Chapter 60

Chapter 60An unkempt, off-white man walks calmly down a hallway he’s been walking down for the past 20 years.

A man with gray hair and lavender eyes that looked exactly like Nox’s. He was Garen, Nox’s oldest brother, who had now come to disagree with his father.

‘...Hmm. This aura... means someone with talent is nearby, two of them.’

Garen was walking through the hallway. He felt his own power manifest, one he’d inherited from Theo: the ability to shape the talents of others.

Intuitively, he knew that there were several hands in this manor that would be quite favorable to him, so he began to make his way to where he felt the reaction.

He arrived at the dining room where the maids were gathered.

“Hey, you.”

Garen called out to one of them, a girl with special qualities.

She was a green-haired, porcelain-skinned girl who looked barely older than his youngest sister. She turned her head and replied.

“Yes. What can I do for you?”

“I am Garen, the first of my clan. Who are you? I don’t recognize you.”

“I’m Zitri, Young Master Nox’s personal maid.”

“Hmm... the youngest maid.”

Garen smirked. His useless little brother had a maid of this caliber. It was ridiculous. Resources unnecessary for a scumbag who couldn’t even recognize talent.

He crossed his arms.

“Serve me instead of Nox, and I’ll pay you three times what he pays you, and you can start working for me tomorrow. .......”

“I appreciate the offer, but I must decline.”

“......?”

Garen showed a rare sign of bewilderment at this completely unexpected turn of events. The emotion on his face was clear.

His brow furrowed.

“Why? I value talent, and you have it, and Nox doesn’t have the power to help you.”

He himself would one day ascend to the head of the Rinehafer family.

How could she refuse his offer?

He deliberately belittled his younger brother, as if to show her how wrong the previous maid had been in her judgment.

I deliberately put down my youngest brother and said it with the intention of telling him how wrong the previous maid’s judgment had been. Once again, it was the same reply.

“You’ll ...... regret it.”

Ignoring the heat rising in his face, Garen set off in search of the source of his financial resources, this time on the other side.

His destination was Elena’s small workshop. It was a space Nox had created for her in the past, filled with all sorts of expensive medicinal ingredients to help her fulfill her talent.

There, too, Garen spoke boldly.

“I am Garen, the next Lord of House Reinhafer. Follow me.”

Garen thought that this time he would be successful in his offer.

However, he was once again taken aback by the response.

“Uhm... but I’ve already agreed to marry Young Master Knox, I’m sorry!”

“.......”

Garen eventually had to leave, having scouted neither Stormbringer nor two talents.

No one saw him off as he left the manor.

Not even his own father.

Garen muttered under his breath as he stepped outside.

“I gave you one last chance. Father.”

* * *

“Are you all right, Young Master, your dark circles have set in quite deeply lately. Do you want me to call a professional masseuse?”

“No. That’s not what this is about. Dammit....”

“You didn’t get into any accidents while I was gone, did you...?”

Even Zitri, who has returned, is starting to suspect me.

I’m sure I’ve done some things wrong.

But not this.

Why am I the one who has a stalker?

It’s been less frequent lately, but I don’t think he’s given up yet. Lars, you crazy asshole. What the hell is wrong with you?

Anyway, I couldn’t be bothered to elaborate, so I quickly changed the subject.

Because this wasn’t the only problem I had right now.

“So. You said the eldest brother came back to the family?”

“...Yes. He left shortly afterward, but...... seemed to be a bit of an oddball, and Lord Theo didn’t even go out of his way to see him off.”

Theo is quite fond of his son.

I thought it was strange that he didn’t see off the firstborn, who was supposed to take over the family name.

Something must have caused a rift between them.

‘It’s hard to tell because there’s very little conflict between them in the first part of the story, but...... something is going on.’

I thought calmly.

Garen, why on earth was he meeting the Patriarch at this point?

At the very least, he’s not an ally, and certainly not one of the villains.

One of House Reinhafer’s greatest talents.

He’s a danger to me as well.

Many times more dangerous than Theo, who is staking his claim on me anyway. It’s best to wait and see what happens here.

Just as I was forming my own judgment, Zitri spoke up.

“......Ah, yes. Speaking of which, Young Master Garen has a suggestion for me.”

“A suggestion?”

“Yes.”

I had a vague idea, but I asked anyway.

“And what was it?”

“He asked me to become his maid, and he said he would raise my salary.”

“......How much?”

“Three times.”

That’s a lot of pestering.

I’ve been doing a lot of things that cost money lately, and it’s been bugging me.

Fucking family business.

I crossed my arms and blurted out.

“If it’s a salary, I’ll match it, so don’t worry about it and focus on your work.......”

“Phew. Oh, sorry.”

(puheub)

What is this mockery?

“No way... have you already decided to join Garen?”

Would they look at me with a blank stare?

Or will they think I’ve been given a fitting punishment for the scum of the earth?

