Survival Guide of a Transmigrator (Who Doesn't Know the Original) - 2
The farther I walked, the clearer the faint voices became. The Baking Club room sat off in a remote corner precisely so that some poor student wandering by wouldn't have the misfortune of stumbling into a royal or imperial scion. If I could hear them all the way out here in the corridor, something had definitely gone wrong inside.
How long had I even been gone for something to blow up already? Did the oven explode and start a fire or what?
I sprinted to the clubroom and flung the door open. Thankfully, no fiery catastrophe greeted me. What I found instead were two princes locked in a debate so heated it looked like flames might shoot from their mouths at any second.
"Most of the heroes who shook their eras were knights, weren't they? You've at least heard the tales of those who sent the whole continent trembling with nothing but a single blade, right?"
"The flesh is finite, but the mind is infinite. That is precisely why magic—which can cultivate the mind—is the true path."
What the hell are these two doing?
After confirming that Ryutis and Later were suddenly engaged in a full-blown shouting match, I quickly scanned the other members. Luise was just blinking. Erich watched the pair in silence. Ainter stood there smiling faintly. Tanian stared only at the oven currently baking cookies.
Hmm. Looks like I'll have to get the explanation from Erich.
"Erich."
I slipped up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder. Only then did he notice my approach; he flinched and turned to look at me. For someone who'd trained in martial arts, he was awfully dull when it came to sensing other people.
"Ah, hyung."
"What's going on?"
"That?"
As he said it he glanced back at the two of them, and the emotion overflowing in his eyes was impossible to hide. Regrettably, that emotion was pure secondhand embarrassment. So they really were arguing over something completely useless.
Erich's brief explanation went like this: Tanian—who was still staring at the oven—had casually remarked, "Magical tools really are convenient." That single line had been the spark.
A saint candidate's magic-friendly comment delighted Later of the Uven Alliance, a magical powerhouse, and irritated Ryutis of the Armein Kingdom, a nation of knights. What followed was the sword-versus-magic controversy currently unfolding in real time.
Idiots.
Whether it was a sword or magic, if it hit you properly you died either way. Thinking about how I'd been racking my brains until moments ago trying to protect people like them made me feel downright wronged. You two only have the leisure to fight over something like this because you're that comfortable, huh...?
And in the middle of it all I resented Tanian for lighting the fuse and then completely ignoring the fire. As a noble healer, he apparently had zero interest in the squabbles of commoner DPS types. Wait—should knights count as tanks? Anyway, it was pure evil. Start a fire and then slip away by yourself.
Now that I understood the utterly trivial cause, it was time to shut it down. Relations between Armein and Uven weren't exactly warm, and one of the reasons was precisely this split between knight-focused and magic-focused national temperaments. Right now it was only an argument, but leave them alone and it might escalate to grabbing each other by the collar. Of course, they were royalty—surely they weren't that thoughtless.
...You do have that much sense, right? This old man believes in you.
I was about to rap the nearby desk to draw their attention when Luise, who had been quietly watching the debate, tilted her head and spoke.
"Wouldn't magic be better than the sword?"
At those words Ryutis went stiff as a board, while Later wore the smile of a man whose victory was complete. The absurd fight that had started for no reason ended just as anticlimactically.
So Luise was on Team Magic. First I'd heard of it.
In the span of a few seconds Ryutis had spectacularly certified himself as both "I think Luise's cookies taste bad" and "Unlike Luise, I'm Team Knight," and his words dried up in a hurry. Honestly it felt a bit like he'd dug his own grave, but he'd twisted himself into such a knot that he almost looked pitiable. I might not know about the cookies, but the fact that Luise preferred magic was news to me too.
I considered offering some comfort, then remembered that by tomorrow he'd be grinning and planting flags again, so I ignored him. My problem is that I'm too soft-hearted. Just seeing him look pathetic for a second made me forget, even briefly, all the grief he'd given me until now.
"People with soft hearts seem to get tired easily."
"Have you been drinking or something?"
The person on the other end of the communication orb answered my grumbling with pure indifference. Harsh. I'd been at least a little sincere.
The moment club time ended and I got back to the dormitory I contacted the Intelligence Chief. I wanted to thank him for sending the information faster than expected, and while I was at it I needed to hear any additional notes he might have or make further requests.
Among the department heads he was one of the most overworked, so I hadn't held high hopes of reaching him. I'd only called so I'd have the excuse of "I left a message since you didn't pick up." Unexpectedly, he answered on the first try. Must have been his break time.
"Anyway, everything we've gathered so far has been sent to the Audit Department Chief. If additional information comes in I'll forward it immediately, so don't worry."
"Thank you. I keep ending up in your debt."
