CH 131

Characters in this chapter:

Sapphiras Perfectio, 2nd son of the Earl of Aldridge

Percival Belisario, 3rd son of Margrave of Vanderwall on the Eastern Frontier, Knight of the Sun

Aurora Steinfeld, daughter of the Duke of Bloomfield

Clawis Omnibus Worstitters/Clawis Garcia, Crown Prince of Worstitters

Rivera Hernández, Clawis’ aide/escort

Gideon Harvard, 2nd son of the Marquess of Wagner (redhead)

Dylan, 4th year student, Percival’s paternal cousin and childhood friend

“By the way, I heard you two got engaged. That’s great, congratulations.”

“Th-Thank you.”

Clawis congratulates us on our engagement. We received a lot of congratulatory words from our classmates, but no matter how many times it was said, I still felt embarrassed. In that aspect, Percival is as normal as ever. The Knight of the Sun is unwavering.

“I knew you two would eventually come to that……but you’ve got a good pair1番 (ban): it translates to number/(one’s) turn/watch, guard, lookout/rank, position/bout, match (in sumo)/pieces (in a collection) but in BL it refers to one’s lifelong partner. If you add い behind it to form 番い (tsugai), it means pair (esp. of mated animals) or a couple. In BL, I believe it is most commonly used in Omegaverse. Up till now, author has been using 伴侶 (hanryo): companion/partner/spouse which I have been translating as partner and this is the first time 番 has appeared, I’ll be translating it as ‘pair’. in each other. Wouldn’t you agree, Rivera?”

“Yes, really. I was wondering when you’d pair up.”

Eh, is that so? You’ve been looking at us in that way. No wonder Nigel and Flavia were coming at us. Even if I didn’t have the intention, to them, I was a romantic rival.

Even so, it’s not good to think of mean things that violate the dignity of others, or to cause trouble to those around you with unreasonable selfishness.

“I too would love to meet a good pair.”

Clawis looks at us like he’s looking at something dazzling.

“Don’t worry, Clawis will find a wonderful match, I guarantee it!”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’ll have to work hard so as to not be ashamed when my pair shows up one day.”

It’s not going to be easy for Clawis to find a match as a member of the royal family, much less as the crown prince. But Clawis is a really nice guy. He will surely find a partner who understands and supports him as he takes on the responsibility of carrying the country on his back in the future.

However, I never thought the day would come when I would be having this conversation with a friend. Engagement or companionship. I never thought I would have anything to do with such things in my previous life or in this life. I thought to myself that I don’t know what’s going to happen in my life, and when I glanced at the person next to me, Percival’s eyes met mine perfectly and his expression softened.

“!”

Uwah, again! My face, which had been accidentally hit by that soft smile, suddenly flushed.

What’s wrong, calm down, me! I’m not a maiden who just discovered love. It’s always the case that you’re dazzled by the dazzling smile of a Knight of the Sun, isn’t it?

…… Yeah. It’s always been like that, but lately it’s been different. I can’t help but feel out of sorts.

“You’re innocent,”

With warm glances from Clawis and Rivera, I felt the unbearable feeling I had become accustomed to these days, and the redhead burst into the cafeteria with a momentum as if there had been some kind of emergency. He came straight to us, but his face was like an angry ogre, breathing on my shoulder.

Oi, oi, that doesn’t sound calm. What on earth happened? Although he didn’t have a sword, he looked like he was about to draw his sword, and Rivera quickly stood up to protect Clawis. The redhead, as if the two of them were out of sight, pointed his index finger at Percival sharply and with great vigour.

“Y-y-y……!”

“Y?”

“Yo-, yo, yo-2this is super funny, in the raws he says 「お、お、おっ……！」「お？」「おっ、おっ、おっ……」, which is just o, o, o, because what he wants to say is おめ (ome)

…….”

Percival and I looked at each other and tilted our heads at the redhead blushed and only said y. Was it some kind of strange curse?

“Y, you,……damn it! I can’t bless you! Oi, Belisario! You’ll have to fight me in the swordsmanship tournament after all! I’ll see if you’re a man worthy of Sapphiras!”

“Ha?”

