Battle Race in the Fantasy World

EP.119 A Coincidence Disguised as Inevitability

“Sigh.”

Mathieu exhales heavily as he leaves the imperial palace.

The imperial schedule that had continued for several days has finally come to an official end.

He revealed all of the Alliance’s mistakes and hidden concerns himself.

Thanks to this, the Alliance can no longer go against the Empire.

‘Was it the right thing to do?’

It couldn’t have been. Absolutely not. In the end, he had bowed his head to the Empire of his own accord.

He had broken the will of the Kingdom Alliance, which had fought against the Empire for a very long time and resisted until the end.

So why does he feel a sense of relief, despite feeling guilty?

‘At least I won’t have to worry about being called a traitor when I return.’

The hardliners who would say such things have been arrested or fled to the south.

Those who remain are moderates who want to cooperate with the Empire for the survival of the Alliance.

Thanks to this, the Alliance was able to reach a consensus for the first time in a very long while.

It was ironic. They were people who had been fighting for the prosperity of the Alliance in their own way.

Conversely, now that they’re gone, the Alliance has become safer than before.

If they heard this, wouldn’t they foam at the mouth?

‘The atmosphere in the Empire isn’t all that great either.’

It seems that the Alliance’s situation has become known in imperial noble society, one way or another.

Who would have thought that not a single person would request a meeting even after the official schedule had ended?

While fortunate for him personally, it’s unfortunate as a representative of the Alliance.

Just as he was about to return to the Alliance, thinking there was nothing left to do anyway,

Two people, a man and a woman, suddenly visited where Mathieu was staying.

And when he confirmed their identities, his expression became one of great surprise.

“Could you please repeat that? Where did you say you’re from?”

“I said we’re from Littorio, Lord Mathieu Philibert.”

Littorio, if it’s Littorio, it’s definitely that place. One of only three grand ducal houses in the Empire.

Isn’t it one of those families said to wield the most powerful influence, second only to the imperial family?

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Elga Bless de Littorio.”

And she’s not just some errand runner. She’s none other than the young lady of a grand ducal house.

Such a person came to see him quietly, accompanied by just one guard.

‘…A trap?’

He suspected that the Empire might be plotting something, setting some kind of trap.

However, no matter how closely he looked, he couldn’t sense anything that could be considered a trap.

Above all, the bait was too burdensome for it to be a trap.

“You said this is your first time in the Empire. How was it? Your impressions of the imperial capital?”

“…It’s a beautiful and strong place.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I’ve heard that the Alliance is also strong and beautiful, so it seems they’re similar.”

Saying this, Elga sat down without being invited.

She may be the young lady of a grand ducal house, but that’s all she is. In contrast, her counterpart is the representative of the Alliance.

Moreover, he’s one of the Three Heroes said to have strength comparable to the Ten Greats.

No matter how you look at it, this is absolutely not a situation where she can afford to be so relaxed.

“Your official schedule is all finished, right? That’s what I heard, so I came on purpose.”

But Elga showed not even the slightest hint of tension.

Even Leto beside her remained quietly silent.

In the past, he would have been stomping his feet with worry, asking why she was acting like this.

“…I’m curious about what brings you here so suddenly. No one else has been seeking me out.”

“I have something I’m curious about. Kyle was saying that some troublemakers from the Alliance headed south.”

At that moment, Mathieu’s body shook violently.

His expression became extremely tense, unbecoming of one called one of the Three Heroes.

“Lady Elga. The Kyle you just mentioned, could it be…”

“That’s right. Kyle, the second son of Baron Jonathan. He’s in the same year as me. We’re quite close, too.”

“…”

At Elga’s answer, Mathieu’s mind began to race wildly.

This young lady sitting in front of him now seems to be very close to Kyle.

The fact that she says she heard from him and came to see him proves it.

If they were just passing acquaintances, they wouldn’t have had such a serious conversation.

‘…Wait a minute. If it’s not a normal relationship between a man and a woman, there’s only one answer, isn’t there?’

Mathieu Philibert was a more old-fashioned man than one might think.

From Elga’s perspective, she just meant that she was quite close friends with Kyle.

But to his ears, it sounded like they had a closer, deeper relationship beyond mere friendship.

Yes. As if Elga were ‘engaged to Kyle’ or something.

‘Engaged to Kyle Jonathan. Kyle Jonathan’s woman….’

Gulp-.

He feels more tense than when he was in front of the Emperor. Cold sweat runs down his spine.

He had heard that there are two things a man will protect at all costs, his eyes blazing.

One is a man’s pride, and the other is his woman, they say.

He recalls Kyle smiling even in the face of a life-or-death duel.

Following that, he remembers the Kyle he encountered in the imperial palace not long ago, who was scarier than an evil spirit.

