Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: If Not Me, Who Else?
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After his conversation with Haring ended.
Krash, who had been waiting for Charlotte to emerge, was now inexplicably getting an earful from Astria.
"It wasn't that long ago that I healed you, and now you're saying you're going to head off to a place like that again?"
"I already explained the reason right in front of you."
"You're going to push yourself too hard again. If you show up in the same state as you did after Agarez, even I might not be able to heal you this time."
He didn't think it would come to that.
Krash knew Astria's healing abilities well enough to be confident she could treat even more severe conditions, but he also understood that her words stemmed from genuine worry.
So, he decided to reassure her a little.
"You think I want to end up like that every time? Besides, this time I won't be charging in alone recklessly."
The Empire was pretending on the surface to be pursuing the World Erosion entity that had wounded the Poison King, but the truth was surely something else.
There had to be another reality behind it.
Krash was simply heading to Hardenharts to uncover it.
'And for this part, I plan to get help from that Ebelask guy.'
That fellow wouldn't want to be hunted to death by the Empire, let alone Staron.
He'd have no choice but to cooperate one way or another.
"So, it won't be as reckless as you think."
Astria eyed him skeptically.
"Promise me."
With that, she abruptly stuck out her pinky finger in front of Krash.
He wondered what good a pinky promise would do.
Still, Krash had no choice but to hook his own pinky around hers.
"Aren't you worrying too much?"
"Who said I was worried about you? It's just that healing you takes a toll on me, so I'm making you promise."
She bit her lip firmly as she said it.
"...I can't act on my own outside the academy anyway."
She clearly wanted to come along more than anything.
But she hadn't fully wrapped up her affairs with the Holy Kingdom yet.
Even attending Raheln Academy had come at a great cost with the Holy Kingdom.
If she ventured out or acted independently, they wouldn't just stand by.
That's why she wanted his promise.
To come back to her no matter what.
"And you know..."
Astria glanced toward Haring, mumbling as if she had more to say, before letting out a sigh.
"How many sighs is that?"
"It's all because of you."
Astria shot Krash a look filled with resentment.
"...I thought you wouldn't do this to me alone. Do you even realize you have a fiancée?"
Of course he realized it.
"You're awful."
As Krash stared blankly, Astria huffed and stormed back inside.
It was the pouty Astria he had seen so often.
[How could she not get upset when the guy she likes is flirting with another girl right in front of her?]
Flirting? What a way to put it...
She knew full well that wasn't his intention.
"You're close with the Saintess."
In the meantime, Haring looked at Krash with a hint of curiosity.
To Krash, Astria was just a normal person, but to others, she was God's chosen, so the reaction was natural.
Just then, murmurs came from the girls' dormitory, and the students quickly scattered.
Krash immediately guessed who had appeared.
"One more's joined us."
It was none other than Charlotte.
She drew every eye just by showing up, glancing at Haring before turning away.
"Follow me."
She probably wanted to discuss the recruitment elsewhere.
Krash gave Haring a nod, and she promptly followed Charlotte with him.
Wherever Charlotte went, she commanded attention.
Just from that, Krash could feel her position at Raheln Academy anew.
After following her for a while, Krash arrived at one of the classrooms in the main martial arts building.
A lion emblem hung on the door.
The Lion Squad.
The group centered around Charlotte.
Charlotte flung the door open without knocking.
Several members inside, sorting documents, tensed at her entrance.
"Captain, you're here?"
One of them, a bespectacled man, greeted her warmly.
He exuded a scholarly air from the literature department and was the son of Staron's prime minister.
He had been cleaning up Charlotte's messes since childhood, so they weren't on bad terms.
In fact, he could be considered her one true friend.
So, he had joined the Lion Squad under her this time as well.
"Delron, prepare the meeting room inside."
"Ah, there's a guest waiting in the meeting room right now."
At the mention of a guest, Charlotte's eyes narrowed slightly.
"A guest?"
It made sense—few would dare use that term with her.
In the past year, Charlotte had pretty much destroyed any relations with those who approached her.
There was no one left worthy of being called a guest now.
She glanced back at Krash before striding inside.
Then, without knocking again, she threw open the meeting room door.
She stared into the room for a moment, then tilted her head slightly.
"Krash."
She beckoned him in.
As Krash approached the meeting room, two familiar faces awaited.
"...Sizli?"
"Greetings to the Fourth Imperial Princess of the Epania Empire."
Haring, following behind, greeted her with a hint of surprise.
The girl receiving the greeting seemed utterly relaxed.
"You're late. I've been waiting quite a while."
Inside the meeting room were none other than the Fourth Imperial Princess, Sizli Epania.
And her escort knight, Sera Betala.
"Why are you here?"
Krash asked incredulously, and Sizli flashed a mischievous smile.
