I Became the Second-in-Command in a Romance Fantasy Novel

Seeing the battle-hungry princess who suddenly challenged me made me feel very much like I was in the Kingdom of Leon.
"Are you confident?"
"I'm a woman who grows stronger every day!"
Her confident attitude suggested she had gained some insight.
Well, judging by how she seemed to have organized her usual wild energy, it was clear she had indeed grown.

"I beat Prince Ellen in the final exam, you know?"
"What?"
At that single phrase, the eyes of Princess Hestia shook violently.
She looked utterly unable to believe it.
"But I won the overall first semester grades!"

That was true.
Unfortunately, Prince Ellen narrowly won first semester overall with top marks in swordsmanship and first-year scores.
I had hoped for extra points from resolving the terror incident, but since a separate reward was planned, the additional ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ points were moderate.
"Is that really true?"
Prince Ellen, who ranked first, muttered displeasedly, but Princess Hestia looked even more shocked.
Admitting that she won overall meant she was accepting defeat at finals.
Given Princess Hestia’s mindset of “winning in the end,” she would definitely feel like Ellen lost to me.

"No, no way..."
Replacing Ellen, who was becoming unpredictable, Princess Hestia challenged me boldly.
But then she heard that I had defeated Ellen while she was away.
"Is... this the power of the Sword Master?"

In a way, she couldn’t deny it because the Sword Master had helped greatly.
Though treated like a punching bag, it was true that I helped with skill.
Being able to hold out in finals was possible because I had experienced the Sword Master’s sword multiple times.
Had I not known the Sword Master’s sword, I probably would have fallen two minutes earlier.
"I... I want to study abroad too..."
"Do you think that’s possible?"
Before being a princess of Leon, she was someone graduating the academy in the second semester; suddenly studying abroad in the second semester was highly unlikely.

"Ugh, ugh..."
She glared at me full of frustration, but there was only one thing she could do.
"Show me that amazing skill of yours!"

With that competitive gaze, I sighed quietly and nodded.
"Ahh!"
I lightly tapped the crown of Princess Hestia’s head about fifteen times and won decisively.
"Why didn’t you go easy on me?"

After easily defeating Princess Hestia’s challenge, she ran away claiming next time she would definitely win like Team Rocket.
That was the last I saw before I officially returned to the kingdom.
Prince Ellen was dragged away by the king and queen.
I met with the commander to handle the things I couldn’t before.
"Princess Hestia is like a weed."

Not a fitting description for a princess, but she was someone who, the more she was stepped on, the more passionate she became to win.
That was why I couldn’t understand the original world line where Prince Ellen’s defeat led Princess Hestia to give up the sword.
I wondered how Ellen could be the cold-hearted type while Princess Hestia put down her sword.
"I know that too. Just take it easy. Do you want to get grabbed by Lucia’s collar after being back in the kingdom for half a year?"
The reality in front of me was more important than any useless original world line.
I sighed and asked the commander about the kingdom’s situation, mentioning Senior Lucia.

"I heard Lucia is running for student council president. Is that true?"
Even before entering the academy, I had heard rumors of tensions between academies, but living there, I realized it was more serious than expected.
Especially, swordsmanship cared about the Leon Royal Academy, and magic cared about Dale Royal Academy.
Even if I stayed still, information from my hometown academy reached my ears amid the empire’s heartland.
"That’s right."
"She’s not the type to do something like that, right?"
"Of course not. She wouldn’t bother herself with such troublesome things. The princess forced support on her because she wanted a carefree experience."

I got a rough picture.
Princess Hestia didn’t want to take on the bothersome job of student council president, but there must have been something she wanted among the things the president could do.
"Isn’t it difficult?"
"No? It’s actually too easy, that’s the problem."
"Really?"
"Students’ support is extraordinary."
Even with the backing of a princess, it wouldn’t be easy.

"Is Lucia popular?"
"Very. She calms things down before the princess causes trouble and cleans up after."
In short, she was the one preventing disasters and minimizing damage when they happened.
"Why isn’t there someone like Lucia in the empire?"
"That’s why you’re doing it."
"Exactly the problem."

I wanted to live comfortably, but I was studying abroad in the empire, acting as a damper.
The more I thought about it, the more annoyed I got. What the hell are those empire guys doing?
"You’ve worked hard. But will more incidents like that happen?"
I was briefly upset at the commander’s carefree words but quickly calmed down.
Honestly, that was the normal response.
Who would think the academy at the empire’s core was about to be breached repeatedly like an automatic door?

