After discussing a few things with Shingūji Kurono, the man in the black suit left.
Charles climbed into the car, and Kurono sat across from him. She opened the small refrigerator inside and asked, "Want something to drink?"
Charles waved his hand. "No need, but thank you. Please help yourself."
Kurono closed the fridge and leaned back in her seat. "Honestly, I'm not all that curious about your reason for coming to the island nation. After all, someone from Shenlong Temple wouldn't be here for anything shady."
The reputation of Shenlong Temple still held strong—Shingūji Kurono could trust that Charles wouldn't bring disgrace to the millennia-old, honored institution.
She smiled and added, "Still, it's great timing that you've arrived this year! Since I just took over as Hagun Academy's chairwoman, I need results at the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival.
So, as the price for me not interfering with your activities at the academy… you'll need to help out a little, alright?"
Charles recalled what he'd read on the plane. After taking office, Kurono had launched bold reforms.
The school's decline in recent years had largely been caused by the previous chairman's bureaucratic influence, which had led both faculty and students to lose focus.
So Kurono had immediately dismissed a large number of unqualified teachers and decided to determine the participants of the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival through practical evaluations instead of ranking by power levels.
The island nation was steeped in tradition, so Kurono's reforms had inevitably drawn criticism. She was clearly under pressure—no wonder she took this year's tournament so seriously.
Charles replied, "I was planning to participate in the festival anyway. Of course, I'll do my best to perform well."
Kurono raised an eyebrow and asked playfully, "Isn't Shenlong Temple supposed to forbid its monks from entering external competitions?"
Charles responded calmly, "There's nothing to hide. Though I received guidance from Shenlong Temple, I'm technically not a Martial Monk."
That answer only deepened Kurono's confusion. In that ancient country, lineage and tradition were taken seriously—even to the point of sectarian pride. She'd never heard of a situation like Charles's.
Regardless, her interest in this mysterious young man only grew.
As the two spoke, noise suddenly erupted outside. Through the car window, they saw the reporters outside all rush toward the entrance.
Kurono's lips curled into a smile. "Looks like Her Highness the Princess has arrived."
Charles's admission to Hagun Academy was unexpected, but Kurono had pinned her hopes for this year's Sword-Art Festival on several outstanding students already enrolled, including the Crimson Princess.
Stella Vermillion, with the strongest known magic in human history, had already earned the title of strongest student knight.
But what Kurono hadn't told anyone was that, compared to Stella, she placed more faith in a certain repeat student within the academy.
Yes—if those two fought, Kurono didn't believe the strongest Crimson Princess would be able to win against the one generally perceived as the weakest.
And now, she also had Charles—a wildcard she hadn't accounted for.
Charles asked, "Director, aren't you going to help the princess? She looks rather overwhelmed."
Charles had excellent eyesight and clearly spotted Stella Vermillion among the crowd. Reporters surrounded her, flashbulbs going off nonstop since her appearance.
The forced smile on her face told Charles that, if she weren't royalty and bound to uphold her country's image, she'd probably have exploded on the spot.
Thankfully, the princess had a sizable escort, and Kurono's own people arrived soon after. Stella finally broke free from the reporters and entered the car.
Charles took the opportunity to observe the princess carefully.
She had vivid rose-red twin tails, a face as delicate and beautiful as a porcelain doll.
Her ornate knight's uniform emphasized both her nobility and valor while also accentuating her stunning figure.
But… was she really only fifteen years old? How could she be that well-developed? Two years ago in the newspapers, she hadn't shown such potential…
Charles's gaze remained fixed—not because he was captivated by her beauty or physique, but because of her power.
He could feel the fierce, flame-like energy burning around her. Her title as the strongest was well-earned.
But what surprised Charles wasn't her strength… it was how similar her power felt to his own.
That didn't make sense. Stella was said to have a nature-manipulation-type ability related to fire.
Charles had met many people with similar affinities—none of them had ever felt this similar to him.
He was, after all, a Dragon Slayer Mage. His true power was derived from the fire of dragons. And if he sensed a resonance from Stella, her power definitely wasn't just fire.
This wasn't unusual. Many Sword Bearers didn't fully understand their abilities when they first awakened them. Only after training and refinement could they truly grasp their powers.
Stella was likely the same. Her ability was so overwhelming that the surface-level strength alone had earned her the title of strongest. She had never truly explored her power's true form.
If Charles's instincts were correct, Stella's power wasn't fire manipulation—it was related to the legendary dragons.
Most likely, it fell under the conceptual interference category of dragon-type powers.
Stella, although lacking Charles's acute perception, still felt something familiar about him on an instinctual level.
So she asked, "Who is this?"
Kurono, cigarette hanging from her lips, teased with a smile, "The first person Her Highness cares about is a strange boy? How bold."
Seeing Stella flush red with embarrassment, Kurono's mischief was clearly satisfied. She added, "He's this year's exchange student. He'll be joining Hagun Academy with you. Since you both just arrived today, I hope you'll get along."
Charles extended a hand. "Nice to meet you, Your Highness. I'm Charles, from Shenlong Temple. I look forward to learning with you."
Stella reached out with grace and gently shook his hand. "We'll be classmates, so just call me Stella. I look forward to studying with you, Charles."
After their greeting, this slightly airheaded princess suddenly realized what Charles had just said.
"You're from Shenlong Temple?"
Charles paused, then nodded. "That's right. I've spent the last two years training under the Grand Elder there."
Stella lit up with excitement and launched into a barrage of questions. "The Grand Elder? The current Battle God?!
Why did you come to Japan as an exchange student?
What's Shenlong Temple like?
…"
Her endless curiosity caught Charles completely off guard. He had no idea where to start.
Fortunately, Kurono stepped in to save him. "There'll be plenty of time for bonding later. For now, let's focus on your enrollment details."
But Charles didn't feel especially grateful—he noticed the strange grin on Kurono's face.
This chaos gremlin was definitely up to something! Charles instantly went on alert.
But he had no time to dwell on it—because the car began to move.
"Urgh!"
"Director! Charles just died!!" Stella cried out in alarm.
Charles, struggling for breath, forced out his last words: "Don't worry… it's just… I can't handle… vehicles…"
"Wha?!"
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