How to Survive at the Academy Chapter 164

ed rostaylor scramble (4)

When all this is over, let’s go home.

This is what commanders always say when walking on the battlefield.

When each of them comes to the front line for their own reasons and pulls the trigger, what everyone suddenly comes to mind is the scenery of their hometown.

The fact that you have a place to return to sometimes gives you strength to endure the harsh reality. Whether it’s your hometown or your family’s arms. It may not be so strange to think of ending this hellish life and returning to my home.

As I was floating in the hazy world of unconsciousness, such a difficult time permeated one side of my memory.

Unfortunately, in this world, there is no place to call home.

*

“Senior Ed was seriously injured. Princess Selaha.”

As Selahha appears, the frozen atmosphere is still unwilling to melt.

A strange chill circulates between Sellaha and the people gathered around Ed Rosteiler. Numerous nobles who had followed Selaha felt that the atmosphere was unusual and held their breath.

“Of course, I was also caught up in this massacre by the Roth Taylor family, and I have a lot of injuries here and there. In Seonghwangdo, this will not be taken lightly.”

Saint Clarisse did everything she could to secure Ed’s recruit against Sellaha.

“Senior Ed is a member of the Church of Telos who was baptized, but there are suspicions that he contributed to harming me as a saint.

“…”

“The church’s holy law is a strict law that even I, a saint, cannot recklessly break. Senior Ed’s recruits must be guided by our holy spirit.”

“The strict church’s sacred law deserves respect, but our imperial family’s law also cannot easily hand over this matter.”

Selaha quietly lowered her eyes and spoke.

The holy law of the church and the law of the imperial family. Who had the upper hand between the two differed from time to time.

The period of fierce confrontation between the religious authority and the imperial authority reached hundreds of years. Sometimes castle law prevailed, sometimes imperial law prevailed.

Recently, as Emperor Chloel’s prestige skyrocketed, the imperial court’s laws began to take on more weight. If the two started to collide, the priests of the Holy Emperor would have no choice but to be more cautious.

“More than 10 high-ranking nobles of our empire have died. There are many seriously injured. How can we sit still in Chloel’s palace?”

Originally, Princess Selaha did not want to confront the Seonghwangdo side.

However, the situation itself is completely irate.

The character of Ed Roth Taylor is the key to the imperial family’s power structure that will cause a cataclysm in the future.

Not necessarily Sellaha, but everyone who wants to exert influence will want to recruit Ed and Tanya.

Sellaha is the first among them to be in a position to approach the two recruits. Because he was there.

However, aside from Ed, the characters are all giants.

“…”

After the direct confrontation, Selah suddenly had no choice but to swallow dry saliva.

It wasn’t just the friends he had been with at the Sylvania Academy, but the look of a death squad protecting Ed with desperate determination.

Jenika and Lucy, who played an active part in the Creffin subjugation, are also glaring at Sellaha with cold eyes.

The reason why the two faced the disaster of Ross Taylor Mansion was to protect Ed Ross Taylor rather than heroism to reduce the number of victims.

Standing in a daze in front of a zelkova tree, I look up at Lucy Meiril, her gray hair flying.

It is only then that Selaha realizes. She is more like a wild disaster than a hero.

It is not a person who moves by political logic or calculation of interests. money, power, and fame. They have no interest in the values ​​that ordinary people hold high.

I do what I think is right, and I don’t care about anything else… I’m an outsider.

Are you planning to turn even the imperial family into enemies if you set your mind to it? Even that feeling surged up, and Selaha had a gut feeling.

If you carelessly lay your hands on that man, you might be in big trouble.

However, if you leave it as it is, you may end up in a bigger disaster later on.

Right now, it seems that there is nothing to do with it, but there are already big people like this following Ed.

If you take even a small amount of power, or start forming forces, it seems certain that you will threaten the power of the imperial family.

I realized why Fenia Elias Chloe was so conscious of that man.

I don’t know what part of that man he saw, but he has the power to bring big people together.

The buds that will become the root of great trouble must be trampled down while they are still weak. However, the methodology did not immediately come to Selahha’s mind.

