Chapter 390

Let's get engaged. We don't have to get married yet, just to give Charlotte a temporary excuse. Not because of fear of Berthus' power, but to prevent Charlotte's aides from changing their minds. It was said with the mindset of putting out a fire quickly. Charlotte looked at me while lying down and bit her lip. "Why... why are you doing this?" Charlotte took my hand to her cheek as if I was someone precious. "I'm not someone who deserves you...". "You're precious." Many emotions and thoughts were swirling in my head as if it would explode, but this was the only thing I could say. "Then it's settled." This is a wrong choice. No one can be happy with this choice, only someone's survival is secured. Is that enough? Is it right to just let Charlotte die in that situation? I was sad because I knew that I made this choice not because I loved Charlotte, but to protect her. * * * I couldn't spend the night at the Spring Palace, so I returned to the Temple again. Of course, it was through the warp gate in the basement of the Spring Palace. It wasn't officially announced, but I decided to get engaged to Charlotte. I don't know how or in what way, but it was a promise between Charlotte and me. In a situation where everything was wrong no matter where I went, it felt like I had chosen the wrong answer as a last resort. Since we decided to get engaged, I couldn't make a decision on this issue alone. I had to create a reason why a mere Temple Royal Class student could be nominated as the imperial consort. Soon. It had to be known that I was the owner of Alspringer. So, I had to meet the most important person. "Engagement... is it?" "Yes, Your Majesty." The situation seemed very awkward. A commoner had requested an engagement to the emperor and said he would engage with the princess. But in reality, the emperor had tried to make this request to me first, but I had spoken first. It's not marriage, it's engagement. There was too much in that one word, "can you handle it?" He didn't ask what I could handle. But that one word "handle" contained too much. It would be a question of whether I could handle Berthus' demand. If it became known that I was the owner of Alspringer, I could attract the attention of the Demon King. And my relationships with other people could become entangled and ruined. For Charlotte, I risked my life the first time, and the second time as well. But this time, I have to risk everything, my life and everything else. It may seem like the same thing, but to me, it meant something completely different. Even Charlotte didn't seem happy about my decision, but rather felt unworthy of my love. "Yes, I can handle it." My feelings were complicated, but my answer was simple. I will protect Charlotte. I will save her completely with my own hands. "Thank you... Rheinhart." My second thank you to the emperor. It was a glorious moment, but I didn't feel particularly glorious. * * * We talked about the engagement with the emperor. I am still just an ordinary student publicly, and if the fact of my engagement with Charlotte is known, it will become a strange scandal that a commoner is engaged to the princess. It should be known that I am the new owner of Alsbreinger. I don't know how to proceed with this in detail, but it had to be done before Charlotte became even more dangerous. For now, she could control her power, so she would be safe from physical attacks. And I didn't know how to explain this to the kids. They wouldn't understand. I didn't even think they could understand. Only the emperor, Charlotte, and I knew about this. If there were more, it would be Berthus, who made this proposal in the first place. Over the weekend, Sabiolin Tana called me and Ellen. "From now on, I will be in charge of your major classes." Our major classes were completely replaced. We both expected it to some extent. Although our major classes had already been replaced by combat training, our real training had to be based on using relics. I even had Alsbreinger. Sabiolin Tana, who was a temporary homeroom teacher, eventually became a temporary teacher. Only to teach the two of us. "When I have other duties, other people will be in charge of your classes." "Yes." "Yes." It felt like Sabiolin Tana was getting further away from Charlotte's protection, but it wasn't clear if it was because of the succession competition. The place where we learned from Sabiolin Tana was not the dormitory training ground. "It's a facility that you can't use casually, but you have permission to use it. We'll register your access to the facility, so you can come here and train separately." Sabiolin Tana took us to the Temple's high-level combat training ground. Such a place. The combat training ground where the same system as the main stadium of the Temple Tournament was applied. If they fought each other with all their power, and it became a situation where they were about to be fatally injured, the recall artifact would be activated. This is a place where only a select few can use due to the high construction and maintenance costs. Royal classes are not held here. Unlike the outdoor main stadium, we entered the training ground wearing safety artifacts. Sabiolin Tana looked at me with a puzzled expression. We summoned our relics and discussed whether to focus on dual swordsmanship or exchange relics as needed. Sabiolin Tana seemed unsure and said it depended on our intentions. The protagonist is unsure if Sabiolin Tana's distance from Charlotte's protection is due to the succession competition. They decide to focus on using only one relic for now and the protagonist reflects on the powers of each relic. They begin training and Ellen struggles to keep up with the protagonist's power. "The true power of Alsvinger is the ability to summon a war god avatar, but Alsvinger does not exist solely for that purpose. Its basic effect is simple: the stronger the enemy I face, the more enemies I have to face, the stronger it makes the owner. It truly has a powerful basic effect befitting its name as the sword of the war god. Of course, as with all such settings, it cannot be invincible. It makes the owner stronger, but that ambiguous statement does not necessarily mean that it will always ensure victory against stronger opponents. It can make you stronger the stronger your enemies are, but where did it say it will make you win? Of course, it can make you win, but there is also a possibility that it won't. It is a very powerful relic, but ultimately an ambiguous condition. Ambiguous settings are convenient for writing. Ellen struggled to keep up with the protagonist's power during training, and they both ended up exhausted and receiving feedback from Sabiolin Tana." Sabiolin Tana's favoritism no longer exists.

It's not that Tana is disappointed in me.

"What should I say to Ellen? If I only say things to Reinhardt..."

"I can't purposely say something to Ellen to make Reinhardt not feel discouraged."

"What should we do?"

"I want to praise her, but I can't show favoritism."

It's only at a mediocre level, and I was ridiculed for having a cheat ability and a self-enhancing relic.

Ellen also complained, but the sharpness of Alsvinger, an unrivaled sword, is not a big advantage unless you are an aura blade user who can cause magical waves from the sword itself like Tana.

Ellen, in a way, crushes me with her physical strength alone, armed with all sorts of cheats.

Still.

"Haa... haa..."

Seeing Ellen breathing heavily with sweat, something...

It felt like I was keeping up with her, no matter how much I relied on my equipment.

And every time I saw Ellen, there was a discomfort in my heart.

A discomfort that could be called guilt.