Chapter 97. Spring Festival Preparations (2)

'Black Fang' has disappeared.

The 2nd Prince, Arteo Kudent Cretian, was at a loss for words for a moment after receiving his subordinate's report.

The Empire's best assassin's guild has disappeared?

Overnight, at that.

Arteo's expression turned cold.

"Do you think that makes sense?"

"We have looked into it in every possible way, but it is true."

The subordinate answered, bowing his head.

He had released the information guilds to investigate, but their traces could not be found.

All he could say was that it was the same as when 'Black Fang' had disappeared 10 years ago.

"The only thing we could hear was the speculation that there might have been an internal problem."

Arteo ground his teeth.

Whether 'Black Fang' disappeared or not, it actually didn't matter to him at all.

The failure of the 8th Prince's assassination was the bigger problem.

"Didn't they say they would succeed in the assassination no matter what happened?"

"They say they disappeared without a trace. There's also talk that they were attacked and ruined."

Arteo clutched his head.

For experts in assassination to be attacked and ruined meant that the attacking side was no ordinary one either.

Was it a fight between assassin's guilds?

Or was it simply that their luck was bad?

'Or maybe the 8th Prince's luck is just that good.'

Arteo composed himself and asked his subordinate.

"What about the penalty fee?"

"We did get it back, but that is……."

Arteo's face hardened upon hearing the amount.

It was an absurdly small amount compared to the astronomical commission fee he had paid.

"Do they have any conscience?"

"They said it was what was left after deducting the activity expenses they had used for the mission so far."

Arteo's subordinate could not continue.

To dare to skim off a prince's money.

They were audacious fellows, indeed.

"……Look for another assassin's guild."

Arteo said coldly.

"And if you confirm any survivors of Black Fang, get rid of them."

"Understood."

It really wasn't easy to get rid of the 8th Prince.

He was a fellow with no special abilities, yet he managed to escape so well.

To soothe Arteo's foul mood, his subordinate brought up another topic.

"Speaking of which, I heard that the Spring Festival will be held at the academy starting next week."

At the words that the three royals attending the first year would each be in charge of one booth, Arteo's eyes narrowed.

What a coincidence.

Isn't this a stage where the three royals compete with their abilities?

He could predict how things would unfold without even seeing it.

'It's no different from a preliminary match for the succession competition.'

Although it was just an academy event, it was also a place where he could show everyone who among the royals of a similar age had the most outstanding skills.

Arteo thought he shouldn't just let the festival pass.

* * *

"Alright, from now on, you'll write your names on the booth application form. Just write your name under the team you wish to join."

Radel said to the first-years gathered in the common room.

Although it was Professor Marianne's will, since he had been chosen as the representative, it was now time to recruit team members to run the booth together.

"Who wants to be on my team?"

As soon as Radel's words fell, Gusto raised his hand.

"If it is alright with you, Your Highness, I will join you."

"Good."

Radel wrote Gusto Zebro under his name.

Edward, who was watching, also raised his hand high.

"I, I also, if I can be of help…… would like to be with you, Your Highness."

"Of course, you'll be a help."

As Radel nodded, Edward's expression brightened.

"See, I knew Edward would go to His Highness's team, didn't I? Give me 20 silver."

"I never said I was betting, did I? The result is too obvious."

Edward's friends bickered among themselves and then raised their hands.

"We'll do it too."

Radel also wrote down the names of Edward and his friends.

As the names were being filled in to some extent, a few first-years approached Radel.

"……Is there still a spot left?"

Radel recognized them.

They were the classmates Radel's party had saved when they went to catch the Swamp Serpent before.

"Thank you so much for that time. We were wondering what to do without the detoxification potion."

"We help each other out, that's all."

Radel said nonchalantly and wrote down their names as well.

He didn't know when they were catching the Swamp Serpent, but looking back, they were friends with excellent magic skills.

It seemed they would be helpful when putting up a booth this time as well.

Just as Radel was smiling contentedly, looking at the list of rather well-organized team members.

"Ah, say it one by one!"

A sharp voice was heard from the side.

It was the voice of the thoroughly irritated Inette.

Her followers had flocked to Inette's side, and it was so crowded that it was difficult for Inette to write down the names properly.

"Please write my name first, Your Highness!"

"No! Please write my name first!"

The followers were making a fuss as if having their name written first was a great honor.

Inette, unable to contain her boiling anger, threw down her pen.

"If you're going to be like this, write it yourselves!"

As Inette angrily left her spot, a fight began among the followers.

"You heard Her Highness, didn't you? I'm first!"

"Don't be ridiculous. The first is me!"

"It's a duel, you bastards!"

Radel said a word to Inette, who had barely escaped.

"You're popular, Inette."

Inette's eyes gleamed fiercely.

