The Father and Son's Wager (Part 2)

Just as Xiel had anticipated, the consultation took far longer than those ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the other students.

"...And so, Cadet Deleve Kundel's Heavy Swordsmanship has shown remarkable growth compared to the start of the semester. In particular, I have noted in the report that he has begun incorporating elements of Cadet Celia Rihardt's Swift Sword Style into his own technique."

"Well, well! No wonder my youngest insisted on showing off his swordplay the moment he stepped through the door... So that's what it was all about, eh?"

The evaluation was overwhelmingly positive.

Deleve was a student who deserved every bit of such praise. In terms of pure talent alone, he stood at the very pinnacle of the entire first-year class.

That was not to say there were no critiques whatsoever, however.

"While his rivalry with Cadet Celia Rihardt does foster mutual growth, it occasionally generates unnecessary misunderstandings."

"Misunderstandings? Ah, you mean the sort about our families having bad blood?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Quite the opposite, Lord Amos Kundel. It creates the misunderstanding that they have feelings for each other."

"...Pardon?"

"Ah. I do not mean between the families, but between the individuals."

Between the individuals?

Amos stared at his son in utter bewilderment, while Deleve's eyes went as wide as saucers.

"I-Instructor! That's absurd! On what grounds could you possibly think I like that... that girl?!"

"It is my understanding that frequent squabbling indicates a high degree of mutual interest, Cadet Deleve Kundel."

"I only do that because she's always picking fights with me!"

"Do you not also pick fights with her quite frequently? For no particular reason, at that."

"..."

Amos regarded his son with an intensely amused grin.

I may despise that wretched Darren, but Celia isn't a bad girl at all. No indeed.

Amos was already letting his imagination run wild.

Though becoming in-laws with that bastard makes my stomach turn just thinking about it.

Deleve, on the other hand, was trapped in mortified agony, blushing furiously without anywhere to hide.

"Instructor, that is absolutely, unequivocally false! Absolutely!"

"Is that so? Understood."

"I'm telling you, it really isn't like that!"

"Did I not just say I understood, Cadet Deleve Kundel?"

"It truly isn't! Please don't misunderstand!"

"A book I once read contained a saying: a vehement denial is usually closer to an affirmation."

"..."

Deleve realized all too late that the more he opened his mouth, the deeper his grave became.

What does he take me for, some toddler who bullies the girl he likes?

Sure, she was on his mind. How could she not be, when she constantly accused him of stealing her sword techniques and picked fights every single day? In truth, both of them had been keenly aware of each other ever since the start of the school year. But it certainly wasn't because of affection; it was purely the fierce competition between two great houses that refused to play second fiddle to anyone in the empire.

"Is there anything else our youngest is lacking in, Instructor?" Amos asked, looking unaccountably energized.

Xiel answered without a shred of hesitation.

"It would be beneficial if he learned to rein in his emotional side. In particular, he tends to become far more volatile whenever he is in front of Cadet Celia Rihardt."

"Instructooor!"

And so, the academic consultation concluded on a remarkably harmonious note.

For Amos, it had been a thoroughly delightful conversation. His son's progress was stellar, and he had even gleaned some very entertaining intelligence along the way.

Perhaps I should strike up a conversation with Celia the next time I visit the academy?

At the same time, another thought crossed his mind.

To think he brought a dossier like this...

The document Xiel had prepared, detailing Deleve's personal performance data, was shockingly meticulous and sophisticated.

Any head of a noble house spent their days buried under mountains of paperwork. For the patriarch of a great grand-territory ducal house, the vast majority of their daily routine consisted of reviewing endless official documents. As a result, one glance at the cover page was all it took to judge the caliber of the work.

His administrative competence is flawless. I felt it before, but... just where on earth did this man come from, and what was he doing before this?

Could the rumors circulating in high society truly be accurate? Was he genuinely an operative dispatched directly by the Imperial Court?

Still, Amos was not one to pay much heed to baseless gossip. Unless concrete proof surfaced, speculation was meaningless.

Time to get down to business.

Amos smoothly shifted the subject.

"By the way, Instructor. I heard that you encountered a rather unsavory incident on your journey here."

This was an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. A golden chance to bring Instructor Xiel into their fold while simultaneously striking a blow against those insolent merchants who had become such a thorn in their side.

"I understand that the Tollen Merchant Guild... is currently looking for you?"

"Ah, yes. I am aware."

"I doubt you fully appreciate just how dangerous a situation that is, Instructor."

Xiel considered the statement for a moment before nodding.

