“If possible, I wanted to see my grandfather once, but I’m sorry.”
As summer vacation began, the dormitory where the students went back was empty.
In the case of Noah, there were many things he wanted to ask his grandfather after returning home, but the top sword schedule was a problem.
Top Sword didn’t start immediately after vacation.
However, it took some time to get from Nightray to the venue, so I didn’t have time to go all the way home.
Thanks to that, I stayed at school alone and practiced when everyone else went home.
It was a frustrating time for Noah, who came down the mountain because practicing alone did not improve his skills.
“wallet? there is train ticket? there is confirmation of participation? there is Okay start!”
Noah took the reserved train ticket and headed for the station.
The destination is Islands Stellarium.
It was the city where the emperor lived.
* * *
Top Sword was an international competition in which countries other than the Empire participated.
It was a long distance from the border area to Stellarium in the center of the empire, taking ten days by train.
Overseas participants inevitably had to travel by train.
So did Prince Ricardo Ewin Alberto Araya of Madeira and his knights.
“Is it another stop? I’m going to die of boredom because I’m only moving for a long time.”
“Maybe it can alleviate the prince’s boredom a little.”
“hmm?”
“The station we stopped at this time is Nightray Station. There may be some of those on board now that we will be dealing with.”
“Nightray… … .”
Top Sword was a competition held as an individual competition, but since each country participated, it went back like a national competition in the beginning.
A golden opportunity for countries other than the Empire to gain experience for the next generation of knights.
There were many cases where the national level decided and participated.
Ricardo, the Prince of Madeira, was also on his way to participate with the new knights from his home country.
“You can never underestimate the Nightrays.”
“No matter what they do, they are the ones who are led by the owner of the vicious demonic eye.”
“I felt the fear of the 7th princess of the empire keenly last year. It won’t be the same this time.”
Within the empire, the possessor of the Mystic Eye was considered a blessing, but there was no devil in the opponent’s position.
The Knights of Madeira were fully prepared as soon as they heard the news of Veronica’s participation.
“This year, we will definitely win the trophy. With you guys, I can do it.”
“Prince… … !”
“Of course, in order to win, you have to know the enemy well. Among the guys on the platform, what do you think are the contestants… … Is it that guy?”
What Ricardo caught was, unfortunately, the real participant, Noah.
“It’s a surprisingly neat aura. Although the amount is small, it is good to see how hard they trained to have such solid basic skills.”
“you’re right. That kind of thing is the fruit of whole effort that has nothing to do with talent. But that face, like I’ve seen it somewhere… … .”
“oh! I remembered! It’s Noah! He stayed on until the finals in the nightray internal contest and came second after 7th Princess!”
“okay? So, you’re saying that he’s the second-in-command on the Nightray side?”
Ricardo’s eyes lit up like a child discovering a fun toy.
* * *
Meanwhile, Noah also felt that the atmosphere was unusual as soon as he got on the train.
“Aren’t there a lot of strong guys like this?”
On one side, like the regulars, all of them had a unified aura.
And on the other side… … .
‘What is this?’
strange feeling of discomfort.
Noah knew this sensation.
‘Isn’t it similar to when the hidden witch is targeting me?’
No matter how safe a road may seem, there could be dangers that you haven’t noticed before.
Noah, who lacked skills as a child, experienced many such cases.
Every time that happened, Noah felt a strange sense of incongruity, just like now.
‘There’s no way the witch is riding on the train, in that case… … .’
What if this sense applies equally to hostile humans?
‘There is a possibility.’
I don’t think I’ve ever built up a grudge that would threaten my life.
However, it was Noah who learned that there were people who tried to bury people even for trivial matters because of the incident with Frank.
‘Is there someone waiting for me to get out of the nightray?’
Considering the timing, it was right to see it that way.
Friends close.
the enemy closer.
If you don’t know, you should check it out.
Noah headed in the direction he felt uncomfortable and reconfirmed his surroundings with his aura.
‘As expected, nothing is detected as an aura. Only my intuition is screaming that something is wrong.’
Noah, passing by, stopped at a place where he felt a sense of incongruity.
It was a compartment with only two passengers in a wide carriage.
An unknown female knight and a girl who doesn’t appear to have learned swordsmanship.
The sense of incongruity was felt right here.
“Do you have something to do?”
“No, not like that, but… … .”
Noah shook his head quickly as he answered the girl’s question.
It seemed to be the young lady of a noble family and her escort knight.
I wasn’t sure if the sense of incongruity was coming from them.
However, as long as they were the only passengers in the compartment, they had no choice but to be connected to the hidden one whether they wanted to or not.
‘Can I win if I fight with the escort knight?’
not sure.
‘Can I win if I take a hostage?’
off topic.
‘There’s nothing good about fighting in the first place.’
It was Noah who assumed the worst case scenario, but it was not a situation where he had to fight.
Noah’s eyes, which were looking for an excuse, asked for good information.
“You’re reading the newspaper I came out of. here.”
Noah pointed to the newspaper the girl was reading.
“what? And then I see a lot of resemblance… … .”
The newspaper, published in Nightray, carried a blurry photo of Noah and Veronica right after the final.
It was necessary for the subject to remain still for a long time in order to take a clear picture.
As a reporter, there was no way I could ask the princess to stay still to take pictures.
Thanks to this, the photo, which the reporter hastily took from the audience, came out strangely blurry.
