漫画大王

Chapter 198

Because the imperial city had the most warp gates, it suffered the greatest loss of human life. Yet it remained the imperial city. Though the city ended up under significant attack, it remained relatively unharmed thanks to the large number of soldiers stationed there and the presence of the Temple.

From that point on, it became crucial to either destroy the warp gates that were connected to the other world, or sever the connection completely.

Only the imperial city managed to handle the situation somewhat effectively. While nearly the entire continent was plunged into chaos, the imperial city remained safe, isolated from other regions.

Following this, the empire, which now consisted solely of the imperial city, and the Temple began a long and arduous fight to either destroy or restore the warp gates scattered across the continent. In the end, I never explained why the Gate Incident had happened in the first place. It simply happened out of the blue.

However, this world had so far supplemented any missing explanations with its own logic to fill in the gaps. Hence, there was a definite reason why the warp gates would suddenly become connected to another world. If I could discover that reason, I could prevent the Gate Incident from occurring at all.

This might have been the greatest punishment for my lazy writing style, which was skipping over important explanations out of convenience.

Because you skipped important details, you now have to find out for yourself what will happen, if that’s even possible.

That had to be the intention behind this.

If I couldn’t figure it out, tens of millions of people would die horribly.

The Gate Incident had a conclusion, but its cause was unknown. My initial thought was to destroy all the warp gates on the continent, but that would be impossible.

Getting rid of the warp gates in the imperial city might be somewhat possible, but destroying all the warp gates that existed was not feasible. If they were meticulously destroyed one by one, more warp gates would be created.

In this world, warp gates had become indispensable to humanity. If someone destroyed any of them, there would certainly be retaliation, and the gate would simply be rebuilt.

In the original work, the warp gates were destroyed and then magically restored, which was how the empire slowly reclaimed its territory. Once the gates were destroyed or normalized, beings from the other world would no longer pour out of them.

Though the imperial city had managed to hold out against the initial onslaught, a tremendous number of people still perished, since the imperial city had the most warp gates and faced the highest influx of monsters. If the incident played out for real, the city would suffer catastrophic damage.

If someone destroyed all the warp gates in the imperial city before the Gate Incident occurred, would that prevent monsters from appearing there?

While destroying every gate on the continent was impossible, it might be possible to limit the scope to the imperial city. Of course, I still didn’t know the true cause of the Gate Incident. Even if all the gates were destroyed, a similar catastrophe could happen due to another unknown factor.

Finding the cause of the Gate Incident and preventing it from happening in the first place would be the best course of action. The next best option would be to destroy as many warp gates as possible before the crisis unfolded. However, preemptively destroying the gates might not be the ultimate solution, since there was a possibility that an unexpected third scenario could pop up.

Regardless, resources and funds were needed. Suddenly telling Vertus and Charlotte that around the third year of school, all the warp gates on the continent would suddenly connect to another world and cause chaos, thus necessitating the destruction of all warp gates, wouldn’t be convincing.

To resolve the issue in this manner, evidence was required—proof that such an event would occur. If such evidence existed, it could be used to persuade the imperial family. Though it seemed there was ample time, in reality, there wasn’t much.

I needed to gain powerful forces that were currently beyond my reach.

Money, people, and power.

I needed to acquire all three.

***

“... So, you want to set up a stall and do business at the station?” Vertus asked.

“... In a way, yes. Doesn’t it sound good?”

Vertus stared at me with a slightly bewildered expression.

To think that my next move in dealing with a crisis akin to the end of the world would be to ask for permission to run a business at a subway station. What was I even doing?

Vertus initially seemed to be taken aback by my sudden suggestion, but then he flashed a cunning smile. “Is your income dropping to a dangerous level because of competition lately?”

“Pretty much.”

Of course, Vertus knew about the Rotary Club and its revenue sources, so he wasn’t particularly surprised. In fact, it was more surprising that he had left them alone until now.

Vertus stroked his chin thoughtfully. “It does feel like we’ve been leaving a high-traffic area underutilized. Doing something there wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

It looked like Vertus was considering it positively.

“There have been complaints about peddlers on the magic trains, and there’s been talk of driving them all out...” he added.

“... Really?” I asked.

It was news to me that such discussions were happening.

Vertus nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been blocking those measures till now, but I guess there’s no need for that anymore.”

“What? You blocked them?”

What was he talking about? Blocking them?

Vertus smiled wryly as he noticed my confusion.

“Of course, the precious family members of my classmate could end up out on the stree—well, they technically already are I guess. Anyway, it would be a problem if they lost their source of income, right? So, I told them to just leave it be.”

What was this? I was genuinely moved by Vertus. I mean, wasn’t I supposed to be?

“Seeing you make that kind of face to me is pretty gross. Your usual slightly annoying look suits you better.”

