In the end, Riona was accepted by Class One without any issues.

When she introduced herself as Belzhein, a few students, including Seneca, showed a slight reaction, but none of them pressed her about the "incident" in Westwill.

She was not a foreign exchange student from the Republic, but rather a refugee. That was the new title given to Riona.

Even though a ceasefire agreement had been signed, the sentiments between the two nations remained complicated. If she claimed to be a mere exchange student, suspicion would arise. Moreover, as the sole survivor of the "incident," taking on the Belzhein name would make more sense if she were secretly fleeing from the Republic. This was all according to Kilpus’s plan.

As for why Riona had been using the surname Orunkaim, it was decided that the mysterious chairman had made that decision to avoid unnecessarily provoking aspiring knights, given the tense relations with the Republic.

In other words, Riona had been using the name "Miku" at the request of the chairman. Thanks to this, among the students, the leading theory about the chairman's true identity was that he was none other than Mald Orunkaim, the margrave of the frontier.

I don’t know what exactly Kilpus said to convince the great Orunkaim to go along with this, but apparently, there was no need to worry any further.

Any lingering doubts among the students could easily be erased by force if necessary. But in Riona’s case, no one even had a reason to doubt her in the first place.

After all, every single member of Class One had witnessed her taking on the most dangerous dungeon expeditions and rearguard roles, as well as her desperate battle against the homunculus. It wasn’t just Riona. Our originally ragtag Unit Three had now become the emotional pillar of Class One.

And as for the real Miku Orunkaim, she had expressed her own desire to enroll at the Mage Academy, and Kilpus had managed to push her in, albeit a bit late.

Judging by the circumstances, Kilpus must be serving as the chairman over there as well.

Apparently, Miku Orunkaim had a natural talent for magic. She had originally wanted to attend the Mage Academy, but her enrollment application had been submitted to the Knight Academy instead, all due to the unilateral decision of a certain brute of a margrave.

Honestly.

First, there’s Queen Mother Alina, and now Mald, the old man. It seems like every parent has their own set of problems. I can’t help but sympathize with their children.

That being said, perhaps Blythe, who up and died, leaving Lili behind, was the worst guardian of them all.

Far worse than Queen Alina or Mald.

All his other disciples were adults, but Lili was still just a child.

Why did I die?

Even asking that question scares me a little. I’m even afraid of opening any texts related to Blythe.

I was lost in such thoughts when—

"Eremia."

"Hm?"

Lili called out to me, and I turned around.

Before bed, it was just the two of us in the room. One bed, two closets.

Outside the window, the night was filled with darkness. No moon, no stars. The wind was strong. It would probably rain by morning.

Under the light of the magic lamp, Lili poured water from a pitcher into a cup.

"Have you already replaced your Gladius?"

"Yeah. Thanks to a certain someone, it got chipped pretty badly."

I said it in a teasing tone, and Lili, dressed in her nightwear, pouted.

"Unlike your sword, I can’t exactly get a new backside, you know?"

"S-Sorry."

That backfired.

"What if it left a bruise?"

She took a sip of water.

Then, pouring another cup, she handed it to me. I took it with a grimace.

"You’re not planning on getting a man anyway, are you?"

After downing the water in one gulp, I handed the cup back. Lili muttered, "How rude," before going to wash it.

I got off the bed and followed her.

"Wait, wait. I wasn’t trying to be mean. If I offended you, I apologize."

As she washed the cup, Lili chuckled.

"I was joking. Don’t take it seriously. Besides, I’m a battle-hardened warrior. I’ve got more than a couple of scars. On my back, my stomach, even my chest. I was lucky they didn’t reach my face, at least. I’ve been fighting for over ten years."

That was true.

But hearing her say it like that made me feel guilty. It wasn’t her own will that led her to the battlefield—it was Blythe’s lingering attachment to the sword.

"Is that why you don’t want to get married? I wouldn’t care about a scar or two. You’re plenty—"

I cut myself off before I could say "beautiful."

That would’ve sounded like I was flirting.

"Even if you don’t care, I don’t know about others. And that’s not the reason anyway."

Finished with the dishes, Lili wiped her hands with a towel and walked toward the bed. I followed behind her.

Like a dog following its owner.

Looking up at her, I spoke.

"There’s more than one way to live—to protect a nation or its people with the sword, or to start a family and protect them instead. I can only live by the sword, but I don’t deny those who choose the latter. In fact, I respect them. That’s why I want to be a swordsman who protects those people. What about you?"

Lili sat on the bed and promptly lay down, turning her back to me.

Maybe she wasn’t in the mood to talk.

Maybe I had said something too much.

I sat beside her.

Silence filled the room for a while before Lili finally whispered.

"Eremia, you’re only ten, yet you think about such complicated things."

"Don’t dodge the question. What about you?"

I asked her again.

"I... I..."

She hesitated, searching for words.

The strong wind continued to rattle against the window.