The Oni tribe is a warrior race. From their nomadic days to their current status as a nation, their identity as a warrior race has remained unchanged.
The number of horns, their placement, skin color, physical features, and types of tattoos did not matter; for them, combat was always directly connected to honor. This honor was unrelated to the outcome of battle.
Even if they lost, as long as they fought with sincerity, it was not considered dishonorable. Likewise, fleeing to save one’s life was not dishonorable either.
So what is considered dishonorable? Failing once and never challenging again is deemed dishonorable, as is winning once and refusing to accept a challenge.
Not settling into comfort but constantly striving and fighting—this is the essence of the Oni tribe’s history and identity.
The Mark of Vengeance was born out of this ethos. It had no particularly powerful effects, was not a curse, and did not reveal the location of one’s opponent.
It had only two effects: one was to warn other Onis not to interfere with someone marked as a rival, and the other was to mark someone so they would not be overlooked casually.
In the past, when the Oni tribe was regarded as monsters similar to goblins in fairy tales, this mark was a source of fear for humans and could be purified by the church.
However, thousands of years later, with the Oni tribe’s civilization, very few people worried about or sought purification from the church for the mark.
So, I had forgotten about it. I never thought I would end up fighting with the Oni tribe, let alone that an Oni would be so fixated on me as to bear the Mark of Vengeance, or that this Oni would turn out to be my senior.
Fortunately, my poker face, honed through my acting career, did not reveal my surprise.
“The Mark of Vengeance? Me?”
“Yes. When did I ever fight with you?”
“Uh… Maybe it was when I was beaten by you during a festival?”
Fortunately, the Mark of Vengeance was not only given to those who were rivals or who had defeated the Oni.
It was also given to those who should not reject a challenge from someone who had previously lost to them.
Skadi accepted my explanation without issue. The Oni tribe was known for having fought more people than the number of loaves of bread they had eaten in their lifetime.
Moreover, as a Grand Warrior in the temple of the god of war, she would have dedicated countless battles with hundreds of people to the war goddess during festivals.
Thus, it was only natural that she might not remember me.
Still, she accepted my excuse and moved on. However, she suddenly shifted her focus from the Mark of Vengeance to my combat abilities.
“By the way, the fact that you’re here means you’re the top of the Hero Department this year?”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
“So you’re quite strong, then?”
“Yes. Although it’s embarrassing, I do think so.”
“Really? Then we should fight sometime.”
“Pardon?”
“Since you have the Mark of Vengeance, shouldn’t we have a duel to settle it?”
“Uh…”
Rejecting her challenge on the spot would make me an dishonorable junior. I didn’t want to be marked by a senior before even starting school, so I reluctantly accepted her challenge.
“Then it’s a promise? I’ll be going now!”
She then ran off to her teammates for the performance. Only after she had left did Carl, who was next to me, mutter quietly.
“What can I say… really…”
“Like a storm?”
Leon, who was selecting words to use, agreed with me. It certainly felt like a storm. So much so that Karl was half-wilted.
“Hey. Pull yourself together.”
“Ugh… Has the senior left?”
“Yeah, she’s gone.”
Carl, who spent most of his life in the Mage Tower’s research lab and the rest as Leon’s escort, was the epitome of an outcast. It was only natural that he would be terrified of Skadi, just like a vampire fears the sun.
Well, now that Skadi was gone, I figured he’d recover on his own, so I turned my attention back to the screen. The screen was showing a dance performance set to the traditional music of the Oni tribe.
I had expected to see traditional Japanese instruments, but surprisingly, they were using the gayageum.
As I was enjoying the clear, ringing sounds and selecting a fitting piece for the music in my mind, someone suddenly blocked my view.
“?”
“Hmm?”
A 2-meter-tall hulk appeared, blocking the screen. With his arms crossed, he looked down at me, entirely covered in armor, making it impossible to guess how he was looking at me from behind that visor.
Wondering what on earth this was, I searched my memory but couldn’t recall anyone like him. Leon also looked up at the hulk with confusion, but the guy continued to obscure the screen with his presence.
As the mysterious standoff continued, a female voice called out to Leon from behind.
“Long time no see, Leon.”
“Phia.”
When I tilted my head back to look, I saw a large-breasted woman with flowing blonde hair looking at us. I could recognize her by the sound of her laughter that followed the initial greeting.
Phia Parma.
She was Leon Parma’s half-sister. If Leon was the son of the First Empress, she was the daughter of the Second Empress. Phia was born in the same year as Leon, making me older than both of them in terms of age (important: I’m the oldest).
Although Leon and Phia were born around the same time and might have grown up together, ironically, they were quite estranged. There were several reasons for this.
They had different expected roles, so they could not grow up in the same environment. Leon had to prepare to become the emperor from a young age, while Phia, despite not being considered for succession, had to undergo training as a bride.
It wasn’t that she was a woman; the empire’s succession rights did not discriminate based on gender, and there were historical female emperors.
However, the problem was that she was the daughter of the Second Empress. While the empire permitted polygamy, succession rights were not distributed equally.
