Lancia, who had been quietly listening to Ian’s story, could not contain her curiosity and finally spoke up.
“Wait a moment… I have a question.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Hey, you said you’re a baron.”
“That’s right.”
“Then… what about your summon?”
Normally, a summoner could only have one summon in their lifetime. While there were rare cases where summoned beasts were inherited from parents or passed down to cadets, such occurrences were uncommon, especially in a baron’s lineage.
Lancia had assumed that Theresia—the summon that shattered her spear earlier—was his only summon, while the other two were summoners rather than summons.
“All three are my summons.”
“That… That’s impossible.”
“Why would it be?”
“The chance to summon a summon comes only once per person. But you have three.”
“Are you saying it doesn’t make sense that I summoned all three of them?”
“Exactly.”
“And why do you think that?”
“Because it’s never happened before.”
“No, it has happened before.”
Lancia frowned, recalling the founding hero, the first emperor. Did Ian dare compare himself to someone of such historical significance?
She narrowed her eyes at him. Was he insane?
Yet, as she observed him, she realized that his gaze was steady, his expression unwavering. He didn’t appear to be lying.
“…I’m not crazy.”
Despite this, Lancia remained unconvinced. After all, those who had lost their sanity often believed themselves to be rational. Even if his eyes were clear, that didn’t necessarily mean his mind was sound.
That was what she thought—until Ian spoke again.
“Hey, guys.”
Swoosh—
As soon as Ian gave the command, his summons vanished one by one into the back of his hand.
Lancia initially suspected it was some kind of magic trick. However, as a summoner herself, she immediately recognized the truth.
These were indeed summons, and Ian was a summoner who possessed three of them.
“I… I can’t believe it… No.”
“If you can’t believe what you see with your own eyes—”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Since the time of the first emperor, no one had ever been able to control multiple summoned beasts at once.
Lancia was stunned, unable to close her mouth as she continued to stare at Ian.
An academy cadet with three summons…?
If he was in the academy and she didn’t recognize him, then he must be a freshman who had enrolled this year.
She had just graduated, so it made sense that she wouldn’t have met him before.
“Did you say your name was Ian?”
“Yes.”
“Let me ask you something.”
A young, handsome academy cadet who could summon three summons…
If they could recruit him to the Eastern Front, it would be a game-changer.
This meant that Ian wasn’t just an exceptional summoner—he was also an incredibly valuable prospect.
“Are you married?”
“…What?”
“No, you’re still a cadet… then, do you have a fiancée?”
If she could secure him, wouldn’t that be a great boon?
Lancia took a bold step forward, determined to win him over.
***
Fortunately, Ian wasn’t kidnapped on the spot.
“Lancia, what exactly do you mean by this?”
“…Father.”
Strike Ariel, the Duke of Ariel, had appeared and immediately reprimanded Lancia.
The moment her father showed up, Lancia, who had been trying to charm Ian, quickly shut her mouth and lowered her head, wondering what punishment awaited her.
Fortunately, the scolding she had anticipated never came. Instead, something completely unexpected happened.
“Ian Clark… I’ve heard your name before.”
“You have?”
“I heard that His Majesty the Emperor has taken an interest in you.”
“It’s not that much of a big deal.”
“Not a big deal…? I just received a message, from the imperial capital.”
“…What?”
“It was an order to provide support for Ian Clark near the Clark Estate. Your family’s estate is only a few hours away on horseback.”
However, there had been no reports of anyone arriving at Ariel’s territory from a neighboring estate on horseback.
In other words, Ian must have traveled here through an unconventional route.
“…There must be a tunnel somewhere around here.”
“So, you figured it out?”
“The Duke of Eritz warned me earlier. He said they discovered a tunnel dug by demons within their territory and told me to be cautious.”
Yet, despite the duke’s best efforts, he had been unable to locate this tunnel—until now.
And the one who had found it… was an academy cadet.
As a duke, this was nothing short of humiliating. He must have been questioning whether he should fire all the mages in his domain.
However, those very same mages now had a job to do.
“Where exactly is it?”
“It’s over here, my lord.”
“Lancia, I wasn’t asking you.”
“…I apologize.”
The duke silenced his daughter with a single, sharp remark before turning back to Ian.
“I will assign you a mage and a knight. Take them with you to that tunnel and have it sealed completely. Is this the support you were requesting?”
“…Yes, Duke.”
