In the cave where Cheonma and the Vice Apostle had left,
After their presence completely faded away, it took a little while for voices to be heard.
One of the three ‘Evil Swords’ spoke while removing the mask from his head.
“Phew… how scary.”
Stella, with her pointed ears perked up, let out a deep sigh and brushed away the purple hair clinging to her forehead due to the sweat of tension.
And there was someone watching Stella with an unimpressed glance.
“Tsk, Stella.”
Jack, the last member of the Evil Swords alongside Stella, removed his mask and swept back his crimson hair.
“It’s pathetic to be afraid of someone we should serve.”
“What? Am I supposed to not say I’m scared when I’m scared?”
Stella retorted while stomping her feet, ignoring Amber, who had turned her head away dismissively.
Jack, seemingly used to their antics, shook his head slightly.
“Well, shall we move then?”
With a clap of his hands, he gathered everyone’s attention.
But curious Stella tilted her head in disbelief at Jack’s words and asked, “Move already?”
“When else are we going to move?”
“Amber!”
Stella lunged at Amber, who had once again provoked her, causing Amber to sidestep as if she was used to this.
“Ugh!”
Stella, face planted on the ground and with a red nose, pouted in frustration.
“Seriously… stop cutting me off!”
“Hmph.”
Jack, with an expressionless face, looked down at the two of them before turning his gaze away and continuing.
“Evil Sword members?”
“Yes.”
The men on the left all responded in small voices almost in unison.
With a satisfied smile, Jack made a request, “First, can you gather information about the Academy?”
“What should we focus on?”
A reasonable question. Jack thought for a moment, stroking his chin, then turned back with a smile.
“Let’s skip the building structure. How about information on the professors and the headmaster?”
“Yes.”
With a short reply, the Evil Sword members disappeared into the cave.
“And Blood Swords?”
“Yes!”
Unlike the previous group, the response here was loud enough to show their eagerness.
Jack grimaced slightly, as if his ears hurt, then spoke up.
“I don’t think the Blood Swords need to get involved this time.”
It was likely something that had to be handled quietly, and the Blood Swords nodded without any sign of disappointment.
“Yes!”
“Well then, Jackal, if you please?”
At Jack’s words, a corner of the cave that seemed utterly empty split apart and Jackal emerged from within.
“…”
Jackal clicked his tongue at Jack, who was smiling at him, and muttered.
“What a creepy guy.”
With that, he vanished alongside the Blood Swords.
“Hmmm.”
Now, only Jack, Stella, and Amber remained in the cave.
Jack flashed a grin at the bickering duo and said,
“Shall we wait for a bit?”
“Sure!”
Stella smiled and agreed, unlike Amber, who frowned and said, “…Wait?”
With a chuckle, Jack attempted to persuade the disgruntled Amber.
“Do you remember what Cheonma said?”
“…Of course.”
But Amber’s face seemed to question what that had to do with waiting.
Seeing her expression, Jack shook his head slightly.
“Oh dear… Can’t you understand such a simple statement?”
“What…?”
“Wait, you really didn’t catch that?!”
The fact that Stella, who was already irked by Jack, joined in with her “Are you that clueless?” look only twisted Amber’s face more.
And Jack knew well that Amber was most obedient when she looked like that.
“I will explain it to you.”
With a gentle smile, Jack opened his mouth to clarify.
“Cheonma told us this…”
Naturally, Stella wouldn’t understand either, so Jack alternated his gaze between them and continued.
“After catching the spy, we should go to the headmaster of the Academy.”
“Why would we—”
Stella’s sullen expression was met with realization from Amber, who murmured,
“No way.”
“Yes, that no way.”
Jack, with a grin stretching his lips, was pleased to see Amber catching on.
Amber, sensing Jack’s sharp wit and recalling Cheonma’s words, felt a tingling chill as her lips curled up slightly.
“What? What is it?!”
Tell me too!
Only Stella remained confused and screamed out loud.
*
…Who’s talking about me?
Suddenly feeling a tickle in his ear, he frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
“Hmm, it’s nothing to worry about.”
