Chapter 80. < 32. This Man, Not Easy (3) >
Layton Winno had returned.
Just that fact alone made Rumian feel as if he had been saved.
At the same time, he realized anew just how much he had liked her.
It was a completely different emotion from the women he had met at the ball, the ones he had spent time with on blind dates, the ones he had talked with at the Rhodesia bar.
And so he followed her. Without even knowing the exact destination.
He thought anywhere would be fine if Layton Winno was leading him there. He considered what happened last weekend to be a minor incident caused by a trivial misunderstanding.
But it wasn't.
*Creak*
A suspicious building located on the outskirts of the city.
Climbing the stairs in an ominous atmosphere, receiving a guard's greeting, the door opening.
The scene revealed after that was enough to make Rumian's expression utterly wretched.
"Surprised?"
"......."
"Even your surprised face is cute, hehe."
Layton Winno naturally reached out her hand. A server handed her a glass.
A strong scent of alcohol, and something unknown could be felt. She took a sip.
Even then, Rumian maintained a hardened expression.
'What is this?'
It wasn't because he didn't know.
He knew too. That such places existed. That there were people who enjoyed such things.
But he had never in his wildest dreams imagined that Layton Winno would be one of them.
Even the moment she had asked him suspicious questions.
But now he could no longer deceive himself.
"Hoo."
Rumian sighed.
Then his heart felt cleared. His head also felt somewhat clearer.
Freed from his delusion, he was no longer a fresh 15-year-old boy.
He was a 60-year-old veteran knight who had kept his convictions for a long time.
He called Layton Winno's name.
"Layton."
"Hmm?"
"Take just one hit."
*Thud!*
"Puhaha!"
Layton Winno's head bowed downward.
Bright red liquid spurted from her mouth. It was because she had alcohol in her mouth.
Only after coughing for a while could she raise her head.
Wiping her face with a handkerchief, she looked at Rumian with an absurd expression.
"What was that, just now?"
"Education."
"What?"
"If you did something ridiculous, you should receive punishment."
"……Hah? Punishment?"
Layton Winno let out a hollow laugh.
The corners of her eyes turned up viciously. She was still beautiful.
But Rumian thought she wasn't as charming as before.
He said.
"That's right. Punishment."
"Why on earth? No, on what grounds are you……."
"Grounds?"
Fire blazed from Rumian's eyes.
Layton flinched and took half a step back.
Though she hadn't been bothered by Tania's intensity, the situation was different now.
Her throat tightened and no sound came out.
It felt like becoming an insect caught in a tight net.
'How did this…….'
Rumian didn't care.
He didn't accommodate her. Instead, he looked around with a furrowed brow.
Two types of people.
On one side, people outside the cage enjoying drinks and food while clapping, and on the other side, those who had become spectacles engaging in all sorts of shameful acts.
It was terrible.
It was like a place where human dignity was bought and sold.
Rumian didn't even feel the need to explain.
"If you were someone who would understand if I spoke, you wouldn't have brought me here."
"......."
"Even so, I can't help but speak. Hoo."
Rumian, who sighed again, continued speaking.
His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear. And it spread evenly to a far distance.
Therefore, the people who had been focused on the scene inside the cage could also hear it. They turned their heads with expressions asking what on earth was going on, then soon burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! What is that, that kid!"
"He's like a knight from a story. Hey, what is that! Did you call him to make me laugh?"
"No, leave him be. It's fun? Let him keep talking."
Rumian's words weren't particularly special.
Nobles shouldn't simply stand above commoners, they should live with duties and responsibilities heavier than their rights, even if not clean, they should at least maintain a minimum line…….
He was merely reciting one by one the virtues that should be upheld as a knight, no, as a proper noble.
Of course, the people listening around only showed reactions of finding it ridiculous.
"Hehehe, what a sight."
"Hey, now it's not fun anymore. Even bullshit should have its limits."
"What are you doing? He's acting up! Make him quiet or drag him out!"
