The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 166
The number of transfer students, which had been in the tens of thousands, had been reduced to about 1/4.
It seems that those who thought they had no chance after seeing their test scores had dropped out.
‘If that’s the case, should I leave too?’
I realized about halfway through, that things weren’t going as I had thought.
Unlike what the old man had said about just needing a letter of recommendation, there was no sign of that being the case at all.
‘Oh well. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out.’
By now, I had a rough understanding of how this place was structured. I heard that even if you pass here, you just become someone’s attendant.
I thought it would be better to just study magic on my own rather than do that.
“Wow, they’re here.”
“Gulp!”
The new students started to appear one by one.
The number was about 3,000. While that would be a considerable size if they were all new students, it might actually be small for the number of students at an academy representing a kingdom.
They looked over the transfer students once, then started selecting people as if they had been waiting for this, and began moving somewhere.
Wondering where they were going, I asked the guy next to me, who snapped back as if I should know this.
“They’re going to the party hall!”
“Party hall?”
“If you get selected here, your admission is confirmed. There’s a welcoming party for new students in the evening.”
“Wow. That suddenly?”
Since the new students apparently entered about a month ago, this might actually be late.
Come to think of it, some of the kids here are already dressed in tuxedos.
In contrast, I’m in casual clothes that are easy to move in.
‘I’m sure they’ll prepare something for me.’
For now, the first step is to get selected.
I waited quietly.
After a while.
“You… What’s your name?”
“It’s Ars Elaine.”
It was a noble lady with a plain appearance.
She stared intently at my face and instructed a man who looked like a butler to bring related information.
However, upon seeing my grades, her expression became one of disappointment.
“You’re quite young. That might mean there’s still hope. If you study diligently, you might improve!”
“My lady, this won’t do. No matter what, these grades are problematic. The master will be angry.”
At the butler’s dissuasion, the young lady left with a sullen face. Even so, she kept looking back in my direction as if reluctant to leave.
Two more such young ladies passed by.
For me, this was always the case, so I didn’t think much of it, but even so, this was beyond my expectations.
“…”
A black-haired young lady was staring intently at me. I thought it was just another usual occurrence, but I heard whispering voices around me.
“It’s Princess Rosa…!”
“Why is Princess Rosa looking at that guy…”
The appearance of a princess.
I hadn’t met many princesses either. I had seen princesses at parties in the Kingdom of Calliper, but because King Gareth was so old, the princesses were also quite aged. The youngest princess was about 40 years old.
There were King Gareth’s granddaughters, but they were just royalty rather than princesses.
If I had any familiarity with princesses, it was only with the eccentric Princess Melodie or the equally eccentric Princess Sophia.
The princess before my eyes was, how should I put it, she resembled the kind of princess I had imagined. Both in appearance and in her dignity.
‘But how long is she going to keep staring?’
Even though I’m used to this kind of thing, it starts to feel unpleasant if I keep being a spectacle.
I smiled artificially and said to her, “Do you have some business with me?”
“…Ah.”
As if finally coming to her senses, Princess Rosa flustered.
“Th-that, I mean. Um. Are you a transfer student!?”
“Yes, I’m hoping to transfer.”
Surely, someone of a princess’s status would already have a predetermined candidate. So I hoped she would just do what she needed to do and disappear.
However, the princess showed no signs of moving, as if her feet were planted in the ground.
She started asking me in a trembling voice. “Wh-where are you from?”
“…Ramdamen.”
“Ramdamen! A city in the Northern Continent. I heard there’s an excellent sapphire mine there, is that true?”
“I’m afraid I can’t answer that part. I’ve never been to the mines myself.”
“I-I see.”
She tried to find a topic of conversation. Soon, thinking it would be better to check my grades, she had her attendant confirm my grade sheet.
Her expression soon twisted into one of perplexity. “Th-these are very impressive grades.”
To put a positive spin on those grades. I was newly impressed.
“Princess, we should move along now. We’re unnecessarily attracting attention.”
“J-just a moment. Just a little more…”
“You’re acting too blatantly.”
“But still…”
Acting too blatantly.
What the attendant pointed out meant that if this continued, it would take on political meaning.
In fact, a group that misinterpreted this intention appeared.
“My, Princess Rosa. What are you doing?”
It was a young lady with dark brown hair. She also had outstanding looks, but perhaps because of her strong gaze, she gave off a somewhat vicious impression.
She looked at Princess Rosa, then at me, and her eyes widened.
“I-I see. So that’s how it is.”
The woman soon curled up the corners of her mouth.
“Come to think of it, didn’t you say you already chose a transfer student, Princess? Who was it again… Well, whatever. You can’t take this man, can you?”
“I’m aware of that. You don’t need to concern yourself, Lady Rinoa.”
“How could I not?”
The woman called Rinoa smiled sinisterly.
“It seems the Princess has taken note of this man’s potential. You must think it would be a shame if such a person were to be eliminated. Isn’t that right?”
“Y-yes. That’s right.”
“Then let me ease the Princess’s concerns.”
“What?”
With that, Rinoa extended her hand to me. “Come, take my hand. I’ll take you with me.”
