episode_0026

“Will you keep my secret?”

I looked at Chloe with a tender gaze.

She had suddenly finished the sandwich I had bought for her. After wiping her fingers on a napkin, she looked at me with a troubled expression.

“Oh, would you like more? They say the BLT sandwich here is good.”

“….”

She silently shook her head. She was like a gourmet from a novel. It was cute to see her chew and swallow food with her small mouth. It seemed she liked the bribe I offered. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be eating so quietly.

“How did you find this place?”

“Um… through the student council’s influence?”

I absolutely couldn’t mention that a guy brought us here. I don’t want any misunderstandings.

“Chloe, I remembered to bring you here!”

I added unnecessary words. That’s how out of it I was. I got caught by the aristocrat’s eyes.

Should I honestly confess? Should I ask her to become my ally…?

Like our ancestors did in ancient times, should I suggest continuing the bridge between the empire and the republic…?

No, that’s too embarrassing.

It’s too much of a gamble to try to erase it…?

With the current Chloe, I could easily suppress her. If I used magic instead of a sword, she wouldn’t be able to oppose me.

No, she’s the heroine after all…

No! She’s my first friend I made…

Ugh… what should I do…

“Really…? You really remembered to bring me here?”

In my dizzying confusion, she took an interest in whatever I blurted out.

“W-well, yeah. I wanted to come with you to talk about swordsmanship and classes.”

“Sword…?”

Chloe was a fool who only knew about swords. She was weak to praise.

“I told you when we first met. I started learning swordsmanship because I wanted to be like you.”

“Yeah… that’s right.”

“When I saw you downcast in the training ground, I felt angry. It wasn’t the heroic figure of the sword that I admired.”

Her cheeks were slightly flushed.

In any case, I have to bring in the novel setting and cook her up somehow.

“So I hurt you with words that didn’t even come from my heart. I’m really sorry.”

“No… I almost hurt you, even though I’m the martial artist.”

She still fears people leaving as she looks at her sword.

“It’s okay. I liked being able to fight with you. When it’s me, you don’t have to hesitate anytime…”

“….”

“So please take care of me in the future. Martial artist. I’ll definitely surpass you.”

Finally, Cloe smiled broadly.

“I will never back down until then.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

I borrowed the words the sword said in the novel. It’s something he’ll hear later, but I took the lead. What can I do? I have to live first.

“And my eyes…”

“Do you have a story? Then tell me slowly later.”

“Really? You don’t want to know now?”

“Beatrice, there must be a reason why you find it difficult to speak, seeing you flustered.”

“…Thank you.”

Cloe surprisingly passed it off as nothing. Perhaps she doesn’t know about the nobles’ eyes.

“Should we finish talking about the martial arts today? How did you manage to handle the sword so well?”

“Oh, that. I learned it from my mother.”

“Amazing! It seemed like you didn’t use much mana, but I was surprised.”

“That’s true…”

In the end, Cloe and I talked until sunset. It was risky, but we managed to get through somehow.

In the original work, Cloe struggles to find a sparring partner, but I took the lead today. I’m sorry, but even if Cal pulls off a trick later, it won’t have the same effect as in the original. Hearing the same thing twice will diminish the impact.

The atmosphere in the student council room right now is heavy.

It was because of the professors who had just left here. The bad news they brought created such a suffocating atmosphere.

The members of the student council, including myself, were seated around a large conference table. Empty seats where the professors usually sat were visible.

“David, what’s Eligos’s horn?”

Scarlet broke the silence and asked.

“Eligos was a powerful demon during the Great War. His horn contains potent mana.”

“Why would such a dangerous item be in the academy?”

“It was a significant relic from the war. Besides, there were many magical tools made using Eligos’s horn.”

David shrugged nonchalantly. Despite being the vice president of the student council and a member of the Rogers household, Scarlet often seemed unaware of many things. Or perhaps she simply wasn’t interested. She was the type to enjoy life and not bother with tedious old stories.

It was a peaceful time. The dangers of demons and monsters were distant tales that ordinary people wouldn’t encounter. Therefore, a murder within the heart of the institution, the academy, was truly uncommon.

On top of that, an artifact that sounded suspicious had disappeared? Scarlet’s fidgeting and nail-biting reaction were understandable. David remained excessively calm.

“The academy should be one of the safest places after the Papal Seat and the Mage Tower in the empire, right? Infiltrating deep into the museum is… impossible.”

“Yes, Beatrice. It’s impossible.”

“In that case…”

Although I knew the answer, I pretended to piece together clues and make deductions like someone who didn’t know.

“The culprit must be a faculty member of the academy… or perhaps a student.”

“What…?!”

Scarlet stood up, slamming the desk. Other members of the student council who were sitting also reacted strongly. The fact that the perpetrator could be hiding among the students, on top of the shocking murder, was enough to create a chilling atmosphere.

“Calm down and listen. The professors coming to us are not just concerned about our safety.”

