Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: I'm Thinking of Something Else
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"I'm thinking something else."
"Father. We've arrived."
"Cecilia."
Seeing the two of them standing side by side like this really drove home their father-daughter relationship.
Blue hair and sharply upturned eyes. They looked far more alike than she did with Senia.
Ragnar, who had cleared the area around us, turned to look at me.
"So, is this your answer? You've double-checked everything, right?"
"At the very least, I don't think it's wrong today."
"Today, at least..."
The exchange between Ragnar and me. Cecilia, having no idea what it meant, widened her eyes.
Ragnar, who had been staring right through me, turned away.
"Rest."
His expression was stiff.
I wondered if I'd earned his dislike, but then Cecilia said something unexpected.
"Father looks like he's in a good mood."
"...Huh? That?"
"Probably? I'm not entirely sure myself."
Well, as long as that's fine.
After finishing our greetings with Ragnar, we headed straight for Alicia.
Given the situation, my steps toward Alicia felt strangely heavy.
Come to think of it, what was the relationship like between Cecilia and Alicia?
I didn't recall seeing them interact much.
The only time was on the train back after defeating Elevber, and even then, Alicia hadn't shown any hostility toward Cecilia.
'It should be fine, right?'
"Kuhuhu. You're late."
"I wanted to appear before you at my most splendid during the imperial ball season."
"Oh? If that's the case, didn't you head to Duke Ren first?"
"There was someone I absolutely had to introduce to Father."
In terms of rank, I should have greeted Alicia first before going to Ragnar.
Her comment about being late was probably pointing that out. And the target of that remark was obviously Cecilia, who knew etiquette inside and out.
'...She's openly showing hostility.'
As Cecilia naturally linked her arm with mine, Alicia burst into laughter.
"Kuhut. Monopolizing the empire's hero? Such greed."
"Oh my."
Oh my?
I turned to Cecilia in surprise.
Senia might say something like that, but I never dreamed those words would come from her mouth.
"My partner is Halibal. Isn't the empire's hero the Aren by Her Highness's side?"
"I see. As expected of the Ren family—your tongue is quite sharp."
"Thank you for saying so. Then, may we step away for a moment?"
Cecilia tried to lead me away.
"Wait. I have something to say to Her Highness."
But I stopped her.
I had to tell Alicia about Climood.
At the very least, that a bishop from the Church was in the ballroom.
Alicia jumped in as if she'd been waiting.
"Kuhuhu. No need to call me 'Your Highness' so stiffly in private. Call me Alicia like before."
'...Wasn't that just once?'
No sooner had she finished speaking than Cecilia's grip on my arm tightened.
Chill was pouring from her eyes.
Regardless, Alicia deliberately brought her ear close to my lips, as if putting on a show.
The people around us started murmuring at the sight.
"If you have something to say, say it. Quietly, so Cecilia Ren can't hear."
As she channeled mana from her fingertips to form a thin soundproof barrier, Cecilia's gaze grew even icier.
Cecilia was a half-mage, not a proper wizard, so she couldn't break the soundproof barrier.
Crunch.
Instead, she protested by gripping my arm even harder.
No, it's starting to hurt now.
But even in this moment, Climood was probably wandering the ballroom.
With no choice, I leaned in toward Alicia's ear.
"A bishop from the Church has infiltrated the ballroom."
Alicia's shoulders stiffened.
"He's disguised as the butler of Lady Termina Whiteusher."
"...Are you sure?"
"Yes. I felt the same sensation as with Elevber."
"Does he know you know his identity?"
"Probably not."
"Do not act first under any circumstances. Pretend you know nothing. I'll handle the rest."
With that, Alicia dispelled the soundproof barrier.
"Kuhut. Quite the intriguing tale, Halibal."
"..."
"Since your partner seems scared, I'll let you go for tonight."
"...Thank you."
"Then, enjoy the ball."
As Alicia left with Aren, Cecilia dragged me away as well.
Glancing back as she pulled me along, I saw Alicia still watching me with a smile.
At that moment, Cecilia's hand rose toward my cheek.
"Where are you looking?"
Her touch on my cheek was incredibly gentle.
"Look at me."
She turned my head to make me look down at her.
Given our position, the bare skin above her dress was blatantly in my view.
"I won't ask what your relationship is with Princess Alicia. Truth be told, I fell for you while we were conquering dungeons together."
She didn't beat around the bush anymore. She wasn't hiding her feelings for me.
"But Princess Alicia can't beat me. At least not tonight."
"..."
"Because Halibal is by my side right now."
She pulled my arm again.
As if it were truly her own.
I yielded to her lead without resistance.
Before long, we had left the center of the ballroom and headed toward a quiet terrace.
Once the surrounding noise faded, Cecilia asked,
"You said you wanted to learn noble etiquette?"
Her face drew close enough that I could feel her breath.
"Shall I teach you... right now?"
That was when it happened.
"Cecilia!"
"...Ack."
A group of ladies came running from afar.
Not all noble children attended the academy. In fact, across the entire empire, far more didn't.
"Cecilia! Long time no see!"
"Lady Cecilia! It's been ages!"
"Oh my, it really is you? You've gotten even prettier since before."
The group of ladies surrounding Cecilia seemed to be her social acquaintances who weren't enrolled at the academy.
"But who's this? Could it be the rumored...?"
"I'm Halibal Belder."
Cecilia openly showed her annoyance.
Probably because they were interrupting this rare moment.
