Chapter 10: Countless People Were Pouring Onto Me Part 5

Johan Damus was fun to tease.

That was Lobelia’s terrible assessment of him.

“Kult? That bastard was a back-alley brat who got adopted into the Hereticus Marquisate…”

He would throw a fit if someone called him the Oracle, yet he always watched for her reaction.

If she acted friendly and struck up a conversation, he would take a step back like he was creeped out.

He spouted all sorts of flattery with his mouth, yet he clearly drew a line.

And yet…

“Ah, that bastard does have a friend, but he’s probably not involved. I’m sure Your Highness will handle it well, but that guy has quite a bit of potential, so unless it’s cleared up properly…”

He trusted her.

Who knew what kind of future he had seen or what he knew…but Johan placed his complete trust in Lobelia.

Perhaps that was why Johan never made any moves toward her.

You’d think he’d at least want to check how the future was unfolding, but he didn’t show even the slightest bit of interest.

Until now, he had likely shut his eyes and ears, choosing only to verify the outcome.

“Oracle.”

“I’m not an Oracle.”

Lobelia had been watching Johan as he babbled away important information and suddenly spoke up. There was no special reason; she just felt like teasing him.

But at the same time, she couldn’t help but let out a laugh when she saw Johan’s openly annoyed expression.

“I can’t tell if you’re fearless or just a coward.”

“Isn’t that rich, coming from the person who did the threatening?”

Lobelia laughed as she looked at Johan, who clearly didn’t understand her words.

“How unfair. Weren’t you the one who suggested we eat? I merely accepted the date you proposed.”

“So you took it as a declaration of war. Now I understand.”

“Hahaha!”

“…Did I say something wrong?”

“No, no. I just laughed because I genuinely find the current situation amusing. You’re… how should I put it… you felt very human to me.”

To be honest, it was hard to call Johan a good person.

Over the past year, he had turned a blind eye to countless incidents that he could have stopped. If he had some firm belief about not interfering with the future, that would be one thing. But considering how freely he was blabbing now, it was obvious that wasn’t the case.

He was a selfish person.

He had weighed the lives of countless people against his own safety.

And yet, that made him all the more human.

“You’re a rare type in the Cradle, don’t you think?”

“Well, compared to those slaughter machines, I guess I am pretty human.”

“Yes, exactly that.”

Lobelia had come to think of the Cradle’s students as her comrades-in-arms.

Fellow warriors who would fight beside her.

She could entrust her back to them, and they could do the same with her.

Those kinds of relationships had already been forged.

Which was why someone like Johan could only strike her as unusual.

“So don’t worry. I’ll take full responsibility for your safety.”

A weak, cowardly, selfish, and fearful person.

Which made him an ordinary person.

Lobelia found herself quite fond of Johan, who still retained such normalcy.

****

Too much had happened.

I was really exhausted…

“What a dumb bastard.”

This latest attack was my mistake. To be precise, I had been too complacent.

Of course, I had my excuses.

First of all, for the past year, everything outside the Cradle had felt like a “safe place” to me.

It was because all kinds of incidents had been happening around the Cradle.

For me, going out had been the only time I could truly relax.

Of course, even then, I acted cautiously, afraid of getting involved with other students.

“I can’t believe I overlooked something so obvious.”

But now, the situation had been completely reversed.

The Cradle had become a safe place.

And paradoxically, because the Cradle had become safe, the outside world had grown even more dangerous. The forces that had once targeted the Cradle were now prowling outside of it.

Their objective was to recruit or eliminate talent. So naturally, they had been waiting for students to step outside.

Of course, I had accounted for that, too.

That was why I had disguised myself with camouflage magic while I was out.

Still, I should have been more thorough. Acting the same way I had in my first year had been the root of the problem.

Though, the fact that those Eden bastards had blatantly come after me was also an issue.

But the fundamental problem lay elsewhere. It was my own complacency.

“I shouldn’t have gone out.”

What a joke. Calling it a change of pace.

I should’ve just stuck to eating at the campus cafeteria until graduation.

What the hell was I thinking, wandering around outside like that?

In any case, the situation was now at its worst.

Because Eden was targeting me.

Still, there was one good thing.

I now knew that Eden was after me.

