Chapter 149

C149: Reunion (1)

Sorry for the late release but I’ve been super busy this week.

Rudger quickly scanned the appearance of the old man who seemed to know him.

‘White hair and beard, estimated to be in his 60s with sharp steps. Although he is wearing casual clothes, his clothes are clean and lint-free, and the shoes he is wearing shine like new ones. The occasional scars on his skin are irregular in size, but most of them are linear and looking closely the cut marks are obvious.’

At first glance, it can be seen that his hand has thick calluses. That means that he held an object with a suitable size for a long time, but it must be a baton rather than a knife.

‘The emotion contained in the gaze toward me is delight. It’s not just a reaction to the value of the name Rudger, but a genuine joy.’

Fragmentary information that could be obtained immediately was piled up one by one, and Rudger was able to draw one conclusion.

“I see, I haven’t seen you in a long time. Nothing has changed since then.”

“Haha! You’ve changed quite a bit, on the contrary! At that time, you still looked young, but now you’ve completely grown up!”

The opponent is a soldier, also a person related to the false status of Rudger Chelici.

‘Yeah, I knew this would happen one day when I used Rudger’s name.’

Although Rudger is a fake, his flashy track record was something that could not be made simply by manipulation. Submitting a dissertation to the Tower would only publicize the name and not the face, but the military is different.

The story of being in the military is not something that can simply be made up. Someone really served as a military officer as Rudger.

His thinking accelerates and his five senses expand. Rudger did not stop analyzing.

‘He said I was young and it’s been a while since we’ve met, so it’s probably been more than 5 years at least. My opponent recognized me right away. He said that I have changed, but what are the elements that can be noticed?’

Since he talked to me on the assumption that my appearance changed a little as I got older, it would be right to look at it as an atmosphere. In fact, I thought that he was a Second Order of the Black Dawn Society when he approached me.

In other words, the attitude and image shown in the past are not much different from now. Fortunately, the opponent did not even question Rudger’s current appearance.

People in this world often change in reverse with age, even if they are cute when they are young. Considering that, the opponent judged that Rudger did not change much from his military appearance.

‘I don’t know if the dead First Order played this role, or someone else built the achievements for me. But a situation where there is no immediate suspicion is welcome.’

Rudger found a medal on the opponent’s left chest. It was no ordinary decoration. Rudger recalled from his memory where he could get that medal and the title of the person who can hold it.

“Have you been discharged, Brigadier General?”

Drawn as if a sword and a gun intersect around the shield, it is a medal of the Empire that only those who can wear a star can receive.

He would be a brigadier general at least, but it would not be higher if he could come freely in such casual clothes. The opponent laughed in vain as if Rudger’s reasoning was right.

“What do you mean? I’m just taking a vacation after a long time. Of course, now I can’t stand in line like I used to and hold a baton from behind. I’m too old.”

“The brigadier general still looks fair.”

“Thank you for saying that. Is the job of a teacher suitable for you?”

“It’s my first time, but I’m trying hard.”ViiSiit novelbi/n(.)c/(o)m for latest novels

“Haha. Your social skills have improved a little compared to the past, right? You didn’t get close to anyone because you were really quiet at the time.”

Was Rudger very quiet when he was a soldier?

Since he is a created identity, of course he would not have wanted to be close to anyone.

The brigadier general I’m talking to now approached me in a friendly manner because he was my immediate superior at the time.

“As I got older, I have developed my social skills.”

“Hahaha! You know how to joke now? I’m glad to hear that. You were so hard that I felt like you were going to break without bending, but after seeing you now I guess you’ve grown up.”

If a person like Hugo Burtag had heard this conversation, he would have jumped from his seat, asking what nonsense was this. But from the perspective of the brigadier general, who is a soldier, it was clear.

“Mr. Rudger, this is.......”

Selina, who was just listening to the conversation between the two, carefully opened her mouth.

“Oops! Look at me. I forgot you were not alone.”

“Brigadier General, this is Selina who joined Theon with me this year. She’s in charge of spiritual studies.”

“Hello.”

Selina bowed politely.

In terms of age difference alone, Selina is close to the age of Brigadier General’s granddaughter, so Brigadier General smiled and nodded.

“Teacher Selina. This is....”

Rudger naturally tried to introduce the brigadier general to Selina. Come to think of it, he didn’t know his name.

“Should I introduce you or will you introduce yourself?”

“Let’s finish the patrol.”

“Yes!”

Selina followed Rudger’s side with a jolt. He felt it over and over again, but he thought she was a pure person, not like the other teachers.

Rudger was worried that there might be people pretending to know him again, but it didn’t happen. Until the sun went down, Rudger and Selina went around various places on patrol and enjoyed the festival.

Of course, Rudger was a spectator, and Selina enjoyed it the most.

“This is delicious.”

Selina chewed on the stick candy she had just bought. The sky was getting dim before he knew it. However, the heat of the festival did not fade with the arrival of the night.

“Did you enjoy the festival?”

“What do you mean enjoy it? I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Selina pouted and avoided eye contact. Looking back, she must have realized that she was really excited and ran wild.

“Mr. Rudger. It’s a secret to the other teachers, okay?

“I had no intention of talking.”

“Really? Really?!”

“I’m sure everyone else is enjoying it as well anyway.”

“Well, I guess so”

She was a very easy-to-understand person, seeing that her reaction was different every time she spoke.

“Time went by quickly. I can’t believe the day is already over.”

“There are still four more days left for the festival.”

“Oh, yes. And Mr. Rudger tomorrow.......”

“Yes. I will attend the duel.”

Rudger nodded. Tomorrow afternoon, Rudger will participate in the magic duels, one of the events of the Magic Festival.

Previously, it was an event for students to show off their abilities, but this year, teachers were also invited to attend thanks to Hugo Burtag.

Of course, it is not a competition between teachers and students, but students versus students and teachers versus teachers.

Rudger didn’t care much about it since it wasn’t important to him anyway. Whether others misunderstand it or not, Rudger has only one interest in this festival, Esmeralda.

“Now we can finish our patrol.......”

Rudger found a familiar person as soon as he tried to say so.

‘Crollo Fabius?’

A blond man who looks tired hastily moving somewhere. He was Crollo Fabius, who should have been confined to his quarters and not come out.

Crollo was moving as if he were being chased by something, or something.

‘What the hell is he doing?’

Rudger squinted his eyes. The last time they met, he warned him to stay still until the last day of the festival.

“Miss Selina, I will be away for a while.”

“Oh! Mr. Rudger!”

Rudger rushed after Crollo Fabius. The place where Crollo was headed was a commercial area that existed in Theon.

As the sun went down there was no light entering the alley between buildings and Crollo was strangling a girl there.

“Die! Die!”

Seeing Crollo screaming full of madness, Rudger immediately activated source code. A lump of mana cut through the air and hit Crollo in the back.

“Who is it?”

Crollo glared bloodily at the uninvited guest who disturbed him. Then he saw Rudger standing at the entrance of the alley and froze.

Rudger gazing at him with his back to the faint light flowing from the festival site felt like something indescribable.

Crollo clapped his teeth without realizing it.

“Now.”

Rudger’s voice was very cold.

“What are you doing here?”