Chapter 78: Open Classes
The interior of the Clementine’ carriage, which we shared on the way to school, was neat and upscale.
Sitting across from me, I could see that Jeras Clementine’s disposition had changed.
[Hmmm… I can’t believe he’s already so well-coated…]
Curiously, Sierra also remembered him.
From the way she mumbled, it seemed that he had been making a name for himself on the continent since he was a child.
“Now, can you tell me about my daughter’s favorite place? As Yuri’s father, I’d love to hear it.”
It was Yuri, who had been twiddling her thumbs, who spoke first.
“I mean, we’re just friends…”
“Even friends have their favorites, don’t they?”
Jeras responds to Yuri’s words, his gaze once again fixed on me.
In response, I opened my mouth.
“…I find Yuri’s attentive and caring nature to be attractive, and she’s taken great care of me to help me adjust to life at the Academy.”
Jeras glances at the bandage over my eye at my honest answer.
“I mean… Our Yuri…”
“…”
Yuri turns her head away from the window, as if the situation is simply too much for her.
“She may be the only daughter I have, but I never thought she’d fit in at the Academy. She’s been a bit of a tomboy since she was a little girl, and I was worried until I received a letter saying she’d made a friend.”
As he says this, Jeras loosens his grip on my arm and bows his head slightly, bringing his face closer to mine as he continues.
“…So when do you think you should get engaged?”
“Engaged… to…?”
“Father…? I mean, come on, you can’t talk about engagements in a carriage…”
Yuri and I both questioned at the same time at Jeras somewhat outlandish statement.
“If it’s a matter of place, we can make it official.”
“No… it’s not like that…”
Jeras glances at Yuri, who stammers, and his eyes become more serious. Then he whispers to me.
“…It’s not that, it’s that Yuri needs to have a successor.”
“”……””
“This is very important to Yuri, and to the family. It doesn’t matter if you’re a swordsman or a spearman, it doesn’t matter what kind of man you are. You are the ‘man’ Yuri Clementine likes, that’s all. Did you say Zetto? Zetto Clementine…I think it has a nice ring to it.”
Jeras rambled on for a long time, even as I tried to catch up.
‘Good sounding…? Zetto Clementine is……’
Of course, if I were to marry her, I would have a surname like that in my name.
[Engaged…? You dare to steal my pupil in front of me, Jeras?]
Sierra glared at Jeras with a murderous gleam in her eyes. The only problem was that her cold voice only echoed in my head.
“Dad, that’s just not right, what kind of engagement is this? Zetto is just a friend…!”
“Yuri, you know the situation, don’t you?”
Yuri’s exclamation was met with a stern reply from Jeras.
“…”
Yuri couldn’t say anything else and lowered her head. Her expression was not good.
‘I guess it’s because of… that.’
I knew what they were talking about. It was one of those things I’d have to deal with later. But Yuri wouldn’t want to be forced into an engagement with me.
I could resolve it without having to get engaged.
If I failed to resolve it she would commit treason against the Clementine family. Then Yuri would no longer be able to attend the Academy. But I had no intention of letting that happen.
It would not be a happy ending for Yuri, or for me, or for Jeras.
…It was a complicated matter, touching on the succession of a kingdom, but I had a plan in place.
Just as he was contemplating how to respond, the carriage came to a halt as we had arrived in front of the Academy’s main building.
“We’ve arrived. I’m sorry we didn’t get to talk at length, but I hope we can catch up another time. As for today…I’d like to hear about the events of today.”
“…Yes.”
I bowed my head to Jeras and stepped out of the carriage.
Yuri didn’t dismount, indicating that she and Jeras still had somewhere to go. They were members of the Four Elemental Houses, so perhaps they had an early morning meeting.
With that, I dismounted from the carriage and parted ways with them.
The entrance to the main building was still crowded with people.
‘I can’t believe this is happening on the first morning of open classes.’
I guess it won’t be strange if something else happens in the future.
With a small shake of my head, I cleared my thoughts and started walking toward the main building.
***
As Zetto dismounted and the carriage was silent, Jeras looked out the window at his daughter, Yuri, who had been staring at him without speaking.
After giving her a wistful glance, he spoke.
“The First Prince’s pressure is mounting. I don’t know how much longer I can hold out.”
“…That’s why you’re trying to drag Zetto into this.”
“I thought for sure you liked him, but…”
Jeras stroked his beard as he said that.
The First Prince wanted to marry Yuri.
The House of Clementine belonged to the kingdom of Terracia, and the man who would become its “crown prince” had taken an interest in his daughter. This was troubling.
In fact, since Yuri was a young girl, she had been inundated with requests for her hand in marriage from a wealthy tycoon, a powerful nobleman, a young knight with a promising career ahead of him, etc.
For House Clementine, who already had enough wealth, power, and strength, all they needed was to ensure their succession, but each of these men approached her with a different desire.
For them, marriage was a tool, a means, not the fruit of love and Jeras thought it might have been poison.
It was around this time that his daughter’s outbursts of anger became more frequent.
As of late, he had been refusing all requests for her hand in marriage.
He felt that he was doing a terrible thing to his precious daughter.
The first prince, however, was a different story. One day, if he asked her formally, it would be hard to say no.
For now, he would have to make do with whatever he could, but there was no telling how the situation might change.
