novelraw Chapter 14 : Chapter 14
Chapter 14 : Chapter 14
Chapter 14:
“You’ve come.”
Jinfre, who was flipping through a pile of documents while wearing glasses, welcomed me.
“It’s unusual to see you without a cigarette in your mouth.”
“…Ah.”
Hearing my words, Jinfre belatedly lit a cigarette.
“Thanks for telling me. I was wondering why I couldn't focus.”
I shouldn't have said anything.
“By the way, you look excited.”
“Because I finally have a chance to properly prove my worth.”
A formal mission, not some test like a thought verification.
“Shall we begin then?”
Jinfre raised his hand and called his personal adjutant.
“You two have met before, right?”
It was just as Jinfre said.
“Aren't you the person who came to see the Captain saying there was a matter to report when I first visited the Obsidian headquarters?”
I retraced my memories from back then.
I didn't know what it was, but it had seemed like a very serious matter.
“I can tell you now. It was regarding Uric.”
Thanks to Jinfre, I was able to satisfy my curiosity, albeit belatedly.
I moved away from my thoughts and faced the personal adjutant.
Isel Philia.
That was the name engraved on the adjutant’s uniform nameplate.
Her rank was Lieutenant.
Her appearance was as impeccable and neat as it was back then.
Her eyes were an amber color resembling whiskey.
That meant she wasn't a Prominence.
Unless she was wearing camouflage lenses.
It wasn't particularly strange.
The Imperial Guard is the only military group where everyone is a Prominence.
Prominences are not common existences.
“Then I will begin the briefing.”
Isel slowly opened her lips.
“The operational site where you will be deployed is Neustadt Academy.”
An academy that inherited the name of the Imperial capital, Neustadt.
It is a prestigious school comparable to Redstone.
Redstone is a military school specializing in training Prominences.
On the other hand, Neustadt Academy had the difference of being a comprehensive school.
“Recently, we obtained information that there is a student organization at Neustadt Academy that follows the magic of the Republic.”
Hearing it, the matter is quite serious.
In the Empire, being involved with magic in any way is a felony.
The Empire has put its heart and soul for a long time into the equalization of magic, which used to be enjoyed only by a privileged class born with talent.
The field born as a result is Magic Engineering.
Magic is a study that goes against the ideology of the Empire.
The Empire has a status system, but it strives to give Imperial citizens fair opportunities in various fields.
Prominences are one of them.
‘Ironically, in the Republic, which abolished the status system, only a minority class still enjoys the privileges of magic.’
I furrowed my brows.
It is truly an ironic situation.
Pip.
Isel activated the hologram projector.
The lens of the projector, reacting to the magic stone, shot up a 3D image.
It was a bird's-eye view of Neustadt Academy.
As expected of a prestigious educational institution of the Empire, Neustadt Academy boasted a grand scale.
‘I should memorize the structure.’
I focused and put the hologram into my head.
“You will go undercover as a student of Neustadt Academy. You are to conduct an investigation inside the academy and report the progress periodically.”
Isel summarized and organized the mission I would undertake.
They specifically chose me, an agent around the age of an academy student.
That way, I would be able to naturally blend in among the students under suspicion.
“…The briefing ends here.”
Isel closed the file silently.
It was a briefing that was clear and concise from start to finish.
“I have been tasked with supporting this mission. Please call me whenever necessary.”
She handed over a neatly folded note.
The identification number of the communicator was written on it.
***
I checked my attire.
I neatly fastened the buttons of the provided school uniform jacket.
My red eyes, which proved I was a Prominence, turned black.
It was thanks to the camouflage lenses.
‘Preparation is perfect.’
As I entered the academy's main gate, I felt the glancing eyes of the students.
Since an unfamiliar face had appeared, their curiosity must have been piqued.
It wasn't a particularly extraordinary event.
I could be a transfer student, and it wasn't rare for exchange students to visit.
The landscaping of Neustadt Academy was quite different from Redstone.
A bright and blue image overall.
It was a contrast to the desolate Redstone.
Cleaning marionettes placed here and there were sweeping with brooms while making creaking noises.
“You’re the exchange student scheduled to arrive today, right?”
As I entered the main building's administration office, a staff member spoke to me first.
It was just as Isel had notified me in advance.
After a formal document review was finished, a student ID was issued immediately.
Normally, the procedure wouldn't be this simple.
It must be thanks to Isel doing the groundwork beforehand.
By the time I finished all the procedures and stepped out of the administration office.
“Ex, excuse me…!”
A student who had been hesitating in front of the office spoke to me hurriedly.
“You’re the new exchange student…? So, your name is….”
“Ered.”
“Ri, right! Nice to meet you. I’m Stiny.”
Stiny hurriedly wiped his hand on his shirt and then asked for a handshake.
‘He's small.’
His stature was diminutive.
