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Talidge glared hard at Ains with naked hostility, his voice growing more aggressive as he spoke.
Don’t toss your problems onto me, Ains thought, shooting Laika an annoyed look.
Laika, for her part, had not the slightest doubt that Ains would crush Talidge easily.
Darius, who knew Talidge’s skill with the sword, could only stare at Laika in disbelief. Is this woman serious?
Just as the atmosphere teetered on the brink of violence, a young man arrived and restored calm.
“I heard what happened. But Laika-chan and Darius-kun, rein in your attendants. We are in the middle of an entrance examination.”
“…Brother.”
Kirishiya murmured.
There was only one person in this country whom Kirishiya would call her brother.
Crown Prince Haral.
The moment they confirmed who he was, everyone except Ains and Kirishiya straightened their backs and bowed deeply. Even Talidge offered the bare minimum of courtesy Haral would tolerate.
Haral raised a hand to stop them.
“You can relax. …Kirishiya, you should have stopped this too.”
“I am very sorry, Brother.”
Kirishiya apologized with downcast eyes.
“We are in the middle of an entrance examination. We should not be causing a commotion. …That said, Talidge, Darius-kun’s attendant, will not be satisfied like this either.”
“I apologize to Your Highness, but yes,”
Talidge replied—without a trace of apology in his expression.
“Right. Then let’s do this. The entrance exam ends after the practical test later. After the exam is over, I will stand witness to a bout in the form of a friendly match. How does that sound?”
Haral looked to Talidge.
“That works for me.”
“…Just like last time, you keep stumbling into trouble, Ains-kun. What about you?”
Haral spoke with a slightly stiff expression, and Ains began to answer.
“No, I absolutely—”
“Ains is absolutely going to accept, right? You will, won’t you? Do it. That’s an order from your master.”
Laika’s eyes bore into Ains.
“This is beyond a hassle… but if my master commands it,”
Ains sighed, then replied in a flat, emotionless monotone, as if forced to say it.
“Then it’s settled. For now, this matter is finished. Darius-kun, Laika-jou, until the exam ends, do not interfere with each other.”
Haral clapped his hands once and dismissed the group.
Darius and Talidge quietly left to prepare for lunch.
“Kirishiya, Lady Laika—you need to eat lunch too. The practical exam is in the afternoon. If you don’t build up your strength, you’ll collapse.”
With that, Haral waved and departed.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave. Even inside the academy, it wouldn’t be fair for the crown prince of this country to meddle with particular examinees.”
“I’m sorry, Kirishiya. I got a little heated.”
“No. I should have stopped it before it reached that point.”
Haral’s words left both girls looking repentant.
“Kirishiya-sama, let us have lunch. Lady Laika, Ains-dono—would you like to join us? We have prepared enough for everyone.”
“Oh, that’s a lifesaver! My attendant probably didn’t prepare anything. Riste gave me some snacks, but it’s a bit bland.”
“Well, nobody told me you needed lunch for an entrance exam.”
“A truly capable attendant makes those judgments and acts without being told, Ains. Learn from this going forward.”
It seemed Laika had fully regained her composure; she even had enough room for her usual mischievous smile.
Ains, on the other hand, had been dragged into a nuisance and then subjected to jabs, leaving him far from calm. He quietly groaned,
“Ugh…”
Seidel chuckled and stepped in to mediate, guiding them to their seats.
They spread sandwiches and tea on an empty table and ate lunch together in a peaceful circle.
Ains grumbled that he would have preferred coffee, and Seidel replied,
“We have that as well. Would you like coffee?”
Before brewing a cup from freshly ground beans.
Watching him, Ains felt a small surge of admiration. So this is what a real attendant looks like.
“By the way… earlier, um, that scary guy.”
“Talidge?”
Laika prompted, adding lemon to her straight tea.
“Yeah, Talidge. He was going on about ‘Sword King’ this and ‘Sword Saint’ that. What is that?”
“It’s a kind of ranking that indicates a swordsman’s level. You don’t hear it much in the magic-centric Santia Kingdom, though.”
Seidel set the coffee in front of Ains and took a seat beside Kirishiya.
Laika sat facing Kirishiya, and Seidel sat facing Ains, forming a neat arrangement around the table.
“The Gairin Empire is famous for swordsmanship, isn’t it?”
Kirishiya said, and Seidel continued smoothly.
“Ranking skill by sword ability is a custom of the Gairin Empire. People often say it: ‘Magic for Santia, swords for Gairin.’”
In the Gairin Empire, magic culture was not as developed as in the Santia Kingdom. Judging themselves inferior in magic to their neighboring nation, Gairin sought strength in another direction.
The result was swordsmanship specialized for close combat.
There were ranks such as novice swordsman, advanced swordsman, Sword King, Sword Saint, Sword Emperor, and Sword God.
With enough effort, one could reach the level of an advanced swordsman. But from Sword King upward, effort alone was not enough.
Talent played a major role. With a foundation of basic technique, talent piled on top, and then one’s own talent-shaped techniques layered further—only then could one reach those ranks.
“He’s skilled enough with a sword to justify that obnoxious mouth of his. And in a country that isn’t especially strong in swordsmanship, even a decent level of skill makes someone valuable.”
Some came from the Gairin Empire to Santia Kingdom seeking work with nothing but a sword, and the reverse was also true—some left Santia for Gairin carrying magical knowledge.
“But Laika, was it really okay? Even if he isn’t at Sword Saint level, he seems very strong for the Sword King rank.”
Kirishiya asked, sounding worried.
“It’s fine. Once, when I went to the empire with Father, I saw two Sword Saints spar. And Ains and Sophia’s sparring was even more incredible.”
Laika sipped her lemon tea as if savoring it, then set the cup back onto its saucer.
“Oh? So Ains-dono is skilled with the sword as well. And Sophia-dono—she would be the female knight of the Silver Snow Knights I have heard about?”
“Yes. She called herself my caretaker. She’s scary, so I try not to rely on her too much…”
Ains answered while watching Seidel pour more tea into Kirishiya’s empty cup.
“I’ve heard the Silver Snow Knights are superb swordsmen. If Lady Laika has seen it directly and judges so, then there truly is no need to worry.”
“In that case, Ains-sama, I’m sorry to say this, but I’m looking forward to your match with Talidge later.”
Reassured by Laika and Seidel’s words, Kirishiya smiled as she spoke to Ains.
“Well, I’ll do what I have to… but my true calling is magic and sorcery. To be honest, swordplay doesn’t exactly make my heart dance.”
With Ains growing a little gloomy at the thought of what was coming, the four of them continued with light, meaningless chatter and spent the rest of their lunch break that way.
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