5.5 Interlude: Gold and Silver (17)
Shortly after meeting Leto, I visited Alpenhauser’s twins.
I didn’t even have to sell my feet.
I heard that Alpenhauser’s twins were visiting professors and mostly stayed in the office.
It was a visit that was not even coordinated in advance.
Nobles value promises and understanding. It was polite for the person going to meet them to ask for some time in advance.
Even so, I didn’t want to keep that etiquette.
The Alpenhauser family smelled particularly suspicious.
First of all, at this point, I didn’t know how to suddenly return to the academy.
In addition, even the reason why you are looking for me.
If the one who regrets is the opponent anyway, it wouldn’t be bad to be brave.
No, I didn’t even know I wanted to vent my anger.
Celine met the two, and they soon disappeared.
The detailed causal relationship was unknown, but I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable.
what the hell were we talking about
The person holding the answer to that question was soon revealed.
Right after I knocked on the door, I was able to enter the office.
It was a room with warm sunlight.
Perhaps thanks to Alpenhauser’s halo, the twins’ office was well-lit. It was a place where the midday sun greeted me warmly.
It was summer outside.
Although the heat was still raging, the interior was maintained at a comfortable temperature. I wondered if it was due to the use of expensive magic tools.
For the Alpenhauser family, gold coins rotted away.
The Yurdina family also belonged to the wealthy, but Alpenhauser’s wealth was on a different level.
There is no gold coin on the continent that does not pass through the hands of Alpenhauser.
Because such words were openly circulated, and it was a place where huge capital was moved to be accepted as fact.
I was able to receive a surprisingly polite hospitality.
“Nice to meet you, so… Lian Percus?”
“Ian Perkus, sister.”
Between the soft light, the two sisters whispered softly.
The woman sitting in the chair was proud of her gorgeous beauty.
Her voluminous silver hair falls down her back like a waterfall in a gentle curve. The silver pupils were blurry, and it was difficult to distinguish them from the whites of the eyes.
And even a smile that seemed to hang on his lips.
The clear complexion and the fan in his hand seemed to testify to his lively and arrogant temper.
On the other hand, the woman standing behind him had a pale and gloomy impression.
First of all, it was the eyes hidden by the bangs.
And as if she was showing off that she was different from the woman sitting in front of me, even the bulky bobbed hair that slightly covered the nape of her neck.
The woman sitting in front greets them, and the woman standing behind corrects them.
A sight so peculiar that I could not have been unheard of.
First of all, because he was my senior.
With a wry smile, I lowered my head slightly.
“It’s been a while, Siene-senpai. And senior Luna.”
Alpenhauser’s Sun and Moon, Syene and Luna.
Siene has a bad memory, so she always had to listen to Luna’s advice, and Luna has poor judgment, so she always follows Siene’s decisions.
It was as if they were destined to do so from the moment they were born.
So people don’t call the two names. They only call them ‘twins’.
After all, the two of them rarely lived apart.
It’s been a long time since I also called the twins by their names.
Siene-senpai had a faint smile.
“It’s an honor to recognize you, Lord Berthas. But when have we ever seen one?”
“I said hello to you at the graduation ceremony two years ago, sister. The lioness of the jungle… And it’s not Berthas, it’s Percus.”
“Ah,” Shiene-senpai exclaimed as if she had finally realized it.
There was no sign of apology that I had misspelled my name.
“That handsome junior whom the lioness introduced! Nice to meet you, I was looking for you anyway.”
While covering his mouth with a fan, Shiene-senpai smiled.
“Would you like to sit down first? Apparently, the juniors also missed us quite a bit.”
It was an offer I didn’t have to refuse.
I calmly sat across from Siene-senpai and complained with a sigh.
“You are still there. Not being able to remember your name.”
“Because it is inefficient.”
“Tak,” Shiene-senpai declared as he closed the fan.
Luna senior was preparing a teacup and a kettle. In that natural gesture, there was no dissatisfaction characteristic of a person who takes care of chores.
It was a calm expression, as if it should be like this.
This was the same even for Siene-senpai.
“Any name, a place name, a specific number… Why are all those things important? All you need to know is the flow. The haughty trend created by the gathering of countless facts… Only those who can read it can hold gold coins in their hands.”
