Chapter 90: Graduation. And After
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 90: Graduation. And After
#1 Loreliya Jeyka - The Master of Negotiation
“During break, there’s no place like home.”
Loreliya wavered for a moment at those words.
However, she quickly regained her composure.
‘I suppose that makes sense.’
Adam was a foreigner. He fit in so well that it was easy to forget, but he wasn't from the Empire.
The Empire was a place where various ethnicities and even different races coexisted. It was a melting pot that embraced diverse cultures and respected new ones, so foreigners usually adapted quite well. In fact, the Academy’s snack bar and cafeteria served food from various nations, including Leon and Dale.
But no matter how well one adapted to the environment or culture, living abroad long enough eventually made one feel like an outsider.
Even Loreliya felt subtle differences within the Empire itself. It was only natural that someone from a distant land would eventually fall victim to homesickness while staying at the Academy.
‘At least he’s not going to the Holy Kingdom.’
Loreliya narrowed her eyes as she looked at the letter.
“Hmm.”
The letter was three pages long and full of flowery, roundabout language, but it could be summarized in exactly three lines:
“……”
Loreliya’s eyes narrowed further. Looking at it like this...
“I look like total trash.”
“You don’t just look like trash, My Lady. You are trash.”
“Hey!”
Loreliya pouted at the remark from the student standing quietly beside her.
“Did I say anything wrong?”
“……”
Loreliya shut her mouth at the sharp rebuke from Charles—her guard, friend, counselor, and emotional trash can all rolled into one.
“But... our junior...”
After a long silence, Loreliya spoke up cautiously.
Charles waited to see what kind of rubbish would come out of her mouth next. And, as expected, the words that followed were peak trash.
“I think he can be bought with money.”
“Scum.”
“...It’s business! It’s not just for my benefit!”
To Charles, the statement was absurd, but it was also an incredibly accurate assessment of Adam.
“How should I put it? He’s very... calculating? Even for requests that would make others lose all respect for you, he’ll accept them with a look of ‘I guess I have no choice’ as long as the compensation is right. People like him are hard to find.”
“...You did say he was something like an agent.”
Being in a similar line of work herself, Charles could roughly understand the sentiment. That was why she could say with certainty:
“That doesn't mean he'll do everything for you.”
“I... I know that!”
Seeing her friend’s cold expression, Loreliya agonized for a while before squeezing out one more sentence.
“...Wouldn't even more money do the trick?”
“It just so happens that today is the day for incinerating trash.”
“Wait, what?!”
Loreliya looked close to tears as Charles’s gaze shifted from cold to filled with pure disgust.
“B-but! Daisy was the one who stole my fiancé first!”
Charles nodded at the claim that Daisy had struck first. Of course, it wasn't exactly Daisy’s fault either, but Loreliya had every right to feel wronged.
However...
“And your real motive?”
Charles knew Loreliya too well to let it slide.
“If I don't bring Adam with me, the collateral branches of the family are going to be a huge pain in the ass!”
“Get in.”
Charles held open a large, newly produced trash bag. Loreliya resisted with all her might.
“Damn the Knight Department!”
A member of the Magic Department could never win against the Knight Department in a test of strength. Huddled inside the trash bag, Loreliya pouted and muttered.
“Since I’m already in here, I might as well act like trash, right?”
“I might just take you out and dump you for real.”
“I’m still your employer...”
Loreliya whimpered, but she hadn't truly given up.
‘If I negotiate well... I can make it work, right?’
Negotiation was a field she was quite confident in. Even if break started, he wouldn't leave immediately. If she could just negotiate successfully before the closing ceremony, she could take him to her territory.
*
“Adam? He went home.”
“...When?”
“He vanished the moment the ceremony ended.”
“……?”
No matter how confident one was in negotiation, it was useless if the target was gone.
A truly great agent isn't someone who resolves incidents well. Real agents are those who prevent incidents from happening in the first place.
“Proceed.”
That was why I had finished briefing the agents dispatched from the Kingdom before the graduation ceremony even began.
“Is this really okay?”
“Yes. The higher-ups gave their permission.”
“Even if you are the Commander...”
“The Commander? No. This order comes from even higher than that.”
“……!”
There were only two people above the Commander who could give us orders. It didn't take long for them to realize what I meant.
“Understood!”
As the agents finished their preparations, I began mine as well.
*
“Still, Senior, since you’re graduating, it’s okay to take it a bit easy this time, right?”
“I’m sure they’ll understand that much.”
Today was the graduation of the President of the Flower Arrangement Club, the Narrow-Eyed Senior. For those living in the Empire, it might be different, but for Prince Ellen of the Leon Kingdom, it would be difficult to see him again. So, even I could understand him wanting to share some final memories.
...Normally, that is.
But in the world of the Academy, the walls have ears, and those ears belong to agents. Surveillance was already strict, but after the recent string of security breaches at the Academy, the Empire had deployed even more agents.
In such a situation, any conversation involving individuals the Empire was particularly concerned about was shared with us.
...The fact that Prince Ellen was planning a trip to the Holy Kingdom with his friends, using the Narrow-Eyed Senior as an excuse, had already been discovered.
Furthermore...
“I’ll be seeing the Narrow-Eyed Senior plenty in the future anyway.”