"It did indeed seem to be a dangerous matter."

After all, assassins had come for him. The concept of an assassin was inherently dangerous. Not that they posed the slightest threat to Xiel himself, of course.

As I thought, he knows.

Amos pressed forward with measured gravity.

"The Tollen Merchant Guild seized control of the eastern markets before recently expanding into the South. By continuously paying tribute to the imperial family, they managed to secure a portion of southern operating permits. While it may sound unseemly to say, even if the East is a rural backwater, dominating its economy so swiftly proves they possess terrifying resourcefulness."

In truth, the aristocracy had grown increasingly uneasy in recent times due to the burgeoning influence of merchant cartels. No matter how vast one's territory might be, once merchant syndicates muscled in and monopolized the local economy, headaches were bound to follow. Nor was it easy to simply crush them with military force, precisely because they enjoyed the backing of the imperial family, just as he had mentioned.

"The fact that such ruthless villains are seeking retaliation against you, Instructor, is both alarming and deeply regrettable."

"Is that so?"

"Of course! You are, after all, my youngest son's instructor!"

Xiel wondered why on earth the man was so worried.

"Which brings me to this: just before you arrived, I received letters from both House Riversong and House Hopel. And so... how would you feel about accepting a little assistance from us?"

Put him in our debt first. Once that was done, Xiel, being human, would surely reconsider the recruitment offer.

"What manner of assistance do you mean?"

"We will provide an armed escort for your return journey to the academy."

"That will not be necessary."

An instant refusal.

"It is not required."

A blunt follow-up, leaving no room for ambiguity.

Naturally, Amos pushed back immediately.

"Instructor. You have no idea what those scoundrels are capable of. The Tollen Merchant Guild in particular... is thoroughly venomous. They will stop at nothing to get what they want. Several lords in the East ran afoul of them and are now barely clinging to life, having been stripped of nearly everything their territories once held."

Even so, Xiel merely replied with an utterly flat expression.

"The assassins have already come."

"I knew it, assassins have already... Wait. What? Assassins?!"

Amos froze in shock. What had he just said? Assassins had already come?

Those lunatic bastards at Tollen...

No, more importantly...

Then how on earth is Instructor Xiel still alive?

It wasn't as though professional assassins would drop by just to offer polite threats and leave. Tollen was crazy enough for trying to eliminate anyone who stood in their way, but Instructor Xiel...

"Wh-What do you mean by that, Instructor?" Amos asked, shaken.

Deleve, by contrast, merely nodded along without the slightest flicker of surprise.

There's no way the instructor would lose to mere assassins.

Unless a legendary figure like the Phantom showed up, perhaps.

"The assassins came. I dealt with them all."

He delivered the news with all the casual indifference of someone mentioning they had eaten lunch!

"Is... is that all?"

"I was ambushed in the forest. There were five of them in total."

"..."

Xiel kindly elaborated on the details. He sounded so matter-of-fact that one might almost doubt whether the event had actually occurred.

Were the assassins bottom-tier amateurs...?

"They were quite well trained."

"..."

Apparently, they had been highly skilled operatives. Then how?

Did the Tollen syndicate continue pursuing him after that?

Why would they, when an entire squad of assassins had been wiped out? He had heard that Guildmaster Tollen was a persistent and vicious hound, but still...

"That was when I learned the Tollen Merchant Guild had commissioned the hit."

"Did you... interrogate them?"

"No. There was physical evidence."

"Evidence...!"

Amos felt his breath hitch. If that evidence truly existed...

I can pin those Tollen dogs to the wall.

"It is this."

Xiel drew a dark dagger belonging to the Black Blade and handed it over.

"If you heat the blade over a flame, the writing will reveal itself."

Amos immediately fetched a candle and held the dark blade over the fire.

It was real. Unquestionable, undeniable proof.

"This belongs to an assassin syndicate."

"Correct."

Amos had no idea how Xiel had uncovered the trick, but his entire focus was now riveted on the dagger.

With this in hand...

Following the total collapse of Black Sky, the standing and authority of assassin guilds had plummeted across the empire. If he applied pressure to this syndicate using this blade as leverage, they would have no choice but to confess their ties to the Tollen Merchant Guild. And once they confessed, using that momentum to corner Tollen...

The justification is ironclad.

At present, the South was suffering relentless headaches from merchant coalitions demanding open borders, backed by pressure from the Imperial Court. This single artifact was the master key capable of unraveling this tangled, perilous political deadlock.

