Chapter 42
The boy who had saved Charlotte’s life, but soon disappeared and was nowhere to be found...
Charlotte seemed to think that that boy might have become a street beggar, wandering the streets. That’s why she thought that a beggar like me might have some connections with the streets and instructed me to find that boy.
A student from a beggar group who had enrolled in the Temple. To Charlotte, I must have seemed like the perfect person to find the boy she was looking for.
However, although Charlotte’s reasoning seemed logical, she wasn’t entirely being rational when it came to this. The flickering emotions in her eyes when she asked me to find him actually showed that she was far from calm, and was not being objective.
In fact, it rather seemed like she had lost her senses, threatening me and insisting that I find him by any means necessary, as if she had been unable to control her emotions.
Charlotte had conducted a quick, thorough investigation into my background, but she seemed incapable of making a rational judgment.
She should have found me suspicious after hearing the various stories from Dyrus in the first place, but Charlotte’s demeanor didn’t reflect that at all. She merely seemed desperate to find somebody she found extremely important to her.
There exists, at one time or another, people who are simply incapable of suspecting another person, and that was Charlotte. She seemed entirely unable to harbor any suspicion toward the me that had saved her. Perhaps she believed that I had either run away, or had been kidnapped and killed.
If Charlotte had even the slightest inkling that I could have been a demon or in disguise, she would have doubted me from the get-go.
Considering my origins as a beggar, the date that my official identification was issued, and her inquiries among the beggars, Charlotte should have easily realized that I was someone who had appeared out of nowhere.
However, Charlotte was so obsessively fixated on finding Baalier that she merely saw me as a tool for her search, rather than harboring any doubt about who I really was.
I felt both pleased and distressed at the same time. After all, I was in a position where I had to deceive Charlotte, who was so desperately searching for me.
I was on a strange mission of being tasked with finding my own self and bringing myself to Charlotte. All of this would have been easily resolved if I showed up in front of Charlotte as Baalier, but then, she probably wouldn’t let me go, and use any means to try to keep me by her side.
What was I to do?
Moreover, one of my accomplices, Sarkegar, was the one who had kidnapped the princess. So revealing my true identity was out of the question, and simply standing before Charlotte as Baalier was dangerous too.
This was not something I could work out alone.
I had to discuss this with Loyar, Eleris, and Sarkegar.
In any case, I found myself perfectly wedged between Vertus and Charlotte.
From that moment on, my actions would determine if my coming to the Temple was the worst decision or the best one.
***
Although I was closer to Vertus in a physical sense, my heart was with Charlotte.
Honestly, I felt terribly sorry. It was distressing that I couldn’t appear as myself before her even though she had searched for me so earnestly. And moreover, I, the Demon prince, was basically Charlotte’s worst enemy.
And now, the club had come within the princess’s reach. I wasn’t sure what Vertus would do, but if the princess thought I was up to any mischief, she could now wipe out the Rotary Club, bring up my association with the Thieves’ Guild, and either get me expelled from the Temple or at least harshly punished.
Pleading ignorance was futile as well, since Charlotte had already seen through everything.
She didn’t know the most important truth about me, but she knew all the facts that could put me in a problematic situation.
I couldn’t tell Vertus about the orders Charlotte had given me, as just speaking of it would be enough to cost me my life.
I didn’t know what to tell Vertus if he asked what Charlotte and I had talked about later.
Both Vertus and Charlotte were looking for Baalier, each with different objectives. Vertus sought revenge against Baalier, while Charlotte was trying to protect him.
The situation was getting more and more tangled.
Speaking of which, I wondered what had become of Dyrus. Obviously, I couldn’t ask Charlotte about it, but I was still curious. If he had faced retribution from Duke Salerion, he would have already been killed. All I could do was hope that Charlotte was taking good care of him.
But who was I to worry about someone else, anyway?
Both heirs to the empire’s throne were expecting something from me. Things would be more straightforward if I only had to deal with one side, but being entangled in both their schemes was a mess.
That aside, I had to discuss Charlotte’s matter separately.
But that was not all.
I had to prepare for the duel with Ard which was set for the week after. While I was sure I’d take a brutal beating, I couldn’t just sit around and let time pass.
***
When I returned to the dormitory, someone called out to me.
“Hey, beggar.”
