196 – Patience
The next day, the Imperial Academy main building.
Students were chatting in a cafe with a terrace.
“I don’t want to graduate…”
The one who fell on the table crying was Maeve Butterfield, a commoner. Gracie, sitting next to her, tilted her head and looked at her friend.
“Why do you hate graduation? You said you want to graduate quickly and be free from assignments at some point.”
“…Are you asking because you really don’t know?”
Maeve said, slightly raising her head. Between the lightly curly brown hair, half black eyes were visible.
“Anyway, this is why a noble who doesn’t know anything about the world can’t do anything.”
“Do you think the cake the nobleman bought you will go down well?”
Gracie played with her hands as if she was going to clear the cake plate in front of Maeve. Maeve hungrily ate the cake.
“…I was in my second year when I whined that I wanted to graduate. And now I’m in my fifth year.”
“Whatever that means.”
Maeve swallowed the sweet cake in one go, and Gracie, who looked sick of it, held out the cake in front of her as well.
“Are you asking because you really don’t know? Commoners have to do military service unconditionally after graduation. This is because I’m lamenting how I feel about that.”
“What about this? Anyone who hears it will think that even nobles are exempt from military service.”
“No, but since I’m a noble, I won’t go to a more comfortable position.”
“…Why are you thinking like that?”
Gracie sighed at her friend who was full of prejudice against nobles.
“Well, among the seniors in the club, there is a person whose relative runs a knight order… Even if that senior has to serve in the military, he serves in his relative’s knight order. So, isn’t he just spending his time in the honey pot and then being discharged? Surely he can’t buy a nephew or a cousin? “I wonder if there’s anyone who would force them into it.”
“…That could be true, but not me. My grandmother is so strict.”
“okay?”
“And do you know how many kids my age live in our mansion? If you include collateral, there must be dozens of them enrolled at this academy alone. No matter how much I call it collateral, if anyone even likes it, there would be a riot right away. I’m confirmed to be a regular soldier. “
Gracie sighed and then looked in a certain direction.
“But it’s different with Siriel.”
“……huh?”
Siriel, who was staring blankly at the coffee cup, was taken aback by the arrow that was suddenly shot.
“Why me…”
“Siriel, you will inherit your father’s knighthood to the ancient times. I heard you are still busy with handover classes.”
“Is that really true, Siriel? I hope so. I won’t have to worry about finding a job.”
“I-I…”
Siriel could not finish her sentence and lowered her head.
Did you shoot too much out of anger? Siriel’s mood was unusual.
“I… I hate the Knights Templar.”
“…huh?”
“I’d rather go as a regular soldier.”
Was it a time when you didn’t know what to do? Siriel continued speaking in a voice filled with tears. The attention of not only the two at the same table but also the entire terrace was focused on the fragile appearance of Siriel, who was always proud and confident.
“What kind of bullsh*t is that? You want to be a regular soldier who acts like a dog instead of a knight? Are you out of your mind?”
“Oh, kinda!”
Gracie slapped Maeve to shut her up when she kept talking immaturely.
“Is there something wrong with you these days, Siri? You’ve been so dazed lately.”
“…”
“Take care of your worries. We are friends.”
Gracie spoke kindly, holding both of Siriel’s hands. Unlike her pretty face, Siriel’s hands were rough and calloused. The exact opposite of his own hands that had not even had a drop of water on them. Gracie glared resentfully at Maeve.
“Ciriel, is it because the knights’ training is so hard?”
“Ugh, it’s not like that.”
“Then what is it? Do you know that I’m worried about you these days? Your face is thin and you’re always blank.”
“…Well, that.”
Siriel scratched the bridge of her sore nose. I felt embarrassed because my overwhelming emotions calmed down later.
“You won’t make fun of me even if I tell you?”
“Why would you tease me? And, if you’re having such a hard time, I think there’s a good reason.”
“…Then what do you say?”
Siriel took a deep breath and gritted her teeth. Gracie and Maeve held their breath and concentrated.
“No, you only have to go on military service once, but the knights have to go on expeditions continuously until they retire.”
“…huh?”
Is it just because of that? Gracie forced herself to swallow the words that were rising to the top of her throat.
“Siriel is more like an Erla than she looks.”
But Maeve didn’t hold back what she wanted to say. Gracie washed her face dry in response to her friend’s lackluster behavior.
Gracie vowed never to buy Maeve a cake again. Maeve, unaware of that fact, shrugged her shoulders.
“Then wouldn’t the Knights be better? I think so.”
“…what does that mean?”
“Why? Military service is supposed to guard the border on an annual basis. In that case, wouldn’t it be better to have a knighthood that only does assigned missions?”
“That’s not the problem.”
I was so embarrassed that I was reluctant to talk about it, but the story doesn’t end like this. In addition, Shiron was a little disappointed that he was hanging out with other people except Siriel these days. Siriel decided to cut off the story that was spinning around.
“The key is to stay away from your brother.”
