It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Virginia.

　--It's messy.
　I had a hunch when I saw him.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work. You'll find that even if you compare their swordsmanship alone, they're so much better than me, a knight in shining armor.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a great deal more to say about it. I'm not sure how much the well-tailored clothes will cost. The shoes are made of shiny leather, and must be of a rather high order demon.

　A special mention should be made of the cloak he wears. The jet-blackness and azure that seems to suck the viewer in, and the shining jewels scattered there like stars, just like the night sky.

　But. That beautiful decoration is not the outer one. It is the inside of the cloak.

　What does it mean?
　He hides it. Perhaps something extraordinary.

"Father," he says. This is a foreign nobleman, Lord Second.

　My daughter, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, introduced him to me in an unspoken way.
　I'm Sylvia. You're still a bad liar, aren't you? Your eyebrows are twitching.

　...... Well, now we know he's not a nobleman.

　So what is he?

　One thing and only one thing I can think of. That is - The Prince.

　The first prince of our Castal Kingdom, Klaus-sama, is skilled in swordsmanship, and it is said that his skill is such that he can compete with the best in the kingdom. It is rumored that the second prince, Lord Main, is the top student in the first year of the prestigious Royal School of Magic.

　His dazzling self-confidence, outpouring of wealth, strong appearance, intelligent eyes, and transcendent composure in front of me. It's as good as any other royalty I've ever known.

　...... Good. I think we should give it a try here.

　That's what I thought, and I dared to act as an equal.

　If I'm going to get angry, then that's the extent of who I was. If you're going to get ragged, you can arrest him for fraud.

'Mmm, Mister Second. I'm Noir Virginia. A pleasure to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

　Amazing.
　He smiled back at me with a generous smile and just one word.

　I'm sure of it - he's exotic royalty. There's no doubt about it.

　Any of those unclean aristocrats would be bound to be enraged if they were dealt with like this by a knightly man. It's not just a matter of time before you're able to get your hands on a new one.
　I'm not going to be able to get the same kind of room in front of my disrespectful response if I'm a nobleman deceiving royalty, such a joke would not be able to do this. In the first place, he did not deceive you that he was royalty.

　And if so.
　...... You should be honest and apologize for your rudeness.

　I'm not going to be able to get the same thing done.
　That's the sound of my head hitting the table.

"Second, Your Highness. I apologize for trying. You will be punished in any way you see fit. But if you'll forgive me, my noir, I'm willing to do whatever it takes.

　This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can't pass up.

　This is the person Silvia went out of her way to bring in. I'm not a good swordsman, but I'm a good judge of character, and I know that, as a father, I have a good eye for people. I'm sure His Highness the Second is not an evil person at first. I don't know what his purpose is, but if I am useful to my family and even the Kingdom of Castal, then I should be willing to seize this opportunity.

　I kept my head down, waiting for His Highness the Second's words now and then.
　Hopefully, it would be good for the Virginia barons.



　　* * * *.



　How did that happen?

　I'd say so.

　I made it weirdly exciting by calling it Operation Damacracus or something like that, but it was simply meant to be 'wearing rare clothes and pretending to be a foreign nobleman to trick Papa Sylvia into writing a letter of introduction to the magic school'.

　It's a letter of introduction for a beat-up man who became a knight with a single sword ability. He may not have the "power" but he has the "credibility". I was sure that the Royal Academy of Magic would give me an upbeat response.

　But in reality, it's more like this.

　What's going on?

　Why is Mr. Noir keeping his head down?

　What is His Highness?

　Do you want to try?　Punishment?　I don't know what that means anymore.

　I glance at Sylvia. Her eyes are frozen in place.

　What is this all about? I don't know what's going on.


　............ Oh, no. But there is one thing I do know.

　And that's--


Heads up.


　--that we should take the flight.

　When I said that unapologetically, Noir-san looked up.

　Strangely enough, I can see what kind of face Sylvia has standing behind me now. I'm sure she's saying, "What are you talking about?! It's an upturned face like that.

　But there was no turning back now. I've decided to keep up the pretense of being a "high-powered person" until I get to this point.

I'm sorry for the deceitfulness of my actions. ...... I'm hiding my identity for some reason. Do you understand?
What? I won't tell anyone.