It was me, not Percival, who raised an exasperated voice. Why did he suddenly come here? I don’t understand the meaning of this man at all. As expected, isn’t it a curse?

I grabbed the redhead’s index finger that was pointing at Percival and bent it to the side where it’s not supposed to bend.

“Ouch!”

Redhead screams and crouches on the floor. What, you’re overreacting. I went easy on him. Even a guy like this aspires to become a knight. The hand that grips the sword is important.

“You’re really loud, you know that? This is not the place to make a fuss. Percival clearly said he wouldn’t take part in the swordsmanship tournament. And it’s not up to you to decide who is suitable or unsuitable for me.

“Bu-but, I didn’t give up!”

“……What is this man talking about?”　

Rivera looked at the red-haired man, who stood up vigorously and shouted, and gave him a dumbfounded look. I really wonder what he’s talking about.

By the way, the swordsmanship tournament is the last event of the school year. From what I’ve heard, it’s a pretty exciting event every year. If you are recognised for your swordsmanship skills here, you may even receive a direct offer from the Order of Knights, so those who are good with their swords will all take part in this tournament.

“By the way, Dylan-san is going to participate, right?”

“Aah, he’s very excited about it because it will be his last appearance.”

If Dylan-san is going to compete, then it’s unlikely that the redhead will win. This year, too, the winner will surely be Dylan-san.

And it was as I expected.

The winner of the swordsmanship competition was, after all, Dylan-san. It seems that this is the first student since the founding of the academy who has maintained the winning position for four years while in school. By the way, redhead also came close, but was unable to compete with Dylan-san. He was very depressed, but I told him to do his best for next year.

Anyway, the excitement of the swordsmanship tournament is over, and I’m finally in my second year.

***

“Eh, an evening party?”

“Yes, that’s right. Liliana, give the two of them the invitation.”

Prompted by Aurora, Liliana held out a tray in front of us with a dazzling envelope with the crest of the sun and lion shining in gold. It was jointly addressed to Percival and myself.

From the moment we were invited to the after-school salon, I somehow knew it wouldn’t be just another tea party. It was an invitation to an evening party hosted by His Majesty.

“This evening party is a party inviting guests from the Kingdom of Worstitters. From now on, our countries will be talking in earnest about an alliance. However, there are still some members of the nobility who have discriminatory views towards beastmen, aren’t there? Therefore, His Majesty hopes that we can deepen our understanding of each other a little before forming an alliance. Since Sapphiras-sama and Percival-sama are schoolmates of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Clawis, we would like you to attend this evening party.

“I see. I think it’s a very good idea to deepen our understanding of each other, but is it right for someone like me to attend such a grand evening party, even though we’re schoolmates?”

“Yes, of course. Sapphiras is the hero in the shadows who put an end to Worstitter’s civil war. Rather, if you two were not present, the guests of the Worstitters would be wondering why you are not there.”

I’m no hero or anything. I just gave a bit of help to Clawis. Besides, I’m not good at evening parties with guests from foreign countries, because it’s too formal. I’ve been to one in my previous life, but it just made my shoulders stiff. If I could, I would have refused. It takes a lot of courage to refuse an evening party hosted by His Majesty.

“……And actually, there is another reason why we want to invite you.”

Her clear amethyst eyes glittered. I see, is that the real purpose?

“Among the nobles who opposes the alliance, there is a movement to unseat the Crown Prince and promote the Second Prince.”

An unexpected person appeared. I completely forgot about him.

“Errr, that foolish prince……mnn, excuse me. Are you saying to make the Second Prince the Crown Prince? Are these people insane?”

“Simple and easy to control. I guess it makes him a perfect puppet.”

I more or less feel the same, but Percival is pretty harsh. But it’s a fact, so I can’t deny it.

I understand why Aurora bothered to call us to the salon. Even though he’s the Second Prince who doesn’t live in the royal capital, it would be disrespectful if someone accidentally overheard such a conversation.

“There is a possibility that the opposition is plotting something at this evening party. Of course, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not just sitting idly by. However, if you ask me if the moves we have made are perfect, I have no choice but to say no. I know it’s not very fair to talk like this, but I believe that if anything should happen, the two of you are the ones who can protect Clawis-sama.”