Chapter 104
Chapter 104
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Revolution, Reincarnation
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To be honest, it's kind of awkward to say this out loud.
Wolfram von Loengrin thought he had scattered quite a lot of stuff around to the people nearby.
Right? Yeah, that's right.
No, let's just be straight about it.
He's tossed out fortune cookies here and there. There were times he even gave away pastries made by Shining Patissier for free.
He's not saying that because he gave them stuff, they should give him more in return or anything like that.
It's just... wouldn't it be nice if there was some goodwill freely exchanged between them?
That's what he told Nefti.
She stared at him blankly before tilting her head.
"Stuff to decorate the office?"
"Yeah. It's such a barren place, you know? I'm just asking people around for little decorative items one by one."
"...Hmm. Uh-huh. I don't have anything amazing to give, though."
"Doesn't have to be amazing. Just something to put up in the office is fine."
"Hmm, hmmm..."
Nefti pondered for a really long time.
Hmm.
No matter how you slice it, asking for a gift from a girl who came up from the countryside on a scholarship feels a bit guilty on the conscience.
And since he's imperial blood, she probably feels extra pressure thinking it has to match his status, multiplying the burden several times over.
"If you don't have anything, that's fine."
"No, wait, I thought about it and... I found this."
With that, Nefti handed it over to him.
For real?
And it's even been used before?
"Hmm. Items to display in Master's office, right?"
"Doesn't have to be anything special. Just one each is fine."
"Yes. A symbol of our bond. Then... this from me."
Emily handed him a worn ladle.
This one slightly boosts cooking skills. Not a bad item for him.
"I'll treasure it and display it well, Emily."
"Yes, Master. The ladle will be happy too."
Room items are random based on what the other person gives.
Usually tied to affection levels, but if things glitch, who knows what you'll get.
Emily's worn ladle is something given in the mid-story Emily route.
But since he never unlocked the Emily route, some trigger must have glitched somewhere.
Anyway, that's how he started decorating the office with these odds and ends.
"Then I'll head out, Master."
"Yeah. Keep practicing that cream stew. Do your best."
"Yes!"
With a polite bow, Emily left.
Ahead of her lay battles with the dark culinary world of the black flag. Fight on.
"Now, just Aila and Milmyu left, I guess."
On the flip side, the school rules book from Eve was something you could get fixed, even without unlocking her route.
But back then, it was brand new.
The explanation about underlining it for family didn't exist in the main story at all.
So, Eve must have done it specially for him, like "Read the school rules for real!" But did she forget he has them memorized?
The student council president giving a student the school rules book.
He knew all too well what that book meant in the main story.
【From now on, memorize this school rules book. Burn it into your brain.】
【Assist me until the moment you graduate this school.】
【Hehe. Half-joking. But... never stop honing yourself here until the end.】
【I'll be expecting great things. Kelters.】
Being asked by the student council president to become part of this school.
That small gesture becomes a vital spark for Kelters—tormented by early dropouts, the black flag darkness, and nameless curses—and for us projecting onto him.
And she gave it to him.
"......"
Something must be bugged in the messages.
Or maybe Eve's head has a bug.
"Either way, not amusing."
Eve von Loengrin's self-reflection is swift.
If she's committed any mistakes in the past, she regrets them to the bone and learns from them.
And right now, she was doing just that.
"Uwaaaah..."
Sitting in her chair, head thrown back to the ceiling, hands covering her face, legs kicking the air.
A literal blanket kick. The ultimate expression of mortification.
Why? Why did she give him that gift?
She'd only meant to hand over a single school rules book!
Why did she personally underline parts or mark them to pay attention?
"Aaaah..."
To begin with, Wolfram von Loengrin has the school rules memorized.
The conversation when he usurped the student council president seat proves it.
【Next student council president. Remember Jefrin Academy Regulation Article 1, Section 8?】
【...Huh? Wait, Article 1, Section 8? Section 8?】
It's only been three months. How could she forget?
"No... I don't acknowledge Wolfram. I don't..."
Giving the school rules book means accepting someone as part of the academy.
And underlining parts beneath the rules? That implies hoping they'll become an outstanding member of the academy.
Thinking that way, Eve couldn't control her expression. Me? Why? That lunatic?
But Eve von Loengrin.
A sixteen-year-old who knows learning and grasps the meaning of growth.
She already knew how to turn this situation around.
Very simple.
Go to Wolfram von Loengrin, her blood older brother.
And like in their younger days.
Bro...
Brother...
Big bro...
"Take this, you scum."
Then blast his head with a light spear, and everything's neatly resolved, right?
Pondering her inner child's words seriously, Eve suddenly stopped.
"What's done is done. Yeah."
Right. Can't be helped.
More importantly, time to focus on student council president duties.
"My liege. I've led the sprouts to the front of the student council building. What now?"
"Normally, a written greeting would suffice, but... I want to see their faces."
"Shall I bring them here, then?"
"Yes. Please do."
"Understood, my liege. I'll be off."
Silpia left the room, and alone in the student council office, Eve gazed at the ceiling and let out another enigmatic laugh.
