Chapter 82

Part 7: I'm a Knight Student from Today (2)

Riding alone in the carriage back to the academy, I took out the dagger and examined it. When we parted at the palace, the princess reluctantly returned the dagger, seemingly reluctant to part with it. Though the atmosphere suggested she might have let me keep it, I had no intention of giving it up. 'And the count even coveted it.' I knew it wasn't an ordinary item because it had given me abilities, but I didn't expect it to have an effect on the princess. "But, I have no connection to the count's family, so it's not hereditary, right?" I examined the dagger. The new emblem engraved on it still emitted a sharp light as before. "Come to think of it, it spoke to me in my head." I shook my head quickly, remembering the words I had heard at that time. Fortunately, it disappeared from my mind. It had many uses, but it was also a mysterious object. "There's really so much I don't know." A dagger that fixes specific abilities, a group that forcibly awakens commoners, and a necklace that amplifies mana and explodes. The more time passed, the more unknowns seemed to increase. However, fortunately, I had a lot of time that others didn't know about. I believed that if I just held on, I could unravel all these secrets. I put the dagger back in my pocket and leaned back in the chair. The carriage quickly headed towards the academy. * * * The next day, chaos erupted again at the academy. It was because someone who shouldn't be in the knight major class had come. "Everyone knows who it is, but please introduce yourself." At Katarina's words, she stepped forward and greeted everyone. "Hello, I'm Aisha de Carlos. I'll be joining the knight classes from today. Please take care of me." Princess Aisha announced in a determined voice to the gathered students. "What's going on?" "Yeah, why is the princess here in the knight major? Is she auditing?" "It says from today. She must have changed her major." "That's ridiculous. Why would the princess..." "Maybe there was a problem at the awakening ceremony yesterday?" "Oh, yesterday was the awakening ceremony." "Right. I heard that the princess didn't receive the royal family's ability at the ceremony." "Really?" The students' whispers pierced my ears. A sigh escaped me. Those whispers would undoubtedly spread throughout the academy by tomorrow and the entire capital the day after. Despite seeing the students whispering, the princess didn't look disappointed. After her introduction, she walked to her seat, which was right behind me. The students sneakily glanced at her, and I asked her in a low voice, "Will you be okay?" "Yes, I'll be fine." The young girl answered in a resolute voice. She was only 10 years old, yet she seemed like an adult. As the queen said, the royal family truly leads a difficult life. "Now, as you all know, the field training is almost over. After that, the knight and successor ability majors will have practical classes. You all know how important the grades are, right? Since these are dangerous classes, you need to prepare properly from now on." Professor Katarina told the students. Her voice was low, but with mana, it sounded as if she was speaking right next to us. More importantly, the real academy classes were just around the corner. Other grades had already started, but we seemed to be delayed due to the princess's awakening ceremony. "So, today we'll have one-on-one sparring. Pair up with another student." Today, the knights weren't acting as assistants. After all, they were high-level personnel. Even at the royal academy, it would be difficult to use such personnel as class assistants every time. The students' expressions varied at the mention of sparring. "Ah, I don't like sparring." "But other things are fine? Actually, sparring might be better." "Is that so? Well, it might be better than infinite running until the end of class." Infinite running, mana movement, strength training, and more. The knight classes involved various training exercises to create knights. I didn't find them particularly difficult since I had already done them in my territory, but it seemed other students did. "But, Professor Katarina has a keen eye. It's hard to just go through the motions." "Just choose someone easy to beat." "Is that so? Then I'll spar with you." "Me? Sure. I'll help you get your act together." The students started choosing their sparring partners. Someone also approached me. 'Her name... was Bria, right?' She was an ordinary-looking girl. She was a genius in the knight major, on par with the second son of the Piruna Count, who was showing off his skills. She was recognized as the second strongest student after me, who was openly excluded from the rankings. Despite being a noble, she approached me for sparring every time, unlike other students. Since I had no one else to spar with, I sparred with her. As a result, she got to know my skills without the dagger. That might be why she wanted to spar more. However, today, there was a prior claim. "I've already applied to spar with Prince Alex." "Oh... Princess." She immediately stepped back. Regardless of her age, her lack of royal ability, or her attendance in the knight major, she was still the princess of this country. She had no choice but to step back. I slightly bowed my head and showed a regretful expression. She had approached me, a mere illegitimate son, and I didn't want to lose a potential ally due to the princess. She