Ch.195194. Graduation (3)

# 194. Graduation (3)

“Someone you want to see?”

“Yes, someone very important to me.”

“Me?”

Seir was saying such nonsense with an unpleasant smile.

I answered with an infinitely rigid voice.

“Stop talking nonsense and just help me find them.”

“How disappointing… So who is it?”

Come to think of it, I had asked her to find someone without giving any characteristics.

Realizing this made me embarrassed, but I tried to act as nonchalant as possible.

“A dark elf who came in about two years ago, the one who tried to assassinate the Persian Kingdom’s princess.”

“Ah~ That pretty-looking one?”

“Ah… well… yes.”

“I liked that one. Why? Are you taking them away?”

Of course not now, but I was planning to take them when that battle happens.

“Well, not now, but when the time comes.”

“Time? When? Don’t tell me then?”

I wasn’t sure what “then” referred to, but since Seir was also part of the Special Forces, there was a high possibility she already knew about the upcoming battle.

When I nodded, Seir gave a faint smile.

“Do you think there’s someone who would try to save just one person like that? They look quite old too.”

“There is, exactly one person.”

“One person?”

“Yes, but that person is quite strong.”

No matter how much of a parachute appointment it was, Special Forces were still Special Forces, and back then, she had skills that I could never defeat alone.

That’s why it was better to use these dirty tactics.

Of course, whether she would fall for it remained to be seen.

“Really? Well… the more thorough the preparation, the better.”

“Please guide me now. I want to do what I need to do and leave quickly.”

The unpleasant gazes from everywhere and the suffocating dark air.

If I stayed here any longer, I might develop a mental illness.

‘I’m not used to places like this…’

I wasn’t familiar with such places in my previous life either.

Although I had caught many criminals, I hadn’t visited prisons much.

Moreover, it was my first time seeing a group of vile prisoners who had committed serious or capital crimes like this.

Seir was looking at my current state with a satisfied smile.

What a perverted woman.

“You seem to have a weak stomach?”

“It used to be fine, but I’ve been living too elegantly lately.”

“For someone like that, you have a lot of scars on your body.”

By the time that conversation ended.

Seir finally started to move.

She headed toward the stairs, suggesting the person wasn’t on this floor. I asked her:

“They’re in solitary confinement, I assume?”

“You know well? Have you been here before? I’ve never seen your face even once…”

“I just heard about it.”

“I suppose…”

We arrived at a place where there were no more stairs going down, meaning the lowest floor.

It seemed that elf was confined in solitary because they were a criminal who committed a capital offense.

“They’re here, I presume?”

“Of course, they tried to kill a princess from an allied country. Moreover, that girl was quite strong.”

It seemed that not only the weight of the crime but also the person’s strength was a reason for solitary confinement.

“Here it is.”

Where Seir stopped.

There was that dark elf, wearing numerous magical devices.

Seeing the disheveled hair, pale face, and emaciated body made me feel a bit sorry for them.

“Number 1652, you have a visitor.”

1652.

That number was both the number of this solitary cell and engraved on the collar choking the dark elf’s neck.

“Visi…tor?”

The dark elf looked at me with distant eyes.

Looking at that pitiable creature, I said to Seir:

“Could we possibly be alone for a moment?”

“Of course, but why? Are you planning to do something?”

“Please leave quickly.”

“Alright~”

After Seir left, silence filled the solitary cell for a while.

And the one who broke that silence wasn’t me.

“Are you… perhaps…?”

“You seem to remember me. I look quite different from back then, don’t I?”

“You… because of you… I ended up like this…!!”

The raised voice, agitated tone, and current appearance.

It all looked miserable.

Moreover, despite being so angry, they couldn’t even approach me, seemingly lacking strength.

“If it weren’t for you… by now… I could have met…”

“Met…”

They must have been desperately wanting to see someone.

I quietly murmured the name of the person this dark elf had been longing for.

“Phenex.”

That voice instantly filled the tiny solitary cell and naturally reached the dark elf’s ears.

The dark elf trembled upon hearing that name.

