Deculein’s last order had been in January: “Stand by.”
At the time, hundreds of informants had been with them. Using Oklan as their base, they had roamed the shadows, including the underworld.
Ren had been one of their central figures, but at some point, Deculein’s orders had abruptly ceased. There were no instructions, no support.
Once the core that had bound them together—“money”—disappeared, the hundreds of informants dwindled to dozens in a month, and after two months, to two people.
Each of them left for somewhere else.
Ren and Enen had nowhere else to go.
The siblings remained in that filthy cave, waiting for the possible return of their master.
There was a materialistic reason as well. With fewer heads to split it among, the promised compensation would surely increase by that much....
Ren and Enen changed clothes. Suits that Deculein had personally bought for them at a tailor shop near the capital—the first high-quality fabric they had ever experienced in their lives.
After that, they scrubbed away the grime that had sunk into their bodies and had their hair tidied at a salon.
For them, the greatest disguise was adornment.
Ren and Enen, having become completely different people from before, entered the Yukline mansion.
Deculein introduced the two of them as his “new personal attendants.” At the same time, he had a warehouse on the mansion grounds neatly remodeled into their private quarters.
“...Huh.”
His younger sister, Enen, looked around at the mansion scenery with wide eyes. It was the first time in her life seeing such a clear, splendid, and refreshing residence.
“You could even raise a puppy here.”
Good heavens, there was a hill and a garden attached to the mansion grounds.
Did such a space truly exist on the continent?
“...You shouldn’t have done that.”
Ren said to Enen. Enen did not answer. The cheek that had been slapped was still swollen.
“Does it hurt?”
“You think it wouldn’t?”
“...Still, you must not speak so rashly. At least not in front of Master.”
For six months, there had been no pay, but the two siblings had stubbornly carried out the orders given before then.
If they had nothing to eat, they caught rats and ate them; without money to hire people, they handled everything themselves.
“Oppa, do you still trust Master?”
Enen asked. Ren shook his head.
“No.”
Deculein had acted like a supreme noble and shown mercy to Ruina, but when the former head of Yukline died—
Ren still could not forget the face Deculein had shown then.
In that moment, he had clearly been... delighted.
His face twisted with unbearable joy, wearing an expression that made it impossible to tell whether he was laughing or crying.
“I still suspect him. We never know when he might try to discard us after using us again.”
A man who had accepted his father’s death as happiness. A dangerous being lacking something most essential as a human.
“Still, Master isn’t hostile to our clan. And he kept his promise.”
That was Enen’s retort. Ren looked at the bag in his arms and swallowed.
Deculein had returned twice the promised amount.
A staggering five million elne. In his twenty-one years of life, he had never seen such a vast sum in cash.
Enen said,
“...Let’s use ten thousand elne ourselves and give the rest to the family.”
“You want to spend as much as ten thousand elne?”
“Oh, why not? We worked our asses off for seven years to earn it. We should get a reward too. Just ten thousand. I won’t be greedy beyond that.”
Ren worried over it with his lip bitten, but soon nodded.
“...All right.”
Ren and Enen had a large family. Though they might not be bound by blood, every single one of them was family. The existence of that family was the reason they had not let go of the lifeline called “Deculein.”
Whether the rope itself had rotted, or whether it had been abandoned from above. Even when they could not see the future, they had clung to that rope until the end....
“Let’s do that.”
They were Jeokgwe.
* * *
[ ......Hello, hello~ I’m Maho, who safely arrived at the duchy thanks to you, Professor~
Ah, were you surprised by this sudden letter? Please read it to the end anyway!
These days, each day is peaceful and gentle, but sometimes I think back to that time and my heart drops!
Professor, Professor, if you hadn’t been there then, I would already be ashes, wouldn’t I~?
Ah! Ashes! Aaaah! It’s scary just thinking about it, scary~ That means I wouldn’t be able to write letters like this, or talk, or eat sweets, right?
Once again, I’ll offer you my thanks! Thank you, thank you~
Oh, right! I heard from Charlotte. She said you called this a transaction, Professor?
A transaction...... When you say transaction, it somehow sounds cold, but I felt your warm heart, Professor!
I believe you didn’t help me merely because of a transaction, but still, if someday I can be of help to you, Professor, then I’ll help you generously too!
To prepare for that day, I’ve been learning swordsmanship and magic lately. Though my strength is still meager, I don’t want to be nothing but a burden, I don’t~
And last time, you told me I didn’t need to act anymore, right?
