Time flew quickly, and before they knew it, it was the day of the Sabbath Festival.
Bang! Boom!!
The loud fireworks soared into the sky, exploding with a bang and creating colorful clouds. The academy was open to the public, and with the influx of numerous people and merchants, it was more crowded than ever.
And then…
“Ugh…”
Amidst the sea of smiles and laughter, a low groan slipped from Leje’s lips as she watched the festivities.
This was, in a sense, expected. No matter how much she was the duke’s daughter or a future world-class swordmaster, she was, at the core, just a fifteen-year-old girl who loved to have fun.
The fact that she couldn’t enjoy such a festival right in front of her was, one might say, hopelessly cruel.
“This is so annoying! Why does the student council have to work on a day like today?!”
“Just because it’s a festival doesn’t mean incidents won’t happen.”
“But it’s a festival! Everyone should be enjoying it!!”
With a voice dripping with injustice, Leje shouted as she looked at Rudell. Her gaze was full of desire to ditch the student council duties and jump right into the festivities.
“Okay, okay… Calm down. We can still have fun in the afternoon. Just hold on until our shift is over.”
Rudell chuckled at her and spoke. Considering her responsible nature, she probably wasn’t trying to slack off, but as life tends to go, who could really guarantee that?
“Really…?”
“Have you ever seen me lie?”
At his words, Leje squinted her eyes, and Rudell nodded in response.
“Hehe…”
Finally feeling a bit better, Leje let out a low chuckle and began to walk among the crowd.
“Ahh…”
And from where Rudell was watching her, a short sigh escaped his lips. Hours had already passed since the festival began, but there were no signs of the church moving.
It was simple to deduce the reason. The princess had yet to arrive at the academy.
Since their goal was the princess, there was no reason for them to act until she showed up.
As long as the princess didn’t come, that would be great, but there was no doubt it was a futile hope.
Of course, Rudell had prepared thoroughly for this, but…
‘I still feel a bit uneasy…’
No matter how prepared he was, feeling tense was unavoidable.
At that moment…
“Is something wrong? You don’t look good.”
“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing.”
Startled by Leje’s sudden question, Rudell shook his head with a dumbfounded expression.
Leje squinted at him for a moment, but then shrugged and moved on.
Exhaling a sigh of relief, Rudell followed her…
“Wow, there are so many people! It feels like everyone in the Royal Road is here.”
“It’s not that common for normal people to get a glimpse inside the academy, after all.”
The usual process to access the academy was notoriously complicated, akin to the royal entrance procedures. It was only natural that on days when the academy was open to the public without any procedures—like the Sabbath Festival or the Founding Day Festival—there would be tons of people.
“Ooh… What a nice smell…”
As they walked, Leje sniffed the air, catching a whiff of something delightful. The source of the aroma was the street vendors lining the road they patrolled.
From ordinary sandwiches to sweet treats like crepes and ice cream.
Hot dogs, hamburgers, and chicken skewers all emitted mouthwatering scents.
“Just hold on a bit longer. We can enjoy ourselves after our shift.”
“Ugh…”
She had to hold back for the sake of the student council’s image and the academy’s reputation.
With another low groan, Leje reluctantly continued on.
“Hey! Excessive solicitation is against the rules!”
“Throw your trash into the trash can!”
“This is Lagrind’s team. We’ve spotted a lost child.”
So, for a while, the two of them continued their patrol, performing various duties.
“But you know, doesn’t it feel quite calm considering how many people there are?”
“What are you talking about…?”
Having picked up some trash someone had discarded and thrown it in the bin, Rudell remarked, which made Leje respond incredulously.
“No, I mean, usually when there are so many people gathered, something of a commotion happens, right?”
“Don’t spout nonsense. Have you never heard of the saying that words create realities…”
“A thief!!”
“…”
At the shout coming from nearby, Leje’s expression tightened.
“See? I’m right, aren’t I?”
With her reaction, Rudell smirked slightly and shrugged as he turned his gaze in the direction of the sound.
What he saw was a woman lying on the ground and a man fleeing with what looked like her bag.
“Damn that guy’s mouth…”
“Save the reprimanding for later; let’s catch that guy first.”
With an irritated look directed at Leje, Rudell quickly dashed into the crowd.
“This is the student council! Stop right there!”
“Surrender calmly, and you won’t get hurt!”
“Am I nuts?! There’s no way I’m getting caught!”
The man shouted back, zipping past people like a bullet.
His speed and reflexes were unbelievable—he was definitely using magic.
“Situation update. A theft incident is occurring in the shopping district. The suspect is a magic user.”
“Leave this to me.”
As Rudell reported the situation through the communication magical tool in his ear, Leje leapt into the air.
Bounding over the rooftops of nearby stalls, she quickly closed the distance to the man.
“Damn…!!”
“This is your last warning! Surrender and…”
“Forget that!!”
However, ignoring her warning, the man yelled back, not slowing his pace.
“Hah…”
Watching this, a sigh escaped Leje’s lips.
But only for a moment; she used a nearby stall’s roof as a springboard and shouted loudly.
“Rudell!”
“Leave it to me!!”
At her shout, Rudell gathered his magic and recited an incantation.
“Shield!”
At that moment, a blue barrier appeared beneath Leje’s feet, and she launched herself like a cannonball.
“Wha-!?”
The man blurted out in surprise, but it was already too late.
“Haah!!”
“Ughk-!?”
Leje’s diving tackle smashed into the man, who met his Single Scream Before Death as he crashed to the ground.
The force was so strong that he slid several meters along the ground.
“You really should’ve listened when I said it nicely.”
With a short click of her tongue, Leje stood over the man, now seemingly unconscious.
Of course, whether the man could hear that was another matter.
“This is Lagrind’s team. We’ve apprehended the suspect. Please send the arrest team.”
Following behind her, Rudell made the call for support through the communication magical tool…
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Nope, nice assist.”
In response to his question, Leje gave a thumbs-up.
With a faint smile, Rudell picked up the fallen bag from the ground and presented it to the woman who had been following them.
“Here’s your bag. Be careful; there are a lot of thieves out like this during festivals.”
“Th-Thank you! Really, thank you so much!”
As the woman expressed her gratitude to Rudell and Leje, the surrounding crowd began to cheer and applaud.
Leje puffed up her chest as if it was only natural, while Rudell bowed slightly towards the crowd.
In the meantime, the student council’s arrest team arrived on the scene and loaded the unconscious man onto a stretcher.
At this point, it looked less like they were taking away a criminal and more like they were tending to a patient…
Watching the departing figure of the man, Rudell let out a bittersweet chuckle.
Then came the interruption.
[Aaah, this is the student council president. Can Lagrind’s team hear me?]
“Yes, loud and clear. What is it?”
What could possibly be happening now? With that thought, Rudell responded to the radio.
[The princess is set to arrive soon. You two better start preparing.]
‘Finally, here she comes.’
Hearing that, Rudell’s expression hardened, and Leje turned to him with a tense look.
[So, return immediately. Another team will be taking over your patrol.]
“Understood.”
With a beep, the communication cut off, and Rudell let out a short sigh as he looked at Leje.
“Finally, the moment has come.”
“Yeah… It would’ve been better if she didn’t show up at all…”
While someone else might think it incredibly rude, at that moment, Rudell felt the same as her.
If she didn’t come, the possibility of an event happening would be zero.
But now that the moment had arrived, there was no turning back.
All that remained was to hope everything went according to plan and to do their best at what they needed to do.
And so, Rudell began to walk with Leje through the bustling streets filled with people.
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