Chapter 66 – Opposition

000

Even if it is an academy, a repository of knowledge and an educational institution where the light of wisdom does not go out.

It is not that students and professors devote their time to study and research without even taking a holiday.

Normally, it operates as an educational city and becomes the exclusive property of students and faculty.

On weekends, people flocked from the surrounding towns and cities.

In particular, students’ dormitories located outside the academy, near residences,

It was noisy because the relatives of the students who came to see their families after a long time often came and went.

If it was Lila before meeting the Cleons, she spread a soundproofing barrier throughout the mansion.

I closed all the curtains on the windows and forgot to even eat.

He must have been immersed in his research in the dark underground workshop, waiting for the weekend to end quickly.

However, the weekend with Quon has changed a lot from before.

In the morning, I wake up naturally because of the scent of her meal she prepared.

No matter how late I slept last night, was it because I always woke up at a set time?

Leila had less of her late-night tying her hair in front of her desk.

“Huh… Good morning…”

She goes down into the mansion’s living room as Lila yawns loudly.

There, Sasha was already ready for breakfast.

She was standing in front of her mirror, adjusting her dress, with a cute decoration in her hair that she hadn’t seen before.

“Good morning! Mrs. Lyla!”

Hearing Laila’s voice, Sasha turned to her.

She still has her tail and ears, but she is still a cute and bright child.

“Yes. Sasha. Is this a hair ornament you’ve never seen before?”

Laila pointed her sleepy eyes at Sasha’s head.

Sasha smiles bashfully and touches the hair ornament, which features red berry-like jewels and green ribbons.

“Yes. Actually, a friend from the same department gave it as a welcome gift.”

“As expected, it’s the incarnation of affinity. Didn’t you say you were going to play with them today?”

“That’s right! We decided to meet at the free market in the Commerce Department.”

Lila nodded vigorously, her hair bobbing up and down with it.

“Be careful with the free market. There are a lot of guys in that department who are dark-hearted, and there are guys who rip you off.”

Saying that, Lila turned her head to find Cleon and Quon, who were up first.

Sasha then told her if she understood her intentions.

“If it’s Cleon-san, stay in the room with Quon-san. I have an important meeting today, so I’m going to wear clothes…”

“Huh? Ah. It was today that you decided to pretend to be lovers with Aruru.”

Layla scratched her head, looking a little embarrassed.

It’s already been 3 days since everyone decided to convince the chief,

Cleon was the only one who had yet achieved such a remarkable result.

For some reason, the chief of the archery department hasn’t been showing up for the past few days.

Quon’s Divinity Department also just shook its head when Layla’s name was brought up.

Needless to say, Layla, the most famous and notorious person in the academy, was.

For a moment, Lila looked back and forth between the meal prepared on the table and the upstairs where Cleon’s room was.

Moving my feet, I climbed the stairs again and headed for Cleon’s room.

Thump thump. When the knock rang, Quon’s reply was heard from the inside.

When Lila opens the door with a rough answer.

There, I saw Cleon dressed in a suit that I had never seen before.

“…Where did you get it? That suit.”

A clean black outerwear and a white shirt.

And the same black pants that look like pitch black.

“Finally, the whole body is only white and black.”

Speaking as a joke, Quon burst into laughter.

“Yesterday. Aruru sent me to this mansion. How did you know the shame…”

Cleon adjusts his tie as if it is a little uncomfortable.

It was a suit I had never worn in my life, so I had no idea how to wear it.

Quon is also a country girl, so I don’t know much about men’s suits.

Cleon was helping with the thought that it would be better to wear it alone.

“Umm…”

However, something seemed strange to Layla.

He came closer to Cleon and smoothed out the wrinkles on his shirt to straighten his clothes.

Then lift the heel and adjust the tie.

“Now. Let’s do this like this… Yes. That’s it. As expected, the clothes are wings.”

“Isn’t that strange?”

At Cleon’s words, Layla steps back a little and, with a finger on her chin, glances at him from top to bottom.

“Not really? Hmm~ If it was my taste, I would have made the color navy instead of black.”