You have no idea how surprised I was when I heard that.
How, how surprised was I? I was really, very, very surprised~
But you see, (extremely serious face), not even my feelings back then were all an act. Please just know that.
Lastly...... Oh, right.
This time, our Duchy of Yuren is starting a huge project. It’s a policy centered around regional redevelopment, and I think very good prospects are waiting for it.
Because I’m designing it myself!
If you wish, Professor, I’ll give you an opportunity to invest~ If you don’t believe me, you can just ignore this~
It is absolutely not because we’re short on funds that we’re asking for investment!
Ahh! Charlotte is here!
I started writing at two in the morning, and somehow it’s already seven. There are many more things I want to say, but I’ll stop here for today.
Please write back~ I’ll send another letter next time~
From Princess Maho of Yuren,
To Professor Deculein, my savior. ]
I sat in the study and read Maho’s letter. The writing style perfectly resembled the way she spoke.
Unlike my current “work,” it was quite alien and cute.
“Can a letter be this noisy?”
I let out a small laugh and put the letter into a drawer.
Then I picked up the ledger Ren had given me again.
My expression hardened.
[ Exploitation of the People of Revairon’s Territory ]
[ Records of Illicit Remittances by House Beorad...... ]
Deculein had been gathering all sorts of weaknesses belonging to nobles. He had also ordered dozens of evil deeds.
The one who had accelerated the slumification of the “Oklan” region was none other than Deculein himself. He had planned to buy up the land rights to that slum at a cheap price.
I did not know the reason, but since 「Great Wealthy Magnate」 had activated, he must have had a solid basis for it.
“......”
I still do not know for certain what else Deculein had done. I do not know how much of this bastard’s money had been scattered through the underworld.
There may be ties close to collaborators, like Ren and Enen, and there may also be ill-fated relationships where both sides are trying to kill each other.
As Deculein, I cannot simply smooth over, conceal, or pretend not to know all of it. The things he scattered like seeds will one day sprout on their own.
Therefore.
“...I have no choice but to use them.”
Twisting Deculein’s karma in a direction that will help with the main quest.
That is the best I can do.
Knock, knock—
At that moment, Roy knocked.
—Master. Sir Yulie has come to visit.
Upon hearing that, when I came to my senses, I was already in front of the door. My body had moved first, instinctively.
I opened the front door.
Beyond the threshold stood Yulie, clad in armor. Her loosened white hair was as neat as if it had been made of powdered snow.
“...Have you been well?”
Yulie said that, the corners of her mouth trembling. Quiver— quiver, quiver— it was an awkward smile she was forcing herself to make.
I smiled faintly.
“Come in.”
“No. It is not so grand a matter as to come insi—”
“I said come in.”
“...Yes.”
Yulie tried to enter, but this time I blocked her.
“?”
“I changed my mind. Let’s just talk outside.”
“?”
It was a belated thought that there was a need to stop this emotion on my end as well. Yulie blinked, then nodded.
“Understood.”
“What is it?”
“I have been given a mission.”
“A mission?”
“Yes......”
Yulie clasped her hands together and fidgeted.
“It is just...... I gained an unexpected opportunity and became an instructional knight, did I not?”
“That’s right. Is it a mission from His Majesty?”
“Yes. Grand Prince Kreto said he wanted your signature, Professor...... if possible.”
Yulie held out a book to me. When I saw its cover, my face briefly grew hot.
A work written by the former Deculein. The content was far too embarrassing.
“I can’t do it.”
“Ah. Is that so?”
“......”
Yulie accepted it far too easily, and I flipped through the book.
I feel sorry for the previous Deculein, but this content would be a waste even as kindling. He probably knew the reason himself. It was a book he had published after deliberately twisting the theory to make it difficult.
“I will soon release a revised edition. At that time, I will return it as a new book. With a signature enclosed, of course. Convey that to Grand Prince Kreto.”
“...Yes. Thank you.”
Yulie took a knight’s salute. It was a posture with her right hand placed on the opposite shoulder, her body inclined diagonally.
“Then I shall take my leave.”
She left without prolonging her words. I did not stop her retreating figure either.
However, at some point, her walking legs came to a halt. Her white hair lifted slightly. She seemed to be thinking about something by herself.
Um......
She muttered something, but I could not hear it. Soon, she turned back to me and said,
“...Would you like to play chess together?”
Yulie, asking shyly, had both cheeks tinged red.
