Chapter 20

Do you know about karma?

I think of it as something like fate or destiny.

I'm sorry for my vague knowledge, but anyway, don't you think karma is cool?

"Can't I escape from the karma of being a nobody?"

Luxion comments on this line as if editing it.

"Karma is karma, right? The law of cause and effect—where there is an action, there is a result. I think the line is a bit off, though."

Do you understand how it feels when your carefully crafted line gets edited?

...It's incredibly embarrassing.

"Let's pretend that line never happened."

"Sure, go ahead."

I was standing on the deck.

Under the cold sky, the three airships of the Duke's family were lined up next to me and my partner. Across from us were the airships of the Earl's family, the foster parents of the Wayne family—armed airships that faced us in a fleet.

To put it simply, the Earl's family demands that we hand over the captured air pirates.

From the Duke's family's perspective, they came to help at the request of your foster children, and it's ridiculous to demand that they hand them over. The Earl's family, on the other hand, were desperate to hide the fact that they had been in cahoots with the air pirates.

However, with the Duke's family's appearance, they couldn't just force their hand, so they were having a discussion.

Olivia was taken by Anje and brought back to her ship.

Seeing Olivia crying, I got slapped, and it hurt.

"Is that okay?"

"About entrusting the negotiations to me? Do I look like I have great negotiation skills? It's better to leave it to the Duke's family."

I'm asking them to handle the negotiations. They'll probably take a commission, but...

I have the armor and airship I took from the air pirates, and I've captured all of them.

...There's no problem.

"Not about that, but about the credit. Why are you giving the credit to Brad and Gregg?"

"If they can return to their original positions, it would be a relief for me. They might protect Olivia, right? Even if they don't, I can rely on them in a pinch."

The story has already deviated significantly.

If I don't correct it a bit, I'm afraid of what will happen next. Well, even if they can't return to their original positions, I hope their situation improves a bit. Besides, they worked hard. I felt it was okay to do this much for them.

"Master, you've settled things with Olivia. You've given the credit to the two of them, and you're left with just a few items... Did you get your money's worth?"

"It's enough. This is enough for me. You're here, too."

Thinking about it, Luxion might have been the airship that Olivia had. If I think of it as having taken a cheat-level spaceship, a bit of labor or being disliked doesn't seem like much of a price to pay.

But I'll keep that to myself because Luxion might get carried away if I say it.

"You made Olivia cry and were scolded by Angelica, right?"

"The princess is difficult. I can't deal with nobodies. I hope a suitable prince will come to rescue her."

"Are you also going to keep your distance from Angelica?"

"Rather, I think we've been too close until now."

There's always an appropriate distance in everything.

Waiting on the deck, the Earl's airships returned to their fleet. Then, the fleet's airships left the area.

...The discussion is over.

◇

In Ange's private room on the airship.

There, Livia was sitting with her knees hugged.

Ange, who heard the story, was exasperated.

"...Are you kids? Livia, you're bad, but Leon is pitiful for sulking."

Ange, who puts herself on a pedestal, but Livia was looking down.

"It's my fault. I was called a pet and took it to heart, so I lashed out at Leon and got disliked."

Ange consoles her, but the distance is a bit awkward.

Ange also has a point. In fact, she had been thinking about the same thing. Whether she had been treating Livia like a pet.

"...Rest now. We'll return to the academy soon."

Ange also didn't know what to do.

Given friends and friends she had to make on her own... Livia was a commoner, and she didn't know how to interact with her.

The relationship among the three was on the verge of breaking down.

◇

At the royal palace, Brad and Gregg were summoned.

The official in front of them was at a loss.

After all, they were originally the heirs of prestigious families. Even though that's not the case now, they are being treated as if they are fragile.

Brad slams his hand on the table.

"What do you mean—ah, my arm hurts."

He hit the table with his injured arm and is in pain.

Gregg, while exasperated with Brad, glares at the official.

"I can understand being made official knights. I don't agree, but it's like a reward for going to the battlefield. But, the air pirate suppression isn't our credit. We can't accept the reward."

Brad nods with tears in his eyes.

The official is at a loss.

"I'm in trouble if you don't accept it. According to the report from Baron Baltfalt, he only helped the two of you... Well, the two of you are not knights, nor do you have titles or ranks. The report from Baron Baltfalt, who has a sixth rank and a baron title, takes precedence. If there is any wrongdoing, we can investigate, but such cases are rare."

Faced with the two who refuse to accept the reward, the official is also at a loss.

Usually, people want both credit and rewards.

It's hard to believe that the two are refusing.

Gregg folds his arms.

(That guy, what a strange sense of duty.)

After taking a deep breath, Gregg tells the official everything.

"We only helped. The air pirate group was suppressed, and the wanted air pirates were captured by Baltfalt. It's his credit."

Brad nods.

"We didn't do much. We can't accept such a reward."

This time, the official sighs.

"...I was told not to tell you, but Baron Baltfalt is working to reconcile with your families. He's asking if they can lift the disownment based on this credit."

The two look complicated.

"What, that guy, why!"

When Gregg stands up, Brad also looks like he can't understand.

"Right. What reason does he have to go that far?"

The official answers while looking at their faces.

"I don't know the baron's feelings, but there is a significant amount of money flowing within the royal palace. It seems that a considerable amount of money or goods have been sent to your families. Perhaps it's best to accept it honestly?"

If you repay the favor in the future, the official leaves the room.

