Chapter 93
Chapter 93
Episode 93
EP23 - Hands (3)
There was a time when we were alone at the Professor's building mansion. Adele had slyly approached me and held my hand. Even interlocking our fingers.
I was a bit flustered, but I didn't show it on the outside.
"Are we still friends?"
To Adele's question, I replied, "Depending on what you do." Because if I said no, I couldn't know what would happen.
My stance was to leave it be rather than open a box whose origin in the refrigerator I didn't even know. "I'll do better," Adele said, smiling with her eyes.
"You seem to have something specific to say."
"Yes, yes. It's just that I was thinking of doing some personal research during the winter break, could you help me a bit?"
She had come as a performance assistant from an administrative assistant. She must have lacked time for personal research.
"Alright."
Only then did Adele release her grip on my hand and move away.
But Ran happened to witness that scene. I was thinking of what explanations to give. Ran didn't ask many questions. Nor did she avoid my gaze.
She just stared blankly at my hands, then raised her own two hands and interlocked her fingers. Then she looked at her clasped hands as if in prayer. Blankly.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to hold hands."
"Why?"
"I had a question after seeing you two."
I asked her what it was.
"There's a stray cat in the Professor's building. When I touched its paws, it disliked it. You two seemed natural, so why does that one dislike it?"
It was a rather abrupt and peculiar question.
I was getting used to it now.
"Cats generally dislike having their paws touched."
"Why is that?"
"Hmm. I'll ask the cat later and let you know."
"Thank you."
"What about you?" I asked back. Ran looked at her hands with her dark eyes and replied,
"I don't know. I don't feel anything in particular."
"Isn't it because they're your own hands? Because you're used to them. It might be different with someone else's hands."
"……."
Her dark eyes went blank. Then they widened slightly.
"...Ah, I see."
Ran nodded as if she had realized something.
"Hands have many sensory nerves. Holding hands is an action where we sense too much of each other's unfamiliarity all at once. However, one doesn't want to sense what they don't feel drawn to."
"……."
"Therefore, hands are the extremities of the body that reveal sincerity. And holding hands is fundamentally an action that can only be established with mutual trust."
"……."
At this point, I listened in silence.
Because her way of expressing herself was unique. However, I could relate to part of her message.
Hands are sincerity...
Even though it seemed like a bit of a stretch.
I recalled hands hiding documents away years ago.
- This? Uh... no. It's my thesis... My thesis... I'm researching it with the Professor... ...Why?
...I dismissed such thoughts.
I came out of the research lab.
In any case, it was time to meet the Hidden Dragon Society.
I had to write the Assassination Squad contracts, but only Kendrake had signed so far. I still needed to get contracts from Elise, Balmung, and Gray.
While I was at it, I'd schedule the next personal tutoring session with Gray.
* * *
The air grew heavy. At least around Balmung, it did. But the two of them didn't notice what Balmung said in a low voice.
"No, a new era is coming, so it's about information warfare. Information warfare. So we did some digging among ourselves."
Balmung thought.
Was he about to rush headlong into something again?
Let's calm down for now.
"...Yes."
"But that guy, his luck seems strangely good."
"...Is that so?"
"They say the Discipline Department handled the fake assassination of Joaquin before. And the Ghost of the Battlefield, that Hakon? There was no basis for assassination, yet they exaggerated it as something Dante did. And this time, he interfered with Gray's filming even though he wasn't part of the support staff..."
I wasn't sure what that had to do with Professor Dante being arrogant or something, but...
I decided to correct them first.
"That's not how it is, seniors."
"It's not?"
"Not at all. You must have received information from the faculty's official channels... It's quite the opposite. Joaquin, Hakon, and Gray were all strongly pushed by Professor Dante."
"It's speculation, but what does that mean?"
"...Yes. It's speculation, but."
As he spoke, Balmung hoped inwardly to calm down, and that they wouldn't underestimate Professor Dante.
There's a reason why terms like 'connections,' 'blood ties,' and 'academic ties' exist.
Wouldn't it be better to prevent them, who came from the same organization, from getting hurt unnecessarily, if possible?
"No. You're mistaken."
However.
The words that followed hit Balmung's head like a hammer.
"I saw him earlier, he was completely useless!"
Balmung closed his mouth. At the same time, his gaze began to sink.
"……."
At this moment, the organization members thought Balmung's information was outdated since he left the organization.
They even thought they needed to enlighten him.
"What. You didn't know at all? I just met him briefly earlier. He was so scared he couldn't even speak. I asked him to connect me with Cain, the senior, and Gray, but the bastard just stiffly said he didn't know. He kept saying no."
A nearby organization member laughed.
"Right. We were already pissed off because we'd been rejected everywhere since this afternoon. But earlier, this guy's eyes were completely wild, and he cursed us out, but he couldn't say anything back."
"There are guys like that sometimes, you know? They look decent but are hollow inside, just incredibly lucky. Haha... Ha......"
It was then. The two organization members who had been rambling turned to look at Balmung.
His expression was somehow strange.
"What's wrong, man?"
"……No."
"Why. Did that professor guy do something to you?"
"……No, it's not like that. Could you please leave now? And I'll pretend the Gray matter never happened."
"Huh? What, man?"
As Balmung suddenly pointed towards the door, they frowned in surprise.
"Hey. You punk. What's wrong? Did we make a mistake, hyungs?"
"……No, please leave."
"Ah, why are you acting like this, you bastard? You must have something on you from Professor Dante, right? You're scared, aren't you?"
"……Please leave."
"Ah, why are you acting like this, you coward?"
At this moment, Balmung didn't quite know how he felt. It was just a rejection, a desire to send them away from that place. That was his nature. He lived by instinct. He acted and spoke as his heart dictated.
"Shall we assassinate him?"
