Not Taking It Quietly
"You think I'll just take this quietly? Not a chance."
Rick Soer was furious about the current situation.
Just a few days ago these guys had been all fired up, ready to rise up for the young master. Then, out of nowhere, they did a complete one-eighty and strongly insisted they drop the whole thing. They even claimed the young master himself wouldn't want this. Thanks to that, Rick had a pretty good idea of what had happened to them.
Kyle of John Nassen. That bastard pulled some kind of stunt.
Thinking that way, this was actually a good opportunity. This was John Nassen, after all. Whatever scheme he tried, it would ultimately just be intimidation. They said he was so physically gifted he didn't bother thinking—what could a John Nassen like that even do?
So he grabbed them and demanded they tell him the truth right away. Had he used violence? Had he inflicted serious harm on their bodies? But the answers he got were so absurd they were almost spectacular.
Massage? Damn it, what the hell kind of scheme is that?
No matter who he asked, the answer was always the same: they'd been given a massage. Considering the strength of a John Nassen, that massage was certainly dangerous. The problem was, who on earth would nod along if someone said, "I almost died from a massage"? Rick himself had nearly yelled, "What the hell is a damn massage that you're all freezing up like this?!"
This wouldn't do. He had to go find Kyle himself and get the exact story. He couldn't surpass Kyle in strength, but the Academy's eyes still weren't kind toward him. If he used that well, he could pressure him and extract what he wanted.
"Kyle John Nassen is currently at the indoor training hall."
Upon hearing the news, Rick immediately headed for the indoor training hall. At this time of day there would be plenty of other students there as well. He'd already confirmed that Kyle was conscious of others' gazes. That meant those others would serve as a natural barrier for him. He'd go there, protest strongly, and ask what had happened. This was the least he could do as a loyal subordinate of the young master who would one day become Grand Duke!
You fools may have submitted to mere strength, but I won't! With patience, with loyalty, and with the pride of a noble—I will overcome this!!
And a short while later.
"Please take care on your way back, Senior Rick."
"Yes, sir."
With his physical therapy finished, Rick meekly returned to his room.
Would another summons from the dean's office come flying in? Had some strange rumor started spreading—something about a massage thug who harassed people with massages having appeared?
But one day passed, then two, and nothing out of the ordinary happened. Apparently everyone was keeping their mouths shut and behaving themselves.
Honestly, whining and walking around after just getting a bit of physical therapy would look pathetic. Plus, being the children or relatives of Litorio vassals was both a weapon and a shackle at the same time.
From his brother's or sister's perspective, they'd think there was no need to react, that it was a hassle. Better to get in one more workout in that time, so they wouldn't have dealt with it. Even if that snowballed and eventually led to the Academy half-destroyed incident. People were animals that kept trying to cross established lines. At first they'd be careful, but if there was no reaction, they'd think Oh, this is fine? and come in harder. Then they'd cross the line, get thoroughly cursed out, or leave this world entirely.
As expected, physical therapy is the best. Next is financial therapy.
Kyle left the gym with a light heart. By now his letter should have arrived at the Litorio Grand Duchy. He'd poured his heart and soul into every single character, every letter, with the utmost care. Sincere reflection that could be felt—that level would get even judges to say, "Sentence reduced for you!" Moreover, Litorio had officially declared they wouldn't mention the matter any further. In other words, from John Nassen's perspective, there was no reason to apologize at all.
Yet the reasons Kyle had bothered to deliver an apology were largely two. One was to subtly elevate Elga's position a bit more. And the other was to snitch to the Grand Duke of Litorio.
I conveyed my apologies through Elga. There's no one who wouldn't understand what that means. If someone really doesn't get it, then our Grand Duke of Litorio should personally twist their necks and throw them out of the Grand Duchy. Though what worries me is... whether I snitched a bit too openly.
The phrase asking them to withdraw their gazes of wariness and distrust now that he'd apologized. He'd debated whether to include it or not, then thought Ah, whatever! and put it in. Written as euphemistically as possible, so someone without tact might just gloss over it. But the recipient was the Grand Duke of Litorio, father of that Elga and one of the pillars of the Empire. If he couldn't catch even that much, he ought to have his Grand Duke rank insignia stripped.
I wonder if he'll take it as a hint to clean up his own house a bit.
It was a bit unsettling, but in the end his mindset was So what! I'm a victim too! Honestly, if the Grand Duke of Litorio had stepped forward and said John Nassen was innocent, and then his subordinates were throwing a fit? They could be rounded up for the crime of ignoring the Grand Duke's authority and purged without a word of complaint. Moreover, this was something Elga had subtly wanted as well. What was as important as growing one's own faction? Cutting down the opposing faction. In that situation, this incident would become an excellent pretext.
"Kyle."
