Push and Pull (1)
“Absolutely not.”
“……?”
His entire body seemed to reject the very word academy.
Rudy's reaction made it clear he was repulsed by the mere mention of the place.
Unable to contain her curiosity, Rose asked.
“Why?”
“…….”
Rose's curiosity was perfectly reasonable.
Attending the academy meant access to outstanding education and invaluable connections — an easier life, plain and simple.
Most of the continent's promising swordsmen, magic swordsmen, mages, and even spirit contractors were academy graduates.
Not that she had any room to talk — she'd attended the academy herself.
Graduated early after surpassing the professors in just one week, mind you.
But Rudy's problem was something else entirely.
The academy was home to the young ladies of the Four Great Powers — the very four women whose legs he'd entangled himself around.
'Shit, I already dropped out once. If I run into them again, how badly do you think I'll get torn apart?!'
Rudy's reaction, knowing all this, was also entirely reasonable.
…Watching Rudy clamp his mouth shut like a vault, Rose grew frustrated and raised her voice.
“Come on, talk! Are you a mute or something?”
How was he supposed to say it?
That he didn't want to go because he'd been caught with his legs wrapped around all four of them.
Technically it had been the doing of a friend from the world Rudy lived in before his transmigration —
but there was no way Rose would buy that. She'd believe he did it himself.
Besides, his debt existed because of those four legs in the first place.
If he explained the reason, his entire ugly truth would come unraveling out, one thread at a time.
“…I can absolutely never tell you. But why are you suddenly asking about the academy?”
“I was going to send you to the academy. I figured you'd want to go.”
“Would that academy happen to be Agnis Academy of the Central Empire?”
“Yep. It's the best one, after all.”
“I'm fine, thank you. You already paid off my debt… and honestly, why are you doing all this for me? You don't strike me as someone with a charity habit, so forgive me for being a little wary.”
“…Well, that's—”
Rose flinched.
Rudy had a point.
Anyone with a functioning brain would be suspicious.
A national-level powerhouse had picked him up for no apparent reason and was even helping him out.
Wariness was only natural.
'…Should I just tell him the truth, that I need his power? No. That won't work.'
Explaining why she needed his power meant bringing up the Eclipse Cult.
The Eclipse Cult — a state-designated terrorist organization.
The moment she mentioned it, Rudy would realize she was about to drag him into politics.
Rose hadn't yet gotten a proper read on Rudy's character.
If he wasn't the righteous type, he might refuse outright.
'Refusal is absolutely not an option.'
Rose needed Rudy's power.
The killers of her parents in her childhood —
the unhinged, inhuman sect of fanatics known as the Eclipse Cult — had to be exterminated.
That was why she'd become the Grand Spirit Contractor, just as she was now.
Truth be told, Rudy also knew the world would end — by the Eclipse Cult, and by the Black Dragon they intended to resurrect.
He'd already decided that to survive, he had to stop that ending himself.
But Rose had no way of knowing any of that.
So she racked her brain for a solution.
'How do I sweet-talk my way through this…?'
When the silence stretched on, Rudy began backing away slowly, eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“Why aren't you telling me?”
“Well, it's just…”
The doubt on Rudy's face was gradually hardening into certainty.
Rose fidgeted, muttering desperately to herself.
'No, seriously, what am I supposed to say? I don't HAVE a reason!'
And that was right as Rudy opened his mouth one last time.
“As I thought, it's because this isn't right, and I—”
“…That's why!”
“Excuse me?”
“Because you're kind of my type! You!”
“…….”
Rudy's eyes went wide at Rose's flustered outburst.
'Ah, of all the times…! I panicked and just blurted it out!'
Rose flushed red and lowered her head.
She had no plausible reason to give.
And saying something like this was a first in her entire life, which made it mortifying beyond words.
Since childhood, she'd poured everything into growing her spirit contractor abilities.
She'd received plenty of attention from people, but expressing her own feelings was brand new territory.
His personality, admittedly, wasn't her type at all — but the inexplicable charm that seemed to radiate off Rudy was exactly Rose's flavor.
…Rudy stared at her, dumbfounded.
“Wh-what are you staring at!”
“…….”
“Say something! Anything! Am I the only one with a mouth here?!”
“…Uh.”
Rudy scratched the back of his head and thought it over.
'That is a transparent lie if I've ever heard one.'
A national-level powerhouse. The world's one and only Grand Spirit Contractor.
Going out of her way for a debt-ridden bum like him?
Even lies had their limits.
Rudy was certain she had some other scheme up her sleeve.
'…Should I call her bluff?'
Rose was dying inside from Rudy's prolonged silence.
She fixed him with a hard stare as he hesitated, refusing to speak.
Before long, Rudy said:
“I-I'm terribly sorry.”
“Hm?”
“You are not my type.”
“…….”
'That busty little lunatic…! Ugh!'
Déjà vu.
Bruised all over, Rudy lay sprawled on a cot in the infirmary, receiving the priest's healing.
The wounds Rose had dealt him were worse than he'd expected — half an hour had apparently gone by.
'Her temper is genuinely fucked.'