I had a rough idea of what she had gone through with the emperor.
“Very well.”
I happened to need practice too.
I had already read several books related to chess, and had looked at many records of matches played by masters, but there would be no training as good as actual practice.
“Follow me.”
I led her to a spot beneath the shade of a tree in the mansion’s garden. Yulie sat in a sunny chair and stared at me.
Blink, blink— blink, blink— her eyelids blinked.
She seemed to be waiting for the chessboard, but I made it myself. I pulled stones up from the ground to create the chessboard and pieces, then decorated them neatly with leaves and grass.
In its own way, I poured my sincerity into it.
“Ooh. How fascinating.”
Her face, marveling like a child’s, was cute.
“Let’s play.”
“Yes.”
Yulie placed both hands on her knees and took a deep breath.
“I shall begin.”
Tak—! Yulie advanced a piece with a needlessly solemn expression, and—
“Checkmate.”
She lost in fifteen minutes.
The mana consumed was a mere 300.
“...How did this happen?”
Yulie examined the chessboard this way and that with wide eyes. Her face said she did not even know how the situation had ended up like this.
“Look. Here, you should not have moved the bishop. It was rash.”
I kindly explained it to her.
Yulie went, Ahh~ and nodded as if she understood.
“I see. You are amazing. Indeed, it was a move I could never have imagined. If it is not rude of me, perhaps just one more game......”
“Very well.”
One game became two, and two games became three.
Yulie challenged me four games in a row like that, but she was defeated without showing even a single threatening move.
“You are truly terrible at this.”
“...I apologize.”
“If you keep showing me such disappointing displays every time, we will grow apart even more easily.”
I said it like a joke. Then Yulie suddenly raised her eyes and glared at me. Her pouting lips sank gloomily.
“Is that so...... Even so, in our knight order, I am counted among the top three......”
“You seem to have talent. Let’s stop here for today. Both you and I have to go to work.”
“Yes!”
I rose from my seat. Yulie, too, seemed to have regained her spirits from a single word of praise and answered energetically.
“And you should take this chessboard and the pieces. Recall today’s defeat and devote yourself to improvement.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you~!”
Yulie’s reply was bright. She seemed to like gifts imbued with sincerity more than the value of the object itself.
* * *
Meanwhile, Epherene was sleeping on the sofa in the clubroom.
“Hehe......”
*Chomp, chomp.* Smacking her lips, she broke into a pleased smile. A fragrant aroma and overwhelming meat quality filled her mouth.
“You little Roahawk…… come here…… hehe…… nice and plump……”
Overcome with bliss, she tossed and turned before tumbling off the sofa.
“……Kuk!”
Her tailbone struck the marble floor. Ipeurin stood up, rubbing her lower back.
“Sigh. What a sorry sight.”
Deep sighs escaped her. Because Dormitory Building 3 had collapsed in the incident three days ago, she was temporarily staying in the club room, having lost her residence.
In fact, until yesterday, she hadn’t been in her right mind at all. She had avoided disaster because her notebook was in her bag, but she had nearly lost all the letters she had exchanged with her father.
Fortunately, thanks to the magic coating she had applied, she found them safely.
“Haaaahm~”
Yawning, Ipeurin headed to the bathroom.
“Splish— splish—”
After washing her face in a hurry, she returned to the club room. Since exams were coming up soon, she spread out her notes intending to study, when the club room door burst open.
“Ipi! Look at this!”
Not only Julia, but many club members including Perit and Rondo entered.
“Why?”
“Look!”
They spread out a large photograph on the desk.
Building 3, collapsed cleanly. It was an overhead photograph of the site taken from directly above, after all debris had been cleared.
“I didn’t like that they attacked Building 3 of all places from the start, you know? But look at this! See these black marks here?”
Julia took out a pen and traced the marks engraved on the site. In doing so, a certain spell formula was completed.
Julia infused mana into that exact spell formula. As the magic manifested, a line of text rose into the air.
[ Expect the retribution of ash. The moment to test your weakness and frailty shall come. ]
“Hey, look at this! Look! Isn’t this a declaration of war from ‘that place’?”
“……No way.”
It was a bit creepy, but even so, that was a bit much.
Even if the Ash were a total mess, they wouldn’t dare attack the University Magic Tower.
“No way my foot! Look at this. The formula structure is completely different from what we learned at the Magic Tower!”
“…….”
