The royal banquet is only ten days away from the Crown Prince's first birthday banquet.
Despite this, the royal capital was still suffering from various problems as it was overwhelmed by the waves of people flocking in from each region, but even in the midst of all this, daily life continued.
The restaurant chef buys fresh ingredients from the market, the shoemaker is busy making commissioned shoes, and a boy who dreams of becoming a future tycoon runs around the streets like a madman to earn money.
There is no fool who neglects daily life just because a special day is approaching.
And this is.
“-15 minutes left.”
The same was true of the academy.
Even though the nobles were coming up and various banquets and tea parties were being held, education did not stop and normal classes were being held.
Oh, rather than class.
“Those who fail this test should remember that there will be penalty points.”
“You, are going too far!?”
“A test all of a sudden like this?!!”
“But the lecture ends early. That alone should be enough to make me thankful. Why are there so many whiners like this?”
It could have been close to bullying the cadets.
“5 minutes left.”
“!!?”
Everyone may be having fun, but a student's duty is to study.
The Academy, a temple of learning, as its name suggests, held lectures even though a banquet was in full swing.
No, rather, they were more aggressive than usual in giving note tests, and if you didn't get a certain score, they would even give you penalty points.
There were daily written exams, and in the case of cadets who neglected their studies and faithfully attended parties every night under the pretext of burning their youth, there were even unfortunate incidents where they were expelled.
This happened less than two weeks after the academy opened its doors, and while it may be cruel, it was natural from the academy's perspective.
– Playing is fine. But I don't understand the psychology of playing when you can't even do the basics. Are you confident that you can graduate just by playing? That's great! If so, I wish you could show me the source of that confidence. Hehe.
It is said that this is the statement of the Dean who has a smiling mouth but not a smiling eye at all.
… Well, even if it was bullying, the actual level of the note test was only slightly more difficult than the entrance exam, and there were many problems that even young cadets in middle school could solve if they did well.
In other words, if you just do the basics, the test won't be a problem.
But you don't get above average scores on these tests?
This could mean that there was no progress at all after joining, but it also gave rise to sufficient suspicion that they had joined in an immoral manner, and it became a reason not to even sympathize with the students who had dropped out.
On the contrary, I had to learn something embarrassing and that the academy was by no means an easy place.
The academy was good because it could weed out the incompetent or the unwilling.
In the meantime.
“Wow, the swordsmanship department is no joke. Last year, they accepted all 80 students, but this year, only twelve remain.”
“13 out of 130, that’s extreme, anyway….”
There was an incident where 90% of the freshmen in the Department of Swordsmanship were expelled, and people were horrified to see this.
Last year, all freshmen were promoted without a single dropout or expulsion, but this year, they have eliminated all of them.
Well, it was just a misunderstanding since only a few people knew that all of those expelled students were spies or suspicious people… .
“Why are my ears so itchy?”
Those who did not know this would only look at it with misunderstanding.
“Isn’t it the ex-students who are cursing?”
“I think you, Assistant Professor, are getting scolded more than me.”
“…My ears have been itching like crazy lately. I also have a bit of a headache.”
“Isn’t that a curse?”
“…….”
“Well, can you introduce me to a sorcerer or priest you know well?”
“…rot.”
While Lee Han was nodding his head like that while having a playful(?) conversation with his assistant, the chicks' muttering was suddenly heard.
“Have you heard the rumor? There’s a really handsome prince in the capital city recently. Was his name Santa?”
“Are you more handsome than Prince Roen?”
“They’re almost at the same level. If Prince Roen is cold-hearted, then the rumored Prince is said to be cheerful and smile a lot?”
"…oh."
… Was that why my ears were itching?
Lee Han secretly scratched the back of his head.
Sometimes I feel like I'm living a double life.
'It must be hidden thoroughly.'
I don't think it would be a big deal even if I got caught, but there's nothing good about getting caught for no reason.
Because I want to keep my Santa form a bit secret.
'There are already some troublesome things going on, so you should just stay quiet.'
I've heard from rumors that Modred, or Wales, is recently celebrating a new anniversary.
It is a unique form of commemoration that seems to be a mix of Christmas and Buddha's Birthday, where lotus flowers are floated on the river on a certain day and good children are given presents.
'Where can you find such a hybrid?'
[Santa's Coming] or something like that.
The problem was that this anniversary was a day to celebrate himself, or more precisely, Santa Rehan, so it was a pain in the ass for Leehan.
It was the same as idolatry, and if it was discovered that he was the main character of this worship, there would be chaos in the temple and the palace.
Especially among the extreme ones, there will be those who try to crucify themselves… .
'I'll hang up on those guys the opposite way.'
There's nothing I can do about the annoying things.
For Lee Han, not only was he not at all interested in that situation, he was also careful not to let his true identity be revealed.
Fortunately, it seems that no one on Modred's side has revealed my identity, so I can rest assured.
'Because they have great loyalty.'
However, if there is something else that is a headache… .
