How to Teach a Hero at the Academy

Chapter 99 : Chapter 99

Chapter 99: The Old Soldier Dies, He Does Not Fade Away (3)

“Grandma.”

Ernst opened his mouth.

“What do you want to be when you grow up, Ernst?”

Brunhilde had asked that just once.

It was not long after his parents' funeral.

Young Ernst had considered Brunhilde a beast. At least, he had thought she was not human. It made sense; his grandmother's bedroom was always dark, and even though she was in her old age, she was as strong as a supernatural being.

Let's think calmly. Ernst thought, propping his chin on his hand. A beast is in front of me. It's asking me what I want to be when I grow up. Then isn't the intention of the question obvious? The riddle is all solved.

“I'm going to be prey.”

Grandma's prey.

Ernst whispered so.

“Prey……”

Brunhilde's expression flickered slightly.

It was a strange thing. His grandmother's expression should always be firm.

“Why do you want to be this old woman's prey?”

“Because it's natural.”

Ernst answered without hesitation.

“Strong creatures eat weak creatures. Weak creatures eat even weaker creatures. Grandma is stronger than me. Then you have to eat me. That's what's natural.”

“Well, now.”

Brunhilde shrugged her shoulders.

“Humans don't eat each other. There are some who do, but they are not treated as humans. What you're talking about is the physiology of a beast. This old woman will not eat you.”

“Then you're going to kill me.”

You're going to kill me when I grow up.

Ernst muttered so.

If eating each other is the physiology of a beast, then the physiology of a human must be to kill each other.

“That's not it either.”

This old woman, you see, she said.

Brunhilde whispered softly.

“I don't care what you become when you grow up, but I hope you don't become my successor.”

“Successor?”

“Yes, successor.”

Humans pass things down.

That was the nature of humans.

They pass down their surname, their property, and their tendencies.

Their appearance is the same. They stubbornly insist on resembling each other.

The title was no different. The one who lived before feared that the family line would be cut off, and the one who would live after would do their best to inherit the family line.

“But this old woman, you see.”

When you grow up someday, I hope you don't inherit my position.

* * *

‘And then she did this.’

Ernst chuckled.

To think that the great Countess Tresckow would pass on the title.

To me. To this lazy and ambitionless Ernst Tresckow.

‘I thought it would be like this, but…….’

He couldn't understand it in his childhood.

He didn't know why Brunhilde had gone out of her way to say that she didn't want him to be her successor.

Now, he could understand it without difficulty.

Since she had desired to pass it on, she had just said that she didn't want him to inherit it. As if to deny herself.

‘But it must have been unavoidable.’

Brunhilde had always thought that Ernst was a suitable successor, and although she had tried to deny it, she had failed in the end. It couldn't be helped. What Ernst was reading was Brunhilde's will. It was not the knightly literature of Altria Amnesia. Brunhilde had wanted to live as Altria Amnesia, but she had died as the Countess of Tresckow.

“What are you going to do, Er.”

Meanwhile, Demian asked.

“Are you going to inherit the title?”

“Well? I don't know.”

“Countess Tresckow must have considered only you as her successor. That's probably why she always tried to keep you by her side. I can understand her position. Because you are the only one among the Tresckow family who resembles the Countess.”

“This is not something that can be handled with emotions, you idiot.”

In the first place, is it even possible?

Ernst thought, narrowing his eyes. If the will had been read without incident, the family members would have immediately started to tear Ernst apart. He was the eldest grandson, but the eldest son was dead, and as the son of the dead eldest son, Ernst had no rights to covet.

“Above all, I'm not even of age yet. There's no way I can inherit the title in this state. Grandma's will is just a piece of paper.”

“You're right. It's as absurd as a pretext for war.”

Abel affirmed in a silent tone.

“If you wish, you can destroy it with your own hands. You can tear it up or burn it.”

The decision was entirely up to Ernst.

What was engraved on the will was Brunhilde's soul. It was filled with the desire for the person she had chosen to inherit the family. In a way, it was like a lingering attachment that his grandmother couldn't suppress, and in another way, it was like a wish that his grandmother couldn't suppress.

Destroying the will.

In that case, Ernst would be at peace for a while.

Someone else would inherit the title. He couldn't be sure who would inherit the title, but anyway, Ernst would be able to enjoy his life at CIAR.

On the other hand, taking the will.

‘If I decide to do that…….’

How should I use this piece of paper?

Ernst thought, narrowing his eyes. Even if there was his grandmother's will, it would be impossible to inherit the title right away. I can't face the family members with a body that isn't even of age. Ernst knew his own level well. He would need a strong backer to win.

‘That's why…….’

Ernst chuckled.

“Professor Argento, you're trying to give me time to think.”

“You guessed right.”

