Chapter 14- The valedictorian goes

Although slightly surprised by the sudden call, Ren responds without expressing his feelings.

“Leonardo-senpai?”

“Oh! I saw you, so I called out to you! What are you doing here?”

“I just came from enjoying lunch, so I was basking in the sun and building up my energy for my afternoon class.”

Hearing Ren’s laid-back answer, Kaito comes next to him and begins to look out the window, just like Ren.

He was letting out a sigh of relief when he was invited to join in the merriment.

“The preliminary rounds will begin soon.”

Ren, recalling the topic that the students walking in the hallway had just discussed, looked at Kaito and spoke up.

However, Kaito did not seem to be looking forward to it as much as he thought he would.

On the contrary, he responded to Ren’s words with a forward-looking reply.

“Well, neither you nor the saint will be participating, so I’ll just have to look forward to fighting with students from other schools or Vane and the others in the main competition.”

“Aren’t you looking forward to the representative selection at the academy?”

“…… I am, after all, I am a legitimate son of a heroic noble family.”

Kaito says so even though it was hard to say, and smiles apologetically.

He didn’t want to speak in a way that would lower the students of this academy, but he also had the strength and duty to be aware of as a member of the heroic nobles.

That is probably the reason why he had a hard time saying it.

“You don’t feel like you’ll be able to have fun fighting in this academy?”

“I was raised as a legitimate son of the Leonardo family, no matter what the details are. I can’t lose.”

“Well, that’s true.”

It’s also the pride of being a member of the Leonard family, one of the seven great heroic families.

It wasn’t considered acceptable to lose to boys and girls of the same age.

“So, changing the subject, did you know that one of my classmates is from the heroic factions?”

Ren nodded, thinking it must be a second-year special class.

“It’s a woman, isn’t it? I heard that she is very fond of Vane.”

“If you take out Vane and Riohard, she’s pretty strong too. Even I would have a hard time getting close to her if I gave her a bow, which is her forte.”

Ren listens to Kaito without saying anything.

“But I still want to clash with my sword and shield…..　“

The selection process for the team is made through a number of steps in every event.

The selection criteria vary from event to event, but in the end, the top teams are selected as representatives by competing for points in a round-robin competition.

It was easy to imagine that Vane, Sarah and Kaito would be the final representatives here, and Ren was confident that they would be.

“We get to compete in the preliminary rounds and the main competition, so why not?”

“Don’t be cold about it……”

“Eh, yeah….”

Then Kaito left Ren’s side with a sigh.

He sounds a little depressed, for reasons other than not being able to fight Ren.

“I have to get ready for my next class. I’m on the verge of a red mark, so I’m going to go now. See you later!”

As Ren separates from Kaito, the voices of the other students can be heard again.

The representatives were all saying that it would be Kaito, Vane, and Sarah, and the daughter of the Heroic noble in the second year.

(—- Ah)

He could see two of his classmates outside the window.

Vane and Sarah were heading to the training ground in high spirits. They seemed to be taking part in a sword fight in which Ren and Licia weren’t participating.

The two who are heading to the training ground will also be participating in the classes in order to be selected as representatives.

“I’d better get going.”

Ren lifted his elbows on the window sill and stretched lightly before walking away.

Licia had mentioned that she would be joining him later, so Ren walked alone down the hallway to the library.

“Ren-kun!”

It was Fiona’s voice as she was on her way down from the upper floor.

Ren met her on the staircase landing.

“Are you going to the library now?”

“I was heading there. By the looks of it, Fiona-sama seems to be heading there as well.”

“Yes, I am! If you don’t mind, I’d like to join you.”

“I’m fine with it. But are you sure? If walking around together, people might start strange rumors about our faction or something.”

“It’s fine. It’s not as though the rumors are true—-!”

Fiona said in a slightly stronger voice than usual.

