Chapter 53

Why can't I live a peaceful life?

"Really, I feel so exasperated."

I'm relaxing at Marié's house, but everyone else is in a panic.

Chris is angry at me.

"What are you so relaxed for, Baltfalt! Do you understand the current situation?"

I, who am calmly drinking tea, explain the current situation.

"I have to prepare my own armor by the day of the duel. But, I can't get that armor, right? No one will sell me armor because they're all afraid of the six great noble families."

Really—how exasperated I feel.

"Then! How can you be so calm? You know, the opponent will definitely bring out the Arrogance. Even if it's a replica, can you fight a suit of armor with your bare hands? Marié even went around to all the merchants to try to buy armor!"

The Arrogance we have now isn't a replica, but if I don't say that, it will cause problems in various places.

If someone were told to fight a real Arrogance with their bare hands, anyone would be reluctant.

...Or, Marié is trying hard to get my approval. Did I bully her too much?

"It's fine. It's more exciting this way."

"You, you! When we fought you, you said you won because of the performance difference! Even if you could get armor, your chances of winning are slim, and you can't even get it!"

He's a lively one.

Is he worried about me?

I'd rather be worried by a beautiful girl.

Like Livia or Anje? Or even Mirene or Claris?

I directed my gaze to the baby bed.

There, instead of a baby, was Noelle.

I prepared it for convenience when taking care of her.

"Noelle, Chris is bullying me~"

"Don't change the subject! From what I hear, there are no special rules for this duel at the academy. Baltfalt, what do you intend to do? Tell us already."

I don't want to say it here because these guys will try to stop me.

Chris is worried about me.

"You've been acting strange lately. Or are you worried about that familiar?"

"Luxion? Well, if you're worried, I guess I am."

He's probably—.

◇

Inside the Einhorn ship.

Pierre's followers and the Fauve family's retainers are making a racket regardless of the time of day.

The ship is in a terrible state.

The Arrogance is also decorated with poor taste, and Luxion is sighing.

"...Poor thing. I want to remove it immediately, but you have to bear with it for now."

Luxion noticed someone's presence and disappeared, blending into the scenery.

Pierre and his followers arrived.

"He's a fool, isn't he?"

"True to form, Pierre. Preemptively pressuring the merchants, huh?"

Pierre touched the Arrogance.

"He'll be crushed by his own armor. It'll be a fun show, I'm sure."

His followers laughed.

"By the way, what will you do after you win?"

"Huh?"

"The Holfort Kingdom. They'll probably come to apologize, right?"

Pierre took a sip of his drink.

"...Yeah. I'll kill all the people who underestimated me. They'll have no choice but to go to war if they receive the prince's head. If they don't come, I'll call them cowards for not retaliating after their prince was killed. I'll drag them out no matter what."

His followers cheered.

"Let us join in when that happens. I wanted a medal before graduation."

Perhaps due to the continuous victories, war was normal for them.

They had no aversion to war.

They thought dying was just bad luck.

"Sure. I'll go to the battlefield with this and make the kingdom's knights pay. It will be a good feather in my cap when I take my brother's position and show my face in the council."

The Republic, proud of its overwhelming strength.

Pierre was a typical noble of that Republic.

A noble who was extremely biased towards the bad side.

◇

The Holfort Kingdom.

Anje and Livia, who had slept together the previous night, were changing clothes.

Anje, with a hair clip in her mouth, was only wearing a shirt over her underwear.

The buttons were not fastened, so the front was open.

Cléa received an email.

"Oh, it's been a while since I received an email."

Livia, still half-asleep, tried to jump on Cléa and fell off the bed.

"It hurts."

Anje approached and helped her up by grabbing her arm.

"What are you doing? Cléa, can you read it out?"

"Sure. But the content is the same as always. It's about how difficult it is to take care of Noelle, and how cute Noelle is, right?"

Livia pouted a bit.

"Mr. Leon, you've been focusing on Noelle lately."

Anje was smiling slightly.

"Yeah. But she's 17, so she's quite old. It was a hassle to pick her up when she was in trouble."

"...Oh, there's also a part that says to hand it over to Roland the bastard."

Anje looked troubled.

"What is he saying to the king? I can understand his feelings, but I want him to have a bit more tension. What's the content?"

"Secret, she says."

Livia tilted her head.

"Handing it over to the king seems like an important matter, doesn't it?"

Anje nodded.

"Yeah. But if it's a secret, there's nothing we can do. Cléa, prepare a letter. I'll hand it over to my father and have him deliver it. I'll think about the reply later, so please prepare the letter first."

Cléa left the room to prepare the letter.

But—

"Let's attach a picture of Anje and send a reply."

◇

The royal palace.

Roland was enjoying tea in the morning.

"...Good tea leaves. They suit me."

In front of Roland were Anje's father, Vince, and Claris's father, Bernard.

"The queen is exhausted from her daily work, yet she looks well, Your Majesty."

"Shouldn't you do some work, Your Majesty?"

Roland was not swayed by their sarcasm and insults.

Because Roland had a strong heart.

"It's better for her to do it. It's the right person for the right job."

Vince's veins were popping.

"You trust the queen, who is a foreigner, too much."

Roland drank his tea and replied.

"Her homeland is on the other side of the enemy country. The kingdom's interests align with hers."

Mirene's homeland was indeed on the other side of the enemy country.

The marriage was to contain the enemy country, and the kingdom's weakening was also a problem for Mirene's homeland.