Because of that—

"Instructor, would you be willing to hand this evidence over to me?"

The conversation had veered in an entirely unexpected direction. It was Amos who was now making the desperate plea!

"I will give you whatever you desire."

Just when they had lacked any decisive leverage to suppress or expel the merchants, this piece of evidence had fallen right into his lap. It was an item that would dictate not only the resolution of the current crisis, but the balance of political power for years to come. This single dagger possessed an incalculable value.

Instructor Xiel must surely understand its worth.

Tension coiled tightly in Amos's chest. What immense price would he have to pay to secure this proof?

And Xiel's response was...

"It is not an important item to me."

He spoke with complete candor. Then he added quietly:

"However, it appears to be an extraordinarily important item to you, Lord Amos Kundel."

Xiel never accepted anything from students or their parents. At least, not when it pertained to his professional duties—such as teaching his pupils or matters regarding their education. But in this case...

This qualifies as a negotiation.

This was not a transaction with a parent, but with the patriarch of House Kundel. True to Xiel's words, he had merely pocketed the dagger; he had no immediate use for it. He harbored no intention of using it to eradicate the assassin syndicate either. Unless the Tollen Merchant Guild attacked him again, handing this dagger over meant House Kundel would take care of the problem on their own.

Thus, Xiel chose the most efficient and rational course of action.

Meanwhile...

Gold? A title? Or should I seize this moment to tender a formal recruitment offer? No, not that. I must focus entirely on securing this dagger right now.

Amos's mind was racing faster than it ever had before. The tables had turned completely. The supreme confidence he had carried into the room had dissolved back into sweating anxiety.

Deleve watched his father's flustered state with immense fascination.

As expected, the instructor is incredible.

To Deleve's eyes, Instructor Xiel was a man who held every single situation firmly under his absolute control. It seemed his father's dream of recruiting the instructor was destined to fail once again.

"Name whatever you wish, Instructor. Anything."

"I have three conditions."

Three?

Gold, an estate, land?

Just as those words flashed through Amos's mind—

"First, starting next semester, I require the Kundel Order of Knights to be dispatched to the academy."

It was a completely unexpected demand. But it was also an enormous one.

The Kundel Order of Knights was an elite assembly where even the apprentice knights were handpicked prodigies. They never mobilized lightly; whenever they marched, not only the South but the entire region along their path was thrown on high alert. And he wanted them dispatched to the academy?

"Dispatched... to the academy?"

"A total of ten visits, with at least twenty knights per visit. More would be preferable. Regular knights or higher will suffice."

It's not an impossible scale. To secure this dagger, it's worth it... But to dispatch our knights?

Amos probed cautiously.

"May I ask the purpose? I am not refusing your request. However, if this entails something dangerous, it might be better to send a commander-level—"

"Is it an unreasonable request?"

"Of course not! I merely wish to understand the objective..."

If the task required mobilizing an entire knight order, he had to be plotting something exceedingly perilous.

Could it be House Siren?

House Kundel wasn't the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only one harboring a grudge against Siren. Xiel's students had been targeted, so he had more than enough reason to loathe them as well.

If so, that is far too dangerous.

Just as Amos swallowed dryly—

"They are needed for class."

"...Class?"

"Yes."

Class? He wanted to use the proud knights of House Kundel as classroom teaching aids?

"Just what kind of class requires twenty knights...?"

"Is it difficult?"

When Xiel's amber gaze flicked meaningfully toward the dark dagger, Amos blurted out in a panic.

"O-Of course not! Please, by all means, use our family's knights for your classes!"

"Understood. Then you have accepted."

Amos sat in a mild daze.

Classes...

"Twenty knights, five deployments. In fact, next semester, I will have them stationed in the capital on long-term assignment. I will speak directly with the academy administration to ensure it is approved."

Considering the true value of the dagger, this was practically a bargain. Though the idea of using elite knights for school lessons remained entirely baffling...

Come to think of it, this might actually be a tremendous opportunity.

Was this not a chance to leave a lasting impression on Instructor Xiel? Furthermore, forging ties between the Kundel Order of Knights and the academy was hardly a bad move. On top of that, having their knights observe Instructor Xiel's pedagogical methods up close might finally unlock the secret behind Deleve's explosive growth.

The only issue was...

There were still two demands remaining.

"Next is the second condition."

What could it be this time? Was he finally going to ask for money?

Since he isn't accepting a recruitment offer, gold makes the most sense...

Once again, Xiel completely shattered his expectations. And by a massive margin.

"I require intelligence regarding House Siren."