"...So, what is it?"
"What do you mean? We came to see you! But really, you came partnered with the Sword of Mourning? Impressive!"
"Cecilia, how's academy life these days? We hardly see your face anymore."
"Right! Is this Sir Halibal? I've heard so much about you!"
The ladies clung to Cecilia and wouldn't let go.
I tried to stay by her side, but I was naturally pushed back a step by the nonstop chatter of the group.
In the end, Cecilia whispered to me with an apologetic look.
"Sorry, Halibal. I'll handle this quickly and come back. Can you wait just a moment?"
"Got it."
I nodded and stepped aside toward the wall.
Cecilia was immediately swept up in the ladies' gossip assault.
While waiting, I looked around.
I didn't recognize a single person.
It seemed I'd come too deep into a secluded part of the ballroom following Cecilia.
"You're alone too?"
Then, one lady approached me.
The silver-haired upperclassman who'd been with Climood earlier.
It was Termina Whiteusher.
"You're the first-year Halibal Belder, right? So you're the rumored Sword of Mourning."
"...Yes."
"I'm Termina, second-year. Want to chat for a bit? It's too noisy here."
She pointed toward the terrace where no one was.
Behind the terrace pillar, the hulking figure of a man flickered.
He wasn't even properly hidden.
It was Climood.
He probably had no intention of hiding in the first place.
I'd already told Alicia.
She'd warned me not to act rashly.
But this was an opportunity.
The enemy I'd been targeting had come to me of his own accord.
A trap? Unlikely.
This was the heart of the empire.
With top forces like Ragnar and Adelin everywhere, and if the Church's goal was just to assassinate me, they wouldn't attempt something this reckless.
Above all, it was Termina calling me, not Climood.
So, just like with Valerius, it was likely an attempt to scout a promising first-year.
This wasn't me making the first move.
I was just responding to the invitation.
If anything, it was perfect. A golden chance to observe him up close while pretending not to know his identity.
I glanced toward Cecilia.
She was still surrounded by the ladies, chatting with an annoyed expression.
'No quick escape for her.'
"Sure."
I accepted her proposal.
As I headed to the terrace, Climood, standing near the pillar, bowed politely.
He poured wine into a glass with a friendly smile.
Termina spoke first.
"I heard the first-years conquered the Demon God's Dungeon this time?"
"Yes. Aren Bright, Her Highness, and the Saintess did."
"Impressive. We couldn't even dream of that in our first year. Now that we're second-years on the front lines, it's brutal. Right, Climood?"
"You've always carried out your duties admirably, miss."
Climood smiled with a bear-like warmth.
A smile reeking of disgust.
He probably wore that expression while manipulating Necredin to shatter Mine's spirit and drive Alicia to the brink of death.
'If only I could slit his throat right now.'
But there was no evidence. Killing him here would land me with a murder charge nine times out of ten.
It might even be what they wanted.
"By the way."
Termina leaned forward.
"You interested in clubs?"
"Clubs?"
"Yeah. You know what happened at the entrance earlier, right? With Valerius. Seems like anyone with eyes noticed. What about you?"
As expected.
It was about club scouting, just as I thought.
Whether fortunate or not, only time would tell.
"This imperial ball is unusual. So the club leaders sent us to check out promising first-years in advance. My orders were naturally to lure one of those three..."
The three were Aren, Alicia, and Mine.
"But then Climood gives me some good info, right?"
So Climood had intervened here.
He'd deliberately shifted Termina's target—originally one of the three—onto me.
'Testing me?'
Were they planning to recruit me into her club through her, then monitor and find my weaknesses?
"What info?"
"Climood said you were the key to that conquest."
"Rumors always get exaggerated."
"Is that so? Boo, boring."
I deflected moderately, and Termina pouted.
Silence hung for a while.
It was good information.
She wasn't blindly believing Climood but had come to test me on her own judgment.
At the very least, it meant House Whiteusher hadn't fallen into Climood's grasp.
But ending the conversation here wouldn't benefit me.
"Which club are you in, senpai?"
"Oh, we're the swordsmanship club. Our leader's the third-year top student."
'Of all things, the swordsmanship club.'
In the original story, joining a club was always advantageous.
Naturally, I planned to join one too, and my top choice was the swordsmanship club. It boosted swordsmanship proficiency.
Plus, the third-year top student.
"With your skills, the leader would welcome you for sure. What do you say?"
The swordsmanship club leader, Sword Legion Solmera.
Third-years in the academy were top-tier combatants even in the original.
And the top student, Solmera, was a monster in strength.
A swordsmanship club led by her.
It was a tempting offer.
But the problem was Climood's involvement.
Still, outright refusing here would be suspicious.
As a swordsman, I had no reason to turn down an invitation from the club led by the third-year top student.
A hasty refusal might arouse his suspicions.
In that case...
"It's a tempting offer, senpai."
"Right? You've heard of Senior Solmera too, huh?"
"I was already considering the swordsmanship club."
"Then we're done! Let's get along, junior!"
"But."
I cut her off.
"I'm thinking something else."
"What? Did another club make you an offer?"
"No. When the second semester starts..."
I had no intention of going along with Climood's scheme.
Above all, ever since my private talk with Ragnar, a vague picture had been forming in my mind.
"I'm thinking of starting my own club."
I glanced at Climood.
"A club with conquering the Demon God's Dungeon as our top priority."
The moment I finished speaking, I didn't miss the cold glint that flashed in his eyes.