“In addition to the elimination of everyone on the siege side, there were also quite a few disqualified people on the siege side. More than half of the contestants were blown away in one shot.”
When fighting in the dense city center, there was bound to be damage to the surroundings, even if it was unintentional.
Even a big leap would break the sidewalk blocks, so it required delicate power control like walking on ice.
“Because I was going when I could concentrate even a little. With this, all the gossip must have been filtered out.”
As a result of the first round, the number of participants that exceeded 500 fell to around 200.
Considering the fact that a total of 5 rounds had to cover the final 1 person, it was obvious that the number of excellent players would drop in the future.
“What is the content of the next game?”
Noah murmured and looked out the window.
Outside the window, an endless plain passed by.
All participants who survived the first round got on the Imperial Railroad after a brief after-party ceremony.
The location for the second round is the Crescent Islands located at the southernmost tip of the empire.
The second round of Topsword, which was held throughout the empire, was set for the South.
“Hey, Noah. let’s go eat.”
“The princess says that today’s meal is bought by the princess!”
Noah’s motives suddenly opened the door and called Noah.
It took several days by train to reach the Crescent Islands.
Because of this, they were living comfortably in a luxurious passenger car chartered for the Top Sword participants.
From noble mtl dot com.
“Aren’t all meals here free anyway?”
“The match at Stellarium, which is the center, ended in a day trip, so I heard you’re going to taste the full course of imperial cuisine like this?”
“Go right away.”
In addition to them, the senior participants of the Night Ray had already arrived in the dining room.
“Because traveling in a car for a long time would be boring, I specially prepared it. Eat as much as you want without reservations.”
Noah’s mouth went wide at the splendid delicacies that filled the table.
It wasn’t just Noah.
Except for Felix, it was clear that the expressions on everyone’s faces reminded them of dishes that were difficult to taste.
“You bastard, are you already used to this kind of food? Aren’t you enough alone?”
“The Mayer family doesn’t particularly show extravagance in food, but there are times when you have to treat guests. Thanks to that, I get breathless when I see food like this.”
“Eh? why?”
“The fact that a guest has arrived means I have to go say hello too.”
“… … That’s why I never thought of it.”
The meal that started like that was an experience beyond simply eating delicious food.
“Did you adjust the taste with the sense of the article in mind?”
“The taste changes depending on how much you activate the strong body technique!”
The imperial family meant the best knight family in the empire.
Imperial cuisine has been enjoyed by outstanding knights since ancient times.
The cuisine developed for those who reached the extreme of rigid body art had the effect of stimulating numerous senses.
A dish that would raise the sensory level just by eating it for a normal knight.
It was by no means ordinary food.
“The head chef of the imperial family is said to be stronger than the knight commanders of quite a few countries. It is only natural that you would have to have excellent senses to create a dish like this.”
“With such skills, why cook… … It tastes too great to say that. Once you taste this, you will understand.”
“Isn’t there a fellow aspiring to be a chef among our classmates? I was wondering why a guy who aspires to be a cook comes to knight school, but seeing this, I understand.”
“I want to get a job at the imperial palace when I graduate!”
Tiu and Miho also opened their eyes wide and savored the taste.
Compared to other senses, it was rare to receive gustatory stimulation.
Even though you can taste so much more.
Thanks to this, this meal was a shock equivalent to opening my eyes for the first time after living as a blind person.
“Veronica has been eating these things since she was little. It’s kind of unfair.”
“Ah, thinking like that makes me feel a bit unfair… … .”
“hehehe, are you envious?”
“Eww!”
Concentrating on the unfamiliar sensation, they were startled without noticing Veronica’s approach.
“If you are a high ranker, priority goes back to getting a job at the imperial palace after graduation. All of you will be able to do it. How are you, Noah?”
“Um, are you sure it will be okay? I don’t even have a family business to be in.”
Noah accepted Theodore’s words, saying something that would bring him to tears.
“Noah, how long are you planning to talk to the princess?”
“Hmm? Come to think of it, that’s it too. You’re a superior because you’re the princess, aren’t you? Until now, I had never seen someone of the same age as an older person, so I didn’t think much of it.”
Where Noah lived, it was just a child if it was a child and an adult if it was an adult.
It wasn’t a place where you could see nobles, and from Noah’s grandfather, people who didn’t care about that.
“Can I call you the princess?”
“No, you don’t have to.”
Veronica shook her head lightly.
“I was born as a princess, but I don’t have any social position yet. Since you are the same student, you can call other people comfortably. No, I would like you to call me.”
“Yeah, but you’re definitely a princess… … .”
“You all know that skill is more important than status anyway, right? Even if I’m the princess, it’s no different since I’ll leave the imperial family after my father abdicates the throne.”
“That’s it, but.”
I didn’t bother to say it out of my mouth, but everyone understood Noah’s next words.
Veronica is the only one of the emperor’s children who possesses the Mystic Eye.
It was no exaggeration to say that in a situation where it was not yet decided who the next emperor would be, she was in fact at the top of the line of succession along with the first prince.
If the emperor changes, the rest of the brothers and sisters will also leave home and the imperial family will also undergo a water change.
If he became emperor, wouldn’t he stay in the imperial family until he died?
“So please let me know too.”
Whether or not she knew that, Veronica smiled kindly.
“I am fine. But if you’re arguing because you’re a student, you should let Veronica go too.”
“yes?”
Seeing this, Noah became playful.
“Why don’t you call me friendly? It must be Noah.”
