SLO Chapter 24

[Elina Cildy Borg Alecidus]

(Elina Cildy Borg Alecidus Side)

My name is Elina Cildy Borg Alecidus.

I am the first princess of the Alecidus Kingdom, and I will be enrolling at the Alecidus Royal Academy.

As a royalty, I had been receiving the best education, so the letter from the academy which informed me of my admittance as the top admittee came as no surprise to me.

“Princess Elina. Congratulations on your admission.”

“Thank you, Uncle.”

Today I decided to pay my uncle, principal of the royal academy, a visit and have tea with him.

“I must say, you have quite the competitors.”

“My, what might you be talking about?”

“Well, I suppose there is no harm in telling you. Elina, you didn’t come first in any of the exams.”

“Huh?”

Being a top admittee, I thought I’d come first in one of the three exams.

“The one who came in first in the combat exam is Miss Ruby, an adventurer.”

I had never held hope of coming in first in the combat exam.

It was because of my old friend, Lyncean Sword Marshall.

She was a foolhardy girl, though she would get angry whenever I teasingly called her so. She was born into a family of knights and had been undergoing rigorous training since she was little. Given that magic wasn’t allowed in the combat exam, I had imagined she would beat me in the exam from the start.

However, I was surprised to learn that, combat-wise, there was someone better than her.

“The one who came in first in the academic exam was Miss Myril. She is a commoner, but is brilliant enough to receive a scholarship to enter our academy.”

I lost in the academic exam to a nameless commoner girl? The fact had me clutching the hem of my skirt, vexed.

“Hohoho, it is fine to feel frustrated.

“It means you have the potential to grow, to be better.

“Lastly, the one who came in first in the magic exam was Rivera Glico.

“Her father works at the Ministry of Magic.”

So they were all females, the same as me. My frustration couldn’t help but grow worse.

I would be sure to reclaim my honor at the academy.

“You came in third in all three exams, and you have the highest grades overall, you should be proud. I have high hopes for you, Elina.”

Upon leaving the principal’s office, I gritted my teeth.

As long as I was a member of the royal family, I couldn’t afford to be inferior to anyone.

“Until I take the top spot in the truest sense, I will never give up.”

As the new student representative, I was to deliver a speech at the entrance ceremony, and I stood on the podium to do so.

“Good day, everyone. My name is Elina Cildy Borg Alecidus, the new student representative.

“Some of you may have already known that I didn’t come in first in any of the exams.”

“It makes me feel that I am unworthy to be speaking here, but since I have been chosen, I will try to fulfill my duty to the best of my abilities.”

By voluntarily informing them of the fact, I conveyed to the students the high standards expected of them in the Alecidus Royal Academy.

While I was delivering my speech, I looked at the students one by one.

Among them, I found a young man dozing off in the high-ranking nobles’ seating area.

I recognized him. He was the second son of Duke Deskustos.

The fact that such a high-ranking nobleman slept without a care in the world while a royalty was giving a speech made me feel astonished and mad beyond belief.

With such a person belonging to a ducal house, it might be time for the Alecidus Kingdom to re-evaluate its nobility.

After finishing my speech, I stepped down from the podium, and then the principal concluded the entrance ceremony.

Orientation would be held in the classroom following the entrance ceremony, so I went to the Class 0 classroom and then listened to the professors’ explanations.

In the middle of the explanation about Ranked Match, Lyncean’s personal knight raised his hand and stood up.

“I’m ranked 20th, which makes me at the bottom of the class.”

He challenged the second son of Duke Deskustos to a Ranked Match.

I still resented him for sleeping while I had been delivering a speech during the entrance ceremony, so I personally would like to see the sorry sight of him getting beat up.

“Luc Hugaro Deskustos, I challenge you.”

“Why? It sounds annoying, and I don’t want to do annoying stuff.”

Impossible?! Nobles were prideful creatures! There was no way they would turn down a challenge to a fight, in front of so many people no less?!

“Hmph, are you scared?”

I looked at the young Deskustos in disbelief.

“Haa~. Listen here, there’s nothing in it for me to have a Ranked Match with you.

“Your rank will raise if you win, sure.

“But me? What do I gain? Nothing, that’s what. So why should I bother?

“It’s such an obvious thing, yet you don’t understand it. Are you an idiot? I don’t want to fight an idiot.”

He responded to the provocation with provocation, but essentially, he was saying he didn’t want to fight.

Did he have no pride as a noble?

“Y-you! You are a noble of the glorious Alecidus Kingdom! How can you turn down a challenge?!”

“Haa~ you fight him then, I’ll pass.”

I had never seen a noble who had no motivation or pride like him before.

Just how far did he have to bring down the dignity of the nobles of the Alecidus Kingdom before he was satisfied? Despite myself, I rose from my seat in anger like Lyncean did.

“I see everyone would like to see Ranked Match between Mr. Dan and Mr. Deskustos.

