Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: A Wind Blows (1)
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“Hoo.”
I took a deep breath and surveyed my surroundings.
Only six of us remained in the training grounds.
On our side, it was me, Lian, and Emma.
On their side were Amelia, Hummel, and an archer whose name I couldn't recall.
This wasn't part of the plan.
Originally, only Amelia and Hummel should have been left on their team.
But unexpectedly, the archer had survived.
And not just survived—he'd even eliminated Udo.
“An archer, you say... What's with the spear?”
The guy was surprisingly more skilled with a spear than a bow.
I couldn't understand why he'd bothered with the archer charade.
“I only picked up the spear for a moment. My main weapon is the bow.”
The fake archer brazenly retorted.
Calling himself an archer when he was several times better with a spear.
“Emma. Are you okay?”
Shaking my head, I checked on the kids' conditions.
“I can still pull my own weight.”
Emma's left gauntlet was stiff and unyielding, as if she'd taken a hit to the hand during the chaotic fight.
“Lian...”
“Surely you're not about to ask the heir of the Iron Wall if he's okay.”
“Putting on a brave face with that exhausted look.”
“...I don't know what you're talking about.”
Lian, at least, showed no visible injuries, but he couldn't hide the deep fatigue etched on his face.
Given his skill, I'd pushed him pretty hard, and it seemed his stamina had taken a significant hit.
“I know you're tired, Lian, but I need you to push a little harder.”
“Goes without saying.”
Lian replied curtly, pulling his shield up to his chin.
After a glance at Lian, I studied Team 2.
Though her expression was stern, Amelia didn't seem particularly tired.
Hummel looked fine as well.
His face, with its perpetually sleepy eyes looking our way, was no different than usual.
If anything, only the fake archer looked exhausted.
Amelia stepped forward.
Hummel stood beside her, maintaining a suitable distance.
After a moment's hesitation, the fake archer followed Hummel and took up a position on the opposite side.
“This chaotic charade is over.”
Amelia said, glaring at me.
“It wasn't a chaotic charade. It's a tactic called the oblique formation.”
In response, she swung her sword with a *swish*.
It was a clear signal to stop talking and come forward.
“I was just about to, no need to rush me.”
Muttering under my breath, I gave Lian and Emma a look.
“Emma, you take the fake archer. Lian, you take Hummel.”
At my words, Lian and Emma moved to face their respective opponents.
The plan for me and Emma to finish off Amelia while Lian held off Hummel had been ruined by that damn archer surviving.
Now, we had no choice but to fight based on our individual skills.
“Amelia Justice.”
As soon as I stepped up, Amelia took a step forward, swinging her sword in a series of elegant motions.
“Yan.”
I said curtly, letting my sword hang low.
Immediately after, without a clear instigator, we charged at each other.
And I...
“Ah...”
...lost.
* * *
A full day had already passed since the competition ended.
Enough time had passed for the previous day's fatigue to completely vanish, yet the kids' slumped shoulders showed no signs of straightening.
“Why is everyone so down?”
I asked casually, and Emma pouted.
“We lost like that in the final round. Aren't you the least bit disappointed?”
Her words made me chuckle.
I thought they were just down about the loss, but it seems it was more about disappointment.
These were the same kids who, during the first group competition, had fully expected to come in last, let alone win. They'd certainly grown a lot.
“We were one person short and almost won. Isn't that pretty good, all things considered?”
We'd scored a landslide victory against Team 1 with fewer members and narrowly lost to Team 2.
For Team 3, a group of cadets from the bottom of the entrance rankings, it was an incredible performance.
“That's true, but... we could have won.”
“It's frustrating. So frustrating.”
Selma chimed in, backing up Emma.
Well, it wasn't like I didn't understand.
If we hadn't exhausted our stamina in the match against Team 1, the result might have been different.
They all seemed to believe so.
I half agreed, and half didn't.
It was true that our stamina was low from fighting consecutive matches.
And it was also true that the match had been decided by a paper-thin margin.
But if you were to ask if the result would have been different had we been in top condition, that was another story.
To be honest, Team 2's individual skills were superior to ours.
Even Lian, one of the strongest in our team, had lost to Hummel, hadn't he?
And that's not even mentioning me.
My delusion of being strong after achieving Sword Resonance was shattered when Amelia soundly defeated me.
“If your training sword hadn't broken at the end, you wouldn't have lost so anticlimactically.”
I shook my head at Emma's words.
“Failing to gauge the condition of my sword is part of my skill, and honestly, the result wouldn't have been different even if it hadn't broken.”
Amelia was strong.
She was different from when I'd faced her in our last spar.
While we were preparing for the coming disaster by focusing on many-on-many combat training, she was preparing for the future by honing her individual skills.
I truly felt the extent of her talent in this competition.
I was embarrassed with myself for getting cocky over something like Sword Resonance.
“Well, I heard she was furious about losing to Bern in the team leader selection match. They say she's been swinging her sword without sleeping ever since.”
A genius who also works hard... it really is tough for an ordinary person to get by in this world.
Besides, Amelia and Hummel weren't the only geniuses on Team 2.
“What was with that spearman, anyway?”
“Ah, you mean that weirdo who insisted he was an archer until the very end?”
The half-baked archer from Team 2 who had been taken out of the fight after misstepping and falling off a roof while facing me during the flag defense match.