"Fuck, he's still doing that. Tell him to cut it out!"
Rather, they spat out severe curses with flushed faces.
Seeing this, Rumian shook his head repeatedly.
He hadn't expected something as noble as a clergyman, but the people here were treating him like a strange person.
Layton Winno was the same.
Taking advantage of the moment when Rumian's intensity had lessened, she quickly spat out excuses.
"Who sets the standards of right and wrong? You? When you've only lived 15 years at most, what's the reason you spout things with such certainty?"
"......."
"It may be unsatisfactory to the noble and lofty knight candidate. But, have you ever sincerely thought about the circumstances of the people in that cage?"
"What do you mean?"
Rumian asked in a dry voice.
Layton Winno snorted. Then she recited lines she had prepared in advance.
"Unlike nobles who live comfortably all their lives, for commoners, money is their lifeline. If they can maintain their own livelihood, their family's livelihood, in exchange for selling their pride for just a brief moment…… then can you say those people are wrong? Can you say this place that provides opportunities to those people is a wrong place?"
"......."
"This isn't even an illegal place. It's operated somewhat secretly, but it's a place authorized by the city. It's not a place for a thought-immature, narrow-sighted kid like you to argue as if you're so great."
Hoo, Layton Winno, who finished speaking, caught her breath.
She had a very refreshed expression. Though she trembled a bit, she thought she had properly conveyed what she wanted to say.
Of course, she didn't care even a hair's worth about the people in the cage. To her, they were beings less than bugs sitting on a window sill. But to Rumian, it would be different.
If he was a straight-laced knight candidate, yet a greenhorn whose beliefs weren't perfectly established…….
'He'll feel confused even with this much talk. Because he has no experience.'
Layton smiled.
This was the reason she brought him here.
To corrupt a moral and upright person, one must shake his standards. One must blur the line.
Thanks to the sudden flick on the forehead, she was a bit excited, but it was still fine.
Taking advantage of Rumian's confusion, she would offer an apology first, drink together, and if he got drunk on drugs…….
'He's bound to fall eventually.'
She was confident.
However, that confidence was instantly shattered by Rumian's words that flowed out a moment later.
"You're spouting bullshit."
"……What?"
"I said you're spouting bullshit."
Rumian said with a cold expression.
It was a difficult story. Layton Winno's words contained to some extent the subject that Rumian and many other knights had pondered for a long time.
'Between ideals and reality, where should one stand.'
No one in the world could present a perfect answer.
It couldn't be helped. Reality, morality, even the interpretation of law, there was no answer that fell perfectly like a mathematical formula.
People just act and think as they believe is right.
Then something called conviction is born. That's all.
And as a matter of course.
Rumian Calad, who possessed 60 years of a veteran knight's life, his conviction…… wasn't soft enough to be shaken by Layton Winno's shallow sophistry.
*Bow*
Rumian bowed his head to Layton Winno.
In his raised eyes, complex emotions were melted.
Bitter, regretful, sad, yet somewhat relieved.
He deliberately spoke in a calm voice.
"Goodbye, Layton Winno."
It was a farewell greeting.
Finally severing his relationship with his first love.
Smacking his lips, he turned his body.
He didn't want to see Layton Winno anymore.
No, actually he wanted to see her, but he held back. And he spoke to those standing awkwardly in front of him.
"Let's go, friends."
"……What, you knew?"
Theoro spoke representing everyone. Rumian shook his head.
"I didn't know originally. I figured it out after preaching to Layton for a while. Ha, this is embarrassing……."
Rumian's face turned red.
Since it wasn't a good appearance to show others, his face reddened.
He approached Theoro Suitgarne, Boomer Simpson, and Karl Krone, pretending to punch their stomachs.
"Invading someone's private life, huh?"
"No, well, Theoro said let's go……."
"Theoro did?"
Boomer tattled, and Theoro wore a flustered expression.
Then Karl Krone spoke with an expressionless face.
"He's the romance master. If he's worried, that could happen."