I was at least a head taller than him.
Stiny possessed an easygoing impression.
His drooping eyes reminded me of a gentle country puppy.
“The professor told me to show you around the school.”
He isn't a guy who suits the role of a guide very well.
He didn't seem to have a way with words either.
He looked like an introverted personality at a glance.
‘Actually, it's better.’
Compared to a sharp person, he will have many gaps.
He'll be easy to handle too.
“Thanks. I’ll leave it to you.”
I accepted Stiny’s proposal readily.
I had memorized the internal structure of the academy through the bird's-eye view, but the feeling would be different from seeing it with my own eyes.
“The facilities are much better than the place I used to go to.”
I naturally opened the flow of conversation.
I didn't forget to look around the inside of the main building with curious eyes.
While taking a posture of listening intently, I also added short questions to Stiny from time to time.
If it were an exchange student who is here for the first time, this reaction would be typical.
I was faithfully playing the assigned role.
“Right? You won't have any particular inconveniences while you're here.”
As I kept talking, Stiny's talkativeness increased little by little.
“The food is delicious, and especially everyone seems to like the desserts. I don't really like sweets, so I don't know well… Ah, this is the physical training room.”
He had a tendency to ramble a bit, but the awkwardness seemed to have disappeared more than at first.
After finishing the tour of the external facilities, we entered the main building.
It was clean and wide.
Not a single dirty spot could be found.
“This is our class.”
Class A.
At Neustadt Academy, classes are divided by grades.
‘Even if his personality is like that, his grades seem to be excellent.’
I thought while looking at the back of Stiny’s head.
As we entered the classroom, the students' eyes focused on one place.
Curious pupils.
I slowly scanned the room.
An overall clean and well-organized feeling.
Paintings in frames were hanging on one wall.
They looked like expensive works at a glance.
‘Modern art is truly difficult.’
Most of them were surrealist works.
There was even a painting that simply depicted a closed door without a wall on a white background.
‘The absence of communication, is it something like that theme?’
I can't feel any sincerity in the painting, and I don't even know what it wanted to express.
“And… Whoops!”
Stiny, who was continuing the explanation, bumped into someone coming from the opposite direction and fell on his butt.
It wasn't a simple collision accident.
‘It was clearly intentional.’
I recognized that fact instantly.
One of the group walking from the opposite side had intentionally bumped his shoulder into Stiny.
“Aw, damn. What the?”
The brown-haired student who collided with Stiny frowned and brushed off his shoulder with his hand.
He was good-looking.
He looked like he was well-fed and well-bred.
He looked like a noble at a glance.
“Are you blind? Can't you see where you're going?”
“S, sorry….”
Stiny apologized while scrambling to stand up.
The group accompanying the brown-haired boy snickered.
“My clothes got dirty because of you.”
“I’m really sorry.”
“Just with words?”
“Th, that….”
“Forget it. What could I expect from you?”
The brown-haired boy clicked his tongue.
“Pathetic bastard.”
He poured the drink he was holding onto Stiny’s head with a look of contempt.
Splash.
“…….”
Stiny did not try to avoid it.
He merely accepted the humiliating punishment with his head bowed low.
No one stepped forward for Stiny.
The majority were indifferent.
On the contrary, there were even guys snickering as if it were fun.
Clearly bullying, to anyone's eyes.
I watched the scene quietly.
I had no intention of stepping in.
My mission is not to protect bullied students.
‘Strange.’
My eyes kept going to the brown-haired boy mocking Stiny.
‘That face, it's definitely the first time I've seen it, but why does it feel familiar?’
***
“Take it.”
I handed a handkerchief to Stiny.
“I, I’m okay. The expensive handkerchief will get dirty….”
Stiny waved his hand with an awkward smile.
“That guy, he seems to have a grudge against you.”
“Huh? Ah, you mean Joffrey…?”
Joffrey.
That must be the name of the brown-haired boy who bullied Stiny.
“Well. I don't think I've ever particularly made a mistake toward Joffrey….”
Stiny smiled bitterly.
“The reason he bullies me is probably because of my background.”
“Background?”
Stiny seemed to hesitate for a moment, then opened his lips cautiously.
“I, actually came from Sector 35.”
From the slums.
I didn't expect to meet a comrade here.
“Status discrimination, huh.”
I stroked my chin.
Even at Redstone, discrimination wasn't completely absent.
‘There was a time I was cursed at out of the blue while eating steak.’
Old memories came back anew.
However, the intensity of discrimination wasn't severe overall.
‘Because the training was so damn hard.’
When it's hard enough for me to survive, there's no way I'd have the luxury to bully others.
The internal regulations of Redstone were also quite strict.
It is extremely difficult to discover talent with the qualities of a Prominence.
It means there isn't enough high-level manpower to pick and choose by status.