“With spear skills like that, why does he insist on using a bow?”
Emma seemed quite impressed by the eccentric archer's spear skills.
It made sense, since she was the one who had crossed swords with him directly.
“More importantly, where's Udo?”
I looked for the other person who had clashed with that eccentric archer.
“Mm. He seems to be blaming himself pretty hard for being the first one eliminated. Looks like he thinks we lost because of him.”
I sighed at Lian's words.
Shocked by the fact that he'd been eliminated before Pon, the lowest-ranked cadet, and the timid Boen, Udo had disappeared as soon as the competition ended and hadn't shown up since.
“We have no choice but to leave him be for now. He'll show up when he's ready.”
“For a guy built like a mountain, he's so timid.”
Dario and Peter, who were always with Udo, shook their heads.
As we talked, the kids' slumped shoulders gradually returned to their usual state.
“But are you really okay with it? When I think about it, you should be the most disappointed.”
I just shrugged at Emma's question.
“I'm satisfied.”
For an ordinary person to do this well in the Cradle, a place teeming with geniuses and prodigies, is good enough.
Wanting more would be greedy.
“Like I said before, you're kind of a jerk.”
“Seriously, where did this kid go wrong? Were you, by any chance, abused as a child?”
Selma asked, following Lian's harsh words.
Having nothing particular to say in response, I kept my mouth shut.
Saying I was satisfied wasn't a lie.
From the beginning, I hadn't placed much importance on winning or losing the group competition.
I had a different goal.
To present a new path to the cadets of the Cradle.
I wanted even one more person to realize how to survive the coming disaster.
And I got what I wanted.
It wasn't as if the cadets from other teams had immediately accepted Team 3's methods.
But they must have realized how powerless they were when faced with an opponent not bound by principles.
That was enough.
The values of cadets who had been indoctrinated with chivalry and all sorts of outdated principles and laws since they could walk wouldn't change overnight.
For now, planting a small seed of doubt in their minds was sufficient.
“You kids. How could you possibly understand my profound intentions?”
“What's he talking about? He's the biggest kid here.”
“Sometimes he acts like he's an old man.”
The kids looked at me as if I were absurd, each throwing in a comment.
Whatever.
“In time, you will all understand.”
I prattled on, paying them no mind.
“Ugh.”
With looks of exasperation, the kids glanced at me before starting to chatter again.
“So, when are classes starting again?”
“More importantly, I'm curious why they canceled the class schedule. After the competition, I saw the Vice Director and the professors talking with really serious faces.”
Her words reminded me of the Vice Director, who had come to see me after the competition.
‘You and Team 3 went through a lot. Thanks to you, I have one less difficult problem to worry about.’
To me, who could only blink in confusion at the sudden thanks, the Vice Director had said this.
‘You've drawn the sketch. We'll color it in.’
Cryptic words.
I had a feeling.
That many things were about to change.
A new wind was blowing through the Cradle.
* * *
My premonition was correct.
But the wind that blew wasn't just any wind; it was a harsh one.
“I heard someone from the Imperial Palace came.”
“The Imperial Palace? Why would they suddenly send someone?”
“I don't know either. But it didn't seem like they were here for anything good. The atmosphere was grim.”
Due to the sudden arrival of figures from the Imperial Palace, classes that were just about to resume were postponed again.
“For today, all cadets are to refrain from personal activities and remain in their dormitories until further notice.”
A staff member with a grim expression came and sternly warned the cadets not to leave their dorms.
“It's because of *that*, isn't it?”
“What else could it be?”
“There's no other reason for someone from the Imperial Palace to come.”
The kids, who had been chattering about the sudden visit from the imperial official, lowered their voices.
“The Apocalypse.”
At the word, uttered as if on cue, I couldn't help but tense up.
“Looks like the Imperial Palace finally sent an inspector.”
I tried my best to ignore the kids' conversation.
I had more than a few things to feel guilty about.
“But who snitched?”
“Rule out the cadets. We don't have any way to report it to the outside even if we wanted to.”
I had been wondering the same thing.
From the moment I posted the Apocalypse on the anonymous message board, I had considered that a situation like this might arise.
After I'd so blatantly written about the fall of the empire and the collapse of the Imperial Family, there was no way they would just stand by.
The only thing that differed from my expectations was how fast the Imperial Palace had responded.
But there was a reason.
“The Cradle requested the inspection from the Imperial Palace themselves! They even told them about the Apocalypse!”
Only after hearing Angelo's words did I understand the reason for the Imperial Palace's swift action.
“They made the first move.”
“It's a cleaner way to handle it than trying to cover it up only for the Imperial Palace to find out later.”
“When you think about it, the Cradle's leadership is no joke. To make such a bold decision on a matter that could easily get them entangled in treason...”
I found myself nodding in agreement with the kids' words before suddenly frowning.
“But why are you all hanging out in my room instead of your own? Angelo, you're not even in our team, why are you here again?”
The kids, huddled together in my not-so-spacious room, completely ignored me.
Just as I was about to say something to the uninvited guests who were chattering away as if the room's owner didn't exist, the dormitory speaker crackled to life.
[Ah, ah. This is an announcement from the staff office. Silver Eagle class, Cadet Yan, please report to the Director's office immediately. I repeat. Cadet Yan, please report to the Director's office immediately...]