Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: The Wind Blows (2)
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My heart dropped.
With the guilt I carried, it wasn't easy to stay composed.
But all the hardships of my past life had not been for naught.
Thanks to it, I managed to feign composure.
“Huh? They're calling for you.”
I glanced at Lian, who sounded puzzled by the sudden summons, and put on a bewildered expression of my own.
“What’s this about? Surely they’re not going to reprimand me for what happened during the group competition now, of all times.”
“That’s gotta be it. I knew it was too quiet.”
“They told us to use any means necessary, that there were no rules. This is why you can’t trust a word adults say.”
The kids jumped to their own conclusions and started badmouthing the Cradle’s staff.
[Cadet Yan, stop what you are doing and proceed immediately to the Headmaster's office…]
Meanwhile, the broadcast continued.
“Everyone, out.”
I shooed the kids away.
“Hey, why?”
“Just go. We’ll wait for you.”
The kids grumbled.
It was as if they planned to stay in my empty room; not a single one of them got up.
“Scram!”
“Whoa.”
They only finally got up after I feigned kicking them in the rear.
“Should I go with you?”
“Yeah. Let’s go together.”
“We’re in this together.”
The kids belatedly offered, their voices laced with concern.
“I’m fine. What’s the worst that could happen? It’s not like we broke any of the Cradle’s rules.”
Of course, I refused.
“I’ll be back, so you all behave.”
Unlike the kids, who thought I was being reprimanded for the group competition, I was certain this summons was about the Apocalypse Record.
In this situation, there was nothing to gain by bringing the kids along.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay going alone?”
In response to Lian’s question, I just gave a dismissive wave and left the dormitory.
From there, I headed straight for the Headmaster’s office.
*Knock, knock.*
“Cadet Yan, reporting as summoned.”
“Enter.”
I took a short, deep breath and opened the door.
*Creeak.*
Beyond the door lay the Headmaster’s office.
On one side of the sofa sat the Vice Headmaster, and in the seat of honor was a man I had never seen before.
It wasn’t hard to figure out who he was.
Only the direct agents of the Imperial Family wore uniforms emblazoned with celestial patterns.
I had been summoned to the Headmaster’s office, yet the Headmaster himself was nowhere to be seen.
“What are you waiting for? Come in.”
“Yes, sir.”
At the Vice Headmaster’s urging, I quickly stepped inside.
“You must have been surprised by the sudden summons, but don’t be too nervous. Several from other classes have already been here. You’re just the first to be called from the Silver Eagle class.”
This is just a formality, so relax.
Even as he said that, the Vice Headmaster didn’t offer me a seat.
It meant that, contrary to his words, this meeting was neither a formality nor a comfortable one.
Indeed, the Imperial Inspector’s gaze was as sharp as if he were looking at a suspect as he scanned me.
“…”
He silently looked me up and down.
I met his gaze with an innocent face.
I mixed a healthy dose of nervousness with curiosity, making sure to flinch every now and then.
All to look too naive to cause any real trouble.
Meanwhile, I was racking my brain, trying to figure out why I had been summoned first.
Logically, there was no reason to call for me before the group leader.
Of course, if they were looking for the culprit who wrote the Apocalypse Record, then I was their man, but that was a fact only I knew.
Nevertheless, I couldn’t help the knot of fear in my stomach.
“You’re…”
Finally, the Imperial Inspector spoke.
He looked ready to shout, ‘Traitor, face the Imperial Family’s solemn blade!’
But it was a classic case of a guilty conscience.
The reason the Imperial Inspector stared at me so intently wasn’t because of the Apocalypse Record.
“…So you’re the child His Highness the Crown Prince spoke of.”
What came from the Imperial Inspector’s mouth was not an interrogation or an accusation, but the Crown Prince’s name.
“The palace is abuzz with stories about you, so my expectations were high…”
His gaze, which had lingered on my face for a moment, scanned me up and down again.
“You’re quite different from what I imagined. I’m rather taken aback.”
There was no need to ask how I was different.
I could tell just by his gaze, which he intentionally and exaggeratedly held just above my head.
*Runt, runt.*
At the words that rang in my ears like a hallucination, I couldn’t help but feel a flicker of irritation.
If I hadn’t experienced my past life, I would have felt more than a little—a lot more—irritated.
After all, in just three years, I’d be able to look down on the inspector before me.
“Did I perhaps offend you?”
To the Imperial Inspector’s question, I shook my head firmly.
“No. Not at all. Why would I be?”
At my words, the Imperial Inspector raised one corner of his mouth.
His expression was extremely unpleasant.
Let me be clear. I was only annoyed by his infuriating manner of speaking and attitude—so typical of someone from the Imperial Family—which could turn anyone's stomach. It had nothing to do with him prodding at my insecurities about my strange lack of growth in this life.
Really.
“So, the reason you were looking for me is…?”
It was a polite way of saying, *If you’re going to summon a busy person, get to the point. Why all this useless chatter?*
“So some parts of the stories are true. Quite impudent.”
The smile vanished completely from his face, as if asking if I understood the gravity of the situation.
I, too, wiped the expression from my face to match.
“I hear a very subversive piece of writing has appeared in the Cradle recently. Its contents are so presumptuous and blasphemous that I can hardly bring myself to speak of them.”