The surroundings buzzed with chatter.
I mentally punched numbers on a calculator.
Should I follow this unknown lady? Or should I just study on my own?
From the perspective of getting admitted, it didn’t seem to matter who I followed, so it seemed fine to go with this lady.
“It’s an honor.” I took her hand and turned towards her. At this, Princess Rosa’s expression became one of shock.
For me, it was just absurd.
I preferred someone who acted openly calculating like this woman, Rinoa. It was easier to understand.
“Hmph. Well then, we’ll be going now. Princess.” Rinoa curtsied politely, lifting the hem of her dress.
I followed behind her towards the party hall where the welcome party was being held.
* * *
During the brief time heading to the party hall, Rinoa introduced herself.
“I’m Rinoa Branford. You’ve heard of the Branford name, right?”
“I haven’t.”
“…What did you say?”
“I said I don’t know it.”
Perhaps detecting the change in my attitude, Rinoa narrowed her eyes.
“What’s this, your attitude has become disrespectful, unlike before.”
“Well, I’ve already been selected. Besides, I’m not in a position to bow my head to others.”
I had no intention of groveling.
“Huh! For a commoner, you sure talk big.”
To the dumbfounded Rinoa, I said, “If you want to throw me out, go ahead. I don’t really care.”
“Th-that’s quite the spirit. Well, I like it.”
She was unexpectedly tolerant. Rinoa rather laughed boldly, saying she liked it.
Having become interested in me, she belatedly checks my grades.
Scoffing was the natural course of action.
“Ha! You really thought you could transfer with these grades?”
“I can raise my grades if I put my mind to it.”
“I really wonder where this confidence comes from.”
The attendant beside Rinoa scolded me, saying it was outrageous, but Rinoa instead took my side. “Just leave him be. Isn’t it nice that he’s appropriately cheeky? I prefer someone like this to those who just try to flatter me.”
Maybe I’ve picked a surprisingly good partner.
“But… Your background isn’t properly written here. Will you tell me about yourself?”
“Do you really need to know?”
“Now that it’s come to this, I want to know.”
“Hmm, then listen without nitpicking. I’m a general of a kingdom. Not the commander-in-chief, but just below that.”
“…?”
“And I’m the last remaining royal of a fallen empire.”
“…”
“…”
“Stop joking around.” Rinoa speaks in a stern tone, as if scolding.
“But I’m not joking? If you can’t believe it, I have nothing more to tell you. When the time comes that you want to believe my words, ask me again then.”
“I ended up picking a strange person in an attempt to one-up Princess Rosa…” Rinoa shakes her head.
Soon we arrived at the dressing room of the party hall. As expected, they seem to be preparing separately.
“Get dressed and come to the party hall. I’ll take care of the transfer procedures, so don’t worry.”
“Thank you.”
I became newly interested in this woman called Rinoa.
She was unique among the women I had met so far.
I wonder if this is what Princess Sophia would be like if she became vicious.
When I asked the attendant who was dressing me, she answered while looking around cautiously.
“You, don’t you know about Countess Branford?”
“Countess…? The head of the family?”
“You really didn’t know…”
The attendant looked at me as if I was pitiful.
Listening to the story, it was full of horror stories.
That she poisoned her father and elder brothers to take the position of family head, that she controlled monsters to devastate competing territories.
Just hearing about it, she far surpassed the level of an evil young lady.
“I heard she’s even showing hostility towards the royal family now…”
So that’s why she did something to upstage Princess Rosa, even if it meant choosing me. Maybe it didn’t matter who she chose among the transfer students from the start.
“Hey, hang in there.”
For some reason, I received words of encouragement.
* * *
In this world, due to the development of magic, the food situation was extremely abundant.
Originally, given the vast land and not particularly large population, there was no reason for food shortage, and with magic that could rapidly grow crops, food production was even booming.
Unlike our continent with its narrow land and large population, this place had vast land but lacked population.
Perhaps because of this, the amount of food laid out in the party hall was incredible.
With about 6,000 participants in this party, it was bound to be a lot, but still, this was a spectacle.
The party hall was centered around a huge hall on the first floor, with the sides structured in multiple layers as if it were a theater.
I’m not sure if this is also thanks to magic, but their architectural technology seemed far superior to our continent, at least in this aspect.
The place where Rinoa was waiting was the party hall on the 5th floor.
Rinoa had taken a seat like an isolated island, sipping wine.
When I joined her, she smirked.
“You shine even more when you’re dressed up. I wonder how Princess Rosa would react if she saw you now.”
“You… I heard some pretty wild rumors about you.”
“Did that attendant tell you?”
“Yes, well. About you killing your father and brothers and taking their titles. Even aiming for the throne. She spilled it all out.”
“…”
Rinoa asks with a bitter expression. “What would you do if it were true?”
“I’d say you’re the worst woman in the world. No matter what, killing family is… A bit…”
“Huh, the worst woman in the world…”
She didn’t seem to care much about public opinion.
I didn’t think all those rumors were true either. I wasn’t particularly interested anyway.
Rather, I was curious about the class structure of this Royal Academy.
When I asked about that, Rinoa explained without hesitation.
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