Chapter: 25
The more I moved my feet, the clearer the faint voices became. The pastry clubroom was located in a remote area to prevent unfortunate students from running into members of the royal family while casually strolling down the hallway. With the noise carrying all the way here, it must mean something was happening in the clubroom.
How long has it been since I left for this disaster to occur? Did the oven explode and cause a fire or something?
Hastily, I dashed to the clubroom and flung open the door. Thankfully, I wasn’t greeted by a tragic fire scene. Instead, there were just two princes engaged in an intense debate that could set their mouths ablaze.
“Most heroes who shaped an era were knights. I’m sure you’ve heard tales of heroes who shook the continent with just a sword, right?”
“The body is limited, but the mind is infinite. Therefore, magic that can enhance the mind is the ultimate truth.”
What are those idiots doing?
Seeing Rutis and Lather’s unexpected argument, I quickly scanned the other members. Louise was just blinking in confusion, Erich was quietly watching them, Ainter was smiling softly, and Tannian was fixated on the oven while baking cookies.
Hmm, I guess I’ll need to hear the explanation from Erich.
“Erich.”
I lightly approached Erich from behind and placed my hand on his shoulder. He seemed to notice my presence only after I touched him, and he jerked around, surprised. For someone who trained in martial arts, how could he be so oblivious to my approach?
“Oh, Brother.”
“What’s going on?”
“That?”
With the word ‘that,’ Erich’s gaze returned to the two in debate, overflowing with undeniable emotions. The name of that emotion was disappointment, and it was unfortunate. They were arguing for such a useless reason.
Erich’s brief explanation was as follows: Tannian had casually dropped the line, “Magic equipment is quite handy,” which ignited this entire discussion.
Lather from the Magic Kingdom of Yuben was pleased by the Saint candidate’s pro-magic sentiment, while Rutis from the Knight Kingdom of Armein was clearly displeased. This led to the ongoing sword versus magic debate.
“You fools.”
Whether it’s sword or magic, getting hit properly will lead to your demise either way. Thinking back on how hard I tried to protect them not long ago felt utterly frustrating. Do you guys have so much free time that you’re fighting about this…?
In the midst of all this, I found myself resentful towards Tannian, who seemed completely uninterested while casually stoking the flames. He was a noble healer, apparently unconcerned with the bickering of commoner dealers—no wait, should he be considered a tank? Anyway, his selfishness was only rivaled by his arrogance. To light a fire and back away like that was outrageous.
Regardless, now that I discerned the trivial cause of this uproar, it was time to intervene appropriately. The relationship between Armein and Yuben hasn’t been particularly stellar, with one reason being their distinct national tendencies—knight specialization versus magic specialization. Although this was just a light debate now, it could escalate to something much worse if left unchecked. Of course, I doubted the royal family would be foolish enough to not consider that.
…They’re not that dumb, right? This advisor will have faith in you!
As I was about to tap on the desk and draw their attention, Louise, who had been quietly observing the argument, tilted her head and spoke up.
“Isn’t magic better than the sword?”
At her words, Rutis froze in shock, while Lather couldn’t help but flash a triumphant smile. The absurd fight that had started so randomly came to a swift end.
By the way, so Louise was a magic supporter. I never knew.
In a short time, Rutis had impressively proclaimed, “Louise’s cookies are terrible!” and “Unlike Louise, I’m a knight supporter!” Honestly, I had to admit this was somewhat his own fault, but seeing him end up like this felt somewhat pitiful. Forget about the cookies; I didn’t even know that Louise preferred magic over swordsmanship!
I considered whether to console him, but knowing he’d be back to putting up another flag tomorrow while smiling, I decided to ignore him. My problem was that I tended to get overly attached to people. Just seeing him so miserable made me forget the trouble he’d caused me until now.
“It seems that when a person is soft-hearted, they get tired easily.”
—Have you been drinking?
The voice on the other end of the communication device shot back my complaints with no interest at all. That was quite rude; I was being a little sincere here!
As soon as club time ended and I returned to my lodgings, I contacted the Information Executive Manager. I was grateful for his quick relay of information, faster than I’d anticipated, and I also wanted to hear his insights or make additional requests.
Among the executive level staff, he was one of the most overworked individuals, so I didn’t call with very high hopes. So, I just left a message as an excuse for not being able to reach him. However, to my surprise, he picked up right away. Was it his break time or something?
“In any case, I’ve sent all the information I’ve gathered so far to the Prosecutor’s Office Executive Manager. I will send you any new information as it comes in, so don’t worry.”
“Thank you. I feel like I’m really in your debt.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just giving back what I’ve received. We must keep an accurate balance.”
