My Beloved Princess ~The Boy Called Incompetent Rises with Only a Sword and the Princess's Devotion~ - Chapter 006: Spectacular Turnabout

Central Dragon Emperor Academy was a boarding school.

When dragonkin turned fifteen, they left their parents, attended the academy for three years, and were recognized as adults before becoming independent. During that time, they were generally not permitted to return home.

Required courses were swordsmanship, archery, and Breath, plus one elective from single-attribute magic and two electives from common magic—six courses total that determined overall grades. While various other academic subjects were available—history, military science, sociology, economics, architecture, and many others—these were optional and didn’t count toward overall grades.

The main school building was a lavish three-story structure. Castle-like in appearance with triangular roofs. The building had an inverted U-shape. A library stood to the east, student dormitories to the west. And to the north, bordering Upper School grounds, the magic research buildings lined up.

After running around the entire perimeter of the main building—or rather, the entirety of the Lower School grounds—Kishō burst into a dilapidated shed on the magic research building premises.

“Hah… hah… What a disaster. Is this some kind of unlucky day?”

Inside were two worn long tables and four rickety wooden chairs. Plus one small storage shelf and one bookshelf. It sounded nice to say it was neatly organized, but really there were just no belongings to clutter it.

One person was already there, sitting by the window.

Kishō caught his breath and sat down in the seat nearest the entrance.

The occupant, who’d been reading a book, looked up and sent an unpleasant, grinning stare his way.

“Shō-kun, you’re so popular!”

When Kishō returned an overtly disgusted look, the first occupant—a girl named Ōka—spoke without any shame.

“A harem is a man’s romance, right?”

A massive sigh escaped him.

“That’s exactly why I didn’t want to stand out. They all flipped so easily.”

“Yeah, it was amazing. I didn’t think you’d actually draw with the Princess either.”

Right. The mock battle with the Princess had ended without resolution.

Stopped midway by Instructor Mi’on, it was declared a draw.

“I’d understand if I’d won. But does a draw really cause this much fuss?”

“All the top-ranked Lower School students got completely crushed. A draw with the Upper School’s top-ranked student is a huge achievement! Of course the girls are swarming to this sudden gold mine.”

“Ugh, my head hurts.”

The word “swarming” depressed him, and Kishō let out a massive sigh.

“And what’s with those girls anyway? Don’t they have any principles?”

Until now, the Lower School female students had looked down on Kishō, spread rumors behind his back, and sometimes even cursed at him loud enough for him to hear. And yet, the instant he gained just that one achievement—drawing with the Princess—they shamelessly flipped their attitudes completely.

“Kishō-kun, you’re actually an amazing person!”

“Hey hey, why did you hide your strength until now? Come on, tell me!”

“That’s incredible. I’m so impressed!”

“I’m getting really interested in you, Kishō-kun.”

“I always knew you were capable if you tried.”

Surrounded and bombarded with questions, he’d somehow managed to escape. He’d run around the academy shaking off pursuers, and arrived here gasping for breath—that was the story so far.

“‘Swarming to a gold mine.’ What kind of vulgar people are they?”

“Ah, that’s mean! That’s rude!”

“No, you pretty much said the same thing.”

“Eh, did I?”

Ōka tilted her head, looking unconvinced.

“Besides, those girls all had guys they liked before. What happens to them? Is it okay to just dump them? Don’t their hearts ache at all?”

“Isn’t it fine? It’s not like they were engaged or anything.”

“I’ve thought this for a while, but Ōka, you’re kind of cold sometimes.”

“Eh? But liking strong guys and wanting to be with them—that’s only natural, right?”

“No no, I’ll concede that much. But easily switching like that—what’s up with that? Didn’t they like the previous guys? How can they flip so easily?”

“Mmm… I guess you have a point…”

Ōka furrowed her brow in distress and looked up at the ceiling.

Silence descended on the cramped room. Kishō also cooled down and regained his composure.

Suddenly, something occurred to him. Something he’d wanted to ask for a while.

“Hey, what about you?”

“Huh? Me?”

“Do you like strong guys?”

“Mm, I like strong people too.”

No attribute affinity. Branded incompetent, Kishō was barely passing as a dropout. His academy grades were dismal too—300th out of 300 students in the first year, including Upper School. Bottom of the bottom. That was his disgraceful title.

That’s why dragonkin females who worshipped strength despised and looked down on him.

Might makes right. That should be the same even for Ōka, a pureblooded dragonkin.

“Then why are you with me?”

Ōka had always been by his side.

When he felt bored, she’d be there to talk.

Thanks to her, he’d never felt lonely.

There was a world of difference between zero and one. How much her being his ally had supported him. He felt gratitude he could never fully repay.

Why does a dropout like me get to be with her?

It was something he’d always wanted to ask.

Faced with an unusually serious Kishō, Ōka burst out laughing.

“Who knows? Why indeed?”

“How should I know?! I’m the one asking!”

At her usual carefree response, Kishō deflated and collapsed onto the desk.

“I’m an idiot for asking Ōka a serious question.”

“Boo, what’s that supposed to mean? Are you calling me an idiot?!”

