38. Vesteria Kingdom and Elite Guard [1]

From the resort in Veneria Island in the southern sea to president’s mansion.

We flew back in the same private jet as we came.

When the aircraft reached cruising altitude and the turbulence subsided,

「Now, let’s play『Millionaire』till we get home!」

The president suddenly announced a game as usual.

「Yoshi! Let’s do it!」

「Yeah, lets!」

Lilim-senpai who easily gets into things, and Ria who loves competition, were immediately attracted by the proposal.

On the other hand, Rose and Ferris-senpai, who are weak morning people, were sleeping well in their seats and are unlikely to participate this time.

Leia-sensei seems to have drank a little too much last night, and was sleeping while groaning.

「Of course, Allen-kun is participating too right?」

「Yes, please go easy on me.」

「Un! 4 players, just the right number! Now, let’s begin!」

She then started distributing the cards while humming.

(…『This time』it’s a normal deck)

This time when nothing was being bet, she did not use『gimmick card』, but a regular card deck.

For about an hour after that, we just continued playing millionaire.

Personally, I wanted to play another game already…

「Wow, the Millionaire 12 times in a row…!?」

「A-Allen-kun… You, are a bit too good…」

「O-Once more! One more time, Allen!」

The president, Lilim-senpai, and Ria – all three of them hated losing quite a bit, so they didn’t want to stop playing.

As expected, playing millionaire for a whole hour, was a little boring.

(Let’s just lose this time…)

As I was thinking of that,

「Allen-kun! Onee-chan promises not to get angry, so be honest and confess! You’re doing some cheating again, right!?」

The president, who lost her mood after successive defeats, made such a claim.

But this time I didn’t cheat – this was a completely false accusation.

「No, I wouldn’t cheat while playing an honest game. -I’m not the president after all.」

「…Gikuu」

Yes.

This president is incorrigibly doing it again.

When one game was over and we moved on to the next game.

She sets the millionaire’s strong cards, such as the『Joker』and『Two Card』, to the bottom of the deck.

After that, only when handing out cards to herself, she secretly took it from the bottom of the deck.

It is a technique called『bottom deal』, a cheat that is often used in playing cards.

(Nobody seems to have noticed it, but I overlooked it because it is a small cheat that gives the president a small advantage…)

But if she wants to accuse me of cheating, then it becomes a different story.

「AA-Allen-kun!? It’s useless to try and shake up onee-chan like that!」

As expected of the president.

Her stubborn till the end personality is amazing in it’s own rights.

(I feel a little pity to expose her trick in front of everyone…)

Even the president has dignity and needs to keep face.

So I kept smiling and showed her a bottom deal with my right index finger at high speed.

When she received my sign『I know of your trick』, she stiffened a little – and after a little while, clapped her hands together.

「…Well, let’s move onto the next game!」

「Wait a minute, Sie. Why were you silent just now?」

「W-Were you perhaps… cheating, president!?」

「T-This story is over! It’s not good for everyone to doubt people! Let’s cherish our hearts to trust!」

Saying that, the president immediately tried to start the next game.

Even though she was the first one to accuse me of cheating,

「You’re trying to escape.」

「Uwaa…」

「President…」

Lilim-senpai, Ria and I – As we directed our cold gazes towards the president,

「I-I won’t do it again, forgive me…」

At last, she raised the white flag and apologized honestly.

「Good grief, it can’t be helped… This is the last time, Sie!」

「You must never cheat again, ok?」

「President, at least don’t get found out next time.」

「E-Everyone… thank you!」

After that, the president did not cheat, and we enjoyed various games such as fan-tan, concentration, etc.

■

The private jet landed safely and we were allowed to disperse.

The president, Lilim-senpai, and Ferris-senpai, will be hanging out together in the president’s mansion for a while longer.

They invited us too, but…

We wanted to take a break, so we politely declined.

「-President, thank you for everything. The summer camp was really fun. It was a wonderful experience.」

「Thank you very much! I truly had a lot of fun!」

「Fuwaa… thank you…」

When I, Ria, and Rose, conveyed our gratitude,

「You are welcome. Well then, let’s meet again at the academy」the president said, with a kind smile.

And Leia-sensei, who is the advisor of the student council,

「Right, everyone. There are a lot of temptations during the summer vacation, so be careful not to go overboard.」

She gave a proper teacher-like advice, and brought the summer camp to an end.

Coming from Leia-sensei, who had a huge drinking competition with Ferris-san and went overboard yesterday… It was not very persuasive.