As these thoughts pass through his mind, it becomes clear to him what action he should take.

“As it happens, I’m fortunate enough to have some informants in the south. I’d like to contact them and ask for appropriate information, so if you have time, Lord Mathieu, I was wondering if you could give me detailed…”

“Please, say anything. I’ll tell you everything I know. I’ll cooperate fully.”

“…Huh?”

Elga was trying to create a more comfortable atmosphere and encourage more conversation, but she was puzzled by the sudden change in Mathieu’s demeanor.

She had deliberately mentioned Kyle, stating that they were quite close, but it seemed to have an unexpected effect.

Elga glanced at Leto, wondering if he had any insight into the situation, but he appeared just as perplexed.

As Leto shrugged his shoulders, Elga pondered for a moment before deciding to smile and continue as if nothing unusual had occurred.

“Well then, Lord Mathieu. How far did we get in our conversation?”

“Some of the hardliners from the Alliance headed south by ship. After tracking their route…”

After that, Mathieu provided a very detailed explanation, comparable to the level of reporting in front of the Emperor. Thanks to this, Elga was able to grasp something significant.

The islands of the independent lords in the south were presumed to be the destination of some of the Alliance’s hardliners. Naturally, they would have sought out those with poor relations with the Empire. There, they would likely attempt to vent their unfinished anger towards the Empire.

However, not all the southern independent lords were at odds with the Empire. Some clearly maintained friendly relations with the imperial power.

‘I never thought I’d be able to use it like this.’

Among them were places where Elga had personally stepped in to improve relations in the past.

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**

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– Guidance for Freshman Academic Field Trip –

“…”

The phrase that naturally came to mind was, “What the hell is this?”

Academic field trip? What’s this all of a sudden? I’ve never heard of this before.

“Lord Kyle! Ah, were you looking at the academic field trip plan?”

“Nell. What is this? Was there such a thing?”

“Didn’t you know? It’s an academic field trip, an event where only first-year students visit regions considered important in imperial history for two weeks.”

“Isn’t two weeks too short, Nell? It seems like it would take that long just to travel.”

“From what I know, the Academy will provide special transportation magic support.”

“…”

Transportation magic costs more than one might imagine.

Anyway, it’s the Empire. They’re spending money lavishly on freshmen.

Besides, was there such a thing? Well, I didn’t really read the main story properly.

Academic field trip, academic field trip. Isn’t this similar to a university MT?

The difference is that the academic field trip is only for first-year students.

‘I hope they don’t drink alcohol and vomit every night here too?’

One of the things that Jonathan rarely consumes is alcohol.

The alcohol itself is a problem, and the snacks that go with it are a problem, so they don’t touch it at all.

They do drink very occasionally to liven up the mood, but even then it’s only one or two glasses at most.

There’s even a saying about alcohol in Jonathan:

“If someone drinks more than four glasses of alcohol in Jonathan, they’re a dead person.”

It was a phrase with many implications.

Is it that drinking more than four glasses of alcohol is like offering a memorial service to ghosts?

Or is it that if you’ve drunk that much, you should be prepared to be beaten to death?

Normally, I would have grumbled about what kind of nonsense this is. That’s for sure.

But this time, Kyle was in a mindset to just go along with it.

There was one reason. It was because the indoor training ground finally started its expansion yesterday.

As a result, unfortunately, he wouldn’t be able to meet with the equipment for a while.

As a compromise, on weekdays he would somehow lift weights in other ways.

On weekends, he was planning to exercise a bit under the pretext of going to the training ground to check it directly.

In this situation, a schedule that all first-year students must attend, called an academic field trip, came up.

It was still annoying, but he felt like going along with it since things had turned out this way.

“I heard that the second-year seniors went east last year. This time, um… Ah. It’s written here. Lord Kyle. This time, the first-year students will be heading to the southern part of the Empire.”

“…Where?”

“The southern part of the Empire!”

A thought suddenly occurred to him. The raiders who escaped from the western Kingdom Alliance and fled south.

He wanted to chase after them and beat them up right away, but he stayed put because he needed a justification first.

And then, whether by coincidence or a coincidence that seemed like fate, they were heading south.

“In my opinion, we might be heading towards the coast in the south. There are historically significant places where naval battles were fought with the southern kingdoms that are now part of the Empire’s southern region, and there are also many cities nearby where trade is conducted with independent lords.”

As Kyle listened to Nell’s very detailed explanation beside him, he thought.

Given this situation, could he perhaps deal with it quietly and come back?

A period of two whole weeks could be considered enough time.

‘The problem is that those raiders are stuck on an island…’

A normal person might have thought about taking a boat.

But Kyle, or rather Jonathan, was completely different.

‘I’ll just swim, that’s all.’