Chapter 26
The next day was the day of the preliminary round of the martial arts tournament.
Kraush wiped his face, showing more fatigue than ever.
“Looks like I’m in for it,” he muttered.
He couldn’t even respond to the giggles and mocking of Crimson Garden beside him.
From yesterday until this morning, Kraush had been thoroughly tormented by Sizelry.
‘This is why I dislike geniuses.’
Especially when it comes to the brainy types, even more so.
Every word she said seemed to suck away information, leaving him utterly drained from arguing with her.
Which is why all he wanted was to end the tournament quickly and head back home.
He feared that if he lingered any longer, his identity as a Balheim would be exposed.
“Now’s my chance!”
Suddenly, a voice declared as a boy wielding a club attacked him from behind.
How foolish to announce his attack – he was too young for this.
Without drawing his sword, Kraush raised his arm and struck up to hit the boy in the chin.
“Gah!?”
With a scream, the boy tumbled to the ground.
Kraush heartlessly stomped on the boy’s abdomen, causing his eyes to roll back into his head.
“Wow, how many is that now?”
“It’s that squinty-eyed monster!”
“And what’s with that crow? How is it not falling off with all that movement?”
When Kraush turned at the sound of their voices, those who locked eyes with him flinched back in alarm.
“Scary. He’s definitely from the underworld.”
“Did you see that confirmation kill? Trouble’s gonna rain down!”
Currently, Kraush found himself in the preliminary trial arena.
The characteristic of this preliminary was chaos.
Teams of 100 were divided, and only the top 4 would proceed to the next round.
In such a preliminary, Kraush felt surprisingly relaxed, almost too relaxed.
His efforts were paying off, as he was reigning as a powerhouse here.
‘At 15, how strong could I really be?’
Among his peers, few could truly challenge Kraush.
And the ones who could, well, they had all dropped out of the race for Rahelrn Academy.
‘Just a fox ruling in the absence of a tiger.’
He maintained this self-deprecating view without a hint of arrogance.
Having seen true geniuses in action, he was good at self-objectivity.
“Kraha-ha! Why are you standing around like that? You idiots will all die!”
“Ahhhh! Run away!”
“Monster!”
But of course, there were skilled fighters among them.
For instance, there was a muscle pig charging like a mad buffalo.
With a frame so large that it couldn’t possibly belong to someone under 15, he was impossible to stop just by daring his charge.
Moreover, it wasn’t just that.
The aura swirling around him was finely controlled.
‘That guy…’
He was probably one of those who entered Rahelrn Academy through the martial arts tournament.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t recall his name.
Though Kraush could be treated like a fool, he was a Balheim nonetheless.
He’d avoided clashes with commoners as much as possible.
“Krah-ha-ha!”
But that laughter was too loud for comfort.
Bringing his sensitive ears to attention, Kraush turned towards the source.
At that moment, the bully-like boy’s eyes widened.
“What are you staring at?!”
His next words made Kraush’s eyebrows twitch.
“I just saw you stare, piglet!”
Kraush couldn’t hold back against the provocation.
As if a line had crossed, the muscle pig’s forehead creased angrily.
“Pig? Who’s a pig!”
And with that, he charged at Kraush with all his might.
While certainly intimidating because of his size, it remained a very human action.
In the grand scheme of things, even someone that big was merely a small animal.
As evidence of that, Kraush simply watched as he got closer.
“Die!”
The muscle pig attempted to shoulder him away.
Bwooom!
In a puff of dust at his feet, he was abruptly brought to a halt.
Kraush’s outstretched hand had pressed down on his head.
The boy blinked in surprise.
With a closer look, Kraush noted the rather innocent look in his eyes and smiled slowly.
“Is a strength battle what you’re good at?”
And the moment Kraush clenched his fist,
Thwack!
The boy’s face crumpled into Kraush’s fist.
Thud! Bang!
He ascended into the sky and tumbled to the ground in a disheveled heap.
Having demolished his face, the boy was now seemingly knocked out, with his front teeth missing and eyes rolling back.
Kraush had delivered a blow that could wipe out his consciousness entirely.
Shhh-
The sight plunged the arena into a brief silence.
