded and looked at Lua.
Faced with an innocent and lovely face that showed no malice, Camilla felt a little bit of remorse, but she wanted to solve the question that came to her mind more.
One of the fundamental reasons she was here in the first place was to get to know a person named Philip.
“Hey, Lua.”
“Why?”
Lua tilted her head and waited for Camilla’s next words.
“Actually, I’m a little sick, so I don’t think I can train tomorrow. But if I told my brother directly that I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t bring myself to say it because I was afraid that he would think I was a lazy child. Can’t you tell me to take a day off instead?”
Lua believed Camilla’s words without a single doubt and cried.
“it hurts? Are you sick?”
“Eh, it’s not that it hurts too much, it’s just that I have little energy and my head is dizzy… .”
“really?”
“okay. really.”
“… okay. I’ll tell the instructor. Believe me.”
Lua replied with a stern expression. In fact, Lua was no fool, so she knew that Camilla’s proposal was pretty cowardly. Instead of protecting his own reputation, it was tantamount to lowering Lua’s reputation.
But Lua didn’t have any worries and just thought of doing Camilla’s request.
The next day, Camilla did a great job acting out of body throughout her academy class. Even the children who were bothering her didn’t approach her when her condition looked bad, and Lua looked at Camilla’s complexion as if she were looking at a critically ill patient whose life was coming and going.
Born as the youngest princess with no political influence and living only on the good side, Camilla’s conscience was quite strict compared to others.
Feeling guilty as if stabbing her heart with a needle, Camilla couldn’t even look straight into Lua’s face.
‘Is it really right to cheat on this kid… ?’
Soon the day’s class was over and Lua and Camilla returned to the villa. four o’clock in the afternoon. After an hour’s rest, training with Philip was scheduled.
When Philip returned from work, Lua stopped him with a grim expression.
“Instructor!”
“huh? Why?”
Philip tilted his head as Lua hesitated. He soon found Camilla watching Lua from some distance away.
He tried to hide, but he couldn’t fool his senses.
Lua swallowed her saliva and declared with a stern expression.
“I… I’m not going to train today… .”
Contrary to the spleen expression, the timid and downcast voice made Philip almost burst into laughter. Lua seemed to be taken aback even after she said it herself.
It was because I was trying to say, “Can I not do it?” rather than “I won’t do it.” My face turned pale at the thought of having gone too far.
“Aren’t you going to train? why?”
Philip asked, holding back a laugh. Then, as if she hadn’t thought about that far, Lua’s thoughts stopped.
“… .”
Lua, who was out of order, couldn’t say anything but pursed her lips. Philip spoke first to help her.
“It’s too good a day to train. isn’t it? A day like today would be perfect for eating lots of delicious food and taking a walk.”
“But you said that the most important thing is not to rest in training… ?”
‘You said let’s rest.’
Philip giggled and stroked Lua’s hair.
“It is more important to rest when you want to rest.”
In the first place, Lua did not need to risk her life to become stronger. The reason Philip taught Lua swordsmanship was also because Lua liked swordsmanship. If the day came when she hated swordsmanship, Philip would let her do what she wanted to do without any regrets.
“If you feel tired and exhausted, you can quit at any time. You don’t have to force yourself to do something you don’t want to do just because of me. I don’t care if Lua you can’t do anything.”
Lua felt tears welling up at Philip’s warm words. When Philip opened his arms slightly, Lua suddenly embraced her and buried her face in Philip’s arms.
“… sniff… .”
In fact, at the beginning of the possession, I had a plan to use Lua’s talent, but it didn’t matter anymore.
‘Lua will be strong enough to surpass the Aura Master within 5 years. But what about me in 5 years?’
Philip was a little short of calling himself an Auror Master. It was because I couldn’t hold my sword for even a minute. However, that was a shortcoming that could be compensated for by the destructive power and eccentricity of Philip’s technology.
The problem is swordsmanship itself. No matter how much Phillip was, the pure swordsmanship itself, which he had to learn through the years, was far inferior to the Auror Masters who had wielded swords for decades.
Ego Sword Neria’s special ability, through virtual sparring with former owners who had her, raised the level pretty quickly, but if it were to fight real bastards like Emil Panoi and Altair Kalaria, it would eventually collapse before the walls of their foundation.
In other words, instead of basic skills, you learned the ultimate skill first. If he rose to a level worthy of pure swordsmanship here, Philip was confident that he would fight and win even against those called grand masters.
‘I don’t know if I look at the period at a leisurely pace of about 10 years, but after 5 years, my side is many times stronger. Lua will still have a lot to learn in five years.’
Then everything was in Philip’s hands after all. And Philip had no intention of doing it alone.
‘Adults cowardly leave the fate of the world to young children. i can’t see that If you do, you’ll risk your life. You’ve outlived these kids.’
Those who are currently enjoying many things as the world’s strongest.
The Founding Association, the Mage Tower, and the Sword Temple. to royalty and nobility.
In the original work, when the main character’s party fought the most dangerous battle, they contemplated and watched from behind. Unless the human race is truly in danger of perishing, it was their intention to move those who valued their own safety the most.
“I’m going to eat out today, so go back to your room and change your clothes. Please tell others in advance.”
“yes… sniff.”
Lua hugged Philip with a little force and fell off.
Meanwhile, Camilla secretly listened to Philip and Lua’s conversation, bowed her head with a complicated expression, and was attacked by Philip.
“Wow!”
Took. When her fingers, which were so fine and delicate that it was hard to believe that they were men’s hands, pricked her cheeks, Camilla was startled and stomped her buttocks.
“ouch… .”
“Suddenly, Lua asked why she was doing that, so it seems you secretly asked her to say that.”
