Chapter 20

Standing at the entrance of the classroom, Xiaoming took a deep breath and firmly held the letter containing the secret that his mother had given him.

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

The shocking result of utterly destroying Japan's best equipment caused a stir throughout the country. However, Olivia, the main party involved in this major incident, knew that Rin Shinazaki was not an easy opponent as people said. 'The reason I won back then was due to the advantage in compatibility. It was nothing more and nothing less.' For Olivia, who possessed the Gift of Flame and the White Flame Sword Style, Rin Shinazaki, who owned the Gift of Ice, had to fight at a disadvantage from the start due to the incompatibility. On the contrary, the fact that she managed to hold her ground against such a disadvantage proved that her skills were by no means inferior to Olivia's. Then, Deok-sung Kim made a sparring appointment with Shinazaki? What for? Olivia's mind was in turmoil. "Miss, I cannot accept the skills of the master of the master who defeated you. Prove your skills to me as well... Miss Shinazaki gave that as her reason. The master of the master accepted her proposal." Bella calmly recited the reason. "It's because of you." Olivia's blue eyes wavered. "B-because of me?" "After the sparring on the first day of school, malicious rumors have been spreading within the academy. That the princess's skills are a bubble, that perhaps Shinazaki Rin was actually the stronger one, and even lower rumors that can't be repeated..." Olivia's blue eyes grew heavy. She knew that rumors were circulating. Hadn't she just had a confrontation in the classroom due to those rumors? "It seems the master of the master couldn't tolerate such baseless rumors." "She accepted Shinazaki's challenge to dispel the ridiculous rumors about me... That's what it means." "Yes." Olivia bowed her head at Bella's words. "So that's why." She muttered in a low voice. Now all the pieces fit together. The reason for his indifference and his sudden proposal to teach her the White Flame Sword Style now made sense. 'To increase his chances against Shinazaki Rin, who possesses the Gift of Ice, he needed the White Flame Sword Style.' Despite his appearance, which seemed to lack manners and decorum, Olivia knew that he was the only student in the academy who understood and carried the responsibility of a hero, aside from herself. That's why he didn't mention anything to her. He believed that the responsibility for this situation lay entirely with her. If Kim Deok-sung heard this, he would probably say it was nonsense, but Olivia sincerely believed it. That's why she was even more angry. "Now that I know the reason, it's even more absurd! Why did that idiot cause such a major incident?! Why does he think I, the princess of France, am someone he can just ignore and not mention anything to my personal maid?!" Olivia's blue eyes trembled. "Such a thing..." "It's because of you." "W-what do you mean, because of me?!" "After the sparring on the first day of school, malicious rumors have been spreading within the academy. That the princess's skills are a bubble, that perhaps Shinazaki Rin was actually the stronger one, and even lower rumors that can't be repeated..." Olivia's blue eyes grew heavy. She knew that rumors were circulating. Hadn't she just had a confrontation in the classroom due to those rumors? "It seems the master of the master couldn't tolerate such baseless rumors." "She accepted Shinazaki's challenge to dispel the ridiculous rumors about me... That's what it means." "Yes." Olivia bowed her head at Bella's words. "So that's why." She muttered in a low voice. Now all the pieces fit together. The reason for his indifference and his sudden proposal to teach her the White Flame Sword Style now made sense. 'To increase his chances against Shinazaki Rin, who possesses the Gift of Ice, he needed the White Flame Sword Style.' Despite his appearance, which seemed to lack manners and decorum, Olivia knew that he was the only student in the academy who understood and carried the responsibility of a hero, aside from herself. That's why he didn't mention anything to her. He believed that the responsibility for this situation lay entirely with her. If Kim Deok-sung heard this, he would probably say it was nonsense, but Olivia sincerely believed it. That's why she was even more angry. "Now that I know the reason, it's even more absurd! Why did that idiot cause such a major incident?! Why does he think I, the princess of France, am someone he can just ignore and not mention anything to my personal maid?!" Olivia grumbled, and Bella smiled faintly. "Idiot, moron, the most useless man in the universe..." Olivia pouted, pouring out insults towards Kim Deok-sung. Anyway, this duel was caused by her, the source of the rumors. As the heir to the Black Prince, she had to take responsibility somehow. "Really... In the end, I have no choice but to teach it to him." Olivia muttered in a low voice. The royal secret technique cannot be taught to outsiders, but this was an unavoidable situation. Olivia rationalized it to herself and picked up her phone. "But it won't be for free." At that moment, Bella whispered quietly in her ear. "Two days after the duel, there will be a cherry blossom festival at Inokashira Park." "What, what does that mean?" "Why don't you go out with the master of the master? The cherry blossom festival in Japan is world-famous, after all." "W-why should I go out with that idiot?!" Olivia grumbled and picked up her phone. The words "Inokashira Park" and "cherry blossom festival" kept echoing in her ears. A flower viewing. It wouldn't be bad to see it once. According to Bella, this might be a real opportunity for a day out. It wouldn't be for free, but if this was the price... "Well, it's not bad." Olivia muttered and touched the screen of her phone to send a message to Kim Deok-sung. * After finishing the conversation with Nishizawa Eri and walking back