I Became the Academy’s War Hero Chapter 77
Watching the two brothers hesitate across the negotiation table, Edel Ribenia swallowed a bitter smile.
‘…How dull, honestly.’
They were trying so hard not to show it, but their awkward restraint was almost painful to watch. A sigh kept slipping out despite her efforts to hold it back.
It couldn’t be helped.
They and she were fundamentally different beings.
Even though they were all royalty, those two were simply fools who had gotten lucky enough to inherit their authority.
While she was a fool who struggled for an unattainable goal, armed with the privilege granted to only one person in this world.
Tch.
She barely managed to suppress a hollow laugh that almost escaped her lips.
‘At least we’re the same in being fools, huh?’
Maybe that had been true up until now.
But not anymore.
This time… it had to be different.
The opportunity that had always hovered just beyond her reach had finally come to her at last.
Edel lowered her head for a moment and bit her lip.
After a long silence, the two each made their offers.
“How about the position of Supreme Commander of the Imperial Special Task Force? It seems fitting for you to take on such a role.”
Abel Ribenia was the first to make a proposal.
He was offering her control over one of the two forces that the Imperial Household could directly appoint without consulting the Parliament.
“The position of Supreme Commander has been vacant all this time. And you’re suddenly offering it to me?”
“It can’t remain empty forever.”
Abel spread his arms with a genial smile.
“It’s not like I’m putting an unqualified person there. It’s Edel Ribenia we’re talking about — who would oppose that?”
“The Parliament would, most likely.”
“That’s why you have this big brother of yours, don’t you? I’ll handle the persuasion, so don’t worry too much.”
“……”
“Well? I’d say that’s quite a good offer.”
When Edel tilted her head slightly, pretending to consider it, Rachel let out a scoff.
“Supreme Commander in name only — I doubt there’d be any real authority.”
“…You think there’d be no power behind it? When Abel Ribenia himself is backing it?”
“See? That’s what I mean. He’s saying all the credit would be his. I’ll offer you something much more groundbreaking, sister.”
Then she said,
“Thirty percent.”
Rachel Ribenia raised three fingers.
“I’ll reduce the taxes that subordinate nobles collect from the citizens by thirty percent.”
“W–what?!”
“What you need isn’t influence within the Imperial Court, but support from the people, right? I can’t think of any proposal that would boost Edel Ribenia’s reputation more than this.”
At that moment—
Crash!
Abel slammed his hand on the table.
“Enough with spouting promises you can’t even keep, sister.”
“Oh my, who said I can’t?”
“You really think your precious subordinate nobles would agree to a thirty percent tax cut? Are you that delusional?”
“That’s for Rachel Ribenia to persuade them — with all her might, of course. Unlike someone here, I don’t go back on my word later, hoho.”
“…You never fail to flap that mouth of yours, Rachel. Should I tear it apart for you right now?”
“Go ahead and try. Though we both know your skills won’t be nearly enough, Abel.”
“You dare…!”
Abel, his anger reaching its peak, drew his sword in one swift motion.
In response, Rachel pulled a wand from her robe and aimed it straight at him.
Seeing this, Alix flinched and ducked her head.
While the two glared at each other with murderous hostility, countless scenarios clashed and converged in Edel’s mind.
It didn’t take long for her to reach a conclusion — she spoke up to break their standoff.
“…Could you save the duel for after the summit, both of you?”
At some point, she was already holding both a wand and a sword firmly in her hands.
“We still have plenty to discuss. Are we really going to waste time on posturing?”
If they kept this up, she’d just call the whole thing off.
As Edel stood with steely composure, the two finally began to calm their fury.
She gently patted her youngest sister, who looked ready to crawl under the table.
“It’s all right now, Alix.”
“Ah… yes, Sister Edel.”
Holding her sister’s trembling shoulder, Edel declared firmly,
“In any case, thank you both for your offers. I’ll decide after the summit. I’ll make sure everyone keeps their mouths shut, so there’s no need to worry. Understood?”
The royal meeting disguised as a luncheon didn’t end until an hour later.
Only an hour and a half remained until the opening ceremony.
Since all preparations had to be completed before then, the four of them quickly went their separate ways.
As Edel hurried toward the dressing chamber, a small hand reached out beside her.
“Sister Edel!”
It was the Fourth Princess, Alix Ribenia.
“What is it?”
“I… wanted to thank you. For earlier.”
“For what, exactly?”
“For stopping Brother Abel and Sister Rachel from fighting.”
“Ah, that.”
Edel chuckled softly and waved her hand dismissively.
“Watching those two fools brawling could’ve been quite a spectacle, but considering the timing, someone had to stop them.”
“Ahaha… that’s true.”
Alix laughed awkwardly, trying to ease her tension, but the stiffness around her lips soon returned.
Seeing this, Edel offered a quiet piece of advice.
“It’s your first time presiding over the summit, so don’t push yourself too hard. Even if something’s agreed upon on-site, it doesn’t instantly become law anyway.”
“…But just doing my best isn’t enough, is it? If I fail to handle this properly, we won’t get another chance… isn’t that right?”
“……”
Edel couldn’t say yes or no — she knew all too well that she herself wasn’t part of that “we.”
Faced with the harsh reality that made her youngest sister so desperate, she could only sigh silently inside.
They walked in silence for a while, and soon it was time to part ways.
Alix forced a small smile.
“Then… I’ll see you soon, Sister.”
“…Yeah.”
Edel bowed her head gracefully in acknowledgment, and Alix almost ran off toward the other end of the corridor.
Edel stood still for a moment, watching the figure disappear into the distance before glancing sideways at her maid and quickening her pace.
“Katrin, what about the witnesses?”
“They have yet to enter the palace.”