Quon nodded as if agreeing with Lyla.

“Are you familiar with the suit?”

“There were many cases where seniors were called in as department representatives in various places. As a result, I often saw other guys wearing suits.”

At Cleon’s question, Layla shakes her head.

“By the way. The one I’m most invited to at prom-like places is that Aruru Tromeia you’re going to meet from now on.”

I mean, regardless of gender. ‘ Laila adds.

“…By the way, Layla…”

“Ah!?”

At Cleon’s bullshit, Layla threatens him with tendons floating on his forehead.

Cleon, who unknowingly swallows his saliva and spares his words.

“…It’s been several years since I didn’t go to a place like that. The last time I went was four years ago… I guess. Now they haven’t even invited me.”

There was a slight sadness in Laila’s expression as she spoke while avoiding her eyes.

Would it be better to avoid mentioning more than this?

Quon and Cleon, who thought the same, nodded.

“The restaurant I’m going to meet with Aruru today seems to be a pretty classy place. I heard that you can enter only after an introduction from an existing customer.”

At Cleon’s words, Layla said, “Hey,” And looked at him with cold eyes.

“Let’s go together later. Sasha and Quonon together.”

“With what you pay.”

“… Okay.”

Saying that, Lila turns around with a mischievous smile.

“But don’t forget the original purpose. The purpose is to get ‘consent’ from Aruru.”

“I know. I’ll be back with good news.”

001

There was a luxurious carriage running along the well-groomed streets on the plains.

On top of the body made of a lightweight yet solid material.

It is decorated with three crossed swords, the pattern of the trinity warrior’s family ‘Tromeia’.

Brilliant golden lines run here and there on the body.

Several hours by carriage from the kingdom’s capital.

Due to the influence of magic, humans riding inside can hardly feel the vibrations.

Even without such magic, a carriage pulled by well-trained horses is as if walking on clouds.

The owner of the wagon was being moved to its destination.

“Ha…”

And a voice sighed.

A man who appears to be in his 50s is riding in the carriage.

The whole body is well-trained and quite large.

Her hair, which was originally golden, turned white due to the excessive work of the kingdom.

With a neatly trimmed beard he doesn’t pay much attention to veneer.

It was showing that he was a warrior far from vanity.

The clothes were worn also the uniforms of the ministers of the kingdom with white stripes in a red tone.

The golden trim on the shoulders maintains a perfect angle and not a single wrinkle is visible.

The medal on his chest made it easy to imagine how many times he had saved the kingdom.

Percys Tromeia.

He is the current head of the Tromeia family and the father of the hero, Aruru Tromeia.

He is the second hero from Duke Tromeia.

Now retired as a hero, it could be said that he was an executive of the kingdom who was in charge of the kingdom’s Minister of Defense.

In a situation where he must be excited about going to meet his golden daughter.

There are two reasons why I let out a sigh in succession.

The first is the existence of the ‘man she is dating’ that her daughter talked about in a letter.

With each letter he sent, the story about the man was different, so he already knew that it was a lie.

But that he had no interest in the engagement enough to lie to his father.

As the next head of the family, it was an attitude that I couldn’t help but worry about.

In addition, to the story of her daughter who allowed her to meet her in person.

Little pity for her man, who from now on will become her helper of lies and she will come to see her.

Because she thought that she might unknowingly draw her sword and cut it.

And second.

Issues related to the death of Sword Saint Talchek kept swirling around him.

As a member of the intelligence agency, you can freely roam around the kingdom to some extent.

The kingdom’s hero Talchek, who made a great contribution to maintaining public order, dies.

The daughter he had – to be exact, the special strategy weapon, the holy sword.

The artificial holy sword Iona Chevalier was also about to leave the kingdom’s intelligence agency.

Two of the 4 heroes are gone.

One belongs to a church, not a kingdom.

The other is an unpredictable wanderer.

Although he did not intend it, Talchek, who had contributed to the peace of the kingdom, disappeared.

Here and there, there were people trying to stick their heads out.

Thanks to that, yesterday’s meeting of ministers did not come to a conclusion either.