If the enemy country expanded its territory and increased its power by attacking the kingdom, it would mean an increased threat to Mirene's homeland.

"Mirene is better suited for the job. She actually produces results, unlike me."

As much as it pained him, Roland was right.

Bernard couldn't argue back.

Roland was not incompetent, but he was a 70 out of 100 in terms of ability.

However, Mirene had 90 or 100 points in ability, and it was more reasonable to entrust the job to her. In normal times, Mirene wouldn't be busy, but given the kingdom's current situation, she had to work hard.

But for Vince and Bernard, Mirene was a foreign royal. They didn't want her to work too hard, as it would make them uneasy.

However, Mirene couldn't refuse because of the reasons mentioned earlier, and Roland was doing as he pleased.

"My lack of ability is sad. I can only watch."

Vince and Bernard, who were busy, had veins popping at Roland's smiling face.

You're just enjoying watching, they thought.

Vince handed over a letter.

"...Your Majesty, a letter has arrived from your daughter's fiancé."

"Huh? From that brat? I'd rather read a love letter from a young girl, but I can't even imagine reading a single word from that brat's letter."

Thinking it wouldn't be anything important, Roland had Vince open it.

(Stupid brat. If it's an insult to me, let Vince, who will be my son-in-law, read it and be disappointed.)

Roland hated Leon, but—

"This, this is!"

Vince was surprised, and Roland thought he had done it.

But—

"Your Majesty, please read this immediately."

"What is it? If it's a complaint, I'll have him beheaded... Huh?"

'Your Majesty, are you well? I'm doing great.

By the way, as you commanded to "handle troublesome matters properly," I provoked a noble from the Republic.

Don't worry, I'll beat him up!

However, diplomacy is not my area, so please handle it on your side.

From your excellent subject

P.S. It's good to be capable.'

Roland crumpled the letter.

"That brat!"

Bernard was calmly discussing with Vince.

"This will become an international issue. We need to send someone to the Republic immediately. But to cause trouble with Alzer of all places..."

"If it becomes a diplomatic issue, the queen cannot act openly. Your Majesty, you will have to handle it."

It would be difficult to involve Mirene in a diplomatic issue, and while she could offer advice, Roland would have to take the lead.

Vince and Bernard's faces turned serious.

"You will be busy, Your Majesty."

"Your opponent is the Republic, the strongest in defense. What will happen, Your Majesty?"

Roland was trembling.

(To provoke Alzer of all places! I thought that brat, who is somewhat clever, would just make excuses and let it slide. I'll have him executed when he returns!)

"Collect information! Send an envoy to the Republic immediately. The fact that a letter arrived means he has already done something. Really, what are the embassy people doing?"

He didn't think the content of the letter had been sent recently.

◇

I can hear the sound of that bastard struggling somewhere.

Today is a good day.

The duel arena prepared by the academy was a special facility for armor training.

There were also spectator seats.

The walls glowed faintly when touched, indicating they were strengthened by magic.

"It won't break easily. Still, it's surprising that the academy has such facilities."

Both Holfort and Alzer have arenas for duels between armors.

It must be for the convenience of that dating sim.

The spectator seats were quite high up, overlooking the arena.

The spectators were starting to buzz.

"Hey, the exchange student is bare-handed."

"No way."

"Is he going to fight a suit of armor with his bare hands?"

In this world, armor is like a large powered suit.

In short, it's not something you can fight with your bare hands.

Armor is a weapon that you can't fight with bare hands.

Narcissus and Clemen, who had come down to the arena, approached me, who looked unarmed.

"What are you thinking!"

"Why didn't you bring armor!"

I couldn't bring it even if I wanted to.

"The merchants from the Republic won't sell me any. I have no choice but to be unarmed. Oh, I do have gloves on my hands."

I showed them the custom-made gloves, and both of them covered their faces with their hands.

Clemen looked at the other side.

There was an Arrogance decorated with gaudy ornaments.

"...Let's cancel it. Or, let's borrow armor from somewhere. This isn't a fair fight."

Clemen's words were met with Pierre's laughter from inside the Arrogance.

'Now you want to run, you third-rate country's lackey. I gave you time. It's your fault for not being prepared.'

I acted a bit troubled.

"True, it's my fault for not being prepared. Then, there's no problem with continuing, right?"

When I confirmed, Pierre took out a large rifle from the Arrogance's container and aimed it.

'Of course. I'll turn you into mincemeat with your armor.'

He said it with such enthusiasm.

I don't think this guy will grow up to be a decent adult.

Narcissus suggested to me.

"Hand over the sapling of the holy tree. There's no need to insist on the duel. Isn't your life more important?"

Thinking the duel wouldn't be fair, she was telling me to admit defeat.

"There are times when a boy has to fight. This is one of those times."

If there were someone who would fight a suit of armor with their bare hands, I would laugh.

I never thought I would be the one doing it, but I have to fight.

At that moment—

'...Right. You had a dog, didn't you? Was it Carla who took care of it? The dog's name is Noelle, right?'

I opened my eyes and looked up at the spectator seats where Marié and the others, who were cheering for me, were.

Marié and the others were also surprised.

Carla was supposed to be at the mansion, taking care of Noelle.

"What did you do to Noelle and Carla?"

'Who knows? I just mentioned the names of the woman and the dog who were at the mansion you were using. Stop making baseless accusations.'

I thought to myself as he laughed in a suppressed manner.

...You are a truly wonderful villain.