For this reason, compared to the spread of Noah’s name, few people recognized his face.
“Wait, then are you Noah? You said you got along with the 7th princess?”
“I don’t think it was a whistle, though.”
“Wow! What a pleasure! I never thought I would meet Noah in a place like this!”
The girl invited Noah to sit down, and Noah naturally accepted it.
“Who would have known that a freshman who was neither from the 8th generation nor from the Black Forest could fight the 7th princess on equal footing? Being able to meet the main character in person is like a dream.”
“I guess you know me well?”
“I am a fan! Alas, I haven’t even introduced myself yet. I am Arni, and this is my escort, Lexi.”
When Lexi’s eyes returned to her, she bowed her head in silence.
“I didn’t learn swordsmanship, but I like to watch. This time, I came to the Empire to see Top Sword.”
From noble mtl dot com.
“You are not an imperial citizen.”
“yes. I am from Sanctum Keep.”
Sanctum Keep was a huge iceberg floating in the North Sea.
It also referred to the country that combined the iceberg and its surrounding glacial cities.
If Ophelia’s hometown was at the end of the continent, Sanctum Keep was a country floating on the North Sea.
However, there was something else more famous than glaciers in Sanctum Keep.
“Isn’t it a powerhouse with two Master Knights?”
“It is said to be the world’s No. 1 master knight retention rate relative to the population.”
“I heard that the Sanctum Keep’s knights are of a very high level. It’s an honor to have someone from such a place be a fan of mine.”
Opponents who are proud of it will show it off.
Noah lightly courted Arni while keeping an eye on the female knight named Lexy.
‘Arni definitely didn’t learn swordsmanship. Then, it means that the identity of the sense of incongruity is this one… … .’
“Noah-sama is on her way to Stellarium for the Top Sword competition, right? Then would you like to accompany us?”
“It will take a long time to get there, but I’d appreciate it if you’d be my talk partner in the meantime.”
If it’s a dangerous target anyway, at least within sight.
Noah sat down in Arni’s carriage.
‘Now then, shall we see how the opponent will turn out?’
* * *
‘You damn bastard.’
When Noah shamelessly pushed his butt in, escort driver Lexy spat out curse words in her heart.
Arni was actually the only daughter of the Master Knight of Sanctum Keep, the North Sea Sword King.
Secretly from her father, she was on her way to see the world with Lexy, an escort knight she had been with since childhood.
Conversely, Lexie was a servant of the White Witch, Master Knight of Sanctum Keep.
Under the command of the White Witch, she took care of Lexi while Lexie was separated from Arni and became Lexie herself.
No matter how great the North Sea Sword King was, he couldn’t know what was happening in a distant foreign land.
Arni hadn’t learned swordsmanship due to a congenital problem, so it wasn’t difficult to trick her.
“The more eyewitnesses there are, the higher the risk of the cover being discovered. This is not good.’
The White Witch ordered Arni to be killed.
But it wasn’t just about killing them.
So it was no different from the White Witch killing Arni openly.
‘We have to return the fruit to the empire. The master’s intervention must not be revealed.’
This outing was Arni’s own decision.
Even if an accident happened here, no one would suspect the White Witch.
A golden opportunity that will never come again.
For that reason, Noah’s presence was a thorn in Lexi’s eyes.
‘Why is that guy clinging to me and making a fuss?’
I knew from a long time ago that Arni was a fan of Noah.
Because of this, when Noah boarded at the Night Ray station, Lexy’s nerves were on edge and she was wary of him.
Rather, Lexie’s actions brought Noah, but it was unknown to Lexie.
As a servant of the White Witch, she was, without a doubt, an outstanding dark knight.
It was unthinkable that Noah, who was only a student, had sensed her suspiciousness through intuition.
‘Am I the type to identify women?’
In the end, that’s all I can think of.
‘Still, as long as you’re a participant, you’ll have no choice but to fall when you arrive at Stellarium. Now I quietly wait for that time.’
princess.
assassin.
Aspiring knight.
Another person straddled the bizarre accompaniment of three completely different people.
“Are you Noah of the Nightray?”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Ricardo of Madeira. A topsword contestant like you.”
Of course, to say that, Noah didn’t know who he was.
Arni, who was next to Noah, was surprised.
“If it’s Ricardo in Madeira… … Could it be that you are Prince Ricardo?”
“Your lady seems to know me well.”
“sure! of course! You are called the morning star of Madeira!”
Arni, a serious swordsmanship maniac, was memorizing the winners who would participate in this Top Sword.
“A rising master who is the youngest ever to manifest an intangible sword in the Madeira royal family!”
“hmm! I know you well.”
“You are expected to become Master Knight someday, but… … Still, it’s not possible for Noah-nim.”
“What, what?”
“That’s right, you haven’t reached the property conversion yet. Noah-sama is the one who achieved a good relationship with the 7th princess while using attribute transformation.”
In the Empire, there are more than 10 attribute conversion users in Night Ray alone, whereas in other countries, even Ricardo, who is considered the best prospect, could not use attribute conversion.
In the first place, there is a difference in the population, so I wonder if it can be helped, but it was a little different from Noah’s point of view.
‘You seem to have similar skills to Felix? It’s not strange even if I can use attribute conversion.’
“Well, if that’s the case, I’ll prove it with my skills in the top sword. Noah!”
“hmm?”
“I am the one who knocks you down in this contest! Remember!”
A strange guy stuck.