漫画大王

Chapter 75

The air within the Temple was weighed down with a depressive energy.

The Temple felt empty the day before because there were literally no people around. This time, however, it felt empty despite the fact that people were around.

A heavy atmosphere hung over the Temple, exerting an invisible pressure on its inhabitants.

And the most desolate and subdued place in the Temple was none other than the classroom of Classes A and B of the first year of the Royal Class.

“You are probably all aware that the security in the Temple is comparable to that of the imperial city. As long as you do not wander outside carelessly, your safety is assured,” said Mr. Effenhauser.

“However, given this unusual incident in the imperial city, we are fully aware that the parents of each student might be worried. The Temple will prioritize safety, but if you genuinely feel at risk, you are permitted to apply for a leave of absence.”

Indeed, since these children belonged to formidable families, there was always the possibility that the families would pull their children out of the Temple if the imperial city was deemed unsafe. Therefore, the Temple was making the exception and offering to allow a leave of absence during the semester. Extraordinary situations called for extraordinary measures.

‘Wait, did he say a leave of absence?’

“Mr. Effenhauser.”

The one who had suddenly raised her hand was Harriet de Saint-Ouen.

“Speak, Number 4.”

“What happens if we take a leave of absence? Can we just return next semester?”

“No. If you take a leave of absence now, you will be held back a year. You cannot enter the second semester without having completed all the general education classes of the first semester. Unfortunately, there’s a general education curriculum, so there’s no other way around it.”

Taking a leave of absence was allowed, but one should be prepared to be held back a year. General classes had to be taken by every student, even those with a specific major, and were being held on Mondays and Thursdays. If the Temple allowed a student to move up a grade after taking a leave of absence for the first half of the school year, that would mean that there would be no penalty for only attending one semester of classes.

I had never introduced the concept of a leave of absence in this novel in the first place. I meant for the Temple to be sort of like a college, but not an actual one.

However, because of the unprecedented terrorist attack, a setting I had not explicitly written about was now popping up arbitrarily. This system where one could take a leave of absence only applied to those who had graduated from the higher education program and were attending something equivalent to graduate school. At our current level, though, while the leave of absence was possible, being held back a year was an unavoidable consequence.

Watching the future of this world getting tangled up in real time made it feel like my brain was freezing up.

In any case, a leave of absence would guarantee being held back a year, whether you liked it or not. No one liked the idea of being held back, but it was something that some would accept if they deemed it more perilous to stay in the imperial city and brave the potential dangers just to study.

In other words, anyone who took a leave of absence would effectively be leaving this class altogether.

Each of them was a member of the main story, and if even one were to be absent, the story would surely deviate significantly from what I was anticipating. It had already gone off-track, but this would further derail it.

For now, it was a slice-of-life story, but these were all characters that had major roles to play further along in the novel, so anyone being held back a year would mean a crucial change to the plot.

This was troublesome.

And to make things worse, it was Harriet who had asked the question.

“Number 4, are you considering taking a leave of absence?”

“Ah, well...”

Harriet glanced around at her classmates, and her expression grew gloomy.

“My parents say it’s too dangerous out here...”

Number 4 of Class A. Harriet de Saint-Ouen, the one with magical talent...

The one who I often teased because of how innocent and charming she was.

She was the youngest and also the most cherished of the Saint-Ouen family. Given this, it was entirely plausible that the family would prefer to take their precious daughter away from the dangerous imperial city as soon as possible, even if it meant she would be held back a year.

“Come and see me after the assembly.”

“Yes, sir.”

It was not only Harriet. Riana de Granz, the electrokinesis user who had been quiet all along, also raised her hand.

“Mr. Effenhauser, I would also like to have a consultation.”

“Number 3, you come too.”

“Yes, sir.”

If this continued, an unprecedented event would occur, in which two students would potentially leave Class A.

Damn it.

The repercussions seemed to be piling up in real-time.

Perhaps this was the so-called butterfly effect.

As my head was beginning to cloud with thoughts, Mr. Effenhauser called me.

“And Number 11.”

“... Yes?”

My classmates turned to look at me, as though wondering what new trouble I’d caused.

‘Have I already gotten to the point where everyone assumes I’ve already caused trouble whenever someone calls my name?’

“You’ve earned 1 merit point. I don’t need to explain why, right?”

“Ah. Yes, sir.”

Only then did I remember that I was supposed to receive a merit point for having helped Ellen when she had passed out on the training ground.

Everyone else was shocked that the class troublemaker had received a merit point.

