The summer vacation went well, except for the secret that Anna and I couldnât tell anyone about. We ended up submitting a report that discussed the relationship between adventurers and the country from multiple perspectives.
This time as well, Anna will help us to listen to the opinions of many people involved, including domestic experts and the guild master of the adventurerâs guild, and it was good to be able to clarify their positions and report on the conflicts of interest that arose.
To put it simply, the country and the nobility would like to incorporate the money earned from the dungeon into their finances. But the adventurerâs guild would not allow it because it would cause many adventurers to be in red.
If the country is to incorporate the money earned from the dungeon into its finances, it needs to hire adventurers with the same treatment as the knights, but it is in a dilemma because it does not have the money to do so. If I were to be more precise, I would say that I donât want to pay them because it would be a waste of money. As expected, it canât work that way.
However, in Margaretâs Altmunt, a good relationship has been established, with the Knights and adventurers conducting a joint operation to ensure stable hunting of Orcs. I concluded this report by advocating a new relationship with adventurers based on the results in Altmunt, but I wonder how it will be received.
Incidentally, after writing this report, Anna and I traversed the Wind Mountain dungeon together. Due to this, we were the youngest adventurers to be upgraded to B-rank adventurers, which is a bit of a compliment.
Of course, there is a reason for this. Though it served as proof to the Duke that I am not lying, the most important purpose was to improve Annaâs level.
I donât think there is any more of the gameâs scenario where the entire family of the Duke of Ramslett gets executed in a civil war after Annaâs banishment, and Anna comes back as a dark knight. From what Iâve heard, the southern aristocrats centred around the Duke of Ramslett are now firmly united as a monolith.
Harming them without reason would surely lead to civil war, and no matter how anti-Ramslett the opponent is, no one would be foolish enough to support them under the current circumstances.
If we keep the balance as it is, we may be able to avoid the destruction of the royal capital. However, as long as we are still surrounded by enemies on three sides, we cannot let our guard down.
So, with two blessings that are particularly rare in this world, Annaâs level up will not only make her power, but also the entire army of the Duke of Ramslettâs domain stronger. (Tl:- probably morale.)
Well, in the event of an emergency, she will say that she will take the lead in fighting, so it also serves as insurance for when that happens.
Oh yeah, after we conquered the Wind Mountain dungeon, I talked about the treasure. When I showed her the ăSky Knight swordă, Annaâs eyes lit up.
So I promised to give it to Anna on her upcoming birthday.
This ăSky Knight swordă is a legendary weapon, but itâs meaningless because I donât have the blessing of aăKnightă. Besides, even if I get theăKnightăblessing from somewhere, I donât need the skill of ăWind Magică, which it provides, because there is the blessing ofăWind Godă. In that case, it makes more sense for Anna to use it.
Unfortunately, I couldnât even celebrate her birthday last year because of my position and status. So Iâm really looking forward to Annaâs birthday, which will come after the cultural festival.
Well, Anna stubbornly refused to take off the ăSubstitute ringă I had given her and the fairy hair ornament the Elven Queen had given her. Although there were many rumours about the ring, in particular, Anna never said who gave it to her and continued to dodge it with a smile like a noblewoman.
However, it seemed that Margaret and Isabella knew about it.
But, this was not the case with the fairy hair ornament.
This was because there was a still in the game, and Amy knew what it looked like, so when Amy found out that Anna had the fairy hair ornament on her head, she was naturally furious and made a scene.
âHey, why are you wearing the hair ornament I was supposed to get? Give it back!â
On the first day of the new semester, Amy prodded Anna.
âWhat the hell are you talking about? This is a precious treasure that I was given by a certain nobleman. It doesnât belong to you, and I canât give it to you no matter who says.â
Anna refuses, as a matter of course. And no matter how you look at it, you can see that Amyâs argument is wrong, but the Crown Prince took Amyâs word for it without question and ordered Anna.
âWhat are you talking about? The hair ornament exists for Amyâs sake. Stop talking nonsense and give the hair ornament back to Amy.â
The crown prince says so and orders Anna to return the hair ornament.
For my part, I was hoping heâd recover and be decent, but this might not be the best idea.
âYour Highness. Do you really understand what you are saying?â
âOf course! So hurry up and give her back that hair ornament.â
Anna flinched at the lack of understanding, and at that moment Leonardo reached out to take the hair ornament by force.
At that moment, light shined from the hair ornament, and Leonardo was flung away, slamming hard against the wall of the auditorium, where the opening ceremony had just ended.
Then countless voices can be heard from Annaâs hair ornament.
âPunish those who take the tokens from those who are recognized by the spirits.â
At that moment, the auditorium erupts in a state of panic, and the students start running out of the auditorium in droves.
Amy is looking at Anna with a frightened expression, while the Crown Prince and his friends are looking at Anna in a dumbfounded way as if their understanding has not caught up with them.
I stand in front of Anna as if to protect her.
âYour Highness, there is no doubt that this hair ornament was given to Anastasia-sama by a nobleman. And as you can see, if you try to take it by force, you will be punished. So, do you still think it belongs to Amy-sama?â
âGu~tsu, but..â
From the look on his face, he seems to understand that he is being arrogant. If that is the case, why is he doing this?
Meanwhile, Amy glared at me as if she wanted to curse me to death.
âYeah! Itâs him! Heâs the one who made everything go wrong! I have to become a saint! Otherwise, this country is doomed!â
I donât think Amy is in her right mind either. Iâve heard from Melissa that she was blown away by a single blow from a regular wyvern in the Valley of the Flying Dragons, so I think itâs better to remove her from her delusions as soon as possible.
âHey! Say something!â
Amy, oblivious to her disgusting behaviour, continued to complain to us. But I couldnât take it anymore and said something I shouldnât have said.
âAmy-sama, no matter what you say, this hair ornament belongs to Anastasia-sama. Please wake up now. I donât know what kind of dream youâre dreaming about, but this is reality. Please look at the people who are living in front of you right now. There are no heroines in this world. Anastasia-sama, His Highness, Markus-sama, Oscar-sama, Leonardo-sama, and even Amy-sama are not characters that move according to the scenario. They are all human beings, and there are many more people beyond that, you know?â
This is not the game world, and youâre not the only one who knows the game and acts accordingly.
As a former Japanese, if you had any common sense, you should understand that much.
Amy, who seemed to have understood the meaning of the words I had said, widened her eyes and nodded her head, then slowly left the auditorium.
At that time, I thought that this would stop Amy from intervening. I was sure she would reflect on it.
However, I would later realize that this was just wishful thinking.