Saint Clarisse seems to be thinking of mobilizing her political influence, and she cannot even compare it with absolute force unless she mobilizes the core personnel of the Imperial Army.

If we don’t secure Ed Rosteyler here, we don’t even know when we’ll be able to find a reason to subdue him again.

Selaha’s gut calls out. This is your last chance.

If he couldn’t be suppressed with authority, he had to compromise or cheat and bring him to the imperial family.

The next time I meet Ed Rosteyler, I have no idea where he will be.

“Ed Rosteyler deserves praise for his hard work.”

Selaha opened and closed her eyes gently and spoke.

“First, take him to the imperial family, treat him, and report his hard work to Abamamama so that he can receive a well-deserved reward.”

When Selaha said that, the atmosphere among them changed.

Selaha lowered her tail. Unable to believe that fact, there was a buzz among the nobles.

I couldn’t bring myself to express my dissatisfaction with Selaha, but I couldn’t help but look at each other in bewilderment at the unexpected reaction.

“Of course, the same goes for Tanya Rosteylor. The reason I’m trying to secure these two recruits this far is because I can best understand their positions and represent them best within the Imperial Castle.”

Seeing Sellaha’s reaction, Lortel laughed softly from under her robes.

Saying so, Sellaha was trying to hand over Ed Rosteylor’s recruitment to the Elte Company rather than the imperial family.

Even if the negotiations are successful, Ed Rosteyler will come under Lortel’s management anyway. Then, with the support of Elte Firm, she should be able to recover her body, regain her consciousness, and agonize over a new solution to attack Selaha.

It’s an outsider.

As long as Sellaha has been involved in this far, no matter which option she chooses, she has no choice but to be drawn into a situation that is advantageous to Ed Rosteyler.

No matter which way you choose, the only path that leads to the cliff is left.

This is why Oldeck’s merchants never turn Lortel into an enemy.

Of course, everyone had no choice but to look at Selaha suspiciously.

It is strange that Selaha, who was so bound by status and authority, came out with such a cooperative attitude.

However, Selaha’s rants are like the devil’s temptation.

If Selaha really sticks to Ed’s side, she can take advantage of the truth-finding that will take place in the imperial family later.

Princess Fenia will also take Ed’s side… Their support might not be a punishment, but a lottery.

“…”

It’s a matter of course, but once Ed’s new recruit is handed over to the imperial castle, there is no turning back.

Once Ed’s life is taken hostage, everyone in the party can’t move quickly. That’s why it’s hard to easily hand over Ed’s recruit to Selaha.

Even so, he couldn’t become a body chased by the imperial castle. Ed Rosteiler is in dire need of a break.

“Fact-finding and listening to the circumstances don’t have to be done in the imperial family.”

At that time, raising her dusty body, Tanya spoke.

“I’ll stay on the grounds of this mansion.”

At those words, not only Selaha, but everyone else’s eyes turned to Tanya.

“There may be servants who are still alive, and restoration of the mansion site must be started. We cannot leave it as it is. Father’s corpse must also be recovered. All family members in the imperial family will have to return.”

“then…”

“I will take responsibility for the remaining family forces.”

There is still life in young Tanya’s eyes.

Even though there is nothing in my hand anymore, I don’t feel empty or empty. Rather, a strong will remained.

“Whether it’s imprisoning me or rewarding me, I want to do it after I finish what I have to do.”

Tanya whipped out a shabby cloth from her bosom. It was the torn cloak that Arwen was wearing.

The cape was already covered in dust and worn out here and there, but the eagle pattern, symbolizing the valor of the Roth Taylor family, was clearly drawn on it.

Tanya wrapped her cloak around her head, tied her windblown hair back, and spoke.

“Like it or not, I was the legitimate heir to the Roth-Taylor family. So… I am the Roth-Taylor family head now.”

In front of the site of the ruined and burnt-down Ross Taylor mansion, Tanya proudly talks about what it was like.

“I will make decisions about the family.

At those words, everyone was frozen like ice. Lucy is the only one who looks at her with sleepy eyes.

Claiming to be the head of a family that is already in ruins is tantamount to declaring that I will burn to death.

