Chapter 166
Chapter 166
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 166
Chapter Title: Chapter 36: Enlightenment (5)
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Blink, blink.
The Vice Director was silent.
“...Your reward has been decided. Go and wait.”
After a long pause, he repeated the same words. It seemed he hadn't heard me properly.
Or perhaps he'd heard but hadn't understood.
“I will be leaving the Cradle.”
So I stated my intention once more.
“What?”
“I will be leaving the Cra—”
“What did you say?”
“I'm withdrawing voluntarily!”
How many times was he going to make me repeat myself?
“...”
The Vice Director’s eyes narrowed.
“I have to ask, were there any external factors? Like pressure, or perhaps persuasion.”
“There was something similar, but it has nothing to do with my decision.”
Putting aside whether Rangfin Haime's warning counted as pressure or persuasion, this was a decision I made of my own free will.
“Is this because of problems with the other cadets? You were ostracized for quite some time before...”
“That was ages ago. It’s all been resolved.”
It was true I hadn't been on good terms with the other cadets for a while, but that was in the past.
It had nothing to do with my current decision.
“...Then why? Why so suddenly?”
The Vice Director looked like he couldn't comprehend my decision.
It wasn't a strange reaction.
The Cradle of Stars, the Empire's finest academy.
Just completing the program guaranteed a smooth path in life.
Leaving the Cradle of one’s own accord without a special reason was a foolish thing to do.
Of course, that didn't apply to me.
In truth, I already knew.
There was nothing left for me to gain at the Cradle.
Everything taught here was nothing new to me.
I already had a pretty good teacher.
My arduous and miserable past life.
The damned Great War.
As much as I hated to admit it, I learned a great deal through the Great War.
Every enemy and ally I met in that horrific war was my teacher, and the victories and defeats I experienced in my past life became my nourishment.
While the teachings of the Cradle's professors were undoubtedly excellent, they couldn't compare to the lessons taught by the ruthless teacher that was the Great War.
I had realized this fact quite some time ago.
Despite that, I hadn't left the Cradle.
First, because of my lingering attachment to becoming a Starseeker.
But unfortunately, my body was incapable of becoming a Starseeker.
The stars of the outer constellations had confirmed it multiple times, and after a few incidents of attempted (?) ascension forced upon me by others, I became completely certain.
Many things had changed from my past life, but one thing remained the same.
In this life, too, I was not destined to be a Starseeker.
Second, the impending disaster at the Cradle held me back.
The Cradle that had vanished without a trace in my past life.
I wanted the Cradle to remain intact in this life.
I hoped it would become a focal point for the powerless in the chaotic era to come.
It was impossible in my past life, but it was possible in this one.
The Cradle's graduates, active throughout the Empire, and the minor families behind them.
The current Cradle was more than capable of leading them.
Perhaps the Cradle could even become the center of change.
But it was a distant prospect to confirm that with my own eyes.
I didn't have time to wait until then.
Even at this very moment, the foretold disaster was drawing closer by the second.
That was precisely why I had to leave the Cradle.
The events on the 13th front had convinced me.
What I had seen, learned, and mastered in my past life was a far more powerful weapon than I had thought.
Of course, it might have been an arrogant thought.
A mere squire, not even a knight.
Talking about a past life and all, but when it came down to it, it was just the miserable life of a loser.
Still just a perennial squire.
For someone like that to claim he would change the future—even I found it absurd.
But.
“There are things that only I can do.”
Nevertheless, I was determined to give it my all.
Even if the end was as miserable as in my past life.
“You...”
The Vice Director began to speak.
“You are gravely mistaken.”
In his eyes, I was just a greenhorn who hadn't even had his coming-of-age ceremony.
For such a youngster to ramble on about things only he could do, it was unlikely anything good would come of it.
I expected the Vice Director to launch into a lecture.
But he didn't.
“Just because you don't complete the course doesn't mean your connection to the Cradle is severed.”
I could only blink at his rather unexpected words, and he clicked his tongue.
“I don't know what it is you intend to do, but it surely won't be easy. I can tell just by looking at your face.”
It seemed my inner thoughts had shown on my face while I was gathering them.
“The stars born from the Cradle may not be the brightest, but if they stand together, they can at least help you avoid falling off a thousand-fathom cliff because you couldn't see the ground beneath your feet.”
If things become too much to bear, ask for help anytime.
The graduates active throughout the Empire will lend you their strength.
“Do not forget that the Cradle is behind you.”
My eyes widened at the unexpected encouragement.
I never expected to hear such words from the Vice Director of all people.
From my experience, he was uncharacteristically rational and calculating for a knight.
He was more of a carpet knight, better suited for the court than the battlefield.
He was the type to weigh the pros and cons before acting, rather than unconditionally cheering on someone leaving the Cradle.
But it seemed that was all my prejudice.
Right now, the Vice Director looked more knightly than anyone.
“Conversely, if you walk a path of injustice, the Cradle's graduates will stand in your way.”
As he warned me, I could even feel the righteous spirit characteristic of a noble house.
“This business you mentioned in the world below, is it an urgent matter that requires immediate attention?”
I shook my head at the Vice Director's question.
“Until you receive further instructions, carry on as usual.”
With those words, he gestured with his hand.
It was a sign for me to leave.
*Click.*
As soon as I left the Director's office, I heard grumbling from behind me.
