Chapter 75
Chapter 75
Episode 75
When I mumbled my way through talking about Salem, Tia's reaction, surprisingly, wasn't annoyance, but understanding.
"Yeah, that can happen."
"...."
Tia patted me on the back as I held my head in my hands.
She was an adult, alright.
But because of her appearance, I didn't feel comforted.
"Haha..."
It wasn't a joke, and being patted on the back by a child only made me laugh hollowly.
I could no longer distinguish the difference between Oz and myself.
Oz's feelings were my feelings.
At first, it was unsettling and worrisome, but these days, it wasn't so bad.
But today, there was a feeling I didn't want to share.
Yes, just a little...
I think I was scared.
"It's okay, man. All sorts of things happen in life. You know... what was it? Anyway, there's that thing, right? This is family too... no, would he hate that? Yeah, well. Salem's the weird one, not you."
"...."
"So, you know, it's not your fault... and if it's hard to talk about, you don't have to!"
But Tia's awkward and rambling consolation...
"Yes, Headmaster."
...made me feel a little more at ease.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
How much time had passed?
I suddenly came to my senses and found Tia still patting me on the back.
I hadn't finished sorting out my thoughts, but I could sense a distinct feeling of discomfort from Tia as she continued to pat me.
Was it awkward? Was it awkward because I, who usually only caused trouble, was silent with a serious expression?
That's probably why she kept patting me, unable to find the right moment to stop.
Thinking about it made me feel awkward too.
"Ah, Prince Oz! Were you here?"
It was at that moment, amidst the awkward silence.
Lucia came looking for me, looking somewhat urgent.
"The Mage King has already entered Scientia... infor...ma...tion..."
Lucia's urgent voice trailed off.
Because of Tia's small stature, she had been late to notice her.
She froze as she finally saw Tia peeking out from beside me.
"That's interesting."
An expression like she had found a new toy.
As if happy to have found a way to break the awkward situation, Tia immediately left my side and slung an arm around the frozen Lucia's shoulders.
"You met me before, didn't you?"
"...."
"When that Thanatos brat... no, did we meet after that too?"
Lucia didn't say anything.
She just trembled like a kitten before a predator.
"Wow, more than that, you're also a Tenebris or something? Why didn't I think of this possibility until now?"
She probably hadn't thought about it. It probably didn't matter until now.
"Interesting."
Tap tap tap tap!
Lucia was hitting me with her tail, sending a distress signal.
Her actions seemed desperate, but there was no need to worry.
Tia already knew about the existence of Tenebris.
Even if her identity was revealed now, it wouldn't be a big problem.
Of course, it was okay because Discreet had formally requested cooperation beforehand, but it would have been a big deal in the past.
"Well, there's no way this Oz brat could have caused all that chaos alone."
"I, I don't know anything about what Prince Oz did..."
"Hey, I'm talking."
She was energized. Like a lizard just waking up from hibernation and facing a feast.
"So, anyway, you came to deliver information as a Tenebris, right? Then it must be uncomfortable with me here?"
"Ah, no, not really..."
"It must be uncomfortable, right?"
"...."
"It 'should' be uncomfortable."
"Yes..."
Lucia, belatedly grasping Tia's intentions, nodded.
Her cat-like eyes seemed closer to those of a fish today. A fish out of water, losing its life force.
"Well, it can't be helped. Kids' problems are solved by kids talking to each other, right? Compromising, understanding, and all that."
Tia nodded as if she had said something profound and left.
What remained was a cat with fish eyes.
"The Mage King has arrived in Scientia..."
"Yeah, I ran into him earlier."
"Oh..."
"......."
Dragons are said to be arrogant and cunning. I understood the former well enough, but the latter never made sense to me.
Tia was less cunning and more of a monster who overpowered with brute force.
But now I understand.
Tia created this stifling atmosphere to avoid her own awkwardness.
Was this the same person who was just trying to comfort me?
Passing the buck in this situation?
Dragons were definitely cunning.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The second and third rounds of the additional tournament would be ending soon, and the friendly matches for the winners would begin.
Meaning I had to get going. The match against Discreet was fine, but I couldn't avoid the match against Professor Aira.
So I had to move...
"D-don't go..."
Lucia's appearance as she clung to my clothes was too pitiful.
Calming a frightened kitten was nothing.
"What's going to happen to me?"
"...."
Right, it was nothing, but... let's leave this matter to Eleanor.
"This kid is always noticeable, but where is she at a time like this?"
"Our organization will be ruined because of me... Because of me, because of me..."
"Can you be quiet for a second? It's suffocating."
"Okay..."
“Just how scared of Tia were you?”
I knew that a beastkin's senses were more sensitive than others, but wasn't this a bit much?
I had to do something about this.
With that urgent thought, I was searching for Eleanor.
"Oh, Oz. Hello?"
[KP Death King]
Marie Sistus
I ran into Marie, who seemed to be emitting smoke from her head.
"I don't have the energy to look after you too..."
Was she being purified by residual divine power?
Were there still lingering effects from what Arietta did to her?
"Huh? What are you talking about? I'm fine."
"No, you..."
You're not fine at all.
Marie was clearly in a dangerous state. I didn't know what was going on inside, but I could tell just by looking at her.
She swayed with every step as if she had lost her sense of direction, her eyes were bloodshot, and she had dark circles under them.
Saying she was fine was a danger sign.
"You just follow me too..."
And so, Marie, also in a dangerous state, became a companion.
"This way, not that way."
"Oh, okay."
Marie swayed in different directions every time she looked away.