“Then…?”

“It means they want us to investigate. So that other students don’t panic. Since the professors can’t search through the dormitories like this, we need to find anyone who looks suspicious.”

“Are you telling us to find the culprit among the students?”

“Well, not exactly in those words… but something similar.”

The position of student council president wasn’t just handed to him. David was not only skilled in fencing but also quick-witted. He could discern the hidden intentions of the professors who spoke in circles without directly stating their desires throughout the meeting.

“It seems like we need to observe the dynamics among the students here. Since everyone is in different grades, majors, and scattered across various dormitories.”

“I… I’m too scared to do that.”

“You seem like you’d be the best at it, Scarlett.”

While saying so, Scarlett was searching for a detective costume she had been using as a prop somewhere in the student council room. It was a cosplay outfit consisting of a cloak and hat. She didn’t know why such a thing was here.

“If anyone notices anything suspicious about a student, remember it and let me know. But don’t make it too obvious that you’re watching.”

“Yes, President.”

The meeting ended there. Everyone was about to get up and leave.

“Wait, Beatrice, you should come with me. Stay behind.”

“…?”

Her steps halted at David’s words.

Why me, of all people?

Scarlett seemed to have the same thought, as she hesitated at the door, glancing at us. David gestured to her with his eyes to continue on her way.

Click-

As Scarlett left the student council room, the door closed, and silence returned. Only the two of us were left there.

“What is it? I’m busy.”

Since the original incident had occurred, there was much to consider. I wanted to return to the dormitory quickly.

David adjusted his glasses and looked at me intently. Sometimes, he seemed more like a teacher than a student. He appeared quite mature.

“I heard you got into a fight with Chloe.”

“Huh…! When did you hear about that?”

I retorted as if being accused of surveillance. The way he spoke, as if he were observing a suspicious character, didn’t sit well with me.

“I didn’t think there would be anyone among the new students who could stick to Cloe like that.”

“Praise? If you’re so curious, I’ll show you myself. Don’t listen sneakily from behind. It’s unpleasant.”

“Are you saying it as if I’m watching you?”

“No?”

“Right. We are aware of all the students, including you. The same goes for Cloe.”

I thought they would deny it, but they admitted it unexpectedly quickly. It was a boldness that seemed shameless.

“Oh, by the way, you were also from the Allied Nations. Like Daniella… remarkable patriotism.”

The Allied Nations were always thirsty for talent. If even a little outstanding person appeared, they were desperate to bring them in by any means necessary. They used persuasion, threats, rewards, and tricks. From simple materialistic methods promising titles and salaries to methods that stimulated human nature like strategic marriages or beauty traps.

For this reason, the Allied Nations always monitored and evaluated people and shared information among themselves. Even when reading novels, I didn’t like that aspect. It was just an unpopular country.

“Don’t be mistaken. There is no loyalty to the Allied Nations. I’m just fulfilling my duty as the student council president. It’s a position representing the academy students. I need to know about noteworthy individuals.”

“….”

“You’ll need it someday too. Isn’t that right?”

David seemed to know why I joined the student council. He might not know my true identity, but at least he saw through what I wanted to gain through the student council.

Information about academy students. The fastest data about them. The most effective position to approach them. That was the student council. And David was the most effective person at using that advantage.

I reacted sensitively to the mention of him gathering information about me from behind, probably because I was hiding my identity. I calmly changed the subject of the conversation.

“Why did you call me here?”

“…It seems like you need to see the scene for yourself.”

“The scene?”

The museum basement, where Eligos’s horn disappeared. The scene of a murder. If you want to see it for yourself.

“But why me?”

Dring-

David got up from his chair. With the sound of the chair moving, he walked slowly to look out the window.

“The others aren’t ready to see such a dreadful scene yet.”

“We are okay?”

“I don’t mind. And you too…”

“….”

Though David’s back was turned towards the window, his eyes reflected in the glass were looking at me. They were sharp eyes, able to see many things.

“I remember your eyes that used to confront Daniela.”

“Impressive, weren’t they?”

“You can’t have such a fierce look without crossing some lines.”

“…How does the chairman know that?”

There was a moment of silence in my question. David slowly turned to look at me and grinned. It meant roughly not to try to know too much.

“Well, shall we go? Before it gets too late at night.”

I nodded silently.

David de Leon.

He seems to be a more complex character than the original setting that the student council president has revealed. Not just a typical strong figure who came to study in the Allied Nations, but someone who has faced quite a few hardships.

Entering the museum was not something I had anticipated. It was a space that even the original Kal Meinert didn’t visit.

I was nervous.

Despite deciding to twist the original work. Because unfamiliarity and anxiety come from things I’m not familiar with, things I don’t know.

But there is no other way to shake another possessor, Kal Meinert. It’s because I don’t have the confidence to face him in the future he knows, the story of the future I don’t know.

I want to control the game.

The first episode at the academy will change because of me.

A branching point that differs from the original work.