"I'm Kand von Yalong of the Yalong Duke House and a senior student. I challenge you to a duel; the winner will marry Camellia!"
"Do it, Luka! You won't lose to that imbecile!" she egged him on.
Kand's face turned red.
"What are the rules of the duel?" Luka asked calmly.
"No magic and no weapon. We will have a good old fashioned, man-to-man fistfight. The man who remains standing will be the winner." Kand cracked his knuckles in anticipation of plummeting the girly-figured opponent.
"That's fine. When?"
"Now. Let's head outside the school gate."
The two walked side-by-side and headed out of the campus. When the duelists stepped beyond the gate, Kand immediately threw a punch at the back of Luka's head!
However, Luka was already on the lookout for dirty tricks. Thus, the defender ducked with perfect timing and swung his fist -- slamming the attacker's ear!
Kand reeled back from the surprise counterattack.
Luka began to rain blows at his face.
Kand crouched and raised his forearms to block. CRACK! He howled in pain when they fractured under the vicious assault. Kand couldn't believe how much power Luka generated with his skinny frame. The upperclassman made a desperate gambit and charged at Luka. His thick arms tried to wrap around Luka's chest for a tackle into the ground.
However, Luka sidestepped the move and threw out his foot.
Kand tripped and crashed, face-first, into the fence. He involuntarily peeled his head away and turned straight into another punch from Luka! BOOM!
Kand lost consciousness; his body leaned against the fence to defiantly remain upright.
"You did it!" Camellia jumped up and down as she hugged and kissed the victor. She saw Kand as a brother and had no romantic feelings whatsoever. But he kept insisting on marrying her and even used his family background to intimidate other potential suitors. Because of Kand's malicious interference, Princess Camellia didn't have a fiance despite reaching the marriage age.
"Nice punch!" her male admirers praised as they looked at the loser with scorn. While they felt sad that Princess Camellia found a marriage partner, the noble students thought Kand thoroughly disgraced himself by making a public scene. Even worse, he lost in a fistfight against a younger boy. Nonetheless, they pitied him and helped bring Kand to the school infirmary.
The princess noted their actions and gave them a thankful smile.
The boys bowed while dragging the unconscious noble away.
"Let's celebrate your victory and our engagement with a fancy lunch!" Camellia proposed. Her followers cheered because they knew that the princess would foot the bill. Moreover, she wouldn't eat at a cheap restaurant.
The entourage walked a few blocks to a mid-scale eatery named "The Old Mockingbird." Despite its quirky name, the restaurant earned a reputation for serving great-tasting sandwiches and mouth-watering desserts. The hostess greeted Camellia with a polite curtsy before escorting her group to a private room.
"We will have the usual," Orella said.
The worker curtsied again and quickly departed.
The patrons sat around the large, oval-shaped table. Princess Camellia stood near a seat and waited for Luka to pull her chair back. Once he did, she sat down and pointed to her right.
Luka obediently took his place next to her. He looked around and saw twenty students gathered inside the room, including Terrwyn and Matty, who grinned when Luka finally noticed his presence. Orella conspicuously stood outside the doorway with the other flower knights.
The workers returned with cold drinks and appetizers for every guest.
Luka sampled one and discovered the restaurant was serving roasted peanuts.
"This place is famous for its roasted nuts. They only serve it as part of the prix fixe lunch; customers cannot buy them separately," Camellia explained. "This princess heard that you own several fields and grow soybeans. Perhaps you could set aside some plots to grow peanuts as well," she suggested.
"I'll look into it," Luka agreed. He always sought new business opportunities for his domain, and the farmers could plant peanuts in Izan. The fiance also noticed how much Camellia enjoyed eating peanuts; thus, she was hoping to receive some from him.
The waitresses soon returned with sandwiches for everyone. Luka received a cheeseburger while Camellia ate half of a chicken parmesan sandwich. The young couple shared an order of fries and an apple pie.
The group finished their meals while observing noble etiquette and departed. The students couldn't linger because they needed to return to school for afternoon classes.
Camellia finally separated from her fiance after giving him a wet kiss on the cheek.
"Let's go inside, lover boy," Terrwyn grumbled as she dragged Luka by the collar and into the classroom. She made sure to wipe the lipstick mark from his face before letting Luka sit down. Then the class rep ignored the whispers from her colleagues and returned to her seat. She felt too tired to quash the gossiping today.
Chapter 104
Second Semester (Part 2)
Once the afternoon lectures concluded, the Elite Class went to the training grounds for their P.E. class. For today, the students discovered that they shared the field with half of the Freshmen grade.
Hansie made the class run ten laps around the field, followed by a hundred situps and pushups. Under Terrwyn's lead, the classmates finished the assignments in unison.
The gym teacher nodded in satisfaction. He worried that the students would slack off and lose their condition during the holiday. Fortunately, Hansie was wrong about that because the Elite Class members were fearful of losing their seats. Hence, they all kept up with Terrwyn's pace in performing the exercise routines. The instructor gave them a gift by dismissing the class early. "See you tomorrow!" he said and walked off the field.