“... I’m just being grateful.”

Vertus seemed a bit unnerved by my emotional expression. Apparently, he had a higher opinion of me than I thought and seemed to care about things I wasn’t aware of.

‘Yeah, if a villain is on my side, that was a good thing, right? Even if he’s a douchebag, if he’s on my side then he’s a good douchebag!’

“Anyway, it looks like you’ll want an exclusive business license. But even if you get the business rights, you guys wouldn’t have the capital to start such a venture, would you?”

Vertus acknowledged my ambition, but questioned whether it was too excessive and whether I could handle it.

“We’ll raise some through investment.”

“Investment, huh. Well, at least you have some sense. But from where?”

“For now, I’m thinking of the Merchants’ Guild.”

“Oh?” Vertus grinned at me. “You actually have a knack for this, don’t you?”

“I don’t know about knack, but it seems like a reasonable bet, doesn’t it?”

Vertus appeared intrigued by the fact that I had planned out not only the business venture, but also had a pretty solid idea of where to get the initial capital.

I had never thought of myself as that type. To be frank, I wasn’t that type. I didn’t know the first thing about running a business and only had the ideas. It would be up to the others to manage the actual operation.

Although the Rotary Club had a history of failure, there were definitely people with business experience among them, and they could use their collective intelligence to run the business. All I needed to do was get the authorization.

“Alright. A 90-10 split, then.”

“... Huh?”

‘A what split? What was he talking about?’

Confused by the sudden numerical proposition, I stared blankly at Vertus, who narrowed his eyes.

“Were you planning on getting this for free? If so, that’s more surprising. Or should it be me getting 90% and you getting 10%?”

“No! No! No! Of course, I’ll give you 10%! Absolutely! You got it! Wow, I’ve been so oblivious! I get told that a lot!”

“I won’t be putting in any additional investment, though. You’re still fine with giving me 10%?”

“Of course! Oh my, I’d feel guilty that you’re taking so little!”

“Really? Then maybe I should take a bit more, say twen—”

“It’s just a figure of speech, my friend! Haha! Come on now!”

Vertus seemed to enjoy watching me frantically running through a range of emotions with just a few words from him.

***

After Vertus proposed a 90-10 split, he said he would consider my suggestion in a positive light, and he would inform me once everything was finalized.

It was quite a shock to realize that the reason the peddlers had managed to keep up their operations so far wasn’t due to government inaction, but because Vertus had been deliberately preventing any crackdown. Of course, it probably wasn’t a significant effort on his part—just a simple “Let it be.” Still, it was something.

There was no complex reason behind why I’d gone to Vertus instead of Charlotte. It was because of Dettomorian’s unexpected prophecy that I didn’t have the courage to properly face Charlotte.

Getting a sudden “You two will get married” prophecy and then immediately going to her and saying, “Hey, I need permission to run a business at the subway stations because of this and that” just seemed so lame and awkward!

Simply put, I knew it wasn’t something I should worry about, but still.

Somehow, it was just... awkward.

Anyway, the sudden announcement from Dettomorian had altered the relationship between Charlotte and me a little.

“Uh, um... Reinhart.”

“... Yeah.”

“Uh... Have classes ended?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh... okay. I’ll be going then.”

“... Yeah. Sure.”

It had become absurdly awkward between us.

Previously, when Charlotte and I occasionally crossed paths, she used to greet me with a bright smile and a preppy sort of energy. However, ever since that incident, whenever we bumped into each other, we’d awkwardly laugh, exchange glances, and then walk past each other without knowing what to say.

We could just dismiss Dettomorian’s prophecy as being untrue, but it seemed both of us were still stuck in a state of confusion, wondering how such a thing might even be possible. I felt like I had received a prophecy about my identity as Baalier being exposed. That would certainly cause everything to spiral out of control.

I couldn’t even begin to imagine how Charlotte might feel.

Anyway, thanks to the huge rock that Dettomorian had thrown, Charlotte and I were now in this weirdly awkward situation.

Sensing the strange atmosphere between Charlotte and me, Ludwig tilted his head in curiosity. “Did you two have a fight?”

“... No, it’s not that.”

It was Tuesday, the day we had Swordsmanship classes. After our Swordsmanship Practical, Scarlett, Ludwig, Ellen, and I headed back to the dormitories together.

Ludwig seemed concerned, thinking that Charlotte and I might’ve had a falling out since we were acting a bit distant.

“See you guys,” Scarlett said formally.

“Oh... yeah. Take care.”

“See you.”

Scarlett nodded politely to Ellen and me before heading back to the Class B dormitory with Ludwig.

Scarlett hadn’t changed in the exact way that she had in the original story, but in a way, this seemed alright too. She appeared to be evolving in her own subtle manner. I wished she would drop the formal speech, though. How long was she going to keep speaking so formally?

