Test Subject (3)
Test Subject (3)
Though my mana's sudden halt caught me off guard, there was no reason I should lose to an opponent who wasn't even knight-tier.
"That makes no sense..."
He might have been an extraordinary individual capable of creating inherited abilities, but he clearly didn't understand how real knights and mercenaries fought.
An inherited ability that freezes mana, huh?
I had been tense because of what he'd said in my previous life, but fortunately, it was an ability I could handle.
Then again, an ordinary knight or noble might have found it difficult to deal with.
In any case, there was no longer any way for him to stop me.
His eyes darted frantically around, but I quickly subdued him.
Thanks to my surprise attack, he had no hostages. Though his counterstrike briefly startled me, everything went smoothly according to plan for the first time in a long while.
Once I had bound him with rope, I injected mana into his throat to muffle his voice and severed the tendons in his arms and legs.
"Ugh... Don't even dream of getting anything out of me!"
Even with his tendons severed, he spoke with unwavering defiance. Unfortunately for him, I had already heard plenty of stories from him before.
"I already know very well how much you love to talk. Isn't that right, master of Piar and Mirisa? Or should I say... fellow test subject?"
As if he'd forgotten the pain, his eyes widened as he stared at me.
"Wh-who are you?"
Though I was a freshman at the Royal Academy and an illegitimate son of the Gracia Dukedom, I didn't answer his question.
Instead, I laid out the items I had prepared.
"The sun hasn't even set yet, so we have plenty of time to talk."
Since I had a room to myself in the dormitory and no one would come checking on an illegitimate son of the Duke's estate, I had all the time I wanted until tonight—no, until dawn tomorrow morning.
Seeing the tools I'd laid out, the bastard's face turned deathly pale.
"Honestly, I'm not very confident when it comes to torture, so I hope you'll excuse me if I make a few mistakes."
I didn't plan on listening to a grand exposition. Hearing a few crucial pieces of information would be more than enough.
I spent the entire night extracting information, and before dawn broke, I received a message.
[The crisis has ended. A new 'Save Point' has been set.]
The bodies were discovered two days later.
Growing suspicious of the shop, which had remained closed for two days straight, the neighboring shopkeeper forced the door open and found the corpses on the second floor.
The guards were dispatched immediately.
The security knights and guards arrived to find a gruesome scene, with blood splashed everywhere and clear signs that the occupants had run each other through with swords.
After assessing the scene, the knight spoke in a grim voice.
"Bury it."
At his command, the guards accompanying him spoke up, their expressions hesitant.
"Will that really be fine, sir? This happened right in front of the Academy. I heard the Princess herself enrolled this term."
"That's precisely why we're burying it. It's just a sword fight between shop employees, anyway. Things like this happen every day in the slums."
"Well, that's true, but..."
"The mood in the capital is extremely tense right now. Word is, something happened during the Academy entrance ceremony, too. Imagine if this incident leaked on top of that. You know full well what would happen to us, right?"
It was a murder case right in front of the Academy.
For him, as the officer in charge of public security in the district, it wasn't just a matter of having his promotion blocked—if things went wrong, he could end up with his neck on the chopping block.
Had he been a righteous knight devoted to serving the royal family and upholding justice, things might have been different. But he was merely a career knight with a family in the capital, seeking a stable livelihood.
There was no reason to dig up trouble and create unnecessary problems for himself.
The knight and his guards quickly cleaned up the shop and went around bribing and threatening locals to keep them quiet.
And just like that, the murder in the commercial district sank silently beneath the surface.
Honestly, I hadn't expected much.
I had staged the crime scene on a whim after remembering thriller movies from my past life.
It was such a crude trick that I assumed it would be exposed immediately, yet no news of a murder broke out.
Even when I asked the Princess's escort knight or Katrin, neither of them had any idea such a thing had happened.
I thought the matter would at least reach the royal palace before being swept under the rug, but I never expected a low-level officer to bury it on the spot.
I guess crime was even easier to cover up without a developed media.
Given how hard I'd worked until dawn to bury the corpse I'd dumped by the main road on my way back, it was a relief, if anything.
That night, I managed to extract quite a bit of information from the man who called himself their master.
Once again, he was talkative, but unfortunately, he didn't actually know all that much.
He didn't know precisely what organization he belonged to, nor did he know their future plans or communication channels.
But I did learn where he had been trained and where he was supposed to return.
A powerful nation in the north.
It was the Tsar Empire—the nation where the perpetrators of the incident at the Hierro Marquisate had originated.
'Whether this was orchestrated by the imperial government or by some other faction within the Empire remains unknown, but...'
I had a strong feeling that this man belonged to the same organization as those who caused trouble at the Hierro Marquisate.
Still, I managed to get most of the information I was hoping for.
"Th-That's right... That necklace is the medium that causes mana to go berserk. Inherited ability users who manipulate mana can use that necklace to trigger mana rampages in others."
That included details about the necklace.
"I acquired my ability in a laboratory that looked like an underground dungeon. Th-There was an item that unlocks and awakens latent abilities. Once testing concluded, they collected it back."
