Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: There's a Rat on the Isolated Island (3)
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“What’s going on?”
I cleared my throat and spoke, trying to infuse my voice with as much upperclassman intimidation as possible.
The moment the cadets turned their heads at the sound of my voice, I felt an inexplicable disgust at the strange fervor emanating from them.
‘They get so excited over every little thing.’
Of course, compared to previous incidents, this one had several mitigating factors.
Aegis Academy was built on an island, leaving it utterly defenseless once isolated; the rations were running out; and in that situation, the promised additional supplies weren’t arriving.
However, even if that were the case, Dillon was just another cadet like the rest of us.
Gathering like this and demanding answers wouldn’t yield much—Dillon could at best step forward as a representative and inquire about the rationing plans from Makina or the Chancellor.
“It’s the Executor.”
“Executor! Is all this part of Lord Aegis’s plan too?”
The two cadets with the loudest voices looked like brothers. Twins, maybe.
They had skinny, lanky builds with bulging, glossy black goggle eyes that were identical on both, though one had shaggy hair while the other’s was buzzed short.
“That’s—”
I started to tell them not to talk nonsense and dismiss them, but then I changed tactics.
“If I were to presume to fathom Lord Aegis’s actions, every divine intervention carries purpose.”
“…….”
It was vague mumbling that didn’t quite connect, but that was enough.
The way I’d fought using the guardian angel had been so romanticized that, to some cadets at Aegis Academy, I was the incarnation of the creator god Aegis—a shepherd guiding lost lambs.
“Y-Yeah… I thought it wasn’t something ordinary…”
‘It’s not ordinary. Your mental state is…’
Aside from the two who seemed like brothers, a short, curly-haired cadet (this one had goggle eyes too. A cousin?) who’d been listening anxiously stepped forward.
“However, Executor, this sudden trial of fasting came without warning—”
“So?”
“And it’s not in the scriptures either…”
Dangerously enough, this one was a fairly devout believer.
I decided to leverage the curly-haired cadet’s faith to shift the topic once more.
“Was the hardship of creation foretold?”
“…!”
Please just leave already.
All I knew about Aegis mythology was the broad strokes, not detailed verses.
And even that was limited to the most mainstream version, the revised edition by the prophet Rachel.
“If you plan to keep denying Lord Aegis’s intervention like this—”
“No, not at all! Absolutely not!”
“Then show your faithful belief through your actions.”
“Y-Yes, yes…!”
The three angry cadets bowed to me and hurriedly left.
“Phew….”
I’d gotten lucky and bluffed my way through this time, but there was no guarantee the second try would work.
On my way back to the dorm, I waited until the cadets—who kept turning back and bowing repeatedly—had completely disappeared before knocking on Dillon’s door.
*Knock knock knock.*
“Dillon—or should I say, Elijah?”
“Are you alone?”
“Yeah. They all left.”
“Ugh, what a hassle.”
I heard the sound of a metal latch being lifted from inside.
With a creak, the door opened halfway.
Isaiah and Elijah poked their eerily identical faces through the gap.
“Come in.”
Elijah confirmed no one was around and flung the door wide open. Isaiah scurried inside, adjusting the chair and table for guests.
“Has Dillon really stepped out?”
“Yeah. He said he’d be in real trouble if that guy got his nose in his business.”
Elijah plopped down across from me and grumbled.
Isaiah demurely sat beside the grumbling Elijah, skirt gathered neatly—her demeanor utterly different from her twin’s despite their identical faces.
“How many times have those kinds of guys come by so far?”
“No, this is the first time. But from the moment we got here, I had a bad feeling, so I locked the door and pretended no one was home.”
“A bad feeling?”
“Isaiah’s good at picking up on those kinds of vibes. Ominous, unsettling ones.”
Isaiah’s cheeks were still flushed like a porcelain doll’s today.
It was a talent impossible to imagine from her delicate appearance.
“Hm. Our room’s rations are starting to run low too, so they probably came to ask about it, but they must’ve just missed Dillon.”
“It is weird he left this morning and hasn’t come back yet.”
Elijah scratched his chin for a moment before adding,
“And you won’t hear anything special about the rations. A formal notice came through the staff, saying all the dorms are in the same boat as us.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Isaiah reached into her jacket and pulled out a sheet of white paper.
“It does say that. This is trouble. You two okay?”
“Neither Isaiah nor I eat much. If it gets tough, we can spare you one of these.”
At my question, Elijah rummaged through his wooden ration box—the same as ours—and pulled out a tin of hardtack biscuits, handing it to me.
True to his light eater reputation, even a week after receiving it, Elijah’s box was only half gone.
“You sure it’s okay to give me something like this? We don’t know how long this’ll last.”
“The ocean’s all around us—what’s there to worry about? I can swim, and worst case, we scour the rock crevices.”
“…It’s an island?”
