Chapter 134
Chapter 134
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: Dillon's Advice
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That afternoon.
The servants bustled through each room, delivering textbooks and supplies for the new semester.
Even though most cadets at Aegis Academy had regressed to the point where they couldn't even properly lift a glass of water with their own hands, they could still manage academy life without issue purely thanks to the servants.
"Thank you."
I thanked the servant and moved to close the door.
But the servant didn't leave.
"Is there something you need to pass on?"
"Yes. Due to issues with the entrance exam process, the freshmen admission has been postponed by one semester. They say there's no need to prepare the orientation for new students."
"...Understood."
The servant who had brought my supplies continued without turning back in a posture straight as a soldier.
"That said, the academic schedule for returning students is not delayed, so please take note."
"Got it."
"My apologies for the intrusion."
I thanked the servant once more—this one armed with a bow slung across their back—and quietly closed the door.
Servants walking around fully armed was no longer an unfamiliar sight.
The cadets had rebelled fiercely at first, but now... well, no one seemed to pay it any mind.
'I wonder if it's just that they can't cope with the irrational situation.'
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't come up with an answer.
Besides, the current situation only grew more disadvantageous the deeper you delved into it. With no freshmen coming in, what could possibly seem normal anymore?
In any case, it was unexpected that the arrogant heirs from prominent families—future bigshots all—had their spirits broken so easily.
My guess was that it stemmed from some unforeseen evolution that manifested during their long isolation, far from their parents.
Or perhaps it was because the top-year seniors who had witnessed that mess firsthand returned without even a proper protest, just accepting it.
Or maybe...
"Hoo."
I stopped thinking about it.
I threw on a light material coat for going out from my wardrobe and stepped out of my dorm room.
For the past few days, every time I left my room, I'd felt eyes on me, but whether that was real or not, I no longer cared about others.
Ignoring the stares in the first-floor hall of wood and marble, I headed to Dillon's room.
Seeing the entrance to Dillon's room, even more desolate now with winter's arrival, naturally brought to mind Izmel's room, which had been in a similar state of disarray.
-Knock knock.
"Are you in?"
No sooner had I spoken than the door swung open.
Dillon, who had been waiting with a gentle smile as if expecting me, immediately grabbed my arm and pulled me inside.
"Ah..."
"See? Eliya was right!"
"Eliya's words? What do you mean?"
"She said you'd bring trouble!"
"Trouble? ...Is that a good thing?"
I had no idea what basis Eliya had for saying that, or why Dillon believed it and waited grinning like an idiot.
Dillon just wrinkled his nose and laughed like a mischievous imp.
"I just came to hear some advice from your experience."
"I'll tell you anything I can. But first, take this."
"...What's this? [The Fall of Hero Medea and the Elegy in the Ruins]. A tragedy?"
"Right. It's our club's next research piece."
"Ah."
I belatedly remembered that when I'd joined the Wood Cross club haphazardly to catch the group slandering me, I'd also signed up for the Classical Culture Club, where Dillon was president.
"This year's Classical Culture Club activities are every Wednesday afternoon around 7. You didn't know?"
"...No. I'll participate."
"Ha, you oblivious guy. Why haven't you ever asked first even once?"
If there was a reason, it was because I'd spent half the previous semester laid up in the hospital... Anyway, from Dillon's perspective, it must have seemed absurd, so I gave up on defending myself.
"So, what brings you here in person?"
"I figured you'd know how I can apply for a double major in Thorn Crown House."
"What?"
Dillon, who had been humming expectantly for my answer, widened his eyes.
"Just what I said. Tell me how to apply for a double major in Thorn Crown House starting tomorrow."
"Uh... yeah, I'm curious too. Hm, go kneel to old man Reynolds?"
Dillon didn't hide his bewilderment.
But I had prior intel that Dillon knew a ton of loopholes regarding academy regulations.
"Sir Reynolds wouldn't even pretend to hear my request. Even among cadets, only someone like Machina Christie might get a conversation out of him, maybe."
"That's not true. That old coot ignores Machina Christie too."
That was certainly accurate.
Dillon shrugged and mimicked Sir Reynolds: "'Well then, you'll have to bear the responsibility for those words~'"
"That's why I need one of your clever tricks."
"Hmm."
Dillon groaned, furrowing his prominent forehead deeply.
From his expression, he definitely knew a way but wasn't opening his mouth.
"Now that I think about it, Arma used to visit Thorn Crown House a lot? Planning to switch to black magic?"
"If I switched, I'd be a con artist, not a black mage. No, it's about Theodore. There's an issue with him."
"Theodore. Theodore White? Ah."
Dillon nodded, clearly catching on.
