Chapter 69: I Want to Be a Hero (1) |
*
In the car on the way home.
A strange silence filled the car.
If I had my way, I would have used this silence as background noise to get some sleep.
That's how intense today's incident had been.
But I couldn't bring myself to close my eyes.
Because there was still a story we had to finish.
When I looked up, I saw Freya staring at me wordlessly.
Her glacier-colored eyes were gazing at me quietly.
"...Freya."
"Yes, Older Brother."
In the end, I was the one who broke the uncomfortable silence.
"A moment ago, I said I would draw a line between the identities of Director Schun and Yulian, right?"
Freya nodded without a word.
For her, who must be curious, I began to explain the reason.
"Actually, on the way to pick you up, I thought long and hard. About what the Black Sorcerers might be after."
I still don't know the mastermind or purpose of those who caused this incident.
I can only vaguely guess their objective from the fact that they kidnapped my scholarship students and use black magic.
"They're probably targeting Director Schun. The reason they caused this incident is because in black magic, there's a type of spell that uses a connection or a part of the body as a catalyst to curse someone."
To cast a curse, you must use a part of the target as a catalyst.
It's easy to understand if you picture a scene of tying hair to a doll to curse it.
The curse's power becomes stronger if you use bodily fluid rather than hair, and stronger still if you use a part of the body rather than bodily fluid.
And, a connection can substitute for this body part.
"This must be why they targeted the scholarship students. Director Schun's only public connections are those students."
Publicly, the only people with whom Director Schun maintains a close personal connection are the scholarship students.
The Black Sorcerers must have acted immediately upon finding that out.
"That's why when I heard the students had disappeared and you were gone with them, my heart sank."
Of course, even then, I wasn't worried about the curse reaching me.
I have the knowledge to back-trace black magic, as well as the knowledge to block it.
That's why I wasn't particularly afraid of Black Sorcerers targeting me.
However, if they target the people around me instead, that's a different story.
"So I thought a lot on the way here."
—"The day will come when you, too, will understand."
Only after thinking that far could I understand what my Teacher had said.
"Freya. Isn't prevention better than curing a disease?"
Why didn't my Teacher introduce his family or me to the other Masters of a Magic Tower?
Why are the identities of the Imperial Family kept secret until they become active publicly?
Why would people like the Great Sage or the Emperor hide their families? What are they afraid of?
The reason is simple.
Because if countless opportunities to thrust a spear are guaranteed, any shield will eventually be pierced.
The defender has only one chance, but you can't even begin to guess how many attackers there might be.
And because they know how much anguish daily life can be filled with amidst these countless attacks.
That's why even people like them choose to hide rather than confront it head-on.
To protect not only themselves, but their loved ones.
"So I've decided. From now on, I'm going to separate the identities of Director Schun and Yulian."
So I decided to imitate them in my own way.
The first step is to keep my family's names off the target list of those aiming for Director Schun.
Because I've calculated that it's best to make Director Schun's interpersonal relationships unknowable.
"For the scholarship students, who are already a known connection, I plan to request protective surveillance from the Board of Inspection in the near future."
That's the place that cleanly severed the connecting link between Director Schun and Yulian when I made the vaccine.
Their work processing is reliable, so I can trust them with it. Though the donation will be quite large.
"This is also why I postponed my explanation back there. Director Schun only came here leading private soldiers with Yulian's help. Discovering the Black Sorcerers' methods must be Yulian's accomplishment."
And the first step for this.
Was to organize their fields of expertise so they don't overlap.
Yulian's major will be Forensic Medicine and black magic.
Director Schun's major will be Medicine and alchemy.
Of course, it won't be a perfect division.
There will be times Yulian acts as a doctor, and times Director Schun acts as a forensic scientist.
But that won't be a problem.
Just because an Internal Medicine doctor can diagnose a surgical disease, you don't call them a surgeon, right?
They are overlapping fields anyway, so it's natural to cross over sometimes.
The important thing is what major the public thinks of when they hear the names Director Schun and Yulian.
"Therefore, Freya, I have a favor to ask. Help me get our story straight."
"I understand, Older Brother."
Freya's reaction was surprisingly calm.
"You're not surprised."
"I had a feeling it would come to this someday. I suspected it would be like this from the day you healed me, Older Brother. There are other nobles I know who live this way."
