Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 130
>Chapter Title: Haven't Caught the Wyvern Yet
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The morning at Jenion Academy, now on vacation break, was peaceful.
Peep—! Peeep!
Amid the loud cries of Breakfast No. 1, who was keeping watch over me, the greenery surrounding my hideout grew thick and lush.
“The mountain is just a mountain, and the water is just water.”
It was a small realization I’d gained last night.
A mountain is merely a mountain, and water is merely water. It’s my mind that imbues them with meaning.
The rage boiling up at the sight of Parun and Shine wasn’t because those two were provoking me—it was due to the turmoil in my own heart.
‘Parun is Parun, and Shine is Shine.’
Hoo—!
I slowly exhaled a long breath and opened my eyes.
Right now, I was occupying the open clearing in front of my hideout.
Truth be told, “occupying” was a bit of an overstatement.
The only people who even knew about my hideout were the headmaster senior and Shine.
And plopped right atop my head was Breakfast No. 1, claiming its throne.
Peep! Peeep!
“You little punk, there’s no studying today.”
I scolded the flapping Breakfast No. 1, but the rascal showed no signs of relenting.
Even getting furious at a sight like this was surely due to my own lack of mental discipline.
In any case, it was true that there was no studying today.
The moment dawn broke, I’d rushed to Rapiter and explained the situation to Teheman senior.
I didn’t go into details, just said I had personal circumstances and wanted to take a few days off from studying.
I’d been itching to focus on the Infinite Chain Gun for at least those few days, and Teheman senior readily approved my request.
But...
‘This damn bird-brained bastard.’
Why the hell wouldn’t it get off my head?
“Hoo.”
Ignoring Breakfast No. 1, I hunkered down on the ground like a mole and picked up a stick.
Time to review the plan again.
In the end, convincing Shine and Parun hadn’t been that hard.
Those two had brains, after all—they realized there were no other options.
However, there were still a few unresolved issues.
‘First off... I’ve got to head to the Lortels, pick out the third sword, and challenge them to a duel.’
That was way too obvious.
The Lortels might not know the full story, but they’d surely sense something fishy about the Decullans.
Charging in and pointing at the “third sword” in that situation?
It’d be like advertising, “Hey, we’re the ones the Decullans are after!”
So, what to do?
“Hmm.”
As I idly poked at the word “Lortel” scratched into the dirt with the stick, an unwelcome face emerged from the hideout.
“Still agonizing over it?”
“Tch, as if Shine could ever understand Aster’s intentions.”
“Why not? I told you yesterday—marching in bold as brass and picking the third sword is the best approach. But that scheming heart of yours won’t allow it.”
I shot Shine a sullen glare.
“Well, you’re not wrong, but...”
“Exactly, it’s a sound beating of an argument?”
He’d stolen the lead.
No choice now but to shut my mouth. I’d lost momentum, so it was a losing battle.
Clamming up like a shellfish, I stayed silent, and Shine chuckled as he tossed out some bait.
“What if I told you I have a way?”
“A way?”
“Heh heh, yes. Truth is, I did some digging on the Lortels on my own.”
This wasn’t something I could just let slide.
That Shine had some connection to the Lortels was a not-so-impressive secret I knew, he knew, but the heavens didn’t.
And now he’d done his own investigating into them?
‘Something smells off. It reeks.’
Peep?
“You shat yourself.”
“You son of a—...!”
I flung Breakfast No. 1 off my head with a wide swing and dusted myself off.
A quick spell to clean up, and it didn’t take long to wipe away.
“That rotten little...”
It had to be on purpose.
A creature that understands human speech, yet can’t hold its own shit?
Grumbling at Breakfast No. 1 as it perched innocently in the tree, Shine snickered.
“See? That’s what you get for a nasty temper.”
“Want me to grind you nice and fine?”
“If you can pull it off, I won’t stop you. If you can, that is...”
My back teeth ground together at Shine’s smug demeanor, but only for a moment. I let out a deep breath, shaking off the rising anger along with it.
Right now, uncovering Shine’s true intentions took priority.
“So, what is it? You’ve got a way?”
“Yes, I do.”
“But how’d you have time to investigate this quick? Were you already looking into it?”
“Ahem, as if. It’s purely out of my noble intent to help you out. Definitely not because a commission from the intel guild arrived today.”
Well, well, broke as he was, he’d gone and used an intel guild? Ah, right. Money wasn’t the issue.
Shine’s money was Riley’s money, and Riley’s money was Shine’s money.
That’s because Shine didn’t have a single coin to his name.
At this point, the suspicions I’d buried started creeping back up.
‘A parasite doing actual work?’
This was no small matter.
What was his angle?
Still, I kept my inner thoughts hidden.
My mindset was like that of Breakfast No. 1... too long. Henceforth, “B1.” Nah, “Brekkie” has a better ring.
Anyway, my eyes were innocently wide, even as my mind sharpened like a hawk on Brekkie.
“So, what’s the method?”
“Your eyes just...”
“What about ’em.”
“They’re annoying. Anyway, back to the point—the Lortel family has this 200-year-old tradition called the Hall of Challenges.”
“Hall of Challenges?”
A knockoff of the Hall of Trials?
“Well, ‘Hall of Challenges’ is just the street name for it. The official title is the ‘Sword God’s Tomb.’”
“Sword God’s Tomb?”
“Yeah, it’s where a former Lortel patriarch is buried, and apparently, he left something behind there.”
By this point, the rest was obvious.
“So... pass through it, and you claim whatever he left?”
“Exactly.”
Shine nodded smugly. Extra grating today.
I couldn’t help but ask.
“And the Lortel kids just left that treasure alone?”
“They had no choice. It was the patriarch’s dying wish.”
With that, Shine spoke as if he were the one leaving the will, and here’s what it said:
- A rightful owner has been destined, so no bloodline member shall enter the Sword God’s Tomb.
Man, what narrow-minded fools.
Common sense dictated sharing the good stuff among family first, then splitting the leftovers with hometown buddies, and if anything remained, divvying it up with alumni.
Though whether hometown pals or alumni came first was debatable—the consensus was splitting it three ways.
And they just left it because of the patriarch’s will?
“Anyway, per that former patriarch’s command, the Lortel bloodline members have kept the Sword God’s Tomb open, waiting for the rightful owner. Using that should make getting inside the Lortels a breeze.”
“Hmm, that’s definitely true, but...”
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