　Oh. That's a pretty good start, but it's looking good.

I got two requests for you today.
Yes, sir. I'm at your disposal.

　...... Mr. Noir, you've been duped badly. What the hell kind of mistake does that make?

　I'm beginning to worry about the Virginia family. Since you are a knight, aren't you pledged to King Castal?　It's a bit ...... that makes sense to me to be so bent on someone whose identity is unknown in the first place.

　I have to say that he is Sylvia's father. In many ways.

　But even though the other party is Ponkotsu (father), you shouldn't let your guard down. I racked my brain to think of my next words.

Then let's start with the most trivial of requests. I need a connection to the Royal School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Can you manage that?

'Ha. If you're transferring into the first grade, I'll write you a letter of introduction right now. The head of the first year, an elf named Kevin, and I shared a battlefield together way back when.

　...... wow. I knew Mr. Noir was a credible guy, but I didn't think he was that good. He's a great guy.

　But transferring in is a bad idea. It's too long a period of time. It's fine if you can sneak in a little bit and read the grimoire a little bit.

"It's fine for a short period of time. What do you have in mind?
Hmm. Well, then, I think a short-term study abroad program is the way to go.
I see.

　That's a good idea. It would make sense to say that I'm coming from a foreign country to visit a witchcraft school in this country.
　What about the duration? Short is good, but it would be a bad idea if we made it two or three days and didn't find a place for the grimoire.
　Oops, come to think of it, Sylvia is also learning the fire-attribute 弐ノ型 and 参ノ型. Will Sylvia be able to remember them if she flips through them like I did?
　...... Hmmm, let's give it a little longer period of time because I'm worried.

'Okay, two weeks for the period. I'll need a referral in that form.
As you wish.

　Noir-san nodded, her eyes glancing at Sylvia.

　It's about time she was wondering what her next request would be. And I expect that it will probably be about Sylvia. Noir-san, you're pretty smart. So why is he making such strange mistakes? But thanks to that, we're saved, so it's hard to say for sure.

Well. Once the trivial request is done, what comes next will be an important request.
You are on the left, aren't you, sir?

　Noir-san replied to my appropriate words with a look of understanding.

　I'm not going to be the only one who's been in the same situation.

I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to get it right," he said. I'm not going to be the only one who has been in a position to do that. I have to say that I have been very pleased with the fact that I've been able to get a lot more than one person.

　I bow my head slightly and hope.

　I thought that if I allowed Sylvia to accompany me here, I would be able to get Noir-san on my side if the Third Order found out about the spies and got into a dispute later on. If possible, I would like to have the direct approval of the Virginia family.

　...... But no matter how much I couldn't think of a first person, how about "I, Noir-san rolled her eyes. I'm not sure if it's a good idea.

I'm going to have to ask you to lift your head up!

　Noir-san's panicked voice. I slowly looked up.

''She is an inadequate daughter, but if it is acceptable to Your Highness, you may use her in any way you wish. But are you sure you want Sylvia ......?

　There seems to be a lingering doubt.
　That's right. In Noir-san's mind, Sylvia is probably just a dream girl who can't even handle one of the swords satisfactorily yet and just yearns to be a knight.

''It's true that she doesn't have a talent for swords. I'm sure you'll be able to find a great deal more to say about it. I, myself, can assure you of this. You should leave the Order and come with me.

　I declared confidently.

"Sylvia has that kind of talent.

　Mr. Noir still couldn't believe it. He was formidable.

''I am borrowing her from the Third Order on a two-year contract. When the term is over, I am going to ask the Knights to come to me. I would like to ask for Lord Noir's help in that case.

　I'm going to try to make it look like I want a Sylvia to go this far.

I'm ...... afraid ...... no, I'm in awe.

　Mr. Noir was about to say a denial, which he quickly denied. Then, with a determined look on his face, he said

'Rare is the lion's share of the success. I shall wait in this house for the applause that will surely reach me, even as I sit here in this place.
............

　After Noir-san's words, I could hear Sylvia's impressed breath.

　I wasn't sure what she was saying, but I guess that means it's OK?　I guess it's okay.

'Your spirit, heaven forbid. I shall never forget the House of Virginia.

