How to Survive at the Academy Chapter 174

Before recapturing Elte Company (3)

Because the wagon is large, there is almost no shaking.

Inside, there is a sofa filled with soft cotton, and there is even a wooden table with an antique design in the center.

From the lace decorations hanging down from the ceiling and the golden patterns magnificently decorated on the walls… In a carriage like this that it is difficult for ordinary people to ride even once in their lifetime, Princess Fenia and Lucy Meiril were sitting facing each other.

Lucy was lying face down on the table, her arms hanging wide. She was languidly looking at the outside scenery, and Princess Fenia was staring at Lucy like that.

While attending Sylvania Academy, he heard rumors about Lucy Meiril and her evaluation.

As a child, he lived as a genius buried in the fields of the Rameln Mountains. He is a talented person whose skills began to be revealed to the world only after he came to Archen Island and entered the Sylvania Academy.

During this vacation, the members of the imperial family suffered hardships as the royal family played games with excitement.

If it weren’t for the hero who single-handedly destroyed the evil god Mebula, he would have been imprisoned in the dungeon. However, his achievements and his skills were so enormous that he couldn’t be treated carelessly… He was a bad boy who couldn’t use his hands.

“…I’m hungry.”

Thinking of the terrible days in the imperial family, Princess Penia was about to sigh.

Whether or not Lucy knows Fenia’s state of mind, she only cries out in hunger with blank eyes.

“There was no reason to make such a fuss, Lucy Meiril. If I had just spoken politely, I might have been able to convince you.”

“I won’t listen to you even if you say it, so I’ll listen to it because it’s my words.”

Lucy’s ambition to casually let go of the country’s princess makes the surrounding servants swallow dry saliva.

However, Lucy herself continued talking with a nonchalant face.

“I’m not good at solving verbal problems.”

That is a truly terrifying statement.

Princess Penia sighed deeply and did not answer further. I just stared at the window opposite her and saw the soldiers escorting Princess Penia on her way home.

“…”

How long until we reach Aken Island? For Princess Fenia, who doesn’t have much of a sense of distance, this return journey feels like an indefinite wait.

Anyway, since Lucy caused a stir in the imperial family, it feels like the attention of the people in the imperial family has been drawn to Ed Roth Taylor, whom Lucy openly advocates.

His position as the surviving heir of the Roth Taylor family is unusual, but even the hero of the country savior tries to defend him with all his energy… It makes me curious about his identity and background.

Feeling that Selahana Persica’s gaze was also becoming very strange, Princess Penia became even more worried.

“Hmm…”

Suddenly, looking out the window, I felt a strange sense of incongruity. It’s the same way home as usual, but there’s nothing strange about it.

The faces of the soldiers are also familiar. The appearance of the escorts advancing while guarding the sides of the wagon neatly lined up is the same as I have seen since I was a child.

But… it’s a bit big.

“There were more escorts on the way home than I thought… It’s not like there was an incident like that.”

The Ross Taylor family affair was a great disaster, but it is a story that has already been concluded to some extent. There is only a little post-processing left.

Protocol is important, but wasting the imperial escort manpower is not a very good thing. Shouldn’t I have instructed you that it would be okay to organize an escort in a more simple way from now on?

With that thought in mind, Princess Fenia looked up at the blue sky from inside the carriage.

Only the occasional sound of Lucy talking in her sleep echoed inside.

*When I woke up, the first thing I felt was the pressure around my wrist.

In his hazy consciousness, Lortel recalled the last memory. This is Dune, ignoring her Lortel’s instructions and glaring at her with her eyes wide open.

I don’t remember anything after that.

Was it attacked, was it unconscious due to magic, or did it fall asleep from exhaustion?

There is not even a basis for judgment. It was handled so cleanly and clearly.

However, before long, I realized when a strong pain came up from the back of my head.

The reason Dune kept his eyes wide open, ignoring Lortel’s words, was that he was waiting for the move of the infiltrator to attack Lortel while he was looking away.

The place hasn’t changed. This is Lortel’s private office.

As Lortel is relatively safe, it is the best place to attack.

Lortel judged the situation in an instant as soon as her eyesight returned.

body is not free Both hands are tied behind the back of the chair.

The fragrance that lingers at the tip of the nose is that of night butterfly flower scented candle. It is famous as a means to temporarily subdue wizards by twisting the flow of magical power.

However, it is expensive enough to be the size of a fingernail and worth a dozen gold coins, and it is not easy to obtain it, and it is difficult to get the effect if you have to smell the scented candle for a long time.

If you buy something like this and heat it up, you know that it was planned for quite some time.

“You’re doing something out of place, Dune.”

Lortel looked across the table in a low voice.

A man with his head bowed in an audience chair. The generously sized beret, slender impression, silk red wool vest, white shirt, and leather pants… Even just looking at it, he was a merchant himself.

