The Third-Rate Academy Villain Who Refuses to Become a Beggar

"Father has agreed to accept your conditions, senior."

It didn't take long to get an answer. Just about a day at most.

"...Really?"

"Why are you making that face after being the one who made the request, senior?"

"..."

I had hoped that Fridien would be half-willing to give up due to anger, knowing how unreasonable and rude my current request was.

Even if handled well, problems would remain, and if it escalated, it could become a battle between families, but that would still be better.

At least better than Gerhard Goldenheim being branded as a demon and falling into ruin.

'Actually, that would have been the best.'

If I could clearly know what would happen, like with other prophecies, I could respond accordingly, but this case was different.

When, where, and how, exactly what would happen.

Other than simply knowing that something would happen, I knew nothing.

When a storm is coming, the wisest approach is to avoid it. But it seems I wasn't destined to do so this time.

"...Thank you for accepting my unreasonable request."

"Father thinks highly of you, senior."

Not me, but the Goldenheim family itself.

'Or perhaps there's a demon's influence involved.'

The fact that problems occurred despite everything appearing fine on the surface meant that things had been progressing secretly.

And that likely meant there was an internal collaborator.

'Those demons, how far have they extended their reach?'

There were so many things to worry about.

'Perhaps Ariadne Florian...'

Didn't she say it was her who tried to make Gerhard responsible?

No, that's not right. Ariadne Florian was designated as Aint Armian's companion in the prophecy book. It couldn't be.

'But there are no absolutes.'

Thinking of contingency plans, Gerhard changed the subject.

"So when exactly do we depart?"

"In six days. You mentioned a week yesterday, so that's the minimum."

"Not bad."

It would be better if it were sooner, but a week was already quite good.

"But now that things are like this, I have to ask, is it really necessary to go this far?"

"It is."

"What is it?"

"No need for you to know."

"That's not right."

Ariadne shook her head.

"Since you accepted the conditions, the request has been formally accepted, which makes me the client. Shouldn't there be no secrets regarding the work?"

"The client is actually Lord Fridien."

I hadn't made a separate contract with Ariadne, and the same was true on the company contract received from her father.

"But I'm the proxy, right?"

"What's your proof?"

"...Bloodline?"

"Bring clear evidence that you're the proxy. Then I might tell you."

Gerhard rose from his seat.

"Wait a moment, where are you going?"

"Naturally, to prepare for the commercial journey. Do you think there are only a few things to prepare for such a large-scale expedition?"

"Don't we just need to bring ourselves?"

That would be the case if there were no demon interference.

Gerhard left the secret room without waiting for an answer. But he wasn't alone.

"What is this?"

"While I might not be explicitly designated as a proxy, I'm clearly associated with the Fridien family, right?"

There was no one more related to a family than its blood relatives, so that wasn't wrong.

"So if it's about preparations for the journey, I have the right to observe alongside you."

"You're going to follow me around?"

"To put it concisely, yes."

"..."

Gerhard assessed whether he could escape from Ariadne's grasp if he made a determined effort to flee.

'Impossible.'

His opponent was an elf, renowned everywhere for speed and agility. He could shake her off using artifacts, but it would be a waste to use them for something like this.

'The only things to gather from the academy branch are consumables like extra potions or reagents anyway.'

Whether Ariadne was connected to the demons remained questionable, but most important matters had been entrusted to Hyde anyway, so it should be fine.

"Do as you please."

"Thank you. Shall we go then? Where to first?"

Ariadne smiled brightly.

There was something desperately earnest about that smile that made it somewhat pitiful.

'Well, a rolling stone has to work hard to dislodge a stuck one.'

I'm not sure if simply being this forward would create connections or earn recognition from other heir apparents.

'Surely she hasn't joined hands with demons for that reason.'

I had no desire to insult someone who was, in their own way, doing their best.

"Oh, by the way, I heard something happened at the yacht club? I heard Aint received an invitation to the yacht club—would it be possible for me too?"

"Get lost."

Or maybe I do.

***

Time passed quickly.

Since there was no direct teleportation magic circle to the Fridien territory, Gerhard left the academy four days early with Hyde and Ariadne.

The journey to Fridien wasn't far. There was a teleportation magic circle installed in a nearby city, so after moving there, they arrived at the Fridien Viscount's residence on foot.

The time consumed was three days. They arrived at the capital of the territory exactly one day before the commercial expedition was to depart.

"I need to report to my father. I'll send guards right away when we reach the castle. If anything were to happen to you in our territory, senior, it would be quite troublesome."

It was unnecessary courtesy, but something to be endured when arriving in another's territory.

"Understood."

Gerhard visited the Golden Turtle Company branch before the Viscount's castle.

"Welcome, young master."

The branch manager of the Golden Turtle Company's Fridien branch, sporting a neat mustache, welcomed him.

"The preparations?"

"All complete. The issue is that there aren't suitable places for rest stops along the way, but fortunately, His Lordship has taken care of that."

"That's good."

Gerhard checked the goods loaded onto the carriages. The items filling a total of 10 carriages were certainly not a small amount.

'So the World Tree branch is among these.'

"Which one is it?"

"The fourth carriage."

"Who knows about this?"

"Just myself and a few executives of the company."

Given that they couldn't use teleportation magic circles, the schedule was quite tight.

From Fridien's capital to the port city of Kaide, they had to cross two territories, and from Kaide to the academy, they had to travel by ship for several more days.

The schedule was set generously at two to three weeks.