The Ross Taylor family plotted rebellion against the imperial family, slaughtered high-ranking nobles, and even plotted to summon evil spirits.

However, the exact truth investigation is not over yet… Until the guilty is confirmed, you can exercise your decision-making right according to the family law.

“Whether Brother Ed heads for Pulan, Oldeck, or Seonghwangdo… Whether he heads for the Imperial Family… That’s up to you to decide.”

“But right now senior Ed isn’t conscious.”

“No. I just woke up. That’s why I woke up too.”

Lucy denied Clarice’s words. At the same time, a strange sound was heard.

– Percussion.

The sound of a dagger being driven into a zelkova tree.

The high fever and chills made it difficult for him to keep his body steady, but Ed slowly got up, leaning on his dagger. All of Ed’s party, who were confronting Sellaha, turned their gazes in that direction in amazement.

“Ed!”

Quickly, Yenika ran out and supported Ed’s body. Just holding his shoulder made him feel the heat, and Yenica swallowed his dry saliva. Ed’s physical condition was more serious than he thought.

“Ed, I need to go somewhere quickly and get treatment…”

“Cool, cool…!”

Ed’s eyes slowly showed through the messy bangs. His gaze caught the faces of all his companions.

“Keep, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoop…”

“Brother Ed. Now…”

“I vaguely… heard… what they were talking about…”

Grabbing his drowsy mind, Ed fixed his body’s center of gravity.

It wasn’t a situation where his head was spinning, but Ed gritted his teeth and opened his mouth.

“I… whoop… whoop…”

Tension rose between the couple.

There is still a lot of vacation left in Sylvania.

Yenika Failover must return to Pulan as scheduled, and Lortel Kecheln must return to Oldeck to finish her business.

Clarisse also had to return to the status quo, and Lucy had a pretty face.

Princess Selaha also intends to take Ed to the imperial castle to finish the matter.

It is not difficult to choose who to follow. Lortel has already worked out all the tricks, so whichever option he chooses, the situation will eventually turn in Ed’s favor.

So there is no right answer. Ed Rosteeler just…says what comes to mind.

“Whoop, whoop, whoop…”

So, who will you follow in the end?

On the site of the Burning Mansion, the loathsome fate that had been going on with the Ross Taylor family for a long time had come to an end.

But there is still a lot of work left to be done. <Sylvania’s Failed Swordsman> still has that journey left.

Still, Ed Rosteylor… wanted to rest for a while.

*The imperial central army invaded the mansion site.

The well-trained Central Army quickly took control of the scene, and skillfully divided personnel and began conducting field investigations.

Princess Selahha wiped her face once as she watched the scene. And she remembered her man looking down at her all with a dying face.

“Ed Roth Taylor.”

While being waited on by Dest in front of the magnificent imperial carriage, Princess Sellaha looked up at the collapsed Ross Taylor Mansion.

“What the hell is he worth…?”

Princess Selahha’s eyes did not show that level of ability.

However, the talented people gathered around Ed Rosteyler are not easily accessible.

My intuition now is that his existence will act as a bigger variable than I thought in the future imperial competition.

“Come to think of it, Fenia is nowhere to be seen.”

Fenia, who came out of the tent with cold eyes, did not show up until the end.

“I heard that the imperial army reported that immediately after that, he rode a horse towards the imperial castle.”

“What? You went back to the imperial family?”

“You seem to have decided on something… but… you seem to have moved quickly to reach the imperial castle before Princess Selaha.”

Selah frowned and closed her mouth. Even Fenia, who was lethargic, seems to have gained some will.

It’s not hard to figure out what they’re up to, but it’s a step anyway.

Persica is busy taking care of her, but things become more complicated when Fenia also starts to pay attention to the imperial authority.

Anyway, Ed Rosteyler is like a landmine in many ways. If you carelessly touch it or try to dismantle it, the aftermath is too great.

Selaha swallowed dry saliva.

Still can’t let it go It seems necessary to leave it in a corner of memory.

Sitting next to the wagon, I see countless nobles returning to their estates after completing their investigations.

A procession of colorful wagons spur toward their respective estates. Among them, you can see the carriage with Jenika Failover and the upper carriage with Lortel. The same goes for the magnificently large carriages.

