The negotiated amount of sponsorship from the Keria family was beyond imagination.
No, I’m not even sure whether that could be called a proper negotiation.
The one in charge of discussing the amount had definitely been Ran.
However, what Ran had said wasn’t meant to raise the amount.
“If you sponsor us that much, there’s no guarantee the Keria family won’t try to influence our team later.”
“If we don’t give this much, we’ll lose face.”
“You said it would be regular sponsorship. I think it would be better to keep things reasonable and lower the amount.”
If anything, she had tried to lower it.
Even considering the influence our team had had on the western front, the amount was a bit excessive.
On our side, the amount was far too large for regular sponsorship, so we felt burdened by the influence it might bring in the future.
On their side, if they didn’t give this enormous amount, they would lose face.
Amid that strange, tense standoff, Ian casually tossed out a single remark.
“Sweet as hell.”
We decided to just take what they gave us.
***
There wasn’t much to speak of during the vacation after the deployment ended.
Just like before the break, I exercised, studied, and entrusted Ian with custom work.
Ian hated it, but he didn’t refuse to do the custom work.
After all, now that we had regular sponsorship, it would have been a waste not to make use of it.
Not a single one of us thought of using the sponsorship money for comfort or luxury.
Custom work. Only custom work.
Aside from that, there weren’t many interesting things.
At least, as the vacation drew to a close, a few interesting rumors began to circulate.
The most famous rumor was that Levan had exerted tremendous influence on the northern front.
From what I heard, he had been deployed in a large-scale surprise attack operation and had single-handedly shot down a double-digit number of Titans.
“I shot about thirteen of them, and smashed two more with my mace. After that, the enemy base was empty.”
“I-I see.”
Needless to say, I heard it directly from the person himself.
I hadn’t been particularly curious, nor had I asked, but as soon as his deployment ended and he returned to the Academy, he came straight to me and started bragging.
From what I heard, he didn’t have many close friends at the Academy.
Though he definitely wasn’t close to me either.
And when the vacation ended and the second semester was about to begin, a second rumor started spreading.
“They say he’s ranked 28th.”
“Now the western front will have some face.”
“The Empire’s support will start coming in earnest, so the situation on the western front will change too. There’ll be no need to keep up the appearance of losing once the tide of battle shifts.”
The subject of the rumor was me.
Since I was on the bus heading to the lecture hall for the first time in a while, I kept hearing people talk about me.
I wasn’t particularly focusing on it, but there was no helping the fact that I could hear them.
Fine, I admit it.
I was starting to enjoy the attention a little.
Until now, what I had felt from other people’s gazes was contempt, or something close to baseless hatred.
Now it was different.
Envy, jealousy.
Respect, acknowledgment.
And competitive spirit.
Honestly, they weren’t bad gazes to accept.
The bus still had no partitions, but the only thing that had changed was the way the other cadets looked at me.
Even that much was enough to keep my body from trembling.
That said, it was awkward to meet those gazes directly, so I stared out the window and did my best not to react to the prickling attention.
Clunk.
That was what I intended to do, but suddenly someone sat down beside me.
“Well, if it isn’t the hero of the western front.”
That voice.
“Huh.”
Darka Sinis.
Tap-tap-tap.
Metal fingertips struck his palm as he lightly clenched his fist.
It was still a crude prosthetic arm.
He definitely had money, so I couldn’t understand why he insisted on using a prosthetic like that.
“The rumors about you are everywhere. It wasn’t easy to filter out only the truth from them. In some ways, some parts of the rumors almost sounded more believable.”
“R-rumors?”
“Yes. Some said you defeated 133 enemy Titans with just 13 Titans.”
Wow, so you know King-God-Emperor Chungmugong.
No, that’s not the point.
“Th-that’s way too much of a l-lie.”
“Yes, I know that already. So when I looked for the truth, this time I found out that you fought alone against over a hundred drones and Fafnir and successfully carried out a bombing operation.”
Darka’s smiling expression suddenly twisted into a frown.
“I’d rather believe that the 13 Titans each took down ten enemies, but this is actually the truth, isn’t it?”
“Ah, well.”
“They say you absolutely crushed the Allied Forces.”
I belatedly remembered.
This person was the kind of human who had been conducting black-market deals with the Allied Forces behind the scenes.
Even if he was favorable toward me, I had inflicted fatal damage on the Allied Forces, so of course he wouldn’t feel—
“It’s refreshing, honestly. Those western Allied Forces bastards can’t even fight a proper Titan frontal battle, yet they strut around with their drone technology. It was disgusting to watch.”
Huh.
When I made an ambiguous expression, the corners of Darka’s mouth curled up.
“Exceptional genius and idiotic political ability. Yes, you do need both of those to qualify as a hero.”
That doesn’t sound like praise.
Clang!
Darka flicked the fingers of his prosthetic hand. It made a sound like a tin can.
“The western Allied Forces are aligned with the eastern Allied Forces, and the southern Allied Forces with the northern Allied Forces.”
Huh.
“They weren’t all one Allied Force?”
“On the surface, yes. But that’s only to make themselves look bigger. What they each want is completely different.”
“Wh-what do they want?”
“Hmm.”
Darka propped his chin on his metal prosthetic hand.
