Chapter 33: With the passing winter and the story of the Grand Clock Tower

A letter arrived at the Elendil residence from Ren’s parents.

Although it was an after-the-fact report, Ren had sent a letter to the village acknowledging his intention to attend the Imperial Mlitary Academy and asking what his parents thought. This is their reply.

The letter, which arrived this morning, was filled with his parents’ passionate thoughts.

Ren read through each letter carefully, as if taking in each word.

“If they are happy, then this is the right thing to do.”

The Ashton family has some bitter memories of the Imperial Military Academy’s special class. The reason is that the case of Viscount Givens is still fresh in their minds.

However, that’s not the case. Ren’s parents respected his decision and were happy as if Ren had become an noble.

It’s not surprising, considering the nature of the special class, but it seems as if they don’t believe that Ren will fail the exam. It is because they believe in Ren, and he is heart warmed by his parents’ strong trust.

It makes him want to keep up the good work. He decided to visit the village again to see how it is developing.

“How’s it, boy?”

Weiss stepped up to Ren, who was reading a letter at the entrance of the mansion.

“My parents were happy with my decision.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I’ll be supporting you and the young lady in your exams too.’

Weiss’ hand on Ren’s shoulder seemed to convey his sincerity.

Ren replied in a happy voice, “Thank you”.

Next, he told Weiss that he was planning to go to the Imperial Capital today.

“Hmm? The Holy lion’s sanctuary?”

“Yes. —- By the way, how is Licia-sama doing?”

I haven’t seen Licia yet today.

If she was sleeping, Ren had no intention of waking her up, but if she was awake, he thought it wouldn’t be a good idea to go out without saying anything.

“If you mean the young lady—-“

“Haa…. haa…. Re–Ren! Wait! I’m coming with you!”

It was right after Ren asked Weiss. Licia stepped breathlessly to the entrance and gently brushed her disheveled bangs.

She immediately began to breathe again, and Ren, seeing her flustered appearance, asked curiously.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m going with you! You’re going to the holy lion’s sanctuary, aren’t you? I just got permission from my father, so I’m going with you!”

Here in Licia’s hand was the letter of introduction that had arrived just after the new year. Ulysses had prepared it for Licia, as promised, in order for her to enter the Holy Lion’s Sanctuary.

(After all, Licia-sama wanted to learn hard swordsmanship as soon as possible.)

Licia realized what Ren was thinking when she saw his smile.

She pouted a little, but her lips twitched as she realized that it was because she hadn’t been proactive enough so far.

“……You’re misunderstanding me already.”

“Is it a misunderstanding?”

“No, don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault Ren.”

She said and walked past Ren.

When Ren sees Weiss’s face, Weiss shrugs and says, “I’ll escort you to the Lion’s sanctuary”.

Weiss doesn’t say anything more and just watches the two of them.

Shortly after leaving the mansion.

A little further down the garden, Licia suddenly turned around.

Her hair, which looks like amethyst crystal melted into pure silver, is still shiny today, and it flutters as she turns around.

Bending her hips slightly, she looked up at Ren with dignity and triumph.

“—- I’m not going to lose either, so brace yourself.”

Licia was so lovely at this moment that Ren couldn’t help but admire her.

But what was that about?

Licia thought that Ren would misunderstand her as training in swordsmanship anyway.

But that’s fine for now.

It would be up to her whether she could turn him around or not.

And there is a reason why Ren is oblivious to the love of the two beautiful princesses.

Ren is usually sensitive to the situation, but he has lived his life so hard until today that he has not had the time to think of it.

It could be said that this is a side effect of having risked everything to protect his village, his family, and the two of them.

Therefore, only God knows what will happen to him in the future.

After uttering these words, Licia’s cheeks flushed slightly.

She immediately said, “Come on, let’s go,” and walked ahead of Ren and Weiss.

Behind them.

“Oh, by the way, boy. Do you mind if I bring your stuff from the old building in Clausel to here?”

Now that they are moving to a new base of residence, plans are already in place to transport Ren’s and Licia’s personal belongings from Clausel.

The plan is to carry Ren’s belongings as well.

“It’s fine, but won’t it be a hassle? If you want, I can go back to Clausel and carry it myself.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. Actually —-“

The servants are bringing not only the luggage, but also the servants left behind in Clausel who were often involved with Ren and Licia.

That’s why Weiss told him not to worry about packing and allow himself to be pampered.

“The master and I will go back and forth between Clausel and Elendil, but the boy and the young lady will not. We will be bringing Lo along with the servants.”

“I’m sorry for all the trouble you have taken with everything.”

“Don’t worry about it. We are more than happy to have the boy by our lady’s side.”

After the conversation, Ren’s eyes look upward.

He looks up, not at the sky, but at the Grand Clock Tower, one of the symbols of Elendil. The hands of the clock tower were pointing to eight o’clock in the morning.

The bells of the Grand Clock Tower were ringing in Ren’s ears, signaling eight o’clock in the morning.

“It’s really big, isn’t it?”

Licia responded to Ren’s voice.

She, who had been walking a little ahead of him, came up next to him.

“Do you know Ren, that clock tower is a magical tool.”

“Huh? Is that so?”

Licia’s cheeks relaxed at the fact that Ren did not know.

She was probably glad that she had something to teach him, since Ren usually knew most of what she was talking about.

“You can’t see it from here, but the Grand Clock Tower has a garden on the roof. That’s where the Grand Clock Tower’s control unit is located, and it protects the Imperial City and the area around Elendil.”

“Does that mean it’s guarding the city with magic weapons or something like that?”

“No. The Grand Clock Tower is not a weapon.  You know the story that one of the Seven Heroes was a magical tool craftsman, right? That Grand Clock Tower is also a magic tool made by him.”

“Oh, no wonder the effect was incomprehensible to an ordinary person like me.”

Licia heard the half-joking words and laughed, “Don’t say strange things”.

“The magic stone of the power source is also always from S rank class monsters. My father told me the magic stone is replaced every few decades.”

However, only the Grand Clock Tower is said to be under the control of the Imperial Castle.

Lessard said he will not be involved at all in the process of replacing the magic stone.

“By the way, when was the last time it was replaced?”

“It must be decades ago.”

“That means it’s time to replace it.”

“Yes, it is. Ren you’re right. It will be replaced by next summer.”

(Oh….. is coming soon!)

In the course of the conversation, I was able to hear from Weiss how to get to the rooftop.

The answer was simple and clear. The only way is to take the stairs.

The first time Licia went to the lion sanctuary on this day—- she was exposed to the hard sword technique for the first time.

Her sparring partner was a female knight who worked at the Lion’s sanctuary, perhaps out of concern for Licia. She had never seen the hard sword technique before, but she understood its strength with her own eyes.

The knights were saying the same thing.

Licia’s talent is also rare.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

It was almost February when Ren went to the capital with his usual familiar gait.

On this day, he went to a bookstore in the imperial capital and bought a number of reference books for his studies.

It was a little hot with his coat on, so he walked unbuttoned on the way home.

(What shall I do?)

I wish I could go home like this, but it was still daytime and I wasn’t sure if I should look in another store or go home.

While he was thinking about this, Ren’s feet were heading for a certain section.

The area was lined with stores of all types and was crowded with people of all ages and both men and women.

It was not far from the Imperial Academy.

The road where Ren had dropped Fiona off the other day was also close by.

Ren, who was walking through the Imperial City with a paper bag full of reference books in one hand, stopped suddenly there.

He stopped at a curious sight, muttering, “Huh?”.

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