The Alzer Republic

The Einhorn underwent a customs inspection.

A group calling themselves the Alzer Republic's aerial defense forces had shown up. In short, military men had come to the hangar to search the ship.

One particularly high-and-mighty officer wore an ornate military uniform decorated with several medals hanging near his chest.

He stood before the lined-up cargo, stroking his beard with his fingertips.

"Hmph. For a kingdom, these are surprisingly decent tribute goods."

I tilted my head.

"Tribute?"

The Holfart Kingdom traded with the Alzer Republic and had various other treaties with them.

But that didn't make them a vassal state.

"You don't seem satisfied. Don't think your barbaric country, where adventurers play at being nobles, is on equal footing with ours."

I stared in disbelief at the condescending officer.

Was he serious?

"...If this becomes a diplomatic issue, don't say I didn't warn you."

At that, the other soldiers laughed too.

"Diplomatic issues? Well then, shall we just attack? You apparently don't know that the Holfart Kingdom was twice badly defeated by the Alzer Republic in the past."

What on earth were they talking about?

They were bringing up something from ages ago.

The wars between the two countries had happened long before I was even born.

"I'll be sure to report your name."

But the officer showed not the slightest hint of concern.

"Go ahead and do what you like. You're nothing more than adventurers playing at being nobles. You don't even try to protect your own honor."

What an incredibly arrogant man.

As the officer withdrew with his subordinates, another soldier who'd been checking the cargo approached.

"I apologize. The Captain comes from a noble family, and he can't help being somewhat high-handed. The Alzer Republic welcomes all of you, so please don't take offense."

It sounded like an apology, but it was really just saying "please put up with it."

These people were looking down on us too.

Just then, the one called "Captain"—

"What is this tasteless armor?"

—kicked the Arroganz.

The smirking soldier stepped in to calm me down.

"Please stay calm. We'll be turning back shortly, and once we do, you'll be able to dock safely."

I spat out my frustration.

"I sure hope so."

◇

Guided by the Republic's airship, the Einhorn entered port.

On the deck.

I talked with Luxion about the Republic's soldiers.

"What's with that attitude? I hold a reasonably important position in a foreign country. This kind of treatment is unthinkable under normal circumstances."

This was absolutely unacceptable.

As I fumed, Luxion offered his analysis.

『Their attitude was basically "come at us if you dare." That means they're quite confident, doesn't it? They claim to be undefeated in defensive warfare, which is a bit concerning.』

"What is?"

I asked Luxion what specifically concerned him.

『Their airship technology is roughly on par with the Kingdom and the former Duchy.』

"From your perspective, maybe. But there are massive airships flying all over the place out here."

Beyond the two-hundred-meter class, there were warships three hundred or even four hundred meters long sitting in the port. They moved well too—these weren't ships barely staying afloat or straining to function.

"I'd say their technology is superior to the Kingdom's. Besides, it's abnormal for defensive warfare to be this strong in this world. The attacker should have the advantage."

How difficult defensive warfare was—I'd understood that from the battle against the former Duchy. There had been all sorts of back-and-forth, but in the end, the attacker still had the advantage over the defender.

『There seems to be some secret at play. Being undefeated purely in defensive warfare is what concerns me. If a nation truly possesses such formidable military strength, why doesn't it send troops to surrounding areas and expand its territory?』

Was it just because they couldn't be bothered?

"Maybe they're satisfied with their own continent."

『That's a lie. Human greed knows no bounds.』

"Maybe the Republic's people are just selfless."

『If that were the case, the soldiers' attitudes wouldn't make sense. Their behavior was almost as if they were hoping to be invaded.』

There apparently was some secret, but as long as things ended peacefully, that was fine by me.

"Not a country I want to get too involved with."

I hadn't wanted to study abroad in a foreign country in the first place.

I was the kind of person content to stay within my own borders.

Learning new words was a pain, after all. The Republic's language was different from the Kingdom's, and I'd struggled to learn it. Unlike me and Marie, those five could speak it from the start.

Those guys were uselessly overpowered.

『We've arrived. Please prepare to disembark.』

The Einhorn had reached the designated location and automatically secured itself to the dock.

The port workers watched in amazement.

"So, what was the plan from here?"

『We head to the embassy, where we'll confirm the schedule going forward.』

We were supposed to receive various explanations at the embassy.

I grabbed the leather travel bag sitting nearby.

Luxion floated alongside my right shoulder as he followed.

『By the way, Master, speaking of the world crisis—wouldn't it be faster to just destroy it all? Aren't you irritated by those soldiers' attitudes?』

"You're way too extreme. I'm an adult, so I don't do things like that. Besides, this trip has a different purpose. Behave yourself."

Destroy a country just because the people had attitude problems? Don't be ridiculous.

I couldn't afford to act rashly when I considered what would come after.

The only thing I could do about those high-handed soldiers was to report them.

Ah, I hope he gets demoted.

◇

We arrived at the embassy.

