Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: A Hero's Welcome
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The visitor was, of course, Selma.
Ssk.
Stepping into the barracks, she immediately checked my condition with her eyes.
Flailing.
As if to put on a show, I waved my arms and legs around.
“Ah.”
Remembering my wretched state, she seemed quite relieved to see me perfectly fine.
“Thank you.”
Composing herself, she gave me a deep bow.
“People from our Constancia family never forget a debt of gratitude. Especially one of life.”
Then, still bowing, she began to express her heartfelt gratitude.
“You saved my life. Thank you. I’ll repay this debt, no matter what it takes.”
Her repeated thanks made me squirm.
The excessive courtesy was rather uncomfortable.
Chak.
It was quite a while before Selma straightened her back.
But when she raised her head, her expression was somewhat strange.
Unlike when she had been offering her straightforward thanks, her face now showed a hint of hesitation.
“…I will repay the debt of saving my life with my own.”
A determined look soon appeared on her face.
“So.”
Biting her lip, she looked at me with a tragically resolute expression.
“Don’t expect anything else to come of this.”
“…?”
“I know what feelings you might have had when you saved me, but I can’t accept them.”
What in the world was she talking about?
“A life for a life. That’s all it is.”
I was about to ask what on earth she’d been talking about, but Selma didn’t give me the chance.
“I’m sorry I can’t give you a different answer.”
I felt like I’d just been struck on the back of the head.
She had clearly misunderstood something, and badly.
There was no other reason she would say such things to me.
“Let’s just stay good friends.”
“No, wait a minute.”
“Well, get some rest.”
If I let this continue, I was going to get rejected before I even confessed.
Not that I ever had any feelings to confess in the first place.
“Wait, wait. Selma!”
She froze in place, just as she was about to flee.
“Selma. There’s been a misunderstand—”
I shut my mouth, having been about to hastily explain the situation.
Selma’s expression had hardened.
“Selma? Did you just call me Selma?”
Had I said something wrong?
“So you saved me because you thought I was Selma?”
“…Ah?”
I finally realized what was happening.
The person I had saved wasn’t Selma, but Emma.
“Ah, ahh.”
I was flustered.
“Th-th-then maybe there is a way for me to repay the debt.”
Selma—no, Emma—was even more flustered.
“I-I’ll put in a good word for you with Selma. It probably won’t make things work out between you two. But if her own sister speaks well of you… maybe you’ll get a chance. Besides, Selma isn’t so heartless that she’d completely ignore someone who risked their life for her…”
Her face flushing red, the rambling Emma spun around.
“No, you don’t have to do that! You said it’s your family tradition to repay a life debt with a life! Just repay it with your life! I don’t need anything else!”
I shouted after her, but it was no use.
Emma fled the barracks without even listening to what I was saying.
“That’s not what I meant!”
Only my shriek echoed through the barracks.
* * *
For a while after that, I had to remain in the barracks.
I wanted for nothing.
In fact, things were too plentiful.
Yoram generously provided me with precious spirit herbs for my recovery.
Thanks to them, despite my horrific injuries, my body was left smooth and scar-free.
My skin even had a healthy glow.
I wasn’t entirely happy about it.
Yoram’s consideration was clearly excessive.
To feed a mere cadet several rare spirit herbs that were hard to come by.
No matter how wealthy Yoram was, this was not a normal situation.
If it were simply a matter of caring for a cadet who had nearly died, assigning Professor Yuria to me would have been more than enough.
“I think it’s a rightful privilege granted to the hero of the Silver Eagles who threw his life on the line for his comrade.”
I gave a bitter smile at Professor Yuria’s words.
I wasn’t so naive as to not know the purpose behind Yoram’s treatment.
This descent training was an undeniable failure.
One that would go down in Yoram’s history as an unprecedented disaster.
Key information directly related to the cadets’ safety had been leaked, and as a result, a catastrophe had nearly occurred.
The unit’s movements and detailed schedule had fallen into enemy hands before we even reached the battlefield; in wartime, it was a matter serious enough to have all involved parties beheaded.
The Empire’s top, self-proclaimed and universally acknowledged talent academy had been thoroughly disgraced.
It wouldn’t have been strange at all if Yoram’s name had been dragged through the mud because of this incident.
For now, the cadets were too disoriented to think deeply about the incident, but after a little time, some would surely begin to question Yoram’s competence.
I was Yoram’s provision for such a time.
A figure meant to blind the eyes of the cadets, who were still immature and easily swayed by heated emotions rather than cold reason.
I was nothing more and nothing less than a clown.
“A clown is going too far. It’s not like you didn’t actually save your comrade.”
Professor Yuria placated me.
She said Yoram had always treated its talented individuals well.
That it wasn’t a place that was stingy with rewards for merit.
“Of course, I can’t say there were no political calculations involved in awarding you a medal.”
