Chapter 41
After the seniors left, it was natural that the atmosphere in the class became awkward.
“Hey, you. Come have a quick talk with me.”
“About what exactly?”
Although the rest had left, the little senior Rudina hadn’t, and called me over. There was no aggression in her voice when she spoke. Although she had been glaring at me as if she’d wanted to kill me just moments before, she now had a frightened expression.
She took me outside, and led me to a stairway landing where it seemed no one would overhear us, before speaking up.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Out of my mind?”
“Ard is Number 3 of Class A, in the second year. Don’t you understand what that means? Do you have a death wish?”
It seemed she had assumed that I would embrace disgrace and refuse the duel. She knew that I had won the previous fight by targeting a vital point and not because I was actually good at fighting.
“He won’t actually kill me.”
“You said you didn’t have any talent or abilities. What makes you so confident to accept a duel? Are you an idiot?”
Adriana told me yesterday that this brat had been forced to carry out the hazing tradition, and that she actually had a very soft heart on the inside.
Indeed, looking at her now, she seemed to be in quite a state of distress. She had been excited at the thought of taunting me if I’d refused the duel, but since I had chosen the crazy option of accepting it, she was the one who’d gotten scared.
“A duel is no joke. I’ve seen kids get badly hurt. Hurry up and go apologize to Ard and tell him that you’re sorry! This wasn’t supposed to happen, you idiot! Even Ard was going to let you off the hook if you just apologized to him!”
She was so flustered that she even spilled the discussions she’d had with the second-years to me. Since they knew that I lacked any fighting skills, it seemed they had planned to propose the duel, thinking I would back down and apologize to them, after which they would accept the apology and pretend like nothing happened.
Yesterday, this bratty kid had caused a scene, but it looked like Adriana was right—this kid really seemed nice.
“Isn’t that just life?” I said as I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly. “If I get beaten up, then that’s what happens.”
Rudina seemed utterly unable to understand my calm reaction.
The duel was set to be in two weeks’ time, to be held in the training grounds of the first-year Class A dormitory. I set the date as if I had some sort of secret weapon or skill that would allow me to beat a second-year from the Royal Class in a duel in just two weeks.
All I could hope for was that being in a psychologically-extreme situation might somehow work in my favor.
I didn’t want to face a situation as dire as an escape from the Demon King’s castle where death was a distinct possibility. I hoped that the duel would be enough.
While I was indeed bracing myself for a severe beating and felt somewhat intimidated, I couldn’t just keep wasting time while my ability remained locked away, so I had to do something about it.
[New Event Update - Duel with Ard de Gritis
Description: Ard de Gritis demands satisfaction for the dishonor you’ve brought upon his name through a duel. Your chances of winning are almost non-existent.
Objective: Proceed with the duel.
Reward for victory: 600 achievement points
Reward for loss: 200 achievement points]
As if it were to be expected, an event system message was triggered.
In this case, I’d receive a reward even if I lost the duel.
The reward had to be for just going through with the duel. Since there was little to no chance of winning, it was likely that I might also avoid the duel altogether.
That was good news, as I’d still get something as a reward even if the duel didn’t necessarily awaken my talent.
Was this basically the system’s way of consoling me before I took a beating?
Although I was the one who had volunteered for this, it was still a bit depressing.
***
Duels were permissible within the Temple grounds, but a teacher had to be present as a witness. This was to ensure that the duel between students wouldn’t end with someone actually dying.
“...”
Mr. Effenhauser was watching me silently. I had previously arranged for Mr. Effenhauser to be the witness for the duel, and so I reported the details of the duel to him.
“If the duel is agreed upon by both parties, there is no problem. Write down the location, place, and date.”
He got straight to the point without asking me if I was crazy or saying anything else unnecessary. The fact that he showed no worry and did not try to interfere was both nice and peculiar at the same time.
The rumor that Reinhart of A-11 was going to have a duel with a second-year spread naturally within Class A and even to Class B. To be exact, this happened during the joint education physical education class.
“Reinhart? What on earth happened? You’re having a duel? And moreover, with a second-year?” Ludwig asked me during a short break after we finished our running and strength exercises.
The unexpected conversation seemed to have caused Ludwig to become worried about me.
“Just some things happened. It’s too long to explain.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to apologize and end it there? You might get seriously hurt.”
Ludwig tenaciously argued that I could get hurt and that it would be best to just apologize and end the situation.
Even though we were split into classes A and B, the kids from Class B were looking at me with concern as well, perhaps because we were all in the same year. And those who seemed to know the details of the situation were more shocked.
Yet, for some reason, Charlotte was staring at me intently. Her gaze felt distinctly different from that of the other kids. It wasn’t just my imagination, and I was positive about that.
Right after the physical education class, as I was exhaustedly making my way to the changing room, Charlotte called out to stop me.
“You’re Reinhart, right?”
“... Yeah, that’s me.”
Charlotte slowly approached me and then placed something in my hand.
“Read it.”
Leaving me with those cold, commanding words, Charlotte walked away towards the classroom building.
There was a single sentence written on the note.
“Stay in the classroom after class.”
What was she trying to do?
I’d been asked by Vertus to keep an eye on Charlotte, but now it seemed like Charlotte herself wanted something to do with me as well.
***
With physical education over, the common classes came to an end. Mr. Effenhauser gave the dismissal, and all the students left the classroom.
Since the life-threatening escape from the Demon King’s castle and even after my arrival at the Temple, I hadn’t exchanged a single word with Charlotte.
Had she figured out my identity? If that was the case, I would have to leave the Temple and go into hiding. But if she had realized, how?
