Face to face with the Emperor of Emperors

"... their side only passed on the color…"

Sigurd spoke softly under his breath, not bothering to materialize those words with magic.

"Raise your head, my child. You're saying you hoped to meet me… In such case, would you be interested in completing the on-the-job training course in the knight training facility under my care?"

Sigurd cleared his throat and spoke up, using magic to convey the message to the deafened girl.

"..."

For a moment, Melinda froze up. Her saying that she wished to meet the Emperor of Emperors was pure lip service and nothing more - but of course, she couldn't say that out loud.

Similarly, admitting that she would prefer not to be under the watchful eye of the royal family would be just as bad of an idea.

The gold-haired girl thoroughly enjoyed the freedom that the dismissive behavior of the Jade Academy's staff had towards her and, if possible, would like for things to stay that way.

...there was also the rather bothersome timing with the Royal Hydra claw...

Not to mention that now, as she thought about it, she wasn't sure whether completing the course in the facility under one of the royal family members was even allowed.

But of course, saying any of it out loud and to the older man's face would be disrespectful.

"Your majesty, that… that would be amazing…!"

Therefore, Melinda did her best and hoped she would sound positively shocked when she responded.

"Your majesty, I can explain! The protests of the parents…!"

"...who allowed you to get up, boy?"

Interestingly enough, hearing her words, headmaster Vendro'in jumped to his feet and called out hastily, but Sigurd merely straightened his back and spoke in an ice-cold voice without sparing him a single glance.

"!!!"

"...?"

The headmaster trembled and dropped back to his knees, lowering his head to the ground while amused Melinda watched the whole thing play out.

She had no idea what was said, and she was out of the loop for the reason things were playing out as they were, but she could at least figure out that Vedro'in had something against her accepting the offer.

…and she could use it to get out of this potentially sticky situation…

"Your majesty, as this one said, that would be amazing, but unfortunately, this one has already completed that course."

"...!"

Melinda took a deep breath and called out, causing the headmaster to flinch while Sigurd turned back to face her.

"..."

"...?"

For a moment, her golden eyes met his grey ones. For a moment, Melinda felt something odd - she could swear that she saw sharp eyes just like that old man's before, but she couldn't exactly say where.

Was it in this world or in the game? Maybe back in her past life?

She tried to remember, but in the end, she couldn't tell.

"You did?"

The man, unaware of the girl's inner turmoil, asked, moving his finger to create the words.

"Yes. Although this one believes that the person in charge of the facility she worked in went missing the day after the end of the course and the report card was missing…"

Melinda shook off the confusion and focused on the matter at hand, playing the role of a troubled little girl trying her best to explain things properly. She tried extra hard and fidgeted around when mentioning the missing report card to give the headmaster time to make a decision.

Taking the lifeline that Melinda has…

"That's right! Student Fenrioette has already completed the on-the-job training course! Th-the report card ended up falling between other documents while my secretary was tidying the office, but it was not found! Here it is!"

Melinda couldn't even finish her own thoughts in peace because headmaster Vendro'in threw himself at the opportunity and exclaimed, rushing over to his desk and pulling a forged report card that hadn't been acknowledged before.

She could not hear him, but his actions spoke louder than words.

"Student Fenrioette got the recomendation on her own, I had no…!!"

"That's a shame… Although you must have been quite troubled with the report card missing since the beginning of the second semester…"

Headmaster called out, trying to gulp down a nonexistent saliva as his throat was dry as dust, but words got stuck in his mouth with a single glare from the Emperor of Emperors, who then addressed the gold-haired girl.

"It wasn't that long, your majesty. This one completed the course mere days prior to this meeting."

"..."

Melinda tilted her head innocently and corrected the misunderstanding… only that it wasn't a misunderstanding at all, and the face of the headmaster caught in a lie lost any color that it began to regain.

"...did something happen…?"

"Not at all. Headmaster Vendro'in isn't feeling too well at the moment. You may return to your studies."

The gold-haired girl could see that there was something off about the situation and asked, attempting to make her voice be full of worry and not curiosity, which seemed to work as Sigurd shook his head with a lighthearted smile and assured her with floating light-blue words.

"In that case. This one wishes both of you gentlemen a good day."

Melinda nodded and curtsied, both intrigued by what the real reason for her summon was and relieved that it was already over.

"...wait…"

The thing was that as the gold-haired girl was straightening her back and turning around to leave, the Emperor of Emperors made a shockingly sad expression and moved his hand as if he was about to reach for her but stopped herself.

Sigurd didn't use magic to project his words, so it was obvious that he didn't mean it to be heard, but it just so happened that Melinda kept her eye on him just in case…

"...is there something bothering your majesty…?"

Surprising even herself, Melinda turned back and stepped towards the older gentleman.

Coincidentally, both in the game's lore and in her own past life, Melinda's grandparents didn't live long enough to meet her. There were a few situations that would make her feel that she had missed out on the experience of being a grandchild.

She was also a witness to some unfortunate situations, which made her think that if she had grandparents, she would never have acted the same way as the people in those situations.

…and it just so happened that the sight of a sad old man triggered that exact response despite all odds…

"...!"

"...!"

The two of them stared at each other with their sharp eyes, both equally shocked.

"Forgive this old man his antiques. I know that people of Diamondium are not particularly religious, and young ladies are very particular about their hair, but would you allow me to send you off with a blessing?"

With the kind of face Sigurd made while coming up with an excuse made it clear that he had no intention of letting Melinda see him like that.

Alas, there they were, so he came up with the first excuse that came to his mind.

"..."

The gold-haired girl lowered her head so that the older man would not notice her hesitation.

There was nothing wrong with the request, but having someone who could rip her head off even when she had all of her defense stat put his hand on her head was a rather terrifying thought she would prefer not to entertain at all.

"Your majesty, that would be an honor."

But in the end, Melinda trusted in the strength of the common sense of the Emperor of Emperors, who should be well aware that harming her would bring terrible consequences for both nations, so she lowered her head even more and spoke, hoping that she sounded as if she was deeply moved by the offer.

"..."

Seeing her like that brought out just the strangest reaction from the old man. For some reason, he appeared to be holding back tears but unable to stop a smile of happiness as he raised his hand and placed it on Melinda's head.

"..."

The blessing should be followed by specific words asking the goddess Perseverance to keep the person safe, but Sigurd remained silent.

"...?!"

Melinda would not be able to hear him anyway, but her eyes widened in utter confusion when she felt the gentle touch softly patting her fluffy hair.

It wasn't as much a blessing as a grandparent patting their grandchild's head, and honestly, it made Melinda feel nostalgic for the relationship she never had a chance to experience.

"...y-your majesty…?"

"!!!"

The two remained like that long enough for the prostrating headmaster to speak up in confusion, making the Emperor of Emperors flinch and hurriedly take back his hand.

"Ekhem… yes, thank you, little on… young lady."

Sigurd cleared out his throat and said, making the words appear right in front of Melinda's face so she would know that it was time to straighten her back.