"Huh? How did you get here?"
April answered Patrick, who had asked back in surprise.
"The Baron was looking for you, young master, so I came."
"Oh, right, thanks. But... weren't they blocking the way?"
He had clearly ordered that no one be allowed to come here. Had they broken their promise so soon? But that wasn't the case.
"They blocked my way, so I snuck in."
"You deceived the Orcs' senses and snuck all the way here?"
"Yes. That is correct."
"....."
He hadn't even taught her anything like the art of stealth. And yet, April had managed to deceive the Orcs' senses and enter this place while wearing a maid uniform full of rustling frills. Considering the Orcs' senses, honed by their daily hunts, it was a feat not even a skilled assassin would find easy.
'As expected of a Heavenly Martial Body. It's simply a cheat.' Patrick grumbled to himself as he headed toward the Baron.
"Hahaha. My son, congratulations."
"... For what?"
Patrick wore a sullen expression. To suddenly laugh and congratulate him without any explanation was the forty-seventh thing Patrick hated most in the world. To be precise, it made him wary.
Usually, such situations led to more trouble than actual cause for celebration. This happened frequently, especially when those words came from his Master's mouth.
[Hahaha. Congratulations. The Martial Alliance has appointed you as an instructor.]
[Hahaha, congratulations. The government has ordered that the wealth gained from subjugating the bandits be distributed to the common people.]
[Hahaha. Congratulations. The Shaolin Abbot............]
Congratulations.
Congratulations, my foot... He felt his lifespan shortening drastically because of his Master, who always brought him troublesome, thankless tasks where all his hard work benefited others. And now, his father, whom he classified as a pushover on the same level as his Master, was grinning from ear to ear and congratulating him....
'I have a bad feeling. A very bad feeling.' With the same caution as a stray cat wary of someone trying to feed it, Patrick spoke carefully.
"What is it? Please explain first."
"Ah. Right. I was so happy I forgot to explain what's going on."
Baron Schneider said to Patrick.
"You saved Count Parmas's daughter this time, did you not?"
"I did."
"And Count Parmas said he would bestow a great reward upon you."
"Ah, that's right. That reward hasn't arrived yet, has it? Could it be..."
"Yes. The Count has bestowed a reward upon you. Hahaha. And a very great one at that."
"Wow. That's really good news."
Patrick let out a sigh of relief and smiled. It seemed it really was something good after all. From what he had observed while subjugating the bandits, Count Parmas was a man of great generosity and quite fair.
Wouldn't a reward given by such a Count after careful consideration be a great one?
"Hehehe, what is it? Money? Gold? Jewels?"
"Hahaha. It's a reward far greater than such things."
"Ehehehehehehehehe."
Patrick let out a crass laugh, leaning back so far it looked as if his spine might break. The Baron, who would normally sigh at such behavior from his son, simply smiled with delight this time.
"Here, this is the reward the Count has bestowed upon you. Open it yourself and see."
What Baron Schneider held out was a thin piece of paper. 'Could it be a land deed? Or perhaps the rights to a merchant group?
Heh...
He really is a man of great generosity. Thanks to the Count, I can finally live a little.' Filled with boundless gratitude for the Count, Patrick unfolded the paper.
On it was written...
「Academy Special Admission Permit」 "Huh?"
"Congratulations, my son. You are now able to go to the academy."
"... Huh?"
"Truly, I don't know how to express my gratitude for the Count's consideration. To think that my son will be attending the academy. This father can now die with no regrets."
"... Huh?"
This isn't it. This can't be it. Where's the house deed?
Where's the land deed? He looked it over, front and back, but all that was there was a document stating that due to his great contribution in the recent subjugation, he was recommended for mid-term admission to the academy through a special exception, on the recommendation of the Count of the Eastern Marches.
'Hahaha.
So, it's like this, right? As a reward for saving his daughter, he's telling me to go to school?' Having grasped the whole situation, Patrick smiled sweetly and said.
"That son of a bitch, Count."
If you don't choose a gift carefully based on the recipient's preferences, this is the kind of reaction you get.
"Block him! Block him!"
"Seize him! It's the Baron's order!"
The brave soldiers of House Schneider raised their weapons with do-or-die resolve. Though they had been reborn as the strongest elite troops in the eastern territory, they couldn't help but be tense before the formidable foe in front of them.
"Out of my way!"
"Kuaaack!"
"Urgh!"
Soldiers went flying with screams. And the demon who sent them flying, charging forward, roared.
"I said get out of the way! You bastards. Move! Today, I'm going to cut off the head of that ungrateful bastard, Count Parmas."
It was Patrick. With a genuinely furious expression, he sent soldiers flying as he tried to go straight for the Count's neck, but the soldiers blocked him with their lives.
"Captain! The second line of defense has been breached!"
"The third line won't hold for long either!"
"Block him. I said block him! The Baron said to stop him no matter what!"
"How are we supposed to stop that?"
"Just block him! You bastards!"
"Reinforcements have arrived from the Red Rock Tribe!"
"Deploy them immediately!"
The Orcs, with bulging muscles, gathered, holding stone blades taller than themselves.
"The great warrior has gone mad again. Block him!"
"Uooooooh!"
"Block him!"
"Kill him!"
The Red Rock Tribe bravely stood in Patrick's way. But Patrick didn't even bat an eye.
"Where do these things think they are, with another 'Uoooooh'!?"
And as Patrick charged, the muscular green figures shot into the sky like exploding fireworks.
"Kweeeek!"
"Kuik!"
After sending the Orcs flying and finally breaking through all the defense lines, the last person to block Patrick's path was...
"This is as far as you go, young master!"
Kaaang!
It was a maid so beautiful that even the phrase 'a beauty that could topple nations' felt inadequate. With blonde hair and light green eyes revealed, she held twin swords in her hands and succeeded in blocking Patrick's path all by herself.