Then they stared at me with murderous eyes.

As if demanding to know how I knew that name.

“Don’t you want to meet them?”

“Wh-what gives you the right… to say that name…?”

“Answer me first. Do you want to see them?”

“Of… of course!”

The dark elf said that with vigor.

I asked for their name.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

“Cecil… Cecilia.”

“Cecilia, I’ll come back once more later. Then I’ll help you meet that Phenex.”

“R-really?”

“Yes, so wait quietly.”

***

On graduation day.

Selected as the student representatives, Reina and I were rehearsing in the auditorium from early morning.

Reina recited her speech well but was feeling embarrassed.

“Ugh… it’s so cringeworthy…”

“That’s how it always is.”

It was even more cringeworthy because Aelin was giving the farewell address.

To the point where I really didn’t want to do it.

But then again, I couldn’t not do it.

After all, I was the valedictorian of the Imperial Academy.

“I don’t want to do it either.”

“Who would want to say such cringeworthy things to you?”

“You were doing fine just now, so stop complaining.”

“It’s awkward, isn’t it?”

“So what are you going to do? If you don’t want to do it, just say so and leave. It doesn’t really matter.”

There were many people who wanted to give the farewell address.

And Aelin seemed to know that as she turned her head and started memorizing her speech again.

“There’s so much to memorize…”

“It’s not that much, just memorize it.”

“By the way… where did you go yesterday?”

“I’m curious about that too.”

These two asking such unnecessary questions in the middle of practice.

I said to them, who were asking such questions without even having memorized everything:

“Why don’t you finish memorizing first before asking?”

“Tch…”

“I’ll tell you if you do well.”

Originally, I was only going to tell her, but seeing Aelin’s attitude and growth lately, I thought it might be okay to tell Aelin too.

As she said before, she could become a not-so-bad helper.

“Really…?”

“Just do it.”

“Got it.”

With that, Aelin started to work hard.

She definitely seemed to perform better when there was something at stake.

After about two hours had passed,

The auditorium began to get noisy with academy students and parents.

“Girls, please continue in the waiting room now.”

“Yes.”

We followed Gloria’s instructions and went to the waiting room.

It seemed like things were about to start.

Since we had been practicing for two hours, everyone seemed to have memorized their parts reasonably well.

“If you forget, just freestyle it.”

“Like that’s easy…”

“You can do it. I heard there was someone who just said whatever they wanted from start to finish.”

“That person is different.”

“But… if that person did it, couldn’t I do it too?”

Hearing this, Aelin gave me an incredulous look as she compared me to that person.

“That person was already the crown prince then, and you’re just a noble.”

“I thought I was comparable, am I not?”

“No, absolutely not. Just stick to what you wrote.”

I thought that he and I were somewhat similar, but in Aelin’s eyes, we weren’t at all.

“Since you and I are siblings, people would understand if I don’t express much gratitude, right?”

“Just shut up for a bit, I can’t hear well.”

Aelin, who had to go up to the podium before us, was listening carefully to Gloria’s words.

And shortly after the graduation ceremony began, Gloria’s voice was heard:

“Next, we will have the farewell address from the student representative, Aelin Veros.”

Aelin went up nervously.

Seeing her like that made me want to tease her.

Aelin carefully took the microphone on the podium and slowly began to speak.

“As the cool breeze of one season passes and the season where our breath becomes visible approaches, we find ourselves tying the final knot of the year. And with it comes the graduation of our 677th class seniors.”

Aelin was speaking quite fluently.

It was better than I had expected.

“Today, I extend my congratulations to the seniors who will receive the honorable Imperial Academy diploma. Last night, with graduation just around the corner, I was reminded of last March when warm winds were blowing.”

I also remembered March from two years ago when everything was awkward.

Back then, everything was unfamiliar, but now it wasn’t like that at all.

“The seniors who guided us with warm smiles when we had just entered the high school division. Looking at them, we were able to set our own goals, and because of that, we could move forward little by little.”

Aelin’s serious demeanor.

It was so awkward.

But that’s what made it more meaningful.