***

Even if the characters were to be held back a year, it wasn’t like they would completely disappear, since they were all characters that played a part in the main story, after all. Of course, if the plot of the novel simply revolved around snippets of life at the Temple from beginning to the end, their absence wouldn’t really matter. However, they would all be very helpful assets on our side once the gate opened.

Each one of these students had their own side plot in the story where they would grow and become stronger. But if they were to step away from the Royal Class, it was uncertain what would happen to them and their development. Obviously they wouldn’t become useless characters overnight, but they should at least be somewhere where I could keep my eyes on them.

As I pondered what to do, Harriet and Riana, who seemed to have finished their consultations, rejoined us and sat quietly through the remainder of the class.

Whether or not they were considering a leave of absence, the atmosphere in the class remained tense, as if we were all walking on thin ice.

Most of my classmates seemed curious as to why I had received a merit point, but that wasn’t important right now.

“So, if you substitute the formula like this...”

The tension was so thick that even the teachers seemed to be on edge. Most of the teachers would be pretty accustomed to instructing children of noble houses by now, but they had suddenly seemed to be very careful not to disturb someone’s mood.

They were all cautious of Vertus.

The week before, a terrorist incident thought to involve demons had struck the imperial city. As a result, all festivals in the city were canceled, and the honor of the empire and its imperial family had suffered a serious blow.

There was even a rumor going about, questioning whether the victory in the Great War was even true.

It was clear that Vertus would be in a terrible mood, and nobody wanted to inadvertently annoy the prince by doing something to offend him.

From where I was in the very back of the class, I couldn’t see Vertus’s expression, since he was seated in the front. However, it was clear that everyone was listening attentively to the lesson, cautiously and silently, as if treading on thin ice.

Likewise, the teacher seemed intent on proceeding with the lesson diligently, trying to hide their desire to leave the classroom as quickly as possible.

***

Lunchtime was one hour, and the atmosphere was just as tense throughout, which made for an unusual experience.

Not only was the mood in the imperial city grim, but the atmosphere in the Temple was also notably dark. During the lunch hour, when students from all grades went to eat, the air in the dining hall was icy cold, punctuated only by the quiet clink of moving utensils.

This was to be expected, as not only was Vertus present, but Charlotte was as well.

Though the two of them were only first-years, even the seniors ate quietly, not wanting to disturb the prince and princess, who were clearly not in great spirits. This was more evidence of the enormity of their presence in the Royal Class.

Some, however, seemed completely unbothered by the mood.

Om nom nom...

Ellen Artorius, who had at some point started to have lunch with me, was one such person.

Of course, she was known to be quiet in nature, so whether she was being consciously mindful of others or not did not make much of a difference. She was just focused on eating, going back for seconds, and eating again.

It felt genuinely creepy to be in such a large cafeteria with hundreds of people seated in it and only hearing the sound of silverware, especially considering how it was usually abuzz with chatter.

Neither Vertus nor Charlotte appeared to be in a bad mood, but neither did they seem particularly happy either. They were eating quietly, and everyone refrained from speaking to them.

At this rate, some people were bound to choke on their food. Honestly speaking, though, even I felt somewhat wary of the pair.

Yeah, that’s right. A man in his thirties doing all he could not to disturb two seventeen-year-olds...

“You know, you seem like the only person who’s not troubled by what’s going on.”

“Huh?”

Ellen didn’t even respond to me and only continued to focus on her meal.

Almost immediately, numerous stern gazes darted in my direction, skewering me.

‘Come on, can’t I even speak using my own mouth?’

***

By this time, I was finally able to somewhat keep up with the afternoon physical education class. Of course, I could hardly be compared to those whom I considered physical monsters by my standards.

Thanks to consistent exercise, my endurance and stamina had improved overwhelmingly when compared to those who were specializing in magic or non-combat fields.

“Reinhart, stop using your supernatural powers. Consider this a warning.”

The physical education teacher had called me out and given me a warning, believing that my sudden improvement in running was due to my usage of my supernatural powers, which the teacher considered a way of cheating.

“Uh, I wasn’t using them?”

“From what I’ve heard, your supernatural power pertains to physical enhancement, am I right?”

“That’s correct, but... I really wasn’t using it.”

I was telling the truth; I hadn’t used my powers.

Of course, I would use my supernatural power when sparring with Ellen or when training alone to get accustomed to using it, but during class, I intentionally refrained from using it to avoid attracting unwanted attention.

The teacher frowned at my protest.

“... A kid who couldn’t even run properly until recently, suddenly improving his stamina by this much? You’re better off admitting that you’re just lying straight to my face.”

Although a different teacher took each subject, the teachers did keep track of each student’s profile. Hence, they would all be aware that I had awakened my supernatural power.

