# February
By the end of February, the streets near St. Yansk University were packed with crowds.
The finest educational institution established after the war by royal decree was finally holding its entrance ceremony. Students had taken the entrance exam last November, so they had been waiting for quite a long time.
The merchants of Pritzenkaya were busy swindling money from the pockets of new students and their families who had traveled from distant foreign lands. Various "traditional games" like pickpocketing were rampant.
Despite the biting cold of early spring morning, excited and happy freshmen filed through the entrance of Yansk University, while upperclassmen looked at them with pitying eyes.
"What is that?"
That was until someone pointed at the sky with a startled voice.
One by one, more strange people began pointing toward the sky.
Soon, a long shadow fell over the campus of Yansk University, blocking the morning glow.
"A ship...?"
"An airship...?"
"Holy shit!! That, that, that's the Kalion insignia, isn't it?!"
The crowd gathered in front of the campus fell into panic.
"Y-Your Excellency! There's a Kalion warship in the skies above Pritzenkaya...!"
"I have eyes, Minister."
A silver-haired palace minister gnashed his teeth while pulling at his hair.
"...Didn't Elfihera say she would come by land, passing through Tilles?"
"Well... Hahaha! That's right! And because they used a concealment veil above the clouds..."
"Indeed. The weather has been poor lately. So we couldn't determine whether Kalion's dignitary was coming by land or crossing our airspace with an armed vessel. Makes sense."
"No, senior. Realistically, how could we possibly plant agents in Kalion? That place is..."
The land of elves... How could we plant... humans there... They'd be discovered immediately...
As an intelligence officer broke into a cold sweat, repeatedly muttering "I'm screwed if I have to report to headquarters,"
In this era where peace had become a vulgar joke,
A warship was descending from the sky.
It was early spring.
# Episode 6. My Status Window Opened on the First Day of School
Elizabeta better not kill that elf.
Ivan thought as he walked past the still-confused crowd.
It was obvious what they were all thinking.
-Seriously, have you noticed that only Hero Party members are being targeted for terrorist attacks?
-How poorly managed must your borders be for this to happen?
-Elfihera is the treasure of our archipelago. How could we trust her with you? From now on, we'll protect our own. Thanks for your cooperation.
These were difficult claims to refute. Isabelle and Asidis had been caught in a train derailment, and it was almost a miracle that they all survived.
Elizabeta had even received Ivan's warning in advance. But who would dare provoke Krasilov Kingdom at this time?
Krasilov, where the princess and crown prince were fiercely fighting for power, and where the national military forces remained almost intact even after the war. What foreign power would dare?
Not unless they had a death wish.
Elizabeta must have felt wronged. She truly couldn't have imagined such madmen existed. In any case, this incident would likely be dismissed as a kind of mishap. The elves of Kalion wouldn't commit diplomatic offenses beyond a "show of force."
'If I told her that numerous terrorist attacks would occur at the academy in the future, she'd be devastated.'
The thought of seeing the Iron-Blooded Liza cry again was somewhat appealing, but he decided against it, not wanting to continue insulting his superior.
Besides, he didn't want to face Elizabeta anyway. They were in a rather awkward relationship.
'Hmm.'
Elizabeta wrote letters quite frequently, and Ivan returned all of them unopened. The main reason was that he didn't want to engage in personal conversations with his superior, and secondarily, he didn't want to get involved with royalty.
If he had known she would be appointed as his superior a few years later, he would have been more careful in his conduct. Something to reflect on.
When she first wrote to him, she was only fourteen. Who could have predicted that in just five years she would be appointed as an officer in the Annihilation Squad? At that time, he was in the late king's royal guard.
This meant that if someone had spotted him having a private conversation with the princess, he could have been caught up in political attacks.
He needed to avoid any misunderstanding that the great late king had secretly sent someone to support Elizabeta...
"Oh? Mister?"
"...Hmm?"
Lost in thought as he walked, he suddenly heard a familiar voice.
Someone ran up and tried to pat his shoulder. Ivan lightly twisted his body to avoid it while reaching for his waist. Nothing was there.
He only then remembered that he had left his axe in the director's office.
"What's with that killing intent! It's scary, I can't even greet you properly!"
"I suppose Tilles' greeting customs have changed quite a bit."
"I saw you reaching for your waist! Is the Krasilov greeting to chop with an axe or something? Huh? Is this how you treat a comrade who's faced life and death with you?"
It was Isabelle. She approached him with a bright smile, without any attendants.
"You don't look like you're going to class. Are you an instructor? Professor? Not in the Knight Faculty, right? You don't look like you'd be a knight. Ah, don't tell me. Let me guess."
"You didn't use to have this kind of personality."
"You told me to live with a smile, didn't you?"
Isabelle smiled brightly.
Her expression resembled her father's so much that Ivan found himself smiling back involuntarily.
"I still don't like Lord August, and I absolutely hate people who smile fakely. Hmm. Well, I guess I could be fake too, right?"
"Excellent."
Ivan genuinely thought so. This one was originally like a poorly socialized puppy.
The type that barks at anyone and bares its teeth at the slightest fear.
