A Vow of Vengeance
The official notice titled Recruitment for the Wall of Water Exploration Team—one of the world’s three great magical anomalies—spread through the academy like wildfire. Naturally, copies had also been distributed to every administrative office across the empire, drawing thousands of applicants. After all, the project was being led personally by the princess and the Grand Mage. Success seemed more than possible.
“We’ll need cooperation from the Clarendor Kingdom.”
The empire faced one major headache. Their shipbuilding and navigation technology simply wasn’t advanced enough to safely cross the treacherous Magenta Strait. They would have to rely on the island nation of Clarendor.
“That won’t be easy. Even if Clarendor agrees to help, His Majesty the Emperor will never allow it.”
Sephilia immediately pushed back against Elena’s suggestion, citing the long-standing hostility between the empire and Clarendor. For decades the island kingdom had raided imperial coasts like pirates. Seven years ago, during the Great War, Clarendor had inflicted the heaviest damage on the empire using guerrilla tactics that exploited their geographic advantage. The Emperor, enraged, had ordered a full conquest, but on the very day the massive fleet set sail, a devastating storm struck and the campaign ended in failure. The empire’s prestige took a severe hit. When the truce was finally signed, the terms were humiliating.
“How about leaving it to Fix?”
Sephilia offered a new proposal: have Edgar Fix build a ship capable of crossing the Magenta Strait.
“Absolutely not.”
Elena shot the idea down at once. Entrusting Ed with a project that would consume a massive chunk of the imperial budget would place far too heavy a burden on his shoulders. As his patron, she wanted to give him only tasks that would help him grow. She had no desire to saddle a young man in his prime with the empire’s subcontracted busywork.
“Ugh. This is getting complicated.”
Sephilia pressed a hand to her forehead. Elena let out a long sigh at the Wall of Water project, which had already hit rough waters right from the start.
After that, the two women explored every possible alternative. Poaching skilled shipwrights from Clarendor. Recruiting naturalized Clarendor citizens living in the empire. Reaching out to the Dwarf Allied Kingdom for advice. They discussed and tested every option.
None of them worked. Clarendor’s people were fiercely loyal to their island kingdom, making talent raids nearly impossible. The naturalized citizens lacked any meaningful shipbuilding expertise. And the dwarves, while unmatched in underground construction and weapon forging, had zero experience with seafaring vessels. Their nation was landlocked, surrounded by mountains; they had never needed to venture into the ocean.
“...There’s no other way. I’ll push it through.”
In the end, only one path remained: somehow obtain the Emperor’s approval and negotiate a treaty with Clarendor. Sephilia’s face twisted like she had bitten into something sour as she pulled out a quill. On paper dusted with gold powder, she began writing an invitation to the Crown Prince of Clarendor.
To His Highness the Crown Prince of Clarendor,
The Empire formally invites you to visit in order to discuss matters of mutual interest regarding the exploration of the Wall of Water.
May this be the first step toward a new chapter between our nations.
— Sephilia von Eldia, Imperial Princess —
Three days later, the Wall of Water preliminary selection naming ceremony took place. The four hundred and sixty applicants were split evenly into Group A and Group B of two hundred and thirty each. In the first round, Group A would name their opponents from Group B. In the second round, Group B would name theirs from Group A.
Ed had been placed in Group B. During the first round, not a single person from Group A named him. Everyone already knew his combat ability far exceeded that of any first-year. No student was foolish enough to challenge the one who had defeated Max after he consumed a Madness Potion and then shattered the Obsidian demonic sword on top of it. Picking a fight with Ed in a preliminary tournament that would only select twenty people was basically suicide.
“Edgar Fix will be named by—”
But then it happened. A madman stepped forward.
Lucas Elmar. The eldest son of the Elmar Ducal House and second place in the class evaluation tournament had just thrown down the gauntlet.
“It really came to this.”
“If it’s Lucas, it makes sense.”
“I wonder who’ll win.”
