CH 130

[The Academy Festival Begins]

After breakfast.

We each went to our respective workplaces.

That said, because I would be participating in the martial arts tournament, I wasn’t assigned any other role other than setting up the venue. I could devote myself to admiring Tayte, but… before that, I had to meet the principal.

And so, I visited the principal’s office, where Principal Abigail handed me something.

It was…

“…A card?”

…it looked like a card from a trading card game back in my previous life.

Magic characters were written on both of its sides, and a special power resided in it.

“If you put magical power into the card—you can do something like this.”

Saying that, the principal took out another card similar to the one she had given me and imbued it with mana. Then…

“Uwah!”

…the card in my hand began to vibrate.

“Put some mana into it and place it close to your ear.”

When I did as told…

“Can you hear me?”

I heard the principal’s voice from the card.

“T-this is…”

“With it, you can always contact me even from a great distance.”

This was amazing.

It was functionally the same as a mobile phone.

“Well, it’s still a prototype, so it may malfunction… but it should last for today at least.”

“Then, what do you want me to do?”

“I want you to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity.”

The principal’s sharp eyes pierced me.

H-how intimidating.

She was usually playful, but the air around her had changed.

“You are free to spend the day as you please. However, if you discover anything suspicious, please let me know immediately. I’ve also given the card to some of the faculty members. If something comes up, you can ask nearby faculty members for help directly.”

“Understood.”

In other words, it was surveillance work, huh.

I wanted to spend the day enjoying the festival with Tayte like a normal couple, but… oh well, this was also for Tayte’s sake.

Besides, the academy was now a precious place for me.

Cornel, Kleine, Melia, and members of the Horticulture Committee—as someone who had been bestowed with the Holy Sword, I must protect everyone.

After receiving the card from the principal, I immediately headed to the venue for the dress contest.

And on the way…

“Ah, Barrett.”

I ran into Madeline—I mean, Joel who was disguising himself as Madeline and his maid Eleanor.

“Lord Barrett, are you on your way to the dress contest?”

“Yeah. My fiancée Tayte is participating, so I’m going to cheer for her—what about the two of you?”

“So are we.”

“That’s right, we’d like to watch the dress contest as well.”

…Hm?

Joel, he… was strangely calm.

I had thought he’d be panicking because his sister was still missing on the d-day, but… maybe I was just overthinking.

Anyway, together we headed to the venue in time for the dress contest that was about to start.

The venue was already filled with great excitement.

A total of 15 dresses would be showcased at this year’s dress contest.

All of them would be worn by students.

When we arrived at the venue…

“You’re late, Barrett.”

…Lady Lilia, Tayte’s mother, called me over.

After excusing myself from Joel and Eleanor, I walked over to Lady Lilia.

“Let’s watch it together—Tayte’s majestic figure.”

“Yes!”

My and Lady Lilia’s eyes were glued to the stage――the contest finally began.