“What is it...?”
It was no other than Harriet de Saint-Ouen.
When I responded, she covered her mouth and laughed.
“Huh? I didn’t direct that to anyone specific. Why, are you a beggar?”
Was she seriously using the trick I used against her?
“Yes, I am. That’s correct.”
“Uh... Hm?”
She seemed taken aback by my unexpected response, and her expression grew dumbfounded.
I didn’t remember setting her up as a character with such characteristics, but why was she acting so cute?
She reminded me of a niece who was trying to pretend to be an adult by acting all smart and tough. She was so endearingly clueless that I couldn’t even get angry.
“Yeah, I am a beggar. What about it?”
“Oh, that... uh...”
She seemed like she’d been expecting a wild reaction from me, as if calling me a beggar would have caused me to get extremely angry and frustrated. However, now that I’d reacted calmly and asked her what she wanted from me instead, she seemed at a loss for words.
“I... I h-heard you’re going to duel, right?”
‘Why are you pretending that you heard that from someone when you were literally right there at the scene? It’s obvious that you’re trying to come up with some kind of random conversation to cover up your shock.’
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“I heard that the senior is really strong and scary. You’re seriously gonna get beaten up pretty badly.”
“If I get beaten up, I get beaten up. It’s not like he’s going to beat me to death or anything.”
My nonchalant response seemed to stun her.
“... Aren’t you scared?”
“Of course, I’m scared. I’m practically pissing myself from fear.”
My nonchalant acknowledgement of my fear, seemed to leave her even more baffled. It seemed that, although she knew I was a peculiar guy, my reaction only further reinforced her assessment of me as an incomprehensibly strange person.
“If you’re so scared, then why did you even accept the duel?”
“How should I know? Maybe something in me just snapped.”
I didn’t even try to come up with a story to explain to her how I was trying to awaken some supernatural power by being placed in an extreme psychological situation.
Harriet stared at me as if I were out of my mind, and eventually shook her head in disbelief.
“Well then, I guess I’ll have to enjoy watching you get thrashed,” she said, flashing a deliberately wicked smile.
“Suit yourself.”
“... Hmph!”
Paying no attention to her reaction, I headed toward the training grounds.
As I thought about it, though, I couldn’t help but notice that I seemed to have managed to have a surprisingly calm conversation with her.
***
Although my physical abilities were not significantly behind those of my peers, they were nothing compared to those who had true talent in combat.
Of course, there were also those like Erhi de Raffaeli, who had the talent but didn’t put in any effort at all.
On the Class A dormitory training grounds, there were always two students practicing by themselves with practice swords, repeatedly striking dummies or honing their stances.
They were A-2 Ellen Artorius and A-5 Cliffman.
Each followed their own routine, diligently repeating their training daily. They didn’t even go out on weekends, and dedicated their entire days to practice, practice and more practice.
Despite training in the same space all this time, though, I could bet everything I had that they’d never exchanged a single conversation until now.
I picked up a practice sword.
But what exactly did one do for swordsmanship practice?
Those guys who were over there seemed perfectly capable of keeping themselves busy on their own.
In novels, this was typically written merely as “training in swordsmanship,” so I didn’t know what specific process that entailed. Improvements to an individual’s skill would also generally be glossed over, with vague notions of “leveling up” or “increasing in rank,” or even just simply that “they got better than they were before.”
Since neither of these two on the training grounds were the type to teach me even if I asked, I just began swinging the sword in random directions.
However, I wasn’t necessarily swinging aimlessly. I recalled the swordsmanship movements I had learned the previous week and followed them as if replaying those memories. Not to mention I also trained my moves while studying the manuals provided as well.
To compress it all into a single word, “Swordsmanship,” belied the enormous amount of work that had to be done.
It wasn’t just about swinging a sword. I realized the importance of the strength in my wrists and forearms as well as my footwork.
The two of them, silently wielding their swords, on weekdays and through the weekends, suddenly seemed immensely impressive to me.
***
“Huff... huff...”
After dinner, I continued to wield my sword and practice.
I was on the training grounds along with Ellen, who had stayed to practice even after Cliffman had returned to the dormitory. Of course, Ellen didn’t just practice wielding the sword the whole day, but left the training grounds and returned frequently, continuously finding ways to spend time by herself.
