Chapter 250
Chapter 250
Meeting Oscar de Gardias alone…
I decided to first think about how it could end.
If that advice could bring me both good and bad outcomes, then meeting Oscar would be the right direction, but it would be connected with a lot of risks.
He was bound to be connected to the assassination to some extent.
When Lilka became a whistleblower during the disciplinary committee meeting, rather than being taken aback, he seemed to think that things had taken an interesting turn.
He should have noticed that our lives would be threatened by assassination attempts or that we might actually end up dying.
Was Oscar the one who personally instigated the assassination?
I didn’t think so.
Was he related to those behind the assassination?
That had a fairly high possibility of being true.
Did Oscar know that the Orbis Class would be shut down during the committee meeting?
I didn’t know.
However, it seemed clear that I had to meet with Oscar to overcome that situation.
We weren’t able to get along from the start, so even if we met up again, I doubt that either of us had anything good to say to the other.
Still, in order to somehow overcome that assassination situation, I had to meet that guy.
But he was, objectively speaking, a lot stronger than me. If he was serious, he could beat me to death with his bare hands.
Even though I hadn’t followed the advice yet, it was clear that I had to take on a huge risk if I did.
The clear Writer’s Advice even added the condition of meeting him ‘alone’.
That meant that I wouldn’t be able to have a proper conversation with Oscar if I was accompanied by Ellen, Liana, or anyone else.
If that advice only led to bad outcomes, Oscar would kill me the moment I stepped before him.
The clear Writer’s Advice didn’t leave me guessing, it was like a test of courage.
I had to go to places or do things that might lead to my death.
I had no idea how Oscar would treat me if I actually met up with him alone, so I had no choice but to pursue the vague advice first.
The Orbis Class’s closure…
I had to know the real reason behind it.
***
The next day…
I had already gotten advice from Bertus, so I went to see Charlotte.
Charlotte would always work out with Scarlett around dawn, so I went to meet them early in the morning.
After a little extra exercise, I managed to find Scarlett in one of Temple’s parks.
“Oh, Reinhardt. Good morning.”
She looked at me and bowed her head.
“Oh, hey. What about Charlotte?”
We hadn’t really gotten closer after taking that swordsmanship class together, but I ended up getting used to her overly polite actions.
However, I couldn’t see Charlotte anywhere near Scarlett.
Weren’t they always exercising together at dawn? Well, not always, but I thought that I had seen them around from time to time.
“Ah. Her Highness the Imperial Princess… is not here.”
“Is that so? Did she give up?”
Even though she was lacking in stamina, she worked out anyway, although she didn’t really show any improvement. It wasn’t just the aftermath of having been imprisoned in the Demon King’s Castle, it looked clear that Charlotte was originally physically weak.
“No, she just can’t do any training at dawn because she commutes to school from the Imperial Castle these days.”
She commuted to school?
That was the first time I heard of that. However, while I only rarely saw her at the dorms because we had different classes, it certainly had been a while since I last saw her there.
“Out of the blue?”
“It has only been a few days. She has a lot of work to do…”
“Hmm…Well, I guess so.”
There were probably a lot of problems the Orbis Class incident had caused, and Bertus and Charlotte would commute to school from the Imperial Castle rather than stay in the dormitories when something concerning the Imperial Family happened, so that wasn’t particularly strange.
That being said, that meant that she was still in the Imperial Castle, but fortunately, I had classes that overlapped with Charlotte’s that day, so I could meet up with her after class to talk.
Fortunately, it was Thursday.
We had integrated classes on that day, so Charlotte would have her classes in the next room.
After class, I managed to grab Charlotte, who was about to leave Temple and not return to the dorms.
“Yes, Reinhardt?”
Charlotte stopped in her tracks when I called out to her.
However, she seemed far too relaxed.
Was she really busy?
When I asked her if she could spare a minute, she nodded and told me that she had some time.
“I don’t think I have time for tea, but I can spare some time to talk.”
Charlotte and I sat next to each other on a nearby park bench.
When I asked her my question, she just shook her head.
“You want to know why the Orbis Class was shut down?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah, I thought the class wouldn’t get closed down, so I was wondering if there was any other reason other than the incident behind it.”
