Chapter 75
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Pioneer
Tony sat crookedly on the wooden chair and spoke.
"I don't know why you called that guy, but Veratir holds a deep grudge against Father."
I knew that fact as well.
I'd heard that he'd been kicked out of Father's party for some reason.
After that, he wandered the battlefields until he ended up at Ruines Academy.
'However.'
Just that fact alone wasn't enough to label Veratir as our enemy.
"So, you're telling me to be wary of Veratir?"
"That's right."
"Because of one old grudge?"
"A grudge doesn't fade, whether it's in the past, present, or future. You know that better than anyone among us, don't you? You're the one who watched Gunter Brother and Hysteria Brother fight."
Tony's eyes were moist.
The fact that he warned me despite his dislike for me meant his instincts had picked up on something. In times like these, I couldn't just brush it off. After all, he carried the Strange bloodline, giving him sharper instincts than most for matters like this.
"I'll keep that in mind."
That single phrase was answer enough.
To be honest, I'd hoped until now that Veratir wasn't an enemy.
Even knowing he had ulterior motives in this incident, I'd wanted to let it slide positively. In my previous life, he'd poured his heart into my training, even forfeiting a promotion for my sake. Thanks to him, I'd grown quickly at the academy.
No matter how much time passed—or even if that time returned—this fact wouldn't change.
He wasn't just my teacher like Siegfried; he was also the benefactor who had saved my life from Hysteria.
'Even if this life is different.'
My thoughts cleared up during that brief conversation with Tony.
Veratir wasn't targeting me right now—no, to be precise, it wasn't any of us.
His ultimate goal was surely the head of the Strange Family, the leader of the party he'd once climbed the tower with.
'Roys de Strange.'
My father.
The reason he was trying to trap us now was just to create an opportunity to reach Father.
"What do you plan to do from now on, Brother?"
Jony, standing behind Tony, answered in his place.
"Kill Veratir."
"That'll just make things worse. The Spirit King won't forgive anyone who breaks the academy's rules."
"Then kill the Spirit King too."
This guy really doesn't listen to reason.
Tony let out a short sigh, pushed Jony aside, and replied.
"We do nothing. Silence is the only thing that will resolve this incident."
It was a wise judgment.
Bowing your head to survive against a strong enemy was one valid strategy.
'But.'
Not for me.
"Understood. Then, Brothers, return to your positions. I'll settle things with Veratir."
"What?"
"Unlike you brothers, I'm not a native here. As an outsider, resistance is the only way to survive."
Otherwise, I might end up punished without even a chance to explain.
"So you're saying you'll fight Veratir?"
"No."
"Then?"
"I'll have a conversation with him. Not just the two of us, though—I'll meet with the academy head for a three-way talk."
"Is that possible?"
"Yes."
This was the scenario I wanted, the very seat Veratir had promised to arrange.
Of course, now that he was confirmed as an enemy, I had no idea what he was plotting.
'Well...'
It didn't matter how it turned out.
Katarina wasn't behind him, after all.
He'd been active in the revolutionary army before forming a party with Father, so he'd never join hands with someone of imperial blood.
That much was certain, so I could handle whatever happened. If he pulled something unexpected, I could just reveal his past and force him out of the academy.
"No need for your help?"
"Please do nothing. That's how you help me."
"......"
"Even if Veratir comes and acts aggressively, just do as he wants. I'll wrap this up cleanly."
"......Got it."
Tony nodded a few times with a bitter expression, then abruptly stood and left the room.
My head throbbed as if it might split open.
The pain started at the back of my skull, slowly climbing until it pierced my temples like an awl.
'Too heavy.'
The weight of the name Strange.
Wherever I went on the continent, danger lurked without respite, forcing me to stay vigilant every moment. I'd felt this life plenty in my previous existence, so I'd tried to avoid it this time—yet fate was truly cruel.
'The few people I thought were closest to me in my past life are now trying to stab me in the back in this one.'
This wasn't something that could be solved just by killing him. The tangled bonds and the turmoil they spawned shook my mind.
'I can't get swept up in emotions.'
It was what Siegfried had drilled into me endlessly.
I knew it well, so I'd always reminded myself.
That's why, in my past life's party, I was seen as an emotionless creature.
I took a long breath to calm my mind.
Huu—
"Right."
Veratir then and now were different.
No matter how much he'd cared for me in my previous life.
What I needed to focus on was the present life.
Such worries were a luxury.
If the path was blocked, I'd cleave it open.
That was my mission, reborn to grow stronger than before.
The gods wanted it that way, shaping me thus.
With that conviction, I resolved myself.
If he came for my neck,
I wouldn't show mercy.
