“Which of the newbies do you like?”

The palace maids were chatting to each other.
Not about work, but about which of this year’s newcomers they thought were good catches.

“I think they’re all good this year.”

Not new maids though.
What these maids were discussing were the newly-arrived apprentice knights.

“If it’s the Eastern Dormitory, I guess I’d choose Percil-kun. With his gla.s.ses he just looks so intellectual!”

“Doug-kun has a nice face too, doesn’t he. His blonde hair is so silky, and his exotic features are really alluring.”

“Speaking of handsome faces, Rizil-kun’s got a really good face too, you know.”

“But his hairstyle is a bit…”

“Yeah…”

“Luca-kun’s not bad either. The way he’s kind of pretentious and a bit of a playboy reminds me of Crow-sama.”

“Don’t lump Crow-sama together with a guy like that!” snapped another maid.

“Hey, don’t. Kiria is a fan of Crow-sama so she’ll argue with you every time.”

“Ehh, but I thought they were pretty similar.”

“I guess they are in some ways, but the feeling you get is a bit different. Crow-sama gives you a frank feeling, while Luca-kun really does seem pretentious.”

“They’re not alike at all!”

“D-, Don’t argue with me too… Geez, this is your fault, Selia.”

“Ehh? My fault!?”

The atmosphere turned weird as Kiria continued to stubbornly insist that they weren’t even remotely similar.
One of the maids experienced with mediating conversations decided to try and change the subject.

“Then what about the Northern Dorm?”

“I think Geith-kun is good.”

“It’s cool how he’s silent and a little mysterious.”

“What about Xelius-kun?”

“He’s got a nice body. His face is manly too.”

“G-Gorms-kun!” shouted a blus.h.i.+ng maid.

All the other maids looked at her dumbfounded.

“Umm, that’s a little…”

“That’s…”

“Well, I understand what you mean but that isn’t the kind of manliness we mean right now, so let’s pa.s.s on him.”

“Eehhhh…!?”

In the end, the maid who mediated earlier pa.s.sed on the girl who suggested Gorms.

“Then what about Remié-kun?”

“Ahh, he’s kind of adorable, huh. And he’s really polite too.”

“He speaks to us with a smile!”

“Speaking of adorable, how about Heath-kun?”

“Heath-kun?”

“The small one!”

“Aahhh. He really is leaps and bounds beyond everyone in that respect.”

“Yeah, but a guy who’s even smaller than me is a bit…”

“But he’s so cute when he smiles.”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s like the smile of an angel!”

“The smile of an angel, huh. I guess that might be what it looks like.”

Without any idea that the maids were talking about them, the boys of the Northern Dormitory were about to once again engage in their afternoon training.
But the sight that greeted their eyes today was different.
Next to Instructor Hislo was a boy Fii had never seen before.

Dark skin, platinum blonde hair, and exotic features that seemed to hail from some distant country. His height was neither short nor tall.
With a serious expression, the boy was standing there with his hands behind his back.

And for some reason the other boys became noisy upon seeing him.
Fii had no idea who he was though. But well, she had been in this country for less than a year, so perhaps that was natural.
In a whisper, Fii asked the nearby Gorms,

“Is that kid famous?”

With a slightly serious expression, Gorms nodded.

“Yeah. He’s another champion from this year’s knight apprentice exams.”

As the boys were still talking noisily, Hislo raised his voice.

“Silence! Today we have a transfer student. Because he wished strongly for it, he’s transferred from the Eastern Dormitory into the Northern Dormitory. His name is Doug, and he’s an apprentice knight with the 1st Division, as well as the disciple of Kaisar-sama, His Majesty Roy’s old fencing instructor. His sword skills were taught to him directly by Kaisar-sama. That should give you guys something to think about. Doug, introduce yourself.”

At Hislo’s prompting, Doug took a step forward.
Fii had thought that his introduction was about to begin. So did everyone else.
But what came out of his mouth was completely different.

“Which one of you is the apprentice named Heath?”

“Heh…?”

Fii’s eyes widened in surprise upon hearing the sudden mention of her name.
Everyone turned at once to look at her. And apparently that gave her ident.i.ty away. Following that, Doug’s grey eyes turned her way.

Although he muttered “This tiny kid…?” as he widened his eyes in surprise, the seriousness returned to his expression in an instant. Thrusting his sword towards her, he announced,

“Heath. I’ve come to challenge you. A one-on-one challenge as men. If I win, I’ll have you pa.s.s your position in the 18th to me!”