A bitter smile spread across Freya's face.
"It's a shame that we have to keep your greatness a secret, but I respect your intention, Older Brother. So I'll be careful, too."
This secret can't be kept just by me being careful.
Because those who already know Director Schun's identity—my family—will also have to live while hiding my secret.
Fortunately, Freya seemed to understand the situation right away.
"However, Older Brother. There's one thing I'd like to say."
"Go on."
"To keep the secret, I think I also need to properly understand what kind of position Director Schun holds."
"Hm? I'm surprised you don't know."
"It's not just me; the whole family probably doesn't know either."
That's unexpected.
I never particularly hid my profit from my family.
"It's strange that even Father doesn't know."
"Father only knows a little because he has a joint stake in the Quinine. He doesn't even know what other medicines there are specifically. We're laymen when it comes to the healer's domain."
Hearing that, she was right.
People not in the medical field would have a hard time gauging Director Schun's social standing.
Newton's mother told her son to just work on the farm even after he discovered Universal Gravitation.
And Einstein's wife, while typing out her husband's papers, reportedly had no idea how amazing they were.
It's natural not to realize how great something is if it's outside your own field.
Even more so for close family.
"Hmm."
So I thought for a moment.
What's the fastest way to make Freya understand Director Schun's social standing right now?
After some thought, I chose the simplest method.
"Freya. What does this number look like to you?"
"That's the total budget for our Academy's High School Division this year."
"This is our Merchant Guild's sales for one day on the weekend."
"..."
For the record, the weekend is a holiday for our Merchant Guild.
Freya fell silent.
Her glacier-colored eyes darted back and forth twice between the notebook with the number written in it and me.
And then, she opened her mouth very cautiously.
"Older Brother."
"Yes."
"Could you perhaps raise my allowance?"
"How much do you want?"
"Double what I get now..."
"Is that enough?"
"...Four times?"
"I'll give you one last chance. I won't raise it again for a while."
"..."
That day, Freya was promised an allowance comparable to that of a ducal family's young lady.
*
Before we knew it, the car arrived at the Academy's High School Division building.
In the Empire, it's called the Academy's High School Division, but you can just think of it as a high school by my previous life's standards.
Although, the academic level involves things you'd learn at a university.
I just brushed it off, thinking it was because this was an era where romanticism was still alive and well.
The high school's name was Adler Colleg.
A direct translation would be Eagle School.
What naming sense.
Anyway, we arrived at Adler Colleg.
"Let's get out."
Captain Shen got out first to secure the area.
I got out next, and the rest of the party followed.
When getting out, I of course didn't forget my fedora.
How absurd would it be if I went in as Director Schun and came out as Yulian?
As I got out of the car, I saw people waiting for us.
It was the principal of the Academy's High School Division and five or six teachers.
They were dressed in formal wear even in the middle of the night.
"Oh, Director Schun. You've returned safely."
The principal approached, acting familiar.
The principal was a middle-aged man with half-gray hair.
If I remember correctly, he was the second son of some count's family.
It was common for second or third sons with ambiguous positions in their families to become high school division teachers, so it wasn't unusual.
"Are the students safe? Ah, we have also been investigating day and night since we heard the news. We were just about to dispatch the Knight Order."
A lie.
Right after I heard the news that the students had disappeared, the only reply I got when I contacted the Academy was a single line: 'We are investigating.'
The problem is that when I checked the scene, there wasn't a single investigator to be seen.
I still doubted whether that 'investigation' had actually taken place.
A teacher standing behind the principal chimed in.
"On our side, we've put an all-out effort into analyzing the traces of residual magical power around the dormitory and reconstructing the missing students' movements."
An all-out effort, he says.
I haven't seen the results of that so-called all-out effort.
"It was just yesterday that we detected a suspicious magical reaction near the laundry room, but unfortunately, Director, you had already left, so the report was delayed."
Unfortunately.
Such a convenient word.
To sum it up, they detected the magical reaction in the laundry room only after I had already found the Fairy Ring, coaxed the Brownie, and found out the location of the hideout.
"..."
"...Director?"
The principal silently studied my expression.
As if trying to read what kind of face I was making under the shadow of my fedora.
I spoke after a beat.
"Principal."
"Yes, Director."