Something about how he'd gone to great trouble deciding on the reward, only for it to be a waste.
And how his workload had just increased again.
“Now that I think about it, I'm getting pissed. Huh?”
As he spoke, his anger seemed to mount, and soon I could hear his cursing even from outside the door.
I hastily left, fearing I'd get caught in the crossfire if I stayed any longer.
* * *
“You didn't stop him?”
The Director suddenly demanded.
“You should have. That kid is no ordinary talent. If nurtured properly, he's more than capable of being inducted into not just the Cradle's Hall of Fame, but the Empire's Knightly Hall of Fame.”
“He said he has something only he can do down below. What was I supposed to say to stop him?”
“Wasn't it more like you thought, 'Good riddance,' since you always considered him a thorn in your side?”
For Henkel Heinz, the accusation was not just absurd but downright unfair.
“You say that because you didn't see his face. It wasn't a face that would listen to reason.”
He wasn't just saying that.
‘Tragic’ wasn't enough to describe it.
A conviction that went beyond a sense of duty.
The moment he saw the determination filling that youthful face, he instinctively knew that no words would get through.
“He's just a kid who hasn't even had his coming-of-age ceremony. What could he possibly do?”
“You really don't believe me, do you? To give you an idea... yes. He had the face of someone heading to a battlefield.”
“A battlefield? The war is over.”
“...A metaphor! It's a metaphor! I'm saying the kid was that resolute.”
“What could a kid that age be so resolute about? What is it?”
“I didn't ask.”
“Why not?”
“Because he had the face of someone who wouldn't tell me even if I asked.”
“...Are you a mind reader? How would you know without asking?”
Henkel Heinz let out a sigh.
In truth, there was something he couldn't bring himself to say.
The moment he met those blue eyes, a thought crossed his mind.
*The kid before me is preparing for a fight of his own.*
*He's about to walk a path of thorns, paved with hardship.*
It was a strange thing.
He was still far too young to know the world.
And yet, just glimpsing a fraction of the burden the boy carried, he felt a suffocating pressure.
To be overwhelmed by a kid not even half his age.
That was why.
Normally, he would have issued a stern warning about security leaks.
But when he came to his senses, he found himself spouting all sorts of cheesy lines.
Something about the brightest stars, and feet in the darkness.
Looking back now, it was uncharacteristic of him.
But he didn't regret it.
His wildly beating heart had slowed to its usual pace, but the inexplicable sense of duty he had felt at that moment still remained.
“So, about that. The reward we were going to give the kid.”
“We decided on a Silver Star insignia, a few other things, and the promise of a post of his choice upon graduation, didn't we?”
“Let's give him the insignia as planned, but let's rethink the rest.”
“Oh?”
“What? A kid who hasn't even had his coming-of-age ceremony is choosing a path of thorns over a path of flowers. As adults, we can help him out a little.”
“Who said anything?”
The Director's lips twitched.
He looked like he was about to burst out laughing.
Henkel Heinz's face crumpled into a scowl.
“Fine, then forget it!”
“Why the sudden temper?”
“Then what's with that look on your face!”
“What's wrong with my face? This is just how I look.”
“Then you shouldn't have been born with that face!”
“...?”
Their bickering was brief.
“Pick out some things that would be useful outside the Cradle, down in the world below.”
“I was actually already thinking of a few things...”
They put their heads together and began to brainstorm.
After mulling it over for a while, the Director spoke as if he had just remembered something.
“Then what about... Professor Navian?”
It was a rather random question.
A single cadet and the Empire's greatest knight.
Normally, there should have been no connection between them.
“No way. You think that Black Knight would make a move just because one kid is leaving?”
But even as he said it, Henkel Heinz wasn't so sure.
“Right? That would be a bit much.”
The one who brought it up seemed to think so too.
* * *
Four days had already passed since the cadets returned to the Cradle.
Aside from personal training, every day was free time.
It was a consideration from the Cradle to help them recover from the fatigue accumulated on the battlefield.
But instead of resting, the cadets dedicated themselves to training more than ever.
Each of them was diligently working to internalize the enlightenment they had gained on the battlefield.
The cadets of Squad 3 were no different.
They were sweating bullets, trying not to forget the feeling of group combat they had experienced in the final battle.
“Phew. Let's call it a day.”
“Don't you dare forget the feeling you have right now.”
Completely exhausted, the members of Squad 3 stopped their afternoon training and collapsed to the floor to rest.
“But isn't that guy acting a little strange lately?”
“Yeah, it feels like his mind is elsewhere.”
“The training fiend hasn't shown up to the training grounds even once.”
As they chatted about this and that, the conversation naturally turned to their absent squadmate.
There was so much they wanted to ask and so much they wanted to say.
But they just couldn't find the opportunity.
Whatever was keeping him so busy, it had been hard to even see their squadmate's face since returning to the Cradle.
Even when they did run into him, he'd just nag them instead of talking, to the point where they were starting to avoid him.
It was then that a rumor reached them.
“What? Yan is withdrawing?”
The Squad 3 members let it go in one ear and out the other.
They naturally assumed it was a baseless rumor.
But it wasn't.
“I'm telling you, I heard him talking about it with the Vice Director myself!”
One of the cadets claimed to have personally heard him discussing the timing of his withdrawal with the Vice Director.
The members of Squad 3 looked at each other.
As if on cue, those who had been sprawled out resting all rose to their feet.