The end of winter break.
That means the end of each grade.
At the end of the break and the beginning of the new year, graduation ceremonies were held at Constel.
Constel’s graduation ceremony is much more splendid than other schools, and the students’ enthusiasm
is high because it is the time when promising third-year students step into the pro world, so their juniors pray sincerely for their well-being.
Once the graduation ceremony process in the auditorium is complete, the students’ great migration begins in earnest.
“Senior! I’ll definitely keep in touch!”
“Let’s have a meal together on the weekend!”
Popular and talented third-year students receive cheers from many juniors and friends during this time.
Therefore, it is natural that popularity explodes during this time,
“Viet sunbae!”
“Sunbae! Take this! Don’t forget me!”
“Me too, it’s a small talisman. I really hope you do well, sunbae…”
“Here’s a bouquet, sunbae!”
“Ah, me too!”
“Me too! I have a present! Clothes are important during the changing seasons!”
It was Quinie de Viet.
Students flocked to her like waves, the most popular girl in the third year who was about to graduate.
Quinie’s feelings on this were.
“…I can’t see ahead.”
“It looks like it.”
Her friend Anne smiled wryly and helped carry the gifts.
Quinie, whose face barely peeked out from the mountain of gifts and bouquets, sighed deeply.
“It’s awkward to receive gifts like this. I’m not even going to be a pro.”
“Whatever you become in the future, your juniors want their seniors to do well. Because they will soon walk that path too.”
“Ha- Ha- I don’t recommend my path to anyone.”
Quinie laughed dryly. As if she suddenly remembered something, she looked at the graduation banner hanging in the auditorium.
“…I’m graduating.”
“Do you want to stay longer?”
“…”
“Repeat a grade?”
“The romance suddenly disappears.”
Quinie sighed and glanced at Anne.
“What about you? Don’t you have any lingering feelings for Constel?”
“Lingering feelings… Maybe the fact that I couldn’t escape my dad’s embrace after all?”
“Oh… Then you’re going to take over the family business?”
“Well, that’s how it turned out.”
Anne nodded calmly, while Quinie was surprised.
Anne is also quite skilled, although not as much as Quinie. She thought she would definitely walk the path of a pro.
“Did your father force you to do that?”
“Ahaha, no. Dad said I could do anything. He readily allowed me to attend Constel and said, ‘Try anything you can!’ But as I tried various experiences, I realized where I should return to.”
“Hee…”
“But you really seem to want to stay longer. As expected, repeating a grade…”
“I said no!”
After shouting, Quinie pouted her lips for a moment as if something was bothering her. Then she laughed hollowly and said,
“Actually, you’re right. Originally, I wanted to stay longer.”
“…I see.”
“You’re not surprised?”
“Why would I be surprised? If I were you, I would have wanted to stay here forever.”
Anne snorted and said.
Quinie is not only a student but also a head of household. When she graduates, it will be the time for the Viet family to start moving in earnest.
Her responsibility as the head of household will become even greater. The checks and balances from surrounding families will also intensify, and they will also use coercive means.
“If you’re saying you originally wanted to stay longer, does that mean you don’t anymore?”
“Now, it’s like… I have a definite goal.”
Quinie’s eyes shone as she said that. Anne was a little surprised by that look. When talking about graduation, Quinie had a bold face, but Anne could see the anxiety within it.
But not this time. Quinie’s eyes sparkled like those of new students. She had decided on something to challenge.
“And that goal is something I can never achieve by staying at Constel.”
“…What is it? That goal.”
Anne had a rough idea, but she asked. Just as Quinie was about to answer,
“Quinie sunbae.”
Someone approached them.
Is it another junior? Quinie turned her head to see who it was and opened her eyes wide.
“Congratulations on your graduation.”
The man who gave the calm congratulations was Frondier.
“…Frondier.”
“I’m sorry I’m late. No, I guess it’s not too late.”
Frondier gave a normal greeting and then said, suddenly remembering something. In fact, he wasn’t particularly late. Rather, is there such a thing as being late for a graduation ceremony?
But Quinie smiled brightly and said,
“No, you’re late. I was waiting.”
“…I see.”
Anne, who was standing next to her, was surprised by her bright smile and honest voice.
