Hubert Graham

Over the weekend, I finally bought the item I wanted to give to Kaen. Given its striking appearance, I figured she would quite like it. It was a decent item with solid stats, so it cost a pretty penny, but since Kaen's growth would ultimately be of great help to me, I didn't mind the expense. Soon, the weekdays arrived, and our usual routine resumed.

'I don't see Eisel.'

I thought she might just be running late, but even after Edward's class began, she was nowhere to be seen. Eventually, keeping a wary eye on Edward mid-lecture, I whispered to Yuri.

"...Why do you think Miss Eisel isn't here?"

"Huh? Since neither you nor Eisel were anywhere to be seen over the weekend... I thought the two of you were spending some sweet time together without me. Was that not it?"

Yuri emphasized the words without me as she questioned me. A lot of things had happened recently when Yuri wasn't around, so she seemed a bit sulky about it. I offered a wry smile and replied.

"I didn't see Miss Eisel this weekend either."

"Well... maybe she's skipping class somewhere. She does have a habit of vanishing without a word. Just like during our last duel." Yuri twirled her neatly braided hair as she spoke.

In the game, Eisel skipped class quite often. In fact, her attending classes so diligently until now was what felt unusual.

'If she was gone all weekend...'

As a regressor, Eisel was likely dealing with the enemies she had to eliminate as 'Eisel Ludwig'. It had been the same when she collapsed into my arms drenched in blood. Eisel was strong. Since she was a regressor, she wouldn't recklessly challenge an opponent she couldn't handle.

'As long as she doesn't overdo it, she'll be fine...'

Lost in thought, I barely noticed Edward's class coming to an end. I checked my status window just in case, but there was no change.

...By now, I was used to it. At this point, the rewards were so lousy that I began to wonder if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they weren't random, but rather if Edward was intentionally halting my growth.

Fortunately, the quality of the lectures themselves wasn't lousy. Edward's lessons were simple, yet they forced the cadets to think deeply for themselves.

Just as the class ended and I was about to decide what to do next, Edward called out to me.

"Cadet Zeto? A moment, please."

"What is it about?" Yuri, who was sitting next to me, muttered in curiosity.

I was just as curious. As I approached Edward, the corners of his mouth stretched upward.

'I'll never get used to that smile.'

The suspicious grin I had seen countless times in the game was as unsettling as ever. Edward immediately walked out of the classroom, and I followed him.

As soon as we stepped into the hallway, Edward began to speak.

"Cadet Zeto, I've been watching your recent activities with great interest. Especially your last duel... it was utterly absurd."

"Yes..."

"That was a compliment," Edward emphasized, turning his head toward me in response to my lukewarm reply. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠He then looked back ahead and continued walking.

"By the way... Cadet Zeto, you seem to have quite a few secrets, don't you?"

Edward's meaningful words made me slightly tense.

"I had my doubts because there was so little information on you... but to think the Chairman himself admitted you. Haha."

'The Chairman admitted me?'

Innocence Academy, founded by the Sage, also had a Chairman. Hubert Graham. He was the man currently holding the position. The Graham family had long-standing ties to the Sage, holding the Chairman position for generations.

In the game, the family was shrouded in mystery, with very little information available about them. They felt like the kind of wealthy elites who often appeared in conspiracy theories. To put it simply, the Graham family was the Academy's financial backbone, so they were filthy rich.

In the game, the Chairman, Hubert Graham, was a character who only appeared occasionally. He didn't have a very significant role.

However, the player's admission to the Academy was tied to the Chairman. This was shown in the game's intro sequence.

'So the same thing applied to me.'

Since I was already scheduled to enter the Academy when I first arrived in this world, I had no way of knowing the details, but judging by Edward's words, it seemed that was the case.

"He doesn't visit the Academy very often, so I was quite surprised when he suddenly summoned you," Edward said, his voice tinged with curiosity.

"I see the Chairman has called for me."

"Indeed."

Edward gave a brief reply and stopped in front of a door. On the wall beside it hung a plaque that read: Chairman's Office.

'Will he give me a reward?'

Being summoned by the Chairman was something players could experience occasionally in the game. He would suddenly call you in, shower you with praise, and hand out different rewards depending on the timing.

Edward knocked on the door.

"Chairman, I have brought Cadet Zeto."

A deep, heavy voice echoed from inside. "Come in."

Edward pushed the door wide open, and I stepped inside under his guidance.

Straight ahead, sitting at a desk, was Hubert. Standing beside him was a woman who appeared to be his secretary.

As soon as Edward closed the door and left, Hubert spoke.

"Cadet Zeto, it's been a while!" Hubert greeted me with a hearty laugh.

He already knew me. But to me, this was our very first meeting.

"Cadet Zeto, it's been a while!"

The Sage was currently disguised as Hubert Graham. Changing his appearance was a simple task for him. Even with his 'restrictions', casting a polymorph spell posed no real issue.