Isabella, Enya, and Claire—who had known both of them for a long time—had seen this coming. To the rest of the students who didn’t understand Lucas’s obsessive pride in his honor and reputation, it was a complete bombshell. The match that had fallen through during the previous class evaluation due to Ed’s forfeit was finally happening!
A heavy tension filled the air. Lucas Elmar stared at Ed with piercing eyes. Just from that gaze, it was obvious what he wanted: a complete and final settling of their ranks.
With a swift turn, Lucas spun on his heel after locking eyes with Ed. He led the usual crowd that followed him and left the drawing hall. Ed watched his retreating back with a serious expression, already wondering what was for dinner that night. He was suddenly craving James’s kimchi stew.
In the back of the lecture hall, Charlotte’s face had gone rigid. The person she had desperately avoided, the face she never wanted to see again, was now standing right in front of her.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Charlotte?”
The man with his hands shoved in his pockets grinned at her. Deep golden hair, tanned skin, and that arrogant posture. Cardmos Kratz—the worst nightmare she had tried to erase from her memory. Her first love.
“Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you. I only picked you because I wanted a light spar. By the way, how have you been? I’ve been curious about you this whole time.”
Charlotte barely managed to suppress her thundering heartbeat as she stared at Cardmos. The same man who had ignored her for so long had suddenly chosen her as his opponent in the preliminaries. And why was he calling her out alone and acting so friendly?
“J-just state your business… W-why did you… c-call me out…?”
She tried her best to appear indifferent, but in front of the man who had given her such deep trauma, the effort was useless. Her stuttering grew worse than usual, and her tension was obvious.
“Khh khh. Why so stiff? We used to be pretty close, didn’t we?”
Cardmos reached out and stroked her hair as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Charlotte felt nothing but disgust at his touch, yet she couldn’t say a word. The moment she saw his face, old trauma resurfaced and her mind and body froze.
“...Your expression doesn’t look good. Like you’ve seen something you shouldn’t.”
Cardmos’s face hardened as he glared at her. Just that look made her heart pound violently and her body shrink in on itself. He let out a short laugh.
“Kkuk. Just kidding. But I’ve been wondering for a long time. Why did you suddenly leave me? We were good together. We talked about all sorts of things…”
He slid his hand across her cheek.
“And we even held hands.”
Knowing full well how disgusting his two-faced nature was, Charlotte frantically slapped his hand away from her chest and staggered backward. Cardmos let out a hollow laugh, as if he couldn’t understand her reaction.
“Huh? What’s with that response? It’s almost like you…”
But in the middle of speaking, he seemed to realize something. He stared into empty space for a moment before trailing off. Then he looked at her again.
“You saw it, didn’t you?”
“......”
Cardmos studied her reaction with a meaningful question. Charlotte broke into a cold sweat, breathing hard. Seeing her like that, he became certain his guess was correct.
“Wow… You saw everything? That’s why you dumped me… Exactly when did you see it?”
He recalled how he had once bragged to his friends about using her as a disposable fling. At the time he thought she hadn’t heard, but her extreme reaction made it obvious she had seen his true colors.
He rubbed his forehead and laughed in disbelief.
“This is fucking ridiculous. Of all moments… But Charlotte, I’m different now. Back then I was just immature and wanted to show off to my friends. Now—”
“D-don’t come near me!”
Charlotte wasn’t stupid enough to fall for his lies twice. Now that she knew his true nature, she could see through his fake kindness from his expression alone. When she shoved him away again, Cardmos swept his hair back and muttered.
“Ha… Now that you’ve gotten prettier, you’re playing hard to get?”
He was finally showing his real self. Then he spoke again.
“Then how about this—do you need money or not?”
“...What?”
“I said, do you need money? Your family is dirt poor.”
“......”
“Puhaha. Look at your face. I’m not teasing you. I’m suggesting a deal. You won’t lose anything.”
Cardmos held up four fingers with a sleazy grin.
“Just four times. Sleep with me four times and I’ll cover your entire next semester’s tuition and dorm fees.”
“......”
Charlotte’s expression turned ice-cold. It was a proposal not even worth listening to. But the bastard seemed to think it was generous and continued arrogantly.
