漫画大王

Chapter 36

However, this time was a bit different from the case with Kaier.

Kaier was a commoner, but Heinrich von Schwartz was a prince of the Kernstadt Empire, the First Principality of the empire. He wasn’t the heir, but he was of direct lineage.

In other words, I had beaten up a member of the royal family of a state that wielded authority second only to the imperial royal family. Although there was a rule at the Temple that everyone was to be treated equally regardless of their social status, it was still an incident that shocked everyone.

Rather than blaming me, however, I could feel that everyone was gradually avoiding me. It seemed they thought of me as someone who had truly gone mad. If someone was this far gone, he wasn’t just some crazy dude, but someone to be feared.

I mean, was I supposed to just let someone who picked a fight without reason and tried to use supernatural powers on me get a free pass? Should I have just let him toast me, then?

After that incident, Heinrich would leave as soon as he saw me, as if he had seen something filthy. It must have been frustrating enough to drive him mad, but there wasn’t anything he could do within the Temple’s premises.

I had become a complete psychopath just because I didn’t want to be looked down upon.

What if one day I got into trouble with someone who was double my size? It seemed only a matter of time before I’d end up a bloody mess. In a real situation like that, I guess I’d have to pick up something and swing it to win.

But would my hopeless combat talents even do anything to help my slow and clumsy attacks?

Living a peaceful life was out of the question. I had no choice but to stick to this path. Trying to act good and kind now would be utterly useless.

And, upon reflection, I probably wasn’t ever really nice anyway. A man in his thirties who got genuinely angry at kids was definitely someone with issues, right?

Thanks to me, the already-still atmosphere in Class A became even more ominous.

Was this for real? Did I seriously become the villain in my own novel without even trying? No matter how I looked at it, I seemed to be the bad guy. The one without any real abilities but a foul temper, causing disruptions like some early-stage antagonist.

“Hey, Reinhart, can we have a talk for a moment?”

It was after Thursday’s integrated education classes, and after dinner, when Vertus called me.

***

After dinner, Vertus took me to the table on the terrace that was meant for tea time. He was still wearing a pleasant smile, and it seemed he had already prepared a pot of black tea.

“Do you want some tea?”

“Sure.”

Vertus carefully poured the black tea into my cup. He added milk to his own, enjoying it as a milk tea, while I drank mine plain. The prince did not seem to harbor any hostility towards me.

His expression alone wasn’t enough for me to make out what he thought about my casual manner.

Knowing that expressions did not reveal everything, I did not let my guard down.

He was aspiring to become a swordmaster. So far, those who had picked fights with me lacked physical strength. However, the prince could grind me into the dust if he so desired. He could do so both politically and physically.

I was no match for him in either respect.

If Vertus decided to go up against me physically, I had no idea what I would do.

Adopting the typical cowardly attitude of acting strong only against the weak while behaving like a weakling against the strong seemed like the right play.

Vertus looked at me with a gentle smile. It was a friendly demeanor that showed no sign of hostility.

Ludwig had been deceived by this attitude of his, and many others had fallen for it too.

Yet even I, who should not have been fooled, felt like I could be swayed by his gentle smile as well.

“People have been making quite a fuss, asking me to do something about this situation, so I decided to speak to you on their behalf.”

“What do you mean by ‘do something’?”

“The kids are afraid of you.”

He’d put it mildly by saying they were afraid, but it probably meant they despised me.

“Of course, I can understand your behavior to some extent. Kaier did exhibit some rather aggressive behavior on the first day, even in the changing room.”

“...”

“Kaier definitely bore some blame regarding his behavior and his allegations of unauthorized admission into the Temple.”

It wasn’t me, but rather the prince, who was angry at Kaier’s statements that had undermined the authority of the Temple. Was he secretly relieved that I had said those things to Kaier and defended the Temple?

“I heard that your response was not provoked by a personal insult, but rather by an affront to the Temple.”

Whether Vertus had found that out through Mr. Effenhauser or some other way, he knew the arguments I had made. That also meant that he was aware that I had put on the guise of a patriot as well.

“As a student of the Temple, I should ideally view everyone with an impartial eye, but I can’t help but lean toward being a patriot myself.”

What? This development of the story was kind of odd.

“Reinhart, I really like your attitude and the way you think.”

This was... Seriously getting weird!

I was almost shaking more than I would have if I had been threatened with death.

What was happening here, and where was this going?

Vertus heard my patriotic speech, and now he admired my patriotism? Sure, it was only natural for the prince to be patriotic, but was that the reason why he now had a favorable view of me?

He could restrain himself from reacting to personal insults, but when it came to the Temple being insulted, he admired someone who would go as far as to throw a fist in defense of patriotism.