Abel's intention was clear.

It's fine to follow his grandmother's will. It's fine not to follow it. In the first place, it wasn't a problem that Abel should advise on. The decision should rightfully be given to Ernst, and what such an Ernst needed was none other than time.

“A chaotic confrontation will continue for a while. Someone will die and someone will live. But even so, there is no pretext for inheriting the title. Didn't the theft incident get reported on a large scale? The fact that the legitimate heir of the Tresckow family is unclear.”

During that time, Ernst could think.

What choice to make. How to pay the price for that choice.

“That's why I went on a rampage with Demian.”

It must have been too sudden.

His grandmother's death, that is. He must not have fully accepted it yet.

I wanted you to have some leisure. Think about your grandmother, and think to your heart's content while being sad or resentful. You have been given that leisure.

“So it's a relief. You can be at peace for a while.”

“I guess so.”

Ernst laughed lightly.

That's right. What he needed was time.

The problem was that all deaths were too sudden.

“Since you gave me time, Professor……, I'll think about it carefully.”

“I hope so.”

Whatever decision you make, you are right.

Abel whispered so.

“I hope you will be able to decide for yourself how you will live in the future.”

That was all.

Abel did not wish for anything else.

And so, after nodding his head once, he took a step.

“I will be going now.”

Abel went forward with a faint smile.

.

.

.

Abel left, and Ernst and Demian remained.

The two of them sat on a bench and tilted their eyes. They hesitated, looking in different directions.

“Hey.”

It was Ernst who spoke first.

“What is it, Er.”

And so, Demian also opened his mouth.

With a seemingly embarrassed demeanor.

“Why did you use an umbrella as a weapon? You fought well with the guards even with something like that. What happened to the sword you always carried?”

“Ah, that……”

Demian shrugged his shoulders.

“I donated it.”

“……You donated it?”

A question brushed past Ernst's gaze.

“It was the day before yesterday. I had a duel with Professor Argento in the slums. I drew my sword, and then I saw a starving child. So I gave it to him. It's a rather valuable sword, so I thought it would be worth some money. He probably won't have to starve for a while.”

“I'm sorry, but can you speak a little slower? Give me some time to think. It's hard to understand you and Professor Argento from a normal person's perspective.”

Ernst let out a sigh.

He put his hand on his forehead and shook his head.

“In the first place, there's a perfectly good training ground. Why did you go all the way to the slums to have a duel?”

“He said he wanted to show me.”

Demian recalled that time.

He couldn't forget the scenery of the slums.

There was so much he didn't know. Next to the magnificent city, there was a dilapidated shantytown, and even though they couldn't blend together, they were bound by the same place name. He knew it in his head, but it felt strange to see it in person. The students of CIAR right in front of him looked so peaceful, but a short walk would lead to a land full of dying people.

That's right, they're dying…….

Demian nodded his head.

Besides the death that was rampant in the slums, Demian had a thought about another death.

“Er, I find Professor Argento a little suspicious.”

“……That's a big problem.”

If you're saying he's suspicious,

then Professor Argento must be a really strange person.

Ernst muttered so.

“The professor somehow……, seems to be dying.”

As much as he couldn't forget the scenery of the slums, he also couldn't forget Abel's body that he had witnessed there.

To think that his body would collapse if he used his power without his sword. It was an incomprehensible thing.

It was as if the sword was keeping Abel alive.

“What do you mean, dying? Do you mean he seems to be sick?”

“No, it's different. It's hard to explain.”

“Right, I didn't expect much in the first place.”

Ernst stretched.

He let out a big yawn and slumped down.

“……Well, I also have a feeling he might be hiding something.”

Ernst was thinking based on a different context.

He was a man with many strange points. He had destroyed the rebel warships all at once, and he was deeply related to the accident that had occurred at the Dawn Leaf Theater. He also couldn't shake the feeling that he was likely related to Fleur's death. Abel Argento must be related in some way to all the recent incidents.

“I don't think he's a bad person, though……”

Even while saying so, Ernst was still wary of Abel. It would be good to always have a little bit of caution.

What on earth was he hiding? His expression was indifferent, but he didn't seem to be a person with an indifferent heart, so it was suspicious because he couldn't figure out what he was thinking.

That's why,

when it came to Abel Argento,

“My thought is, Er.”

“Cut the crap and listen to my hypothesis.”

Demian and Ernst opened their mouths at the same time, and,

“Professor Argento is……”

“That guy is probably……”

they came to a conclusion at the same time, and,

“a hero.”

“a Sword Saint.”

they denied each other at the same time.

“You said he wasn't a Sword Saint last time……”

“You idiot, do you really think there are such things as heroes!”

“There are. A hero will appear someday.”

“Oh my! You're so smart, you bastard.”