Sword, Magic and Academic Society

"Dan is an unmistakable prodigy. After all, he has an undying passion for ships. There would surely come a time when he, Daniel Serdos, the first generation president of the Royal Academy's Sail Club, would sail through uncharted seas. A horizon that no one has ever seen before."

I stared Marquis Grauksh straight in the eye as I quietly declared that.

I could have held Dan's name back, but from the flow of the situation, it was all but confirmed that our quiet playtime in the Sail Club was coming to an end. It won’t be just the two of us anymore after this.

The situation was so obvious that it'd been foolish for me to avert my eyes. It was only a matter of time before our new method of ship sailing would spread to others. Besides, and I know this may sound ironic coming from me considering I had been ignoring them, I certainly didn't like how Dan was being labeled as someone egoistic or selfish in the rumors.

Though that potato face didn't really care no matter how much he had been preached on.

I was no different when it came to the rumor about myself, but I couldn't suppress my annoyance when it was about him, as much as that sounded contradictory.

Dan had become proficient in decelerating a ship with outer mana operation, and all that was left for him was to efficiently control the mana inside his body, but even that was just a matter of time in my estimation.

The time was ripe, so we might as well make the best use out of this opportunity, noh? I mean, it was just an honest-to-goodness slip of the tongue, no matter what anyone said.

I may have said everything at the height of my emotions, but it was refreshing, really.

"......Such words of praise in a meeting like this, irrespective of their weight, are truly...... something. Alright, it's my loss. I'm speechless."

Marquis Grauksh stared into my eyes for a moment, his expression indifferent, but he eventually relented as he murmured so while closing his eyes. He turned around, and bowed his head to excuse himself, saying 'Pardon me for interrupting the meeting, please continue.'

I mean, I was technically telling the truth though. Dan would surely become someone amazing, there was no lie in what I said.

'Well, he's Daniel Serdos after all,' I followed up after the Marquis said his piece, and corrected my posture. Glover-san gave a nod and resumed the earlier discussion.

"How quickly do you think we can get there?"

I recalled the map of the kingdom, which had started to come together quite nicely lately, at the back of my mind, and estimated the time it would take us to get there.

"Following the wind, it should be within 6 days, I believe."

Chatter-Chatter

My words brought a slight stir among the big-wigs.

Well, the day and the location were also factors, but the winds from the Northwest were especially stronger during this season. It would be impossible to dispose of all the eggs within two days of our arrival. However, what mattered was that there was a chance to remove even just a few of them at all.

I decided earlier, and it still held true even now, that I had no wish to take the burden for the kingdom's sake, but alas, this was, in the end, inevitable. I couldn't have my fun time over the ruins of a kingdom, right?

And my motto was that Anyone who stands in my way shall be decimated.

Then again, who knows if those bigwigs would even accept the words of a mere student, and invest their precious resources and tools for the cause.

And it turned out... to be a needless worry.

Glover-san showed a look of understanding, and turned to the direction where His Majesty and the Knight Order's Commander Olina were seated.

"It may turn out to be a fool's errand, so I’ll bear responsibility for everything. So, since this would be taking away valuable human resources and magical tools, may I ask for your permission to follow the two youngsters?"

At his proposition, Commander Olina promptly replied.

"......It indeed sounds inconceivable, but what's the difference between a magical tool and a showpiece if we are unable to use them at a critical time? The point is that there's no drawback for this plan, and there are only benefits if it works. And if you're convinced, Glover, then I have nothing more I need to confirm."

His Majesty fixed his translucent blue eyes on me, the corner of his lip curling.

"You have quite a way of expressing yourself, Allen Rovenne...... Is this another one of your play time?"

I scratched my head in annoyance, and shook my head.

"This was just impromptu, Your Majesty. For me and my friends, this is just a game to devote our time to completely to make our lives more fun——"

His Majesty squinted momentarily as he listened to my words, and then he burst into a booming laughter.

"Gahahaha! Oh, I completely believe you! So, take care of this matter, Allen Rovenne! Also… give my regards to your friend Daniel Serdos."

Seemingly infected by him, Olina-san also broke into a chuckle, and soon the rest of the bigwigs followed right after her.

......For goodness’ sake, we weren't here for a comedy show though....

I never wanted to cross paths with the burdens of the kingdom, but— I have to say there were quite a lot of amusing people here worthy of respect.

◆◆◆

After that, they asked Allen what else might be required, and he then expressed his desire for at least one person capable of operating a ship. They then confirmed the rest of the details, including the transportation of the new ship — which had been built based around the idea of applying wind magic — by the Serene Sea Co as well as the time of departure which was to be 8 PM, around the time when they should be done with sorting out the manpower and supplies.

Allen left the palace afterward.

"......It was an eyeopener to see you evaluate him so highly, Glover-san. I believe you shouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet him considering you spent most of your time outside the Royal Capital, so where does your trust in him come from?"

Dew asked Glover with an inquisitive gaze.