“While I was concentrating on my all-deck work, I put on a fun stage.”

“I’m sorry for arresting you. I don’t have good stage manners.”

“Anyway, the assistant manager of Hoizhou is a very busy position. Management of the company, inventory check, personnel management, book management, sales, disputes over rights, and even the bottom line.”

Although it was an immediate situation for anyone to see, Lortel continued speaking in a relaxed tone.

“So… are you on the side of the dune too, Rienna?”

At the back of the dune stood a girl who hesitated.

Lortel’s assistant, Lienna Clemson, was even seen. Standing behind the dune, holding a bunch of paperwork, as if hiding… It was the same as he had always been timid.

“It’s not a rational decision.”

“Well, you’ll have to see that.”

Dune is looking at the floor with his feet slightly apart and his elbows resting on his knees.

Lortel also frowned at her appearance, which was quite different from her usual shy appearance.

Knowing how to look frivolous is also a quality of a merchant. At least Dune was born with such a talent.

However, what he usually looks like… It is difficult to know unless he is an employee of the store.

“You’ve been in Sylvania for a long time with beautiful scenery and overflowing with romance… You seem to have lost a lot of venom.”

Despite the circumstances, Dune continued to treat Lortel with respect. He was that kind of person in the first place.

“Or maybe the situation on the Old Deck side was too urgent… You trusted me too easily.”

“You believe? Me, you?”

Lortel said with a puzzled face.

“I don’t trust anyone. I wonder if it’s different with you.”

“…”

“I’ve been with you for quite some time… I wonder if I didn’t know that you were dark inside? Why, I took a few pennies from the ledger and bought some alcohol and luxury items… Now I look like a stick?”

– Koo Goong, Kung.

While Lortel was talking, busy sounds came from all over the store. Although there are only a few days left before school starts, it is still vacation. Anyway, it’s still low season.

Still, looking at the busy atmosphere of the store, Lortel could easily infer what was so busy.

“Do you think the evidence of your embezzlement will remain in this company?

“…”

“I told you, I don’t trust anyone.”

Dune, who had been listening quietly, skimmed the wooden floor with his leather shoes and then answered.

“Well, I ordered them to search inside the store as much as possible… but I didn’t think I would find the evidence either. There’s no need to do that in the first place.”

“what?”

“What’s the point of talking about each phrase? However, it would be better for you to come down from the position of Hoeju’s assistant manager.”

Lortel tried hard to hide her strange feelings. There was nothing good about being shallow here.

However, Dune also hides his true feelings as much as possible.

Why the hell did he suddenly betray Lortel, what did he believe in, and specifically how he would drive Lortel into a corner?

It doesn’t reveal even the smallest clues. Because Dune knows what a clever fox Lortel is.

Snatching even the slightest piece of evidence will quickly deduce the whole picture.

So it shouldn’t give you any clues. Before you notice something strange, you have to bind it and lock it up.

Dune thought so, but he was already able to infer the minimum information from this situation.

‘There is something behind him.’

Lortel thought to herself.

Lortel, who does not trust people, treats people based on the premise of ‘mutual benefit’.

No matter what anyone says, to follow Lortel, who has the most power in Elte Corporation, is to join Lortel only because it is to his advantage.

It is only when there is something to be gained from each other that trust can stand.

Since Dune deeply understood that fact, there was no reason to betray Lortel at all.

However, the reason why he attacked Lortel without warning… must have been due to some change in his external background.

Not only that, but the unconventional move of catching Lortel and tying it up.

This… proves that time is on Dune’s side.

Some kind of certainty that if he caught Lortel in some way and made it impossible for him to do anything, Lortel would naturally be kicked out of the position of assistant manager.

A situation where external measures have been taken and are waiting for them to work. Until then, Lortel was bound in order to eliminate all variables.

Lortel inferred this far in an instant. It was the flow of thoughts that occurred in that brief moment when he gently closed and opened his eyes.

The first thing you need to do is break the chains and escape. While Lortel was away from the Chamber of Commerce, it is necessary to determine what changes have occurred in Aken Island, centering on Dune.

“It’s self-inflicted, Dune. I’m leaving right now, so you don’t think anyone will feel uncomfortable?”

“You don’t have to worry about attendance at the bachelor’s side. The same goes for the staff inside the company. I’ve written all the numbers, so don’t think nonsense. It’s not good for either of us to make things complicated.”

“Well, from my point of view, I think it’s better to complicate things.”

“Well, considering the difference in position, that’s the case.”

Dune kept his head up as he spoke. She was barely noticed in her usual frivolous appearance.

“I have taken measures to prevent such a thing from happening. Everyone around Lortel’s deputy head joined me, or I wrote a plan so that I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable even if the head of the head was gone.”