To ensure a smooth flow of information, I had indeed overlooked several things about him. I had seen some troubling signs regarding the Information Executive Manager’s family, but I ended up ignoring those too. After all, the Emperor also didn’t seem to care, valuing his capabilities more than any misdeeds he might commit.
What’s more, it wasn’t even the Information Executive Manager himself causing issues, but his family members. The man worked so hard he didn’t even have time for a snack.
I could hear him cracking his neck as if he was fatigued. It seemed the Information Department was just as swamped today.
“Are you pulling another all-nighter?”
“Just another day in the life. Nothing new.”
“That’s unfortunate to hear.”
“At least I’m not stuck in the Academy like you.”
Are you really attacking me out of nowhere?
I was indignant, yet the sight of the haggard Information Executive Manager chuckling made my heart ache. His face was pale, and his eyes looked bloodshot even through the communication crystal. Well, if teasing me helps relieve his stress, it’s a win for the empire.
This is a secret I can’t tell anyone, but honestly, whenever I felt like I was going crazy handling my own workload as the Prosecuting Officer, I found solace in looking at the Information Executive Manager. “At least I’m in a better spot than him,” I thought.
Of course, this would infuriate the Information Executive Manager if he found out, so it’s a precious secret I’d keep to myself.
“Speaking of which, about those five organizations.”
“Oh, right.”
It seemed something triggered in the Information Executive Manager’s mind as he leaned back slightly and looked straight ahead.
“Be wary of the rotten corpses among them. Signs of their activities have been emerging closer to the Academy.”
“Guess they’re acting as we expected.”
“After all, aren’t they foolish enough to be dreaming of reviving Apels?”
The ‘rotten corpses’ the Information Executive Manager mentioned referred to the ‘Third Honor.’ Given that the Academy is located where the former capital of the Apels Empire once stood, it was only natural for them to cling so desperately to this place. It’s almost impressive how predictable their actions are.
“So, are they the ones starting it?”
Among the five organizations, it was pretty much settled who would take the honor of leading the charge. I didn’t know when they’d show up, but at the very least, knowing who they were felt like a significant step forward.
“If they approach the Academy, a strike force will be dispatched.”
“Is that so? Well, that puts me at ease.”
I trusted them. The Empire wasn’t so absurd as to demand I fend off an entire organization by myself.
For now, I was just gathering information, and having confirmed that their target was the Academy, I just needed to set some traps and wait. This also applied to other villainous organizations besides the Third Honor.
If they were moving toward the Academy, that was enough justification for the Empire’s soldiers to get involved. Although the number might have dropped at the Academy, it didn’t mean the overall military presence across the Empire had diminished. They merely pulled back some troops for a strategic pause to keep a good face with the other three nations.
As for me, I was simply preparing for any unforeseen events before the strike force arrived, and once they did arrive, my task would simply be to participate in scouting the scene. After all, that was the purpose of my presence here.
“The strike force will be handpicked, considering the Prosecutor’s Executive Manager.”
“…Did the Special Service Minister say that?”
“Who else would it be?”
The Information Executive Manager chuckled softly. After saying that, we ended our conversation.
So, soldiers sent personally by the Special Service Minister… I could roughly guess who they would be. I didn’t know when they would come, but it had been a while since I last saw them.
Thankfully, right after finishing my information exchange with the Information Executive Manager, the Third Honor didn’t initiate their assault on the Academy. No matter how sharp the collection of callbacks may be, they always allowed for a breather to catch their breath. I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of resentment towards myself for feeling relieved over such an obvious fact.
The Third Honor would likely move erratically, trying to create confusion about their movements. One might wonder what the point of that was when their objective was clear, but the longer they flounder around, the longer it would take them to reach the Academy. So overall, it wasn’t such bad news.
I simply needed to remain patient at the Academy while monitoring extra information from the Information Executive Manager. Once the forces sent by the Special Service Minister arrived, all I had to do was greet them. Just that alone would reduce the difficulty of defending the Academy from the hellish level down to hard or normal.
Thus, I stepped into work with noticeably lighter steps than usual—
“Lady Louise, did you understand what I said?”
I spotted Louise conversing with someone in a sparsely populated area. No, it was more of a verbal thrashing than a conversation, to be honest.
The only detail of note was that the girl verbally beating down Louise was someone I recognized. With long red hair and a fan in her hand, even though I couldn’t see her face, I knew who she was just from the sound of her voice.
As I approached them, Louise smiled brightly at me as if she had spotted me. The red-haired girl also turned around to see what Louise was looking at.
“Oh my, Sir Carl. It’s been a while!”
Right? I feel like it’s been at least a year.
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