In any case, the imperial family needed a person involved in the case who could properly testify about the mansion incident.

Ed Roth Taylor was the most suitable, but in the end, because of the fierce checks, Sellaha couldn’t secure Ed.

Instead, it could have been compromised so that the other parties to the case could face the Hwangseong to testify as substitutes.

However, the opponent was someone who could not be held hostage or act as Sellaha intended. He threw the most uncontrollable person in Ed’s party.

Sellaha climbed into the carriage with Dest’s guidance, and saw a girl lying on the other side of the carriage resting her legs. She shows no manners whatsoever.

It is impressive to see her disheveled gray hair twisted around and the witch hat she wore on her head.

The girl exhaled a quick breath as she lay down on the carriage as if wondering what the princess in front of her was.

Lucy Mayrill.

The wizard who would attend the imperial family’s current status investigation as a substitute for Ed Roth Taylor… was a time bomb that Selaha could not control.

Even so, it’s unlikely that this mage will be cooperative, so all Selaha can do is send her back after completing her investigation.

It was a compromise that completely failed.

*The completed villa in Lortel was not as big as I thought.

With that wealth, he could have built the largest mansion on Aken Island, but Belle Maia tilted her head at the unexpectedly simple scale.

Still, after seeing the whole view of Ed’s camp, I was convinced. If Lortel’s residence is too large, a sense of incongruity will arise.

Lortel just wanted to live with Ed in a difficult situation, not to overwhelm him with grandiose wealth.

That’s why I understood the size of the villa, which is smaller than I thought.

“If you come back after vacation, you can live right away.”

The northern forest where the crescent moon shines brightly.

Bell Maia, who came to inspect the camp after work that day, felt empty again.

The biggest reward I get from working as the chief maid of Ophelis Hall is helping students who are having a hard time adapting to an unfamiliar environment and maintaining their lives.

That’s why this vacation period when students leave Aken Island feels empty. I’m quite used to it now, but I still get a strange feeling when I play around the empty Ophelis Hall and the school.

But are you too busy again when you are in the middle of the semester… There is no such thing as halfway. Although it’s not a very bad environment for her, a workaholic.

After Belle Maia finished locking the door at Lortel’s small villa, she stretched out to relieve her sulking body.

Always cool and blunt, the way she stretches feels unnatural, like a robot stretching.

With no one watching, perhaps the tension has eased a bit.

Belle Maia must have been influenced by the free vacation atmosphere of this late summer.

The shadow of a grasshopper brushed past the crescent moon. Only then did I become conscious of the sound of grass insects on a summer night.

Leaves swaying in the moonlight. The sound of them brushing against each other looms between the camp buildings.

It is also peaceful, as if it came to another world.

Thinking so, the moment I turned around to return to Ophelis Hall, a boy appeared from among the grass.

“…!”

Even Bell Maia, who maintains a blunt expression, was a bit surprised this time.

Ed Roth Taylor, whom I knew to have returned to his hometown… stumbled through the grass and stumbled into the camp.

His face was red and his legs were lame, which was not normal.

Taking advantage of Bell Maia’s embarrassment, he sat down on a tree trunk near the bonfire… and dropped the leather pouch he was carrying on his shoulder.

His pack bounced and rolled on the floor a few times.

“Eh, Master Ed? Didn’t you return home around the end of vacation? How about the other party…?”

When Bell Maia asked in bewilderment, Ed Rosteyler caught his daze and swept his face.

“You were at camp, Bell.”

“…Yes? Ah, yes…”

“Light a fire. I’m having a hard time using magic right now.”

After saying that in a dying voice, Bell lightly drew magic power and started a bonfire.

As if welcoming the owner who had returned after a long time, the fire of the camp subtly lit up the surroundings.

Ed sat down in front of him, swept his face, and sat down with his forearms in his lap, head bowed.

Warm heat tickled his face.

The smell of grass along with the familiar sound of insects at night stimulated the tip of my nose. Ed felt the strength in her shoulders loosen and her stiff muscles slowly relax.

Belle Maia watched that… and stood in the back, unable to speak for a while.