Vertus was toying with his teacup while maintaining a faint smile.

“Still, I think the incident with Heinrich was a bit excessive. Of course, I’m not saying that it is more wrong to offend a royal family member than a commoner.”

“...”

“Your classmates are... let’s say, being a bit overly imaginative.”

“Imaginative?”

‘What is he talking about?’

Vertus looked out at the night view of the Temple, still smiling, as though he had some secret understanding.

“Someone who’s utterly devoid of talent would not dare touch the Schwartz royal family without something or someone to rely on...That’s the kind of fantasy that they’ve concocted.”

I began to grasp what he meant. It seemed they viewed my actions as so insane that it was almost considered mysterious.

“So you’re saying... Essentially, they don’t think I lack talent, but that I must be hiding something incredible?”

“Exactly. That might be a talent, or it could be the power of a family...”

“Hmm...”

If it wasn’t for some hidden ace up my sleeve, my behavior would be incomprehensible. There was no way someone would irrationally beat up a member of royalty unless they were a madman with no understanding of the consequences.

“It’s uncommon, but not unheard of. There are those who hide their noble lineage and enter the Temple as commoners.”

I was aware of that. There were those who could not go about their lives if their family name was revealed publicly, or those who, for various reasons, preferred not to draw attention and thus kept their background hidden. There had probably been cases where some arrogant noble kid had underestimated another by thinking they were just a commoner and had ended up getting taught a nasty lesson.

Anyway, that was what they thought I was: one of those guys who had hidden his noble identity.

“The more serious problem is that Heinrich has started to believe it himself, too.”

“... What?”

Recently, Heinrich had been avoiding me whenever he saw me. I’d assumed it was out of disgust, but was it genuine fear?

“And what kind of backing would one need in order to have no fear when confronting the Schwartz royal family?”

The situation was unfolding in a way I hadn’t anticipated at all. A backing strong enough that one would throw a punch without a second thought when clashing with the Schwartz royal family...

There could only be one answer to that.

“It seems the kids believe you to be a hidden member of the royal family.”

Children’s imagination could sometimes go beyond what adults could dream up. These fools. Did they really think that another royal would hide themselves in a class that already had two clearly-visible royals?

“Hah...”

“Of course, I know that that’s not true.”

Vertus looked at me as if he wasn’t one to indulge in the children’s flights of fancy. And he continued to smile that gentle smile of his as he sipped from his teacup.

“So, Reinhart. I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Do you have something or someone that you’re relying on? Who’s got your back?”

Vertus knew that the idea of a hidden royal was nonsense, but he was still curious. Curious about my true background. It seemed that even Vertus didn’t think of me as just an empty-handed nobody.

But my so-called background could never be revealed, because it was the kind of information that could make me an enemy of all humankind.

So I sighed and crossed my arms.

“Obviously there’s nothing. After all, who’d want to be someone who punches people just because they’ve got something or someone to fall back on when things get tough?”

I was still going to go down this route.

It was already too late to change it. I was going to be the madman with nothing up his sleeve. What did it matter if I got beaten down or tangled up later on? I still had the Dreadfiend ring, which enabled me to disappear at any time.

Vertus had a slightly stunned expression, and stared blankly at me.

“Oh... so, there’s nothing... nothing significant then?”

“That’s right.”

“So it was really just because you were in a bad mood?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh... I see.”

Vertus had been smiling the whole time, but now, his lips twitched.

“Ha, ha. Hahaha. Hahahahaha. Haha!”

Suddenly, he burst out laughing. It was as if he had lost his sanity; he kept laughing like that for a long time.

Then, after that long laugh, Vertus looked at me.

His gaze sent a chill down my spine. It felt as if a character with small, narrow eyes had suddenly opened their eyes wide.

It was the real Vertus, someone with a slightly unsettling presence. He looked at me with those eyes and quietly tipped his teacup.

“In a situation like this, most people would tell a lie.”

‘A lie? Technically, it was a lie. I do have a backup. You just wouldn’t be able to imagine who or what it is at all.’

“If you had claimed to have some powerful backup, I would have ignored you from now on.”

Vertus was showing his true colors. Unlike the others who had been spouting nonsense and acting tough, he was on a different level.

Although he was just a young teenager, his gaze chilled me to the bone.

“Responding honestly to me was wise, Reinhart.”

It seemed he had expected me to lie to avoid a crisis or keep others from messing with me. Because if I’d done so, the others would continue to keep away.

Had he done some investigation into my background? Did he already know I was nobody significant and was thus probing to see what kind of person I was?

I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly.

“Isn’t it also possible that me saying I’m nobody is the lie?”

“Whether or not you have something or someone backing you up may remain unknown, but at least I know that you’re certainly not a noble.”

