episode_0067

“… … Ugh.”

Frowning in pain as if my whole body was being torn apart, I opened my eyes with difficulty.

It was difficult to open my eyes like that, but even when I did, it didn’t mean I could see clearly in front of me.

First of all, it was clear that it was indoors, but it was dark, and more than anything, the view in front of my eyes was blurry and I couldn’t see well.

I was worried that something was wrong with my eyes, but fortunately, after some time, my vision became clearer.

So, I finally got to see the interior properly.

It was a place I had never seen before.

‘… ‘What happened?’

Mystery arose.

How did I come to be here?

‘Clearly at the end… … .’

He was miserably defeated by a swordsman and fell off a cliff.

After that, I was thrown into the river, and although I was lucky enough to reach land, I remember I couldn’t endure it any longer and lost consciousness.

Even thinking about it now, it was a dangerous situation.

There was a good chance that a swordsman would come after me, and there was a good chance that others would appear seeking my life.

Even if he had stayed still, he would have died without moving.

But it’s alive like this.

What on earth happened?

‘Come to think of it… … .’

At the end, I thought I heard someone’s footsteps.

So, given the circumstances, did that person help me?

Considering the situation, it doesn’t seem like he was captured by the Empire or bounty hunters.

If that were the case, it would have been difficult to survive, and even if he was alive, he wouldn’t have been left like this.

‘… I don’t know what happened.’

First, it would be right to judge the situation.

It was the car that I decided to move my body to.

“Ugh… … !”

Due to the intense pain I felt throughout my body, I was ultimately unable to achieve my goal.

After hastily examining the inside, I couldn’t help but sigh.

Because my physical condition was truly a mess.

No, saying it’s a mess is an understatement.

Would the word rags be more appropriate?

Organs, muscles, bones, none of them were intact.

“… … .”

Although I was surprised by the dire condition, it wasn’t strange when I thought about it.

Before I fainted, the wound was so serious that even I thought I was really going to die.

Rather, it should be described as a miracle that he survived even in such miserable conditions.

‘How much time has passed?’

How unconscious was I?

And, where on earth is this?

To check, I have to move my body, but right now, no matter how hard I try, I don’t think I can move my body.

“… … .”

In the end, I gave up on moving and had no choice but to lie still in bed and look up at the ceiling.

As I was blankly like that, various thoughts passed through my head.

The first thing that came to mind strongly was why I ended up like this.

It was about that day, the day I fell into a trap.

***

I became busy in the second semester, and continued to be busy even in my second year.

No, on the contrary, I felt like I had become even busier since becoming a second year student.

It was natural.

Because several big names have newly entered the academy as first-year students.

Among them, there were many children from prominent families whose names were enough to be recognized, but if you asked them to pick the one who stood out the most, most of them would name only one person.

Hayden la Elbrendt.

The younger brother of third-year student council president Cairn La Elbrent, and the prince of Elbrent, one of only two empires on the continent.

Even the most powerful families, even the princes of a nation, could not help but become small in front of the name of the empire, and naturally, Hayden received the most attention among the new first-year students.

However, not all the attention he received was due to his noble lineage.

Dazzling blonde hair and blue eyes, resembling his older brother Cairn.

A noble and beautiful appearance like the ideal prince that girls picture, outstanding skills in both martial arts and magic, brilliance that does not miss the top level in any class, and a gentleness that does not lose manners regardless of the other person’s status.

All of that combined brought him to the attention of not just the first year, but the entire academy.

I was also interested in him.

Of course, it wasn’t strange, it was simply because I thought he was a person in a position to easily get caught up in an incident.

The Elbrent Empire is a country with national power that competes with Reinberg to be the continent’s strongest nation.

In fact, there was a very high probability that the situation on the continent would change drastically if Elbrent moved, so there was a high probability that those who wanted war would target him.

That’s why I watched his movements just in case.

However, I only watched with interest and had no contact.

The grades are different, the majors are different, and the gap in social status can be said to be like heaven and earth.

It was difficult to create a contact between me and Hayden unless I forced it, and I had no intention of approaching him, so I thought at the time that it would continue like that.

But in the end, that idea was wrong.

Because Hayden and I ran into each other quite frequently and became entangled.

At the time, I jumped in immediately when an incident occurred inside the academy, and strangely enough, I occasionally ran into Hayden on the scene.

At first I thought it was just a coincidence, but later I realized it wasn’t a coincidence.

