“…Who are you?” asked Luna, and everyone gulped.
“Eh? Erm, you called me…?”
“I didn’t call you. I called Maro Burn.”
Everyone present was quite visibly confused at her statement.
But, that was only natural. After all, I was the only one in the whole world who knew what was going on.
“Umm, Luna-sama, he is Maro Burn.” Alice said instead of Maro whose eyes were darting all around the place out of incomprehension.
“…Fufu, I see. So that’s how it is.” said Luna with a smile, then turned to Alice. “Alice, do you by any chance know a black-haired boy? He’s slightly taller than you, and his looks aren’t that bad either, but he has rather expressionless eyes and is quite uncouth. Still, I somehow cannot hate him… Does any of that ring a bell?”
“Black hair… uncouth… no way…!”
Alice’s gaze stabbed through me with pin-point accuracy and furious power.
Unable to escape, I tried to widen my nostrils, scrunched up my face, and pursed my lips together.
It was an impromptu disguise. Luna and I were standing quite far apart from each other. Also, it had been over a week since we’d met. I doubted she would remember my face all that well.
“…That’s him. Bring him over.”
It was no use.
A slightly angry Alice pulled me over to Luna.
“Alice, what is his name?”
“…Yuno. Yuno Astorio.”
“Hee… that’s unexpected. You’re quite famous.” Luna said, laughing, her gaze almost skewering me.
“Yuno, I’ll give you an opportunity. Swear loyalty to me right now and become my knight.”
The hall was filled with unease.
“P-p-please wait! What is the meaning of this!” said Maro wildly, perhaps having run out of his already short patience.
“Ara, you’re still here? It’s alright, you may go now.”
“Wh–! What the hell! Who do you think I am!”
“The second son of count Burn, Maro Burn, am I wrong? Don’t worry. I’ll remember you. Anyway, I heard your father made a rather careless blunder at a tea party hosted by my father the other day, so I really do hope he is doing well?”
“Ugh…”
Maro’s face blanched.
“Good, that’s it. Now be quiet for a while.” Luna said calmly to Maro, then turned back to me.
“So? You haven’t given me an answer yet.”
“Luna-sama! Please wait! Why did you choose Yuno out of all people!?”
“There is a rather simple reason. I have taken a liking to him.”
Alice seemed rather upset.
Then, Maro opened his mouth again.
“Erm, with all due respect… you should also know, Luna-sama. He’s the third son of the Astorio family, famous for his incompetence!? Why do you want to make such an incompetent person your knight!?”
“Who allowed you to speak? And if he was that incompetent, then he would have lost against you in those mock fights… or am I wrong?”
“T-that’s because he already made a contract with a god! He can’t use any weapons apart from the spear, which he can only use due to having received the ‘Spear Arts’ skill when he made the contract! Without a spear, he’s completely useless! A complete small fry!” Maro said excitedly, his words becoming ruder the more he spoke.
Luna seemed to fall into thought for a moment, then elegantly covered her mouth with her hand.
“Hee, what an interesting statement. So you’re saying Yuno Astorio cannot use anything other than a spear… Is that true, Alice?”
“…Well…”
I felt like she was looking out for me, as she just bit her lip, not answering.
However, her silence was the same as admitting that was true.
“Fufu… I see… great… so, if I were to give him this dagger, he wouldn’t be able to do anything with it?” Luna asked Maro, taking her dagger out of her pocket and showing it to him.
“O-of course! ‘Spear Arts’ only activates when holding something long! He wouldn’t even be able to wound a goblin with that!”
Hearing that, a rather evil smile crept onto Luna’s face, as if she had heard something really interesting.
Not good.
Based on what Maro had said, the way I had saved her didn’t add up.
“So then, Yuno? Please hurry up with your answer.” Luna said with a commanding tone.
Hmm, how do I escape this…
My feeling from back then had turned to conviction. Luna wasn’t someone I wanted to get involved with.
Desperate for help, I looked towards Ein.
…She looked away.
With that, my ‘Actually, I’ve already chosen someone’ plan was out of the window.
Wait no, actually…
“Luna-sama, I am terribly sorry, but I actually already have decided on someone.” I said, and for the first time that day, annoyance flashed across Luna’s face.
“…Hee, that’s a surprise. Could you please introduce them to me, then?”
I knew she’d say that.
I glanced towards Athena and winked at her.
– ‘Kami-sama! Please, help me out!’
Staring at me for a moment, the look on her face then turned proud with ‘Leave it to me!’ written all over it.
All right, we can do this!
I stood right next to her, and said full of confidence “I will be her knight.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Luna-sama. I have chosen Yuno-san to be my knight.”
Athena said, bowing her head.
It felt slightly off, but… whatever.
Alice was glaring at me with a really scary face, but it didn’t seem like she would interrupt.
“Ara, what a pretty girl. I haven’t ever seen you before; which class are you from? Since you are most certainly not mine. Class one? Or class two?”
Athena seemed to think for a while, before–
“C-class o-one!”
She said with a perfect smile.
And, the beautiful smile on Luna’s face went up a notch as well.
“I see, class one. Still, how strange. We only have the classes flower, bird, wind, and moon here.”
We’d been had!
“That’s enough, just give up already. Or would you perhaps rather be expelled for the crime of impersonating a noble? You’d be in a bit of a bind then, would you not?”
…All is lost.
She was probably somehow aware of my situation. And the fact that she might actually say something about it terrified me even more.
Luna… really is scary…
And that was it. We were in front of so many people. And if I had still tried to resist, it might have caused Athena’s reputation to be lowered as well.
I gracefully went down on one knee and bowed my head.
“…Luna-sama. Please tell me. Do you think Yuno’s better than me?” Alice asked Luna with a serious face.
“Hmm. I do not know. However, I do not think he is as incompetent as everyone seems to give him credit for.”
“…I see.” Alice said meekly, nodding.
Then she turned to me with a satisfied smile on her face.
“Honestly. I never would have thought you of all people would stand in my way like this. …Please take care of her. I won’t forgive you if she gets hurt!”
…Alice, you likely came to this academy because of your promise with Luna. And yet you… You really are a wonderful childhood friend.
“So, Yuno. The oath.” Luna said with a triumphant smile.
Seriously, this really has become a pain.
I looked up at her, steeling myself.
“As of this day, as the third son of the Astorio family, Yuno Astorio, I swear that I shall become the sword of Luna Flame and tear through and destroy anything that might harm her.”
I had no choice but to go along with it.
My environment might have changed with this, but my goal hadn’t.
Burning Athena’s smile into my mind, I began thinking about what troubles would pop up next.
“Fufu… I have a feeling this won’t be boring… right, Yuno?”
That day, I became the knight of the ‘Solitary Moon’, Luna Flame.
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