Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Guardian Angel? (2)
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“Ahh...”
Vincent plopped down right where he was.
“What the hell...”
I rushed over to him in a heartbeat from a couple steps away.
A flowerpot falling from above head height was a lethal weapon.
But fortunately, Vincent had just collapsed in shock and hadn’t been hit on the head.
“Let me see.”
“Ugh... g-gently...”
“......”
The soil from the flowerpot had piled up on Vincent’s left instep, past his shoulder.
Next to Vincent lay the shattered remnants of the pot that had smashed down onto his left instep.
Having collapsed, Vincent groaned in pain, his hand neither fully on his aching ankle nor completely dropped—an awkward position.
Just like me a moment ago.
‘Of all places, the left foot.’
Vincent was sweating coldly, writhing in agony.
“Can you walk?”
“I can... ack!”
“No good, then.”
It looked impossible for him to walk on his own.
I raised my hand to check if any employees were nearby.
“Of all days, no one’s around. Hey, if it’s okay, lean on me.”
I hoisted the staggering Vincent onto my shoulder and started walking slowly.
My left foot wasn’t fully functional, and neither was his.
Still, it was only natural that Vincent’s foot—smashed by a flowerpot—was in worse shape than mine, which had just been struck by the corner of a falling book from a low height.
“Just let me carry you on my back.”
“But...”
“Honestly, it’s just a slight throbbing around the swollen instep, so I can carry one person no problem. What’s your major, anyway? Athletics?”
“Cello.”
“Lucky in misfortune, then.”
It was fortunate that it wasn’t athletics, and out of all instruments, cello.
With an injury like this, a violinist like Neon who had to stand all day would face serious practice disruptions.
Especially with promotion exams and finals approaching— a foot injury could be fatal.
Muttering quiet curses at the employees who were nowhere to be seen today, I piggybacked Vincent.
“We’re almost there, just hang in a bit longer.”
“Yeah.”
Vincent groaned from behind my back, pain flaring even with just walking.
Fortunately, the infirmary entrance had resident employees and nurses.
After finishing Vincent River’s treatment registration in the lobby, I headed back to the dorms.
My instep was just bruised by a book corner from a low drop, but Vincent would need a splint for a while since it wasn’t so minor.
After a quick treatment and return, I sat at my desk, soaking my injured foot and checking my remaining ammo.
It was an unconscious habit—whenever my heart raced, I’d end up fiddling with my gun like this.
‘Six rounds left, so time for a new requisition.’
As usual, I loaded two into the holster and stowed the case with the remaining four in the safe.
-Clunk.
-Knock knock knock.
Just as the safe door closed, a knock came, as if timed perfectly.
“Cadet Arma Cruise. I’ve brought the item you left at the library.”
“Left something?”
I cautiously opened the door to greet the visitor.
Waiting outside was the very employee I’d been searching for earlier.
“Ah. I must’ve forgotten my stuff in the chaos. Thanks for going out of your way.”
“No problem. Just doing my job.”
The employee bowed crisply and vanished quickly.
I placed my hand on the leather belt’s clasp to check the books secured by it and my writing tools.
It was just to confirm nothing was missing, but surprisingly, sleep fled me completely after that.
Because of the paper note tucked between the leather belt and the books.
“...Haha.”
〔Arma Cruise,
I really, truly believe in souls.
I’ll never forgive the one who hurt you.
Guardian Angel?〕
It was a note scrawled in crooked, childlike handwriting.
The content was shocking enough, but something else surprised me more.
The handwriting of “Arma Cruise” on the first line.
It was almost identical to my disguised script—the one I’d deliberately messed up in the library earlier to avoid matching my normal handwriting.
“Handing me clues on a platter. How thoughtful.”
The mysterious entity—name and motives unknown—had signaled me again.
It wasn’t over yet.
No, it was only just beginning.
***
Of course, finding the culprit ended in failure.
I tried tracking down the employee who’d visited my room, but no one knew who it could’ve been.
I tucked the note into my pocket and stepped out of the library I’d just ransacked.
‘Self-proclaimed guardian angel, huh...’
Had all these incidents toughened me up?
Unlike a week ago, my heart wasn’t racing just sitting still.
That said, if I delayed consulting Judith any longer, she’d explode for real—so I headed to the swordsmanship training grounds where her major class was underway.
“Haat!”
“Ha!”