The Holfart Kingdom's embassy was a thoroughly Kingdom-style building.

The Republic was still a foreign country, after all.

Even if the buildings looked similar, there were always differences somewhere.

That was why seeing Kingdom-style architecture felt reassuring.

A government official at the embassy was visibly nervous as he dealt with us.

"Prince Julius, thank you so much for coming."

"Thank you for having us. I was told I'd be receiving an explanation here at the embassy?"

"Yes, that's exactly why everyone has been gathered. Unlike the Holfart Kingdom, the academies in the Alzer Republic require commuting. There are no student dormitories."

No student dormitories.

"I see."

"There are many other differences from the academy system as well. In the Alzer Republic, commoners freely attend the academies. As a result, they're much larger, and the curriculum is quite different."

Maybe the Republic was more progressive than the Kingdom simply because commoners could attend.

I was given all sorts of warnings and advisories, but then—

"A-also... the Republic tends to view the Kingdom's status as rather low."

Julius's eyebrow twitched.

"What do you mean?"

The official explained the situation.

"I suppose you could call it the Alzer Republic's myth of invincibility. In short, their military power exceeds the Kingdom's. Since I was posted here, wars have broken out multiple times. The Republic has won every single one."

Most of the wars seemed to be instigated by the Republic's provocations, and they'd repelled every one of them.

The Republic had grown quite wealthy from war reparations.

Provoke your enemies into a fight and then crush them—how despicable.

Julius seemed to understand.

"Arrogance backed by military power, then. I'd heard the rumors, but it's worse than I imagined."

"As the Kingdom's policy, we'd rather not stir up trouble as long as they don't provoke us—they're good trade partners, after all. We'd like you to understand that..."

The official kept glancing at me worriedly.

What was that about?

Brad, who'd been listening, picked up on it.

"I see. Don't worry. Bartfort may be an idiot, but he's not that stupid. He won't go picking a fight with the Republic."

Huh? This was about me?

Wait, was he actually worried about *me*?

"Come on—who's really going to start trouble here?"

I pointed at the five of them, and Greg stared at me, exasperated.

"What are you talking about?"

Chris pushed his glasses up with one finger and straightened up.

"The only one who could mercilessly beat up Julius, the former Crown Prince, to that extent is you, Bartfort. You're the least trustworthy person in this room."

I was less trustworthy than *these* guys?

I looked at the official, and he averted his eyes.

He quickly changed the subject.

"R-Right then, let me escort you all to your residences."

"Hey, wait a minute—look over here!"

◇

We were led to a large mansion.

"Only those other than Count Bartfort will reside here."

Marie's eyes sparkled at the sight of the magnificent estate.

"I've always wanted to live in a place like this!"

I spoke to the official.

"Hey, what about me? Why am I getting something separate? There must be rooms available—it's a huge mansion. I want to stay here too. I'm a count, you know."

"W-Well, considering the relationship between Prince Julius and Lady Marie... Carla and Kyle have duties related to looking after Lady Marie, but placing a count here would cause various problems. Primarily, it would arouse suspicions of infidelity from the Duke's household."

"Fine! I'll take the separate place!"

I didn't want Angelica or Olivia suspecting me of infidelity.

And if Ange's father thought I was cheating, it wouldn't just be me in danger—my whole family would be at risk.

Because I'd gotten engaged to Angelica, my family had aligned with the Duke's faction.

I absolutely couldn't cause trouble for them.

Carla and Kyle were having a heated discussion.

"It's a big mansion. But maybe that'll be fun?"

Kyle, however, looked different.

He didn't look excited at all, and his face was growing paler as he surveyed the surroundings.

"...Where are the servants maintaining this mansion?"

The official cleared his throat.

"We'd previously outsourced the management to this country. We scrambled to gather servants, but we're short-handed. The study-abroad decision was made so suddenly."

A mansion this size had only two servants.

But with Julius present, they couldn't place just any servants nearby. They'd apparently been rushing to prepare, but they were still short-staffed for the time being.

Kyle held his head in his hands.

"Who did you think would maintain this place? Even just cleaning would be a nightmare!"

Jilk smiled cheerfully.

"Don't worry, Kyle. Thanks to 'someone,' we've all gotten quite good at cleaning. We can certainly help out."

Hey, hey—"someone" meant me, didn't it? What nerve, you green-haired bastard.

But Kyle wasn't laughing.

"This is where we'll actually be living! Cleaning isn't the only job there is!"

Leaving Marie and the others to their commotion, I headed off with the official to see the next property.

"So, what kind of place is my residence going to be?"

"Count, are you sure it's alright to leave the Prince and the others behind?"

"It's fine. I was told to be a little tough on them. A little hardship helps you see reality, doesn't it?"

I left the noisy Marie and the others behind and headed to the next place with the official.

◇

The place prepared for me was a slightly large house.

A residential area with similar buildings lined up in rows.

A tram ran nearby, and the house—big enough that the rent was probably steep—was three stories tall.