“If they’re targeting me directly, not just random people…”

Then their wrath could spill over to those around me. Taking family members hostage was a common tactic.

I still didn’t know the reason.

But I had learned something: even if I did absolutely nothing, I could still become a target.

What a bitter reality.

Anyway, now that I knew I was being targeted, the first thing I had to do was clear.

I activated the silver mirror.

“Father, I want to drop out.”

“My son… it hasn’t even been three days since I told you no last time.”

“The situation has changed. Eden is targeting me.”

“Those bastards, whether this one or that one, they’re all just attackers, aren’t they?”

“They used to be, but now it seems like I’ve become a specific target.”

“…Did you mess something up?”

“Shouldn’t your first reaction be to worry about your son? I told you I was attacked by those bastards earlier today!”

“Oh no, are you alright?”

“Yes, I survived thanks to a crazy clown and an even crazier princess.”

“Sounds like you’re the craziest one. How dare you call a princess that?”

“That’s not the point, is it?”

“So did you mess something up or not?”

“I didn’t! I’m losing my mind trying to figure out why I’m being targeted. What kind of mess could I have made?”

“From the way your mouth’s running, I’d say you caused a pretty big mess.”

Good grief, people say even emperors get cursed out behind their backs, but here I am being branded a troublemaker just for talking a little trash about a princess.

“Anyway, the answer is no.”

“Why not?”

“If you’re a target, then we’d be in danger too. Stay there.”

“Father…”

“Honestly, even you know I’m right, don’t you?”

“Father…”

“Ugh, what kind of disaster has my son stirred up that I’ve got to reinforce the territory’s security at my age?”

Come on, Father!

I mean, I guess I’d react the same way if I were him… but still, shouldn’t he at least pretend to worry about me?

“You don’t even need to do anything. Just hole up in the Cradle and let the Archmage protect you, right? Isn’t that convenient?”

“Ugh…!”

Honestly, he had a point.

Right now, the Cradle probably was safer than our territory.

“Oh, but they might still swarm this way, so why don’t you head outside once in a while and show your face around?”

“What? How could you say that? You’re just going to abandon your own son when he’s in danger? Isn’t that grounds for disqualification as a father?”

“Maybe so, but as the lord of the land, I have duties I can’t ignore. I’m sorry, son, but I want to be a good lord. I can’t risk the whole territory going up in flames just to protect you.”

“Still, that’s—!”

“And besides, wouldn’t you rather inherit a territory that’s still intact someday?”

“……”

“You know we’ve built up a decent fortune over the years, even if we’re just a borderland count family, right? By the time you inherit the title, you won’t have to worry about money.”

“……”

“My son.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s do this right.”

“Yes……”

In the end, I couldn’t help but be convinced by Father’s logical reasoning.

Fine, I’ll endure it. If I can just hang in there until graduation, everything will sort itself out.

Or maybe Lobelia will clean up Eden early on.

Whatever happens, what I have to do right now is already decided.

Yeah, I…

***

I decided to visit the training grounds.

It’s been a while since I came here… Even though it was evening, there were a lot of people.

Well, I guess that makes sense. Training this hard was how they all got so good.

It wasn’t like I hadn’t been trying, but I’ve had different burdens to carry.

Most of the students swinging swords or casting spells here right now have all had something taken from them over the past year.

Maybe it was a friend. Maybe it was their wealth. Maybe it was their pride.

Whatever it was, that kind of loss created a different kind of drive.

“Phew…”

And I have that kind of drive now, too.

Or rather, I’ve finally found it.

When your life’s on the line, when there’s a real, undeniable threat….you can’t help but put in the effort.

Yeah, I may be late to the game, but I can become like those walking slaughter machines.

“Hah!”

I swung my sword at the training grounds.

That simple yet clear-cut method of sharpening myself.

Even if I lack talent and got a late start, I’ll be fine.

Who could blame me for trying to protect myself?

I swung my sword.

“Ah, that’s not how you hold a sword. So frustrating….”

This time, I tried a diagonal slash.

“Oh my, swing like that and you’ll wreck your wrist. Tsk, tsk.”

Next, I went for a horizontal cut.

“Keep that up and you’ll scrape your whole palm.”

Hey, you sons of bit*hes.

