Episode 108. Visit (2)
The weekend, two days before the first class starts.
The dorms tend to be more lively on weekends than weekdays, but this day was a little different.
Perhaps conscious of the first class, most students chose to stay in the Matap district and spend their time quietly. Rhapsody Hall seemed to have added a sense of tension and gloom.
However, this story only applies to the Rhapsody Hall.
The Poniack carrying the current students arrived at Capotini Port yesterday. The upperclassmen used another dormitory, Humming Hall, and as they came in one by one, the school was filled with energy.
The quiet and gloomy Rhapsody Hall and the leisurely and noisy Humming Hall.
The upperclassmen seemed to be trying to provoke the freshmen. Judging from the fact that they were taking up the benches in the Rhapsody Hall instead of the Humming Hall and making a lot of noise, it was impossible to rule out that they had such intentions.
“Ha… Those seniors really annoy me. I think I could win even if I used magic.”
Oscar’s voice came to Rubin’s ear. Looking up at the transparent ceiling, Oscar was looking out the window, showing a look of annoyance.
It wasn’t presumptuous. Even though the senior cadets had learned magic a few years earlier, that didn’t guarantee that they would reach the realm of mana.
Whether you are a wizard or a warrior, talent is more important than experience or knowledge. In that sense, there were many talented students among this year’s freshmen who could easily beat the upperclassmen.
“Luden, would you like to play with your seniors?”
Oscar laughs sinisterly. He recalls the incident on his first day in the dormitory where he showed off his incredible mana by ‘removing the restraints’.
“Oscar. You didn’t forget that we have penalty points, did you?”
“Ah… that’s right.”
Even problems involving students from other grades were treated seriously, so the penalty level was high.
“You’ll have plenty of opportunities to compete against other grades anyway. Until then, just remember what bothers you.”
“Really? I really need to remember that. But you… where are you going?”
“Didn’t I tell you? I’m going out for dinner tonight.”
“If it’s tonight…!”
It was the dinner that Chloe had invited me to.
Oscar waved his hand with a strange expression, seeming to be both envious and afraid of this situation.
“Have a safe trip. Don’t die.”
Rubin also waved and left the dorm room.
First, I went to the lakeside and got on the gondola. In order to leave the Matap district, I had to cross the lake and go out to the outskirts through the city’s waterways.
At that time, while driving the gondola,
A seagull jumped out from between the buildings, flapped its wings, and landed on the stern of the gondola.
The seagull turned its head repeatedly to look around carefully. Then it opened its beak and made a human-like sound.
“Rubin! Me?”
“Tina… … .”
“Should I slowly transform into a cat?”
Today’s dinner brings together the people who made their connections on the Blue Cat. The one who was really looking forward to this dinner was not Rubin or Kuze, but Tina.
What bothered her the most while living in the dorm with Rubin was none other than the meager diet.
“Rubin, did I tell you? Even now, I dream of the food that Celesne cooked for me? That was the only time I had fun turning into a cat.”
“… … .”
“Why are you looking at me like that? As if you’re trying to tell me I can’t go with you.”
“I was going to tell you anyway… I hope Chloe rests in peace.”
“what?”
“During the Philimond incident, I said that the cat I raised had passed away.”
“Huh? Then you can just say you’ve brought in a new family member. Something like a dog or a rat. A hedgehog would be fine too. I’ll transform you into anything.”
“I was so shocked at that time that I already said I wouldn’t raise anything after that.”
“… What? Hey, you’re lying? You wouldn’t really say that. Oh, could it be that Kuze…? Is that Kuze?”
Rubin neither confirmed nor denied, but simply shrugged his shoulders. Tina, furious, banged her beak on the gondola.
“Anyway, this Roynenser bastard! Is he taking out his anger on me for being dumped by Celesne?”
“You were the one who confessed to Celestia.”
“Oh, really? It’s a bit hazy. Anyway, you don’t know how much I suffer in the dormitory eating poorly while taking care of little Roinen, and you’re turning me into a dead cat?”
Tina’s anger reached its peak as she was filled with the thought of slowly eating the Holy Communion in Chloe’s arms.