The inside had been cleaned, but since servants had been arranged for Julius and the others, they were short-staffed here too, and a housekeeper only came a few times a week.

I was told that meals wouldn't be a problem since there were restaurants nearby.

I entered my room on the second floor and opened the window.

"The third floor is basically just storage."

Luxion, who appeared to have scanned the house, floated over to me.

『I found nothing suspicious.』

I looked out the window and heard the sound of the tram running below.

"So, what do we do now?"

『It's before the new semester. Shouldn't we gather intelligence first? It's still unclear who the protagonist is that you and Marie keep talking about.』

That was a fair point.

I relayed what I knew about the protagonist's characteristics to Luxion.

"Then start looking first, and gather information about the area. Hair is a mix of gold and pink. Blonde with pink tips."

『A gradient? What else?』

"She wears twin tails."

『...Anything else?』

"Um, she's a pretty straightforward girl who likes being active? Marie said her figure was average, but otome game protagonists are usually gorgeous, so she's probably got a good figure too, apparently."

『That's marginally better than no information at all. Shall I also look into the male capture targets?』

"Marie might have said something about them too. I did ask about their appearances, at least."

『It'd be faster to confirm with Marie directly. Also, aren't you rather underprepared?』

"It was a sudden study-abroad decision. What could I do?"

The Einhorn was fast, and the sea voyage had been shorter than usual. There hadn't been time to talk properly with Marie on the ship, and at night those two were... well, I didn't know anything, and I wasn't about to interfere.

That was the most peaceful answer.

"Just look into it for now. I'll confirm with Marie tomorrow."

『Understood.』

A reconnaissance drone controlled by Luxion emerged from my bag and flew out the window.

"Now then, should I send a message to the two of them?"

『Please settle for email.』

"Being able to send emails is pretty amazing, though."

◇

The Holfart Kingdom.

It was Olivia who burst into the room in a flurry just as Angelica was preparing for the new semester in the student dormitory.

"Olivia!"

"Eek!"

Olivia, in the middle of changing, yelped and grabbed a shirt to cover herself in her underwear. Angelica said "Sorry" and showed her a printed sheet of paper.

It was a message from Leon, printed by Claire.

"A letter from Leon."

"R-Really—ah!"

Olivia tried to rush toward Angelica and tripped.

She fell forward in her underwear, rear end sticking up in the air.

"What are you doing?"

"Sorry."

Angelica helped her up, and the two of them read the message together.

『Ange, Olivia, I'm doing fine.

The sea voyage on the Einhorn was comfortable, except at night.

At night, being alone became even more real, and I have those idiots to thank for it.

How are you two doing?

I'm worried Claire might be causing you trouble.』

Just then, Claire, floating near Angelica, spoke in a cheerful voice.

『My, he doesn't trust me at all.』

They continued reading.

『The guys won't listen to a word I say, and they still don't seem to understand their situation.

Please tell Lady Mylene that they haven't reflected at all.

Also, the Republic is awful.

...I want to come home.

—Leon』

Olivia scrambled in a panic, still in her underwear.

She seemed to have completely forgotten what she was wearing.

"Leon is lonely!"

But Claire said:

『He'll be fine. According to Luxion's report, he still has plenty of composure left.』

Angelica sighed.

"That's a relief. I'd hate to think he was lonely in a foreign country."

『I'm sure it's fine. The Master is quite thick-skinned.』

Olivia read Leon's message over and over.

"Leon's started a new life too. We need to work hard as well!"

"That's right. More importantly, you should put your clothes on soon. You don't want to start the new semester with a cold."

Olivia looked at herself and hurriedly threw on the shirt.

Angelica was giggling.

"You got a medal and a position equivalent to a knight baron, but you haven't changed a bit."

"Sh-Should I really have accepted a medal like this?"

A small medal hung from the chest of her uniform.

Olivia, who wasn't a knight, had been given a position equivalent to a knight baron.

"Take whatever's offered. You earned it. Besides, starting this year, the academy is accepting commoner students too."

Due to a shortage of students and various other problems, the academy had decided to accept young people from merchant families and others with sufficient academic ability.

In addition to the noble class, a second class would be formed.

"Olivia, you'll essentially be their representative. Do your best."

Olivia looked anxious at Angelica's words.

"I'm worried whether I can handle it as a senior. Leon would somehow manage it, though..."

Angelica laughed and stroked Olivia's hair.

"That's true. But if you keep relying on Leon all the time, he'll get sick of you. You want to become someone more dependable, don't you?"

Olivia nodded, and Angelica said "That's the right answer," then asked Claire to send a reply.

"So, what should I write?"

Angelica was stumped, and Olivia pondered as well.

"Um, how about we report on how things are going?"

"That's all we can do."

But Claire's single blue eye was glinting mischievously.

In a voice inaudible to the two of them, she said:

『Perhaps I should send the Master an image of this scene as a little gift.』