Seirei Gensouki Konna Sekai De Deaeta Kimi Ni
Fake Costs

Fake Costs

The field exercise ended that night. Right now the headmaster of the Royal Institute was racking his brains on how he should deal with this matter.

「Reported that the responsibility for causing the group to deviate from the predetermined path was on the sons of Duke Euguno and Marquis Rodan. It was a fact that Princess Flora almost fell off the cliff as a result of their actions. 」

Hearing the incident report from the teacher in charge of the field exercise caused the headmaster of the Royal Institute, Garcia1, all kinds of worries.

The students deviate from the established route that has been confirmed safe, and deliberately enter the forest endangering the lives of the princesses.

Furthermore, they were attacked by a horde of goblins.

The series of events was allowed to happen because it was supported by a number of influential nobles.

When he first heard the report, he accidentally ended up seriously considering an escape plan.

「Although there were some injured students, thanks to the presence of some al Heal2』 users, it did not become a serious problem. Someone is dead, or rather I must say, gone. The student's name was Rio. 」

Garcia heaved a sigh of relief as it was a matter that could be ignored for now.

Fortunately, there were no serious casualties among members of the royal family and nobles.

There seemed to be one single victim according to the teacher reporting, but it seemed that the teacher did not want to make a big deal either.

Garcia is very grateful for that.

「The former orphan boy, yes. This must be a blessing in disguise. 」

Not to mention that Rio had no guardian let alone parents.

To the kingdom, he was just an ordinary person.

It could be said that the King who recommended Rio was his guardian, but after he entered the Institute, the King completely ignored him.

Garcia was told to only tell the King if he saw any suspicious movements.

Since the King had to remain vigilant against inter-factional disputes within the Royal Court, he had no spare time for a boy whose background was most dubious.

There were not enough resources to spare for such a trivial matter.

Therefore, it didn't really matter if one of them disappeared.

Far from being sad, it really is someone else's problem.

「Only one problem remains. This hit the person who caused Her Highness Princess Flora to almost fall off the cliff. 」

Garcia's stomach ached just thinking of how unpleasant it would be to face this problem.

「Alright, let's hear the story. Please continue . 」

Regardless of its outward calm demeanor, it was only a facade forged by age.

「First, most of the students including Duke Euguno's son insisted that Rio be in charge. On the other hand, only Her Royal Highness Princess Flora of the royal family claimed otherwise. However, there did not appear to be any reliable eyewitnesses. Her Royal Highness Princess Christina and the Duke's daughter Fontine have chosen to remain silent. 」

「Mu, that .. but isn't Princess Flora a witness?」

Even if it was only one person, the opinions of the royal family could not be ignored just like that.

However, if he had no witnesses, it would have been a different story.

He could ignore the two remaining girls who chose to remain silent.

"Yes nih . Also, it was .. Duke Euguno strongly urged that we admit it was Rio's fault. 」

「I hope a lot. 」

"What are you gonna do?"

The teacher who reported waiting for Garcia's decision.

「It would not be funny if His Majesty the King was deposed by Duke Euguno due to an insignificant incident. Sacrificing one life is a small cost to pay. Making reckless steps will only do a little bit to make the problem worse. 」

「Then, I will hand over the report to the Royal Palace that shows Rio as the perpetrator. Is that okay? 」

「Let's see ... Duke Euguno can use this to handle the Royal Palace smoothly. At least this supports popular opinion. 」

To be honest, Garcia wasn't worried about uncovering the truth.

The highest priority was to not let the incident spiral out of control. Pushing up mistakes is an easy scenario. If he sided with the majority, there would be no problem.

「Then, I will prepare a report for the Royal Palace according to the one we discussed. 」

* * *

Three days after the field exercise ended, Rio slipped back to the royal capital.

The royal capital is huge.

Therefore, it was impossible to seal the entire city within the castle walls; people were free to come and go in areas outside the walls.

On the other hand, it was necessary to show identification in order to access the inner area surrounded by walls.

The Royal Institute was located in one of the inner areas, but that did not stop Rio from entering through unconventional means.

Secretly gathering information over the past few days, he learned that he was already considered dead.

The district where the Royal Institute was located was surrounded by formidable walls in addition to having guards stationed at all the entrances. However, thanks to Rio's extraordinary physical ability that aided magic, passing through the walls was just a simple task.

Since infiltrating during the day would attract too much attention, he waited until nightfall and walked towards his destination through jumping from roof to roof.

（I hope you are okay but ..）

Rio was about to meet the only person he could trust in the Royal Institute.

He did not want to risk being caught in the middle of the noble district so he circled around the patrolling guards.

After easily infiltrating the library, he walked towards his final destination.

The light from the magic tool leaked through the door slit.

