国产午夜亚洲精品AⅤ

Chapter 80

“Oh, yes. Hello.”

The other students who regularly joined the early morning exercise began to appear one by one. There were senior students as well, and most of them were strangers to me, but ever since the duel, the seniors who did recognize me would greet me warmly.

... What was this feeling, this feeling that was both pleasant and awkward?

Among the first-years, the regulars who took part in the morning exercise were Ludwig, Ellen, and me. Others who occasionally showed up were Vertus, Cliffman, and Scarlett.

Ellen had already set off, and I was waiting for Adriana. Adriana and I hadn’t exactly made plans to meet up today, but I knew she’d show up.

“Hey Reinhart, up early again today, I see?”

Ludwig, dressed in his workout attire, greeted me cheerfully, and I nodded in response.

“Yeah, I guess so... Huh?”

Two people chrome from the direction of the first-year Class B dormitories, dressed in workout clothes.

“It’s advisable to take a rest if you are fatigued. Please refrain from exerting yourself excessively.”

That was B-3, Scarlett.

“Yes, yes, I got it. And feel free to speak casually to me. We’re classmates.”

And B-1, Charlotte de Gradias.

“My apologies but, but... It can’t be helped, it’s a habit...”

Charlotte sighed. “Well, I guess it’ll get better over time.”

The two of them were heading to get some early morning exercise together.

“If I’m getting in the way, you can go ahead without me. I don’t want you to do this out of obligation. Your training should be the priority, right?”

“No, no. Certainly, you must continue prioritizing your health. I shall remain vigilant in overseeing your well-being.”

The day before, Charlotte had not been able to stand by and watch as Scarlett was being harassed by Erhi any longer and had intervened. Although I didn’t know what had happened in the Class B dormitory that day, it was clear that Charlotte was now accompanying Scarlett to early morning exercise.

Charlotte seemed determined to make Scarlett one of her people.

As they were about to leave, they came across me, still waiting in the lobby.

“Oh? Hello, Reinhart.”

Charlotte greeted me with a slight smile. Ever since Charlotte learned that my abilities might help in finding Baalier, she stopped being so prickly towards me.

“Uh... Hi.”

She was friendly to me, but in a different way than Vertus was. Scarlett glanced at me and gave a small nod. Although we weren’t close, I felt some kind of affinity towards her. She had not solved the harassment issue in the way I advised her to, but it seemed that the issue would disappear while she was under Charlotte’s protection.

Problems were being resolved, each in its own way.

The Delphine Izadra kidnapping case had been wiped away, and Charlotte had sorted out Scarlett’s bullying.

... I felt like Ludwig was becoming less and less needed. Was he just turning into another guy from Class B who was nothing more than the lowest-ranked person in his class?

The protagonist’s presence was slowly fading away, and I didn’t know if it was really okay.

On second thought, it actually might be a kind of bias to think that the protagonist always had to be the most significant character in an isekai story.

I mean, weren’t things okay the way they were now? The way things got to this point were slightly different, but ultimately, the same outcomes had been achieved. Besides, Ludwig was a total madman when it came to working hard, so he would become strong on his own eventually anyway.

While I was pondering whether these bizarre story developments should be left alone...

“Oh, sorry, junior. I didn’t know you were waiting for me.”

The church noona with the perpetually calm and kind demeanor was briskly coming down the stairs.

***

Adriana, who was joining me for a workout after a long while, did not hold back her praise, noting that my stamina had greatly improved.

“I see that you’ve been working hard, junior. It’s not a drastic change, but you’ve definitely improved.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“You’re doing great. Just keep it up.”

My physical abilities had clearly improved a little more during the week that Adriana had been away, as I wasn’t feeling as exhausted as before.

“Shall we slowly increase the tempo now?”

“... I’m sorry, what?”

Of course, by Adriana’s standards, I was still falling short by a considerable margin.

Huff... Huff... Huff...

It was good that my stamina had improved, but since Adriana increased the intensity of the workout to match my progress, the end result was the same—absolute exhaustion.

What was the point of improved stamina if this monstrous senior was going to push me to my limits anyway? My future still seemed immensely daunting.

After completing a full routine of cardio and strength training, Adriana and I sat down on a bench to rest.

“I would say that even managing to follow along this far is impressive,” she said. “By the way, I heard that the Order of the Holy Knights was attacked by agents of the Demon Realm.”

Although Adriana had been staying in the Art-Ouen Monastery, she had also heard the news about the terrorist incident.

“Yes, that’s what they’re saying.”

A flicker of anger danced across Adriana’s calm eyes.

“The demons haven’t been exterminated yet.”

Her expression brimmed with the will to join the Holy Knights and go against them immediately. Even the ever-gentle Adriana shared the same hatred for demons. I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of expression she would show if she knew that the person she was nurturing with both knowledge and resources was, in fact, a demon prince. It would likely not be a pleasant sight.

