Sword, Magic and Academic Society

Adding firewood into the bonfire, I cheered him on, my tone nonchalant.

"You sure have it tough too, huh?...... Well, you should go for whatever you like because it\'s your life!"

Bester\'s head drooped in dejection.

"You don\'t say...... I heard from Fey and Jeu how you let Ruderio-sama continue his shenanigans, and asked them to ignore him despite having plenty of means to sort him out.

You know, even those two were taken aback at your way of doing things. They didn\'t know your plan all along was to thoroughly crush him on that spot so that he would have nightmares recalling it.

I mean, yeah, it was Ruderio-sama who picked a fight with you first and the fault lies with Diarmaq, but please, I beg you, hold back next time...... Due to what happened, there had been voices calling to nominate me to be the successor. You have no idea of the lengths I had to go through to deny those voices!"

Bester let out a defeated dog-like howl, his expression extremely pitiable.

"Hahaha! It\'s been so long that I’ve even forgotten about Rudge-senpai, so there\'s no way he would be plotting anything now, right? It\'s all a coincidence, honestly!

Anyway, so you guys still have to care about your family’s situation while in the Academy? Man, must be rough, eh? Well, not that it matters to a country bumpkin like me, ahaha!"

Talk about wasting your youth and friendship just for family politics. I’m amazed anyone would do that.

Bester heaved a heavy sigh.

"Haa~. You really surprised me… No, I’m scared that I don\'t even feel that you\'re joking.

I mean, the situation was already under scrutiny as everyone\'s eyes were on Fey and Jeu, guessing if there would be a confrontation after the entrance exam between the Dragoon and the Levarance, who were like cats and dogs. As individuals, they got along just fine, but you know their caliber and personalities...... However, your presence immediately brought both of them closer.

The Marquises had to hold meetings many times and decided to hold a youth gathering at the end of summer vacation, right after the first term. You should know the significance behind it, since you actually did show up there.

Zatsinger, who had a neutral stance in politics, had BBQ together with the Dragoon and Leverance people in Rovenne\'s house. Furthermore, there are even rumors that Leo is considering bringing the two families, Rovenne and Zatsinger, together through marriage.

\'I\'m just a country bumpkin, you say?\' You really have the nerve to say that when the Kingdom is ushering in a wave of transformation capable of repainting the current power structure."

......That damn Leo...... I didn\'t expect him to make a move on my Elder Sister behind my back. Out of all things, he just had to focus on that even though they were supposed to be \'neutral\'.

Hmm. Frankly, I was fed up with all the talk about politics, and I really didn\'t care about what could happen.

It was pretty much an everyday thing where someone out there would make their own head canon and spread it around. I would then wait until everyone was bored with that topic.

Just as I was thinking about that, an idea suddenly struck me.

“Well, I had no hand in most of them, alright? But you\'re right, it did cause significant trouble for you. You know what, let me tell you a mega classified secret that not even Jeu, Leo, or Fey knows to even it out.”

Eh, what kind of monumental secret could I possibly have? Hehehe, it was of course… about my mother’s family.

There had been too many times when I was asked about it, which obviously caused others to be interested in it as well, but I had no idea if it was even fine to reveal it, so I had been stalling for a while now.

However, when I relayed Imperial Guard Commander Randy’s message to mother via letter while also apologizing for letting that slip up happen, her reply came as— "Please tell my brother that I’ll visit him on my next visit to the Royal Capital. I had been expecting someone to figure that out sooner or later, so you don\'t have to take it to heart. Now that my brother knows, there\'s no need to keep quiet about it."

Basically, it was no longer a classified secret. I had passed the message to Randy-san as well, so it was just a matter of time before it became another talk of the town.

"A mega-classified secret? I get all jittery hearing these things from you...... I never pegged you to be the type to gather some intel or share them."

Bester said as he looked at me with caution.

"C\'mon, it\'s hardly like that. I\'m sure you’ll be stunned silly though. But—"

I grinned and said, "I would like to hear something from you too. Oh, and don\'t worry, I\'m not gonna dig into your secrets."