Children stared wide-eyed, alternating looks between Kraush and the muscle pig.
It was hard to believe that Kraush, much smaller than the muscle pig, had knocked him out in a single blow.
And Kraush, under the children’s gaze, scrunched up his face.
“Caught your eye, did I?”
At that moment, the children resumed their own scrappy battles.
No one dared to touch Kraush anymore.
They figured that touching him would result in instant disqualification from the tournament.
“Puhahahah! What a masterpiece.”
Amidst the laughter, a voice erupted from behind Kraush.
There stood a man with his face wrapped in black bandages.
He was quite tall, and upon seeing Kraush, revealed a grin through the wrappings.
“What are you laughing at?”
Kraush, who was always prickly unless his favorite person was involved, questioned snappily.
But the man didn’t seem the least bit intimidated, having just witnessed Kraush’s prowess.
“Well, I can’t help but laugh because an interesting friend has appeared. That’s you, right? The one sent by the infamous Night Crow assassination family.”
Kraush thought that this was complete nonsense.
‘The Night Crow is one of the most dangerous groups connected to the Empire’s underbelly.’
Did they really send someone to this martial arts tournament?
Even Kraush couldn’t know every little thing happening within the Empire.
‘But I never heard about the Night Crow at Rahelrn Academy.’
There was no way the Empire would admit such people to the academy, after all.
But Kraush was aware that one variable existed in the Empire.
‘Sigryn Ephania.’
The damn third princess, who must have inherited the same talents as him.
A chill ran down his spine.
He could just imagine what that girl might be up to in the Empire’s shadows.
The Empire’s downfall had a lot to do with the events behind the scenes.
“I’m not sure what misunderstanding you have…”
“Stop playing dumb. The crow on your shoulder is proof!”
A crow as proof?
Kraush shot a glance at Crimson Garden.
It seemed he’d unintentionally drawn suspicion thanks to her.
“And the suspicious vibe radiating from you is clear to everyone’s eyes as well.”
Thanks to Darling’s transformation potion, he must have amplified the misunderstanding further.
“Don’t worry. I’m not planning to hunt you down or anything. Just seeing your back, I figure there’s no one worth bothering anymore.”
He said that with a sly smile.
“Let’s get along well since we’re both from the underworld.”
After spouting his own terms, he waved his hand and departed.
Kraush, left staring after him, fell deep into thought.
‘A prodigy produced by the Night Crow.’
No idea who it might be.
‘But the feeling that this variable is going to complicate things is very real.’
That did not bode well for Kraush, either.
‘Guess it’s time to investigate a little.’
＊ ＊ ＊
After the preliminary round concluded, Kraush solidly remained among the top 4 of the group.
Having smashed the muscle pig had caused no one else to dare step up to Kraush.
Thus, Kraush was hardly winded at all.
Right now, Kraush was in pursuit of someone.
Who was that someone?
It was none other than the bandaged man who had spoken to him earlier.
‘He’s likely connected to the underbelly.’
Kraush had never been to the Empire’s underbelly.
He only heard tales before; he had no solid grasp on how they operated.
Being a non-Empire citizen meant he couldn’t know everything occurring within the Empire.
So, Kraush resolved to follow him to understand more about the underbelly.
“Is this really necessary to be a nuisance?”
As Kraush was in the back alleys, sticking like glue to follow.
Crimson Garden spoke up out of nowhere.
“Being a nuisance?”
“Like tailing someone.”
Kraush blinked at her.
Was there any other way to do this?
“Tsk tsk, you only know how to learn from me but have no idea how to use me. What a useless disciple.”
At that moment, Crimson Garden unfurled her wings and flew up.
In an instant, she soared through the air and landed right in front of the bandaged man.
“Uh, a crow?”
The bandaged man, moving through the alley, was startled and stopped at the sight of Crimson Garden.
At that moment, the bandaged man’s shoulders jerked.
As Kraush caught up, the man stood there slack-jawed.
“What are you doing?”
“Just a little mind control magic. With this, he’ll answer any questions you throw at him.”
Kraush knew how versatile Crimson Garden was, but he hadn’t expected her to be capable of this too.
