5.5 Interlude: Gold and Silver(14)
Celine is missing.
Immediately after hearing the news, I immediately headed to my bedroom to pack my things.
It was because the matter was so serious.
It’s already been several weeks since I broke up with Celine. It wasn’t that he had forgotten Celine, but he wasn’t particularly worried.
It was because I assumed that he would be focusing on training at the academy anyway.
But suddenly ‘disappeared’.
It was a fact that was difficult for me to accept.
Once upon a time, the academy was densely populated.
It was said that sightings were bound to circulate wherever he went. Wasn’t Celine even famous enough to be called the flower of the swordsmanship department?
And there were many guards who patrolled the academy regularly.
As it is a place where the continent’s best talents gather, its security is also thorough.
Even if he wanted to leave voluntarily, the academy was the place where his traffic was exposed. The chances of a ‘disappearance’ in such a place were extremely low.
It was the reason why I had no choice but to follow Leah even while I was busy walking.
“Are you missing? Why is Celine disappearing?”
“So it’s a missing person case! In fact, there are aspects that are still ambiguous to call them missing… … .”
The more I listened, the more difficult it was.
If it is a disappearance, it is a disappearance, and what is the ambiguous side to call it a disappearance?
Seeing my bewildered eyes, Leah hesitantly added an additional explanation.
“It’s already been two days since he disappeared!”
“I might not see you for a couple of days, right? There must be times when Celine wants to have some alone time too.”
My objection was valid.
There are many groups of people aiming for a woman wandering the streets alone at night, but this was also limited to ordinary people.
Celine was a prodigy who had passed the academy’s entrance exam.
It meant that even seasoned mercenaries were troublesome opponents, let alone city officials who roamed around the night.
The possibility of being in danger by wandering alone was not high.
Rather, I don’t know if the poor thugs get hurt because of reckless arguing.
Of course, there was no way that Leah couldn’t have anticipated this rebuttal.
“It can’t be. Celine unni has been training all day lately… But no matter where I looked around the place where I was training, I couldn’t see her.”
“A swordsman must train not only his body but also his mind. Maybe he took a clue and left to meditate… … .”
“Even if the last person you met was the daughter of the Alpenhauser family?”
It was a remark that made all the previous discussions meaningless.
I stopped right there, forgetting even to breathe. My distrustful eyes turned to Celine.
Alpenhauser family.
One of the 5 noble families of the Empire, they were the ones who brought disaster to Hastur.
The families called ‘great nobility’ in the Jagoro Empire had to symbolize each one.
Yurdina in the north took over the military power.
Luphemion of the East has a knight.
Findleston of the West information.
Arahorn in the south is a magician.
And the Alpenhauser in the center is believed to hold the gold.
Celine argued that this was also the reason why the Alpenhauser family invaded the Hastur family.
Specifically, it was caused by a gold mine discovered in Hastur’s territory one day.
Numerous families fought over the enormous interest. And Alpenhauser became the final victor, and they immediately controlled the ascending to the Hastur family, putting the territory in a state of withering.
Not to mention the developments that followed.
Baron Hastur collapsed because he couldn’t overcome his anger, and the Hastur family’s subjects were being worked in the mines at a bargain price.
It was too terrible a tragedy for the young and only daughter of the Hastur family to bear.
After that day, Celine swore revenge on Alpenhauser.
The antipathy and inferiority towards the high-ranking nobles must also originate from the pain of that day.
However, there was one question that I couldn’t help but point out.
“As for the daughters of the Alpenhauser family, those twins? Didn’t you already graduate?”
Yes.
There were only two of Alpenhauser’s daughters.
The twin seniors who took the top and bottom seats of the Department of Commerce in turn.
They were 1 year senior to Delphine and Elsie, and since the academy didn’t have a system called ‘remuneration’, the two were already graduates.
It was hard to guess why he would come to the academy.
He probably wouldn’t have walked out on purpose to meet Celine.
Leah couldn’t give a proper answer to this.
“I don’t know the details either. I heard that he returned as a visiting professor, but how can people of that level move around without any purpose?”
Hmmm, even though he swallowed his saliva, there was nothing to point out.
Anyway, it was information that I couldn’t know at the moment. I decided to stop worrying about it.
You could go back to the academy and inquire about the details.
There were other issues that needed to be dealt with more quickly.
“Lia, you are moving towards the warp gate first. I’ll say goodbye to the rest of you and come back.”
“Are you going to leave right away?”
“Celine disappeared, what should I do, then? Don’t worry, I’ll just say hello… By the way, what did Leto say?”
At the question that seemed to have come to her mind, Lia was silent for a moment.
Golden pupils headed up the ceiling. It wasn’t until the girl’s index finger tapped her lips a couple of times before I heard what could be called an answer.
“… … I was told to be careful?”
It was something I had heard countless times before.
Mostly stories I heard from my comrades right before standing on the battlefield or from ‘me’ from the future.
But it was the first time Leto spoke.
I put Leah’s explanation behind me and started walking again.
“They say politics started at the academy.”
I was told that it was time to face my most vulnerable area.
Of course, it didn’t really inspire me right now.
There was only one thought running through my mind.
Celine, where are you going?
I had to hurry back to the academy.
**
As much as my decision was sudden, the attitudes of the women who looked at me were different.
First of all, there were many people who could not follow me due to circumstances.
For example, Delphine-senpai, Seria, or the saintess did that.
Delphine was the woman who would become the head of Yurdina. Of course, she would be able to return only after cleaning up, and Seria’s situation was no different.
Of course, Seria showed her determination to follow me without fail.
“I’ll go back with you.”
“Seria, you still have work to do on the front line… … .”
“That’s what your sister will do.”
Seria’s voice was full of cold air as she said that.
