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CHAPTER 8 – ENCOUNTER (1)
While I was cursing the professor in my mind, Rina looked at Marie sitting next to me and greeted her politely.
“Marie is here too. It’s been a while.”
“Yeah. It’s been a long time.”
Apparently, the two knew each other. But, unlike Rina, who was smiling, Marie had a dissatisfied expression on her face.
It was possible that Marie was talking informally because her family was responsible for the founding of the Minerva Empire, but looking closely, Marie was openly displeased with Rina. Although Rina didn’t really care.
Despite Marie’s informal greeting, Rina continued to smile and reverted her gaze to me. I pretended to be as calm as possible as soon as I met her gaze.
Rina then revealed a more radiant expression and introduced herself in an elegant voice.
“I will introduce myself officially. As Mr. Isaac knows, I am Rina Urmi Christine, the first princess of the Minerva Empire. Please feel free to call me Rina.”
“…I’m Isaac Ducker Michelle. It’s an honor to meet you, Princess Rina.”
“Ducker Michelle?”
Rina’s eyes widened slightly as I rose from my seat and formally introduced myself. Looking at my hair and face alternately, she muttered inaudibly.
“Golden eyes and red hair… I thought I was familiar with it… But, it is literature…”
“Yeah?”
“No. Anyway, you can call me Rina without the princess part. Cecily? Do you want to say hello to Cecily as well?”
“Oh, yes!”
Rina skillfully turned it over and called Cecily from behind.  They seemed to have become quite close in the meantime, seeing that they talked to each other even though they hadn’t met before.
I looked Cecily in the face as she stepped forward. Cecily also looked at me with a nervous look on her face.
‘Really, all of them are unrealistically beautiful.’
Marie, Rina, and Cecily.
All of them were unrealistically pretty, so it doesn’t really make sense to me. They felt like a character drawn with sincerity, not a person, popped out into reality.
Not to mention, Cecily was a demon. I was reincarnated into this world and met one for the first time.
The jet-black hair was familiar, so I could ignore it, but the blood-red eyes and the horns protruding from both sides of the head were truly foreign.
More than anything…
‘…The shirt is clamoring for help.’
It’s a bit exaggerated, but her chest was the size of my head. Even if she tried to cover it with the school uniform, it was boasting a sense of intimidation that cannot be hidden. Rina, who was standing next to her, was also quite large, but it was not enough compared to Cecily.
On the other hand, Marie was … moderately large. The two girls in front of her were too big. If you are an aristocrat, it is only natural that you grow well as you eat and sleep well.
Speaking-
“Hello. My name is Cecily Drat Eisilia Bin, Princess of Helium. Nice to meet you.”
As I heard in the speech, Cecily introduced herself in her distinctive alluring voice. She put her hand to the heart and bowed her head politely.
Thanks to Rina, she gained her confidence, and there was a bit of liveliness in her voice as well.
I replied, somehow keeping my eyes fixed on her face. Eye contact was also difficult.
“As you may have heard earlier, my name is Isaac Ducker Michelle. It’s an honor to meet you, Princess Cecily.”
“You can call me Cecily, just like Rina said.”
“I see. By the way…”
I took turns looking at Rina and Cecily and brought out the main topic.
“What brought you two to me?”
As I asked, I glanced around. As expected, many students’ eyes are focused on this area.
Most were full of curiosity, but there were also a few hostile gazes among them.
In particular, the young count who immediately fell in love with Cecily as soon as he arrived. Maybe his name was Jackson. I can’t even remember.
Anyway, he was looking at this side with deadly force, and it seems he will be called out sooner or later. I was more bothered than afraid, so I should be careful not to stand out for a while.
In the meantime, Rina, who heard my question, spoke in an elegant tone.
“I was impressed with the presentations in class. It was an answer I hadn’t thought of.”
“You’re overpraising.”
“No. It’s not an exaggeration at all. Then I suddenly wondered. Why did Isaac have such a thought?”
If you’ve lived on Earth, you’ve probably heard it at least once. Princess.
Of course, I couldn’t say it directly. I rolled my eyes and quickly pondered what answer I would give.
“Why don’t you sit down and talk? I think we’ll be next to each other next time.”
Then, in the middle, Marie’s blunt voice came in. When I turned my head to see, Marie rubbed her chin with an annoyed expression on her face.
Her gaze was directed towards Rina, and she seemed to dislike Rina quite a bit.
“Ah. I’m sorry for this. Shall we take a seat then?”
“…yes.”
Somehow, Cecily, Rina, I, and Marie were seated in that order. Even if I look to the right or to the left, it’s nice to have a beautiful woman, but the pressure was no joke.
Sure enough, the daughter of the duke was sitting on my left, and the princess of Minerva and the princess of Helium are sitting on the right side by side.
