Prologue: I Tend to Skip the Synopsis of Previous Volumes Found in Light Novels Starting from Volume Two

My mornings begin with agony and struggle.

If I said that, I'd sound like some great writer or philosopher constantly contemplating the meaning of life, but in my case, it’s nothing so profound.

"Mnyu... Hugh... I liike you..."

It is just that every day I’m tormented by the struggle between the affection overflowing for this cute creature who sneaks into my bed every morning, and the desires following an uncontrollable, visceral urge.

My roommate’s lustrous silver hair, clinging tightly to my body, shimmered in the morning sun. Her slender fingers tightly grasped the front of my pajamas and wouldn't let go. Her legs, slipping out from the negligee she used as pajamas, were entwined with my left leg.

She's closer than usual... Being trusted makes me happy, but being held like this every single morning is going to make me lose my mind.

... But that line must never be crossed. After all, she is this country's royalty.

The Seventh Princess of the Reese Kingdom, Lucretia von Reese.

That is her true name. For now, she conceals her identity, attending the Royal Academy as a male student named Lugue Becto.

It started with a chance encounter during the entrance exam, led to me saving her from a human trafficking organization, knowing her true identity by some odd circumstance, and agreeing to cooperate with her brother, Prince Lucas, in the Royal Succession Conflict.

... Yeah, makes no sense. How did it come to this?

Did it all start with me joining a black company in my previous life and dying from overwork? Before I knew it, I was born into this world as Hugh Pnocis.

The Pnocis family I was born into is a poor, minor Barony on the far-off frontier of the Reese Kingdom. The territory is surrounded by steep mountains, a depopulated region facing an aging society and falling birth rates. It will probably disappear in my generation or the one after.

Setting that aside. Without exception, all people born in this world receive a special power, a 〈Skill〉, from God at the age of fifteen. The power of Skills varies widely—such as 〈Fire Kinesis〉, which allows the user to generate fire, or 〈Swordsmanship〉, which improves the user's skill with a blade. The power God granted me was 〈Brainwash〉—the ability to control anyone I make eye contact with according to my will.

I’d live as I pleased with this power... but I quickly discarded that idea. My current goal is a peaceful, comfortable slow life. Excessive power wouldn't be necessary to live leisurely.

Besides, the 〈Brainwash〉 Skill has a terribly inconvenient restriction: Only one person can be Brainwashed at a time.

Furthermore, if it ever became public that I possessed this Skill, I would undoubtedly be executed. A power that lets you manipulate anyone you please is absolutely perilous to this country's royalty and nobility.

Well, a few people already know.

For now, the only people who know the truth about my Skill are two: Prince Lucas, the Third Prince of the Reese Kingdom and Princess Lucretia's brother, and the Marquis’s daughter, Lily Puridy. Prince Lucas saw through me with his Skill, and I confessed it to Lily.

I still haven't confided the Brainwash Skill to the crucial person, Lugue. It took a significant amount of resolve just to tell Lily. Telling Lugue is going to take even more guts.

Checking the clock, the time was just before six in the morning. It was still too early for breakfast, but I had a schedule, so I had to get up soon.

First, I need to wake Lugue...

"Good morning, Lugue. Could you get up soon?"

"Fwe... is it morning already?"

"Yeah, it's morning."

Lugue stirred, sat up in bed, and rubbed her sleepy eyes. As she sat up, her negligee slipped down, barely clinging on at the very edge of her chest. While that modest but alluring mound somehow held on, I quickly looked away and scrambled off the bed.

Way too stimulating for the morning!

"Gooood morning, Hugh."

"Ah, good morning. My bad, always waking you up early."

"No, it's totally fineee~"

Saying that, the just-woken Lugue flashed an easy smile. Damn, she’s still so cute.

"Muuu— I might still be a little sleepy..."

"Got it. I'll come back and wake you up when I'm done. Sleep in until then."

"Okayyy."

Lugue tightly hugged Nokonoko-san (a stuffed animal from this world—a wild beast with a deer's antlers on a horse's body) which had fallen under the bed, and then rolled right back onto my bed. She's not going back to her own bed, huh...