It was fortunate that I didn’t call her ‘bitch’ anymore. This was the result of my persuasion over several days.
A vassal calling the head of household a ‘bitch’?
It was a rumor that would have a bad effect on Delphine and Seria.
It was best to prevent it in the first place.
In the end, I sighed and decided to appease Seria.
When my hands were lightly placed on her shoulders, Seria flinched and gave a puzzled look.
“I mean, Seria. Delphine is precious.”
Seria’s eyes lit up with blue sparks at the calm confession.
The sound of teeth grinding together was heard. Seria’s hands were full of energy.
It was an incredible force.
As if a person had changed in an instant.
It was the reaction I was expecting.
I persuaded Seria without losing my composure.
“And you are just as precious. You know it’s my greed, but I don’t want the two of you to fight.”
“but… … .”
“I’m not going to abandon either of them.”
It was a very shameless sound.
If Marquis Yurdina had seen this scene, she might have grabbed the back of her neck and collapsed.
But what can I do?
This was also the price the Marquis of Yurdina joined hands with the Dark Church.
All the discord in the family was originating from him.
I tried so hard to ignore the voice of my conscience.
“At least until I am freed from my obligations… So Seria, can’t you just put up with it until then?”
It was a cowardly request.
Seria had no choice. She was the woman who said even life had no meaning without me.
If I wasn’t going to abandon either of them, Seria had no choice but to follow my will.
But Seria was a braver woman than I thought.
“… … like.”
Seria said to me with a cold smile.
“I will show you. What a worthless woman that bitch is… The only good thing about being a female is that smooth face and body, right? I’ll prove it. While Senior Ian hesitated.”
It wasn’t the answer I was expecting, but I’m glad he understood what I was saying.
I forcibly swallowed the sigh that leaked out and nodded.
Fortunately, my mind was relieved.
I don’t think Delphine-senpai and Seria’s fight will go to the extreme.
There was a voice that caught my steps as I was about to leave to say hello again.
“I-I… Senior Ian!”
I looked back questioningly.
Seria hesitated and hesitated. The bloody momentum had long since disappeared.
It didn’t take long for the blushing girl’s back to bend.
“Oh, clothes! Can you give me just one set of clothes!”
It was such an unexpected request that I was stunned, but Seria muttered with her ears blushing red.
“Well, the longer you wait, the harder it gets! Uh, business promotion hee… Ugh, also for the efficiency of propulsion… Blood, wouldn’t it be necessary?!”
I looked around Seria’s bedroom without saying a word.
it was still
Dolls that resemble me and items related to me were displayed everywhere.
In the end, I had to pretend that nothing was wrong and take off my coat.
It was embarrassing, but it was okay.
Because my beloved junior has a happy smile on his face.
For Seria’s sake, he could have been ashamed.
There were other women who insisted on following me.
It was a saintess.
Even though there are a lot of people who need treatment right away, the saintess made a strong point that she would definitely follow me.
Still, the saintess was a saint.
No matter how much I wanted to follow me, I couldn’t leave the moaning patients behind.
she said with a desperate face.
“… … I’ll organize it within a week and follow it.”
“Yes, thank you.”
I smiled awkwardly at the fallen saintess.
I don’t know if it was before, but now that I’ve been through women a few times, I can feel it.
The fact that the saintess has favor with me.
It was an opponent that common sense allowed my body to allow. I had to see that my heart had already passed over.
So I was even more confused.
Someday I’ll have to catch up and say it.
The relationship between Delphine senior, Seria, and even Emma.
However, it was something I couldn’t even think of right now, so I decided to commit to a later date.
It was enough to postpone the hardships to me later.
After that, the opponents I met did not need any persuasion process.
Elsie-senpai and the princess said they would follow me, and Neris-senpai had to carry out his duties as a spy.
But Delphine only left strange sounds.
“It has already begun.”
“… … Yeah?”
I had no choice but to return the half-door, dumbfounded by the sudden sound.
Regardless of whether or not, Delphine was just scratching her chin with a bored look.
“It’s a joke towards the next seat of power. It doesn’t matter in the Yurdina family because I’m the only one who was born into a royal family, but the other five prestigious families have their heirs compete with each other. Which of the heirs to the throne do you line up… And depending on who becomes the next emperor, the position of head of household is determined.”
“Could Alpenhauser’s twins have something to do with him?”
“must.”
Delphine-senpai, who hadn’t seen me in armor in a while, said in a rather serious tone.
“By the way, Alpenhauser’s twins are on the side of Princess Iris. I don’t know for what purpose I returned to the academy… Be careful, West.”
After that, it was as usual.
After kissing and talking with Delphine, I left the office after enjoying a short time of pleasure.
After that, the way to the warp gate.
I was walking holding Emma’s hand.
Emma’s complexion had already turned red.
“I-Ian… You don’t have to do this. I’m so shy… … ..”
“No, no. You still have energy left in your body.”
It was a bit of a fuss, but I was sincere.
The scenery of that day was still stuck in my mind like a nail.
A woman in the intensive care unit with a pale complexion breathing thinly.
I don’t know if it’s because of that, but I was especially sensitive to Emma’s health problems.
like right now
“Once you arrive at the academy, take a good rest. Don’t worry about your luggage. I can take it or send someone. Or hire a caregiver… … .”
Each time my staged worries continued hesitatingly, Emma’s gaze turned even more downward.
Of course I didn’t notice this.
Even what’s going on behind my back.
It was only vaguely felt with a faint sense.
The fact that senior Elsie, who had been whispering with the princess, was casting strange eyes on me and Emma.
On the day we went back to the academy, a bomb was placed between us.
Elsie-senpai had been staring at Emma ever since.
continue, all the way.