◇

In the courtyard of the royal palace.

The two sitting on the bench couldn't sort out their feelings.

Gregg looks resentful, and Brad looks a bit sad, looking down.

Then, Julius appears.

He looks a bit tired.

"I heard about both of you!"

It seems he heard about their achievements and was looking for them. Julius looks excited.

"Your Highness?"

When Brad looks up, Julius is excited.

"You suppressed a famous air pirate, and in front of Baltfalt, no less! This is our victory, isn't it? More importantly, the process to lift the disownment has started. You might be able to return as the legitimate heirs soon."

Hearing Julius's excitement, Gregg whispers.

"No, we couldn't beat him at all. Not in strength, spirit, or even in magnanimity."

Brad also can't argue with this.

"Your Highness, we... made a decision."

"Both of you?"

Brad and Gregg stand up.

"We want to beat Baltfalt. It's not that we want to defeat him, but we want to win as men."

"Right. As it is, it's not even a match. He's an amazing knight. We weren't even a match from the start."

With Julius's arrival, they can't keep looking down and immediately start to act.

Brad says,

"Your Highness, can I meet the queen?"

"Mother? What are you thinking?"

Gregg, looking embarrassed,

"We've been given so much. It wouldn't be manly not to repay him."

◇

...Is this what it means to repay kindness with enmity?

I returned to the boys' dormitory, and with classes resuming tomorrow, I was shaking as I received a letter from the royal palace.

"Brad... Gregg... So, you guys hate me that much?"

The letter in my trembling hand is crumpled.

The content of the letter was a post-facto report that my promotion to a lower fifth rank was approved.

I, who was a sixth rank in the court, was promoted to a lower fifth rank.

The reason was the suppression of air pirates and helping to lift the disownment of Brad and Gregg, which is an absurd reason. ...I thought it was a lie.

"Who pulled the strings behind the scenes? This... This can't be allowed. A lower fifth rank? My father is a lower sixth, and I'm two ranks above him? What am I supposed to do?"

Usually, people are happy about a promotion?

No, at least I'm not happy.

A promotion means more responsibility.

I want to stay in my territory and live a peaceful life. What am I supposed to do with a promotion?

If you have a high court rank, you get called to the palace more often.

I supported those two to avoid involvement with the palace, but now I've ended up with a promotion.

You don't usually get a promotion just for suppressing air pirates.

You need to accumulate more significant achievements to get a promotion in the royal palace. They strictly check the size of your territory before granting a promotion, but they are strict about rank promotions.

Feeling indignant about this unfair treatment, Luxion was looking at the letter from behind me.

"...I never thought you would get a promotion. Master, you always exceed my expectations."

"What do you mean by 'exceed'? I never thought I would get a promotion! There was no way I would get a promotion! Besides, there are plenty of people who would love to know how to get a promotion!"

Getting a promotion from a sixth to a fifth rank is extremely difficult. It's impossible to get a promotion just for suppressing air pirates once.

You need to achieve something significant, like a major feat on the battlefield or years of service. It's not something you can do with personal effort!

While I was ranting, I heard a knock.

Opening the door, a nervous staff member of the boys' dormitory was standing there. The staff member, a woman, bowed in front of me.

"Baron Baltfalt, you have a letter and a gift."

"Letter and gift?"

"Yes, they can't be delivered to your room, so they are prepared outside."

"Outside?"

Curious, I followed the staff member to see the gift, which turned out to be an air bike.

It was a rather luxurious and large one.

I think it's more expensive than a decent suit of armor. The sender of the letter was the "Atley family."

I read the letter I received.

"...Gaaaaahhhh!"

When I screamed, the nearby staff member shuddered.

The letter was an apology to me.

The letter from the Atley family, Claris's family, contained an apology for the sports festival incident and gratitude for her daughter's recovery... The air bike was a gift.

An air bike is something a guy might dream about, so it's a good gift.

This is good, but the problem was at the end.

"Lie. This is a lie. Everyone... Everyone hates me so much?"

Seeing me cry, the staff member bowed and said something before fleeing.

Tears fell onto the paper.

To summarize the content of the letter: "Since it was decided to wait for a while before promoting you, please wait until graduation for the promotion from a lower fifth to an upper fifth rank."

The Atley family is a court noble family, a family of ministers or people of similar status. Feeling grateful for their daughter, they offered to promote me. An air bike would have been enough!

Since I was just promoted to a lower fifth rank, it's impossible to promote me immediately, so they apologized and asked me to wait until graduation.

"Why! Why are you trying to promote me! This is ridiculous! You guys must know I'll be upset! How can you do such a cruel thing? Are you even human?"

The floating Luxion was poking the air bike with a cable.

"The engine is different from the one used at the sports festival. The parts are carefully made, and it's a very good item."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm modifying and taking control."

It looks like Luxion is doing something terrible to the air bike. Luxion looks like a bad guy.

I was sitting on my knees, looking at the air bike.

"...That's it. I'll go on a journey. I'll go on an adventure to a country I don't know."

"It's impossible. Classes start tomorrow."

"Right! Damn it!"

Why do I always have to go through this? There are plenty of people who want a promotion!

I didn't want a promotion!

◇

Chris returned from his family home, looking tired.

(Why was Baltfalt sitting down?)

When he was about to return to the boys' dormitory, he saw Leon sitting down weakly but didn't say anything.

Back in his room, he found a letter.

Picking up the letter from the floor