168. Suspicious Look
168. Suspicious Look
The wide corridor, normally spacious enough for several students to pass at once, was clogged.
The cause was two people standing face-to-face in the middle of the hallway.
Had it been only the two of them, it would have been manageable, but more than a dozen students surrounded them in a standoff, blocking the way for everyone else.
"Do new students these days not even greet their seniors?"
"Seniors? No matter how much this is the Academy, that isn't a funny joke."
One of the two confronting each other was Shara Phrygia, the head of the noble faction representing the Empire and one of the Five Pillars.
Though deceptively delicate and lovely on the outside—like an exquisite doll—she was trading sharp words with a slender yet tall man so handsome that people would stare at him dazedly, as long as he kept his mouth shut.
Kallian Ostri, prince of the Kingdom of Ostri—one of the Five Kingdoms—and a senior two years above.
Normally, new students feared their seniors.
Not simply because they were older, but because they had usually learned far more and reached far higher realms.
The students from her own class standing guard behind her knew this quite well, yet they showed no sign of being intimidated.
"The all-talk daughter of a duke, a jumped-up upstart, is quite impudent."
"Better an Imperial Duke than a country bumpkin playing king on a territory the size of a rat's tail. On what grounds do you consider yourself my equal? If you still haven't figured that out after coming to the Academy, why don't you just turn back now?"
They were exchanging truly vicious words.
On the surface, Kallian, a prince of a nation, would seem higher in status, but reality was different.
The Phrygia Duchy, territory of the Golden Duke, exceeded most self-styled kings in every measure—whether the scale of the territory or the amount of gold flowing through it.
Which was precisely why he was called a Duke King.
If one had to find a shortcoming, the quality of their military forces might differ somewhat, as they possessed swordsmen barely at the mid-Expert level,
but since Phrygia was a member of the Five Pillars and a noble of the Empire, should force be needed, Lemnos, Russell... or even the greatest sword in the Empire could appear at any moment. Considering that, even this wasn't a shortcoming.
Rather, keeping the quality of the troops defending their territory deliberately low served as a device to demonstrate their loyalty to the Imperial Family.
'How did they end up quarreling?'
They had been thoroughly ignoring each other up until the start of the semester, so while it was strange that they were suddenly clashing now, it was also understandable.
When had reason ever meddled in a fight between people? The instinct was to pick a fight the moment you disliked someone and judged them easy prey.
In verbal spats of this sort, the party with superior objective indicators held more composure.
Though the Phrygia Duchy was considered nobility, their bloodline traced back to the Imperial Family; they had more money than the Kingdom of Ostri, and their social standing within the Empire was higher.
Emotions were visibly approaching a critical point, so I was debating whether I should step in and stop them, but the situation resolved itself quite simply.
"What's this, why are there so many people out here? You don't mind if I pass through, right?"
"The Master is passing through!"
It was because Hulan, the 'Master,' spoke a single line while eyeing the corridor packed full of students.
"Everyone clear the way."
Since everyone was already gauging the atmosphere, once Shara added a word, they murmured and parted to either side.
It seemed they still retained enough reason to end their standoff in front of a Master.
Whenever Hulan moved through the Academy building, his followers always swarmed around him, and this time was no different.
"Wasted time on something pointless. Let's go."
"Yes!!"
As the crowd rushed past through the parted sea of people, the taut tension deflated like air out of a balloon.
Seeing no point in staying any longer, each faction went their separate ways.
"The usual spot."
While passing through them, I gave Shara a subtle signal.
I had worried she might have forgotten since we hadn't been able to meet lately due to various matters, but it seemed she hadn't.
Color bloomed on Shara's face.
.
.
.
.
.
A few minutes later, Shara Phrygia arrived at an empty lecture hall alone.
Well, it wasn't empty.
I had arrived first and was waiting inside.
Shara, who had come right up to the door, paused just as she was about to enter.
Though the scene was unfolding beyond the wall, I had been bored and had heightened my sensory perception, so I could vaguely sense what kind of actions she was taking, if not the precise details.
She had stopped, and as I wondered what she was doing, she pulled out a hand mirror, scrutinized her reflection once more, and straightened the trim of her clothes.
It was exactly the behavior of a girl her age wanting to make a favorable impression.
She fussed with her appearance for a moment, then, seemingly satisfied, closed the hand mirror, knocked, and entered.
"Apologies for being late, Atlas-nim."
"No. I haven't been able to pay attention to you for a long while... Have you been well?"
"Yes. Thanks to your presence, Atlas-nim, all the students are staying safe."
