The conqueror from a dyi.., p.7
The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom: Volume 2, page 7
I began thinking that I should let Myalo practice with Stardust too once he had permission to practice solo. Myalo’s slender frame meant that he’d be safe for some time, but he still must’ve felt a sense of urgency to improve—he certainly wouldn’t be able to fly with an adult by the time he reached fifteen, after all.
Aerial maneuvers were a particular problem—they couldn’t be learned unless they were practiced while flying with an instructor. They were dangerous to practice because they would often cause the bird to stall. Much like an aircraft pilot, a rider at high enough altitude could recover from a stall while the bird was falling, but kingeagles differed from planes because they were living things. A stalling kingeagle would panic if they were in the hands of someone inexperienced. They might even try to throw the rider off to make themselves lighter. Crashes of that sort were about as common as accidents caused during takeoff and landing. They were also the most common type of fatal flying accident.
According to Rook, the panic came down to the accumulated stress of being controlled by a terrible rider who wouldn’t let the bird fly properly. As that stress built up, the bird lost faith in its rider. Then, when a stall occurred, the bird felt that ridding itself of the rider was necessary for survival. At least, that was how Rook saw it; it wasn’t a generally accepted theory.
It wasn’t strictly necessary to master aerial maneuvers in order to be qualified to fly, but a sky knight wouldn’t be considered full-fledged by their peers if they didn’t have complete control over their bird, so it was best to learn them if possible.
But since many of the riders were conceited nobles with a tendency to get cocky, accidents were common enough during solo practice that many of the influential knight families would forbid their sons from becoming a sky knight right from the start. The rationale was that there was too great a risk of the heir to the family headship becoming too badly injured to serve in the role.
There were also muscular knights whose heavy builds made them poorly suited to being a sky knight. Large children were often told to give up on the course. Obviously, I’m talking about students like Dolla. He never went anywhere near the eagles for that reason.
I looked up and saw Carol atop Stardust, flying gracefully through the sky. She was keeping him remarkably stable. She also wasn’t attempting any of the maneuvers that she hadn’t been taught. There was no chance of her having an accident.
I figured I could safely take a nap while waiting for her to come down. I sat down in the grass by the roots of a tree and rested my back against its trunk.
Such beautiful weather.
The sun was shining brightly and the sky was clear blue. There was only a short part of each year when it was possible to nap outside in this kingdom. I had to enjoy it while I could.
✧✧✧
My enjoyment was cut short.
“Haah... Haah...”
For some reason, a girl I’d never seen before had come running up to me, panting for breath. She was a blonde girl wearing the Cultural Academy uniform. Her hair color was a rarity among Shanti people; so rare, in fact, that Carol and Her Majesty were the only blonde people I’d ever seen.
When a girl from the Cultural Academy came wandering into the takeoff area, you could be sure she was a complete idiot. They’d see this grassy area, decide it was perfect for a picnic, spread out some blankets, and cause a ruckus. Naturally, that wasn’t tolerated since this area needed to be used for takeoffs and landings. Their little get-together would end when someone angrily chased them away.
I knew better than to get involved with girls like them.
“I don’t suppose you’ve seen my...sister?” the girl asked.
As she got her breath back, she raised her head and saw my face for the first time. The sight of me seemed to surprise her.
What’s with that reaction?
I’d never had a stranger come up to me and look at me like this before. I couldn’t help but turn around to check that Godzilla wasn’t standing behind me. But no, there was nothing there but a few trees.
I took another glance at the girl. She looked younger than me. She had refined facial features, but I got the impression she was the bratty type.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“What’s your name?” she asked in return.
I had no idea why she wanted to know my name, but I saw no harm in telling her.
“Yuri.”
“Okay, Yuri. And your family name?”
“Ho.”
“Yuri Ho. Indeed. Aren’t you the Ho family’s second son?”
What’s with her? If there’s a second son, I’d sure like to meet him. Maybe she means Rook, but I’m from a different generation.
“What’s it matter? Go stick your nose in something else.”
“Excuse me? What a way to talk to me. Do you even know who I am?”
Oh, don’t get full of yourself. If you think you can treat me like a commoner who’s going to grovel at your feet, you’ve got another thing coming.
“Not a clue,” I replied.
“I’m royalty.”
Royalty? Well, that explains the hair. Explains the haughty attitude too.
Although Carol didn’t act anything like this, it might’ve been normal for most royal family members.
“Yeah?” I muttered with disinterest.
“Carla Flue Shaltl. That’s my name.”
Oh... So this is Carol’s little sister.
I was aware that Carol had a sister, but I’d never seen her until now. If the two girls merely shared the same father I wouldn’t have been surprised, but they shared the same mother without a doubt. It was very rare for a Shanti woman to give birth in two consecutive years. Rook and Suzuya still hadn’t produced a second child despite trying for the past ten years.
“So you’re Carol’s little sister?”
“How dare you refer to my sister by her first name in my presence?! You’ve got some guts.”
