Six days have passed since the Hero Helmios defeated me. In this world, six days is one week, so that means one week has passed.
I have been going to the Academy as usual since the Academy Martial Arts Tournament. After the tournament, the way the students treated me changed. Some of the students were scared and stopped talking to him, but the number of students who talked to me increased.
The fact that I was able to fight so well against the Hero in a world where power is justice seemed pretty significant.
After the summer vacation, I’ve been asked numerous times to help with dungeon raids.
After every Academy’s Martial Arts Tournament till last year, a ceremony would be held after the exhibition match.
But the ceremony wasn’t held this year.
This ceremony is normally attended by the Royalty and Nobles of the Kingdom to honor the winner of the tournament.
The other 15 participants who reached the Final Round and the invited guests from various countries attended it too.
At this time, some Nobles ask the students if the students were willing to work for them after he/she finishes their service on the battlefield. Last year Kurena was invited for a meal (to discuss such matters) by quite a few Nobles but was firmly rejected.
However, there was no ceremony this year.
This was because I overdid it in my match against Helmios. We fought and destroyed the arena with such force that it was doubtful that the Academy could repair it by next year. Because of this, the Royal Capital was reportedly in turmoil.
It seemed that the guests from various countries were asking for an explanation as to who I was. Why has the Kingdom kept me a secret until now? ‘If someone with a rarer Talent than Master Swordsman is born, it must be reported to every country.’ Or such is stated in the Five Continents Alliance treaty signed by every county.
The guests from each country came as representatives of their countries and on behalf of their heads of state, so they could not be ignored.
The Royal Castle was in confusion as to how to respond and answer, and so the ceremony was delayed.
However, the Kingdom couldn’t afford not to hold the ceremony. Because every country in the world was watching the Kingdom’s movements.
I heard that such chaos was happening in the Royal Castle from Rifol. I wondered how he was getting the information about the Royal Castle.
After learning about the situation at the Royal Castle in general, I replied without much interest, “I see.”
(I have already got the Ring, so I don’t care anymore.)
Today, the long overdue ceremony was to be held at a luxury hotel in the Academy City.
We wouldn’t make it in time if we attended all the classes, so Kurena and I left class early and headed to the hotel.
(This is the same hotel where I met the Crown Prince last year, isn’t it?)
We arrived at the hotel where the Crown Prince invited Viscount Granvelle to for dinner last year. When we arrived, we were led to a waiting room by an employee.
It was a waiting room for the students who participated in the Final Round of the tournament. There were already a number of students there, waiting for the ceremony to begin. For some reason, I was greeted by a student wearing a 3rd year Academy uniform, so I politely greeted him as well.
After a while, the official in charge of the ceremony told us that we were all here, and explained the details of the ceremony. We were told not to look directly at the Crown Prince, not to respond loudly, and other precautions.
We were not allowed to carry any weapons inside either. When we changed into the clothes prepared for us by the official, we were checked to see if we were carrying any concealed weapons. For some reason, two people checked me.
The ceremony was about to begin, and we were told not to be rude as there were guests from many countries attending. Some of the students were intimidated by the explanations and warnings. We were told that rudeness could be punishable.
After some time, the official told us to follow him. We proceeded to the ceremony site with me, the winner, in the lead.
(This is where the Crown Prince held the dinner meeting, right? Did they clear the table and turn it into a hall? )
I opened the sliding door and walked into the ceremony hall.
The Crown Prince was supposed to say a few words first, so the 16 of us walked forward. The Nobles and guests from various countries were standing at both ends of the room. We were not allowed to look around, but there seemed to be more than a 100 people.
“Sure, he’s got dark hair, which is unusual, but up close he’s just a boy, isn’t he?”
“Did he really bring out Dragons to fight for him?”
“Yes. Don’t talk too loudly.”
(That’s right. You need to speak a little quieter. I can hear you.)
The Nobles were talking about me and I could hear them, but I didn’t react.
The Crown Prince was sitting at the far end of the room, opposite of the door we entered from. We, the 16 participants of the Final Round kneeled down in front of him and received his words.
(Oh? Viscount Granvelle is here, too.)
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the Viscount was present as well. The Viscount had said to me that he would be at the ceremony so it was not surprising at all.
“Hey, stop right there! You’re too close!”
As I was thinking about this, I tried to go about five meters in front of the Crown Prince as I was told, when I heard a loud shout from the Crown Prince. I must have gotten too close to the Crown Prince.
The official had told me beforehand that there would be a circular pattern on the carpet five meters away from the Crown Prince, and that I should kneel there.
I stopped and kneeled down. I didn’t argue with him.
