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Maximilian greeted briefly and stepped down from the podium.

As he vanished from sight, it felt as if the frozen atmosphere finally thawed. Truly, he was a storm of an old man. Just his brief appearance had turned the auditorium into chaos. It was hard to believe that if the Emperor had made an entrance, it would have been less impactful than what just transpired.

Who would have thought that a Sword Saint would take the position of department head? This was a surprise I hadn’t anticipated either. It is common for schools to hire experienced individuals as professors, but he—he was the Sword Saint.

Only five Sword Masters exist throughout the continent, and he is the pinnacle of them all, the Empire’s number one sword.

Who would have imagined that the man who once stood at the pinnacle of power as the former Duke Cromel would now come to teach at the academy? One might think he suddenly felt the urge to educate students in his old age, but this was too abrupt even for that.

I slowly approached Reinhardt, who was regaining his composure.

“Are you okay?”

“I was just a bit surprised. You certainly mentioned a few days ago that you would be going to Ruden, but I thought it was to meet His Majesty. I never imagined you’d be coming to the academy… I didn’t even think about it.”

It seemed he hadn’t told his family much about this either. I found it understandable, considering Maximilian was from the same department as Reinhardt.

The auditorium was still quiet from the aftershocks of the Sword Saint’s presence, but the students of the Department of Knights were cautiously moving their mouths in that silence.

“Uh… Is the Sword Saint really going to be our department head?”

“If we’re lucky, we might get to learn from the Sword Saint…!!”

“W-whoa!”

At first, they were overwhelmed by the intimidation radiating from Maximilian, but the general mood was one of excitement.

Being admitted to the Department of Knights meant they were all martial enthusiasts. This meant the prospect of potentially receiving guidance from the Empire’s greatest sword was nothing short of miraculous.

It was only natural for their hearts to pound in excitement.

Just receiving that teaching could forge even a small connection with the Sword Saint. How many people in the world would dislike that? Even I, who received daily instruction from my father, was intrigued, let alone how others might feel. It was hard to gauge.

Before Maximilian arrived, the ceremony was nearing its end, and as the tension seemed to dissipate, the host delivered the closing remarks, bringing the event to a close. As I exited the auditorium, I considered seeking out Maximilian, but he had already vanished without a trace.

Indeed, a master is a master.

I had quite a bit of confidence in my ability to sense others, yet I couldn’t grasp even a trace of him—he truly disappeared like the wind. If I had been able to sense him in the first place, I should have noticed him as he stepped onto the podium.

It was an impromptu action, so I had no regrets. Now that the ceremony was over, I stepped outside as promised and headed toward the central fountain.

The academy hadn’t specified any activities to do after the event, and since I had already taken care of the dormitory and pre-enrollment preparations prior to the ceremony, there was nothing more for me to do now.

This was the same for Hailey and Elena. The remaining time was truly free time.

Interestingly, the dormitory of Estellia Academy didn’t have a curfew for the students, so there was plenty of time. This must have been a setting to avoid restricting the protagonist’s actions, and I was just grateful that many limitations on my time with Elena had lifted.

Since student living arrangements didn’t have to strictly be confined to the dormitory within the academy grounds, it didn’t matter where we stayed. Getting a separate building within the academy grounds later might not be a bad idea after all.

“….”

For reasons unknown, Reinhardt was accompanying me on the way to our meeting place.

He had been naturally trailing behind me since I left the auditorium… At first, I thought we were just headed in the same direction, but even after exiting the building, he stood behind me—this guy was simply following me.

I missed my chance to ask why he was following me, and now it felt awkward to bring it up, so I decided to just let him accompany me. After all, we were all planning to explore the academy grounds together, so an additional person didn’t matter.

Why not take this opportunity to make a friend?

He was someone I would inevitably bump into while attending the academy, so it wouldn’t hurt to build a rapport early on. Objectively speaking, Reinhardt was a decent character aside from minor communication issues.

Above all, I couldn’t ignore the fact that this guy seemed to be following me because he had no friends to hang out with.

