'I am bored.'
The gentle afternoon light of the spring ward my body as I grumbled in my head while running through the training ground.
"Huff, huff..."
Beside was a boy who was huffing his lungs out.
His posture, his breathing—everything was a ss as he barely kept up with .
"Are you serious, man?" I spat, glaring at him and hitting his back with the back of my hand. "Keep yourself steady. It's only been an hour."
"Huff... Why are you torturing !?" he yelled between ragged breaths, an agonized look on his face.
"I'm helping you beco fit," I calmly replied, looking at his face. "Just think how many girls will be after you when you beco handso."
"Huff... Haaah!!"
He dashed faster with whatever energy he had left, as if running away from .
[Why all of a sudden?]
'No particular reason.'
Shrugging, I replied as I looked at Chubby.
[Don't lie. It's definitely because he was boasting about how good his mother's food tastes, isn't it?]
'.....'
Okay, that might have influenced my decision to train him, but that's definitely not the real reason.
[It's fine; even I would have snapped if soone kept ntioning things that I could never have.]
'Hey, at least I can taste now.'
[From soone else's hands... Without her, it will remain the sa.]
'...'
[You're not planning for her to always feed you, right?]
'....No, I can't be too dependent on her.'
[That's good to hear.]
'What does fried chicken taste like?'
[... Spicy?]
'I want to try it soti.'
"Hey Chubby, when are you going to invite to your ho!?" I yelled as he dashed faster.
"Huh? Why?" he questioned back, slowing down.
"Just wondering," I shrugged nonchalantly.
...I seriously want to confirm if that woman is real or not.
I an, with how Chubby looks, how can she be so—Ahmm, I don't know how to say it.
[....Beautiful]
'Right, beautiful!'
"How about next month?" he replied vaguely, as he sat on the ground.
"Really!"
[Stop being so excited.]
"I an, really?" I asked, looking at him.
"....Sure," he replied, his eyes narrowing.
[Since when did you start liking older won?]
'I don't like them. Maybe it's because I rged with Inder... Bla him.'
[You both are the sa, but yeah, whatever.]
...Older won.
'That makes wonder how things ended in the prequel ga in this world.'
...I'm itching to know how many won Ragnar ended up with before 'dying.'
Did things happen the sa as in the ga, or was there soone like who changed everything?
[How many won did he have in the ga?]
'Best case, five.'
[Wow, what a scumbag.]
'I agree, I agree.'
I vigorously nodded my head, earning a confused look from Chubby.
[You're the last person to judge him.]
'Hmm, what?'
Why are you salty?
[Nothing.]
'Anyway, I hope that motherfucker died a virgin.'
But then again, knowing the ga, that's just wishful thinking.
[Why do you even hate him?]
'That fucker is just way too handso.'
[Again, you're the last one who should hate him for that.]
'Co on, I got rejected just a few days ago.'
I'm not that handso.
[.....]
"Could you please stop staring at so intently?" Chubby asked ekly, a slight blush on his face.
"..."
"Arghh... Cough."
Without thinking, I kicked his bulging stomach, making him scream in pain.
[Explain this.]
'...Shut up.'
I grimaced as I turned around, walking away.
"Where are you going? We have classes now!!" Chubby shouted from behind.
"Which class?" I asked, turning back.
"Professor Daphne's," he replied as he stood up.
"I won't be attending that," I replied as I moved toward the main building, where the principal's office was.
I don't have a problem skipping classes as long as it's not Lauryn's class.
[Co to think of it, hasn't she beco a little too aggressive?]
"... Right."
I mumbled, looking at the empty garden between the two buildings.
For so ti now, Lauryn has beco increasingly aggressive, like every small thing has started to irritate her.
Even in class, she throws students out for every small mistake.
"She wasn't like that before," I mumbled, walking through the hallway.
At least toward the other students, she wasn't this petty.
'...Hmm, what actually happened to her?'
I wondered, standing in front of a door before rapping my knuckles twice on it.
"Co in."
A tired and aged voice ca from inside. I opened the door and walked in.