“Your Royal Highness, please do not provoke him too much. This place is not well protected.”
“I know.”
(Speak a little quieter, please. I can hear you. But still, well protected?)
In a whisper, a Knight said to the Crown Prince from behind. There were more Knights guarding the Crown Prince than when I met him last year.
(I want to finish this as soon as possible. I want to fight against a Dragon again since my <Summon> is now Level 7.)
Since my <Summon> reached Level 7, my overall status has also increased because of the increased blessings. I can also summon B-rank summons now. I want to fight against a Dragon, the bottom floor boss of the A-class dungeon, again, which came out in January of this year and hasn’t appeared since.
I want to defeat it without relying on Kurena’s Extra skill.
The Crown Prince started his speech so I bowed even deeper.
“The Latash Kingdom is happy to see such strong warriors like you. You shall continue to train hard for the Kingdom.”
“”Yes!””
(Okay, the speech is done. Can I go home now? Unlike the speeches the Principal of my High School used to give in my previous life, this was very short and helpful.)
Unlike in my previous life, the speech was really short.
Then, a silence was created in the hall.
(Hmm? What? What are we waiting for?)
The unfamiliarity of the waiting made me want to leave as soon as possible. At this moment, although I couldn’t see it, the guests and Nobles from various countries were waiting for the Crown Prince to say his next words.
“Well, Allen. That was a good match.”
The Crown Prince said the following words as if he was being rushed by those around him. They were waiting to see how I would react.
“I am very happy, thank you. I was a little overzealous in the presence of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”
(Let’s just say that as an excuse for breaking the arena.)
“Oh, I see. I didn’t know that Viscount Granvelle had such a subordinate. I wish I’d heard about it sooner.”
The Crown Prince blamed the Viscount for the reason why the Kingdom did not know about me.
“But he isn’t my subordinate, Your Royal Highness.”
The Viscount refuted the blame in voice loud enough that everyone could hear him.
“Hmm? He isn’t your subordinate?”
The Crown Prince saw me acting as the Viscount’s manservant last year. So, he thinks that I am Viscount’s subordinate.
An unfamiliar rally of conversation ensued, and the Crown Prince, who wanted to get the conversation over with, looked at the Viscount again.
“Yes. Allen is a guest of the Granvelle Family.”
“Guest? Is it true, Allen?”
The Crown Prince probably couldn’t understand why I acted as Viscount’s manservant last year if I were the Granvelle Family’s guest. So, he asked me to confirm.
“Yes. I’m a guest of the Granvelle Family. I am treated very well by the Viscount. So I do some little work for him in exchange for the title.”
“”Work?””
At this point, the Crown Prince and the Viscount’s voices overlapped. The Viscount couldn’t remember what he asked me to do.
“Work? What kind of work do you do?”
“Yes, I am a guard. The Viscount has been in a bit of a mess these past few years.”
Cough
The Viscount choked loudly. At the last dinner, the Crown Prince had warned Viscount about his manners, but this time, the Crown Prince didn’t seem to blame the Viscount for his behavior.
The word “guard” caused a buzz. There was no one among the Royalty and Nobles of the Kingdom who had not heard of the “Granvelle Incident”.
However, the guests from various countries did not seem to understand the situation. They were either not familiar with the politics of the Kingdom or were confused as to what we were talking about.
Most of the Royalty and Nobles were aware of the Granvelle Family’s strange situation, how the Viscount disposed of the Nobles and Royal Messengers who had been fighting with him, relying on his Mithril mines.
My use of the word “guard” was not limited to that; it was also synonymous with the fact that the Viscount could hire me, his guest, to protect and fight for him and remove obstacles by force.
The Crown Prince gulped loudly.
I went to last year’s dinner invitation as a guard, pretending to be Viscount’s manservant.
Several of the Knights standing behind the Crown Prince took a step back, despite the fact that the Crown Prince was in front of them.
{Third Person POV}
If you ask the Knights who were in danger last year, it was the Crown Prince. And if you ask who would fight Allen, it’d be them. They couldn’t stop shivering in their armor after finding out that they might have died last year.
{Allen POV}
“I see. Protecting the important Noble who supports our country is a big deal.”
“I will continue to protect the Viscount from as many people as I can.”
The Crown Prince felt dizzy for a moment at the words “as many people”, but managed to keep going.
Thus, the ceremony of the Academy Martial Arts Tournament ended with Allen showing the Crown Prince his stance.
The Viscount had hoped to have dinner with Cecile. However, he couldn’t meet Cecile that day because he was surrounded by the Nobles of the Royal Capital and was carried away somewhere.