“It looks like a plan that has been prepared for quite a long time.”

“I’ll leave it to your imagination.”

Lortel strained her arm to gently bend it, but the tight rope showed no signs of breaking.

She looked around for something to sever the rope with a sidelong glance, but still nothing caught her eye.

“Didn’t you say that you don’t trust anyone anyway? Is there anyone who would risk their lives to come and save us? We don’t want to harm the deputy manager Lortel Hoju any more. How about sitting quietly and then quietly retiring?”

“Pretending to be gentle. Being an equally despicable traitor.”

“It’s strange to hear the story directly from Assistant Manager Hoeju.”

It was Lortel, who had already beaten Elte and sat in the chair of Hoeju.

There is no way that she, who has been branded as a traitor, can be justified by swearing at Dune.

He is a person who has already fallen into the bridle of betrayal. Not knowing that fact, Lortel let out an empty laugh.

“You’re not losing your composure.”

“You’re asking for that. That’s why you’re more calm. Originally, merchants are all twisted, so there’s no law to do what the other person wants.”

“Well, it seems to me that there is a corner to believe in.”

Lortel never loses her sanity even in extreme situations like this.

The one who maintains reason and makes rational judgments in any situation is Lortel Kecheln.

Since Dune has been the closest assistant to Lortel, he never misses that fact.

Lortel is a snarl herself, sharper than the old foxes of Oldek.

It is not enough to prepare for days or months to trick her. It took a few years to sharpen the blade of betrayal, and it was barely enough to inflict even a scratch on it.

The first thing to do is to break her iron-like reason.

Her mentality, which always maintains her composure and never wavers in any crisis, is the number one contributor to her position as a colossus. If I don’t solve that part first… I can never get the upper hand in the confrontation with Lortel.

That’s why Dune analyzes the character Lortel more coolly than anyone else.

Find the human heart remaining in Lortel, who is like a demon who sold her soul for gold coins. There is only room for digging.

“The deputy head of Lortel said he didn’t trust anyone.”

Dune continued to speak quietly.

“It wasn’t like that.”

“…what?”

“Rienna.”

When Dune called Lienna’s secretary’s name softly, Rienna took a piece of paper from the stack of papers in her arms.

Looking at the form, it is a contract agreement. There weren’t many items, but the shape was made in a plausible way.

Lienna, who had placed the agreement on Lortel’s office table, stood at a distance again and went back to the back of the dune.

“This…?”

“Ed Roth Taylor.”

As the name came up on Dune’s lips, Lortel’s eyes quivered slightly.

“Did you think he wouldn’t join us?”

“what…?”

Dune is a human with a gift for negotiation and compromise.

Between all kinds of interests, we judge what the other person really wants and create a win-win structure for each other.

I know it well because I am a human being who has done this hundreds of times.

Negotiation and compromise begin with knowing the other party.

The character of Ed Rosteeler is not one to be easily placated.

He is straight-minded, firm in his thoughts, somewhat transcended in understanding and calculating… and possesses physical strength.

Since he had a good rapport with Lortel, it would be difficult to persuade him to betray him.

However, in the end, negotiation and compromise depend on what the other party wants.

Lortel Kecheln glanced at the papers that Lienna’s secretary handed her. His hands were shaking slightly.

– The following is agreed on the inside information transaction and establishment of a cooperative relationship between Dune Greggs and Ed Rosteyler, who are in charge of Elte Trading.

1. Ed Rosteiler cooperates with all requests for information sharing from Dune Greggs, the whistleblower, regarding the whistleblowing of Lortel Kecheln, the current acting head of Elte Corporation.

2. Dune Greggs, the current representative of Elte Corporation, guarantees full support for Ed Rosteiler’s tuition, living expenses, and other miscellaneous expenses until he graduates from Sylvania.

3. Also, meet Ed Rosteyler’s ‘early graduation’ requirement, and actively support him with all necessary funds and preparations for his early graduation.

4. Dune Gregx, current representative of Elte Corporation, actively supports Ed Roth Taylor’s settlement funds and necessary facilities after graduation.

5. Ed Rosteiler officially becomes an employee of Elte Corporation and maintains this status for at least 5 years after graduation.

6. Ed Rosteiler must always attend dinners, meetings, and talks with friendly forces and influential people on the side of Elte Corporation, and must maintain friendly relations with them.

It is a document that clearly describes the relationship between Dune and Ed.

Lortel’s pupils trembled for a moment, but quickly regained her composure. And he quickly analyzed the items in an instant.

Dune Greg has the ability to analyze people.

I thoroughly analyzed the character of Ed Rosteiler, gathered information, and derived what he really wanted.

Ed Rosteiler’s primary concern is graduation and growth.

As if he was attaching great meaning to graduation, he was thinking of everything around graduation.