Charlotte looked at me.
“No. Seeing that you’re digging around about this, aren’t you actually just going to cause trouble again?”
Ah, the lament of the boy who cried wolf.
I was actually doing it because I had to do something, but I didn’t plan on telling her at all.
“Just stay in the dormitory. You know that it’s dangerous to cause any more trouble now, right?”
Charlotte said the same thing as Bertus.
Those two… if one overlooked some things, they really seemed similar to each other. Sometimes I even wondered if they weren’t actually twins.
However, they were actually different people.
“It’s really not such a big deal. I’m just curious because it’s something I’m involved with.”
“Hmm…”
Charlotte crossed her arms and looked at me as if she felt troubled.
“There isn’t some complicated reason, the people involved just overreacted.”
“What do you mean by ‘overreacted’?”
“A large number of teachers sent in their resignations, and a significant number of senior students also decided to drop out. In other words, they ran away before they could even get punished. More than half of the teachers and students simply disappeared.”
“…Like a strike?”
“…Correct.”
Charlotte smiled softly.
“It’s a united action as if they want to say something like ‘If you mess with us, you have to be prepared for the Orbis Class to be completely destroyed.’ They probably thought we would go crawling and begging them to come back, saying that we would let this all go.”
“…”
Driven into a corner, the teachers and senior students of the Orbis Class decided to take collective action. It was more or less a statement like ‘The class might collapse, are you really okay with that?’
They were probably bluffing. Charlotte’s eyes seemed cold as she spoke about the matter.
“That is a direct challenge to the Imperial Family.”
“How dare they, who were supported by the Empire, led peaceful lives while enjoying education and meals provided by the Empire, slept in beds provided by the Empire, and used the money they received from the Empire, try to negotiate with the Empire in such a disrespectful manner?”
It seemed like the collective action by the Orbis Class faculty and students went against the Imperial Family’s wishes and not Temple headquarters.
“So that is why the decision was made to throw it all away. They were too arrogant. The Orbis Class shall neither exist anymore nor ever exist again.”
The cornered mouse tried to bite the cat, but the cat killed it. Rather than having to endure change or punishment, they risked the entire Orbis Class, and the Imperial Family took that action as a challenge against their authority.
So the Orbis Class disappeared through an Imperial Decree.
Was it because they were too agitated that they ended up getting driven into a corner? The Orbis Class ended up touching something they shouldn’t have.
“However, their actions themselves were, in fact, not a crime, so we won’t punish them for it. On the other hand, it should be taken into consideration that we shall show no leniency regarding the numerous acts of coercion and assault committed within the confines of the Orbis Class that will come to light in the future.”
So basically ‘Sure, quit if you don’t want to work, or drop out if you don’t want to study here.’
The shutdown of the Orbis Class was only caused because they tried to fight against something they should have never offended.
Originally, Temple never considered shutting down the school, but they ended up taking such extreme measures for the crime of insulting the Imperial Family.
I found out why the Orbis Class had been shut down.
So… what did it mean?
What was the connection between finding out who was behind the assassination and the Orbis Class’s self-destruction?
-Clap!
“Arg!”
I was thinking when Charlotte suddenly hit me on my back.
“You look like you’re about to do something again. Am I right?”
“No, I didn’t even say anything like that, right?”
“Every time I see you thinking hard about something, you’re about to cause some trouble. It’s obvious. Stay in Temple, okay? No, don’t even leave the dormitory.”
“B-but I still have to take my classes!”
“Who told you not to go to class? Just don’t wander around in weird places outside of class! Look at you playing dumb with me even though you know full well what I mean! Anyway, I mean it.”
Even though she said she didn’t have much time, Charlotte ended up grabbing me and nagging me, almost going on with a long monologue.
A person who would get nagged by a princess…
I mean, wasn’t that also quite a unique position to be in?
I glanced at the nagging girl, thinking that CHarlotte might actually hit me again if she thought that I was deep in thought again.
After going off on me for a while, Charlotte sighed.
“Reinhardt…”
“…Don’t you think I’ve been scolded enough already? What else do you want to say?”
