At the Academy

Aiden Guild is a rising financial guild in the capital.

With aggressive investments and a knack for seizing any profitable venture, its power grew rapidly.

The guild master is an unknown figure.

The vice-master is a woman named Kasha, a former banker who served only VIPs at the imperial bank…

I arrived at a dilapidated but large building on the outskirts of the capital.

“Kasha.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Is this the guild warehouse?”

“Yes, this way.”

Beyond a weathered door with an old lock is a solid steel door.

“You’ve done as I asked.”

“Of course.”

Beyond the steel door is a door inscribed with security magic.

Only then does the Aiden Guild’s treasure vault reveal itself.

Inside the vault, Kasha skillfully turned on the magic lamps.

The brightly lit interior of the vault contains no money or jewels.

‘The weapons, armor, and accessories that appeared in the game.’

I scraped together everything I could find that looked valuable.

“Where are the swords?”

“This way.”

There are only three, but their names would surprise anyone who knew them.

“What are they, respectively?”

“The sword on the far left is the demon sword Revenge. The one in the middle is the holy sword Love, and the one on the far right is the master sword Lion.”

Revenge, Love, Lion.

Demon sword, holy sword, master sword.

Each is a decent item in the game, but that’s based on the overall standards of the game.

‘Right now, anything I take is overpowered.’

“…I’ll take Lion. The other two seem to have their own masters.”

“Understood.”

The armor for Luna has already been ordered and is long overdue.

“Next, the accessories.”

“They’re this way.”

Unassuming rings and necklaces are displayed in separate glass cases.

“There are two pairs of rings of regeneration, one pair of rings of strength, a necklace of agility, a necklace of strength, and a necklace of wind.”

These are also magic items with minor effects, but the necklace of wind is a higher-tier rare item among the necklaces.

“I’ll take the necklace of wind and the rings of strength.”

Kasha manipulated the cases to disarm the security magic and handed me the necklace of wind and one pair of rings of strength.

“Shall I put the necklace of wind on you?”

“I’ll do it myself.”

As I put the necklace around my neck and wore the rings of strength, I felt lighter and stronger.

“The effects are definite. Good work, Kasha.”

I took off the accessories and handed them to Kasha to hold.

“You’re welcome. When shall I deliver the remaining items to the young ladies?”

If Luna supports me in the light, Kasha supports me in the shadows.

‘Everything goes through Kasha, there’s no way she wouldn’t know.’

“It’s that obvious, huh?”

“Isn’t everything in Aiden for Luna and Flare?”

I nodded slightly.

“It is.”

“You could just give it to them directly.”

“I can’t do that.”

“As you wish.”

I took a carriage to the secret building where I conduct Aiden’s business.

“Here we are.”

Before getting out, I put on the enchanted robe that Kasha gave me and entered the building.

As soon as we entered the building, Kasha began to complain.

“Do we really have to do this every time we come here, Master?”

I understand her dissatisfaction.

‘This is the only way to prevent random events and random encounters from happening.’

No matter how much I deceive the world, if the randomness of the Regret and Obsessive Hero explodes, it’s all for naught.

“Always be vigilant when coming here, Kasha.”

“Haa… Understood.”

I tossed out a word.

“Good work.”

“Excuse me?”

Uncharacteristically, Kasha asked again.

“I said good work, Kasha.”

“…Thank you, Master. Let’s go inside.”

The office in the mansion has become more presentable with plants and paintings since Luna started decorating it, but this place is like the academy’s Room 404, with nothing but a desk.

Perhaps sensing my thoughts.

“Should I start decorating this place like Luna?”

I chuckled at Kasha’s sudden words.

“Don’t waste money.”

Luna goes out every weekend with the allowance she receives and buys things.

‘She said the workplace is the mansion office, and it’s too barren to show to the other maids?’

That’s how she started decorating, for such an absurd reason.

“Yes.”

“What happened to Emma and Sebastian’s gang?”

“They dropped out of the academy and are farming in their territory.”

“That’s enough. Stop investigating them.”

I’ll worry about Flare’s events that will happen in the future.

“Did you find the stone? It should be in the Hesperus region.”

“We’ve been searching diligently for the past two months, but no luck…”

I can’t help it.

“Find it as soon as possible.”

“Do you know how many stones have swirls on them?”

I acted like I didn’t care.

“Didn’t I give you a drawing?”

“Putting ancient patterns of swirls on stones is a custom in that area to wish for longevity, Master.”