I might’ve actually felt gutsy if it wasn’t for the fact that I always went back to calling her “Her Highness” around adults who might get upset with me.
“The two of us don’t feel the need to be polite with each other,” I explained.
“You’re a good acquaintance of hers?”
“Suppose so.”
Not sure I’d call us that... It’s hard to find a good word for our relationship. “We don’t feel the need to be polite” is one way to put it, but that’s not something people normally say, is it?
“Very well. In that case, I’m willing to enter into a relationship with you,” Carla declared.
“Uh...what?”
Where’d this come from all of a sudden?
“I said that we’re going to enter into a relationship.”
“I don’t get what that means.”
“But you’re pleased, aren’t you?” The girl swept her blonde hair upward with her hand, causing it to ripple in the breeze.
She’s kinda pretty, I guess. Some old pedo might happily throw his life away for a chance to get into some trouble with her.
“It’s an appealing offer,” I said.
“Yes, indeed.”
“But I’ll have to turn it down.”
“Oh?”
I wasn’t gay, but I didn’t want to be in a relationship with a girl. Or maybe I did, just not with a princess...or with any of the girls from the Cultural Academy, in fact.
I’d received good counsel on this matter from a wise elder known as Rook. He’d been one of the most popular boys at the school, and yet he hadn’t dated a girl from the Cultural Academy even once.
Although the academy did nothing to stop us from fraternizing, students who slept together would immediately have to marry. Noblewomen—witches, in other words—considered it a must to remain chaste until they were wed. But once married, they could have themselves a paramour, or even create themselves a reverse harem thanks to their system of polyandry. They just needed to wait until marriage.
The problem was that—for reasons beyond understanding—the man was always blamed if an unmarried woman lost her virginity while in a perfectly respectable relationship. He’d then have to make up for his actions by marrying her. Any excuses—such as claiming he’d been led on, that they’d just been fooling around, or that he’d pulled out—didn’t work. Rook had explained all of this to me and stressed its importance.
Any man who found a girl they truly loved after he’d already slept with a witch would live to forever regret his past mistakes, with no way to set things right. Such tragic love stories often played out at the Knight Academy, or so I’d been told.
Fools learn from experience; wise men learn from history. Rook was the latter. It was why he’d been able to avoid getting engaged to anyone he felt nothing for, leaving him free to enter into a marriage truly motivated by love with Suzuya. If he’d made mistakes while he was still at the academy, he might’ve even been forced to complete his knight training rather than choosing his own path in life.
But that didn’t mean Rook had been forced to keep his virginity until he’d met Suzuya at the age of twenty-something. He’d known to visit the taverns to meet city girls and where the brothels were. A wise knight never got involved with the girls from the Cultural Academy.
And the girl before me wasn’t just a Cultural Academy student—she was royalty. If, by some twist of fate, something happened between us, I’d be trapped in a hopeless situation. I didn’t care how cute she was. Who’d want to get into a relationship with someone likely to turn their life upside down? Maybe an old man willing to die for the sake of some long-unfulfilled desire, but I still had a lot to live for. I wasn’t about to throw away my future.
“Say something,” she demanded.
Maybe I should tell her to go away.
“Am I not good enough? I’m royalty.”
“I spend enough time around royalty thanks to Carol. I don’t need two princesses.”
“Are you and her...romantically involved?” Carla knitted her brows and scowled at me.
What a crazy thing to say.
“Who’d want to get involved with a girl like her?”
Carla’s face relaxed once more. “You’re right. Well, you can get involved with me then.”
I’m tired of her already.
“Sorry, but I’m not ready for marriage just yet,” I told her.
“Don’t you know there’s a difference between dating and marriage?”
This brat’s too precocious for my liking. Doesn’t she know that there are some ironclad rules at this academy? Or maybe she actually thinks that the horny pubescent boys here would be happy with just holding hands.
“I wouldn’t want to fraternize with a girl I have no intention to marry. That wouldn’t be honorable.”
I didn’t really mean it, but it was a good excuse.
“Oh, really? I suppose I’ll give up then.”
Oh, good. I put her off.
“Now leave me alone. I’m going back to sleep.”
“Hmpf. Bye then. When you see my sister, tell her I need to speak with her,” Carla said before heading off somewhere.
I slouched with my back against the tree and went back to my siesta.
“Hey... Hey!” A voice woke me up.
I opened my eyes to see Stardust before me. Carol held the reins.
“Ngh... You’re done already?”
“I’m done. I’m surprised you can even sleep here.”
It had actually been a little painful on my back. Still, even if it wasn’t, a pampered rich girl like Carol might not have been able to sleep anywhere that wasn’t her bed.
“Really? It’s not any worse than napping at a desk.”
“I don’t nap at desks,” she replied.
“Yeah, you’re too serious for that.”
I slowly climbed to my feet.
“Wanna head back?” I suggested. “I’m hungry.”