"Think nothing of it. I'm just returning what I've received. Accounts must be settled properly."
For the sake of smooth information flow I had done the Intelligence Chief a favor. Something shady had turned up involving his family, and I'd agreed to quietly bury it. The Emperor didn't seem to care much either. Apparently he valued the benefits of the man's competence higher than the damage from his corruption.
Besides, it hadn't even been the Intelligence Chief himself—just family members riding on his prestige. The man was so overworked he never got off early enough to pull anything shady on his own.
The Intelligence Chief cracked his neck left and right with a weary motion. The popping was loud enough to hear through the communication orb. So the Intelligence Department was getting ground down again today.
"Pulling another all-nighter?"
"It's routine. Nothing new."
"That's a pity."
"Still better off than you, stuck at the Academy."
Suddenly attacking me like that?
I was about to get indignant when the haggard Intelligence Chief let out a short laugh, and pity won out instead. Even through the orb his face looked pale and his eyes bloodshot. Fine—if teasing me helped him blow off steam, it was a blessing for the Empire.
It's a secret I can never tell anyone, but whenever life as Audit Department Chief made me feel like I was going insane, I'd sneak a glance at the Intelligence Chief and take comfort. At least I'm better off than that guy.
Of course, if he ever found out he'd be furious, so it remained a precious secret shared with no one.
"By the way, about those five organizations."
"Ah, yes."
As if something had just occurred to him, the Intelligence Chief tilted his head back, then brought his gaze forward again.
"Keep an eye on those rotting corpses among them. Their traces are being found closer and closer to the Academy."
"They never deviate from expectations, do they."
"They're that foolish—that's why they're still yapping about restoring Apels."
The "rotting corpses" the Intelligence Chief mentioned were the Apels restorationists, the Third Glory. The Academy stood on the former capital of the Apels Empire, so of course those bastards would cling to it with everything they had. It was almost impressive how predictably they moved.
So they're the ones starting it.
Of the five organizations, which one would have the honor of taking the lead was essentially decided. I still didn't know when they would arrive, but at least knowing who counted as a solid gain.
"Once they get close to the Academy, a subjugation force will be dispatched."
"Is that so? That's reassuring."
I'd believed it all along. As expected, the Empire wasn't some insane country that would force a single person to hold off an entire organization by himself.
Right now they were so elusive that tracking their route was the best we could do, but once we confirmed the Academy was their destination, all we had to do was set a trap and wait. And that applied to the other villain groups as well, not just the Third Glory.
If they crossed imperial territory heading for the Academy, that alone was more than enough justification for imperial troops to intervene and thrash them. The Academy's garrison might have been reduced, but the standing forces across the Empire were still plentiful. Only if the Empire had gone completely mad would it leave the Academy's defenses truly thin. They'd just pulled a few units for the sake of the three nations' faces.
As for me, all I had to do was prepare for any incidents that might crop up before the subjugation force arrived, and if they did arrive, join the operation for on-site assessment. That was why I was here in the first place.
"The Minister said that, out of consideration for the Audit Department Chief, they'll specially select the troops they're sending."
"...The Minister of Special Affairs said that?"
"Who else would it be?"
The Intelligence Chief chuckled lowly. With those words he ended the call.
Troops specially selected by the Minister of Special Affairs and sent to me... I had a rough idea. Whenever it happened, it would be a reunion after a long time.
Fortunately, the Third Glory did not immediately launch their assault on the Academy the moment I finished sharing information with the Intelligence Chief. Even the most precise foreshadowing usually allowed a little time to catch your breath. Having to feel relief over something so obvious made me a little disgusted with myself.
The Third Glory would probably zigzag all over the place, thinking they were throwing off pursuit. With their destination so obvious it was meaningless, but the more they wasted time the longer it would take them to reach the Academy, so it wasn't bad news.
All I had to do was stay put at the Academy, receive additional updates from the Intelligence Chief, and go out to meet the force dispatched by the Ministry of Special Affairs when they arrived. Just that alone would drop the defense difficulty from Hellfire down to Hard or even Normal.
And so, with steps a little lighter than usual, I set out for work—
"Young Lady Luise. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
In a secluded spot I spotted Luise speaking with someone. Or rather, it looked less like a conversation and more like she was getting one-sidedly chewed out.
The minor problem was that the female student verbally thrashing Luise was someone I knew. Crimson hair that fell to her waist and a fan held in one hand. I couldn't see her face, so I wasn't completely certain, but her voice alone was enough to identify her.
As I walked toward them Luise noticed me and broke into a bright smile. The red-haired girl followed Luise's gaze and turned around.
"My, Young Master Karl. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
It had. About a year, I think.