Until recently, I had struggled significantly in physical education, but I was suddenly much better at running, so the teacher seemed convinced I was using my supernatural powers.

“No, I’m telling you the truth! I didn’t use it!”

For the teacher to insist that I had when I hadn’t was infuriating. The strident tone of protest in my voice caused the teacher’s face to wrinkle, and the already-grim atmosphere in the training grounds grew even more tense.

Everyone was running while also observing the interaction between the teacher and me.

“Are you arguing with me?”

The physical education teacher was known for being tough enough to even give the noble children a hard time. It would be impossible to train these privileged students so rigorously without sufficient courage.

“I’m not arguing with you; I’m just stating the facts. I didn’t use my supernatural power.”

‘What am I supposed to do? Lie and say that I did use it?!’

My straightforward protest seemed to make the teacher’s temper flare. The teacher’s eyes bulged, ready to retort when suddenly...

“Te-teacher!”

That was Ludwig, who had hurried over from afar.

“... What is it, Ludwig?”

“Reinhart has been getting up early every morning to exercise for quite some time! I’ve seen it all!”

Ludwig, who thought that I was on the receiving end of an undeserved dressing-down, stepped in unasked to defend me. He explained to the teacher that I regularly exercised at dawn and had been training intensely, and so it would be only natural for my stamina to improve.

‘Wow, I knew you were nice, but I didn’t know you were this nice! Ludwig! You truly are the protagonist!’

After hearing Ludwig’s explanation, the physical education teacher looked at me skeptically.

“Is that so?”

“Yes, sir. I’ve seen him train several times on his own, and sometimes with Ellen as well.”

The physical education teacher flicked his gaze between Ellen and me, and slowly nodded his head.

“I see. So you’ve really been putting in the effort, Reinhart. I apologize for accusing you of cheating.”

The physical education teacher readily admitted his mistake. It seemed he had been somewhat prejudiced against me, possibly because of my reputation as a troublemaker within the Temple.

“Well... I guess you had enough evidence to think that way, so I can’t blame you either.”

Now that the misunderstanding was cleared up, there was no reason for me to continue to talk back to him. It was evident that the other students had been focusing on this situation, even while pretending not to.

“What a relief, Reinhart!” Ludwig said.

“Oh yeah, thanks.”

Encountering this guy during my early morning workouts had unexpectedly helped me.

***

After the physical education class was over, which was more grueling than training, most of the students groaned in pain as they began to shower.

Somehow, I found myself among the group that was not making sounds as though they were dying. This group consisted of only me, Vertus, Ludwig, and Cliffman.

The other guys began to murmur among themselves as they saw my body. Those who weren’t murmuring seemed just as surprised when they looked at me.

Ludwig, who was washing up, caught sight of my body, and his eyes widened in shock.

“Reinhart... What happened to your body?”

“What do you mean?”

It wasn’t because I had become incredibly muscular.

“Your whole body is bruised. What happened?”

My entire body was covered in bruises that were shades of blue and purple.

“Well, if you keep getting hit here and there by a practice sword, or falling and rolling around, you end up like this whether you like it or not.”

“You’re going to hurt yourself seriously if you don’t get it checked out. You should go see a priest quickly.”

“Why would I go to a priest over something like this?”

Even if I fully recovered from these bruises, they would merely reappear again that night during my own training. In fact, I had to be thankful to have only ended up with minor injuries after training with Ellen.

Part of the reason I avoided seeking any treatment was to get used to the pain itself.

In the future, there might be a time when I suffered a serious injury, and when that happened, I didn’t want to be rolling around in pain, unable to do anything, and end up dead.

Everyone seemed to think I was quite a tough guy for being battered like this.

“Seems like you’re working hard, Reinhart. Keep it up.”

Pat, pat.

Out of the blue, Vertus, who was on his way out after showering, patted my shoulder a couple of times as he passed by.

Man, it was so scary to hear that from Vertus while completely naked and in the shower.

Everyone else seemed shocked by what Vertus said to me.

That particular comment from him, though seemingly insignificant, was the first thing he had said all day, which made it even more nerve-wracking.

It felt all the more peculiar because it seemed like a casual remark, without much thought behind it.

***

After physical education, the end of the day approached, and it was soon dismissal time. Mr. Effenhauser left, and the students prepared to head off as well.

The students, perhaps stressed out because they had spent the entire day as silent as mice, exited the classroom as if they were escaping from hell itself, rushing out with marked urgency. Among them, the most eager to leave was Number 9, Erhi de Raffaeli.