"It happened around the time when I was using the military port that he came with Daniel Serdos in tow to greet me. His radiant visage as he passionately described his love for sailing, how he depicted a ship cutting through the wind, left quite an impression on me. The pure expression of cheerfulness was enough for me to tell that he enjoyed what he was doing.

Well, I chalked it up to mere interest in the antique style of sailing back then, but......"

Recalling Allen’s quick change of expression as soon as he brought up the name Hellrowcast, Glover felt his back sweat.

It was akin to flipping some sort of switch— like devoting every ounce of one's being for a cause. Such a change occurred without delay. Even within the illustrious Knight Order, he could count the number of people who could do that with only one hand.

It was something that was certainly reassuring, but also somewhat intimidating. Despite being a commander of the Knight Order, he really underestimated him initially.

"I know that feeling well. It's normal to be confused since you’re not used to that brat's two-faced nature. I had once been like you, thinking that he was just one of those naive kids with rose-tinted glasses and an immature mind. Alas, I learned my lesson the hard way when he ambushed me with no warning.

However, his nature isn't something that can be gained with mere training. That brat just has an inherently twisted personality."

Dew's words elicited a few chuckles from the council room.

It was general knowledge that Dew was the one who tested Allen in the practical exam, and gave out the S evaluation. However, only a few were privy to the complete details.

All the people attending this council meeting could obviously understand what it meant for a candidate to land an attack on Dew Owiel during the entrance exam. Dew might have escaped that surprise attack with a paper breath margin, but it didn't change Allen's evaluation.

"Hmm, as far as I can tell, I don't think he's that difficult to deal with personality-wise. Anyway, Glover, do you really see him making it in time? Either way, we’re going to assume otherwise and prepare for a long war. This may change, though, depending on how they perform."

Glover shook his head in response to Oliana's query.

"It's embarrassing for me to say this as the one who pushed for his inclusion, however I can't promise that they can make it. It’s been such a long time since the Knight Order last went through an intensive sailing drill. Unfortunately, not even our second legion has that many knights knowledgeable about ships, and since a while ago, I’ve been hearing from some of the knights that they felt something amiss from the speed of the blowing wind.

It was just last night that I received a report from Cass — ah, he's one of my knights with a deep background in maritime stuff, and has some attainment in sailing — about a ship with an odd design that had recently anchored in the Royal Capital's port. It was quite fast, not something that can be written off as a mere coincidence.

Dew, I don’t think it would be efficient mana-wise either, but what do you say? Do you think Allen Rovenne is capable of using the wind generated by his wind magic to push the ship, and perhaps speed it up?"

Dew crossed his arms, and shut his eyes, seemingly pondering something in silence.

"...He should be able to do that for a few minutes at least, but whether he can do it continuously is something I doubt. Plus with the trip being several days long and stretching over a huge distance, it's definitely impossible... or so my mind says.

Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if he has some kind of trick up his sleeve to make it possible. I’m used to his antics at this point— oh, but I would surely lose sleep if he suddenly decided to turn over a new leaf for sure."

'I see,' said Oliana, who had been listening to everything with her arms crossed.

"...At any rate, whether he can do it or not will soon be made apparent. But for now, Daniel Serdos is indispensable for this strategy, Marquis Grauksh.

Bringing in a student when he's not even a provisional member of our Knight Order will never be recognized, even if he's a student of the Royal Academy…… if it had been any other day. But since we are in a state of emergency, the situation fulfills the conditions, so it can be left to His Majesty's discretion, or even with just the acknowledgment of over half of the ministers.

But it would be unpalatable if we appeared so authoritative, so I would like you to persuade him somehow."

Such a polite method was... certainly only possible due to the abundant talent of the Royal Academy students. The chosen students obviously were the elite among the elites, their base parameters far above anyone else and were excellent in all fronts. It had a high chance to have prodigies with extraordinary expertise in one area as well.

However, the act of borrowing said student's talent meant that the said student would lose valuable time they could have devoted within the Academy. It was a general concern, not specifically limited to the current case.

Field experience could prove to be invaluable, but the fundamental training the Academy provided ultimately raises their base parameters up, which adds to their area of expertise as well. This was why, to balance fundamentals and on-field experience, there was an internship system for the third year students during the summer vacation. But even in such a scenario, the staff made sure that the students didn't fall behind in their studies.

The system looked not at the present, but to the unknown of the future. A long term vision, you could say.

Marquis Grauksh bowed.

"It would be my utmost honor to take upon this task."

Oliana nodded.

"Alright, I believe we’ve discussed everything we could, so let's get on with our respective tasks. After all, we're still racing against time. Your Majesty, if we can have some words from you?"

At the prompt, King Patrick Arthur Yuglia got up from his seat. Everyone followed after him within the same breath.

"This is what King Arthur had said during the inception of the kingdom: Everyone that lives in this country is my friend, and many among them are people who're far more excellent than me. So I put this crown on to create a country where my friends can have a happy life."

Patrick's expression displayed a bright smile.

"It may take us a long time to achieve this wish. The kingdom may expand in size, but it's all based on the fact that we must keep our kingdom alive. Now let us begin the groundwork for this wish."

" "Yes, Your Majesty!" "