episode_0011

When the professor returned and yelled at us, until then, I had thought that I would receive quite a significant penalty. After all, it’s not like I hadn’t done anything wrong. Even though they were the ones who initiated the duel first and started the argument, I was the one who accepted the challenge. Because I felt that I also bore some responsibility, I had a rough idea of what kind of penalty I might receive.

“······Lian Trice.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“You will not receive any penalty. In the future, refrain from blindly accepting such duels.”

Surprisingly, the student supervisor in charge of managing disciplinary actions for academy students didn’t impose any penalty on me. Hmm. This is really unexpected. Now I’m just curious for no reason.

“May I ask why I haven’t received any particular penalties?”

“······I’ve never had someone curious about why they didn’t receive a penalty before.”

The student supervisor chuckled as if to say he’d seen it all and began to explain why I hadn’t received a penalty.

“First, the sequence of events was clear. According to the story from Ellis Ackstra, it was Philip and Edgar who provoked you first.”

“···.”

“Secondly, you dueled while maintaining the minimum safety regulations. Although the overseeing professor wasn’t present, ultimately no one was injured.”

“······I see.”

In summary, it was something like this: fundamentally, the cause of this duel was on their side, and since no one was hurt during the process, Seacrest Academy, which values student growth through dueling above all else, concluded that I was not at fault in this incident. Roughly that was the gist.

And upon hearing the outcome, there was one thing that suddenly made me curious.

“So, did Philip and Edgar receive penalties?”

“Yes. They each received their own penalties because they were at fault for mocking a fellow student from the same academy.”

A piece of news that cleanly pierced through my heavily blocked-up mind, causing it to clear up almost as if chuckling.

I’ve translated the Korean webnovel into English while maintaining the original context, tone, and cultural elements. Here is the translation:

—

I finally got to witness those two getting penalized after all this time.

It feels somewhat satisfying, even though I didn’t intend for it. In a way, it’s like my own form of justice being served.

“Do you have any more questions?”

“No. That’s all.”

“In that case, hurry up and move to the club room. Club time started a while ago. Don’t disturb me if you don’t have any business here.”

Of course, I was somewhat waiting for that directive from the student advisor.

“Understood. Thank you, Professor.”

“Go on in.”

After bowing once in farewell, I left the student office as instructed.

“······Lian Trice.”

“···.”

“Come with me for a moment. I have something to tell you.”

Outside the student office, Ellis Arkstra stood leaning against the wall, quietly watching me as if she had been waiting for my exit.

***

A quiet café within the academy.

Following Ellis, I arrived at the place she led me to.

“There aren’t many people here?”

“Well, it’s club time. Besides, this place isn’t usually crowded anyway.”

As Ellis said, the atmosphere of the café was quite different from a typical one. While most cafés are bright and modern, this one had a slightly dark, old-fashioned feel. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the café owner, sensing why there weren’t many customers.

“I come here often because I like this aspect. Other cafés tend to be too crowded.”

“I didn’t know you disliked crowded places.”

“Usually, I don’t mind. But sometimes, I just want to work alone in a quiet place.”

In other words, she used this place as her substitute office.

“······I see. Well, never mind that. If you have any questions for me, ask now. Soon, I’ll have a lot of questions for you.”

—

“Are you not going to the club?”

“······Yes?”

“The club. It’s club time as you said.”

Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.

I was summoned by the homeroom teacher right after the match ended, but normally, Alice should have gone straight to the club after class.

How could she ignore the fact that it’s club time and engage in conversation with me here?

And the answer to this question was revealed as empty as it could be.

“Oh, did I not mention it to you?”

“······Mention what?”

“My club only exists on paper and is essentially a virtual club that doesn’t really exist. I gathered students who didn’t want to belong to any club.”

Ah, so that’s a method.

I didn’t know about that.

It was okay to just create a fake club.

As if reading my expression that seemed dumbfounded, Alice continued to explain.

“Of course, being the top scorer in written exams made it possible. If the top scorer in written exams wants to create their own club, what professor would refuse that?”

