Wendy was staring outside the window of her classroom. She would giggle from time to time which made Est, and the rest of her classmates, look at her with amused expressions.
The scene of William kissing her was still fresh in her mind and it was making her giddy from happiness. She had completely forgotten that she wasn't inside his room anymore and was inside their classroom instead.
"Ms. Armstrong, it seems that you are very happy today," Layla said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Why don't you share to the entire class the reason why you're giggling like a mandrake?"
Wendy absentmindedly glanced at Layla and blurted out the words that were on her mind.
"Commander William is a good kisser."
Est, who was seated not far from her, dropped the book in his hand as his eyes widened in shock.
Ian, who was seated beside Est, had his mouth opened wide enough for a golf ball to pass through it.
The class descended into silence as they stared at the beautiful blonde girl who just realized that she had made a blunder.
Wendy immediately covered her lips as her face turned as red as a ripe tomato.
"Oh?" Layla raised an eyebrow. "The new Knight Commander is a good kisser? Well, this certainly is a piece of good news for those who are infatuated with him. Now, Ms. Armstrong, why don't you turn your Book of Magic Principles to page sixty-nine and read the different magical reactions when elements collide."
Wendy hurriedly opened her book and stood up from her seat. She then narrated the contents of the book to the class, while doing her best to keep her voice from stuttering.
Her classmates started to giggle when they saw Wendy's panicked expression. Even so, there were two boys in the room who were not giggling. Instead, they were looking at Wendy as if she was a cheating cat that had stolen the cheese named "William" from their table.
------
"Mama, did you feel a sudden chill just now?" William asked. "I could have sworn that a cold wind just passed through me."
Ella tilted her head to the side for a few seconds before resolutely shaking her head.
The two were currently undertaking a Topography lesson. Their instructor had asked them to create a map of the entire Martial Division, and the First Years were now loitering around the premises holding scrolls in their hands, to draw various landmarks and create a detailed map to the best of their abilities.
In war, map making was an important skill. Even an impromptu one could allow them to navigate their surroundings.
As William was hard at work, a small wren landed on his shoulder and began chirping.
It was none other than the Wren, Aethon, that William had brought back from the Whimsical Forest. He had given the small bird an important task and it was now giving its Master a full report of its mission.
"Great job," William said as he gave the bird a strip of beef jerky.
The bird happily ate the jerky before flying away. It was going to resume patrolling around the academy while looking for suspicious individuals on the prowl. Since William still didn't know who the puppeteer pulling the strings from the background was, he asked Aethon to keep a lookout on anything that seemed suspicious.
He trusted the bird's knack of gathering information from its surroundings--like the time when it warned him of the Wyverns in the Whimsical Forest.
Wrens were very common in the world and most people would not think much of them if they happened to see one. This was the reason why Aethon was the perfect choice for the mission.
Although William was the Knight Commander, he was still a student of the Martial Class. He was able to skip lessons using his authority, but he wanted to be a good role model to his subordinates. He wanted to teach them how to become humble, even if they were in a position of power.
After William turned a corner, he caught sight of a young boy wandering around the premises. The boy was followed by four guards whom William had estimated to be in the Mithril Ranks.
He recognized him right away, because he had seen him at the party. It was none other than the youngest prince of the kingdom, Ernest Louis Vi Hellan.
William moved to the side to allow the prince to pass. However, the prince didn't do that. Instead he walked towards William and looked up at him.
"What a happy coincidence to meet you here in the academy, Commander William," Ernest said with a smile.
"It is indeed a happy coincidence, Your Highness," William pressed his fist over his chest and bowed respectfully. "Is there something that His Highness needs from me?"
"Yes." Ernest nodded. "Actually, I came here to the academy to talk to you personally. There is a commission that I would like for you to undertake."
"A commission?"
"Yes. A very important one."
William frowned. Currently he was in the process of finding the culprit behind the candies that were circulating around the academy. He really had no time to do a commission for the Prince. However, since he was still a Knight of the kingdom, he decided to at least listen to the Prince first before deciding whether to accept his commission or not.
"Please, follow me to the Commander's office," William replied. "Whatever the Prince wants to ask of me must be something very important. You wouldn't go out of your way to come here personally if it wasn't."
Ernest didn't answer but only gave William a small smile. It was his way of acknowledging William's deductions.
When the two arrived at William's office, the Prince ordered his four guards to remain outside and guarded the door. Clearly, he didn't want them hearing his private talk with William.
After the two were seated, the Prince finally told him the reason why he came to see the Commander of the Angorian War Sovereign.
"You already know that our kingdom is preparing to fight against the two Dynasties on our borders," Ernest explained. "After making a detailed estimate of our kingdom's remaining forces, the King felt that we wouldn't have enough men to protect both fronts of the battlefield."
William nodded his head. The King had a private talk with him before he left the party and told him that there was a possibility that the students of the academy would be mobilized once again to fight for their homeland on the front lines.
"However, it will not be enough," Ernest shook his head. "Do you know why the two dynasties have been able to stand in the Southern Continent while avoiding being conquered by the Hellan and Freesia Alliance?"
"No," William answered. He was not too familiar with the two dynasties beyond their borders because he was too busy training his Knight Order to become an independent unit during the war.
"It's because of their Guardian Beasts," Ernest stated. "Both Dynasties have Guardian Beasts that protect their Dynasties. According to the reports, these two Guardian Beasts are Myriad Beasts. What is more troublesome is that these two beasts are said to be only a step away from becoming Calamities.
If they join the battle then we will not have enough forces to stop them… and this is also the reason why I came to find you, Commander William. We need you to go with the Kingdom's Ambassador, Sir Jerkins, and travel to the North where the tribes are congregated. We need their help to resist this invasion from our neighbors."
Ernest lowered his head, "Alone, the Hellan Kingdom doesn't have any chance of victory."
The youngest prince then glanced at Ella who was standing beside William. "The King and I believe that the Ambassador will not be able to convince them if he went alone. This is why we want you to accompany him in this undertaking."
William tapped the top of the table with his fingertip. This was indeed an important mission of the Kingdom and a mission he couldn't ignore. Ella had once told him about the mighty tribes that lived in the North.
The tribes that raised Angorian War Ibexes as their mounts, which prevented the Kingdom from conquering them. It was the era when the Southern Continent was still in a turmoil of warring kingdoms and dynasties who were battling for supremacy.
The Half-Elf was currently torn between doing his duty and protecting someone important to him. He knew how important this mission was, but he was unwilling to leave Wendy in the academy to gradually be corrupted by the Mastermind hiding in the shadows without him around to protect her.
Ernest waited patiently for his answer. He eyed William with concealed interest. Est had often told him stories about this Half-Elf who had saved his life twice many years ago.
The Youngest Prince wanted to know if Wiliam was really as amazing as the stories that were told to him by the person whom the Young Prince loved and respected in his heart.