To sum up the outcome, the situation ended up being rather muddled.
If we were to discuss who was at fault, it would lead to an endless debate. According to the knightly code, either the vice commander should die, or the disrespectful one should perish, but the count wouldn’t allow that to happen.
Yet, even if Ihan had decided to rampage, he still had to adhere to some lines as a newly-appointed instructor. In truth, the incident wrapped up without any clear resolution.
And in this state of indecision, there was one particularly displeased individual.
None other than…
“—What a glorious rampage we had.”
Isis said, as she set down the newspaper and sipped her now-cold beverage.
Like a painting.
To anyone else, it would look as if she were posing for a photoshoot, but that was just her everyday life.
Her daily routine resembled a fashion shoot—there could be no other kind of woman than her.
However, hidden behind those photogenic movements was a slight sense of discomfort that those who knew her well would recognize.
“…Please don’t say too much. I already got scolded by the principal.”
The man sitting opposite her, who turned his head slightly to make excuses, was Ihan, whose photo took up the front page of today’s newspaper. He gulped down his drink, clearly vexed by the situation.
“Haha, what a character this Ihan is!”
“Yes, he’s impressive!”
Meanwhile, oblivious to Ihan’s inner turmoil, Albert and Leira sparkled with excitement as they gazed at the photograph in the newspaper, while Ihan’s forced smile only grew longer.
Anyway, this world was medieval, yet it oddly had many advanced technological elements.
Like cameras.
‘When was this taken?’
Somehow, those barbaric medieval journalists had no sense of personal privacy.
…It made him want to smash everything.
* * *
[Shocking Incident: Violence Occurs at the Royal Academy?!]
[Is the Count trying to side with the royal family?]
[Could this be a message from a forsaken lion to the White Lion?]
Swish!
“Do you see this?”
About half of the content of the newspaper was dedicated to slandering Ihan, constantly trying to undermine him.
Many of the articles were too vulgar to even repeat. Evidently, the reporters, fearing retaliation from the count, took the easy route by criticizing him instead.
…What a bunch of fools.
“Haha, if only Ihan’s reputation had been acknowledged, this wouldn’t have happened. That’s a bit disappointing.”
“It wasn’t purposely controlled, you know? They misunderstood on their own and simply didn’t believe the information.”
“True enough.”
It was understandable for someone to find this strange.
Even though Ihan originated from common birth, he was, ‘believe it or not,’ a war veteran and a man of talent who had even entered the knight order.
Most importantly, he was a knight personally selected by that Baltar Grace.
Just with that factor alone, he was already a significant talent and indeed in a position that wouldn’t normally allow for recklessness.
Yet, reporters—not just them, but others too—looked down on him, leading to this utterly absurd situation.
Unfortunately, people didn’t know about Ihan’s ‘achievements.’
The reason was simple.
“They don’t believe it. The majority deny the very existence of the knight known as Ihan.”
Strangely enough, this nation did not believe any of the feats Ihan had accomplished.
In fact, it would be more accurate to say they outright denied them.
The fact that he was a war veteran?
He was just a soldier who happened to survive by luck after participating in the war.
The fact that he was a knight personally chosen by Baltar Grace?
That was effectively suppressed by higher-ups in the royal family.
The reason?
Simple.
The elite doesn’t want a ‘second’ Baltar to emerge.
They wish to avoid creating someone they cannot control—a superhuman.
For this reason alone, his extraordinary prowess remained largely unknown.
Of course, there were moments when someone, perhaps drunkenly or jokingly, would boast about Ihan’s remarkable abilities, but surprisingly…
—He beats knights without learning tactical techniques? …What nonsense is that?
—Is he of fallen noble blood? Or perhaps a descendant of a destroyed kingdom? Nothing of the sort? Just a commoner? Clearly, he must have become a knight through underhanded means.
“To think there’s a knight who has defeated all of the noble house’s knights, that’s quite an interesting subject. It would surely make for an entertaining tale if sold to a bard.”
No matter how much you broadcast Ihan’s story, there would be very few who would believe it.
Just think about it.
He doesn’t have a noble lineage by any means, and isn’t it ridiculous that someone who doesn’t even know tactical techniques could be strong enough to fight an aura user?
That’s why there are so few willing to believe it.
As such, rumors about Ihan have been deemed as mere fabrications, and naturally, his reputation has been buried.
If Ihan were desperately trying to earn fame and had aspirations of rising through the ranks, the story might have been different.
For example, he could challenge renowned swordsmanship houses to a duel in front of a crowd and prove himself right there. Just like how a martial artist earns recognition through jousts and sword fights.
However.
‘Why would I do something like that?’
Ihan has no desire to be a spectacle, nor does he crave fame and power. If he has any aspiration, it’s to acquire the strength that guarantees no one can oppress him.
In other words, he feels it’s more efficient to focus on becoming the ‘genuine article’ rather than seeking fame.
Of course, this is merely his personal belief and not something he intends to impose on anyone else.
…Well, that’s why.
“What a ridiculous value system you have.”
“…We call this romantic.”
“Does romance put food on the table?”
“…Hmm.”
For some, it’s an argument they can’t quite accept.
Ihan, who inadvertently became a source of annoyance, forced a smile as Isis frowned discontentedly, scrunching her brow.
* * *
He was aware that he had caused a significant incident.
Perhaps out of annoyance, he felt like he had caused an even bigger disaster.
Still,
“If I hadn’t acted like that, do you think they would’ve taken me lightly? If they thought I was easy prey, it would have become challenging to gauge the targets I needed to observe.”
“……”
“Although I admit I did take it a bit too far, so can we please stop being angry?”