「Well then, shall we go home?」

「Un.」

「… I want to go home and take a nap… Kuwaa」

「I’ll accompany you along the way. I’d like to go home as is, but I have a visitor today.」

Thus, the four of us headed towards Thousand Blade Academy.

We navigated through the city of Orest, and arrived at the place where the dormitory of Thousand Blade Academy was connected.

「My dormitory is here. See you later, everyone.」

Rose came to a halt and waved goodbye.

「Aa. Goodbye, Rose.」

「Make sure to wake up on time tomorrow.」

「Take care of yourself.」

After parting with Rose, as we turned towards our dormitory – a gust of wind breezed through.

「That’s some nice wind-」

「Aa, yes.」

And when I and Ria were walking shoulder-to-shoulder together – I saw a man in noble clothing who did not seem to be from around here.

(Civilian clothes within Thousand Blade Academy huh, how unusual…)

And the very next moment,

「High King Style – Destruction!」

He closed the distance between us instantly, and unleashed a sharp slash filled with murderous intent.

「!?」

I narrowly blocked it by drawing my sword right away.

(…Guh, so strong)

Unprecedented acceleration, and this weight – he is not an average swordsman.

Moreover,『High King Style』is the same school as Ria.

「W-What are you doing all of a sudden…!?」

「You unsightly trash… Don’t get close to Ria-sama…!」

The pompous swordsman, scowled in anger.

(…Ria『sama』?)

And then,

「C-Claude!? Why are you here!?」

「Ohー, it’s been a while, Claude!」

Ria and sensei called out to the mysterious swordsman, Claude.

Sharp eyes with long slits, which were scowling at me for some reason.

Slightly long glossy black hair.

White noble clothing.

The age is probably around 15 years old.

Height is slightly shorter than me, about 165 cm.

「Uh… Ria, I would appreciate it if you could introduce me?」

「Ah, sorry. This child is Claude-Stroganoff. The Captain of the Elite Knights of Vesteria. Who should be busy with work over there, but is here somehow…」

「I see…」

I still don’t know why he attacked me, but…

He seems to be friendly.

「Ria-sama, it’s been a long time! And – what’s the meaning of this Leia! There is a worm near Ria-sama!」

(W-『Worm』…?)

We haven’t even got to know each other yet. Or rather, we haven’t even exchanged a single word, worm is a little too much…

Leia-sensei, who was severely reprimanded by Claude-san, shook her head sideways in a good grief manner.

「Don’t get so worked up, Claude. How do I say this… they both are in a special relationship.」

「S-Special relationship…!? N-No way… L-L-L-… Lovers!?」

He turned pale and quivered.

「Oh no, that’s not right. Much more than that actually. A『Master-Servant Relationship』- to put it simply, a『slave』」

As he received that shocking reveal,

「M-Master and Servant…? Slave…? ……Eh?」

He whispered as the colour in his face drained away completely.

「Se-Sensei!?」

「L-Leia!? Why did you expose it!?」

「Hahaha! There’s no point in lying, right?」

Saying that, sensei laughed sonorously.

(T-This sensei…!)

She’s completely enjoying this situation – like a criminal who takes delight in people’s reaction to his crimes.

The other party is the Captain of the Elite Guards of Vesteria.

If mine and Ria’s slave contract is known… I can’t even predict how troublesome it will be.

「R-Ria-sama… is that the truth?」

Claude-san’s last bastion – asking Ria directly.

(…This is our chance!)

If she says『no』clearly here, that will be the end of the story.

All of the sensei’s petty schemes will come to nothing!

However,

「Eh, ah, umm… U-Un…」

For some reason, she nodded while blushing.

(Un… this kind of honesty and unable to lie is the virtue of Ria.)

It’s a very good thing as a person, and I want her to be like that in the future as well.

(However… there is a separate『place and time』for that!)

Claude-san, who was confronted by a hopeless reality from Ria,

「Wh-Wha… Ria-sama, a slave…? ??!」

He was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the shock, and fainted on the spot.

「C-Claude!? Hold on!」

「Hahaha! Things have turned out interesting again, Allen!」

Sensei patted my back.

(…This is bad. This is probably… the worst of them all.)

Although just in name, the princess of another country is enslaved.

That one fact is very, very heavy.

In addition to that, Ria’s father. In other words, the King of Vesteria… I heard that he is a very doting parent.

(When Claude-san regains consciousness, if I make even one wrong move…)

I’m sure it’s going to be more troublesome than ever.

(Haa… why does this keep happening to me…)

I looked up at the blue sky, exhausted and heaved a very large sigh.

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