“Thankfully, I heard that there were no fatalities.”

“Yes, that’s a relief. It’s all thanks to the blessing of the gods.”

Gods’ blessings my arse! I was the one who had worked my hardest to ensure that nobody died. I had ended up using the ‘Revise’ function, but it was indeed a stroke of luck that no fatalities occurred among the Order of the Holy Knights.

Wait... Since I was technically like the creator of this world and I had used the ‘Revise’ function to prevent deaths, I guess it had indeed been the blessing of the gods, then.

Huh... A statement that was both right and wrong.

“The Second Great War might happen someday in the near future.”

That may be what Sarkegar wanted, but I had no intention of letting that happen. Come to think of it, Adriana’s admiration for the Order of the Holy Knights seemed implacable.

“Hey senior, are you planning to join the Order of the Holy Knights?”

Adriana could already use divine power. With such talent, entry into the Order of the Holy Knights seemed almost certain.

Upon hearing my question, Adriana nodded.

“I was originally planning to go to graduate school, but now I’m thinking of joining right after graduating from the Royal Class.”

Adriana had intended to pursue further education after graduating. However, now that this incident had occurred, she was aiming to join the order immediately upon completing the six-year Royal Class program. With demons causing trouble in the capital, Adriana had decided to expedite her plans to join up.

“Um...”

“What’s wrong, junior?”

Adriana looked at me quizzically.

According to what I had seen, the Order of the Holy Knights clearly seemed to be corrupt. They, too, were holding demon prisoners like succubi. If it were to be discovered, they would probably claim that it was for research purposes or something of the sort, but the actual use was fairly obvious.

It was hard to determine the extent of the corruption, but it was difficult to see them as a pure and righteous order. The Order of the Holy Knights was merely a powerful armed force, nothing more.

The thought of Adriana joining such a place was indeed concerning. I wondered if she would detest it and leave, or become just another corrupt holy knight.

“No, it’s nothing...”

At the moment, at least, Adriana’s eyes were filled with pure sincerity.

I had no right to tell Adriana not to join the Order of the Holy Knights. After all, there was still a lot of time left before that could even happen.

Anyway, it felt strange to see the repercussions of the incident I had caused rippling outward in all directions. I had only made the move with the motive to rescue the demons.

As a result, though, the event had strengthened the empire’s unity even more.

Not only that, but some were considering taking a leave of absence from the Temple, and some were thinking of joining the military.

Witnessing how a single event led to dozens, if not hundreds of secondary incidents and consequences felt almost surreal. I knew that all things in the world were connected, it was a strange feeling to see it firsthand.

I couldn’t predict any of it.

—Shall we take a break?

—Pant... No... Pant... I can go on a bit more.

—It is advisable for you to take a rest, Charlotte.

—No... no... I’m fine...

A distance away, Scarlett and Charlotte were running. One glance was enough to know that their levels of stamina differed greatly, but Charlotte was gritting her teeth, trying to keep up.

In a way, this scene was also something I had created. Erhi had rubbed Charlotte the wrong way during a sensitive period, and as a consequence, she had ended up starting a conversation with Scarlett.

Every event in the world had a cause and effect.

But the thought of one cause leading to hundreds of events, which in turn could branch out further into hundreds of different outcomes, was enough to make my head hurt.

Too many unexpected things had happened, and they would only go on to become the cause of yet another hundred events.

If that were the case, causal inference became meaningless, as it would be chaos just to try to unravel the sheer volume of cause-and-effect occurrences.

There was one, and only one conclusion to this...

“I see that the princess is also working hard.”

“Indeed.”

It was impossible to clean up every mess I made.

***

I didn’t know what was going to happen to Harriet, but there was still Riana de Granz to deal with. If she decided to take a leave of absence from the Temple, I had no idea how to prevent it, as we hadn’t even talked before.

With Harriet, we at least had some sort of karmic bond with each other. Yes, even karma created connections, and that was why I was able to talk to her...

Unexpectedly, the answer to my problem came from an odd place.

After breakfast, I saw Vertus speaking with Riana de Granz.

“... Huh?”

“It’s just as I said. I was thinking that, if possible, you shouldn’t take a leave of absence.”

Vertus’s sudden remark took Riana by surprise, and she tilted her head in confusion.

“I’m not pressuring you, but since we’ll be seeing each other at the Temple for quite a while, wouldn’t it be better to stay together, rather than have an awkward senior-junior relationship because of a one-year leave of absence?”

“Oh...”

Vertus was speaking gently to her. There was no coercion in his tone, as though it were merely an expression of a desire not to be apart. However, beneath that smile, I could read the hidden intent:

“If you’re going to leave the Temple, be prepared to face the consequences.”

