Why can’t I ever have a peaceful life?
“Good grief, I’m feeling so lazy.”
I’m just relaxing at
“What the hell are you taking so lightly,
Sipping tea, I calmly explain the situation.
“We have to get our own armor ready before the duel day. But we can’t get that armor, right? Every single one of those six great nobles is too scared of us to sell us any armor.”
Seriously—what a lazy mood.
“So then! Why are you so calm? Listen up, the opponent will definitely bring out an Alogantz. Even if it’s a replica, can you fight a fully‑armed opponent with just your bare body? Marie, you’ve been running around to every merchant begging them to sell you armor!”
The Alogantz we have now isn’t even a replica, but if I don’t say that, a bunch of other problems pop up.
If they told me to fight a real Alogantz with my bare hands, anyone would refuse.
…And Marie’s also trying hard to get my permission. Did I go a bit overboard with the teasing?
“Come on, that makes it more fun.”
“You, you said we won because of the performance gap when we fought! Even if we could get armor, we’d have no chance, and we can’t even get it!”
She’s still full of energy.
Is she actually worried about me?
I wish some pretty girl would worry about me.
Libia?
I turned my gaze toward the baby crib.
It wasn’t a baby at all—it was Noel.
I set it up because it’s more convenient when I’m taking care of things.
“Noel, Chris is bullying you~”
“Don’t dodge! Listen, this duel isn’t some sweet special rule of the academy. Bartfort, what on earth are you planning? At least tell us what’s going on already.”
If I say it here, they’ll try to stop me, and I don’t want that.
Chris is actually worried about me.
“You’ve been acting weird lately. Or are you worried about that familiar?”
“
He’s probably—
◇
Inside the Ainhorn ship.
Pierre’s goons are making a ruckus at all hours, and the Fevel family retainers are milling about.
The ship’s a mess.
The Alogantz is decked out with tacky decorations, and Luxion is sighing.
“…Poor thing. I’d love to take it off right now, but you’ll have to hold on a bit longer.”
Luxion notices a human presence and fades into the scenery.
Pierre and his crew show up.
“That guy’s a fool too.”
“Only Pierre could think ahead and start pressuring the merchants.”
Pierre touches the Alogantz.
“He’ll get crushed by his own armor. It’ll be a hell of a show.”
His goons laugh.
Luxion’s lens scans Pierre’s hand, zooming in and out, the rings inside the lens moving.
“By the way, what’ll you do after you win?”
“Huh?”
“The
Pierre takes a sip of his drink and says,
“…Right. Those kingdom bastards who looked down on me? I’ll wipe them out. If they send the prince’s head, they’ll have no choice but to go to war. If they don’t show up, I’ll call them cowards for staying silent after killing the prince. I’ll drag them out whether they like it or not.”
His goons cheer.
“Count me in when that happens. I want a medal before graduation.”
War, for them, is just another thing to win, so they have zero aversion to it. They think it’s just bad luck if they die.
“Fine. I’ll take this onto the battlefield, turn the kingdom’s knights into a blood‑sacrifice. Then when I snatch my brother’s spot and show up in the council, it’ll look good for me.”
The Republic, swollen with overconfidence, is the classic arrogant noble.
◇
Holfart Kingdom.
The day before, Angelica and Libia were changing clothes together.
Angelica has a hair‑clip in her mouth, wearing only a shirt over her underwear. She hasn’t buttoned it, so it’s open in the front.
Claire receives an email.
‘Oh, long time no see!’
Sleep‑dazed Libia tries to jump onto Claire, falls off the bed.
“Ow, that hurts.”
Angelica steps in, grabs her arm and helps her up.
“What are you doing? Claire, read it out loud.”
‘Sure thing. It’s the same old thing—how hard it is to take care of Noel‑chan. And that Noel‑chan is cute, right?’
Libia pouts a little.
“Leon‑san, you’ve been talking about Noel‑chan nonstop lately.”
Angelica lets out a tiny laugh.
“Yeah. But she’s seventeen and already old. I picked her up when things got rough.”
‘…Oh, and there’s a line about handing this over to
Angelica looks troubled.
“What the hell will he say to His Majesty? I get the feeling he’s nervous, but he needs to tighten up. So, what’s the content?”
‘It says “Secret.”’
Libia tilts her head.
“Delivering something to His Majesty sounds pretty important, huh?”
Angelica nods.
“Yeah. If it’s a secret, can’t help it. Claire, write a letter and get it ready. I’ll give it to my father to deliver. I’ll think about the reply later, just get the letter done first.”
Claire leaves the room to draft the letter.
But—
‘Let’s also attach Angelica’s picture to the reply.’
◇
The palace.
Roland has been sipping tea since morning.
“…Nice tea leaves. Worthy of me.”
Standing before him are Vins, Angelica’s father, and Bernard, Clarice’s father.
“The queen looks pale from all the back‑to‑back work, yet her complexion is fine, Your Majesty.”
“Perhaps you should do some work yourself, Your Majesty?”
Roland doesn’t flinch at their sarcasm.
He’s got a strong heart.
“The queen doing it herself is the right move. It’s a perfect fit.”
Vins’s veins bulge.
“You trust the foreign queen far too much.”
Roland sips his tea and replies,
“The queen’s homeland is on the other side of an enemy nation. The kingdom’s interests line up with hers.”
Milène’s homeland is indeed that enemy nation across the border.
