My Beloved Princess ~The Boy Called Incompetent Rises with Only a Sword and the Princess's Devotion~

The Central Dragon Emperor Academy was established right in the middle of a plain.

The total number of students was nine hundred. Teachers and academy staff numbered about three hundred. Approximately one thousand two hundred people lived on the academy grounds.

Supporting the foundation of their lives were goods transported from the capital.

The distance from the capital, Black Emperor Castle, to the academy was a two-day journey. Several relay bases for goods were established along the way, and various items were brought in daily via multiple transport routes.

The goods brought in like that lined the shelves of each store within the academy, but in the Lower School, food and daily necessities were paramount. However, in the Upper School, the assortment of goods was notably different.

“In short, things called luxury goods are lined up. Accessories, Dragon Robes for casual wear, furniture… well, truly various things.”

Kōran, walking next to him, explained in an indifferent tone. Was she quieter than usual because she was afraid of him tattling to the Princess? Kishō felt uncomfortable somehow, scratched his head, and said,

“Rest assured. I won’t tattle or anything.”

“Really?”

“Ah. But, let’s get along, even just a little.”

Stopping, the tall Kōran tilted her neck slightly.

“……Understood. If it’s just a little, fine.”

That was a small compromise. However, for her, an Onee-sama supremacist who hated men, it must have been a big concession. Kishō smiled wryly.

“So where are we heading?”

Currently, Kishō was strolling inside the shopping mall, guided by Kōran. A marble passageway extended straight through the center, and shops crowded both sides of the wide passageway, which must have been ten meters across. The white light leaking from each store made the white marble stand out even more.

The ceiling was open up to the third floor, and if one looked overhead, aerial corridors stretched around to connect each floor. And there was a disc-shaped vehicle that moved vertically through the first, second, and third floors—a circular elevator moving with magic-type power.

“Over here.”

Led by the hand by Kōran, Kishō was put onto the circular elevator.

It was a disc about two meters in diameter with handrails. An operation panel was attached to the central pillar, and when Kōran operated something, the disc started rising.

They stopped at the second floor. Getting off the elevator, the shop right in front was the destination.

The signboard read “Stationery.”

The inside of the shop wasn’t that wide, but the assortment was abundant. And above all,

“Expensi—. Too expensive, right? What is this price.”

“Well, the business partners are noble sons and daughters, you see. The prices are also high.”

The loose-leaf notebooks piled on the shelf seemed to have gold leaf scattered uselessly and had a price fifty times that of notebooks sold in the Lower School attached. Kishō checked his pocket reflexively.

In the wallet taken out from his cuff, there were 54 silver nuggets. The price of the notebook was 20 silver, so it wasn’t that he couldn’t buy it, but since the monthly living expenses provided by the academy were 100 silver, he would be pouring a large sum—actually 20% of that—into a single notebook.

“No, no, impossible, right.”

Kishō shook his head with a prompt decision.

By the way, fountain pens with elaborate designs started from a minimum price of a whopping 100 silver.

“What is it? Do you have no money?”

“I have money, but it’s impossible. I can’t buy it.”

“What is that. Well, fine. I’ll buy it for you.”

“Ha? No, it’s fine. I can’t be treated to such a large sum.”

“Then what will you do? You can’t buy it, right?”

“I’ll return to the Lower School dormitory and fetch writing utensils. There’s no need to buy here specifically, right?”

“You, you know. There is no way it’s okay for Onee-sama’s fiancé to use such shabby stationery.”

“Shabby, you say… even Kuroyō-sama uses the same things in the Lower School, you know.”

“There’s no way Onee-sama, who cherishes harmony, would do something like showing off high-class stationery from the Upper School. She is matching the surroundings so as not to be offensive. So if you also came to the Upper School, match here.”

Hit with a sound argument so solid he couldn’t even make a sound, Kishō was silenced.

However, it was also a fact that being treated to such an amount by a girl had considerable resistance for Kishō’s male pride. He could not honestly say, “Yeah.”

Seeing such a Kishō, Kōran sighed heavily.

“My wallet is Onee-sama’s. And Onee-sama’s wallet is yours, right? In that case, isn’t it fine?”

“From where is that reverse bully logic!? In the first place, the premise that Kuroyō-sama’s wallet is mine is wrong.”

There, Kōran folded both arms and looked at him with challenging eyes.

“If there is even a 1% possibility that you won’t marry Onee-sama, then yes. But, if you intend to marry her 100%, if you have that resolution, Onee-sama’s wallet is yours. A flock, you see, takes a communist way of thinking inside the community.”

Was it such a thing, Kishō, who was convinced, overlooked an important part.

“So what will you do? Will you marry? Won’t you marry?”

If asked that, he had no choice but to answer YES.

“So. Then, I’ll buy parchment for thesis presentation too.”

Kōran, who arranged appropriate stationery, went to pay the bill in a good mood.

Kishō gazed at that light footwork blankly. At this time, he was under the illusion that the source of that money was coming from the Princess’s pocket. However, actually, it was paid from Kōran’s pocket, and the sharing of assets was done with her.