Rubin’s gondola had already arrived at its destination. At this point, Tina had to go back as well.
“I won’t forgive you!”
A seagull flapping its wings and flying far away.
The gondola stopped at a ferry outside Capotini. Behind the ferry, a dense forest stretched out, and there was a quiet forest path leading to the mayor’s villa.
However, there were four other gondolas in Naru besides Rubin’s gondola.
‘Who else is there?’
I felt an instinctive sense of caution. In fact, Rubin had already spread his shadow wide even before I felt that alert. That was because it was an instinct that was faster than emotion.
So I felt a few men running towards me from beyond. As I focused more on the darkness, I could see the exact number of people: ten. There were also three golems following them as if they were chasing them.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
As we walked along the forest path, we soon encountered them. The fugitives had flushed faces and looked bewildered. They were all students of the magic school.
Judging by the color of the key bugs that landed on their shoulders, they were from upperclassmen.
“Haa, haa, hey, you… are you a freshman? If you go over there, you’ll die.”
The seniors leaned forward and gasped as they faced Rubin. They waved their hands.
“You must have come here because you were brave, but we almost got killed by the golems just now, so go back. They weren’t trying to scare us, they were actually trying to kill us!”
“… … .”
“Hey, are you a little punk? What are you?”
“What the heck, you must be a slacker who came to see the imperial nobility. Anyway, that’s how you say goodbye to life.”
“Guys… Let’s get out of here first. There are golems coming.”
I can guess what the situation is. The upperclassmen who returned to the dormitory before the start of the new semester were acting out of control.
In fact, the city of Capotini did not keep the building provided to the Witherspoon family a secret. Since it was an exchange between magic schools, everything was done officially.
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‘That means this area is temporarily designated as an imperial territory.’
That was the privilege of the imperial nobility. They were not subject to any restrictions from the kingdom to which the Capotini belonged.
This also meant that within the direct territory, any magic students who were abusive could be killed without mercy.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Before he knew it, the Golem giant was approaching Rubin. The seniors who had run away quickly were already divided into three gondolas.
The upperclassmen now felt like they were about to witness the freshmen die a horrible death at the hands of a golem.
“uh?”
But that didn’t happen. The three golems passed Rubin and lined up about two meters away from Naru. It seemed like there was a price to pay if they went any further.
“What, what is that? That guy?”
“Why don’t the golems attack?”
Rubin looked back at the senior cadets with indifferent eyes. Ignoring their expressions as if they had no idea what was going on, he walked back down the forest path.
‘Is that it?’
After a while, two people appeared walking out of the mansion on the other side of the forest path. It was Kuze and Celesne who had arrived first and were waiting.
“master!”
“Master Luden!”
Rubin walked towards the two of them and looked around.
It wasn’t just the golems that kicked out the seniors. Imperial guards were seen everywhere, and there were also soldiers operated by the Witherspoon family themselves. It was a truly ironclad security system that even the lesser children couldn’t approach.
* * *
Dinner went by in a comfortable atmosphere. The main story was about what had happened to Rubin over the past two years. Since the setting that Kuze had arranged was elaborate, there was no particular problem.
“Let’s move on to tea time,” Chloe asked with bright eyes.
“Luden! Who do you think would be the captain of the Blue Cat?”
Chloe looked different than when I saw her at the entrance ceremony. Even if you set aside her status as an imperial noble, she seemed mature enough to make you forget that she was thirteen years old.
The liveliness of the Blue Cat era was still the same.
“Did Cozy win?”
“Ding! Warak won. After Warak became captain, A-Keuk enlisted in the Imperial Brigade.”
It was exciting news for Chloe, but it meant something different to Rubin.
If the Giants Brigade was to be deployed in the war against Telmah, it would mean that they would have to face the Acolytes as enemies. Rubin vowed that he would definitely take action someday.
“Luden, that time. In Philimond… … .”
The conversation, which had been filled with stories about the Blue Cat, naturally turned to Philimond. Then, Chloe’s characteristically cheerful atmosphere died down.
‘You said you felt guilty for a while because you thought I was dead.’
Guilt. I remembered what Kuze had said before.
