101 – 101. Infiltrating the Octagon (3)
Of course it’s hard to think of many things at once.
I put aside the people I encountered inside the Octagon for now. Maybe they wouldn’t care who I was.
I cleaned up as much as possible, but I think I even heard the sound of two patrols making a fuss about an intruder.
However, it is confirmed that the same method cannot be used as expected.
Even if you try to break through the strict security by force and enter secretly, the number of patrols and guards will increase noticeably and it will be difficult to handle now.
This is not an ordinary gambling hall, but the largest gambling hall in Mir Park Province, built for nobles to enjoy twisted amusements away from the eyes of the principality.
However, there was information obtained in that short time.
-‘People who gamble say that the fun is slowly diminishing. That’s why the stakes are low, so I’m looking for people here and there.’
-‘There was definitely a set of strong guys… I heard that the winner didn’t change even if it was a tournament. Then of course it wouldn’t be fun. I will do the same.’
-‘Yes. A young guy came in and won’t win no matter how hard he twists the match… Jeop.’
Looking at the patrol intervals, the story I heard before they showed any gaps was that story.
They are gradually wanting a new face. It meant that they wanted to meet new participants and face different results.
The moderator must have been frustrated because the gambling did not go ahead due to the one-sided victory.
This was the perfect way for me to step into the Octagon again.
So where are you and what do you do?
“Hey, isn’t that Junon? What’s the matter?”
I went to see John, who was said to be in the same class as him.
I’m thinking of finding out a bit about that academy student who goes in and out of the octagon and wins even if he twists a match.
John is in the third year. The person looking for it is a sophomore, but… This lecture is a lecture that must be taken regardless of the grade, so you must be familiar with it.
I was thinking about what to answer, so I decided to simply ask.
“Isn’t there a guy here who is always late or absent?”
“Oh, Cain?”
Looking at the name popping up right away, he doesn’t seem to be a bad sociable guy. Is not it? It might be because the opponent is the opponent.
When I asked about him, John said let’s move for a while, and he quickly told me what he knew.
“Isn’t he the guy from class C?”
“Uh. Unlike us, that guy was a very special case in that he came down to class C even though he wasn’t in the position of avant-garde or support. His grades must have been really good. I’ve seen him once.”
“Tell me more. Where have you been or have there been any special changes?”
“Hmm… I’m not sure about that. Why don’t you ask the other sophomores?”
I’d really appreciate it if you did, but…
It was a bit like asking for it. Because Cain is with me in this life.
She doesn’t think he’ll be particularly happy if she finds out about her information being revealed to someone she doesn’t know at all.
I can’t help but worry about coming first.
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‘I should ask anyway.’
Considering what kind of guy Cain is, she is a necessary step.
Let’s see. What price would it cost John to be silenced?
I thought about that, but I couldn’t come up with an answer.
“I don’t really have anything to give you… But can I ask you a favor?”
“What an idiot. I don’t need that. How much do I owe you! Dammit, wait.”
John went straight into the classroom and gathered information about Cain.
Of course, I couldn’t hear more because the lecture started soon, but there weren’t many people who knew Cain well, so I didn’t have anything more to ask.
She is said to have been seen coming into the classroom sometimes with serious injuries, and sometimes returning to the dormitory only after the lecture is over.
By the way, there is one thing that stands out. Originally, Cain, she said, was not only diligent in giving lectures, but she was never even late, let alone left early.
It means that there was a big change of heart at some point.
The starting point for such a big change, a little strangely, was immediately after the evaluation at the beginning of the semester.
‘You mean she’s been in and out of the Octagon ever since?’
It’s been months since prices have gone up, but it’s strange that she’s been needing money in the Octagon for a long time.
“…This is not something that can be solved without directly asking.”
Can a person with worries listen to what others have to say?
Before he even heard my story, it was obvious that he was going to do his own thing.
My back hurts because I’m in trouble.
Wouldn’t it be the worst if you didn’t even tell me about it from my point of view because I have something to do?
Cain’s going to the Octagon must be to pay a certain amount of money, but unfortunately I don’t know much about that guy’s circumstances.
Besides, if her state of mind has changed since then… Cain, she probably won’t confide in me at all.
How much effort did Goden put into recruiting Cain?
I’m sorry every time. Sorry. She knows that there are circumstances, but she has no way to convince the guy who didn’t open up easily.
Even if you try to pay back the money instead, the only place where you can earn that much is the Octagon, and from my point of view, I have to relieve the financial burden of students belonging to the front and support positions, so there is no such leeway.
“I can’t.”
I don’t like digging up information on him the way I’ve been through it, but the sheet battle is not something to be taken lightly.
I’m sorry Cain. I just want you to know that I couldn’t help it.
Because it’s better to twist a little and head toward a less dark side than to walk toward a dark future together.
***
“…”
Cain felt it.
She knows she’s de-raising her win conditions in the Octagon.
Her teeth were clearly to make her own defeat.
The presenter, who seemed willing to listen to anything, said that unlike before, he now had a very displeased face whenever he reduced the amount of money received.
It’s obvious.
Aren’t you saying you want to have fun in the Octagon somehow?
I just win every time, and seeing how he won without much effort, he must be lacking in spirit.
“…Ugh, didn’t they even treat it properly?”
The part where you can clearly feel it is this kind of trivial treatment.
He said he didn’t want a killing in the Octagon, but it was an intention to injure him and induce him to withdraw.