“There’s absolutely no room for debate on that one.”

“My school grades are better than yours!”

“How about your academic course grades?”

“Ugh, those don’t count toward overall grades…”

Sensing the tide turning against her, Ōka forcibly changed the subject.

“So, Shō-kun, which one are you going to make your girlfriend?”

Caught off guard, Kishō choked.

“With all those girls after you, you’ve got your pick, right ma’am?”

“Who’s ma’am? All of them—rejected. Hard pass.”

“Eh, what a waste. This might be your last chance to be popular.”

Kishō distrusted women.

But being an adolescent boy, he wasn’t uninterested in women either.

So for just a moment, his heart wavered.

“No good, I almost fell for the devil’s whisper wearing Ōka’s face.”

“What do you mean ‘devil’? That’s cute!”

“Don’t say it about yourself!”

“Then Shō-kun, what’s your type?”

He’d never thought about it. Kishō froze like stone.

The only girl close to him was Ōka.

Certainly, being with Ōka felt comfortable. But that didn’t seem like romantic affection. Probably Ōka felt the same.

“Let’s see. More than a type, if I were to describe my ideal wife… a woman who understands my thinking and supports me. If she’s capable, all the better, but I won’t be greedy.”

After humming and hawing for several tens of seconds with his arms crossed… that was the answer he finally produced.

Ōka’s wide-open eyes narrowed.

“So basically, someone like the Princess?”

“Huh?”

Unpleasant sweat burst from his entire body.

Feeling his face rapidly heating up, Kishō panicked.

“Why would you jump to that conclusion?! If anything, the Princess is the ‘follow me’ type. The complete opposite of what I’m looking for. And you, listen properly to what I’m saying!!”

“Oh really? Is that so?”

Monotone. Completely unconvinced.

“Damn it. This really is an unlucky day.”

If he hadn’t caught the Princess’s attention, he wouldn’t have gotten dragged into such troublesome matters. But thinking calmly about it, the option to avoid involvement probably never existed in the first place. From the moment they met beneath the Dragon King Tree, it felt like fate had already been decided.

“Does that mean losing on purpose would’ve been the right move…?”

The Princess’s observational skills were frighteningly sharp.

No matter what efforts he made, she probably would’ve seen through it anyway.

If the mock battle had been an unavoidable event, then what mattered was how to handle the event once it occurred. In that case, losing quickly might have been the right answer. Win or lose, it wouldn’t affect his academy grades anyway.

“From the way you’re talking, it sounds like you weren’t being serious. You were holding back.”

Ōka said with half-lidded eyes, looking exasperated.

It was a surprisingly sharp observation.

“Well, I tried to hold back, but…”

The initial plan was to release an equal amount of [Sword Aura] as the Princess and clash casually. When [Sword Aura] was equal, what decided victory? Sword technique.

“The Princess’s swordsmanship is the real deal. My attacks were easily deflected, and I almost lost. So I had to go all out.”

The skill gap between him and the Princess was considerable. To close that gap, he had no choice but to increase his [Sword Aura] output and push back with brute force. In the first half, he’d been pushed back by the skill difference, but in the second half, he’d pushed back with [Sword Aura] difference and dominated from there. To observers, it probably looked evenly matched. But—

“All I did was swing a stick around with brute force. I guess it lacks the elegance to be called swordsmanship after all.”

“Really? Isn’t winning what matters?”

“I didn’t win though.”

“Mm, but it looked like you’d win if it had continued.”

“…”

Ōka held her finger to her lower lip, looking thoughtful.

Kishō didn’t respond, instead propping his elbow on the long table and gazing out the window.

If it were a life-or-death fight, there would’ve been other methods. But as an academy exercise, it was merely a mock battle for mutual improvement. Then there was nothing more than that, and even if it had dragged on, the match probably would’ve remained even. Only the gods knew who would’ve won.

◇◇◇◇◇

On the vast Upper School grounds existed many facilities not present in the Lower School.

Among them: facilities for entertaining noble-class visitors. That building, which doubled as lodging, had reception rooms furnished with luxurious fixtures.

In the center of one reception room, the Princess stood with an unpleasant expression.

At her feet.

The head maid—wearing the purple dragon robe that indicated high rank among the maids serving the Dragon Emperor—knelt with her head bowed. Showing loyalty to her master, she held an envelope high above her head with both hands, as if presenting an offering. The person receiving that loyalty cast an ice-cold gaze at the envelope, snatched it away, and tore it to shreds without checking the contents.

“What do you mean by pushing your way in here?”

“It is His Majesty’s command. Please.”

The head maid prostrated herself deeply, her forehead nearly scraping the floor, making her excuse.

“I refuse the marriage interview. I said I’d find someone myself.”

The head maid timidly objected.

“However… there is no one suitable for the Princess…”

“No. That may not be the case after all.”

At the suddenly cheerful tone, the head maid looked up suspiciously.

“In any case, head maid, return now. Tell Father that if I cannot find someone, I will accept my fate.”

The head maid left the reception room.

Left alone, the Princess murmured quietly.

“If I cannot find someone, that is.”