So they must have taken measures so that conflict wouldn't arise between cadets due to status gaps.
“This is ridiculous.”
“I, I’m okay. I’m used to what Joffrey does….”
“Not him, I mean you.”
“…Huh?”
“Why are you just taking it?”
“That’s because Joffrey is stronger than me and….”
“If you’re weak, get stronger. At the very least, put up a minimum level of resistance. Didn't you enter this academy so you wouldn't be looked down upon?”
“I’m sorry….”
Seeing Stiny’s shrunken expression, I lost my energy.
‘He's just this kind of guy.’
Simply lying flat and waiting for misfortune to pass quickly.
“Stiny. You’ll never be able to live the life you want like that. Never.”
***
I stayed quiet for a few days.
I focused on gathering information about the magic research organization.
I tuned out the boring classes and eavesdropped on students' conversations while walking around the school.
In that process, I learned a new fact.
Factions existed at Neustadt Academy.
The standard for the split factions was, as expected, status.
Nobles and commoners.
Small and large quarrels frequently occurred between the two factions.
‘If you just called them all out and gave them a good beating, they’d get along on their own.’
At Redstone, the instructors would have taken such action.
However, this place is not a strict military school.
Laying a hand on students would cause a controversy.
Although it is split into factions, the atmosphere is not one where they impose major sanctions because serious violent incidents haven't occurred.
‘The sad thing is that students from the poor class can't join either side.’
I thought of Stiny.
He was in a position of being ignored even by commoners of similar status.
‘Then, which side would the group following the magic of the Republic belong to?’
Nobles who grew up without wanting for anything?
Commoners who are sick of the discrimination from nobles?
‘The latter, probably.’
Of course, this was nothing more than a general possibility.
“Hey. Exchange student.”
Someone spoke to me abruptly.
A brown-haired boy approaching this way with a swagger.
It’s Joffrey.
According to the investigation, he was a central figure in the noble faction.
Well, I called him a central figure grandly, but it’s just the level of a neighborhood bully.
‘The reason Joffrey became the center of the noble faction?’
It’s simple.
Because the power of the family he belongs to is high.
Nobles or whatever, they’re still just kids.
The greatest achievement of their lives is likely entering the academy while receiving plenty of financial support under successful parents.
The only thing such brats can show off is the aura of the family they belong to.
“Ered Young. That’s your name, right? I thought I smelled something fishy about you from the first time I saw you.”
Joffrey sneered while standing with his weight on one leg.
‘He seems to have found out my background.’
There's no need to be surprised anew.
The fact is easily guessable just by the rootless last name ‘Young’.
“Investigating the background of students must be your hobby. Truly a noble hobby.”
I was sarcastic.
They are immature kids whose only joy is dividing people by status.
“Your tone is insolent.”
Joffrey reached out threateningly.
Did he want to grab me by the collar?
There was no reason to be caught by that clumsy and slow movement.
Crunch.
I snatched his wrist and twisted it backward.
I didn't twist it severely.
Just enough to make him feel a moderate amount of pain without damaging muscles or bones.
“Ow, ow, ow, ow!”
Flusteredness flashed on his face.
‘What?’
My eyes touched Joffrey’s fingers.
I saw small scratches remaining on the tips of his finger joints.
Marks as if pricked by needles.
There were even some marks where scabs had just hardened.
‘Does he have a hobby of self-harm?’
The habits of nobles are truly incomprehensible.
“Le, let go of this!? Do you know who I am…!”
“Seeing how insolent you are, you must be a member of some high-and-mighty noble family.”
It doesn't matter what family he’s from.
Nobles who can treat a Prominence carelessly are extremely rare.
The story would change if it were the Imperial family.
Of course, I couldn't reveal my identity to Joffrey due to the mission.
“You lowly slum rat! Do you think you’ll be safe after this?”
“Will me not being safe be faster? Or will your wrist breaking be faster?”
As I threatened him lowly, Joffrey’s shoulder flinched.
He must have realized by now.
That it’s no use being stubborn here.
“O, okay, so stop…!”
“Sit.”
I forced Joffrey to sit on a nearby bench.
Only then did I free his wrist.
“You, I won't leave you.”
“Shut up and sit. Keep in mind that I am a being who can break your wrist anytime.”
I forcibly pushed down the shoulder of Joffrey, who was trying to stand up.
A clear difference in strength.
His complexion turned pale and stiff.
There's no way a mere civilian can handle the pressure emitted by a Prominence.
It’s not even worth using force.
Just by letting out killing intent, I could make him wet his pants.
“Since it’s turned out like this, let me ask a few questions. If you answer readily, I’ll let you go.”
“…What is it?”
Only then did Joffrey become submissive.
“I hear rumors that there are guys who follow the magic of the Republic in this academy.”
At that moment, Joffrey’s complexion changed subtly.
‘This guy, he knows something.’