‘Summer school…’
The key event of volume 6, the summer school, is the joint training with St. George Academy.
The most significant part of this joint training is the exploration training in the erosion area, which appears midway through the story.
From St. George Academy and Shuo Hero Academy, two students each are selected to form a group of four, exploring a specific area of Coral Beach over a two-night, three-day schedule. In the original, Yuji and Olivia, along with William and his half-sister, Evangelin Stewart, form one team.
The protagonist’s exploration destination is an unnamed deserted island.
Yes, it’s a ridiculous setup created for the inevitable deserted island survival episode at the beach event.
On this deserted island, conflicts between William and Yuji arise, along with Olivia’s emotional confession event at a secluded beach during sunset and Yuji’s engagement battle challenge.
And, of course, Evangelin, the British princess, emerges as a sub-heroine.
However, I’ve smashed the engagement battle event planned for volume 6 into pieces.
How things will unfold now is beyond my understanding.
What’s certain is that thanks to all the chaos caused in France, the possibility of the joint training with Britain falling through is pretty high.
“Everyone, quiet down! Teacher, there’s one more announcement!”
Tap, tap.
Mayuzumi-sensei strikes her ruler on the podium.
The classroom falls silent in an instant.
Mayuzumi-sensei smiles.
“This summer school will specially include friends from England’s St. George Academy! It’s joint training!”
I couldn’t help but be surprised by the ‘announcement’ that followed from Mayuzumi-sensei.
[What? We’re having joint training with that damn Tommy guy? Partners. Are the Brits a little off their rockers? After everything that happened, they still want joint training?]
The Black Prince exclaims in shock inside my head.
He’s right.
Joint training with England?
I thought there was a 99.9% chance it wouldn’t happen. And yet, it broke through a 0.1% miraculous possibility.
If this were a gacha game, I’d be thrilled. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.
What are those Brits thinking?
“Joint training with England?”
“Isn’t St. George Academy the school that the platinum knight princess’s original fiancé attended?”
“Did you see the Black Beast crash the engagement ceremony? Honestly, it was kind of thrilling.”
“It’s not Black Beast anymore; maybe it’s Black Gentleman now?”
“If it’s that kind of gentleman, I might be into it. Jumping into an engagement ceremony to save someone you love is so romantic. I feel like I’d fall for that kind of guy. Where can I find one?”
“I heard the student council president has changed to Princess Evangelin. Is she coming too?”
“A big match between the British princess and the French princess?! I’m super excited?!”
The classroom quickly gets noisy again.
Usually, these are just empty reactions typical of light novels, but today, there was some useful information among them.
So, Evangelin has become the student council president.
Given that the student council president in this light novel world boasts tremendous power rivaling that of the emperor, we could say that the decision to proceed with this joint training falls squarely on Evangelin’s shoulders.
But why? For what reason?
That part remains a mystery.
In the original story, Evangelin wasn’t a particularly significant heroine.
So, after her debut in Volume 6, she reappears as an exchange student in the school trip episode set in the hot spring city of Beppu in Volume 9, where she claims the title of heroine for Volume 9 but unfortunately falls into the classic fate of later heroines in light novels, becoming merely insignificant.
The princess character trait overlaps with Olivia.
In the fandom, she is generally regarded as a weaker version of Olivia.
“Why is that? I can’t quite grasp it.”
[How about asking that Han Seo-Jin, your partner’s secretary, to gather some information?]
The Black Prince suggests in my mind.
I’m mildly surprised.
The Black Prince has a useful suggestion?
If Han Seo-Jin and the National Intelligence Service have previously gathered intel on William’s weaknesses, they might also uncover why St. George Academy is pushing for joint training.
I turn on my phone and send a message to Han Seo-Jin.
[Investigate why St. George Academy in the UK is insisting on the joint training along with any related information.]
[Understood, Kim Deok-Sung.]
As soon as the read receipt appears, I get a response.
Now, I just have to wait for the results.
I turn off my phone screen.
With that worry settled, I just have to get ready for the first period.
At that moment, my thoughts are interrupted.
“Kim Deok-Sung.”
A cold voice reaches my ears.
I look up.
Standing there is the owner of the voice, the blue-haired ponytail beautiful girl, Rin.
She puts her hand on her chest and speaks with a serious expression.
“Oh! If you’re free today, would you like to join us for summer school preparation shopping after class?”
What?
Summer school preparation shopping?
And “us”?
Just as I’m questioning this, Eri and Makoto stand next to Rin.
Their gazes are directed at me.
“Master, let’s go shopping together! Eri wants to shop with you.”
“Uhhhh…”
So it is “us”?
I sigh internally at that moment.
