Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: The Festival of Circulation
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Chapter 75
Lauren, the secretary of the student council, was a student of commoner origin.
He had entered the academy at nineteen and was now twenty-three.
He had barely managed to meet the academy's admission standards.
But that didn't mean he was incompetent.
This was Galshdin Academy, a place where the bar for talent was high.
Even if his talent was considered on the lower end by the academy's standards, it meant he was gifted enough to hold a position above the basic level wherever he was dispatched.
An ordinary appearance and an ordinary personality.
Not outstanding, but with a disposition that was not rough around any edges.
He was one of those students in the student council who was barely noticed.
“Senior, a letter has arrived for you.”
“Oh? Thank you.”
A letter arrived for him as he was wrapping up another unremarkable day.
A white envelope.
Lauren looked at the letter, which bore only his name in an indistinct script, with a puzzled expression.
*‘Hmm… who would send me a letter? I should have received all the schedules from the cult, shouldn't I?’*
It had been four years now.
Relaying small pieces of information. Creating specific lists. Acquiring certain items from auction houses.
When he first started, the thought of acting as a spy in the academy had made it hard for him to sleep at night, but the surprisingly peaceful life had put his mind at ease.
Once he finished this last task of capturing the traitor in the cult, his mission would be completely over.
That was why he had grown more lax.
Even though someone who was a ‘spy’ should never act that way.
And so, Lauren opened the letter without any suspicion.
“…Huh.”
He froze on the spot.
[We request the Festival of Circulation.]
[There, we wish to prove the Advent, the third of the three stages: Loss, Circulation, and Advent.]
A shocking declaration was written on the white paper.
Lauren shot up from his seat. He didn't even notice someone bumping into him.
“Ah, ouch.”
“Sorry.”
“Lauren!”
He quickly apologized and ran outside. He heard someone call his name from behind but paid it no mind.
He was in too much of a hurry to care about such things.
*‘The Priest, I have to go to the Priest.’*
This was not a matter he could handle on his own.
Lauren hurried to one of Elpis's secret bases. He took the most roundabout route possible, but he might have been spotted if someone had been following him.
But for Lauren, delivering this letter was more important.
A warehouse on the outskirts of the industrial district.
Lauren rushed into the warehouse, a place usually devoid of people.
“Priest!”
*Bang!*
At the sound of the door being thrown open, Priest Milan, who was having a light meal, sighed when he saw it was Lauren.
“…You scared me, Brother Lauren. I don’t know what’s going on, but take a deep breath for a moment…”
Shaking his head vigorously at the priest's words, Lauren shouted without even catching his breath.
“The Festival!”
“What?”
“A request for the Festival of Circulation has been received!”
*Clatter—*
The spoon fell from Priest Milan’s hand. He gaped, his face a mask of astonishment.
“W-what did you just say?”
“The time has finally, finally come, Priest!”
Lauren knelt, his eyes filled with rapture.
His ecstatically upturned eyes gleamed with a chilling light.
“The Apostle of the prophecy has appeared.”
***
Ten days before the dungeon practicum.
The day had finally arrived.
The day the Cycle Cult—one of the factions that had clashed with Haizel in the original story and the largest among the many heretical groups—would attack, targeting the saint Abelin.
*‘Originally, the Sindri siblings would have joined this attack…’*
But since they were working at the blacksmith shop run by Catherine, that wouldn't be an issue.
He had initially planned to take them in himself.
*‘Must be the butterfly effect or something…’*
Who would have thought that the woman he had been dumped by would head to the academy, recognize their talent, and support them?
It was a relief she still had lingering feelings for him.
Otherwise, it would have been a headache to find another (additional) blacksmith with such talent. Or, his former fiancée might have had an unfortunate accident.
“…Is this the right place?”
The annex, located in an area slightly away from the main building. A place where students could form clubs by submitting paperwork. Julius had arranged to meet there.
*‘I have to protect Abelin.’*
He could build favor with her, and he needed her to raise the divine beast. Even if she was a heretic, she was a saint; her uses were endless.
If he nurtured her well, he would never have to worry about a healer.
Julius arrived in front of a classroom in a corner of the annex's first floor.
Just as he was wondering if this was the right meeting place, someone threw the door open.
“Julius!”
“Whoa! You scared me. …Irene?”
As Julius stepped back in surprise, Irene smiled and grabbed his wrist.
