26. Three Become One – 1
“Alright. The awards ceremony and parade are scheduled for four days from now, so everyone prepare yourselves.”
As he left after delivering the notice, Arance rejoiced, clutching it tightly.
“Ooooh!! A parade!!”
Blanche, watching him celebrate, smiled calmly.
“Well, now all that’s left is the parade and…”
A moment of silence settled.
“…the party.”
That one word made the atmosphere seriously awkward.
“What? What’s wrong with the party?”
“We have to find partners for the party, you know.”
Ian, sipping his fatigue recovery drink, asked Haryun,
“So what if we do?”
“It’s like a popularity contest…”
“What? That’s it? I thought becoming partners at the party meant we had to get married or something.”
“You’re a noble, so you should know. It’s hard for nobles to have love marriages.”
Marrying between families to increase power is a common occurrence among nobles.
What’s the best way to strengthen that bond?
To become family.
And the easiest system to become family is marriage.
The Academy attracts students from all over the continent.
As such, even if you meet and date here, it doesn’t necessarily benefit your family.
What good would it do to marry a noble from another country or region, or someone of a lower status?
That’s why, in the Academy, especially above the intermediate level,
you rarely see serious relationships with marriage in mind.
“So, there’s no tradition where holding hands during the fireworks at the end of the party means you’re eternally bound together or anything like that.”
He said, recalling something that happened in another world.
Graegin, hearing that, narrowed his eyes and stared at him.
“Do you read romance novels or something?”
“Oh? Ian, what do you like? I like Beliard’s books. Should I recommend something good for you?!”
Haryun, who had been listening quietly, asked excitedly, while Oerina next to him frowned.
“You really read everything regardless of genre…”
“Anyway, there aren’t any guys in Class B who are relaxed enough to seriously date.”
Class B, in particular, has many students who live for their own excellence.
Most of them would rather study or train a little more if they had the time.
“But you all seem really obsessed with finding partners.”
“How embarrassing would it be for guys who live for their own excellence to attend the party without a partner?”
Graegin crossed his arms and scanned everyone.
Even those with good personalities like Blanche and Valla seemed quite nervous about the partner issue.
“Then can’t we just partner up among ourselves within Class B?”
The numbers almost match up perfectly.
Haryun quickly shook his head at Ian’s words.
“We’re going to see each other almost every day until graduation unless something special happens.”
Spending that much time together is almost like being family.
But holding hands and dancing?
You don’t do that with family.
Unless you really can’t find a partner, that is.
“Ian, should I introduce you to someone? I have a cousin in the senior class.”
As Willval suggested with a smile, a voice was heard nearby.
“Hey, Ian! You don’t have a partner, do you?! I’ll be yours!”
As Widia approached, Oerina shrugged.
“I guess it can’t be helped. If it’s me who taught you the basics of magic, then I can definitely be your partner.”
“Applications are coming in from everywhere, but it’s better to have me, right? Ian, you don’t know many people, do you?”
She was putting on a show, probably because she didn’t have a suitable partner yet.
Besides them, several others smiled and offered themselves to Ian, while the male students in Class B didn’t even care.
It seemed they really weren’t interested in their classmates.
Graegin, who had been watching quietly, shrugged.
“I can’t do anything about this. Ian, good luck.”
As he said leisurely, Ian downed the remaining fatigue recovery drink in one gulp.
“There’s still time left, so look carefully. Anyone who can get into the Academy is fine, even outsiders.”
Hearing Haryun’s words, Ian put the empty bottle on the table and tried to get up and leave.
“Ian? Where are you going?”
To the curious Wildie, Ian said indifferently,
“Volunteering.”
The volunteer work didn’t end just because the Hero Festival was over.
As usual, he went to the Temple of the Sun, and as he was about to return after finishing his business, someone grabbed his arm.
“Can I have a moment?”
It was Rakid.
“Myaa~.”
Myaane, who ran to him, jumped into his arms.
It seemed they had become quite close while Ian was volunteering, playing together.
Rakid took out a snack from his pocket, and Myaane happily began to munch on it.
“Mimm~.”
Rakid stroked Myaane, who was eating the snack, with a pleased smile.
“What’s the matter? Did you call me to give Myaane a snack?”
“No. Priest Willis asked me to give this to you.”
In his hand was a letter.
“It’s a letter of introduction from the Temple of the Sun. He asked me to congratulate you on winning the Hero Festival.”
With this, you can get a good relic when you go to the main temple.
It was a consideration for Ian to get what he wanted since he liked relics.
“He could have given it to me himself.”
“He’s preparing for the Hero Festival parade. Head Nun Hestian, Head Priest Hairen, and Priest Willis all are.”
“So that’s why all three of them weren’t at the service today.”
“Yes.”
Ian nodded and put the letter of introduction in his pocket.
