Seirei Gensouki ~Konna Sekai de Deaeta Kimi ni~ (Volume 1)

Chapter 12: False Charge

The field exercise ended on the evening of that day. Currently, the headmaster of Royal Institute was racking his brain on how he should handle the matter.

「It's been reported that the responsibility for causing the group to deviate from the established course lie on the sons of Duke Euguno and Marquis Rodan. It's a fact that Princess Flora nearly fell off the cliff as a result of their actions.」

Hearing the report of the incident from the teacher in charge of the field exercise caused the headmaster of the Royal Institute, Garcia, all kinds of worry.

The students strayed from the established route which had been confirmed to be safe, and deliberately entered the forest endangering the princesses' lives.
Furthermore, they were attacked by a swarm of goblins.
The series of events were allowed to happen because it was backed by a number of influential nobles.

When he first heard the reports, he unintentionally ended up seriously considering an escape plan.

「Although there were a handful of injured students, thanks to the presence of several『Heal』users, it didn't become a serious problem. One is dead, or rather should I say, missing. The student's name is Rio.」

Garcia breathed a sigh of relief since it was a problem that could be ignored for the time being.
Fortunately, there were no serious casualties among the members of the royal family and nobles.
There seemed to be a single casualty according to the reporting teacher, but it appeared that the teacher did not want to make a big deal out of either.
Garcia was extremely grateful for that.

「That former orphan youngster, huh. Well, this must be a blessing in disguise.」

Not to mention that Rio did not have a guardian much less parents.
To the kingdom, he was only a mere commoner.
It could be argued that the King who recommended Rio was his guardian, but after he entered the Institute, the King completely disregarded him.
Garcia was told to only notify the King if he noticed any suspicious movements.
Since the King had to remain vigilant of the factional disputes within the Royal Court, he had no time to spare for a boy whose background was dubious at best.
There were simply not enough resources to spare for such trivialities.

Therefore, it was not particularly a problem if one such person disappeared.
Far from grieving, it was completely someone else's problem.

「Only one problem remains. It's regarding the person who caused Her Highness Princess Flora to nearly fall off the cliff.」

Garcia's stomach ached just thinking about how unpleasant it would be to deal with the issue.

「Alright, let's hear the story. Please continue.」

Despite his outward calm demeanor, it was only a facade forged with age.

「Firstly, the majority of the students including the son Duke Euguno insist Rio was responsible. On the other hand, only Her Highness Princess Flora of the royal family claims otherwise. However, there doesn't seem to be any reliable eyewitnesses. Her Highness Princess Christina and Duke Fontine's daughter have both chosen to remain silent.」
「Mu, that... but wasn't Princess Flora a witness?」

Even if it were only one person, the opinion from the royal family could not be disregarded so easily.
However, if she did not have any witnesses it would be a different story.
He could ignore the two remaining girls who chose to remain silent.

「Yes. Also, that... Duke Euguno is strongly pressuring for us to acknowledge it is Rio's fault.」
「I expected as much.」
「What will you do?」

The reporting teacher awaited Garcia's decision.

「It won't be funny if His Majesty the King is overthrown by Duke Euguno over such an insignificant incident. Sacrificing one life is a small cost to pay. Making a reckless move will only more or less serve to worsen the issue.」
「Then, I shall submit a report to the Royal Palace indicating Rio as the offender. Is that alright?」
「Let's see... Duke Euguno can use this to smoothly deal the Royal Palace. At least this favours the popular opinion.」