“Hehe, what are you doing out here? Hurry up and come in.”
“Wait a moment…”
As he entered the classroom, the six people who had already arrived noticed Julius and greeted him. Julius slowly walked into the room, surveying the faces of those present.
Anya, Abelin, Catherine, Natasha, Helena, Irene, Byron.
The talents he had gathered so far.
Knowing they were all on his side filled him with a sense of reassurance.
Some of them might still be on the fence, but what did it matter? With time, they would all be able to move forward together for the ‘right’ ending.
“Why art thou so late? Thou art tardy.”
Helena narrowed her eyes and pointed at the clock. Seeing the hands ticking past 10 o'clock, Julius made an excuse.
“In the kingdom, it’s customary to arrive late for important appointments…”
“But not to the point of being tardy.”
At her chiding, Julius bowed his head slightly.
“My apologies.”
“Be more careful next time.”
She seemed satisfied with his apology and nodded. Looking to the corner, he saw Byron standing stiffly like a statue with a rigid expression.
Byron, finding it torturous to be in a space filled only with women, silently pleaded for help.
*‘Help me, my lord…’*
*‘Sorry.’*
Casually averting his gaze, Julius turned his head at the sound of a peculiar cry.
*Gyao—, gyao—*
A round, white furball with a small purple horn sprouting from its head.
The divine beast, which had finally hatched a few days ago, was crying out energetically in the arms of a woman.
Brown bobbed hair that reached her shoulders and a mischievous face.
The Heretic Saint, concealing her identity, and the master of the sea dragon divine beast that was currently elsewhere.
Abelin was looking after the divine beast with Anya.
“Hup! Hup! Now, if you succeed, I’ll give you a reward. Hmm? Hurry up and do it.”
*Gyao! Gyao!*
“Abelin, it’s a divine beast. Isn't asking it to fetch a stick a bit… much?”
“Hey, this is how you’re supposed to raise a divine beast. Have you ever raised one?”
“N-no…”
“Aha, then listen to me. I’ve already raised one before.”
“…Uh, that’s… Sister, you’re lying a bit…”
Anya couldn't decide whether to believe her or not. In the meantime, Abelin placed the divine beast on the floor as if she was really about to throw the stick.
Before the divine beast could actually move, Julius called out the proud name he had given it.
“Dongdong, come here.”
*Gyao?*
Hearing its name, the divine beast, Dongdong, turned its head.
“Julius, please do not call the divine beast that.”
Natasha, who had been quietly feigning disinterest with her ears perked up, shot her eyes open in surprise.
“That’s right, what kind of name is Dongdong?”
Abelin nodded in agreement.
“What’s wrong with Dongdong?”
Julius felt wronged.
What was the problem when Dongdong was satisfied with its name?
“Right, Dongdong?”
*Gyao—*
“They say pet names are supposed to be affectionate.”
“It is not a pet, it is a divine beast.”
“Ahem, right, a divine beast.”
“A *divine beast*.”
As Julius nodded as if he understood, Natasha’s brow furrowed.
Just as she was about to say something, Catherine, who had been observing the situation since he arrived, interjected.
“I think it’s fine.”
Natasha, a beat too late, closed her mouth.
“Ultimately, the choice belongs to the divine beast. If the divine beast has chosen it, isn’t that what matters?”
“…Still.”
“What if it doesn’t accept another name you give it?”
“……”
“Since it’s already been decided, I believe any further discussion is pointless.”
At her rebuttal, Natasha looked at the divine beast with a regretful expression, then nodded.
“…You are right.”
“I-I also think what Julius said is right!”
Irene, who had been looking for a chance to join the conversation, quickly spoke up. Her dark eyes were tinged with impatience.
“That’s righ…”
“Honestly, it sounded strange at first… but the more I hear it, the more I think it’s quite nice!”
Irene cut off the other woman, subtly checking Julius’s former fiancée, Catherine.
*‘…They didn’t seem to have any relationship when we came to the capital.’*
Suddenly, Julius started showing interest in her.
She found that fact very, very, very unpleasant, but she endured it. She had no choice but to endure.
But at the same time, she couldn't help but feel anxious that she might lose him.
Catherine watched Irene with a gentle smile and took a step back.
Irene let out a sigh of relief at Catherine's response.
