Chapter 114
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: Do You See the Future?
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“Ugh, another tough day. I swear, this knight training never gets any easier. I’m just trying to stay alive here.”
Gismond stretched after dropping off his damaged armor for maintenance. It was lunchtime, and the streets were bustling with people.
‘Still, I’ve gotten pretty used to it now.’
He summoned his aura. A satisfied smile spread across his face as a small fragment of aura bloomed at his fingertip.
During the jousting tournament, it had been a chaotic mess he could only pour out indiscriminately, but now it flowed more or less as he intended.
“Yeah, just gotta keep this up. Just like this.”
If he kept building his strength like this, then at the very least…
“What do you mean by ‘just like this,’ Sunbaenim?”
Startled by the sudden voice, Gismond spun around. Standing there was someone he never expected to see.
“Per-Pernyan?”
“Yes, it’s been a while.”
“Why are you talking to me?”
“I just happened to run into you, but I remembered your performance during the jousting tournament and couldn't simply walk by.”
“O-Oh, is that so…?”
Gismond stammered, forcing an awkward smile.
“Well, see you around. I need to grab a quick lunch before my next class.”
“Of course.”
Gismond quickly strode away, putting distance between them.
‘Damn, I thought my heart was going to explode.’
He never imagined Pernyan Fallenberg would suddenly strike up a conversation with him.
‘Pernyan Fallenberg, of all people. It’s strange enough that a man who’s supposed to be ruined soon is walking around the academy just fine. Could it be because of me?’
He couldn’t pinpoint anything specific, but he couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling either.
‘Was there anything in the papers? Ah, shit, I should have read this morning’s paper… Forget it. Why should I care?’
Shaking his head, Gismond entered a crowded building. The restaurant, which sold light meals, was already packed with students.
He found an empty spot and sat down, looking over the menu.
“Hmm, I’ll have the arancini tomato pas—”
“The cream gnocchi with blue cheese is better here. The Golden Turtle Merchant Guild supplies them with high-quality potatoes.”
“Gah…!”
Gismond jumped so high he nearly levitated, asking in terror.
“What are you…! Why did you follow me!”
“I came to eat as well.”
“You came to a place like this?”
“You should discard the prejudice that the Fallenbergs only eat expensive food. It is the accumulation of such thoughts and prejudices that has branded us as villains.”
“……”
Faced with such composure, Gismond forced himself to look away.
Pernyan was right. The rich couldn’t always eat expensive, fine food.
It had to be a coincidence that he came here and happened to sit next to Gismond. Just a part of everyday life.
Probably.
“…I’ll have the arancini tomato pasta.”
Pernyan didn’t interfere further and focused on his own meal.
The blue cream cheese sauce drizzled over the round gnocchi gave off a wonderful aroma and looked exquisite.
‘It does look delicious…’
Gulp. Gismond tried to calm his racing heart and finished his meal.
* * *
‘This next class is…’
*Swordsmanship and Aura Application*. The professor was Emond Altriark.
It was the class he looked forward to the most.
The elixirs he’d over-consumed had left his internal mana and aura in a chaotic state, and he couldn’t deny that the *Swordsmanship and Aura Application* class had been a great help in calming it down.
He arrived at the lecture hall and waited as students trickled in, filling the seats.
Soon, the professor entered, took attendance, and quickly got to the point.
“Let us begin the lecture.”
It was the first class since the Continental Academic Conference. Professor Emond began with theory.
He followed up with a review to check if the students had forgotten what they’d learned over the fall break.
“…Now, we will have a short test.”
The students’ expressions immediately soured, but Professor Emond paid them no mind.
As the test papers were being distributed.
“A test on the first day back from break. Professor Emond is being too harsh, don’t you think, Sunbaenim?”
“A test on the first day is definitely crossing a line…”
Wait a minute, Sunbaenim?
At Armian Academy, classes were strictly divided by year, with no system for advancing early.
“…You, what are you? How are you here?”
When on earth did he get here? Pernyan was sitting behind him.
“I, too, have an interest in this lecture.”
“What kind of bullshit is that…! This is a third-year class. No, it’s a Knight Department class to begin with…!”
Gismond started to shout but quickly lowered his voice.
“There is no rule that a Magic Department student cannot attend a Knight Department lecture.”
“Are you serious right now? How did you even get in?”