"The students were held in imprisonment for two days."
"...Yes. It is truly a deplorable matter."
"Then, isn't there something you should have said first at a time like this?"
The principal's eyes shifted minutely.
But the answer I was waiting for didn't come.
In the end, I spoke first.
"Have you discussed protective measures for the victimized students?"
Silence fell.
The principal's mouth twitched once before closing.
Glances were exchanged among the teachers standing behind him.
At last, the principal cleared his throat and answered.
"That part... we plan to discuss it in a future faculty meeting."
"How truly reliable."
I said sarcastically. I intended it to sound that way.
I briefly scanned their faces, one by one.
There was perplexity on the principal's face, but no fear. The same went for the teachers.
There was a hint of discomfort, but no sense of crisis.
Their expressions were saying this.
—What can a commoner businessman do to us?
Is it because this isn't a democratic society?
They seemed to believe that capital could not overwhelm social status.
And in reality, that wasn't entirely wrong.
In the end, I gave up on having a constructive conversation with them.
"Principal."
"Yes."
"Regarding the handling of this incident, Lord Yulian wishes to discuss it, not me."
"Of course, he should."
The expressions of the principal and teachers brightened strangely.
I don't have the ability to read people's minds, but I could see a glimmer of confidence that a mere Young Master of a baronial family couldn't do anything to them.
They probably think it will amount to nothing more than a protest in the baronial family's name.
Thanks to that, I could make up my mind.
"Also, the students' mind and body are very exhausted. I don't feel comfortable sending them back to the dormitory in this state."
Hearing that, the principal's eyebrows raised slightly.
"I will protect them myself. I'll care for them at the Merchant Guild Lodging until they have fully recovered, and will have them return after their safety is confirmed."
Subtle glances were exchanged between the principal and the teachers.
This was practically a declaration of distrust in the Academy's student management ability.
They couldn't have been pleased.
But they had no justification to refuse.
What reason was there to stop me when I said I would protect the students with the Merchant Guild's money?
In the end, the principal reluctantly nodded.
"...I understand."
The principal pressed his lips together once and nodded.
It was a face swallowing its discomfort.
His attitude was strangely disagreeable.
"Thank you."
I bowed my head in greeting, then guided the students back to the car.
While Captain Shen was helping the students in, I stopped just before getting into the car.
And looked back.
The principal and teachers, standing in formation in front of the front door, seeing us off.
They still hadn't spoken to the students.
Thanks to that, I could make up my mind.
"Principal."
"...Yes."
"It would have been better if the ones you showed interest in were the students behind me, not me."
With those last words, I got into the car and closed the door.
I didn't check their expressions.
Since I wouldn't be seeing their faces again anyway.
***
The next day at lunch.
Adler Colleg Principal's office.
Principal Creon was sitting at his desk, sipping from a teacup.
The area under his eyes was dark from tossing and turning all night, but his expression itself wasn't bad.
Director Schun's last words from last night were a bit unsettling.
The pointing out that he had spoken to me before the students.
It wasn't wrong.
It wasn't a desirable attitude for a teacher.
But what did it matter?
Even if he was reprimanded for negligence in student management, there was an upper limit to the punishment he could receive.
Therefore, the principal wasn't too worried about the aftermath of this incident.
Knock, knock. The principal looked up at the sound of a knock.
"Come in."
The door opened and three teachers entered.
They all looked like they had been up all night, but their eyes held more relief than tension.
"Principal, we're here to talk about last night."
Senior teacher Heit said as he perched on the sofa.
"Director Schun taking the students is a bit concerning, but ultimately, the situation isn't that bad. We looked into it, and apparently, Director Schun doesn't have a title of nobility."
"That's a relief. Then what about this Yulian? I heard he's the Head of the Disciplinary Committee's brother."
"We looked into the Nihilrit Family; they are a typical Judicial Officer's family."
From this position, when something happened to a student, the first thing they looked at was the victim's family.
Because what the teachers could do depended on the student's family's title of nobility.
And a baronial family was merely in the position of a slightly troublesome parent.
The principal put down his teacup and nodded.
"And the incident report?"
"We've got a draft. 'The Academy immediately began an investigation upon recognizing the incident and actively cooperated with Director Schun's swift response.' That should be enough."
