105 – 105. Infiltrating the Octagon (7)
Morning has arrived.
Thanks to the fight as a fighting dog that lasted from yesterday evening until dawn, my body was quite sore.
“Ugh…!”
Stretching lights up with a thumping sound.
I slept soundly for a short period of time, but I feel that the fatigue is still a little less.
I relieve her throbbing limbs by stretching, and finally, I turn her neck to reorganize yesterday’s work.
“…”
Dreuk-
When I open the drawer, I see a money bag full of bills. It was the money I had received as an advance payment yesterday.
“It’s going to be difficult to bet on this side right now… Hmm…”
Aristocrats always keep an eye on the appearance of capitalists. As much as I directly advised that it would be better to dismantle the Lewen Merchant, I also need to be careful about the movement of money.
25,000 Alte. Even though it’s not comparable to the rich, they are bound to notice that this amount of money suddenly moves.
Right away, the host of the gambling house asked a question as if hinting at where the money would be spent.
If it were to be revealed that he had spent money on the academy, he would immediately smell it and find out where the money went.
“As a sponsor, I can only give out five people at most, so there’s no way to do it. In the end, the only thing I can do is ask someone who makes sense?”
However, even if the source of the money is revealed, the problem is the source of the money.
If you ask me where this much money came from, the problem is that I get caught in a trap. If you ask me if there is a group around me that can trust me that much… I should answer that it doesn’t exist.
What should I do with this? You can’t sneak out.
I got it because I needed money, but I don’t have the means to pay right now.
“Okay, let’s rest for a while.”
It was strange that my head didn’t hurt.
***
Cain was suddenly taken away from earning money and had no place to work.
From noble mtl dot com
Many things have disappeared due to Junon’s appearance that morning, but nothing has changed.
There is only one thing that has changed. It was that the red flags that had come into Rumia’s health had returned to yellow ones.
‘…I know what’s inside my brother, but I don’t know.’
It’s no wonder he says, “If you’re going to tear something off, be a faithful dog that follows you.”
She even showed it with her own eyes, so even if she wasn’t impulsive, she would have bowed her head and followed the other person’s wishes.
As Cain, who had seen many nobles who were tired of greed and amusement, she was willing to follow for Rumia’s future, even if that meant it.
No matter what she asked for, even if she was used, if it was for Rumia’s sake, she would throw her body as hard as she could.
He asserted that it was inevitable that his opponent would treat him like a puppet. It was a situation where all the weaknesses were openly exposed.
But he was different.
Like aristocrats, there are things I wish for, but that wasn’t… A sign to force, obey, surrender.
He didn’t know he might lose everything, but he didn’t lose anything.
She thought that at least Junon-senpai and his older brother should not be put on the same line as those rotten nobles.
‘This is it.’
Cain’s footsteps, which became much lighter, stopped at one team’s insolvency.
And. Knock
Smart.
-If you’re a guest… You must be a newcomer. You go out, Michelle.
– Me? What you do, Aris, rather than me…
– No matter how anxious you are because of your status, you should do it when you need to! It’s hard for me to interview new recruits every time.
-Ah, okay. Yes, let’s go
As I was reviewing the documents, the footsteps of a female student hurriedly approached.
Then the door opened and a woman with a reddish-brown ponytail appeared who was restless.
“Nice to meet you. Can I ask you one more time about your business?”
I can feel it just by pretending.
It’s small enough to be felt just by glancing at her outward appearance, but her dignified actions made it possible to recognize that she was an aristocrat with only her senses.
It doesn’t matter whether a noble responds or not. Anyway, the fourth condition given to me by my older brother does not change.
“I stopped by after seeing a post saying they are recruiting team members.”
“I see… The joining process is a bit tricky, so you’ll have to test it yourself. Would that be okay?”
“Yes.”
This is the last of the four conditions that Rumia demanded to be protected instead of curing her.
Join the Tembris team.
Other conditions have given plausible reasons, but nothing is known about this case.
In a way, it can be seen as the only thing that took away freedom, but I don’t think so. Rather, I wanted to find the reason why he asked me to go here.
“Ahhh, I finally see Michelle getting a new recruit. No big deal about being a nobleman, right?”
“…Yes.”
“You’re a pretty blunt person. I’d like you to come in and write a brief profile.”
It’s a completely different vibe from the woman with the maroon ponytail we just saw. Guessing from experience… This one is not an aristocrat.
Because he is a man with a good reputation thanks to the recent defense of Osoptera.
“Okay. And I know that you two are in the third year, so you don’t have to be respectful to me, a sophomore.”
“Oh. You’re quite easy-going. Okay. Our team leader will come soon for the skill test, so wait here until then.”
Teams tend to be concentrated on one side rather than being made up of nobles and commoners.
Some people hire people to do administrative work, but that doesn’t mean they’re seen as a team member.