to the dormitory in the night breeze, my phone rang in my pocket. What is it? I took out my phone and checked the notification. [I've decided.] A message from Olivia. It seems the tsundere slave No. 1 has finally made up her mind. The content is predictable, but I decided to play along out of courtesy. [What?] [Are you asking because you don't know? The White Flame Sword Style! I've decided to teach it to you with great resolve!] [In the history of the Bonaparte royal family, this is the first time a secret skill has been taught to an outsider. Consider it an honor!] The read receipt disappeared at the speed of light, and a reply came back. Despite the unnecessary embellishments, it was the expected response. It was a natural outcome, but I was satisfied. [Good job.] [Your praise doesn't make me happy at all?!] [And even though I've decided, I have no intention of teaching it to you for free!] [What do you want?] [That's...] [I'll tell you after the interdimensional creature resistance training simulation tomorrow.] I'm not really curious. I turned off the chat room notifications and put my phone on silent. Tomorrow is the day of the interdimensional creature resistance training simulation. I need to get a good night's sleep to prepare for the class and conserve my energy. I put my phone, which I had set to silent, in my pocket and entered the dormitory entrance in front of me. 'He's really annoying.' The curriculum of Shuoh Hero Academy can be divided into two major categories. The theoretical classes, which make your head spin and your heart boil with anger, such as 'Interdimensional Creature Ecology,' 'Gate Analysis,' and 'Introduction to Super Weapons.' And the practical classes, where you get to roll around with your body. It can be said that this is a faithful implementation of the clichés of academy stories. The interdimensional creature resistance training simulation, which makes you sigh just by hearing its name, is of course a practical class. In the second training ground equipped with an interdimensional creature hologram summoning device, the pink-haired instructor, Mayuzumi Mai, said, "Today is the day for the interdimensional creature resistance training simulation!" The students murmured at her words. I looked around. A platinum-blonde beauty, Olivia, was sitting there. "Ah, you surprised me. Why are you here?" I was genuinely surprised. I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn't notice when she sat down next to me. "T-that's what I should be asking! Why are you sitting next to me?!" Olivia stammered and turned her head with a huff. She's definitely still mad about the ignored message from yesterday. Sigh. I sighed. I really need a good night's sleep. "I didn't rent this place. Sit wherever you want." I leaned back in the chair, which was made of high-quality material befitting the top-tier facilities of a hero academy. But, in a school like this, why do they have a large dormitory bath that is co-ed and has a set time? Are these people completely crazy? Olivia grumbled next to me. "Again with that...! Even though I, the great me, honorably spoke to you first! You are truly hopeless!" She's definitely still mad about the ignored message from yesterday. I don't need to engage with her. It would just give me a headache. Still, Olivia is better than Nishizawa Eri. I ignored Olivia's grumbling and watched Ishihara's practice. [Sssss, sss, sssss.] The Bronze Snake, with its heavy body, lunged at Ishihara. As with this type of monster, the Bronze Snake's weak points are its eyes and soft mouth. Since Ishihara is a gunner, not a swordsman, he has no other place to aim. He held a pistol, the Magnum Revolver, and grinned. [Oh, quite a troublesome opponent, huh?] Damn. Look at that golden boy's attitude. Really. The soba I ate this morning at the school cafeteria might come back up. Does this kid really think he looks cool? When I thought that, "Mr. Ishihara! Amazing!" "You're so cool today too, Mr. Ishihara!" Cheers erupted from the audience. The female students blushed and waved their hands. He's really going to get a fan club. 'I didn't expect them to faithfully implement the fan club setting.' In the original story, Ishihara, unlike the golden boy Kim Deok-sung, is a well-known playboy with a handsome face who has a group of female fans. Seeing this in reality is bizarre. This is the world of light novels, where they always exceed your imagination. [Still, I can't let a mere snake brat mock Mr. Ishihara.] The next line made me want to vomit. Click. He loaded magical bullets into the Magnum Revolver. Bang! The golden magical bullets hit the Bronze Snake's eyes and open mouth accurately with the sound of gunfire. [Kiiiiiiiiiiik!] The Bronze Snake, hit by the magical bullets, let out a scream. There's no point in watching any further. He'll probably use the revolver to shoot into the open mouth and knock it down. Bang, bang, bang! Ishihara's interdimensional creature resistance training simulation went exactly as I expected. It was so boring that I yawned. "What a vulgar man. I don't like him." Olivia's one-liner reached my ears. "Why the sharp criticism?" "Sh-shut up!! Idiot, moron!" Olivia puffed her cheeks and avoided eye contact again. Ah, my stomach is boiling. I really need to shut up. I turned my gaze back to the training ground. Boom. The Bronze Snake fell with a loud noise and disappeared in a blue light, as befitting a hologram, not a real interdimensional creature. Ishihara deactivated his battle mode and waved with his fingers, smiling. "Squeal!!" The audience's reaction is now familiar. 'Well, guns do have their merits.' Honestly, I'm a bit envious. It's definitely cleaner and more modern to stand far away and shoot with a gun rather than struggle with a sword like a barbarian. Guns are also a traditional main weapon for the protagonist in academy stories. 'If I were a character who suited guns better than swords, it would be great.' Unfortunately, Kim Deok-sung's talent lies in swords, not guns.