I could clearly interpret that underlying message. Whether Riana understood that intent or not, she still nodded with a stiff expression.

“Okay. I’ll talk to my parents about it.”

I guess a prince was still a prince, after all.

Vertus’s request was essentially equivalent to a command. In fact, because it had been framed as a request, it was even more coercive.

A request for a favor from the prince was basically the equivalent of a threat.

But, what could it be?

Of course, in this situation, Vertus urging her against taking a leave of absence was the best outcome I could hope for. I had actually been considering asking Vertus for a favor, even if it meant owing him one, in order to persuade the students not to take a leave of absence. But Vertus had already taken it upon himself to do so without my prompting.

***

I fully expected what was about to happen next.

“W-what do I do now?!” Harriet wailed as she came to me, her face as white as a sheet.

Tuesdays were for attending classes that were individually chosen by each student, so I usually didn’t run into Harriet. That day, though, she caught me near the front gate of the Royal Class dormitory, just as I was about to go to my morning lecture.

I instantly knew why she was in such a state.

“Did Vertus tell you not to take a leave of absence?”

“H-how did you know?”

“I saw him saying that to Granz earlier.”

Since he had done it with Riana de Granz, it made sense that Harriet would have received a similar request from Vertus as well. This would explain why she was so flustered, and why she had come to me—the one person she felt she could talk to about it.

“What should I do? Do you think I really got on his nerves?”

Harriet looked as if she was about to cry, as though she believed that getting on the prince’s nerves would lead to her demise. Though I didn’t know what was in her heart, the fact that she came whining to me, someone she outwardly detested, suggested that she was extremely frightened.

“What do you mean, ‘what should I do?’ I think it’s actually a good thing.”

“A good thing...?”

“Yeah, what you were planning to use as an excuse has now become the truth, hasn’t it? If anything, it would be easier to get permission from your father, not harder.”

Her reason for not taking a leave of absence was based on the fear of Vertus’s reaction, but now Vertus himself had asked her not to go on leave. Thus, the argument was not a hypothetical anymore; it had become a reality.

In fact, Vertus had made things even easier for her. Instead of being glad, though, she was trembling, worried that she really might have displeased Vertus in some way.

“But... even if I get permission not to go on leave... doesn’t this mean that Vertus already dislikes me?”

Although she was now free from being pressured to take a leave of absence, she was still worried that she had fallen out of favor with Vertus for even considering it.

“Hey, Thick-Skull. Listen carefully, okay? I think you being this nervous about it is actually being even more rude to him.”

“Huh? W-what... What do you mean?”

I’d come to understand another characteristic of this girl: when she’s emotionally cornered or scared, even if I called her Thick-Skull, she would not react. Deep down, she had already persuaded herself that ‘Thick-Skull’ was part of her identity.

“Maybe Vertus just wants to keep all his classmates together, and asked you not to take a leave of absence. Maybe his intentions were pure.”

“Uh, yeah... maybe...”

“However, you being all nervous about whether he actually resents you or hates you already shows that you’re treating him like a narrow-minded person. Get it?”

The way she was whining, wondering “What if the prince gets angry at me?” made it seem as though she already thought of Vertus as a petty person. When she realized what she was doing, Harriet’s face turned pale.

“No, no! T-that’s not correct! I... I didn’t think of it that way!”

“Then just relax. He’s much more generous than you think.”

After all, Vertus was the kind of person who’d said it didn’t matter whether a noble or a commoner spoke informally to him or not.

Harriet’s eyes widened in surprise, as if surprised that I might know Vertus well. “How would you know that?” they seemed to ask.

“R-right... He even made tea for you, didn’t he...?”

‘Are you suggesting we’re close because of the tea we shared? Or are you trying to say that Vertus is such a generous person that he would even serve tea to someone as lowly as me? I have a strange feeling that it’s the latter...’

Harriet finally seemed to grow a little more relieved, and the color started to return to her pale face.

“Thank goodness,” she said with a sigh. “Anyway, th-thank... thank you...”

Wow. Was she really thanking me? The way she was blushing made it clear how difficult this was for her.

She seemed so relieved that she’d lost control over her legs, and she staggered as she started walking towards the train station.

“Hey, wait up! I need to get on the train too.”

“... Oh.”

She was now faced with the cringe-worthy situation of having to ride on public transport with someone she had just awkwardly thanked.

“So, about the ‘thank you’ you said just now. How grateful were you, exactly? Can you explain it in detail?”

As I teased her with a grin, her face turned visibly red.

“Go away! I’m gonna walk back!” Harriet fumed as she quickly scampered away from the train stop.

Shortly after, having realized that she had a long way to walk, she returned, her face even more flushed.