Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Unexpected (1)
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Yumin could feel with his own body that the atmosphere inside the academy had changed drastically. For some reason, Ermina—the woman he loved—seemed to have shaken off much of her previous melancholy air, while Christoph had transformed into an even more vicious and malicious figure than his old days as a mere mischievous punk, his anger evidently swelling during his confinement.
Beyond that, Justina appeared a touch uneasy, Namei's mood seemed somewhat down, and so on. Clearly, everyone connected to Julius was riding a rollercoaster of emotions all at once.
Of course, Yumin himself wasn't exactly thrilled—he'd gone to meet Julius only to get shut out at the door—but seeing others flip-flop wildly without even meeting the man directly left him full of questions.
"In times like this, it's that one guy."
The most timid of them all. Weak to authority, weak to power—a windflower swaying at the slightest breeze. Karin.
When a senior scared her and demanded she spill, she'd vomit up related details even if they weren't spot-on answers.
She never gave the straight truth, of course, but piecing together the clues she dropped while dodging got you pretty damn close to reality.
With that thought, he prowled the gardens around the first-year dorms and spotted Karin with her usual trio: Natalie and Sophia.
Their eyes met, and Karin's pupils quivered wildly as she made to bolt. Yumin swiftly laid a hand on her shoulder, his quick feet saving the day.
"Hmm. Long time no see, Junior Karin."
"Y-Yeah... I guess?"
"Right? I came by 'cause I've got some questions."
"Hold on. Lately, seniors keep dragging only Karin off. If you keep showing up like this, it's a problem for us too."
"You haven't heard the situation?"
"No."
Yumin paused to think. Broadly speaking, the Julius situation involved the whole academy. Stretch it further, and the entire Imir Kingdom getting involved wouldn't be weird at all.
From that angle, maybe Natalie and Sophia should know a little too. If Karin got swept up, these two would follow right after.
"Karin Udette. Your spot right now isn't some light matter. My brother's a big deal, and with the Lebedev mess, he's probably tangled up with demons too. If you piss off any demons, it'll threaten these two as well."
"I-I don't want that."
"I recommend laying it out for them."
"Y-Yeah... you're right..."
"Hey, you. You always said you wouldn't tell us no matter what we asked."
"Sorry. Things have changed a bit..."
Karin spilled what had happened to her, burying any direct Julius info as deep as possible. Tons of seniors were hunting her down for leads on Senior Julius's whereabouts, and chasing those could mean running into southern nomadic elves—or, depending, even demons from the Demon God Cult.
"Out of us, you looked like the one who'd stick quietly to academy life... and now this."
"Sophia seemed primed to mouth off without a clue and get nabbed somewhere, while I figured knight classes would drag me outside first and spark trouble for me."
"Hey, wait. You saying I mouth off cluelessly?"
"Yup."
"...Can't argue that. True."
Serious Natalie and playful Sophia. Their banter even drew a smile from Karin.
I'm getting better at lying myself. I know exactly where the cafe manager is.
Of course, she didn't want anyone finding out. Didn't want to say a word. But when someone way stronger pressed her to talk, the words just slipped out on their own.
Never been tortured or anything, so a little threat plus some pain, and she spilled without knowing what hit her.
"But is Senior Julius really that important?"
"Objectively? Yeah. There's the Lebedev name value, but my brother's been called the top of Imir Kingdom's next-gen nobility no matter how you slice it. Subjectively? Even more so. The reason he left was us—me and Prince Christoph—exposing his bullying with evidence we gathered. But he'd already hijacked all that evidence, faked it, pinned the blame on himself, and bailed. If we realize that was wrong, bringing him back is on the royal family. To him, the royals, and anyone tied to the crown, it's a massive unresolved issue. The kingdom's face is on the line."
"Then is there anything we can do?"
"Be honest. Nothing otherwise, Udette excluded. Without special constitutions or magic, plenty outclass you in raw combat power."
"We don't want—well, at least I don't want—Karin diving into this and getting badly hurt or killed behind our backs."
"...Hey. What about me? Same here."
"Your hearts are in the right place, and I love that kind of courage and friendship. But whether everyone else allows you tagging along, and if you can handle the threats properly? That's separate. I'm fine if you're ready to lose your lives without complaints, but others might see it differently."
"So basically, get permission from everyone eyeing Karin?"
"Yeah. That'll do it."
Yumin smiled. This girl from the knight faculty, Natalie, clearly had the resolve to stake her life on any friend she decided to stand with.
He'd set out ready to give everything for the woman he loved, only to fall short of the sun in the end. But this kid might turn out different.
"I-I wanna help too!"
Meanwhile, the mage over here seemed even more of a scaredy-cat than Karin. Yet her determination to stick together anyway meant she had some shining spark inside too.
Man. Came to dig on brother stuff and end up seeing something good.
"Heard rumors, but Ermina's handling something big down south in the kingdom."
"Oh, yeah. Purifying that demon-tainted land."
"Right, that matches what I said. Anything special happen there?"
"Dunno much. I'm not much help, but for some reason, Senior Ermina's in a good mood, Senior Justina's sour, Senior Namei's sour too..."
"From the start?"
"No. Woke up one morning and it was like that..."
Something went down, alright. And all three reacting meant it was probably tied to brother.
Heading south with them himself was unrealistic, so better to tap his connections for updates on the south.
"Oh, and one more thing."
"Yes?"
"You still working that job?"
"...Busy."
Can't be helped, then. If he could at least hear brother's latest, it'd ease his mind a bit.
He let out a sigh and took a sip from the water he was holding.
"Senior."
"Yeah."
"Even if not now, could you tell us the full story on Senior Julius sometime?"
"Natalie, right? No big deal. Happy to."
"Please do, then. I can't get behind using my friend to chase some guy I don't even respect or get. So I wanna hear the proper story first."
"Of course. Without that incident two years back, I'd have lectured every freshman on my brother Julius."
Karin and Sophia shot him looks like that so?, so Yumin cleared his throat and wrapped up.
"Anyway, send your class schedule. I'll clear a day. You two can come if you're curious too."
"...Might be good to hear it from someone else's view."
"Make it fun, okay? Hehe."
"Learn the kingdom's power structure too. Useful for jobs later."
Huh. Even unmotivated Sophia perked up a bit.
Natalie wasn't super hooked, but she filed it away.
"We'll set a time later, then. Udette, loop me in if anything comes up. Tense times all around—don't want slip-ups 'cause I wasn't in the know."
"If it's not a secret, sure."
"Good. Sorry about last time. Won't pull that crap again. If you don't wanna say, don't. I'll keep it noble and conscientious."
"...I'll trust you for now."
Yumin finished up and turned to leave. He hadn't gotten everything he wanted, but he'd forged a decent-ish bond with Karin, and Natalie's spirited vibe appealed to him.
Aware that—Lebedev power aside—his own talents were middling at best, Yumin's smartest move was expanding his pool of usable people.
To brace for whatever might come.