A Failed Knight Who Went to the Academy To Get Married

032 A Tragedy for the Zealots

The elves were desperate to protect the secrets of their village from the eyes of the Yumano Holy Kingdom.

Therefore, to meet with them, one had to adhere to several rules.

One, the location of the negotiation is to be determined by the elves themselves.

Two, only two representatives from each side, not the parties themselves, may attend.

Three, once the meeting concludes, they must part immediately and not secretly follow each other.

Although the conditions were somewhat selfish and inconvenient,

it was fortunate enough to meet those secretive elves.

Thanks to that, it was possible to inherit a wealth of knowledge from them.

At first, upon hearing that Traine would appear, Princess Shia was eager to step forward,

‘Absolutely not! I cannot send you to that dangerous and cunning Traine!’

In the end, King Siandar decided to send Prince Siran and Colonel Tanjet in her stead.

…And so, the four met in the midst of the vast grassland.

All four dismounted their horses and faced each other, keeping a sufficient distance.

Prince Siran looked at Traine with disdain and asked,

“What in the world are you doing there?”

Traine sighed and replied,

“Exactly my thoughts.”

“Meddling fool.”

“Just leave it.”

Prince Sirian chuckled once, then immediately hardened his expression and said,

“Alright. Let’s start the negotiation.”

Colonel Tanject stepped forward and declared,

“No matter the reason, the crimes of palace intrusion and aiding in an escape are unforgivable.”

To which Seymint stepped forward and replied,

“We have the right to directly punish the criminals of the Elven race.”

“Benhaim is a citizen of the Kingdom of Altorian, holding an official position.”

“Before that, he is also of the Elven royalty.”

“Then, are we to understand that Benhaim’s attempt at royal assassination represents the will of the Elves?”

“That is incorrect. However, we are willing to share the responsibility for their crimes.”

At this, Prince Sirian, who had been silent, sneered,

“Does that mean you’re willing to accept the execution of the entire Elven race?”

Seymint, undaunted, playfully retorted.

“Perhaps if a thousand people shared the cost of two lives, each could simply sacrifice a finger, couldn’t they?”

At that, Prince Sirian chuckled and said,

“That old hag never changes.”

“It’s not ‘old hag’, you should call her ‘sister’.”

“Whatever. It’s all too bothersome. Just hand over some new magic like the old days.”

“Five years ago, I taught you magic to impair recognition. How about this time I give you magic to summon squirrels?”

“What use would I have for such a thing?”

Suddenly, the mood turned playful, and Train frowned and asked,

“Is it really okay to be this casual about it?”

“Father said that as long as the compensation doesn’t tarnish the kingdom’s pride, it’s sufficient.”

“But still, this is too perfunctory.”

“It’s thanks to you standing there.”

Prince Sirian stared intently at Train and said,

“The execution of Benheim was by Shia’s command, but thanks to your involvement, she’s decided to forgive.”

“Is that so? That’s a relief.”

“Of course, you will never be forgiven.”

“Is, is that so.”

Trian’s eyes trembled involuntarily.

Thinking about it, he had caused an unreasonable nuisance to Princess Shia.

Not only did he skip the party, but he also threatened her.

This is going to be a big problem once he returns to the palace.

‘Maybe I should just continue living in the elf village.’

As Trian let out a short sigh, Prince Sirian turned around and said,

“Anyway, I have a rough idea why the elves did this, so let’s end it quietly.”

It was when he was about to mount his horse again.

Suddenly, the ground rumbled,

and a giant magic circle rose from the ground not far away.

Trian, in a panic, asked Prince Sirian,

“What, what is this?”

“Damn, it’s a mess! You guys, come here right now!”

As Train and Seiment rushed to join Prince Siran,

Soon after, dozens of people emerged from the magic circle.

In white robes and veils, and bronze masks.

In one hand, a dagger or mace.

In the other, a cross.

Train frowned at the sight of that familiar cross,

And Seiment whispered gravely at his side,

“Be careful. Those are the Inquisitors of the Yumano faith.”

Hearing this, Train finally grasped the gravity of the situation and hesitated.

Among the inquisitors, one clad in a black nun’s habit approached Prince Train.

“I am an executor of Lord Yumano. You know what we seek without saying.”

“How did you find this secret rendezvous? Who told you?”

“That is of no concern. We are here solely for that elf.”

Pointing the mace at Seiment, the speech continued.

“If the rest of you step back quietly, we’ll let this pass.”

As Seimint murmured, drawing his wand,

“Train, run away.”

“…Yes.”

Without hesitation, Train mounted the horse and began to gallop.

Then the nun said to Prince Shiran,

“Your friend is wise. What will you do?”

“My answer is this.”

Prince Shiran quickly drew his gun and aimed at the nun’s forehead, firing.

But the nun agilely deflected the bullet with her mace.

“Understood! Sisters, purify all these corrupted by evil!”

At her cry, the inquisitors began chanting in unison, crosses in hand.