The Vice-Principal, Müller, interjected with his arms crossed.
"Honestly, Director Schun's influence is formidable, but in the end, he is a commoner. There's a limit to the pressure he can apply."
"Still, given the size of his Merchant Guild, shouldn't we be careful?"
"We should be careful. But Principal, where are we?"
Vice-Principal Müller gestured towards the window with his chin.
Beyond the Academy's school grounds, the flags of the training ground were visible.
"Adler Colleg also serves as a military educational institution. All the faculty here are on the military register. A Merchant Guild director threatening a soldier?"
"That's right. At most, he'll issue a public statement."
In the Empire, the influence of The Military is absolute.
Because all industry and administration are established on the premise that The Military protects them from the demonic beasts outside the wall.
Trivial noise within the army could easily be dismissed.
It had always been that way, and it would continue to be so.
"Even Director Schun or Judicial Officer Nihilrit won't be able to do anything."
Of course, it wouldn't be possible to get away with it quietly.
After all, Director Schun's reputation within The Military was by no means low, and a Judicial Officer was still a Central Official.
There would probably be a salary cut and a suspension for a few months.
But for them, that was all.
This was the army, and the influence of a commoner and a Judicial Officer had its limits.
At the very least, they wouldn't be getting fired.
That fact alone was enough for them to feel relieved.
They wanted only one thing. As long as they could maintain their faculty status and continue living in Sanctum Hill, they didn't care what happened to the rest.
"Ah. Then at the morning faculty meeting..."
It was at that very moment.
Slam.
The principal's office door was thrown open violently.
An administrator rushed in with a pale face.
Krause frowned at him, breathless and unable to speak.
"What is it? Without even knocking."
"P-Principal."
The administrator finally caught his breath and spoke.
"The Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Recapture Operation has arrived."
The air in the principal's office froze.
Krause's hand, about to put down his teacup, stopped in mid-air.
The Southern Recapture Operation.
The largest operation in the last 20 years, aimed at pushing back the retreating Southern Front.
There was an Imperial Prince who not only commanded soldiers from the forefront but also achieved overwhelming military prowess as an individual.
For that credit, he rose to the position of Frontline Commander-in-Chief at the youngest age in the Empire's history, and in the end, he succeeded in recapturing even the strategic point that had been lost to demonic beasts 200 years ago.
Therefore, any faculty member of the Academy, no, any human on the military register, couldn't possibly not know who the title 'Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Recapture Operation' referred to.
"His Highness Edmund has passed through the front gate."
The War Hero of the South.
12th Prince Edmund crossed the school gate.
*
With the sudden appearance of the general, the Academy was thrown into pandemonium.
Why now of all times? And right after such an unpleasant incident?
The principal had many questions for the general who had arrived without notice, but he didn't have the courage to ask his intention directly.
Having arrived without any notice, Prince Edmund came to the principal's office as if it were his own living room.
With the prince's arrival, another teacup was hastily added in the principal's office.
Edmund sipped the tea brought out by an administrative teacher with a trembling hand.
"It's stronger than I expected."
"I-I apologize. I'll brew another..."
"No. This kind of tea is special in its own way. You may return to your usual duties."
Dismissing the administrative teacher, Edmund naturally took the seat of honor.
The teachers, including the principal who was the owner of the office, each took a seat on the sofa.
"..."
"..."
Only the sound of a tilting teacup echoed in the principal's office.
Edmund was relaxed.
He sipped his tea while gazing at the school grounds outside the window, scanned the portraits of past principals on the wall, and tapped the leather of the sofa's armrest with his finger.
That leisureliness was slowly grating on the nerves of the other four people.
The teachers had their teacups to their lips, but they were barely drinking.
Soon, Edmund, who had been looking at the flags outside the window, spoke.
"I apologize for coming without notice. As you know, I transferred to the capital after my child was born."
"C-Congratulations, Your Highness."
In the Empire, the structure is such that nobles burn their lives away on the frontline in their youth, and when a child is born, they return to the capital to raise them.
Protecting people is a duty of a noble, but so is raising the future generation to inherit their martial arts or arcane magic.
"Perhaps because I was a soldier on the battlefield, I get restless sitting still at a desk. So these days, I've been touring the military facilities near the capital."
Edmund tilted his teacup once and added.
