Cartas returned to his home immediately after finishing his meeting with the King.
Although he still had unfinished work, the King’s errands took precedence above all else, which was natural for Cartas.
He told his wife, who was surprised by his earlier return than usual, to call their son, Miro.
Perhaps sensing the atmosphere around Cartas at that moment, his wife went to call Miro without a word.
Cartas’s house, even as a captain, was not that large, and thus had no study.
For this reason, Cartas waited for Miro in one of the guest rooms.
“Father, did you call me?”
As Miro entered the room saying that, Cartas let out a sigh inwardly.
He had been questioning himself about where he had gone wrong in Miro’s upbringing on the way home, but he still couldn’t find an answer even after seeing Miro.
He could only regret it, wondering if that fact itself was proof that he was spoiling him.
Seeing Miro with a puzzled look, not understanding why he was called, Cartas opened his heavy mouth.
“In two days’ time, you are to fight a girl in the academy’s arena.”
“…Huh?”
At the sudden declaration, Miro’s face went blank for a moment, and then he immediately tilted his head.
“What do you mean? Who is this ‘girl’?”
From the look on Miro’s face as he said that, he seemed to have absolutely no clue.
Cartas felt both happy that his son could now hide things from his parents and conflicted, wishing he hadn’t realized it through something like this.
To Miro, who was still tilting his head, Cartas casually tossed him a document.
“Just skim through it, it’s fine.”
Watching Cartas maintain his unyielding attitude, Miro hesitantly started reading the document.
And within a few lines, Miro’s face was engulfed in surprise.
“W-What is this!? It’s exactly like you’re saying I’m the culprit!”
“That’s right. To be more precise, it means you and your companions did something foolish.”
The document brought by the King concluded that multiple people, including Miro, were involved in this disturbance.
Of course, Cartas, who belonged to Razek Amamiya’s subjugation force, did not think for a moment to doubt the investigation results.
Seeing his father looking straight at him without any emotion, Miro waved his hands in a flustered manner.
“N-No! I don’t know anything!”
“Ah, I thought you’d say that.”
Cartas replied so easily, and Miro looked at him with a blank expression again.
“Eh…?”
“Don’t you understand? The moment that signature is there, it doesn’t matter if there’s evidence or not, it’s all irrelevant now.”
Miro was robbed of the momentum to retort by such a rough opinion.
The document Cartas showed Miro bore the clearly legible signature of King Towa.
Merely that alone would likely mean few in Razek Amamiya would doubt its contents.
Furthermore, the signatures of the Prime Minister and the country’s sole general were also written on it.
With such an arrangement, there would likely be no one who would doubt the document.
It was to that extent that those three had earned absolute strength and trust within the country of Razek Amamiya.
Pointed out by Cartas, Miro hurriedly checked the signatures at the end of the document.
Indeed, there was a joint signature from the three.
“N-No way…”
Regarding the joint signatures of these three, it was something hammered into students from the beginning at the academy.
Therefore, Miro understood that no matter what he said, the outcome was already decided.
Watching his stunned son, Cartas continued emotionlessly as ever.
“You’ve done something quite foolish. Or did you think you’d never be caught? Unfortunately, when you become an adult, you’ll see schemes like that countless times?”
Miro continued to stare at the document in silence, even after being told to, so Cartas continued.
“However, why on earth would you do something so foolish to someone important to the country? Even if you were truly infatuated, there are other ways, aren’t there?”
“N-No! I didn’t mean to!”
Miro, who reflexively spoke out, suddenly realized something and fell silent again.
Seeing this, Cartas felt relieved inwardly.
Cartas had given up on Miro taking a high position in the country due to this incident, but he was glad that Miro wouldn’t have to lose his life or be put in a similar situation.
If Miro had continued to lie until the very end, Cartas had considered such a drastic measure.
Since they had avoided that by a narrow margin, he felt relieved.
Of course, this had absolutely nothing to do with the decision made by the King and the other two.
This was solely Cartas’s own resolution.
Without showing any of these thoughts, Cartas continued looking at Miro.
“Is that so. Well, your feelings don’t matter anymore. In any case, make sure you participate in the duel prepared by the academy. If you run away, you could be expelled. Ah, and sick leave is not permitted either.”
“…”
“Whether you’re sick or healthy, when it comes to a fight, the enemy won’t hold back. Think of it as practical training for that.”
As Cartas spoke in a dismissive tone, Miro looked at him with a pleading gaze.
“Father…”
“What is it?”
“Do you think I can win?”
Cartas let out a sigh at Miro’s question.
“How could I possibly know that? I’ve never met that girl Miku, nor have I even seen her from afar? How am I supposed to judge?”
Conversely, he continued, once you see an opponent, you can roughly gauge their strength.
In fact, Cartas was able to hold his captain’s position precisely because he possessed such an ability.
However, in reality, Cartas would have his confidence shattered upon seeing Miku, but that was a story for later.
Cartas sighed again at Miro, who remained silent.
“No matter how you struggle, the result will be known in two days, so knowing your opponent’s strength now won’t change anything. Besides, the penalty this time is participating in the duel; winning or losing doesn’t matter. It’s a valuable opportunity, so just give it your all.”
Cartas spoke in a detached manner, but Miro shook his head from side to side.
“Why did it have to come to this…”
“What are you saying now? Even if your companions invited you, I thought I raised you with enough discernment to distinguish between what’s right and wrong…
He thought this, but as a result, it had ended in complete failure.
Cartas thought to himself that he was the one who should be lamenting, but he deliberately didn’t say it.
He decided that was his kindness as a father.
In the end, the father-son conversation concluded as a unilateral announcement.
He hadn’t intended to let Miro argue in the first place, but the signed document seemed to have had a considerable effect.
Furthermore, Cartas was even told to attend the duel in two days.
Cartas had already intended to witness the results of his son’s blunder, so he agreed without hesitation.
What’s more, he was curious to see why they would make his son duel a girl.
He would come to realize later that the King and the other two would not do anything that wouldn’t serve as a punishment, but he wouldn’t recall this until after seeing the girl’s fighting style.