She was gilding my face the moment she saw me.
Shara's cheeks, which I was seeing after a long time, were faintly flushed red.
Usually, I would have been the first to arrive at a place Shara had prepared, so the reversal might have lent a different feeling to it.
She greeted me properly and then sat down in the chair before me.
"I apologize for not visiting you in the hospital. You were hospitalized... Are you feeling alright now?"
"As you can see, I'm perfectly fine. You haven't seen me around lately, so was it a bit more comfortable for you without someone bothering you?"
"...How could that be? Even as a joke, that's too much. I was very worried."
I had thrown it out as a light joke, but her expression had grown frighteningly serious.
Let's be careful with that kind of remark.
"Not visiting was only natural, wasn't it? That was the arrangement."
On the surface, our relationship was a secret.
Even if Shara had been hospitalized, I wouldn't have visited openly.
Though I would have visited secretly in the middle of the night.
"You didn't think I hadn't visited because my feelings were hurt by that, did you?"
"...."
Shara couldn't meet my eyes and was unable to answer readily.
"...Truly?"
"Not to that extent... but I suspected... that you might have found me unnecessary now."
"I told you clearly before that I wouldn't abandon you. So you doubted those words."
When we met before, I had clearly stated that we weren't meeting out of necessity, yet she had doubted it.
When I placed my hand on Shara's shoulder, her body—smaller and more delicate than mine—trembled violently.
The last time we were in this state, I had jabbed her pressure points and inflicted pain all over her body.
That was then.
Now, resolving things through conversation alone was more effective.
"Well, it's just fortunate that we could meet again like this... It's fine."
"Ah... no! My thinking was short-sighted... I apologize!"
Shara tried to bolt up from her seat.
It seemed she must have thought I had become disappointed in her and had even given up on punishing her.
It was similar to that, but slightly different.
"I told you it's fine."
But my hand was still resting on her shoulder.
Because of my unmoving arm, Shara couldn't stand up and was left in an awkward half-risen posture before she sat back down in the chair.
"Eung... yes..."
She had become very crestfallen.
This wasn't what I had intended, but every time I saw her lately, our conversations had been flowing this way.
Should I meet her more often and give her some care?
I would have to pay more attention to her from now on.
I should continue the conversation as a change of mood.
"I haven't been able to pay attention lately because I've been busy, but have there been any suspicious movements?"
"Atlas-nim, suspicious signs have been detected recently."
"Suspicious?"
There had been other suspicious movements near me?
"Are you aware that bounties were placed on specific students during the Hunting Festival?"
"Something like that happened?"
"Bounties were placed, mainly on the promising students among the participants of the Hunting Festival, and the Five Pillars were among them. It's likely a byproduct from the gambling circles connected to the Hunting Festival."
"Placing bounties on the Five Pillars within the Empire... they've got guts."
To place a bounty on the successors of the Five Pillars—the leaders of the noble faction that controlled the Empire—was an extraordinary act of nerve.
It was on a scale where, if they were identified, the Five Pillars could immediately dispatch troops to reduce their territory to a wasteland, and the Emperor would turn a blind eye.
"Recently... there have been movements attempting to investigate you, Atlas-nim."
"Me?"
"If they had approached Atlas-nim directly, you would have noticed. But movements that appear to be investigating your surroundings have been detected."
"So you think the ones who placed the bounty on the Five Pillars and the ones lurking around me... are connected?"
"Yes. It hasn't been confirmed, but only someone with that level of audacity would dare."
I pondered it for a moment.
If someone investigated me, plenty would come to light.
After all, I hadn't been hiding myself all that thoroughly.
My face was as it was, and my name too.
Though I had only changed my surname... Honestly, even if my identity as a Titan were exposed, it didn't matter much.
This name was already known from childhood as that of Titan's dim-witted successor, so I went around using a different surname simply because it irritated me when others whispered about it.
"I see... But aren't you curious? You, of all people, would know well that I'm hiding many things."
"I am not curious. Because the figure you show me before my eyes is Atlas-nim."
With no trace of the recent doubt she had shown me, she spoke with unwavering conviction.
I moved the hand resting on her shoulder up to her head and stroked her hair.
"That's a good answer."
"Then what shall we do about that group?"
"If you can trace them from your end, please do so. Once I have them cornered, I'll handle it."
"I will do my best."
If I could just identify who it was, I would ask them why they did it, who ordered it, and those sorts of things.
Whether they did it out of curiosity or because they suspected who I was, they would have to pay the price.