If I cruelly said, “I have plans with my friends. Ha ha,” and walked away, it would feel a bit pitiful. He always walked alone in the original work, so I felt this opportunity to accompany him would lead to a good experience for Reinhardt too.

As I got closer to the fountain where I had set the meeting, I suddenly felt an increase in crowd density. At first, I thought it was due to being centrally located while heading toward the main building of the academy, but as I pushed through the crowd, I realized that wasn’t the case.

“Wow! Damian!!”

Noel spotted me from in front of the fountain and raised her hand to call my name with excitement.

It wasn’t just her at the fountain; Elena, Hailey, and Orcus were also present, making it a rather noticeable group. No wonder people were flocking this way. Given that she had noticed our positions when I stood on the podium with Elena, she must not have been surprised by the result.

Before I could respond to Noel’s greeting, I was caught in contemplation about what to say.

It wasn’t a difficult dilemma. It was merely a matter of whether to respond formally or casually. Given the number of people watching, it would naturally be correct to use formal language, but somehow, looking at Noel’s bright face made me feel like I shouldn’t respond that way.

“Hello. Noel. You’re bright as ever today.”

As I spoke casually, those around us, including Noel, froze momentarily.

Even though I was the heir of a prestigious family, Noel was royalty, so it was appropriate to maintain decorum. Reinhardt, standing behind me, noticeably stiffened upon hearing my words.

Well, contrary to the reactions around us, it seemed like the subject of the matter found it quite pleasing. When I treated her without formality, Noel hesitated for a moment but then sparkled in her eyes as she answered.

“!!!.. Yes! Damian, you smell like coffee today too!”

“That’s not something particularly pleasant to hear…”

“But it’s true!”

I turned to Reinhardt and asked, and he quietly replied, “A little…”. So it must be true.

“The Cromel heir, it’s been a while! How have you been?”

“…. Yes. I’m glad to see that you’re well too, Your Highness.”

It seemed like Reinhardt wanted to say something, but seeing Noel’s joy, he remained silent. I could almost guess what he wanted to say.

There were certainly ways to hide it, but considering how we would be attending the academy together in the future, I thought it would be better to inform them early. After all, no matter how one pretends with formal and casual speech, given Noel’s and Orcus’s personalities, it wouldn’t take long for them to spill it to everyone else.

Orcus, standing next to Noel, seemed satisfied with the situation too.

Orcus smiled at Reinhardt and said, “Don’t be so stiff, Reinhardt. We’re just like this. By the way, I noticed you two sitting together during the entrance ceremony. Were you already acquainted? You should have told us this beforehand. That was a bit disappointing.”

“Yeah! It’s disappointing!!”

“No, I…”

Reinhardt was so flustered by Noel and Orcus’s simultaneous attack that he couldn’t even respond properly, and started to get flustered. Looking at Orcus and Noel, it was evident they knew what was going on. They were just teasing him for fun.

What ended their little game, however, was Elena’s arrival.

Having been watching the scene closely, Elena suddenly walked between me and Reinhardt and slid close to me. Although Elena didn’t say anything, her mere presence was enough to change the atmosphere.

Elena shot Reinhardt a glance and gave him a brief greeting.

“I am Elena Edelweiss. Nice to meet you.”

“Oh, yes. I’m Reinhardt Cromel.”

Reinhardt looked back and forth between me and Elena, nodded at me, and then slightly distanced himself. It seemed like a gesture of consideration. He must have realized what our relationship was. I just whispered to Elena, noticing her behavior, which seemed slightly different from usual.

“Elena, is there anything bothering you?”

“No, not at all. Oh, is it because I suddenly clung to you without saying anything? I think I got a bit tired being in such a crowded place. Just replenishing my energy.”

As she said this, Elena tightened her grip on my arm. It wasn’t painful, though. I doubt her little exertion could really hurt me. However, I found it a bit puzzling that she seemed to be cautious of Reinhardt.

Since she said it wasn’t the case, then it probably wasn’t. It was likely just a simple misunderstanding.

 

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