Chapter 61 – Episode 61. Cute When Drunk (3)
Leopold stood still, watching Astrid’s back as she ran towards Violet.
If he had followed her, of course he would have grabbed Astrid’s hand or her arm, but Leopold deliberately didn’t. It was a new feeling.
A shy Astrid. Rarely… I’ve never seen it so much that I can’t express it in words. Such an Astrid was a new feeling, so Leopold stood still while feeling the taste, watching Astrid’s back as he walked away.
His eyes met for a moment with Violet at the end, but Violet also sent a winking signal, so Leopold decided to be content with feeling the afterglow.
“Cadet Leopold.”
From some point on, after Akhemilla stopped even coming around Leopold, Leopold heard an unfamiliar voice again.
“Ah.”
Purple hair was very rare. Purple hair that is said to only be possessed by those who are deeply engrossed in mana and have achieved success in sorcery. In other words, it meant the acquired hair color, but this purple-haired girl was staring at Leopold.
“You were a cadet Emily. What is it?”
“Because there was a word from my father that I wanted to pass on.”
“Is that so?”
Emily von Jorgien. She was the daughter of Bai Sieg von Jorgien, who was also the head of the Mage’s Tower located in the eastern part of the Empire, called the Magic Tower for short.
It was a great wizard and famous as a person who changed the continental war, but her daughter, Emily, was also a formidable person. It was also widely known that she was immersed in magic itself rather than magic, contrary to Bai Zik, who said she was crazy about magic, a technique that applied magic.
“Is it so. Then… Hmm.”
It was also meal time.
Lunchtime was imminent, so it would probably be lunchtime by the time we walked and reached the restaurant.
“Cadet Leopold, I wonder if we could talk over lunch.”
“I will.”
As the crown prince of the empire and the next emperor to lead the prosperity and well-being of the empire, Leopold needed to maintain a close relationship with the children of these four meritorious subjects.
Leopold readily nodded his head at Emily’s proposal, as it was a matter directly related to the well-being of the entire empire if the relationship with any one of them was strained.
I was also hungry at the time.
The place Astrid and Violet were headed to was also a restaurant.
“Cadet Astrid is still the same.”
“Is that so?”
The first thing Emily said as she headed to her restaurant was, surprisingly, not the main topic, but about Astrid.
Come to think of it, since she entered the academy, both times she and Emily had a chance to talk like this had something to do with Astrid.
First, when she was wandering around looking for Astrid, who had gone somewhere right before her class, she was taken care of by Emily. Second, at the ball on the eve of the graduation ceremony, Astrid suddenly returned to her original self and was rude to her while talking about candidates for the Crown Princess. When committing. Because of those two incidents, she had a conversation with Emily.
“She may be the best of the best, but she is the best heroine in the empire when it comes to her strength. It seems to live up to her reputation as a snow leopard.”
“Hmm… “
No, that’s not what I did.
“I think it would be good to be a little aware of being a noble. In order for her to become the Crown Princess, she has to be… “
“But that’s part of the charm.”
Come to think of it, if she really hated Astrid, maybe she didn’t. She was sure that Astrid didn’t like sleeping, so if Leopold liked Astrid, she might have thought it hurt her pride.
Besides, Astrid has changed a lot since coming to the academy. As he played the role of a squad leader, he learned how to lead others, and even though he was clumsy in Leopold’s eyes, he was also able to command.
Above all, he might have learned to be quite sociable, seeing as he gets along well with Erania and Vera Sien. Above all, just leaving Akhemilla, who was provoking her in front of her eyes, without saying anything, could be said to be a great improvement.
“Oh. There were rumors that the two of you had a really bad relationship, but I don’t think that’s true?”
“That… Well, I did.”
“Mmmm, yes. It can be.”
Emily nodded her head, as if understanding her situation. Leopold scratched his cheek in embarrassment at her reaction.
‘It could be.’
Astrid is drunk and fawning.
Astrid, who was drunk, hugged Leopold’s neck and laughed.
Astrid wails loudly while drunk and asks why she treats me so coldly.
Because it was Astrid’s appearance that everyone was seeing for the first time.
“Isn’t it pretty? Cadet Astrid.”
Leopold shut his mouth at the sudden question. However, it wasn’t like that in terms of expression, so Emily smiled at Leopold’s face like that.
“It’s fried noodles.”
“Okay. Is there a menu you don’t like?”
“No. I don’t know if I like it or not because I haven’t tried it.”
Leopold and Emily set down the tray and sat facing each other. The taste was not bad when I tried to eat the noodles with a fork after lightly expressing my respect for the meal. The menu clearly shows that the dish was created with great care, from the fragrance of the seafood, the texture of the pork, and the sauce soaked into the chewy noodles.
