Chapter 68

Chapter : 68

It was extremely obvious, but there were no attacks on the journey.

There were only a few people who even knew about the Crown Prince’s journey this time, and even if someone did know, who could possibly harm him?

Even setting aside the ten Sword Expert-level knights guarding him, Kartea was strong.

Strong enough to face ten knights alone.

So unless someone brought a Sword Master, it was impossible to block Kartea’s path.

And we knew that well too, which was perhaps why the atmosphere was light.

“Oh... you went to the North and hunted monsters with Duke Agares? Then does that not mean you witnessed his skill? Is he as brave as the rumors say? Who do you think would win if he and I fought?”

In terms of the setting, it would be Agares. Agares did not die, so no matter who his opponent was, he had no choice but to win.

“Would it not be Your Highness? Even if Grand Duke Agares is outstanding, he likely cannot compare to Your Highness.”

“Haha. You and Duke Agares seem rather close. Would it be all right if I told him that?”

“I am sorry.... Please let me off just this once.”

“Why? It is the truth, so what is there to be troubled about?”

Kartea’s inexplicable hostility toward me had thinned.

It was probably because of the conversation we had a few days ago. My position had now shifted from competitor to something vaguely resembling a mother-in-law. Kartea spoke with me while mixing in jokes.

“You saw a performance with that mage? Where? Ah... if it was that theater troupe, I have heard its name before.”

“Yes....”

We kept moving and moving.

For some reason, Kartea drove his horse without rest. I and the other knights were one thing, but from the attendants’ perspective, following along must have been hell, and that became even more true the closer we drew to the Nest.

A Dragon’s Nest was a Dragon’s home. Since it was mainly used as a sleeping place, its size alone was vast. Everyone tossed and turned a little while sleeping, and a Dragon was no different. It rolled its body to the side, and swung its tail as though stretching, so the size of its Nest grew accordingly.

On top of that, if it heard noise while sleeping, it would grate on its nerves and prevent it from sleeping deeply, so it found a quiet place and settled somewhere remote.

The closer we came to the Nest, the rarer convenient facilities became, so the frequency with which we pitched tents and slept outdoors increased.

Still, thanks to pushing through such a demanding schedule, I was satisfied that we arrived near the Nest faster than expected. Since we reached the Nest in one week, I could feel how fast we had traveled.

“From here onward, Your Highness must go alone.”

“I know. Then I will go and return.”

At Jilliot’s words, Kartea got off his horse, took the liquor, and climbed the mountain.

At the top of that mountain stood the Nest of the Dragon, the Founding Emperor of the Ruin Empire. Once Kartea poured the liquor there and finished his prayer, the schedule would be over.

Kartea moved one step at a time and climbed the mountain. Watching him, Jilliot spoke.

“It will take His Highness the Crown Prince a full half-day to finish his work. It seems there is enough time, so may I exchange a few moves with you?”

It seemed to be the matter he had mentioned on the first day of the journey. I did not want to draw my sword and work up a sweat for no reason, so I spoke honestly.

“I am tired from the journey.... I am sorry.”

“No, well. I understand. I was being selfish. Then I will ask again another time.”

Jilliot scratched his head.

---

On the way back after finishing the rites, I rode in a carriage.

Kartea and the escort knights guarding him said they would return to the Imperial Court and deliver a report. Since their destination differed from mine, as I was going to the Academy, I decided to part ways with them. This time, even though I had not done anything special, things had gone well as I hoped.

“When do you intend to return to the Academy?”

“Considering matters at the Imperial Court, it should be in about two weeks. When that time comes, how about sharing a meal together? I enjoyed having you accompany me on this ritual journey. Thank you.”

“Not at all. I enjoyed it as well.”

“Then I will see you then.”

“Yes.”

After offering Kartea my farewell, I found the carriage and climbed inside.

There were three things I had gained from this journey in total.

First was an excuse for having reached Sword Expert.

A fair amount of time had passed during the journey away and back. Considering my growth up to now, it would not be strange if I had gained some sort of insight during that period.

If I explained it well to Katarina, even if she found it suspicious, she would not be able to question me too deeply.

Next was my relationship with Kartea.

I had been disliked by a powerful man who would soon ascend to the throne of Emperor, ruler of the Empire, and who was a monster capable of facing an entire knight order alone. Even though it had been entirely untrue, he had regarded me as a competitor and shot sharp looks at me, but that had eased somewhat.

Last was the fact that the festival I had planned with time and money had not collapsed meaninglessly.

