“I’m happy to finally meet you, Lord Virginia.”
――A troublesome fellow.
When I first saw him, that’s what my intuition told me.
Gathering from his slight bow, I could tell he had a strength of mind, body and spirit. It was easy for me, a Knight with peerage, to know that he had the arm of a swordsman after taking a closer look.
His figure was quite eye-catching, that even I, being from the same sex, felt like stealing glances. I can't even begin to fathom how much those incredibly good tailor-made clothes would go for. His glossy shoes were obviously from the leather of a considerably high-rank monster.
The mantle he wore also deserved a special mention. Jet-black and ultramarine, a color that mimicked the night sky and pulled in the viewer with its scattered jewels that resembled sparkling stars.
But. That beautiful decoration was not vaunted on the outside. It was on the inside of the mantle.
What could be the meaning of it?
He looks like he hides a secret. I’m afraid it might be something outrageous.
“Father. This esteemed person is Second-dono, a noble from a foreign country.”
My daughter, whom I’m meeting for the first time in a long time, introduced him to me with a bit of demure.
Hey, Silvia. Seems like you’re still as bad as ever at lying. Your eyebrows still shake when you do.
……Well then, with this I know he is not some nobleman.
Then, who in the world are you?
Only one person comes to mind. And that is――「A Prince」.
The first prince of the Castall Kingdom, Klaus-sama, is good at swordsmanship and it is said that his skills are so good he might even be the number one in the kingdom. The second prince, Maine-sama, is rumored to be the very top of the first years in the prestigious 『Royal Magic Academy』.
The person in front of me exudes self-confidence, overflowing wealth, firm standing, intellectual vision and a transcendental calm. Whoever he is, I cannot even compare him to the royal family that I know.
……Good. I should try testing him here.
Having thought so, I decided to behave as if we were in equal standing.
If he gets angry, that would mean he only amounted to that much. If his act crumbles, then I can arrest him for impersonating nobility.
“Umu, Second-dono, was it? I’m Noir Virginia. Thank you for your consideration.”
“Likewise.”
This is surprising.
With plenty of composure he smiled and returned a single word.
Now I’m sure―― He is of foreign royalty. No mistake.
If he were part of the faulty nobles over there, he would’ve instantly flown into a rage since a simple Knight had treated him as his equal. This is an action that is always sure to expose their haughty behavior.
Unless it was someone belonging to royalty hiding their own status. If that’s the case, there is no way I can let this chance slip and lose his grace with such a playful prank. In the first place, he doesn't seem to want to keep his identity as royalty a secret from me.
Which means.
……I should just be honest and apologize.
Along with the sound of a bang.
My head hit the table as I bowed to him.
“Your highness Second. I sincerely apologize for trying to test you in that manner. I’m ready to receive some punishment. But if you find it in your heart to forgive this worthless me, I would love to hear what you came here for.”
I can't miss this once-in-life-time chance.
He is a personage that Silvia took the trouble to bring. She knows plenty of how I can ascertain a person’s true nature and skill in the sword just by looking at them. His highness Second is definitely not a person who would bring harm. I don't know his purpose, but if I can benefit my house, and ultimately the Castall Kingdom, by aiding him then I should just go ahead and grab this opportunity.
As I bowed my head, I waited for his highness Second to speak.
And hopefully, something good will befall my Virginia Knight’s House.
How did this happen?
That’s what I want to know.
The operation deceive suddenly took a weird turn All I had planned was to “while wearing rare clothes, pretend to be a foreign noble and trick Silvia’s dad into writing a letter of introduction to the Magic Academy”.
It would be a letter of introduction from a man who was knighted by his ability with the sword alone. Even if there was no real “power” behind his backing, there would be “trust”. And that, in turn would surely bring a positive reply from the Royal Magic Academy.
But this was the result.
What the heck.
Why is Noir-san lowering his head?
And what’s with “your Highness”?
Testing? Punishment? I really don't get this.
I glanced over to where Silvia was. Her eyes were like dots and she was frozen solid.
She has no idea either. I don't get it.
…………Ah, no. There’s one thing I do get.
And that is――
“Lift your face.”
――That I should take advantage of this.
After saying so in a voice full of pride, Noir-san raised his face.