“Mr. Deskustos.

“Please follow the academy rules.

“A lower-ranked student may challenge a higher-ranked student to a Ranked Match, but not the other way around.

“A higher-ranked student does not have the right to refuse a challenge to a Ranked Match.

“Besides, guiding the people is one of a noble’s duties.

“As a noble, you can’t refuse.”

I deprived him of escape and made it impossible for him to refuse.

“Okay, okay. As you wish, Your Highness.” He finally relented and agreed with a deep sigh, giving me a very annoyed look.

Wha?! No one had ever taken such an attitude toward me! How rude!

He must be unwilling to fight because he knew he would lose and embarrass himself, after all.

Oh, how I couldn’t wait to see him beat up. The corners of my lips curled up into a small smile.

“Begin!”

However, my expectations were dashed the moment the professor gave the signal to start.

Deskustos overwhelmed Lyncean’s personal knight with amazing martial arts.

His movements were so beautiful he looked like dancing and I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

The movements of Lyncean’s personal knight weren’t bad, either.

However, there was a clear gap between their skills, making it look like a fight between a child and an adult.

“Well, ‘checkmate’, I guess.”

When he declared so, the knight fell unconscious.

That settles it, I suppose. But no sooner had that thought surfaced in my mind than Deskustos used some kind of magic to send the unconscious knight floating to the ceiling of the arena.

“W-what are you trying to do!!!”

Lyncean screamed.

“Winner, Luc Hugaro Deskustos! Mr. Deskustos!!! Hurry and put down Mr. Dan!!!”

The professor declared the victor, his voice interlaced with impatience.

I prepared to cast magic, just in case.

“Okay.”

Deskustos undid his magic without hesitation and Lyncean’s knight started falling to the ground.

“Kyaaa!!”

I started to circulate my mana to cast magic, but just then I realized someone had cast magic at Lyncean’s knight’s landing point.

Therefore, I stopped my casting.

However, the magic didn’t get the chance to serve its purpose as the professor caught Lyncean’s knight in the air.

“W-what’s wrong with you?! You coward! Dan was unconscious!!”

Lyncean appeared oblivious to the magic.

She screamed at Deskustos. It was somewhat disgraceful, given the official Ranked Match had just been concluded.

“He started this. He shouldn’t have challenged me if he wasn’t prepared to face the consequences.”

Deskustos turned his gaze to us, spectators.

“How about you guys? If you think you’re so strong, step up and challenge me. I’ll play with you.”

After witnessing his strength, surely no one would think they could fight and beat Deskustos.

I didn’t look away from his gaze, but I gritted my teeth.

“Come on, guys. I may be spent from the fight, you know? This is your chance to raise in rank.”

Deskustos released a deep sigh and looked up as if he had lost interest.

“I respect those who pursue knowledge. I also respect those who pursue magic.

“However, I don’t respect idiots who’re all brawns but no brains. I hate them.

“If another brainless idiot like that guy challenges me to a Ranked Match, I’ll make sure they won’t be able to challenge me a second time. So, you’d best think twice before you challenge me… are we clear?”

No one present dared to talk back against him. We were all overwhelmed by his words, by his strength.

After making his point, Deskustos started making his way out of the arena with Rivera Glico.

“D-Dan will definitely defeat you next time! You’d better remember it!”

Without paying heed to Lyncean’s words, Deskustos left the arena, then we all exhaled in unison.

He had shown such overpowering strength that we had forgotten to breathe.

He was brilliant and skillful enough to overwhelm his opponents without hurting them.

Yet he wasn’t so merciful as to shy away from brutalizing his enemy.

There was no waste in his movements. I could tell at a glance how much time and effort he had put into training.

And here I was amused at the thought he would lose. I admonished myself for my stupidity and went after him.

“May I have a word with you?”

I knew my attitude toward him so far had been less than pleasant, but I truly disliked the gaze he directed at me.

“How may I help you, Your Highness?”

“You don’t need to address me so formally… Elina is fine.”

“That so? Then you can just call me Luc, too. So, what’s the matter?”

“You are the first person to have ever looked so annoyed while talking to me.”

He lacked motivation.

He lacked pride.

Yet he showed off a high level of expertise in martial arts.

And his talent for magic was greater than mine.

His demeanor… was backed by true strength. It was completely justified.

“I was impressed by your combat skills. It was clear to me that you have trained for years. I now see you in a new light.”

“Well, thanks.”

“I have heard about how excellent Lord Testa is from my brother, but you have proved that you are also a member of the Deskustos House.

“You have my thanks for showing me such a wonderful fight. I will see you in class.”

Brother told me that Lord Testa from the Ducal House of Deskustos and Lord Guts from the Marshall House were superior individuals, and it was almost impossible to find anyone comparable to them.

However, here I found one. We were the same age, no less… Luc Hugaro Deskustos, I would remember you.

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