Chapter 39. Prejudice

“W-what is this?”

Adellian, seeing the burnt thing, contorted her face in horror. At a glance, it looked like a burnt animal, but up close, it was a person.

“What is this?”

Piontek looked around and tried to analyze the situation that had occurred. But it seemed nothing was drawing a clear picture, so he just scratched his head.

“L-look at this.”

Odekerkh, seeing something, called the others. He was pointing at a thick line left on the ground.

“This is…….”

Piontek touched the line with his hand and was about to say something. But he couldn’t continue, only starting the sentence as if nothing came to mind.

‘Of course.’

They were young. Naturally, they had little experience. Even if the school classes were of high quality, they couldn’t follow the texture of the field. Because the field was overflowing with things not in the books. Just like now.

“Cartwheel tracks.”

Watching them just move their lips, I felt frustrated and told them the answer. At this, Piontek frowned and checked the expressions of the others. Especially Adellian’s.

Hoo, his gaze is strange.

“Wheel tracks? The wind is blowing like this, does it make sense for wheel tracks to remain?”

“It does. The young lady of the ducal family said it earlier, didn’t she? That we have to calculate various things. I think the weather was included in that.”

It was cold. When the ground was wet with snow, the cart’s weight would have left clear wheel tracks. After that, it would have frozen as it was.

“I-I know!”

Piontek, his face turning bright red, tried hard to protect his shabby pride. All the way here, he had been acting like a grown-up, talking about what kind of mindset a Saint-Denis cadet should have, what kind of will this exam was testing, and so on, but at times like this, he was just a kid.

“Then, let’s see.”

Leaving the fuming Piontek behind, I added a geezer-like interjection and approached the burnt corpse.

‘There’s a lot of snow around. The wheel tracks are clear…….’

Even if it had caught fire while soaked in oil, it was a difficult environment to burn like this.

The corpse was so burnt that it was hard to tell if it was a person or an animal. A part of the body was not just burnt, but had melted. If so, this was the work of someone who had borrowed the power of Ignia.

“So he’s over the 2nd Circle.”

“What? What do you mean?”

Adellian was right behind me.

“Aren’t you a little too close?”

“Ah? Ah…….”

She, conscious of the others’ gazes, took a step back.

I glanced at Piontek. As if jealous that Adellian was close to me, he had a lot of wrinkles on the bridge of his nose like an angry puppy. It seemed he couldn’t intervene openly because of the others’ gazes.

“What do you mean by over the 2nd Circle?”

Adellian, unable to bear the curiosity, urged for an answer. I pointed to the corpse with my hand.

“The one who did this is.”

“Then…….”

Adellian, recalling something, swallowed her words. Judging by her expression, it seemed she wanted to ask if what happened here was related to our exam.

“I don’t know.”

The blatant wheel tracks and the corpse, the moderately cleared path. The overall picture was not pleasant, but there was no need to make them anxious already, so I said it casually.

Adellian looked at me and opened her eyes wide. Then she bit her lip. She had swallowed her question to hide her concern, but she seemed surprised and embarrassed that I had read her mind and answered.

Piontek’s face, who had been staring at me, hardened. It felt like he had misinterpreted the atmosphere between me and Adellian on his own.

“What do you mean you don’t know? Don’t keep it to yourself and tell us too. We’re moving together, aren’t we?”

“It seemed like she was wondering if what happened here is related to this exam.”

“You knew that without even hearing it? You must be using telepathy.”

His complaint against me was soaring to the sky, and he looked ready to pick a fight with anything he could.

But it’s futile.

“Does our outstanding cadet not know what context is?”

“What?”

“If you don’t know, I’ll tell you what context is.”

“Who? You?”

“Why? Not good enough? Then our class president will tell you.”

As the sparks of conflict flew, Odekerkh let out a ‘Heop!’ sound, not knowing what to do.

Piontek let out a disbelieving sigh. Then he looked back and forth between me and Odekerkh. It seemed he wanted to say something. But he didn’t. No, it would be more accurate to say he couldn’t. It seemed he didn’t want to show an overly emotional side in front of Adellian. It was a relief that he wasn’t unnecessarily stupid.

“Th-there.”

In the rather chilly atmosphere, Odekerkh opened his mouth. He pointed to where the wheel tracks continued for a long time.

Everyone looked at Odekerkh.

“I-if we go this way, w-we’ll reach T-Tuergen…….”

Odekerkh read the context and brought out the anxiety he felt.

Naturally, Adellian’s expression darkened. It seemed she was assuming the worst-case scenario and calculating whether they could face it with the current members.

“Is that so? Then we have to go.”

A useless calculation. When I’m here.

***

Maxim and his party walked for a long time along the path where the snow was less piled up, where the cartwheel tracks were left.

‘I don’t like it.’

Piontek glanced at Maxim and chewed on his annoyance. The memory of him showing off in front of him about cartwheels and context made him grind his teeth.

‘He was annoying before, but he’s become even more annoying.’

Still, before, he was taciturn, so there weren’t many clashes like now. But now, it was hard to think of him as the same person before his leave of absence.

‘Why did he suddenly change?’

Maxim’s personality had completely changed. His way of speaking, his actions, even the sword he used…….

‘The state of the sword he’s carrying.’

To call it a sword, the broad thing looked like an oar on a boat.

‘They said he came back from the dead, did his head go strange?’

