“Why do you sound so proud of him?” Serrulata asked with a confused look. She had no way of knowing Myra’s ancestor was my adoptive brother, so I couldn’t blame her.
“You as well, Lady Astrantia. Your faith in your holy knight was marvelous.” Myra praised the princess too.
“O-Oh, thank you,” the princess said bashfully.
“Having a naturally strong holy knight can be advantageous in that you can preserve mana that would ordinarily be spent on Physical Enhancement. If you store that excess mana in manastones, it will come in handy during emergencies.” Orlaya offered some advice as she descended from the spectator stands.
“O-Of course! That’s what I’m doing!”
“Good. On top of mastering the basics, it’s important to understand your holy knight. Bronze can serve as an example in that regard.” They were definitely in perfect sync.
“It’s a shame I didn’t get to see much of Euryops’s swordplay.”
“Oh, that’s right,” said Serrulata. “Sorry, Princess. I ended up taking your sword.”
“It’s quite all right. I made the decision because I believed it was the correct one,” Euryops replied. Normally I would have had to deal with Euryops on top of the raging storm that was Serrulata. Neutralizing that threat early on had made things significantly easier for me.
“We mighta lost this time, but let’s do this again.”
“Sure.” Serrulata and I laughed and shook hands. However, her face soon turned red and she pulled her hand back. “Hmm?”
“S-Sorry. I just thought you were gonna touch me again.” Now that she mentioned it, I had touched her arm last time.
“Sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”
“Th-That’s not it.”
“Glad to hear it. In that case—” I made an exaggerated hand movement and approached Serrulata, and then Euryops got between us.
“Holy Knight Albert.” Her unreadable red eyes peered up at me.
“What’s up?” Although she was the princess of a foreign country, she had given me permission to speak casually with her.
“I’m quite interested in you.”
“Wha—?! Princess?!”
“I’m honored.” I placed my hand on my chest and bowed.
“Most people are left at Serrulata’s mercy when they fight, particularly the first time. But not you.”
“No, no, she definitely surprised me.”
“You have a lot of experience fighting monsters, don’t you?”
“Ah... Yeah, I guess so.” Now that she mentioned it, it might have been my experience from three centuries ago that had allowed me to deal with Serrulata’s animalistic style. Fighting so many different monsters had trained me to handle all sorts of different attacks.
“My country devotes a lot of effort to fighting monsters. I decided to attend this academy because I believe this country’s saint system could be utilized for dealing with monsters.”
“I see.” The advent of curions hadn’t eliminated the threat posed by monsters—they were still troubling many countries. Come to think of it, what were the people who exterminated monsters in this country called these days? Holy knights were an occupation that fought alongside holy women to kill curions now. I’d have to ask at some point.
“I’m sure a warrior like you is in high demand.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’ve got prior commitments.” I looked at the princess and saw her looking back at me. She had apparently been listening restlessly and now had a look of relief on her face.
“That’s too bad.”
“It pains me as well.” Turning back to Euryops, I made a distraught face.
“Heh.” Did Euryops just smile? Her expression immediately returned to normal, so it was hard to tell. “Holy Knight Albert.”
“Yeah?”
“What if I invited you on a date?” Serrulata, the princess, and Myra all went wide-eyed.
She hasn’t given up, huh? Euryops had probably long since figured out I had a weakness for beautiful women and was trying to use that to convince me. Unfortunately for her, my romantic interest began at age eighteen, and she wasn’t there yet. “I’d be happy to.” That said, treating future beauties coldly wasn’t what I was about.
“Then when do you want to do it?”
“Whenever is fine, but I’ve got prior commitments there too. I made a promise with Cuphea, as you’re probably aware.” Euryops stared at me in amazement. I saw Serrulata making the same expression behind her, and then I realized why—normally you would prioritize a noblewoman over your plans with a commoner. I thought she might be offended, but a moment later she very clearly smiled.
“Wonderful. My interest in you is just growing and growing.” Apparently, it’d had the opposite effect. Maybe she was glad my devotion to commitments wasn’t all talk.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“So, after Holy Knight Cuphea, then?”
“Sure.”
“We can discuss the details at a later date. Let us be off, Serrulata.”
“P-Princess? Th-That date stuff is just a joke, right?” Serrulata asked nervously.
“I desire strong individuals. Of course, I don’t mind letting you be the one to win him over.”
“I-I’m not really cut out for that kinda thing.”
Euryops let out a long sigh.
“Did you just sigh?! That’s kinda harsh, don’t ya think?!” The tight-knit pair continued their conversation as they walked off.
Now that I was left alone, I was a little hesitant to turn and face the princess. Steeling myself, I looked back and saw her puffing out her cheeks.
“I’m certain there’s nothing to worry about. Given his goal, I can’t imagine he would consider going to hunt monsters in a foreign country.” Orlaya was as cool and composed as ever.
I nodded my head and smiled at the princess. “Exactly. I’m your holy knight until the very end.”
“But you’re still going to go on a date with Lady Euryops, aren’t you?” I averted my eyes from the pressure of the princess’s reproachful gaze.
“Yeah.”
“I can’t with you!” she complained, hitting my chest. If her sister and Myra hadn’t been there, I was sure she would be cursing me. I let her continue hitting me until she calmed down.
At any rate, we were victorious in our mock battle against Bronze.