In front of the towering main entrance gate, the guard soldiers on duty were startled by the sight in the distance.
A very long procession of horse-drawn carriages was seen approaching, cutting through the main street.
When the leading carriage of the procession arrived in front of the gate, the guard captain immediately raised his hand, stopping the pace of the horses. He stepped closer and directly knocked on the door of the carriage cabin at the very front row politely yet firmly.
The door opened, and Dean Saires stepped down from the carriage calmly, adjusting his robe.
"What is the purpose of such a large procession heading to the capital?" the army captain asked to the point, his eyes sweeping over the long line of carriages behind.
"I am Saires Lemort, the Dean of the academy from the Astoria Kingdom." he answered in a friendly and diplomatic tone. "We came here to participate in the inter-academy tournament. And this large procession in the back consists of our academy students who came to watch and support our representatives' matches."
The Dean reached into his robe pocket, then handed a scroll of the official participant registration form, representing the Astoria academy in the tournament, to the soldier.
The soldier received the scroll, opened it, and began reading the list of names written there. However, having only read a few lines, the soldier suddenly fell silent. His facial expression, which was initially stern and authoritative, instantly turned stiff.
His eyes widened upon reading the names clearly printed in black ink: Allen Vedegra, Alrain Vedegra, Alvein Vedegra, Arvin Vedegra, and Ordion Vedegra.
Why did that monster family send five of its descendants here all at once? the soldier thought in horror, cold sweat beginning to seep down his temples. Who knows what kind of destruction will happen in the tournament arena later.
However, because they were an official delegation from the Astoria academy and their documents were complete, the soldier rolled the parchment back up and had no reason to hold them back. He then nodded and invited the procession to enter the capital's territory.
"Ah... I almost forgot one thing." Dean Saires said suddenly, halting the soldier's steps for a moment. "Among us, there is a delegation from the Flamort Kingdom that coincidentally joined our procession in the back row."
Hearing that, the captain nodded professionally. "We will also check the participant registration form from their side."
Dean Saires nodded in understanding, flashed a faint smile, and then stepped back up into his carriage.
After the brief inspection process for the Flamort Kingdom delegation was completed without a hitch, all the carriages immediately moved to enter the bustling streets of the Victoriaz capital.
The presence of dozens of horse-drawn carriages from foreign kingdoms instantly became the center of everyone's attention. The city residents paused their activities for a moment, stood by the side of the road, and stared curiously. Whispers about the arrival of the large group began to spread from mouth to mouth like a gust of wind.
After cutting through the capital's streets, the carriage procession finally arrived and entered the front square of an incredibly large and grand academy building, the place where the participants had to be re-registered.
The carriages pulled over and stopped perfectly. Not long after, all the students and the board of teachers alighted one by one in an orderly manner.
The sheer number of carriages lined up neatly in the host academy's square caused the local students passing by the area to become frantic. Furthermore, they realized that the procession was a combination of the Astoria Kingdom and the Flamort Kingdom.
"Since when did the Astoria Kingdom and the Flamort Kingdom have such good diplomatic relations that they could depart together?" an upperclassman student whispered to his friend, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Isn't it common knowledge on this continent that the Astoria Kingdom has a history of bad relations with the Flamort Kingdom?"
"Yes, you're right!" the student next to him chimed in with a wondering tone. "I was also surprised to see the delegation from the Flamort Kingdom joining the Astoria Kingdom's academy procession so calmly instead. What is actually going on here?"
Amidst the crowd and inquisitive gazes, the door of one of the carriages opened. Everyone inside the cabin began to step down.
However, what instantly silenced the whispers and froze the atmosphere in the square was the presence of Arvin, Allen, Alrain, Ordion, and Alvein. The five of them stepped down with calm paces, wearing grand robes with the same emblem fluttering elegantly on their respective backs due to the gust of wind.
The emblem with three ice crystals arranged perfectly to form a triangular pattern successfully seized the absolute attention of all the students and academy staff around them. The atmosphere turned tense.
"What... am I not seeing things?" a student whispered with a trembling voice. "Why are there direct descendants from that family participating in the tournament this year?"
"That monster family didn't just send one representative, but five people at once?!" another student whispered, taking a step back due to the invisible intimidation. "What will happen to the tournament this year? This is going to be a one-sided massacre!"
Hearing the terrified whispers surrounding him, Arvin, who was standing amidst his four spouses, actually felt very satisfied.
Excellent! Arvin exclaimed joyfully in his heart, his eyes sweeping over the crowd staring at them in horror. Be shocked, all of you! This fear is absolutely perfect! With a reputation like this, my access to the royal library will surely go very smoothly without any rejection, all to find that cloning magic book!
Lost in his future plans, Arvin unconsciously let out a faint smirk to himself. That mysterious smirk made his four spouses look at each other, and successfully made Kylen, who was standing not far from them, feel both disturbed and bewildered.
Without further ado, the prince from Flamort stepped forward.
"Hey, Arvin!" Kylen called out while patting the blue-haired youth's shoulder quite hard. "Why are you suddenly smirking to yourself like that in the middle of a crowd? Your face looks ugly when you smile like that!"
Arvin was slightly jolted, his reverie shattered after receiving the reprimand from the prince. He turned his head, staring at Kylen with his signature flat face.
"So, indirectly you just praised that my face is originally very handsome, huh?" Arvin replied casually, deliberately twisting the logic of Kylen's words.
Hearing that spot-on counterattack, Kylen's eyes widened.
"H-How could I possibly mean it like that, idiot!" Kylen dodged quickly. His voice was loud, but his expression showed a very clear panic. His face started to blush. "You are ugly! Extremely ugly! Don't be too overconfident!"
The excessive denial spoken by the prince made Arvin's four spouses only able to sigh in unison.
Good grief... Allen complained in his heart, staring blankly at Kylen. This prince is truly the type of person who finds it hard to praise openly and prefers to deny his own feelings instead. Even though his flushed face already shows very clearly that he indeed admires my husband's handsome face.
Idiot prince! Alrain said, exasperated in his heart. If you really like him, just say you like him! Why must you yell incoherently? I truly cannot comprehend this person's line of thinking...
What's wrong with this crazy prince? Ordion thought in wonder but no less exasperated. What is so hard about being honest with his own feelings? Truly troublesome.
Meanwhile, Alvein looked at the interaction with a highly innocent analytical gaze. Is this human trait what my Master used to often call a hypocrite? What his mouth says and what his heart says are completely contradictory! It truly makes me wonder.
Arvin himself was not offended by Kylen's insults at all. Instead, he felt entertained.
"Say whatever you like." Arvin said, responding to the denial with a flat tone. He then looked right into Kylen's eyes, lowering his tone of voice slightly. "But if I must be honest, when you are panicking with a flushed face like that... your face is quite cute."
"S-Shut up!" Kylen exclaimed, growing even more panicked. His face was now perfectly flushed up to his ears after hearing Arvin's words. His heart was pounding wildly. "Even if you say that disgusting thing, I don't feel happy in the slightest! Remember, our bet is still valid in the tournament later!"
"Whatever you please..." Arvin replied, too lazy to entertain him any further, intentionally letting his bait work on the prince's 'shy but willing' nature.
Ignoring Kylen, who was still acting flustered in his spot, Arvin turned his head and looked at his four spouses one by one with a gentle gaze.
"Come on, let's go inside now!" he invited calmly, then led his family's steps entering the main gate of the Victoriaz academy.