"I'll let him live for today. Hehe. Hoho. Fufufu... But don't get the wrong idea. I haven't acknowledged you as part of the academy or anything!"
Eve von Loengrin.
It was the summer of a sensitive sixteen-year-old.
He asked Aila if he could get just one decorative item.
"Something to hang in Wolfram's office?"
"Yeah."
His current pathetic stats weren't something he could raise right away.
Last time's acquisition cancel five-hit combo was practically a heavenly miracle, and normally you'd be lucky with three points.
Of course, not every episode boss battle gives stat boosts.
So, he needed to squeeze out every bit of stat correction he could to survive and keep going.
This wasn't beggary for gifts.
It was an exchange of friendship.
Yeah, an exchange of friendship!
"Doesn't have to be anything fancy. The place looks too empty otherwise."
"Ah, I see. Hmm... Could you give me a little time to prepare? I'm swamped inside and out. Finals are coming up soon, you know?"
"...Of course."
"What's wrong, Wolfram? You look super serious."
"Nothing."
In the original story, Aila Trista doesn't take her finals.
She gets expelled for plotting rebellion in Jefrin.
But now... probably not.
That curse hasn't reached Aila, as far as he knew.
So, if things stay this way, Aila can graduate from Jefrin.
That thought wrapped him in a strange mood.
From Kelters' perspective, the battles with the black flag ahead, the villains inside Jefrin, the emperor's arrangements, external expeditions... He wasn't sure how they'd play out by his standards, but the witch of rebellion in Act 3, the lady of ambition, was smiling innocently right in front of him.
Come to think of it, wonder how that little druid kid she was close with is doing. Eh, they'll show up when it's time. Hard to catch a flying squirrel type anyway.
Anyway. Inside and out, huh?
"Some external issue?"
"Issue... not really, but there's something I need to handle."
"What is it?"
"Nothing big. Really just a trivial family matter."
......
By his guess, that "trivial family matter" is why you become the Act 3 boss.
What if it blows up like the mining monster incident last time?
"Even trivial family matters are worth sharing. It's not like it's someone else's problem."
Now he says that, after treating it like one before.
"Huh?"
"Hm?"
"Not someone else's problem? What... what does that mean...?"
What does it mean?
Well.
The Trista family and I are bound by mutual benefit.
Thanks to your ore, I'm scraping by here.
"Exactly what I said."
"...R-right. Cough. I see. Not someone else's problem, huh. Hmm. So Wolfram thinks that way... Not another family... Well, it's not a huge deal anyway."
Aila fidgeted oddly, cleared her throat with a hem-hem, and continued.
"Does Wolfram know about the Sprout System?"
"Sprout System? Yeah, I know it."
He knew it well.
It's one of the main reasons the Eve route is overwhelmingly easy.
He began explaining the Sprout System as he knew it, step by step.
"It's a program to give promising young talents who've already secured next year's admission a preview of Jefrin."
"Yes, exactly."
No matter how tough the entrance exam, true talent deserves respect.
Take Eve von Loengrin as an example.
Who would dare tell her, setting aside her bloodline, "You might fail the entrance exam, so watch out"?
From the moment she was born, Jefrin's top spot was hers. Through the Sprout System, she toured Jefrin before even enrolling.
And claiming nothing left to learn in undergrad, she experienced grad labs and built ties with professors.
That's also why the Eve route is easy.
You know who's enrolling next year and can build affection with characters in advance.
Like clutching the useful ones tight, or legally tempering top prospects with call-up potential.
"That's really just a trivial external worry. A family issue. Not something to share like gossip... Really that level."
"......Ah. I see."
Sprout System. External issue and family matter.
Putting those pieces together, the answer vaguely clicked.
"I told her to come here... and right on cue."
"Yeah."
Thud! Thud! The ground shook, the sound pounding in his ears.
He nodded, eyeing the massive figure approaching from afar.
"I see. That kid's here."
"Yes."
Raise her right, and she'll definitely hit tier 1.
A girl wielding a rare combat style even in D/Z SAGA.
Rather than physical fights, she excels overwhelmingly in wielding authority.
The princess of the Black Crystal Legion, a genius you must recruit if you want to breeze through the story.
"Big brother Wolframmy! Take me in!"
Spica Trista.
She leaped off the golem's head with a thwack! and flew straight at him.
Seeing her dive headfirst, she meant business.
He glanced at Aila, who nodded and flicked her fingers.
Black crystals spread in the air, binding Spica's arms and legs as she jumped, gently lowering her down.
"I never asked sis to take me! I want Wolfram big brother to!"
"That frivolous attitude doesn't suit the Trista family pride. Rebellion must be elegant!"
"No! Clinging to old ways isn't pride! It's not revolutionary!"
Declaring that, Spica turned from Aila, looked his way, and beamed.
"Wolfram big brother! A whole year is way too long no matter how I think about it! Revolutions must ignite and act the instant they spark! Miss the timing, and they end as fantasies!"
"......Is that so."
"Yes. So before it's too late... I came to play myself!"
Spica said, smiling brightly.
No.
Wasn't this supposed to be for studying?