However, after hearing those words, he realized.
"……What??"
As Balmung reacted, the faces of the two lit up.
They thought this coward was very scared.
"Anyway, that guy's smug attitude pisses me off. He's nothing special, acting like he's in charge."
"……."
"We'll go assassinate him this time. Don't be too scared."
The blood in his entire body felt like it was being sucked into a mire. Balmung's whole body turned cold.
These two were sent by the organization to deal with the Academy. They would continue to come here in the future.
In an instant, he thought. This wasn't something to simply get angry about. If they were going to be here for a long time, they needed to respect Professor Dante.
At the end of it, Balmung looked up and spoke directly to the two.
"Hyungs. Please respect Professor Dante."
Balmung said in a low voice.
His voice carried a hint of killing intent.
In response, the two organization members also became serious.
"...What, man?"
"Don't speak carelessly and show respect. Apologize if you were rude."
However, by this point, the organization members were also annoyed.
Was this young, timid guy acting up now that he was older?
"Who are you to say that?"
The organization member's voice dropped significantly.
A rift formed between them. Another organization member, unable to watch, intervened.
"Stop it. And Balmung, what kind of language is that to your hyungs?"
"No, Mammon. Don't try to stop me."
But the angry organization member was furious.
"Hey, who are you to order me around? Do you still think you're the heir of Nibelung?"
"Whether I'm the heir of Nibelung or not, I don't give a damn, so I'm giving you one last chance. Go and apologize to Professor Dante."
"If you refuse."
"……."
"If you refuse, you punk."
"……."
"You're really rushing things, you crazy bastard. Why? Did Dante do something for you?"
Balmung closed his mouth.
He started to feel like the blood that had been sucked into the mire was flowing back. His body temperature rose. His breathing began to feel hot even to himself.
But he had to endure.
There were various reasons. Rebecca's words echoed in his ears. The Princess advised avoiding contact with outsiders and creating as little conflict as possible.
Moreover, he was someone who had run away from the Nibelung Family and could be targeted by them at any moment. He knew that the current lukewarm relationship was only because the Nibelung Family was letting it slide.
"……."
That silence gave strength to the organization members.
"You think you can treat us like dirt just because hyungs are talking to you nicely? Wake up. This coward still hasn't grown up."
"……."
"This is why you were kicked out of Nibelung. Because your father ran away, you grabbed a knife and ran to Grandmother. You can't distinguish between superiors and inferiors like that. That's why Nibelung had to expel you."
"……."
He felt like something was about to burst from his throat.
But he held it in.
Balmung thought he had endured well.
Now, he would ask them to leave.
"...So you're still living like this even at this age. You pathetic loser."
But then, one of the organization members grabbed a balloon on the bed and popped it.
Bang-!!
It was a bone-shaped balloon that Professor Dante had given him.
In that instant, everything Balmung had endured burst forth.
His mind went blank.
"……."
At some point, when his memories returned, Balmung was lunging at an organization member, raising his fist.
Whack!! Crash-!!
His head spun so hard his neck cracked. The organization member, hit in the jaw, flew backward, smashing a bookshelf and crashing into the wall. Balmung realized by the sensation in his fingertips that he had broken the jawbone in one blow.
The one who was hit, contorting in pain, drew a knife.
"Hey!! Are you crazy, you punk!?"
Simultaneously. The organization member next to him drew a knife and charged. However, since joining the Hidden Dragon Society, Balmung's personal combat ability had risen to a level comparable to most professors.
His main force was the [Sniping System] and his support was the [Magic System], but even so, simple brawling was not at a level where he could be defeated by such low-level organization members.
Swish!
He dodged the sword and rotated his waist. The power that started from his firmly planted feet traveled up his lower body, amplified by the rotation of his waist, amplified again by the muscles in his shoulder, and then amplified once more by his bent elbow like a whip, heading towards his palm.
Screech!!
With a swipe that slapped his cheek, the organization member's face burst open. His eardrums burst, blood poured out, and the skin on his cheek tore, splattering the monochromatic room with blood.
Then, the first organization member who was hit shouted.
"I'll kill you, you bastard!!"
Whack!
He turned his body and kicked, shattering the ribs of the charging man.
Then Balmung rushed towards the one whose cheek had been hit. He bent down and tried to snatch his knife.
"Give it to me, the knife."
"Ah! Let go, let go, you bastard!!"
"Give it to me!!!"
When he still resisted, Balmung trapped his elbow between his own arms and applied force to bend it. At an angle where a human arm could not bend.
"Aaaargh!!"
The organization member resisted with all his might. But Balmung added force, bending it with his body weight. Finally, with a chilling 'snap,' his hand opened.
It was good news.
Because he could take the knife.
Balmung, having secured the knife, turned and looked at the organization members who had first insulted Professor Dante.
"Y-you bastard...! Are you insane, Balmung!?"
While flustered by the sudden turn of events, he didn't forget what his true weapon was.
"Hey, you bastard!! Do you think you can mess with the Nibelung Family and get away with it!? We have more organization members here! We're meeting with the Betelgeuse Branch Manager right now!"
However, Balmung couldn't hear him. He didn't understand complex matters.
What he demanded was simple, one thing.
"I told you to go and apologize. To the Professor."
Balmung tightened his grip on the knife.
"But why are you ignoring me."
A rage that felt like his mind was melting.
"I told you to apologize and show respect, so why are you completely ignoring me? Why don't you show respect."
"You, you punk...! Nibelung, the Nibelung Family...!!"
"Doesn't Nibelung get stabbed in the gut?"
Balmung took a step forward. Then, his mind went blank again.
He still didn't understand complex matters.
What remained was simple.
He would bite that nape of his neck first. And shake his head until he died, ensuring he cut off his breath.