blueteamnovel Chapter 257 : Chapter 257
Chapter 257 : Chapter 257
“What is it? You called me all the way out here.”Inette glared at Shartea, who had suddenly said she had something to say and summoned her.
“It’s not like we’re close enough to have a friendly chat, you know?”
Inette spoke sharply, but Shartea’s expression did not change.
She merely looked steadily at Inette.
‘W-what? Are you seriously trying to pick a fight?’
At that point, Inette grew flustered.
She was putting up a prickly front, but she had never intended to actually fight.
When she heard that Shartea was going to the desert, her competitive spirit had flared up and she had applied for the Horizon Knights practicum.
But after arriving, they had barely even seen each other.
Shartea mostly went out on patrol with the Horizon Knights, while Inette spent most of her time overseeing the Lizardman prisoners.
At first, Inette had been grinding her teeth, determined to show off her abilities.
But before she knew it, she had completely forgotten about that.
The desert was unbearably hot, and keeping the Lizardmen in check was no easy task.
When they occasionally crossed paths, they simply passed each other in silence.
Even so, when fighting in the desert, it was reassuring to know they were on the same side.
‘Yeah. I let it slide.’
Inette brushed her hair back and spoke.
“If you’ve got nothing to say, I’m leaving.”
She was about to walk away, deciding to overlook things out of camaraderie from having shared the practicum, when Shartea—who had been silently watching her with a blank expression—finally spoke.
“You’ve improved.”
“…Improved?”
Inette stopped mid-turn.
“I was a little surprised during the fights with the Lizardmen. It seems you’ve learned how to use your ability together with magic.”
Inette was no longer relying solely on her innate ability.
She was now combining elemental magic with her flames.
So Shartea had been watching her changed fighting style.
Inette’s heart softened just a little.
“Hmph, well, yeah. You can’t rely only on your ability forever.”
Then she suddenly stiffened and raised her guard.
“Don’t get the wrong idea, though! It’s not like I changed because of someone!”
But Shartea curled the corner of her lips, as if she already knew everything.
Watching the scene from afar, Armandy stared with his mouth agape.
Since the day he joined, the relationship between the 3rd Princess and the 7th Princess had always been disastrous.
And yet here they were, having what could actually be called a conversation.
It was something he never would have imagined a year ago.
He had been worried that they might come to blows using their powers, but this completely unexpected development made Armandy think of someone.
Radel Silvert Cretian.
Much as he hated to admit it, all of these changes had started with him.
***
“Thanks for everything.”
“What are you saying? We help each other when times are tough!”
“That’s right! We couldn’t have endured without you!”
The Academy’s third-year seniors were exchanging farewells with the Kau tribe’s Lizardman warriors.
After just a few days of working together, they had grown attached to the Lizardmen.
“I-I’ll be honest. I didn’t really know much about Lizardmen. I thought we wouldn’t be able to understand each other because we’re different races…”
One of the seniors even started to choke up.
“That was all a misunderstanding. No one has ever understood us as well as you did! Sniff!”
At his words, the other seniors’ eyes reddened as well.
“This was the first place where our magic was truly needed.”
“I can’t even remember the last time I felt this fulfilled using magic…”
Hearing the heartfelt words of the third-years, the Lizardman warriors’ throats trembled.
“Don’t say that! It’s all in the past.”
“Thanks to you always filling our canteens, we felt secure.”
“Thank you for letting us drink water freely during our hard days as prisoners!”
They exchanged warm farewells born from a strange bond—between prisoners and magical ‘slaves.’
A sense of wistfulness welled up in the third-years’ chests.
Before coming to the Kamin Desert, they had never felt emotions like this.
They recalled the large-built first-year juniors they had met when they first left for practicum.
The words those juniors—who oddly revered the 8th Prince—had said replayed in their minds.
‘We didn’t understand His Highness’s deeper intentions at first either. But now, everything’s changed.’
‘That’s right. Your lives will change soon too, seniors.’
Their lives would change.
Was this what that meant?
Now that they thought about it, maybe those first-years had been right.
Just as they were lost in sentiment—
“Ah, here you all are.”
Radel appeared before the third-years and the Lizardman warriors, his luggage packed.
Beside him stood an apprentice holy knight of the Supreme Deity Church, a sack slung over his shoulder.
The seniors had been immersed in emotion just moments ago, but the instant they saw Radel, an instinctive sense of foreboding crept in.
“W-what… is it?”
When the third-years asked cautiously, Radel replied with a smile.
“It’s nothing major. I just need a bit of help.”
“Help, you say…?”
“I was thinking of planting some palm trees near the oasis before we leave.”
A shadow crossed not only the third-years’ faces, but the Lizardman warriors’ as well.
“And it just so happens that the finest workers in the Kamin Desert are all gathered right here. How convenient.”
Radel gestured to Gusto.
“Gusto, take it out.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Gusto set down the sack on his shoulder.
Thud.