Her expression was slightly more subtle, different from when she was nagging me.
“Don’t cause any trouble. I’m saying this because I’m genuinely concerned. That’s how it is now and how it will be in the future.”
Somehow, Charlotte’s expression looked sad.
She said that she was busy. Was there something going on?
“Understood?”
Charlotte waited for an answer.
“I’m taking my leave. I’m sorry. I’d like to talk more, but I’m busy.”
“…When will you be back in the dorms?”
The words I brought out in that situation where my life was on the line seemed pretty pathetic.
“Hm… If you don’t cause any trouble, I might be able to come back right away.”
Charlotte narrowed her eyes as she said that.
For some reason, I wasn’t able to take my eyes off of Charlotte’s back as she left the campus with light steps.
I watched her for quite some time.
* * *
* * *
The vague Writer’s Advice was still incomprehensible to me in the end.
What conclusion could I draw from the fact that the Orbis Class was shut down due to butting heads with the Imperial Family?
We weren’t in a democratic society. The Imperial Family ruled over everything in the Empire. Even in Temple, which was run with the enormous support of the Imperial Family, there was no way that threats against the Imperial Family would work.
So, in the end, the only thing left was the clear advice.
I had to meet up with Oscar alone.
However, no matter how I looked at it, that was a very risky endeavor. I might be able to get a clue from that meeting, but it was very likely that the outcome would be incredibly bad.
The risk was far too great. How could I win in a real fight against Oscar, who could use Magic Body Strengthening? Even if I ambushed him with the Flame of Tuesday and the protection bracelet equipped, it still looked bad.
Lilka Aaron’s situation was also a problem, but I couldn’t just hold my breath like that.
I couldn’t just stay holed up in Temple forever, either.
For the moment, I decided to wait for more information. There might be something I had missed or didn’t know yet, after all.
***
A few days later, Sarkegaar paid me a visit.
“I have been given a list of groups that engage in assassination.”
It was the right move to go through the Thieves’ Guild to get information about the underworld. Sarkegaar wrote down the names of several groups in my notebook—they were all new organizations.
“Obviously, this isn’t a list of all active assassins, and there are also some hidden organizations. However, I infiltrated those that are active in the Imperial Capital and was able to confirm that there hadn’t been any assassination requests regarding Your Highness.”
I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable with those words.
There were a total of five organizations that made their money through contract killings in the Imperial Capital, and within that short amount of time, Sarkegaar had already infiltrated them and finished his information gathering.
That bastard… I didn’t really care before, but just how capable was he?
Well, he even managed to kidnap the Imperial Princess from the Castle. Just as Loyar and Eleris were highly skilled, Sarkegaar was also bound to be outstanding in his field.
When I thought of it, there were actually five whole organizations specialized in contract killings.
I felt my knees getting soft.
“There wouldn’t be any assassination attempts from groups from other regions… right?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Then that meant that the person who was aiming for me actually tried doing it themselves, or it was someone who spontaneously tried to stab me in the back while overcome with hatred…
I seriously wished I could see the culprit’s face using Preview, but I was already grateful enough that this scammer saved me when I was about to die.
I had to do the next steps myself.
The assassins and contract killers were clean.
In the end, everything led up to me meeting up with Oscar…
It would be dangerous if I went alone, but what the hell…?
“Well, I shall take my leave now.”
“Ah, yes. Good job.”
Sarkegaar transformed from his maid form into his sparrow form, which he also used to enter the place.
“Ah, wait, wait!”
Then I waved my hands towards Sarkegaar, who was about to fly away.
-Tweet?
Sarkegaar, in sparrow form, tilted his head as if asking what was the matter.
“Could you maybe go with me somewhere for a bit?”
-Tweet!
Sarkegaar was able to transform into a non-human form whenever he wanted.
…So I was able to go meet Oscar alone while not actually being alone.
The sparrow was jumping, showing its enthusiasm with its whole body. Was he that excited that I needed him?
In the end, while his purpose was a little problematic, there was no one more loyal than him.
I didn’t even do anything for him.
I felt kind of sorry for no reason.