was a plain-looking girl from a noble family no one had heard of, not a successor, but with excellent knight skills. If I could win her over, she might become a valuable ally or even a lover in the future. Hmm, maybe even a marriage possibility. For a moment, a life spent with her flashed through my mind. Hmm, is this what they call 'hand-holding to divorce' from my past life? It was a silly thought. Marriage? I was only 15. The marriageable age for noble children here is in their late teens to early twenties, but there was still plenty of time. Honestly, I didn't even know if I could get married. I erased the pointless thoughts from my mind and started sparring with the princess. The faint mana shimmering on her sword was unnoticed by others. I raised my iron sword, which had no edge, and pointed it at her. "Let's start." "Yes!" Although her ability was still weak, I knew my sword would be sliced if it touched that shimmering aura. However, she was just a 10-year-old girl who hadn't properly learned swordsmanship and lacked physical training. Of course, she had awakened and gained the royal family's ability, giving her strength far beyond a normal person, but I could easily knock her down without using a sword. She swung her sword and charged at me, and I subtly moved, tripping her foot. "Ahh!" With a scream, the princess fell to the ground, and everyone's eyes turned to us. 'I knew this would happen.' However, I had never learned how to train someone carefully. People teach what they have learned. Whether sparring is a form of education, I'm not sure. "Get up. We haven't even started yet." "Ugh." The princess clenched her teeth and got up at my cold voice. Katarina and the other students looked at us with wide eyes. I knew all sorts of rumors would spread after this class. But I wasn't particularly worried about the rumors. I was more curious about how a 10-year-old princess could have such a fierce determination. The princess glared at me. "Let's do it again." "Understood." Did Knight Miguel, who trained me, feel this way? Sparring with the princess was a bit fun. I felt I should get to know her better and understand her inner thoughts. Time passed. The princess trained hard for her age, and her skills improved rapidly. Of course, she only showed her true skills to me and Katarina. Honestly, I didn't fully understand the royal ability of 'mana sensitivity' either. Her mana cultivation technique, which she learned from the royal family, grew rapidly every day. * * * A few weeks later, all the freshmen, instead of attending classes, headed to a building in the center of the academy. It was a sturdy stone building. The doors were usually tightly closed, and many knights and soldiers guarded the building. An old man, whom we had seen at the opening ceremony, stood in front of the door. He was the headmaster of the royal academy. At the opening ceremony, he seemed like a bureaucrat parachuted in, but now he looked different. "Welcome. The freshmen are a bit late." The headmaster greeted us with a welcoming smile. At his signal, the tightly closed doors of the building began to open. "Is this the field training today?" "Yes!" The students' loud response made the headmaster smile. "Since it's your first time, I'll explain again, even though you all know." He led us into the building. The interior was as plain as it looked from the outside. Stone walls and floors, no special decorations, and large pillars supporting the ceiling. It was similar to a Greek temple with walls from my past life. The only difference was the giant emblem engraved in the center. "Is that the teleportation array?" "Yes." Even though I whispered, the headmaster heard me. "This magic array is the teleportation magic array created by the ancient empire. And I, the headmaster, am a contemporary teleporter." It turned out that the headmaster of the royal academy was always a noble with the ability to teleport. Interestingly, only one teleporter appeared per generation, and the position of headmaster had been passed down for a long time. "As you know, a teleporter can move a few people to a nearby location. Just enough to leave the capital." The headmaster led us to the magic array. "Obviously, I can't teleport all of you to the Demon King's Seal far away with my ability alone." He pointed to the magic array on the floor. "This magic array amplifies my ability to teleport all of you at once. It's one of the mysteries of the ancient kingdom." Both the magic array in front of us and the building we entered were relics and ruins of the ancient empire. The royal academy was built around this ruin. The magic array was connected to the Demon King's Seal, which was said to seal the Demon King. That's why the doors were always tightly closed, and knights guarded them. The headmaster, who had the ability to teleport, was also there for that reason. The field training destination was, of course, the Demon King's Seal. "Now, please gather in groups as a precaution." The freshmen gathered in the groups they had already formed. People gathered around me as well. I sighed, looking at the gathered people. Why did it turn out like this? My half-brother, who was full of annoyance, stood to one side, and Barea was right next to me. The princess stood in front of me with a tense expression, and Pia stood a bit away with a bewildered look. It was a completely mismatched group. But this was the group for our first field training.