“When was the last report?”
The maid, Katrin, glanced at her wristwatch and replied softly.
“…An hour ago.”
“I’ll go to the dressing chamber alone, so go check on the situation again.”
“Understood.”
“Once the witnesses are secured, administer small doses of Hokhma. I refuse to see them unable to testify because of withdrawal symptoms. Ah, and give them the hallucination suppressant as well.”
“At what interval should it be administered?”
“Start with two hours. If needed, be ready to extend it to four. We don’t know when the first discussion will end.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Katrin bowed deeply and immediately headed in the opposite direction.
“…All right, the stage is set.”
Let’s dance, Eugene Carter.
With a faint smile tugging at her lips, Edel stepped forward with firmer resolve.
In the distance, the entrance to the dressing chamber came into view.
As the time for the opening ceremony approached, crowds of people began to gather at the coliseum.
At exactly nine o’clock, the representatives from Karbenna arrived on site, each letting out a sigh for different reasons.
“Wow…”
“I’d only seen it in pictures, but it’s even bigger in person.”
“…You can say that again.”
Rubia, Francia, and Eric each voiced their astonishment as they looked up at the massive structure before them.
“Ugh, I’m going to develop a fear of crowds at this rate.”
“This place is still as dreadful as ever.”
Watching the swelling masses, Lea and Frederick both let out long sighs in unison.
“……”
“…He’s still not here, is he?”
Dale and Orwell scanned their surroundings, searching for Eugene Carter’s figure.
“Hey, Nicolai, look to the left for a second.”
“Hm?”
“Over there — looks like Glorious Academy showed up too.”
“…Quite a few of them as well. Seven, maybe?”
Right behind them, the Director of Training Support and the Director of Human Resources were speaking quietly among themselves.
As everyone carried on with their idle chatter—
A graceful yet firm female voice echoed through the air.
“Let’s move before things get any more chaotic, everyone.”
Dressed in full uniform, Michel Bernhardt urged the two directors forward as she slipped through the crowd.
In her left hand was the navy frock coat of the Imperial Special Task Force.
Cheers— Cheers—
Inside the vast arena, over a thousand people had already taken their seats.
Even so, that was barely ten percent of the full capacity, and all participants were being guided toward the front rows.
The back seats, farther from the stage, were mostly closed off.
Karbenna’s members were assigned to the very front row.
On the same line stood the banners of the Eight Great Houses and the emblem of the Ribenian Orthodox Faith.
While the professors exchanged polite greetings with those nearby, the students quietly observed their surroundings.
Among them, Francia, who was staring straight ahead, caught sight of a familiar face.
“……”
Even from such a distance, that sinister gaze was unmistakable.
“…Jeff Halenber.”
At her words, Eric darted his eyes sideways, then quickly looked away.
About ten meters from the Halenber section was a large seating area for the Bernhardt family.
Several people were already sitting there with arrogant expressions.
Chloe Bernhardt was among them.
Listening in silence to the pointless chatter from those sitting behind her, Michel finally opened her mouth as the tension in the air thickened with killing intent.
“…You can continue your conversations. I have something to take care of.”
“Ah, yes! Of course!”
Turning her body forward again, she searched for the eyes that were fixed on her.
Even across a distance well over a hundred meters, the lingering malice in that magic aura couldn’t be concealed.
And the moment her gaze met Chloe’s—
A sharp, metallic voice rang inside her head.
―So our dear Sister Michel doesn’t even flinch at tricks like this anymore, huh?
It was Telepathy Magic.
“……”
She wasn’t surprised.
It was a spell far too familiar — to both herself and the Bernhardts.
Though, perhaps she had hesitated for a brief moment.
She never expected that Chloe would dare to use this magic on her.
Michel let out a small sigh before replying to the telepathic message.
―Didn’t expect you to send a telepathic message to your big sister, Chloe. So you’ve finally made up your mind?
―Made up my mind? Me? Against the likes of you?
―Reminds me of the old days. You could barely look me in the eye back then… When did you turn into such a sharp-tongued little girl?
―You think surviving by luck makes you untouchable? Don’t flatter yourself. We can tear you apart anytime we please. The only reason we haven’t is because you’re still somewhat useful to us. For now, anyway.
―…How kind of you.
―So behave yourself. Maybe then you’ll get to keep that precious life of yours.
After throwing out her last words, Chloe abruptly cut the connection.
Michel, unsurprised, simply let her gaze drift across the arena once more.
Though the seats weren’t yet half-filled, most of the summit participants had already arrived.
As the opening time drew near, the murmuring crowd gradually fell into silence.
The eight main gates of the arena had already been shut, and over forty side doors began closing one by one under the guards’ watch.
After the ceremony began, no one inside would be allowed to leave.
The reverse was also true — no one outside could enter.
Clang!
Clang!
As each door closed with a heavy echo, the members turned to glance at the side entrances.
“Instructor…”
“Don’t tell me he’s really not coming?”
“…Chairwoman, was this discussed beforehand?”
“……”
Then—
Four guards, having received their signal, moved toward the side door all at once.
“W-wait! One of the participants hasn’t arrived yet…!”
Creeeeak—
Rubia’s desperate shout was completely drowned out by the grinding of metal chains.
Thud…!
Just as the guard confirmed the door had closed and reached for his wand to cast a locking spell—
Boom!
The entire door blew off its hinges.
“W-what the—?!”
The loud crash drew everyone’s attention to the side entrance.
Through the billowing dust, a man emerged, waving his hand to clear the air.
“Ah, completely shattered it. My apologies — I used too much force.”
Stepping through the cloud of debris, Eugene Carter wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled.
“Well, as long as I’m not late, right?”
The shameless remark was just the cherry on top.