◇◇◇◇◇

“No, this place is absolutely expensive, right.”

Forcibly pulling the reluctant Kishō, Kōran tried to enter the store.

The signboard read “Western French Cuisine.” By the way, the exterior was that of a high-class restaurant.

“Impossible, impossible, impossible! I definitely can’t pay for something like this!”

“That’s why I’m telling you you don’t need to hold back, right.”

“In human society, you know. A man treats a woman.”

“I don’t know such a thing. This is Dragonkin society so match here.”

“Ugu, thrusting a sound argument that is exquisitely hard to refute at me.”

“If you understand, give up.”

“No-wa-y-.”

Two people continued a push-and-pull dialogue in front of a restaurant drifting with a high-class feel.

“In that case, what will you do about lunch? You can’t not eat, right.”

“There must be cheaper shops. Make it there.”

“There aren’t.”

“There aren’t!?”

“Generally everywhere is similar.”

“The minimum line is a high-class restaurant, what is going on with the dietary life of Upper School students!? Or is the monthly allowance amount more than the Lower School?”

“Monthly allowance amount? Ah, the Lower School has that kind of system, huh. There isn’t in the Upper School.”

“Then how do you live!?”

“Since Upper School students are mostly nobles, it’s decided that they are given plenty by their parents, right.”

“Is this the thing called a disparity society…”

At the unexpected baptism attacking from a different angle, Kishō’s heart snapped early, and he collapsed to his knees. If it cost money like this to live in the Upper School from now on, he had no confidence he could get by. Moreover, he hadn’t heard the story that the monthly allowance would be stopped. It was the first time hearing it.

What a starving tactic. While he was crushed, wondering if this was the limit of a commoner, a hand was extended in front of his eyes.

“Here, don’t squat down, stand straight. What will you do feeling indebted about something like financial power that can be managed however one likes later? Stand up quickly.”

“O, ou.”

Financial power can be managed however one liked later—Kishō smiled wryly at that daring idea. Certainly, if it was the Princess’s ability, it seemed assets would increase in a doubling game in no time.

“Earning money is a woman’s job. And the master’s job lies in displaying power and protecting the flock by risking his body. What position one is in, and what one must accomplish. And what should one do to accomplish that. What is important are these two. Everything else is nothing but trivial matters not worth thinking about.”

Those words entered inside Kishō accompanied by strong persuasive power.

“What I must accomplish… huh.”

“That’s right. What is the thing you must accomplish now?”

“Showing ability to marry Kuroyō-sama.”

“What is necessary for that?”

“Crush everything that becomes an obstacle. Of course, with the Dragonkin style—power.”

“Then, money?”

“Unrelated to ability.”

“That’s right. If you understand, shall we enter soon?”

“Ou. That’s right—”

Then, there Kishō returned to his senses with a jolt.

“No, no, this and that are separate stories again, right.”

“You are stubborn too.”

“Each other.”

“Generally, even Onee-sama thinks she told you to rely on me, including financial aspects, you know. Do you think Onee-sama didn’t consider your pocket situation? Because she is a sheltered daughter, did her mind not reach such fine details? I wonder if the woman you fell in love with is so shallow.”

That was, Kishō started to say but shut his mouth. Was relying on Kōran and receiving financial support the Princess’s will? Kishō didn’t know. However, in fact, now that a financial obstacle had occurred like this, even if he acted stubbornly, a situation where he had no choice but to rely on them would come eventually.

…But, Kishō shook his head and straightened his posture.

“Thanks for the various advice. But you see, after all this is my fight. So I think I have to struggle with my own power as much as possible. But as Kōran says, if I become unable to marry Kuroyō-sama because of that, it’s putting the cart before the horse. So, if I feel it’s helpless, I intend to borrow your power without hesitation.”

There Kishō bowed his head deeply.

“So please, at that time I want you to lend me your power.”

A head lowered greatly from an upright posture.

At that sincerity natural for a human, Kōran’s eyes opened wide. She averted her gaze and looked away. Her cheeks were blushing somewhat.

“O, Of course. Even if not asked expressly, I will help you.”

“Is that so.”

There Kishō raised his face and grinned.

“Thanks.”

“D-Don’t misunderstand, okay! It’s unavoidably because I was asked by Onee-sama, okay.”

For a while, Kōran did not meet his eyes.

◇◇◇◇◇

At Kōran’s proposal, it was decided to eat light meals at a stall on the first floor of the shopping mall.

Sitting down at a four-person seat in the food court, the two bit into hot dogs.

“There are meals that even commoners can buy properly, aren’t there.”

“This is a snack, right. Can’t call it lunch.”

Looking around, the only ones sitting at seats were Kishō and Kōran, and the food court was empty and silent. Certainly as she said, it seemed there were no students trying to finish lunch here.

“Generally, why do you force yourself to pay even my share.”

“It’s bad to be treated all the time, right. So this time is my turn. Just that story.”