“…What do you mean?”
“You only have to go to military service once, so no matter who has been clinging to you, if you hold on just once, you have a chance to make him only look at me again!”
“What…”
“But! The Knights! They have to be away from home all the time because of expeditions! Don’t you understand? They’re giving the cat thieves a chance to keep going?”
I felt like I heard something I shouldn’t have heard. Gracie, unlike before when she was depressed, wanted to run away from Siriel, who was angry with her face turning red.
If you are my brother, is it the same person from last time?
The person who Siriel had been sending letters to every day since entering the Academy. Lucia’s older brother and Siriel’s cousin.
The empire allows cousin marriages, so I have no intention of arguing about that, but Gracie didn’t understand why she didn’t want to inherit the empire’s highest order of knights out of love.
If Gracie wants to inherit the Order, she will have to compete with many of her brothers and relatives. It sounds like you’re feeling a bit more awake. But Gracie was an educated lady who knew how to say what she wanted to say.
“What was that reason?
“……”
It wasn’t Maeve. She is a commoner among commoners who was selected as a scholarship student from another region. It is said that they learned some manners at the academy, but when it comes to things between friends, it is inevitable that they will become a little loose.
From noble mtl dot com
“…Just that reason?”
Siriel gave Maeve a scary look. Gracie broke into a cold sweat, but Maeve was so brave that she even laughed.
“Then you can go to graduate school.”
“…Tell me more. What do you mean?”
“Oh, didn’t you know? Those who want to continue their studies are exempt from military service. It’s an edict that came down not long ago.”
“Maeve, are you a genius?”
“Sir, Siriel! That’s not it!”
Gracie grabbed Siriel by the shoulder, but Tak-Cyriel indifferently brushed off his friend’s hand.
At the praise of the high noble lady, Maeve giggled and continued.
“No, why? If you don’t like it that much, you can go to the lab, that’s what it is. Since Siriel has good grades and a good family, you should be able to choose a good lab.”
“Really? Then I’ll have to put in an application right away! Maeve, please go to the research building with me. I’ll live for dinner tonight!”
Siriel smiled brightly as she pulled out a black card from her bosom.
I’ve been waiting for this moment!
Maeve followed Siriel, wandering behind her.
but,
Unfortunately, they did not get to tour the lab.
“what is this…”
I went to Magenta Building with excited steps… because the entire building was surrounded by big guys in uniform.
An officer who appeared to be in charge approached the three.
“You must not approach.”
“What is it? What’s going on?”
Maeve looked around with a blank expression on her face, and Gracie looked around as well. Siriel frowned and looked at her chest.
There was no name tag.
“Who are you? Who are you walking around without a nametag?”
She is slightly taller than Siriel, who is tall for a woman.
Plus, he has black hair, which is rare in the empire.
The eyes that stare at Siriel are also black.
“Ber… I’m Alaine.”
The woman muttered a man-like name.
“…There has been a fire incident. So please go back now.”
“It doesn’t smell like anything burned.”
Siriel sniffed and shot.
“Where can you lie…”
“Sigh, Siriel. Graduation is still a long time away, you can do it next time!”
Maeve and Gracie grabbed both of Siriel’s arms and tried to throw her off, but their strength alone was not enough. Siriel was stuck in her seat and did not move.
Only after Gracie said that graduate students might not be able to enter the house than the knights did Siriel finally leave.
*
“…Seup.”
At the same time, the ruined mansion site. Siron frowned and looked at the strange clouds.
Ten days had passed since the 10th gate, [Dragon God’s Megalithic Statue], but the next one, [Armor of the Corruption God], showed no sign of coming out even today.
Should I call it a time bomb or an unexploded bomb? Didn’t they say that it’s better to get hit first? It’s a bit of an analogy, but anyway, if it’s going to come, I hope it comes quickly.
No matter how great Lucia’s strength is, if a person remains in a state of tension, they will become tired and lose their mind.
“What? Are you going to have a patience contest with me? Is this really like this? Huh?”
“Can’t we just attack from here?”
Latera, who was eating snacks next to him, tugged on his collar. Siron shook his head resolutely at the little angel’s innocent question.
“At some point, I wondered where on earth that gate was connected to.”
“You said the Seventh Apostle is at the temple in the Demonic World. So shouldn’t we just go there?”
“…Huh. I want to do that too.”
Siron stretched out his hand towards the clouds. The mana gushing out from the heart of the heat wave dragon gathers at the fingertips, and boom! With a roar, a red line pierced the clouds.
It was a magic powerful enough to pierce several layers of iron plates, but the donut-shaped cloud maintained its shape without the slightest disruption. This is proof that that gate is one-way.
“What the prophecy says is that the Seven Apostles are staying in the temple, and after his twelve attacks, a full-scale battle will occur on the thirteenth.”
Siron made an excuse that came to mind while venting his anger. Hesitating and explaining things was quite out of character for him, but the mental energy he had spent over the past 10 days due to the enemy not knowing whether he would come or not had left him in a state of nervousness.