Inside were the tools the Lizardmen had not let out of their hands for days.
Shovels.
The third-years’ faces twisted.
‘He’s squeezing us dry—right up to the very end!’
‘When does this slave labor ever end?!’
Yet before they knew it, they were obediently gripping shovels and heading off to dig.
The Lizardman warriors did the same.
Their bodies moved by habit, ingrained over just a few days.
Gusto nodded in satisfaction.
“They’ve been reborn as excellent workers. It’s all thanks to you, Your Highness.”
“Oh, come on. They’ve just learned the joy of working.”
Radel smiled contentedly as he watched the labor force head off on its own.
Of all addictions, work addiction really was the best.
***
‘Time to feed the griffin.’
Even on the day they were leaving for the Academy, feeding the griffin was not something he could skip.
Thanks to leaving the griffin in the care of the children, Radel had less to do himself.
The children took turns playing with the griffin.
They prepared clean water for it, gave it snacks, and brushed its fur.
The griffin itself seemed to think it was the one taking care of the children, though…
Kieek!
Spotting Radel, the griffin let out a shrill cry.
It seemed annoyed by the children clinging to it.
“Oh! Your Highness!”
Oliver, who was doing something with the children, waved when he saw Radel.
“Hey. What are you up to?”
“Look at this! We made it for the griffin.”
The Horizon Knights’ children, having heard that Radel and the others were leaving for the Academy, had prepared farewell gifts for the griffin.
They had made jerky from desert rats, which were commonly caught in the desert.
“The griffin likes meat, right?”
“We hope it remembers us whenever it eats jerky.”
Truly befitting desert children with strong survival skills.
However, even after seeing the jerky, the griffin merely snorted.
Compared to the richly spiced jerky Radel made, this was far too bland.
Still, it did not push the children away.
Radel slipped the griffin a piece of freshly grilled jerky, signaling it to endure a little longer.
As he stroked the griffin’s neck for a while, someone sitting alone at a distance caught his eye.
It was Leo, the leader of the children.
Ever since learning that he could see mana, he seemed deep in thought.
Radel quietly approached him.
“Leo.”
“Wah! You scared me!”
Startled by Radel’s silent approach, Leo shouted.
“What do you want!”
“What else? I came to give you something.”
Radel took an envelope from his pocket and held it out.
“…What is it?”
Leo hesitated slightly as he looked up at Radel.
Even without knowing anything, the envelope looked ominous.
An envelope stamped with a golden seal.
The same color as the eyes of royalty.
The same color as the eyes of the strange prince standing before him.
Then the strange prince said something Leo never expected.
“It’s a recommendation letter for the Imperial Magic Academy. I want you to come to the Academy.”
Leo’s eyes widened.
***
Whoooosh.
A sandstorm swept across the desert.
The Academy trainees departed for Marcellant, and the Lizardmen headed north.
All that remained were the Horizon Knights and the children.
Carlos, the commander of the Horizon Knights, spoke to his vice-commander.
“They were strange kids, weren’t they? Don’t you think so, old man?”
“They certainly were.”
The vice-commander nodded.
It would be a lie to say that Academy trainees who came all the way to the desert—and even dug an oasis before leaving—were not strange.
“A lot has changed. The kids too.”
“Hm… That’s true.”
Carlos looked at Leo, who had grown noticeably quieter of late.
Ever since the trainees left, Leo had been lost in thought.
Even now, he was standing apart, staring at the envelope with the golden seal.
Carlos approached him.
“Isn’t this a good thing, Leo? To think you’ve got talent for magic.”
“C-Commander?”
Leo hurriedly hid the envelope.
But Carlos knew exactly what it was.
The Empire’s finest magical institution, located in the city of magic, Marcellant.
To enter the Imperial Magic Academy, a recommendation letter was essential.
And those letters were not given to just anyone.
They were essentially a pledge of one’s family name.
Even obtaining one from a reputable noble was difficult.
A recommendation from a royal, all the more so.
“That’s a recommendation from His Highness, isn’t it?”
“…!”
Leo froze in shock, only glancing around nervously.
Carlos bared his teeth in a grin.
“Ha! If you want, this commander can earn enough to cover your tuition. I’ll just have to save people more often, that’s all.”
Leo’s eyes trembled.
Was he saying he would send him to the Academy if he wanted?
Carlos continued casually,
“The 3rd Princess told us to earn a lot too. Said that way we’d save more lives.”
Shartea had not understood at first why the Horizon Knights saved merchants and demanded compensation, but by the end she had even left words of encouragement—telling them to save many and earn much.
Especially now that more oases meant merchants would travel more actively.
If even an imperial princess told them to earn a lot, then they would have to save people even harder from now on.
Yet as Carlos spoke, Leo’s expression only grew more complicated.
‘Magic…’
Leo had held a sword his entire life.
He had never once imagined a path without it.
He stared intently into the distance—toward where Radel and the others had disappeared beyond the desert.