“Weird. Humans are strange, aren’t they.”

While biting off a sausage piled high with mustard, Kōran said wonderingly. And while licking off the ketchup attached to her finger, she added as if remembering.

“Ah, right. You shouldn’t bow your head easily like earlier, you know.”

“Why.”

“Because you are the master. If the top of the flock bows his head easily, he will be looked down on as a guy with a low waist (humble).”

“In short, it means being underestimated.”

“So. Our society, you see, is basically survival of the fittest where if you are underestimated, it’s the end. It means that by your bowing your head, the flock might be exposed to danger.”

“Not just apology, even gratitude is no good? Troublesome.”

“I won’t say no good to that extent, but thanking even by bowing your head is for exceptional cases. For example, to a hero class who saved the flock, then I understand but.”

“Ah, so earlier you were embarrassed being bowed to?”

“I wasn’t embarrassed!”

Kōran, who got plenty of ketchup and mustard around her mouth, stood up as if to say it’s unexpected/regrettable. Restraining that with his hand, Kishō handed her a napkin.

“I kno-w. It’s a joke. Even so—”

Huge shopping mall. While looking at each tenant fitted in that vast site, Kishō also bit into the hot dog.

“Is tuition being free because they were making a profit over here?”

The assortment of each tenant was abundant, but all were high-class goods, and there was no doubt that each one was expensive. Lower School tuition being free, plus monthly living expenses being provided, if one thinks—it was because sufficient profit was being raised on the Upper School side—it makes sense.

However, Kōran sighed as if exasperated.

“You really know nothing, do you. The sales here are strictly a bonus. To allocate to the operating costs of the academy. The operating purpose of the academy lies elsewhere.”

Another operating purpose? Just as he tilted his head, Kishō’s viewpoint was fixed on one point ahead.

“—Nm? That is…?”

Before one knew it, people started increasing sporadically in the food court. Was it a sense of after-meal dessert? Female students chatting with crepes in one hand were seen sporadically. In such a scene, a heterogeneous sight was spreading before his eyes.

A group of one boy and three girls.

It was a combination with nothing strange that one saw daily in this academy.

However, looking closely, there was the figure of one more person at the feet of the four chatting. Moreover, for some reason, she seemed to be on all fours on the floor. It was in Kōran’s shadow and he couldn’t see well, but not being at the table looked somehow unnatural. Having a bad premonition, Kishō stood up from his seat.

Height was added and the field of vision opened at once. There was a girl on all fours on the ground blushing in shame, and the figure of a male student sitting back arrogantly as if he owned the place on top of her. Surprisingly, the male student was not sitting on a chair, but had sat down on top of the female student made to be on all fours.

—He was making a girl into a chair.

Even though there were figures of other students around, there was not a single person who found that strange sight suspicious. At that unpleasant sight, Kishō clouded his face.

“—Ha? What are those guys doing.”

It was the Dragonkin who believe in power. Even in the Lower School, it often happened that those inferior in power were bullied. If Kishō also had weak arms, he would have met with similar experiences. However, the outrage of a man kicking a woman around, he hadn’t seen even in the Lower School. Because it was natural for men to be stronger. There were many rough and uneducated men in the Lower School, but there was not a single shameless person who would raise a hand against a girl.

As expected, he could not pretend not to see, and just as he tried to leave the seat, his arm was grabbed by Kōran. Pulled strongly.

“Stop it. I hadn’t explained yet, but the rules of noble society are applied in the Upper School. The surrounding environment is completely different from the Lower School.”

“If you say the weak being oppressed is noble society, breaking that with stronger power is also the style of Dragonkin society, isn’t it.”

“It’s not that. That child is a slave. So it can’t be helped.”

“Slave, you say? We are students belonging to His Majesty the Dragon Emperor’s flock, right. In that case, the status is all the same student. Is it different?”

To that question, Kōran also clenched her teeth as if frustrated.

“In logic, what you are saying is correct. But you know, belonging to His Majesty the Dragon Emperor’s flock is strictly a facade, and students are also in a state of belonging to their parents’ flock still. In other words, they are in a state of dual affiliation.”

“So what if they are in a state of dual affiliation.”

“In short, it is a state where while being under His Majesty’s protection, they are simultaneously placed under the control of the flock they currently belong to. That is why she, while being a student, has also inherited the status of a slave. This is a delicate problem where even teachers cannot intervene.”

“Even teachers cannot intervene? In that case, all the more I cannot overlook it.”

Kishō took a step forward. This time it became a form where Kōran was pulled strongly, and she stumbled on the spot.

“I said wait.”

Even while losing balance, Kōran tried to stop him desperately. Having his way blocked by that unloosening power, Kishō turned around with a cold face.

“Wait? Do you think your sister would pretend not to see at a time like this?”

“————”

Kōran stiffened as if struck by lightning.

She said nothing more than that.

Kishō pushed straight toward the aforementioned table, and cut into the conversation without hesitation.

“Oi, stop it. Kicking a girl around, what kind of idea is that.”