"It has been a while, Chairman," Zeto replied, bowing his head politely.

'He indeed seems to know Hubert...'

Hubert Graham was the Sage himself. The Sage had no memory of ever meeting Zeto, yet Zeto knew the Chairman.

Just as the Sage was about to tell Zeto to take a seat, the voice of Itea, disguised as his secretary, echoed in his mind.

It was a form of communication magic. Knowing that Zeto's other senses were highly developed despite his lack of sight, the Sage had prepared this magic specifically for this meeting.

"..."

The Sage fell silent at Itea's words. Itea often assisted him from the side whenever he acted as Graham.

'Which Graham was Hubert again...?'

Every Chairman in the Academy's history—meaning every Graham—had been the Sage himself. To avoid raising suspicion, he had established distinct personalities and traits for each Graham.

While Hubert Graham possessed a bright, friendly, and approachable personality, his predecessor, Altair Graham, had been a cold and analytical man. However, as the Sage continued his life as the Grahams over the centuries, he had begun to mix them up. This was also the reason why the Sage rarely went outside disguised as Graham.

'Perhaps it really is time to establish an actual Graham family.'

The Sage, briefly contemplating whether he should adopt a child to become the next Graham, looked at Zeto and spoke.

"Please, make yourself comfortable."

Zeto sat down on a nearby sofa. The natural grace of his movements revealed that his senses had reached an astonishing level.

'It's almost as if he can see everything.'

The Sage swallowed the urge to make a lighthearted joke and cleared his throat.

"I must say, I quite like the design of that necklace you're wearing."

The Necklace of the Hero's Protection hanging on Zeto's chest caught the Sage's eye. The design itself didn't mean much to Zeto, its owner, but to the Sage, who was the creator of the necklace, the design looked better and better the more he saw it.

"Ah, I happened to find this by chance when I went into the Labyrinth. It seems to be an enchanted item... I believe I have the Academy to thank for it. Haha," Zeto replied, scratching his head with a smile.

"Haha, that is wonderful to hear. It is thanks to the Labyrinth that many cadets gain valuable experience and rewards. By the way, it feels like it's been quite some time since we last met... About three months, was it?"

After breaking the ice with the trivial talk about the necklace, the Sage immediately got to the point. The Sage had never met Zeto. Neither had Hubert Graham. Yet, the man with the bandages wrapped around his eyes was acting perfectly natural, as if he had met Hubert before. Thus, the Sage decided to test him.

Zeto's records stated that Chairman Hubert had approved his admission three months ago. Therefore, their meeting must have occurred around that time.

At the Sage's question, a smile played on Zeto's lips as he spoke.

"...I still remember it vividly. You were traveling to the city in a carriage, Chairman. If I recall correctly, your destination was... Milibrium, was it?"

Zeto's response left the Sage utterly bewildered.

It wasn't because he had never been to the city of Milibrium. Rather, it was because the Sage did remember traveling to Milibrium in a carriage disguised as Hubert Graham about three months ago. Yet, he still had absolutely no memory of this man named Zeto.

As the Sage remained silent, struggling to hide his rising panic, Itea's voice echoed in his mind once more.

Itea was a golem. Unlike humans, a golem's memories could be precisely stored and preserved. If Itea had been by his side back then, she would have remembered Zeto.

Yet, even Itea didn't recognize him... The details of Zeto's story were matching up with terrifying precision.

'Did I really just forget him...?'

In an attempt to deny this unsettling possibility, the Sage spoke.

"...I certainly didn't expect to run into you there."

"It was a stroke of luck. Your carriage was being ambushed by bandits, Chairman... and I just happened to be passing by. I never imagined that would lead to my admission into the Academy, though."

"Hahaha, indeed, indeed. Quite a nostalgic tale..."

The Sage laughed heartily, masking his deep suspicion.

'I remember traveling to Milibrium... but I have absolutely no memory after boarding the carriage. An ambush by bandits...'

It was bizarre. It felt as if a thread of his memory had been abruptly snipped. Either he had lost his memory, or someone had manipulated it. But he was the 'Sage'. He had never heard of magic capable of altering his memory, and for someone to dare manipulate the Sage's mind, they would have to bring down the Chief God himself.

'At this point, it really seems like I just forgot him.'

With such specific details being brought up, he couldn't simply claim he didn't remember and suspect Zeto.

Just as the Sage was about to accept the reality of his memory lapse and sigh, Zeto spoke first.

"...So, what brings you to summon me today?"

"Phew... Right. I heard that you've been performing exceptionally well within the Academy lately, so I wanted to see you in person."

The Sage replied, tapping his desk to signal Itea. Even after conversing with Zeto directly, he couldn't detect anything unusual. It seemed certain that he had simply forgotten. A figure of the Chairman's stature couldn't summon a cadet just to chat, so this served as a proper excuse.

Receiving the Sage's signal, Itea stepped forward and handed something to Zeto.

Zeto accepted the key, tilting his head slightly. "What is this?"

