Inverse System

Chapter 31 - Royal Gratitude

There was no cheer from the crowd, as they were muted by Rein, who had switched off of that Spring, meaning the effect on the crowd wouldn't last much longer.

Suddenly, someone busted through the west entrance. Rein recognized him all too well. He had green hair, blue eyes on a sheltered face, and wore a broach on his chest. He entered, accompanied by a black-haired knight, clapping his hands slowly.

"Well well well, I must commend you, Chloe. You went and got second place in the Ranger tournament! That is no small feat," said the man, approaching Chloe. At that moment, Rein's hold on the audience members was released, erupting them into a happy frenzy.

"It's the prince!"

"Prince Zane has graced us with his presence!"

Chloe stood there staring at him. "Hello, brother."

"Hm? Is that the guy you lost to? Hahaha! What a goofy-looking dude," he laughed while pointing at Rein. Chloe, remembering that these two have met before, frantically turned around to look at Rein, hoping that Zane didn't recognize him. She saw Rein with his sword unsheathed, and a metal mask on covering his entire head. She was taken aback at how stupid the metal mask looked, getting slightly embarrassed that her brother thought that she lost to an idiot.

"Anyways, you remember the agreement? 'If you could sustain yourself living at Ranger academy, you'd be free to do whatever you liked.' That was what you agreed to. To do that, you needed to win the expense-free luxury dorm. But it looks like you fell short. Father wants you back to your room and under twenty-four-hour surveillance immediately," he informed her.

"But wait! I can still sustain myself! Look, I can go work part-time to pay my dorm expenses! I still get a free ride to the academy, so I won't have to work that much! I ca—"

"Seriously? Do you really think anybody would hire you? Look, I'm just trying to look out for you. Since you showed your horn, everyone here knows who you are. It was smart of you to hide your identity when you first entered, but now that it's out, there's no chance for you to earn a living here. After that rumor spread, you're painfully aware of how the continent views you. Please, just come back to the castle, it's for your own good," he grabbed her arm and began pulling her away, with Chloe not resisting, giving in to her loss. The prince's motion came to an abrupt halt when somebody grabbed his arm.

"Let go," said Rein, who was still wearing the metal mask.

"And who are you?" Asked the prince, signaling his knight, Artus, to not interfere.

"You agreed that if she could sustain herself, she would be free, correct?"

"Yes, and since she lost, she's doomed to fail," the prince bluntly stated.

"She can live with us, in the luxury dorm. There's more than enough space," Rein looked over to Emria and Saphrilla. "Would you girls be okay with that?" He gestured to them.

"Yeah!!" Emria jubilantly responded, with Saphrilla furiously nodding her head.

"What the hell..?" Uttered the prince with a horrified expression on his face, looking in the girls direction.

"What's wrong Zane?" Asked Chloe, concerned.

Zane shook his head, snapping out of the trance he was in. He scoffed to himself.

"Nothing. But really? Sorry to break it to you kid, but only party members can share dormitories. The only reason those two girls are allowed to live with you is that they're family. Do you really think the school would allow a teenage boy and girl to live together"

"I'll allow it!" A familiar voice boomed from the stands.

"What?!" Reacted the prince.

"According to our records, the princess signed up under the boy's name, along with the two girls in the stands. If they are in the same party, they are permitted to stay at the same dorm," announced Julianne.

"Do you realize what would happen if the king heard that? He would bring down the force of thousands of men upon this city," threatened the prince.

"Oh?" Julliane jumped down from the stand and into the arena. She walked up to the prince and looked him dead in the eye. "You think I fear a puny army? I welcome the challenge. Tell him to send as many men as he wants, but I swear as the principal of this school, and on my title as the Auburn Dawn, I will not let any harm befall this city." She exuded a crushing aura around her, more powerful than anything Rein had ever felt before. The prince, intimidated by her overwhelming prowess, backed off in a sweat.

"Fine… I'll tell him that you won the tournament. I'll be taking my leave now, but Chloe, I mean this when I tell you… Be careful. And you, with the stupid metal thing on your face. If you do anything to my sister, it won't be my father you have to worry about," he shrugged Rein's hand off of him, then turned around to his knight and held on to his shoulder, then vanished into thin air.

"Huh!? The prince didn't take the witch with him!"

"Why?! I thought he was here to cleanse this place of that menace!"

"Silence! The award ceremony will be tonight. The next person I hear spout an insult from the crowd," she summoned a large double-bladed sword and held it over her shoulder, glancing around the crowd menacingly. Everyone became quiet.

"And that concludes the Ranger tournament! Please come in for the award ceremony tonight to see the winners presented with their prize! See you all there!"

The two left in the arena exchanged no words. Rein began walking out through the west exit, who was followed by Chloe close behind him. When they got outside, they were ambushed by Emria and Saphrilla, the girls running to hug Rein.

"Yay!! Rein won, and we get to live with Chloe!"

"Indeed. It is quite exciting."

The three guys who were spectating in the crowd also arrived, congratulating them as if nothing happened in the ring.

"That was one hell of a fight Chloe," remarked Quint.

"Right? I was sweatin' my ass off just watching!" Affirmed Reggie.

"Wha? You guys… You know who I am right..? Maybe you haven't heard…"

"We know. We've heard the hearsay about you, and we've seen you in action. We've simply chosen to believe in the Chloe that we know," answered Clyde.

"That's right. There's no way someone who'd cry for my sake would be like what those dumbass rumors said," said Quint.

"You hear that princess? We all trust you. There's no need for you to hide yourself to us anymore," Rein reassured her.

She put her hands on her face as tears of joy began flowing down her face.

"Thank you…"