Ian was stunned by how easily the duke had granted his request.
As expected of a duke—he wasted no time.
“Now, go. Lancia, accompany him and assist him.”
“…Understood.”
Though she was a duke’s daughter, Lancia had no choice but to follow orders, even if it meant assisting a baron’s son.
Shortly after, Ian, accompanied by Lancia, gathered a mage and a knight before setting off toward the tunnel’s location.
* * *
Lancia led the family knights and mages to the tunnel where Cadet Ian had emerged. The mages, who had initially dismissed the idea, were taken aback when they discovered the tunnel and immediately began their investigation.
While the mages examined the tunnel, the knights stood guard, maintaining a vigilant watch over the surroundings.
“Aren’t you going to answer me?”
“… What answer?”
“You’re avoiding me. It is about what I said earlier.”
Meanwhile, Lancia continued to pester Ian. He felt extremely uncomfortable but couldn’t simply push her away in this situation.
‘This is insane.’
If she had fallen for him at first sight, Ian would have preferred she at least showed some decency. Instead, she kept following him around.
What made it worse was that she showed no intention of giving up, no matter how much he pushed her away.
Of course, Ian wasn’t naive enough to say that love was the only reason people could date. But there had to be at least some mutual understanding for that to even be a possibility.
“No, absolutely not. Are you serious?”
“Hmm? Why?”
“Well, for one… .”
“It’s not just empty talk. I know I’m attractive.”
Saying this, Lancia smiled confidently.
“Back in the Academy, I received confessions daily. I’m so confident in my looks that I don’t think there’s anyone who wouldn’t fall for me.”
“You’re not my type. Does that answer your question?”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“… Why not?”
“If I fit your type, isn’t that how men usually respond to beauty?”
Unfortunately for Ian, Lancia had an extremely narrow view of men. Did she seriously think that just because a woman was beautiful, men would automatically fall for her?
That might be true for fools who thought with their lower halves instead of their brains. In fact, if this were just any other situation—whether in real life or back at the Academy—Ian wasn’t sure he would have had the confidence to reject a woman like her.
However, her intentions were painfully obvious now. She wasn’t approaching him out of genuine feelings, but because of the political advantages of uniting the East and the Ariel family.
That kind of opportunistic thinking didn’t appeal to him at all.
“I think you’ve only been around men who lack self-respect.”
“Hmm… Now that you mention it, they were all lousy b*stards.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not that easily swayed.”
“Then how can I win your heart?”
Lancia’s endless questions were beginning to wear on his patience, but before he could voice his frustration, a scream echoed from inside the cave.
“—AAAH!”
“… We’ll talk later.”
“Got it.”
Ian and Lancia immediately realized the urgency of the situation and rushed down into the cave. The mages working inside were already fleeing toward the tunnel entrance.
“Save me—!”
Fwuak!
The upper half of a mage, who had been screaming for help, was suddenly severed from his lower half. His body collapsed to the ground. Ian looked at the fallen mage, then turned his gaze toward the demons standing beyond him.
[—The tunnel has been discovered.]
“So, I was right. Something felt off.”
[I didn’t believe you when you said that.]
“You should have.”
Two demons stood before them—one cloaked in dark, flickering shadows and the other with the face of a cat. Both radiated a terrifying amount of energy.
Ian immediately recognized them as high-ranking demons. Their intelligence and sheer presence were on a completely different level.
Lancia, upon spotting them, extended her arms protectively in front of Ian.
“Ian—can you run?”
“… Why?”
“There’s no way the two of us can take on two high-ranking demons alone. Even you should run—.”
“What nonsense are you spouting? Come on out.”
Ignoring the terrified Lancia, Ian stepped forward and summoned his creatures.
Two 3-star summons and one 4-star summon.
On paper, their power wasn’t enough to take down two high-ranking demons.
But—.
[You must be insane.]
“What’s the matter? I’m just enjoying myself.”
Ian’s summons were different.
“Empress, hit them hard before they can react.”
“Understood, Summoner.”
Fwoosh!
The Empress raised her millennial tree staff, charging it with magical power.
The demons, sensing the overwhelming energy, realized too late that something was wrong.
“One step at a time.”
“Deadly! Star Light Breaker!”
A powerful beam of energy, reminiscent of something a magical girl from a certain island nation might unleash, shot toward the demons.
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Check out my other projects: Roughly an Isekai Hypnosis Story (er0-novel)
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