Vertus set down his teacup and ran a finger along the rim of the cup.

“Because a person who doesn’t even know how to hold a teacup properly couldn’t possibly be a noble.”

The black tea had been part of the plan all along. Vertus had sized me up based on the way I held my teacup and sipped my tea.

Realizing that my unconscious actions had been giving information away sent shivers running through my body.

Even though he was a character I had created, the fear he instilled in me was hard to put into words.

He would have ignored me if I had bluffed. Yet, I’d just plainly said I was nothing special. So what was he going to do then, knowing this information?

“You should have bluffed, Reinhart.”

“Why is that?”

“Have you ever thought about what Heinrich von Schwartz could do to you?”

I had considered it, of course. My body had acted before my mind in the moment, but later on I’d contemplated the consequences of messing with a royal of the First Principality, Kernstadt.

However, I knew about Heinrich von Schwartz, and was confident that nothing serious would come of it.

“Of course I’ve thought about it.”

“Aren’t you worried that the moment you step out of the Temple, you could disappear without a trace because you offended the Schwartz royal family?”

“I’ve thought of that, yeah.”

No. I hadn’t thought of that at all. There would never be such an incident in the first place.

“Then, when I told you that Heinrich fears your unknown background, wouldn’t it have been in your best interest to keep that fear alive?”

“It would have been.”

“Then why tell me the truth? Heinrich could very likely harm you, and you should have been afraid of that.”

Heinrich was a direct member of a royal family, and had enrolled in the Royal Class.

But he’d been as good as abandoned.

No one in the Schwartz royal family liked Heinrich. Therefore, his status was nothing but a shell; in reality, he was someone without any power or influence.

That was why I already knew there would be no retaliation on behalf of a royal who had been tossed off to a distant land.

However, letting slip that I was aware of this would be suspicious indeed.

So, why did I reveal a truth to dispel a lie that would have worked in my favor, in order to maintain a secret?

“Because there’s nothing to be gained from telling such a shallow lie in front of an imperial prince.”

Saying that I’d already predicted that the prince would see through it seemed like a better choice. I judged that trying to deceive Vertus to stay safe from someone like Heinrich was a more dangerous course of action.

My words made Vertus look at me intently.

“What if I were to tell Heinrich this? Wouldn’t that put you in a very difficult position?”

It felt like I was walking on thin ice. If I turned Vertus into an enemy, my life would be in danger. Although I had chosen to take the “crazy madman” route, there was no reason to provoke him if it wasn’t necessary.

“You won’t do that.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because you said you would ignore me if I lied. Doesn’t that imply that you have something that you’re prepared to run with if I told you the truth?”

I had now laid out my cards and told Vertus the truth. If my thinking was correct, Vertus had a different course of action planned for when I told him the truth.

‘Hmm.. should I press further and suggest that I’m not someone who can be ignored so easily?’

“Plus, in my opinion, Heinrich can’t touch me regardless of my background. Assuming he has at least the minimum amount of common sense.”

“Why do you think that?”

“If he were to kill me, then the death of a Temple student, especially one from the Royal Class, wouldn’t be an ordinary matter. The news would spread across Gradium.”

“...”

“And if I died at this time, the situation would be too obvious. If a common-born Royal Class student suddenly died after getting into a fight with a royal from the First Principality, it would be too obvious who killed who.”

If I were to die now, it would be blatantly obvious who had killed me, and naturally, Heinrich would become the focus of the investigation.

Vertus’s smile had gradually returned. “Couldn’t the Schwartz royal family use its power to cover up the incident?”

“Perhaps they might.”

“...”

“But...”

I smiled back at Vertus.

At this point, I was past caring. It was all or nothing.

“I don’t believe our homeland, the great empire, would be swayed by any principality. Instead, it would demand accountability for staining the honor of the Temple.”

The word “homeland” seemed to curl the corners of Vertus’s mouth upward. Did Vertus have a stronger sense of patriotism than Effenhauser?

My death would be a much bigger event than one might think. Although it wouldn’t actually happen—or, at least, I judged that it would not—considering the trust I had in the Temple and the empire as well as the significance of my status. And Vertus seemed to admire my ability to assess the situation as I had done.

Vertus liked smart people. It was true that I had improvised my response, but the level of my judgment was definitely beyond that of my peers. Of course, my familiarity with this world also helped a lot.

“Good.”

Vertus smiled as if there was no need for further conversation.

“It’s the first time I’ve found someone so audacious so captivating.”

‘Um... What is going on here exactly?’

“Reinhart, I see a bright future at the Temple ahead of us.”

“... That’s great.”

Why was it that the first person I’d gotten close to at the Temple was a villain?