Whenever something happened at the Academy, Hayden voluntarily jumped into the scene.

Then, he mobilized himself and his background to solve the case and tried to prevent the damage from spreading.

Despite his noble body, he devoted himself to protecting others, not caring about his own injuries.

As I watched him like that over and over again, I developed a human crush on him.

Because I knew very well that it was very rare and difficult for someone in that position, someone who should have thought of his own safety first, to show such behavior.

Of course, there was also personal gratitude.

Thanks to this, we were able to minimize the damage from an incident that would have spread further.

And in the process, Hayden also began to show kindness towards me.

I couldn’t ignore him and just took it in stride, but that was only because I thought there was still room to watch, and I had a good opinion of the man named Hayden.

Perhaps, he vaguely thought of us as colleagues.

Then one day it happened.

Hayden called me out.

I had an appointment with Mary at the time, so I was a little worried, but it wasn’t like I didn’t have time to spare, so I followed his call and showed my face with the intention of hearing what he had to say.

There was a part of me that was curious about what was going on, and there was also a part of me that was calculated.

At the time, I was thinking that it might be a good idea to form a formal partnership with a man named Hayden.

I made several collaborators in the process of becoming a sophomore after two semesters, but I did not have a proper connection with Elbrent.

There was no doubt that it would be of great help if Hayden, who was in the position of a prince, became my collaborator.

Of course, he would have to go through close verification, but I thought that if it were his personality and what he had shown so far, I could trust him.

So I entered the place he had designated, the Elbrent Student Council building.

Because it was dark time, there was no one inside the building, so I walked down the dark hallway and entered the room he had designated.

Crash─

“Welcome.”

When I opened the door and entered, Hayden, who was sitting at the table, greeted me.

Following his guidance, I sat down on a chair and started talking to him.

At first it was just random talk.

Stories about rumors circulating within the academy, stories about specific lectures, stories about upcoming events, etc.

It was such an everyday story that I couldn’t even guess what the main point was.

For now, I just joined in on his conversation.

I didn’t come here to pretend, but I thought it wouldn’t be good to ruin the atmosphere.

While we were continuing our friendly conversation.

Hayden’s expression, which had always had a faint smile on his face, became quite serious.

And, he said.

“Senior Wade, do you know that the recent incidents inside the Academy are not a coincidence?”

It was a sudden change of topic, but I wasn’t taken aback.

Rather, it was the trend I was hoping for.

I said yes, and Hayden looked at me blankly and opened his mouth.

“There are people plotting war.”

Hayden spoke calmly and continued speaking.

“They want to cause chaos within the academy and thereby start a war. And, I want to stop them.”

Senior Wade, how are you?

… he asked.

At this time, I nodded inwardly.

I knew long ago that the events occurring within the Academy were not coincidences.

However, I wasn’t sure if Hayden knew that, but I realized through a series of conversations that he had already known.

Well, there’s no way I wouldn’t know about it when it pops up at the crime scene so frequently.

I thought for a moment while looking into those clear eyes.

Finally came to a conclusion.

“I also think the same way.”

Decided to create a partnership with him.

I confided to him some of my thoughts and my purposes.

Of course, not everything, just the part about trying to prevent war.

Hayden was happy to hear what I said, and we started having a more in-depth conversation.

Stories based on information exchange and cooperation.

As expected, Hayden was good at communicating and was talented.

A cooperative relationship with someone like this would definitely be of great help.

I was so confident and smiled inside.

One concern surfaced.

After running around until my feet were sweaty since the second semester, at some point I started thinking about a possibility.

Perhaps it is not just those who are blinded by power and wealth who want to start a war.

It was true that there were such people.

However, there was something a bit awkward about just dismissing it as just them.

It was a very small, subtle sense of difference that could hardly be called subtle, but as I solved a series of events, I began to suspect that a third force might exist.

A third force that wants to push the continent into war.

It was a somewhat absurd idea, something that could only exist in a conspiracy theory, but the possibility kept coming back to me, and I shared my thoughts with people around me just in case.

I said this with the intention that it would be laughed off, but my companions listened to me more seriously than I expected.

It didn’t end there. Estelle, who had been listening to my story with a serious expression the whole time, spoke up.

In the process of cornering Prince Lee, evidence was discovered that he was interacting with some unknown outside world.

That story gave some credence to my suspicions, and I began to investigate the background of the incident more carefully.

However, I still wasn’t sure, and I was worried about whether I could say that to Hayden.