It was hard to stay calm knowing my bed carried the sweet scent of a girl, one like sweet-scented osmanthus... but oh well.

Changing into my workout clothes, I headed to a small vacant lot behind the faculty lodgings, a little distance from the student dorms. There, a woman with purple hair tied to the side was swinging a wooden sword.

She had tightened her slightly youthful features, and was swinging the sword repeatedly, carefully checking each stroke. The repetitive movements might seem monotonous at first glance, but if you observed closely, you’d be overwhelmed by the utter lack of deviation.

How much training would it take to reach that level without a Skill? As a complete Swordsmanship amateur, I couldn't even imagine.

She must have noticed my arrival. Alyssa-san wiped away the sweat shimmering in the morning sun with a towel and turned around to face me.

"You're late, Hugh-shounen. Were you having a good time yesterday, ya know?"

"Good morning, Alyssa-san. I'm not late at all, and please stop with the vulgar questions in the morning. What would you do if I said yes?"

"I'd tie you up and haul you back to the Royal Capital first, ya know."

Damn. That's the swift judgment of an active Royal Knight. She asked, yet shows zero mercy.

"Well, I'm not worried about that. Just watching your regular Academy life, I can tell you don't have the guts for it, ya know."

"I don't feel like that was a compliment."

"Of course I'm mocking you."

You—!

"More importantly, how was it? Observing the way I swing the sword?"

"You knew I was watching?"

"Fufuhn. Of course."

Alyssa-san thrust out her surprisingly full chest with a smug look.

Unbelievable. Not the chest, but that she noticed me watching her swing her sword from almost directly behind her.

"Honestly, I thought it was amazing. I can't imagine how much dedication it takes to be able to mimic it."

"Mufufu. Ahhh, it feels so good to be complimented by a student, ya know. You can praise me more, c'mon, c'mon~?"

That might be the first time I felt worse after complimenting someone. I’d better change the subject before her annoying pestering continues.

"Have you been continuing that training for a long time?"

"Yeah. I've been doing it for about ten years, ya know."

"That long?"

"If I didn't, I couldn't serve as that person's right hand, ya know."

That person would be Roan Ashblade-san, the Vice-Captain of the Royal Knights, who possesses the 〈Sword Master〉 Skill. Certainly, the Swordsmanship I saw from Roan-san at the incident two weeks ago was utterly breathtaking.

And Alyssa-san, who kept up with that without the assistance of a Swordsmanship Skill, is the real deal. I figured Alyssa-san was the only one I should learn Swordsmanship from. I asked her a few days ago, just in case, and she accepted the offer to be my instructor surprisingly easily. So now I get practice every morning at this time.

"Time to get started, Hugh-shounen."

"I humbly request your guidance—!"

Today was the fifth day of training. In the sparring format, I hadn't managed to score a single point until yesterday and had been pretty much one-sidedly beaten black and blue. I faced her with my wooden sword, thinking, Today is the day.

One hour later, I was once again beaten black and blue without scoring a single point.

◇

Dragging my bruised and scraped, beat-up body back to the room, enduring the pain to take a shower and wash away the blood and sweat, I headed to the school cafeteria with the now-awake Lugue. This whole sequence had become my recent morning routine.

"Hugh, are you okay?"

Lugue, sitting across the table, asked with concern. I scrunched my face a little at the still-stinging scrapes on my elbows and knees and said I was fine.

"It's nothing. I've been running around the mountains and fields since I was a kid. I'm used to these kinds of injuries."

"That might be true... but you should have Lecty fix them up when she gets here today. They look painful."

"Ah... yeah, you're right."

Even though I gave them first aid myself, the bandages were still bleeding through. Only a fierce veteran of the Royal Knights, who lives on the battlefield, would laugh and say, "A little spit and it'll heal!" These were injuries that would make any normal person cringe at the sight.

Just as Lugue said, I should get Lecty to heal them with her 〈Saintess〉 Skill later.