　I nodded with satisfaction, smiled as broadly as I could, and left the Virginia mansion with Sylvia.


　...... Strangely enough, my legs trembled a little as I walked home. Well, I was nervous.

　Sylvia was all the way home, "You idiot! You're an idiot! And he was picky.
'I know how many hearts I can't have with you,' you say, but I know. I know you got a little teary-eyed at the end when Mr. Noir recognized your bowing talent and sent you off. You were right about the heartache, weren't you?

　But, well, now I've made the connection to the Royal School of Witchcraft ...... I'm afraid it's going to be harder than I expected.

　It's not like I'm going to lie, I thought to myself.



　　* * * *



Paula. Can I have a word with you?

　Royal School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Headmaster's Office.
　A man with long ears, with slender arms and legs and a beautiful face, enters the room without hesitation.
　The man spoke to Paula, a bespectacled woman who looked exactly like a crone, who was silently moving her pen to a desk piled with many papers in the center of the room surrounded by bookshelves.

'I always tell you not to call me by my name, Dr. Kevin,'

　Paula said, and stopped moving her pen.

'Good. We're alone here, sir.
Oh, my God, are you hitting on me?
Haha. It's against your policy as a gentleman to try to seduce women who are twice as young as you are.
As I recall, you're a ......

　Paula looked at Kevin who was smiling and held his head in his hands. Seeing the situation, Kevin said to follow up.

''Oops, please don't get me wrong. I am not saying that Principal Paula is unattractive. It's just that if you could at least make her a little bit older, yes, just a hundred years older, it would be a strike, yes.
...... You can't deal with being an elf and loving MILFs, can you?
Hmm, what is it?
I was talking to myself.

　By the way, Paula Memento, the headmistress of the Royal School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, is 49 years old, and Kevin, the head of the first grade and homeroom teacher of the first grade A, is 130 years old. Paula is human, so she has a straightforward appearance that makes her look younger than her age, but Kevin is an elf, so he has a youthful appearance that it's hard to believe he's lived more than a hundred years.

'What are you talking about, by the way?　You're not here to make small talk, are you?

　When Paula asked that, Kevin snapped his fingers and replied.

'I got a letter from Noir.'
'Oh my goodness, that's unusual ...... but it doesn't sound like it's just a letter.

　Paula sees the look on Kevin's face and recognizes it.

'Exactly. It was written in a letter - a very noble man from a foreign country wishes to study at the school of magic for a short period of time. He wishes to spend two weeks with my daughter, Silvia, in your group.
............

　As soon as Kevin's expression became serious, Paula's expression also hardened.

　The request itself was no big deal; it didn't matter if it was a short two-week study abroad program or not. What matters is the person who made the request and the person who asked for it.

''What do you think?''

　When Paula asks, Kevin opens his mouth to say that he's been waiting for you.

I've been waiting for you. That is to say, he has the kind of vessel Noir would have to admit to. In addition, he went to the trouble of guarding his own daughter, and even went so far as to write a letter of introduction and guide her around. This is a very unusual situation. We need to take action immediately.

Mostly agree.

　They crossed their arms and snarled at each other.
　There is no indication in the letter as to what kind of person is coming to study abroad for a short period of time and for what purpose. All we know is the name 'Second'.

Normally, if you're suspicious ...... that's what it would be.
'Yes. When it comes to letters from that noir: ......

　It absolutely cannot be ignored. That's how much trust was placed in Noir, "a knightly knight whose sincerity is as rigid as a man wearing clothes and wielding a sword".

　Then a while passed.
　Paula spent no small amount of time in thought and formulated a rough plan of action.

...... I came up with two measures. I'm going to have to assume that the second boy is foreign royalty and will be treated more generously than ever before, and will spend two weeks in the most indulgent way possible. The other is to make sure that all students are treated equally and that they get through the short term study abroad process and all that's left is a "no holds barred" situation. So, which is it?

　Both the speaker and the listener have a bitter look on their faces.

''The latter is better, I guess ...... it's unavoidable. There's a reason why we can't give you special treatment in our group, just you, Second.

　Kevin said, and Paula nodded.

'Come to think of it, yes. Because in your group--'
Yeah, that's right. For my A group--



　--because the Second Prince of Mine is here.