*‘…How amusing, how very amusing.’*
Helena watched the entire scene with an amused smile.
What was it about him that made so many women cling to him?
She recalled his appearance at the black market. An utterly cold and violent figure. Yet, on the surface, he could be polite and even showed a servile side at times.
She found that contrast so amusing she could hardly stand it.
“So…”
Byron, who had been quietly observing, raised his hand slightly.
“Young Master, why have you gathered us all here?”
At his words, the eyes of everyone in the conversation turned to him. Byron flinched.
It was an unseemly sight, but for someone who had had little contact with women, their gazes were harsh.
*Gyao—?*
Julius patted Dongdong, who was looking up at him, and his expression turned serious.
“Oh, it’s nothing much.”
Julius was careful with his expression. He couldn't let them find out the real reason they were gathered here.
“Since everyone has joined the newly formed travel club, I wanted to decide on our first destination.”
[The academy is about to be attacked, you see? That's why we've gathered, to prepare.]
“As you know, the first step is the most important. I thought it would be better to decide together rather than just announcing it, don't you think?”
[If it gets out that Abelin is the target, she’ll obviously be hunted. We need to stick together to stop it.]
At his words, Catherine nodded in agreement.
“If that’s the case… I think it’s a good idea. But was it necessary to call everyone?”
“I called you all in advance since there might be places some of you are reluctant to go.”
[Other students might be sacrificed, but…]
“Natasha is an elf, and Abelin is from the south, right? The rest are all humans from the Libre Kingdom.”
[If we stall for time, reinforcements will come, and it will be officially recognized. We’ll rack up a ton of merit.]
“Even if you’re from the same place, you might want to go to different places. I think it’s best to get this done all at once.”
[This is way more profitable than making the attack public. Oh, right, the Cycle Cult has a bounty on them too, right?]
“Well, that’s fine. Yeah. If you guys had just pushed it through, I wouldn’t have had a say, but you called me.”
“We’re in the same supplementary class, we should look out for each other, right?”
At his words, Abelin laughed as if finding them absurd.
“As if any student in the supplementary class could win against you, geez…”
Her words seemed to trigger a memory for Natasha, who spoke up.
“Ah, speaking of sparring, what happened to the senior who was your opponent?”
“I don’t know. Probably in the infirmary, I guess?”
Abelin looked at Julius and said.
“Julius, if you want, I can heal him. Should I?”
“Don’t bother. His reputation was bad anyway. No need to heal someone like that.”
“That’s right. There is no need. In any case, that man has already been healed.”
At Helena’s answer, Julius’s eyebrow twitched, but then he realized who was behind him and understood.
*‘The Vice President, the Second Prince. He would be able to heal an injury like that.’*
Next time, I’ll have to finish him off completely.
Putting his thoughts aside, he glanced at the clock and started the conversation.
“Well then, let’s start by having everyone suggest a place they’d like to go for our travel club’s first trip…”
The expected time of the attack was probably 11 o’clock.
Not much time left now.
Julius maintained a moderate level of tension in his body and prepared himself.
*‘I informed Reina, so Sir Allen’s side will handle things on their own.’*
Having finished even the contingency preparations, Julius calmed his pounding heart as he looked at them, their eyes fixed solely on him.
And then.
“…Huh?”
Nothing happened.
“No, wait a minute.”
Until the end of the day.
***
The first Prophet, the ‘Withered Flame,’ spoke.
“An Apostle candidate has been found. However, a problem has arisen.”
The second Prophet, the ‘Parched Wave,’ answered.
“What problem? No more resources left. The wave of corpses, must be stopped.”
The third Prophet, the ‘Rotten Root,’ whispered.
“Kihikik, heheh, th-the Apostle candidate… there are t-two of them!”
The fourth Prophet, the ‘Crumbled Metal,’ sneered.
“One must be false, and one must be true.”
The last, the fifth Prophet, the ‘Barren Soil,’ asked.
“Is verification needed? A request for the Festival of Circulation has just been received.”
Five spoke, and five answered.
Four discussed, and one recorded.
Three proposed, and two verified.
Two deliberated, and three confirmed.
One agreed, and four refused.
The discussion of the five came to an end.
“One will move. And verify. Judgment will follow.”
The flame was extinguished, the wave parched, the metal crumbled, and the soil became barren.
And the root remained.
“Apostle, Apostle, khik, kheh.”