The swordsmanship training grounds were divided into twelve square zones, each with a straw dummy planted in it.
Today’s swordsmanship major class seemed to involve striking the dummies with bladeless training swords to refine their form.
From afar, I scanned the students each gripping swords, practicing spinning slashes and vital-point thrusts.
As I spaced out surveying the grounds, a flash caught my eye, streaking straight ahead.
-Whoosh!
A sword strike sliced through the air like lightning, straight and scattering like foam from a wave.
The one creating that wave of air and light was none other than Judith.
“Indeed, Aegis’s Blue Lightning.”
The beautiful blue arc she traced in a curve held the unique sparkle of her sea-like mana.
Judith often called the vast mana dwelling in her—lacking magical aptitude—a waste.
But swordmaster talent wasn’t determined solely by magic aptitude.
‘Already prepping for the promotion exam. Still a whole month away.’
With this exam, Judith would challenge for official master qualification, allowing her to call herself a swordmaster in earnest.
Cadets who failed that step could only call themselves “swordmaster course inspectors” or just inspectors.
“Arma.”
Judith approached after a semicircular swing, sheathing her sword aura.
She’d seemed too absorbed to notice anyone around, but apparently not.
“Amazing as always today.”
“Hmm.”
Judith lowered her eyes at my words and idly stroked her sword hilt.
Truth be told, Judith had been wrestling with a slump unique to inspectors entering the swordmaster course for the past few months.
“Not quite satisfied, but my body felt pretty loosened up today, at least.”
“No comfort, I’m sure, but it always looks brilliant to me.”
“Mm...”
My reassurances didn’t land well with her in this state.
I’d spent months just watching her fret inwardly like this.
I wanted to help, but swordsmanship wasn’t my field for advice, so I had no way to ease her troubled mind.
You can’t advise a wingless beast on how to fly better than a bird soaring the skies.
“Well, it’ll work out somehow. Somehow...”
“No need for somehow. Take winter supplementary classes with me.”
“Unlike some slippery city slicker, I’m taking the winter special lecture.”
“Three weeks’ prep.”
I clutched my chest like I’d been struck by her words, playing up the dramatics.
Judith’s tension eased a bit, and she cracked a small smile.
“So, what’s up? Or should I say, what now?”
“Yeah, that’s more accurate...”
Keep this incident secret, and Judith’s wrath would descend.
‘It was really scary.’
Over the past dozen years, I’d seen Judith truly angry exactly twice.
Recalling them, they were far from fond memories.
I had no desire to become her third target.
No—before that, I’d been her first.
The day she lost her family ring, I’d stopped her from jumping into the winter river and nearly faced something terrifying.
“Anyway, I feel bad always dumping this on you after the fact, so I came to tell you first this time.”
“Then let’s move somewhere else.”
“Sounds good.”
I followed Judith to the terrace of the annex with its glass greenhouse, nominally a lounge.
Judith, in her training uniform with sword elegantly at her waist, embodied the ideal knight—majestic.
With both temperament and talent, yet struggling at the final hurdle—what irony.
Judith strode quickly with steps large even for her height, claiming the table closest to the greenhouse.
“Warm water for me. Cinnamon tea, warm, for Cadet Arma.”
Without a sound of footsteps, an employee approached; Judith ordered familiarly, including my usual special tea here.
This familiar scene felt oddly precious now, knowing it’d end next year.
Moments later, I took the tea set placed silently by the employees’ fluid motions and promptly pulled out the note from the so-called guardian angel.
“This is...”
“Looks like the incident isn’t over.”
Judith reread the note with a grave look, then downed the water in her clear glass.
“Seems so.”
She gestured to halt an approaching employee refilling her empty cup, then turned fully toward me.
Silly as it was mid-crisis, that serious expression felt more like her than the one tormented by her slump moments ago.
“So, what now? Tell the student council again?”
“No, that’d be the worst move in my book.”
“Same here. Makina lied to you.”
I had to nod at Judith’s analysis.
Hadn’t Makina told me at the infirmary?
That all the culprits tormenting me had been caught while I was down, so relax.
The seven from the Composition Club (Devil Worship Club more like?) she’d fingered were already expelled.
But if those seven expelled were truly behind it all, then who sent this note?
‘I never bought it anyway.’
I kept suspecting no link between those seven Makina rushed to expel and this new self-proclaimed guardian angel.
The misfortune wouldn’t end here.
I just wondered what interval it’d come at next.