– Aaaahhhhhhhhhhh…! Santa, don’t go! Aaaahhhhh… …!!
My head hurt a little when I thought about the resentment that pink-haired kid must have felt when he cried sadly during the breakup.
“Hmm.”
“Why are you like this, Master?”
“…Gomsoon-ah.”
"yes?"
“I have a really young friend.”
“?”
“It wasn’t my intention, but I cried a little when we broke up. I cried really sadly.”
“Oh my god.”
“It wasn’t on purpose. It just happened, but it looks like he’ll be coming to the capital this time.”
“…….”
“…But since you’re still young, there’s a chance you’ve already forgotten me, right?”
“That’s not it.”
"huh?"
Levy was confident, with an answer that was even decisive.
“I don’t know if the child is five or ten years old. Even a three-year-old would have a hard time forgetting his master.”
“Well, it was definitely an unforgettable sight.”
“And you’re friends with Master? The Master I know is not the kind of person who would let a friend cry and just let it go. He’d feel sorry instead.”
“…you know too much about me.”
“This is basic.”
Lee Han smiled bitterly and thought about buying or making a gift for the meeting.
To appease the pink-haired brat who was acting up.
"it's tough…."
“Doesn’t that seem like it would be difficult for you to do that?”
“?”
“Master, you’ve been busy with something else lately, haven’t you? It seems like it might be related to some subversive group.”
“…….”
“That’s true.”
… I didn’t say anything, so why do you see through everything?
“It may just be my guess, but since the Master himself is coming forward, it is possible that these evildoers are targeting the royal road this time as well.”
"no…."
“The noble council won’t step forward anyway. They’re foolish enough to think that the peace that Master worked so hard to achieve is peaceful because they’re so great. Because of that, Master will suffer even more.”
“…….”
“Master, don’t try to do everything by yourself. There are people who can help you. I am one of them right now.”
“…….”
“Master?”
“Hey, there it is.”
"yes."
“Where on earth do you learn the art of reading?”
“??”
Lee Han was grateful for his disciple’s consideration, but he was also scared… .
Because everything fit together like a ghost.
* * *
It wasn't really a secret about the Blood Crusade.
It was basically obvious to most educated people, that is, anyone who read the newspapers, that a subversive group was running wild, and the nobles knew even more.
In that sense, most of the students in the swordsmanship department were already aware of the existence of the Blood Crusaders, and furthermore, they were vaguely aware that they were the ones who had caused the monster terrorism last year.
So why doesn't Lee Han tell us this?
It may be that we leave it alone with the intention of telling children not to come forward and just wait for the adults to figure it out, but it seems like we can't just throw cold water on children who are burning with youth, right?
But… .
“Be careful, there is a possibility of terrorist attacks during this debutante period.”
“…??”
“We’re trying to block them, but since they’re so good at hiding like moles, it’s hard to capture them. It would be different if we had support, but the Noble Council doesn’t seem to care. So, well….”
“…….”
“I hope that no matter what happens, I can survive well.”
“???”
There is a big difference between being unaware and knowing, so Lee Han obediently revealed the truth.
If you watch a movie, don't they hide things like this and then later reveal them and then people resent them?
Lee Han simply revealed the truth to avoid incurring unnecessary resentment, and the cadets were faced with this truth….
“I don’t really want to know that….”
“You damn noble council bastards! My parents and my younger siblings have all come to the capital, what the hell are you doing!?”
“…Oh, I got a new dress.”
All I could do was mutter some vain words.
The futility of life. These were disciples who were quickly experiencing the bitterness of life, and Lee Han still had a gentle expression on his face as he waited for their confusion to end.
“Teacher, teacher, is it okay to reveal that so openly?”
Derek, a gray-haired boy who had been hiding his presence, approached me with a cautious expression and asked a question in a whisper.
I was worried that it might be too obvious to reveal the truth.
“It doesn’t matter if you reveal it. No, it would be better to reveal it. This is just a hunch, but those fanatics will definitely show up at the banquet.”
“Wasn’t the instructor already chasing you?”
Derek asked if he could just catch those fanatics if he wanted to, and Lee Han felt happy about this trust, but he didn't forget to face reality.
And then,
“…things have changed for the worse.”
"what…?"
Lee Han had a rare expression of annoyance on his face.
What is this, an expression that reminds me of something very unpleasant?
It was as if he had woken up in the morning and found a hangnail on his fingernail.
As expected, the scrap he found.
“It wasn’t just one guy.”
“?”
“There were more than a few people who colluded with those fanatics.”
"…yes?"
Derek ended up asking again.
It's not that I didn't understand what he was saying, it's just that I felt like I was hearing something hard to believe.
Lee Han spoke in a whisper, as if he was being considerate to his already confused disciples.
As if telling others not to tell.
“The minimum is one hundred.”
“??”
“…more than a hundred noble families are said to have joined forces with fanatics.”
“…….”
“Isn’t it awesome?”
“…….”
…Derek was in a daze, his body frozen as if he had fainted, and he didn't recover for a while.
