Senior Knight And Academy Principal

After Izumi returned to the girls’ dormitory, Rudel slipped out of the infirmary once night had fallen. He held a sword in his hand. Luecke noticed what he was doing, found his behavior suspicious, and was about to follow him when Unias called out.

“Leave him alone.”

“How can I ignore someone going outside with a weapon! Besides, there’s no telling what he might do in his current state.”

Unias also got out of bed, scratched his head, and gestured for Luecke to follow him. Luecke complied and walked after him.

The two stepped out onto the infirmary balcony. From there, Unias looked downward and pointed… The sound of a sword cutting through the air could be heard even from the second floor, and Luecke saw Rudel below, swinging his sword while crying. It was a painfully pitiful sight—a boy wrapped in bandages all over his body desperately practicing his swings.

“He’s really something, doing that with his body in pieces. …He’s been doing this every day for the last few days.”

“Why is he crying? He didn’t act like that during the day. He was carefree, talking about naming his finishing move and reading that book about how to pet dragons…”

“How should I know! But, well… everyone hates him, even his own family, and he’s still chasing his dream of becoming a Dragoon. Then this happens. Can’t blame him for wanting to cry.”

But the reason Rudel was crying was a little different from what the two imagined. As far as Rudel was concerned, he bore some responsibility for what had happened. He had dragged Luecke and Unias… and even Aleist into that battle. There was no denying that responsibility was his.

He already knew his family refused to acknowledge him. He was also well aware that those around him thought poorly of him. Even so, he had believed that if he continued working hard, people would eventually recognize him… and that he could become a Dragoon. Even now, he still believed that.

The reason Rudel was crying was simply that there had been people who acted for his sake. Everyone in his class had defended him. That had made Rudel happy, but at the same time, he was frustrated with himself for having exposed those classmates to danger and failing to protect them.

Wishing to become stronger, Rudel simply continued swinging his sword over and over.

The next morning, a meeting was held among the academy staff. They had to determine where responsibility lay for the greatest problem of all—putting the Princess in danger—but the issue confronting them was…

“To think House Arses would say something like this…”

“Even if they’re demanding that Rudel-sama be expelled, surely this is going too far…”

“The royal palace has also told us to resolve this quickly. Perhaps complying would be for the best.”

House Arses had demanded that Rudel be expelled and made to take responsibility for the entire incident. Over the past few days, the rumors had spread even further. Rudel had endangered the Princess… while his younger brother Chlust had protected her. Those rumors were clearly being spread deliberately, making the situation impossible to control.

“So House Arses has chosen Chlust-sama over Rudel-sama, their legitimate heir.”

The Academy Principal sighed, while the faculty members wore complicated expressions. Both brothers caused trouble, but while Rudel relentlessly moved forward in pursuit of his dream, Chlust was simply a problem student. He walked around the academy surrounded by his followers and had earned the resentment of commoners and demi-humans alike.

In the end, the academy decided to muddy the issue and avoid placing clear responsibility on anyone… However, Rudel alone would be forcibly moved into the two-year course and made to graduate. They also decided to grant him the title of knight so that he would retain the possibility of becoming a Dragoon.

It was the academy’s decision to protect Rudel as much as possible while still taking House Arses into consideration.

“What about the investigation team?”

“We were told that would fall under the royal palace’s jurisdiction.”

“Even so, it’s pitiful… The ones who fled are rewarded, while the one who stood and fought is punished.”

Within the gloomy meeting room, the Academy Principal murmured while looking through the documents.

“‘It is the duty of nobles to protect royalty,’ huh… For House Arses to discard such a fine heir…”

One teacher sensed danger in the Academy Principal’s words and quickly began speaking as though to cut him off.

“But look at the bright side! Now Rudel-sama can pursue becoming a Dragoon without any reservations!”

Several other teachers joined in, turning the conversation somewhat brighter.

“That’s true!”

“Once he becomes a knight, he’ll have the qualifications needed to become a Dragoon.”

“At this rate, he really might manage it.”

As that somewhat forced optimism continued, the Academy Principal was thinking about what came next—about how he could protect Rudel…

Second Princess Fina, having recovered her health and sufficiently replenished something resembling her supply of fluffiness, was resting in her room when she received a report from a female Senior Knight. She stared at the document in surprise.