“Yes.”
He waved his hand slightly to the concerned Nameless and let out a deep sigh.
“…”
Well, I suppose I can say I’ve resolved the matter regarding the spy at the Academy.
I’d asked the kids from the Cheonma Church, who seemed to have grown quite well, and Anna also seemed to be active recently, so they’ll be caught soon enough.
And there’s another urgent problem.
In just three days, there’s going to be a banquet hosted by the royal family, starring me.
“Ugh…”
Rolling over on my bed, I let out a groan.
To be honest, it didn’t feel very real.
After all, the reward money I was supposed to receive had yet to arrive,
And I didn’t really feel like I’d done anything monumental.
What I did was more like cleaning up a mess created by my butterfly effect by stopping the attack on the Academy…
In other words, it felt strong that I was merely tidying up after a mess I’d made.
And saving Arnold, not to mention, was because I didn’t realize he was a crown prince, as I practically brought him with me.
But regardless of how I felt, the truth was that it really was going to happen.
Of course, I could be seen as overreacting for stressing out about it.
But can you blame me?
I can only panic without having any experience with banquets!
The fear people feel comes from the unknown.
And, yes, I admit, it’s my greedy side that doesn’t want Nameless to think I lack certain knowledge or abilities.
Not wanting to look gloomy, Nameless paused in cleaning the sword and handed me a strawberry.
“Master, would you like a strawberry?”
“Oh, thank you.”
…Well, I guess they can kind of see through me.
“Hm.”
What I mean is, I want to appear as a competent Master.
Someone trustworthy and supportive.
Then I need to know about the banquet.
Actually, I don’t need to know too much.
Nameless probably hasn’t attended any banquets either, so I can just know a bit.
So how should I go about this?
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It’s simple,
I’ll ask someone who would have experienced the banquet without Nameless knowing.
And luckily, there’s someone around who fits that role.
“Hehe.”
Chuckling to myself at the brilliance of my plan, Nameless looked at me quizzically.
*
In the Academy dormitory,
In a special room designated for top students.
I calmly munched on strawberries while watching a certain male student.
“So you came to see me…?”
“Hmmm, I guess so.”
Arnold, with a hand pressed to his forehead as if he had a headache, confused me, so I tossed another strawberry into my mouth.
Why does he seem so reluctant to spill the beans?
“Surely you know that Nameless is attending the banquet, right?”
“Hmm, yes.”
Seeing Arnold breathe a sigh of relief made me tilt my head.
“Is there something wrong?”
“There is…”
Nodding slightly, Arnold’s answer piqued my curiosity, and I asked, “What kind of problem?”
“It’s not about being a partner at the banquet.”
Arnold shook his head slightly and opened his mouth.
“It’s a problem that comes with asking another guy about such matters.”
“Hmm…”
Is that so?
Shouldn’t being a partner imply that Nameless and I aren’t even lovers?
I don’t understand what the problem is.
“At the very least, you should be asking Professor Bell, who’s a girl…”
“Is that so?”
But honestly, I didn’t get the vibe that Bell frequented banquet venues…
I came to Arnold for a reason.
I thought he would know these things being a crown prince, making it a very reasonable approach.
Shrugging lightly, I opened my mouth.
“Well, it’s not too late now, right? Just speak comfortably.”
Arnold’s face crinkled at my words, seemingly displeased, but eventually nodded.
“…Alright.”
After that, Arnold’s words revolved around basic etiquette to be observed at the banquet,
And the ball.
“Hmm, I got it.”
Honestly, I didn’t understand a thing.
“Is that really true?”
“…Maybe?”
The things Arnold explained were all about what nobles should adhere to.
For example, a woman should only sit after a man pulls out her chair, and even the way to eat differs by dish. Such tedious stuff.
I averted my gaze from Arnold, who looked at me with skepticism.
…I’ll just keep an eye on the situation and do fine.
Arnold must have known I wouldn’t care much since he sighed deeply and threw a question my way.
“It might be a bit rude, but have you found a dress?”
“What?”
A dress?
Me?
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