Surely if this method existed, trailing him would be unnecessary.
“Hey, bandaged dude.”
Calling him, the bandaged individual turned blankly towards Kraush.
Seeing him like that, Kraush immediately launched into his query.
“What happened with the Night Crow?”
“The Night Crow was nearly obliterated just days ago.”
The moment he spoke, the shocking news of the Night Crow’s obliteration tumbled from his lips.
“Obliterated? But didn’t the Night Crow participate in this martial arts tournament?”
“They were erased because it was the command of their new master who crushed them and took them under his wing.”
Hearing the mention of the Night Crow’s new master, Kraush showed a confused look but pressed on anyway to confirm.
“Is it Sigryn Ephania?”
She was the only one capable of such a thing.
“No.”
But the returned answer was different.
“Not her?”
“Yes. The prince actually crushed the Night Crow and took it for his own.”
Kraush’s brow furrowed.
‘The second prince swallowed the Night Crow?’
His confusion deepened.
The second prince had been swallowed up by the first prince long ago, and he hadn’t held power or influence for some time.
How could that same prince swallow the Night Crow?
‘And more importantly…’
Kraush knew the secret of the Night Crow.
‘And the true backing of the Night Crow was the royal family.’
The Night Crow was humorously renowned as an assassination family.
They were a group excellent in the art of assassination hailing from the Empire’s underbelly.
What does it mean for them to be particularly adept at assassination?
‘They’re the ones tasked with doing the Empire’s dirty work.’
Their main specialty was assassination.
Thus, they carried out lucrative contracts from various sources to commit murder.
Their trademark was possessing something related to crows.
Due to how widespread these rumors were, there was even talk that if you bore a crow emblem while wandering the back alleys, you’d be safe.
‘And the royal family used that to their advantage.’
The Empire’s royal family had a means of utilizing the Night Crow in order to monitor the nobles by pitting them against each other.
The royal family cleverly regulated the power dynamics among nobility by utilizing the Night Crow.
This fact was one that would remain hidden until the Empire’s downfall.
No one within the Empire knew but the royal family.
So, the very idea that the second prince had overtaken the Night Crow seemed ludicrous.
The original master of the Night Crow was none other than the royal family.
Furthermore, there was an even more nonsensical notion at play.
‘Even if the rumor of the Night Crow’s obliteration is believable, how would a mere alley scum know about the royal family’s involvement?’
There were numerous strange points to ponder.
‘Wait a minute.’
As thoughts raced through Kraush’s mind, something clicked.
‘Sigryn, that scheming brat.’
Kraush’s expression turned grim.
‘That girl plans to eliminate the second prince to weaken the first prince’s influence. This is all a rumor that’s been intentionally spread.’
Kraush’s mind raced.
In his eyes, this rumor most certainly was a deliberate construct.
The second prince swallowing the Night Crow was painted as an elaborate scheme.
‘The second prince walked right into Sigryn’s trap.’
Sigryn had set the stage for the second prince to occupy the Night Crow, and the second prince, who still harbored ambitions of claiming the throne, had eagerly swallowed the Night Crow’s poison.
He likely believed that if word got out that he controlled the Night Crow, his influence would grow.
And Sigryn was bound to fan that rumor further behind the scenes.
Just to the point where someone like this bandaged man knew about it.
With that conclusion made, Kraush fell into a deep contemplation.
‘I’m aware this trap is aimed at the second prince.’
But what did Sigryn hope to gain from having him swallow the Night Crow?
The Night Crow’s unique ability was assassination.
So, if that’s the case, having the second prince use the Night Crow to assassinate someone would mean…
‘Sigryn must know the first prince quite well!’
He was no simple opponent.
Even if the second prince were manipulated from the shadows, assassinating the first prince through the Night Crow would be next to impossible.
‘So it means controlling the second prince is aimed at assassinating someone else.’
Who could that target be?
As Kraush pondered this thought, he slowly raised his gaze.
“Oh crap,” he exclaimed.
Kraush’s eyes widened.
He understood who Sigryn aimed to assassinate through the second prince.
‘Sizelry Ephania.’
The fourth princess.
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