Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Crossing the Line
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“No, that’s taking it a bit too far.”
The woman introduced herself as the professor for the medical support course and the head of the infirmary.
“To be precise, it's not that you can't be a Starseeker, but rather that you have a constitution that requires a little—no, honestly, a lot of caution.”
Professor Yuria corrected me.
“There are kids like that sometimes. The type who get swept away by the immense will of the stars and lose themselves. I think you might be one of them.”
She pulled out a file with my personal information, though I had no idea where she got it from.
“It's especially common among those from the monastic orders. They call them saints over there, though in my opinion, it's more of a glorified interpretation than anything. Anyway, of all people, you just had to serve a knight from a monastic order, didn’t you?”
“It's true the master I used to serve was a holy knight of a monastic order, but…”
“Now, that's the official diagnosis.”
“...?”
“From here on out, this is the unofficial one, just between you and me.”
Professor Yuria stared at me intently.
“You've taken a Gaecheondan, haven't you?”
Her words were completely unexpected.
I froze on the spot.
“What are you so scared for? Did you think I was going to eat you or something?”
I couldn't bring myself to deny it.
The knights’ yearning for ascension bordered on madness.
Would a white knight who wields the power of healing be any different?
In the worst-case scenario, Professor Yuria might try to extract any remaining components of the Gaecheondan from my body.
“I'm not interested in ascension, so could you stop looking at me like I'm some kind of cannibal?”
“Yes, ma'am.”
“Anyway, things have gotten complicated. I don't know what possessed them to give such a precious item to a squire with no rank, but in the end, their good intentions have backfired.”
Whether I was frozen or not, Professor Yuria paid me no mind.
“Unfortunately, there’s no precedent for me to give you a clear explanation right here and now, is there? But if I had to give you some advice.”
Her manner of explaining was not just clear, but downright cheerful.
“It’s that the same thing will happen again if a similar situation arises.”
She made a motion as if yanking something up into the air.
“Unless you want to go to heaven at a young age, don't even look up there for the time being.”
Her diagnosis was so clear that I nodded my head without thinking.
“You accept that pretty easily, huh? I spent a long time wondering how to tell you.”
“Pardon?”
“You came to the Cradle, which means your goal is to become a knight, and you have more than enough aptitude. Aren’t you disappointed?”
I shrugged at her, who seemed genuinely surprised.
“I’m used to waiting.”
More than just used to it.
I waited for fifteen years in my past life alone.
Without receiving any attention from the stars, waiting for a day of selection that might never come.
Compared to that, my current situation was much better.
Unlike my past life where I couldn't even catch a glimpse of a star, at least now I had stars I was on open(?) terms with.
“You’re a patient kid, unlike how you look. Good for you.”
Unaware of my circumstances, Professor Yuria patted my head as if she felt sorry for me.
“Anyway, that's all I can tell you. We'll have to find out the rest over time.”
Watching her treat me with pure goodwill, devoid of any ulterior motives, I suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
I admonished myself for having doubted such a good person, even for a moment.
Just as I was about to stand up and properly thank her, a sudden wave of dizziness hit me.
“Ah, I forgot to tell you. You might feel a little dizzy, so it's best you rest here for the day.”
Seeing my state, Professor Yuria said nonchalantly.
“I drew some of your blood before you woke up. But I guess I got a little carried away. Sorry about that. Anyway, for that reason, you need to rest today, got it?”
She showed me a large glass bottle she was holding, and it was full of a red liquid.
But the amount wasn't just 'a little' excessive.
It was a miracle I wasn't dead.
“Whatever I get from this, I'll give it to you first.”
To be honest, the sight of her cheerfully saying that while sloshing my blood around in the glass bottle made her look a little crazy.
An unsettling feeling made my chin instinctively tuck in.
“And if you happen to lose a limb or two during class, I'll reattach it for you. This is purely out of my goodwill. Well then, see you.”
Only after she had disappeared somewhere did I finally let out the breath I had been holding.
“Whew. So it wasn't the Great War that messed up the white knights.”
That day, I realized that the vaguely twisted nature of the white knights I had seen in my past life wasn't, in fact, due to the wear and tear of a long war, and I learned the lesson that the Cradle's infirmary was no place for a sane person.
* * *
After lying down for a while longer, I fled the infirmary as soon as I felt my body had recovered to some extent.
“Go see the Vice Director. His office is in the next building over, second floor.”