Suddenly, a terrible scream began to ring inside their heads,

Prince Shiran, Seimint, and Colonel Tanjet all clutched their ears and collapsed.

“Argh! What is this!”

“It’s the collective magic of the Yumano Church!”

“Fighting is no use! Let’s run away!”

But movement was impossible, and all the horses had already fled.

The black-robed nun, holding a mace, slowly approached them, singing through her nose,

“It’s too late for regrets~ Please return to Mr. Yumano’s side and repent-.”

That’s when it happened.

From a distance, something screamed as it flew straight towards the nun.

“aaah!”

“What, what is that?”

The nun, taken aback, tried to step back, but it was too late.

That something slammed right into the nun’s stomach,

And together, they flew off, tumbling to the ground.

Then, the inquisitors, shocked, stopped their chanting and started rushing towards the nun.

“Sister Maria!”

“Are you alright?”

“What on earth is going on!”

Maria sprang up and shouted at them.

“You useless sisters! Don’t come here, just finish memorizing the spell!”

But it was too late.

In that moment, Seiment raised his staff and exclaimed.

“Mother of the vast grasslands, grant sweet rest to those who have lost their leisure!”

Green spores erupted beneath the feet of the inquisitors,

And soon, all of them fell into a deep sleep, collapsing on the spot.

Meanwhile, Train was fiercely struggling to snatch the nun’s mace.

“It’s all over, let go of that!”

“Can’t you remove that unholy hand immediately!”

The new grimoire Train received from the elder was ‘The Tortoise and the Hare.’

The spell contained within was ‘High-Speed Movement.’

Ironically, it seemed to reflect his desire to escape from Princess Sia.

Originally, he had planned to feign escape and then ambush the nun.

—

Even I didn’t expect the spell’s power to be so brutally simple,

In the end, unable to control the speed, I crashed into it.

Well, it seems to have turned out alright in the end…

“Damn! What kind of strength is this!”

“You must be the weak one!”

No matter how much strength I put in, I couldn’t snatch away the mace.

But letting my guard down seemed like it would backfire,

So, we ended up in a ridiculous test of strength.

Finally, unable to stand it any longer, Prince Siran said to Seiment,

“Just put them both to sleep.”

“Should I?”

Seiment raised his staff.

Then, the nun hurled a train at Seiment.

“Whoa!”

“Good heavens!”

—

I hope this captures the essence of the scene you’re portraying. If you need any further assistance or adjustments, feel free to let me know.

Before Seimint could even begin the incantation, he collapsed alongside Train.

As the two quickly rose to their feet,

The nun, with a terribly displeased expression, ripped off her mask and threw it away.

“Haah… This is really annoying.”

Then, she pulled out a sizable gem from her bosom and pointed it at Train.

“If you so desire to suffer, I shall assist you.”

A bright light emanated from the gem.

Train, momentarily mesmerized by the light, stood there dazed—

“You fool!”

Prince Siran hurled himself at Train, pushing him aside.

As the beam from the gem struck Prince Siran directly,

A white mist-like substance escaped from his body and seeped into the gem.

Prince Siran fell.

Train belatedly rushed to Siran.

“Hey! Are you alright?!”

But Shiran did not breathe, eyes closed.

The nun licked the jewel with her tongue, seemingly delighted, and said,

“Lord Yumano, with this, I send one soul to hell.”

***

Meanwhile, Princess Shia was hosting a tea party in her room.

The guests were Yuril and Cat.

It was a semi-forced invitation, using the incident caused by Train as a pretext.

However, instead of tea or snacks, a large bead was placed on the table.

“…Now, we’re ready!”

Princess Shia, who had been infusing the bead with magic power for a while, exclaimed.

Then Cat sneered in displeasure,

“A princess resorting to stalking, how impressive.”

“Aren’t you two curious about what Lord Train is doing?”

“Spying on the meeting with the elves with a hidden camera is illegal, you know.”

“That’s why we use such an old magical tool, to avoid getting caught.”

“To do it without being caught…”

In fact, Princess Sia had secretly attached a hidden camera to Prince Siran’s body earlier.

So if she were to play the video now, she would surely see Train’s figure.

“Shall we start then?”

Princess Sia touched the orb with an excited voice.

Soon after, Train’s face was reflected inside the orb.

“As expected, Train is over there!”

Cat and Yuril also reluctantly peered into the orb together.

“Wow, the quality is really terrible.”

“But why does it only show Train’s face so big?”

Princess Sia tilted her head in wonder.

“Indeed. This close, it means Train is almost close enough to touch lips with brother.”

The situation soon became clear as a voice came from the orb.

“Siran! Come to your senses, Siran!”

“It’s no use~ That body is already an empty shell.”

‘What have you done to Shiran, you brat!’

‘Do you think I’d just tell you if you ask?’

Sia murmured, her complexion turning pale.

“Oh, brother? What on earth happened?”

Yuril stared intently at the bead as she spoke.

“The followers of Yumano… This is not good.”

Cat sprang up from her seat.

“I’ll call the Winged Dragon right away.”