Sword, Magic and Academic Society

"Well then, Allen Rovenne. Your effort in today's match was sublime. The 'momentum' you’ve built up, and the 'time' you've earned is incomparable to even finding a gold mine. Speak anything you desire as your reward."

Momentum? Time?

......Why do I feel like we weren’t on the same page?

Just as my head was full of question marks, Godorfun-sensei gave me a helping hand.

"Hmm. So you didn't know as I had guessed. Let me ask you this: how familiar are you with Justeria's politics?"

Ohh~, so that was what he was on about. I guess I had to answer.

"......The match between Olivia-san and Grayfia-san was a proxy war between the noble restoration faction and the pro republic faction, and the result would have decided the trend of the political storm brewing in Justeria. However, my interference has pushed back the advantage that was almost within the noble restoration faction's grasp following Grayfia-san's victory… Was that what you meant?"

Godorfun-sensei flashed a surprised expression, apparently he wasn't expecting such a precise answer.

"Gracious, I didn't expect you to have such deep insight. You're quite something lad, hiding your sharp mind under that foolish persona. It's as you guessed, the arena was indeed the grounds for one proxy war.

It was for that reason why that young lass made a show out of beating up Olivia— the daughter of the Rudeon family who is the torchbearer of the pro republic faction and the emblem holder of the anti-war and Pro-Yuglia faction. I guess she used a treacherous plot in the fight, but the audience didn't realize it.”

......I expected nothing less from him. Still, that begged a question, which was—

"Speaking of the plot, why didn't you expose them, Sensei? Because of the burden of proof?"

"......Alas. While I know that the lass played a trick, the trick must have been something elaborate that they can easily excuse themselves. I would have been walking into their trap if I had decided to support young Olivia as a judge. Well, I was more convinced by the eyes of young Olivia, she wasn't discontent by one bit.

I couldn't have besmirched her pride as a warrior when she already had conviction. That defeat was a symbol of her weakness and taken aback by that, she was also frantically fumbling for the winning move.

The fact that you also hadn't jumped in shouting 'it's unfair' or 'what a cheater' must have been for the same reason, am I wrong?"

......I'm sorry, I don't have the acumen of that caliber in politics.

I was simply fascinated by Olivia-san's display of prowess and I would have been but a fool to shout in that situation. I felt like it would have been taken as a snarling of a defeated dog.

"......The process doesn't matter, the audience were there simply to see what the fate of the Rudeon family or Justeria would be. The Rising Star Cup was already a prominent event for the youngsters carrying the future of their nation on their back, and it's not hyperbole this match was the leading topic among them.

They seemed to have the plan to test out that lad Leo Zatsinger as well, who has already made a name for himself even in foreign nations, using the tournament as an excuse. The loss would have been unimaginable should they have damaged his reputation as well with the rumors.

'Are you sure you want to side with these weaklings?' was the show that the lass Grayfia must have been planning to play out. "

Wow, the waters were quite deep in this one, huh? Wait, did that mean I unwittingly played out the role of a 'national beacon'...?

Ugh, I could feel the muscles on my face stiffening at the thought. I tried to clarify if my assumption was right, though I could barely squeeze out my voice.

"......Was my, err… action in that match uncalled-for?"

"Fuhahaha! Don't tell me there was something else that you wanted to do? Frankly, I did think it wasn't going to be easy for you, but I’ve never seen you fume so much, and you also use a bow, an unconventional weapon. I stepped in and wagered on that element of surprise but...... Pff-hahaha!

No, I truly didn't expect you would start with acting so close to young Olivia and fight with a borrowed rapier from her. I have to say even I almost broke out in cold sweat with the way you handled things.

It was clear who held the upper hand in that situation. However, you managed to befuddle many with the name of a spirit without displaying your actual performance, striking while the iron was hot when it was the perfect chance to make a name for yourself. I have no doubt that each nation, especially the Rosemieur Empire, must be scratching their heads in annoyance at the lack of information. They should now be apprehensive not knowing how strong you are, just that you're uncannily powerful. The uncertainty of the unknown is always the scariest."