As always, he had a chronic habit of picking on Scarlett from the classroom next door while on his way back.

Brushing aside the day’s somber mood as if it had never been a thing, Erhi instinctively slapped Scarlett on the back of her head.

“Hey, Freak Eyes.”

Thump!

“Ow!”

Scarlett flinched and let out a low cry of pain at the sudden blow.

“I told you to stay out of my sight.”

“...”

He had intended to just utter that one contemptuous remark and walk away, as he had always done, since everyone had always ignored his behavior.

It seemed that my words of advice to Scarlett, to just fight back for once, had had no effect on her. At this rate, Scarlett would continue to be bullied for a long while.

However, it seemed the situation that day was about to take a turn for the worse.

Not for Scarlett, though, but for Erhi.

“Hey, you, stop right there.”

An icy-cold voice stopped Erhi in his tracks as he was trying to flee the scene.

“Wh-... what?”

It wasn’t just Erhi who stopped; all the other students had stopped as well.

It was as though time in the corridor had come to a stop. Everyone stopped at one person’s single command.

The command was meant for Erhi, but the voice was so piercingly cold that it froze everyone.

“I was just going to observe and see how far you were going to go with this, but I can’t let it slide anymore.”

“Huh? W-what... what do you mean...?”

The person who had spoken walked slowly toward Erhi, staring him down with a chilling expression.

It was Ludwig, who had been destined to come to Scarlett’s aid at some point in the novel.

Only those who were not part of the original story could disrupt the plot and bring about a change to such predetermined storylines.

One of those disruptors was me.

“Who are you to keep messing with my classmate?”

And the other was Charlotte de Gradias.

“Oh... that... because...”

Erhi had been picking on Scarlett because she came from a low background. However, even though Charlotte was in Class B, Erhi had no intention of talking back to a princess.

“Because what? Spit it out.”

“Well, she... she just annoys me.”

“From my perspective, you’re the one that’s annoying, hitting my classmate for no good reason, just because her hair and eyes are a little red. Is that a good enough reason for you to bully her?”

Erhi, who had simply intended to continue his usual harassment like any other day, had triggered Charlotte’s temper. Normally, she might have let it pass to avoid stirring up trouble, but Charlotte was in a particularly foul mood today.

In such a state, witnessing this aggravating scene must have irked her enough for her anger to boil over.

As the atmosphere continued to sour, Vertus stepped in.

“Oh, come on. Why are you like this? I’ll talk to him and make sure it’s sorted out.”

Charlotte stared at him intently. “You’ll talk to him?”

“Yeah, of course. It’s bad behavior, so I’ll make sure he understands and doesn’t do it agai-...”

“Yeah, do me a favor and manage your people better.”

Charlotte’s cold words cause Vertus’s mediating smile to freeze. She favored Vertus with a passive-aggressive, almost mocking, smile.

“Make sure your people don’t engage in the sort of disgraceful behavior that tarnishes the empire’s honor. That’s what I’m trying to say,” Charlotte said, punctuating her words with a chuckle. “Oh, you realize that I’m talking about Class A, right?”

She was implying that those in Class B were her people, and those in Class A were Vertus’s. Although she made the comment about the Class distinction, I sensed there was something deeper behind it.

It was evident in Vertus’s tense and hostile expression.

The backers of the black market were Vertus’s people.

“...”

Charlotte’s comment about managing his people better was essentially a jab at Vertus to manage his power or information network more strictly.

Charlotte turned away, nonchalantly taking hold of the bewildered Scarlett’s hand as she did so, and the two of them left the building together.

Vertus seemed momentarily stunned, thrown off by Charlotte’s unexpected comment, made straight to his face. However, it didn’t take long for his usual composure to return.

“Erhi.”

Erhi looked pale, as he believed that he was the reason for Vertus’s humiliation.

“Ye-... yeah...?”

“Consider it bad luck. My sibling is not in the best mood today.”

“Oh... y-yeah... Yeah, okay.”

Vertus gave a wry smile, patted his shoulder quietly, and continued to watch Charlotte’s departing figure.

“It’d be nice if those two grew closer from this incident, actually.”

‘I think I know what’s going through his mind right now.’

Instead of feeling insulted, Vertus was focused on the fact that Charlotte had drawn Scarlett in and called her part of ‘my people.’

He was the type of person who understood the power of knowing who others valued.

That was why Vertus was happy for Charlotte and Scarlett to become friends.

No matter how you looked at it, he was definitely a scary guy.

Vertus suddenly turned his gaze on me.

“By the way, Reinhart, could we talk for a moment after we go back?”

‘Why me all of a sudden?’