She changed her personality in just one night, so Ivan gave himself credit for having more talent as an educator than he'd thought. (For Isabelle, who had witnessed about 80 citizens massacred in that one night and had to fight demons to save the remaining 10 survivors, this was a somewhat bewildering assessment.)
"Anyway! Mister, no. Um. With your skills, you must be a professor, right? Which department? Physical education. Definitely physical education. Not the Knight Faculty, hmm... Does Yansk University have an assassination curriculum?"
"Do you think an educational institution teaching such things would be useful in this world?"
"It's good to learn anything! Except magic. That's really too difficult."
"It would be quite problematic if a hero couldn't use magic."
"Hahaha, I told you I'm in the Knight Faculty!"
Ivan walked for a while, watching the energetic Isabelle chattering away. As Isabelle continued talking animatedly, another group of people approached from the distance.
"My lady!"
"Eck."
Isabelle's expression froze coldly before she instantly composed herself.
Ahem, she glanced at Ivan and deliberately smoothed her expression before responding cheerfully.
"Oh my, Young Lord! What a coincidence seeing you here!"
"Please speak comfortably, my lady. I've asked you to call me Oskar."
"Yes, next time!"
Oskar.
Ivan's eyes sharpened.
A very handsome blond young man surrounded by a group of female students approached him with a bright smile.
My goodness. He really looks exactly like his father.
Ivan marveled. Not just his appearance, but even that self-satisfied expression was identical. The only difference might be the crowd around him.
Gil Bert's romantic history had been quite clean.
In fact, it wasn't easy to meet women in those days.
The only women in the party were the Saintess and the thief, but Patricia was just a young girl in her early teens, and Enrique was a vampire over a hundred years old.
"Hmm. Pleased to meet you. I am Oskar de Satieon of Tilles. And you are?"
"Ivan Petrovich."
"If I may ask, what is your relationship with the lady...? Ah, I apologize. You may not know, but the lady is our country's state guest, so I must be somewhat impolite."
Anyone would think the same upon seeing a suspicious bearded stranger walking with the hero's daughter.
Ivan didn't agree with this assessment, but from Oskar's perspective, it made sense. This man is suspicious. Especially considering what happened when Isabelle was caught in the train terrorist attack.
Oskar had departed three days after Isabelle. She had absolutely refused to travel with him.
And when news of Isabelle's accident reached Tilles.
-Advance! To Pritzenkaya!
-Let's tear the paws of the Krasilov bears!
-A country that forgets history has no future!
Do not forget the hero's sacred achievements, people of Tilles!
The streets of Upper Matilenne were filled with citizens holding such placards. The hero's daughter had not just been in an accident abroad, but caught in a terrorist attack and gone missing—what could be more alarming?
Fortunately, urgent news arrived that Isabelle had returned safely without any injuries, and the protesters dispersed. But Tilles' vigilance and distrust had inevitably skyrocketed.
In the midst of all this, he had received stern words from his father, the Guardian Earl Gil Bert.
'When you enroll, protect Isabelle at all costs, not even a hair on her head should be harmed.'
'Even if I die?'
'Her life is definitely more precious than yours.'
'You're really something. Why didn't you just swap her with me? I heard you were friends with the Hero.'
'If I could have swapped, I would have done it 20 years ago, son. Julia and I wanted a daughter.'
'Wow, that's harsh.'
Oskar frowned as he recalled the solemn admonition from Gil Bert, the paragon of Tilles knights and the great Guardian Earl, then quickly composed his expression.
"I'm a staff member at Yansk University."
"I've been very rude. Due to recent unfortunate incidents. Please forgive my impoliteness."
"Hmm."
"May I ask which faculty you're in? I don't recall seeing your name on the faculty roster."
At this point, Isabelle's ears perked up. He wasn't a professor?
"I'm the gardener."
"Huh?"
"...Hmm...?"
With those skills, what? A gardener?
Isabelle stared at him in shock.
Those deep eyes that never revealed his thoughts, that expressionless face hidden behind bushy whiskers.
I really want to shave that off, she thought involuntarily before suddenly realizing.
"...Ah-ha?"
She immediately broke into a strange smile and nudged Ivan's side. Ivan reflexively reached for his waist, then remembered he didn't have his axe and naturally lowered his hand.
'You're a government agent, right? A secret agent? Wow, university life is really going to be exciting. What could they be hiding that they need to plant government agents?'
Isabelle whispered this and then cleared her throat, composing her expression.
'This is just between us. Got it? Don't go telling anyone else, okay?'
'If it's just between us, you should be more careful with your mouth.'
'Why are you like this? I'm the hero's daughter. Solemnity, secrecy, justice.'
'Is that what the hero was like?'
As their whispering continued, Oskar's expression grew strange.
"My lady?"
"Ah, yes. Young Lord. Ahem. Mr. Petrovich? Thank you for guiding me. Wow~ The campus is so big I almost got lost! See you later!"
Does Yansk University's Art Faculty have an acting department? Ivan seriously considered recommending acting theory for Isabelle's liberal arts courses as he left.
At that moment, in the main hall where preparations for Yansk University's entrance ceremony were in full swing, someone was staring blankly into space.
"What is this? Status... window?"
[Congratulations!]