It was a festival meant to hook Kartea, so what use would it be if he was absent? Fortunately, he would attend the festival.

Sitting in the carriage seat, I closed my eyes. I slept well without even dreaming. As expected, a carriage suited me better than riding a horse.

---

After returning to the Academy, I rested for one day. I relieved the fatigue that had barely accumulated in my body and steeled myself. With my heart pounding anxiously, I went to find Katarina.

“I have returned. Have you been well?”

Katarina pointed at me with her index finger.

“Hey. You...!”

The moment Katarina saw me, she realized the change. She clenched both fists tightly and walked toward me. Afraid that her fists might come before her words, I spoke urgently.

“I met many knights during the journey and compared my skill against theirs. Until now, I had only sparred with you, Master, so when I met knights with skill similar to mine and crossed swords with them, I realized something.”

“Realized? What?”

“Master, you know this too, do you not? Insight is not something one can smoothly explain in words. It was just bam! Something struck me, and as I dug into it, when I opened my eyes, I had reached Expert.”

“You gained insight in less than a month?”

“That insight does not necessarily have to be connected only to swordsmanship, does it? As time passed, it seemed that part of the mana gathered in my Mana Hole, the mana I had not digested, spread out.”

“What does that mean?”

“As you know, Master, even though I have had a lot of mana since birth, I did not train diligently from childhood. So after I grew older, I gathered mana while also consuming Elixirs.”

“So what you mean is that you did not directly circulate mana and widen your meridians? Are you certain?”

I nodded with all my might.

While accompanying that knight order, I had gathered each knight’s account of their experience when they reached Expert.

It was impossible for Katarina, who had reached Expert early through a slightly different path from others, to find a flaw in my words.

I felt guilty toward her deep down, but when I could break through the wall immediately, hesitating did not suit my temperament.

“Hoo... Fine. I believe you would not lie about this. I will trust you. Congratulations.”

“Thank you. It is all thanks to your teaching, Master.”

“I know. It is thanks to me. Then let us spar once more. We need to check how much you have changed.”

“Understood. I will prepare.”

Katarina and I sparred briefly. We competed with Wooden Swords rather than even Training Swords, yet once again, I felt the wall that was Katarina’s swordsmanship.

After reaching Expert, my sense of energy brightened, and I became able to produce great force in a shorter time. Thanks to that, I could see it.

Katarina reacted to my sword strikes, but she deliberately slowed her body to match my level. It was the same with both attack and defense. I had learned swordsmanship from her, and by crossing swords with her like this, I learned and felt many things.

I showed Katarina something I could not have shown before.

I erased the gap between Force Releases and shortened the time between technique and technique. It was something possible because I had widened my meridians by reaching Expert. Katarina smiled, then held her breath for an instant. She struck my Wooden Sword with a boom.

The Wooden Swords Katarina and I held broke, and the sparring match ended.

“I did not teach you that, but you did well.”

“I got a feel for it while doing it. When I thought about what changed the most after reaching Expert, this was it.”

“Well done. But after the swords collide....”

---

This festival would serve as the final punctuation mark among the many events we had prepared to hook the Crown Prince, Kartea.

It was at the level where all we had to do was scoop up a fish we had already caught, so it was simple. Yet if anything went even slightly wrong, it would become something to weep over for a long time.

“How is it? Is there anything that needs to be corrected?”

“It is perfect.”

Today was the festival day’s rehearsal, the final inspection. Navier wore the dress she had obtained, had her makeup done by the makeup artist, and showed me her face.

Even before anything was painted on her face, her appearance was that of a leading actress, but when a masterpiece by a skilled painter was added on top of it with countless tools, it was close to art.

“I think so too. I was startled when I looked in the mirror, you know? I knew she was skilled, but still.”

“Yes.”

Kartea was an acknowledged face-lover, both by himself and by others.

Even in the original, the other male leads each had their own stories for why they fell for Bishot, but Kartea’s reason had been purely Bishot’s face.

“His Highness the Crown Prince will have no choice but to fall for you.”

“Hearing you say that gives me confidence too.”

Even looking away from her face, it was the same. Her clothes and accessories clearly showed that a great deal of effort had gone into them.

“Do you remember how your movements are supposed to go?”

“Yes. Precisely. I remember all the cases we divided according to His Highness the Crown Prince’s mood and how long you have met him. There were seven, correct?”

“Correct. Exactly.”

Aside from that, we had prepared lines and the like as well. For example, she would show a common touch by choosing the same location as the skewer shop where they had eaten before and saying she wanted to eat there again.

“I wish the festival day would come quickly.”