Midgar Kingdom
Inside the Midgar Academy for Knights
All classes had been suspended for the day, and the gymnasium was filled with a tense and unusual atmosphere.
Students gathered excitedly in the corridors, buzzing with talk about the new transfer student.
"This is amazing. Not only Princess Alexia, but even Princess Iris, a graduate, personally came to welcome the new student. Could the rumors be true?"
"Is the prince of the Magic Kingdom, Leon Fol Palettia, really coming to our academy?"
"Is it true that rumor about him slaying a dragon? Is someone like that really going to be our classmate?!"
Royal knights had already surrounded the campus, while the ministers and the two princesses of Midgar waited in front of the school gate for Leon's arrival.
Standing at the front was the First Princess, Iris Midgar, with her beautiful red hair. She wore a purple military uniform with a long sword at her waist.
Though she was a princess, she was also the reigning champion of the most recent \[God of War Festival] and the strongest swordswoman in the kingdom.
At that moment, she was speaking earnestly to her sister, repeating the same words for what felt like the thousandth time.
"Listen, Alexia. The burden of this diplomatic exchange between the two kingdoms falls on your shoulders. You must—absolutely must—maintain a good relationship with that prince while he's at the academy!"
"I know, I know. Sister, you've repeated this so many times my ears hurt. I'll handle it. I won't mess up\~\~"
This was the Second Princess, Alexia Midgar.
She had long silver hair and bright red eyes, a stark contrast to her sister's features. Though she maintained a noble and elegant posture with a refined smile, her tone was clearly impatient.
"It's no wonder I'm worried. I'm begging you—don't cause trouble this time, Alexia," Iris said wearily.
She knew her sister well.
Although Alexia appeared to be a refined young lady, her personality was quite the opposite. She had once famously said:
> "I judge a person not by their appearance or merits, but by their flaws."
(*A/N: NO FLAWS, literally.*)
"I know this involves diplomacy between kingdoms. I'm taking the broader situation into account, so don't worry," Alexia replied.
"You, taking the broader situation into account? Do you actually believe what you're saying?"
"By the way, why is the prince of the Magic Kingdom coming here to study?"
"Changing the subject again, huh? Forget it. I'll just go prepare for how to clean up your mess afterward. Just try to behave. You're good at pretending, right?"
Iris sighed.
Had she not already graduated, she would've been able to welcome Prince Leon herself. Leaving it to her younger sister made her uneasy.
Seeing how worried her sister was about her true character, Alexia felt a bit guilty and quickly changed the subject.
"Sister, you still haven't answered. Why is the prince of Palettia coming to Midgar? Don't they have a magic academy of their own?"
"Don't worry about it. This is actually part of a ceremonial alliance between the two kingdoms. And we're not here to teach him magic. He's only come to study our country's fencing techniques."
"Huh? Isn't he a wizard?"
"Yes, but not only that. They say he's also competed in fencing tournaments and won. Apparently, he's gifted in both magic and swordsmanship."
"Seriously?"
Alexia looked genuinely surprised.
Practicing both magic and swordsmanship at the same time?
Could someone really achieve greatness without specializing?
Iris replied to her sister's astonishment with a single phrase.
"They call him an absolute genius. In addition to magic and swordsmanship, he's accomplished things in various other fields."
"Tsk!"
"You just clicked your tongue, didn't you?"
"That's your imagination, sister."
Alexia made a face of deep disgust.
What she hated most were "geniuses"—because she was just "ordinary." No matter how much she trained or how hard she worked, she couldn't catch up to her sister.
People who easily obtained what others struggled endlessly for—of course someone like her, a princess whose efforts never bore fruit, would hate them.
She already detested geniuses.
Now an *absolute* genius?
Just thinking about it made Alexia feel she would never get along with Leon—even though she hadn't even met him yet. She figured she should just avoid him as much as possible at school.
"And that story about him killing a dragon—is that really true?"
Alexia couldn't help but ask.
She thought about Leon's most famous achievement and how it was the hot topic among students. Even if she didn't want to hear about it, rumors still reached her ears.
Iris nodded seriously.
"It's true... probably. There's no solid evidence, but Palettia officially made an announcement, so I doubt it's false."
"That's so suspicious. How can they claim he killed a dragon without proof? If they really did defeat one, wouldn't they show the corpse?"
"Well, about that... Prince Leon said the dragon was cut into thousands of pieces, making it unrecognizable."
"Wow, that sounds *very* suspicious\~"
Alexia imagined, for a moment, how a prince would use a sword instead of magic to kill a dragon to the point where the species couldn't even be identified.
No matter how you looked at it, it sounded like a lie.
Either way, she hadn't seen it with her own eyes. The silver-haired princess had no intention of believing such an unfounded rumor.
"By the way, if it were you, would you be able to defeat a dragon?"
"I don't know. I've never seen one. But I'm confident I wouldn't lose to anyone in fencing. And... it's also possible that dragons just aren't that strong."
"So it *is* possible…"
Alexia blinked in realization.
Maybe the prince *did* slay a dragon—but perhaps dragons simply weren't that powerful in the first place. That made more sense.
Think about it logically.
Wings that dominate the sky.
Claws that tear through anything.
A breath that can level city walls.
Impervious to swords and magic.
A creature that could destroy an entire kingdom on its own.
Beings like that only exist in legends. It's absolutely impossible for a human to defeat one in real life.
If the prince truly won, then maybe the dragon was just weak. That was a more plausible explanation.
After all, there hadn't been any reports of dragon sightings in hundreds of years. People could only imagine them through stories.
Iris added, "Old records describe dragons as just oversized winged lizards. Maybe they're not that strong."
Alexia replied, "Exactly. Seems like the so-called 'dragon slayer' isn't that impressive after all."
But just then—
"ROOOOAAR!!!"
A deafening roar echoed from the sky.
(End of Chapter)
Give me some power stones there you go~😉