Speak of the devil and he appears—he ran right into Elga. Leto was still trailing behind her, and upon seeing Kyle he made a resentful face. Was it because Kyle was stealing Elga's attention? No, no way. That couldn't be. Right now that guy was just upset because Kyle had called him a "weakling." No matter how weak he was, even if it was true, hearing it directly from someone else still felt equally bad.
"A letter has arrived at the main house."
While sharing a brief teatime in the garden as before, the young lady of the Grand Duchy murmured thus with a subtle smile.
"How was the reaction?"
"Who knows. There's no one in the world who can know Father's true thoughts."
"But you must have some rough idea. As the Grand Duke's daughter, as the young lady of the Grand Duchy. And as the future Grand Duke."
At that, Leto frowned slightly and twitched his lips. He probably wanted to say that one shouldn't speak so carelessly of such things. To that, Kyle wanted to reply like this.
You idiot. Is the person you serve the leader of some neutral faction? Huh? She's a young lady who's dying to become Grand Duke right this second, so is she supposed to stick to neutral gear there?
This was why, damn it, the chapter count easily surpassed four hundred. To turn these non-humans into humans would take not four hundred chapters but a solid four thousand. He wanted to clutch his face and call for a god right then and there, but he held back because Elga was there. He was also starting to think that maybe he should give that guy some physical therapy soon too.
Fortunately, Leto didn't open his mouth. That was because his master, Elga, without commenting at all on the "future Grand Duke" part, had been thinking hard about something and was just about to speak.
"Well. If I had to guess... I think he'd think, 'Not bad.'"
"Not unpleasant, but 'not bad,' you say."
"Father—the Grand Duke of Litorio—is like that. He says that the arrogance of a capable person has its reasons. If they fail and fall there, then that's the limit of their level, and if they overcome even that, then they've reached a level where it shouldn't be called arrogance anymore. He's always thoroughly one to judge by ability."
If he really thought that way, this side would welcome it. Honestly, while writing it he'd gotten a bit annoyed wondering why he even had to do this. So he'd included a part he didn't have to, something along the lines of Hey, manage your internals a bit better. Yet instead of being displeased, he considered it "not bad." Something to be grateful for.
"Are you satisfied with this?"
"Yes. You cleanly removed the obstacles without anyone getting hurt. And I gained the title of the young lady who received her brother's apology on his behalf. Actually, I'm more worried about you? Is it really okay for you to apologize on behalf of John Nassen? I hear the heir is someone else."
"Don't worry. Father and Brother don't care about things like this at all."
If he told them about this, they'd just say You'll handle it well on your own and go back to lifting weights. Sometimes he worried that they trusted him too much. What if he went and did something stupid with that attitude? ...But thinking about it carefully, there was actually no chance of him doing something stupid. Because Father and Brother were the type where their bodies were so good that their heads never had to suffer.
"If that's all you have to say, I'll be going now."
Today was the day. The day he was finding an important book on shamanism for Tisha. Originally Ian would find it later, but he'd decided to do it himself. It was a bit of a waste to give that event to that dense, mouth-fighter, aggro-drawing master craftsman. Tisha was probably waiting by now. He'd told her yesterday they'd meet today, so she wouldn't have forgotten.
"Why the rush? Stay and have a cup of tea at least."
"I appreciate the offer, but I'll consider it drunk. Tisha is waiting for me."
That last part, about Tisha waiting, was said deliberately. Tisha—yes, he could accept her. But Elga was a bit different. She was beautiful, smart, and if she became Grand Duke she'd hold enormous power. That was exactly the problem. This woman would definitely try to use him. Pure love or a heart-fluttering romance was something he couldn't even dream of.
The moment I get involved in politics, this strength becomes poison.
If he got tied up in this and that, this powerful strength would become shackles. That was why Father and Brother had completely cut ties with central power. Living in the green mountains, you become a dragon everyone fears; stepping into the political arena, you become a beast in a zoo.
"...Kyle."
"Yes, Lady Elga."
"Bringing up another woman in front of a woman is a bit much."
"I did it because I thought you and Tisha seemed fairly close... If it displeased you, I apologize."
Of course, Kyle's voice carried a tone of Did I really do something I need to apologize for? At that, Leto frowned and was about to say something, but Elga stopped him.
"I understand. You may go now."
"Enjoy your teatime."
Kyle left the seat without a moment's hesitation, hoping that Elga would regard him only as a temporary partner for ascending to the Grand Duke's seat.
"..."
The tea in the cup had gone completely cold. In the meantime, Elga sat quietly in her place, saying nothing.
He has to go to Tisha, so he doesn't even have time for tea with me?
If he'd refused for some other reason, it might have been a little better. To bring up another woman. She'd never once lost out to another woman before!
So you thought that if you did this, I'd distance myself from you out of a bad mood?
Elga formed a smile that held a faint jealousy.