“After I parted ways with you in Philimond, I went to see the Attorney General… no, Amret.”
Chloe changed her address, perhaps worried that she might be calling him a traitor. Rubin asked calmly.
“really?”
“Yes, imperial nobles must have an audience with the royal family when they go to a city.”
“however?”
“But then I realized I had made a mistake.”
“A mistake?”
“I’ve been close to Grandpa Amret since I was little, because he’s a fellow wizard and he’s also someone who became a great wizard through telekinesis. So… I was just telling him about what happened on the Blue Cat… … .”
If we’re talking about the Blue Cat, there must have been a story about Luden as well.
“Then I told you about my friend who was on the boat with me, and also about how I corrected your mana. But at that moment… Grandpa Amret’s expression… … .”
“Expression?”
“…it was serious.”
That was understandable.
It would be hard to believe that an assassin, and the youngest son of the head of the Assassin’s Blade family, Siren, possessed ‘Mana’.
Of course, Chloe couldn’t have known why Amret’s expression had become so serious, but Rubin knew the gravity of it.
‘It’s no different from something that went against providence.’
It is impossible for mana to mix with a ring filled with darkness. It is like the sky and the sea being switched.
“Here, let me add.”
Celesne, who had been watching the conversation between the two, spoke cautiously.
“The marriage of the five imperial nobles is a major concern for the royal family. They are seen as potential royal families with a high possibility of marrying into the royal family. Although the young lady is still young, Amret has always declared that he will personally choose a groom for her whenever they meet.”
So, they thought that Amret had killed Rubin. Because he, a third-class noble, dared to flirt with the young lady of the imperial nobility.
‘It worked out in the end. It wasn’t because of Chloe, but because Amret really was trying to kill me.’
Rubin looked at Chloe and Celestia with a relieved expression.
“It was all a misunderstanding anyway. No one died.”
“That’s true, but I still can’t accept it. I went to Philimond myself and even checked the death certificate.”
If it had been possible, Celesne would have even checked the body. But even if she had, she would not have been able to reveal that Rubin’s death was staged.
Even Witherspoon can’t escape the Emperor’s shadow.
The Assassin Sword Family is a shadow that will never be revealed to the world until the Emperor himself casts it out.
“… … .”
Rubin met Kuze’s eyes. He had spent enough time with him, so it was time to get up. He changed the subject to something lighter.
“Chloe, are you okay?”
“what?”
“Your first class starts next week. Aren’t you nervous?”
Then Chloe’s eyes lit up. As if this was the topic of conversation she had been waiting for. Rubin felt a little embarrassed.
“Honestly, I’m… really looking forward to it! As far as I know, Capotini’s education is different from other magic schools in many ways. Even if you compare it to Americmana, the age of admission is very different. You can enroll in Americmana from the age of six. So… … .”
Chloe’s words didn’t stop for a moment. Kuze, who met her eyes again, shrugged. It seemed like her return home would be later than expected.
After leaving Chloe’s mansion.
Rubin and Kuze chatted for a moment before boarding their respective gondolas.
“There was no Tunio family in that village. No one knew the name.”
As expected, it was as expected.
Oscar’s identity was a disguise. Perhaps there was a hidden name behind it, Per Lorenzini.
“Kuje. Give me this.”
Rubin handed Kuze a piece of paper and then climbed into his gondola.
“Where is the nearest warehouse to Capotini?”
“This is Bayanegro.”
“Then, get me what’s written there through that side. I guess the name should be assassin training?”
“Yes. But if you need anything, it would be easier to use the nearby Assassin’s annex rather than Bayanegro.”
“That’s because you won’t be able to find it in most of the annex buildings.”
“yes?”
Only then did Kuze bow his head and read the paper Rubin had handed him. The items Rubin had requested were quite numerous, more than five lines long, even though they were written in great detail.
Kuze, who initially thought that there were too many and it would be difficult to obtain them, soon realized that there was a real problem.
“Your Majesty, why on earth is this…?”
As far as Kuze knew, there was only one result that could be created with these materials. It was so dangerous that it was taboo even among assassins.
But Kuze’s real question was something else.
“No, but how do you know this?”