Even as she said that, she didn’t deny the fact that Yoram was putting me forward as a clown.
“They should have put Professor Navian forward instead. After all, she was the one who saved me, and she was the one who subdued that unidentified assailant.”
And that wasn’t all.
There had been many other traps prepared for the cadets besides the one we encountered.
Professor Navian was the one who had crushed them all.
I’d heard that on her way to save me, she had annihilated every monster she came across.
It wasn’t confirmed, but rumors were even circulating that the number was close to a thousand.
In terms of merit, it was an achievement incomparable to my own.
Professor Yuria’s answer to this was extremely simple and clear.
“Because she’s a Gaznae.”
That short phrase held a multitude of meanings.
A knight of Gaznae being formidable was nothing special.
It was only natural for a remarkable person to do remarkable things.
In other words, it wouldn’t have the desired effect.
“Why are you so negative? You little thing.”
Professor Yuria lightly pushed my forehead.
“Look on the bright side. You’ve shed the disgraceful title of coward, and your reputation among your peers has skyrocketed. You ate precious spirit herbs. The wyvern you caught was recognized as your spoils of war. You even got a medal. I really don’t understand why you’re frowning so much.”
Truthfully, as she said, I had gained quite a lot from this incident.
Nevertheless, I didn’t feel great about it.
“You seem to have forgotten who your peers are. They are the future knights who will one day support the Empire. Your name is now engraved in their minds. As a righteous fellow who risked his life for his comrade. That will become an enormous asset to you later on.”
To her question of what the problem was when I had gained a reputation and fame others couldn’t get even by risking their lives, I retorted.
That the reputation and fame were the problem itself.
In my past life alone, famous knights were always the top priority for assassination.
The difference between them and me was that they had the power to protect themselves, and I did not.
Moreover, Yoram currently didn’t even have a clear grasp of who the enemy was.
In such a situation, putting me in the spotlight could be interpreted as Yoram deciding to use me as a sacrificial lamb.
The kid who interfered with their plans.
If Yoram made me a hero to boost the cadets’ morale, there was no guarantee the enemy wouldn’t try to sow chaos again by taking my head.
“…A sacrificial lamb?”
At my words, Professor Yuria suddenly burst out laughing.
She looked as if she had just heard a hilarious joke.
But I was being serious.
A kid with no decent background and no power to protect himself.
What an easy and suitable target.
“You have no idea who’s behind you right now, do you.”
She said, finally stifling her laughter.
“Yes. After suffering so much from this incident, it’s not strange that you’ve lost faith in Yoram. I wasn’t going to say that Yoram is behind you, anyway.”
But her eyes were still smiling.
“Do you know why Professor Navian hasn’t shown her face at all?”
I shook my head.
I had been wondering about that myself.
She had completely disappeared, so I hadn’t even had the chance to properly thank her.
“It seems she wasn’t just an ordinary knight.”
For a moment, I thought Professor Navian’s identity had been exposed.
“She seems to have had some say within her family.”
But that wasn’t it.
Professor Yuria was still completely in the dark about Professor Navian’s true identity.
“Enough to move the Black Moon Knights.”
“…?”
I was stunned.
And for good reason—this event didn’t exist in my memories.
The Black Moon Knights, who had remained hidden until their family fell in my past life, only to kill their own master, were now coming out into the world.
But why? For what reason?
“You should have seen Professor Navian when you were carried off by the wyvern.”
And apparently, it was because of me.
“Do you still think Yoram made you a sacrificial lamb with no countermeasures in place?”
I couldn’t even answer Professor Yuria’s question.
All I could do now was pray for the souls of those who orchestrated this incident.
* * *
After resting in the barracks for a few more days, I returned to Yoram.
Unlike the journey down, the trip back up was nothing but comfortable.
“You’re the last one.”
Griffin riders, known as the Knights of the Azure Sky, transported us personally.
It was a luxury like no other.
“Hold on tight, little hero.”
It would have been much better if they hadn’t tacked on face-reddening words like ‘little hero’ at the end of every sentence.
“We’re here, little hero.”
It seems griffin riders have no sense of shame.
“Farewell. See you again, little hero.”
I shot a glance at the man who kept calling me by that embarrassing title until the very end, then headed straight for the dorms.
With Yoram determined to parade me around as a clown, there was no point in wandering around when there weren’t even any classes.
I planned to hole up in my dorm and not come out for a while.
But things in this world rarely go as planned.
“…?”
On the path leading to the dorms.
The normally quiet road was crowded with people on both sides.
“Oh! There he is!”
“Everyone, get ready!”
Before I could even grasp the situation, they moved.
Chak.
The cadets stomped their feet in unison, drew their swords, and held them at an angle as they shouted as one.
“For her!”
What kind of crappy slogan was that?