“Wait! What are you all plotting?! You can’t just send them off for preparation shopping! As his sole servant, it’s only right that I, Olivia Napoleon Bonaparte, accompany you too!”
Olivia stands up from her seat, her face flushed as she points dramatically at Rin.
What about my will?
In light novels, shopping scenes are practically mandatory date moments, but this is reality.
There’s really no need for such nonsense.
I felt the same during my time at Imgan School; shopping just ends up being exhausting.
I’d like to avoid it if possible.
But to say that, the tension between those four girls is way too intense.
Damn it.
There’s no way to refuse this atmosphere.
“Fine, let’s go.”
It can’t be helped.
I have to accept the shopping proposal.
Rin, Eri, Olivia, and Makoto look delighted at my answer.
Seeing them like that makes me let out a sigh.
I wonder when I’ll finally be freed from this hell of shopping.
I don’t even know when I’ll go home.
Lunchtime.
After finishing my meal in the academy cafeteria, I briefly returned to my room in the dormitory for a one-on-one meeting with Han Seo-Jin.
“Here’s the report on the St. George Academy information you requested.”
Han Seo-Jin hands me a thick stack of documents while sitting at the table on the balcony.
She processed everything I mentioned in the morning and submitted it as a report by midday.
Han Seo-Jin and the National Intelligence Service seem to be much more competent than I thought.
Crack.
I open the report.
“Here’s your cola.”
Ssssss.
Han Seo-Jin pours cola into an ice cup.
Taking a sip of the cola, the carbonation pops in my mouth.
Nothing beats cola during the scorching summer.
Cola’s nice in winter too.
Sipping on the cola, I read through the documents.
‘This training push is a decision made entirely by the newly appointed Student Council President of St. George Academy, Evangelin Stewart…’
Just as I predicted.
There’s no one who could go against Evangelin, who wields both the authority of the Student Council President and that of a British princess.
In the original Volume 6, William held a dictator position, but since he couldn’t even approach the entrance of summer school, the dictator position has naturally shifted to Evangelin.
Originally, I was always treated as a perennial second place due to William’s superiority, but that’s not the case anymore.
[So, Ascalon has finally returned to Evangeline, huh? Partner. Well, that girl was… unlike William, she was actually quite talented.]
The Black Prince mutters while looking at the documents.
In the original story, Evangeline becomes the owner of Ascalon after William retires.
As the Black Prince said, she’s not a fake genius who rose through drug enhancement like William; she’s the real deal.
Unlike William, who is born of the current queen, Evangeline is the daughter of the late queen who died alongside Prince Douglas, making them half-siblings.
By the way, the two actually have a bitter rivalry because the pervert William constantly disregards his half-sister Evangeline while also throwing subtle flirts at her.
[Partner, turn to the next page.]
The Black Prince’s voice echoes in my mind as I recall the original setting.
Yeah, this isn’t the time for that.
The moment I turn the page,
an unbelievable sentence appears before my eyes.
“I have been impressed by Mr. Kim Deok-Sung’s performance at the Battle of Paris and have started YouTube activities under the name ‘British Girl’ while wearing a mask. With excellent video quality and rapidly improving Korean skills, my subscriber count is increasing quickly and has surpassed 1 million in just a week.”
What?
The British girl was Evangeline?
What on earth am I reading right now?
‘This is ridiculous…’
My hands shake uncontrollably.
I thought she was just a foreign YouTuber riding the Korean hype train, but she was serious?
A chill runs down my spine, and cold sweat drips down.
“Rumors are spreading within St. George Academy that she has decided to proceed with joint training to meet Mr. Kim Deok-Sung, and upon verification, it has indeed been confirmed.”
The continuing sentences leave me in shock.
Evangeline had developed a liking for William, who originally oppressed her, simply because she defeated him — in other words, she’s a classic ‘flag-raising’ heroine without any coherence.
But I didn’t expect it would apply to me too.
And in the worst form of national pride, no less.
It’s absurd, beyond my imagination. Ridiculous.
I don’t need to read the report any further.
Just as I’m about to close the document,
“A particular note mentions that a female student named Trixie Smith transferred to St. George Academy three days ago. There are no unusual features, but there are several suspicious aspects in her background that warrant caution and continued observation.”
The last line of the report catches my eye.
Trixie Smith.
There’s even a picture of the girl.
A blonde girl with an eyepatch covering one eye.
The appearance is slightly different, but I know exactly who the person in that picture is.
Trixie is an affectionate name for Beatrice in English-speaking countries.
And in the original story, there’s only one character with the name Beatrice.
The heroine of Volume 17.
The Saintess of the Cult, Beatrice.
Her alias is Trixie Smith.
