How to Survive at the Academy Chapter 263

[Abduction] Double arm scales (4)

There wasn’t much free time.

Merchants’ intelligence and intelligence were at a level that could not be underestimated, so it would take an instant for the fact that Lortel was insane to spread like this.

It is understandable why Lienna, the senior secretary, was so concerned about information security.

Not only that, but in this case, the enemy is on the inside. You should be most wary of Slog Keldrux, a fellow merchant of Elte Firm, who ate a pot of rice.

As someone belonging to the same trade association, the moment he sensed something suspicious in Lortel’s movements, he would immediately smell it.

– ‘Still, Assistant Manager Hoeju used to go to the Roth Taylor mansion once for no reason. I want to see Ed’s face. So, he wouldn’t look suspicious even if he suddenly went to the Duke of Ross Taylor.’

First of all, since Lortel’s condition is not normal, it is urgent to hide it.

If the fact that Lortel has become like this is revealed, it is unknown what changes will occur in the power structure within Elte Firm.

– ‘A place where the Lortel Hoeju deputy can go without raising any doubts. Even so, a place with the strength and power to protect the deputy Lord Lortel.’

In fact, there is only the Duke of Roth Taylor. Rienna’s judgment was wise.

“…”

– Rumble, rattle.

As a result, Lortel and I were sitting facing each other in the carriage heading to the Ross Taylor mansion.

Right now, until Lortel recovers, Rienna says she will try to gloss over her absence. No matter what he did, he was a competent henchman.

“…stir…”

The mistress, who always had an alluring smile and seemed to see through the other person, was looking at me with pure eyes of the world.

Her body swayed back and forth, driven by the vibrations of the rattling carriage. He was holding something like an old, worn-out ledger notebook tightly in his arms. It is very strange to see him holding it as if it were a treasure.

“Hey, where am I going? Lee, what about Rienna? Hey, can’t you see Rienna now…?”

The image of her crying while holding an old notebook tightly is a terrified image. I was momentarily breathless in that gap that had completely changed my usual appearance.

“Rienna… she said she would compliment you if you were nice and still… she said she would take you to the beach together…”

The sniffling look baffles me. I decided to take a deep breath and calm down.

“You really… don’t remember anything…?”

Lortel buried her face in her notebook, revealing only the swollen eyes, then nodded. She sighed, but kept her composure as much as possible.

“Then… can you explain what happened at the abandoned inn as you remember?”

“Yes, yes… Actually, there aren’t many…”

It’s still a little awkward, but it’s not unusual to see him hesitating.

“When I came to my senses… I was lying in an overturned wagon… I was very scared, but Rienna came and calmed me down. And since everything is fine, wait here. If you stay still, someone will come to rescue you…”

I don’t seem to have a good memory of myself.

I opened the document Rienna gave me and read it with my eyes. There was a specific situation about the situation at the time, but if I summarized the key points, it would be like this.

Elte Chamber of Commerce central branch meeting to check overall maintenance of Chamber of Commerce. The simple story of being attacked while riding in a carriage to attend.

On the way back to Old Deck after going out for work, on the road along a remote valley, the carriage was hit directly by the curse magic.

Fortunately, secretary Rienna, who quickly heard the news, went to rescue Lortel, and the story ends with this appearance.

“…”

I rubbed my chin as I read the letter and wrinkled my brow.

There are not one or two things that are unnatural. That Lortel had allowed the raid so easily, and that the prudent slog had resorted to such violent means. In addition, he dared to use curse-type magic… to the point of using an ambiguous method.

If he had wanted to ambush and neutralize Lortel, he would have either tied him up and locked him up somewhere, or planned a more extreme assassination.

Of course, that risk would not be common, but at least it would be more certain than neutralizing it with such an obscure curse magic.

I hadn’t properly met the merchant Slog Keldrux yet, but I had heard of his tendencies.

I’ve heard that even Lortel is a vigilant human being, so this situation itself is not well accepted.

“…As you may have heard, you are the leader who is in charge of the entire large trading company.”

“Yes, yes… I know that…”

“Did Rienna tell you?”

“Yes, there is that too… but here… everything is written…”

The ledger notebook that I was holding tight as if it were a precious treasure. When I asked what it was, it must have been a work notebook he had put together before he lost his memory.

The current Lortel read the journal and chewed the cud on what kind of person she was in the past.

How did you work, how did you rule people, how did you earn money, how did you live?

Could it be that the process of thinking was roughly written?

I thought it would be good to check it out, so I held out my hand and said.

“Can I look at the note for a moment?”

When he said that, Lortel was startled and hugged Knot tighter.

“Oh no!”

“No…?”

“I-I can’t… I can’t…”

Maybe you didn’t realize the seriousness of the situation?

“Lortel… you are such a precious body. Depending on how you are doing, the lives of many people stand at a crossroads. So, whatever the clues are, I have to check them all out.”

“I-I know… I know… Uh… But, even with that dizzy head, I know this for sure. This, the contents of this note should never be shown to Ed-sama… I can’t…”

Isn’t it a state where you don’t even have a proper memory?