After all the students had cleared out, I remained in the classroom as per Charlotte’s instructions.
Whoosh.
The door slid open, and Charlotte entered the Class A classroom.
It was common for one’s personality in a crisis to differ from their usual demeanor. The Charlotte I had seen, fully aware that her life was in danger, weeping while cradling what I presumed to be her mother’s body in the detention cell, was the Charlotte I remembered.
However, she seemed like a completely different person. Charlotte de Gradias seemed utterly cold as she stood before me now. Was this the real Charlotte?
“What’s the matter?”
Charlotte approached me and casually sat on the desk next to mine, looking at me.
“Normally, I wouldn’t want to associate with someone of your kind.”
“... What?”
‘Why’s she acting like this all of a sudden?’
“I heard you go around stirring everything up. You like to stand out, have a nasty temper, and even today, you accepted a challenge to a duel proposed by a senior...”
Charlotte seemed to have heard rumors about me and had formed a very negative impression of me. I hadn’t exactly been on my best behavior, so I couldn’t blame Charlotte for thinking poorly of me.
Still, her words stung a little.
“Do you behave more aggressively towards others because you think that being of low birth will make them disregard you otherwise?”
Charlotte was blunt with her words as she tried to feel out the intentions behind my behavior. She seemed to think that I was acting tough so others wouldn’t look down on me.
After pursuing the conversation further, it didn’t seem like she had figured out my true identity.
So then, if that was the case, what did she actually need from me?
“I heard you were from the streets, so I did some research on you.”
‘Research?’
Why look into me? Just because I was a beggar?
The rumor had started to spread on Saturday. Did that mean she’d looked into me in that short span of time?
“I know who you are.”
‘Huh? What does she know?’
“Who sent you, the kind of people you’re surrounded by, and which organizations your group is connected to.”
Chills ran down my spine.
Charlotte might have not known that I was a demon, but she knew something else.
She knew about the Rotary Club and the fact that it was supported by the Thieves’ Guild.
“Just keep in mind that dealing with vermin like you is not part of my regular business.”
She did not dislike me for being annoying and troublesome.
She despised me solely because she thought I was associated with a criminal organization, a social evil.
The influence Vertus wielded was indeed dangerous, but it was now clear that Charlotte, having returned to the imperial city, commanded a force that was not to be underestimated either.
How had she been able to uncover such information in such a short time?
Just the fact that my origins were revealed had allowed her to track down the Rotary Club and even find a lead that connected them to the Thieves’ Guild.
The situation was becoming seriously entangled.
“Hold on... I... I don’t understand what you’re saying... What do you mean?”
“Do you think I would naively believe you if you simply said that the gang of beggars who took you in sent you to the Temple just to educate you?”
Charlotte leaned against the desk, then approached me with a piercing gaze as if she found the situation ludicrous.
“Don’t bother with your pathetic act. If you continue to pretend to know nothing, I will immediately order the city guards to sweep that filthy sewer clean.”
Denying the connection would be futile.
Neither Vertus nor Charlotte were the sort that I could control. In fact, Charlotte was more critical than Vertus. While Vertus did not seem to have investigated my past, Charlotte had not only dug into my background, but could also bring Loyar into this.
Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have even bothered dealing with someone like me.
But this was not a normal circumstance.
Ultimately, Charlotte had a purpose for approaching me. Denying my connection with them would only put the Rotary Club in danger.
“What do you want from me?” I responded, as though conceding to her.
Charlotte pulled something out of her pocket. She spread the piece of paper out, and on it was a portrait.
“This child.”
“!”
Of course, I knew who it was.
It was me, with my horns hidden by a magical disguise.
“Find this child, and find out everything about him. If he’s alive, find out where he’s living. If he’s dead, find out where and why he died, and who killed him.”
“...”
“Find him. No questions asked.”
Charlotte stared at me with cold eyes that suggested she would destroy everything I had if I failed to locate the child.
“Wait. Even if I try to find him, what can I possibly do...? You’re asking me to find someone whose name and other details you don’t even know. You would have more of a chance to fi—”
Charlotte only narrowed her eyes at my argument that I was just part of a beggar’s organization and couldn’t possibly do much with my limited manpower and resources.
“You don’t need to worry about that. The only important thing is that you find him faster than Vertus does.”
I had killed knights of Duke Salerion. I didn’t know what had happened to Dyrus, but surely Dyrus and I were both targets of Duke Salerion.
It was certain that Vertus was also looking for me, just as Charlotte was.
Charlotte appeared to be mobilizing all the manpower she could to find me. That’s why she resorted to involving an organization that she would not normally even spare a glance at.
“What if... What if I find him and hand him over to Vertus?”
“That’s a possibility.”
I was in Class A, which meant that I would naturally be closer to Vertus.
Cold fury flickered in the depths of Charlotte’s eyes. “But if that happens, not only will I destroy your organization, but I will make sure that your death will come at my hands.”
‘Damn it. The person you’re looking for is right in front of you!’
I never expected that Charlotte would be searching for me so desperately. She must have been unable to forget me, or what had happened before.
She probably thought that, if Vertus found me first, he would kill me.
“But, why... Why is this guy so important to you?”
“You don’t need to know that. You just have a person to find, and that’s what you need to do.”
Charlotte pushed the portrait against my chest as if there was no need to offer an explanation to someone like me.
“Report to me regularly on the status of your investigation. From now on, getting good grades at the Temple is not your highest priority. This is. Understand?”
The lives of everyone in the club, as well as my own, depended on this task.
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