She had a point. A spiral spell formula that deviated far from the standard. She had heard that the mages of the Ash frequently used such abnormal formulas.
“Shouldn’t we tell a professor?”
“I do think so, but…… would they believe us?”
“But we still have to report it! At this rate, only commoners will die again! This time too, look! Only Building 3 collapsed! They’re so cowardly. Why attack only us! The nobles have done far more wrong.”
Julia spoke passionately. Ipeurin could understand what she meant. Having seen the professors’ attitudes during this incident, she had realized something clearly.
That if they didn’t step up themselves, the professors would not change.
“Right. Let’s at least try to say something. It’s not like it could hurt, right?”
*
“Get lost, punk! What kind of ridiculous nonsense are you spewing, damn it! My nerves are already on edge! Get lost before I give you all demerits!”
BANG!
Rellin slammed the door. The gust scattered the members’ robes and hair. Julia gritted her teeth.
“That fatty professor really……”
“See? I told you it wouldn’t work? If we’re going to do this, we have to do it ourselves. I think I’ve grown tremendously in magic lately? So—”
“No, Ipi. There’s still one place left. That professor.”
Julia said. From Siare to Rellin, all the mid-level professors had turned them away at the door, but that professor still remained. Ipeurin also knew exactly who they were talking about.
They looked at each other and gulped.
[ Head Professor Dekyullein ]
……Her palms grew sweaty. Just seeing that name made her breathing grow rough and her heart pound like crazy.
“Hoo……”
Ipeurin took a deep breath. The members behind her conveyed their courage. She—no, all of them together—knocked on that door.
Knock, knock—
The door opened. At first, she thought Dekyullein had opened it, but creak— the door swung open on its own. It seemed it hadn’t been locked from the beginning.
“What?”
Ipeurin poked her head through the gap.
A short-haired woman was rummaging through Dekyullein’s office.
Ipeurin shouted first.
“Who are you!”
“Kyaah! I’m sorry! I didn’t do anything!”
The woman screamed and went down with a crash, then looked at Ipeurin with eyes brimming with tears from the shock.
“……What the heck.”
But soon she furrowed her brows fiercely.
“Who are you guys—”
THUD! Right on cue, a magic tome fell from atop a drawer and knocked her on the head.
“Ow!”
She clutched the crown of her head, groaning. But that pain soon turned to anger, and the woman shouted with glaring eyes.
“Ah, damn it, hey!”
Ipeurin and the members flinched and stepped back.
“You, who are you! Don’t come near me! I’m going to report you!”
“Who do you think! I’m the little sister of the owner of this office, why!”
“……Huh? Your little sister?”
“Yeah! You startled me! So who are you guys! Damn it!”
Everyone flinched and stepped back at Yeriel’s mock slap. Ipeurin hurriedly bowed her head.
“Ah, um…… I’m sorry. The door was open, so……”
“Forget it. Strictly speaking, I’m your senior by a long shot, okay? What did you come here for? No, what’s your name?”
Yeriel scratched her head as if it still hurt, pointing at Ipeurin.
“Well……”
“Answer quickly! Don’t annoy me. It still hurts, you know? Before I demand compensation!”
“……It’s Ipeurin.”
“……What?”
In that moment, Yeriel’s face stiffened.
“Ipeurin Luna?”
“Yes.”
“…….”
Then, she made a face as if lost in thought for a moment.
Shortly after, Yeriel forgot her earlier anger and nodded.
“I’m Yeriel. What did you come here for?”
“Huh? Ah. Well……”
It was then.
Ding—!
From outside the open door, the sound of an elevator arriving was heard. Yeriel’s eyes widened, and she immediately closed the office door.
“Hide!”
“What? Why? Why hide? You said you’re her sister.”
“No, I mean, I came here secretly without telling anyone! So, ah damn it! Why did she come so early.”
In truth, Yeriel had infiltrated the office to ascertain the truth of the incident that ‘Dekyullein had kidnapped Ruina.’
No matter how she thought about it, if Ruina had gone missing, there was no mastermind other than Dekyullein. It meant she couldn’t help but suspect her, even if she didn’t want to.
And, though it was painful even to imagine, if it really was Dekyullein’s doing, she needed to come up with countermeasures as well……
“Well, if we just leave—”
“Don’t ask anything and hurry! Hurry up and hide!”
Yeriel hid under Dekyullein’s office desk. The space beneath was quite spacious, making it an unexpectedly good hiding spot.
The members watched her enviously and each found a place to hide.