Kukuku. I should be able to pry out the answer from his tightly sewn mouth with this information which had yet to spread.

However, immediately noticing my snicker as I concocted my plan, the idiot steadfast Bester shook his head.

"......You know what, let\'s not do this. I have a bad feeling seeing that creepy smile of yours."

Uh-huh, but there was no room to escape. I ignored his words and dropped the bombshell.

"My mother\'s name is Celia, and apparently she\'s the little sister of Imperial Guard Commander Randy. I’m sure no one has yet to get the wind of this.... except you now."

As I magnanimously revealed that fact, Bester suddenly shifted to a neutral expression as he quietly pushed up the bridge of his glasses.

"............Let me confirm again. So you\'re saying that your actual mother is the little sister of Randy Von Dosperior, the Imperial Guard Commander, which basically means that she has the bloodline of the main Dosperior family...... is it?"

"Oh, you got it, yup. But you don\'t have to be surprised. I even saw some rando seemed to be aware of it for god knows why, so I thought everyone was probably already up-to-date with it."

"No-no need to surprise?....."

Bester crushed the firewood in his hand as he tossed it into the bonfire before continuing.

"Who the hell wouldn\'t be surprised?! For the love of god!!!! Do you even have the slightest idea what you just blabbered?! Not only is the Dragoon and Leverance already on your side, now even the Dosperior is connected with you?! My god, if Zatsinger becomes your supporter as well, the power dynamic of the kingdom would be shattered thoroughly into dust!

I wouldn\'t be surprised if the royal family takes this as a sign of rebellion! And the heck did you just say, only I know that? What the hell are you thinking, bringing me into your mess! I was right, I should have kept my ears shut!!!"

I waved my hand, asking him to take a deep breath and calm down, for now.

"Come now, I’m not going to dip into a joint faction with everyone, and I’ve already had a chat with His Majesty, so your fears are unfounded."

"Y-You had a chat with his Majesty!!? In the name of all that is holy, stop! JUST SHUT YOUR MOUTH, PLEASE! I only want to be a scholar. Why are you muddying the water for me as well?! And before you get bummed out, I don\'t have any information to share in exchange!!! Not even a fraction of it!!"

Bester beautifully performed a bow that he had been learning lately with a haggard appearance, and then glared at me with teary eyes.

“Don\'t sweat over such stuff and take a seat,” I said as I held him by the shoulders and brought him to a log in front of the bonfire, retaking our seat.

Then we silently stared at the bonfire for 30 odd seconds, and after loosening the atmosphere, I suddenly asked.

"Is there someone… you like, Bester?"

The flames flickered as the firewood made crackling sounds intermittently.

Perfect setup...

I finally pushed for what I had been dying to ask. Bester wore a bashful look, giving off an air of self-importance as if he was really proud of it, and readily replied.

"Huh? Ah, umm. Though it’s more than a crush, I have a fiancé in Class 1-C. She\'s the second daughter of Count Kayneridge, located in the Diarmaq territory as well. Her name is Kanon Kayneridge."

"Kanon Kaynridge...... You mean that sweet, adorable, and demure girl is your fiancé?"

"Yeah. We do have a disparity in status, but our betrothal was decided when I was able to enter Class A of the Royal Academy. Honestly, I think she\'s wasted on me… She\'s been quietly supporting me from behind when my standing was being dragged into the water due to the Hill Road Club situation, never once trying to get away from me. Enough of that, what was that you wanted to ask?"

"...............By the way, what do you call each other?"

"Kan-chan, and Bes-kun.... Hey, don\'t switch topics. I was asking something! Stop putting on airs!"

I crushed a nearby firewood, tossed it into the bonfire, and answered with a smoldering sensation inside me—

"Go and explode, you Normie!”

T/N - Damn, all that setup for that……MC really has one heck of personality. It suddenly occur to me, I guess Godotfun’s assignment in starting was all along to push Allen up.

E/N - MC\'s comment about his classmates worrying about their family situation even while in school makes me wanna facepalm. He really should at least keep it in mind, otherwise his dad will likely get a heart attack before he graduates