Chapter 56
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: I'll Cheer for Your Miracle
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That afternoon, Tail obtained a pass and left the academy grounds.
The capital was bustling as usual.
Tail moved quickly through the throng of people.
The place where he stopped was...
[Kingwangjjang BAR (Main Branch)]
This was it.
He didn't hesitate and stepped inside.
Ding-a-ling.
As the door opened, the bartender who had been tidying up widened his eyes.
"Tail?"
A flicker of surprise crossed his face.
"The master isn't here right now..."
"Oh. Khan's not in?"
The bartender rolled his eyes slightly and replied,
"Ah, he'll be back soon anyway. Would you mind waiting just a moment?"
Well, it wasn't urgent.
With that thought, Tail took a seat.
And shortly after.
As he sipped the drink the bartender had given him, another bartender emerged from the back, beaming widely as he spoke to Tail.
"He's just arrived."
Huh?
'Isn't the entrance over here?'
How did he get in?
Maybe there's a teleportation magic circle inside?
Still puzzled, Tail headed to the back of the bar.
Opening a door deep inside revealed a dimly lit room.
And within it was a space secured with a bolt.
"You're here."
At the familiar voice, Tail chuckled softly and plopped down on the sofa.
"From the looks of it, you've got some worries."
Khan continued slowly.
"Hm... You ran into Chloe and Cecilia?"
"Oh, how'd you know? Have I found the missing Prometa?"
Khan let out a short, dry laugh at Tail's jest.
"Tail, do you think I don't know you? I can tell at a glance."
Tail let out a dry laugh of his own this time.
"Yeah. I met Chloe and Cecilia."
"Didn't hear anything good, I take it."
Tail gave a self-deprecating smile at Khan's words.
"Right. They told me to leave the academy."
"Heh..."
Khan clicked his tongue and muttered softly.
"They've made the worst choice after all."
"Huh?"
"Nothing. So? Are you going to leave the academy?"
Tail's face was filled with worry, and he didn't answer.
Or rather, he couldn't.
Give up the academy just like that?
Back down now?
'Is that really the right thing to do?'
As Tail's thoughts dragged on, Khan clicked his tongue lightly and spoke.
"Can't come to a decision, huh."
"Honestly, yeah."
Tail gazed up at the ceiling adorned with dim lights.
"I don't get it. What they want, or what I should do."
His head was full of swirling thoughts.
Unable to find answers in his muddled mind, he'd come to his old comrade, Khan.
"Part of me thinks dropping out might help them. But then I wonder why I should go that far for people who've forgotten me like this."
"That's only natural."
Khan continued matter-of-factly.
"But do you really need to bend to their demands?"
Khan's words carried a strange weight.
"Just live your way. Don't force yourself to change for them."
Each word etched itself into Tail's heart.
"You're doing well. Your current self is the most you there is."
Yeah.
My way.
Live true to myself.
"No matter what the world says. As long as you don't lose your true self, the path will appear."
Tail smirked at those words.
Khan noted the slight easing of his expression.
"Looks like your mind's a bit clearer now."
"Yeah. Thanks to you."
It was true.
What was the point in changing shape for people who wouldn't listen?
Tail leaned his head back over the sofa and continued.
"I'll just live how I want. Screw it, life's not that big a deal."
"That's the spirit. I applaud that mindset."
Tail couldn't help but laugh at Khan's praise.
He really was a true old friend.
By the time Tail returned to the academy, the sun had fully set.
As he walked through the back garden toward the dormitory, a familiar figure appeared in the distance.
Long, bluish hair shimmering in the moonlight, a voluptuous figure.
Deep navy eyes.
Pointed ears.
It was Alice, gazing at the garden.
As he approached, her gaze shifted sideways to Tail.
A warm breeze swirled between them.
"You were out."
"Yeah. Saw an old friend."
Alice nodded at Tail's reply.
"You've seemed troubled lately. A change of pace is good."
True to her elven nature, she picked up on human emotions keenly.
"So. Have you decided?"
"On what? Whether to keep attending the academy?"
She must have heard from Yujin already—her blue eyes darkened deeply.
"Personally, I think it might be better if you left."
Tail chuckled at her calm statement.
"What? Even you?"
She took a step closer.
Her blue hair fluttered in the soft breeze.
"Before coming here, I was steeped in distrust of humans."