Piontek snorted fiercely and checked Maxim again. He recalled an old saying. The saying that a person changes after overcoming a near-death experience. For that reason, he tried to understand Maxim’s change.

But it was difficult to understand another person’s change. It was Adellian.

Adellian from last semester and Adellian after the term began were somehow different. It wasn’t her appearance. She was still beautiful. What had changed was the feeling she gave off.

The feeling Piontek remembered of Adellian before the term began was upright. A person who knew what a model was, who would not hesitate to sacrifice for the class and willingly accept difficulties, a person who was upright and beautiful in every way. But now…….

‘Confusion?’

Adellian’s reaction to the opening-of-term exam and the statement she made in front of the vice-principal were especially so.

‘The one who stopped the monster was not me, but Cadet Maximilian.’

There were testimonies from the residents of Graf that a monster had appeared in the town.

There were also those who had witnessed Adellian’s heroic deeds there. Several circumstances also pointed to Adellian’s good deeds. But Adellian turned the credit to Maxim, saying that such deeds were not hers. The vice-principal did not believe this. She said, ‘You don’t have to cover for him. We have already decided not to punish him,’ and that she didn’t have to defend him unreasonably. But Adellian didn’t.

‘Why on earth?’

To take the opening-of-term exam? It was a bit of a stretch to say that was the only reason.

‘Does she like him?’

It didn’t make sense. Adellian was the one who had expressed feelings close to hatred, saying that Maxim was unsightly, annoying, and she didn’t want to associate with him.

‘Then did Maxim really do it?’

An impossible thing. It wasn’t like Piontek had seen Maxim for a day or two. He had seen him for a year. At first, he had expectations because he was the 5th Prince. It was because the 3rd and 4th Princes who had entered before him boasted excellent grades. But that expectation quickly turned into disappointment, into contempt, before a month had passed.

Knowledge, leadership, military power. Among the abilities a knight should possess, Maxim had none. He was also unremarkable in terms of personality. It was because he openly refused to communicate with others. That’s why no one stepped up when Maxim was being bullied.

‘What on earth is it?’

Question marks kept popping up, but not a single one was resolved cleanly.

“Hey.”

Maxim called Piontek and grabbed his shoulder.

Piontek, who was walking ahead, frowned and turned around.

“Why…….”

Piontek, who was about to express his displeasure to Maxim, couldn’t. It was because the atmosphere of the others, including Maxim, was unusual.

Maxim waved his hand downwards, signaling him to lower his posture. Starting with Michelle, Adellian, Odekerkh, and finally Piontek took a sitting posture.

“What is it?”

Piontek asked, looking at Maxim.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know, but you’re telling me to sit down?”

“Shh.”

Maxim made a silencing gesture and stared straight ahead.

Piontek felt his breathing quicken. His heart also pounded, beating fast.

‘W-what is it?’

He asked for the reason to grasp the situation, but there was no answer. He felt an extreme tension for the first time.

“Michelle.”

At Maxim’s call, Michelle took out her bow.

“How many?”

“Five.”

Maxim, hearing Michelle’s answer, drew his sword and closed his eyes.

Piontek, seeing this, blinked.

‘What do you see?’

In his vision, only a field full of snow and bare branches were contained.

“It’s not five. Six. They’re full of killing intent.”

At Maxim’s words, Piontek’s brow furrowed deeply.

‘No, what are you seeing that you’re saying six? You had your eyes closed, didn’t you?’

Piontek’s head tilted sideways in a situation he couldn’t understand at all. He wondered if Maxim and Michelle were teasing him. But it was hard to see it that way. The flowing atmosphere was too heavy, and stinging. Not only himself, but Odekerkh, Michelle, and Adellian were also very tense. The only one who wasn’t tense was Maxim…….

‘Are they really teasing me?’

Piontek wondered if everyone except him was in on it. But that thought did not last for more than a second.

Chaeng!

Chaenggeurang!

Chaenggeurarang!

The sound of glass breaking rang out from all directions. Then, the bare trees were covered in fire instead of leaves.

“Heop!”

Maxim covered the mouth of the startled Piontek. Piontek looked at Maxim with wide eyes.

“Don’t make a sound. If you don’t want to die.”

Maxim said quietly with killing intent in his eyes. The sloppiness that had been emanating from him until just a moment ago disappeared. Instead, a pressure that made it hard to breathe was felt.

‘Ah, my nose and mouth are blocked, so it’s hard to breathe.’

Piontek, his face turning red from suffocation, grabbed Maxim’s arm with a trembling hand.

Maxim, as if he had realized his mistake, quickly withdrew his hand and wore an embarrassed expression. But he immediately put on a dignified face. Maxim called Odekerkh with his hand.

“The front is impossible. If we’re going to fight, we have to hit the back. When the enemy’s footsteps get closer, create a wall. You can do it, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. Adellian.”

At Maxim’s call, Adellian opened her eyes and ears. Piontek couldn’t help but be surprised by that sight.

Adellian was always the commander. It was a natural thing because she was the top student. No one ever thought of giving her orders. It was because it was unlikely that they would make a better analysis, a better judgment than Adellian.

Adellian also knew this. And very well. So she did not easily accept others’ words. She always suspected and suspected again. But now…….

“Bring out the power of water and plant a lot of ice awls in the snow.”

“……All right.”

She was following without a single complaint. And that too, to the instructions of Maxim, who was as good as a failure.