The person he was looking for, Seria, was likely inside.

Knocking on the door, Rio waited for her to come out.

"Who? To come at such a time! 」

Seria opened the door with a pouting expression, but as soon as she saw Rio's face, it turned into an expression of surprise and relief.

Rio immediately gently covered his mouth with his hand as he was about to cry unintentionally.

「Sst ~ Sorry, please don't make a fuss. I'll tell you everything in a minute. 」

Tone, atmosphere, manners. Seria instantly realized that the boy in front of her was really Rio. Tears began to flow in his eyes as he hugged her.

「Rio! You, you live! 」

As a result of Seria's short stature, her face was right in front of her when she looked up.

Rio was already taller than Seria.

「Ah— Sensei, please calm down ... Sigh .. as I thought, I was already declared dead huh ..?」

Closing the door hurriedly, as they were inside, Seria bombarded him with questions.

He had already wished to be considered dead, but there were other things he wanted to know as well.

「Please tell me what happened! I heard that Rio fell off a cliff and died during a field exercise. Even worse, Rio was treated as a criminal that put the life of Princess Flora at risk. 」

「Uhm ... I am responsible for endangering Her Majesty Princess Flora?」

It was a development that was slightly beyond his expectations.

However, after hearing the facts, he was immediately convinced.

「As I thought, they are really all engineering. Tell me, what really happened? 」

Seria believed that it was impossible for Rio to take such a henious action.

Rio smiled thinly.

And then, he began to summarize the events that happened.

「What the fuck is that !? Let alone being innocent, isn't that a good deed worthy of a medal of honor !? … But, you're in a pretty dangerous situation right now. 」

Hearing that story, Seria became angry.

However, his expression turned into one of worry in an instant.

"Religion . It's been arranged to frame me as the one who tried to kill a member of the royal family. 」

Rio could instantly guess what was weighing on Seria's mind.

「If they find out that Rio is still alive, it will be a disaster ... That's right, you will definitely be executed. 」

Imagining the kind of treatment that Rio would receive, Seria made a bitter face.

The handling of this case may have been decided by the court.

After the higher-ups made up their mind, it was impossible to reverse it.

Let alone an ordinary person like Rio who did not have any support.

No matter how much he pleaded not guilty, the outcome could be easily guessed.

「Maybe it's best for you to leave this kingdom. 」

The only conclusion he could draw was that Rio left the kingdom.

The current situation is no joke.

Rio had planned to leave after graduation.

However, he had no choice now.

"…You are right . 」

Seria also did not want such results.

However, he could not prove his innocence.

「Well, somehow I'll set it up. 」

Rio spoke cheerfully.

Fortunately, he had enough money saved up so even lower class nobles could live luxuriously for two years.

Most of the money he received from saving Christina and Flora remained untouched.

「But if you are arrested for visiting me ..」

Seria spoke in an apologetic tone.

"I'll be fine . If it wasn't for Seria-sensei, I wouldn't have been able to gather the necessary information. You also believe my story. I'm so grateful, Sensei. 」

「Rio ..」

「I was satisfied just by telling Sensei about my survival. I will prepare for my escape and leave after that. 」

「Rio, will you be okay? I am worried . Should I come too? Do you have enough money? 」

Rio smiled wryly at the attention of Seria who was like an older sister.

「There will be a commotion as sensei also disappears3. Also, since I did not need to spend a lot of money at the Institute, most of my money remained untouched. 」

"I saw…"

However, Seria still felt uneasy.

Understanding his anxiety, Rio spoke what appeared in his mind at that moment.

「I intend to go to Yagumo, the hometown of my deceased parents. Please do not worry, I will periodically send Sensei letters under aliases during my trip. I promise you that this is not our last meeting. 」

As expected, it would be a great shame if a prominent lecturer at the Institute received a letter from someone named Rio.

However, he could avoid that risk by using an alias.

"Very? Doesn't it? I'll never forgive you if you forget okay? Also, I'm not too sure but isn't Yagumo really far away? Isn't that dangerous? If you find it impossible, you should come back here, OK? 」

At her suggestion, Seria once again hugged Rio with a smile.

Since he was finally able to ease his anxiety, Rio began to consider various possible names to use as aliases.

* * *

Christina visits her little sister who has been hiding in her room for the past few days.

If given a choice, he would rather not tell the truth.

However, it was a duty given to him by his father.

When Christina entered the room, she saw a distressed Flora sitting restlessly by the window.

「Flora. 」

「Onee-sama!」

Seeing Christina's presence, Flora answered her brother in a weak voice.

Looking at Flora's state, Christina thought it would be better to remain silent. But he knew it was a waste because Flora would find out the fate of the boy sooner or later. He strengthened his resolve and called his sister.

