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A few days later, at the Girl’s dormitory of the Knight Academy.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Someone knocked on the door of Inglis and Rafinha’s room. When given permission, the door opened and Leone’s face peeked in. She was done with her preparation, dressed in a bluish-purple gown.

「Inglis, Rafinha! It’s about time. Is it going to take longer?」
「Shh, quiet! You’re disrupting my focus……!」

Replied the serious-looking Rafinha without even glancing at Leone. Rafinha herself was already dressed in a yellow gown and ready to go.

「I’m sorry, Leone. Rani is a bit menacing when she’s concentrating on something. In that matter, you look great in that dress; You’re pretty.」
「Fufu… Thanks. I’m no match to Inglis, however.」

Inglis’ prep was already done for the most part, as she was dressed in a bright red gown. To put the finishing touches on her, Rafinha was currently arranging her hair. It was Rafinha’s hobby to dress Inglis up beautifully. The tailor lady in their hometown of Ymir, who was already a good friend of theirs, taught her a lot of things, and so she naturally learned to do this kind of styling.

「Really? But it’s also true that you’re cute, Leone.」
「It gives me confidence to hear that from you.」
「—And, done! Glis, stand and take a spin.」
「Okay.」

As Inglis spun around, the hem of her dress fluttered gently. Her hair ornaments sparkled along happily.

「You’re so pretty. My heart is almost stolen even though I’m not a guy.」
「This is why I can’t stop dressing up Glis~ She’s just the best material.」
「Hey, Rani. Can I look in the mirror now?」
「Yeah, you can.」

Inglis then looked at her reflection on the full-length mirror embedded at the room’s entrance wall. The dress bought at a tailor’s shop in the Royal Capital was made of fine fabric with a smooth sheen and was elaborately embroidered in places. Once Inglis wore the dress and had her hair styled by Rafinha, her unworldly beauty shone even brighter. Her fair, white skin peeking through the dress was the most prized treasure there be.

「Ooh……!! Awesome—it’s so amazing……!」

She assumed one pose after another, wanting to look at herself from different angles. They were all amazing. I sure have grown so beautiful, even if I say so myself.

「Fufu…… fufufufu 𝅘𝅥𝅮」
「Yup, yup. I love that Glis is cute when she gets excited.」
「You’re right. It would be hard to approach her if she was too perfect.」

Then, as Leone smiled at that sight——

Grumble~!
Grumble~!

Inglis and Rafinha’s stomachs rumble at the same time.

「…… Hungry, aren’t we?」
「We are. After all, we didn’t eat to save room for the party feast in the castle today.」

At Rafinha’s suggestion, the two of them would come into the party after enduring themselves.

「H-, honestly, you two! Now you made me hard to approach you two, since everyone will think I have a rumbly tummy too.」
「… Is it vulgar, then?」
「Yes, verily. Especially with a beauty like Inglis, they would be in for a surprise to hear your belly growl.」
「I knew we should have grabbed a few bites before——」
「There’s no time for that, Glis. We’ll just go to the venue and get a quick bite. Come on, let’s go. There’s good food waiting for us!」
「…… You’re right. Let’s make haste.」
「The principal is already waiting. Let’s.」

In the courtyard right outside their dormitory, Principal Miliera was waiting for them. She would attend today’s party too, guiding Inglis and the other two. And the carriage she called for the four of them was ready to leave.

「Waah~! Everyone is so pretty in your dresses, truly a gorgeous sight to behold!」
「「「Thank you very much.」」」
「Quick, get in the carriage. We’re heading to the castle.」

The four of them hopped in and the carriage went on its way. In the carriage, Rafinha asked Principal Miliera.

「You don’t wear a gown, Principal?」

Principal Miliera was still donning her school teacher robe.

「I guess I don’t. So far as it goes, I wish to negotiate properly as the Academy’s Principal, after all.」
「What are you negotiating?」

Asked Leone, craning her neck.

「Naturally, I will try to get some new equipment that hasn’t been bestowed to us. It’s a good opportunity to ask it straight to the new envoy, you see. Don’t you just want to own those flying battleships? You want them, right? Right?」

The principal’s eyes were gleaming excitedly.

「That sounds good. I ‌want a state-of-the-art anti-personnel destructive weapon. May I implore you to request for it? I would love to fight against one.」
「N-, no, I don’t think you can get anything that dangerous——And you’re just going to fight against it and break it, anyway! Please, don’t break things that we finally get our hands on.」

Inglis’ proposal was easily dismissed.

「But, Principal. Is it even going to work, asking like that?」
「Leone has a point. If the envoy is just another version of Myynti…」
「Using seductive methods will surely work against such people——」
「… Sounds incredibly dangerous. I’d never resort to that, no matter what.」

Whispered Rafinha and Leone to each other.

「Well, our new envoy is someone you can reasonably talk with. In fact, he is actually an acquaintance of mine.」
「If so, that means that person had toured the ground before?」
「He did actually go to the ground before, but mostly, things happened reversely. He took care of me when I was studying abroad on the Highland; you see. He’s a good person, you know? Rare for a Highlander… Though saying it out loud is saddening.」
「Heeh… I didn’t know it’s possible to study abroad on the Highland?」

Asked Rafinha with deep interest.

「It’s a pretty special case though, you know? In the past, when His Highness Wayne was studying abroad on the Highland, I went there with him to be his bodyguard. I ‌possess a Special Grade Rune after all. You can say that my ability is greatly valued.」

「That means you’re good friends with the Prince too, amazing!」

「Fufu. It’s nothing special. Well, you can say that we are childhood friends of sort?」

「If so, that means that the Principal is close with both His Highness Wayne and the new envoy——」

「I do. I’m thinking of fully using these channels I have and ask for equipment!」
「The Ironblood Chain Brigade appears to own their own flying battleship too, so we may need to have our own to combat it.」

「Sure we do. While them owning a battleship is a critical situation for us, it is a good reason to demand new equipment. I don’t know who is this Black Mask person who leads their organization, but I’m honestly amazed he could acquire such a thing.」

「Does that mean he has a collaborator on the Highland?」

「That’s possible. Or maybe he himself is a Highlander…」

「You’re right, that is also a possibility.」

「… I think it’s also possible that it’s my brother Leon who is behind the mask. He saved me before——」

「There are so many possibilities, but… that only means we know nothing about him, right?」

「Yeah, Rani. Exactly. But there is one thing that we know for sure.」

「What is it?」

「He is pretty strong. The next time we meet, I will make sure we properly fight. I wonder if he would try to keep my mouth shut and chase after me if I unveiled his mask——」

「Haha… So, you’re taking off his mask not because you want to know his identity, you just want to aggravate him? That sounds just like you, Glis.」

「I mean, that person keeps avoiding a battle with me. I want to fight him.」

「W-, well, no matter what your motive is, I’m sure it’s beneficial for the Kingdom if you can eventually reveal the identity of the brigade’s leader and capture him. And so, in your next encounter with him, please bring out your everything. You have my permission.」

「Thank you very much. That means you will take the responsibility for anything that happens in the middle, right Principal?」

「Now that sounds scary if you put it that way… Just, what are you planning to do, really——」

As the four of them were conversing like so, the carriage was drawing near to the castle.