I see. I get it. While I did want to give him a piece of my mind for his shamelessness as to how he could arbitrarily place his hopes on one person, there was one more thing I couldn't wait to clear out.

"You could use a bow in the Rising Star Cup?"

"Pfft-fuahahah! Pff cough cough"

◆◆◆

"Gahahaha. You're really a witless person as Elder (Godorfun) had described. Well then, going back to square one. What is it that you desire as a reward? Here's a hint: I am in quite a good mood today. You can ask for anything. Money, treasure, position, or even honor. No need to hold back."

As if he was anticipating what my request would be in this situation, His Majesty asked while resting his crystal-clear eyes on me.

Huh, well, that's too sudden to come up with anything honestly— or so I would have said, however I just happened to have a thing that was constantly plaguing me.

The funds and personnel for the activities of the Geography Research Club.

We wanted to create a map for this stupidly large land kingdom, but the reality of our club was that making small requests to the explorer association by chipping in money from our pockets to complete it would easily take years, even decades.

Fey (The Dragoons) had already invested a huge sum, however, I thought that since we were talking about a kingdom-wide map, then it should be sponsored by the kingdom at least, right? Plus, with the words of His Majesty, this project was bound to progress by leaps and bounds.

Well, since it was a special occasion, I pitched in how important geography was, how ambitious our project at the Geography Club was, and appealed like those hardcore salesmen— wait, I’m sure my speech would blow them out of the water entirely for sure.

"Alright, calm down now. I’ve already received a petition from Marquis Meria of the Dragoon family about turning it into an official project. As for how it’s going, there have been voices opposing this as they couldn't see how it would benefit us, and I've been unsure as well. However, your speech has certainly convinced me to push for it. I’ll put in a good word from my end."

"Thank you very much for your grace!"

I performed my signature precise 45 degree bow in rejoice.

"However, I asked what 'you' desire, not a presentation for the kingdom's project. This can't be called a reward at all. Isn't there something else?"

Huh, was it the one+one combo offer? No wonder he was the king. Yup, he truly has a royal heart.

Hmm, the other thing could be the messy situation surrounding the Master's workload but… this would call for a reformation of the knight order system which hardly had anything to do with me. In that case—

"......I want to establish a Sail Club in the academy once it reopens. Can we use the naval port near 1st street 1st avenue as our practice ground and anchorage base? It's the closest to our academy and I heard it also acts as a dock for transportation ships. It would be a huge lifesaver if we can get permission to use the facilities there as well."

The best place if we wanted to hold our practice for sailing a ship was the Great Rune River at the south of the royal capital, but as it stood, the route was strictly managed as it was quite close to the royal palace, which meant we couldn't freely move around lest we arouse suspicion.

We could use another port, but that would just be a waste of time.

His Majesty's brow shot up at my request.

"Oh? A Sail Club… It's yet another unexpected proposal. I guess you shouldn't be unaware about the emergence of the magic propulsion engine recently. Then why sailboats in this era?"

Fufufu. Now, I didn't expect such an easy question.

I puffed my chest out and flashed a content smile.

"Because it's fun, Your Majesty. It's just for fun!"

His Majesty looked as if he couldn't believe it was for this simple reason, but he eventually flashed a grin.

"Now, now. I’ve granted rewards a multitude of times, but you’re the only one to ask for a toy as reward from me. Have you already gotten a boat?"

I nodded.

"Yes, I found a shipbuilding firm as our sponsor from the Marquis Grauksh territory."

"Gahahaha! Oh, yes. I did hear some grumble about how you flung your knight's duty and sneaked into the Serdos territory in Grauksh for a vacation. So it seems that you're truly serious about it being for your playtime, then I shall not hinder you here!

Very well, Allen Rovenne. I will pass my words to Captain Olina. You can also utilize the dock and the facilities there on your whim."

His Majesty left these words before spinning on his heel and exiting the reception room.

I bowed again in appreciation at his back.

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