“I really can’t even compare it to the first week’s meals.”
“Iknow, right… “
As if recalling that time, Emily sighed. Leopold and Emily agreed that the terrible taste was the same for all the cadets, and that it was a menu that was really difficult to bear.
“So, what is the word that the Marquis Georgesien wants you to convey?”
“Ah, that.”
After slurping on her noodles, Emily put the fork down for a moment. She wasn’t done eating, but she didn’t seem to be talking while holding her fork.
“He said he would like to meet you. I think you will have a visit sometime soon, and I hope to see you at that time.”
“The Marquis is me?”
Weizik von Jorgien.
Sorceress of Magic. The title, which gave off the feeling of being somewhat of a tautology, was actually a title that Weizik made up for himself. A wizard full of pride who is not satisfied with magic alone and uses magic to draw out magic. He was Bizik.
“It looked like a new prototype was finished.”
“So you’re asking me to tell you how you feel.”
Before the war, the magic bracelet that Baiziq had created was originally not in the form of a bracelet like it is now. It was a type of backpack called a magic pack, carried on the back and used, but the burden required to wear it was too great compared to the effect of omitting low-level magic chanting.
So, the Magic Pack, which was perceived as a somewhat bizarre toy or ridiculous equipment that no one cared about.
Rather, Kreuz paid attention to such magic packs. When Einhafen was a kingdom, Kreuz went to Weizik and asked for improvement instead of unlimited R&D funding, and the magic bracelet was developed that way.
As a result of repeated research, development, and development, the magic pack has been improved to the form of a bracelet called the Magic Bracelet.
Thanks to this, the portability and wearing comfort were greatly improved, and even though it was low-level magic, thanks to the effect of chanting time being omitted, magic knights using magic bracelets and sharp swords as their main weapons began to shine. Thanks to that, Einhafen was able to create a class called a magic knight who could digest not only a heavy-duty knight, but also a mobile warfare.
The magic bracelet, an indispensable piece of equipment for the existence of a magic knight who forms one of the pillars of Einhafen. Weizik, who had become a marquis for his contribution to developing that magic bracelet, was planning to visit Leopold for developing a new magic bracelet this time.
“All safety inspections have been completed, and it seems that only the strength test is left.”
“Okay.”
If that’s the case, it’s not that difficult.
*
Violet smiled at Astrid as she put her fork down on the cleanly emptied plate.
“I’m not interested in being the Crown Princess or anything like that. What I want to be is a soldier. I want to follow in my father’s footsteps and become an admiral of the naval fleet. I’m sorry Dad for that, but it’s best for you to become the Crown Princess. After all, the grand duchess of Mitterien has the greatest prestige, and there is no place to go higher just because they produce the Crown Princess. Well, if you become the Marquis of Georgien or Ureid, the problem will be bigger.”
“Hmm. So you want to help me?”
Astrid blinked his eyes and stared blankly at Violet.
This was a much better suggestion than I thought. It was also an offer with nothing to lose.
【What are you doing?】
‘Why? Is there anything strange about it? Any insight?’
Perhaps the real Astrid, the sharp real Astrid in a place like this, could point out something she was missing. There must be poison in such a sweet offer…
【You should say that right away.】
But I can’t figure it out either. Astrid thought she had hopes for nothing.
“I heard that Her Highness Leopold and you are on very bad terms. Thinking back on what happened yesterday, it doesn’t seem like that at all. Do you remember how you cried and cried?”
【What are you talking about, that?】
“… It wasn’t a dream… “
“What? Dream?”
Violet opened her eyes wide for a moment, then grabbed her stomach and started laughing. As if I had just heard a really funny story, I started laughing while holding my stomach. He laughed so loudly that he didn’t just fall out of his chair.
“Ah. Sorry, that’s funny Anyway, you actually seem to like Her Highness Leopold. Anyway, am I right?”
【That’s right, hurry up!】
‘No, then what’s the promise?!’
It was impossible to answer yes or no. If he said yes, Violet would start pushing him like crazy, and if he said no, then if he asked to talk about something that hadn’t been said, that would be a difficult story.
‘… Any trouble?’
If you think about it, there’s nothing wrong with saying something that hasn’t happened.
“Anyway, if you’re aiming for the Crown Princess, shouldn’t you hesitate?”
“What are you talking about?”
At those words, Violet pointed to Astrid’s back. Then, following that finger, he turned around and saw Leopold sitting across from Emily and having lunch.
“I-what are you doing… ?!”
Astrid jumped up from her seat.
[Hey, wait! For a moment!】
Even the voices in my head, as if I couldn’t hear them.