Even so, Lortel held onto her till the end and never let go, as if unconsciously feeling that she had to cherish that notebook.

I thought about it for a while, but then I knew it and admitted it.

I don’t know what clues might be in the notebook, so I’ll have to check it out first, but it doesn’t have to be now.

Above all, I didn’t want to make Lortel, whose psychological state is unstable, more frightening. Anyway, after going to the Ross Taylor Mansion, you can check it anytime. Just because Lortel can’t hold a notebook 24 hours a day, it’s just a matter of ordering the attendant to bring it.

I silently looked at Lortel, then let out a sigh of resignation.

“Okay… Anyway, let’s go back to the mansion and talk more.”

Now is the right time to be considerate of Lortel’s condition. From Lortel’s point of view, she must have felt as if she had lost all her memories and was suddenly kidnapped by a wagon to a distant duchy.

“Anyway, I’m on your side, so know that. It would be a bit embarrassing if you suddenly asked me to believe in me, a first-timer with my vague memories, but…”

“Ah, no… I believe… It’s scary.”

It can be said that speaking clearly what needs to be said even while hesitating is the style of Lortel, no matter how much you go back to your childhood.

“I know that Master Ed is on my side. That… It’s a little different from what I imagined… The scary part doesn’t remain…”

“…Imagination?”

“Rice, it’s nothing… just… just… yes, yes.”

A look with lowered eyes and sweat dripping down.

I just nodded my head, thinking that there was no need to question him further.

*

“This… so it happened.”

The meals prepared by the chef of the mansion are quite delicious.

It was only natural that he directly scouted the person who worked in the imperial kitchen.

But still, Lortel, holding a fork in her hand and stuffing soufflé pancakes and vegetables into her mouth… was an unbelievable sight for anyone who knew her original personality.

Perhaps it was the same with Yenica, she couldn’t help but be astonished at Lortel.

“This…is this… Lortel…?”

Yenika was perplexed, but still looked at Lortel, who was sitting at one side of a large table and eating cheerfully.

As Yenika, who has not been on good terms with Lortel, she is at a loss as to how to deal with her.

“The merchants were competing for strength and then fell for a ruse and ended up like this?”

“okay. According to what I have learned, it is a cursed magic called ‘regression’. It’s not that high-ranking magic, but I heard that it’s not very practical because the conditions for using it are so difficult and the effect is limited.”

“I-I think I’ve heard of it in magic class. There are many magical materials to prepare, and I heard that it was a magic that was weeded out due to a lot of environmental requirements… Is there any reason to use such magic?”

“Well… what is certain is that right now Lortel is completely incapacitated. It’s not all about seeing and feeling the behavior, there’s almost no magical power that can be actually felt. It’s clear that he was hit directly by the curse.”

First of all, since it is curse magic, the effect is not permanent. The problem is that you never know when it will return to its original state.

“I haven’t heard the exact details. All I know is that I was hit in a carriage while on the move.”

“I see… Lortel has a lot of trouble too… I’ve heard a lot of stories about merchants fighting each other, but I didn’t expect it to end like this…”

“it is delicious!”

Lortel, who shouted that with the purest face in the world, spoke with her eyes lit.

It was hard to believe that this girl could make such an honest expression.

“You are so delicious! Happy… Ooh, ooh. Su, breath…”

“Hey, eat slowly…”

In front of Lortel, who was eating out of happiness, Yenika slipped a glass of cold water and carried it away.

Lortel, who was drinking water in a hurry, laughed widely with a puhaha sound.

“Thank you! sister!”

“…”

“Sister, you are very kind!”

bright smile.

Seeing the smiles that have always been as cunning as those of a serpentine overlap, I feel even more deeply how pure that smile is like a sheet of paper.

The gap is really scary.

As much as she knew what the usual Lortel looked like, now this innocent Lortel was even more fatal to Yenika.

Seeing her uneasy appearance, as if a small mammal was whining, Yenica turned her head around with a sound like “heh,” as if her unique protective instincts had been manifested.

“Ah…”

“…”

“I’m sorry… I, Baron… I was… very rude…”

“…”

“Lord, I don’t know the subject… Sin, I’m sorry…”

Feeling intimidated, Lortel put down her fork and lowered her head. Yenica watched, then grabbed her chest tightly as if she had been shot.

No matter what, Lortel’s appearance is pretty and cute. In particular, the intimidated face unique to a young child has the feeling of tickling a person’s heart.

Yenika gasped for breath and stood up slowly, holding Lortel’s hands and talking.

“Oh, no…”

And, for some reason, I want to talk while taking care of my trembling pupils…

“That, that… that, just… call me sister…”

Is that right, Jenika…

Really… is that right…

*

“Yeah, it looks like I got hit by curse magic. Above all, the magical energy itself has noticeably weakened, and there are clear traces of forced regression due to external factors.”

There are many people you can consult about magic, but first of all, there is an expert closest to you.

Currently, he cannot handle magic properly due to the recoil caused by Professor Glast’s use of the Phoenix Ring, but he is a person who can be compared to professors with relatively little knowledge.

When I asked where Lucy was, she was hanging out in the garden of the Ross Taylor mansion. He was harassed by the maids and managed to jump out and sit on a bench.