“An agreement was made. I did not sneak in, so you needn't worry.”
“What does that…!”
“Quiet.”
Professor Emond’s reprimand drew all eyes toward Gismond.
“Student Gismond, is there a problem?”
“Professor, here…!”
“If it’s not important, I would appreciate it if you didn’t disrupt the lecture.”
Professor Emond cut Gismond off. His gaze had clearly swept over both Gismond and Pernyan beside him.
His silence on the matter meant one thing.
“I told you, didn't I? It has already been discussed.”
It meant Pernyan was telling the truth.
“…Did you bribe him with money?”
“Do you believe a professor of the noble Altriark family would be swayed by a mere pittance?”
“Then what is it?”
“I told you. I have a curiosity for this lecture. Perhaps the professor was impressed by my passion for learning.”
“A mage taking an aura lecture? Does that even make sense?”
“It is making sense right now, is it not?”
Pernyan stroked a necklace that gleamed with a particularly bright light, but Gismond, lost in his complicated thoughts, didn’t notice it.
“…Why are you following me? What did I do wrong?”
“It’s a coincidence.”
“A coincidence?”
“We coincidentally met on the street, coincidentally went to the same restaurant, and coincidentally encountered each other in a lecture we both wanted to attend.”
“All of that is a coincidence?”
“The academy is a small place.”
With those words, Pernyan looked away from him. He didn’t spare Gismond another glance until the lecture ended.
‘Is it really a coincidence?’
For a brief moment, he almost believed it.
“That is all for today.”
After class, Gismond bought something light for dinner and returned to his dormitory.
Sitting at his table, he checked the newspaper he hadn’t had a chance to read that morning.
“…What the.”
He rubbed his eyes and read the article again. The words didn’t change.
【The legend of the Empire, the legend of the First Emperor, and now, the legend of Armian…】
It wasn’t particularly strange that Aint Armian was beginning to make a name for himself not just at the academy but across the continent after the Continental Academic Conference.
【The three vile breeds who murdered eleven people…】
But for the disturbance at the conference to be attributed to mere vile breeds instead of a summoned demon…
【Grand Duke Pernyan of House Fallenberg, who moved alongside Aint Armian. What is between the two…】
And how on earth did Pernyan Fallenberg—who should have been ruined and branded a demon follower over this incident—end up becoming a hero alongside Aint?
Of course, he’d thought it was strange that Pernyan had returned from the conference unscathed, but he had never imagined they would become heroes together.
‘What in the world happened? Could it be because of me?’
It was a possibility.
‘But it can’t be helped. I have to survive, too.’
The only silver lining was that Aint’s future itself didn’t seem to have changed drastically.
It was a bit odd that Pernyan Fallenberg, who was supposed to be ruined, had become an ally, but it seemed more like a positive development than a negative one.
‘Is that why Pernyan was acting that way this morning?’
No, no one knew what he had done. It couldn’t be.
“…Calm down. Nothing major is changing. Nothing will change. Probably.”
“Is there something strange about the newspaper’s contents?”
“…Huh?”
At the unexpected voice, Gismond casually turned his head.
“…Gyaaaah! Fuck, you scared me!”
And he realized the presence of an uninvited guest who had been in his room before he was.
The food on the table scattered everywhere.
“You, you, you—what are you…! What the hell are you!”
“I am Pernyan. Have you not seen me all day?”
“You, you! Are you going to say this was a coincidence too?”
“Of course not. How could bumping into you in your own room be a coincidence?”
“How did you get in here!”
“There is nowhere in the academy I cannot go.”
Not even another year’s lecture hall, nor someone else’s dormitory room.
“What do you want from me!”
“That is what I would like to ask you now.”
“What?”
“Your words: ‘Nothing major will change.’ That is not something one typically says while reading a newspaper, is it?”
“……!”
Gismond’s pupils trembled violently.
Pernyan rose from his chair and strode toward him.
“D-Don’t come any closer! Stay back!”
Gismond tried to back away as he approached, but the bed blocked his path.
“I said stay back, you bastard!”
“Am I going to eat you? By the way, right here.”
Pernyan’s finger poked Gismond’s abdomen, where the aura hole was generally located.
“I hear you’ve stuffed all sorts of things in here.”
“W-What’s that got to do with you!”
“It has nothing to do with me. But it will have something to do with Aint Armian.”
