Chapter 47. How in the World?

“What do you all think you are doing?”

An angry voice boomed loudly. It was enough to make one forget the sound of Michelle’s stomach clock.

I turned my head to see who had shouted. It was Vice Principal Potecus, who had looked at me fiercely in that interrogation-like room.

“No, Vice Principal. This is…”

Adellian urgently shielded Piontek and tried to make some excuse. But it was a futile act.

How could a person smaller than Piontek hide him with their body? And she had already seen it, so what would change by hiding it? Tsk tsk.

“Move aside.”

Potecus looked down at Adellian with a cool gaze.

At this, Adellian, judging that making excuses would only bring greater trouble, stepped aside.

“Cadet Piontek Ferdinand. Cadet Bryn Willford. It seems an explanation of the situation is needed.”

“……”

Piontek, who had sheathed his sword, kept his mouth shut and stared at the floor. A heavy gaze pressed down on him. His shoulders shook violently up and down. It was a situation bound to make one nervous, so his breathing was likely quite rough.

On the other hand, Bryn was quite relaxed. Anyone could see that he was the victim… But watching him was infuriating. It’s not easy for a person to be so annoying and irritating from their expression alone, but that guy was managing it.

“It’s just as you saw. You saw him try to stab someone with a sword, didn’t you?”

“Bryn Willford.”

Potecus stared at Bryn with a sharp gaze.

Bryn, realizing the atmosphere was different from what he had expected, began to move his lips and watch for cues. Being a guy who lives by reading Hans’s mood, his change in attitude was quick.

“I asked why such a situation occurred, but what is this case of giving an irrelevant answer?”

Potecus reacted sharply.

I felt it before, but that person is really cantankerous.

“I intend to hear the reason for breaking the school rules and give a punishment that fits, so please explain calmly.”

An old man with white hair, walking with Professor Keller, said. He stroked his beard, which was as white as his hair, and wore a benevolent smile.

It seems the reason Potecus was so angry was because of that old man. Professor Keller was next to him too. He seems like an important person at the academy… Ah, the principal.

“Why? Is there no particular reason?”

The old man, presumed to be the principal, stood facing Piontek and Bryn.

“He mocked us.”

Piontek said in a trembling voice, as if overflowing with anger.

“How did he mock you? Cadet Bryn.”

“It seems that fellow misunderstood, but I did not mock him!”

At Bryn’s words, Piontek’s face contorted fiercely.

“He told us to get out, calling us beggars…”

“Hey, that was because I misjudged. I thought real beggars had come in and told them to leave, but why is he getting mad at me for his own misunderstanding?”

“How is that a misunderstanding? You said it after seeing our faces!”

Piontek, unable to control his emotions, tried to go to Bryn.

I nudged Odekerkh, signaling him to hold Piontek and keep him from running wild.

“Is that the reason you drew your sword on campus without permission?”

This time, Potecus spoke. Her face was filled with a stinging rebuke, as if to say, ‘was it for such a trivial reason?’

Pak!

Suddenly, Michelle shot her hand up. Naturally, people’s gazes turned to her.

“He called them a princess and her attendant. And he called him a pig. He said he lost his mind after coming back from the dead and asked if he wanted to die. He also said he was truly crazy.”

Michelle spoke calmly and clearly with precise pronunciation. It seems waiting for the situation to end was too much for her. Well, it was obvious that Piontek or Adellian wouldn't bring up words like 'princess and her attendant' out of pride. Bryn, of course, would hide any disadvantageous remarks. So, to end the atmosphere that was like a summer monsoon, someone had to step up and state the reason. The remaining people were me, Odekerkh, and Michelle. Odekerkh wouldn't be able to open his mouth, busy reading others' faces. So it was either me or Michelle, and it's the thirsty one who digs the well.

“Is that true?”

The principal asked, looking back and forth between Bryn and Piontek.

“N-no! When did I say that?”

Bryn pointed a finger at Michelle and got angry.

Michelle looked at the principal with a face from which no emotion could be read.

“He’s getting angry now. If he hadn’t said it, he wouldn’t be angry.”

“I see.”

The principal accepted Michelle’s words with a smiling face.

“No, no! It’s not true. I’m telling you, I d-didn’t say that!”

Bryn shouted, filled with a sense of injustice.

Well, he probably felt a little bit of injustice. He didn’t directly say, ‘Do you want to die?’. But since it was revealed in his expression and gaze, it’s fine even if he feels a little wronged.

“Is it true?”

This time, Potecus asked, looking at the others.

Odekerkh nodded and answered, “Yes, yes. Th-that’s right.”

“I see. We will hold a disciplinary committee meeting the day after tomorrow.”

“V-Vice Principal!”

Bryn called out desperately to the turning Potecus. But all that came to him was a cold gaze.

“Cadet Bryn Willford, return to your dormitory. The rest of you… are participants in the entrance exam. Move to the small auditorium immediately.”

As Potecus’s words fell, Bryn began to trudge away like a rain-soaked stray dog. Throwing an aggressive glance my way was a bonus.

So I, too, looked at him with my lips pulled up into a wide grin.

“It was nice to see you after so long. Let’s see each other again.”

I didn’t forget to add a kind greeting that would get under his skin. Since it seems we’ll have quite a few things to talk about, rub shoulders, cry, and laugh about for various reasons soon enough.

By the way, that Keller person’s face has been stiff from start to finish. Is there really something going on?

***

‘What in the world is this?’

Keller shook his head as he looked at the smiling Maxim. It was because he couldn’t believe everything he had just heard. It was surprising enough that they had solved the problem in five days, but to have fought with the Amirios clan and returned alive…

“Can you prove that it is not a lie?”