That day’s Swordsmanship Practical class hadn’t been particularly special. We didn’t have another practice sparring session with the Orbis Class students like we did last week. I sparred with Scarlett and Ludwig under Ellen’s watchful eye.

Without using my supernatural ability, I lost to both of them. Using my powers, I had a slight edge over Ludwig, but was still far from overpowering Scarlett. It hadn’t been an overwhelming defeat, but I was still easily taken down by her. I had anticipated Scarlett’s skill, so it was not a surprising outcome. She was inherently very strong and played a significant role in the Gate Incident while showcasing potential that rivaled Ellen’s.

In the future, she would gain the nickname “Spellbreaker” due to her incredible magic resistance that rendered her almost immune to spells. Scarlett had her own growth trajectory, and Ludwig, being the protagonist, would close the gap with her if given even the slightest chance, or he would soon catch up to me.

Inevitably, Ludwig would surpass me. He was, after all, the protagonist. And Ellen, even without using Mana Reinforcement, defeated all of us effortlessly.

In a way, this served as a measurement of our combat capabilities.

Under normal conditions:

Ellen > Scarlett >>>>> Ludwig > Me

When going all out:

Ellen (with Mana Reinforcement) >>>>>>> Scarlett > Me (with supernatural powers) > Ludwig

That was the rough hierarchy. It was hard to speculate how things would change if I summoned Tiamata, so I hadn’t factored it in.

Among the other main melee combatants in the Royal Class—Vertus, Cliffman, Erhi, and, to a lesser extent, Delphine, although she specialized in archery rather than close-quarter combat—it was clear that both Vertus and Cliffman were far more skilled than I was.

I could sense Cliffman’s superiority whenever we sparred, and though I’d never crossed swords with Vertus, he was likely on par with or better than Cliffman. Thus, considering all the physical close-quarter combatants in the Royal Class, Erhi and Ludwig were the only ones I could absolutely beat.

In other words, my only real match was the kid who didn’t train hard at all, and the other who was a late-blooming protagonist—and even then, I needed my supernatural power to defeat the latter.

I had certainly grown, but there was still a long way to go.

As Ellen and I headed toward the Class A dormitory, we walked past a scene that gave me a strong sense of déjà vu.

—Hey, we should tell the teacher.

—Ugh... Whatever... That son of a bitch.

The Three Idiots were sitting in the exact same spot and positions as the week before. Erhi de Raffaeli, who had been beaten by the Orbis Class students last week, was sitting there with a swollen cheek once again, flanked by Connor Lint and Kaier.

The week before, that guy had gotten himself beaten up by someone from the Orbis Class. He had bragged about how he would eventually take them down anyway because they had no talent, which was why he ended up getting beaten up. I had told him to stop picking fights, and then Harriet had scolded me, thinking that I was the one who’d hit him.

“Hey, you go in first.”

“Okay.”

Ellen walked toward her room, while I approached the trio. They looked visibly distressed as I drew near.

“So, where did you get beat up this time?”

It was the same pattern as the previous week. He picked a fight with someone from the Orbis Class, got beaten up, and then came back to the Royal Class to get lectured by me.

Erhi grimaced and shook his head.

“No, hey. This time it wasn’t like that!”

“... It’s not like that?”

“Y-Yeah! This time I didn’t do anything wrong! Do you think I’m crazy enough to pick another fight?” he shouted. It was as if he was trying to preemptively stop me from giving him a thorough scolding.

“... Okay, if you didn’t, you didn’t. Why the hell are you yelling and causing a scene?”

‘Why is he so riled up, yelling with those sharp eyes of his?’

“Uh, I-I didn’t mean it like that...” Erhi said, flinching at my sudden outburst and clamming up.

I sat down on the sofa opposite him, crossing my arms.

“So, what’s it this time?”

If Erhi was telling the truth, did he just get beaten up for no reason this time? Last week he was at fault, but was he truly innocent this time around?

“Hey! I told you to cut it out!”

And then, another déjà vu moment: the sharp voice of Harriet echoed from behind me.

“You hit him again, didn’t you!”

Apparently, Harriet had just arrived and was glaring daggers at me.

‘Ugh! Why are you always like this with me?’

“No! Hey! It wasn’t me last time, and it’s not me this time either! I explained everything! Do you think I beat up people for fun? I stopped that ages ago! Why do you always accuse me of things?”

Seriously, the last time I’d hit a classmate was when Heinrich had wanted to have a go at me, and that had been mutually agreed upon. And before that, it was when Erhi had tried to steal Scarlett’s prize on the deserted island and whined to me, which riled me up enough to give him a knock on the head.

Those were all ages ago!

Seeing how genuinely exasperated I was, Harriet’s expression softened a bit.

