Ch.182Boycott (1)

“Their profession was prosecutor, and they were all in a state of anger.

“It’s been a while, President Adelbein.”

“Heresset……”

As could be inferred from the surname, Prosecutor Heresset was Kristin’s father.

Since the matter was so serious, a high-ranking official of vice-ministerial level had come in person. I handed the documents I had obtained to the chief prosecutor.

“Here, please read this.”

Heresset, who was skimming through the documents, spoke.

“Did you do this, young master?”

“It’s material I received anonymously.”

“It doesn’t seem to be forged… Okay, I understand what you mean.”

Heresset nodded. He approached the detained Kashu and smiled. It was a venomous sneer like a snake.

“Kashu Adelbein, you must know how desperately we’ve been trying to catch you. It was quite disappointing when you ran away without accepting our gifts. When I heard you were dead, I couldn’t sleep from grief.”

Kashu hung his head. He seemed to think it was all over.

Chief Prosecutor Heresset patted Kashu’s shoulder and joked.

“Adelbein, my friend. You should have lived a good life.”

“……”

“You know what I’m going to say next, right?”

“…Damn it.”

On this day, Kashu was issued a warrant.

***

After transferring the human experimentation case to the prosecution, my workload was drastically reduced. I would probably be able to focus on research for a while.

I examined the ‘Star Egg’ I had brought from the Adelbein family.

[— Star Egg (Red)]

[This is one of the seven crystals created by the first star in the universe. It can be used for experiments or engineering. It is impossible to know whether the original star is currently a giant star, a dwarf star, or another celestial body.]

[Additional Effect: Pron-Coin Pair Generation Reaction]

The reason this item is useful is first, because it can be used for research, and second, because it has a function called ‘Pron-Coin Pair Generation.’

As soon as I thought about wanting coins, a sentence appeared like starlight on my retina.

[— Enter the amount of coins you desire: ]

I immediately thought of the number 5000.

[— 5000 coins have been issued.]

[— A penalty occurs due to the ‘Red Madness’ effect!]

[— You have obtained 5000 pron.]

Indeed, it’s exactly as I saw in the novel.

A double-edged sword that gives as much pron as the amount of coins you want. That’s what this ‘Red Egg’ is.

They say ordinary people feel like their heads are burning when they use it, but strangely, I felt no pain when using it.

[— You have exceeded the maximum number of coins that can be issued. Please use again after 24 hours.]

Anyway, it’s clearly an attractive item.

But only for me. Most people can’t even earn 1,000 coins before they die.

The efficiency is so bad that even Ireh, with her strong mental power, only pulled 10,000 coins—two days’ worth—before giving up.

[— The God of Wisdom and Curiosity is interested in your coins.]

“What, you want them?”

[— The God of Wisdom and Curiosity nods.]

“No.”

There’s someone I need to give them to first. They must have spent their scarce coins helping me.

[— The God of Wisdom and Curiosity warns that you will pay a price.]

Cartesia whined. This behavior is both cute and amusing. Where else in the world would you find a foreign god acting like this?

Anyway, it was time to focus on research and midterm exams. Soon I would be able to give good news to Mezulen. With hope for the future, I quietly entered the department room.

“Did you know? Senior Rheinland and the president are getting married.”

What is this nonsense?

Well, it’s almost true, but still.

“Hey, how do you know if that’s true or not?”

“I heard it from my sister. She works at an Adelbein affiliate company, and the president there said so. Come to think of it, looking at how those two work together in the student council, they weren’t on bad terms.”

The moment the junior finished speaking, I revealed myself in front of them.

“Oh. Senior.”

“Juniors, this is a misunderstanding.”

I explained it well to them. I said I only meet with the student council president for official business and we’re not close. However, they only verbally agreed while clearly not believing me.

After leaving the department room, I fell into thought.

Just two days. It had only been two days. It had been just about 48 hours since the Adelbein family had set the engagement schedule. Moreover, we had agreed to keep it secret for the time being.

So why were such rumors circulating?

Could it be that Jerome made the first move after learning I had found Kashu and put him away?

No. That’s impossible. Jerome doesn’t know that Kashu is alive. I heard Kashu confessed everything. Besides, the investigation itself was being conducted in secret.

Anyway, while walking around campus today, I overheard the following comments:

“They’re going to have a wedding ceremony soon!”

“I heard they’re already engaged?”

“I saw them making out in the student council room last week.”