In any case, I don’t know at this point.

-That crazy bastard... Doesn’t that mean his moniker of ‘Ashen Eagle’ isn’t for nothing? What kind of stamina does he have?

-Talia von Steiner is no joke! How did she get that body? We’re only fifteen!

There’s a murmur of voices.

Praise for the strongest units.

Hagiya, I can understand their reaction. Even if fifteen is an adult here, the body is still growing. Their bodies are not yet complete.

Not even physically.

That’s why the ones who are looking good now were already talented to begin with.

Paracelsus and Talia von Steiner stand out in particular. They had followed the typical knightly path.

“And that concludes the lesson. I expect you all to do better next time.”

With that, Professor Hans shook his head.

He had a lean, muscular body. He was more of an instructor than a professor.

Anyway.

The [Basic Physical Training] class has ended.

I was the first one out into the hallway, recalling what I had to do next.

I didn’t want the eyes of the other units watching me to see when I left.

Instead, a speck stuck close to me.

It was Talia, who quickly gathered her things and ran after me.

“How was class? Your stamina seems to be up quite a bit now!”

“...So-so.”

I said, looking at Talia as she persistently clung to my side in the hallway.

Somehow, she didn’t seem to be in a better mood than usual.

Why?

She didn’t sound any different than before, but something seemed to be bothering her. It’s probably nothing to worry about, but....

Regardless, I felt a little bad for her, seeing her troubled face.

One of the main heroines, if not the favorite.

As a fan of Inner Lunatic, this made me feel unnecessarily weak.

So I hesitated for a very long time before I spoke to her.

“Is something wrong?”

I regretted it immediately.

Wasn’t this innocent little girl’s sword destined to pierce my heart after all? There was no point in me worrying about her here.

As I rubbed my aching chest, Talia spoke softly.

“It’s just... it’s nothing... it’s just... the atmosphere of the academy seems a little different than I thought it would be.”

I paused, waiting for her to continue.

Talia looked around and continued in a small voice.

“I thought I’d be able to make friends with my peers here without any barriers...? But everyone says there’s a clique of nobles and commoners...... there.”

“There?”

“......Some people are just too quick to judge people based on rumors. Anyway, that made me a little worried.”

It’s a pretty in-depth story. The noble-commoner conflict, which will be the main episode arc of Inner Lunatic, also stems from this.

I muttered to myself.

“Well, time will tell, I suppose.”

“Huh, Nox, what do you mean...?”

“You can’t be friendly with everyone anyway. You already know that, don’t you?”

I said nonchalantly. I wasn’t here to give her some grand theory or life lesson, just the hard truth.

As we all know, nobles and commoners are different.

Especially in the world of Inner Lunatic, there’s a lot of discrimination between commoners and nobles, and it’s a lot to take in.

In such a situation, the commoner students of Eldain do not get along with the nobles, unless you are a madman like Paracelsus.

With the exception of a few major characters, it’s better to say none at all.

In the later episodes of the noble-commoner war for control of the academy, the two factions clash heavily, causing many casualties.

It’s a problem that extends to the entirety of the Inner Lunatic Continent.

Traditionally, revolution begins with young blood.

And it is in Eldain that the most talented of the young commoners are gathered, so it is a flashpoint, a spark that grows into a fire that consumes the vassal states.

It will eventually overthrow the bloated nobility of Arkheim.

‘...... Of course, that episode is still a while off.’

Thinking appropriately, Talia says, as if she’s finished organizing her thoughts.

“I’m sure it is... I know, I know, everyone else thinks it’s hard to be an accomplished worker except for Emma. I don’t want that.......”

“That’s what this place was from the beginning. It’s a place that’s been wrapped up in a nice story, but in the end, nothing has changed, whether it’s out there or in here.”

With that, I headed back to my quarters.

Next class tomorrow.

For now, I’m heading to District Four, because of Paracelsus, to buy the rest of the ingredients I didn’t get because of that madman.

I let Zitri rest for a while. I’m sure she’s tired from all the traveling.

For your information, I’ve put her to rest with a pillow of sleeping herbs. Now I can listen and let the nagging go in one ear and out the other.

...But is it really okay to get used to something like this?

* * *

“What? I didn’t expect to see you in a place like this.”

...... I’ve met an unexpected person in District 4.

There’s good news and bad news.

First, the good news: it wasn’t Paracelsus who caused the accident.

The bad news is...

I have a villain in front of me.

It’s deeply embedded in the main storyline, torn between the imperial court and the commoners. The worst person to ever walk the walk.

Rick the Liar.

He smiles at me when I walk into a shop in District 4 to buy some tools.

A spy character who betrayed Eleanor in Act 3 and supported the Arkheim Empire. But why is he here...?

Okay, calm down, let’s think about it.

Shit.

What can I do here that won’t derail the main story?