However, the students refused to leave. They rarely received time on the training grounds. Therefore, the class wished to stick around as long as possible. Moreover, if the group left early, their competitors would see this as an opening to work harder and knock off the class.
The Elite Class helped each other stretch and then began to spar in pairs with wooden swords. Luka matched against Terrwyn, who seemed extra-motivated to fight her rival. "Hah!" she yelled as her sword smashed against his with full strength.
Luka was surprised but stayed firmly on his feet as he successfully repelled her strikes. However, he declined to pursue openings and counterattack.
Terrwyn noticed and glowered at him. "Why aren't you fighting back?" she demanded to know.
"No reason in particular," he responded with a shrug.
The class rep felt annoyed at him because she thought that Luka was underestimating her. The battle maniac struck faster and harder with her practice sword until it broke. Terrwyn threw the half-stick on the ground with a "Hmph!" and turned away.
Luka quietly retrieved the broken pieces before a classmate stepped on them. He believed Terrwyn was upset about his engagement with her best friend but couldn't verbalize her opposition. Hence, Terrwyn was treating Luka as a practice dummy to vent her frustration.
The bell rang, signaling the end of today's classes. Unfortunately, the day wasn't over for him because the group needed to visit Luka's private realm for additional practice.
Princess Camellia met him outside the training grounds with her flower knights and maids. "Are you going home?" she asked.
Luka shook his head. "I need to practice with my classmates," he replied.
"Where will you go?" She looked at Terrwyn, who refused to explain due to a promise to Luka.
"Follow me," he replied. Although the owner tried to limit the number of people visiting his shadow realm, Luka realized that he couldn't keep his fiancée in the dark without raising suspicions with her or causing problems for Terrwyn. Thus, he allowed her entourage to follow along as they walked to an isolated area on campus. Luka took out his keystone and transported everyone to the small plane.
"I obtained the key while exploring a dungeon during my apprenticeship with Alectos," Luka answered while showing her the magical item.
The fiancée gingerly held the obsidian stone in the shape of a key in her hand. She felt a concentration of shadow essence inside, and the relic felt cool to the touch. Camellia returned the keystone to him.
"The previous owner ran dark experiments in the basement of the castle and engaged in human sacrifice to summon abyssal creatures. I tried my best to seal up the portal, but a powerful entity could still enter. That's why I won't allow anyone to visit the castle. Unfortunately, this plane is small and holds only the castle and its accompanying courtyard," Luka explained.
Camellia's face turned pale when he mentioned abyssal creatures because they were foul, legendary beings with the power to destroy countries! The secret royal archive at the castle held records of old nations ruined by them; thus, she was fearful that the Morninglory Kingdom would suffer the same fate! "Did you fight them? How did you win?" she asked with astonishment.
Luka smiled faintly. "I dismissed them from the realm with my light magic. The abyssal creatures relied on mental magic to disrupt me. But I overcame their attacks and evicted them from this place. I don't know why the black mage would bring them here when he had no way of controlling them."
"Can we start practice?" Terrwyn interrupted. "You could talk about this later."
The maids arranged a small table and chair for Camellia to sit while watching the Elite Class engage in an energetic practice session. She enjoyed eating cookies and drinking camellia tea as the freshmen grunted and sweated in the courtyard.
Terrwyn felt annoyed by her friend's antics but couldn't do anything about it. Instead, the class representative vented her anger on her classmates by making them repeat various party drills until the students perfected them. The party leader strongly believed in learning by repetition; therefore, she drilled them mercilessly even though everyone was tired. Finally, Terrwyn ended the session after an hour of a strenuous workout.
Luka took everyone back to the school campus, and Terrwyn dismissed them.
When Princess Camellia tried to invite her fiance to her mansion and stay overnight, Terrwyn intervened. "Camellia, think of your position. You CANNOT bring a man to spend the night under the same roof, even if he is your fiance," the noblewoman pointed out.
"This princess wants Luka to stay over at our place BECAUSE he is our fiance. If he continues to stay in the dorm by himself, then other aristocrats will ridicule both of us," she protested.
Luka interjected in their argument. "Camellia, I sincerely appreciate your invitation to live with you. But I agree with Terrwyn that it's inappropriate for me to stay at your mansion until we are officially wedded," he said.
The princess pouted because she didn't expect Luka to take Terrwyn's side.
Her best friend made a suggestion. "I noticed that you assigned Orella to guard Luka. In that case, she should stay in his dorm room as an escort. Since he is the co-valedictorian of the freshmen class, Luka gets the entire floor to himself. That should be fine, right?" Terrwyn turned toward Luka for confirmation.
He hesitated to respond to her inquiry. "I'm not sure it's proper for Orella to stay at my dorm."
"Why not? Orella cannot execute her duty to protect you if she's physically a distance away," Camellia countered.
"Even if I have no objection, the dorm mother won't allow it," Luka pointed out.
"Hohoho! That silly rabbit might think she sets the rules, but Drinara forgot that our royal family owns the school, and she works for us. This princess will write an official letter demanding that Orella be allowed to live in your dorm room. If Drinara refuses, a new dorm mother will replace her," Camellia chuckled. "Let's see if the rabbit girl dares to defy this princess!" she smirked.