"You think this is popularity? How did I end up becoming the representative! This means I'm stuck with them!"

Inette, who had been getting angry while pointing at the followers, quickly scanned Radel's list.

And seeing the names written there, her shoulders trembled.

"I'm on a different team again! Again!"

Inette recalled the memory of having a hard time because she happened to be in a different class from Radel during the freshman adjustment period.

"The apprentice holy knight is on your team, and Edward is of course……. Huh?"

Inette stopped as she was checking Radel's list and discovered that Tunia's name was not yet there.

‘Since it's come to this, I must bring Tunia over!’

She couldn't run a booth with just her followers and without a single friend.

Inette, with a desperate heart, quickly scanned the common room, looking for Tunia.

As it happened, Tunia was reading a book in a corner.

Inette mustered up her courage and approached.

"Hey, have you decided which team you're joining for the festival booth?"

"Not yet."

Since it didn't matter to Tunia which team she joined, she was planning to write her name down after waiting a bit.

Of course, Radel's team would be more comfortable, but…… Inette was looking at her so desperately.

"Th-then how about coming to our booth? If you don't want to, then never mind!"

Seeing Inette's clenched hands trembling, Tunia quietly nodded.

"……Okay."

"Really?!"

At Tunia's answer, Inette felt as if she could fly away at any moment.

"Hey! All of you, get out of the way!"

And she at once chased away the followers who were still fighting over the order of their names, wrote Tunia's name first on the list, and looked proud.

"Friends are indeed a good thing."

"That is correct. Aren't friends the most brilliant memories of one's school days?"

Watching the joyous Inette, Radel and Gusto crossed their arms and nodded.

Inette, who discovered it belatedly, was just dumbfounded.

What are they talking about when they're still students themselves……?

* * *

"We will now begin the Spring Festival booth meeting."

Radel gathered his team members in the meeting room and proceeded with the meeting.

"First, I'll check the attendance. Gusto Zebro."

"Here."

"Edward Paradik."

"Here."

To check how many team members had attended the meeting, Radel began to call the names written on the list.

There were friends who had written their names in the common room, but there were also friends whose names were written by Radel's own hand later.

"Almond Plain."

"……Here."

Armandy was one such case.

‘I never said I would join this team.’

Armandy was truly dumbfounded.

The feeling he got when he later went to the common room and saw his alias written on Radel's booth team list.

‘This is fraud. What else is fraud if not this.’

Armandy tried to protest to Radel, but Radel's attitude was as if there was nothing wrong with it.

Seeing him, who seemed to naturally think of him as part of his team, Armandy could only bite his lip.

‘I wanted to join Prince Leon's team!’

But Leon's team was so popular with his followers that there were no spots left.

He knew there were many magic supremacists at the academy, but he didn't know it was to this extent.

Armandy regretted missing the opportunity and wept inwardly.

And in a corner, there were friends with similar expressions to Armandy.

"Why are we here……?"

"Did you know we were on this team?"

"N-no. I just found out."

They were the large-built friends who took the Mana Training lecture with Radel.

They had almost clashed with their classmates at the beginning of the semester, but thanks to Radel's mediation, they were now attending the academy very quietly.

"I asked earlier, and they said His Highness wrote our names."

"……Why did he do that?"

"I don't know……."

They didn't have the courage to ask Radel why he had written their names without their permission.

They were sitting blankly in the meeting room without even knowing why they had joined this team.

"So, we have to submit the booth application by this week. Please feel free to give your opinions from now on."

As Radel spoke, someone raised their hand.

"Wouldn't food sales be good at a festival? What about a dessert of fruit coated with sugar water?"

"That's good too, but what about a soup dish made with a spicy sauce from the East? People would flock to the spicy smell."

Food.

It wasn't a bad idea.

When walking around a festival, one is bound to be captivated by stall food that one can't usually eat.

However, most of the public booth applications he had seen at the Grade Representative Meeting were for food sales.

There was no way they, as students, could make more delicious food than professional restaurants.

"Alright. Is there anyone who is confident in cooking?"

When Radel asked, no one readily raised their hand.

He had hoped, but it was as he expected.

"Anyone with an opinion other than food?"

There was a limit to the opinions that the first-years, who had not yet experienced the academy festival, could give.

Then perhaps he should ask someone with a lot of social experience.

As it happened, there was a student here with experience in organizational life.

Radel singled out Armandy and asked.

"Almond, what do you think?"

Armandy mumbled reluctantly with an expression that said he didn't know why he was being singled out.

"……Isn't this a magic academy? How about doing something using magic?"

A booth using magic?

Something popped into Radel's head.

The ‘House of the Undead’ that he was operating.

Since this was a world without amusement parks yet, how about putting up something like that as a booth?

Using magic, that is.