Chapter 97
Chapter 97
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Results and Revelations
-----------------------------------------------------------------
We finished everything we had to do at a leisurely pace and returned to Venderford.
Adel Richter's expression was somewhat grim after learning the full story behind the assassination attempt.
It was because of what she had learned through the Valiant Guild.
As we passed through the school's main gate and headed toward the fountain, I casually spoke to her.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, well... It's a relief that we found the culprit. In any case, thank you."
"I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."
"It's fine. Now that the evidence and witness have been handed over, my father will take care of it."
The reason for Adel's business-like demeanor was the identity of the client.
The person who had hired Alkanus to assassinate her was none other than Vergel Richter.
'An uncle not much older than the heir... It's not so strange that he would covet the title.'
The Richter family had few heirs.
Chancellor Aiden had only one child, Adel, and only one sibling, Vergel.
If she were to lose her life, the title would naturally pass to her uncle.
It seemed she had been close with Vergel since childhood, so the shock Adel received was considerable.
She had never dreamed that her own uncle would try to kill her.
'I was about to call him heartless, but when you think about it, we're even worse, aren't we?'
I was on her side, of course, but I couldn't bring myself to curse Vergel.
Such things often happened when significant power was at stake.
Wasn't a bloody battle between siblings already scheduled in the Rantzverger family?
'I'm in no position to judge.'
I offered no more words of comfort and silently crossed the school's central plaza.
But then, I overheard something peculiar from a group of students gathered here and there.
"Did you hear?"
"What?"
"They say this place used to be the site of an imperial tomb."
"A tomb? You mean we've been living on top of corpses?"
"They must have moved everything before building the school."
"Oh, for a second there."
In truth, these kinds of spooky old tales were common everywhere.
I'd heard various ghost stories at Riverune's main training hall and during the ten-year ordeal at Rantzverger.
But what one student said next stopped me in my tracks.
"They moved all the imperial graves, but some of the burial goods were left behind."
"Huh? Is that possible? Then they should just search for them and take them."
"The construction changed the landscape so much."
"Sounds like an exaggerated rumor."
"Just look at the old dormitory building. All the other buildings are new, but that one is just as it was."
"So the imperial treasure is there?"
The students gazed at the dormitory in the northeast corner with eyes full of longing.
'That's... convincing!'
Venderford was an educational institution built from the ground up.
It was the emperor's masterpiece, so all the materials and furnishings were of the highest quality.
But just one thing, the old dormitory building, was used as it was.
"Surely you don't believe such a rumor, do you?"
As I listened with interest to the students' conversation, Adel's voice suddenly reached me.
She chuckled and gently shook her head.
It was a gesture telling me not to believe the nonsense.
But my thoughts were a little different.
"Doesn't it seem a bit... intentional?"
"...Huh?"
When I suddenly threw out the topic, Adel Richter's expression changed completely.
She looked as if she had just realized something.
I walked past her with a meaningful smile.
"Hehe! I have a feeling something fun is about to happen."
It didn't matter whether the rumor was true or not.
My sharp intuition was tingling, and that was all that mattered.
What did I sense, you ask?
'The smell of money.'
*Sniff, sniff!* Ah, is that the smell of my own philtrum?
So fragrant, indeed.
* * *
Once all the group missions were concluded, Professor Wallock gathered the students in the auditorium.
"We will now announce the results and present the rewards."
Holding an awards ceremony after missions had now become a Venderford tradition.
It was meant to encourage students' active participation in missions.
Even though its initial purpose had been achieved, the awards ceremony continued.
Because the ones who were supposed to be taking first place kept ending up in second or third.
The reason for that, of course, was me.
'If they keep giving things out, I'm more than happy to take them. I should just snatch up anything worth doing.'
Of course, the situation was a little different this time.
It was a mission designed to test teamwork and leadership qualities, but the Third Student Division had only three members.
"Now, let's begin by announcing the evaluation results for the First Student Division."
Clarence Wallock hung a large sheet of paper on a board and pointed to the top with a stick.
It was Mission Number 1: escorting important goods to the Karzan Duchy.
"The leader of the division was Ellington. He executed the mission without any casualties thanks to his meticulous planning. It couldn't have been easy. Well done."
"Woohoo!"
*Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!*
Cheers erupted the moment Professor Wallock finished speaking.
It seemed to be the students from the First Student Division.
Having gone through thick and thin together for quite some time, it appeared a sense of camaraderie had bloomed.
However, Clarence Wallock's subsequent evaluation was rather harsh.
"You perfectly suppressed 14 bandit raids and continued the mission without getting carried away by victory, which is commendable. However, it took far too long. You exceeded the deadline by two days, so I'm giving you 80 points."
Ellington had led the division with his characteristic meticulousness.
The problem was that he had focused so much on safety that he failed to arrive by the target date.
Still, 80 points wasn't bad.
Provided, of course, that the other divisions scored lower.
"Ah... Did we lose 10 points per day? That's a bit harsh."
"It's still a high score, though."
"The problem is that it's not a safe score. If we're unlucky, we could be pushed down."
The members of the First Student Division smacked their lips in disappointment.
They thought they had performed the mission admirably, but the score they received was unexpectedly mediocre.
After a short pause, Professor Wallock's announcement continued.
"Next are the results for the Second Student Division. The leader was Frantz. He completed the subjugation mission with passionate command. The subsequent guard duty was also flawlessly concluded."