But in the end, I carefully told Hayden about it.

When Hayden heard my story, his eyes widened for a moment, but then he smiled brightly.

Then he said:

“As expected, you were the ‘variable’.”

“… … ?”

Due to that sudden remark, I didn’t understand for a moment what he was saying.

However, Hayden continued talking without even paying attention to my reaction.

“I had already guessed that you would be a ‘variable’… Because I’m not in a position to cover it up and do something. I needed to check if you were a real ‘variable’, and even if you were a real ‘variable’, I didn’t know to what extent it would interfere, so I planned to watch for a while… If things turn out like this, there’s no need to do that.”

With still clear eyes, Hayden looked at me intently.

And he said it with a bright smile.

“You just have to die.”

At the same time as that eerie declaration.

Boom─

A wet and strange energy began to flow from Hayden.

The energy is too foreign and ominous to be considered a human energy.

I jumped up from my seat.

My intuition warned me.

It’s dangerous.

That thing is so dangerous.

Because I judged that, I moved my body reflexively.

First of all, for the purpose of keeping them in check, I swung a sword that was not even covered with a sword flag.

In any case, it was for the purpose of keeping things in check.

To buy time to prevent Hayden from using his tricks.

but.

Suddenly!

My sword penetrated Hayden’s body so easily.

“What… ?”

In that unexpected situation, I looked at Hayden with curiosity.

Then Hayden laughed, blood dripping from his mouth.

Before I even understood that smile or intention.

Jump up!

The door to the room opened.

“Woe, the prince… ! The prince was attacked… !!”

People who appeared to be guards came in and were shocked when they saw the scene inside.

“Catch it! Catch that guy… !”

Only then did I understand.

This whole situation was Hayden’s plan.

“Wow, you’re impatient.”

Hayden whispered calmly even in a dying situation.

I looked at him with trembling eyes and immediately left the place.

And, just like that, I became a fugitive.

***

“… … .”

Looking at the situation, Hayden is the ‘third force’… It is clear that it belongs to a tentatively named ‘organization’.

The reason he actively intervened in the incident was probably to establish a connection with me.

However, judging from his reaction, it seemed like he didn’t draw that picture from the beginning.

Perhaps the original purpose was to create a collaborative relationship with me and create a stronger connection.

And it must have been to gain ‘confidence’ by watching me from the side.

However, he gained that ‘conviction’ from his conversation with me, and immediately changed his plan to trap me.

He probably had all possibilities in mind from the time he called me, and was prepared to change his plan at any time.

This means that my defeat was decided from the moment I stopped doubting him in the first place.

The only thing that is questionable is that instead of dealing with me directly, he tried to get rid of me in an indirect way.

The energy he showed was at a level that even I could not downplay.

So much so that even I swung my sword reflexively.

If you add the power of the ‘organization’ to that, he would have been able to eliminate me even if he had not used such a method, but he chose to use this roundabout method.

Maybe he also has some limitations.

There are restrictions that prevent us from using our power too hastily.

“… … .”

What on earth is this guy, and why is the ‘organization’ trying to start a war?

Questions about that part kept rising, but I forced them to sink deep down.

Because it was clear that no matter how much I thought about it on my own, I wouldn’t be able to get an answer.

The next thing that came to mind was worry about the people around me.

Acquaintances from the Academy, such as Mary, Rachel, Ira, and Estelle, and more broadly, my father and Viscount Bluenoa in my hometown.

The truth is, in the world’s perception, I am the one who murdered the prince and ran away.

It would be nice if the impact only affected me, but that can’t be the case with things happening in the world.

I wasn’t too worried about the people at the Academy, but I was very worried about the people back home.

Because Viscount Bluenoa is not a very powerful family.

If they, or the Elbrent Empire that has a grudge against me, step forward and use their power, they can do as much harm as they want.

Therefore, it was difficult for me to calm my disturbed mind.

but.

‘… ‘I have no choice but to believe.’

In the end, you have no choice but to trust your colleagues.

Fortunately, I had told my colleagues in advance about my suspicions that an ‘organization’ might exist, so even if I don’t know the full circumstances of how I fell into the trap, I can at least guess that there was someone’s involvement in it.

With the power of his friends, especially Estelle, he would be able to protect the people of his hometown.

So I had no choice but to trust them.

Because right now, there’s nothing else I can do.

For now, I guess I should take care of my own business first.

I was just organizing my thoughts like that.

I like it─

The hinges scream.

The door opened.