"The first-years are going on a field trip soon, aren't they? I believe you'll be traveling by airship... This is the key to the private suite I use on that airship. It's far more luxurious than the other rooms, so it should make your journey quite comfortable. Since you've already received a reward from the Academy... as someone with nothing but money, this is all I can offer. My apologies."

Hearing the Sage's words, a smile spread across Zeto's face.

"No, I am simply grateful for your consideration. An airship... I'm looking forward to it."

"I would love to chat more, but I am quite a busy man, so I must cut this short. You may head back now."

The Sage decided to keep a closer eye on Zeto. Since Zeto was suspected of being able to communicate with spirits, he was a person of interest. He might not be a Saint, but he definitely possessed a special power.

Zeto bowed his head and left the Chairman's office.

Silence fell over the room once more. Standing beside the Sage, Itea spoke in a low voice.

"Master, shall I search for an elixir that improves memory?"

"..."

The Sage turned his head to look at Itea's serious face. He couldn't think of a single thing to say in response.

"If such an elixir exists... it might not be a bad idea to try some..."

My brief meeting with Hubert was over. Just as I expected, the exact same event as the game's intro had occurred. In the game's intro, the Chairman's carriage is attacked, and the player helps him, which leads to their admission.

I realized it the moment Hubert mentioned "three months." The timing perfectly aligned with when the intro event would have taken place.

'Though I have no memory of it actually happening.'

I didn't even know if that event had truly occurred. Fortunately, I managed to talk my way out of it without raising suspicion.

'One thing that puzzles me, though...'

I had bandages ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wrapped around my eyes from the moment I first arrived in this world. Yet, Hubert didn't find the bandages strange at all.

This left two possibilities.

First, a person named Zeto who wore bandages over his eyes actually existed in this world beforehand.

Second, when the character Zeto was manifested in this world, some unknown 'force of destiny' was applied, meaning Hubert's memory was manipulated.

I didn't know which one it was. However, the first option seemed highly unlikely. Zeto was a character I had customized myself. It would have been extremely difficult for anyone to realize the bandages were actually the Blindfold That Pierces the Truth, so why would a non-blind Zeto choose to live with bandages over his eyes?

...That was just weird. I only wore them because I knew they were a legendary-grade item.

Putting it all together, it seemed far more likely that the transcendent being who threw me into this game world had intervened.

The reward Hubert gave me this time was the key to the ultra-luxurious private suite on the airship we would take for our field trip.

Just as Hubert said, the first-years were scheduled to go on a field trip to a region far from the Academy soon. During this trip, we would encounter the second main boss, who comes after the Lycanthrope.

I remembered receiving this key in the game as well. It wasn't an incredibly useful reward, but I recalled it allowing faster recovery in the cabin and triggering special events with various characters.

At any rate, once the meeting with Hubert was over and I returned to the dormitory, I immediately prepared to go out.

No matter how much I thought about it, Barsium was still weighing heavily on my mind. Even if he was a character who hadn't appeared in the game, there was no harm in being prepared.

Barsium was a High Vampire. Vampires are classified as undead.

This meant the light-attribute attacks from the Necklace of the Hero's Protection hanging around my neck would be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠highly effective against him.

However, I didn't expect the necklace to solve everything.

The first form of Reverse Heaven had its limits. It could launch sword strikes from a distance without sword qi, but if an opponent who had experienced it tried to counter, they easily could, since they could see where I was aiming.

The first form was mostly useful for surprise attacks or ranged pressure.

Since I had recently leveled up, I wanted to take this opportunity to learn the second form of Reverse Heaven.

Actually, it was more about allocating skill points, but as long as Sierra existed, it was only right to go through the process of being taught by her.

I had already allocated my skill points. I invested 4 points into Ghost Swordsmanship, raising the skill level of Reverse Heaven to level 4.

My current location was the Quiet Forest outside the Academy, the same place where I had learned and mastered the first form of Reverse Heaven.

Sierra approached me as I sat on the tree stump I had cut down with the first form.

"So, thou wishest to learn the second form? Hmm... Thy progress is remarkably swift, but as thy master, This Lady cannot allow her disciple's talent to go to waste."

"You mentioned the second form is related to time, right? Then, does it..."

"Defy it. To be precise, it defies the flow of time," Sierra cut me off to clarify.

"The flow of time..."

Before, when she said defying time, I thought it meant reversing time. But listening to her explanation, I begin to grasp what the second form actually is, largely thanks to my status window.

The second form of Reverse Heaven defies the flow of time. It slows down the flow of time only for the user.

When activated, everything except the user appears to move in slow motion. It was essentially experiencing the world in slow motion.

Strictly speaking, it was the user's speed increasing drastically.

Sierra looked at me with a worried expression.

"However, with thy current physical body... This Lady is not certain how long thou wilt be able to endure it."

"...My physical body?"

I asked, but deep down, I realized it made sense. It would be stranger if there were no penalty.