"Yeeeaaah!"
Just like before, a positive evaluation was met with a thunderous roar.
It was because Bizolt Railton had stood up to rally the response.
The members of the Second Student Division jumped up and down like mad.
"Six monster subjugations and three infiltration preventions during guard duty. You even met the travel time perfectly. However, the number of injured was high, and the consumption of supplies was excessive. It was a rather aggressive use of forces. Therefore, I'm giving you 90 points."
Frantz's reckless nature was directly reflected in his leadership.
He had taken only the elite, regardless of whether the basic class students fell behind, and wiped everything out.
It was the complete opposite of Ellington's all-encompassing command.
He armed himself with only efficiency and fighting spirit, but the result was much better.
'In truth, it was more luck than skill.'
If a major variable had appeared midway, he would have never succeeded in the mission.
But that didn't mean I wanted to disparage the second prince's performance.
After all, luck is a part of skill.
"Hmph."
Frantz shot a smug smirk toward the First Student Division.
Ellington, on the other hand, felt the gloating gaze but deliberately turned his head away.
It seemed he didn't want to face his insufferable brother.
"Well, we beat those number 1 guys. Doesn't that mean we're guaranteed first place?"
"Yeah. Only three people went on Mission Number 3, anyway."
"The problem is that it was the student council president, the comet of a ducal house, and the third son of the Felton family."
"No matter how talented they are, you can't ignore the numbers."
"Still, you never know. Theirs was an exploration mission."
The members of the Second Student Division acted as if they had already won.
Not all of them, but the noble scions under Frantz seemed confident of victory.
It was understandable, as the Third Student Division had too few members.
It would have been a relief if they had just gone, had a look around, and come back.
"This time, first place is surely mine."
Frantz waited for the professor's announcement with eyes full of expectation.
Finally, Clarence Wallock flipped over a large sheet of paper and began to speak.
But what he said was completely different from before.
"Um... Is the leader of the Third Student Division Ray Carter? Where are you?"
"Here."
I answered Professor Wallock's call by lightly raising my right hand.
A question immediately followed.
"This report I'm looking at... Is it accurate?"
"Is there a particular part that seems strange?"
"The part about defeating Tetra Manus. Did you perhaps fight alongside the exploration team?"
"That wasn't the situation. We arrived after the exploration team had been annihilated. However, it is true that the Four-Armed Knight had already sustained considerable damage."
It was a blatant lie.
In reality, Tetra Manus had simply slaughtered the exploration team one-sidedly.
Common sense dictated that the pathetic skills of the exploration team members couldn't possibly have inflicted any damage on the Four-Armed Knight.
'Hasn't something similar happened before?'
The empire had once dispatched a large-scale expedition to eliminate the four guardians of the Titan Lord.
But despite mobilizing renowned knight orders, they had failed to achieve their goal and were forced to retreat.
That was how overwhelmingly powerful the four guardians were.
Of course, the natural fortress that was the Forest of the Dead had also been a major obstacle.
In any case, it was absolutely not an opponent that a mere three students could defeat.
The students who overheard the conversation between the professor and me also began to whisper.
"What's a Tetra Manus?"
"You know, one of the Titan Lord's guardians."
"The Four-Armed Knight? The golem-like thing with four arms?"
"That's the one."
"No way, that's insane. They defeated that?"
"It has to be fabricated. How does that make any sense?"
A flood of disbelieving voices was an expected result.
Professor Wallock, unable to ignore the public sentiment, questioned me again.
"Doesn't the Four-Armed Knight possess an incredibly tough exterior? Even if it was injured, how did you manage to defeat such a being?"
"With swordsmanship."
"You mean to say it was possible with the Imperial Sound Lock Sword?"
At Clarence Wallock's sharp inquiry, everyone's gaze focused on me.
Ah, such a passionate reaction.
Was being the center of attention always this thrilling?
Perhaps the blood of an attention seeker flows through my veins...
'My thoughts have wandered too long. Well then, shall I live up to their expectations?'
I looked around the audience and answered the question.
"No. It was with the swordsmanship I was taught... directly! by the Wings of Radiance, Headmaster Jerome Klevitz."
I deliberately mentioned Headmaster Klevitz's title and even stressed the word "directly."
In reality, I hadn't properly mastered Destructive Glory, but it was true that I could use the basic stages.
Being taught the sword art itself wasn't a lie.
Of course, I never used it when fighting the Four-Armed Knight.
"Huh!"
"Headmaster Klevitz took a student? The Wings of Radiance, who's famously picky?"
"What kind of talent did he see in the student council president..."
"At this point, we might have to admit that guy is a genius."
The students were more surprised by this revelation than by the story of defeating Tetra Manus.
That's how incredibly complicated Jerome Klevitz's student selection process was.
He had likely taken in and then cast out hundreds of knights by now.
'Ah, whatever. The headmaster will deal with the aftermath.'
I looked up at the stage with a calm expression and spoke.
"Was that a sufficient answer?"
"Hmm... I understand. We will verify this through Headmaster Klevitz separately."
Professor Wallock nodded and flipped a page back.
And he concluded the announcement.
"Despite the annihilation of the exploration team, for completing the mission, the Third Student Division is awarded 150 points."
"...!"
As the final result was confirmed, a silent storm swept through the auditorium.