Phillip seemed to know everything, so Camilla asked with an awkward expression.
“… Are you mad?”
“Do I look angry?”
“no… ?”
“Sure, I thought it was a little disrespectful. Because using friends is not a good thing. isn’t it? If there’s anything you want to ask, just ask.”
From noble mtl dot com
“Then will you answer me? Brother?”
“Anything you need to know.”
Philip nodded. Camilla was encouraged by the response. Phillip held out his hand so she could grab it and get up.
“then… I want to know what you want from Lua.”
Philip, who didn’t really want anything, thought for a moment before answering.
“What do you want from Lua? To put it bluntly, I hope it doesn’t hurt. It would be better if life at the academy was enjoyable.”
“… What do you plan to do with Lua in the future?”
Philip tilted his head at the ensuing question.
“How do you do it? What do you mean?”
“Well, what are you going to do when Lua grows up after you treat her like that…?” .”
Only then did Philip know what the young princess was thinking. Philip, who read that outrageous idea, involuntarily burst into laughter.
“… Why are you laughing?”
“It’s because you’re cute.”
Camilla was startled by the word cute. I didn’t know why, but when I heard Philip’s praise, my cheekbones twitched and laughter kept coming out.
It was like when he was complimented on how pretty and cute he was by Prince Alexios.
“Camilla, if you don’t like swordsmanship training, just tell me. I’ll tell the academy so I can move to the Humanities department. You don’t have to force yourself to do something you don’t like. At your age, you are still at the stage of finding your aptitude. If you are forced to learn something when you are young, you will have no choice but to do it later. People are more inertial than you think, so you can’t easily let go of what you’ve been doing. I have seen many cases where even though it is difficult and painful, they cannot put it down because there is no other way.”
“ah… yes. Okay.”
Thought Camilla as she held on for a few minutes and listened to Philip’s advice and sermons.
That Philip is a really nice person, at least to Lua. And Camilla also changed her mind.
‘… No matter what excuse you have, you should stick here.’
It was many times better to stick to Philip here than to marry into the royalty and nobles of another country and live in politics and intrigue within the family or kingdom. She already had a rough idea of how her married sisters were living now.
* * *
Another few weeks passed and it was mid-August. The weather continued to get hotter, and the academy uniforms were also changed to summer clothes.
With only a few months left in the second semester, Philip received a visit from a knight.
“… The captain sent me.”
The knight in the uniform of the Silver Knight had scars all over his body, and they were recent.
“You seem to have been very busy. Seeing how it takes months to send one artifact.”
At the beginning of the semester, Philip, who decided to receive an artifact named ‘Dragon’s Horn’ from the leader of Silver Knight, hadn’t received it until now, several months later.
In fact, it wasn’t that important, and now the need for it has almost disappeared.
However, Philip’s attitude was a little negative because the fact of delaying the appointment itself was unpleasant.
“… First of all, I’d like to say sorry. But we also had a situation.”
The knight respected Philip’s skills because he had attended a match between Silver Knight and the faculty of the Academy’s Swordsmanship Faculty.
‘Even if he enters the Silver Knight right away, he’s someone who will hold a higher position than me. He must be a bigger person later.’
Therefore, he maintained a fairly polite attitude.
“Looks like you were busy with something.”
Phillip nodded his head in understanding. Whatever had happened, he had no choice but to understand. They risked their lives to fight the demons on the front lines.
“Anyway, it’s a matter that will be revealed soon, and the captain has given permission, so I’ll tell you.”
The engineer paused for a long time before revealing the reason in a heavy voice.
“… The demon dragon Skinnas has declared war on the evil dragon Negev, the duke of the Pandemonium and the commander of the corps.”
“ah. okay.”
Philip wasn’t too surprised. It was because it was one of the events that happened in the beginning. For that reason, it was obvious that all of the Silver Knights would have been on standby, so he nodded.
“The captain remembered his promise to the instructor and said that he was sorry, but he had to take the artifact out of the warehouse himself. Since the dragon’s horn is originally a royal item, it’s okay to transfer it, but it shouldn’t be seized midway through. But we can’t get enough troops to defend the artifact.”
“hmm. Probably so. I understand. But I can’t go there myself, so I’ll send someone.”
“People… Are you going to send it? There must be at least two knights who can handle swordsmanship in order for an artifact convoy to be established… .”
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
The knight tilted his head, but nodded as he thought Philip was trying to mobilize the family knights.
‘They said he was a child, wasn’t that?’
As the knight returned, Philip snapped his fingers. Then, two Dark Elf women who had been hiding on the ceiling of the drawing room quickly came down and prostrated themselves in front of Philip.
“Did you call? president?”
Aisha, a mercenary, and Rani, a dark elf enforcer. They were wearing maid’s clothes.
Aisha, whom she thought was dead, came to Philip alive and well.
In fact, she was revived at the insistence of Rani, who was unfair to serve as the dragon’s maid alone, just before she was hanged from the gallows and died.
‘… That’s better than killing them here.’
The Dark Elf Elders had no choice but to agree with Lani’s claim that they had met the Silver Dragon in person. It would be a big deal if the dragon didn’t listen to her with harsh words and the dragon got angry.
“Whoops. okay… did you hear the story? Go and get my treasure.”
Philip gave instructions with a black smile. There was no particular reason, I just wanted to try it.
“Johnny.”
Aisha, who had almost stopped breathing, did not even think of refusing Philip’s order. Being a mercenary was the closest job to death, and in fact, there were many mercenaries who were not very afraid of death.
But Aisha knew now.
‘That’s stupid… .’
The pain of the rope digging into her neck, the inability to breathe, and the fading consciousness from lack of air made her feel terribly frightened.
She was ready to do anything to survive.