“Is that why you don’t even remember my name?”
“Because the capacity of the brain is limited.”
With a squeak, the teacup filled up with tea.
A fragrant tea scent wafted along with the steam. Siene-senpai held up the teacup with dignity.
“I don’t want useless facts to distract me. Please, forgive me.”
Bullshit, that’s what I thought when I heard that.
At the same time, my eyes turned to the side of the glance. There, I could see Luna-senpai pouring tea into my teacup.
If I didn’t need the information, I wouldn’t have to take Luna-senior with me all the time.
But I didn’t bother to break Siene-senpai’s stubbornness.
It was because he had a more important business.
“I heard that you met my dearest junior.”
Siene-senpai’s eyes narrowed as he was sipping tea.
Hmm, a strange sound comes out.
It was around that time that the teacup, which had been playing in the air, returned to its place with a thud.
“That girl from the swordsmanship department? So, her name was Elin… … .”
“This is Celine Haster, sister. He is also from the territory where our family’s gold mine is located.”
“Ah, right. The Hastur Gold Mine?”
As I listened to the conversation between the two, my eyebrows narrowed slightly.
‘Haster Gold Mine’.
It was shameless to have a conversation with those who forcibly took the mine that belonged to the Hastur family in the first place.
But I didn’t make the mistake of deliberately showing my feelings.
Anyway, the world I live in was different people.
If I had to point out the mistakes one by one, it was obvious that I would only say that it was a fair transaction according to the contract.
Rather, it would be better for my mental health to end the conversation quickly.
“Did you ever have any trouble with Celine?”
What came back was a snort.
blatant ridicule.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t offended, but I was convinced as soon as I heard it.
Siene-senpai did not touch Celine.
You wouldn’t even feel the need to do that.
“It can’t be, can it? There’s no reason to provoke the young lady of that weak family. Because it is inefficient.”
“Then, even if there is something strange in the middle of the conversation… … .”
“No, no. I just went to inquire about your whereabouts. Is there a message saying when they will return from the north?”
As Siene-senpai shook her head like that, someone approached Siene-senpai’s ear.
It was Luna senior.
When she whispered something, Siene-senpai’s attitude softened a little.
“Huh? Come to think of it, what kind of woman did I keep not seeing at that time… … .”
“Are you a woman?”
“Yes, it was an empty lot with no one there. Has my head gotten a little weird since I only wielded a sword? no no! More than you!”
It’s a hallucination of seeing a ‘woman’.
It was a phenomenon I had heard about before.
I couldn’t even hear what the woman in front of me was talking about as I was digging through those elusive memories.
More novels at noblemtl.com
Judging from the way he held the fan with a proud face, it seemed that he was thinking of offering me a deal.
It was a moment later that my consciousness, which had been wandering in the past, surfaced.
To be precise, it was close to being forced to wake up.
Everyone will do that when they see platinum coins pouring down.
Against the backdrop of my dumbfounded eyes, the woman had a haughty smile.
“How about it, is it enough?”
So the story continues.
“In exchange for selling the saintess.”
More novels at noblemtl.com
Just as I pulled out the hatchet.
Bang, and a shockwave exploded with an explosion.
It happened as soon as the hatchet hit the table.
The brute strength of an experienced prosecutor far exceeds the criminal’s common sense. A pure white bolt of lightning that struck in an instant shattered a piece of wooden furniture in one fell swoop.
Platinum flowers and pieces of wood scattered in the air, and Siene’s stunned face.
I raised the height of the hatchet without hesitation.
It was then that the belated screams broke out.
“Kyaaa! all you… what are you doing?!”
“Are you saying that now?”
I growled low and gritted my teeth.
Selling the saintess?
How could that be?
The saintess was not only my colleague, but also a benefactor who saved my life several times. Just hearing the call to sell it made my ears rot.
I spoke again in a voice that I struggled to hold back.
“Betray my comrades? I bet you don’t intend to leave the body after insulting me like that.”
“Are you thinking of getting out? Where in the world is there a madman who wields an ax just because he said a word!”
Siene-senpai screamed with his complexion flushed.