When he came to see his face after a long time, he didn’t noticeably brighten up, but he was still swaying his feet excitedly. I’m glad you’re still in good health.

“If you’re really under the ‘regression’ curse, the answer is to just wait until it’s lifted. I think it probably won’t take too long, but the problem is that I don’t know what the other person’s intentions are…”

“That is what I mean.”

If incapacitating Lortel was Slog’s ploy, then it was as he wished.

If so, it was clear that Lortel would do something about it now that she couldn’t take proper action.

“Rienna’s chief secretary said she would do something about it right away, but I don’t think Rienna can handle the old colossus that even Lortel is wary of…”

“Aren’t you supposed to step in yourself? It’s me… I can’t even use magic, so I can’t help you…”

“I don’t really ask for help. For now, you take good care of your body and work hard to restore your mana.”

“…”

Lucy grunted and looked across the garden.

Lortel, running around the lawn side by side with the pet dogs raised by the servants of the mansion, was just an innocent girl of that age.

Just like Jennica, Lucy broke out in a cold sweat at the scene full of disparate feelings.

“Seeing it in person is embarrassing.”

“So… do you know anything more about the ‘regression’ curse? Whether it’s a way to accelerate Haeju, or something like aftereffects…”

“Hmm… To be honest, it wasn’t that efficient magic. There are so many things to prepare, and there are a lot of conditions… You know those basic things well…”

Lucy yawned with a hum, then buried her head in my lap rubbing her eyes.

Then, waving his feet in the air, he said, there’s nothing you can do about it right now.

“The good thing is that with time everything will normalize. That merchant is also oddly kind. It feels like moving in a way that doesn’t impede your life subtly.”

“I also feel a strange sense of incongruity.”

“Anyway, once things get back to normal, all the memories will come back. It’s not like the memories I’ve experienced in the current state will disappear. So, no big deal, but…”

Moment… I heard words that I couldn’t take lightly.

In short, what Lortel is experiencing and talking about in her current state will be imprinted in Lortel’s memory after the curse is lifted.

The lively girl running around the garden with the servicemen’s pet dog, then jumping into Belle’s arms as if to be embraced…

If the memory returns, it will be a story that he remembers everything he did…

“Right now… you’re building a dark history…”

Lortel, who was running around smiling brightly, made eye contact with me and waved her arms to greet me.

He covered his face like that in the carriage, but at most he was smiling as if he hadn’t done it in half a day. The adaptability unique to children was evident.

Then he fell down on the lawn, and eventually got up with tears in his eyes…

Lortel…

You… come to your senses, what are you going to do…

My sister says, but I really… I don’t know…

“If I could get my memories back… if it were me, I would just want to die.”

Lucy’s unspoken feelings could not be refuted.

After that, time just passed. It was because there wasn’t much I could do in my position in the first place.

I was not in a position to go all the way to Old Deck and take the lead in dealing with the business, and even if I intervened unnaturally in the first place, there was a high possibility that I would be viewed as more suspicious.

For this reason, he decided to leave Oldeck’s work to Lienna’s secretary for now, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t nervous. When the work on this side was finished, it seemed necessary to visit the old deck one more time.

Still, the first priority was to protect Lortel well until she recovers, so I instructed Bell to take care of her as best as possible.

As a result, for a period of about five days, Lortel spent time running around the Ross Taylor mansion.

Sometimes they are found rolling around the garden rubbing their faces with the servants’ dogs, or taking a nap under a zelkova tree with Lucy…

It was sometimes seen that Yenica took her with her, bathed her, dressed her up, and even prepared meals for her.

He became close with the servants of the mansion in an instant… Even when he was running around the hallways, he always greeted them cheerfully.

At some point, she naturally blended into the mansion and became a mascot that always smiled hahaha with her innocent appearance.

“You know, Jenika unnie is such a nice person! When I grow up, I want to become a wonderful and beautiful person like Jenika!”

However, the occasional cold sweat… is due to the fact that the dark history Lortel is piling up is getting bigger and bigger than it can handle…

“Even Lucy! It is said that when mana was piled up, he faced the huge star spear dragon! I want to become such a wonderful and great wizard!”

Lortel…

Now… please… stop…

The shame you’ll have to deal with later… I don’t know why I should worry about it…

“Me! When I grow up… I want to be a princess! A princess who wears a nice dress and lives happily in the palace with the prince!”

please…

Please stop….

You really… how are you going to handle it…

*

It was around the end of the fifth day that the situation changed.

After receiving reports on the working conditions of the servants and once going around to inspect the mansion… Bell came to see me in a hurry.

From one side of the hallway, he took out a letter from his pocket and held it out to me with a serious expression.

“One of the distinguished guests to the Ross Taylor home has applied for permission to visit. She said she really wanted to meet Tanya, the owner of the Roth Taylor family, and Ed, the older brother.”

“who?”

Bell looked around, then lowered her voice and spoke.

“Slog Keldrlux.”

did you smell something

It was a story that the serpent, the current owner of the Elte Firm, would come to the Roth Taylor mansion himself.