I gave Professor Yuria a cursory reply and headed straight for the building next door.
“For the time being, you are exempt from all astronomy-related classes, including observation.”
I had already anticipated this, so instead of asking why, I simply said I understood.
If there was no other business, I planned to return to the dorm and rest.
But the Vice Director seemed to have some other business with me that I wasn't aware of.
“Uhm, so. Are you, by any chance…”
“...?”
“Ah, never mind.”
I stood there waiting, but the Vice Director showed no sign of speaking up.
“…Is there anything difficult about your life here?”
After a long hesitation, the matter the Vice Director brought up was an extremely conventional and trivial question.
“Huh? No. Not really.”
“Your relationships with the other cadets…?”
What was this situation?
“If you're being bullied or anything, tell me. Guiding cadet life is also part of the Vice Director's job.”
The explanation sounded like it was made up on the spot.
I was lost in thought for a moment.
In truth, my treatment within Squad 3 wasn't exactly great, but I had no intention of tattling to the Vice Director about it.
“…Are you sure nothing's wrong?”
“Yes.”
“Hah. Well, I'll decide whether to take separate measures on that matter later. For now, I'll respect your wishes.”
“...?”
The Vice Director waved his hand dismissively.
“You can go.”
I wondered if he had really hesitated for so long just to ask such questions, but it seemed that was indeed the end of his business.
I glanced at the Vice Director, who had buried his head in his documents and wasn't even looking my way, and then stepped outside.
He doesn't look the type, but he's surprisingly anticlimactic.
Chuckling to myself, I started walking toward the dormitory.
I planned to go back and sleep for a good long while.
“Yan?”
But not long after leaving the building, someone called out to me.
“Amelia.”
It was Amelia of the Judgment Knights and the other squad leaders of the Silver Eagles generation.
“I heard there was an accident…”
Amelia trailed off.
“Ah, asking if I'm okay? As you can see, I'm perfectly fine.”
I'd been robbed of an enormous amount of blood, but it wasn't a lie.
At the very least, I'd avoided being suddenly dragged into the sky before even reaching adulthood.
“I see.”
As I looked at her simple smile, my eyes widened in belated realization.
Could it be she was worried about me?
I was so unused to being cared for that I didn't know what to do with myself.
Meanwhile, the kid from my own squad showed no interest whatsoever in my well-being.
“The professor is waiting.”
At Bern's urging, who had been standing a step back, Amelia gave me a nod and turned away.
“Tsk, that heartless bastard.”
I cursed Lian, who hadn't glanced my way even once, and started walking again.
A few kids who had been chatting in the hallway saw me and simultaneously fell silent.
They were the ones who had accused me of being a coward, a chicken, and the shame of Squad 3.
Their gazes were even more hostile than before.
Come to think of it, the observation class was ruined because of me.
My karma was unintentionally piling up.
“He—”
I thought maybe I should try to clear up my bad karma and was about to offer a cheerful greeting.
*Sssk.*
The kids scattered as if on cue.
As if they didn't even want to exchange words with me.
“Ah, ahh.”
For some reason, I felt a sense of self-loathing.
I felt exactly like some old man who tried to force his way into a young crowd only to be shunned.
Not that it was entirely untrue.
“Sheesh, these kids. Back in my day, if you were classmates, huh? You'd pretend not to see it even if someone wet their pants in their first battle, you'd cover for each other's faults, that's what we did.”
Feeling embarrassed for no reason, I muttered a few words to myself and opened my door.
*Yom yom.*
I gently patted the leaves of the Mandragora that greeted me happily, then lay down straight on the bed.
“Ugh, I'm dead.”
The moment my back hit the mattress, fatigue washed over me.
I thought I had fully recovered before leaving, but it seemed the fatigue had built up again while walking around the vast Cradle.
I didn't know if it was because my blood had been forcibly drawn or the effect of the attempted, involuntary ascension.
The important thing was that I was incredibly tired.
But sleep wouldn't come.
It would be nice if I could talk to the stars of the Fringe Constellation at times like this.
Unfortunately, the stars who had left that day, saying they would be back after checking security, had not yet returned.
Channel 「Fringe Constellation」 is not an active channel.
Channel 「Fringe Constellation」 is not an active channel.
After trying to enter the channel a few times, I gave up and tried to sleep.
But sleep wouldn't come.
Wide awake.
As time passed, my mind grew clearer instead.