If I play with my mouth wrong, not only will my neck fly away, but my house will also disappear into dust.
Could this be the feelings of the soldier who was caught between the US president and the Korean president? I was pretending to be as calm as possible, but my heart was pounding violently with tension.
“So what’s the answer?”
While I was very nervous, Rina asked the question again. Her eyes were shining like sapphires, filled with curiosity and anticipation.
‘Fuck. What do I do.’
No matter how much I think about it, I can’t think of a proper answer. I have only heard that saying in my previous life, and I have no idea where it came from.
Still, it was better to be honest than to lie. For some reason, if Rina digs in, I’ll have to come up with another lie.
I opened my mouth calmly, barely soothing my pounding chest in a different way.
“…I do not know.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t know. I just thought so. There’s no way to explain it.”
“You just thought so…”
Rina opened her eyes and muttered shakily. I don’t know whether she’s disappointed or surprised, but she’s probably closer to disappointment.
But all of this was purely my imagination.
“That’s great.”
“…Yes?”
“You’re really amazing. You’re saying that you always thought of knowledge as power, right?”
No. Why is the story like that? What kind of misunderstanding did you make to come to such a conclusion?
While I was bewildered, Rina asked directly, her eyes brighter than before.
“I’m sorry to say this, but you don’t have any physical talent, do you?”
“Uh… yes. My father gave up halfway through.”
“I see. I wondered why Sir Hawk’s son had entered literature rather than Martial Arts… but now I understand. Sir Hawk would certainly have told you to build up your intellect if you couldn’t build a force.”
“I… Rina? Is Isaac’s father a great person?”
Cecily, who was listening quietly, asked Rina. I was also curious because I didn’t know how great my father was.
My father was originally a commoner and became a nobleman while he was working as a knight, but I do not know exactly what kind of achievement he achieved. My father himself was reluctant to tell me, and my mother answered vaguely that I would know when I grow up.
But now that I hear it, it was expected that he was such a great man enough to be in the ears of a princess of the royal family. At home, he was just a father with a warm and friendly image.
While I was thinking about it, Rina looked at Cecily and spoke about my father, Hawk.
“Have you ever heard of the Red Lion of Minerva?”
“If it’s a red lion… No?” <T/N: No as in surprised ‘No, Don’t tell me He…’>
As soon as Cecily heard Lina’s question, she opened her eyes wide and looked at me. It’s frustrating that they only know each other and I don’t know at all.
“Oh, no wonder. I’ve heard of a commander and red hair, so you’re the son of the Red Lion. Your eyes are golden.”
Even Marie seems to know. As a son, I didn’t know.
I blinked once and asked Marie with a questioning expression on her face.
“You know?”
“Huh? You don’t know? Even though you are the son of the Red Lion?”
“I don’t know. I asked my mother, but she didn’t tell me.”
“Surely it is. Sir Hawk was not happy to let others know of his achievements. He was originally entitled to the title of Count, but he was deliberately granted the title of Baron, saying that the position was excessive.”
Rina explained it instead.  I looked away from Marie and looked at her.
Her eyes have become more burdensome than before, and Cecily next to her had a look that strengthened her curiosity. I don’t know anything else, but I can guess that the situation is going strangely.
‘What the hell were you doing when you were on active duty?’
She said that he almost received the title of count, so he was also the commander of the Navy Knights.
For reference, the Navy Knights are the most famous and most powerful Knights in the Minerva Empire.
“Sir Hawk has made countless achievements as the commander of the Navy Knights. If it had not been for his will to rest comfortably, he would have kept his position as the Knight Commander for decades.”
It was real.
“Anyway, since you are the son of Sir Hawk, he’d usually tell you to build up your strength just in case, right? Sir Hawk always told the Knights to develop the ability to prepare for variables.”
“…yes.”
Things have gone strangely, but I’m glad to hear that. Thanks to my wonderful father, Rina was making her own decisions.
When Rina heard my answer, she smiled stronger than before and spoke to me with anticipation.
“You said a while ago that you’re considering history, theology, and biology? Anything else?”
“Maybe… Philosophy and the humanities?”
“Philosophy… I’ll be looking forward to it.”
I’m not saying I’m asking you, I’m saying I’m looking forward to it. I realized the meaning contained in it. It means to show performances that match your expectations in the future.
Well, what could I do? For now, it’s enough if they somehow don’t find out that I’m the author of Xenon’s biography.
“Oh, by the way, Mr. Isaac?”
“You can talk casually.”
“Okay. Isaac. I’ve been curious about something.”
“Please speak.”
“This.”
Rina pointed at my finger. To be precise, it was the calluses on the middle finger of my right hand, that is, the ‘pen-hook’ side.
When I slightly questioned her, Rina opened her mouth in a curious voice.
“That callus, don’t you have to use a pen quite often to get calluses?”