CH 7

The Royal of Sarun Afia Academy is located in a corner of a hilly area, a little far from the center of the capital of Tranias. The surrounding area is covered with trees and is quiet. To be precise, there is one magnificent black-roofed mansion that seems to be a nobleman’s mansion, but there is no one in sight. Probably because it was located next to the school, they didn’t want to make too much noise. Because of this, the campus environment of the school is very blessed.

However, in spite of the wonderful surrounding environment, the campus has nothing but intense caste and endlessly boring classes. It’s a shame, but on the other hand, the facilities and services are better than those of any first-class hotel.

A library, a training hall, a bathhouse, an instrumental music room, and a swimming pool. You can use these wonderful facilities to the fullest.

This is something that would never happen in a school in the real world. In light of this, I would like them to do something a little more control over the insular caste.

In such a strange school, the cafeteria is particularly well-stocked. In the real world, the school cafeteria is more like a bait-and-switch. There is not much to choose from, and the most popular dishes are fought over. If you are even a little late, you have to wait for your order. I’ve never had a bad image of school cafeterias, but this school cafeteria, Rotasti, is different.

First of all, the dining room space is elegant. Large windows let in light from outside. It is decorated with chandeliers and expensive looking furniture. Above all, there is a grand piano with full-control specifications. The only thing that bothered me was the fact that the piano was made by a mysterious company called HEAZENDOLGER, but even without that, I would have liked to try it out.

There are not many restaurants in the real world that have a full kitchen. In addition, there are several elaborate private rooms of various sizes where you can have a dinner or a chat if available. Of course, it goes without saying that aristocrats are given priority, but with all that, it’s hard to believe that this is a school cafeteria. This is a fancy, high-class restaurant.

The menu is very large, and you don’t have to wait long to order. There is no Japanese version of the school cafeteria menu such as ramen or udon, but there are European dishes such as hamburgers, spaghetti, pizza, and even steaks and course meals. The best part is that the food is good and inexpensive.

The cafeteria is open from 6:00 a.m. to 21:00 p.m. Morning, lunch, tea time, and dinner are all available. It is a short walk from the school, and with such a full range of services, there is no need for a convenience store. If it were in the real world, I would be moved to tears.

So for lunch today, I ordered the “Seafood Platter”, or as I like to call it such. As I took the tray with the food on it and sat down at the table, a guy called out in a light-hearted manner, “Yo!”, he also took the tray and sat down at the table as of to match with me. A thick slice of steak was sitting on his tray.

“Well, well, well, isn’t this Sir Bolton?”

The blond-haired, blue-eyed, stocky young man sitting there smiled and said, “Oh, come on, give me a break.” Arthur Regierre Bolton is the legitimate son of the Earl of Bolton. He’s in a different class, but he’s the first classmate I’ve had a conversation with since I came to this school. The place was the training ground. There hadn’t even been an entrance ceremony yet, and Arthur was the one who called out to me when I was practicing alone.

“That’s a very strange way of sword art.”

That was the first thing Arthur said to me. It’s true that there is no sword art in this world that requires such training as holding a heavy tree branch at the top and continuously striking a log in both directions while making strange noises. I doubt if it even exists in the real world. I’m just following the instructions in the book, “Merchant’s Secret Art Compendium,” but even I think I’m losing my mind when I do it.

“Well, the world is a big place. I wasn’t sure I wanted to join this school, but maybe I’m glad I did.”

Arthur listened to my explanation of merchant swordsmanship and then began to tell me about himself. As a poor nobleman, he had planned to go to the Royal Academy of Swordsmanship to earn money as a knight, but his father, the Earl of Bolton, persuaded him to reluctantly enter this academy.

“I’m kind of in the same boat.”

I told Arthur that since I was a merchant, I would not be able to learn magic, swordsmanship or knowledge that I could learn at the school, and that since I was not a nobleman, I could not access the royal library and had enrolled to use the school library. Then Arthur held out his hand to me.

“That’s good. We’re friends now. Nice to meet you.”

I grabbed Arthur’s hand and shook it firmly. This Arthur guy is a different type, but he has the same temperament as my good friend Takuya Osako. I can trust this guy. I think we can be best friends. I wanted to go out with him without profit and loss.

Since then, Arthur and I have talked about many things in many places. It was a pity that we were in different classes, but we often saw each other in the cafeteria at lunch, and before we knew it, we were eating together like this.

“Hey, Glen, I’ve heard it. Assuming you win normally, how do you win this time?”

He looked at me with a grin as he boldly cut the steak in his hand.