"Well, I had a feeling you'd come this way, given how the world's turning."
She took a leisurely sip from her teacup.
Sizli was an imperial princess of the Empire, after all.
She undoubtedly had her sources feeding her information.
Using that, she'd pieced together the truth of this incident and used her wits to arrive here.
Concluding that Krash would surely seek out the Lion Squad.
Krash's eyes narrowed slightly.
He wondered what scheme this tomboyish princess was up to now.
"Don't look at me like that. Believe it or not, I'm here to help with this matter."
"Help?"
"Don't you owe a life debt on your side too?"
Krash realized she meant the former Night Raven Squad leader, Ebelask Venapoci.
Ebelask probably hadn't intended to indebt her specifically.
But the result was that he'd helped her anyway.
And so, Sizli had come here to return the favor.
"Plus, having me around gives us a perfect pretext. With an Epania imperial princess alongside a direct Valheim heir, doesn't it serve as the ultimate proof of unity?"
She even knew the full extent of Krash's plan.
She was someone you could never let your guard down around.
Having explained all her reasons for being here, she turned to Krash.
Krash clicked his tongue briefly.
As she said, her presence would deter the Empire from acting rashly.
"Krash."
At that moment, Charlotte, who had been listening silently, turned to him.
Her eyes held no spark as usual, but for some reason, they carried a faint trace of displeasure.
"Explain properly."
She'd thought he was joining the squad she'd created.
Realizing there was another reason, her pride was slightly bruised.
Having heard everything except the part about Ebelask, Charlotte sat with her arms crossed.
In truth, none of this could proceed without Charlotte's permission.
After all, the plan hinged on Charlotte's Lion Squad taking on the mission assigned in Hardenharts.
Charlotte listened intently, summarizing Krash's explanation in her mind, then finally uncrossed her arms.
Instead, she turned to Krash.
"I get it. Since it's the first request from my little brother, I'm fine with it. Not a problem."
Krash let out a long sigh of relief.
He had been on pins and needles, fearing she might refuse.
Charlotte was the one person Krash couldn't predict.
Her heart only moved when she willed it.
So, even explaining that it could spark a war, he worried she might react indifferently.
'But that's exactly why I need her help.'
Arthur and Sigrin were suspicious of Charlotte right now.
To actively fuel that suspicion, they needed to showcase Charlotte's movements as much as possible.
That was part of why Krash had chosen her readily.
"But there's a problem with carrying that out."
At that moment, Charlotte raised another issue.
"Raheln Academy has no mission from Hardenharts. Especially since this involves a World Erosion entity. The academy won't approve it."
No matter that they were Raheln Academy members, they were still post-graduates.
World Erosion entities were monsters beyond what post-graduates could handle.
Naturally, with such foes involved, they wouldn't deploy post-graduates as the main force.
"We can create the mission by contacting Hardenharts."
Krash was already engaged to Hardenharts.
They wanted to maintain good relations with him going forward, so a simple request would get the mission issued.
The issue was whether Raheln Academy would accept it first.
But there was one way to force it through, thanks to Raheln Academy's unique rule.
"You mean submitting an opinion to the chancellor."
Charlotte quickly grasped his intent.
Chancellor and former War Emperor, Durandal.
This peculiar Raheln-only rule meant challenging the chancellor directly to submit opinions to the academy.
An absurd way to gather input.
In other words, if the conditions were met, even a World Erosion hunt mission could be approved.
"For that, the literature department already submitted one."
Sizli revealed that she had already submitted an opinion ahead of time.
Unlike other departments, literature didn't involve physical combat; they submitted written proposals.
Their strength lay in intellect.
But both Krash and Sizli knew the flaw in that approach.
"Literature opinions take too long to process."
"Ugh, that's the problem."
Krash countered, and Sizli reacted with regret.
The literature department's process involved detailed intermediate steps.
Thus, it took considerable time for opinions to reach the chancellor.
They couldn't afford to wait in this urgent situation.
To get approval quickly, challenging the chancellor directly was fastest.
"I can't fight the chancellor anymore."
Charlotte smacked her lips in disappointment.
She had already succeeded once, creating the Special Class with her proposal to the chancellor.
Opinions could be submitted freely without limit, but only one would ever be accepted.
In short, Charlotte couldn't help with opinion submission anymore.
But Krash had known that from the start.
Past submissions had never been approved; Durandal was notoriously strict about strength.
Without talent like Charlotte's, approval was nearly impossible outside literature.
Haring's expression darkened.
She knew her own level couldn't reach approval either.
Yet among them, one person.
One wore a look of absolute confidence.
"It's fine."
As everyone pondered, Krash spoke up, his blue eyes gleaming.
"I'll handle that."
The support mission for World Erosion hunting.
To get that opinion approved.
Krash had to prove his strength to the former War Emperor, Durandal.