My body was dead tired, but I couldn't sleep, and it was killing me.
Eventually, after tossing and turning in bed for a long time, I shot up.
I grabbed the terminal on my desk.
A corner of the glass panel was blinking.
-You have 12 unread messages.
Wondering what it was, I pressed confirm.
Most of the messages were from the guys I had played the wargame with a while ago.
The content was more or less the same.
You coward, let's fight again.
Only the types of curses before and after were different; they were all like this.
What was I supposed to do in this situation again?
I put into practice the teachings of the Emperor Who Abandoned His Country, my wargame master and terminal user manual.
-Your report has been received.
After cleaning up my inbox full of curses, I checked the Starstream bulletin board.
□ Why is Professor Navian in charge of the new cadets of all people [114]
□ Professor Navian take meeee sob [17]
□ Has no one broken Liona's new tactic yet??? [76]
□ Any news about Professor Navian looking for a teaching assistant? [133]
□ Current Cradle Strongest (Part 2 - Generation Edition) Baengninma vs Black Lion vs Silver Eagles lol [442]
□ Current Cradle Strongest (Part 1 - Professor Edition) Navian vs August [215]
□ Anyone else think the Vigete family is no pushover? [14]
□ How is the author of the post below going to handle the fallout lol [21]
□ Honestly Gaznae seems kinda overhyped [0]
Last time, they were debating the new professor's identity, but it seems the information had been released since then.
Most of the posts on the board were about Professor Navian.
Many expressed a desire to be taught by her, even if it meant dropping down to a lower generation.
It wasn't an opinion I particularly sympathized with, so I skimmed past it and checked the post at the very bottom, titled 'Honestly Gaznae seems kinda overhyped'.
-This post has been deleted.
But the author must have deleted it in the meantime, as I couldn't see the content.
It must have been some ridiculous nonsense from someone who doesn't know how the world works.
Not knowing what kind of monster lives in the Gaznae family.
I was curious about the post regarding the Vigete family, but I didn't feel like clicking on it.
Just from the title, I had a good idea who the author was.
“Oh, Bern, you punk.”
For some reason, I felt secondhand embarrassment.
Anyway, looking through the bulletin board, there was nothing particularly noteworthy.
No substance, no fun.
Maybe that's why I started to feel sleepy.
I casually put down the terminal and closed my eyes.
*Doro-rong.*
And soon, I was dead to the world.
* * *
The next day, and the day after that, were much the same.
Supervised sparring with the professor, and physical conditioning.
A series of cookie-cutter classes, unfitting for the Cradle's reputation, continued day after day.
If you excluded the professor's reputation and the location of the satellite city, the content was something you could get even at a provincial knight order.
“That’s because it’s still the beginning of the semester. This is sort of an adjustment period.”
The teaching assistant, whose name I couldn't even remember, just kept repeating that the Cradle's real training would begin soon, so we should enjoy this time.
Anyway, the days continued on without much change.
The only professors I'd even seen were Dieter Riesner, who had thrown a tournament out of the blue, and Navian.
While the other kids were getting thoroughly beaten, I was having a near-death experience, being torn to shreds by the Heart Sword.
In my spare time, I did physical training, running laps around the training ground assigned exclusively to Squad 3.
Within Squad 3, I was still a coward and a chicken, an existence no one approached to talk to.
My treatment was so bad that the kids from other squads I occasionally ran into felt friendly by comparison.
“Cheer up. It’ll get better.”
To Angelo from Squad 1's words of comfort, I just shrugged.
I didn't expect anything.
“If you're not even going to draw your sword, why bother showing up to class and ruining the mood?”
“Just try pulling that crap again.”
In fact, the situation, far from improving, actually worsened.
But I had no desire to do anything to fix it.
In a way, this was more liberating, and more familiar.
Since when was I ever close to people?
All I had to do was focus on my classes without getting involved with others, get what I needed, and then go down to the lower world.
That was my plan. That was definitely what I intended to do.
“What? Say that again.”
Until some kid said something he shouldn't have.
“Oh, you heard that? We were just talking amongst ourselves, but you heard it.”
The first joint class since the squads were formed.
“I asked if your master taught you to be so pathetic.”
One of the kids who was always spouting particularly low-quality taunts sneered.
“Ha.”
At his words, I couldn't help but laugh.
*Ping.*
I heard the sound of something snapping inside my head.