"Even so, why did you suddenly start learning Swordsmanship from Alyssa-san? You were already strong, weren't you, Hugh? You beat Idiot-kun in that last duel, too."

"Well, that was..."

I could only win because I used the 〈Brainwash〉 Skill on myself and switched my Skill to 〈Swordsmanship〉—it wasn't my own strength. I couldn't say that to Lugue.

As I struggled for words, someone placed a breakfast tray beside me. I looked up to see Lily smiling down at me. Lecty was also approaching from behind, carrying her breakfast tray.

"Hugh's just a boy."

"A boy? What do you mean?"

Lugue tilted her head, asking the question while greeting Lily and Lecty with a "Good morning."

Lecty sat down in the seat next to Lugue. Lily settled in the seat next to me and peered into my face, questioning me as if seeking a final answer.

"You fought Idiot, felt the heat of his dedication firsthand, and thought, 'I don't want to lose to this,' right?"

"No, that's not exactly..."

I absolutely did.

Of course, I didn't just start learning Swordsmanship from Alyssa-san because of a rivalry with Idiot, but it certainly was the trigger.

Still, admitting that honestly feels a bit embarrassing... especially in front of the three girls here. It makes me look kind of lame.

"Fufufu, I’ll let you off the hook with that answer. Even so, you got seriously roughed up again."

Lily reached out with her slender finger and touched the scrape on my cheek.

"Don't touch it. It hurts."

"I couldn't help myself once I thought, he's just a boy."

"Stop acting like my mother."

"No, I'm acting like your older girlfriend."

We’re the same age, and you're not my girlfriend. I don't even know which point to jump in and retort to first. Lily began poking and prodding the scrape, clearly enjoying my reaction. This Sadistic Lady!

"Hey, Lecty-chan. Don't these two seem reeally close lately?"

"Yes. They were friends from the start, but I feel like the distance between them has significantly closed...!"

Lugue and Lecty, sitting across from us, sent a glaring gaze our way, as if they were observing us under a microscope. It makes it hard to eat when you're being watched like that...

Well, yeah. Lecty is definitely right that the distance between Lily and me has closed.

That one incident two weeks ago. In order to save Lily, who was being forced into an unwanted engagement, I broke off her engagement with the cooperation of Prince Lucas and others. It's a complex issue entangled with the Royal Succession Conflict, and the repercussions are still shaking the Reese Kingdom, but setting that aside—

That day, Lily supported me when I was about to be crushed by fear and anxiety. And the method she used was, well... passionate. The sense of distance was, zero. So, it's unavoidable that our relationship looks closer now.

Recalling the sensation from my lips at that time, I instinctively covered my mouth with my hand.

"Fufufh."

Lily looked at my reddening face with a soft, sidelong glance. Am I the only one who's flustered? Ugh, I'm kind of annoyed.

"Suspicious...!"

Seeing our reaction, Lugue and Lecty seemed to have grown even more suspicious. The two exchanged a look and a nod, grabbed their breakfast trays, and walked around the table toward us.

"Alright, alright. Lily has enjoyed Hugh enough. Now it's our turn!"

"Hugh-san, please show me your scrapes. I'll heal them with my Skill!"

"Oh-oh..."

Lugue swapped seats with Lily and sat down, and Lecty took the seat on the opposite side of me. Lily just reseated herself across the table and smiled sweetly.

"Looking forward to the future, are we?"

"... No comment."

Maybe we'll be sitting around the table like this five or ten years from now. I could so easily imagine that scene, and the thought made me embarrassed enough to give a blunt answer.

She probably understood that too. Lily kept her composure, her smile hinting at complete assurance. She still seems more like a mother than an older girlfriend.

Somehow, we finished breakfast and the four of us headed toward the classroom.

Thanks to Lecty, who treated my injuries throughout the meal, the scrapes were completely healed, and the pain was gone. I even felt like my fatigue had disappeared.

"Thanks as always, Lecty. The 〈Saintess〉 Skill is amazing as ever."

"N-No, no. I'm really not all that great."