“…H-How did you…?”
Too late, Gismond clamped a hand over his mouth and glanced around nervously. But the damage was done.
“Sunbaenim. I am going to ask you a question now.”
The corners of Pernyan’s mouth curled into a smirk.
“Depending on your answer, our relationship will be decided. As will your fate.”
“You don’t have the authority to…!”
Gismond screamed in defiance, his voice nearly breaking into a sob by the end.
“I have it, even if I don’t. As you are well aware, I am a Fallenberg, after all.”
*Rumble…* A wall of sand suddenly rose, completely sealing the window and the door.
“Now then, Sunbaenim.”
He whispered.
“Do you, by any chance, see the future?”
“…Hic!”
Tears streamed down Gismond’s pale face.
* * *
“So you’re saying that after being struck by lightning one day, memories of the future began to surface?”
“That’s right! That’s all it is! I swear, that’s everything!”
Gismond pleaded, his eyes welling with tears of indignation.
“You aren’t lying?”
“N-No! It’s all true!”
Well, it wasn’t a lie. It was true that ‘Gismond Erdt’ had been struck by lightning.
‘Right. I just left a few things out, it’s not like I lied, right?’
In the grip of a fear so intense he thought he might wet himself, Gismond managed to suppress the ‘whole truth’ that had risen to his throat.
There was no need to say any more, and he must not.
“Look at me.”
“……”
Gismond forced himself to meet his gaze.
‘…How can a twenty-one-year-old, younger than me, have eyes like that?’
They were the eyes of a killer, radiating a murderous intent.
He tried his best to remain calm, but his ragged breathing wouldn’t settle.
“In that case, why did you covet what was Aint’s? You aren’t foolish enough not to know that if Aint doesn’t grow strong enough, this world will be destroyed, are you?”
“I-I couldn’t help it! The world is about to end, and I can’t just let myself be swept away as a mere commoner!”
This was his true feeling, without a shred of falsehood or concealment.
In the near future, demons would run rampant, and the entire continent would be engulfed in the flames of war.
How could he stand by and do nothing, knowing he could never survive as a powerless commoner?
“I didn’t take everything! Aint has to be able to fight the demons, so I only took a few things that wouldn’t hinder him too much!”
“A ‘few things’ seems to be quite a lot.”
“We’re talking about demons! Without at least this much, I’d just die a dog’s death!”
Gismond screamed as if his life depended on it.
At his words, Pernyan didn't rebuke him further.
‘Certainly, if you knew about such a future, it would be difficult to sit still.’
He agreed, to a certain extent.
In a way, he was even thankful that Gismond had been this restrained.
At the very least, it seemed the future hadn’t been drastically altered because of him.
‘Still, I can’t just leave him be.’
The problem was what came next.
Just because he’d been quiet until now, would he remain so in the future? What if he did something he thought was minor, but it triggered a massive butterfly effect?
When crisis loomed, could he guarantee Gismond wouldn’t use his knowledge of the future again?
“It would be better to kill him now…”
The fewer people who knew the future, the better. It would be best if Pernyan was the only one.
“S-Spare me…! It’s not like I did anything that wrong! I just took a few elixirs!”
“You are well aware of the value of those elixirs, are you not?”
“I didn’t steal them from anyone, I obtained them myself!”
“No, they had an owner named Aint Armian. If I hadn’t provided Aint with replacements, his growth would have been severely stunted.”
That alone was reason enough to eliminate the variable.
“W-Wait! I can be very useful!”
“Useful, how?”
“Th-The future! I know the future! I know everything about the future! When, where, and what will happen! I even know what becomes of this world!”
“You’re saying you know everything?”
“Yes!”
Pernyan frowned.
‘Is his situation different from how I recall the Prophecy Book?’
Unlike Pernyan, whose memories of the next event would surface sequentially after the current one ended, this man seemed to know the entire future at once.
In that case, he was worth hearing out.
“Then I’ll ask you. Will all the demons in this world truly descend? If so, when and how?”
“Of course! All of them… wait? Was it all of them…? Uh…?”
Suddenly, Gismond’s expression twisted bizarrely.
“All of them? No, wait a minute. Did the demons descend? Or did they not?”
“What’s wrong?”
“…I don’t know. I know Andromalius was summoned, and Seere descends at the Continental Academic Conference, but beyond that, why…?”
He muttered blankly.