“One more thing. Have you found a partner for the Hero Festival yet?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I can introduce you to someone if you want.”
“Who are you going to introduce me to?”
“How about Countess Keith Icevine, the commander of the Scarlet Knights and my aunt? It wouldn’t be bad to hear about the Scarlet Knights at that time.”
He knew her.
She had given him an application form a while ago, saying that if he was from the Scarlet Kingdom, he should join the Scarlet Knights.
“If I go with her, wouldn’t other people make a fuss?”
At Ian’s words, Rakid shrugged.
“Do you have another partner?”
“I can find a partner if I look for one. I’m the Hero Festival winner, after all. How could I not find a partner?”
‘No need.’
As Ian shook his head, Rakid looked bitter.
“Is that so? Then I can’t help it.”
As he finished speaking, Myaane, who had finished her snack, returned.
Rakid gently stroked Myaane’s back as she went to Ian.
“Are you still trying to help the Scarlet Kingdom even though you’re no longer a prince?”
As he expected, as soon as things calmed down a bit in the Scarlet Kingdom, they took away Rakid’s royal status as if they had been waiting for it.
On the grounds that he had colluded with demons and tarnished the honor of the Scarlet royal family.
But the real reason was just to stabilize Bominnda’s right to the throne.
The right to the throne must have been so important that they abandoned him, a powerful master.
The Icevine family and their followers were furious at that ridiculous decision, Rakid was bitter, and Ian sneered.
“Half of my blood is Icevine’s. And my aunt was good to me. I want to help in any way I can.”
As he said in a bitter tone, Ian nodded slightly.
“I’ll think about the partner thing.”
Of course, he only intended to think about it.
He already had someone in mind.
* * *
The day of the parade arrived.
Ian, sitting in the preparation room, was meditating with his eyes closed.
Then the door opened.
“Myamya~.”
Myaane with a black bow tie around his neck.
And Oerina, who had decorated Myaane, came in.
“Oh~ That uniform looks great on you? At this rate, people will be lining up to be your partner. Who’s your partner?”
“I haven’t found one yet.”
“Why? Couldn’t you find one? Ugh. You should have just asked me. I didn’t have anyone suitable either, so I just found a partner in the magic research club.”
“You’re really just taking anyone?”
“It’s not like I have anyone I’m particularly interested in. Should I find someone for you now?”
“I already have someone in mind.”
“Who?”
“Head Nun Hestian.”
How great would that be?
While walking around together, he could ask her to play hymns instead of party music.
He could also ask her to pray and receive the energy of the sun.
Ian was quite serious, but Oerina laughed, thinking it was a joke.
“Anyway, everything’s ready. Let’s go.”
Now all that’s left is the parade.
Before that, he had to go to the Hero’s Sword, which was being kept in the basement of the Academy.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
When they went outside, the instructors were waiting.
Guided by them, they entered the basement of the Academy’s main building, where Karzide welcomed them.
“Follow me.”
As he placed his hand on the stone gate, the door slowly opened.
Another stone gate on the inside.
And inside that, a magic circle.
After passing through several layers of security devices, they finally arrived at the place where the Hero’s Sword was kept.
“That sword is the very one that the hero Fredon Ivian used to defeat the Demon King.”
Karzide, who slowly took the sword out of the display case, held it out.
After examining the ornate scabbard and hilt, he pulled on the hilt.
-Clang.
As the blade revealed itself, Ian’s eyes widened.
‘This is……?’
He completely pulled the Hero’s Sword out of its scabbard.
Holding the sword, he looked at it from side to side, tapped it with his finger, and swung it in the air.
After checking it several times, he returned it to its scabbard, and Karzide asked.
“It’s a good sword, isn’t it?”
“Yes. But where did the hero get this sword?”
“The exact details are not recorded, so no one knows, but we assume it’s from the Forgotten City.”
“Is that so…….”
Ian looked at the sword again and asked Kirke.
‘This is Neo-Titanium alloy, right? Is it from the 23rd century Earth Federation? Or from the planet Kalide?’
As mentioned before, the Truth Access Level to verify the Hero’s Sword is quite high.
Kirke said to Ian, who was examining the sword from side to side.
You can melt it down and decompose it to find out the detailed components.
As Kirke spoke, Ian shook his head.
‘Isn’t that a bit much? It feels like I’m running away, so I don’t like it.’
Ian stared intently at the sword.
As Kirke said, there was one test he could do, although it was a bit crude.
“There’s a ceremony to cut the stone wall to announce the end of the Hero Festival after the parade, right?”
“That’s right.”
“What happens if this sword breaks then?”
“Hahahaha!! Try it if you can. No one has ever done it before. Rather, we should praise you if you do it.”
“Really?”
Then let’s use our strength on purpose at that time.
By testing its durability, we can roughly determine where it was made.
Karzide felt uneasy at his smile.
‘Surely it won’t really break, will it?’