「Decisions have been given in connection with matters concerning the incident. Alphonse received a one-month reprieve, Stead was determined not to be guilty, and lastly ..Rio had been charged with attempted murder of a member of the royal family and sentenced to death. It is currently unknown whether he is still alive or not, but a gift has been issued for him. He is also at the top of the list of people being searched. 」

「A— Why was he charged with attempted murder of a member of the royal family !? Moreover the reward !? !?

It was the reaction Christina expected.

The incident this time became political chaos so a compromise had to be made.

As a member of the royal family, Christina understood that.

However, Flora was not.

Currently, Duke Euguno held the most support in the royal court. Although the opposition was only a minority, Duke Albo could not be taken lightly.

Although Helmut lost his position in the royal court five years ago, it did not stop Duke Albo from trying to re-establish his political influence through his son.

The two noble factions had very different opinions on how the kingdom should deal with the Proxia Empire, which was located on the northern border of Bertram Kingdom.

Duke Euguno's moderate faction insisted on maintaining a strained relationship with their northern neighbors and preserving the kingdom's power. On the other hand, Duke Albo's hardline faction insisted on an attack against the Proxia Empire.

While Duke Euguno's faction currently held the most influence, if they faltered here, the balance would be more favorable to Duke Albo's faction.

It would not be surprising if a civil war broke out.

Therefore, Christina understood why her father, King Philip III, approved Duke Euguno's proposal.

Things would take a turn for the worst if Duke Euguno lost his position now.

Duke Euguno himself used every possible means to ensure there would be no obstructions for his successor.

He even went so far as to organize all the testimonies of the students belonging to his group to be matched.

Commoners were comfortable scapegoats for him.

It was easy for him to change something from white to black4.

「I understand your feelings, but the problem is solved. 」

Her kind-hearted sister has yet to understand the dirty side of politics.

If possible, Christina wanted her sister not to have to dirty her hands with such affairs in the future. That's his sincere wish.

「... No, I can't take it!」

Suddenly shouting, Flora jumped down from her bed and ran away from the room.

He can't bear it.

He can't take it.

His expression speaks a lot.

「Flora, wait!」

Trying to stop Flora that she never imagined could show such anger, Christina exclaimed nervously.

However, Flora directly headed to their father's office without hesitation.

An Imperial Guard Knight stood outside the office door, but Flora barged into the office without noticing the bewildered guards.

"Dad! The principal!"

For some reason, the headmaster of the Royal Institute, Garcia, was also present.

However, Flora immediately turned her attention to Philip III.

「... Did something happen? Flora 」

He could roughly guess the reason behind Flora's intrusion, but he never thought he would act so aggressively.

Philip III widened his eyes in wonder at his completely different attitude.

「In relation to the incident a few days ago, I believe the verdict is unjustified. 」

Again with this problem? Philip III could only sigh in his mind.

「... You know Flora. Listen to what I'm saying. I can't believe you're lying but please, please ignore this incident. 」

「Cih, why did you also say such a thing !? He saved me and fell off a cliff as a result! Moreover, you charged him with attempted murder of a noble family !? And you're Principal Garcia, why did you make up that report !? 」

「Yeah, there's nothing like it. I just recorded the student's testimony. 」

Garcia smiled like a jolly old man. That's one full of confidence.

The Household Family and the Duke's nobility had a deep connection. The Aib of the subject is not entirely unrelated to royalty. When the time comes to judge, it is necessary to choose the lesser of the two evils. In this case, the lives of ordinary people deserve sacrifice to uphold our honor. I'd like you to understand this because you also carry royalties in your blood. 」

Philip III lectured his daughter from a logical point of view.

Although Flora was intelligent, her gentle disposition did not allow her to accept her explanation.

He's afraid of revealing the dirty truth.

「Ugh ..」

Flora wanted to understand the father she loved so much.

He could always understand before this incident.

However, no matter how hard he tried, he could not understand it at the moment.

Nevertheless, the father before him currently had the aura of a king, not a doting father.

His subconscious told him that it would be futile to argue further when he was like this.

"I understand…"

He could barely get those words out.

That's hurtful.

It was much harder to tolerate than he had imagined, the pain was.

「Princess Flora, as a member of a privileged class you will often have experiences like this. You must not let your emotions control you. 」

Garcia's advice is not something a child can do. First, even he did not follow his own advice on certain occasions. Of course he did not voice his thoughts out loud.

「Garcia, don't bully my cute daughter too often. 」

「Yeah, allow me to apologize for that. 」

After being lightly reprimanded by Philip III, Garcia chuckled and made an apology.

Not sure whether Rio was still alive or not, Flora could only pray for his well-being.

That year was the 996 Sacred Calendar. Five years and six months had passed since Rio's birth in this world.