“Have you noticed, Ren-kun? This academy has a lot of people forgetting about factions and deepening friendships because of the recent situation! So we’re fine with that!”

“I understand.”

She was so energetic that Ren nodded and started walking with Fiona, and from time to time some students would look at them.

More especially now, that the selection of representatives for the Lion King Festival is coming up soon.

“I went to the staff room just now, and I was just approached about being a member of the executive committee.”

“Did they say anything about the small number of five members?”

“Fufu, it’s all right. They said that this year’s committee members were more reliable than the number of people on the committee.”

None of the five students this time are comparable to ordinary students in terms of paperwork and other skills.

In particular, Radius and Mirei are both better than the best civilians, and Fiona is a daughter who was trained by Ulysses.

Even Ren and Licia are not too inferior to the other three.

It is no wonder that the teachers are not only reassured but also not worried about anything. Radius will be the chairperson of the executive committee based on his position and ability, and Mirei will serve as the vice chairperson.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

“This is to everyone. It’s from the academy.”

After school, Radius told everyone who had gathered in the room they had just finished cleaning the other day.

He instructed each person to take one of the items in a small wooden box on the table.

“A proof of membership in the executive committee?”

“Yes. From today on, you will wear them.”

The five armbands in the box did not say “executive committee member” in large letters, but they were embroidered with an emblem that identified them as executive committee members.

The four began to attach the armbands to their uniforms as they heard Radius’ voice.

“The rules require us to wear the armbands during the activities. Until today, they weren’t required to wear them, but now that the preliminary selection process has begun, you can assume that they are mandatory.”

Ren finished putting on the armband, muttering, “I see”.

The reflection of himself in the window glass makes him look different from before.

“Oh, I look like a committee member all at once.”

“I think so, too. I’ve asked the four of you to help me with preparations, but today is the big day. Let’s split up and get to work.”

Radius had already divided up today’s work.

“I will go around the preliminary selection and work with the teachers to organize the paperwork and the status of the selection. I will ask the three of you to organize the information that will be needed for the upcoming preliminary selections for the competitions and to check the documents that we will give them when we come back.”

“I understand. By the way, what about the room the academy has prepared for the committee members?”

“I’ve decided to leave the work over there to Mirei. So, Ren, could you check the situation from time to time by going back and forth between here and the room where Mirei is?”

“Okay.”

“I’m counting on you. Now —- anyone else have any questions?”

Licia and Fiona both seemed to have nothing in particular and left it to Ren.

When he realized that there was no problem, Radius left this room with Mirei.

The three remaining in the room began to get to work as Radius had instructed.

On a large table in the middle of the room, there was a pile of papers.

As soon as the three of them split up and began their work, they heard the voices of the students outside the window. It was obvious that the excitement was getting bigger because of the preliminary selection.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

Several days have passed since I started wearing the armband.

The days were busy, and there were days when Ren and Radius would make their rounds together.

It seems that on rare occasions, there are problems with students overheated and caused problems, and the committee members occasionally need to make the rounds, as do the teachers.

“Ren.”

Radius spoke up abruptly.

He was walking down the corridor, listening to the selection of several competitions taking place outside the window or in a classroom somewhere.

“Whenever I leave the capital on official business, there is always a hard swordsman by my side. How do you feel about having a swordsman by your side now that you are here as a student?”

“Even if you ask me, I’m a hard sword user myself, so It doesn’t really matter.”

“I’m counting on you. Just in case one of the students gets a little overzealous, you’ll have to stop them.”

“Stop them how?”

“In some cases, you can use your power to shut them up. I have talked to some of the teachers and they have said so.”

For example, among the students who are aiming to be representatives of martial arts, there are often those who get into fights. If the fight doesn’t stop even if you say something and there is no sign that the fight will stop, it seems that you can stop it, even if you have to be a little forceful.

(Surprisingly, force is also acceptable.)

Ren chuckled,

“Do you think it’s more physical than you thought?”

