Chapter 22 (1) - A Depressed Kendo Player Possesses a Bastard Aristocrat

Bonus chapter thanks to @Ko-fi Supporter for subscription to 'Blink' tier on Ko-fi.Time passed.

Finally, the day of the main quest arrived.

Dressed in a formal suit, I was heading to the special hall where the banquet was being held.

The rattling of the carriage erased the surrounding silence.

I stared blankly out the window, lost in thought.

“…”

The First Princess Assassination Attempt.

It was the episode that marked the beginning of the main storyline in the original novel, 'Sorrow-erasing heroes.'

The ‘Seekers,’ who had been quiet for the past year, would reappear,

and as their opening act, they would attack Reynolds Academy, aiming to eliminate the First Princess, the Second Princess, and the Saintess all at once.

In the original story, thanks to Allen’s efforts, the Saintess and Neria only suffered minor injuries.

However, Lucy lost her life on the spot.

From the moment of her death, the peaceful atmosphere of the story took a sharp turn into a tragedy.

The assassination of the Empire’s princess caused an uproar within and outside the Empire.

The Emperor, who deeply cherished his family, fell ill due to the death of his eldest daughter.

Having lost his sharp intellect and wisdom, he withdrew from politics, throwing the Empire into chaos.

The maids and knights who had been responsible for Lucy’s safety were all executed for failing to protect a member of the royal family.

Korn, the principal of the Academy, was held accountable for the incident and exiled from the Empire.

This weakened the Academy’s forces,

and later, it laid the groundwork for a more devastating attack on the Academy by the demons.

‘…In short, if I fail to prevent this assassination, the entire Empire will crumble.’

As the story turned darker, Allen would rise to the occasion and achieve great feats.

But wouldn’t it be better if such a tragedy never happened in the first place?

It wouldn’t be easy, but if I succeeded in this quest, future events would unfold more smoothly.

I began to review the details of the incident I remembered one by one.

‘First, the assassins will appear at exactly 9:00 PM.’

There was no specific entry route.

They would simply appear out of thin air. Sᴇaʀᴄh the NƟvelFɪre.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

You might think the Seekers had some kind of teleportation ability…

And you would be right.

The leader of the Seekers, like Raiden, was one of those blessed by space.

In other words, he was one of the five teleportation mages in the world.

‘As far as I know, there are currently three teleportation mages.’

First, Raiden.

Second, Allen’s supporter, who appears later in the story.

And lastly, the leader of the Seekers, the ‘Black Priest, Illios.’

Among the three, Illios boasted the longest teleportation range.

He could traverse distances from 500 meters to 6,000 meters.

Of course, as a trade-off for such a powerful ability, there was a limitation: after using it once, he couldn’t teleport again for three months.

However, compared to the advantage of being able to deploy terrorists anywhere on the continent, it was a minor handicap.

‘Then the key is… whether or not I can block the assassins’ first attack.’

Since I couldn’t predict the direction of the attack, it was an extremely disadvantageous situation for the defender,

but if I could overcome that hurdle, I could steer the situation according to my plan.

So, if necessary, I had to protect Lucy even if it meant taking the hit myself.

“…This is nerve-wracking.”

I took a deep breath to calm my pounding heart.

Emotions of unknown origin were bubbling up inside me.

Sadness, resentment, anger.

And a viscous, melting-killing intent.

It seemed that Raiden’s remnants still lingering in this body were affecting me.

‘Well, from Raiden’s point of view, the Seekers are the ones he wants to tear apart.’

They murdered his respected mother and pushed his life into the abyss.

As if that wasn’t enough, they were now trying to harm the lady he had once served.

“…What a persistent ill fate.”

If it weren’t for the Seekers, Raiden’s life could have been much happier.

But don’t be too sad.

I’ll save Lucy in your stead.

And I’ll get revenge for you as well. I’ll just throw them in prison for a good long time.

-Ding!

[I will not intervene during combat.]

[Act as you please.]

“You’re saying you won’t get in my way, right?”

-Ding!

[That is correct.]

[I hope this opportunity will alleviate some of the past sorrows.]

“Haha, sorrows… You seem to forget, I’m not Raiden.”

I had decided to get revenge for him…

but that was a separate matter.

There was no connection between me and his tragedy in the first place.

“Sometimes, I feel like you equate me with Raiden.”

-Ding!

[…]

[It seems I made a mistake.]

[I apologize for showing you my immaturity.]

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

I shrugged and leaned back in my seat.