It looked incredibly uncomfortable.
“That is the tricky part. Not many people know the goals of the north and south.”
“What?”
They were in the middle of a war, yet they were holding the front line without even knowing the goals of the enemy they were fighting?
“For now, the southern Allied Forces don’t actually want war. They simply want our Titans. I suspect they only want enough military power to protect themselves.”
It was nothing more than Darka’s guess, but precisely because it was the seller’s opinion, it had some credibility.
“Ah, th-that’s why you sold—”
Clamp.
A cold prosthetic hand covered my mouth.
“I did what?”
Ah.
There were a lot of people on the morning bus.
This definitely wasn’t something we could talk about carelessly here.
“The northern and southern Allied Forces call themselves liberation armies, while the eastern and western Allied Forces call themselves rebel armies.”
Those names sound the same.
“Those names sound the same, but.”
Darka shook his head.
“In reality, they’re different. At the very least, the southern Allied Forces I know don’t want to fight the Empire. Perhaps even the Empire knows that much.”
“They know?”
“A very small number of the commoners in the Academy are children of people from the southern Allied Forces. If you look carefully around you, you’ll probably find at least one.”
No, I already had one.
Ian.
I see. The Empire already knows about people from the south, but since there’s no need to bother them, they leave them alone.
Though it was hard to feel reassured when I had nearly died after being shot and blown up in a Titan.
“Ah, right.”
The bus stopped.
Just as I was about to rise from my seat, Darka grabbed me firmly.
“The reason I came to you today is that someone is looking for you.”
“M-me?”
No, why now, of all times, when there are plenty of other times?
“I-I have to go to my lecture.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. The professor should already have been contacted.”
Then why didn’t anyone contact me?
When I looked at him that way, Darka shrugged.
“It can’t be helped. The chairwoman likes handling things this way.”
The chairwoman?
***
“Hmm, hmm, hmm.”
So that was what Ian had been imitating.
And this was what Professor Sumeragi had meant by pressure.
My entire body was tingling. The fact that Darka was standing behind me was astonishing.
Even with my head lowered to avoid meeting her eyes, my whole body was sending out danger signals, so how on earth could Darka stand there?
Blond hair and blue eyes.
The appearance of a child. From the outside, even if you were being generous, she looked like she was middle-school age at most.
“H-hello.”
“Oh, you finally opened your mouth? Nice to meet youu.”
A monster wearing the skin of a girl.
The moment I felt cold sweat, I wiped it away with my sleeve.
I was certain that I absolutely shouldn’t get on her nerves if I could help it.
After staring at my face for quite a while, the chairwoman gestured backward with her hand.
“Uh, am I leaving?”
“Leave.”
Darka turned around without hesitation and left.
No. Don’t go. Save me.
The moment the door closed, the chairwoman immediately propped up her chin and leaned her face forward.
“I’m not going to eat you, so don’t be scareed.”
It felt like watching a creature from a horror story trying to act cute with a singsong voice.
“Hmm, hmm, hmm.”
Ah, I think I understand why Professor Sumeragi told her not to do that.
Each “hmm” felt like it shaved away one of my bones.
“How strange. I heard you were Ian’s friend and Saya’s friend. I don’t think you’re scared because I’m the chairwoman, or because I’m royalty.”
At the same time, the chairwoman raised the corners of her mouth.
“Then you simply have good instincts. Interesting. At this level, you’re almost on par with Professor Zeke. I can certainly understand why the Luna family wants to keep you in check so badly.”
The Luna family?
The moment I lifted my head, my chin was suddenly seized.
She had definitely been sitting in her chair just a moment ago, but before I knew it, she was standing right in front of me.
“Now, now. I called you here today to do something good for you.”
Something good?
“Some nobles don’t like you very much. Can you guess why?”
“B-because my skills are e-exceptional?”
The chairwoman laughed.
“This is the first time I’ve seen someone say they’re exceptional while frightened. Well, I can’t exactly say you’re wrong.”
“Hmm, hmm, hmm.”
“I’ll be more precise. The Luna family in particular is watching you. Cadet Deep, how much do you know about the Luna family?”
“I-I know as much as I know.”
“If you entered the Academy, you should know the political relationships between all the noble families. No, normally, you wouldn’t need to know, but Cadet Deep, you do.”
“Wh-why?”
“Because your skills are exceptional. I heard all about your deployment too. I think that, like Professor Zeke, Cadet Deep will earn a barony through ability. Then you need to learn about all the nobles before that, don’t you?”
Ah, ah.
I hate that I relaxed a little just because I was praised.
Beep.
A hologram rose up.
It was my timetable.
“From the second semester of the first year, proper lectures will begin, and the content will become more difficult. But Cadet Deep, you’re good at memorizing, aren’t you?”
I was.
Before I could answer, the chairwoman nodded first.
“Then after you finish all your lectures and eat dinner, come to the chairwoman’s office.”
“What?”
“I hate repeating myself. There.”
When the chairwoman tapped the hologram, schedules suddenly filled up my evening hours in a long row.
“Problem solved.”
“Ch-chairwoman.”
“Yes?”
“I-I have club activities too, and…”
“Aha.”
The chairwoman nodded.
“Then you can sleep less.”