It was already long past lunch time.
“All right.”
Once we’d put Stardust back in the birdcage, we returned to the dorm. Carol went off somewhere without eating anything at all. She was always busy.
✧✧✧
I didn’t see Carol again until dinnertime, when she returned to the dorm and approached me while I was eating in the dining hall.
“Hey, Yuri. Have you seen my sister around?”
“Ah, now that you mention it...”
I’d completely forgotten that I was supposed to let Carol know that her sister wanted to see her. Maybe it was still worth telling her.
“She asked me to tell you she wants to talk.”
“It’s too late now. I already spoke to her.”
Carol yanked out the chair next to me and sat down. Then she leaned in uncomfortably close to my ear.
“Let me ask you something. Is she... Are you... Did you fall for my little sister?”
“What?!” I yelped, sounding a lot louder than I’d intended.
Carol moved away from my ear.
“Maybe everyone is saying stupid things today,” I added.
What she just asked certainly counts.
“It’s just that she—” Carol began.
“I’d totally forgotten until you mentioned it, but she talked to me while you were flying on Stardust. She’s a cheeky little shi—Student.”
I probably shouldn’t call her a “little shit” in front of her own sister.
“She told me that you two are in love.”
What?! That’s crazy talk.
“Tell her to keep her delusions to herself.”
I never would’ve guessed the girl was so crazy. What an irresponsible thing to say.
“Love” wasn’t such a bad word on its own, but at this academy, “in love” was more than just a phrase that young people used without much thought—it held special significance. It often implied things like bonds between families and plans to wed. My own family’s status was high enough that I wouldn’t have to worry if some no-name noble went around saying these things, but this was a member of the royal family. People were bound to take it seriously, which would lead to huge problems for me. In that sense, it was irresponsible.
“So you haven’t fallen for her?”
“Of course not. Do you even need to ask?”
“Okay. That’s a relief.”
She genuinely did look reassured. If she’d taken a moment to use her brain, she would’ve known it wasn’t true.
By the time I’d finished dinner, my anger still hadn’t died down.
“That girl must be as stupid as Dolla.”
I instantly regretted saying it out loud. It clearly wasn’t something I should’ve said in front of her older sister. If Carol were to ever compare Sham to Dolla, I’d probably go mad, no matter how much trouble Sham caused over at the Cultural Academy. I might even start yelling about how there were certain lines that shouldn’t be crossed.
Certain thoughts were better off left unspoken. A comparison between someone’s close family member and a brainless meathead definitely fell into that category.
Carol’s jaw dropped. “Dolla isn’t stupid. He’s always working to be the best knight he can be. I wish my sister was more like him.”
Uhh... The world sure is a big place. For a short while, all I could think about was how there were all sorts of people out there. To think, there’s someone capable of saying, “I wish she was more like Dolla.”
“Have you lost your mind?” I asked, thinking it might actually be the case.
“Dolla is doing everything he can to catch up with you. It’s inspiring to see.”
I felt a sudden chill that gave me goose bumps. Did the temperature in the dining hall just drop?
“Well... Sure. If you’re into guys like that, fine. It’s a little weird, but...I’m not here to judge you.”
“Y-You idiot! That’s not what I meant!”
“Then what did you mean?”
I really wanna know. How could you want your sister to be a moron like him? If Sham turned out like that, I think I’d hang myself out of guilt for letting it happen.
“I’m saying I admire him as a knight!”
“You do?”
I don’t know what principles knights are supposed to live by, but the way of the meathead probably isn’t one of them.
“Your view of him’s warped by the fight you had.”
“Hmm... Is it?”
No, there’s more to it than just that.
“Yes it is. Dolla’s amazing in his own way. I’m saying that I wish my sister could be driven by her ambition the way he is.”
“Are you sure? I don’t think the royal family could deal with a member like him. Did you hear that during an outdoor run he—”
“Oi!”
A male voice interrupted me.
“Shut your mouth. You’re trying to turn Princess Carol against me.”
As expected, I saw Dolla behind me when I turned around.
How much did he just hear?
“It’s true, though. And next to White Birch, of all places.”
Fortunately, it hadn’t turned into a major scandal, but I’m sure the girls who saw him were scarred for life. He would’ve been in major trouble if they’d reported him.
“Was your stomachache really that bad?”
“Arrrrgghh! Shut it, jackass!”
“Heh.”
He was right—it wasn’t a story to tell in front of Carol. Especially given that Dolla had a bit of a thing for her.
“Why can’t you two get along?” Carol asked with a sigh.
“Why should we? Anyhow, have you had dinner yet, Carol?” I asked.
“No, I was planning to eat here,” she replied.
I turned to Dolla. “And you haven’t eaten, have you?”
“Obviously not. Why d’you think I’m here?”
Makes sense.
“Well then, you can eat with Carol. I’m already finished.”
Dolla’s expression turned to such obvious joy that I almost laughed.
He’s so easy to figure out.
