Chapter 26.2
As I grumbled internally, a guy with a sly grin approached me.
“Van, you’ve changed so much. It’s truly moving. It feels like just yesterday when you were running around trying to handle your own accidents.”
He was famous.
‘Gordon Kye, the captain of the guard!’
As the leader of the guard in the crime-ridden free city, he was known for his strength.
He was a powerful figure akin to a Gladiator-level 6th Sword Rank
By the way, while the level of a mage is expressed by their rank as ‘star’, the rank of a knight is represented by ‘Swords.’
“Looking forward to working together in the future.”
Looking forward to what?
Do I really have to?
I wanted to say that, but I changed my mind.
My business instincts kicked in.
‘If he’s at the level of a guard captain, he might come in handy someday.’
“I truly appreciate it. I know that the peace in this free city is all thanks to the guard’s hard work.”
The guard captain looked at me with great admiration at my words.
He was the type to be easily moved and give away his heart, just like his appearance suggested.
“Hahaha! You’ve really changed. Thanks for the kind words. How about we have a drink sometime!”
As I left the guard, an unexpected person was waiting for me.
“…Can we talk for a moment?”
It was Emily.
* * *
I headed back to the upper office I had visited before.
I raised my head in surprise at the changed scenery.
The furniture was all gone.
“Are you moving to another location?”
“Our upper division went bankrupt. So, we have to move out.”
Unexpected news.
I quickly caught on to the whole story.
‘They’ve cut ties with the Rapalt Duchy.’
This time, someone had to take responsibility.
Even if it wasn’t intentional, entrusting the task of chasing the dark mages meant someone had to take the blame.
“I won’t just withdraw irresponsibly. As a gesture of apology, I’ll forgive the debts of those indebted so far, use the power of the family to find the missing people, and if we can’t find them, provide appropriate compensation to their families.”
“…Is that okay for you?”
In response to my question, Emily gave me a strange look for a moment.
“…Van, you’ve really changed.”
“…….”
“In truth, I wanted to apologize and express my gratitude to you. From the past until now, I’m sorry for everything.”
“Well, isn’t it you who should apologize for the engagement incident? I think I was just too naive.”
“No, I realized it with this incident. It was because of people who couldn’t appreciate you that you went astray. I never took the time to truly understand that side of you.”
Emily looked straight at me as she spoke.
“I sincerely apologize, and I appreciate what you did this time.”
I felt a cold sweat coming on.
‘…Isn’t this a set-up for something?’
Emily is an important character in the storyline.
I have to handle this carefully.
‘Gotta play this right!’
It was a difficult situation.
I shouldn’t get too close.
But if I act coldly? That’s a flag on its own.
After careful consideration, I spoke.
“No need to worry. I admit my mistakes. Above all, aren’t we beyond any past connections?”
“That’s…”
“Don’t misunderstand. It’s not because there are hard feelings on your part. Quite the opposite. I think, for the sake of our futures, we don’t need to be bound by past relationships.”
Drawing a line without causing discomfort!
This seemed like the best approach.
However, Emily had a reaction that I couldn’t quite understand.
“Van, you really…”
“……??”
“Being close to you might cause trouble for me in the family, is that what you’re considering?”
No?
I just meant, let’s keep our distance, as the message conveyed?
Emily sighed.
“Because of this incident, you’ve brought disgrace to our family. Especially Father, he is furious.”
Marquis Balmont.
He was a petty and vindictive man.
“I’ll try to intervene as much as possible, but I’ve almost lost the family’s influence due to this incident. I won’t be of much help.”
I made an awkward expression.
‘Nah, blaming me for their own mistakes.’
It was a typical narrow-minded act of the highest-ranking noble families in the Empire.
‘I need to come up with a plan.’
Soon, a good idea came to me.
“Emily, are you going to just accept this situation?”
“No, I can’t. I’ll definitely make a comeback.”
“I’ll help. Let’s investigate the Rihel Mine.”
“This place, which the family recently acquired, why there? Perhaps?”
Emily’s eyes widened.
The Rihel Mine was where the core members of the Rapalt Duchy had committed significant corruption during the bidding process.
‘I’m using Emily to expose the Rapalt Duchy! To make them temporarily ignore me.’
“Van, you…”
“Don’t misunderstand. We’re allies. I mentioned it not for your sake, but for my benefit.”
“….”
“If you want to show gratitude, help me find an item I mentioned.”
“What item?”
“The Heartstone of the Ice Sea.”
“!!”
The item was an S-rank potion.
‘I need to become stronger.’
Through this recent incident, I realized that even if I entrust the future of the world to the protagonists, I still needed the power to protect myself.
‘Not only that, I need strength for the upcoming entrance exams.’
I plan to fail troublesome protagonists in the entrance exams and send them to another academy.
However, there was a problem.
Looking at the list of applicants for the magic department, I found that there were a whopping three protagonists.
‘Two of them should be fine.’
The first one,
Catherine.
She’s the ‘true protagonist’ I met before.
For some reason, she applied to the Ruby Academy.
It’s fine. Since there’s nothing special about her yet, I can straightforwardly make her fail and send her to another academy.
The second one,
Joanna.
‘The ultimate cancer character.’
She was a protagonist with such a lack of charm that she ranked first in the ‘Top most annoying beautiful characters’ ranking.
Still, it was okay.
What’s important to me isn’t things like personality.
‘Joanna has fewer twists.’
Compared to other protagonists who will experience all sorts of major events and accidents, she’s a relatively ‘quiet’ protagonist.
Exactly what I’m looking for.
I plan to let her pass the exam.
The problem was the last person.
‘Why of all people, him?’
I swallowed hard.
Libel.
The second protagonist of the Hero Academy, the strongest lone-wolf protagonist.
In the future, the sole individual, known as ‘The One,’ becomes a living legend.
The person you should avoid the most applied to Ruby Academy.
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