It seemed that he had not yet grasped the situation.
“Whoa,” I said, catching my breath.
A nobleman’s honor is like his life.
If you were insulted, it was customary to return more than that. It just so happened that Siene-senpai’s condescending attitude was regrettable.
Even if it wasn’t severe, I thought I’d take care of my hands enough to not look down on me.
Luna-senpai seemed to have noticed my intentions.
At least the calm voice resounded.
“My sister, Ian Perkus, is known for his violent tendencies. There is already a precedent of severely injuring the great nobles including Yurdina sister.”
It was only then that Siene-senpai had a drawn-out face, as if he had guessed the future to come.
Of course, the tongue was still trying to find a way out.
“No, no, no… I’m a woman with no power! Can you do this to me?! Isn’t there such a thing as knightly honor?”
My body, which was about to lower the hatchet immediately, stopped.
That was a valid point.
Up until now, I had only wielded an ax at an opponent equipped with arms. At least those who had the means to protect themselves, be they swords or magic, were my enemies.
But Alpenhauser’s twins were different.
Ordinary people without any power, could not recklessly wield an ax just because they were insulted.
After hesitating for a moment, I came up with an appropriate compromise.
“Then, only to the extent that there are no scars left… … .”
“Isn’t this a complete lunatic?!”
In the end, Shiene-senpai, unable to find a way out, cried and clung to Luna-senpai.
The silver eyes that couldn’t even focus were filled with water.
“Luna, that person is strange… Your eyes are gone! Why did we try to do a favor for this human being?”
It was astounding how bold he was to speak so shamelessly until the very end.
Is it really enough to aim for the next head of the Alpenhauser?
So I had no choice but to swallow a laugh and ask back.
“A favor, what nonsense is that… … .”
“Because it’s not a betrayal.”
I was speechless for a moment and shut my mouth.
My doubtful eyes turned to Siene-senpai.
Before I knew it, the silver-gray pupil was facing me. There was no fear or bite that he had felt before.
On the contrary, it was a look of subtle interest.
“Before you are betrayed, you should pay a fair price. Ah, by any chance, the swordsmanship department teaches that that is also a betrayal?”
And with a meaningful smile floating on Shiene-senpai’s lips, I
I put strength into the hand holding the hatchet again.
“Quaaa Hey, he’s a real madman!”
For a while, screams echoed through the office.
**
I trudged back to the dormitory.
A familiar landscape covered my retina. It was a room I returned to after a long time, but I just headed for the cupboard with a tired expression on my face.
There was a bottle of cheap whiskey there.
As I opened the lid and filled the glass, I remembered the story I had heard that afternoon.
“You think you know everything about the saintess? Poof, ahahahaha! I’m a strong woman who threw away my name and has been acting all my life?”
“It’s not easy anywhere, especially in the political arena of the Seongguk. An asaripan whose tongue dances like a knife and who thinks of a smile as a scabbard… The saintess survived there.”
Like mocking or sympathizing.
Siene-senpai was right to talk to me. My hand grabbed the glass.
So what did I answer?
“You believe? ah, what That’ll be fine. It’s not bad to regret after being betrayed. Youth is a process of learning lessons like that.”
With a smile, the woman said.
“Good luck, Sir Periant.”
It’s Sir Percus.
My head was complicated.
I would like to think of it as simple alienation, but Shiene-senpai was so full of confidence. As if she knew the secret of the saintess that even I did not know.
And sooner or later, as if that fact would be revealed.
I remembered a certain woman.
A pure maiden with silver hair and light pink eyes, favored by the gods.
A gradual flashback follows.
The memory of sticking out your tongue and teasing me, the memory of crying out why you saved the orphans, the feeling of your hand passing by, the warm warmth, the flush on your cheek and the smell of a woman’s flesh.
“… … no.”
Muttering to myself, I swallowed a bitter smile.
The saintess was not a wicked person.
No matter what secrets I was hiding, my faith in the saintess did not change.
Then there was only one thing I had to do.
I don’t know what plot she’s plotting, but trials soon come to the saintess.
so i will keep
To keep the saintess from getting sick.
The night was deep with such determination, and the next day.
An envelope was placed by my bedside.