It was currently 8:00 PM.

Barely an hour remained until the attack.

I straightened my clothes one last time and checked the items in my pocket.

-Clatter…

Two small glass vials, each filled with dark green and deep blue liquid.

They were about the size of my little finger.

Next to them was a white mask.

And lastly, a tightly folded magic scroll.

“…Man, I can’t believe I spent so much money just to prepare this.”

The gold coins I spent were enough to buy a mansion belonging to a viscount family.

The main reason was that the items were scarce, and I had to pay several times the original price to acquire them.

But the base price itself was ridiculously expensive.

Thanks to that, my once-fat wallet had gone through a miraculous weight loss.

Well, I didn’t need money anyway.

I could just brush off this expense.

I shook my head, dispelling the faint regret.

“Almost there.”

The scenery outside the window indicated that the carriage had reached its destination.

I let out a shaky breath and dryly washed my face.

Now, all I could do was hope.

That everything would go smoothly.

.

.

.

-Neigh!!

The carriage dropped me off in front of the special hall and galloped away, its hooves pounding the ground.

After watching it disappear for a moment, I started walking towards the banquet hall.

The surroundings were already bustling with students.

They all wanted to relieve the fatigue from the grueling midterm exams.

Commoner students, in particular, would be more excited since they didn’t have many opportunities to experience a noble banquet.

The Academy also lent dresses and suits, so the financial burden on the students would be less.

Seeing this, I felt that the Academy was well-managed.

In an environment where various social statuses coexisted, they were maintaining a good balance for the commoners.

‘Well, it has to be this good to be called the continent’s best educational institution.’

With those thoughts, I walked through the crowd of students.

Perhaps due to the unexpected appearance of the former delinquent, gazes began to gather on me.

The students glanced in my direction and whispered among themselves.

-Hey, isn’t that… Young Master Lishite over there?

-What…? It really is!

-Didn’t Young Master Lishite usually have no interest in Academy banquets?

-Yeah, I remember him calling it a lowly livestock pen filled with commoners…

-By the way, this is the first time I’ve seen Young Master Lishite dressed up like that.

-Right… He looks amazing.

-He’s just overshadowed by handsome guys like Allen and Professor Lucas. But if you think about it, Young Master Lishite is quite good-looking…

-Hey, hey! Get a grip, girl!! That’s Young Master ‘Lishite’ we’re talking about!

-I’m not saying I like him! He’s just handsome!

…Did they realize that I could hear everything they were saying?

It wasn’t outright slander, but it felt strange.

Ignoring the buzzing atmosphere, I showed my student ID to the guard standing at the main entrance of the special hall.

“Raphael class, Raiden Lishite.”

The guard froze for a moment after hearing my name,

then opened the way with a stiff smile.

“Enjoy your time.”

I responded with a slight nod and entered the banquet hall.

Unlike the chaotic outside, the atmosphere inside was relatively calm.

Since the children of dukes and even princesses were present, everyone was being careful with their behavior.

“I need to hurry a bit.”

It was already 30 minutes before the attack.

It seemed I had spent more time at the entrance than I expected.

I took out the mask from my pocket.

A masquerade mask that covered my eyes and nose.

A pure white mask reminiscent of the Phantom of the Opera.

I put it on.

Raiden was too famous.

And not in a good way.

If a guy like him appeared at the banquet hall and wandered around,

he would draw all the attention.

My plan was to lie low and make a surprise appearance at the exact moment the incident began.

I didn't want to attract attention from the start.

Many people wore masquerade masks as accessories, so it wouldn't look too out of place.

“Now, all I need to do is find Lucy.”

I muttered as I walked around the hall.

It wasn’t a difficult task.

There was no other girl in the Empire with such brilliant blonde hair as hers.

“…There she is.”

Lucy was standing in the center of the banquet hall, surrounded by her followers.

She was adorned in a red dress, radiating an intense beauty.

I settled down at a distance.

15 minutes to go.

Feeling my throat dry for no reason, I picked up a drink from the table and took a gulp.

“Ugh…”

It was alcohol.

I frowned and put the glass down.

As I savored the bitter taste, I could faintly hear Lucy and her followers chatting.

-Haha, is that really true, Young Master Deron?

-Do tell us more, Lady Leon. So what happened next?

-Yes, Your Highness. At that moment, my friend and I…

I listened to their conversation absentmindedly.

Lucy and the people around her were enjoying the banquet with cheerful laughter.

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