Infiltration of the Academy (2)
Zeron was an orphan. So was David. They had grown up in the back alleys, and at some point, it had simply become natural for them to stick together. They had come close to dying more times than they could count. There was the time they got stabbed while picking a vagrant's pocket, and the time they were chased by guards after raiding a restaurant's slop bucket. Still, they had been lucky in their own way. After all, they had survived.
Before long, people started hesitating to mess with them. They called them Beast, saying the pair acted like wild animals. It was about two years before they earned that name that they met Elena. She had striking red hair and red eyes—a rarity. Her snow-white skin and refined features were so eye-catching that it was a wonder how she had survived this long in the back alleys.
As they lived together, that question gradually answered itself. She was a fallen noble. In a kingdom slowly rotting away, it wasn't uncommon for houses to vanish into the back pages of history. She had met Zeron and David not long after her own family's collapse.
The three of them grew close quickly. No one knew their exact ages, but David was roughly four years older than Zeron, and Elena was one year older than David. Or maybe not. It didn't really matter.
Elena possessed the kind of knowledge expected of a noble lady, and David had ambition. With Zeron, an excellent swordsman, they soon formed quite a large group. As time passed, they came to dominate one corner of the underworld. It was around then that David and Elena became a couple.
David must have been about sixteen. Elena became pregnant with Medeia. David had cried his eyes out, tears streaming down his face. Even Zeron, who had known him for years, had never seen him cry like that. Was becoming a parent really that joyful?
When Zeron asked, David had answered through sobs.
There were plenty of children in the back alleys. Pregnancy wasn't rare among prostitutes, and there were countless kids who didn't know their fathers, who had been abandoned, or who were raised like slaves. Still, the reason David was so overjoyed about having a child was probably a little different.
Feeling strangely bitter, Zeron had laughed and forced David to drink until he passed out.
A few months later, Elena gave birth to a daughter. They named her Medeia, after the great archmage from legend. But David couldn't fully rejoice. Whether she had exhausted herself during labor or suffered an infection from a tear, Elena grew weaker and weaker after giving birth. She passed away in less than four days.
They had done everything they could. They brought in a doctor and scraped together every coin they had to call a priest. But in the end, they were still just a small syndicate in the back alleys. The priest they managed to summon had no real power, and the quack doctor only prolonged Elena's life by a single day.
David had wailed loud enough to shake the heavens. Even then, he never neglected to care for Medeia. Perhaps it was because her red hair and red eyes looked exactly like Elena's. David treated Medeia as if she were Elena's reincarnation, pouring every ounce of his being into her.
That was when it began. David started dreaming of stepping into the light. So he would never lose what was precious to him again. So they would no longer be oppressed. And... for Medeia's sake.
That was how the David Merchant Group was born.
"I'm heading out."
"Yeah. Try not to get fired for slacking off."
"Bullshit."
Zeron snorted with a crooked grin and tossed his luggage into the carriage. David definitely had money—the carriage was pretty damn nice.
"Kid, you watch yourself on the way. If you get so much as a scratch, that bastard David will cry for days."
"Hmph."
Medeia stuck her tongue out with a loud bleh. When she was little, she used to cling to him calling him Oppa, but now that she was hitting puberty, the girl had gotten seriously rude.
"Eek!?"
He flicked a pebble at her—barely bigger than a grain of sand—and it bounced off her forehead. The kid glared at him, puffing up with anger.
"You gonna keep looking at me like that?"
"You... idiot!"
The kid stuck her tongue out again and scampered back inside the merchant building. David, eyes narrowed fiercely, let out a heavy snort through his nose, clearly displeased.
"If you lay a hand on my daughter while I'm gone, I won't let it slide."
"You? Against me? How?"
Zeron climbed into the carriage, chuckling. The way the guy was puffing his cheeks made him want to give him a good smack on the head.
"Where would I even hit her? I was just showing her some affection."
"...I know. I'm just saying."
"Lame."
Zeron kicked the carriage wall with a couple of loud thumps. With a whinny from the horses, the carriage began to move.
"I'm off."
"Yeah. Drop by sometimes."
"Obviously."
The carriage picked up speed as it rolled away. David stared after it for a long time.