"Well, that's true. Still, thanks for worrying."
Rumian smiled brightly enough to show his teeth. The three including Theoro also let out snickers.
"But, Senior Tania came too?"
"Ah?"
"And even the professor…… what is this? Why did you two come?"
"Well, that…… I came because I was worried too! Is there a problem?"
Tania rather shot back at Rumian.
It was to hide her flustered heart. She looked at Rumian's philtrum instead of his eyes and thought.
'What do I do, I can't look at him properly.'
She already thought the way he handled things at Layton's house was cool.
Seeing him boldly speaking about his upright and proper attitude even in a place like this, her fluttering heart grew even more.
It was quite, very cool. She could feel her heart pounding.
Irene Curtis looked at her with a smiling face.
'Cute.'
That thought naturally occurred to her.
She looked at Tania a bit longer, then spoke to Rumian.
"Sorry. Instead, I won't give you demerit points."
"What are you talking about?"
"You came to a place students shouldn't come to, right? Let's call that even with this."
"What does that…… haah, never mind. Let's go out first."
Rumian waved his hand to send the five people out. Then he also went outside the door.
There, the fallen guards were visible.
He said to Irene.
"Did the professor do this?"
"Yes."
"Is this okay? How are you going to handle the aftermath……."
"Lord of the Krone Marquisate, is cleaning up this much possible for the sake of a friend?"
"Of course."
"Solved!"
"......."
Rumian said nothing.
He just went down the stairs with an absurd expression.
'Still…… it's not that hard.'
Rumian recalled today's events.
It ended up looking like he was the one who dumped her, but a broken heart was still a broken heart.
The short first love had ended emptily.
'Fortunately, these guys are here.'
At first, it was absurd, embarrassing, and slightly annoying.
But still, it was better that they were there.
Just listening to Boomer's nonsense made him feel better.
"Hey, Boomer."
"Huh?"
"Get your act together. I'm going to make a girlfriend again soon."
"You don't need to? Even if you take it slow, you'll get one faster than this guy."
"......."
Karl Krone attacked Boomer again.
It was the moment everyone burst into laughter at his words.
*Wooooong-!*
Just as they were about to leave the building, a vibration was felt from inside.
The six people stopped dead in their tracks on the spot.
'What?'
'What is this?'
'The feeling is very……'
'My body is trembling.'
Theoro, Boomer, Karl, and Tania—these four didn't properly understand the situation.
An unpleasant resonance shaking their insides, a filthy and foul stench. They didn't know that this was a phenomenon that occurred when a demon was summoned.
Therefore, they could only frown without being able to take any action.
'It's a demon! And a powerful one!'
Irene Curtis was different. She accurately grasped the current situation.
The reason she wasn't moving was because she judged that dealing with the demon with their current forces would be difficult.
'It's a high-ranking demon. To catch it without casualties, at least three Experts, no, four are needed!'
She wore a serious expression.
She didn't know why a high-ranking demon was summoned here. But that wasn't what was important.
She needed to call for reinforcements. To do that…….
*Flash*
And before she could even finish her thought.
Rumian ran into the interior of the building.
It was a tremendous speed.
"Ah!"
"Rumian?"
The children made surprised voices. Irene Curtis was also startled and looked back.
'No. Rumian alone can't win!'
Even though he possessed a talent unmatched in the world, he was merely a beginner Expert at best.
That level couldn't stop a high-ranking demon. It would be fortunate if he wasn't torn to death.
She groaned and said to the students,
"You guys, quickly go to the Academy and bring knights! At least two Experts are needed!"
It's okay. She steadied herself.
Even if she and Rumian attacked together, they couldn't win.
But holding on for a while was possible.
In that gap, if the students brought knights, they could minimize casualties…….
*Shwuuuuk……*
"……Huh?"
Irene Curtis, who was quickly continuing her thoughts, made a dazed sound.
The unpleasant energy unique to high-ranking demons suddenly disappeared.
She muttered with a bewildered expression.
"What is it?"