chapter 345
345. I don’t know love
Honestly, Hubert’s suggestion itself wasn’t bad.
He was quite disappointed that even if humans cooperated, they were keeping him in check for fear of losing his place at the hands of hats, so he decided to reveal everything he could during the public exam.
If you show me a ‘cheat’ that even my experience and age can’t make up for, I will be able to crush your high arrogance.
However, in Lucia’s case, the story was a little different.
If you think about Lucia as she usually is, getting her accepted into her special class is like winning a star in the sky.
You have to do at least one driver’s share to reach the passing score, but how easy is that?
Of course, this is only if you think about the ‘normal’ playful Lucia.
Maybe it’s time to take the time to delve deeper into her ‘secret’ that she has been trying so hard to ignore.
I am willing to try as much as I can if it helps me overcome this task.
“Oh, aren’t you the famous Jeto Cadet?”
As I left the chairman’s office, holding back a sigh, I heard a familiar voice.
The owner of that obnoxious voice making fun of my current situation was, of course, Edward Klaus.
“Being famous is also very tiring.”
“hahahaha, did you accept the offer?”
“If you don’t accept it, what will change? Is it Instructor Edward’s doing about Miss Lucia?”
“No. Not only I but other instructors also agreed. Recently, you and Cadet Lucia have often shown good teamwork, right?”
“hahahaha, hahahahaha!”
I laughed like crazy at his shameless answer. As if I had reached the state of liberation, I kept smiling.
“Hmm hmm…”
The guy suddenly laughed like a maniac, so even Edward craned his neck in embarrassment.
[Why are you doing this all of a sudden…? ]
Sierra had been expressing disapproval over her actions.
“Whoa…”
After a while, I barely stopped laughing and stroked my hair.
“The reason you were often teamed up with Cadet Lucia was all to maintain balance, right?”
“…It was like that, right?”
“If I hadn’t shown good teamwork with Lucia, I would have performed poorly, right?
“I guess so.”
“Then should I have been eliminated?”
“I’m sorry. But please understand the instructors’ feelings. Instructor Raina also said that he had no confidence in correcting Ms. Lucia. And more than anything…”
“…”
Edward, who had his mouth firmly shut and the end of his words slurred, tilted his head.
“…I believe that Cadet Zeto will do it.”
“Okay, what is the ‘gift’ you mentioned back then? If you want to call it a special class, I’m going to leave the academy right away.”
“Do you see me as such a ruthless person, Cadet Zeto?! Of course, I have prepared a separate gift for you.”
“What is it?”
“Well… Let’s see… No money… No special magic tools…”
Edward muttered, leaning on his chin and thinking seriously.
This man, who is called Edward and can be read as snake, really says, ‘The gift is a special class!’ I think I was planning on shouting.
“Ha… That’s it. What more could I ask for from an instructor?”
“Are you sure it’s okay?”
But I hope you don’t smile so brightly.
“How about this?”
“What is it?”
“This public exam, demons are allowed to enter.”
“…What are you going to do?”
“I have a different idea. Anyway, they probably don’t plan to go out on a rampage in a place where all the knights are gathered. Unless they are trying to commit suicide.”
I thought it would be better to call the demons instead of being their liaison.
Getting their attention will definitely help with the plans I have made separately from Kerap.
“It’s risky, but it’s a pretty sweet offer.”
“Don’t you just want to rest?”
“Even if a problem arises, I will not pass the responsibility on to Cadet Zeto. As Cadet Zeto said, the probability of a problem occurring is small.”
“Do you have a knack for saying the obvious as if you were ingratiating yourself, instructor?”
“hahahaha, it’s one of my few talents. Then, please take good care of Miss Lucia. There’s quite a bit of time until the exam, so try your best in the meantime, either take special training or come up with a plan to fool people.”
With those words, Edward taps me on the shoulder and passes by me into the director’s office.
Edward was still an obnoxious person.
Well, in any case, it will be much better than when we were enemies, so I am satisfied with this.
***
“…So I made a promise.”
“What promise?”
Blanc, who was listening to Izel brag about her love while hugging one of her crow dolls, looked at her while organizing her documents and asked.
“He said he would speak first later.”
“…You said that?”
“Zeto and I like each other.”