“Isn’t that sweet? An opportunity like this won’t come again for someone like you to get that much money—”
“Get lost.”
At Charlotte’s immediate reply, Cardmos froze. He let out a hollow laugh.
“Ha. What?”
“I said get lost…! Your face makes me sick!”
The relaxed smile vanished from Cardmos’s face. The disposable toy he could have used and discarded anytime was acting far too insolent. A girl who had only gotten a slightly prettier face.
“...Hey.”
Cardmos approached her with a threatening attitude. When Charlotte took a combat stance, he burst into laughter.
“Puhaha. What kind of stance is that? Some new comedy routine? This bitch has turned into a full-on clown.”
“......”
“What are you even capable of? Huh? Weren’t you just C-rank in the class evaluation?”
Still laughing, he closed in. Charlotte kept breathing harshly, cold sweat pouring down her face. Cardmos continued.
“Why don’t we keep it simple? You need money. I want your body. I’ll treat you nicely like before. You really are pretty now, so it won’t even be empty praise. I take good care of my women, you know?”
He bragged about how much he could give her. Charlotte remained in her combat stance, wary of him.
“Still the same uptight bitch as ever. Guess I’ll have to train you properly.”
In the blink of an eye, Cardmos lunged at her. Several layers of wooden vines wrapped around his ankles, but to the sixth-ranked A-class fighter, it was nothing.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
“I said just once. I’ll make it really good for you. Every girl who’s slept with me keeps coming back for more.”
After that, Cardmos toyed with Charlotte as if she were a plaything. It was closer to harassment than an actual fight.
“Tsk. Getting things complicated is such a pain in the ass.”
Still, he couldn’t cross a certain line. Student-on-student violence was strictly forbidden by academy rules. He only struck areas where bruises wouldn’t show.
“Hey, Charlotte. Did you know?”
Cardmos smirked viciously. Just the sight of that smile made it clear how wicked his thoughts were.
“Actually, not long ago, your father borrowed money from me.”
“...What?”
“Kikiki. Whether you like it or not, you’re in a position where you have to take my money.”
“W-what are you…”
Three days ago, the moment he saw how much prettier Charlotte had become, Cardmos had laid the groundwork with the Verdian family. The head of the Verdian House couldn’t refuse his offer to sponsor her. Moreover, believing from six years ago that Charlotte and Cardmos had been close, he mistakenly thought the proposal came from genuine affection.
“I didn’t want to use such a dirty method, but you should stop being so stubborn. Unless you want to lose your only home.”
Charlotte’s shoulders trembled violently. Tears of utter humiliation streamed down her face. Cardmos licked his lips.
“Think it over until the first round. If you decide to listen to me, fight half-heartedly and then forfeit. If not…”
His eyes widened with murderous intent.
“You’ll get beaten half to death by me. And of course, that pathetic family of yours that’s barely hanging on will be finished too.”
With those final words, he turned and walked away. Charlotte kept shedding tears as she clenched her fists. No way out came to mind.
I stopped by James’s house for the first time in a while and had some kimchi stew. As expected, eating hometown food at regular intervals really settles both mind and body. Walking along the quiet path as the sun set, I felt so good that a hum naturally rose in my throat.
“......?”
At least until I saw Charlotte waiting for me.
“Charlotte, what’s wrong?”
She appeared before me in a complete mess. Her carefully styled hair was ruined, her makeup was smeared, and the area around her eyes was stained with tear tracks.
“...Ed.”
She called my name with firm determination. With a face full of deep-seated grudge, she clearly stated why she had come looking for me.
“...I want to become stronger. There’s someone I absolutely… absolutely must take revenge on.”
Charlotte had changed. She wasn’t stuttering, nor was she shrinking away in front of me. Just what could have made her this angry?
“Can you… help me?”
She looked at me with desperate eyes, barely holding back the sobs threatening to burst out.
“...Of course. You’re my friend, aren’t you?”
The moment she heard my answer, Charlotte barely suppressed the tears that were about to explode. After taking a long, deep breath, she spoke with a composed expression.
“Teach me. Tell me how I can become strong.”