“What in the world is this…?”

(What is this? It says Chlust protected me from that fake bird, while Master disrupted everything and put me in danger!!! That’s ridiculous! And… where did my testimony go? Chlust protected me from the Killer Rabbit, but when that fake bird showed up, he’d disappeared before I even noticed!)

The Senior Knight giving the report was a beautiful older woman with long purple hair tied back, glasses, and a cold impression. Her personality was genuinely strict as well, making her exactly the sort of person Fina had trouble dealing with. She was terribly inflexible.

“It has nearly been decided that Rudel-dono will be made to take responsibility for this incident. The academy apparently intends to leave the matter vague and simply graduate him, but I oppose that decision. Someone like him is unfit to be a knight.”

The Senior Knight continued taking the report at face value, insisting that Rudel’s punishment was far too lenient. She argued that merely removing him from his position as the next Grand Duke Arses was nowhere near enough, but Fina…

(This is bad! Master still hasn’t taught me his techniques! If they make him graduate now, it’ll be a huge obstacle to my fluffy life… But seriously, why does his family hate him this much?)

Watching the Senior Knight continue criticizing Rudel so harshly, Fina suddenly had an idea.

(Should I make her investigate it? While she’s doing that, I can write to Father and Mother, then spend some time fluffing Mii… No! If I mess this up, a national-treasure-level Master could end up getting erased by House Arses!)

In fact, once Rudel graduated and began serving as a knight, his family seemed poised to have him assigned to an extremely dangerous region.

“…‘Sophina,’ this report is incorrect.”

The expressionless Princess desperately tried to persuade Senior Knight Sophina while panicking internally.

“Incorrect? But this is an official document. To call it incorrect…”

(That’s why you’re missing your chance to get married! You take absolutely everything too rigidly! It may not technically contain lies, but don’t you realize it’s written in a deliberately misleading way? I really can’t deal with this woman! I want to go pant over Mii already.)

Despite thinking something extremely rude, Fina continued speaking.

“Rudel-sama risked his life to protect me. He said that protecting royalty was the duty of nobles… and then went forward to fight. There is no justification for punishing Rudel-sama alone.”

“But this report—!”

Sophina’s voice rose, but Fina answered her with an expressionless face.

“Judge it with your own eyes. What is written in a report is not necessarily the whole truth, and I personally believe Rudel-sama saved me.”

(If you saw Master’s technique even once, it’d change your whole life! Anyway, if you investigate it yourself, you’ll definitely realize something is wrong! So go prove Master’s innocence… or something close enough!)

“If Your Highness insists that strongly… Very well. However, if I investigate and determine that the report is correct, I will punish him severely in accordance with the royal palace’s orders.”

As she watched Sophina speak with determination, Fina once again thought something rather rude.

(That’s why men run away from you—you always look so scary… You’re already getting on in years, so why don’t you just get married? But all you ever do is work, so of course you never meet anyone… If only you had cat ears, I’d adore you! I’d keep you by my side forever! A beautiful cat-eared woman with a harsh personality… irresistible!!!)

Unaware of everything happening around them, Rudel and the other two were once again getting along together in their infirmary beds. They were currently engrossed in discussing the book Rudel had been reading, How to Pet a Dragon.

“What is with all this advanced magical theory and practical application!? Why does a book about petting contain theories that could rival a specialist textbook!?”

Even Luecke, who was highly skilled in matters of magic, was astonished by the advanced magical theories written in How to Pet a Dragon. It contained magical theory more sophisticated than what existed in the present day, yet all of it was being applied solely to the act of petting dragons.

“Hey! Near the end it just says, ‘What matters most is love,’ and wraps everything up! That’s ridiculous, isn’t it? It uses techniques bordering on the ultimate principles of martial arts solely for petting, and then ends with love!!!”

Unias shouted. The book contained petting methods derived from martial techniques… only to dismiss every one of them as superficial tricks before concluding that love was what truly mattered.

“See! Isn’t it amazing!? The author of this book was a former Dragoon who lived almost a hundred years ago… I wish I could’ve met him.”

While the other two stared in astonishment, Rudel alone found himself wishing he could have met that great senior from a century ago, despite knowing it was impossible.