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The exchange meeting was basically aimed at promoting harmony between academies.

Given that the academies had a strong military inclination, they naturally operated in a closed manner, which heightened tensions among various nations.

The reason was simple. Academies with a military inclination operating in a closed manner appeared to be preparing for war at any moment when viewed externally.

Each nation gathered talents for military education, so it was inevitable for them to be wary of each other. Speculations about suddenly declaring war and deploying academy cadets were just the icing on the cake.

Thus, the academy exchange meeting was created with the intention of easing the war tensions on the continent. Officially, it was about learning the culture of other academies, but the underlying purpose was to lower the war tension on the continent and promote peace.

That intention worked quite well.

Just as there is an Olympic truce in modern society, the moment the academy exchange meeting was held, no war or conflict was allowed to occur, as agreed upon by the leaders of each nation.

This was to prevent the continent from being devastated by frequent wars.

Of course, there were always cases where this was violated, but it was true that the exchange meeting had a significant deterrent effect. Regardless of the reason, if a conflict arose during the exchange meeting, strong sanctions would be imposed at the national level.

Perhaps that’s why, in Tactical Combat, this exchange meeting part was the only peaceful part of the main scenario after the tutorial where you couldn’t get a game over.

Gilbert, knowing this well, remained relaxed even when he saw the notification that the main story was starting. However, his peaceful daily life was being disrupted by one person.

“Heir of the Winter Sword! Let’s settle this!”

“Who’s that guy?”

“He’s said to be the next heir of the Summer Spear.”

“That little kid?”

“He’s actually an adult, they say.”

“Then it’s possible.”

“What a pervert.”

Gilbert, hearing the cadets’ chatter, rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache.

He thought the atmosphere wasn’t bad when he gave her honey jelly, but something must have upset her, as she kept following him around, shouting to settle the score.

At first, he thought she was just pumped up after receiving the honey jelly. Given her love for food, she might have misunderstood it as encouragement.

But after seeing her whine all day to settle the score, he realized something had gone wrong.

Especially after seeing her eyes burning with anger, he understood that it was he who had misunderstood, not Edel.

What is it? There was nothing to provoke her.

Gilbert pondered seriously.

Edel, having wandered the streets since childhood, had a fiery personality despite her small size. She was notorious for not letting go of anyone who upset her.

So, he had tried his best not to provoke her, but this time, he felt a bit unfairly treated.

After all, he had only met Edel for less than ten minutes, and even then, they hadn’t had a long conversation.

All he did was give her honey jelly and pat her head…

Wait, was that it?

Gilbert’s face twisted.

Though there was no clear evidence, Gilbert, having completed all of Edel’s romance routes, could guess the reason for her outburst.

Edel, with her fiery temper and childish personality, had a tendency to overinterpret actions.

Here, Gilbert’s actions were giving her honey jelly and patting her head.

For Edel, who considered herself a mature woman, patting her head like a child would surely make her think of him as a weirdo.

And she would have thought about the reason, coming to one conclusion.

He gives me food.

He pats my head.

That’s treating me like a child!

A simple, overinterpreted syllogism.

Now understanding why Edel was acting up, Gilbert sighed.

Who would have thought he’d feel the same emotions he did when completing Edel’s romance routes?

He thought he’d never experience the black history emotions again after earning the achievement, but here he was, lamenting his fate.

Things had been going smoothly for a while, but it seemed like it was all building up to this moment.

Still, knowing the reason gave him some positive outlook.

At least he already knew how to handle it.

“Edel Leviath.”

“Ha! Finally responding? Is this how the heir of the Winter Sword treats a lady?”

“Heir of the Summer Spear, this is not our stage.”

“Hmph…”

Unlike his previous indifference, Gilbert’s polite tone made Edel’s eyes widen.

For Gilbert, it was a cringe-worthy moment, but amusingly, Edel thought this tone was how adults spoke.

What on earth did Diara teach her?

Gilbert inwardly cursed her master, Diara.

“Our duel should take place on a fitting stage.”

“I understand the intentions of the heir of the Winter Sword. Heir of the Summer Spear, Edel Weiss, will eagerly await that moment.”

As Gilbert addressed her in a noble tone, Edel, who had been acting like a child, suddenly transformed into a proper lady, slightly holding her skirt.

In short, if Edel’s trigger was being treated like a child, doing the opposite would quickly calm her down.

It took a lot of effort to figure this out, but he never thought he’d use it again.

“Then, I, the heir of the Summer Spear, will eagerly await our duel.”

-Wink

It was Edel’s signature deadly pose number one.

Winking with her right eye, Edel left with light steps.

Only when her figure disappeared in the distance could Gilbert finally let out a long sigh.

“Hahaha. So even the great Gilbert has someone he can’t handle?”

“Brynhild, is it?”

Raising his tired eyes, Gilbert saw Brynhild laughing heartily.

He thought this might be the first time she had laughed so much since coming to the academy.

“Phew. It’s been a while since I laughed like this.”

“It’s just a headache.”

“But she’s quite cute. The famous heir of the Summer Spear being such a little kid and trying to act mature despite her appearance.”

Brynhild, who had been crossing her arms, uncrossed them and naturally stood next to Gilbert.

Gilbert, recalling her shouting about a “marriage raid,” tensed slightly.

“No need to be nervous. I’ve stopped shouting about marriage raids.”

“Have you come to your senses?”

“It just didn’t make sense to raid someone stronger than me. Besides, it didn’t suit me.”

But it seemed pretty serious back then?

Gilbert swallowed the words that rose to his throat. He didn’t want to create unnecessary trouble.

“So, what’s the matter?”

“A duel. Lately, no one’s been challenging me.”

Brynhild’s flood of duel requests had suddenly stopped at some point. This was because she had accepted and crushed every challenge, making people wary of challenging her.

It was impossible to face her, the grand warrior of the Sigurd clan, with mediocre skills, and the initial duel requests were meant to drive her away.

The top cadets who could duel her had little interest in such matters, so naturally, the challenges to Brynhild gradually disappeared.

In the end, if she wanted to duel, she had to request it herself, and naturally, she sought out the strongest cadet she knew, Gilbert.

“I see. Let’s head to the duel arena.”

“I wonder why you agreed so quickly. Are you interested in becoming my husband?”

Brynhild scanned Gilbert with a piercing gaze, incomparable to Edel’s deadly pose number one.

Male cadets passing by inadvertently bent their waists upon seeing her gaze.

Gilbert, on the receiving end, maintained a nonchalant expression as he headed to the duel arena.

Seeing this, Brynhild chuckled and followed.

***

As the wind brushing his nose grew colder, the day of the exchange meeting dawned.

Cadets from distant academies crossed the gates of the renowned Demia Empire Academy and marveled.

This place, known as the continent’s top academy.

Though filled with pride for their own academies, there was an indescribable aura flowing through Demia Empire Academy.

Perhaps it was because war heroes who had shaken the continent were among the professors.

Or maybe it was because there was a woman known as the Swordmaster.

– So this is Demia Empire Academy.

– My future starts here…

– Is the Swordmaster here?

Some were purely amazed by Demia Empire Academy itself.

Others envisioned their rosy futures.

Yet others thought of their idols.

They each felt an indescribable thrill for their own reasons.

And among the many.

“Is this where the heirs of the Four Seasons’ weapon techniques gather?”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

There were also those who inherited the Four Seasons’ weapon techniques.

 

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