Now, on top of the British princess YouTuber, there’s the Saintess?
Why is a heroine who doesn’t properly appear until Volume 17 disguising and transferring to an English academy right now?
My head is spinning.
I was prepared for some story disruption, but this is a bit too much.
Everywhere is a minefield.
Well, it’s already happened. There’s no way to gather spilled water back.
Right now, it’s essential to prepare for the Saintess.
The Saintess’ gift is psychometry—the ability to read the records of the items she touches.
She can read other people’s thoughts with that ability.
To defend against that.
“Hey, Black Prince.”
[Did you call, partner?]
“Can you use mental interference defense abilities?”
I need the Black Prince’s help.
In the original story, Olivia, who successfully liberated her true name, had near-complete immunity to mental interference thanks to the Black Prince’s assistance.
But since I haven’t reached the full stage of true name liberation yet, I asked the Black Prince.
[Of course. What do you take this Black Prince for, to ask such a question?]
Well, I’m glad to hear it’s possible.
Lucky me.
“Yeah, as expected, you’re the best.”
[Hehehehe. Finally, my partner recognizes my true worth. Yes. That’s how it should be.]
Ignoring the great hero who was babbling like a child after a little boost, I closed the report.
I had learned everything I wanted to know.
Now, all that was left was to prepare for summer school.
[Don’t forget about after-school shopping, partner? Keeping promises with a lady is the basic courtesy of a gentleman.]
Damn shopping.
*
After school.
Odaiba. Tokyo Plaza.
Once again, I found myself dragged to this shopping mall, which featured a robot model, just like during the shopping for Imgan School preparations.
It was summer, so the mall was filled with all sorts of summer vacation goods, including surfing gear, sunscreen, beachwear, and swimsuits.
There, I was suffering through a painful time, held captive by four girls.
“Master, which oil do you like? This one smells like lavender!”
“Kim Deok-Sung, how about this beach cardigan? Does it suit me?”
On one side, Eri was holding up two bottles of oil, while on the other, Rin was shoving a translucent beach cardigan in my face.
“Everything looks good, just buy whatever you like.”
“Got it! Master, if that’s what you want…”
Eri was giving a sly smile.
“It suits you… It suits you… It suits you… Hehe…”
Then there was Rin, biting her lips and repeating that it suits her with a face as red as a tomato, just like a broken record.
Surely, it can’t be my imagination that I’m getting scared of summer school, right?
“Indeed… This sunscreen should do…”
“To impress the lord, you have to take care of your skin… right? Or is a sun-kissed tan better?”
Beside me, Olivia and Makoto were pickin’ out sunscreens.
They all looked the same to me, but what was with this unnecessary selection process?
And a sun-kissed tan?
Where the heck does Makoto get her ideas?
“Hey, Makoto. It’s all good, but don’t go tanning.”
Honestly, tanning is not my style.
“Oh, okay. My lord. Did you hear my muttering? You’re so kind, my lord. I’m super happy!”
Makoto grinned with her bright green eyes.
What’s there to be so happy about, seriously?
Upon hearing me, Rin, Eri, and Olivia suddenly lit up, pouring over the sunscreens and UV protectors.
‘They all look pretty average, can’t we just pick any?’
[Oh ho, partner. Don’t dismiss the delicate feelings of the girls. A gentleman should always be considerate of the ladies. And this is your karma. Don’t complain.]
Karma, my foot.
If that’s what it means to be a gentleman, I’d quit right away.
I couldn’t help but sigh.
After wasting over three hours in the summer goods section, I was finally able to head to the swimsuit store with them.
If there’s any silver lining, it was that Han Seo-Jin was playing the role of the pack mule, so I didn’t have to carry shopping bags overflowing in both hands.
[Partner, making a lady do the packing? Aren’t you ashamed? A real man should carry it all himself!]
I did get a scolding from the Black Prince over that, but I didn’t care.
As long as I was comfortable, that was all that mattered.
I was shameless like that.
I looked around.
Now that I think about it, I had been wondering since we started, but where did Hoshino Kasumi go?
Did she skip out because it was first-year shopping?
Not seeing her made me feel a bit empty.
“By the way, where’s Kasumi-senpai?”
Rin replied to my question.
“The club president had some separate business to attend to and will join us later.”
If that’s the case, then that’s fine.
I accepted it and continued to walk with my group through the mall.
Soon, we arrived at the women’s swimsuit store.
Right in front of it, I was cut off at the entrance.
“From here on, we’re going in by ourselves, Kim Deok-Sung.”
“That’s right, Master. From now on, it’s girls’ time! It can’t be helped even if it’s a pity.”
Standing at the store’s glass door with crossed arms, Rin declared with a serious expression.