Eisel puffed out her mouth and grimaced her face.
“But you said you’re not in a relationship.”
“It’s like we’re already doing it.”
“You’re not in a real relationship.”
“Why ruin the good mood?”
“Because it’s not a good atmosphere.”
“You weren’t rejected?”
“I just didn’t listen and was rejected.”
“Ha, really. Blanc doesn’t know love.”
She exchanged a scuffle, and in the end, it was Aizel who got up from her seat.
“hahahahaha! No one else may know, but this is something you don’t want to hear when you suddenly propose to me?”
“Don’t laugh.”
As if seeing her like that was cute, Blanc held her stomach and laughed.
“It seems like you’ll be fine if you just leave it alone. The problem is that you’re both incredibly clumsy.”
“You’re saying it’s pure, not clumsy, right?”
“I understand. I understand.”
Blanc nods his head and answers roughly.
Eisel looked around her office and caught her eye on the newspaper placed on Blanc’s desk.
“Anyway, what was that article about? It looks like there’s been an uproar.”
“Oh, this? Thanks to this, our manager Zeto has become very popular. Beautiful noble women are clamoring to meet him.”
Blanc, who was the branch leader of the information guild ‘Black Hand’, was making a lot of money thanks to the topic of Zeto, who had been digging up information by putting him in charge from a long time ago.
“…What kind of b*tch?”
“Open your eyes. It’s a joke. It’s not even a lie.”
“Why do you want to meet me?”
“Well, you want to make her your article, or you just want to see her face. ‘That outstanding appearance that can’t be hidden even with a bandage…’ That’s what it said in the article.”
“It’s true, but something feels off.”
“You can endure it. The problem is not the women.”
“What other people are interested in Zeto?”
“Can you recite just a few big ones?”
“Yes. I want to hear it.”
Izel pulls a chair across from Blanc and sits down with her eyes sparkling.
You can listen to the information of the continent’s best information guild, Black Hand, without paying a penny, and no one would miss this opportunity. Eisel had no intention of losing it, especially if it was Zeto’s information.
“There are about three of them. The first is the second prince of the Kingdom of Terrasia. It seems he wants to invite Zeto to the court.”
“A prince? Why? You’re not even a princess.”
“You said you fell in love with Jeto’s martial arts skills written in the article or something. I guess it’s because he was still young that he was drawn to stories of heroism.”
“It doesn’t seem like much of a threat.”
“The second is Lancelot of the Round Table.”
“I’ve heard of Lancelot.”
“He is by far the best among the knights of the Round Table. He is also the best knight commander in the empire.”
Lancelot, commander of the Knights of the Lake.
He is one of the few renowned magic swordsmen with outstanding talent in both magic and swords.
Magic swordsmen who used both magic and swords had many cases in which neither swords nor magic were effective, so their abilities were highly overestimated in the world.
Just looking at the sword, he is one of the leading candidates for the next swordsman.
In addition, there are rumors that his magic is comparable to that of high-ranking magicians from the 7th or early 8th circles. ‘hahahaha, even so, it’s impossible to be an archmage.’ The cause of the rumor was the joke.
“Are you trying to get Zeto to join the Round Table?”
“It’s not that far yet, and I want to see with my own eyes whether the skills described in the article are true or not.”
“This isn’t a threat either. I honestly have no interest in being a knight of the round table or anything.”
“I don’t know about wizards, but it’s a position that all humans who hold a sword covet?”
“Zeto wouldn’t be interested in that. Can’t you tell from the article? They say he’s comfortable alone. Why did he wander around so dangerously…”
Eisel clicks her tongue as she glares at her newspaper placed on her desk.
“What is the third one?”
“The third is a woman.”
“…Who is it?”
“Before I speak, let me make a promise to you, Eisel. You will never kill me. It is very natural to show interest in someone who has become famous, understand?”
“Why are you driving people into homicidal manias?”
“That won’t happen, right?”
“Just listen first.”
“…She’s an elf princess. It’s true that she showed interest in Zeto, but she was saying things that were a bit hard to understand. They say she may have eaten the sap of the World Tree or something? When I heard the explanation, it seemed like it was an elixir.”
“Why is the World Tree suddenly popping out? What is it in the first place? There’s no way Zeto could eat something like sap. He’s not even a person who likes vegetables that much.”