Even today, a holiday, after a long time reunion with my daughter.

I had to go back to the cramped castle and talk with the bald heads.

“I don’t like it…”

He spits out a voice that sounds like he is lamenting his situation and looks out the window.

A plain that spreads far and wide.

My younger self ran across this plain on horseback.

Defeat the imperial soldiers with Talcheq.

Protected the kingdom with Lecia.

Now that the war with the Empire is over and he has succeeded his father as Minister of National Defense.

The family became more prosperous, and the kingdom became peaceful.

His own unmanned soul continued to grow old.

002

When the sun rose in the middle of the sky, Cleon was waiting for Aruru and her father at the promised place.

Originally, her mother was planning to accompany her, but because of an unexpected accident, only her father came.

And the place where they wait is the most luxurious among the restaurants in the academy.

Cleon moved to the private room under the guidance of the manager and sat down first.

It was more colorful than any other restaurant Cleon had ever visited.

A chandelier hanging from the ceiling as well as a table.

The sound of music that can be heard even in the room is the performance of the ‘music band’ that I saw while coming here.

Regarding the cost, it was said that Aruru would pay for it, so I wasn’t worried.

Afterwards, when he thought about visiting again with his colleagues, the circumstances of his wallet came to his mind.

It was fortunate that I arrived a little earlier than the appointed time according to Laila’s advice.

I was blocked by the atmosphere of the restaurant, and it seemed like it would take time to adapt.

“The man is here first.”

When the door opens with a voice from outside.

Aruru appeared in a red dress.

Unlike usual, her hair is loose and long.

Blue earrings in the shape of small swords stood out in his ears.

The shape of the dress is sleeveless, although there is a cloth covering her chest and back.

The top of the shoulders, sides, and armpits were largely exposed.

On the leg side, even though it is a dress, the right leg is exposed as it is so that it is easy to move.

Of course, she was ashamed to show her bare legs, too, and brown tights took over.

Black silk gloves on the hands.

It comes up to the wrist and is decorated with beautiful patterns.

It was hard to imagine holding a sword with that hand and swinging it vigorously.

Aruru Tromeia as a ‘girl’ rather than a ‘unmanned’.

However, the dignified posture and the expression with the corner of the mouth slightly raised.

Even if he doesn’t hold the sword, he still faces Cleon with his beautiful appearance.

“Sorry, did you wait?”

“No, just… On purpose?”

At Cleon’s answer, recalling the previous question and answer, Aruru burst into laughter and sat down next to Cleon.

“Father will come a little later. There are more customers than expected, so it seems it takes some time to find a place to put the wagon.”

“Okay…”

If something goes wrong and Aruru’s father can’t come.

I thought the same thing, but it didn’t seem to happen.

“…Whoops, your face is stiff, Mr. Cleon. It’s completely different from usual.”

“Sorry, this is my first time at a place like this.”

At Cleon’s words, Aruru opened her eyes wide as if a little surprised, then raised her mouth again.

“It’s unexpected? Since I’m a lecturer in the sex department, I thought he’d already had relationships with many women.”

“I don’t deny that part… But I don’t have the experience of being introduced as a lover by someone else’s family.”

“Hey, then I’m the first.”

Aruru’s attitude as if making fun of him makes Cleon feel a bit uncomfortable.

Obviously, I know she had no such intentions.

At that time, ‘Ttubeok’ from the outside. The sound of regular, well-ordered male footsteps could be heard.

“Come.”

When Aruru said that and stood up, Cleon followed her and stood up as well.

And an elderly man who appears as the door opens.

As I had heard in the story, it was a majestic yet dignified figure.

Maybe it’s about the same height as Talcheck.

“It’s been several months since I’ve seen you in person. How have you been? Father?”

Aruru naturally opens her mouth and approaches her father her.

Then, moving his arm and pointing at Cleon with his hand his, he continued talking.

“This is the instructor at the academy I’m dating. This is Mr. Cleon.”

“…Nice to meet you, Mr. Percys. I-“

“Excuse me!!!”

The moment Cleon was about to speak, a booming voice echoed from Percys.