How did she even manage to wander around in this condition?
In the end, I made Marie hold onto my sleeve like Lucia. The picture wasn't pretty, but if I left them like this, they both seemed likely to get lost.
"Come to think of it..."
I looked down at Marie, who had death in her eyes.
I had forgotten in my bewilderment, but she was also a KP. Meaning she was a holder of the [Key of the Immortal].
"Marie, did the Death King cease to be a Key holder?"
"Huh? No, probably not? The key was split, but my father could still exercise its power."
It was the same in the fight against Prudence Loa.
Even though [Death King] Thanatos's key was split in half, it was connected to Marie's key.
While Marie held the KP title, it was highly likely that [Death King] also held the same title.
Then, if that assumption was correct...
Wouldn't the same be true for Salem?
"Ha...!"
Who was I defending?
The more I thought about this, the bigger the headache.
So let's just focus on what I need to do now.
Shaking my head and searching the surroundings, I soon sensed Eleanor and Baekyang's presence.
Fortunately, she was near the arena, being scolded by Baekyang.
I didn't know why she was being scolded again, but it wasn't the first time, so it didn't matter.
The important thing was this.
"Finally found you... Do you know how desperately I've been looking for you?"
"Yes...? No, well. Look, hmm, hmm... uh, it can't be helped. I'll forgive you this time."
Finally, I could hand over these mentally unstable burdens.
I didn't know what she was forgiving, but it was good anyway. Judging by Eleanor's satisfied expression, I could be freed without further trouble.
"Then take good care of the kids, Noah. They're not well, so don't play pranks."
"Yes? Huh? Wait..."
Taking advantage of Eleanor's confusion, I detached the parts clinging to me and transferred them to her like a curse.
Now I could relax.
"Isn't this too much...?"
"Noah, I believe in you. Only you can do this."
"Master, even if I look easygoing, I'm not so naive as to fall for that!"
"I'll give you one gold coin per hour."
"I love you!"
"Alright, I'll be counting on you."
Look at that expression, all complaints vanishing with a single word: gold coin.
Indeed, money makes the world go round.
"...."
A side effect was that Baekyang looked at me like I was trash, but this much was bearable.
I wasn't close with you anyway.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The friendly match with the professors.
In that match, which could practically be considered an extension of class, my role was to exchange information.
Discreet was fundamentally busy.
Not just with teaching, but also with collecting, sorting, and delivering information flowing into Tenebris.
But because of that, meeting with Discreet became a rather important opportunity.
Originally, the information would have been relayed through Lucia even if I did nothing, but direct contact with Discreet could significantly shorten that process.
"So, the Mage King was wandering around Scientia as he pleased?"
"Yes, I even ran into him.”
If Gerard used martial arts that seemed straight out of a martial arts novel, Discreet used martial arts that seemed like they belonged in a spy movie. Yes, military combat.
Since I was a mage, this kind of fighting style, which utilized minimal movement, was actually more suitable for me.
"You seem to be maintaining your composure despite the unpleasant situation."
"Uh... well, yeah."
Actually, the repeated waves of confusion had somewhat diluted the matter of Salem, but it didn't matter.
Why would I correct him when he was overestimating me?
I needed to bluff a little until I reached the level of Oz in the original story.
"So, now it's your turn. Do you have any information on Salem?"
"No."
"Anything trivial is fine. Achievements, major past actions, or..."
Like family relations.
I didn't know much about Salem, the [Mage King].
His appearance, what I knew from the game, and the history in the books.
I could confirm his relationship with Oz from our recent encounter, but I still didn't know what kind of person he was.
When I met Salem, I was swept away by emotions.
Accepting what I saw through those eyes at face value could lead to an overly emotional assessment.
I needed another person's perspective.
"No."
"...You don't?"
"Yes."
Discreet must have understood what I meant. He was experienced, so how could he not know?
That didn't mean there was no information available, even in the books.
"Is the information controlled?"
If the Empire was deliberately concealing information, he couldn't tell me.
Yes, for someone like the [Mage King], it would be natural for information to be controlled.
"No, I mean it literally. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to uncover any information about him before he became known to the world."
"What...?"
But the information wasn't controlled. They just hadn't found it.
Was that even possible? Not just any country, but the Empire?
Someone like Salem couldn't have just appeared out of nowhere.
Frankly, unless he had been holed up practicing magic, he would have stood out somewhere.
But there was no information.
"Ugh?!"
"That's all."
Perhaps taking advantage of my momentary confusion, Discreet disrupted my balance and knocked me over.
It was so sudden that I didn't even know how it happened.
When I came to my senses, I was down, and Discreet's fist was stopped right in front of my eyes.
This guy was cool...
Like a scene from a movie.
"There's no information on Salem. That's all the information we can provide."
"I see..."
While it sounded somewhat thuggish, it was quite valuable information.
That there was no record of Salem before the Spellerge revolution.
Whether Salem himself erased his tracks, I didn't know, but it was certainly significant.
-The friendly match for the Basic Combat Skills class has ended.
Simultaneously with the referee's announcement, I crossed paths with Discreet and left the arena.
Having seen everything, there was no reason to face him anymore.
"Phew... is there only one left now?"
The final exams would be over soon.
While there seemed to have been a few incidents, it was relatively peaceful compared to when I was preparing for the main story.
Only one thing remained.
The match against Professor Aira, who had been wearing a particularly determined expression lately.
"It'll end without any problems, right?"
Considering Salem, the main story, and the [Death King]'s sudden actions, there shouldn't be any major problems.
Surely nothing would happen, right?