Once Camellia settled this issue, she shooed the two away. "You may go." The princess headed toward the gate with her entourage while her fiance walked in the opposite direction.
As Luka trekked through the campus, the students did a double-take because Orella's red armor drew their attention. They recognized her as part of Princess Camellia's flower knight brigade but couldn't understand why the warrior was following a boy.
"No way! The princess is so deeply in love with her fiance that she parted with one of her precious flower knights!" a girl squealed in delight.
"I never expected to see the day when Camellia would order her most favorite guard Orella to serve someone else!" another girl commented.
"Luka even brawled against another duke's son over his engagement!"
"This is a romance tale for the ages!"
The girls talked loudly, and Luka felt embarrassed by their conversation. However, Orella stoically ignored the annoying gossip and continued to watch her surroundings like a hawk. She worried that this distraction was part of an ambush by another noble to harm Camellia's fiance. Fortunately, the guard's concern failed to materialize.
The odd couple continued walking until they reached the Larkspur residence hall. When Orella entered the building, Drinara hopped in front to block her path.
The rabbit woman folded her arms and said, "This dorm is for boys only."
Orella wordlessly handed a letter to the dorm mother.
Drinara accepted the red envelope and noticed a seal with the royal crest. With trembling paws, she opened the letter and read the contents. Her rabbit ears flopped as her eyes darted from side-to-side. Finally, the dorm mother looked at Orella with a frown. "Your liege is a nasty woman," Drinara insulted the knight's employer to provoke Orella.
However, the warrior understood Drinara's ploy and refused to bite. If Orella attacked Drinar, then the dorm mother would be justified in banning the knight from entering the school campus entirely. Moreover, the school administration would support her ban because it had a duty to protect the teachers and staffers; otherwise, the workers would revolt and walk off their jobs. The royal academy could not afford to harm its reputation by siding with an abusive knight against a school worker. Orella looked Drinara directly in the eyes and waited.
After a long period of silence, Drinara hopped away. Slam! The dorm mother returned to her office.
Luka breathed a sigh of relief because he worried that the ill-tempered rabbit woman would deny Orella entry regardless of Camellia's royal command. Thankfully, he was wrong about that. However, Luka had to climb up four flights of stairs. The exercise left him breathing heavily.
Orella looked at his conditioning with disapproval because she was fine despite wearing a suit of armor. "We need to improve your physical strength," she said with a stern voice.
Luka remembered his loss against Ilbryen Elorshin in Lumina. "I will be in your care," he agreed. The student unlocked the door and entered his room.
Orella surveyed the environment with a critical eye and frowned. Although the dorm room took up the entire floor, the furnishings were barebone and inappropriate for a duke's son, much less the royal princess's fiance. "Do you bring guests to your room?" the knight inquired.
Luka shook his head. "Why would do I do that?" he asked in puzzlement.
The knight felt relieved at this answer because if the other students became aware of Luka's squalid living condition, he would become a laughingstock! "With your permission, I will make arrangements to improve this living space," Orella said.
Luka's brows furrowed. "What's wrong with my place now?" he asked.
The knight sighed deeply. "Your Grace, you are Princess Camellia's fiance. Your abode must correspond to your high social standing within the kingdom. W
hile attending school, my liege purchased a private mansion to live in because the dorms were not suitable for a royal princess. The same concept applies because you are now her fiance. That's partially the reason behind Her Highness's invitation for you to live with her," Orella explained.
Luka shook his head. "I'm a very straightforward person, and I prefer to live a simple life. I don't let my family background or my divine lineage dictate how I live and treat others. Therefore, I must decline your offer to change my living space. I'll keep the furniture as-is," he insisted.
Orella looked deep into his eyes. "Is that your order, Your Grace?"
"Yes."
The knight shrugged. "In that case, I will share your bed," Orella replied while pointing to the sole bed in the room.
"Oh." Luka's face flushed as he realized his error. But he couldn't back out without looking like an idiot in front of her. "You don't mind?" he asked gingerly.
Orella rolled her eyes. "I was an orphan after my parents died from a bandit raid on my village. My orphanage didn't separate the boys and girls, and everyone slept in the same hall. When I became a knight apprentice, the barracks were also mixed-gender. So I'm used to seeing morning wood," she quipped with a smirk. "Please help me remove my armor," Orella requested and turned around.
Luka began to help the knight untie the strings on the back.
Orella exhaled when her cuirass came off, and her ample bosom jiggled up and down. She ignored Luka's hard stare at her chest and pulled off her sweaty shirt. When she leaned down to remove her greaves and sabatons, Orella paused. "Are you planning to keep staring, or will you help me?"
Luka immediately moved to assist her.
The knight casually stripped and became naked. "I'm going to the washroom to wipe my body. Promise me that you won't leave the room."
"I won't," he nodded. When Orella entered the bathroom, Luka released Bel and Gripper from his dimensional storage. The two animals noticed the pile of armor pieces stacked neatly on the ground.
[I smell a woman.] Bel noted after a sniff.
Hoot! Gripper agreed with this assessment.
The Divine Summoner: Godson of Altima Page 84