Knock knock knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
I didn't answer, but it opened anyway.
Creeeak—
Veratir slipped in quietly, scanning the surroundings.
"Berddin, are you ready?"
I nodded in response.
"Yes."
The entrance to Pablos Ruines Academy.
As soon as we entered the passage between the massive tree roots, a brilliant light enveloped our bodies. This was a warp gate only the permitted could pass. Mere seconds after facing the light, we arrived at a lake somewhere in the distant Blade Mountains, far from the academy.
Step, step, step.
"Welcome, Sir Berddin."
An elderly man in a purple robe and pointed hat.
He was no human, but a forest elf—the great sage serving as head of Pablos Ruines Academy.
'Balrak Gordif.'
The only mage who could wield 9th-circle spells, a feat even the Glazer Family couldn't achieve.
"I am Balrak Gordif, head of Pablos Ruines Academy."
A gentle smile, warm voice, and manner of speech that never belittled those beneath him.
As expected of one called a sage. His benevolent aura made me bow my head unconsciously.
"I'm Berddin, the youngest of the Strange Family."
We knew what conversation we were here for. No need to drag it out—just explain what had happened.
'That's what I thought.'
But the academy head's question came from a completely unexpected angle.
"Sir Berddin, I'm sorry you had to go through this on our first meeting. Allow me one troubling question."
"Please, go ahead."
"...What was your reason for killing Instructor Philip?"
His question silenced me.
It was so absurd I wondered what he meant.
I'd prepared answers within the scope of last night's events or what we might have done.
'Why did I kill Philip?'
I didn't even know he was dead.
'How should I respond?'
Saying I didn't kill him now would just sound like an excuse.
I glanced at Veratir, but he only wore a faint smile, avoiding my eyes.
'Impressive.'
As expected of my teacher who taught me survival on the battlefield.
Life has many issues force can't solve, so always think wisely and shrewdly.
'He said that, but is this wise and shrewd?'
It's just clever trickery!
I felt anger and admiration for the event he'd orchestrated.
'Then I'll answer like this.'
I didn't know if Philip was dead or alive.
But their reactions suggested he was dead.
In that case, circumstantially, the culprit was Veratir.
"Is Instructor Philip dead?"
The head nodded without changing expression.
"You didn't know? You said you'd visited his lab last night."
"That's true, but I never encountered him."
"...May I ask why you went to his lab?"
I explained what happened in his lab last night.
But Veratir acted as if my words were nonsense, refusing to listen. Despite experiencing it all together, he gestured dramatically as if performing for the academy head.
"It's all a fabricated story."
"No, it's not."
"Then what about this? When I arrived at Philip's lab last night, right after you and your brothers left, I found this evidence!"
Shiiiik—
Space warped above Veratir's palm, and a pale white hand emerged. Judging by the fingers, it was a left arm. The skin at the fingertips looked smooth and soft, as if it had never seen combat.
'That's Philip's arm?'
"Look! This is the arm of Philip, killed by you and your brothers last night!"
"Impossible. I never met Philip yesterday—"
"Shut up, Berddin. Even with this evidence, you try to deny it? Look, Dirgorf! He can't even properly explain what he did last night!"
To corner me, he'd even killed Instructor Philip. Veratir's scheme for this moment was more brilliant than I'd thought.
Who would believe: One of my brothers was eaten by a monkey, so we fought the monkey to rescue him?
I stared at the pale arm protruding from space, pondering briefly.
'If this continues, I'll become the real culprit.'
The sole witness to last night's events had turned enemy, and I couldn't call my brothers as witnesses.
I needed a way to prove I wasn't the culprit. Gazing at Veratir, I thought hard.
And it didn't take long for the answer to come.
Dirgorf's handback, glimpsed incidentally, handed me the key to escape this incident.
'Checkmate.'
I'd found perfect proof I wasn't the culprit.
But I had to make even Veratir acknowledge it.
With a troubled expression, I looked down at the ground and asked.
"Dirgorf, before I answer, I want to confirm one thing."
Dirgorf lifted his chin and replied.
"What is it?"
"If I'm not the one who killed Philip, what happens then? This doesn't seem like something we can just explain and move past."
"...What would you wish to happen?"
I raised my head and turned my gaze toward Veratir.
"One of us is lying. So, punish accordingly—per Ruines Academy's rules."
Those who lie within the academy have their tongues cut.
A rule made for truthful education.
Dirgorf looked cautiously at Veratir.
"Shall we do that?"
Veratir nodded vigorously.
"Yes."
Seeing his reaction, I relaxed my stiff expression.
"Then I'll answer now. What I did last night."
With a very large, bright smile.
"And why I'm not the one who killed Philip."