Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Strange Tag (2)
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“You’re Lesley York? What the hell—”
This guy was clearly out of his mind.
I grabbed the self-proclaimed “Lesley” who was muttering the same words over and over like a lunatic.
“Hey. Calm down and talk properly.”
“Gaaah! Let go!”
“Ugh.”
They say crazy people have superhuman strength, and sure enough, he shook me off in a frenzy and bolted without looking back.
“Arma! What was that noise just now?”
The moment I stood to chase after the fake Lesley, someone grabbed me from behind.
“Judith. Do you know a guy named Lesley?”
“Lesley? Lesley York? The literature major?”
“Green hair. Right? Not brown.”
“Yeah, green hair.”
“Just as I thought? Damn it. First, that guy—”
“Wait. Calm down. Why are you limping? And who is that guy?”
The story was getting long, so I tried to shake off Judith and go after the fake Lesley, but she wouldn’t let go of my arm, clearly worried.
“That guy? Should I catch him? Where’s he gonna go limping like that? I’ll grab him, so you head back to the classroom for now—”
“Gaaah!”
-Neighhh!
-Thud!
It was just a brief scuffle with Judith.
From afar came the excited whinny of a horse, followed by the sound of something like a water-filled leather sack bursting.
But even without seeing it, it was obvious what had happened to the fake Lesley, who had panicked and fled this place.
“…”
“What’s going on here?”
With things turning out like this, Lord Norfolk, who had apparently been inside the classroom, came rushing out.
I stared at him in disbelief.
‘This bastard was inside and pretending not to hear the commotion?’
Lord Norfolk met my eyes, cleared his throat awkwardly a couple of times, then stepped between me and Judith.
“I don’t know what happened, but you two, calm down.”
“…Nothing happened. Nothing at all.”
I gave him a calm nod and replied.
“A cadet I’ve never seen before seemed to have some misunderstanding, and we were trying to sort it out when he suddenly ran off. I was just about to go check what happened.”
“Oh, I see…”
Whether it was his usual neurosis flaring up or not, Lord Norfolk’s face paled as he leaned halfway through the half-open door and said.
“This lecture is canceled. Something seems to have come up, so everyone return to your dorms in an orderly fashion.”
With the lecture canceled, there was no reason to stick around.
With Judith’s help, I hurried toward the site of the incident—the west corridor with the fountain.
“…”
“The condition is severe.”
Waiting for us there were a few low-year cadets who had the misfortune of witnessing the gruesome scene, and the bloodied fake Lesley sprawled on the ground.
“What happened?”
Judith approached the most approachable-looking cadet among them to get the details.
The cadet, who had been gaping in a daze, snapped to attention with a sharp salute, replying in a husky voice that belied his age.
“Yes, senpai! Well, this guy suddenly came charging out from the corridor. Just then, a horse from the equestrian club was out for exercise on the walking path and got spooked—”
“Kicked by the horse?”
“Yes. He fell headfirst. Better not touch him.”
From his rigid posture, the orange-haired cadet with his long hair loosely tied back seemed to be a swordsmanship major like Judith.
Judith nodded without taking her eyes off the fake Lesley.
“Thanks. What about the professors or student council?”
“We already notified the student council.”
“…Got it.”
As expected, the academy cadets trusted the student council more than the professors, who were proper adults.
I watched the fake Lesley from a distance, blood streaming from his mouth and nose, then took a step closer.
“Arma Kruzda!”
“He’s here for revenge!”
“No.”
“For Lesley York!”
“I said no!”
I was sick of being cursed for things I didn’t do.
I couldn’t hide my anger.
The moment I turned to sprint toward the voices—
It was Judith who stopped me from losing my reason.
“Arma! Snap out of it!”
“You too? You can’t hear it either?”
“What?”
Judith alternated her gaze between me and the fallen fake Lesley, her expression more serious than ever.
Her deep ocean-like eyes seemed to flicker with complex emotions for a moment.
All the anxiety and confusion I’d been suppressing burst out uncontrollably.
“This voice! You can’t hear it at all? Nothing?”
“I can hear it.”
Moments like this were when Judith’s gentle nature shone brightest.
Times like this, when she’d lie to spare me further confusion.
I couldn’t help but grumble in agitation.
“I can hear it, Arma Kruzda. I know what you’re saying.”
But it was a lie.
If those accusations I was hearing had reached Judith’s ears, she would have reacted before me.
Judith knew I didn’t believe her.
Even so, she kept speaking to me.
“Arma, I think I’m the closest to you here at this academy. So I know how much your future self will regret the things you’re doing right now.”
“…”
“You don’t want to look perfect. You just don’t want to show a ‘different side.’”
“—Judith.”
Thanks to Judith, who hadn’t lost her reason in my place, I luckily avoided making an even uglier scene.
She was right.