“Stop complaining and find it quickly. If we get the other half, we’ll find it soon.”

“Understood.”

She paused for a moment.

“…In a few days, the weather will start to get bad. If you see a red glow in the sky, use my authority to take all of Aiden’s employees out of the capital for a group vacation. No matter how much it costs, go as far away as possible.”

“What will happen in the capital that day?”

“Nothing will happen. But you never know.”

I had already told the butler at the mansion in advance.

I decided to give him a signal the day before, so that everyone in the mansion would leave somewhere on the day.

“…Understood.”

“Don’t even think about staying behind alone. That’s an order, Kasha.”

“Understood, Master.”

I almost forgot the most important thing.

“Take this.”

“…Isn’t this the guild master’s seal? Are you telling me to handle the final approvals now?”

She accepted it, but her face showed how unfair she felt, so I stroked Kasha’s head.

“Don’t worry. I’m just entrusting it to you temporarily.”

“This also has something to do with that red sky.”

It suddenly occurred to me.

Kasha, an NPC in the game, always complained in her interaction dialogue that she wanted to start her own business.

“Whatever it is, use it to do what you want, Kasha.”

“!!! Was it… obvious?”

“It’s too early to be independent, but since I’ve given you something, I should give you something in return, right?”

“…I’m not thinking about it right now.”

“Hahaha! It’s all over your face! Live your life doing whatever you want, like me!”

I wrapped the accessories and the master sword Lion that I had taken from Aiden’s secret warehouse in the enchanted robe.

Before getting out, I instructed Kasha.

“Don’t come to the mansion unless you find the stone.”

“…Understood.”

In the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep, I practiced swordsmanship in my room with the Lion sword.

‘Hoo—’

I learned a lot while teaching Flare.

I know that there won’t be any problems because I have enough inheritance skills and inheritance passives, but I can’t help but be afraid.

‘The first point of oppression.’

It’s burdensome to face a situation where, if it’s easy, nothing will happen, and if it’s difficult, I’ll be game over unless I cheat.

Whoosh— Swish!

Swish— Whooosh—

I have to practice for a while until the sword becomes familiar in my hand.

“Scarl. What are you doing in your room at night?”

Luna’s sudden question.

“Nothing?”

But how did she know? Luna?

“Is it the sound of the wind…? There was a strange noise coming from your room. Swish— Swish.”

How could she imitate the sound of a sword cutting through the air so strangely?

“Hahaha! Do it again.”

“…No. Eat this.”

Luna brought some strange food again today.

‘It’s bread.’

I can’t sleep at night, but I have to eat strange things every morning, so it’s a chore.

The texture is like rubber, and my molars are stiff.

“Who makes this and brings it here?”

“…Why?”

Still, Luna brings it with sincerity…

“I was just curious.”

I mumbled.

“How’s the taste?”

“Terrible.”

“Ugh—”

Why are you like that?

“Scarl. Do you still think women should be good at cooking?”

I’ve heard this from Sophia before.

It’s even more relatable with the bizarre food in front of me.

‘Scarl also has times when he says the right thing.’

“It’s not bad to be good at it, is it?”

“…Understood.”

Luna seemed a little discouraged.

“Take the rest away. Go and cut an apple.”

“Yes.”

The apples Luna cuts are more delicious than this.

As usual, I have lunch with Flare in Hati’s form.

“Senior! The sky is so clear today that you can’t see the end!”

“I know. But be careful on days when the sky turns red.”

I subtly hinted at what was to come.

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

You should finish what you’re eating before you talk.

“A legend from my hometown. Be careful of the red sky~ something like that?”

“Puhahaha!! What kind of legend is that?”

After finishing our meal, we went for a walk under the clear sky.

“What do you do in the dormitory after the academy ends, Senior?”

I go back to the mansion.

“Study.”

“As expected of a model student! …Why don’t we go out and relieve stress one day?”

I refuse.

“It’s still the final exam period.”

Even if I don’t take the exam.

“Th, that’s right. Hahaha… Ah! Professor Scarl calls me in for tutoring even during the exam period! It’s so annoying!”

I felt a little guilty when I called her during the exam.

“That’s the kind of professor he is? Wow! I’m glad I didn’t apply for private tutoring!”

“I should have stopped you back then!”

If you had, I wouldn’t have applied under another excuse.

Even if I did, I would have refused because I couldn’t teach myself.