"Touring the various institutions of The Military like this allows me to share in the passion of others, so I'm thinking it was a good thing to start."
"If you need, I can guide..."
"There's no need for that. After I finish my tea, I'll look around secretly on my own, so don't follow me."
Edmund said nonchalantly.
"Ah, speaking of which, my child will be taking his first steps soon. Maybe that's why. Now, my juniors don't feel like juniors, but like my own children. Is it just me? Or is that just how it is when you become a parent?"
"Haha... Your Highness has also come to know a parent's heart."
Creon laughed awkwardly.
Edmund paid no mind to the awkward laugh and continued, cupping his teacup with both hands.
"You know, when I was on the frontline. There were times I pondered the meaning of life. Slaying demonic beasts every day, losing comrades, and slaying more. Then it suddenly hits you. Why am I here, you think."
"..."
"But watching my child grow, I understood."
Edmund gave a contented smile.
Gentle wrinkles formed around his eyes.
"I fight so that this small life can live in peace. That was reason enough."
The steam rising from the teacup slowly dispersed.
"And the more lovable this child is, the more natural it is to feel grateful to the person who brought such happiness."
At that moment, Principal Creon's fingers froze over his teacup.
A rumor he had pushed to the back of his mind belatedly came to him.
The infertility of the Imperial Princess Consort, Edmund. And the one person who solved it.
'Could it be...'
He had heard the rumor.
The story that the princely couple met Yulian at last year's Founding Festival and had a safe childbirth.
However, the nobles who weren't there at the time had dismissed the rumor as insignificant.
According to the rumor, Yulian had solved the problem by introducing the yet-to-be-released Viagra to the princely couple.
Of course, that credit is great.
But it was the kind of thing that would end with a royal grant or a medal.
They thought it wasn't a reason for the Imperial Family to favor that healer.
The principal thought so too.
However, Edmund's next words corrected the principal and teachers' misunderstanding.
"Lord Yulian still visits the Imperial Castle often these days. He says vaccination is necessary for the baby. He says just one shot will give permanent immunity to black magic curses, right?"
There was a fact the principal did not know.
That at the time, the princely couple had been more desperate for a baby than the principal thought,
that the grace Yulian bestowed upon him was not 'just' one pregnancy consultation,
and that the prince had watched by their side all the things Yulian had done for the baby and the mother in childbirth, from before the baby was born until now.
The principal and the teachers had not experienced that pain firsthand, had not been by their side, and had no interest.
That is why they did not know how the prince thought of Yulian.
"Truly. I can't tell you how grateful I am that he knows everything my child needs, more than I do as a parent, and takes care of it. Sometimes, it seems he cherishes our baby more than we do."
Even when the couple bothered him at dawn, he would scold them while worrying about the mother and baby without a single sign of annoyance,
even when the baby's stool got on his face, he would examine it meticulously without flinching,
and during every check-up, he would let them know in advance what the baby could do at what stage.
In the prince's eyes, Yulian was pouring more devotion into the baby than a parent would.
That's why he had once made such a proposal to Yulian.
"I even offered to make him the godfather. But he firmly refused. He said he would lose his objectivity as a healer towards his patient, and would only accept the sentiment."
The backs of the principal and teachers grew damp with cold sweat.
Godfather. That's how specially Prince Edmund regarded Yulian.
And of all times, the prince visited this academy the very day after an unfortunate incident befell Yulian's younger sister.
The meaning of this was clear without any need for explanation.
Just from hearing this much, some of the teachers sensed their fate and shut their eyes tightly.
"Lord Yulian is that kind of friend. Even when I tried to lend him my name, he showed no interest, saying it wasn't necessary for a healer's work. And yet..."
Edmund crossed his legs.
"And yet, that same friend, after giving my child a regular check-up at dawn today, told me he has many worries because of this school. It's truly a strange thing."
"..."
And the complexion of the doting fool prince, who had been boasting about his baby with a pleased smile, hardened.
"Speak. Just what did you do to make such a complaint come out of that friend's mouth? I'm truly curious about that secret, Principal Creon."
The former Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Recapture Operation.
The current Chief of Personnel of the Imperial Central Army glared at the faculty with cold eyes.
At this, the principal quietly thought.
That it would have been far better to have finished the conversation with Director Schun yesterday.