The shadow of the camp, which had been stretched by the moonlight, split into several branches and covered the camp when a new light source, a bonfire, appeared.

It was as if the heat of the crackling and shimmering flames was massaging her body.

“…was the journey difficult?”

Bell, who put her hands together behind him and waited for Ed for a while, finally asked slowly.

When Ed heard the question, he thought for a moment.

Those who wandered the battlefield would eventually wander in search of a place to return to. Was he not very different from himself?

The traces of struggling, rolling, and gritting efforts after first falling into this world remain intact in this camp.

The first wooden shelter you made, the first fishing rod you made, the first campfire you made, the cabin, spear, hunting tools, clasp, wild animal skin, magic training book, carpentry workbench, hammer, fishing net…

Would this camp be the place to go around and come back to?

I felt more attached to this camp where I had spent hard and arduous days together than I thought… I wanted to come back even with my battered body.

Ed vehemently refused the party’s offer to return with him, and eventually returned to the camp alone.

Yenika, who was willing to abandon the plan to return home, Lortel, who wanted to follow even at the cost of business, and even Clarisse, who was trying to coordinate the entire schedule of the success story, refused to dissuade them. Tanya even encouraged him to recover his body first since she would stay in the mansion to finish the work.

Glancing up at the crescent moon floating in mid-heaven… I meditate on Bell Maia’s question.

Was the journey difficult?

This journey through vacation was, of course, difficult.

He went back to the Roth Taylor mansion, fought for his life, somehow ended the bad relationship with the Roth Taylor family, and became a wreck. It was a short summary of the journey, but it was so arduous and difficult that even Ed, who never said anything he didn’t like, couldn’t help but sing.

There was still a lot of work left to be done.

He somehow ended his bad relationship with Roth Taylor, but it seems that he exerted a useless influence on the imperial family’s power structure, and he had to think about what to do with the remaining forces of the Roth Taylor family. I still can’t come up with a clear way to catch Seongchangryong’s Velbrook, and there are plenty of academic schedules left for the next semester right now.

Of course, if you look at the road you’ve been through, it’s never been easy. From the time when he struggled to survive somehow in this forest until now, Ed has lived every moment.

So, the place I wanted to come back to after finishing my work… was in front of this campfire.

“Of course it was difficult. I almost died several times.”

After a while, Ed answered.

“So… I wanted to come back here quickly.”

“…”

Bell clasped her hands together and glanced at Ed’s back. It seems that he needs medical care right now, but now he seems to want to be alone.

Still, I was in a state of worry to leave it unattended, so I was thinking about it for a while… I suddenly felt uncomfortable.

“Come to think of it… you finally let go.”

“Yes, you won.”

“I’m glad you understand. However, you’ve had a change of heart…”

“Hey, Bell.”

Ed lowered his head and called Bell’s name in a low voice.

Through the journey of this vacation, I feel like I have finally tasted the life of a human named Ed Rosteeler.

< Failed Swordsman of Sylvania > Act 1, Scene 1. It is the life of a third-class villain who is the first to leave.

The moment when the whole journey began… I vaguely remembered the image of the senior maid who must have stopped Ed Rosteyler when he discovered the scene where he was about to end his life, so he spoke in a low voice.

“You’re a better guy than I thought.”

“…”

“I am grateful in many ways.”

At his sudden words, Bell tilted her head for a moment… and then slowly lowered her head and spoke.

“It’s too much praise.”

After Bell said that, he left the camp quietly, leaving him in front of the campfire.

He suddenly turned around and saw that he was resting in front of a soft bonfire in a dark forest.

I’ll have to check his physical condition from tomorrow, but I think I’ll have to let him feel the scent of the camp alone for one night.

The chief maid of Ophelis Hall is always good at handling work. It must be a necessary virtue to read even the inner thoughts of my employer and let them go as they please.

So Ed Rosteyler sat for a while on one side of the camp watching the campfire.

There was a lot of work left to do, but I needed some time to forget about everything and rest.

A quiet summer night deepens. The moonlight of the shimmering crescent moon seeped through the forest.

The long summer vacation was slowly coming to an end.