“Arthur. You ought to worry about your friend a little bit.”

“How can I worry about something that’s bound to win?”

Arthur said and threw a piece of steak meat into his mouth with a clink. The stares around me hurt. They probably don’t like our conversation. But Arthur is not the kind of person who cares about such things. If he cared, he wouldn’t have asked me, a commoner he just met, to call me by my first name.

The creators of the game were blind that he’s just a mob character that never appears in the game. However, Arthur’s father, the Count of Bolton, does make a brief appearance at the end of the game. The Count of Bolton unites the middle faction of the nobility to take the side of the anti-Vizier, which leads to the downfall of Charles, Duke of Nord-Claudis, the Prime Minister, and the downfall of the House of Nord-Claudis, and the daughter is expelled from the school. However, this story is about his parents and has nothing to do with Arthur himself.

“There’s no way a lazy nobleman who hasn’t trained properly can win.”

“The question is, how do you win, here!”

Doesn’t pay attention of his surroundings, Arthur ate as much as he could, saying whatever he wanted. The steak looked like it was going to be about 500 grams at first, but it was over half gone in no time. Not to be outdone, I shoveled the seafood platter I had brought into my mouth at a pace to match Arthur’s.

After watching him for the past month, I think Arthur eats a lot and eats fast. Even so, he doesn’t seem to be in bad taste, which is probably due to the discipline of a noble family. This is one area where I feel different from a commoner like me.

“They say he’s got a magic sword.”

As I finished my seafood platter, Arthur’s busy hands stopped for a moment.

“The information came from the Duke’s daughter. So it can’t be wrong.”

I whispered, and Arthur’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Daughter of Duke Nord-Claudis. You’ve got a very big boss on your side, haven’t you? What have you done?”

Arthur seems to be mistaken me. He thinks that the duke’s daughter is actively working to support me. In this academy, which is a microcosm of aristocratic society, the power structure within the academy is rewritten by the every move of “bigwigs” such as royalty and dukes and marquises. For Arthur, who is a member of the aristocracy no matter how much he keeps his distance, the movements of the duke’s daughter are not unrelated to his own position.

“I didn’t do anything. It was the lady’s squire who leaked the story to me.”

“So it’s her squire, huh? The duke’s daughter is getting serious about dueling at this point. I thought it was going to be interesting.”

“This point?”

“Yeah, there seems to be a lot of commotion around the lady. Well, you can be sure that she’s not an enemy this time… Of course, I mean in this duel.”

I nodded. I have no idea what’s going on around the duke’s daughter, but as Arthur said, I think I read correctly that she’s not an enemy. I don’t know what position the duke’s daughter will take in the future, for me or for us, though. I informed Arthur of the information brought to me by the Duchess’s squire, Cloral.

“The Sword of Electra, apparently.”

Arthur’s complexion changed. As an aspiring knight, Arthur had trained with a sword for many years and was well versed in swordsmanship. He’s so skilled that he was able to comprehend the movement of my merchant swordsmanship in my copy of “Merchant’s Secret Art Compendium,” and give me advice. It’s only natural that he knows what Electra sword is like.

“Nonsense. If he uses it untrained, the sword itself could go out of control.”

Instead of wielding the sword, you are the one wielded the sword. Electra’s sword, which is also a magic sword, is said to run wild with blood when it cuts a person. A person with a high level of skill in swordsmanship may control its magic, but if a person without such skill holds it, it may go out of control.

“So you have to make sure he doesn’t swing it. Don’t let him slash you off.”

“That’s true, but how do you keep him from swinging it off? He is that idiot we’re talking about. There’s no way he knows the true power of the sword.”

“Well, I’ll just have to make sure he doesn’t swing it. For his sake.”

“For your own good. Dobberwin are a real pain in the ass. So, so what are you going to do??”

I nodded my head.

“I see, you have a plan. That’s good. If you need help, you can ask me anytime.”

“Oh, how dependable you’re. I definitely would love to ask it.”

If Dobberwin is a Count family, Bolton is also a Count family. Both are heirs. There is a balance. However, the Bolton family is one of only eight high ranking count families, the “Rubotana”.

“Rubotana” is the name of prestigious count families that was ones of the first to join the current dynasty, the Arubio dynasty.

In terms of rank, it is higher than the Dobberwin. It’s very important to have such a balance in this world where aristocracy reigns supreme, and for me, as a non-aristocrat, Arthur’s help is very much appreciated.

“By the way…., that thing with the duke’s daughter earlier…”

“Hmm?”

“I hear she has been engaged to His Highness the legitimate heir….”