Strangely enough, even though I can't see her, I’m fairly certain of what kind of face Silvia is making at this moment. Something like “What are you spouting!? ” kind of face.
But there is no turning back now. I decided to continue pretending to be a “somewhat important person” and see how far can I go.
“I too feel sorry for having to somewhat deceive you…… but you see, there are some circumstances that force me to conceal my identity. You should be able to understand, right? “
“Yeah. I will not speak a word of this.”
Oh. I was just trying my luck, but it seems like it worked out.
“Today, I came to trouble you with two requests.”
“Yeah. If it is within my powers.”
……Seems like Noir-san has been incredibly deceived. I wonder what kind of misunderstanding is he under?
I’m getting increasingly worried about the Virginia family. Aren't you a knight that has sworn your allegiance to the King of Castall? In the first place, him bowing his head to some random person of unknown birth is a little……
I have to admit he truly is Silvia’s father. In a lot of ways.
However, no matter how dumb he might be, I can't be too careless. I switched gears and made full use of my head as I thought about the next words.
“Then, the first one is but a trivial request. I’d like to have a connection to the Royal Magic Academy. Do you think you can do it? “
“Yes. If you want to transfer to the first year, I can immediately write you a letter of introduction this very moment. I used to share the battlefield with an elven man called Kevin who is now the person in charge of the first years."
……Wow. I thought Noir-san would be a trustworthy person, but I didn't think it would be to this extent. He really is amazing.
However, transferring isn't good. The duration is quite long. All I need is to quickly sneak in and take a quick peek at the Grimoires.
“It's fine just for a short time. Do you have any ideas? “
“Uhmm. In that case, I think it would be better to make it a short-term abroad study.”
“I see.”
Great idea. That way I can make it look like I came to see how a foreign country’s magic academy was like.
What should I do for the period? The shorter the better, but it’ll be bad if I can't find the Grimoires in two or three days.
Oops, and speaking of which, Silvia also needs to learn the Second Form and Third Form of the fire attribute. Would she be able to learn it by flipping through it like I did?
……Well, since I’m becoming a little uneasy, should I take longer?
Cheat sheet Stats details＜Status Details＞
HP Hit Points MP Magic Points SP Stamina Points STR Short range attack skill power, strength, physical power. DEX Long range attack skill power, dexterity, hit rate. AGI Quickness, avoidance rate. INT Attack Magic skill power. LUK Good luck, critical rate. VIT Simple defense. MGR Magic defense. Types of combat skillsNamed after shogi pieces (The word in bold is the one being used in this translation). From easier to acquire to harder.
Pawn/Soldier (Fuhyou) Lance(Kyousha) Knight (Keima) Silver General (Ginshou) Gold General (Kinshou) Bishop (Kakugyou) Rook (Hisha) Promoted Bishop/Dragon Horse(Ryuuma) Promoted Rook/Dragon King (Ryuuou). List of Swordsmanship skillsSwordsmanship
《Soldier Swordsmanship》 Normal attack. 《Lance Swordsmanship》 Piercing attack. 《Knight Swordsmanship》 Precision attack. 《Silver Swordsmanship》 Strong single-target attack. 《Gold Swordsmanship》 Small-range attack to all directions. 《Bishop Swordsmanship》 ??? 《Rook Swordsmanship》 ??? 《Dragon Horse Swordsmanship》 ??? 《Dragon King Swordsmanship》 ??? List of Archery skillsArchery
《Soldier Archery》 Normal range attack. 《Lance Archery》 Piercing range attack. 《Knight Archery》 Precise sniping range attack. 《Silver Archery》 Strong single-target range attack. 《Gold Archery》 Weaker range attack with added knockback. 《Bishop Archery》 Strong piercing range attack. 《Rook Archery》 Very strong single-target range attack with scaling % damage. 《Dragon Horse Archery》 Powerful piercing range attack. 《Dragon King Archery》 Powerful on-impact range attack. Types of Magic skillsThey use the “Form” or “step” system of martial arts. From lower to higher.
First Form Second Form Third Form Fourth Form Ranking of the skillsFrom lower to higher, then it changes to the “Dan” system of martial arts, which means Grade.
16th class 15th class 14th class 13th class 12h class 11th class 10th class 9th class 8th class 7th class 6th class 5th class 4th class 3rd class 2nd class 1st class Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9 Title