Time passed, and eventually, I was the only one left on the training grounds, swinging my sword.
Did this actually lead to any improvement?
It had been only a single day, and I was already tired and exhausted. I needed to become accustomed to this sort of training, not just because of the duel that was in two weeks, but also because I couldn’t rely solely on my audacious nature to get me through forever.
Then came the realization that the third-year students hadn’t come looking for me, despite me staying late into the night. It seemed my prediction was correct; they did not want to meddle with the prince directly.
Did that mean they wanted to oppress the second-year students, but were too afraid of Vertus?
Although the third-year students didn’t show up, someone unexpected had come to the training grounds.
“...”
“Hey, junior. I came because I heard you were here.”
It was Adriana, the second-year senior with a calm demeanor.
She looked at me lying sprawled on the ground, drenched in sweat, my practice sword strewn beside me, and she furrowed her brow.
“What brings you here, senior?”
“... Rudina asked me to come.”
“The little brat?”
‘What could she have asked for?’
“Yes. Rudina was worried. She said that Ard is also seriously preparing for the duel and that you might end up half-dead. She asked if there was any way to persuade you to give up the duel.”
The little brat indeed was so kind that it made me feel guilty about the harsh words I’d previously said to her.
Adriana sighed as she looked at my worn-out state.
“But I see that you’re not slacking around either, and trying to do something about it as well.”
“Well... yeah.”
“You won’t be able to beat Ard in just two weeks no matter how much effort you put in. I suppose you know that much yourself, right?”
Adriana seemed truly unable to comprehend why I was doing all this. Why accept a duel that was clearly lost, and why wear myself out on the training grounds swinging a sword when there was no chance of victory?
“I have to at least try.”
“You’re going to lose. And it’ll be a terrible defeat, too.”
“I know.”
“... Instead of voluntarily enduring a greater humiliation, you should just apologize to him before it’s too late. Surely you realize you crossed the line and are also in the wrong as well. Besides, Ard isn’t as bad a person as you think he is.”
“I never thought of him as a bad person.”
I could understand why he did what he did, even though I was the one who ended up in this mess. It must have been humiliating for him to be humiliated in that manner by a junior.
Adriana bit her lip slightly.
“If you know you’re going to lose and you don’t think Ard is that bad a person, then why can’t you just apologize and avoid the duel?”
“Just because.”
I picked up the practice sword, rose to my feet, and began practicing my stance again.
“I need to get beaten up a little.”
“... What?”
“Just something I have to go through.”
‘Do you really think I want to get beaten up just because I want to or something?’
Swish! Swish!
‘I’m doing this so that maybe enduring a beating would finally provide me a way out of this hopeless situation for good!’
After watching me for a while, Adriana sighed.
“Junior.”
“Yes?”
Adriana slowly approached as if to stop me, then took the sword from my hand.
She effortlessly performed the motions I had just been attempting. Unlike my clumsy movements, hers were flawless, like perfectly-executed choreography.
“Ugh... Why am I even showing you something you can’t even follow...?”
Adriana sighed as if she herself could not understand why she was demonstrating such a thing and handed the practice sword back to me.
“Try that.”
I imitated exactly what Adriana had just shown me and executed the motion on the dummy.
“...”
“...”
We looked at each other in silence.
She came closer, grabbed my arm, and began to move it around. My arm flopped about limply. It was obvious that most of my strength had drained away.
“There’s no point swinging away like this when all your strength is gone. You’re just going to end up hurting your wrist.”
Adriana looked at me as if I were hopeless, then suddenly closed her eyes. A white aura gathered around her hands and began to flow into my body.
“This, this is...”
“... Oh I forgot, you’re new here.”
Adriana opened her eyes.
“I’m trying to become a holy knight.”
It appeared she had a talent for swordsmanship and divine power. Second-year A-2 Adriana was Number 2 in Class A, so it was reasonable to assume she had other talents as well. Even so, already being able to use divine spells at her age was quite remarkable.
She had used a divine spell to restore me, and as a result, the soreness and fatigue in my muscles seemed to have faded slightly.
“Now, try again.”
“Thank you.”
With my strength now restored, I expressed my gratitude and tried to imitate the motion that Adriana had shown me again.
“...”
“...”
However, nothing changed.
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