novelraw Chapter 95 : Butterfly Effect (6)
Chapter 95 : Butterfly Effect (6)
Chapter 95: Butterfly Effect (6)
On the way back to the dormitory after leaving Building C.
The dawn air along the empty street was still quite chilly.
“Haah… damn it.”
I don’t know if what I did was the right thing.
Eric had been agonizing over how he should tell Francia the entire walk back.
Dale Wedmeyer’s proposal was simple and clear.
There was only one condition — to recruit Francia Brida.
If they managed to win her over successfully, both of them were promised benefits unprecedented since the founding of the Ribenia Resistance.
“There’s a Resistance headquarters in Parcel. You’ll live there, Eric.”
“Miss Francia, I’d like you to move between Karbenna and headquarters for the time being. Even just staying at the Academy and keeping us informed of recent developments would be a great help.”
“There’s still more than a year left until the planned uprising. In the meantime, you’ll both be involved in various propaganda activities. Don’t worry, we won’t ask you to do anything too difficult.”
“You know time isn’t on our side, right? I’d like you to decide by tomorrow. We need to prepare the necessary procedures on our end.”
“…Alright, after lunch then. Since your supervising instructor is Carter, explaining things shouldn’t be too hard. Let’s meet again here at exactly two o’clock.”
No matter how he looked at it, it was an irresistible offer for Eric himself.
Born as the disinherited son of the fallen Vergel Family, adopted into Halenber, and forced to commit vile deeds from a young age against his will.
With his precarious standing, he had no choice but to faithfully play the role given to him if he wanted to survive.
Then one day, he’d finally be acknowledged by his foster father and be able to live as a true member of the family.
…That’s what he used to believe.
But Jeff Halenber was trash beyond even the boy’s imagination.
In the end, he chose to abandon the family and go into hiding, all to protect his own safety.
Even a member of the so-called Eight Great Houses of the Empire like Halenber turned out like that—how different could the others really be?
‘…With the current system, everything just loops back to the same place.’
Everything needed to be burned to the ground and started over from the beginning.
Otherwise, the cycle of corruption would only repeat.
That was the conclusion the boy had reached after long deliberation.
“……”
Francia probably wouldn’t oppose it.
Her pain was likely far greater than his own.
And her determination to overturn the noble-centered Empire surely hadn’t changed.
But what about Instructor Carter?
He might agree with the idea of reforming the Empire, but there was no guarantee he’d go so far as to support a revolution.
Which meant—
“…It could end up being betrayal.”
Standing before the emergency exit he often used, the boy quietly looked over the peaceful scenery of Karbenna—
A peaceful sight he might never see again.
The next morning.
Beneath the warm sunlight of the newly risen dawn, training resumed after several days of rest.
Holding a sword with only its handle remaining, Francia Brida focused all her mind on the invisible blade.
The fabric woven tightly from mana soon took the form of a crimson blade.
After swinging it a few times in the air, she thrust it sharply toward a wooden pillar.
First strike at the waist, second strike at the neck—
Slash!
The thick pillar was sliced cleanly, like cutting through pudding.
Thud!
The severed upper piece hit the ground with a loud thump, its surface smooth as if polished with sandpaper.
“…Still not enough.”
She sighed and dispersed the mana she had poured into the sword.
The crimson blade scattered like dust in all directions.
The more she concentrated and compressed her mana, the sharper the Aura Blade became.
But she couldn’t maintain that sharpness for the second strike.
Delivering two identical blows with exactly the same power—that was the essence of Illusion Swordsmanship.
Since the first strike consumed most of its force, combining the Aura Blade with Illusion Swordsmanship was still beyond her reach.
‘…Is it a problem of mana capacity?’
Or concentration?
Or perhaps it was impossible from the start.
Considering the terrifying cutting power of the Aura Blade, maintaining it for long was practically absurd.
Maybe it was best to accept it as a single decisive strike type of technique.
After coming to that self-assured conclusion, the girl began swinging her sword again.
The difference from before was that she no longer focused on reproducing sword forms.
Even to Francia herself, this was an unbelievable change.
She simply swung her sword however her heart desired—
freely, following her own path.
Yet her stance didn’t falter in the slightest.
All the countless repetitions of fundamentals she had done before made even the smallest shake impossible.
About thirty minutes into her training—
“Relentless as ever, aren’t you.”
Eric Halenber entered the training ground, his familiar face wearing an unfamiliar expression.
Sensing the strange aura surrounding him, Francia quietly lowered her sword.
“…Doesn’t look like you came here to train.”
“Yeah.”
He slumped down on a bench.
“I’m leaving Karbenna.”
Straight to the point.
“…So it’s come to that.”
She had expected it.
She hadn’t thought it would take long—
but she hadn’t expected it to be this soon.
Feigning calmness, the girl asked the formal questions.
“You’re not going back to Halenber, are you?”
“Of course not. Those bastards wouldn’t let me live if I did.”
“Then… where are you going?”
“Parcel.”
He gave a short answer, then extended his hand toward her with a resolute expression, as if he had already made up his mind.
“Come with me, Francia.”