Since my guilty conscience was cleared, I could execute the operation with a light heart.
After the graduation ceremony ended, on the way to meet the Narrow-Eyed Senior...
“W-who are you!”
“Let’s go, Your Highness.”
“You betrayed me, Adam!”
Prince Ellen, caught in a pincer attack by me and the agents who suddenly appeared, looked at me with a face full of betrayal.
“You were the one who betrayed me first, Your Highness.”
“How did you—?!”
Prince Ellen looked flustered when I implied I already knew everything. To add a bit of confusion...
“How foolish, Your Highness. Before they are your friends, they are your rivals in love. It wouldn't be strange for one of them to turn traitor.”
“……!”
Sowing seeds of discord with a lie was a bonus. From now on, he’d have no choice but to be suspicious whenever he planned something with the Flower Arrangement Club members.
“Let’s move.”
That was enough. I put Prince Ellen in a carriage and fled the Academy.
Our destination: our homeland, the Leon Kingdom.
The goal: to get as far away as possible from the center of this filthy RoFan world.
#2 Bellian Eric - The Secret to High-Speed Promotion for an 8th-Grade Civil Servant.
“Phew.”
It had only been four years. When he first enrolled, he had made up his mind to just graduate for the sake of a guaranteed future. His time at the Academy hadn't been much different from that mindset.
“I’m going to miss it.”
But now that it was actually time to leave, he felt a wave of nostalgia.
“I guess I’m not the only one.”
Many people were glancing back at the Academy as they left. Many others had stopped in their tracks to reminisce.
“Would it have been better... if I had opened my heart a little more?”
Watching them, Bellian reflected on his own Academy life. When he thought back to the most recent events—or more accurately, what had happened just moments ago—he began to feel a bit of regret.
“Looking back now, it wasn't that big of a deal.”
Of course, it wasn't actually a small deal.
Imperial royalty and foreign royalty. On top of that, there was the Rias bloodline, known as the royalty of the frontier, and the one called the Minor Sword Emperor. Was that all? There was also a Saintess and the heir to the organization that dominated the continent’s commerce.
The most approachable person was perhaps the Saintess’s childhood friend. But even she possessed talent recognized by the Magic Department, so by the time she reached graduation age, she might become a titan far beyond his reach.
“...Actually, I guess it was a big deal.”
But the people he saw during club activities were just ordinary people. Though they were born with noble status and extraordinary talent, they were just normal people who didn't know what to do with themselves in front of the person they liked.
That was why he felt that if he had opened his heart just a little more... if he had treated them exactly the way his seniors had treated him when he first joined the Flower Arrangement Club... maybe they could have enjoyed their club activities a little more.
“...Though Daisy probably would have preferred it if I just smiled more.”
With a chuckle, he let go of all his lingering attachments and returned to his family home. He had successfully graduated from the Imperial Academy and passed the Empire’s 8th-grade civil service exam.
Seeing him, who had already achieved everything he set out to do, his parents shed tears.
“I am proud of you.”
When his eldest brother, who had always silently fulfilled his role as the next head of the family, patted his shoulder and spoke, Bellian felt his hard work finally being recognized, and tears welled up in his eyes.
“Are you leaving already?”
“Yes. I was told I have to report for work in two days.”
Two days later, with his family seeing him off, Bellian took a carriage to the large city where his workplace was located.
‘They provide room and board, but there might be a lot of business trips.’
What kind of work could it be?
With a fluttering heart, he arrived in the city a day early. After spending the night at a decent inn, he arrived at his workplace thirty minutes before his shift started.
“……?”
He couldn't help but tilt his head as he looked at the building.
“Is this... not the place?”
He checked the letter from the Empire several times, but the building in front of him was correct. The problem was that the building was a tiny thing tucked away in a corner where few people passed, looking like it would be cramped with just a few people inside.
He cautiously entered the building.
“Congratulations. You are now 5th grade.”
“……?”
He had been promoted.
“Now then, you can head over here.”
“……?”
Receiving the envelope with a dazed expression, Bellian came to a realization.
‘Ah. Is this that "pranking the newbie" thing I’ve heard about?’
He had heard stories. Depending on the workplace atmosphere, mischievous seniors would sometimes do ridiculous things to tease new recruits.
“Right. A three-step promotion the moment I arrive makes no sense.”
To play along with his seniors’ prank, he opened the envelope, took out the paper, and checked his destination.
“...Huh?”
A question arose.
“We’ve been waiting for you.”
“F-for real?”
When he arrived at the Magic Tower and was placed in front of a teleport gate, another question arose.
‘They’re going this far for a prank?’
Even so, wasn't this a bit much?
“...Wait?”
When he reached his destination and took a carriage toward his final stop, a familiar place came into view.
“...The Academy?”
For some reason, the Academy he had just graduated from was there.
“...Junior Aeryun?”
And for some reason, he ended up standing in front of the junior who made him use formal speech every time they met.
“...As of today, you are a 3rd-grade civil servant of the Empire.”
“...Pardon?”
“And officially, you will be a TA and a graduate student at the Academy...”
“……?”
And so, on his first day of work, Bellian wrote a new legend in the history of the Imperial civil service: a five-step promotion in a single day.
Of course, he didn't want any of it.