“He seems like a nice kid, though.”
Jeras broke the silence.
“…He is.”
“What is it about him you like?”
Jeras stroked Yuri’s head affectionately and nuzzled it.
“……I don’t know, I just felt comfortable.”
Yuri said softly. She wasn’t denying that she liked Zetto.
Jeras thought she would but the look on Yuri’s face as she looked at the child named Zetto was one he’d never seen before, even as her father.
It was just too bad he couldn’t see her because he was blind.
“Hmph…”
Jeras thought to himself through gritted teeth.
He hoped his daughter would marry the love of her life, as he had done.
He was willing to give up so much to protect her from the First Prince and even had a confrontation with the royal family in mind.
‘If they stand in the way of House Clementine… I will burn them all to the ground.’
***
It was an open class, but it was nothing like the usual classes.
All of the Academy’s cadets were seated in a huge stadium, sometimes referred to as a coliseum, as well as visitors from outside the Academy.
The public class was, in effect, a stage for the Academy’s cadets to showcase their skills to the world.
The nobles would announce their families, and the commoners without families would announce themselves.
The nobles, and especially the commoners, had to take advantage of this opportunity.
To put it simply, it would get them a better job.
‘The first day was a battle against monsters.’
There would also be competitions among the cadets, but whether they were competing or fighting monsters, this time they would be fighting inside with protective magic.
Although there is an illusion spell the families of the cadets would not want to see them decapitated.
From the bleachers surrounding the coliseum, I could see that the dignitaries were gathered in what could be called the “honorary seats,” which were located near the center and were quite high.
I could see the faces of the principal, Julius Klaus, and the chairman, Hubert Graham.
In addition, all the heads of the four Elemental Families of the continent were present this year, so the guest seats were quite crowded.
‘I don’t see the saint.’
For some reason, I couldn’t see the saint’s figure.
I thought I would see her face this time.
‘I’m sure she met Anthony by now…’
Well, I’m sure we will meet someday but the saint had special powers, and as someone with so much to hide, I had to be very careful when I spoke to her.
I had a plan in mind for that and her powers were simpler than I thought.
While I was thinking about the saint, the cadets around me began to shout.
“They say the Sword Saint is here.”
“Sword Saint?”
“Where is he? Where is he?”
“The one you see over there.”
As Sword Saint appears in the audience, the host in the coliseum announces his arrival.
[……]
Sierra, who was floating in the air, was also watching him but she didn’t say anything, she just glared at him.
Before taking his seat, Sword Saint suddenly stood in front of the railing of the honorary seats and looked at the first-year cadets.
The first-year cadets begin to cheer.
“Sword Saint!!!”
“Kaaaak!!!”
“He was looking at me!”
“He was looking at me, you idiot!”
I glanced over at Kaen, who was sitting where Class C was. Her eyes were wide and she was shaking her head vigorously amidst the cheering cadets.
Perhaps it was because Kaen’s hair stood out so much, but immediately Sword Saint’s head slowly turned in the direction of the other grades.
It seems that the rule of not giving away their relationship is still in effect.
Soon, Yuri, who had been watching Sword Saint, spoke up.
“…This is the first time I’ve actually seen him.”
“I asked my father, and he told me that Headmaster Juliut gave him a special invitation.”
Amon answered over Yuri’s mutterings.
As members of the Four Elemental Houses of the Continent, it was their first time seeing the face of the Sword Saint.
‘He hasn’t appeared in public in years…’
It was understandable, given his temperament.
Aizel, who was sitting next to me, wasn’t even looking at him. It wasn’t just because she wasn’t interested in him… she was looking at me.
It’s been like that ever since we met in the flower garden.
I wondered if it had been a mistake to hug her and she sensed the Tear of the Dead.
Soon after, Sword Saint standing at the railing turned his head smoothly, scanning the Colosseum when suddenly, he looked up and stared into space.
I was very suspicious of his behavior. To others, it might have been a simple gaze at the sky… nothing out of the ordinary, but I recognized it.
His eyes were fixed on Sierra, who was floating in midair.
‘What…?’
Did Sword Saint see Sierra?…That didn’t make sense.
Then it must be a coincidence.
He doesn’t have the divine power of a saint, nor is he as familiar with spirits as Deidros, so why does he seem to be looking at Sierra?
***
“Take a seat, Chris. We should get started.”
Julius said to Chris, who was standing at the railing, staring into space. But Chris didn’t respond.
Unlike when he had been wandering around in shabby clothes, he was now dressed in the fine uniform that Julius had prepared for him.
Julius and those who knew him thought.
His wandering ways are still the same.
In truth, Chris was not wandering. He was staring into space, questioning.
Soon, Chris let out a sigh.
“Heh…”
The sound of his voice drew the attention of the other guests.
“Is something wrong?”
Juliet asks.
“…Nothing. I’m sorry.”
Chris replies, turning away and heading back to his seat. Still, the question lingered.
Chris sat back in his chair, rubbing his chin and thinking.
‘It’s a very strong life. I can feel the life in the air, where there’s no one… It’s strange, or perhaps my senses are rusty.’
That’s right. Chris’s senses were out of the ordinary after being honed countless years on the battlefield and he could sense Sierra even though he couldn’t see her.