His gaze was as sharp as when I first saw him, as if it could cut.
“I am certain the suspect is one of the cadets in your Silver Eagle class.”
He didn’t bother to lay out his evidence or boastfully explain his reasoning in front of me.
“My true desire is to transport the entire class to the Imperial Capital for interrogation.”
“You said this was a formality.”
“My dear Vice Headmaster. Why does a man who should know better say such naive things? There is nothing ‘formal’ about an investigation by the Imperial Inspector’s Office.”
“…The Cradle will never hand over its cadets on mere suspicion.”
The Imperial Inspector casually retorted to the Vice Headmaster’s sharp, decisive words.
“I know. I too was once a part of the Cradle. How could I not know?”
“Since you know, I will say no more.”
From what I gathered, the inspector before me had also once served as a professor at the Cradle.
Indeed, considering the existence of the thoroughly concealed satellite city, a former professor would be more suitable as an inspector than a complete outsider.
“Tsk. Henkel, you haven’t changed a bit. How can a man of your stature be so shortsighted? I’ve told you time and again. To achieve great things, you mustn’t cling to the small stuff.”
“I have no desire to be lectured by someone who smuggled out cadets.”
But the Vice Headmaster seemed to disagree with my assessment.
As if they had some ill-fated connection in the past, every word he spoke was sharply barbed.
Now that I thought about it, the Vice Headmaster’s gaze toward the Imperial Inspector flickered with not just caution, but outright hostility.
At first, I thought it was just because of the gravity of the situation, but it seemed there was another reason.
“You really seem to despise the sight of me. What to do? Looks like I’m stuck here in the Cradle until I find the culprit.”
The look on the Imperial Inspector’s face as he said he had no choice, having been ordered to thoroughly investigate this matter, uncover the truth, and hunt down the culprit, was unbearably smug.
“More importantly, why hasn’t the Headmaster shown his face, despite a visit from an Imperial Inspector?”
“He knows his own foul temper, so he said he’s stepped away for a while, lest his bad habits resurface upon seeing things that are not quite human. I, for one, have no idea what he means. Perhaps you do?”
But the Vice Headmaster was no pushover either.
This was as good as telling the inspector to his face that he wasn’t even fit to be called human.
Watching the two of them trade venomous remarks, my face scrunched up on its own.
What were they doing, summoning someone just for this?
“Is there anything else you wish to say to me? If not, may I be excused?”
Only after hearing my words did the two stop their argument.
“I only called you today to get acquainted, so you may leave. I’ll arrange a separate meeting soon. Of course, our ever-so-busy Vice Headmaster won’t be able to join us then.”
“Ah, right. You must not have heard. There’s a new rule at the Cradle. Outsiders cannot meet with cadets alone. I won’t waste my breath explaining whose fault that rule is.”
“The Cradle’s rules cannot supersede the authority of the Imperial Family.”
Figuring I’d have to be a spectator to another pointless argument if I stayed, I quickly bowed my head and turned to leave.
“Well then…”
“Ah, one more thing.”
The Imperial Inspector’s voice stopped me again.
“Do you know of the Highlanders? They’re a people who live in tribes in the highlands beyond the northern border. They say they’re all short and stocky, with broad chests. And their highlands are at a much lower altitude than this satellite city, so if they’re like that…”
It was a malicious curse suggesting that if I stayed in the satellite city for long, I’d never grow tall.
He supposedly smuggled cadets out while he was a professor… surely this isn’t part of his preliminary work, is it?
“Whatever.”
It was a useless trick to pull on me, who already knew the future.
“…”
I glanced down, sizing up my chest.
“…Broad, my ass. It’s the same as always.”
He doesn’t even know what he’s talking about.
I grumbled under my breath.
But that was only for a moment.
Stopping a good distance from the Headmaster’s office, I glanced back.
In that short time, I was able to confirm a few things from the Imperial Inspector’s attitude.
First, the Imperial Inspector was definitely not on the Crown Prince’s side.
If he were with the Crown Prince, there would have been some sort of message, long or short.
He should have at least passed on his regards.
But he didn’t relay any message to me at all.
His words—that he’d heard about me not from the prince himself but through rumors circulating in the palace—were further proof that he wasn’t on the Crown Prince’s side.
It was flimsy evidence, but I was certain.
Hadn’t I already witnessed the Imperial Family splitting into the Crown Prince’s faction and the Empress’s faction?
Of course, I still needed to watch and see.
If I waited, he was bound to show his true colors one way or another.
“Cadet Yan.”
And that moment came much sooner than I’d thought.
I hadn’t even gotten far from the Headmaster’s office.
“Let’s talk for a moment.”
The Imperial Inspector had found me.
Any questions about how he’d caught up to me when I’d left first…
“Have you any thought of playing in the big leagues?”
…were trivial compared to his abrupt question.
“Just answer.”
He showed no hesitation in trying to win over a cadet of the Cradle.
“Depending on your answer, I can make you a Knight right now.”
He wasn’t even considering the possibility of my refusal.
“And not with some trivial, low-ranking constellation, but a renowned one. I’ll even arrange a Starseeker for you.”
His gaze on me was like that of a fisherman looking at a fish already caught.
He was smiling triumphantly, thinking he’d made an unprecedented offer.
“Aha. A Starseeker, you say?”
How ridiculous he looked to me.