Furthermore, skill tests are often determined by documents containing magical indicators.
But this team…
The standard is different. Their personalities varied greatly, so even so, there was no fog in their eyes when they looked at people.
‘I see, brother, did you even foresee this?’
There was a good reason for making the fourth condition to visit this team called Tembris and join it.
So Cain guessed. That senior, who spoke a cold and cold tone, did not have the slightest malice.
***
As the days go by, the truth of the gambling house is revealed in detail.
Parachutes who were once assigned shady positions hired for the convenience of officials and professors who worked at the academy.
Employers who continued to cause conflict to gain advantage, and distorted the facts with incitement if something deteriorating occurred.
They, who had done only false actions in empty jobs, were terribly collapsing here.
—Yes! Get up and fight! That won’t even help us!
─The academy’s goofy bastards. I should have done it right at least.
As soon as the charges were admitted, there was no way to get them back for those who lost their jobs.
It must have been absurdly difficult for those who had tasted the taste of money, corruption, and power to return to a normal life.
Thus, inevitably, they arrived here in search of work after suffering difficulties in life.
Some of them had already spent all their money and ended up in the ring.
It was self-employed.
Those who dabbled in gambling, those who lost everything they owned and went into the ring like the slaves they saw, all human beings are the same.
Tembris has arrested some of those fighting like dogfights inside the octagonal ring.
By combining information, he points out contradictions in detail, and presses the opponent so that even a refutation cannot be returned. It was safe to say that they were arrested by Charlotte herself.
No matter what, I won’t feel pity at all. All I send them is an inward click and a dry stare.
However, when this insipid gaze looks at a certain subject, the eyes sparkle for a moment.
No. Maybe it was a little sad eyes.
“Bastard, get down!!!”
“What the hell is that bastard…!”
This time, the format unfolded within the Octagon was survival.
It is an event where you can put in a majority rather than 1:1 and reach first place in the end no matter what tricks you use.
The inside of the ring is not much different, but a place filled with water was added at the edge so that even the weakest can be defeated by simply dropping the strong.
Thus, due to the nature of the event, the weak will achieve something like temporary collaboration, and the strong will naturally be the first to be checked, so it was obvious that they would face the majority.
And, in the middle of such a mess, he was steadfastly dealing with the majority.
Dive!
-28 Eliminated.
Chack!
-41 Eliminated.
“Nos. 28 And 41. Two people are eliminated!!”
Charlotte wasn’t the type to enjoy these arena games. Even as the time approached for her immediate ledger to turn in as evidence, she was still staring inside the ring.
“…”
She doesn’t know the least about martial arts and hand-to-hand combat, but she knows that the boy in the ring is acting out of the ordinary.
At the moment of his movement, the onlookers are silent, buzzing, and shouting, and inside the bars, the cold of tension and the heat of cheers come and go from time to time. I could only notice that.
A move worthy of admiration indeed.
A disciplined posture and well-established proficiency in the body.
I can’t even imagine what kind of effort went into each and every action you see through the bars.
That’s why Charlotte’s eyes are constantly on the ring. I couldn’t understand why someone who put in that much effort was wasting his talent in a place like this.
The boy in the ring will face four at the same time this time.
He is wearing a gauntlet, but this time he can’t exert his strength like before, perhaps because the opponent isn’t so complacent.
Only this time, I was put on the defensive as the enemy’s attack relentlessly aimed at me with weapons. Until the skin was cut even shallowly and blood flowed out.
This must be the end, around the time Charlotte sent such a pitiful glance.
The situation that was put on the defensive is reversed in an instant.
“… Huh?”
For a moment, Charlotte felt that something was foreign.
The hooded boy’s only equipment is gauntlets. Like the tall men he had just dealt with, he didn’t carry a woodcarving or a pipe, so he couldn’t land an effective blow.
The situation, which was thought to be in a hurry to slash the weapon with the gauntlet, turned the situation around with the faint light contained in the gauntlet.
No matter how you look at it, the identity of the faint light contained in the gauntlet was magic.
A magical power that was very closely related to her past, which she had felt somewhere.
All the hairs on his petite body stood up at the magical power that gave him this alien sensation.
‘What is it? This feeling… Somewhere…’
She’s clutching at the fading memory and narrowing her eyebrows, but unfortunately Charlotte doesn’t have time for that.
“No. 5, The man in the hood knocks out another man! Ah~ This time he looks a little tired! But there are only a few left! It’s a survival game where the outcome is often overturned at the end, so the tension is tight. Should I hold on tight?”
Only after hearing that there are only a handful of people left, the girl regains her senses with a pity.
‘Yes, I have to find the evidence first, what am I doing!’
She is busy even now, and Charlotte starts looking for things to submit with her records.
However, the search that started much later than in the past causes another distortion.