“Next to the megalithic statue of the Dragon God is the armor of the God of Decay, followed by the monarch of the Land of the Dead. And finally, the Seven Apostles Corax. The location of the temple is in the center of the Demon World, but the detailed location is not provided.”
“But why number 12? An apostle could appear at the 11th time.”
Latera asked with an innocent face.
“The hero said it last time. This time too… the elf with dementia was also confused because he was not in the prophecy. The prophecy is not absolute…”
“An elf with dementia?”
-what? What did you just say?!
An angry shout was heard from far away. Seira was not only repairing the messed up land, but also building a huge Colosseum-like structure in preparation for the next attack, and even then, it seemed like she was paying close attention to this.
“Who has dementia?”
Seira approached in an instant and lost her temper.
“I-I’m in the prime of elf age! Don’t think by human standards!”
“…Why are you suddenly acting like this? And who pointed out that it was you?”
“Ah, anyway! The lifespan of an elf is basically thousands of years, and I’m barely over 700 years old! For humans, that’s the prime of their 20s. And even elves get wrinkled on their faces as they get older!”
“Yeah, you’re plump.”
Siron looked at Seira’s body and opened his mouth. Seira tried to cool off the heat in her cheeks by fanning her hands.
“Hmm… I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but what the little angel said also makes sense. They’re protesting as if they’re going to keep attacking, but since they’re the ones taking the initiative to attack, it’s a one-sided loss for us. We have to do something to overcome the situation.”
“…That’s true.”
Siron raised his head and looked at the bleachers of the Colosseum. There, I saw Lucia looking at a shabby book and stuffing a snack into her mouth.
“It’s a miracle that Lucia hasn’t complained until now.”
In Siron’s opinion, the first person to call for an invasion was clearly Lucia. Is it because of the increase in favorability? In the past, she would have complained at least once or twice, but Lucia has fought the battle without any complaints for the past two months.
Of course, Siron also tried his best to accommodate Lucia’s mood.
Something like setting up a special seat in the Colosseum so that Lucia can wait comfortably, or even though the three of them can fight together with Seira, Siron just watches the battle from as far away as possible so that Lucia can shout out the names of the techniques to her heart’s content.
“I can’t even go to school because of this. I don’t know if I’ll be able to graduate safely.”
“Then how about I go to school with you? If there’s an emergency, you give me the signal, and I’ll say, voila, and bring Lucia.”
“Well, I guess it’s not that bad.”
“Is that so? After just one day, no one will even know I’m there, right? And if you don’t mind, you can just use a hiding spell.”
“So, is the Demon Lord still here?”
“…wait.”
Siron turned to the chattering two.
“Where?”
“Just try this, and if it doesn’t work, let’s go to the devil’s eye.”
Siron opened the door on one side of the Colosseum. The door was equipped with an elevator that connected deep underground, so it was possible to descend hundreds of meters underground in one go.
After a while, Siron carrying a large cross came up to the ground.
When I looked closely, I saw that it was not just a cross. An elf with his ear cut off was tied to a cross with an incomprehensible expression on his face.
Pak-
Siron placed the cross in the middle of the Colosseum, right under a strange cloud.
Berian, the elf tied to the cross, muttered as he closed his eyes tightly against the sunlight he had not seen in a long time.
“W-what this time!”
“…don’t blame me. Blame your benefactor instead.”
hehehe – Siron, who spat on the sand, took a deep breath and raised his head. Not only Varian, but even Seira and Latera had no idea what Shiron was trying to do.
“Ten minutes to go!! Each time ten minutes pass!!”
“…?”
“I’m going to break your fingers one by one, so come out quickly!!”
Siron’s shout rang loudly against the walls of the Colosseum. Berian’s complexion became pale at the echoing threat.
“Why are you doing this to me? I’m not doing anything wrong!!”
“Are you asking because you really don’t know? It’s because you’re a sponsor or something.”
Siron sighed and rolled his shoulders.
“And, why isn’t there anything wrong with it? Isn’t it wrong for me to tease an innocent teacher when I clearly knew that if I researched teleportation, I would get in big trouble?”
“Uh, I couldn’t help it. I’m a victim too…”
Wow! A spark flew into Varian’s vision. Lately, an intense pain came to my cheek.
‘…It’s not even ten minutes yet?’
As Varian looked at him with a puzzled expression, Siron used his divine power to heal his ruptured cheek.
“What kind of victim are you? Didn’t you say ‘collaborator’ incorrectly?”
“…”
“If you were going to die, you should have died alone. Dexter is so heartbroken because of you.”
Sigh-
Siron hit him again in anger.
“And, I will heal your broken finger, so don’t worry. It’s easier than being a Heretic Questioner, so I say it plainly, but don’t complain too much.”
Varian understood that to mean that he would not finish in 100 minutes.
There was no one to stop Siron’s actions.