Come to think of it, Aegis Academy was a natural fortress and treasure trove, surrounded by sea on all sides.
I couldn’t help smacking my knee at his unexpectedly resourceful words, unbefitting a pampered young master.
“You’ve got more survival skills than I thought.”
“Huh? No, not really. I just read some novels with scenes like that during club activities.”
“Yeah, I won’t ask for the titles.”
Hearing Elijah’s words naturally brought his reading tastes to mind.
‘If he recommends something like [The Gold Knows] or [Hints of Lost Civilizations], stuff for mystery buffs, I’m in trouble.’
Even now, I was a person overwhelmed by my fate crashing down unannounced.
No need to add Elijah as extra baggage.
Maybe sensing my thoughts, Elijah pouted.
“They say our dorm just feels it slower because there are fewer cadets. Meanwhile, the Black Lily Class even shared their food with the staff.”
“How noble.”
“Senior Cruise shared rations with other rooms too, right? Dillon the squad leader wouldn’t stop praising you for it—I thought blood would pour from my ears.”
“Elijah.”
Isaiah put the brakes on Elijah’s blunt words.
Then she nudged his calf with the round toe of her shoe.
It was clearly a signal to shut up, but Elijah just wrinkled his nose and showed no sign of stopping.
“No, you heard it too, right? All that about how great his eye for people is, and how cool guys with a sense of justice are.”
“Dillon was totally wasted then. He always starts flattering and praising people when he drinks. I’m used to it by now.”
“And you’re fine knowing the dorm squad leader broke dorm rules drunk in his own room in front of you two…?”
On top of that, dead drunk in front of Elijah and Isaiah.
The crime was particularly heinous.
I gratefully accepted the biscuit tin from the two and headed back to my room.
‘Right, there’s the sea. And the magic ban’s been lifted, so if we’re determined, procuring food shouldn’t be too hard. The problem is…’
Dillon, who’d gone to Black Lily House and hadn’t returned, nagged at me.
After a moment’s hesitation, I headed straight for Black Lily House.
*Whoooosh…*
The winter wind carried by the storm was bitterly cold.
I buttoned my coat collar and adjusted my umbrella to keep it from flipping.
The wind was so fierce that cold seeped through the gaps in my coat.
‘Rain’s coming down hard again.’
This storm might drag on for over a week, maybe more.
The sky remained thick with dark clouds, showing no sign of clearing, and the storm would ease only to surge back with renewed fury.
By the time I was soaked through—umbrella barely necessary—I finally reached my destination: Black Lily House.
I had nothing but bad memories here.
Black Lily House already exuded intimidation, and the dark conifers shrouded in the storm, plus the sharp spires piercing the sky, added an eerie chill.
“Cadet Cruise?”
I ran into Enoch Clark from the student council—a cadet I knew well and owed favors to multiple times.
“Oh, Cadet Enoch.”
*Pouring rain!*
Just as I greeted the familiar face, the downpour truly began.
We hurried to the thickest, densest conifer around Black Lily House to exchange even brief greetings under its cover.
“I heard you went through a lot because of me. How’s your body holding up now?”
“Yeah. Nothing compared to what you went through.”
“They said you burned through holy power and were out for three days?”
“Exactly two days and half, but… it was a good chance to learn my limits. Don’t worry about it.”
If there was a cadet whose first impression differed most from his current one, it was Enoch Clark.
And I even knew the secret weapon he hid under his shaggy bangs.
That weapon was peeking through his wet bangs now, and each time, Enoch lightly shook them to cover his face again.
“By the way, what brings you out in this rain?”
“That’s what I wanted to ask. What’s your business at Black Lily House in this downpour…?”
“I had some questions about the ration distribution for President Makina.”
“Ah.”
Enoch pondered my words briefly before speaking.
“President Makina’s stepped out. Sorry you came all this way for nothing.”
But his answer was unexpected.
‘Huh?’
This was odd.
I’d heard Dillon left early this morning specifically to meet Makina, yet she wasn’t at Black Lily House.
Enoch seemed unaware too, so I probed a bit more.
“Any chance of catching her if I wait?”
“She’s in a long talk with Chancellor Reynolds. Hard to say when she’ll be back.”
I nodded at Enoch’s words and picked up my umbrella.
“What about you, Cadet Enoch?”
“Student council report meeting. On my way to the chapel.”
“Ah, sorry for holding you up when you’re busy. Better get going.”
Something felt off.
Our paths would overlap on the way back to Wooden Cross House and to the chapel for Enoch, but this awkward distance made it hard to turn away.
“Yeah, I’ll head out first. Get back before the rain gets worse.”
“Got it. Go on in.”
I turned, watched Enoch head to the chapel, then made for Black Lily House’s main building.
“Ugh…. Ah, Arma.”
And there, I found Dillon, blood streaming from his head.