"I don't think that's true, ya know? Right, Lily?"

Lugue looked to Lily for agreement, and she nodded.

"Lecty, healing Skills are very rare. Yours, especially, is special... no, exceptional. While there might be others who can heal minor scrapes, I believe you are likely the only person in the Kingdom right now who can use a recovery Skill on the level of healing a bone fracture."

"There's one, though?"

"The Saintess designated by the Divine Grant Religion. She should be capable of it."

The Divine Grant Religion is the main religion widely followed by humans on the Almira Continent. Their chief deity is the God who grants Skills, and churches stand even in the secluded frontier villages like the Pnocis Territory. I recall their grand cathedral is in the southwest region of the Reese Kingdom.

I'm not too familiar with the Saintess, though.

"So, is the Saintess perhaps a ceremonial role, like entering a trance to commune with God during rituals?"

"What kind of evil cult is that...? The Saintess's main role is charity work. She reportedly travels across the Reese Kingdom and even the continent as the representative of the Divine Grant Religion, treating the injured and giving aid to the poor. Even if she attends rituals, I don't think she has a specific role."

"Huh, I see."

So, a public relations representative... or perhaps an advertisement for the Divine Grant Religion.

"I wonder what kind of person the Saintess-sama is...?"

Lecty, whose interest was piqued, asked Lily.

"Her predecessor was replaced around the end of last year, I believe. Her age should be the same as ours. She would normally attend the Royal Academy, but I imagine she received a special exemption from enrollment out of deference to the Church."

"Even a Royal Edict can't go against the Church's authority."

"History has proven that nothing good comes from opposing the Church's power."

Lugue and Lily exchanged solemn nods. Apparently, there was some history between the Divine Grant Religion and the Reese Kingdom. I think it was touched on briefly in history class.

I believe a previous king fell out with the Divine Grant Religion and was excommunicated, and he stood barefoot in front of the Great Cathedral for days to be forgiven. I'd heard a similar story in my previous life. The relationship between state and religion doesn't seem to change much in any world.

Lost in thought, we arrived at the third floor of the school building.

Entering the classroom, I felt a peculiar, tense atmosphere on my skin.

"Again..."

The reason for my muttered comment was the classmates already gathered inside. They had split up and huddled in seats near the windows and seats near the hallway. Since seating is free, this wasn't an issue in itself, but the tension they generated was stifling.

This situation had been going on for over a week now.

The cause was the same as Lily's engagement turmoil: the incident at the Lecherie Dukedom two weeks prior.

The day after the incident, all the Royal Capital newspapers reported Lecherie Duke's involvement in human trafficking. Such a grave evil—kidnapping and selling the Royal Capital's citizens to make a profit—naturally provoked the populace's backlash. Long-simmering resentment toward the nobility and the monarchy erupted, and some extremists began loudly advocating for revolution, resulting in a few incidents where they were arrested by the Royal Knights.

The one who rose to prominence amid this chaos was His Highness, Prince Blut, the Second Prince.

Having been supported by the military and commoners up until then, he delivered a speech to the Royal Capital residents, openly criticizing the corruption of the nobility and the laziness of the monarchy. This speech garnered widespread support from the Royal Capital citizens, and public opinion began to favor Prince Blut's succession.

The atmosphere in the classroom now is an aftermath of that.

The students sitting near the hallway are supporters of Prince Blut's faction. They are mainly students from commoner backgrounds and children of nobles with deep ties to the military, forming a group of ten.

The other side, grouped by the window seats, consists of noble children supporting His Highness Prince Slay's faction. This group of fifteen is the largest force in the classroom.

And one student, belonging to neither, sits isolated in the middle of the classroom.

"Good morning, Hugh. And Lily Puridy, Lugue, Lady Lecty."

"Good morning, Idiot."

Idiot Hortness, who was sitting by himself, waved genially when he saw us enter the classroom and called out.

We settled into the row behind where Idiot was sitting, in the order of Lily, Lecty, me, and Lugue. This seating had become our unofficial base over the past week, as we belong to neither faction.