The marriage is meant to seal that enemy, and a weakened kingdom hurts Milène’s home too.
If the enemy expands into the kingdom, Milène’s homeland faces a bigger threat.
“Milène is better suited for the job. She actually gets results, unlike me.”
Annoying, but Roland’s right.
Bernard can’t argue.
Roland isn’t incompetent; he’s about a seventy‑point guy. Milène’s at ninety or a hundred, so it’s logical to let her handle it. In peacetime she’d be free, but given the kingdom’s state, they need her to push.
Both Vins and Bernard know Milène is foreign royalty, so they don’t want to rely on her too much.
Still, Milène can’t refuse for the reasons just mentioned, so Roland does whatever he wants.
“My own lack of skill makes me sad. All I can do is watch.”
Roland smiles while Vins and Bernard’s veins flare.
“You’re just enjoying the show, huh?”
Vins hands over a letter.
“…Your Majesty, a letter arrived from the daughter’s fiancé.”
“Huh? From that kid? I’d at least like to read a love letter from a young lady, but I can’t make out a single word from that brat’s writing.”
Roland lets Vins open it, assuming it’s nothing special.
(That idiot. If he spews insults at me, at least Vins—my future father‑in‑law—will read it and be disappointed.)
Roland hates Leon, but—
“W‑what’s this!?”
Vins is shocked, and Roland thinks he’s finally got his revenge.
But—
“Your Majesty, please read this right away.”
“What’s up? If it’s a complaint, I’ll have that guy’s head on a spike… huh?”
‘Your Majesty, how are you? I’m doing ridiculously well.
By the way, as you ordered me to “handle troublesome matters” properly, I’ve taken on a fight with the Republic’s nobles and bought the thing.
Don’t worry, I’ll beat them to a pulp!
But diplomacy isn’t my department, so you handle that.
—From your excellent subordinate
P.S. Glad you finally got a job done.’
Roland crushes the letter.
“That brat!!!”
Bernard calmly discusses with Vins.
“This could become an international incident. We need to send someone to the Republic ASAP. And of all places, we’re picking Alzel to cause trouble…?”
“If it becomes a diplomatic issue, the queen can’t act publicly. Let Your Majesty handle it.”
It’s hard to drag Milène into a diplomatic mess, so Roland ends up taking the front.
Vins and Bernard turn serious.
“Busy times ahead, Your Majesty.”
“The enemy is the Republic, the strongest defensive force. I wonder what’ll happen, Your Majesty.”
Roland trembles.
(Only a fool would pick a fight with Alzel! I thought that slick kid would just make excuses and crawl away. My judgment was wrong. When I get back I’ll have him executed!)
“Gather intel! Send a messenger to the Republic now. If a letter arrived, he’s already done something. Honestly, what the embassy is doing is beyond me.”
Roland never expected that letter to show up.
◇
Somewhere I hear a bastard’s muffled cries.
What a good day.
The academy’s duel arena is a special facility meant for armor training.
There are spectator seats, too.
The walls glow faintly when touched, reinforced by magic.
“Doesn’t break easily, huh? Still, the academy having a place like this is… common, I guess.”
Both Holfart and Alzel have arenas where armored duels happen. Must be a convenience of those maid‑games.
The spectator seats are set pretty high, overlooking the arena.
The crowd starts buzzing.
“Hey, the exchange student’s bare‑handed!”
“No way.”
“Fighting a real person against armor?”
In this world, “armor” means a huge powered suit. It’s not something you can just brawl with bare‑handed.
Basically, a powered suit can’t be taken on with just a body.
Narcissus‑sensei and Cremen‑sensei step onto the arena, approaching me, who looks completely unarmed.
“What the hell are you thinking!”
“Why didn’t you bring any armor!?”
Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t get any.
“The Republic’s merchants won’t sell me any, so I’m stuck bare‑handed. At least I’ve got gloves on my fists.”
I flash my custom gloves; both teachers clutch their faces in disbelief.
Cremen‑sensei looks over to the opponent side.
There sits a gaudy, over‑decorated Alogantz.
“…Let’s call this off. Or we could borrow one from somewhere. This can’t possibly be a fair match.”
Pierre, perched on the Alogantz, cackles.
‘Don’t run now, third‑rate nation’s low‑life. I gave you time. It’s your fault you weren’t ready, huh?’
I act a bit uneasy.
“Sure, the lack of prep’s on me. So, we can just go ahead, right?”
Pierre pulls a huge rifle from the Alogantz’s container and readies it.
‘Of course. I’ll turn you into minced meat with your own armor.’
I’m looking forward to it… or something creepy like that.
He’ll never grow up.
Narcissus‑sensei makes a suggestion.
“Just hand over a sapling of the
Since I don’t think it’s a proper duel, he tells me to admit defeat.
“Boys sometimes have to fight. This is that time.”
If anyone dared to go bare‑handed against an Alogantz, I’m confident I could laugh it off.
I never expected I’d be the one doing it, but I have to fight.
Then—
‘…Right. You had a dog, didn’t you? Was it
My eyes widen as I look up at the cheering crowd—Marie and the others rooting for me.
They’re shocked, too.
Carla was supposed to be staying at the manor to look after Noel.
“What the hell, what happened to Noel and Carla?”
‘Who knows? I’m not the one who knows. I was just the one who mentioned the girl and the dog’s name in the house you’re using. Stop making weird accusations.’
He chuckles, trying to stifle his voice.
…Man, you’re a truly wonderful villain.