227th Episode
“Then from now on, should Lord Ernst greet me first?”
“…”
Ernst was momentarily thrown into confusion.
For a second, he thought, ‘Is this kid getting all high and mighty just because he received one medal?’ But upon closer inspection, Ray’s words weren’t entirely wrong.
Even after searching through the Empire’s history, there were very few recipients of the Empire Guardian Medal.
Since it was nearly impossible to achieve such merit worthy of the Empire Guardian Medal unless during an extremely tumultuous era.
Moreover, most recipients of the Empire Guardian Medal were either of Lord rank or, if not in combat roles, quite elderly. At least until Ray, everyone had been like that.
The youngest recipient before Ray was likely at least forty years older than him.
Thus, even if they were of Lord rank, bowing first to a recipient of the Empire Guardian Medal wasn’t something that would overly hurt one’s pride.
“…”
From a conventional standpoint,
it was reasonable for Ernst to greet Ray first.
But Ray was still far too young. Compared to Ernst, he was incredibly green.
Ernst, being a Swordmaster who had reached a transcendent level, was broad-minded, wise, and politically astute…
Yet, with the situation as it was, the stubbornness ingrained deep within him began to rise.
“Am I, someone known as the Empire’s Swordmaster, really supposed to bow my head to such a greenhorn?”
It was an act that was, on a human level, utterly intolerable.
Ray, reading Ernst’s expression, hastily added,
“Just kidding, just kidding.”
Originally, instead of saying “just kidding,” Ray had intended to add something cheeky like “~almost said” to test the waters.
However, realizing that pushing Ernst’s patience further was risky, Ray quickly changed his words.
As Ray maintained a straight face and chuckled, Ernst eventually relaxed his expression as well.
If this matter were pursued further, it would have definitely put Ernst at a disadvantage.
Therefore, Ernst simply laughed heartily and changed the subject.
“…The armaments bestowed by His Majesty will arrive within a week. You’ll be able to confirm them before entering Izhise.”
“Ah… I look forward to it.”
Ray nodded.
*
“The shoulders seem to fit well…”
Inside the mirror room of the Prizzran Clan fortress,
Johanna stood in front of a large mirror, stretching her arms out sideways after changing into her newly received uniform.
Beside her, Delun was also trying out similar attire, testing his range of motion by throwing punches in various directions.
Both Johanna and Delun had excelled in their entrance exams and successfully qualified for Izhise Academy.
News of their success spread quickly, and along with it, they received their academy uniforms, which they were now trying on to check the fit.
Izhise’s uniforms were designed identically for both male and female students, differing only in size.
Although skirts were available for female students, they weren’t particularly favored due to the physical demands of their training. They were typically reserved for formal occasions.
Johanna was checking how well the pants stretched by bending her knees close to her chest when Ray knocked on the door.
As Ray entered and glanced between Johanna and Delun,
“Did you both already get your uniforms? How do they fit?”
“More or less?”
Johanna continued while pulling her other leg towards her chest.
“Did you pass, Ray?”
“Of course. Who else would they admit if they rejected me?”
“You lost to me, so I thought you might fail.”
Johanna giggled subtly, mocking him, causing Ray to grimace.
“…Do you want to try again?”
“Not really.”
Johanna smirked, teasing Ray.
Ray chuckled and approached Johanna and Delun.
“You both did well.”
While Johanna and Delun only knew about their acceptance, Ray had learned from Ernst the exact scores assigned to each of them.
First off, Johanna ranked first overall. She scored perfectly in every round: the first, second, and third stages.
Delun, unfortunately, placed third according to the score rankings.
Of course, Izhise doesn’t categorize successful candidates based solely on points.
Age, talent, and combat sense are also considered, giving ample bonuses during selection.
However, to avoid controversy, the top two positions were determined purely by score. Delun’s ranking dropped slightly because he faced Johanna early in the tournament and was eliminated midway.
Though it was disappointing not to secure second place,
Delun was, nonetheless, the youngest candidate in this intake.
Ray patted Delun on the back. Delun blushed slightly but smiled.
“Thank you, Brother.”
“And… don’t misunderstand what happened during the entrance exam.”
“…”
After the entrance exam ended, Ray had roughly explained why he had to behave the way he did during the test to both of them.
Still, neither Johanna nor Delun seemed fully convinced. Their gazes remained somewhat skeptical.
Realizing the depth of his karmic debt, Ray pulled out the Empire Guardian Medal.
“Oh, and I received this. The Empire Guardian Medal.”
“…?”
“…?”
Johanna and Delun froze in place, blinking repeatedly.
The Empire Guardian Medal… While it was indeed a highly renowned item, the last time it was awarded was over 200 years ago.
Thus, to the citizens of the Empire, the Empire Guardian Medal was something they could only encounter in storybooks.
Seeing Ray casually swinging it around in his hand… they couldn’t immediately grasp how to react.
Regaining his composure later, Delun managed to utter a single sentence.
“E, e, excuse me, Brother, congratulations…?”
“Thanks.”
“E, t, that…”
Delun, after congratulating Ray, seemed to lose his train of thought and stammered.
Ray pondered how to lighten the mood and attached the Empire Guardian Medal under his shoulder.
He then grabbed a piece of cloth hanging nearby, wrapped it around his shoulder to conceal the medal, and called out to Delun.
“Delun.”
“Y, yes, Brother!”
“When you enter Izhise, there’ll be plenty of troublemakers, right?”
“That, naturally… there will be, won’t there?”