The last one is definitely not true.

Who the hell is spreading such rumors?

“Welton, you idiot!”

“Oh, it wasn’t true?”

“No!”

To be blindsided like this from an unexpected direction… I took Welton to a nearby café and interrogated him. He confessed surprisingly easily.

“So you didn’t have sex with the president after all, Vice President.”

“You crazy bastard, your language! Watch your language…!”

“Alright.”

Welton adjusted his sunglasses and said:

“So you didn’t go smooch smooch kiss kiss kiss with the president in the student council lounge last Thursday after all.”

“You son of a bitch.”

I held my forehead and looked around. Several students were looking at us. They turned their gaze away as soon as our eyes met.

“What, Eidel? Are you embarrassed by the word ‘sex’ even though you’re an adult?”

“Even if you have to say it, there are more decent expressions. Like, relationship. Or making love.”

“Smooch smooch kiss kiss kiss.”

“Just don’t say anything.”

How did his wording become so vulgar?

I suddenly thought of the ‘Star Egg’ in my bag. Come to think of it, this guy Welton was the first person to discover the uses and side effects of these eggs in the future.

At that time, he definitely said:

– This egg gives you coins but also gives you the same amount of pron. When a large amount of pron is injected at once, you feel pain as if your head is burning. So let’s distinguish this egg from the other six eggs and call it the ‘Fire Egg.’

He said that during the briefing. He was already unrivaled in the universe when it came to sexual jokes.

Right. He was always this kind of guy.

It was then that Welton sighed and shook his head.

“I’m disappointed, Eidel.”

“About what?”

“When a woman courts you, it’s a real man’s duty to proudly drop his pants. Zernya has been showing signs that she likes you since Academia days, so why are you still keeping your chastity?”

“What do you mean she likes me?”

It was laughable. At least during Academia days, that wasn’t the case.

Welton frowned, slurped his coffee, and then leaned forward to whisper to me.

“So, you really didn’t do it?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Coward. Then, a kiss?”

“No.”

“Eunuch. Then, a hug?”

“That I did.”

“Good, so you’re not gay.”

Welton nodded.

“But actually, I hugged the professor more.”

“So you’re bi.”

“Bye.”

“Hey, hey! Where are you going? You should pay before leaving!”

I didn’t have time to joke around with Welton any longer. I had already confirmed that the rumor had spread throughout the college.

At this point, it was too late to stop the rumors.

Instead, I needed to find her somehow and tell her the truth.

It was afternoon now. If it was this time, she would probably be there.

I opened the door to my lab.

“Eidel.”

There was Rustila, with a cold gaze.

***

Rustila was in the middle of individual training, forming a unit with other Omega-class examiners for practical experience. To protect Eidel from the crisis that would come someday.

But then.

“I heard Eidel von Rheinland and Zernya von Adelbein got engaged.”

The news came like a bolt from the blue.

“What did you say?”

“It’s a rumor, just a rumor. We just heard about it too.”

When Rustila asked with fire in her eyes, her colleagues hushed and ran away. To them, Rustila looked like a ghost.

Yes, it must be a rumor.

It had to be a rumor.

If it wasn’t a groundless rumor, she felt like she would go crazy.

“Kersil, your movements are sluggish today. Are you distracted by something?”

“No, sir!”

“You are sluggish. Fifty more laps!”

Rustila sprinted like mad around the track course that was 1km long. Thanks to the power of the star, her stamina didn’t decrease. Rather, she accelerated the more she ran.

Forget it. She had to forget it. By running, she could shake off such distracting thoughts.

After the physical training ended, the instructor casually mentioned:

“Was it the day before yesterday? My uncle said something like that at the Adelbein family head succession ceremony. That the current president and vice president will soon have an arranged marriage…”

No.

That absolutely cannot happen.

Rustila checked the time every five minutes like someone with insomnia. And as soon as her schedule was over, she ran to the lab under the pretext of helping Eidel.

It didn’t take long to meet Eidel. He too was rushing to the lab.

“Eidel.”

Addressing Eidel, who was catching his breath at the door, Rustila spoke in a coldly subdued tone.

“Is it true that you’re marrying Zernya?”

“…Rustila. Don’t misunderstand, listen.”

“Is it true?”

“It’s true. It’s true, but…”

True.

As soon as she heard it directly from him, Rustila collapsed helplessly.

***

Damn. I need to bang my head against something.”