He was an immature, lazy, violent, foul-mouthed, crazy bastard... but he was also the most trustworthy and precious little brother he had.
"I'm counting on you."
David turned around. Through the crack in the merchant building's door, Medeia was peeking out with just her eyes.
"Did Uncle leave...?"
"Aigoo, my little princess!"
"Ugh, stop calling me princess already!"
"Haha! If our Medeia isn't a princess, then who is?"
"You'll get arrested for insulting the royal family at this rate!?"
The sun set, and time flowed on. The past was buried in the distance.
"Ah, damn..."
Zeron stared at the bottle in front of him with a miserable expression. There were maybe three drops left?
"Should've paced myself..."
It hadn't even been two hours since leaving the merchant group, and he had already emptied an entire bottle. He sighed and pulled a cigar from his pocket. He didn't know the brand, but it was an expensive one. David had been hoarding it like treasure.
"Bastard. This is gonna sting, huh."
Zeron chuckled as he cut the tip off the cigar he had secretly taken and lit it. After a few puffs, it caught properly and smoke billowed out. He exhaled out the carriage window, then looked down at the documents in his hand.
It was a simple personal information sheet. There wasn't really anything to falsify anyway. He wasn't exactly a criminal. Well, he was a criminal, but since he hadn't been caught, he was technically innocent for now. Besides, David had refused to touch anything as serious as human trafficking when he moved into legitimate business, so there wasn't much that could be held against him.
Murder? Killing bastards who came at him with swords wasn't a crime.
'Still... a teacher, huh.'
He wasn't a full professor—just a temporary instructor. Even so, he had never imagined he would wear the title of teacher. Zeron clicked his tongue and flicked the ash from his cigar.
The reason he was entering the academy as an instructor instead of a bodyguard was obvious. They wanted him to gather internal information. Of course, the main reason was protection. The information was just a bonus. That bastard David would piss on the king's face if it was for Medeia.
"Seriously, what kind of academy is this? If you're gonna copy the empire, at least do it properly."
It was a pathetic country.
The carriage ride to the academy took about four days. The kingdom's security was absolute garbage, so they ran into bandits twice along the way, but he sent them to the ground without much trouble. Becoming excellent fertilizer was probably the greatest achievement of their pathetic lives.
"This it?"
Zeron glanced over the academy. It was disgustingly large. The buildings looked sleek and expensive. Still, how much money had been spent had nothing to do with him, so Zeron quickened his pace. There would be a bed in his room, at least. But first came the interview.
"Zeron, correct?"
"Yes."
The interviewer was a tired-looking old man. Probably a royal court magician or something. But why the hell was he speaking down to him on their first meeting? Zeron really wanted to smack him.
"David Merchant Group... Well, whatever. If you can cut that, the interview is passed."
The old man pointed at a reasonably sized rock. They called him here as an instructor and this was the interview? Even a student could cut that. Zeron drew the sword at his waist and swung it casually.
With a clean crack, the top half of the neatly sliced rock slid off and thudded to the ground.
"Good. Well done. Go rest. That servant over there will show you to your room."
"Please follow me."
He followed the maid who bowed politely. Honestly, he was a little dumbfounded. The academy was a complete mess. Would sending the kid here actually help her? Well, David had probably looked into it.
"You will be staying here from now on. You may also reside outside the academy if you prefer, but please let me know in that case. I will assist with the procedures. If you require any other assistance, please ring the bell."
The maid bowed deeply and withdrew. Zeron unpacked his things roughly and threw himself onto the bed. It sank softly beneath him.
"Oh... not bad. This is almost as good as the one at home."
Chuckling, he turned his gaze toward the window. The sun was setting, dyeing the sky red.
"Sigh..."
He had called it pathetic and all, but the academy had probably done their own background check. It was an institution the kingdom paid quite a bit of attention to, after all. Of course, David's bribes or whatever lobbying he had done probably helped. His old Gold rank from the adventurers' guild must have been useful too. Still, it felt a bit half-assed... but then again, he was only a temporary instructor. It made sense.
Zeron closed his eyes. Or maybe he should have one more drink before sleeping? In the end, he emptied another whole bottle before finally falling asleep.
"What the hell is this guy...?"