Succession rights were typically given only to the legitimate children, not to all children of the emperor. Thus, even though she was born at the same time and to the same father as Leon, she could not receive the same treatment. The expectations and benefits given to children with and without succession rights were different.
However, she rejected such treatment. Stopping her bride training, she delved into subjects like royal studies and political science, making her a competitor for Leon’s succession rights.
What would Leon’s view of her be? There was no need to ask.
“I heard you’re the top of the Political Science Department this year.”
“Is that so? Are you here to congratulate me?”
“No. I’m here to make a declaration of war. Although you took the top spot at the entrance ceremony, I plan to take that position soon.”
“Well, work hard then.”
Looking down at Leon, who was seated, she spoke with a low voice filled with hostility rather than any cute sense of rivalry. Leon merely shrugged his shoulders in response to her hostile gaze.
“By the way, this is the waiting room for the freshman representatives. Are you allowed in here?”
“Of course. I’m a freshman representative as well. I sent an official notice to the academy about giving a speech at the entrance ceremony. Since you took the top spot, I needed to make sure the name Phia Parma would be widely known.”
“So, everything from this morning was your doing?”
“Pardon? Was something wrong?”
“Ugh, never mind. It’s something you don’t need to know.”
I had thought all the chaos this morning was Leon’s fault, but the real culprit was someone else. For a moment, I felt an impulse to slam a file driver into the woman, but I restrained myself, knowing it wasn’t appropriate to do so to a member of the royal family.
Leon, upon hearing Phia’s confession, muttered, “I knew it…”
Unfortunately, Phia Parma lacked the qualities needed to be an effective emperor, and not just by a small margin—she was significantly lacking. Her perspective was narrow, and her social skills were not great.
Perhaps because she had been sheltered, she didn’t understand the repercussions of her actions and lacked the ability to read others’ reactions.
The fact that the emperor allowed her to study royal studies instead of bride training wasn’t because he was a doting father; it was because he knew she wouldn’t cause any serious disturbance in the succession struggle, even if she tried.
This was evident in Leon’s gaze towards her, which reflected not a competitor but rather a younger sister going through an awkward phase.
If Leon had truly seen her as a rival, I would have stopped her before he even needed to give an order. As it was, she continued to chatter by Leon’s side until she grew tired and decided to shift her focus.
“Oh, it’s Allen. How nice to see you. Have you been well?”
“Yeah, I’m good. It’s been a few years, hasn’t it?”
Her impolite tone didn’t bother me. I’m the kind of person who speaks informally even to emperors as long as it’s not an official setting. There was no reason to use formal speech with someone who wasn’t a princess and didn’t have any real succession rights.
Phia’s body, blocking my view, twitched slightly at my informal address. But she was used to my way of speaking and didn’t take it to heart. Instead, she responded with a bright voice laced with a touch of amusement.
“Exactly 2 years and 5 months.”
“You’ve been keeping track?”
“Hmm, it’s a basic quality for royalty, isn’t it?”
“Basic quality? You’d be better off studying something else during that time.”
“Ha ha. I’m already perfect, so I don’t need such studies.”
She brushed off my sarcastic remark with a laugh. Her sudden change in demeanor from adversarial to friendly was surprising but not unwelcome. Unlike Leon, who I only saw occasionally in the halls, I met Phia more frequently and spent time with her.
Although not as often as with Leon, when Leon was busy or when we got into trouble and were banned from the main palace, I would often go to the secondary palace to hang out with her.
In fact, when I played pranks on Leon, I would often hide in her room, a fact Leon still didn’t know.
As a result, I was more like a close neighborhood friend than a rival to her. She knew my personality well. Although I was one of Leon’s closest aides, unlike others in my position, I wasn’t interested in scheming. I preferred a straightforward approach.
So, as long as she didn’t provoke me, I was more likely to protect her from any harm Leon might intend rather than be hostile myself.
Knowing this, she always greeted me with a smile.
“You’ve grown quite a bit since I last saw you.”
“Hmm, I’ve been working hard while you were away.”
“‘Sawyo’?”
“Uh, does it sound strange? A noble lady I met at the tea party last time said that this way of speaking is liked by men…”
“Just stick to your usual way of speaking. We’ll be seeing each other every day at school; do you think you can keep up that way of speaking?”
My comment seemed to make her face turn red as she fanned herself.
“Every day? With Allen? I didn’t expect—”
Muttering something I couldn’t quite catch, she quickly recovered from her embarrassment and returned to her usual demeanor.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
“No problem. You look well, though. By the way, could you ask this friend of yours to move aside?”
At my request, Phia gave a signal to the armored figure, who bowed and stepped aside. Initially, I had thought he was rude, but he seemed to be merely a reserved individual.
With the screen now visible, I saw that the Oni tribe’s performance had already ended. I couldn’t blame Phia for it, so I decided to let it go.
“Hey, isn’t it time for the Warrior Studies Department?”
“Oh, right.”
I had just remembered that I was at the entrance ceremony, not at a performance. Guided by a staff member calling my name, I made my way to the stage.
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