The Hero King, Reincarnate to Master the Art of War
Chapter 473: 16-year-old Inglis and the Knight Academy Seminar Festival (11)

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“Glis~! Over here, over here, can you take this too~?”

“Sure. Like this?”

“Yeah, and this one, and that one, and that and that—”

“Got it. This is good training too, in its own way.”

Inglis carried an absurdly large pile of supplies into the flygear carrier. It was cleanup time after the training festival.

“Ha-, having Inglis around really makes things easier, huh…”

“Yes, it certainly does, hahaha…”

Leone and Liselotte gave dry chuckles. Watching them with a gentle smile, Meltina sat by a bonfire a short distance away along the lake shore, drying her clothes.

“Heya there, Princess, how are you feeling? Just a simple, harmless little festival, but what did you think of it, hmm?”

“Instructor Rochefort.”

The one who spoke to her was Rochefort. Once a general of Venefique, Rochefort often looked out for Meltina, who had once been a princess of the same country. He frequently checked in on her and spoke to her out of concern.

Just earlier, he’d helped her during the flygear race as well.

“It was really fun—very much so. I’ve never experienced anything like this in Venefique.”

“Hmm. Well, Your Highness was a sheltered young lady, after all. We only saw your face a handful of times ourselves, didn’t we? Never would’ve guessed you’d be able to keep pace with Inglis and Rafinha when it comes to eating…”

“Ahaha. Eating was about the only pleasure I had back then…” Meltina smiled with a touch of embarrassment.

“Well, ‘sheltered’ sounds nice enough, but I’d heard it was closer to being confined to a detached palace. If that’s the case, you should take this opportunity to spread your wings a bit. You’re not a princess here, but at least you have your freedom.”

“Yes. But more than that, I want to become stronger. For the sake of everyone who sacrificed themselves to protect me…”

“Hmm. You’re referring to the purge of those in the Moderate Party by that b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲ Maxwell, yes? Though one might also say those court outcasts were simply looking to prop you up as a political figurehead to regain their footing.”

“That's…”

Meltina averted her gaze slightly.

The political sentiment within Venefique overwhelmingly supported expansion— invading Charalia and other nations to seize territory. Venefique’s land was far from rich, and the desire to claim Charalia’s fertile soil had been a long-standing national aspiration.

In that context, the Moderate Party, which advocated for peace with Charalia was very much a minority faction. That was an undeniable truth.

It might have been only natural that those marginalized moderates would gather around Meltina, herself a member of the royal family with similarly little political influence.

Meltina was the daughter of the Venefique Emperor’s concubine, and as such, she was snubbed by both the previous Empress’ children and the current Empress’ faction.

She had lived a life of partial house arrest in a detached palace, rarely permitted to step outside.

“Did these people get the cold shoulder because they’re moderates, or did they become moderates because they’ve been given the cold shoulder… Well, people are complex creatures—stances and principles often mix and swirl together. Best not to let it trouble you more than it has to. That’s what we call the art of getting by in life.”

“No, Instructor. Even so, I still believe what they stood for wasn’t wrong. Because here… in this kingdom, there are so many cheerful and lively people living their lives. That kind of happiness shouldn’t be destroyed. And I don’t want to end up fighting the students of the Knight Academy either. Seeing this with my own eyes and hearing it with my own ears… I believe it even more strongly now than I did before.”

Meltina placed both hands gently over her chest as she spoke. These were her honest, unfiltered feelings.

“Though… the training at the Academy is still very, very tough…”

That, too, was an honest truth. She had lived a life with almost no physical conditioning, and keeping up with the Academy students—even at the most basic level—was a major struggle.

“Meltina!”

“Rafinha?”

Before she knew it, Rafinha was standing beside her. Had she been listening? But without a word, Rafinha pulled Meltina into a tight embrace.

“Ah—wait, you’ll get wet too, Rafinha.”

Meltina’s clothes still hadn’t fully dried.

“I don’t care! Listen, Meltina. I don’t know what I can do for you yet, but I’ll always be your friend, no matter what! If there’s ever anything you need, just say the word, okay?”

“!! Thank you, Rafinha…”

To have someone reach out and hold her like this— Maybe that was what she had truly wanted most of all.

“But just hearing you say that… is enough.”

Meltina hugged Rafinha tightly in return. She felt guilty that Rafinha would get wet too, but… she wanted to do it anyway.

“Here, you two. This one’s dry and clean, see?”

Inglis came over and wrapped them both in a soft, clean cloth.

"Thanks, Glis!"

"Thank you, Inglis."

"Come on, you too, Glis!"

Rafinha tugged on Inglis’ arm.

"Hyah!? C-Cold!"

"S-Sorry, now you’re soaked too, Inglis…"

"It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s warmer like this, and we’ll dry off quickly by the fire."

"You’re not the one who should be saying that! And stop groping random places while you’re at it!"

Rafinha’s fingertips were brushing against Inglis’ chest.

"I mean, it’s warm and feels nice, so I just… couldn’t help it? Look, Meltina—hers are big too, right?"

"Wow… They look impressive, but they feel even more so. I’m a little jealous."

Meltina gently cupped Inglis’ chest from underneath, a look of genuine wonder on her face.

"O-Okay, enough already! Let go of me…!"

"Why are we eating the same food and ending up so different? Oh! Hey, Leone, come join us too! Leooone~!"

Rafinha called out to Leone, who was carrying supplies a short distance away.

"Ugh, I think I’ll pass… I know exactly what’ll happen if I come over."

But even if Rafinha let her off the hook, there was someone else who wouldn’t.

"Ah, Leone, Rene was—" Before Liselotte could finish, Rene dove straight into Leone’s chest.

"Kyaa!? N-No, stop it Rene…! I’ll drop—you’ll make me drop my supplies!!"

Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!

At that moment, vivid fireworks burst into the sky over Vault Lake. The reflections on the water turned the night into a dazzling, dreamlike scene.

"We’re setting off the leftover fireworks! A little reward for all your hard work! Thanks to everyone, we made a hefty profit, ehehehehe…!" Principal Miliera, clearly in high spirits, pointed toward the lake with a mischievous chuckle.

Her grin wasn’t exactly elegant, but the fireworks were beautiful.

"Waah…! So pretty~! Say, Glis, Leone, Liselotte, Meltina! Let’s all watch the fireworks together again next year, okay!?"

To Inglis, Rafinha’s carefree, beaming smile felt like something even more dazzling and precious than the fireworks themselves, so much so that she couldn’t help but smile back.

"Yeah, Rani. Let’s do that."

"Of course!"

"I’m already looking forward to next year—"

"Yes! I really want to be here again with everyone…!"

Watching their cheerful exchange, Rochefort gave a shrug.

"Good grief, what a ruckus. So this is what they call youth, huh."

"But with Miss Rafinha and Miss Inglis by her side, Her Highness is in good hands, isn’t she?"

Arles came up beside Rochefort, smiling gently as she spoke.

"I certainly hope so. If that’s the case, then maybe I can finally—ugh…!? Kah…!?"

Suddenly, Rochefort began coughing violently and collapsed to his knees.

"Ross!?"

"Urgh…!"

His hand, pressed to his mouth, came away soaked in bright red blood.

"Ross! Ross!? What’s happening!?" Alarmed, Arles rushed to support him.

"Wha…!? Professor Rochefort!"

"A-Are you okay!?"

"What in the world…!?"

Inglis and the others noticed and ran over, but Rochefort gave no response. Unconscious, he was immediately taken to the Knight Academy’s infirmary.

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