Alice's eyes seemed to gaze into the past.
"Then you were the first to show me kindness. Whether it was planned or not, you seemed different from ordinary people."
Her deep eyes fixed directly on Tail.
"Tail, this is for your sake. This place is full of contradictions."
Despite her even tone, her eyes brimmed with concern, leaving Tail speechless.
"The academy preaches equality and accepts commoners. But when that idea came up, I wonder if they truly meant it for the commoners, purely pursuing equality."
She looked at the flowers blooming in the garden.
"I just can't understand human class systems."
She gently stroked a blue rosebud, and it slowly bloomed.
"I lived without knowing class from birth until my values formed."
Releasing the blue rose, she continued.
"Conversely, humans treat noble and base birth as absolute truth from the start. Your path will likely be thorny forever."
Her eyes turned back to Tail.
"No matter how capable you are, Tail, the nobles will want to keep you beneath them, like a pawn."
Alice spoke deliberately, word by word.
"They'll never want you standing equally beside them."
As her words ended, Tail slowly opened his mouth.
"I knew that when I came here."
Alice furrowed her brow, as if asking what he meant.
"It's tougher in practice than expected. But I anticipated this academy would be like this."
"You anticipated..."
Tail continued at Alice's groan.
"The kids here grew up in a generation accustomed to death from war since childhood."
Just look at Cecilia—her brother died, and in the original story, her father too.
"Whether uncle, parent, or sibling. It's hard to find anyone whose circle wasn't touched by death."
Alice listened intently to his words.
"On top of that, with parents away fighting, home education was lacking. This level of roughness was expected."
Tail added one more thing.
"They're the first generation to feel anxiety that their noble status might shake."
Alice immediately grasped what he meant.
"You're talking about starting to employ commoners and other races in the war."
It was spot on.
Among the other races they'd treated as slaves, some had even been given the title of general, even if honorary.
And there were commoners who grew rich enough to dominate the continent by exploiting the war.
Countless nobles had fallen, and those nobles went begging the wealthy for help.
"The royals are appointing barons for money almost daily, under the guise of rewarding merit."
Even in this academy, a commoner topping the ranks could wish for a noble title.
"Hereditary titles have increased 30% compared to pre-war. Non-hereditary ones, 70%."
This meant the class system was shaking.
Right before collapse, tensions peak.
With the class system unstable, nobles would rage, and newly ennobled commoners would scramble to hold their positions.
Nobles would band together even more.
"So, now that you've stood out, they won't leave you be."
"Probably. Even in peacetime, not just war, if commoners can climb the 'social ladder' toward noble authority, nobles won't welcome it."
"What about the newly minted nobles? They were commoners once—shouldn't they sympathize?"
"The moment humans gain vested interests, they want them to last forever."
"...Right. I forgot human greed for a second."
As their conversation flowed, Alice felt a question arise.
"I think I know why I'm questioning you."
"What?"
"Tail. Do you want to become a noble?"
"You know the answer without asking."
"Yeah. If you did, you'd have sought a low title under a high noble instead of facing everyone's ire head-on like this."
Tail realized Alice might understand him—perhaps even better than he understood himself.
"I'll never back down. That's all there is to it."
Tail smirked and continued.
"An old friend told me: No matter what the world says, stay true to yourself. The path will open."
Recalling Khan, he slowly added,
"I don't want to bend myself to the world."
Just as in his past life, he hadn't crumbled in the worst moments but pushed on.
He'd live this life the same way.
"I'll make them accept me as I am."
Alice's eyes widened.
"You really are..."
Whoooosh—.
A breeze blew once more between her and Tail.
"So different from the other humans I know."
She smiled faintly, gazing at the blue rose she'd just bloomed.
"Blue roses mean miracle, right..."
The blue rose glowed brilliantly under the moonlight.
"I'll cheer for your miracle."
Tail let out a soft chuckle at her words.
"Thanks."
At the same time, tiny white lights fluttered up like fireflies, darting between Tail and Alice.
'This is...'
Alice smiled brightly.
"New friends I made—light spirits."
As she spoke, a white light brushed her fingertip.
Then it flew through the air, circling around Tail.
"They seem to like you."
Tail couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"They like me, huh? For real?"
"For real."
In the darkness, surrounded by the dancing lights, a dreamlike atmosphere lingered.
And then.
From afar, a figure spotted them and halted.