房客(糙汉)何璐程曜坤

"They are saying that it's the elite training for the King's Guard but here we are again."

Said the girl who had pride inscribed into her every move and every detail of her face.

She wore her long hair in a high ponytail that was almost brushing against the floor when she was sitting in an elegant room far too pompous to be a canteen for recruits but served that exact purpose anyway.

She was one of the few youths gathered there for a meal while in the light version of complete enchanted armor.

Her helmet was to her right, blocking anyone from sitting next to her – but to her great displeasure her left side was vulnerable and it was a weakness that was exploited by the trash that still dared to call himself her fiance.

"Miriette, are you going to throw a tantrum over the food quality? We are in training for war, you can't expect everything served to you by a professional chef."

That very trash who was annoying her to no end using the fact that they were surrounded by important people dared to speak to her, going as far as having the guts to use a tone as if he was explaining things to a child.

"Trashy pest, I don't want your pathetic whiner ever address me in such a familiar way... or I will take your breath away."

"!!!"

Miriette smiled and said the first part quietly so only Grazio would be able to hear her while raising her voice just a little bit for the latter part which could be misunderstood by their surroundings.

The red-haired boy who never give up on the whole engagement farce flinched and closed his mouth out of reflex even though he originally wanted to speak some more.

"Young lady Espine, what do you question us eating a meal?"

The blond-haired girl with blue eyes sitting across the table from Miriette asked her politely, acting as if she didn't hear Grazio's words at all.

"It's okay to call me just by my first name, Burushi, we're friends so there's no need for the official titles and such~"

"It's an honor, Miriette."

The dark-haired girl turned to her and smiled graciously to which the only officially known dual attribute magician bowed her head without sparing the not only red-haired but red-faced Grazio even a glance.

"As for your question... it's not that I have a problem with a meal. It's just that I have a problem that we always stop whatever exercise we are in the middle of to show up here and have a leisurely and completely safe meal. Every meal. And afternoon tea too. And it's not like we are taking turns eating so some of us are standing guard. Are we being purposefully conditioned to be as vulnerable as possible or something? While training for war?"

Miriette explained her point leaning back in her seat. She didn't have to point at anything to prove her point as everything beginning from the seat itself, the tables, the cutlery, the lavish food, and the presence of both the cadets and the instructors was speaking for itself louder and more concisely than she ever would bother to present it.

"Young lady Epsine, what you say might seem correct, but let me remind you that this is a training course for the King's Guard, the force composed of the strongest light magicians of which everyone can teleport."

One of the instructors, a serious-looking middle-aged man with a full golden beard put down a spoon and declared while giving Mireitte a side-eye.

...but the proud girl didn't even bother to say anything and imply moved her hand up and flicked her dark hair, making Burushi twitch as she tried to hold back laughter.

"All of the youths gathered here will act under the command of a light magician and will have light magicians assisting you when the time comes. With the ability to teleport you all out of danger on the off chance that you will need it, that is. There is no reason to stand guard now or in case of armed conflict because you will always be able to enjoy a moment of peace in a safe place when the need arises."

The man continued his explanation but his expression darkened because of the fault of his earlier words being pointed out.

"Not to mention, you all are the cream of the crop of the aristocrats with either your power or talent exceeding your peers. It's okay to doubt yourself but doubting your allies is not something a good noble should do."

The instructor added, snapping back at the dark-haired girl.

"Only idiots and overconfident fools blindly trust others. Since the start of this training, only four people beside me showed that they are worthy of my recognition. And do you really dare to speak to me about power and talent when your nephew is polluting everyone's air right by my side?"

"!!!"

Miriette chuckled and pointed her thumb to the left.

"Although if you admit that you believe that empty pride and laziness born out of being praised to the heavens for the most basic actions is a talent then I will give you a pass. Only... it would speak volumes about the current state of the proud King's Guard~"

There was only one person in the whole world able to stop Miriette from having the last word but even he would not be interested in doing that at the moment.