He was talking to Cleon with his eyes wide open.

“I will not hand over my daughter to the Dark Demon Clan!”

003

An awkward silence falls in the room.

The meal hadn’t been served yet, but only a glass of wine for the aperitif.

It lay loosely on the table.

Although Aruru somehow calmed Percy down and made him sit down.

He was still looking at Cleon with devouring eyes, as if he could neither understand nor calm down.

And when you open your mouth-

“Aruru. You know that I fought with them in the war against the Imperials. Did you bring this man?”

Percys’ voice seemed to somehow suppress the bubbling emotions.

But Aruru seemed to have expected his reaction to her.

Respond in a calm voice.

“Yes. I am well aware of it. Since childhood, my father’s saga has been my favorite story.”

“Um, that. Is that so…? No! What are you thinking?”

To Percys, it seemed that Aruru was only trying to make fun of him.

The Dark Demon clan is the same blood relative as the Demonic Sword Emperor who threatened the world by spreading evil in the empire.

The power they had was easily stained with ‘evil’, and they did not know when a person like the Demon Sword Emperor would appear again.

“As for what I’m thinking. My head is already full of Mr. Cleon, so I’m not thinking about anything else.”

“Have you been brainwashed!?”

“Whoops, no.”

Aruru talks to her father her, Percys, without taking a single step back.

Cleon thought it would be helpful to keep his mouth shut, so he quietly listened to the two of them.

“Which of these men is better than the aristocratic youths of the kingdom?”

“Strong. More than any swordsman I know.”

“Don’t say what comes out. Besides, do you think the family’s son-in-law will be determined only by swordsmanship?”

“But I think it’s the most important criterion.”

Two people who do not close their disagreements with each other in this way.

In the end, it was Percys who could not stand it and raised his voice.

“Hey! Did you say Cleon? I already know that you’re playing along with your daughter’s lies. But even if it’s not a lie, I can’t admit it as much as you!”

Even if you say that to yourself.

That was Cleon’s honest impression.

If you knew it was a lie, wouldn’t it be fine to take Aruru like this?

I thought the same, but if I did that, I couldn’t get permission to use the ‘stone gun’ from Aruru.

Although it was Aruru who told her to leave most of it to herself.

Is it right to say something here?

With that thought in mind, I glanced back at Aruru.

She was looking in Cleon’s direction, as if expecting something.

“… It does n’t matter if I don’t get approval from Mr. Percys. I think her choice should be respected.”

At those slightly arrogant words, a tendon rose from Percys’ forehead.

On the contrary, Aruru looked at her father with a satisfied smile.

“Aristocrats’ every choice comes with responsibility. And that responsibility cannot be resolved at the individual level.”

“Is that why you’re tying her down?”

“It’s about doing what you think is best.”

“There is one child I know who has carved out a life for herself, to escape a bounding future. Much younger than Aruru.”

“It’s an irrelevant story!”

In the end, like Aruru from before, Cleon gets a little heated and talks to Percys.

Percy, whose voice is gradually getting higher, can’t stand it and stands up.

“…Any man could sympathize with Aruru’s lies, but you’ve gone too far.”

“…”

“Aruru, do you hate this father’s work so much? Did you arrange this man to make me angry?”

“No. It’s to please my father.”

“What are you talking about-“

Next moment.

The ceiling collapses and several humans in red uniforms appear.

When Cleon and Percys were taken aback by the sudden attack, only Aruru pulled out the earrings as if he knew in advance.

The blue jewel in the hand she emits magical light and changes to arondite.

“…Did you know in advance?”

Cleon takes out the red sword he had hidden with illusion magic, as she asked.

“Umm~ I felt that something was watching Cleon all the time. I thought it was an execution fruit.”

Although Percys regrets his actions of leaving his sword in the carriage.

At the same time, Cleon and Aruru stood back to back to protect Percys.

“Then, Mr. Cleon. It’s a bit early, but let’s dance.”

“…There is no such thing as a tomboy.”

The two of them said that, and at the same time rushed towards the enforcement section in front.