Harriet’s lips twitched slightly. “Oh... really?”

‘Hm? What’s this now?’

She seemed to be enjoying my frustration. She had the look of someone who had always been teased and had just discovered the joy of returning the favor—a taste of revenge.

Come to think of it...

‘Why are you always like this with me?! Why only me!’

That was exactly what Harriet would say whenever I teased her. And now, I had done the same thing.

“A thug like you who only knows how to hit people? It’s pretty obvious. Don’t lie. It’s always you.”

“No! It’s not! It wasn’t me the last time, and it’s not me this time either! I know I’ve done a lot of bad things, but in this case, I’m innocent!”

‘No! She’s figured out how to get to me!’

As Harriet and I bickered, Erhi de Lafaeri’s expression grew more and more forlorn. He was caught in the crossfire, taking blows from both sides.

In the end, Erhi, swallowing his pride and humiliation, spoke up. He clarified the situation to Harriet and told her that it hadn’t been me who’d hit him. Seeing him in that state, it was hard not to feel a bit sorry for the guy.

Truthfully, though, I hadn’t hit him, and I wasn’t lying.

“Orbis Class again? Really?”

Harriet’s remark about him getting beaten up again made his expression contort with embarrassment, but it was true. He had been struck by someone from the Orbis Class, the same person who had hit him the previous time.

Crossing my arms, I asked him, “So, what happened this time?”

Though it was hard to fully trust Erhi’s words, he claimed he hadn’t provoked anyone this time, unlike the last time.

“No... I did nothing this time... But after class... we bumped shoulders... and suddenly...”

It was evident that recounting his beating to Harriet and me was incredibly humiliating for Erhi. Kaier and Connor Lint watched him with sympathetic expressions.

Harriet frowned. “Last week’s incident was your fault, but this time they beat you up for no reason, because they held a grudge?”

“...”

It seemed Erhi had seriously pissed off his Orbis Class classmate. The guy had knocked his shoulder into Erhi’s after class, picked a fight, and then hit him. It did indeed sound like a situation that he had every right to feel indignant about. Connor Lint’s suggestion to report this to a teacher also made sense.

But whoever that guy was really held a grudge. While Erhi had overstepped his bounds initially, beating him up again a week later out of nowhere showed just how twisted that Orbis Class guy’s mindset was.

“What a strange guy. Why beat up someone who’s minding their own business?” Harriet muttered with a frown.

She seemed different from last week. Her irritation at my apparent bullying of others and her nagging was also different.

Was she evolving into a class-representative type of character? ‘Please, no. I’m not a fan of the cheerful, justice-loving types like Ludwig.’

Harriet stared at me intensely, her expression turning somewhat sulky.

“What...? What is it?”

“Aren’t you angry?”

“... Huh?”

Why would I be angry? I wasn’t the one who got hit. Was she asking why I wasn’t mad that our Royal Class classmate had gotten himself beaten up outside? Did she expect some sense of solidarity or class spirit from me? I didn’t feel such attachment.

‘What do you expect from a Demon Prince who doesn’t even feel a sense of belonging to the Demon Realm? Oh, what an idiot.’

That was really the extent of my thoughts on the matter.

“Strange. I thought you’d jump straight into action,” Harriet remarked.

“Why would I do that?”

“Because that’s the kind of person you are.”

“That’s really not true!”

It wasn’t just Harriet, though; even Kaier and Connor Lint were looking at me expectantly.

I could read their minds: ‘Show us how it’s done, Reinhart! You’re the guy who gets things done! Senior or not, you always make the first move!’

What was up with those hopeful expressions? They seemed to be wishing I’d cause a commotion, just like I always used to do. This time, they wanted the chaos directed at the Orbis Class. Those hopeful looks seemed to be asking me to exact revenge on their behalf.

‘Please, cause some trouble! Avenge us!’

Was this also a form of trust...?

“Listen, if you feel wronged for getting beaten up, either tell the teacher or train harder so you can beat them up yourself. What do you expect me to do about it?”

“I... I didn’t say anything!” Erhi protested.

‘Oh, right. You didn’t actually ask for anything...’

Erhi seemed to be becoming increasingly more pitiful.

Harriet muttered with a disgruntled expression, “I understand that the Orbis Class dislikes us, but this is too much... they even did something to me.”

“... What? To you?”

Harriet wasn’t suddenly acting like a class representative. She was already angry because she had experienced something similar in her interactions with the Orbis Class, and hearing that a fellow classmate had been beaten up had made her even angrier.

But did something happen to Harriet?

“Yes. During the Destructive Magic Practice class, someone cast an electric spell near me. They said it was an accident, but it felt... intentional. They got a demerit for it, though.”

“... Huh.”

Something snapped in my mind.

“Those... damned bastards.”

It felt like a bolt in my head had shattered.