They really wouldn’t shut the hell up…

I didn’t know what to do with all the attention pouring in my direction.

The thought of quitting already started to fill my head.

Ah, right! This is exactly why I rarely came to the training grounds. Compared to these guys, I always ended up feeling so small.

“Ahem, um… excuse me…”

“Haah.”

Eventually, someone even decided to intervene directly.

It was a girl who gave off this pink cotton candy kind of vibe. I mean her hair was all pink and fluffy.

I didn’t really know who she was.

We’d never met before. Or wait….hold on. Maybe I saw her in Class F?

No? Were we in the same class last year?

No, whatever. I didn’t know. Didn’t care to know, either.

“Could you mind your own business?”

Either way, I immediately shut down her attempt to correct me.

I answered sharply and smacked the wall.

“Okay. But that’s not how you hold a sword, you know? You need to grip it more with your fingers, kind of like—”

“You’re clearly not minding your own business.”

Still, she didn’t back down.

She kept trying to give advice.

“I just… I thought it’d be nice if you did well. I mean, it’d be better if we all got stronger and survived together, right?”

Ah, seriously. Why were there so many kind-hearted kids in this crazy academy?

Weren’t there supposed to be at least a few nasty, elitist bastards around?

Ah, had all those assholes either quit or died over the past year?

I guess the only ones left were those who had survived all the trials.

What a shame. Was this what terrorism did? Erasing people’s personalities?

“Tch.”

In the end, I had no choice but to admit it. Even the students I thought of as slaughter machines in the cradle… were “nice kids”.

Even if they bent people in half at the waist, blew their heads off, or burned them alive.

Most of the kids were kind.

“So what am I supposed to do, then?”

Eventually, I took a step back.

I couldn’t help it; I felt like such trash.

“Ah! Like this! See? It’s not just grabbing it. You have to sort of wrap your fingers around it like this.”

“That feels uncomfortable.”

“It might at first, but if you don’t grip it tightly like this, your palm will get all scraped up when you swing the sword.”

“Ah.”

That was something I’d experienced just today.

Maybe being sloppy all the time had finally caught up with me. I should’ve taken swordsmanship more seriously. I must’ve neglected it too much while trying to stay under the radar.

“Thanks for the tip, you nameless extra.”

“Don’t mention it, Johan.”

“Hey now. If you’re the only one saying my name, doesn’t that just make me look like trash?”

“Well, calling someone an ‘extra’ the first time you meet them kind of makes you trash, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, fair enough.”

Even I had to admit that was a bit much for a joke.

Still, what could I do?

No matter how nice you all were, I didn’t want to get involved with any of you.

“Anyway, that’s enough. Go on and take care of your stuff. I’ll handle this on my own.”

“You’re sulking because I pointed something out, huh? Still, see? If you do it the way I showed you, it works like this!”

Whoosh!

When the pink extra swung her sword, it looked like a storm had broken out. And a tree far in the distance snapped clean in half.

She wasn’t even channeling sword energy, yet the sheer power of it was absurd.

“…Yeah, fine. I’m sulking. So go away. Shoo, shoo.”

We were in the same space, but the world she and I lived in was completely different.

…I couldn’t slice someone in half at the waist like you people.

And I didn’t want to associate with anyone who could.

***

Students at the Cradle were generally kind.

I had been reminded of that just a few days ago at the training ground.

But as I headed to the classroom for today’s lesson, I came to one more realization.

What’s this?

The atmosphere in Class F had shifted.

Yes, it felt like it had at the start of the semester. Right before I showed up.

Dark, damp, a suffocating mood ready to burst at the slightest touch.

If I had to give this feeling a name… then yes, it would be “inferiority complex”.

The inferiority they once felt toward the nobles….the issue that had seemed to ease after I arrived was now rearing its head again.

So why?

What had happened?

No, more than that, how did it happen?

The doubt and resentment over noble privilege should’ve been put to rest just by the fact that I was in Class F, shouldn’t it?

So how could things have reverted back to this in such a short time?

After thinking it over briefly, I was able to reach a simple conclusion.

Students at the Cradle were generally kind.

But not all of them were.

Somewhere out there, there had to be someone who’d completely lost it.

Some bastard’s stirring the pot, huh?

Someone was deliberately provoking feelings of inferiority among the students.