It feels as if graduating from Sylvania is going to become a big focal point in his life.

To offer him ‘eligibility for early graduation’… Ed would have had a hard time refusing.

In addition, all necessary funds and settlement funds after graduation are supported. Actually, the money issue is not that important. Even Lortel was willing to provide that much support.

The question is, how does Elte Co.’s representative guarantee something like early graduation?

It is the Sylvania Bachelor who determines whether a student will graduate. I am not a full-fledged representative of Elte Corporation.

‘Is the Sylvania bachelor the infiltrator…?’

That’s a strange thing too. Principal of the Sylvania Academy, Obel Forcius, is not the kind of person who would benefit from negotiations like this.

In the first place, the relationship between Elte Firm and the Sylvania Bachelor wasn’t that good, and even if they somehow managed to arrange negotiations… It would be too dangerous to turn Lortel into an enemy just because they sided with the Bachelor.

In addition, the items of this negotiation plan… are too obsessed with the individual Ed Roth Taylor.

Dune Greggs and Ed Rosteyler have no contact whatsoever.

There was no reason to tie Ed to Elte Co. for five years after graduation, nor to make him a friendly force. Dune’s number one goal is money, not power.

‘Suspicious…’

After reading that far, Lortel smiled leisurely.

“It’s a far-fetched deal. Do you think there’s anyone in the world who would sign something like this?”

“It’s already been negotiated.”

“….what?”

Dune said nothing more, just stared at Lortel.

Lortel Kecheln shows a puzzled look. I don’t even need to explain how much meaning it has.

She is the one who kept her composure even when the whole school was destroyed.

Although he was not one to be shaken by such a variable, Lortel’s vision was greatly shaken.

Eventually, as I slowly turned over the negotiation proposal to the next page, I saw a large sign with Ed’s signature on it.

I forgot to breathe for a moment.

Occasionally, the words of Elte Kecheln, which appear in dreams, spread faintly down the spine.

If you sat there because of betrayal, you will end up with betrayal.

When you lose everything and fall to the ground, do you think there will be someone who will reach out to you?

Those words lingered in my ears, driving a dagger into my cold chest.

“It’s pretty plausible.”

It is a forged document.

I had a hard time coming to that conclusion.

“He is now in the building of Elte Corporation.”

Dune answered casually.

Dune’s reaction left Lortel speechless for a moment.

How to continue the topic here, my head gets dizzy for a while, and the flow of thoughts is cut off.

Lortel, who has lost her composure, is hard to see. On the commercial front, she is always a rational and rational fox herself.

However, the feeling of losing his mind just by focusing his eyes… Lortel had to bite her molars tightly.

– Kiki

At that time, the person who opened the door and came in was Ed Roth Taylor.

The tall-looking blonde aristocrat walked quietly into the office and handed over some papers from Rienna’s secretary.

It was the employee manual of Elte Corporation and several labor contracts.

“Ed… senior…?”

There is no slight movement on the face.

Ed Rosteeler, looking at Lortel… was expressionless, as always.

He was wearing a small cloak. On the outside of the light brown cloak, there was a picture of a small scale that symbolizes the employees of Elte Firm.

He had already become an employee of Elte Corporation.

Maintaining composure in any situation and observing the situation.

Breaking down the reason of Lortel, who is horribly cold-hearted, is really not easy.

However, the image of Ed Rosteylor standing behind the dune and accepting the documents casually comes into Lortel’s field of vision.

He looks at Lortel with a sad face while talking.

“That’s it.”

A nightmare in which Elte Kecheln curses at Lortel while twisting her face at a bizarre angle.

The dream that comes to mind whenever you forget it is imprinted in Lortel’s mind.

When you end up on the floor, there is no one to hold your hand in the end.

The curse-like words… continued to flood into my ears.

*- ‘Once you go back to the dormitory, do as I say.’

After talking with the secretary of the Elte Company, who came unexpectedly, Ed Rosteyler sent Ayla back to the dorm.

“It’s so sudden, I don’t know what it is…”

Lorail Hall, an honor student dormitory.

Ayla crossed the hallway, which was neatly cleaned in her own way, and in Ayla’s hand, there were simple writing utensils and paper.

Even though she took a lot of notes in class, it had been a long time since she had written a letter, and Ayla felt somewhat strange.

“Hmm…”

The conversation between Elte and Ed Rosteiler was unusual, but there was much more that Ayla couldn’t understand.

– ‘…’

– ‘Senior Ed, what are you so worried about?’

However, after the conversation with Elte Co., the image of Ed Roth Taylor sitting quietly at the cafe table, stroking his chin and lost in thought, was strongly etched in his mind.

– ‘The situation is under investigation.’

It was the first time seeing Ed’s serious side again, so Ayla was a bit embarrassed.