His office was still the sa, with books and docunts all around the place.
"What brings you here, student Azariah?" Glancing up, Nathan asked, his voice filled with fatigue.
"You all right, old man?" I asked as I sat opposite him.
"Aren't you being too casual?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Cut so slack," I replied, shrugging my shoulders and leaning back in the chair. "I almost died because of your poor managent."
"Yeah, I'm sorry you had to go through that." He let out a tired sigh as he earnestly apologized.
"It's fine," I replied, not being too bothered, before asking curiously, "Anyway, where were you during the competition?"
"..."
He silently observed without saying a word.
He kept looking at until it started to make uncomfortable before he replied, "...I got a clue about who killed my daughter."
"I see," I mumbled softly, looking at him. "But isn't that quite coincidental?"
He nodded with a thoughtful look, "I was thinking the sa... The timing of the attack and the clue are sohow linked."
...Okay, this much should be enough.
Hopefully, he can connect the dots.
"Is your wife not waiting at ho...." My words trailed off at the end as he flinched slightly.
His gaze fell as he softly replied, rubbing his temples, "...She isn't ho now."
[You already know that, right?]
'Yeah.'
[Then—]
"Was she important?" I asked gently, ignoring El while tapping on the chair I sat on.
"...She was a princess," he replied, his lips curling up in a sad smile, "...An idiot princess."
"Makes wonder if your daughter had a child, wouldn't she be quite important?" I asked jokingly, which made him chuckle.
"She would have been," he nodded as he leaned back in his chair.
"I see," I mumbled, not saying anything else.
We both sat in silence as he reminisced about his past, vacantly looking at the ceiling.
"Right, I should tell you this," he snapped back after a while. "You guys are going on a trip."
"Huh?" I asked, frowning. "Soone just attacked the academy students, and you planned a trip now?"
"It's not in my hands, brat," he grumbled in frustration. "Due to the pact between the two empires and kingdom, we have to do this."
"Did the church order this?" I asked curiously.
There wasn't any ntion of this in the ga.
So, it's new information for .
"They did," he replied, nodding. "From what I was told, students from different academies will visit each other's lands."
"So, we're going out of the empire?" I asked, and he nodded.
"To show their sincerity, they're sending high-ranking nobles—"
"And we're going to do the sa, right?"
"Yes," he nodded gently. "It's a direct order from the emperor, and if you're wondering, then yes, he asked your mother, and she allowed it."
"So... Where are we going then?" I asked, leaning back in the chair until I felt comfortable.
"Mizraim Empire."
....Sa as the ga.
'Hmm, then there shouldn't be any problem.'
The whole event was just for fun; nothing serious happened in the ga.
It ended with Ethan having a fight with Keegan and Lucas over all the pent-up frustration.
And, of course, he won against both of them.
And around this ti, I had already given up on living, so I didn't join the event.
'...I just hope nothing happens.'
[... Don't jinx it.]
'...Fuck!!'
"Anyway, do you know anything about Andarnaur?" I asked, sitting up with curiosity.
"Yeah," he affird. "Why do you ask?"
"...Can you tell everything about him?" I eagerly asked, my voice a little excited.
Finally, I could know the proper backstory about him.
"Hmm, instead of explaining it, why don't you go to the library?" he mumbled, taking out a paper before writing down sothing. "Here's the na of the book."
"It's in the library?" I questioned, tilting my head.
"Yes."
Damn, I didn't know that.
"And you should know that Andarnaur took his last breath in the Mizraim Empire." Passing the paper, he replied, "You'll get so clues about him if you search."
"Thanks, old man," I replied as I stood up from the seat.
"Don't call old man," he grumbled as I turned around and walked out.
Wait....
Just as I took a few steps, I halted, looking back at him. "Why are you helping so much?"
Isn't his behavior weird?
He told everything I asked.
Not even once did he get angry, even when I asked sothing personal.
He gave a mysterious smile as he replied, "You'll know one day."
"...Okay," I mumbled, helping myself out.
What a weird old man.
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