Radius, sensing Ren’s inner thoughts, laughs.

“That’s right.”

“I agree. But if there are students who go too far, it can’t be helped.”

“I hope that opportunity never presents itself.”

“Yeah, me too.”

As they continue their rounds, their feet head outside the school building.

“Oh.”

Radius noticed that Ren was looking at a corner of the schoolyard.

There was a place where the selection of representatives for the martial arts competition was taking place, and the place was attracting a large number of students.

The students who were watching the selection process were also echoing with heated support.

“Do you want to go and have a look?”

“Don’t worry. I can see it from here.”

As I looked on from a distance, Ren saw Vane swinging his sword in victory against a senior student. The two of them, Sarah and Kaito, were also observing, smiling and applauding Vane’s victorious appearance.

Ren, who had been watching them, sat down on a bench in the schoolyard that was nearby.

Following his lead, Radius sat down next to him.

(After all, where does Vane get his awakening?)

A question that occurred to him which is related to the fact that he had accomplished so much.

With Fiona alive, the possibility of Marquis Ignat going out of control is infinitely remote. The only remnants of Asval are now the horns carried by Ren.

Therefore, it’s clear that the opportunity for Vane to awaken in the Baldor Mountains will not come.

(The Great Festival of the Lion King is just one of them. He will awaken at some point.)

Since Ren didn’t want to take away his opportunity to awaken, he couldn’t think of anything special to say here.

He was watching the selection committee with many thoughts in my mind,

“…… Apparently, you’re not looking at it because you want to be a part of it.”

“Huh? What’s the matter?”

“Don’t you get it? Your face now looks like you’re having a lot of fun.  That’s what’s bothering me.”

“Ah.”

Ren rests his elbows on the back of the bench and says with a rather slumped posture.

“Isn’t it fun doing this?”

“What do you mean, “doing this?”

“I mean the situation where we’re making our rounds behind the scenes of the festival. I like the fact that we can see the other people working hard and we can think that we have to do the paperwork later.”

In contrast to Ren, Radius has a difficult expression on his face and crosses his arms.

Occasionally, he tried to organize his thoughts by looking at Ren’s expression.

But in the end, no such words came to mind.

“Look, you can see everyone bustling around under the blue sky, or you can look towards the school building and see the teachers watching from the windows.”

“Ah…… it’s true, but we’re not directly participating in the festival.”

“We are the only ones in a position to enjoy things that we wouldn’t normally be able to enjoy. Such as staying at the academy later to work.”

Radius took another look around.

Under an azure sky, the students were bustling in a way that’s not usually seen. The same is true of the bustle that can be seen from the windows of the school building. The fact that the students seem to be having more fun than usual and interacting with each other is also eye-catching.

“I’ve never done this kind of behind-the-scenes work before.”

“So what do you think?”

Radius was out of position here, looking unusually sloppy for him.

However, there was an elegance that could not be hidden, and combined with his outstanding appearance, he exuded a masculine quality.

“Not bad.”

Ren laughed as well when he saw Radius’ smile, which was appropriate for his age and full of boyishness.

When the two of them were taking a short break,

“Excuse me!”

Ren and Radius immediately asked what was wrong when they saw the impassioned look of the female student who had come down to them.

Then she answered before she could catch her breath.

“There are some people in trouble at the training center! I was going to call the teachers, but I found you two on the way…”

“The training ground is where the students are preparing to participate in the martial arts competitions.”

As they get up from the bench, Mirei, who was supposed to be in another place, comes over.

She, too, seemed to have something to do.

“Your highness there’s a little question I want to ask you—-Nya nya! Is there something wrong?”

Ren, thinking that it would be too long to explain, said to Radius, “I’ll go over there, you take care of Radius”.

“Is everything alright?”

“I think so. If I can’t, I’ll call for backup, and I’m sure the teachers will be there along the way.”

Ren ran alone and headed for the training ground.

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