Veridian, who was listening to the story with them, asked Maxim’s group while stroking his beard.

“What is there to lie about? We solved it faster than the required time. You said the item was correct, too. Then isn’t it a perfect score anyway?”

“Ahem! Cadet Maximilian Caesar. Watch your tone.”

Potecus’s eyes lit up as she shot a warning.

At this, Maxim nodded with a bright smile, as if he were not a bad person.

“Hm! Hm! Alright. I will believe that it is not a lie.”

Veridian said, trying his best to maintain his composure. But inside, he was full of questions.

‘They met the Amirios clan, yet returned unharmed? Is such a thing possible?’

In Veridian’s memory, the Amirios clan were incomparably cruel beings. They would do anything for money. Even if it was a crime like robbery or murder.

‘They are a tribe that cultivates power for such things…’

Even decent knights found it difficult to deal with the Amirios clan. In fact, knights of the 1st Circle or early 2nd Circle were sometimes killed by them. They didn’t just die either. They died burnt so black that their forms were unrecognizable. The knights who survived the battles were also not in good shape. Many were crippled.

But…

‘Didn’t they say he was a child with lacking abilities?’

Maxim was saying that he had fought and won against that Amirios clan. So he couldn’t help but harbor a question mark.

Maxim was certainly a cadet with poor academic performance. This wasn’t just Veridian’s thought. It was the thought of the entire faculty of Saint-Denis Academy. They had said that he had barely managed to form a 1st Circle, but it was of such a trivial level that he couldn’t even make a proper oath.

‘In that case, I should look at the other children, not Maxim.’

Adellian’s excellence needed no explanation. Piontek’s skills were also known to some extent. Although Odekerkh was in the Red Deer Class, it wasn’t because his skills were lacking. It was because of his timid personality, to the point of stuttering. There was no information about Michelle, who had entered with Maxim, but she didn’t feel like she was lagging behind.

Veridian judged that the reason Maxim was speaking so confidently was thanks to their help.

“You fought with the Amirios?”

“Sigh, you keep asking that. We went through so much trouble fighting those perverts.”

“Perverts? No… you mean ‘them’?”

“Yes, one leader and three lackeys. We fought four of them. Why?”

At Maxim’s answer, Veridian’s mouth fell open.

“Ahem! Maximilian Caesar!”

Potecus called Maxim, reminding him to be mindful of his tone.

“I am sorry. But this. You said you would check it, are you not going to?”

Maxim passed it off with a sly smile and took out the blue poppy.

Veridian swallowed hard and looked at Keller.

“This way.”

Keller gestured to Maxim.

“The roots are undamaged. The seeds that were with it were also neatly brought back. But, Professor.”

Maxim, handing the blue poppy to Keller, stared at him with a cool gaze.

‘What?’

In that moment! Keller felt goosebumps all over his body. He quickly composed his breathing and looked at Maxim. It was the same unremarkable face he had seen before.

‘What was that? Why did I get goosebumps?’

He wasn’t tense about anything, nor was he scared, nor was it cold. It was just that Maxim had come close and held out the blue poppy.

‘Ah! It’s because of this.’

Keller interpreted the reason for the goosebumps in his own way.

He told himself he got goosebumps because the blue poppy he had searched for so long was now in his hands, because he could finally touch what he had been waiting for.

“What kind of herb is this?”

Maxim asked after handing over the blue poppy.

“It is a dangerous herb. That is why I told you to bring it without opening the box, but why did you bring it like this?”

“Those pervert fellows were quite tough. It was a complete mess. It’s a relief we didn’t burn the flower.”

At Maxim’s words, Keller looked at the blue poppy. It was maintained in its original form without any damage.

“That is truly a relief.”

“Right. But by the way. Why did you ask us to bring that for the exam? Some strange fellows were making a fuss because of it.”

“By strange fellows, are you referring to the Amirios clan?”

“Yes. You’ve heard the whole explanation, haven’t you? Everyone is being strange. Don’t tell me you think we’re lying… you’re not, right?”

Maxim let out a strange, unreadable smile and looked around at the professors.

Veridian let out a ‘Ha, ha, ha,’ a laugh full of benevolence.

Potecus maintained an expressionless face without any change.

On the other hand, Keller swallowed dryly and looked back and forth between the flower and Maxim.

“Are you really not believing us?”

Maxim asked, staring intently at Keller.

“It is surprising that you came in five days, but the fact that you had a serious fight is even more surprising… so to be honest, yes, I am. I am sorry. I did not know the Amirios clan would be after the blue poppy. I am truly sorry. I should have looked into it more… I have made a mistake so great that it cannot be called a mistake.”

Keller bowed his head, swallowing a groan as if ashamed.

At that sight, Maxim bit his lip.

‘This isn’t an act.’

He had been observing Keller the entire time they were coming to the small auditorium. His consistently stiff face and heavy atmosphere seemed to indicate that he had a great worry.

‘That’s why I thought with high probability that it was Keller…’

Maxim had deliberately mentioned what happened with the Amirios clan in a public setting.

To see Keller’s reaction.

He had expected a stiff face, a nervous face, or an awkwardly forced surprised expression.

But Keller’s reaction was disbelief. He exuded a nuance of not being able to believe Maxim with his whole body. Furthermore, he couldn’t even believe that they had finished the job in five days and was about to ask if the blue poppy was real.

And now, he was sincerely apologizing to the students who took the exam.

‘If it’s not that man, it means there’s something else…’

Maxim thought he would have to look into Keller’s surroundings.