“It doesn’t matter anyway.”
As long as you fill the required amount of the item, that’s enough.
Those who are imprisoned in the Octagon are usually those who are bound by money, such as contracts or debts. Among them, most of them drop out, and the rest are slaves run by nobles.
Cain was the unrivaled champion there.
At the academy, she was once able to compete with Ronelion of the Arkab Party, so no matter how demerit she loses, she will never lose against them.
If you look at the goal amount that is gradually accumulating, you will be able to solve it within a few months.
However, the more difficult people are, the more they are tempted by trivial things.
As much as I received a particularly generous prize today, I couldn’t help but look towards it.
Cain spent some money on her longevity and once bought a snack that Rumia liked. She felt a little sorry for it, but she hardened her mind, thinking that this would be okay.
‘Rumia will like it, right?’
She was Cain’s age when he was 13 years old.
She was beaten badly for intercepting the lord’s carriage while she was at work.
She mentions Cain, who has been her orphan all her life, and the people she ridicules are like demons.
At this rate, the boy might become corrupted and commit murder.
But just then, a noble lady of the same age passing by finds him and offers her clean hand to Cain, who is full of dust.
-‘Oh my God… The scars…! Can it happen?’
At first, she rejected the hand in disbelief, but after a while, news spread that the lord and his family had been driven out. Then, the girl approached Cain again.
-‘I have no place to go now, would you like to work at my house?’
If he refuses, he comes back every time and tries to persuade him again. The girl walked tenaciously.
Then one day, there was a time when demonic beasts invaded and seriously injured Cain. The girl came even then and did not hesitate to order her only slanderer, Cain, to be put in her carriage and taken to her mansion.
A boy with nothing.
A commoner who would not care even if he was killed by a demon somewhere.
It was Rumia, who was in the exact opposite position, who saved Cain’s life after bringing Cain into her mansion.
A young lady from an aristocratic family who treated herself as a human being when she was just a worker.
Unlike most aristocrats who regarded her people as livestock, Cain was not distorted thanks to her kindness.
So now I will give it back.
I was going to do everything in my power to be with her for the rest of her life, whether or not I was hurt by her Rumia.
“Is Cain…?”
A slender girl’s voice resounds in a shabby house.
It was Rumia calling the name of the only boy who would come into the house.
“Wow…”
“Don’t force yourself to get up. Rumia.”
“…But…”
“It’s okay. I’ll get you up, so relax.”
Rumia couldn’t help but feel guilty every time she saw Cain arrive in this bed at night.
Because of his own sleep, he gets uncomfortable on the floor. He ruined his academy life because he couldn’t do anything. Every time he goes somewhere like today to feed three meals a day, he is always covered with these scars.
“Well, I bought something you liked today.”
“…”
Cain gave her an envelope containing her favorite snack.
He is always like this. He almost devotes himself to suffering from a disease that he said would be difficult to cure.
She has asked many times, but Rumia will ask again today.
“Why are you so nice to me, Cain?”
“It’s like that again. Don’t say anything strange and have a good dinner…”
“Now I’m no longer a noble. You don’t have to be so devoted.”
Rumia resolutely cut off Cain’s words, which she used to say the same way each time.
“My fallen family won’t come back anymore. Then it has nothing to do with you.”
“Rumia…”
“Even if I take refuge in Lemtert Village, even if my family name is cleared, I can’t give you anything back…! I have nothing to offer you!”
A rain of resentment forms in the girl’s eyes.
I even got a mysterious disease, and I can’t do anything with my weak body.
To the boy who hurts herself every time because of her, Rumia poured out her words that maybe she would be hurt.
“No matter how much you search in all directions, my illness cannot be cured. So give up and go straight on your way!!”
However, the face of the girl who had turned into a mess was still filled with warmth for one person.
Cain just gently hugged Lumia in her arms. She says Rumia says things she doesn’t even have on her mind.
“No matter how much you tell me to give up, I won’t give up.”
Cain doesn’t know that either.
How sorry Rumia is for herself, and how upset she is that she can’t do anything and that she’s just a nuisance.
Since Cain himself once thought that to her Rumia, he decided to accept these tears full of bitterness himself.
“You are the only reason I’m still alive. If you’re going to do this now, you shouldn’t have saved me in the first place.”
“…”
“You’ll get better. Don’t even think about it because I’ll help you get better somehow. Okay?”
When Cain finished talking to her, it was time for her to pat Rumia’s back. On his chest, she had the marks of her tears, left by her Rumia.
***
Following Cain, all she saw was a very shabby house.
A normal academy student has no reason to live in a house like this. It’s an inconvenient place to commute.
Why did you come here leaving the comfort of the academy dormitory? I thought so, but…
I changed my mind a bit when I heard the bitter cry of a girl in that shabby house.
The crying stopped before I knew it, and a conversation between the two took place inside the house.
“Okay, if you’ve all cried, now eat, Rumia. That’s what you liked.”
“…I can’t eat all of this.”
“Didn’t you eat it all before?”
“I don’t go in well because I’m sick… So let’s eat together. If I say I’m full, I won’t eat either.”
“Okay. Then let’s eat together.”
That’s why he left Thembris.
The reason why Cain couldn’t hold on to the end even though he had heard Goden’s appeasement many times.
That was because he also had someone he wanted to protect.
“…The plan, we have to change it.”
I know it’s trash even if I think about it, but…
You have to do this. Even for both of them.