Leo showed a sword aura.
In a back alley where there weren’t many playthings, such a sword aura wasn’t something you could easily see. I mean, it’s not like mastering swordsmanship to the point of wielding a sword aura is easy.
Even at the academy… if you compare it to the main character’s party, there were certainly more characters wielding swords, but if you think about the total number of students, there were several times more kids handling firearms. They’re much easier to handle, easier to hone skills with, and they’re used often in daily life.
Surrounded by kids sitting in a semicircle around Leo, their jaws dropped as they watched Grace’s unique swordsmanship.
“I want to be like my big brother when I grow up…”
“Are you an idiot? Big brother goes to the academy. We can’t even dream of it.”
“Haha…”
Leo couldn’t affirm or deny what he heard from the children.
Saying they could go to the academy was just planting a delusional hope. Conversely, saying they couldn’t go was like stomping on even the slender thread of hope they had.
Watching these kids talk, Charlotte clasped her hands tightly in front of her chest.
“Hey, over there.”
A girl not far away was talking to Sophia.
“What do you do, big sister? Do you go to the academy like your brother? Then can you do stuff like that too?”
“Hey, that person is an older sister. Sisters don’t do stuff like that. The sisters at the academy just cover their mouths and laugh ‘hohoho.’”
Now, that was some blatant gender discrimination.
In reality, the girls at the academy mostly knew how to protect themselves.
But then again, what the kids were doing outside wasn’t much different from what that girl was saying. The higher the grade, the more students were trying to attract potential future husbands, and once they got into relationships, there were those who laughed like that on dates too.
“Whew.”
But Sophia brushed her hair up with a nonchalant smile even as she saw those kids.
“Well, it seems that you all don’t understand my skills very well.”
Sophia’s confident voice… I feel like I’ve heard that in the original work too.
Well, the situation was completely different. Still, it suited her a bit to speak like that in front of kids.
Maybe it’s because she’s essentially from the cathedral? She might have a slightly softer personality around kids.
As Sophia brandished her sword and murmured a prayer, a sword aura surrounded her blade. Who would have thought she was a holy knight of the cathedral, yet her aura had a different flavor from Leo’s.
“Wow!”
After Leo’s swordsmanship display concluded, the kids turned their heads and exclaimed in awe.
“Haah!”
Sophia laughed as she swung her sword. A sparkling sword aura followed behind like a Milky Way.
Now that was a show.
It was more suitable for presentation than practicality in combat. The more you try to shape the sword aura into a specific form, the harder it becomes to control. Claire recreating a sword-like appearance or Bella’s sword flowing whimsically in her hands both required an extraordinary level of control over the sword aura. Naturally, its practicality would generally fall short.
But for the eyes of the kids, nothing could beat that.
Sophia, hearing the children’s cheers, seemed even more excited and jumped around, showing off some more complex moves before taking a grand bow towards the children.
clap clap clap clap The sound of applause filled the air, and Sophia wore a very proud expression.
…Hmm.
For some reason, that expression looked perfectly suited for the situation.
After Leo and Sophia showcased such a show, the kids’ gazes naturally shifted toward me and Charlotte.
They looked like they were expecting something.
We weren’t even wearing academy uniforms!
“…Huff.”
Charlotte couldn’t withstand the gaze and borrowed a sword from Leo.
It wasn’t the thin sword she usually used, but Charlotte was quite prideful about her sword skills. Even if she couldn’t perfectly showcase her usual swordsmanship, it was enough to get applause from the kids.
The problem was the eyes that gathered on me afterward.
…Hmm.
I did have a gun, but…
Well, it’s not like showing something with a gun was impossible.
I stepped in front of the kids, pulled a coin from my pocket, and flicked it with my finger.
At the same time, I swiftly drew the pistol from my waist and fired bang!
Thud.
The coin that hit the ground didn’t have even a tiny hole in it. Not even a bullet mark on the edge!
The kids’ gazes shifted back to the coin, then up to my face.
Hmph.
I definitely wasn’t planning to hit it in one shot.
Again.
*
“Today was a fun time after a long while.”
As we exited the alley, Charlotte spoke up.
No matter what, it was better to leave before it got completely dark, just like what that guide had said earlier. So we were coming out of the alley while the sun hadn’t completely set yet.
To be honest, my gunshot was quite fatal.
I had shot at the coins floating in the air several times and even managed to make a bullet hole through one, but the issue was that the guide from earlier had turned as white as a ghost and ran towards us after hearing the gunshot.
Well, if a gunshot is heard in a back alley, you’d typically think someone got killed.
Even if the police don’t patrol this far inside, they’d still act if a report came in. Then it would become quite a big deal.
Seeing the man’s pale face as he kept glancing over at the automatic pistol in my hand, I silently handed him a business card.
The card had no name, but it was printed on luxurious paper with the Fanggriffon emblem.
That card was equipped with complex anti-counterfeit patterns that couldn’t be made unless the stamp was forged.
I suggested that if the police conducted an investigation, they should present that card, and the man’s face turned as pale as could be.
I shrugged my shoulders in response and left the alley with my friends.
Leo and Sophia had slightly flustered expressions, but Charlotte seemed satisfied with how I handled the situation.
After living such a ‘royal’ life, was she glad to enjoy such a deviation?
“I’m glad you had fun.”
“…”
When I said that, the smile on Charlotte’s face faded slightly.
I wondered what was up with that, and Charlotte quickly approached me with an apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry. I got excited on my own… I forgot that you wanted to be with Leo.”
“…”
Ah, right. That’s true.
The reason I even tagged along this far was that Charlotte said she would help me.
“It’s not a big deal.”
I said with a serious expression, but Charlotte seemed to have already completely misunderstood.
“I’ll set up a meeting between Leo and you in the near future. It’ll be a secret from Alice, right?”
If I really liked Leo, then of course, I would keep it a secret not just from Alice but from Charlotte, Mia, Rena… no, everyone around me would need to know too.
“We certainly have a huge wall between the Baron and the Crown Princess…”
No, it’s not like that!
The Emperor would probably be happy to arrange a marriage if I told him I liked someone! He was a guy with zero expectations in that department!
He started sowing seeds in the royal palace, trying to create capable kids, and if he found out he had a grandchild, he’d be happy about it, not upset!
And the Fanggriffon royal family wasn’t a bunch of beggars who would be so concerned about bloodlines or political standing. A loyal Baron would probably be enough. Plus, I wasn’t someone destined for the throne either.
But if I said something like that, it would just pour gasoline on Charlotte’s thoughts, so I kept my mouth shut.
“What’s going on?”
Out of nowhere, Leo interrupted us.
“I feel like I heard my name.”
“Uh, it’s nothing!”
Charlotte quickly replied, startled at Leo’s reaction.
“We were just talking about stuff from earlier in the alley. Right, Sylvia?”
That’s true, but…
But if I told Leo the full story, it wouldn’t just burn the house down; it would set the whole mountain on fire, so I decided to hold back for now.
…For some reason, Sophia’s gaze felt piercing.
She wasn’t glaring, but she seemed to have her own solid misconceptions.
No, it was true that I monitored a bit.
But it wasn’t because I liked Leo that I was keeping an eye on him.
It was because of you…
But then again, if I said that, it’d lead to a whole different misunderstanding—
Things were tangled up tight.
From the first day of October, I sensed that my life this month would be anything but smooth.
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