Well, in effect, we’re the Prince Lucas faction.

"Are you alone again today?"

Glancing toward the Prince Slay faction's students, I asked Idiot.

His family, the Hortness Marquis house, is aligned with Prince Slay's faction. Moreover, since Lily's family, the Puridy Marquis house, defected to Prince Lucas's faction, Idiot's family should be supporting Prince Slay as the new lead faction member.

He should naturally be sitting at the top of Prince Slay's faction students. In fact, Idiot was part of the Slay faction immediately after the classroom fell into this state... but day by day, he distanced himself, and now he is completely used to moving alone. The time when he was surrounded by followers and feeling cocky seems like a distant past.

"We have had too many disagreements. It is wise to maintain distance for the sake of all parties."

"Ah... that's true."

Idiot didn't show much interest in the Royal Succession Conflict. Friction with his peers must have developed due to the difference in their intensity. Given that his followers used to have a poor influence on him, creating distance from them might be a good choice for Idiot.

"Ah, and still, Lady Lecty. You are more beautiful today than ever."

Idiot ran his hand through his hair, turning halfway to face us, and began his flirtatious talk toward Lecty.

"Your loveliness is like a single—"

"Stop."

"Ah, yes."

Bluntly rejected, Idiot slumped his shoulders and faced forward.

Lately, Lecty has become less afraid of Idiot. It's less that Lecty has grown stronger, and more that Idiot's submissive posture has removed her sense of terror.

If the first impression between these two hadn't been so awful, would they have actually hit it off...?

Lost in thought, the bell signaling the start of class rang, and Alyssa-san, our homeroom teacher, entered the room. The schedule for today was a long homeroom session, lasting until lunch, rather than a regular class. It seemed we were going to discuss the upcoming Academy event scheduled for next month.

In this atmosphere, I could only see that discussion ending in utter chaos...

"Alright, pay attention. Is everyone here, ya know? We're going to start the discussion for next month's Class-to-Class Battle."

The Class-to-Class Battle, as the name suggests, is an event where the twelve classes—four from each of the three years—participate in a mock group battle using a tournament format.

In my previous life, it felt like the school's Sports Festival.

"The rules for the Class-to-Class Battle are simple. Each class selects a commander, and if that commander is ruled combat-incapacitated, or if all non-commanders are wiped out, or if your designated position is overrun, you lose. The reverse of those conditions is victory, ya know."

Taking in the rough explanation, it sounded like a game of war. It's a fitting event for the Royal Academy, which gathers students based on their potential Skill deployment in warfare.

"Skill usage is limited to non-lethal Skills. For this class, Hugh-shounen’s 〈Fire Kinesis〉 is prohibited. Fire hot enough to melt iron would kill anyone instantly if they got burned."

"I wanted to see Hugh in action, but I guess it can't be helped."

Lugue smiled wryly, catching my eye. Lugue had seen me use 〈Fire Kinesis〉 during the entrance exam. I certainly can't use that against a person in a mock battle.

"Hmph, there is no problem, as Hugh is fine even without a Skill. After all, he is a man whose Swordsmanship is equal to mine! Idiot Hortness will guarantee Hugh’s success, will he not?"

"I appreciate the high expectations, but don't pressure me."

Even so, Idiot is, to my knowledge, the most skilled Swordsman here after Roan-san and Alyssa-san. Of course, the two Royal Knights are outstanding, but Idiot might even surpass them in sheer tenacity when fighting on the defense.

So, while I'm happy for Idiot's expectations, it's complicated.

Idiot's assessment only holds because I switched my Skill to 〈Swordsmanship〉 with 〈Brainwash〉. It's not a valuation of my own inherent ability, so it's hard to accept straightforwardly. I hope to polish my Swordsmanship more through training with Alyssa-san and eventually be assessed purely on my skill with the blade.

After that, the minor details of the mock group battle rules were explained. The combat area was a forest near the Royal Capital, a square measuring roughly two thousand meters per side. The mock group battle would start with the competing classes setting up their positions on opposite corners.

