Chapter 15

■ Chapter 14. Training Ground (3) □ ᓚᘏᗢ

You've probably seen such a meme. A sergeant sitting next to a four-star general, looking extremely tense.

The angle is set, and the point is the expression that doesn't allow even the slightest mistake. Of course, I can laugh it off unless I'm in such a situation.

But what if, what if I were in such a situation? How would I feel?

What if the person sitting next to me is someone who will soon become the emperor, someone with the authority to lock an author in the palace just by looking for them? How would that feel?

“Lina said that you, despite being a student, have quite a broad knowledge. Especially, the news that you made Professor Magna eat humble pie was quite amusing.”

“...Thank you for your kind words.”

“Haha. Don’t be so tense. Even though I am the crown prince, I have no intention of using my authority to harm anyone.”

I couldn't laugh even though Leort spoke with a friendly expression. Not only is he the crown prince, but the person who wants to lock me in the palace is sitting right next to me, so it's natural to feel tense.

‘Why did the seating arrangement have to be like this...’

Currently, I am sitting in the audience seats where I can watch the sparring match well. There is a translucent glass between the audience seats and the training ground, making it easy to watch. Additionally, the glass has defensive magic set on it, allowing for safe viewing.

However, the biggest problem is the seating. If I were sitting one seat away from Leort, it might be different, but Leort is sitting in the middle, with me and Nicole on either side. The pressure is overwhelming.

“Your eye color is similar to Nicole’s, so I thought you might be siblings. By the way, Dave has red hair too, doesn’t he?”

“You know my brother too?”

“Of course. Those who work as assistants at Hailo Academy mostly join high-tier knight orders, so I always keep an eye on them. Oh, by the way, did you know that Dave became a squire?”

“Really?”

It’s the first time I’m hearing this.

I opened my eyes wide and looked at Nicole, who was sitting one seat away. Nicole, who seemed to have forgotten, opened her mouth with a surprised voice.

“Sorry. I forgot. Actually, he was promoted to squire two days after the opening ceremony. I guess I was so busy meeting you that I forgot for a moment.”

“Where did he go?”

“Navy Knights. Do you know them?”

Of course, I nodded.

Just like father, just like son, Dave inherited his father’s talent and trained hard, eventually joining the Navy Knights.

I was proud as a brother, but it was a bit disappointing that he didn’t even say goodbye.

“Then when will he come back?”

“Who knows? Squires only receive training, so I don’t know when he’ll return. But I’ll keep in touch.”

“If you want, I can secretly arrange a leave for you?”

“N-no, that’s fine.”

Leort, sitting in the middle, raised one corner of his mouth and made a joke, to which I awkwardly laughed. I don’t know about others, but his joke didn’t feel like a joke at all.

Clank!

After a brief chat, the sparring match finally began in the training ground. As the sound of metal clashing reached my ears, I shifted my gaze to the training ground. Leort and Nicole did the same.

In the center of the training ground, Nicole’s friend Adelia is fighting with a long sword against another person. The student, presumed to be a student, is launching a fierce attack with a sword, which Adelia is calmly parrying.

I watched the two fight in a dazzling manner, as if they were dancing. It was hard to even follow with my eyes.

‘This is what a real fight looks like.’

I’ve often seen Dave or Nicole spar with their father during school breaks. But it wasn’t as intense as this, and the father would point out the problems one by one.

But now, it seems like the goal is to knock the opponent down, launching attacks with that mindset. The student’s opponent didn’t stop swinging the sword. Of course, Adelia parried each and every one and counterattacked.

“Who is the student sparring with Adelia?”

“His name is Ian, and he has excellent records in swordsmanship.”

“Hmm.”

While Nicole and Leort were talking, I focused on the sparring. As the saying goes, a hundred hears are not worth one see. When referencing battle scenes, I’ve received advice from my father, but there’s a difference between seeing it with your own eyes and just hearing about it.

Since the story of Zeon is about a protagonist growing into a world-renowned hero, it involves numerous battles. To me, it’s a fantasy, but to the people of this world, it’s ‘reality.’ A world where all sorts of bizarre things can happen without any surprise.

When I described abilities that seemed impossible by my standards, my father praised them as very realistic, which was a bit surprising.

‘Since even impossible abilities are acceptable...’

Just by saying that such and such abilities are used through mana, everything is acceptable. In this world, people would think it’s impossible for a heavy iron block to float in the sea or for a carriage to move without