*WHAM* x3

"YOU BETTER TAKE THAT BACK, YOUNG LADY!"

"WHO ARE YOU TO TALK DOWN TO ANYONE?!"

"I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS, HOW DARE YOU TALK LIKE THAT ABOUT MY YOUNGER BROTHER?!"

Three people slammed their hands against the table at the same time and stood up shouting over each other.

The bearded instructor related to the Victureo family.

The gold-haired first prince of the Bellcephora kingdom.

The strongest fire magician in the world.

All of them shouted for the same reason although the first prince was the most subtle about it, most likely because he wanted to make it sound as if he was really concerned about the honor of his fiancee's sibling and the shade cast over the King's Guard while Ehmi was the most shocked.

"Could you point out my fault? Wasn't trashy pest praised for precision and control over an underpowered fire barrage that barely singed the target at a long distance? We can replace him with any other fire magician currently at the academy and we will get better results."

Miriette didn't bat an eye at the vocal backlash and instead smiled putting her hands together on her stomach while adding pouring more fuel onto the fire.

*WHAM* "GBLRGFGH...!"

"...haaaa..."

The reaction from Grazio sitting on her left was just as eloquent as Miriette expected so she didn't hold back and openly sighed in annoyance before looking his way and...

"...eh...?"

...letting out a small gasp as she was faced with the black-haired boy with a severely scarred face securely holding the back of Grazio's head graciously allowing him to drown in the bowl of soup while the ungrateful red-haired youth was flailing his limbs around in futile attempts to break free and save his life.

"Hmmm? Oh, sorry, it will be over in a second. Don't mind me, my love. Give them hell~"

In the stunned silence that befell the baffled witnesses, Zoemi looked away from the soup spilling from the bowl that Grazio's face he was mushing and waved his hand dismissively to Miriette while smiling in encouragement.

"GUARDS! LIGHT BEAM!" *haaaaa*

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? HAMMER OF LIGHT!" *haaaaa*

"LET GO OF MY BROTHER! FIRE SPEAR!" *haaaaa*

It was almost comical how the same trio that raised their voices against Mireitte were the ones to call to action while simultaneously casting spells to eliminate the black-haired intruder – it even more comical to witness the looks on their faces when instead of raging magic creating air quake and destroying their opponent they merely caused sounds of people breathing out in relief.

"GUARDS! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

The gold-haired first prince pulled back the hand he reached out to aim the dud of a spell and called for the guards once more...

...to the same futile effect as before...

The ones who reacted, though, were the instructors donning heavy enchanted armor.

It was a perfect chance for them to score points with both the first prince and the Victureo family but also show young lady Espine that nothing could be done to the almighty members of the King's Guard.

Although the externalized mana movement – that is spells – weren't able to materialize, the golden glow shining from beneath their armors was proof enough that the enchantments worked just fine giving them confidence as they rushed at the oppressor.

"Don't you even dare...!"

Miriette could not care less about Grazio who was almost done bubbling up the soup, instead, she stood up from her seat, glowing emerald green with the wind enchantments ready to throw hands with the approaching guards.

"...!"

"It's okay~ Oh my Guide, I missed you so much~!"

*chuu*

The armored men hesitated for a second because of the display of anger from the young aristocrat, but that gave enough time for the black-haired boy to start playing around again – he leaned forward confidently kissing her cheek and...

*THUMP* x12

... having twelve copies of himself materialize out of a thin silver mist and rush at the instructors who failed to take the opportunity to do anything.

*WHAM* *CRUNCH*

The copies didn't play around and the next second enchanted armors turned into scrap metal as their owners were slammed against walls and ceilings with no chance to retaliate.

The copies themselves merely smirked afterward and all dissipated in the puffs of silver mist and returning to the black-haired boy and the bearded instructor – the only one who didn't leave his spot as he must have been the person in charge – sat back down suddenly quiet and submissive.