And how he and Piar had obtained their abilities.
"They were trying to dispose of us because the testing had ended. Or maybe you could call it the final test. I didn't even know what would happen to me if I went back, so perhaps this is the proper end for me."
I was also able to learn why they had attempted the terror attack. The reason was far simpler than I expected.
"Because it was a disposal operation. They planned to pull out entirely anyway. Once everyone dies, no one else will come. Besides, without the necklace, causing a rampage is impossible."
Learning how they handled loose ends allowed me to wrap things up comfortably as well.
'He seemed to have given up on everything, so it didn't feel like he was lying.'
After wrapping things up and keeping an eye on things for a few days, I discreetly stole Piar's and Mirisa's necklaces.
For Piar, I snuck into his room at night, knocked him out, and took it. For Mirisa, I pretended to bump into her in the hallway and swapped hers with Piar's necklace after prying out its gemstone.
Since both necklaces looked identical, Mirisa simply assumed the gemstone had fallen out of her necklace.
The two of them made a fuss over the necklaces for quite a while, but I spent a thoroughly peaceful time.
No other suspicious figures appeared around Piar or Mirisa, nor was anyone targeting the Princess.
The general education classes attended by all freshmen were terribly boring, and the knight major classes were frustrating since I couldn't reveal my true skills.
I only waited eagerly for practical combat training to begin.
One day, while passing the time peacefully like that, another freshman enrolled.
"Her enrollment was delayed due to family matters. Since she joined later than everyone else, please help her adjust so she can catch up."
It happened during the general education class Fundamentals of inherited abilities. The female professor introduced the female student standing beside her.
"I'm Balea de Messesia. My enrollment was delayed because my father passed away suddenly."
A girl of extraordinary beauty introduced herself to everyone.
She made eye contact with each person in turn as she spoke, and when her eyes landed on me, she offered a faint smile.
But I couldn't smile back at her.
I knew her well enough to exchange greetings, and we were close enough to call each other friends, but...
She had killed me once before.
And I had killed her father.
A month after the Academy entrance ceremony, the daughter of the Baron I had killed enrolled in the Academy.
"Go ahead and take a seat."
Once the introduction was over, the teacher sent Balea to her seat.
Balea scanned the lecture hall before walking toward me.
As always, the seats around me were empty, but she didn't mind at all.
"Hello."
She greeted me warmly, as if we'd just parted ways yesterday.
"Yes. Hello."
I greeted her back.
"Did the funeral go well?"
"It was a sudden funeral, so everything was chaotic, but I suppose that was more than enough for my father."
Others might not have noticed, but I could tell there was a sharp barb hidden in her words.
"By the way, you came alone."
"Since the former baron died, someone has to become the new baron. He'll probably live in the domain as the acting baron until royal approval comes through."
Although she was talking about her own sibling, it sounded like she was referring to a complete stranger.
"It was too uncomfortable for me to stay any longer. If Father were still alive, I could have stayed in the domain as a baron's daughter, but my half-brother is the acting baron now. I quickly fled to the Academy so I wouldn't be sold off on the cheap to another noble family."
She tapped her fingers on the desk and spoke cheerfully.
"Then the Baroness..."
"Mother plans to return to her hometown as well. She'll probably spend the rest of her days being mistreated by her birth family, I suppose."
Though she and I hadn't become entangled in this life, her core nature hadn't changed.
Her words were steeped in a deep disillusionment with family.
"So, you see..."
Strangely enough, our conversation flowed on without a pause.
It felt surreal to be chatting so comfortably with the woman who had killed me, yet I found myself enjoying the conversation, too.
Still, we must have gotten too absorbed in our chat.
"You two over there, class has already started. Save your chatter for later."
The professor sternly reprimanded us, and pieces of chalk came flying our way.
Was the professor's ability telekinesis?
Snap!
Though the chalk hurtled toward me wrapped in mana, I caught it between my fingers, where it quivered slightly.
Tink!
The chalk flying toward Balea came to a gentle stop right in front of her before dropping softly onto the desk.
It was Balea's ability, the so-called 'Area Declaration'.
She must have already activated her ability during our short conversation.
Seeing how much more refined her control looked than before, I grew a little more tense.
The professor looked slightly surprised by how we handled the chalk, while the students mocked us for being reprimanded.
"Look around. Talking to me won't do you any good."
At my quiet whisper, she glanced around and grinned.
"If you ask me, talking with you, Young Lord, is far more helpful to me than making friends with those idiots."
She leaned in as well and whispered softly back.
Had I not known her true nature, her words might have deeply touched me.
No, if I were at my original physical age, I might even have fallen for her.
Right now, though, my brain was practically cramping as I racked my mind trying to figure out what ulterior motive she might have.
The rest of the class was a complete wash, thanks to how friendly she was being with me.
To think that the only student capable of carrying a decent conversation with me was the person who had killed me—and whose father I had killed.
With the scheme the Baron had pulled that day and her peculiar ability...
If not for the upcoming crisis, I might have pulled all my hair out agonizing over Balea.
But the Princess's Awakening Day was fast approaching, right before my eyes.