“… … !”
Hearing those words, Veronica’s eyes widened, her eyes stiffened, and her face turned bright red.
She said that it was okay to be comfortable with others, but she couldn’t even imagine letting go of herself.
In that sense, Noah’s attack worked very effectively.
“Uh, um, that, that… … .”
“Aww, I said something stupid. How would the princess want to talk to lowly people like us?”
“Oh, that can’t be! What are you talking about!”
“Oh my gosh, look at drawing the line clearly in case someone crosses over.”
I thought the situation was interesting, so even Miho joined.
In the end, Veronica, who was cornered, closed her eyes tightly and spoke in a crawling voice.
“… … Noah.”
“what? Can’t you hear it’s so small?”
“… … No, is it Noah?”
“why? Is it a question mark? Try shouting it out loud.”
“Hey, stop teasing me… … !”
All of the seniors sitting at other tables looked at her at Veronica’s sudden acceleration.
Veronica’s eyes were spinning at the thought of having had an accident, as if she had been startled by her screaming.
“Are you feeling better now?”
“yes?”
“When you have a problem, it’s a little better if you shout out loud. Why, you’ve been thinking about something else since the first round.”
“How can I… … ?”
Noah shrugged his shoulders wordlessly.
Then, Mia, who had been hiding nearby and waiting, came out and bowed her head slightly.
Noah continued to take care of Mia even after bringing her presents on previous picnics.
As for Noah, it wasn’t just for Mia, he took care of everyone around him, but it meant a lot to Mia, the maid.
Unlike the other students, she came with Veronica’s training body.
Even if you care, she should care. It was rare for others to care about her.
Thanks to this, Noah, who quickly became friends with Mia, was hearing various stories from her.
“… … It looks like it has a lot of tea.”
“What are you worried about? I don’t know if I can be of any help, but I have to break even, so why don’t we talk about it?”
Veronica declined the offer.
“Thank you, but it’s okay. Because this is my job. It doesn’t mean anything if I don’t do it myself.”
“Then I can’t help it. But are you going to let go?”
“Give it a little bit of leeway. Maybe I’m not used to this… … .”
“I watched it once. I’ll let you wait for that.”
After finishing her conversation with Noah, Veronica met eyes with the seniors who were staring at her.
“It is surprising.”
“yes?”
“Last year’s princess was, to put it mildly, very sharp, so it was difficult to talk to her. It is much better now.”
“I couldn’t even say anything because I noticed, but your jockeys are amazing?”
“I thought you were scary, but you’re really cute, right?”
Veronica, unable to manage her expression at the words that followed, eventually lowered her head.
It was embarrassing, but it didn’t feel bad.
The dinner party for friendship thus far exceeded its original purpose.
The relationship between the Night Ray participants, who were divided into seniors and juniors, also became stronger.
* * *
At the same time, Nightray Hall of Stars.
Regina was meeting a man at the holy ground of the Imperial Knights built on the original stone.
“Where did you crawl in here? Besides, he leads the strange ones.”
“What, are you okay? Because of the top sword, the Bright Emperor is definitely in Stellarium, but if not now, when will he come. Don’t worry about them, they’re cooperating with people of similar circumstances.”
It was an acquaintance he hadn’t seen in a while, but Regina couldn’t welcome him.
“A man wanted for treason has no fear.”
Cain Vagrant.
This man, who was also the culprit behind Ophelia’s coming to Nightray, did not flinch at all even in front of the second person in the Empire.
“There are two things that are as important as that.”
“Are you going to embroider?”
“Sorry, but that’s not it. Looking at it, it seems that there are some eyes planted by the imperial family at school, but I don’t have time, so I’ll start with the main topic. I need a cool stone. Let’s cut some.”
Regina said it as if she was dumbfounded.
“Are you saying that you know that I am the head of the Night Ray School, who was ordered by the imperial family to protect Si Won-seok?”
“So that’s what I mean. Is there anything you’ve been up to?”
“Are you crazy? Go back because it will never happen. no, wait. If there are two important things, what is the remaining one?”
“A few days ago, the Imperial Intelligence Service guys came to visit me. They said they’d pardon you, so come back soon?”
Imperial Intelligence Service.
The words of the informant, the direct agency of the imperial family, were practically the same as the emperor’s message.
In other words, Emperor Gwanghui said that he would look after Cain, who was trying to catch him by walking to the point of treason.
It meant that something more important than Cain had happened.
“From the beginning of the information source who came to me, I was able to catch him as many times as I could, but I was looking after him.”
“The fact that the amnesty was issued there now means that there was a change of heart.”
The reason could be guessed by both of them.
“It must be because of Noah.”
Only then did Regina know the second reason Cain came to see her.
“You refused.”
“huh. So now I think I really have to leave the Empire. So I’ll ask for Noah.”
“From the beginning, it seems that only Master and I were looking after each other. You couldn’t even see the senior.”
From noble mtl dot com.
“That’s right, if I go to meet you, the killing order will fall right away.”
Then you really die. I could be sure of this.
Only Master Knight, about 6 people will come out.
No matter how much he did, he couldn’t open an all-out war with the Empire.
“Anyway, I’m not trying to entrust my ‘son’ with my bare mouth. I’ll show you one in the name of education expenses.”
“What are you showing me?”
“Determination Clue.”
Concerned that someone might not be a knight, Cain smiled like a child as soon as the swordsmanship was mentioned.
“This is a new level I have reached. Aren’t you curious?”