Patrick's charge, which had sent soldiers and Orcs flying like autumn leaves, was stopped for the first time before her twin swords.
"April, how dare you?"
"I apologize. But according to the young master's orders, I was to prioritize the madam's instructions..."
"No, well... I did say that. I suppose I did."
Patrick was slightly flustered. Come to think of it, he might have said something like that. Wait, if that's the case...
"Is my mother here too?"
"I am."
The reply came from behind him. There, a brown-haired noblewoman, as beautiful as April but with a strangely mature charm, was walking through the pile of bodies(?) groaning in pain, a bitter smile on her face.
"My dearest son."
"Wh...yyyyy..."
Patrick's madness, which had been spiraling out of control, subsided a little. No matter how fearless Patrick was, how willing he was to charge at anything and solve most problems by beating them up, his mother, Ava, was his weakness.
"I heard you were charging off to cut off the Count's head, so I came. What's the matter?"
"Well, you see, if you hear me out, anyone would have to agree."
"Alright. Tell me."
"That bastard, the Count?"
"What about him?"
"He's telling me to go to the academy!"
"....."
"So, wouldn't I be pissed off? Wouldn't I?"
My son.
My dearest son. What am I to do with you?
For now, the situation was brought under control. Well, Patrick was still like a powder keg ready to explode at any moment, but that was always the case, so it didn't matter.
"Grrrrr..."
Baron Schneider let out a sigh and spoke.
"My son."
"Grrrr......"
"Speak like a human."
"Wh-yrrrrr..."
"Why? You ask why? ... I'm the one who wants to ask. You bastard! Why all of a sudden? Why were you throwing a damn fit, saying you'd take the Count's head? Why?"
"Oh, Father, for a Baron with dignity and grace, 'throwing a damn fit' is quite unbecoming."
My father has gotten quite coarse.
"You... you have the right to speak of dignity.... Ugh...."
"My lord. Get a hold of yourself."
"Bring the blood pressure medicine! The blood pressure medicine!"
The Baron, who was about to collapse clutching the back of his neck, gulped down the medicine Lawrence brought, drank a cup of cold water, took a deep breath, and spoke.
"Why? Why did you do it? Why? Why?"
"Because that bastard told me to go to the academy!"
"So what? Others are dying to go but can't. There are even those who bribe professors to get in, so why are you throwing a fit when they're offering to send you?"
"Then let those bastards go. I don't want to."
"Whyyyyyyyy?"
The Baron was about to go mad. Recently, when the Eastern nobles gathered and chattered in small groups, the Baron couldn't join in, but he had ears and had been listening. Frankly, he wasn't envious of those who boasted about making a lot of money from successful business investments, buying trendy works of art, or taking on new concubines.
But there was one thing that even the Baron envied: the nobles who exchanged updates about their children who had enrolled in the academy.
[Hahaha. The third-year curriculum in the knights’ faculty must be tough. My son, who rarely complains, was whining in his letter.]
[The knights’ faculty is still better off. My son, who entered the law department, is already preparing to repeat a year.]
[Well, it's rare for anyone in the law department to graduate on time, isn't it?]
[Hahaha. That's true. I told him not to worry about it and just study hard.]
Honestly, he was envious. To be more blunt, he was green with envy. While his own son was over at another table, wolfing down the Count's food, other families' children were said to have enrolled in the academy, where the greatest talents of the Atronia Kingdom gathered to hone their skills.
There is no one in this world who doesn't enjoy boasting about their children. Of course, Baron Schneider's son was also a source of pride... pride... pri... 'Is he a source of pride?'
It was ambiguous. His son's talent with the sword and his ability to make money were truly outstanding, but there were also many embarrassing aspects that made it difficult to puff out his chest and boast with confidence.
In any case, the important thing was that the Baron was overjoyed, as if flying in the sky, when it was decided that Patrick could enroll in the academy. But the person in question was foaming at the mouth and throwing a tantrum, saying he didn't want to go...
"Son, do you even know what kind of place the academy is?"
"It's a school, isn't it?"
"It's a place where the kingdom's greatest talents gather to cultivate their abilities for the future."
"So, that's a school."
"... Huh?"
Well, he wasn't wrong. The statement itself was correct.
"Ahem, but the academy established by the kingdom is not just any school. It is the absolute best educational facility that selects the best talents, provides the best education, and nurtures the individuals who will be responsible for the kingdom's future."
"You really like the word 'best'."
"Quiet. Anyway, others wish to go to that academy but can't, some even retake the exam multiple times. So why are you saying you don't want to go even when they're offering to send you?"
"Because I don't want to go."
"A truly valid reason. Isn't it?"
"No, frankly, what am I going to learn there? What is there for me to learn?"
"Morality?"
"... Huh?"
Well, that was certainly something he needed to learn.
But...
"Do you think I'm the type whose sense of morality will grow by leaps and bounds just because I go there?"
"You do know yourself, I see."
"Ahem!"
"Don't be proud of it!"
This hopeless child of mine. He has a uselessly good grasp of his own character. Baron Schneider let out a deep sigh and said in a much calmer voice.
"My son."
"What is it? Why are you calling me in such a voice full of sorrow and regret? What are you plotting?"
"Plotting!... It's not that.... This father will tell you a fact you do not know."
"... Go on."
'Whatever you say will be useless, but I'll at least listen,' was written all over his son's face. Baron Schneider spoke calmly to him.
"The truth is, this father of yours also took the academy's entrance exam when he was young."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, but you failed. What can you do? A loser will always be a loser."
"I passed."
"... Eh, no way?"
This little brat... Baron Schneider was offended. Just then, Lawrence, who was standing beside him, spoke with a smile.