If I’d rampaged in excitement like this, I definitely would have regretted it.
At the same time, it dawned on me that whatever was targeting me had probably been waiting for this outburst.
“Sorry. I’m okay now.”
Having regained my senses, the accusatory voices no longer reached me.
Only then did Judith release her grip on my arm.
Just in time, the student council arrived, questioned the bystanders, Judith, and me in turn, then loaded the fake Lesley onto a stretcher and carried him off.
‘I didn’t get to ask why he lied about being Lesley York.’
I wondered if the fake Lesley, dangling limply on the stretcher, would even wake up.
That afternoon.
After the incident was more or less wrapped up, I was half-forced into confinement in my dorm room at Judith’s insistence.
I heard that Theodore and Arthur, who were supposed to come at four, were heading straight to my room.
I was about to send word through the servant that they didn’t need to come, but changed my mind.
‘Right when Arthur and Theodore happened to be away, like they were waiting for it.’
By now, they were probably thinking the same as me.
Back in my dorm room, I lay on the bed and rubbed my face with my palms.
-Knock knock knock.
How long had I been like that?
It was that ambiguous hour when the crimson sunlight was about to shift to blue.
Without even sitting up, I called out for them to come in with my mouth while reaching for my holster.
“Arma.”
It was Judith and Arthur who arrived.
To me, the safest person and the one I planned to shoot dead with a gun in the future.
With no intention of hastening that unhappy future, I released my hand from the half-cocked pistol.
“Hello.”
“Yeah, hi. I’ll just lie here a bit.”
“Do as you please.”
Arthur, who had been in and out of my room several times over the past few weeks, now familiarly pulled out a chair and side table, set up without a sound, and sat.
Judith eyed Arthur’s slouched posture before speaking first.
“For starters, the guy kicked by the horse is ‘Gillian Hudson.’ And luckily, the horse that kicked him avoided being put down. Turns out the accident was entirely due to Gillian’s carelessness.”
A natural outcome.
From the horse’s perspective, it had nearly died because some human charged at it full speed.
“Good thing. The equestrian club is a bit over the top, but they take great care of the horses. It wasn’t the horse’s fault.”
An awkward silence fell briefly.
There was clearly more they wanted to say but couldn’t bring themselves to.
Still lying down, I chuckled and said.
“How’s the situation outside? Another uproar because of me?”
“No point beating around the bush. Looks like that guardian angel or whatever got involved without lifting a finger.”
“Ha.”
I let out a long sigh and sat up.
Then I dragged a chair over to the table where they sat and huddled close.
“If that’s all part of the guardian angel’s plan, what do we do?”
“…”
Judith, who had witnessed the bizarre events surrounding me firsthand, fell silent.
Had I unintentionally put her through a trial?
She couldn’t find words of comfort regarding the supernatural phenomena around me.
“It’s unavoidable, but we can’t even prepare for it.”
Tap tap tap. With each rapid knock on the table, unresolved anxiety began to surge.
My heightened nerves were hyper-aware of footsteps echoing in the corridor outside.
-No, low-years, go back.
-But he’s here…!
-Last warning. Get lost.
Moreover, outside the door, more than two people were arguing.
One was definitely Dillon, but I didn’t know the others.
‘They followed me all the way here?’
From the sound of it, the unfamiliar visitors to the dorm weren’t even upperclassmen.
Considering the commotion, the anger directed at me, and this series of curse-like incidents I seemed to be triggering—ominously so—their destination was none other than my room.
“Have those bastards finally lost it?”
Furious, Judith shot to her feet.
I grabbed her arm and shook my head calmly.
“I’ll go myself. You two stay here.”
“Arma.”
“Senpai.”
Judith and Arthur called out to stop me in unison.
At this point, I felt like whatever happens, happens.
But this was no resignation.
No matter what was targeting me, hiding wouldn’t solve anything—that was all.
-Slam.
Without hesitation, I flung open the door. Three male cadets, barely out of their teens, were blocking the corridor and arguing with Dillon.
Dillon didn’t even turn to look at me as he said.
“Go back inside.”
“No.”
“You don’t need to get involved.”
“No, Dillon. Thanks for caring, but I’m curious too.”
I strode toward the three who raised their voices even more excitedly upon seeing my face.
One with sharp eyes rolled his eyes wildly in agitation and swung his arm at me.
-Smack.
“What the hell are you freaks causing a scene for? What makes you think you had to come all the way here?”
I caught the arm of the one making a fuss and twisted it.
Training daily to hold a pistol weighing just over a kilogram for hours made this kind of tussle easy.
‘This guy… he’s scared?’
The strange thing was, the cadet whose arm I’d grabbed was trembling.
And then something even stranger happened in quick succession.
The trembling cadet declared as if making a proclamation.
“I am ‘Alex Perry’!”