He probably knew most of what had happened lately.
Dormitory monitors met weekly with the Cadet Council for reports, and the Full Moon Festival incident had played out in front of nearly the entire academy.
Even if Dillon hadn't officially participated, he'd have heard the rumors.
"Even without you covering for him, a prestigious name like White wouldn't suffer anything too harsh."
"I'd think the same under normal circumstances."
I gave Dillon a concise rundown of the incidents involving the followers that I'd dealt with.
"That's not a follower, that's a criminal! Snooping around rooms on their own and sending people? Who are they? Give me names."
"No, it's fine. Anyway, they didn't seem intent on harming me. But that's it. Now they're reaching for the people around me."
"Hmm, I see. So Theodore became the target..."
Dillon muttered, sitting with his legs crossed crookedly.
Then he glanced at me sideways.
"Tomorrow starts the spring semester. You know there's no normal way to apply for a double major—not even a transfer—this late, right?"
"Yes."
"But you don't necessarily need to apply as a double major. The point is to be in a position where it's not weird for you to come and go from Thorn Crown House, even enter the fabrication room openly, yeah?"
"Exactly."
"Hm. Then it depends on how far you're prepared to go."
Dillon taught me a clever trick that was mostly obsolete now but still on the books regulation-wise.
.
.
.
The next day, the spring semester finally dawned.
I attended the morning class [Founding Principles of Holy Aegis] and then grabbed my outing cloak and headed out of the academy.
From there, I went to the Midus Central Bank Hazard Special Branch—the only bank on the island.
-Ting-a-ling.
Opening the bank door set off the clear ring of the bell hanging above.
The bored staff inside the quiet bank turned their attention to me.
Thanks to a gentleman who often smoked by the windows, the interior of this beautiful classical stone building was filled with hazy smoke.
'Isn't that neglecting duties?'
Even if customers were rare, at least one came every day.
As I eyed the drifting smoke, one of the now-alert staff quickly opened a window for ventilation.
I approached a brown-haired employee with neatly combed-back hair.
"I'd like to see the branch manager right away. Is that okay?"
"Yes, may I have your name and purpose of visit?"
The employee, not quite a total mess, quickly reverted to a polite, professional banker demeanor. Just a raccoon smoking in its den—not incompetent.
'Though smoking on the job is the problem in itself.'
I wrote my name and purpose on the paper at the reception desk and handed it over.
Now came the important part.
How well I could act as an unfinished member of House Cruise was unknown, but right now, I was a young entrepreneur.
Seated where the banker guided me, sipping fragrant green tea, a balding, portly middle-aged man came rushing in panting.
"Cr-Cruise Trading Company's young master? Ah, forgive the late introduction. I'm Branch Manager Nicol Summer."
"Branch Manager Summer, pleased to meet you. I'm just a cadet now, so feel free to call me Cadet Cruise."
"Understood... Cadet Cruise. So, what brings you here?"
"To withdraw my deposit, obviously. I'd like to take out the fifty million gold deposited in my name today."
This money was what my mother had sent annually for the past ten years or so; aside from what I'd used heading to the mainland, it had sat mostly untouched.
"All of it? Suddenly?"
Branch Manager Summer eyed me with deep suspicion.
I'd be the same if someone who never visited suddenly wanted to withdraw everything.
I did my best to look sane yet not suspicious, crafting the 'expression of an upstanding young man.'
"It's certainly withdrawable, but may I ask what you plan to use such a large sum for?"
His question was reasonable.
And for large withdrawals like this, they usually inquire about the source too.
Before Summer could get stricter, I said,
"I'm planning to sponsor a cadet for new research."
"Sponsor a cadet? Can cadets even do that among themselves?"
"There's no rule saying it can be done, but none saying it can't either."
Branch Manager Summer looked at me like I was spouting nonsense.
In the end, after I recited Aegis Academy regulations line by line to fend off his insistence on checking if I was drunk, he finally issued the check.
'Mother, I'll use the pocket money you faithfully sent for ten years where it's needed.'
Fifty million gold was enough for a middle-class family of four to live comfortably without working for about a year.
And I planned to toss it all right back into Aegis Academy.
This was the clever trick Dillon taught me.
-There's this 'academy exchange research activity support business.'
-Research activity? Ah, 'support business' for research activities...
-If you have the money, anyone can fund and launch a project.
And so, I would fund the following research activity.
[Research on Bypass Treatment Methods to Neutralize Physical Resistance to Holy Power Using Magic Power].
In other words, propose a very simple and bold research project to fix my body—which doesn't heal even when flooded with holy power—using magic power, and appoint Theodore as the person in charge.