“Well, if you look at the description, it seems like that could happen…”
“As expected, elves have weird brains.”
“There is a feeling of being trapped in their own world…”
Blanc tries to laugh off Eisel’s sharply racially discriminatory remarks.
“Anyway, that’s all I can tell you. In return…”
“Do you have any useful information?”
“All you said when you came here was that you offered to sleep with Zeto and propose marriage to him? I should have something to gain as well. Even so, it was difficult to follow him all the way to the east.”
“The story about the East is exactly as it was written in the article. Hmm…”
At Blanc’s urging, Eisel places her chin on her chin and thinks seriously.
Then something occurred to me and I thought, ‘Ah.’ She opened her mouth making a sound.
“I heard a woman’s voice for the first time at Zeto’s house.”
“Isn’t this the little sister you said you lived with?”
“No, it was the first time I heard that voice.”
“…How did I hear that?”
“To practice magic, I sometimes hear it when I pass the dormitory while jumping up to the 5th floor. I can’t hear it in detail because it moves so fast.”
“Isn’t that wiretapping?”
“No. It was magic practice.”
Blanc, who stuck out her tongue at Eisel’s firmness in ignoring her with her shameless face, shook her head as if she was okay with it and continued her words.
“It’s the first time I’ve heard a woman’s voice… It might be useful information. I think I’m done bragging, but go now. You’ll see when I look outside, but I’m actually quite busy right now, right?”
“…”
Eisel followed Blanc’s finger and turned her gaze outside her office. She is pictured with informants running up and down her hallways, sweat dripping from her bright golden eyes.
“Why are you busy?”
“Well, it’s also because of Zeto. This time, a broker who was active in the underworld died. He died, but the broker’s ledger disappeared, right? So, we’re investigating who took it. If we get it, we’ll be rich. “It’s like a blank check that can be done.”
“Hey… They’re busy.”
“Why don’t you live a busy life too? Take a bridal class or something.”
“…Should I take it?”
“It’s a joke, but take it seriously…?”
Blanc opens her mouth in shock at the question posed by Eisel, who had been pausing.
“If there is a good person, please recommend me. I should at least practice cooking.”
“Oh, I don’t know. Get out quickly.”
In the end, Eisel was pushed by Blanc and thrown out of the branch manager’s office.
“It’s a bridal class… Puh-huh.”
She thought about the conversation she had just had and burst into laughter, twisting her body as if she was tickled.
***
Zeto, who was able to meet Geum Dawn only after nightfall, was frowning as he traced Geum Dawn’s back in the deserted forest.
“Are you really crazy?”
“It’s been a while since I went crazy. Is this enough?”
Geum Dawn nods her head as if asking if the confirmation is complete. Zeto takes her hand away and she immediately puts her clothes on.
“No matter what, it’s really terrible to have a magic circle tattooed on it.”
Volk, who was next to him, frowned as he remembered the process of getting a tattoo. In order to prevent the tattoo from easily disappearing, the needle was inserted deeper, almost cutting into the flesh, and Volk, who had a strong stomach, stuck out his tongue.
“This is the scroll that can activate that magic. They say that if you infuse ‘mana’ into it, it can be activated anytime, anywhere.”
Geum Dawn said as she handed her scroll to Zeto.
“If activated…”
“My body will explode and I will die.”
“It’s something a blood wizard would do. I didn’t expect such a weakness.”
“So you don’t like it?”
“No, I’m quite satisfied. I was just feeling self-loathing for a moment because I think I understand why blood mages prefer this method.”
“I thought I was going to die from the pain, but I’m glad it wasn’t in vain. So, can I take some money as compensation for the pain?”
“As long as you make good money, entertainment is all you need.”
Once she was free from Sierra’s pressure, her attitude became quite bad like before.
However, Zeto, who thought that his bad qualities would be quite helpful in raising money, did not point out anything to him.
“I’ll earn it with all my loyalty. Oh, and have you thought about the name of the business? I won’t put your name on it.”
“Hmm… Speaking of hands that earn gold… How about ‘Golden Beast’?”
“…Are you kidding me?”
“hahahaha, of course it’s a joke.”
Zeto thought it was a seriously fitting name.