Let’s go change the Empire.
“……”
He told her everything— who the people recruiting him were, what kind of offer they made, and what the conditions of joining were.
“…Just from the proposal alone, it doesn’t sound too bad.”
That was Francia’s impression after hearing the whole story.
“I can’t be sure if they’ll really keep their promise.”
“But it’s a gamble worth taking, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
Francia clenched her fist and continued.
“If we really want to change this rotten Empire… then maybe revolution is the only way.”
“Then you mean you’ll join…!”
But—
“Not yet.”
Even though she agreed with the boy’s thoughts a hundred percent, she couldn’t fully support him.
“There are still things I have to do here.”
What exactly she wanted to do, or had to do, she wasn’t sure herself.
Even so, she didn’t want to leave Karbenna.
She hadn’t achieved anything yet—leaving now would just feel like running away.
“Ah, so negotiations failed, huh.”
At her tactful yet firm refusal, Eric stood up, brushing off his hands as if shaking away dust.
‘Since persuasion failed… does that mean I’m stuck now?’
Well, he’d have to talk things over with Dale again anyway.
“I’ve said all I needed to say.”
He tried to leave casually, pretending to be unfazed.
The longer they talked, the harder it would be to walk away.
“Then, I’ll get going.”
But before he could force his steps forward—
“See you again, Eric Vergel.”
It was the girl’s voice that stopped him.
“……”
Something about those words stirred something inside him.
Before he knew it, Eric bowed his head deeply before her.
It was a gesture that carried apology, gratitude, respect, and hope all at once.
“You’ve saved me twice, Francia.”
You broke the shackle that bound me to become part of a family— and cut away the curse that was my foster father, Jeff Halenber.
So then—
When that time comes—
I’ll definitely—
“Next time, I’ll be the one to save you.”
He had said everything he needed to say.
No other words were necessary.
The two exchanged silent glances—
and went their separate ways.
Above the small training ground, another vow was etched into the air once more.
Tuesday morning.
After quickly scarfing down breakfast, I was reviewing the day’s lesson plan when Eric Halenber showed up—an all too familiar visitor at this hour.
“We seem to run into each other often at this time of day.”
“Ah… do we?”
“Well, anyway, what is it?”
“There’s something I need to consult you about.”
With that, Eric got straight to the point and recounted in detail everything that had happened since his return.
“……”
“So, as of today, I’ll be leaving Karbenna.”
“…And Francia refused the offer, you said?”
“Yes.”
“Hm…”
Now this was quite an interesting situation.
I set the papers aside neatly and spoke.
“Dale Wedmeyer is probably the real deal.”
“You really think I can trust him?”
“He has no reason to lay out that much information for you otherwise.”
If he only wanted to recruit Francia, there’d be no reason to meet Eric separately.
If he just wanted to use him, there’d be no need to reveal his own identity.
Above all, there’s no way that man didn’t know that I stood behind Eric.
Which meant—he was fully aware that this story would reach me.
‘Eric Halenber is worth that much to him?’
Or maybe… it was a show of confidence.
Either way, the Wedmeyer Family was one of the central pillars of the pro-Bernhardt faction.
They probably thought they could smooth over whatever rumors spread.
Even if we passed this information along to them, the enemy faction wouldn’t believe our side anyway.
‘…Should I relay this through Michel?’
If it came from someone of the Bernhardt bloodline like her, it would carry far more credibility than if it came from us—even if her own position had weakened.
After thinking through several possibilities, I finally grasped his intent.
‘He doesn’t care what happens to the pro-Bernhardt faction.’
If Wedmeyer managed to keep his standing, funds and intel would continue flowing to the Resistance.
If he lost it, the faction would take a major hit in the process.
“So, we’ve been neatly dragged into his game, huh.”
What I couldn’t understand, however, was why he was part of the Ribenia Resistance in the first place.
Had he merely switched sides from Bernhardt, or was he truly seeking to bring down the Empire?
Depending on which it was, my response to him would differ entirely.
If it were the former, he wouldn’t be much of a problem for me.
In fact, he might even be useful.
Wedmeyer’s defection would certainly accelerate Bernhardt’s collapse.
But if it were the latter—
‘Then I’d have no choice but to eliminate him.’
The collapse of a nation through revolution and the rise of a new power— that was one of the most common routes and endings in MAGA.
In the Empire’s case, it was so common that there were over eighty different routes leading to it.
And in every one of them— Edel Ribenia always dies.
‘…So I have no choice but to stop it.’
After sorting out my stance clearly, I left Eric with a word of advice.
“When you get there, pay special attention to your safety.”
“Since they’re the most radical among the secret societies, you’ll have plenty of enemies.
You won’t just be another recruit—they’ll probably use you for propaganda.
That’ll make you an even bigger target.”
“…You’re right.”
“One more thing.”
I added a suggestion—though not quite a request.
“From the inside, try to uncover Dale Wedmeyer’s weakness—if possible.”
“Weakness…?”
“That weakness will become your lifeline.”
Alright. The bait was set nicely.
Now the fun begins, Dale Wedmeyer.
Let’s see who bites first.