The two of them were walking down a deserted corridor.
Earnest was taking the lead, throwing out her chest, striding forward, eyes focused only on what lay ahead. Her gait betrayed more than a hint of indignation.
Blade followed, his arms crossed behind his head and his eyes darting around, taking in their surroundings. This was his first time at the academy, and everything was a rare and novel sight to him. The main school was housed in a stately stone building, and the view from the long, covered outdoor passageways was resplendent with nature’s greenery.
Ivy grew along the handrails. Blade spotted a dragonfly perched on one of the leaves. He reached out to it.
“What are you doing?” asked Earnest.
“Huh? Oh, I’ll release it.”
He opened his hand and let go of the insect. It flew off, its wings uninjured.
Earnest squinted, giving Blade the most dubious look she could muster. She had turned back because he was no longer following…only to find him playing with bugs?!
She spun around in a huff and quickly began walking again. It was the first time in her life that someone had disrespected her like this. She was a noble by birth, and she considered it normal for anyone she met to already know who she was.
And now she’d been forced to serve as a guide…?
She pressed on, burning with resentment.
They arrived at the door to the chancellor’s office. Blade could tell because the word CHANCELLOR was written on it.
With a brisk snapping of her wrist, Earnest knocked three times, then called out without bothering to wait.
“Excuse me, sir! This is Earnest Flaming. I found a lost kid about to cry, so I brought him here.”
Blade looked at her in confusion. Finally managing to elicit a reaction out of the boy gave Earnest a tiny sense of vindication. But Blade wasn’t taken aback by her venom; he was simply surprised to suddenly hear her speaking so politely.
“Come in,” said a voice from inside. Earnest looked puzzled for a moment, but she opened the door and entered—and the moment she saw who was there, her expression visibly changed and her eyes went wide.
Blade stepped around Earnest, who was now blocking the entrance, and went into the room. “Yo,” he said. “I’m here.”
“Wha— You fool!” she cried. “Do you have any…any idea who this person is?!”
Earnest confronted Blade, angrier than ever. Then she glanced back at the other person in the room. He was a robust-looking man in the prime of life. It was His Majesty the King, the most famous person in the kingdom, renowned as the Lion Monarch.
“Sure I do,” Blade replied casually. This earned him another glare from Earnest, who then turned back toward the king, facing him head-on.
“Why are you here in the chancellor’s office…Your Majesty?”
She was perfectly polite, the exact opposite of a few moments ago. Even the Empress of this academy was reduced to a kitten before the king.
“Yes… A good question,” the king placidly replied from his chair.
“Thank you, sire. I am honored by your presence.”
Earnest straightened up even more as the king addressed her. She was blushing. Even for a daughter of nobility, the king was a truly lofty presence. She might catch sight of him at a state ball or the like, but the idea of having an exchange with him was like an impossible dream.
“Earnest Flaming… The previous chancellor told me about you. I hear you are quite an exceptional pupil.”
“Oh, no, sire, um… I still have very far to go.”
Blade was beyond shocked as he studied the face of the girl next to him. All that arrogance of a moment ago had given way to an utterly different person. No, she was like a whole different species.
“Uhm…are you going to be the next chancellor, Your Majesty?” Earnest asked.
“Mmm. You truly are an excellent talent. You’re correct.”
“But that…”
Earnest, her face still that of someone else, looked back down. The king of this nation was in the chancellor’s office, seated at its main desk. That was enough for Earnest to surmise that His Majesty had taken over the position of chancellor. And now the king, in his new position, had called her “excellent.”
“Um…”
She raised her head. With admiration rather than indignation written on her face, she truly looked like a different girl.
“I am certainly aware, sire, of your exploits in the field of battle! It would be a great honor to receive your instruction! Our previous chancellor, you see, was a tad inept in that department.”
She blushed as she spoke, boldly working an insult into her remark. Blade winced. Never mind! She was exactly the same species as before.
“Ah, yes,” the king replied, keeping the serene smile on his face. “Well, that is all, so…”
“Pardon me, sire?” Earnest replied, smiling back. The sheer glory of conversing with the king made her yearn for even one more second of the wondrous experience.
The king kept on smiling.
“You may go. I need to discuss matters with him.”
“Uh…?”
For a moment, Earnest looked like she had no idea what he meant. But as fast as her mind worked, it took less than a second for understanding to spread across her beautiful visage. She then turned to Blade, unleashing her most powerful glare of the day, before silently leaving the room.