At this moment, fewer than five people in the entire Empire were in a position to impose anything forcefully on Ray.
However, once he enters as a freshman, countless troublemakers will likely swarm him in the name of maintaining discipline.
Delun nodded, prompting Ray to continue.
“You should tolerate reasonable provocation. But if some punk keeps crossing the line, you know what to do. When you think, ‘This guy is unbearable,’ you just pull off this cloth.”
“…”
“If you do that, how do you think that punk will react when he sees the medal? He’ll probably freak out, gasping, ‘The Empire Guardian Medal?!’ Meanwhile, the onlookers will panic and step back.”
“…”
Imagining the scene, Delun thought it was absurdly ridiculous but undeniably cool.
Attempting to suppress his rising grin, Delun frowned as Ray chuckled mischievously and untied the cloth.
“Just kidding, just kidding.”
“A, just kidding…”
Delun’s spirits slightly dampened, secretly hoping for such a scenario.
Delun harbored a subtle desire to use Ray as a shield to gain influence, albeit discreetly.
Meanwhile, Johanna, who had been confused earlier, quietly approached Ray and asked,
“Can I take a look at it?”
“As much as you want. But don’t tell anyone else.”
Johanna nodded eagerly and took the medal with a wide-eyed expression.
In her childhood, she had read countless stories where the hero would receive the Empire Guardian Medal near the end and seal the tale by marrying into royalty or nobility.
Seeing the medal, which she had only seen in illustrations, made her heart race uncontrollably.
As Johanna and Delun stood side by side reading the brief summary of Ray’s achievements engraved on the medal,
Speira, who had gone for a walk to return a bracelet she borrowed from Ray, followed a servant’s guidance and arrived at the mirror room.
“Ray, are you here?”
“Ah, Lady Speira, please come in.”
Speira entered the room and returned the bracelet to Ray.
After expressing gratitude, Ray pointed to the medal Johanna held in her hand.
“I received this medal.”
“Really?”
Speira’s reaction was calm.
At Ray’s level, receiving a medal or two wasn’t surprising.
However, upon approaching Johanna and inspecting the medal together, Speira was genuinely astonished.
After examining the Empire Guardian Medal for quite some time, Speira asked Ray the most important question.
“Then… going forward, should Great-grandfather formally show respect to you first?”
Ray seriously countered,
“Should we give it a try?”
After briefly contemplating, Speira shook her head with a bright smile.
“It might be better not to do it until you surpass Great-grandfather!”
Ray agreed wholeheartedly.
*
Two days later, Ray received his Izhise uniform slightly later than Johanna and Delun.
By that time, an orientation session for new Izhise students had already commenced, allowing Ray to participate alongside Johanna and Delun.
Students at Izhise are categorized into three levels: 1st-grade students, 2nd-grade students, and 3rd-grade students.
As a freshman, Ray would now hold the status of a 3rd-grade student. Since entrance exams occur every three years, there is typically a three-year age gap between each grade.
Besides the regular three-year cycle and special admissions, there were rare cases where students joined Izhise mid-term through other routes, but these were exceedingly few.
Typically, after six years of education, Izhise students graduate to 1st-grade status and are assigned positions suited to their skills and aptitudes, embarking on their professional careers.
In essence, most 1st-grade students are either graduates or pre-graduates, so encounters between them and 3rd-grade students within Izhise are extremely rare.
The orientation took place at the Izhise training facility near the Imperial Capital, where students had previously taken their entrance exams.
Members of the Royal Guard personally welcomed the new students.
Freshmen adorned with red insignias representing 3rd-grade status looked up at the Royal Guards, whose uniforms were decorated with golden ribbons, with admiration.
Before entering the building where the orientation was held, Jusephin bowed deeply to a Royal Guard she encountered at the entrance.
“Jusephin, from the Rokovia family! It’s an honor!”
“Congratulations on your admission. May you achieve great success at Izhise.”
When the Royal Guard shook her hand and greeted her politely, Jusephin trembled with excitement, the reality of her admission sinking in anew.
After bowing a few more times, Jusephin stepped inside.
Waiting behind Jusephin, Ray finally reached the front and shook hands with the Royal Guard.
Just as Ray opened his mouth to greet him, the Royal Guard spoke first.
“Welcome to Izhise. I am from the Royal Guard, Takaus.”
Royal Guards traditionally didn’t flaunt their titles or family names.
Ray looked at Takaus for a moment before shaking his hand.
“I’m Ray. I don’t have a family name to flaunt. It’s an honor to meet you.”
Takaus gave a light smile and guided Ray inside.
Once all the newly admitted 3rd-grade students gathered, the orientation began.
The orientation concluded smoothly amidst an excited atmosphere.
Following that, a welcoming party hosted by the 2nd-grade students commenced.
The 2nd-grade students welcomed the eager freshmen with warm eyes… except they didn’t exactly do that…
After several incidents,
During the welcoming party, one of the 2nd-grade students standing up confronted Ray and commanded,
“Undress.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Undress. Take off everything you’re wearing.”
“…”
After a brief silence, Ray promptly started untying his belt.
As Ray quickly complied with the order, the 2nd-grade student smiled satisfactorily at first but soon stiffened, sensing something off.
The 2nd-grade student soon realized what felt wrong.
‘This kid…?’
Upon receiving the undress command, Ray was currently taking off his pants instead of his shirt.
What’s more, without removing his outerwear, he was lowering his underwear first.
The 2nd-grade student instinctively understood that Ray was no ordinary crazy person.
Izhise (2)