“Actually, I was wondering what to give you as a graduation gift.”
Saying that, Frondier rummaged through his pocket. Does he even worry about such things? Anne was surprised again.
“I wanted to give this to you, sunbae.”
Frondier took out an object from his pocket and showed it to Quinie.
A long string, a neat and elegant decoration, and a black jewel embedded in the center.
“…This is what I gave you.”
What Frondier took out was the Black Lotus. Not the newly made one, but the one he first received from Quinie.
“Yes. Actually, it’s the first time in my life that I’ve received a gift from someone else.”
“…That’s such a sad story, I don’t know how to react.”
Quinie smiled bitterly as she looked at the Black Lotus. This wasn’t a gift, but something she gave him in a deal.
And she shot Frondier a playful look.
“Hey, are you throwing this away because you have a new one now? Are you giving it to me because you’re throwing it away?”
“No, this is, how should I say it… that…”
It was a joke, but Frondier took it seriously. Scratching his cheek for a moment, Frondier said,
“It’s a talisman I’m giving you.”
“A talisman?”
“Thanks to this necklace, I’ve saved my life several times.”
The Black Lotus, the only means by which Frondier could carry the Obsidian at the time.
Because of this, Frondier was able to fight and win. It is an object that has been with him for almost all of his battles.
“So it will protect you, sunbae, from now on.”
“…Hmm.”
“Well, it’s not so much a rational thought as a superstition, so if you just think of it as having my time and heart in it…”
“Put it on me.”
Quinie interrupted Frondier and said.
“Yes?”
“Can’t you see that I have both hands full right now? I can’t even receive it if you give it to me. So put it on me.”
Saying that, Quinie stuck out her neck. She even closed her eyes as if she had no doubt that he would put it on her.
Frondier hesitated for a moment at that sight, but eventually put the Black Lotus around her neck.
Quinie opened her eyes with a sparkle and looked down at the necklace around her neck.
“Hehe, it’s a couple necklace.”
“…They look different.”
“Originally, couple items look a little different.”
Is that so? Honestly, I don’t really know.
Then why are they a couple?
“Frondier.”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to become a knight.”
Quinie said with sparkling eyes. It was the same look that Anne had seen earlier.
“I will become a knight and make Viet a complete noble family. Right now, it has just risen again, but I will make it a family that becomes a pillar of the Empire.”
“…”
Frondier looked at Quinie for a moment. He wasn’t surprised. So he just said what came to mind.
“…I knew you would do that, sunbae.”
“So, when I become a knight…”
Quinie stopped talking and carefully placed the gifts and bouquets she had received next to her.
What is she going to do? Just as Frondier was thinking that, Quinie suddenly pointed her finger at him.
“Frondier!!!”
Her voice, filled with aura, resonated loudly throughout the auditorium. The students’ gazes were all focused on Quinie.
Even while receiving those gazes, Quinie said boldly,
“Join my family!!”
Her voice blew towards Frondier like the wind.
Since it was almost the same volume as her previous voice, the surrounding students gasped and held their breath.
Frondier blinked for a moment and said,
“…Are you telling me to abandon the Roach family?”
“That’s not it!”
“I’m joking. You’re telling me to become a knight too, right?”
“Yes, that’s it.”
Quinie’s eyes sparkled. Frondier closed his eyes and smiled.
And he thought for a moment. Becoming a knight and joining Quinie’s family. In terms of the game, it would be something like a territory development story. Quinie is so capable and smart that he wouldn’t have that much to do.
Having accumulated enough strength and skill, it wouldn’t be too difficult to protect her from the surrounding families that were keeping her in check.
A leisurely life. A peaceful future is easily drawn in his mind.
However.
“I’m sorry.”
Frondier said.
“I have to save the world.”
It was less of a boast and more of a delusional statement.
But it was Frondier’s unwavering truth, and the biggest reason why he couldn’t accept Quinie’s offer.
If he hadn’t known the ending of this world.
He might have become Quinie’s knight.
After experiencing various events with her, Quinie was still attractive in Frondier’s eyes.
“…Pfft.”
Hearing Frondier’s words, she burst into laughter as if resigned,
“Yeah, I knew you would say that.”
Quinie, who smiled and said that, shone so brightly.