Ihan attempted to smooth over Isis’s mood.
Normally, he wouldn’t go this far, but she is the water lord after all.
…He even brought her a pure 2% ambrosia.
Seeing that, Ihan was putting some effort into appeasing her, but things weren’t easily resolved.
‘Wait, but I’m the one getting slandered, so why is she like this?’
As he pondered, he noticed something odd as she dramatically struck her chest in frustration.
“Do you think I’m angry because of that?”
“…Huh?”
Her tone suddenly chilled.
Ihan was baffled by her unexpected statement.
“The reason I’m angry is twofold. First, it’s not even the count, but that insignificant second son of the count who insulted your foster brother. The second is my disdain for the filthy media that slanders your foster brother without even knowing the full story! They are more base than a plague—!”
“……Hmm.”
Her exceedingly aristocratic way of speaking made it somewhat uncomfortable for someone of commoner descent like Ihan, but with her defending him, it didn’t sound entirely bad.
What’s going on with this lady?
“Hmph, if your person is being slandered, it means you are also being slandered. Allowing this to slide would be a humiliation for the royal family! How could I not be angry?”
“…Oh, so that was it?”
So it isn’t that she’s mad because I’m being insulted; she’s just angry because her prestige is being compromised.
…That makes sense.
Ihan shook his head as if he knew it all along and decided to clarify a couple of things.
“I’ll correct two things you said. First, others don’t know that you and I are close. Second, I’m not your person. Anyway, the one being slandered isn’t you, so can you please stop being angry? I’d hate to be scared by you.”
“…What arrogance.”
“Where else can you find someone as humble as me?”
“……”
If looks could kill, he would have been struck down dozens of times.
Her glare was that intense and deadly.
How long did it go on?
Suddenly, she asked,
“What do you wish to happen to the count?”
“…?”
“If you want, I can have him killed. Or I could strip him of his position. Just say what you desire.”
“…What kind of nonsense is this?”
“It’s not nonsense.”
From her eyes emanated a chilling aura, sharp as ice.
“You are currently fulfilling a ‘request’ from me. That said, it’s unacceptable for issues to arise at this stage. I am very displeased and want this resolved quickly.”
“……”
Since she feels displeased, she wishes for this displeasure to be resolved quickly.
Power, strength, honor, and authority—she occupies a position closest to the pinnacle of all these things.
And right now, if Ihan were to ask for help, everything would fall into place.
It’s as if he’s just earned the right to wield a demon sword.
Therefore,
“Now, drink some water and get a grip. Your eyes are about to pop out.”
“I’m not in the mood for jokes.”
“I’m not in the mood for jokes either. So let’s talk seriously. Just sit tight and don’t disrupt the ecosystem with unnecessary interference.”
“Are you saying I’m a disturbance?”
“Yes.”
“……You little rascal.”
Her words were firm and cutting.
Surprisingly, it was this very firmness that made her anger dissipate.
This insufferable foster brother of hers…!
“You did say you’d leave everything to me, right? Then it’s settled. If I had to sever ties with the Count’s family because of this incident, so be it. If they come at me again, I’ll just fight back, and if I’m overwhelmed, I’ll run away.”
“…You?”
“Of course, while I run, I’ll erase every last trace of my connection to the Count’s family.”
“……”
“Why do you look like that?”
“…How can it not sound absurd when you boldly declare that you’ll erase a royalist family?”
“Oh, was he a royalist? Well, all knight families are aligned with the royalists anyway.”
She remembers meeting the Count yesterday, who was quite adept as a knight.
“…You didn’t even know that?”
“I wasn’t interested. Anyway, I made my position clear enough. So just stay still.”
“…Huh.”
Whenever she converses with him, Isis always feels like she’s the one being disrupted.
Maybe it’s because she took him as a foster brother, or perhaps he has an oddly softening effect on her.
Whatever the reason,
‘He’s quite the amusing character.’
In her monotonic life, he’s become an unexpected source of vitality.
With a smirk, Isis couldn’t help but find herself somewhat pleased with him, even as he evaded the usual conventions.
“—Alright. Since you’ve spoken so impertinently, it seems I will no longer involve myself. I shall not interfere any further.”
However,
“If you consider someone an enemy, be sure to decisively extinguish them. I have never spared an enemy’s life. If you’re to be my foster brother, you should show that level of conviction.”
“We refer to that as the noble path.”
“The path of a king is indeed the noble path.”
“I often think that you are the most dangerous one here.”
“Oh-ho, what a pleasant thing to say.”
Smack.
She playfully struck his head with her fan again, and at a moment,
“Until next time.”
Like snow melting under the sun, Isis vanished in an instant.
The only evidence she had ever been there was the puddle she left behind.
“…This is like some dark magic.”
“I’ll clean it up!”
“…Maid, staying still is helping.”
“Huh?!”
“…Just clean it up.”
“Yes!!”
Convincing a pure-hearted girl is quite the challenging task.
How do I know?
…I didn’t even want to know. But somehow, I found out while hanging around this maid.
“…Doesn’t the old man disappear like that?”
“Haha, why would a mere old man waste the mysteries of magic?”
“Isn’t it that he just doesn’t need magic?”
“Haha.”
…I knew it.
As Ihan cleaned up the water puddle, he shook his head at the sight of the maid almost crumbling to tears and the butler blending into the shadows like he was about to vanish.
He shouldn’t be saying this, but the more he looked at them,
‘If I’m the sap, then those guys are the demon cult. The demon cult.’
It seems the royal family is filled with even more bizarre individuals than myself, who’s been subjected to human experimentation.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.