"There’s no law against something that happened once happening again."
"Come on, the empire isn’t that stupid."
The commander laughed playfully, but I wondered if he could keep that smile months from now.
"Anyway, it feels like Senior Lucia is confirmed for the kingdom’s academy. And Dale will be handled by the Blue Tower Lord’s disciple, right?"
"How did you know?"
"There’s a lot of rumors at the academy."

His expression suggested the information was accurate.
"You guys say the student council president is likely to be reelected?"
"Unless something big happens."
According to Violet, until some of the current romance fantasy group challenge the presidency next year, the student council president will not change.
It was really unfortunate.
Considering how badly the semester one terror incident went, every time something happened in the future, things would likely get chaotic again.
And they wouldn’t be able to run away before graduation and would have to take the presidency.

"You’re not interested, right?"
"Am I crazy?"
No sane person would want to take on something as bothersome as student council president.
Even if Prince Ellen suddenly recommended me for it like Senior Lucia, the possibility of me becoming president at the empire academy as a foreign exchange student was nearly zero.
"So, is it true?"

I narrowed my eyes and glared at the commander.
The reason I immediately started talking about the academy after returning to the kingdom was not random.
"Is the exchange event really happening?"
There were strange rumors spreading among academies.
A planned event for student exchanges among well-known academies across the continent — centered on the empire academy, Leon, Dale, and others.
Our original-story loyal Violet laughed at the rumor, saying it wasn’t in the original, but since the original had already been twisted, it wasn’t surprising.
And my own thoughts were...

"...Apparently, yes."
Unfortunately, it seemed exactly right.
"There’s someone powerful in the royal academy strongly supporting the exchange."

Unfortunately, I immediately pictured the person.
"Senior Lucia?"
"More precisely, Princess Hestia, who backs Lucia."
"..."
Though it was an impious thought, I wondered if it wouldn’t be better if Princess Hestia just proceeded as in the original.
According to Boradol, the original Hestia who quit swordsmanship was a much more reserved character.

"What about Dale’s reaction?"
"More positive than expected."
"When? This year? Next year?"
"Almost decided for this fall but delayed due to terror incidents."
From what I heard, it felt like the exchange event was going ahead in the original story, but the empire academy incident caused a delay.
And as incidents continued, it was ultimately stopped.
However, in this world line, Silence retired early, and some influential figures, including Princess Hestia, supported the event.
"It will probably be held during the empire’s founding festival."

The commander’s words meant the royal family was considering it positively.
Of course, since it was an exchange among many academies, it wouldn’t proceed just because the royal family supported it.
But for some reason, Dale also strongly supported it.
The empire, to restore its wounded pride from the terror, was extending its influence to other kingdoms.
"Unless something happens, it looks like it will proceed as planned."
Looks like another time bomb set to explode.

#2 Kingdom correspondent, codename Boradol.
The kingdom is rotten — that’s fantasy common sense.
Though it’s a bit hard to understand.
Considering my past life’s medieval times, corruption among clergy isn’t strange.
But unlike before, here the goddess still lives and moves.
She even occasionally appears to give Daisy prophecies, but with that ability, she should be striking down the corrupt clergy.
Yet the goddess of this world is clearly incompetent.

Compared to that, our Daisy was truly capable.
Even in the original, she noticed the kingdom’s corruption and worked to fix it.
Now, too, she noticed the corruption and tried to normalize things.
But, contrary to the words,
the process was going in the exact opposite direction.
"…Daisy?"

In the original, Daisy and friends found the kingdom’s rot and tried to expose it with the help of the male leads.
"Confess your sins."
"Ugh!"
But the current Daisy charged at the corrupted clergy on the spot.
Grabbing their collar, choking them until they could barely breathe,
and with cold eyes and a chilly voice, she spoke to the clergy caught right there.

"Aren’t you ashamed under the heavens?"
I was left speechless.
No, Daisy, that’s too radical...
You’re still going through the process of becoming a saint, and that guy still has loopholes to escape.
In the original, because of that, she struggled and only prepared during summer vacation, finally normalizing the kingdom in the second semester of her second year.
"In the name of the goddess, I will judge you!"

A brilliant light began to fill the area around Daisy.
It was so dazzling it could spark faith just by watching.
The light on her entire body started to gather into her left fist—the one not grabbing the collar.
"Sa-Saint!"
"Please wait!"
Other clergy seemed to realize what Daisy was about to do.
They hurried to stop her.

"The goddess’s judgment!"
"Ahhhh!"
Adam said the Holy Punch began to punish the corrupted clergy.