The match time is two hours. If neither side satisfies the victory conditions in that time, both are judged to be defeated, and the opponent in the next round advances uncontested. So, if we genuinely want to win the tournament, we need to attack.

"Well, now for the main subject. We have to decide who will be the commander for this class, ya know..."

Alyssa-san looked around the classroom and smiled wryly.

"Does anyone want to do it?"

............ No one raised a hand.

Of course. No one would want to be the commander in a class with such a terrible atmosphere.

"Considering ability, Lady Lily would be the most suitable, ya know."

"If everyone wishes it, I will not hesitate."

Named by Alyssa-san, Lily agreed on one condition. But that condition seemed unlikely to be met.

"I can't fight under the command of a traitor!"

The person who shouted that was a female student in Prince Slay's faction with a ponytail. I recall her name was Ann Torage, one of Idiot's former followers.

The Slay faction couldn't possibly accept fighting under the command of a Puridy family member, who defected to Prince Lucas.

"If I have to fight under her, I'll volunteer to be the commander myself!"

"As if we could accept that!"

This time, a voice was raised from the hallway side—the Prince Blut faction. The sturdy male student standing up and voicing his opposition was, I think, a commoner named Brown.

"I can't tolerate being bossed around by a nobleman steeped in corruption! I'm also volunteering to be the commander!"

"Are you insulting us!? There is no way we can fight under the command of a commoner!?"

"We are also done with being dragged around by the nobles' self-indulgence!"

A furious argument erupted between the Prince Slay faction and the Prince Blut faction. Caught in the seats in the middle, we had to bear the full brunt of it.

Lily was sighing with a look of exasperation, and Lugue looked distressed. Lecty, however, was clearly intimidated; she kept her head down and secretly squeezed my hand.

Alyssa-san simply watched the arguments of her students leisurely, murmuring something like, "It's youthful, ya know." This level of bickering must be commonplace for the Royal Knights. Will she even stop it if it escalates into a fistfight...?

As I pondered how to resolve the situation, my eyes caught the back of the man's head sitting in front of me.

"Are you not going to volunteer, Idiot?"

"You misunderstand, Hugh. Do I look like the type to lean back and command from the rear?"

"Ah, right. You're more the type to charge into the front line without thinking of the consequences, aren't you?"

"I feel faintly mocked, but I will not deny it. My Skill shines brightest when I stand at the vanguard of the battlefield!"

"Is that so...?"

Idiot's 〈Chevalier / Guardian〉 Skill can be used for offense, but I always thought it shined brightest on defense. If I were the commander, he'd be the key pillar of my defense, and I'd always want him by my side.

"What about you? Are you not going to volunteer?"

"Nah, I'm out of the question... I don't have the leadership for it, and I'm a noble, too."

While not explicitly stated, I often act with Lily, so the Prince Slay faction likely thinks of me as part of the Prince Lucas faction. And I'd certainly not be accepted by the Prince Blut faction, which seems to inherently hate nobility itself.

Time alone passed in the classroom, which no longer felt like a venue for discussion. At the perfect moment, just as the verbal fight was about to escalate into a physical one...

—Paaaam! Alyssa-san clapped her hands loudly.

At the sound reverberating through the classroom, both heated factions went silent. Gathering the eyes of the entire class, Alyssa-san smiled widely.

"If you're going to punch each other, let's do it somewhere spacious, ya know. So, we will have a mock group battle adhering to the Class-to-Class Battle rules at the Forest Training Ground behind the school building. The faction that wins there gets to pick the commander, and the losing factions will obey. No complaints, right?"

Both factions' classmates nodded.

Alyssa-san's proposal must have been tempting to them. After all, it was a golden opportunity to legally assert dominance over their rivals through force. It would also let them vent their pent-up frustration and aggression through violence.

... Alyssa-san must have been waiting for the exact moment the argument would escalate. She must have intended to settle the class commander role via a mock group battle from the start.

The Prince Slay faction, the Prince Blut faction, and the five of us who belong to neither.

A three-way mock war was about to begin.