“···.”

If we were to nitpick, it was a trap. A trap of complacency. ‘Surely the top scorer in written exams wouldn’t go as far as creating a club because they forgot about it,’ a trap of complacency.”

Alice smirked as if finding it incredibly amusing.

Watching her like that, I once again realized that Alice was indeed Alice.

I shouldn’t misjudge her for no reason.

It’s not like there were all sorts of things said in the original work for no reason.

“Well, do you have any more questions you’d like to ask?”

“······I suppose not? In the first place, that was the end of the questions.”

“Alright. Then it’s my turn to ask you now.”

After taking a moment to catch her breath, Alice began to question me directly.

“I’ll ask you straightforwardly. When did you start learning swordsmanship?”

“······About 8 years ago?”

Usually, nobles begin learning the sword around that time.

Perhaps the original Lian also picked up the sword around then, I speculated.

It seemed like Alice expected such an answer, as she promptly changed the subject of her question.

“I’ll ask again. When did you truly start training in swordsmanship, not just as part of your mandatory education?”

“Roughly a year ago?”

“If it’s been a year… is that when you made the commitment to move beyond the image of a wastrel?”

“Something like that, I suppose. It was around then that I started training in swordsmanship as well.”

“And what was the reason for starting?”

“The reason?”

“Yes. There must be a reason or a trigger for someone who hadn’t properly grasped swordsmanship until now to suddenly begin training in it.”

It was as if Elise was determined to get an answer, her own crimson eyes shining as she questioned me.

Unfortunately,

It wasn’t a question I could sincerely answer.

“Did you suddenly feel like you might need it someday?”

“Is that all?”

“Well, genuinely. And considering the sparring we had earlier, it was ultimately beneficial.”

“Hmm.”

Elise looked at me as if she couldn’t trust my response. But I had no choice. In order to explain about the sudden training in swordsmanship by Lian Trice, I had to explain that I was a different person from the past Lian. And explaining was also a problem. Elise, who was more objective about information than anyone else, wouldn’t believe this fact. How could she believe it logically? That the current me was completely different from the past Lian Trice. It would have been fortunate not to be treated as a lunatic. The concept of possession was impossible to explain to others. Fortunately, Elise soon nodded her head.

“Well, I didn’t really expect you to believe me anyway. You haven’t even told me why you stopped acting like a wastrel.”

“In the end, you don’t believe me?”

“Can I believe you? It’s not like you suddenly discovered gravity because an apple fell on your head while walking down the street, or that you suddenly thought you might need it someday.”

Adding, “You’re not some kind of prophet,” Elise let out a deep sigh.

“Ugh, once again, I’m the only one being sincere. I’ve only given you information that is entirely true.”

“Is that really your intention? You’re just upset because I’ve discovered your true identity, aren’t you.”

“Quiet. Regardless of the reason for starting this, it’s a fact that I’ve only provided you with truthful information.”

“…”

“Fine, today I received something from you as well. I won’t bother you any longer.”

It was a somewhat welcome sound to hear amidst everything, but there was one word lingering in my mind.

“So you received something from me?”

“Yes. Someone as dense as you would never notice, but…”

“…”

“You probably won’t figure it out unless I tell you, will you?”

Now Alice was openly casting a curse.

Normally, I would have tried to decipher what she meant by that.

“Isn’t that right, Densehead?”

For some reason, Alice’s expression seemed much brighter than usual when she said that.

“Yeah, whatever.”

I didn’t bother asking for an explanation.

“Now go. You’re part of a club, aren’t you?”

“Oh, right.”

“You’re in the same club as a senior from the third year, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh dear, you’ll be scolded. Of course, that’s none of my concern.”

Hmm.

Thinking back, it might have been better to somehow figure out the reason after all.

Regret surged belatedly, but it was already too late.

So, I was in a situation where I was already late for the club meeting.

“I’m going to get scolded again.”

With an uneasy premonition that I would receive a scolding not just from the faculty advisor but also from Senior Tania, I left the café, leaving Alice waving behind me.