As Rudy writhed in pain, the priest sighed.
“Goodness, how long has it been since your last visit? And here you are again! This is why you don't talk back to Lady Rose!”
“I really, truly didn't do anything this time…”
Wrongfully beaten, Rudy finished his healing session —
and was promptly summoned back to the mansion by Rose.
“Sit.”
“…….”
Her voice was sharper now. Colder.
Reading the room, Rudy cautiously took a seat on the sofa across from her, and Rose spoke.
“Actually, no. Just get lost.”
“…What am I supposed to do with that?”
“Shut it.”
“…….”
“I'll say this nicely one more time. Enroll in the academy.”
“Sorry? Ah, no. Can't do it.”
“Want me to pretend the debt was never paid off?”
“…….”
Mmmgh.
Much as he appreciated the thought, enrolling in the academy was a genuinely terrible idea.
Same reason as before.
Agnis Academy had the young ladies of the Four Great Powers.
Charlotte Cleyret, only daughter of the famed magic-sword house.
Shion Freesia, second child of the great magic family.
Ines, the elf princess of Elundir.
Aria, Saintess of the Grand Cathedral.
If he crossed paths with them, a peaceful academy life would be an absolute fantasy.
His trial attendance was still ongoing, and in the worst case, he'd get expelled again.
And then he'd have no idea how to even face Rose afterward.
Rudy let out a long sigh, then spoke with grave, deliberate politeness.
“Anything but the academy. That's the one thing I can't do.”
“…Hm.”
Sensing what was behind his words, Rose closed her eyes and pondered.
'I don't know his reason, but if he hates it that much… Still, I have to get him sent there somehow.'
Her plan was to win him over gradually, then pit him against the Eclipse Cult.
For that, he'd need a bare minimum of combat ability.
If he died, everything fell apart.
A real quandary.
“Are you confident you can wield a sword better than academy graduates, even without ever attending one?”
“To some degree? Yes.”
“Then here's the deal.”
Rose made her decision.
“I don't know what problem you have with the academy, but frankly, your swordsmanship talent is too good to waste. So I'll give you a deadline.”
“A deadline?”
“Yep. I'll assign you a private tutor. Prove that within the time limit, you can grow just fine without the academy.”
“Why should I?”
“Refuse even this, and I'll bill you for the debt again. Every last coin.”
“…….”
Rudy had no room to refuse.
Several days spent in the mansion, eating meals prepared by skilled house chefs, had quietly nudged Rudy's Strength stat upward.
A regular diet rich in protein.
His muscles had thanked him for it.
'Back when I was breaking my body just to pay off the debt, I was lucky to get two meals a day.'
Now he was getting three square meals plus dessert.
He was briefly tempted to just freeload in this mansion forever.
'But that won't do.'
The villains of this world — the Eclipse Cult.
Left unchecked, they would resurrect the Black Dragon and end the world.
He hadn't found any way back to his original world.
And nobody could say for certain what would happen if he died here.
'By the way, does that stat actually keep working?'
Lust: 50 (Charm 50)
A Charm stat of 50, granted by the system that had activated during his encounter with the Changgwi.
He was still on the fence about it.
He understood it was some kind of ability to bewitch people, but…
'Seems like the kind of stat that'd come in handy for diplomacy, honestly.'
Could it be that Rose had taken a liking to him because of this stat?
If so, the credit for his debt being wiped clean belonged largely to Lust.
“Anyway…”
The promised day had finally arrived.
In thirty minutes, he was due to meet the swordsmanship tutor Rose had hired for him.
Who on earth had she brought in?
Curiosity pricked at him.
'She's the empire's Grand Spirit Contractor, so surely she didn't hire some random schmuck off the street.'
A Sword Master, maybe?
Or if not that, a magic swordsman?
Either way, he couldn't help but look forward to it.
He'd been honing his swordsmanship entirely alone ever since his transmigration, after all.
The closest things he'd had to teachers were the itinerant swordsmen he'd run adventurer subjugation quests with.
*Knock knock.*
'Young master, Lady Rose is asking for you.'
Thirty minutes already?
“I'm coming.”
Rudy rose from the bed.
He arrived at the mansion courtyard.
Rose was already outside, facing a man who looked to be the tutor.
However —
Rudy pressed his back against a blind corner of the mansion,
stalling for time, clutching his pounding chest.
“…Why isn't the boy here yet?”
When Rudy failed to appear, Rose checked her pocket watch, puzzled.
He couldn't help it.
'Why is THAT man here of all places?!'
Ba-dump, ba-dump.
His startled heart refused to settle down.
The tutor was him?!
Slicked-back sky-blue hair.
A cold, curt, unreadable face.
And the sword at his hip — a magic swordsman's blade — was set with mana stones that channeled ice-attribute magic.
“He's late.”
“No, the maid said he'd be right out… Where did he go?”
The man invited as his tutor was —
Gerard Cleyret.
Father of Charlotte Cleyret, one of the Four Great Powers' heroines — the very girl Rudy had once sent a marriage proposal —
and head of the famed magic-sword house Cleyret.
'…I'm dead.'